I know it is years later and I'm not sure if anyone is still even reading this story, but I was rereading it and decided to try to add some to it. I'm not making any promises, but I'll see what I can do to add to this story. Some of this was written a long time ago and some of it was written more recently. So if there are any discrepancies from what I wrote before, that's the reason for it. Hopefully I did okay with matching it with what I had. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this VERY late addition to this story...
Emma and Ella
Chapter 30 - Aftermath
After getting the discharge instructions, getting Ella dressed, and getting Ella in the wheelchair, the family was finally on their way to the front of hospital where Snow was going to get her station wagon so they could get Ella in it.
"This wheelchair is sooo not necessary." Ella complained as her Dad pushed the wheelchair to the doors.
"Ella, you just had surgery on your leg…. It is necessary." David said with a smirk.
Ella rolled her eyes. "That's just a technicality."
David chuckled. "If we didn't have the wheelchair, I would just carry you anyway."
Ella scrunched up her face acting like she wouldn't want that because it would embarrass her, but in reality she liked it when he carried her. However, she didn't like being carried ALL the time!
"I'll go get the station wagon. Emma are you going to ride with me or your Dad?" Snow asked Emma. She was taking Ella in her station wagon while David was going to drive his truck back since they both drove separate to the hospital.
"I want to ride with you so I can stay with Ella." Emma told her seriously.
"Ok." Snow said with a grin. She loved how close they were already. It was so adorable. "Do you want to walk with me to get the car?"
"Yeah." Emma said and hurried up to go with her mom.
"How's your leg feeling?" David asked after they left through the hospital doors.
"Ok." Ella said, but it was starting to bother her again.
"When we get home, we will give you some of the pain medication." David told her.
"It's not that bad." Ella said, knowing the medicine would make her really sleepy again.
David knew she just didn't want the medicine. "We don't want it to get bad. Anyway, they told us that you would be due for another dose when we got home so you will be getting your medicine anyway."
"But it makes me sleepy." Ella responded.
"I know, but you need to be resting today anyway." David told her kindly.
"I know." Ella whined, sounding a bit tired.
David smiled, seeing that she actually was tired anyway, but she was just trying to hide it.
"Here's your mom." David said after a moment when he saw that she pulled up to the hospital. He wheeled her out and lock the wheels.
Ella started to get up on her own thinking she could get herself up at least.
"Uh uh." David scolded her as he stopped her from actually getting up. "I will carry you." David said softly as he scooped her up being careful of her leg.
Ella smiled a little at that and laid her head against her father as he carried her the rest of the way to the car as Snow got out to open the back door.
David carefully set Ella in the car being careful of her leg. He then kissed her cheek quickly. "See you at home." He said.
"You aren't coming with us?" Ella asked, having missed that part of her parents' conversation.
"I have to drive my truck home. I'll meet you guys there. Don't try getting out of the car on your own, okay?"
"Okay." Ella said, but she had a sad tone to her voice.
David smiled as he tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "Alright, I'll see you soon." He then looked past Ella to Emma. "Bye Emma." He said with smile at her.
"Bye Dad." Emma responded with a smile.
David smiled before closing the door. He then looked to his wife. "I need to stop by the store on the way home. I promised someone mint chocolate chip ice cream for having to get an IV." David said with a sheepish grin.
Snow chuckled. "We have to get Ella's pain medication anyway so we will follow you there." Snow said thinking that it might be good to get home at the same time as David so that he could carry Ella in without her having to wait for him.
"See you there then." He said with a grin before kissing his wife.
Snow smiled before getting in the car as well.
"Do you both have your seatbelts on?" Snow asked after getting in the car and turning it back on.
"Yeah." Emma said as Ella said, "Yes, Mom."
OUAT*
"I thought we were going home?" Emma said with frown.
"I have to get your sister's medicine." Snow said from the front seat.
"Oh yeah." Emma said remembering as she put her head against the seat. She was also tired from the long day they had at the hospital.
"I'll be right back, please stay in the car." Snow said before getting out of the car to go get the medicine.
Ella nodded tiredly as Emma replied, "I will."
