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The first thing to know is that it wasn't Emma's fault, really it wasn't. It wasn't her fault that the candle she'd had lit when they entered Regina's vault was magic. it wasn't her fault that blowing out it out had turned Emma into a four year old version of herself.
Now here she was, perched on one of the chairs in Regina's kitchen and wearing some of Henry's old clothes. Emma was happily coloring with the spare markers and paper Regina had distracted her with while the older woman had gone to call at least one of Emma's parents. Emma tore her attention away from her picture when she heard her father's voice and by the sound of it he wasn't happy.
"Oh yes Charming, I gave your daughter crayons and animal crackers before I roast her in the oven, how nefarious of me" Regina said, rolling her eyes as she led the man into the kitchen.
"Well, what happened?" David demanded to know, freezing when he saw his daughter.
" My candles were mislabeled, she blew out a wish candle which is supposed to give the wisher they're hearts desire" Regina explained with a sigh.
"I am working on a cure, she won't be like this forever" She added, though her guest was now distracted by the blonde toddler in front of them.
David barely paid attention, completely enthralled by his daughter. He'd dreamed of this but, had long ago accepted that they would never get this with Emma. He had grown used to her being the adult she was and had resolved his feelings on the subject. Now though, things were different now and all those old feelings quickly rose to the surface. Reaching out, David brushed Emma's hair out of her face. The motion drew the little girl's attention and soon he had bright green eyes staring back him.
"Hi, Daddy look Auntie 'Gina gives me colors and I drawed you a picture" Emma announced proudly as she held out the drawing for his inspection
"I love it Princess" David said as he tucked the picture in his jacket pocket and scooped Emma up.
"Its you an' me an' we're fighting dragons" Emma tells him proudly, instinctively wrapping her arms around him and laying her head against David's shoulder.
David smiles and kisses the top of Emma's head. He's determined to soak up as much time with Emma like this as possible, five minutes in and she's already too cute for words. He carries her out of the mansion and over to the waiting truck. Emma for her part is patient, as he takes extra care to buckle her in, well about as patient as toddlers can be that is.
The drive back to the loft is a short one but, by the time they get home Emma is already curled up and asleep. David glances at the dashboard and realizes that it's just about noon, right around toddlers should be napping. He smiles at Emma and picks her up carefully, not wanting to disturb the little girl's sleep. If she's woken up before she's ready then Emma won't be happy and if Emma isn't happy nobody else will be.
David carries Emma into the loft and lays her down on the couch, tucking her in with a blanket before moving to call his spouses. For all the weird that is their life this particular weird may be the hardest to explain. They aren't going to believe him, hell they'll probably think he's possesed or cursed again. It takes awhile but, he finally manages to convince both women that this really happened and that their daughter really is for all intents and purposes a toddler.
Ruby bursts through the door first, two hours after their call and her arms full of bags. Emma is awake from her nap now and they had Peanut Butter and Jelly for lunch because she'd asked so sweetly, David can't say no to his daughter when she's an adult but, this is a whole new level.
"Mama" Emma yells happily, rushing over when she sees Ruby. She had been reading a book with her Daddy but, that's long forgotten.
Ruby freezes, dropping the bags and looking over at David for confirmation but, once he gives a nod she tearfully gathers their daughter into her arms.
"Mama sad?" Emma asks, her question muffled against Ruby's shoulder.
"No my little wolf, mama just missed you lots today" Ruby half lies as she brushes away her tears.
"Oh..Can we have grilled cheese mama?" Emma asks, jumping to another subject just as any other toddler might do.
"Of course my little wolf, whatever you want" Ruby promises with a smile as she kisses her little girl's cheek.
It's too early for dinner so they do their best to distract Emma with everything Ruby bought. She hadn't been sure what Emma would need or want or like so she'd bought a little bit of everything. This may be Ruby's only chance to properly spoil her daughter and she'd be damned if she didn't take full advantage of the opportunity. Emma seemed to take a liking to the art supplies and Legos and plastic swords with shield. The tea party set and dress up clothes were glanced at and then promptly ignored.
