Chapter 38

Okay friends, this is it. The final chapter of Little One! I've loved writing this story so much and all of you have been so wonderful! Your reviews really kept this story alive! Thank you so much for all of your support! :) But…we are not done. I have started my one-shot series based off of this story. It's called "Little One: Missing Moments." Creative, I know. Haha! Send me some requests so we can continue to love on this beautiful little family!

Okay, now onto the final chapter of Little One. As always, enjoy :)

Today was the day of Neal's naming ceremony. Emma was a little excited. She liked parties and her mommy and daddy told her that Granny made a cake. Emma really loved Granny's cake. She also was glad that after today everyone would finally know the baby's name and Emma wouldn't have to keep his name a secret anymore. She didn't like keeping secrets. Emma was not very happy right now though because her mommy laid out her blue dress for her to wear and Emma really wanted to wear her purple one. She told her mommy last night that she wanted to wear her purple dress. Emma already had her blue dress on, but she thought maybe if she asked one more time, her mommy would let her switch. Emma walked out of her room and over to the bathroom where her mommy was putting on her makeup.

"Momma?"

Snow put down her mascara and looked down at her little one. "Oh, look at you in that pretty dress."

Emma sighed. "Mommy I really wanted to wear my purple dress."

"I know, Em. Mommy didn't have time to wash it though. This blue one looks beautiful on you." She took Emma's hand and twirled her around. "Are you sure you don't like it?"

"I guess it's fine." She still really wanted her purple dress, but Emma remembered she did like twirling around in this one.

"Good. Now, how about we head over to Granny's to do some last minute things before the party, okay?"

"Aren't Daddy and Neal coming too?" Emma asked.

"They'll come later. Us girls have some important stuff to do," Snow told Emma with a wink. "Go get your shoes on for me, okay? Mommy is almost ready."

Emma smiled. She liked that she got to go with her mommy all by herself. "Okay, Mommy." Emma ran downstairs and quickly put on her shoes. She saw her mommy coming down the stairs and ran over to her. She lifted her arms up to her.

"Come on, little one," Snow scooped Emma up into her arms and headed out the door.

Emma walked into the diner and her face lit up when she saw her Auntie Red with a whole bunch of balloons in her hand. "Wow that's so many Auntie Red. What are we going to do with them?"

"We're going to put them around the diner to decorate." Red knelt down and held out a balloon to Emma. "Your mommy and I saved this job for you. We thought you'd like to help."

Emma nodded her head. "Yes I would." Emma took a balloon and tied it to one of the chairs. "Like this?" "That's perfect," Red told her with a smile.

Emma was happily taking balloons from her Auntie Red and tying them to different things around the diner. She wondered what they were going to do with them after the party. "Mommy can we take the balloons home with us after N…" Emma slapped her hand over her mouth and quickly stopped herself. She was about to say "Neal's party." Emma looked up at her mommy who's eyes went wide. She knew what Emma was about to say. Emma's eyes went wide too at her mistake. She didn't want her mommy to be mad. Snow gave Emma a wink, letting her know it was okay. Emma giggled. "I almost said the baby's name Momma."

"That was a close one, huh?" Snow said.

Emma nodded her head.

"You know I almost did the same thing last night?" Snow whispered to Emma.

Emma's mouth fell open "You really did?"

"Mhmm," Snow said with a nod. "I'm not the best at keeping secrets you know."

"We only have to keep the secret for a little bit longer though, right Mommy?"

"Right. We can do this."

Emma gave her mommy a thumbs up and continued tying balloons.

"You know, you could tell me if you want to, Em. I won't tell anyone," Red said with a grin.

"No way," Emma told her firmly.

"Please?" Red stuck out her lip.

Emma shook her head. "Mommy and Daddy said it's a secret."

"Okay," Red said as she slumped her shoulders, pretending to be sad.

"It's okay Auntie Red, you only have to wait a little bit longer. You can do it."

Emma finished up with the balloons. Then she helped Granny arrange all of the food onto the counter. They put the last thing into place and Emma heard the bell on the door ring. She turned to see her Daddy walking in carrying the baby in his carseat.

"Daddy!" Emma ran right to him.

