A/N: Hi. Thanks for the reviews, follows and faves!

I own nothing and sorry for mistakes. Enjoy!

Chapter Two

For the first time in years Emma felt pure excitement for the future and eagerness to see what it held. She awoke that morning to a text from Hook stating that he and some of his crewmen were coming to pick up his things. Not particularly eager to see her soon-to-be ex-husband she decided to just get out of the house before he arrived.

She got up and showered. By then Rowan had woken up demanding to be fed. Emma proceeded to do what she was told and after the baby was full, she laid her on her bed and went to dress herself.

This particular task did not take long for she just threw on a simple tee and jeans. After putting on a pair of sneakers and pulling her hair back into a ponytail, she went to dress Rowan.

She put Rowan in a cute little two piece that featured a short red and white checkered cotton top with ruffles on the sleeves and the bottom. There were adorable bottoms that were meant to be denim shorts but looked more like a diaper cover. The look was completed with a tiny denim jacket and red and white soft shoes. A sun hat was placed on the baby's head that made her look the part of a little flower.

Rowan seemed content enough in her little outfit and more importantly comfortable. Thinking she was too adorable, Emma snapped a few pics of the little girl and sent them off to the child's grandparents. She wished that Regina could have seen her. She would have loved it.

Snow's response was almost instantaneous with heart eye emojis and all capped words proclaiming how cute and lovely her granddaughter looked. Emma laughed with a shake of her head at her mother's reaction. Always over dramatic but she had a point. Rowan was the cutest. There was no comparison.

Emma started to step away from the bed to grab her baby sling when she received another text from her mother.

"Emma, where are you two off to?" The text read.

Emma sighed. She should have known that her nosy mother would have wanted to know why Rowan was dressed up. Emma began to type out a very vague reply but before she could finish the thought, her phone started ringing. Emma groaned and hung her head. She should have seen that one coming. She composed herself to hide her annoyance and answered just wanting to get it over with.

"What's up, Mom?"

"Where are you and Rowan off to this beautiful morning?" Snow White asked trying her best to sound passive but Emma knew that on the inside her mother was dying to know. Emma continued on to grab the black and gray sling that was hung on the back of her bedroom door.

"Um..." She muttered as she retrieved it and returned to the bed. Rowan was lying there kicking her little feet. "We're off to have breakfast at Granny's. You know, no time or energy to cook." She gave her daughter a smile before putting the phone on speaker and sitting it on the edge of the bed so that she could attempt putting the sling on in front of the mirror.

"Oh yeah, I get what that's like." Snow said with a little chuckle. "Roe is all ready to go outside again?"

Emma pulled it on as Rowan happily entertained herself. "Yeah, I mean, I asked her and she said she was super excited to meet up with her girls for drinks."

Snow snorted. "Watch it, Emma Swan."

Emma laughed then with a shake of her head. The sling snapped on each side and she was done. It was much easier than she expected. She tugged a bit to make sure that it was put together securely then returned to the bed.

"Emma?"

"Yes?" Emma asked as she leaned over to scoop Rowan up.

"Are you alright?" Snow inquired softly. She sounded so worried. Emma frowned as she slid Rowan into the sling. She adjusted her so that her head was rested against her chest then patted her back.

"I'm fine. Why?" Emma replied. Well, she was and she would be perfectly perfect in a while.

"I don't know. Mother's intuition." Snow muttered. "What's wrong?"

Emma sighed. There goes her mother doing the thing again. The meddling thing. She sighed deeply. She might as well just tell her. She fixed Roe's sun hat on her head. "Hook left last night. He's coming back this morning to get his things. I don't want to be here. I'm not ready to look at him and I doubt he wants to see me either."

Snow fell silent for a moment and that gave Emma a moment to grab the phone off of her bed. She walked over to the mirror and checked over herself again. Deciding that they both looked fine, she slipped out of the room and headed down the hallway. It was still just as lonely but for some reason it didn't seem so horrible that day. As she reached the staircase she realized that her mother still hadn't said anything. She looked down at her phone to make sure that they hadn't gotten disconnected. Nope.

"Mom?" Emma implored as she headed down the stairs. She kept a hand on Rowan's back to not bump her too much but it was a smooth trip for the most part and by the time she hit the bottom step, her mother was speaking again.

"Did Hook...?" Snow whispered. Her father must have been nearby. She still had no idea how she was going to tell him everything.

"Well, yeah." Emma muttered as she headed into the kitchen where Rowan's dark blue baby bag was waiting. "I mean, I knew it was coming. I can't blame him for not wanting to raise another person's kid."

"How are you?" Snow's voice softened even further.

Emma shrugged as if her mother could see her. She grabbed Rowan's pacifier from the counter and gave it to her. "I'm fine. I'm doing much better than last night." She remembered the night before very well. There was a lot of tossing and turning, crying and wandering the house. Eventually she ended up in Rowan's nursery where she watched her sleep. After a while the peacefulness of her sleeping child lulled her into a sense of security that she needed.