OUAT*
There was a knock on Ella's car window and she jerked awake to see a man standing there. She didn't recognize him, but she rolled down the window anyway. "What?" Ella asked sleepily.
"I'm friend of your father's. He told me to help you inside." The man said as he unlocked the door.
Emma's eyes widened in fear. This did not seem right and Ella seemed a bit weary of the man too. "Our mom told us to stay here." Emma said.
"Well she wants both of you to come inside. She was there when your father asked me to get her." The man said as he opened Ella's door.
"Why didn't he come out instead?" Emma asked.
The man was getting frustrated with all of her questions so he roughly started to pull Ella from the car causing Ella to cry out in pain.
"Leave me alone!" Ella cried out. "Emma, get help!"
Emma unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car to run inside to get her Mom.
"Mom! Mom!" Emma yelled as she ran into the store and practically ran into her Dad who was with her Mom.
"Whoa, kiddo. What's wrong?" David asked as he caught her.
"Guy outside….Ella…He…" Emma stumbled through her words trying to get it out that Ella needs help.
David and Snow both got the gist and ran out of the store with Emma to see Ella struggling against a man they both knew to be King George, David's twin brother's dad.
David ran over as quickly as he could to both of them and tried to get Ella away from George. However, when George realized that he wasn't going to get away with taking Ella, he let go of her and pushed her to the ground before running away.
David saw George push Ella and tried to catch her in time, but he didn't since King George pushed her away from David so that he wouldn't come after him when he ran.
"Sweetie, are you okay?" David said as knelt on the ground beside her and framed her face with his hands.
Ella nodded, but she had tears rolling down her cheeks.
David picked her up off the road and walked over to Snow and Emma who were coming to them quickly.
"Is she okay?" Snow asked in worry as she looked her over and found a little cut on the corner of her forehead where she hit the ground. "She hit her head."
David looked at her face to see the same thing. It couldn't be too bad since she wasn't knocked out, but they still didn't like it. "I think it will be okay. She wasn't knocked out by it."
"Good. Let's get her inside the car so we can get her home." Snow said.
David nodded and brought Ella to the car again. The door was already open so Emma crawled in first, but sat in the middle seat instead of the other seat by the window. David set Ella inside the car and helped her get buckled up.
"You're okay, honey. No one is going to hurt you now." David told her as he kissed her head.
Ella nodded as more tears came down her face.
Emma reached over and took her hand in hers. "It's okay now." She told her after her Dad shut her door.
Ella nodded, but then laid her head against Emma's shoulder. "Thank you…"
Emma scrunched up her face in confusion. "for what?"
"Getting Mom and Dad." She told her as she sniffled.
Emma smiled. "Anything for my sister."
Outside of the car….
"I can't believe that just happened." Snow said with an upset look. "I shouldn't have left them alone…"
"Hey, it's not your fault." David said softly. "He is the one that did it and we will catch him before he can do anything else. We will just be extra careful now."
Snow nodded and fell into David as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head.
"I'll meet you at home." David said before pulling away.
Snow nodded before getting in the car. She looked back to see Ella's head on Emma's shoulder and she smiled sadly. She couldn't believe what just happened and could have happened. They could have lost both their girls to King George. She just was overwhelmed by the idea of losing them. She couldn't lose them, not again!
OUAT*
They arrived home 10 minutes later and David came over to Ella's door to get Ella out. David leaned in to see what his wife witnessed earlier. He smiled softly at seeing Ella leaning her head on Emma's shoulder. "Come on kiddos, let's get inside." David said as he unbuckled Ella.
Emma unbuckled herself as Ella lifted her head up from Emma's shoulder.
David helped Ella out of the car before he lifted her into his arms being careful of her leg. Ella laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes.
"How are you feeling, kiddo?" David asked as he walked with her to the house. Emma was walking ahead of him as Snow was leading the way.
"Not good." She told him sadly.
"What all is bothering, sweetie?"
"My leg and now my head. I'm tired too." She told him without opening her eyes.
"We are going to get you to bed and get you some medicine then you will be feeling better, okay?" David told her kindly.
