Well if I've got to be in lockdown, so does Emma! Hello again everyone, long time, no see. Like a lot of the world, I have found that my normally hectic life has ground to a halt, so figured now was a good time to write a little Charming family fic. I'm sure I've written a previous chapter where Snow became the Dark One, so that would be the inspiration for this (along with being under house arrest lol). Hope you're all staying safe in this weird time, JMAMK x

Emma woke up with an uncomfortable feeling creeping up on her. A feeling many a sleepwalker is familiar too. The feeling of not waking up where you're sure you went to sleep. Sure, Emma knew where she was, she just wasn't sure how she was here…or why. Ever since her mother had taken on the curse of the Dark One to protect her, she had been living in an abandoned house on the edge of town. Charming had begged Snow to stay with them in the loft apartment. He didn't believe for a second she was a danger to him or their children, but Snow refused. She simply didn't trust herself. The urges that came alongside becoming the Dark One could be pretty much uncontrollable at times. Snow would not hurt those she loved. Those she took this curse to protect, so she had put herself into isolation in the old home. Now Emma was here too. At least, Emma thought that's where she was from getting out of the creaky old bed she found herself in and looking out the dusty window. She swallowed hard. If her mom had taken her here while she was sleeping, something was very wrong. Emma found one of her outfits laid nearly on her bedside table. Cautiously, Emma reached out and took them, examining them before getting dressed. She then quietly made her way out of the little bedroom and down the stairs. Once at the bottom, Emma found it wasn't just her whom her mother had taken in the night, her baby brother was here as well. Snow had her back to the stairs, cooing down at little Neal in her arms. She had missed holding her son.

"Mom?" Emma asked carefully. She didn't know what mood her mother might be in. The fact that she had been taken without her knowing didn't make Emma hopeful her mother was going to be particularly cheery. So it surprised Emma when her mother broke into a smile. The smile was almost like her mother's usual smile, there was just a slight lack of warmth behind her eyes.

"Good morning, sleepy head." Snow greeted her daughter. "How did you sleep?"

"Uh, fine." Emma answered. "Why am I here?" Emma asked, getting right to the point. Snow frowned. She had hoped Emma wouldn't be so tricky, she guessed she was being a bit naïve. At least Neal didn't seem to mind. He was smiling up at his mama, delighted to see her again.

"You're here because it was about time I saw my children, Emma." Snow answered, an icy air about her tone. Emma's lie detector was going into overdrive. She was sure her mother wasn't being honest.

"Where's dad?" Emma added. Snow's lips pressed tightly together.

"I offered him the chance to be with us here." Snow told her curtly. "He chose not to stay with us."

"Dad wouldn't choose that." Emma said bravely. She knew her father wouldn't simply abandon Neal or her to be with Snow alone, not while she was cursed.

"Perhaps you don't know him as well as you think you do." Snow near hissed. Emma tried not to take anything she was saying personally. She knew this wasn't really her mother talking. It was simply the Dark One inside her. Besides, Emma had to get to the bottom of this.

"Please don't lie to me." Emma said quietly to her mother. "You know I can always tell when I'm being lied to. "Why have you really brought Neal and I here during the night? I know you and dad well enough, mom. You would never take us away from dad, especially without giving us a choice. Something's wrong, isn't it? That's why you've taken us here." Emma deducted. Snow sighed in frustration. Why did her daughter have to know everything?

"Just trust me, Emma. Both you and your brother are safer here with me just now. Your father would be too, if he wasn't stupid enough to stay out there. Everybody in this town thinks the Dark One is as bad as it can get." Snow scoffed. "They're wrong. There's someone out there who is much worse than the Dark One, Emma. I know I took all your memories of Camelot away, but you all met them. They're coming to Storybrooke to finish what they started. Even I'm not strong enough to fight them off, and I've got the strongest magic here. The best I can do is protect those I love and hope we can ride it out." Snow told her. Emma shook her head.

"That doesn't sound like you at all." Emma confronted her. "You would never give up on the people in this town. They're our friends! Surely you can't just abandon them to some cruel fate? We have to at least try and save them!" Emma demanded.

"There is no saving them, Emma. Face it, they will win. We can't win this one."

"Maybe alone you can't, but you're not alone." Emma reminded her. "There are plenty of people with magic here. Not just you. Regina, Rumple, heck, even Zelena. They might not be in it to save everyone else, but they would to save their own skins." Emma pointed out.