When Snow arrived home it was to shrieks of laughter and the sight of their now tiny daughter chasing her husband around the loft with a plastic sword. Like her wife, Snow freezes when she sees the scene. She'd talked to her spouses, had been told of the situation but, actually seeing it play out in front of her was something else. Not wanting to disturb them she hangs up her coat and goes into the kitchen where Ruby is making grilled cheese and hot cocoa for dinner. The two woman share smiles of disbelief, not quite believing they get to have this even if it is just for a short time.
Emma sits on Snow's lap all throughout dinner, she'd finally noticed her mother's arrival when they came to sit down and then demanded her mommy's attention. Between bites of her sandwich and sips of her cocoa she happily tells her mommy about the day's adventures and proudly shows off her artwork that is now hanging on the fridge. By the time they finish dinner the adults realize that it's way past bedtime and if the time doesn't give it away their half asleep daughter does.
They give Emma a quick bath and more water ends up on the floor than in the tub. The little girl is practically asleep by the time she's dressed and tucked into bed, that doesn't stop her from insisting on a bedtime story or two.
When Emma wakes up the next morning she's in a bad mood. They have chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and that's fine but, then mama and daddy say they have to go into work for a few hours and Emma is not a fan of that. She loves mommy, mommy is great but not as fun as her mama and daddy. It doesn't help Emma's mood that they have to run errands because they're out of groceries and Snow wants to have a nice family meal. Emma hates errands as a grown up, finds them to be endless and tedious so this should be interesting to say the least.
"Alright baby, you've got to stay close I don't want you getting lost" Snow reminds, taking Emma's hand as they walk into the grocery store.
" 'Kay mommy" Emma agrees as she holds tight to her baby blanket with her free hand.
Shopping goes fine for the most part. They decide on spaghetti for dinner after Emma sees a bag of dinosaur shaped noddles and becomes entranced by them. Then she asks if they can make cookies for dessert and Snow doesn't have the heart to deny her daughter anything. She's looking over the produce selection and checking things off her shopping list that Snow doesn't even notice Emma dropping her hand and running off. By the the time she does the tiny blonde is nowhere in sight.
"Emma...Emma come back here right now" Snow calls out, starting to panic as she frantically searches for her daughter.
She finds Emma's blanket abandoned by the front doors and her heart stops. Snow leaves the shop and looks down both directions of the sidewalk only to panic even more when Emma is nowhere to be seen. She finally spots her daughter and scoops her up in a flash just seconds before Emma can walk into oncoming traffic. Without thinking, Snow lays two swats to the back of Emma's leggings.
David walks into the loft expecting to hear his daughter's laughter or the sound of movie playing on TV. Instead the heartbreaking sound of Emma's cries fill his ears and he has the little girl wrapped around his legs before he can he even ask what's wrong. David picks her up, letting Emma cuddle against him as he tries to soothe her.
"Its alright Princess, can you tell me what's wrong, did you have a bad dream?" He asks, carding his fingers through her hair, continuing his effort to calm her.
" Mommy hit me" Emma announces between her cries as she clings to him.
David opens his mouth and then closes it. He'd be the last to accuse Emma of lying but, this doesn't sound right. Sure, Snow may have punished their daughter but she'd never actually hit her. He kisses her head and sets Emma down with some toys to distract her so that he and Snow can talk without a little one interrupting them.
"So, interesting day?" David asks as he enters the kitchen and goes over to his wife.
"I think Emma has hit the terrible twos" Snow answers as she stirs the spaghetti sauce.
"Emma says you hit her" he offers, leaning against the kitchen counter
"I swatted her, She ran away from me at the store and when I...when I found her she was in the middle of the street and seconds away from being hit by a car" She explains, still distressed by the whole event.
"Hey, okay alright I'll handle it" David assures as he pulls his wife into an embrace to comfort her.
"Don't be too hard on her, she's just a baby" Snow mumbles against his chest.
"Call Ruby and tell her, we don't need a repeat of this when she gets home" he advises, pulling away so he can go deal with their daughter.
David walks back into the living room and scene in front of him almost makes him rethink his plan entirely because there's Emma looking as sweet and angelic as ever while she plays with a Lego set. He sighs and rubs a hand over his face before kneeling to be eye level with his daughter.
"Mommy told me what happened today, would you like to tell me?" David asks, taking Emma's hands and pulling her attention so she'll look at him.
"Mommy hit me" Emma repeated as she turned her head, wanting to go back to her toys.
"Oh Emma" David managed with a disappointed sigh.