She had a few moments of peace but then Rowan woke and wanted to be fed so after Emma did exactly that and changed her, she returned to the bedroom where she and Rowan had finally fallen back to sleep.

She felt that the worst of it had passed. Now it was pretty much just moving on and facing what she had done that was left. She could do that. She didn't have a choice. She had someone depending on her so, she had to keep it together and keep moving.

"Why didn't you call me?" Snow inquired gently. "I would have come right over."

"I didn't want to worry you." Emma admitted. Snow White had enough on her plate. She didn't need Emma's issues as well. "Besides it was pretty late."

"So?" Snow replied. "I'm your mother, Emma. There is no cut off time for that. I don't care what time it is, you need me, you call me."

Emma had set about checking the baby bag to make sure that it had everything they would need for the day. The search was deemed successful and then some. "I know, Mom." She said as she lifted the bag and slung it over her shoulder. "I just felt like it could wait."

"Just don't do that again." Snow said sternly. "How would you feel if you found out that Henry or Rowan needed you but didn't reach out?"

Emma froze in place then. Her eyes drifted down to her daughter. Her cheek was still rested on her chest as she looked around their kitchen. She ran her hand over the little girl's head. She would always want Rowan to come to her if she needed her. The same went for Henry. "You're right. I'm sorry. I just... I got myself into this so..."

"I get that but I'm still your mother. I'm always here and I will always take care of you. No matter what." Snow seemed sincerely worried and upset that Emma was going to try to take something on as big as a new baby and a divorce on her own. She was displeased by Emma returning to her old ways of locking them out but that was the complete opposite of what Emma was doing. She just felt that she had worried her family enough. She knew now that this wasn't the way.

"Mom, I will always need you."

She heard her mother gasp softly in her usual dramatic manner. She could picture her with wide eyes and a hand on her chest. "Oh Honey..."

Emma shook her head with a small smile. "Rowan and I are heading out now, Mom. I'm okay at the moment. I'm going to grab some breakfast and she and I will go to the park for a while."

"You're heading to Granny's now?" Snow inquired.

Emma hummed the affirmative as she and Rowan strolled towards the front door. "Yep." She replied. She pulled it open and stepped out onto the porch. She shut the door behind her and took in her surroundings.

It was a beautiful day with the sun hanging in the sky bigger and bolder than ever, causing the town to seem brighter. The birds were singing happily all around providing a lovely little tune for the squirrels and chipmunks playing on her lawn.

She inhaled the fresh air of a brand new day and looked down to see that Rowan was trying to pick her head up so that she could see her surroundings.

Emma pulled her door until she heard the click confirming that it locked.

"I'm meeting you there." Snow concluded, leaving no room for argument. "I don't want you two to be alone at a time like this."

"At a time like this?" What did she mean? It was a beautiful day and she felt fine. Rowan seemed excited to be outside. "Mom, we're fine. Roe and I are going to get food and then we are going to chill out at the park. Seriously. It's Sunday, be with Dad and Neal. It's cool."

"Emma..." Snow warned and Emma flinched at her tone. She clearly wasn't kidding.

Emma sighed deeply. She really just wanted some mother-daughter time with her little girl. She knew that her own mother was not going to let up until she got mother-daughter-granddaughter time with her favorite princesses. "Fine." She huffed. "But if we get there before you, you have five minutes or I'm ordering."

"Fair enough." Was the school teacher's response. "I'm on my way. I love you."

"Okay see you there." Emma responded. She knew what her mother was waiting for when she paused. So Emma sighed, "Love you too."

She was then allowed to disconnect the call. Emma looked down at her daughter and patted her back. "Well, Roe..." She said with a sigh. "This begins the first day of our new life..."

She kissed the baby's hat covered head then the two of them were on their way towards their little adventure for the day.

It was pretty much the same as it was the day before except their walk didn't take quite as long that time because Emma would simply greet her people with a wave or a smile but she wouldn't stop. She didn't exactly feel like engaging them in conversation but oddly enough Rowan was in a very friendly mood. Maybe it was because she was so close to her mother this time instead of in the stroller but she had less of an attitude and was giving out free smiles to almost everyone who greeted her.

They arrived to the diner in almost half the time as the day before. Emma was thankful that she hadn't run into any of the fairies. She hasn't chosen a godmother for Rowan yet and she had too much on her mind to get into that right then. She will get to it just not yet.

Fortunately for her, she and Rowan made it into the diner without any awkward incidents. She stepped inside and all eyes fell on her. She raised a hand to wave and everyone waved back.

Given the late hour and it being a Sunday the crowd had thinned out considerably so Emma easily made it to a booth in the back and settled into it. She quickly began removing the sling which was easier said than done. She heard Rowan let out a tiny sigh as she waited to be freed.

"Yeah, kid, same." She muttered.

"Need some help?"

Emma's head snapped up at the sound of the familiar voice. She found Lily Page standing there with a small smirk on her face. Emma smiled at her childhood friend then chuckled a bit.

"I got it." She replied. "If I don't learn to do it myself, what will happened when my dragon friend isn't around?"