"Hi, princess," David said as he set Neal down. "This place looks great."

Emma pulled on his arm and jumped up and down. "Do you like all of the balloons?"

Snow walked over too when she saw her husband and son arrive. "Didn't she do a great job, Daddy?"

"An excellent job. I love them Emma."

Emma smiled, then knelt down to see her brother who was fast asleep.

"How about we put him in the booth over there," Snow suggested, hoping he would nap for a little while. "Em, careful don't wake him."

Emma slumped her shoulders. "I wasn't going to wake him. I was just looking." Her mommy and daddy walked over to the booth and didn't hear her though. Emma climbed into the booth across from her brother and waited for the party to begin.

When people started to arrive, Emma ran to find her mommy. "Mommy, Mommy!"

Snow paused her conversation with Archie. "What is it, Em?"

"I want you," Emma lifted her arms up.

Snow smiled. She picked Emma up and placed her on her hip.

"What do you think of your new little brother, Emma?" Archie asked. "I bet you just love being a big sister."

Emma nodded her head. "Yeah, I like it."

"She's such a big helper," Snow added.

"He likes it when I read him stories," Emma told Archie. "And…"

"Oh it looks like the little prince is finally awake. Come on, let's go see him." Snow carried Emma over to the booth and set her down so she could get Neal out of his carseat.

Emma watched as her mommy and Archie talked to the baby. She didn't even get to finish what she was going to say. That baby always wakes up at the worst times. Emma decided to go find her daddy instead.

"Daddy, hold me!" Emma lifted her arms to him.

"There's my girl." David scooped Emma up into his arms. "I was just telling Doc about what a great big sister you are."

"Isn't it fun having a new baby around?" Doc asked her.

Emma shrugged. "I guess so." Emma turned her head and laid down on her daddy's shoulder. She didn't feel like talking about the baby anymore.

"Charming, can you get the baby's bag from the car?" Snow asked from across the room.

David gave her a nod and set Emma down on one of the barstools. "You sit here and keep an eye on the food, Em. I'll be right back."

Emma set her elbows on the counter and rested her chin in her hands. So far this party was not very fun, and it didn't get any better the longer Emma sat there. Everyone kept coming up to her and all they talked about was the baby. They kept asking her if she liked being a big sister, saying how cute the new baby was, and how they couldn't wait to find out his name. That's all anybody talked about. That silly baby. No one asked Emma anything about how she liked first grade or about the fact that she just lost another tooth a few days ago. It was even one of her front teeth. Somebody should have noticed. Nobody did though and all this baby talk was making her thirsty. Emma hopped down from the barstool and went to her mommy.

"Mommy, can I have a drink?"

"Sure sweetie, go ahead and get one. The punch bowl is right over there," Snow told her.

"No, I want you to get it for me," Emma whined.

"I would be happy to get it for you. Just give me two minutes. I'm almost done changing your brother's outfit."

"Why are you putting a new outfit on him?"

"He spit up on his other one," Snow sighed.

"He always does that," Emma mumbled. "I'll just go get my drink myself."

Emma walked over to the punch bowl. It was on the counter and Emma had to climb onto the barstool to reach it, but the bowl was still too far away. Emma leaned across the counter just enough so she could put her hands around the bowl and pull it closer, then she would be able to reach the ladle and pour herself a drink. Emma pulled and pulled and the punch was almost close enough when it tipped over and fell onto the floor. Emma's mouth fell open as she watched the glass break and the drink spill everywhere.

The room went silent. Emma lifted her head and saw that everyone was looking at her. Emma covered her face with her hands and began to breathe rapidly.

Snow gave the baby to Granny and went to Emma. Charming wasn't far behind.

"Emma, are you alright?" David asked. He wanted to make sure Emma didn't get hurt by the glass.

"Baby, look here," Snow gently pulled Emma's hands down from her face and could see the tears beginning to fall. "Come here." Snow lifted Emma up from the stool. Emma just wrapped her arms around her mommy and laid her head down on her shoulder. She began to sob uncontrollably. "It's okay, baby. It's okay."

"It was just an accident, princess," David rubbed circles on her back.

