Making up lost memories
Crosseyed-Cupcake asked for a oneshot of Snow finding out Emma can't swim and teaching her. Sorry for the lack of posts over the last couple of days. I haven't been very well :(.
"Emma, must we go through this every week?" Snow called through gently to the changing room. "The pool is closed off just for us. Nobody else is coming in."
"Yes, but what if someone's worked out it's been closed off with just me and one of you guys going in at this time for the last few weeks. Then they sneak in and get a picture for everyone to have a good laugh at." Emma said, clearly embarrassed. Emma had been asked if she wanted to accompany her parents to one of Neal's water baby classes. She then had to reluctantly tell them that she couldn't swim. Her parents jumped at the chance to be allowed to teach her. It was a chance to regain a missed experience from her childhood. Seeing the longing in their eyes Emma grudgingly agreed. Now once a week she was given a two hour swimming lesson swapping between her mom and her dad. This week was her mom's turn, and it was the first week she wasn't wearing the arm bands she'd been forced into for her safety (Emma refused to go into the kiddie pool and even the shallow end of the adult pool was deep). The lack of arm bands made it easier to persuade Emma to come out this week. She shuffled out of the changing room towards her mom. Snow held out the float for her.
"You still need something to help you out. We'll just be working on getting you kicking your legs today." Snow and Charming quickly noticed Emma had a fear of the water, so were taking things slow. It hadn't escaped Snow and Charming's minds that despite not being able to swim Emma had jumped into a stormy sea. Emma had pointed out she'd been knocked unconscious so wouldn't have been able to swim anyway…it didn't help. That was a big factor in the getting swimming lessons- there might be times when she couldn't use her magic to help her.
Snow got into the water before Emma, giving her an encouraging smile. Slowly, Emma stepped down the little set of steps clutching the float tightly. As usual the water was so cold it gave Emma goose bumps. For all she hated the arm bands and felt ridiculous in them, she felt incredibly vulnerable without them.
"Don't worry." Snow said, noticing her fear. "We're not going to let you drown. Now, stand back against the edge and get the float ready in your arms…"
An hour and a half later and Emma had managed to complete two lengths with her float.
"That's it!" Snow praised Emma as she followed beside her ready to catch her if she started to struggle. "You've got it Emma!" Emma stopped when she reached the edge.
"That's enough for today." She said firmly. The fear of getting into the water in the first place already drained Emma's energy. Swimming with less aid than before made it even harder.
"Ok honey. You did well today. I think you've earned yourself lunch at Granny's. My treat." Emma smiled gratefully.
"Sounds good to me."