Lily shrugged with a grin. "I suppose so." She peeked at the child. "So that's the littlest Charming, huh?" She hummed in approval as she examined the little one. "She's cute as hell."

Emma chuckled. "What do you say, Roe?" The baby simply gave the Dragon a smile.

Lily laughed at that. "Yep. Way too cute. She's like a little fairy or some shit."

"Lily, you're cursing in front of my four week old." Emma pointed out lightly.

"Shit! sorry." Lily's hand shot to her mouth. "Fuck! sorry."

Emma snorted. She was only teasing. It's not like Rowan understood anything that was being said around her. "Anyway, can you hold her for a sec while I try to get out of this thing?"

"Um..." Lily hesitated for a moment but then apparently remembered that she offered to help.

"She's super light. She's only about six pounds. I'm sure that's nothing for a dragon." Emma teased.

Lily gave Emma a look then smiled. "Hand her over."

Emma grinned and did exactly that. She lifted Rowan out of the sling with a protective hand on her head then carefully handed her over and Lily took her with a lot more care than Emma expected. She cradled Rowan in the crook of her arm then carefully took a seat across from Emma.

Emma gave the pair a smile before setting about undoing the snaps holding the sling in place. She let out a sigh when she was finally freed. "Finally."

She set the carrier aside then looked up and found the baby staring at Lily's hand that held a glittery ball of purple magic.

"You know you could come by and visit sometime." Emma remarked. Lily looked up from the baby.

"I didn't know if you wanted me to."

"Of course I did." Emma said with a smile. She and Lily have come a long way over the years. They were somewhat friends now. The search for Lily's father brought them closer. "Rowan loves her dragon by the way."

Lily looked up in surprise. "I tried to find the friendliest looking one that I could. My mom would be pleased that she likes it."

"Well you succeeded." Emma laughed. "It's awesome. A pretty good contrast from all of the unicorns and whatnot."

Lily wrinkled her nose at the mention of unicorns. She looked down at the baby. "You're welcome." She whispered.

Emma snorted. "Catching a late breakfast?" She inquired in way of keeping the conversation going.

"Meh." Lily groaned. "I was hungry." She said simply with a shrug.

Emma nodded. She began fidgeting a bit because she wanted to ask Lily something but she was unsure how exactly to go about it. She knew that Lily would have the answer she needed. It made her uncomfortable to even ask but she just had to for her sake and Rowan's. "Have you um... spoken to your mom?" She asked quietly.

Lily looked up slowly and stared at her. After a moment her head tilted and a small grin formed on her face. "No. I haven't but I'm sure Henry and... Regina are fine."

Emma's eyes blew wide open and she stared at her friend in disbelief. Lily's smug expression only caused her to blush. She cleared her throat quickly. "I just..."

"Wanted to make sure that your son and your baby mama are fine, I get it." Lily went back to playing with Rowan. Emma's mouth opened and closed a few times before she decided to just be quiet. She was already in enough trouble. "Does she know about her?" The Dragon asked looking up from the baby.

Emma furrowed her brow. "She left when I was only a few weeks along..." a waitress looked up at them and silently asked if she was ready. Emma shook her with a smile and the girl returned it with a nod then went off to help someone else.

"Hmm..." Lily hummed thoughtfully. "I think she should know about her." At that moment their eyes met. Right then and there, Emma just knew that Lily knew too.

"How?" She asked in a hushed tone.

Lily shrugged again. "Call it Dragon intuition. Why does everyone around her have this gift and why doesn't she have it? "Plus she kinda smells like Regina's magic. It's heavy with an undertone of apples. I'm getting cinnamon, too but that might be from you..." She trailed off. "Not to mention that she's the woman's freaking twin."

Emma was panicking then. She really didn't need this getting out. "You can't tell anyone..." She said seriously.

Lily looked surprised by the request then she frowned. "Who would I tell?" Her tone of voice told Emma that her feelings had been hurt by the statement. "I would never do anything that would hurt you and this little biscuit."

The guilt set in almost immediately. She was too paranoid.. "You're right... I'm sorry. I'm just-"

"Guilty?"

Emma blew out a breath and slumped back against the seat. "Yeah. I guess."

Lily shrugged. "I get that. Your secret is safe with me though."

Emma sighed. "I know. I'm sorry."

"No worries." Lily said in way of waving it off.

"Hook is moving out." Emma announced suddenly.

"Good." Lily said without looking up. "You don't need him around. You have your family, your friends... me."

"You fall in the friend category, Lily." Emma chuckled.

Lily smiled a bit. "Yeah?" She asked. Emma nodded in confirmation. Lily's smile blossomed fully. "Besides when Regina gets back you'll have her."

Emma's smile almost fell from her face. "What?"

"When you tell Regina she'll definitely come home."

Emma furrowed her brows. That would be fantastic but was there even a way to tell her? "How can I send her a message?"

"Mermaid?"

Emma shook her head. "Ariel is back in Arendelle."

"Oh." Lily gasped. "Well, we should go to them. I'm sure my mom has something we could use..."