Snow and David made eye contact, they knew these tears weren't because she was hurt from the bowl falling. These tears were because their little one was past her breaking point. They knew something like this was going to happen. They could feel it. They found Emma's spelling test crumbled up under her bed this morning, so they knew what had been bothering her after school yesterday. They also knew Emma was still adjusting to having a new baby in the house. She wasn't getting as much attention as she was use to and she seemed to be needing some extra attention today. Snow and David knew this was just a lot for their little girl. They were going to talk to her about everything later today, but this couldn't wait. She was overwhelmed and needed a break. Snow and David excused themselves from the party and took Emma outside to give her the attention she needed.

Snow and David sat on a bench with Emma. They spoke soothing words to her and waited for her cries to subside.

After a few minutes, Emma lifted her head and looked up at her mommy and daddy. "I'm sorry I broke the punch bowl."

David gently wiped the tears from Emma's cheeks. "It's alright, Em. Grumpy and Blue have it all cleaned up already."

"Okay," Emma said with a sniffle. "Nobody is mad at me for making a mess?"

Snow shook her head. "Not at all babe."

"Accidents happen," David assured her.

"I guess we should go back in now, huh?" Emma didn't want her mommy and daddy to miss Neal's party.

"Not quite yet." Snow glanced up at Charming, and they both decided this would be the perfect time to give Emma the gift they had for her. Snow reached into her pocket and handed Emma a tiny box.

"Mommy and I noticed that you seem to be a little sad lately, and we thought this might help cheer you up."

Emma reached out her hand for the box. "Can I open it right now?"

"You sure can," Snow said.

Emma carefully lifted the lid and found a heart-shaped necklace inside. "It's so pretty."

"Let me show you what it does." Snow reached her hands around Emma and pulled the necklace from the box. "This is called a locket and when you open it like this," Snow popped the locket open, "it has a picture of Mommy and Daddy inside."

Emma's eyes went wide when she saw what was inside. "Wow! Can I put it on right now?"

"Absolutely. Daddy why don't you do the honors." Snow handed the locket to David.

David took the locket from Snow and carefully clasped it around Emma's neck. "Now if we have to go take care of Neal and you feel sad, you'll still have us to look at."

"And if I'm at school and I miss you I can look at it there too?" Emma asked.

"You can look at it whenever you want," Snow told her. "You'll always have mommy and daddy with you no matter what."

"We know everything has been different since Neal has been home. He takes a lot of our attention and that's been hard for you."

"Yeah, Neal cries all the time."

"He does, but you know what?" Snow leaned closer to Emma. "The bigger he gets, the less he's going to cry."

"Really?" Emma asked.

"Mhmm, he'll still cry sometimes, but not as much."

"And guess what else?" David asked.

Emma looked up at her daddy. "What?"

"He won't spit up as much either."

Emma let out a sigh of relief. "Oh good because that is gross." Emma looked up at her mommy and daddy. "I still do love him though even if he cries a lot and is gross sometimes."

"He loves you too," David told her.

"So much," Snow added.

Emma smiled. She knew her baby brother loved her as much as she loved him and that made her feel happy. She did like being a big sister, but she had one thing she needed to ask her mommy and daddy. "Can I ask you one question?"

"Sure, Em. What is it?" David asked.

"Can you make me pancakes for breakfast tomorrow? We haven't had any in a really long time."

Snow and David looked at each other and smiled.

"Of course we can make you pancakes," Snow told her.

"Any kind you'd like," David added.

"Yay! Thank you," Emma hopped down from her mommy's lap. "Can we go back to the party now?"

David lifted Emma into his arms. "Let's go. This big sister has a very important announcement to make."

Emma's eyes went wide. "You mean I get to tell everyone the baby's name?"

"You sure do," David told her.

Emma was so excited that she got to be the one to tell all of their friends baby Neal's name. She was keeping the secret for so long and was finally allowed to let it out. She even made sure to add that her mommy and daddy picked his name from her list of baby names. Emma was beaming when everyone told her how much they loved the name. She was even more excited when she got to eat some of Granny's cake. Her mommy and daddy let her have two pieces. Granny even packed some up for her to take home and eat tomorrow. Once the party was over, Emma was allowed to take home all of the balloons too. She couldn't wait to put them in her bedroom. She knew Willow was going to love them too. The party may have started off on a bad note, but Emma ended up having so much fun.

