Love you none the less
A guest asked for a oneshot of Emma watching her mother feeding little Neal and bonding with him and she feels a pang of sadness as she never got to be that close to her mother...Snow notices this while throwing glances at Emma and feels hurt for her daughter knowing how she must be feeling and she tries to comfort her.
"That good, huh bubba?" Snow cooed to her son as he enjoyed his lunch. Emma watched on, not quite sure what she was feeling. Her brother would grow up so very loved by their parents. His bond had started early with them. Sure, there was the small blip with Zelena but he wasn't apart from them long. But Emma had been ripped away from her parents after barely a minute and didn't see them again for twenty eight years. The bond was broken and could never be fully repaired. She watched her mother feeding her brother sadly. They would at least have a chance of being close to each other like she and Snow never would be.
Snow wasn't oblivious to Emma watching her and Neal rather than the TV. She glanced over quickly a few times, gauging her mood. She could see the pain on her face, and quickly worked out what was upsetting her. She'd seen it a few times now. Snow knew Emma loved her brother very much, but this was bound to be hard for her. She finished feeding Neal and set him down in his Moses basket. She got up and went through to her room. She came back through with her nail care bag. Snow sat on the couch again, patting the space beside her. Emma gave her a confused look.
"I think we should have some bonding time." Snow explained. "So I'm going to give you a mani/pedi."
"You don't have to do that." Emma said bashfully. "You're exhausted."
"Not so exhausted to not be able to spend some time with my daughter." Snow told her, patting the couch again. Sheepishly, Emma moved over to the couch. Snow smiled encouragingly, putting Emma's foot in her lap. "I think purple will suit you." She said, selecting the bottle and beginning to paint Emma's toenails. There was silence for about half a minute before Snow spoke again. "Emma your father and I are always here for you, you know that right?" Emma nodded. "And you can talk to either of us. Whatever it is, whenever you want to talk. You're my daughter Emma. You can always talk to me." Emma looked down, uncomfortable with the emotion.
"I know." She said quietly.
"I want to make sure you do. We both love you and Neal equally. We might not get to feed you, give you baths or bedtime cuddles. We may have never seen your childhood milestones, but that does not mean we love you any differently. Other foot." Emma swapped her feet. Snow smiled at her. "We love you so very much." Emma nodded.
"I know…and I love you both too." Snow beamed at her.
"And that, Emma, is what makes me so honoured to be your mother."