He picks her up and walks over to the couch, settling Emma down before kneeling down in front of her.
"Emma, it isn't right to lie, it's very serious and you could get mommy in a lot of trouble" David warns sternly.
"Mad?" Emma asks, looking up at her dad with big wide eyes
"No princess, I'm not mad" David assures. He's upset sure but, not mad. He doesn't think he could ever be mad at his daughter.
He carries Emma over the steps going up to her room and sets her dowm on them. "Time out, five minutes" he tells her when he sees the look of confusion and then outrage.
David walked into the kitchen and set a timer on the stove. Snow frowned as she turned the spaghetti sauce down to simmer and then went about collecting the ingredients for cookies, she had promised after all. Both parents breathed a sigh of relief when the timer beeps, the longest five minutes of their life is finally over.
"I'm sorry" Emma announces when she sees her father again
"I'm glad to hear that baby girl, you still need to apologize to mommy though, you hurt her feelings" David says as he wipes Emma's tears away and then takes her hand to lead her into the kitchen.
"Mommy?" Emma calls softly as she shifts on her feet and then turns an unsure gaze on her father.
"Yes, sweetheart?" Snow asks as she turns away from the stove to give her daughter her full attention.
"I'm sorry I was bad, I be good now" Emma promised.
Thank you for the apology, I forgive you" Snow said as she picked up her daughter up.
"Now, how about we make some cookies for after dinner?" She asks, shifting Emma to her hip
"Chocolate chip, mama loves chocolate" Emma tells her mommy happily
"Can dogs have chocolate?" David asks, half joking
"Daddy, mama is a wolf" Emma explains slowly and David can practically feel her eyeroll.
"Claws" The little girl adds, making a clawing motion with her hand for emphasis.
The adults swallow their laughs and share bemused smiles. They sit down at the table with Emma had embark on the adventure that is making anything with a toddler. The kitchen quickly becomes a mess but, their happy giggling girl makes it all worth it. After scooping the cookies on to baking sheets and sticking them in the oven, they try their best to distract Emma until the cookies are baked and cool enough to eat.
Ruby comes home to the sight of her wife cooking dinner and her husband coloring with their daughter. She looks at them with a wistful smile and not for the first time she's hit with the feeling that she doesn't want Emma to go back to normal. She doesn't want Regina's cure, she wants their little girl and make up for lost time. Emma deserves the world and this is the only time she's really allowed them to give it, they've done enough, sacrificed enough they deserve this. Ruby quickly blinks away her tears and goes to greet her family.
"Hi Mama" Emma greets as she continues to intently fill in her coloring page.
"Hi Baby, I heard you had a rough day" Ruby says as she kisses the top of her head.
"Don't like time out mama " Emma offers eventually, obviously looking for sympathy.
"No, time out is no fun" Ruby agrees, crinkling her nose in distaste
"But, We makes mama cookies an daddy says I can have a pony" Emma tells her as she selects a new crayon color.
"Oh really?" Ruby asks with an amused smile as she looks over at her husband
" Yep but, it's a secret, only for Emma" Emma tells her proudly.
"Oh I see, well mama won't tell anyone" Ruby promises as she takes a crayon and piece of paper for herself.
They were able to distract Emma with her coloring until dinner was ready and by the time they sat down there was multiple "masterpieces" from her. Emma delighted in her sauce covered dinosaurs and happily let her parents in on all her dinosaur knowledge all throughout dinner. When they're finished Snow instructs her spouses to clean up the kitchen as she takes Emma for a bath.
"Alright, what pajamas do you want baby?" Snow asks as they look over everything Ruby purchased in the last couple of days, after Emma's bath
"This mommy" Emma says as she points to a red and gold princess dress-up dress.
Snow bites back a smile and obliges her daughter, helping Emma put on the dress. It isn't exactly pajamas but, its their last night with their daughter being this small and Snow is willing to do anything to make Emma happy. Plus, this will probably be the only time she'll willing dress up like this, pretend or not.
"Daddy" Emma calls out as she makes a beeline for the living room with Snow right behind her.
"Oh, David look" Ruby said as she turned away from the sink to look at their daughter.
"Daddy, come dance with Emma" Emma called out from livingroom
"Sorry Red, the Princess is summoning me" David said, kissing his wife as he dries his hands on a kitchen towel before going to Emma.
