Sleeping curse nightmares
A guest asked for a oneshot of a mama Snow oneshot with both Emma and Neal making sure it's something fluffy. Remember to try and have something a little more specific in mind when you ask for something folks :).
It had been decided that it was for the best if both Emma and Neal went under the sleeping curse voluntarily now. With so many villains out to hurt the Charming family it was an all too common curse to have either of them placed under, and if a villain did it they would make sure their loved ones weren't around to reverse it. No, if they went under now they were immune for life and it was one less thing to worry about.
It had been a simple enough process. Regina made up a small batch of the curse and placed them both under it. Belle had done some research beforehand and found that regardless of whether the person under the curse had a proper true love or not, a loving parent's kiss would always break a sleeping curse. Snow and Charming had woken their children together. Both had been terrified that it wouldn't work, but knew it was a risk that had to be taken.
Fortunately, the risk paid off and both Emma and Neal were absolutely fine…until the after effects kicked in. Nobody had really taken the nightmares into account. Everyone knew they were temporary, but for now three year old Neal and his big sister suffered each night with terrible nightmares. The medallions from Rumplestiltskin at least meant there were no physical burns, but it didn't stop the nightmares. Snow and Charming had been taking turns each night to soothe their children. Tonight was Snow's turn.
First it was Neal. He began screaming in his sleep at around two am. Snow was up immediately and walked quickly into his room. She sat on the edge of the bed and shook him awake gently.
"You're alright buddy." She whispered. "You're safe." Neal's eyes shot open. He sat bolt upright in the bed, his chest heaving. He caught sight of his mother and quickly scrambled onto her lap, shaking.
"Scary." He murmured. Snow rubbed soothing circles on his back, rocking with him gently.
"I know." She whispered gently. "But it's over now. You can go back to sleep. Mommy's here." It seemed that both Neal and Emma could only have one nightmare a night, once they went back to sleep they were settled till the morning. It took him a few minutes, but eventually Neal did drop back off again.
After that, it wasn't long before Snow heard Emma screaming. She carefully got Neal settled back in his bed before heading through to her daughter's room. She sat down at the edge of Emma's bed and carefully shook her shoulder.
"Emma honey, it's just a nightmare. Wake up." She said gently. Emma's eyes flew open and she too sat bolt upright in the bed. If the nightmares had shown Snow and Charming anything, it was that Emma was incredibly fragile. She would never make any acknowledgement of it during the daytime, but in the dead of night when the nightmare was fresh in her mind Snow and Charming had never seen so much fear in a person's eyes.
Emma saw her mother. She edged over and rested her head against Snow's shoulder, clutching tightly at her pyjama top. "I'm here." Snow promised her, cradling her head protectively. "It's over Em, it's ok. You can go back to sleep." Emma shook her head just slightly against her mother's shoulder. Snow kissed the top of Emma's head. "Emma you're safe, honey. No more nightmares tonight, I promise." Emma still refused to lie down, so Snow sat there with her until Emma eventually fell asleep resting against her shoulder. She then manoeuvred her back under the covers and kissed her cheek goodnight before heading back down to her own bed where she could finally sleep herself, knowing her children were at least safe from fear for the remaining hours of the night.