A childlike mistake

Fangirl99 asked for a oneshot of Emma and Elsa getting turned into little children. Emma tries to hide it from Snow but she finds out anyway.

"She was up here a second ago." Elsa said, looking around Emma's now empty bedroom. The pair had been practicing using their magic together in order to get Elsa, Anna and Kristoff back to Arendelle. Something had gone wrong and turned Emma and Elsa into little children, the only positive being that they still had their adult minds. A quick visit to Rumple's shop and (once he'd stopped laughing) he'd been able to tell them that it would sort itself out in a couple of days. Whilst there Emma had also found out she couldn't use her magic. She had tried to blast Rumple for laughing and found herself unable. The pair then returned to the apartment where Emma had bolted up to her bedroom. She didn't want anyone seeing her like this. When she heard Elsa coming up the stairs with her mom, Emma had quickly dived under the bed. She used the slats to hold herself up so she couldn't be seen if anyone looked underneath.

"Well it appears not anymore." Snow sighed. "You go check the bathroom, I'll check the other bedroom." Snow said. Elsa nodded, leaving to search for Emma. Snow, however, didn't leave. "You still cast a shadow sweetheart." She said gently. Emma groaned, she'd been caught. "Why don't you come on out?"

"No." Emma replied grumpily. Snow's heart leapt at the sound of her little childish voice. She just wanted to hold her and keep her safe from the world.

"Elsa told me you're both going to be like this for a couple of days. You'll need to eat, drink and sleep in that time. You can't do that clinging to your bed. Even forgetting that, even with your adult arms you wouldn't be able to hold on that long. Your arms aren't strong enough right now." Now that her mom had pointed it out, Emma could feel her arms shaking uncontrollably. She sighed, it was hopeless. She dropped to the floor under her bed, but still refused to come out. Her outfit alone was mortifying. "Come on Em, you can't hide out under there and we both know it. You're as well getting it over and done with."

"I will come out if you promise not to say a word." Emma bargained.

"Promise." Snow agreed. Reluctantly, Emma crawled out from the bed. Snow gasped at the sight...she was completely adorable. Emma looked around four years old, just like Elsa. She was standing there in a pair of dungarees with a flower on the front pocket. Her hair was in pigtails with little pink bobbles.

"You promised not to say anything." Emma reminded her, seeing the look on her mom's face.

"I'm not." Snow said, choking up. There were tears in her eyes, she never thought she'd get a chance to see her daughter so young. Both heard the front door opening then closing.

"Snow, where is she?" Charming called excitedly. As soon as he'd got Snow's text explaining the situation he'd rushed straight home from the station.

"Up in her room!" Snow called back. Emma looked like she was about to dive back under the bed, but Snow caught her hand. "Not this time." She teased, holding onto her. Charming flew up the stairs and quickly as he could and ran into Emma's room. His reaction to seeing his daughter was near identical to Snow's- except he'd made no promise to stay silent.

"Aww, Emma! You're so adorable!" He cooed in a voice normally reserved for Neal. Emma rolled her eyes in an attempt to look annoyed, but it just made her look cuter.

"Whatever. I'm going downstairs to watch TV and wait for this spell to reverse itself."

"Um, Emma...going up stairs at your current size is one thing, going down is another. You can't go down them without someone holding your hand." Snow said, trying hard to hide her excitement. Emma's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh no no no no no. I am perfectly capable of walking down stairs alone." She said stubbornly. Snow looked across to her husband, having one of their silent conversations.

"Well it's settled then." Charming said. Snow quickly grabbed Emma, picking her up. Charming came over and took Emma from Snow. "If you won't hold someone's hand we'll carry you down." Emma tried to wriggle out of her father's hold, but he was far too strong. Charming swiftly carried Emma down the stairs and deposited her at the bottom. "There, now you can go watch TV." He said smugly. Emma was too shocked to even yell at him. She just stood there, mouth open slightly.

Over the next couple of days, Emma was incredibly frustrated at the amount of things her parents had to do for her (Elsa was staying with Anna and Kristoff in Granny's). They'd had to take some clothes from the pre-school class lost and found at the school to tide them over. Snow and Charming made sure to make the most of the situation and take enough photos to create a room full of completed albums. They couldn't deny they were a little sad when Emma changed back again, they had enjoyed having the chance to parent her. But they understood that things just weren't meant to be that way. What was important was they they enjoyed the time they did have a chance to have.