Sing me off to sleep
Amy asked for a oneshot of Emma sleeping on the couch frequently and Snowing starts wondering why so Snow finally asks her. Emma tries to get out of the conversation but ends up telling her that she can hear her mom singing to Neal from the couch and it helps her sleep. I've combined this with the guest request about Emma saying "I don't care" to her mom over something.
"She's on the couch again." Charming whispered to his wife. They had noticed about a week ago that Emma was sneaking onto the couch to sleep after they'd retreated to the bedroom and then sneaking back up to her bed in the wee small hours of the morning. "Do you think that her mattress is broken? Or maybe there's a bad smell coming in through her window?"
"Well there's only one way to find out." Snow said, handing Neal over to Charming and walking out to the living room. "Emma?" She asked gently. Emma jumped, having not realised she wasn't alone anymore.
"Uh, hi mom. I was just going to finish that movie I found on Netflix this morning…"
"Emma you've been sleeping on the couch for a week now." Snow cut her off. "What's going on honey? Is your bed broken? What's wrong?" Emma could feel her walls climbing steadily back up, finding the reason embarrassing.
"It's nothing. It doesn't matter. Just leave it, would you? My bed's fine. I'll go back up there now. Sorry for disturbing you…"
"Emma, wait." Snow caught Emma's hand and stopped her from leaving. "Please talk to me. What's bothering you…"
"I can hear you sing down here, alright?" Emma snapped. "When you sing Neal to sleep, I can hear you from the couch. I heard you when I came for a glass of water one day and now I can't sleep without it. You don't need to tell me it's pathetic." Snow's heart broke for her daughter, she felt she had to listen to her brother being sang to in secret. But Emma mistook her mother's pain for her for pity.
"Look it's fine, it's not really a big deal. I don't really care, I'll find another way to sleep…" Emma tried to leave again, but once again found her mother stopping her.
"Come on." Snow said gently. She took Emma's hand and led her up the stairs.
"What's going on? Where are we going?" Emma asked, confused. Snow didn't answer. She simply led Emma back into her own room. She dropped Emma's hand.
"Go lie down." She said gently. "Trust me." She added when Emma didn't move. Cautiously, Emma did as her mother said, climbing back under the covers. Snow sat on the edge of Emma's bed and started stroking through her hair. Before Emma could question her, Snow began to sing the same lullaby she sang to Neal.
"Hush, little baby, don't say a word.
Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird
And if that mockingbird won't sing,
Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass…" Much like with Neal, Snow was not able to complete the song before Emma had drifted off. Snow smiled down at her sleeping daughter before tenderly kissing her forehead.
"You're my baby too." She whispered, stroking Emma's cheek. "If you want sang too I'll sing to you. Goodnight, little girl. Sweet dreams." Snow then gently tiptoed back downstairs.
"Is she alright?" Charming asked, having gotten Neal to sleep by the time Snow came back down. Snow nodded, getting back into bed beside him.
"She just wanted sang too, but didn't know how to ask." She explained. Charming smiled and kissed Snow's cheek.
"And now she doesn't have to."