Emma winced at the thought of heading to Regina now. She did miss her something fierce but she just wasn't ready and Rowan was still so small. Traveling the realms with an infant still didn't seem logical at that time. "Yeah... I don't know. Roe is so small..."

"And telling Regina that she has a love child with you is intimidating... I get it."

Emma blew out a breath. "I mean, I get that Rowan belongs with her moms. I do. It's just hard. I need time to make the proper arrangements and get my sh..." her eyes landed on her daughter. "...Myself together."

Lily seemed to understand that. She always got where Emma was coming from. Not in an otherworldly way like Regina but well enough that Emma felt that she could open up to her and never worry about being judged. That is exactly what she needed right now.

"Yeah I can understand that." Lily nodded. "You want to be your best you for your family."

Emma nodded. "I'm just a mess right now. I'm holding it together for Rowan but my head and my emotions are everywhere. I did a bad thing. Two people got hurt and Roe is in the middle of it. I just want to sort myself a bit before I can try to just spring this on Regina."

"So take your time. Little Rowan has a full life ahead of her. She has plenty of time to meet her mommy. Besides I don't think traveling though realms would be easy with an infant."

"Exactly!" Emma exclaimed. "Lets at least get her walking."

Lily nodded. "Yeah but if you two need a companion, I'm available." She offered softly. She smiled sadly. "I'm kinda missing my mom, you know."

Emma understood that. Now that she had her mother she had no idea what it would be like if one day Snow just up and went off to another realm. Lily was really close to her mom and so Emma got her pain. Lily also didn't exactly bond with anyone else in the town so she was probably quite lonely without Maleficent. "That sucks. I'm sorry."

Lily shrugged. "I have a job here and stuff. I like it but I should have just gone."

Emma nodded. "Well, you're welcome to come with Roe and me..."

Lily smiled. "Thank you."

Emma returned it. "Anytime."

Lily looked down at the baby and began playing with her again. Rowan seemed amused by her new friend and gave the dragon a big smile. Lily laughed. "You are so cute! My mom would probably eat you up!" The baby's smile fell away then and Lily chuckled. "Not in the literal sense." As if understanding, Rowan was right back to smiling.

The bell above the door to the diner chimed. Emma couldn't see who entered but judging by Lily's frown, it was Snow White. Even though Lily has forgiven Snow White and Prince Charming for what they had done, she hasn't forgotten. She isn't actively trying to eat or set them on fire now but there is still a bit of tension.

"Sorry, I'm late." Snow gasped out as she stopped at the table. Lily and Rowan looked at Snow and Emma let out a small sigh.

"Luckily for you Lily is keeping me company here or we would have started without you."

Snow glanced over at the other woman at the table. She gave her a warm smile, unfazed that she was holding her granddaughter. "Good morning, Lily. How are you?"

Lily shrugged and forced a smile. "Great. How are you?"

Snow nodded her head. "Can't complain."

Lily's smile remained and frankly the dark haired woman looked like she was in pain. "Well I should just let you guys get to it." She began sliding out of the booth and got to her feet to where she stood before Snow. She offered the little bundle in her arms to her.

"You can stay." Emma proposed as Snow took a smiley Rowan from Lily's arms.

Lily shook her head. "Nah, I ate already. I saw you and wanted to see if I could help then it seemed like you needed to talk so I lent an ear. This is your family time. I don't want to intrude."

"You aren't intruding." Emma sighed.

Lily smiled. "It's fine, Emma. Maybe we can go out some time. Like catch a movie or get some drinks. Wait, can you drink?"

"I can have like one beer." Emma chuckled.

"Well, that's cool too." Lily teased. "So, what do you say?"

Emma grinned. That did sound fun and she did need to start hanging out with people other than Rowan and her family. It would be nice to get out and have some fun after everything. "Sounds awesome. Just call me."

Lily smiled. "Cool."

"Wonderful." Snow chimed in. She had Rowan pressed against her shoulder as she slid into Lily's vacated seat across from Emma. "I'll watch Rowan and the two of us will have a great time! We'll watch Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty..." She listed off.

Emma and Lily shared a look. Lily shook her head. "Poor kid. You wanna just bring her with us?"

Emma snorted. "Eh. Could we?"

Lily chuckled softly at that. "Definitely." She patted Emma on the shoulder. "See you around, Em."

Emma smiled at her old friend. "Later Lily."

Lily leaned over a bit so she could see Rowan who's cheek was pressed against Snow's shoulder. "Bye kid!" She said softly with a wave. Rowan just watched her and Lily chuckled. "She's so cute."

She gave Snow a nod that was returned by the queen before giving Emma a wink then she was on her way.

After Lily was gone Snow zoned in on her daughter. Rowan started fussing because she couldn't hear or see her mother. She loved her grandmother but she wasn't her mommy. Snow shushed her and patted her back as she bounced her a bit. The baby continued to squirm and whimper.

