crimson_graces | open post 2017

[Charming doesn't--can't answer right away because he can't stop staring at her. That's Emma. That's his little girl. That's half him and half Snow and gods, Snow, look what they made. Look at her, she's so beautiful and blonde and for a half second, he wishes his mother had lived to see her because he thinks it would've made Ruth very, very happy to see her too.

Maybe it's selfish. Maybe Snow is right and they did condemn everyone they ever met to a fate worse than death. He's willing to take that chance. The same way they took the chance with Emma when he put her in the wardrobe. She made it to this world, she survived and now, with the help of her parents she'll grow up to save everyone they left behind. No, he has no idea how that will happen but they have time to make a plan.

They have time with their daughter to break Regina's curse.]

Emma, [he's actually chiding her because that's right, watch your language young lady and apparently he's that kind of dad and that fact makes him so happy he wants to cry. He looks ready to cry anyway but it's mostly because he's here, he's in the same room as his baby girl and they all have the chance to be a family together.]

I mean, we're-- [He looks at Snow like help. Sorry, honey, he got them this far, you have any ideas on how to explain this to their daughter without sounding like total nutjobs.]

[They have all the time in the world now. Even if it had taken some coaxing on Charming's part for Snow to 'take the plunge' here as it were. As worried as she was about everyone else back at Storybrooke. She's not even sure how to make it back. But there's time enough for all that years from now and that suddenly hardly seems to matter at seeing Emma so close. Hearing her. Being so close as to actually be able to reach out to touch her. For the first time in years.

It hurts. Thinking already of all that they had missed. Her first steps. Her first words. Her first day at school. All of that, they weren't there for. But now? Now they could be. From here on. A sort of quiet determination fills her then in vowing that to herself. That she never be parted from this child ever again. Remembering the ache of parting when she handed her baby to Charming. It's enough to bring tears threatening at her eyes all over again.

Only. Well. Yeah, okay, this probably does look rather alarming from poor Emma's perspective right about now.]

How? That is....

[Okay how to begin to explain? What would Emma actually believe? Least of all with Charming automatically coming out with her name like that? She purses her lips, glancing down for a moment as she seems to search for what to say. Well, in the end, didn't they always say that honesty was the best policy? It would at least explain Charming already knowing her name, at least.]

We're your parents, Emma.

[And how they all got here is a rather long story. Much longer than the one she was reading on the bed before they so unceremoniously interrupted her just now. But baby steps. They could explain in time as necessary, as Emma asks. Hopefully. Maybe. This is a start.

Even if it's probably obvious on instinct that Snow reaches for a second, once she rightens herself, to cup Emma's cheek but holds back, unsure how Emma might take all of this so suddenly. Whether she might believe them. Because of course it must have hurt her to be seemingly abandoned as a baby, with her not knowing the full story.]

[ they're telling the truth, Emma knows it. she knows because people lie to her all the time, since she's a kid and she shouldn't technically know the difference. bad news comes pretty frequently when you're living in the foster system, sometimes it's that a family decided they weren't ready for another kid, or they've decided not to meet her after all. sometimes it's that the home she's in doesn't have enough room, or someone's reported a concern to her social worker. she knows what it's like to have to sit in the office at her school and admit that she doesn't have a bed of her own or enough food in the refrigerator. those are the places she gets taken away from, even if she's started making friends.

she doesn't have any friends here, and nothing keeping her in this place. when the woman says they're her parents she knows, no matter how impossible it seems, that she means it. the man is blonde like her and the woman has a chin that's kinda like hers, and if she squints (and she does for a moment there), she can kinda see herself in both of them.

she knows the look, too. that look they're both giving her, like she's someone who matters to them. she's seen plenty of parents give that look to the children they've adopted, or the kids they're picking up at school, she just never thought she'd see someone look at her that way. no one ever has before.

now that they're here, now that they've found her (she always hoped they would), she doesn't know what to say. the woman reaches out to her, and Emma has to remind herself that this is her mother who wants to come closer, but she's frozen at first. she blinks, stunned and curious and fighting back against emotion that rises up at the way they're staring at her. she wants to cry, or hug them, or ask them why it took so long for them to find her, but more important than that, she wants to make sure she's not asleep, so she pinches herself.

it hurts, but they're still here. in her dreams they don't come tripping out of her closet, anyway.]

I thought -

[ she thought what? that they weren't coming back? yeah, sometimes she did. but sometimes she wanted to believe they would, even though getting older was supposed to mean she knew better.]

How did you find me?

[Gods, break his heart more why don't you.

He wants so badly to grab her and pull her in for a hug and never let go (or at least for an hour) but he seems to realize that it has to her that moves first. Given the way she reacts to Snow reaching for her, when she goes stiff and wide eyed like a cornered animal that's scared and doesn't know if it should fight or run, it's obvious she doesn't trust them. He hates seeing that kind of look on his daughter's face. He hates that they weren't there to shower her with the love that she deserved.

They've got time to change it. Gotta focus on that.]