"Not even collectively are we powerful enough, Emma. Give up, we're not going anywhere outside this house. If your father comes to his senses and changes his mind I'll of course let him in, otherwise Storybrooke's on their own. I've lost too much helping out these people. For once, I'm only thinking of me and my family." Snow told her. Emma couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Well I'm not going down without a fight." Emma growled. She stormed over to the front door and reached out to wrench it open. Emma's hand encountered some kind of forcefield. She felt like the skin of her hand had suddenly burst into flames, even though she could clearly see there weren't any. Immediately, Emma pulled her arm back and stared in horror at her hand. Red, hot, angry welts had appeared where her hand had gone through the invisible barrier. She was in too much shock to even heal herself. Fortunately, Snow knew this was likely to happen at some point. She sighed, placing Neal down in his bassinette. Snow approached Emma carefully in case she lashed out in anger and gently waved her hand over Emma's. Emma's hand returned to normal, the pain ebbing away. "I meant what I said, Emma. You are not leaving this house. Not until they're gone. I will keep you and your brother safe. Neal is going to be a lot easier since he's not quite as headstrong yet as his sister, but that doesn't mean I'll be letting you out of here easily." Snow told her. Quietly, Emma moved past her mother and sat down gingerly on one of the armchairs. There was of course no way in Hell she was going to stay here, kept prisoner in her mother's new home. As Emma contemplated her next move, she was aware of a pounding on the front window.

"Snow!" An angry voice shouted. "Let me in!" Emma's head snapped up. Her heart surged. She knew her dad would find them easily. Especially if her mom had already tried to convince him to come with them. Violet coloured smoke surrounded Snow as she disappeared from inside the house and reappeared in the garden beside David. Emma scrambled over to the window to listen more carefully. She felt powerless. Her magic seemed useless compared to her mother's skills as the Dark One. If something went wrong, she would be unable to protect her dad.

"I already offered you a chance to join us." Emma heard her mom say quietly. "You are, of course, still welcome. However, if you enter my home, Charming, you're not leaving until all of this is over." Snow warned him. He was still the love of her life. She would trap him like Emma and Neal in the end if she had to, but she hoped by leaving him out here he would at least alert everyone else to the situation. She might not be able to protect them herself, but there was nothing to stop them leaving town, or this realm altogether, if they found a way. David came over and placed his hands on Snow's face. He didn't even wince at how frozen her skin was to the touch.

"I know you want to protect them, but this isn't the way. We have never sacrificed anyone else for our own happiness before…"

"And look where that has got us!" Snow snapped. "We lost our daughter for nearly three decades. We could have lost our son too. How many times have we been separated from each other? I'm not prepared to risk it all again, Charming. Becoming the Dark One might have its drawbacks, but it has benefits too. For once, I can see things clearly. Knowing how hopeless this all is…it's pointless even to try. I'm not risking everything I have for anyone else again. It's about time I put my own family first." David sighed, letting go of Snow. He looked past her into the house where he saw Emma's scared face in the window.

"She won't stand for this, you know that." David said quietly. "She's the Saviour. She was born to save the people of the Enchanted Forest. They need her again, they need us again. We can save them Snow, I know we can…"

"No, we can't." Snow cut him off, taking a step back from him. "Only come back here once you've come to your senses and want to be with your family." Snow said coldly. She turned her back on the love of her life, and disappeared back into the house, sending David back to the loft apartment at the same time.

"Dad!" Emma cried out. She bashed her hand against the window in frustration. None of this was right. If her mom would just quit being so cryptic and tell her all the information, she would be able to come up with a plan to fix this…wouldn't she? She felt her mom's icy cold hand on her back.

"He'll be fine." She promised Emma. "I won't let him, or you, get hurt…"

"Has my son even entered your thoughts?" Emma snarled. "I haven't seen Henry yet in this makeshift prison of yours." Snow took her hand off of Emma's back.

"Henry is safer with Regina." Snow told her. "If I brought him here, she would just get herself involved and make this whole thing awkward. When the time comes, of course I'll make sure he's safe with us…"

"You say that like I won't be out there fighting to keep Storybrooke safe." Emma snapped. "Trust me mom, I know there will be some kind of weakness in your magic. Yeah, you're a Dark One, that's strong stuff, but it's not unbeatable. I'm the Saviour." Snow reminded her. Snow sighed.

"There is no weakness. That, I can promise you." Snow informed her. "All you'll end up doing if you try to escape is hurting yourself again, and I can't spend all day healing you. I'll keep you safe, Emma, by any means necessary." Snow warned her. Emma knew that was meant as more of a threat than a comfort, but she didn't care. She would make it out of here, she would make sure Storybrooke was safe, then, she could focus on ridding her mother of this damn curse.