"Okay." She responded quietly.
David smiled sadly as he saw the tears still rolling down her face even though she wasn't crying as hard anymore. She was still upset about everything that happened. She seemed shaken up by it all.
"I'm sorry that happened, Ella." David said softly as he sat her in the bed and looked at her head a little closer.
"It wasn't your fault. It was mine." Ella said seriously.
David frowned. "Why do you think that?"
"I rolled down the window. I shouldn't have done that." Ella said with a guilty look.
"Maybe not, but it wasn't your fault. He was in the wrong by trying to take you and for hurting you. He shouldn't have done that and he won't again. I will make sure of that." He told her seriously.
Ella nodded her head with a tear falling down her cheek.
David wiped it away with his thumb before kissing her forehead. "Everything is okay now." David told her as he sat back up.
"I have the first aid kit. Can you go get her medicine?" Snow said as she walked into the room.
David nodded and got up from the bed to go get the medicine.
"Hey sweetie, let's get that scrape cleaned up." Snow said as she sat down on her bed.
Ella frowned. "Do you have to?"
Snow gave her a sympathetic look. "Yes, sweetie. We don't want it to get infected."
"Okay." Ella said with a frown.
Snow smiled, but then frowned as she started to clean her scrape. "I'm sorry that I left you two alone."
Ella looked at her mom in surprise. "Mom this wasn't your fault." She said confidently.
"It wouldn't have happened if I didn't leave you two in the car alone." Snow said.
"Then it's my fault too. I opened the window." Ella told her.
Snow knew what she was doing and smiled. "It wasn't either of our faults."
Ella smiled in victory. "No, it wasn't."
"All done." Snow said with a kind smile.
Snow then helped Ella change into her pajamas before tucking her into bed. David and Emma walked in the room after.
"Ok, Ella. Here is your medicine." David said as he came over and gave her a pill with a bottle of water.
Ella took it without complaint this time. She was in pain from her leg so she didn't mind taking it.
"Alright, lay back Ella." David said after taking her water bottle. He re-tucked her in.
Snow came into the room with a couple of pillows. "We need to elevate her leg."
David pulled back her blanket so they could prop her leg up. After they put her leg on the pillows, they covered her legs back up.
Snow looked up at her daughter, "Warm enough, baby?"
"Yeah." She responded, looking sleepy even though she was trying to keep her eyes open.
David and Snow exchanged a smile at how adorable she was.
"You can sleep now, Ella." Snow said with a kind smile.
Ella nodded before closing her eyes, ready to sleep.
"Come on, Em." David said as they started to make their way out of the room.
"I want to stay with Ella." Emma said with a worried look.
David frowned. "Ella is going to be fine, Emma."
"I know, but I just want to stay with her." Emma said seriously. "I'll read or something."
"Ok. If you want to, but please let her sleep." David relented.
"I will." Emma said as she grabbed a book and carefully sat on her side of the bed.
Snow and David left the room with smiles on their faces at how sweet and protective Emma was being with her sister.
OUAT*
Ella slept on and off for the rest of day. Only waking to eat and take more medicine. Emma stayed with her for most of the afternoon until David and Snow convinced her to come downstairs to play a game with them.
"Yes! Yahtzee!" Snow exclaimed as she got another Yahtzee.
"Again?! I have been trying to get a Yahtzee this whole time!" Emma grumbled, but only half-heartedly. She was enjoying her time with her parents. She loved Ella, but with her surgery and recovery, she hadn't been able to really spend time alone with her parents. She was still processing everything that happened in the last few days. It was nice to just have fun with her parents and forget it for now.
"Maybe next time, Emma." Snow said with a smile.
"My turn." David said as he grabbed the dice to roll. "Come on sixes." He said as he shook the dice in his hand.
Emma and Snow both rolled their eyes. He had been doing that the whole game and he normally got what he asked for. He was winning by far.
David rolled the dice and got two 6s and a 5, 3, and a 1.
"Ha! It finally didn't work!" Emma said with a giggle.
David gave her a serious look. "My turn isn't up yet. Watch and learn, little one."
