There's no excuse

Textiles101 asked for a oneshot of Neal and Henry going through Emma's old yearbooks and finding one picture where Emma is badly beaten. Emma tells them it was her ex-boyfriend but asks them not to tell her parents. But later at dinner Neal asks "Mommy, why would someone hit you until you bruised and hurted?" Which leads Emma to have to explain.

Guest who asked for Emma going back in time and seeing her birth: sorry, but I've said previously I won't do any more time travel stories.

Guest who asked for Whale helping Emma get her medical license: Sorry, but I just think the way you've asked for it might be a wee bit too farfetched.

Bobby Ray and Broole;: Sorry, but these have been too closely covered.

Just as a quick point, there is a bit of an advantage to logging in to ask for requests. If you're logged in and ask for something that for whatever reason I can't write, I can PM you and let you know straight away and give you the chance to change your request. Otherwise you just get a note at the beginning of the next lot of chapters. Just a point :P

"Look at her here Neal!" Henry said excitedly. "Aw man, mom did not have good hairstyles throughout High School." Henry cringed at the strange do and the even stranger clothing. Neal giggled at how silly he thought Emma looked before picking up the next book and handing it to Henry to find Emma for them. He quickly flicked through the pages and found her, but this time there was no laughing or silly smile on his face. He tried to hide the picture from Neal, but the little boy was too quick and pulled the book out of his hands. He examined the picture with a confused look.

"Why does Emma look sore?" He asked his nephew. Henry took the book back from Neal, not wanting him to look at the picture for overly long.

"That's a good question bud, I don't know." Henry answered sadly. Even with the good makeup covering Emma had in the photo, it was obvious someone had beaten her. There was a nasty looking cut on her lip. The whole left side of her face was slightly swollen. Her nose looked like it had recently been slightly disjointed. There was also a fairly obvious deep purple bruising around her eye socket.

Just then, Emma came in. She spied her old school logo on the front of the books her brother and soon were peering at.

"Where did the pair of you get your hands on these?" She asked, amused. Apparently banditry ran in the family. Henry jumped, worried how his mom would react to them seeing the picture. He prayed Neal wouldn't mention it, but he really shouldn't have expected subtly from a four year old. He held the book up to Emma.

"Emma, how come you hurt in this picture?" He asked. Emma looked at the picture and grimaced. She really should have thrown this one out. But now that two sets of curious eyes were on her she was going to have to be honest with them. Well, in a slightly censored way.

"Sometimes, people aren't meant to be together. Sometimes a person can be nasty even when they say they love you, and sometimes it can take you a while to realise they're being nasty and that it isn't your fault." Emma said as cryptically as possible whilst staying true. Neal nodded, but it was clear he didn't understand. Whilst Henry looked solemn, clearly understanding it all.

Emma had hoped that would be the end of it, but like Henry she hoped too much from little Neal. They were sitting eating dinner that night when he piped up.

"Mommy, why would someone hit you until you bruised and hurted?" He asked. Snow and Charming both stopped eating and looked at their son.

"What?" Snow asked him. Neal pointed at Emma.

"Someone hit her a lot. She has a picture." He said. Snow and Charming's eyes zoomed in on Emma who was sliding down her seat in the hopes of turning invisible.

"What is he talking about, Emma?" Charming asked, sounding serious. Emma sighed, knowing that the game was up. If she tried to deny it Henry would just back him up.

"Can I speak with you both privately in the living room please?" She asked, rising. Both parents didn't need told twice, they followed behind quickly, anxious to hear what this was all about. Emma wanted this over and done with quickly so she shoved the book in her dad's hands.

"This is the picture Neal was talking about." She explained. Both Snow and Charming looked at it in a similar fashion to how Henry had earlier. Who had done this to their baby girl? "He was my boyfriend at the time. His name is Matt Coates, but his friends called him Kubra, he thought it sounded more badass. He knocked me around a lot and I put up with it because he got inside my head and convinced me it was my fault- that I was making him angry. It took me a while but eventually I realised that it was just him being a total dickhead and left his ass. During my time in bail bonds I found out he was arrested for armed robbery. Didn't really surprise me. He won't be getting out of jail any time soon.

"Lucky for him." Charming growled, hands balling into fists. Snow reached forward and just pulled Emma into her arms, Charming quickly joining the group embrace. Not one said a word, for not a word was needed.