An old friend

snowfalls23 asked for a oneshot of a foster sibling that Emma was close to coming to Storybrooke to see Emma. Emma has to explain the whole family and magic situation to them and with some family fluff.

"No I'm serious." Emma laughed. "She called up the station and demanded that I come round and search her whole house for those mice."

"That's Lady Tremaine for you." Snow chuckled. "She still doesn't get that they're human here and she can't stomp on them."

"Yeah won't stop her asking. She threatened me with her cat." Charming grimaced.

"Why don't you just stop answering her calls?" Henry asked, wondering why they hadn't already thought of it.

"Because sod's law is that the one time we don't answer she'll actually need us kid. Yes, even if she is a villain." Emma answered, ruffling his hair. The family had decided to have dinner at Granny's that night as a treat. It was rarer and rarer to get them all together for more than an hour or two.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for an Emma Swan. Ever heard of her?" Came a voice at the counter.

"Who wants to know?" Emma answered, swivelling round to look at the person. It was a woman, around the same age as Emma. Her eyes lit up when she saw her.

"Emma! It is you!" The woman rushed over, wrapping Emma in a hug much to the surprise of the whole family- including Emma herself. She pulled back and saw the alarm in Emma's face. "You don't remember me at all, do you?" She asked. Emma shook her head.

"Um no. Sorry…" The woman smiled.

"It's alright. It's been about twenty years since we last saw each other so I can understand. It's me, Sally Jones from the Peterson place." Emma's face broke into a massive, shocked, smile.

"Oh my gosh Sally!" It was her turn, she pulled Sally in for a bone crushing hug. "How did you find me?" Then it hit Emma that Sally shouldn't have been able to get into Storybrooke. "Really, how?"

"I've been searching for you for years now. I was in New York which was my latest lead. I was just asking in a bar when this guy with a limp overheard and told me you were in a place called Storybrooke in Maine." The whole family shuddered when they realised this must be Rumplestiltskin. He must be using Sally as a guinea pig after working out how to break the barrier. They'd need to be on watch for him. "I guess he was right. Know someone like that."

"Uh huh, he used to live here. It's a small town. Everyone knows everyone." Emma was very aware of her family staring at them both. "I guess I should introduce you. Everyone, this is Sally. We were in a foster home together for a while and were good friends. Sally, this is my family." Sally raised an eyebrow.

"Family?" Emma knew what Sally meant. Foster kids don't normally get their families once they're past the cute stage.

"Yeah. My son, Henry. My little brother Neal and my parents." Sally had to do a double take.

"Emma, your parents?" She asked, clearly not believing her. "They look like they're the same age as us!" Emma smiled.

"Yeah, it's a complicated situation and you wouldn't believe me if I tried." Sally was too curious.

"Try me." Emma looked over at her parents who shrugged.

"You've just learned that new trick from Regina anyway." Charming pointed out. Emma had just recently learned a memory spell. So if Sally totally freaked out she could just take the memory of the conversation away.

"Ok then…Sally, my family, we're not from here."

"Well yeah, you were found near a diner, were you not?"

"Yeah, but that's not what I mean. We're not from this world." Sally looked very confused. "Fairytales, Sally, they're real. My parents are Snow White and Prince Charming." Sally backed away slightly.

"Emma, I think you might need some help."

"Sally, I know it's hard to believe. I spent nearly two years trying to convince myself it wasn't true, but it is."

"Emma, they're still the same age as us. Sweetie, I know we all want to find our parents but I think you're taking your imagination too far."

"They all thought I was crazy too." Henry piped up. "Even my mom. Before the curse broke. Nobody believed me that they were all fairytale characters and that time had been frozen until my mom came to save them all. But they know now. Ask anyone who they are: you'll get little Red riding hood, Grumpy, Cinderella…they're all here." Henry tried to explain. Sally gave a nervous little laugh. She looked to Snow and Charming.

"Do you go along with this, do you? Tricking a poor old foster kid into thinking she has parents her own age, get a good laugh do you?" Sally asked, trying to protect Emma.

"We are her parents." Charming said calmly. He unbuttoned the top half of his shirt and showed Sally his scar. "I got this taking Emma to the wardrobe that brought her to this world and left her in the tree by the diner. And I would do it again to keep her safe." Sally gave a slow nod, backing further away. Emma sighed.

"I hoped you would understand. Clearly not." Emma shot out her magic, taking away Sally's memories of the conversation, dazing her. Sally swaggered back slightly, her eyes going blank.

"Wh-where am I?" She asked nobody in particular.

"You're just on your way back to your car. You stopped in for something to drink and now you're on your way home." Emma told her, gently leading her to the exit. Sally nodded, the magic affecting her from recognising Emma. Emma led her out and quickly shut the door behind her. The magic would be easing a bit and if Sally saw her she'd recognise her. Emma came back to the booth and sat down. "It's a shame she couldn't understand." Emma sighed. "It would have been nice to properly introduce her to you guys. Share some stories."

"You could still share some stories." Snow suggested, leaning into Charming. "Your father and I would love to hear them." Emma smiled, taking a sip of her cocoa.

"Well, then where to begin…"