Emma reached into the diaper bag and produced a case that held Roe's favorite pacifier. She plucked it out and handed it to her mother. Snow didn't hesitate to accept it and she popped it into the baby's mouth. She began to quiet down a bit instantly.

"You and Lily speaking again?" Snow asked carefully.

Emma didn't exactly know what her mother meant by that. She didn't even know that they had stopped speaking. "Um... I guess?" She shrugged. "You sure you can watch Roe the night we hang out?"

Snow looked concerned and Emma couldn't hold in the annoyed sigh. "Emma..." her mother said in a warning tone. "I think you should take it easy."

It took a moment for her mother's words to register and when they finally did, Emma gasped. "Mom... I don't want to sleep with every woman I see."

"She is your type. Brunette, dark eyes, broody." Snow pointed out.

"Regina is my type and that's it." Emma snapped. "I'm not thinking about anyone else romantically. I just want my family back together."

Snow seemed satisfied by that. "Fine." She re-positioned Rowan so that she was lying in her arms. The baby was busily sucking on her pacifier and kept her eyes on her grandmother. "How are you holding up?"

Emma shrugged. "I'm fine."

"Maybe you should speak with Doctor Hopper?" Snow suggested lightly.

Emma made a face. Doctor Hopper? When's the last time he shrunk someone? "Does he even do that anymore?"

"He still has a PHD." Snow replied. "That's what he does. He guides and helps people."

"But I have you..."

"But I'm not certified." Snow reasoned. "He can help you much better than I can, trust me. You need someone to listen that you can be completely open with." Before Emma could protest more, Snow continued. "I know you trust me now but I also know you won't tell me everything." she looked up then and held Emma's eyes, the green boring into greener ones. "And that's okay. That's where I feel like Archie could help more."

Well, Snow did have a point there. Emma could be open with Archie because he wasn't family. Maybe that's what she needed. She did feel like she wanted to work on herself before she tried to enter a relationship with Regina. Well if that is what Regina wanted. Emma had a lot of things to sort out. She had a lot to try to understand about herself.

It was time that she started this journey of self discovery. Finding out what needed fixing and to just to fix it. She wanted to be the best version of herself for her family and that began with getting to the root of the problem.

"Alright." Emma said with a resigned nod. "Okay, yes. I can do that."

Snow smiled softly and gave her a nod of approval. "And I will always be here to listen to whatever you're willing to share with me."

Emma forced a smile. She wasn't exactly excited about bearing her soul to anyone but her mother did have a point. Archie was sworn to confidentiality and to not pass judgement. He was the best choice for this.

The waitress from earlier glanced over at them and Emma gave her a nod telling her that they were ready to order. She hurried over to them.

She couldn't make any decisions on an empty stomach anyway.

"Who's mommy's brave, strong, pretty little princess?" Emma singsonged to her daughter as she finished changing her. "And who won't go pee-pee as soon as I putting on her new diaper?"

Rowan smiled at her and her large eyes sparkled the same way Regina's does. The child was enthralled by her mother and her voice. Emma closed the last tab.

"All done!" She sang as she pulled her little 'shorts' over the diaper. She clapped her hands. "Yay! You did so well, Bunny."

That particular nickname was given to her for her large eyes, tiny nose, chubby cheeks and overall adorableness. Rowan Swan did actually resemble a young rabbit.

The baby's brows furrowed and a pout took over her lips before her mouth opened in an even bigger smile. Emma snorted out a laugh and the baby looked pleased with herself for amusing her mother. Emma was just glad that the child was entertained and successfully distracted from the commotion going on behind them.

After lunch, Rowan and Emma went with Snow back to the ranch. She didn't want them to be alone, so she kept pushing. Emma understood this so she agreed. Of course upon arriving she was questioned by her father about Hook. With a bit of prompting, Emma was forced to tell her father what was going on. She didn't exactly get to tell the whole story before the man flew off the handle.

Rowan decided that she needed to be changed at that very moment so Emma whisked her away to a backroom to change her.

She heard the clank of what sounded like a sword. She sighed deeply and lifted the baby up and pressed her to her chest. She bounced her a bit before they left the room.

She headed back to the front of the house where she found her father walking around with his sword drawn. Emma groaned.

"Seriously?" She hissed. "What the hell is wrong with you guys?"

Snow sighed from her place on the couch. She was rubbing her temples and shaking her head. "Oh Emma..."

Emma glanced from her mother back to her father. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to cut Hook's disgusting head off." Charming answered simply as if saying he was going to the diner. "What kind of man leaves his wife and new daughter?"

"He left because of me, Dad. Give me a break."

"Oh Emma..." Charming cut in. "Don't let him make you feel that way."

"Dad, just zip it for a second." Emma snapped. The man was momentarily stunned into silence giving Emma the opportunity to speak. "Killian isn't abandoning his daughter since she is not his to begin with."

Charming remained silent and stared at her unblinking. Emma was unsure of how her father was going to respond so she just waited patiently. She glanced down at her daughter. The little girl was content gumming her fingers, completely unaware of the chaos. She might want to eat soon though.