Emma rolled her eyes and hoped he didn't get any more sixes.
David shook his dice and repeated "Come on, sixes."
Snow smiled as she shook her head at her husband's behavior. She adored him.
David rolled his remaining dice. He got 2 more sixes and 1 five.
"Are you kidding? You have got to have some trick dice hidden somewhere!" Emma exclaimed.
David chuckled. "Nope, this is all skill."
"Or luck!" Snow said with a chuckle.
"Finally it's my turn!" Emma said as she grabbed the dice.
Snow and David exchanged an amused look. They were loving this time with Emma. She was the one that suffered the most under the curse in that she was alone for a majority of the time. Yes, she was with David for awhile at the end, but the rest of her life was with strangers that didn't always treat her well or give her the proper attention she needed. She needed this time with them.
"Oh come on! I just wanted a full house or a Yahtzee. Is that too much to ask for?" She asked as she saw that she got a 1, 2, 3, 3, 5.
"Well you are close to a full house if you keep your 3s and try for the same of one of your other numbers." Snow encouraged her.
"Yeah, but the likelihood that I'll get all three the same is very slim." Emma pouted.
David smiled sympathetically at her. "You've got this, Em."
"I'm going all in and hoping for a Yahtzee." Emma said as she grabbed her all but her 3s.
Emma shook the dice, hoping for all 3s, silently saying in her head, "come on, come on threes."
She rolled and exclaimed, "Yahtzee!"
David and Snow chuckled and cheered for her.
"See, Em, with a just a little hope things get better." Snow said with a soft smile.
"Or it could just be you got some skills from your old man." David said with a grin.
"Old indeed." Emma joked in a serious voice.
"Hey! I'm not old." David said in a fake offended voice.
"I hate to break this to you, Dad, but you are." Emma said in another serious tone. "Plus you both were frozen in time right?"
"Yes, we were." Snow said with a confused look.
"So how old were you when the curse began?" Emma asked.
"I was 28 and your mother was 27. David said. "Which we still are since we were frozen in time so we are actually young."
"But you have to add the years from the curse. So technically, you dad are….." Emma stopped to do the math 28 plus 12.
David and Snow exchanged another look at how cute Emma was as she tried to do the math in her head.
"40! Yikes, that really is old! Mom would be….one year younger? 39! Yep, you both are old." Emma finished as she wrote down her Yahtzee.
"Hey! I am no where near that age!" Snow exclaimed. "I'm 27."
"Sure, Mom, whatever you say!" Emma said with a smirk before giggling.
Snow narrowed her eyes playfully at Emma. "You know." Snow said talking to David, but eying Emma. "Someone is just asking for it."
Emma looked at her in surprise, but had a smile on her face. "Asking for what?"
Snow nodded to David. Emma looked at her Dad curiously.
David grabbed Emma and held her down as Snow started to tickle her.
"No! I wasn't…asking for this…" Emma said through her giggles as Snow tickled her and she struggled to get out of her Dad's hold on her.
"Oh you were, calling me 40 and old!" David chuckled.
"I was only….. telling the ……truth!" Emma said through her giggles as she squirmed on David's lap as Snow tickled her.
"Admit that at least I'm not old." Snow said in between her tickles.
"Okay, only Dad is old!" Emma yelled out.
"Hey!" David said with a fake offended look at his wife and daughter as his wife sat back and stopped tickling Emma.
"Face the facts, Dad, you are old." Emma said as she looked up at him where he still held her.
David just smirked at her before ticking her himself.
"No!" Emma laughed as she protested the tickling. "Mom, save me!"
"She can't save you now!" David interrupted before his wife could respond.
"Oh really?" Snow said as she looked at her husband with a mischievous look.
"Oh no…" David said seeing Snow come towards him.
Emma just laughed harder at his response.
Snow knew where to tickle her husband so she went for his sides and Emma was able to scramble away from her Dad.
"Oh no, you don't." David said through his laughing as he got Emma again.
This went on for a good few minutes of David ticking both Emma and his wife, as his wife and Emma tried to tickle him.
"Ok, ok. I surrender." David said as he laid on the living room floor, exhausted from their tickle match.
