*Author Note: Hi readers. I hope that you are enjoying the story. Here is a new chapter. Please review. Thanks! ~Potter-Weasley-Granger1*
Her mother welcomed her into the home, ignoring the clear elephant in the room until her father could also be available. He would soon be off work as the sheriff, and they would talk about this as a family. Her little brother Neal, ironically named is sent upstairs to bed as their mother takes her daughter to the kitchen.
"Uh, where is dad," Emma questions sitting at her usual spot at the kitchen table.
"He should be home soon sweetie. He should be getting off work, right about now," her mother answers calmly.
To Emma's surprise her mother is quite calm about the whole thing. Her coming back, her obvious growing belly. Maybe coming home wasn't going to be as awful as she thought it was going to be.
"So," her mother starts breaking the silence, "How are classes?"
Despite everything she was still going to school. She knew that if she wanted to keep this baby that she would have to have a way to take care of it. And the only way to do that was to get a good job, thus finishing school. "Everything is good. I am doing well in my classes," Emma states plainly.
Then the front door opens, and a voice says, "Mary Margaret, I am home."
"David we are in here," her mother calls out.
He turns the corner and there stands her father. The man that has always been her best friend. He has yet to see her belly and the secret that she has yet to share. A smile comes to his face when he sees her, "Emma, you didn't tell us you were coming!" He then rushes to her to give her a hug, a proper and warm welcome but stops as she stands, and he sees her fully for the first time.
He is quite literally stopped in his tracks. His mouth agape as he simply cannot understand. Confused he looks from his daughter to his wife then back to his daughter, his nineteen-year-old daughter clearly pregnant. "What," he says trying to create words but simply not being able to. He then looks at his wife again. How is she so calm? Their daughter is standing in their house pregnant. They trusted her to go off to school. They trusted that she would be safe and that she would take care of herself.
"David," her mother starts, "Before you say anything we have not talked about it. I wanted to wait until you got home. I sent Neal to bed early so we could have some privacy. Now, Emma, you drove all the way here. You want to say something. We will sit and listen, without judgement and without saying anything until you are finished." She then glares at her husband as to tell him that he better keep quiet.
Emma nods and takes a deep breath. She sits down and her father joins them at the table. "Well," she starts, "At the beginning of the year I met this boy named Neal. We had a lot of classes together and we became friends quickly. We would study together, and we hung out. We soon began dating. He was fun. He knew all the places to go eat and hang out off campus. No, we are not soulmates. That's why he isn't here. He actually met her, and they got married. I am still doing well in school. I know that if I want to keep this baby then I am going to have to get a degree and a job and be stable. I know that this wasn't in the plan. I know that. But I want to keep this baby. And I want, if you will allow, to move back home and finish school here at Storybrooke University. At least until the baby arrives and I can get a job."
She stops speaking and she can see the gears turning in her parents minds as they absorb all the information that she has just given them. Her mother speaks first, "This boy Neal, doesn't know that he is the father to your baby?"
Emma shakes her head, "Uh, no. I didn't find out I was pregnant until after he left me for her. What was I supposed to do, show up at their wedding and say guess what you're going to be a dad?"
"No, of course not," her mother replies, "But you should still tell him."
All the while her father just shakes his head. Still too stunned to find the words. "David," her mother begins, "Everything will be okay. Emma is here now. We can help her. We are family and family always sticks together. Yes Emma, you can stay here. Finish school and we will be here to help every step of the way."
Emma smiles then hugs first her mother then her father before taking her duffle and heading upstairs to her old bedroom. Smiling as she enters realizing that her parents left everything as it was before she went off to college. Her posters still pined to the wall and her bookshelf tucked into the corner. Her bed was made up with her favorite dark green comforter and matching sheets. It was almost as if they knew that she would come back one day and need their help, maybe that is simply parental intuition. Maybe she too would have it one day when this child that was growing in her belly was born.
That is what she wanted. She wanted to be as good a parent as her parents were. Her parents were the best. Sure, her father seemed a little dazed, but her mother accepted the fate they now had as their destiny and promised to be there to help her along the way. What more could a girl ask for?
As she prepared for bed, she made plans in her mind to go to Storybrooke University the next morning and enroll in classes after of course sitting down for the traditional Nolan family breakfast. It will be the first time in a while that she has seen her little brother and maybe her father will be able to form words. She gets situated in her bed pulling her trust blanket over her stomach and closing her eyes, for the first time in a while she feels safe.
Mary Margaret and David go check on their son ensuring that he was asleep before heading to bed themselves. Mary Margaret quietly begins dressing for bed removing her jewelry and taking the accent pillows off the bed. David on the other hand has found his voice and starts to ask Mary Margaret questions, "You are just okay with our nineteen-year-old daughter being pregnant? You are fine with her moving back home and acting like Oregon never happened?"
Mary Margaret looks right at her husband with a calm face and demeanor, "David, honey. There is nothing we can do about the choices that Emma has made. They have been made; we cannot change the past. What we can do is help her in her future. We can be good, loving parents like we always have been. Obviously, I didn't think that I was going to be a grandmother so soon, but here we are. We can be great parents and grandparents to Emma, Neal and this baby. The Nolan's always stick together."
David's face softens and he says, "Yes, you're right, of course you're right. We can be great parents and grandparents. We always stick together." They then climb into bed and before closing their eyes to sleep David places a kiss on Mary Margarets lips. "Goodnight my love."
*Author Note: Hi readers. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. What awaits Emma at Storybrooke University? Please Review! ~Potter-Weasley-Granger1*