"I'm sorry, what?" Charming asked carefully. "What do you mean my granddaughter doesn't belong to him?" His tone wasn't angry, just confused.

Emma sighed. "Rowan is not Hook's daughter. She belongs to someone else."

Charming seemed to understand then and he scoffed. "That's what I thought you said. He sheathed his sword." He planted his hands on his hips and examined his daughter and granddaughter for a moment. "I thought I was losing my mind. She looks nothing like either one of you. I feared for a moment that the hospital had screwed up."

"She looks a little like me." Emma protested. "She has my dimples and my forehead."

"And your chin!" Snow threw in.

"Meh, fair enough..." The man conceded. "The brown eyes sort of threw me, too. No one in our family has brown eyes and Hook's eyes are blue."

Emma shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah well, her other parent has brown eyes."

Charming nodded. Honestly he was taking this much better than Emma had expected. "Who is it?"

"Her other parent?" Emma asked slowly as she raised a brow. "Dad, I don't think..."

"Em, go on." Charming said

Emma exhaled softly and looked her father in the eye. "Rowan has two mothers, Dad." She replied. Charming raised a brow in question. "Regina. Regina is her other mother."

Charming fell silent again and he furrowed his brows as he stared at Emma in disbelief. He pressed his lips into a tight line and Emma braced herself for the meltdown. She started to tell her father to hold it together until she put Rowan down in the room but instead of screaming, Charming let out a long snort that led into a deep belly laugh.

Emma's mouth fell open and she glanced at her mother. Snow White simply shrugged with a shake of her head, indicating that she was just as confused as she was.

"Excuse me?" Emma asked eyeing her father.

Charming's laughter began to die down and he inhaled deeply. He looked at her again and the disapproving scowl told him that he had offended his child. "What? I laughed at your joke, Emma!"

"It's not a joke." Emma ground out with a sharp look at her father. She had no idea why she was so offended though.

The smile instantly fell from his face. "What? How?"

"You would think after two kids of your own you would understand how this works. I had sex with Regina and she got me pregnant." Charming looked suddenly stunned and he stood there frozen for the second time that day. "Dad, for the love of..."

That snapped him out of it. "You were serious." He rubbed his hand over his mouth. "Um... okay." He looked at his wife. "Snow?"

"Rowan is your granddaughter, David and she is absolutely stunning and smart and special and we love her and Emma." His wife reminded him.

David waved his hand at his wife. "No, no, no." He sighed. "I love my girls. That's not what this is about. What do you make of our daughter getting pregnant by Regina?"

Snow sighed. "Emma and Regina have feelings for each other but I'm more concerned about the cheating."

Emma blew out a breath. Here we go. "Don't start."

Snow rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest and gave Emma a look. Maybe Rowan could have gotten her attitude partially from her grandmother as well. "Fine." The woman said finally and threw her hands in the air. "There's no point to keep dwelling on it anyway. It happened, we have Rowan and that's that."

Emma gave her mother a long side glance. Look at who's being Miss Sassy today. "Yeah it is." Emma threw back.

Snow huffed and looked away from Emma. "Wait," David said. "We could have done without the cheating but... you were in love with Regina all this time?"

Emma sighed. "Yep."

Charming blew out a breath and looked annoyed. He threw his hands up and flailed them around a bit. "Then why the hell did you marry Hook, Emma? Come on!"

Emma gave her father a stern stare and opened her mouth but closed it. Wasn't it obvious? "I didn't think she loved me back..."

Charming scoffed. "That's your excuse?" He looked at his wife again. "Snow?"

"I didn't want to screw up our friendship. I couldn't lose her."

"And how did that work out for you?" He questioned.

Emma glared. "Not good." She glanced down at her daughter. "But not bad either."

Her father rubbed his forehead. He looked beyond irritated. "Emma..."

"You know," Snow cut in. "After I found out about this I sat and thought-"

"You knew, Snow?" Charming interrupted.

"Yes." Was her simple reply.

"Snow..." He groaned. "How long?"

Snow rolled her eyes. "Since she was born. Anyway..." She waved that off ignoring Charming's look of confusion. "Regina and Emma had all of the signs of True Love. They always find each other..." She listed off. "Their fates have been connected since the beginning, Emma could hardly bear being away from Regina for a second, oh and the always popular; the two of them running around sacrificing themselves for each other.. How did we not see it?"

Charming sighed. "I don't know. It was right in front of us but It seems like Rowan is a product of true love then..."

Emma nodded. "Yeah." She replied while Snow nodded.

"Now what?" Charming asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Emma was confused by the question.

Charming grinned. "When are you going after your girl?" Snow cleared her throat and he corrected himself. "Your Queen. When are you going to get your Queen?"

Emma sighed. "Soon. I just have some things to take care of."

Charming nodded. "Don't wait too long and be sure to marry her." He said looking her in the eye. "After all of this... Emma, make sure you do right by her."

Emma left out that marriage was the last thing on her mind at this point and she wasn't even sure that Regina would want her after all this. Instead she just agreed. "Alright, Dad."