He stands in the doorway for a minute, just watching Emma mindlessly twirl around. Eventually, he walks into the room and sweeps her into his arms which rewards him with a laugh from his daughter. They dance around the room and Emma clings to him, looking up at him with bright green eyes.
"Daddy, can we watch Snow White an' have cookies?" Emma asks with a yawn as she lays her head against his shoulder.
"That sounds like an excellent idea" David agrees as he presses a kiss to her cheek.
The family of four settles on the couch, Emma cuddled up with all of her parents.
The plate of cookies is sitting on the coffee table in front of them and the movie is playing on TV. This version is grossly inaccurate but, Emma is engrossed with it and she'll probably be asleep before the ending.
"You know this isn't how the story goes, right sweetheart?" David asks, looking down at Emma.
"Hush Charming" Ruby and Snow scold in unison.
" Yeah, hush Charming" Emma parrots as she cuddles up with her blanket.
Emma falls asleep halfway through the movie but, her parents just stay there all cuddled up on the couch and admiring their girl.
"What if we didn't, what if we didn't take Regina's cure" Ruby offers eventually, breaking their comfortable silence.
"We can't do that" Snow said softly, taking her wife's hand to comfort her.
"Why not, I don't want things to go back to the way things were, I don't want her to hate us again" Ruby says with a frown as she furiously blinks away her tears.
"She doesn't hate us Ruby" David soothes, shifting Emma in his arms so he can comfort his wife.
"That's easy for you to say, Emma adores you you're every little girl's dream come true" Ruby said with a sigh.
"You're her hero, big or small Emma adores you" She added softly.
"I failed her, I put her in the wardrobe, I did this to her" David argued, shaking his head.
"Is that what you think, we're all her parents and we all made that decision" Snow says firmly.
"We've given up enough, sacrificed enough, we deserve this and so does Emma" Ruby told her spouses.
"We can't Red, we have to think about Emma and well, Henry to a certain extent" David tried to soothe.
Ruby swallows her tears and nods. She loves Emma any way they can have her but, selfishly Ruby wants her to be like this. They could have a second chance like this and give Emma the parents and the childhood she never had, the things their choices took from her. They are the heroes, the heroes at the end of Henry's book and the ones Emma dreamed about once upon a time. Heroes win the battles and the wars because of their refusal to be selfish and keeping Emma like this would be just that, selfish. That doesn't mean that makes this easy or it's any less painful.
They go to bed a little while later, taking Emma with them so they can cuddle with her for one of the last times. In the morning, they make chocolate chip pancakes because Emma all but demands them and no one has the heart to deny her. Regina arrives shortly after breakfast, cure in hand and Emma abandons the elaborate game she roped her parents in to so she can greet their visitor
.
"Look Auntie 'Gina, Mama made my hair all pretty" Emma tells her as she proudly shows off her braid.
"Ah yes, that's wonderful isn't it" Regina praises awkwardly as she holds the little girl at arms length.
"Here Emma, I brought a treat for you" Regina tells her, offering a paper to go cup that's filled with a cure-laced hot cocoa.
"Thank you Auntie 'Gina" Emma said as she took the cup with wide eyes.
Her parents watch her and Ruby keeps stealing glances at Regina, ready to jump in and rip the Evil Queen's throat out should something go south. Emma happily drinks her cocoa, none the wiser to her parents anxiety. When she's finished, Emma goes to curl up with Snow on the couch, suddenly feeling very tired. She falls asleep against her mother and is then engulfed in puff of purple smoke. When the smoke clears, Emma is still there curled up against Snow except now she's back in her thirty year old body.
"She'll sleep the rest of the day but, should be fine by tomorrow" Regina tells them as she gathers her things and heads for the door.
Emma wakes the next morning, back in her regular body and the memories come flooding back, hitting her all at once. She doesn't get out of bed or dare go downstairs. In fact, Emma doesn't even leave the loft until she's sure all three of her parents already have. When she gets to the station she makes it her mission to avoid her father, not wanting to have any sort of conversation about the last couple of days. But, when she walks past her father's desk Emma notices there's another frame sitting there. The photo in the first frame is one she knows well, its her with her parents and Henry, they'd taken it at her birthday party a few months ago. The second frame is new though and it holds the drawing she'd made for him just a days ago.