We have been looking for you for a long time. [Time is also relative when you've spent the last eight years under a curse with no memory of who you really are. Emma has always been on Charming's mind and that's as close to the truth as it gets right now.]

We're so sorry it took us so long.

[Their daughter shouldn't look like that towards them. But that's....probably to be expected, right? With how little Emma knows of the situation. That she would be cautious and unsure, at least at first. Snow tries to reassure herself that this must be he case and it would be fine if they just give Emma some time to adjust to her parents kind of literally falling back into her life after years.

Her hand lowers back to her side, to hold to Charming instead for a moment, rather than pressure Emma like that. It's true, that they'd been Cursed, hadn't even known they had a daughter from the moment that they had arrived in Storybrooke from their home.]

We never meant for this, Emma. I'm sorry. It's....a very long story in how all this happened. But we're here now. Everything will be alright.

[ she's only eight years old, yet it feels like a very long eight years that she's spent alone on this planet. time slows to a crawl when you have to keep starting over, with different families and different friends and new homes. she's been on her own, too, for a few days when she couldn't stand her last home. it wasn't until she was ready to burn the pages of her favorite book that she started to believe that it was too soon to give up on finding a family.

a family, though, is a little different than her family. these are her parents, her mother and father, and they wanted her. they want her now, as impossible as all of this is. she might be a kid, but she's been in that closet, checked it for secret passageways (as she does with every new home she's placed), and she knows it's four walls and a lot of worn out clothing. that they appeared out of nowhere is still less unbelievable that they appeared at all, when she was worried she would never find them.

oddly enough, she'd thought about trying to look during her brief time as a runaway. searching the internet in a library hadn't yielded anything but an article about the day she was born.

she wants so badly to believe in all of this that she lets her guard down for a moment. she takes a brave step forward, sniffling to keep from getting even more upset, and nods. everyone tells her she's a smart girl - too smart to go trusting strangers - but they don't feel like strangers to her at all. she lifts one hand and reaches out. do they shake hands? hold them? she's never had a parent to know how to show affection towards them.]

Will you take me with you? Away from here?

[ she might be unsure of them, but she's even less sure of this. if they're her family, she wants to be with them.]

[Charming's ready to spin a tale about an bad, bad woman who worked very hard to keep them apart and that's what took them so long to find her and whatever other explanation she needs to trust them when she steps forward and offers a hand. And that's really all he needs. It's enough to grab her hand and tug her in to them and hug her to their sides.

Big family hug that's what this family does. She'll have to get used to that, they're very big on physical affection. He vows silently, right here and now to do whatever it takes to earn her trust, to make Emma believe that she's wanted and loved and so special to them always. Even if it takes the next twenty years to do it.]

Of course, princess. We're not leaving you ever again.

Not from now, we aren't. I mean, we'll need to talk to these people and sort things out, but.

[But Snow is determined. Vowing to herself that she won't let Emma go again. Not now she has her daughter back. After so long. And Emma extends that hand to them, so tentative, obviously wanting to trust them in spite of herself, and it just about breaks Snow's heart even as she reaches to help pull Emma to them, into the hug with Charming.

One hug isn't nearly enough to make up for it all, but it's a start at least. Or so Snow hopes. She gives a wry smile amid the threatening tears, to Charming at the 'princess' comment already.]

They're not here.

[ she says it like she expects them to lose interest. like maybe there's not a moment to waste. everyone went to the park, are they going to change their mind if they have to wait?

deep down, Emma knows better. they don't hug her like they'd ever leave her behind, yet her head and her heart are a little torn on what could happen next. her heart says this is what she's been waiting for, but her head says people change their minds all the time. she knows because she's felt that disappointment before, and it would hurt so much more if it was her real mom and dad who decided not to take her this time.]

But they'll be back soon. Is that okay?

[ she glances up to her mom first, then her dad. he called her princess (she might not have said anything, but she definitely noticed). no one's ever had a name for her like that, but she likes it.]

[He at least tries to look a little sheepish about the nickname but he's really not. She is a princess technically, even if they've been ripped from their kingdom. He doesn't think that they'll be able to tell her the truth for a little while, not until she trusts them more but it can't hurt to plant the seed.

It actually works in their favor that no one else is home right now. Gives them more time to make up a plausible story and when Emma looks up at him, he smiles back at her.]

Of course it's okay. We can do whatever you want while we wait.

[Snow tries not to look too displeased on hearing that Emma was left alone. At her age, even as independent as she might be, she should have some supervision. But that would change from here on. Even if it might take time to get through the paperwork and formalities of going through the process of them adopting her or what not as necessary here.

Though it is true they would need to come up with a story, on why they were here, why now, to take Emma back. If they go with the truth of being Emma's real parents. But at least they have a little time, that they could come up with something.]

Of course it's fine. We'll just need to talk to them when they do get back. For now, did you want to tell us about that book? Or we could do something else if you like.

Can't we just go? You're my parents, you're allowed to take me.