Later that night, Emma walked into her mommy and daddy's room and found her mommy and Neal sitting on the bed. Emma climbed on to join them. She snuggle in and held the brand new locket that hung around her neck.

"Hi little one. Do you think you could watch your brother for a second while I get his pajamas from his room?"

Emma nodded her head. "Sure, Mommy."

"Thanks babe." Snow laid Neal down and went across the hall.

Just as Snow left the room Neal started to fuss. "Hey you," Emma said as she crawled closer to him. "I thought we had a deal about this whole crying thing." Emma reached out for his hand. His little fingers grasped onto hers, and he calmed down. "Good job, Neal. Since you stopped crying, you get to hear one of my special stories."

Emma popped Neal's pacifier into his mouth and covered him up with his blanket so he was nice and cozy, then started in on her story.

"Now, you're probably wondering where my big book is, but this story isn't in that book. This is a special story about how I found mommy and daddy, broke the curse, and brought us all together again."

Neal looked up at his sister, his eyes wide with amazement. He loved hearing her voice.

"Once upon a time there was a little girl named Emma." Emma leaned closer to her little brother. "That's me Neal," she whispered to him before continuing. "I found a special town called Storybrooke and the first person I met when I came here was Sheriff Graham. He took me to the hospital because he found out that my arm was hurt. At first, I was very scared because I do not like being in hospitals, but then I was happy because that is where I found mommy. When I found her she didn't remember anything because of the curse, but even though she didn't know she was my mommy, she still let me live with her. I lived with her for awhile before she finally remembered. I tried so hard to help her remember though. I read her stories from my big book. I read them over and over again. She even started having dreams about all of her old memories. Then when mommy held my blanky, she finally remembered everything. Then we had to go wake up daddy. We found him before Mommy remembered. She didn't know who he was, but she let me go visit him. Guess where we found him? He was at the scary hospital."

Neal made a little noise and his pacifier fell out of his mouth.

"Really Neal, that's where he was the whole time!" Emma put Neal's pacifier back in and continued her story. "His head was hurt and couldn't wake up, so we read the stories to Daddy too and once Mommy remembered she kissed him, but he didn't wake up then either. I was really sad because I wanted Daddy to wake up so much, but Mommy said we had to go home. I decided to give Daddy my blanky to sleep with, and when I gave him a kiss goodbye, he woke up! And I broke the curse too! Everyone in town remembered who they were. Auntie Red, Granny, everybody! They were all so scared, but Mommy and Daddy made everything better. I lived with them for a long time, and we taught daddy lots of stuff like how to play go fish and use the tv. We went to the beach and even bought a new house. That's the one we're in now. You wouldn't remember the other one because you weren't born yet. Then we got Willow."

As if on cue the dog jumped up onto the bed. Emma laughed and gave Willow a pet.

"Remember her Neal? She's the one that likes to lick your cheeks. Then after Willow, you came along. I'm sorry, but I wasn't very excited when I found out you were coming. I didn't want Mommy to have another baby, but I am glad you're here now. I mean you are a little annoying sometimes. You cry and spit up on me a lot, but I still love you so much." Emma leaned down and gave her brother kiss. "And now we're here, buddy, and we get to make a whole new story together!"

"And we can't wait to see what this new story is going to be," David said as he walked into the room with Snow. They sat down on the bed with their babies. They had been standing at the doorway the whole time and couldn't help the tears that came to their eyes as they listened to Emma tell their story.

Snow pulled Emma onto her lap. "Now that is my most favorite story."

"Thanks, Mommy," Emma said with a shy smile as she snuggled in close. "Did you like it too, Daddy?"

"I loved it princess," David picked up Neal. "I think this little prince loved it as well."

"Good job, little one," Snow said as she gave Emma a kiss on the top of her head.

As Snow and Charming sat on the bed they couldn't help the smiles that came to their faces. Emma looked up and smiled at her mommy and daddy. She loved them so much, Neal too. They all loved these moments they had together, even the little ones. After all, that is what life is made of, moments. Some may be little, but each one was so special, and they would cherish them all…forever.