He stepped closer to her then and put his arms around her. He hugged her awkwardly because of the sleepy baby between them. He kissed he hair. "I love you, Emma. You made a big mistake but it's okay. Learn from this. You will be okay. We'll get through this and get you two to where you belong."

"With Regina." Snow chimed in.

"Exactly." He gave Emma another squeeze before releasing her.

"Thank you, guys. Seriously."

"Anytime Em."

Rowan began squirming and fussing. It was feeding time. "I have to feed her." Emma muttered.

"Oh." Charming said awkwardly.

Emma shook her head with a smile. "Don't worry, I'll do it in the guest room."

Her father looked relieved and nodded. "Okay."

Emma chuckled and shook her head before walking out the room. Well that went much better than she expected. Now there was just everyone else left that she needed to explain this to.

That night her father took her home just like before but instead of helping her out of the car and waiting for her to enter her home, he helped her to the house and up the porch steps. Emma fished her keys out of her pocket and let them into the house. She could tell that Hook had been there. His presence still lingered.

Behind her, Charming hung the sling up on one of the hooks by the door and sat the baby bag down on the table in the foyer. Emma went to drop her keys into the bowl and that's when she saw it. Hook's keys were already sitting there at the bottom of it, waiting to be noticed. She had no idea why it caused her to freeze but it did. She inhaled softly and pushed through that emotion. Whatever the hell it was and threw her keys in on top of it.

Charming must have noticed the shift in the mood as well because he stepped a little closer to his daughter. "Emma, you okay?"

Emma shrugged it off. "Yeah. Fine. This needed to happen. Good thing Roe is too young to miss him."

"Right." Charming agreed. "But will you?"

"Of course. He was my husband. I didn't love him in that way but I didn't hate him. He was a part of my life and now he's not."

Charming looked around the foyer. "So, will the two of you be okay in this big house alone?"

"You suggesting I get a roommate?" She asked jokingly.

"Sure." He chuckled. "I'll ask the fairies."

Emma smirked and shook her head. She adjusted her daughter in her arms. "Uh, no thanks."

That pulled another chuckle from Charming. "But seriously. This is a big house and it can get lonely."

Emma did not even mention that she had felt lonely there since Henry left. Instead she nodded. "I guess."

Her father placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you pack an overnight bag and you and Bunny come stay with us for a while?"

Emma looked up at her father then. "What? No." She said quickly. "I can't. It's okay... don't worry about us."

"Emma, come on. Humor me." Charming sighed. "Your mom and I miss you and we hate that we don't get to see you as much as we used to. We have more than enough room. I'm sure the princess wouldn't mind. Let us help you out."

Her father did have a point. Roe loved her grandparents and the extra help did sound nice. Then again, she made her family a promise that she would stop shutting them out a while ago. She managed to stay true to that promise until this whole mess. Maybe this was a step back towards that. She had to try. After considering this, she looked down at her daughter. She knew that she was more than capable of doing this all by herself but maybe that wasn't the best thing. It was okay to accept help. It didn't make her weak.

She eventually gave her father a nod. "Fine... yeah but only a few days."

"That's fair."

Emma managed a smile for him. She knew that her parents wouldn't let her leave so easily once she came to stay with them. That was going to be a whole new battle that she would face when it was time. Right now she had some packing to do. "Um... Dad, can you hold Bunny for a moment? I'm gonna go pack some things for us."

Charming nodded and accepted the offered infant from her.

Emma thanked him with a smile then headed for the stairs. Instead of focusing on everything going on around her, she thought of what Rowan would need. She had a pretty good idea as she made her way up the stairs. She could hear her father's steps behind her as he went to the living room to sit.

She headed straight for her bedroom to get the suitcase. As soon as she pushed the door open she automatically felt it. His absence but it wasn't as crushing and devastating as she expected. In fact it was a relief. She cautiously stepped inside and walked over to his dresser and pulled it open. They were completely bare. It was almost like nothing had ever been in there. She slid them shut and went over to the closet and opened the doors. She peered in to find his things taken from there too. All that remained were her dresses, sweaters and other formal items. She moved her things aside and stepped inside. She located the luggage at the back and dragged it back to the bed.

She flipped the lid back then set off to gather her things. She tossed in a few things then set off to the bathroom to grab her toiletries. Once she was sure she had most of the things she would need, she headed for Rowan's nursery. She gathered a few of her cute little outfits - most of which the baby hadn't even worn yet, bibs, cloth diapers and disposable ones, rattles, plushies and everything else.

She dropped that into the luggage as well before zipping it up. She pulled it down onto the floor and grabbed the handle. She paused for a moment and glanced back at the room. This was never what she wanted. Sure she wanted a house and a family but she didn't need this house. She didn't need any of it but her family.

She shook her head at the thought of all of this wasted time. She sighed deeply then exited the room, pulling the bag behind her. She headed straight for stairs and as soon as she went to take the first step, her father stepped into the foyer.

"No Emma, what the hell are you doing?" He hissed as to not wake the baby. She furrowed her brows.