"See, what did I tell you? You two are old." Emma said as she pulled herself out of his hold on her.
David chuckled and shook his head.
Snow laughed, but then looked at the time to see it was past seven and they hadn't made dinner. "Oh, we better get dinner going and check on Ella."
David glanced at the time too. "I'll go check on her if you want to start dinner. Emma can help you."
Emma grimaced. She didn't want to help make dinner. She wished she could just watch tv, but she was still grounded from the tv.
"Sounds good. We will just make something quick." Snow said as she got up. "Emma, can you clean up the game for us and then join me in the kitchen?"
Emma nodded as she started to clean up the game without a fight. She would rather do that than help in the kitchen.
David smiled proudly at her as he got up and made his way out of the room, only stopping to mess up Emma's hair with his hand.
"Hey." Emma protested with a little smile.
David just smirked and headed out of the room towards the stairs.
OUAT*
Emma walked into the kitchen reluctantly to see her mom making sandwiches for them.
It hit her that this was her mom and her mom cared enough about her to make her something to eat. She had always wanted a mom like Mary Margaret or Snow as she turned out to be, but she stopped believing that there was someone out there that could care about her that much. But her mom did care for her.
"Emma?" Snow said in concern as she saw her daughter frozen on the other side of the island, with tears streaming down her face. "What's wrong?" She added as she stopped what she was doing and rushed over to Emma.
Emma watched as her mom came over and gave her a hug before pulling away. "What's wrong, baby?" She asked in concern.
"I just….I always wanted a mom that would care for me like you do…I didn't think I'd ever have one…but now I do…I missed you, Mama." Emma almost whispered through her tears as she clung on to Snow's arms.
"Oh baby. I missed you too and I'm not going anywhere." Snow told her as she pulled her back in her arms and rubbed her back gently. "I will always care for you because I love you. I always have. Even before you were conceived and I knew that I would have a little girl someday, I loved you."
Emma closed her eyes tight as she held on to her mom tightly. In the back of her mind, she knew she should stop crying and stop making a big fuss about this, but she couldn't. She was happy for having her mom and sad for the time she missed her.
Snow let Emma hug her for as long as she wanted, sensing Emma needed this moment with her. She let Emma be the one to pull away first.
Emma did pull away after a little bit and looked sheepishly at her mom. "Sorry…it just sort of hit me."
"Oh honey, you have no need to be sorry. We all have a lot of emotions and mixed feelings about what happened to us. And I'm guessing you probably have gone through the most so if you ever need to get something off your chest or something hits you out of the blue, your father and I will be here for you. Whatever you need, sweetheart. We love you. I love you."
"Thanks." Emma said sincerely. "What are we having for dinner?" Emma asked to change the topic.
Snow smiled knowingly. "Sandwiches, chips, and some fruit. I need to start to restock your father's kitchen. What did you two eat when it was just the two of you?"
Emma chuckled. "We ate a lot of Mac 'n Cheese, frozen meals, and sandwiches."
"Hm I figured." Snow said with a chuckle.
"Every once in awhile, Dad would try out his cooking skills. Like when you and Ella would come over." Emma said with a smirk. "I call those times your dating years."
"Years? It was only a few months." Snow said with a chuckle.
"Just an expression I guess. You two were so mushy and embarrassing together, but I guess I liked it because I was hoping that you could be my mom if you guys didn't send me back that is."
"Why did you think we would send you back?" Snow asked her curiously.
"You already had Ella and I know that having two kids can be a lot for some couples. I was with a family until I was three, but then they sent me back when they had their own baby. And for awhile, I thought that Ella was your real daughter which I know now she was, but I didn't realize that she was adopted. I figured you guys wouldn't want me anymore." Emma admitted to her mom.
"Oh Emma. Even if you weren't our daughter and the curse wasn't real, we would have kept you. You're Dad loved you, still loves you, and even though I was getting to know you still, I loved you. Neither of us would have wanted to give you up. You and Ella would have been apart of the deal." Snow said with a kind smile.
"Do you think that you and Dad could adopt me?" Emma said, shyly.