[ she wants to tell them this is all wrong; that she doesn't want to wait, it's too risky. every time she's ever had to wait for someone to make a decision, something's come up or they've changed their mind. now her parents are here, holding her hand and calling her princess, and if they really want her she doesn't want to have to wait to be told something went wrong, or someone won't allow it.

if they stay here, the system's just gonna mess it up again. Emma knows that better than anyone.]

If you talk to them, they might not let me come with you.

[Wonder where she gets that charming impulsiveness because it's pretty obvious the apple didn't fall far from the tree on that one.

He looks to Snow, for guidance because she always seems to have the right answer and because she's spent longer in this world than he has. She knows its rules better than him. Everything looks odd to him, recognizable in their shapes and functions for the most part but don't ask the man to explain cars or that thing Emma had on her head a moment ago because he has no idea. It's a silly looking headpiece, regardless.]

Why would it be a problem?

Well. Anyone could come and claim to be someone's parent. Could come kidnap the children.

[So likely, they would need proof. Not that they had a birth certificate or anything. Nothing to link them to her aside from similarities in appearance and that immediate affection they felt. That feeling. And yet that probably wouldn't be enough. They would need to figure something, of course.

But what? How to prove this? Themselves? To the ones running the orphanage, to Emma herself in being able to trust them? She's not yet quite sure, even if she figured what seems the obvious potential issue Emma might be referring to.]

They won't let me go with you today. There's a process. They'll want to know more about you; where you live, what kind of jobs you have, stuff about money.

[ they're her parents, but even Emma knows they're not going to make this easy on them. they might even make it harder if her parents claim to be what they really are. they'd have an easier time adopting her if she wasn't their real kid.

sometimes there are even judges, and those judges are pretty strict. she doesn't want to have to wait through all of that.]

But if we go, they'll just think I ran away again.

[ yep, again.]

[Snow, take the wheel.

Because Charming knows absolutely nothing about adoption processes in this world, thank you Regina for not giving him any curse memories so he can wander around like a clueless idiot. But he does understand that Emma doesn't appear to have had the good life they'd hoped she have when he put her in that wardrobe. It was supposed to be her best chance. It was supposed to be the best thing for her.

And she's talking about running away again.

He grips her shoulder, like he's trying to protect her from something.]

Running away? Emma....

Running? No...no, we don't need to go that far. I'm sure that would only worry everyone. I mean there will be...a lot to sort out, but. No matter how long it might take, we'll still go through with it. We came here for you, Emma.

[Snow only vaguely knows of the adoption process, not having really looked into it herself. She knows there is a process, money and such involved though. She's just not sure what this might look like when they are her real parents wanting her back.

Snow knows this might not be easy. That they probably won't be able to take her tomorrow or anything but they could at least talk to the staff once they returned to get the process in motion at least.]

No one looked for me last time.

[ she shrugs, like that's more a relief than anything else. no one had the time to look for a kid who'd chosen to wander off, or they would have found that she hadn't gotten very far. it wasn't anyone from her foster home who'd come looking for her. if she hadn't met a friend when she was stealing warmth from a fire, she would probably still be on her own.]

If you're my parents, and I don't have parents, why do we have to wait?

[ somehow staying here is even more unbearable when she knows they're here and they're ready to take her back. they found her, didn't they? that has to mean something. she'd like it to mean that they get to be a family now, but once the state steps in, it's not going to be easy.]

I don't like it here. The only reason why I came back was so I could find a family, and now you're here.

[And Snow wanted to stay in Storybrooke.]

Emma, listen.

[Charming gets down on his knee, so he's more eye level with her. She's just as beautiful up close as she was through the open door, it takes his breath away for a moment. This is his beautiful baby girl, and she has clearly being hurting for a while without them and it's not going to happen anymore.]

We want to do this right. We have to do it right. Because I don't want to give anyone a reason to say that you aren't ours. You are. We're not going to spend the rest of our lives running. We're facing it as a family. Together.

We'd look for you. Every time. However many times it takes. But he's right, Emma. We need to do this properly. Otherwise things may get more difficult later. I know it might take time, but once it's over, we'd be together for good. Can you do that? Wait a little longer for us? We'll visit as much as they'll let us, as much as we can while figuring this out, of course.

[There's a lot to get through. A lot to learn on orphanages and adoption or reacquiring kids of one's own in the system, but even so. Snow is willing to do it. Whatever it might take, in getting her daughter back. She'd known, the moment she'd step in that door, that she'd never want to be apart again.]

Okay.

[ Emma sighs heavily, taking two small steps back, like she's wary of them all over again. She can't know what it's like to have a family for good - she's never had that, even when she thought she did, and it hurts so much to lose people she wants to be with forever. If they're her real parents, somehow that's even worse.

It's okay that they want to do the right thing, she thinks maybe good people should, but she's not good, or wanted, or anything special. She'd rather run while they want her than risk someone changing their minds.]

I can wait.

[ she just doesn't want to, if they're her real mommy and daddy.]

open post 2017

is it kidnapping if she's theirs asking for a friend

This is just. Um, Kidnapping her back to her rightful parents right? This is fine.

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