"Adopt you? Honey, you are our daughter." Snow said in confusion.
"I know that, but I'm still a ward of the state. I'm still technically a foster kid." Emma said in worry.
"You know I think we may be able to solve this a different way. All we have to do is show that you are our daughter." Snow said softly.
"Really?" Emma asked excited.
"Yep. I'll talk to your father about it and we will figure out what we need to do." Snow said with a smile.
"Thank you!" Emma said as she hugged her mom.
"Oh you're welcome." Snow said as she hugged her back. "Now, we better get this food finished. I'm starving."
Emma chuckled. "Me too."
Emma and Snow finished the sandwiches and set up the table. It didn't take long before they had everything ready for dinner.
OUAT*
Earlier…..
David headed into Emma and Ella's room to check on his daughter to find she was awake, but reading a book. A very special book that now carried a lot more meaningful stories to them.
"Ella. What are you doing awake?" David asked, but was just thinking about how adorable it was that she read all their stories and had believed in the curse when no one else believed besides that man that would talk to her. He still didn't know who he was and if he was actually safe for his daughter to be around.
Ella shrugged her shoulders, looking tired. "Not tired." Ella said. "But I knew I couldn't get up."
David smiled softly at her. She was exhausted, but she claimed she wasn't tired. Plus he was proud that she actually stayed in bed and didn't get up like she had been before her surgery. "What are you reading?"
"Your story and mom's story." Ella said shyly, but also looking a little ashamed from habit of them not believing in the stories.
David bit his lip as he realized all that Ella had gone through to believe in the curse and their past selves when almost no one believed her. Not even her mom. "It must have been hard for you to believe in our stories and the curse when no one believed in them."
"It was hard." Ella said, with a nervous look like she didn't really want to talk about it.
David frowned sensing that Ella was hurt by how none of them believed her, but she also seemed a bit shy about it.
"I'm sorry that we didn't believe you." David told her softly, knowing she really needed to hear it from Snow.
"It's fine." Ella said, but brushed a tear away as she tried to hide how she felt about it all.
David frowned in worry. "It's not fine though, is it? You went through a lot because we didn't believe in you. That must have been lonely for you."
Ella bit her lip as she tried not to cry, but was losing the battle against her tears. "It was. Sometimes I wondered if I was really crazy. But I was hoping it was all true, but I was worried that I would end up alone."
"What do you mean?" David asked.
Ella turned to the last page of the book. "The book didn't mention me. Just Emma. So I half believed that I was mom's and your daughter too, but I also doubted that I could be your daughter…"
"Because you weren't in the book." David said softly. "But you are, that has to be a relief."
Ella nodded with a soft smile, but there was still some sadness in her eyes.
"Maybe this is something you need to talk to your mom about." David suggested softly, sensing she really needed to talk to her mom about it.
Ella shrugged her shoulders. "I'm okay."
David frowned, but decided not to push her on this for now. He would speak with Snow later about it. This was obviously something that was bothering Ella, but she needed to talk to Snow about it.
"How is your leg feeling?" David asked her.
"It's fine." Ella said with another shrug of her shoulders.
David narrowed his eyes. "Truth, please."
Ella grimaced at getting called out for her lie. "Fine. It does hurt, but no more medicine please. It gives me weird dreams." Ella complained.
"Sorry, kiddo, but you need the medicine to help with the pain. After you some dinner, we will get you some." David told her.
Ella scrunched up her face in disgust, but didn't argue anymore.
"How's your head?" David asked as he lightly touched her head.
"A little better." Ella said, but then frowned. "You don't think he will try to get us again, do you?" She asked in worry.
"Oh honey. I don't know, but I won't let him get either you or Emma. I promise. Your mother and I will keep you safe." David reassured her.
"Okay." Ella said, trusting him completely and relaxing a great deal.
David smiled at her with a soft look before deciding he better go get her dinner so she could take her medicine.
"Alright, I'll go get your dinner." David said before leaning in to kiss her forehead.
Then, David started to leave the room.
"Uh Dad…." Ella started, sheepishly.
David turned around to look at Ella. "What is it, honey?"
"I have to use the bathroom." Ella admitted shyly.
David smiled softly as he came back to her. "Okay, I'll carry you." David said as he helped her out of the covers and put her book to the side.
"Sorry to be trouble." Ella said as he carried her to the bathroom.
David stopped and looked down at her. "You aren't trouble. I don't mind helping you. I would do anything for you."
"Ok." Ella said, feeling a little better, but she still felt bad that he had to carry her everywhere. However, if he would let her use her crutches some, it wouldn't be everywhere. "You know, though, if you let me use my crutches, you wouldn't have to help me so much."
"You don't need to be using your crutches just yet." David said as he continued to the bathroom and carefully set her down.
"But it's annoying being stuck in bed." Ella said with a frown.
"I know, but it won't be for long." David said sympathetically, but not relenting about his decision.
"It has felt like a long time." Ella replied.
"I'm sorry, kiddo, but you are just going to have to suffer through it." David said. "Now, I'll be right in the hall. Call me when you are done and I'll carry you back to bed."
Ella nodded, knowing the drill.
David smiled before leaving the bathroom and closing the door for her.
After a few minutes, Ella was opening the door, looking a bit pale from being up.
"I told you to call me when you are done." David scolded her.
"It was only a few steps to get to the door." Ella said with a whine.
"A few too many. You aren't to have any weight on that leg until Dr. Whale clears you." David scolded her as he carefully picked up Ella in his arms.
Ella grimaced at getting scolded.
David walked her to her room and set her back on the bed. He got her settled in bed with the blankets covering her before taking her chin and looking her in the eyes. "I really need you to take your recovery seriously. I don't want you to have another surgery because you are tired of being stuck in bed or some other reason you feel the need to walk on your injured leg. You need to follow the doctor's orders and trust that they are for your own good. Okay?"
"Ok." Ella responded, knowing that she couldn't argue with him. She didn't want to have another surgery.
"Good. Now, I'm going to go get your dinner, but until then you can read your stories." David said with a soft smile.
Ella nodded as she picked up her book to read again.
OUAT*
"There you are. I was wondering what was taking so long. Is she okay?" Snow asked. She already had a tray ready to go for Ella.
"Yeah. She was awake reading her Once Upon A Time storybook. I think she is trying to delay sleep because of some bad dreams."
"Oh sweet girl." Snow said, but could tell that David wanted to tell her something else. "What is it?"
"It think she is still hurt from none of us believing her about the curse or our past lives. I tried to apologize for not believing in her theory, but I'm not sure how much it helped…"
"Because she really needs to hear it from me. The one who didn't believe her since she started to believe and sent her to Archie because of her belief in the curse." Snow said with a sigh. "Oh David, I feel so bad that I didn't believe and it was all true."
"I know. I do too, but you were doing what you thought was best for her at the time. And I think she understands that, but she was still hurt by it and lonely because of it. I really thinks she needs us to recognize that it was hard for her and that she ended up being right about it all."
"You're right. I just feel terrible." Snow said with a soft sigh.
"Just talk to her soon and it will be okay." David encouraged her.
"I will, but let's eat first." Snow said. "This is for Ella and I have her medicine ready for her. Can you take it up for her?"
"Sure. I'll be right back." David said, leaving with the tray.
Emma had heard most of the conversation her parents had about Ella and she felt guilty too. She had apologized to Ella already, but she felt bad too. She had literally called her crazy to her face.
Snow came and sat down at the table with Emma.
"Don't feel too bad about not believing in Ella. You couldn't have said anything worse than what I said to her. I called her crazy to her face and constantly shut her down when she wanted to talk about it. I asked her to forgive me, but I still feel terrible too." Emma opened up to Snow.
"Oh sweetie. If Ella forgave you, you don't need to keep holding on to that feeling. Ella loves you so much and she understands how it was hard for you to understand. You did what you could to make it right and Ella knows that." Snow told her.
Emma nodded, feeling better about it. It was nice being able to talk to her mom about things between Ella and her. It was nice to just have a mom that cared about her. It was different, but it was nice.