"What?"

"Don't carry that, geez." He sighed. "Come get Roe and I'll get that." He had the baby pressed against his shoulder as he patted her back. She looked even smaller in her grandfather's arms which Emma didn't even think was possible.

Emma huffed in frustration. "Dad, I can manage to carry a luggage. Give me a freaking break."

"Emma Swan, I am warning you." He whispered sharply. "Come get your daughter. It's late."

Emma raised a brow at her father's serious parenting tone. She fought down a grin and just headed down the stairs, leaving the luggage behind. She stopped in front of him and he handed the baby over. He gave her a long disapproving look then jogged passed her and up the stairs to grab the suitcase.

"Is there anything else you need?" He asked on his way down.

Emma nodded then headed out of the room and into the living room. She laid Rowan down on the couch for a moment. The baby fussed for a moment but then a yawn cut her off. The little one then gave back into sleep. That gave Emma a moment to focus on the gray and black rocker in front of her. She was definitely not going to leave this behind.

She began folding it up so that she could move it. Once it was in it's compact form, she picked Rowan up, she held her in the same position with one arm and grabbed the rocker then the two of them headed out of the room. They met up with Charming who was just returning from putting her luggage in his car.

He took the rocker from her and the three of them headed out. She grabbed her keys and noticed that her father had already taken the sling.

She ushered him out onto the porch where she locked up. She had no idea when she would be back and she was okay with that.

"I can't believe she slept through all of this." Charming muttered watching his granddaughter.

"I don't know." Emma replied as they crossed the porch and headed down the steps. "She sleeps like she has two full time jobs."

Charming snorted. "Your brother was the same way and according to Regina so was Henry so she gets that from our side."

Emma made a face. "Maybe. She does have Regina's looks though."

"She does and I don't know how I didn't see it." He sighed. He opened the gate and held it open for her to step through. "She looks just like her with the olive skin and everything."

Emma shook her head. "You didn't know what you were looking for."

"That's true." He agreed as they headed over to the car.

Emma took Rowan from her father and placed her back into the car seat. After securely strapping her in she shut the door. When she looked back at the house on her trip to the passengers seat, she felt nothing. She didn't feel like she would miss it and perhaps some time away would be good for her.

She climbed into the car and shut the door. She looked over at her father who gave her a reassuring smile as he started the car then they headed back to the ranch.

Three weeks later...

Emma decided to go see Archie when her parents were at work. She loved them both to pieces but as expected the oldest Charmings were smothering her and she appreciated the times when they were away. She was beginning to understand why Neal was out so much. They meant well but it was a bit much.

She had been trapped for a few days without transportation given that she didn't have her car. Her father was tasked with driving her around for things she needed but Emma quickly had enough of that and eventually her father drove her home to pick up her beloved bug so that she could travel again. She was grateful for that especially that morning after her mother headed to work and her father headed to the mayor's office.

She packed Rowan up and the two of them made their way to town. She hadn't set foot on Main Street since Hook left, deciding it was best to keep a low profile while avoiding him in the process. She wasn't hiding. She just wasn't ready to see him just yet.

She parked directly in front of Archie's office hoping not to run into anyone. She didn't want to discuss it, she didn't want to deal with it. She just wanted to get upstairs to Doctor Hopper so that he could begin shrinking her. He was the only person she wanted to speak to at the moment.

She grabbed the car seat that contained the baby and kicked the yellow door shut behind her. After taking a quick look around, she darted into the building. She shut the door behind her and headed straight up the stairs. It had been so long since she's been there. She hasn't paid the Doctor a visit at his office since she thought she was going to die in the final battle. He helped her then even though she wasn't really allowing him to.

This time however, she was open and ready for help. This was not like thinking you were going to die. This was completely different. This was about wanting to live a real life and wanting to give her daughter a good one with a mother who isn't so damaged. She wanted to be better for Regina as well. All Emma wanted was to be comfortable enough to love her openly and freely, if she would have her, that is.

She needed to be stronger in more ways than muscle. She wanted mental and emotional strength. She wanted to grow and to be better for herself as well.

Upon reaching the top floor she marched right up to the door, squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. She glanced down at Rowan who was sleeping peacefully. This was the right thing. She was determined to do this.

That was when she raised her hand and knocked lightly on the door. She heard a bit of shuffling on the other side which she assumed was Archie moving about before the door swung open.

There stood the man also known as Jiminy Cricket. A smile landed on his face when he spotted Emma. "Emma, hello. It's been a long time."

Emma smiled at his excitement. "Yeah. Motherhood, you know.

Archie's smile remained. "Of course and I see you've brought the little one." He bent a bit at the waist to get a better look at the child. "Cute."

"Thank you."

He straightened up and looked her in the eye. "As much as I would like to think that you brought the little princess just to see me, I know that's not the reason you're here."

Emma gave him an awkward grin. "Well no, I need to talk with you. So get your head shrinking cap on."

Archie looked surprised by this. "Emma, I haven't had a therapy session in years." Not since Emma brought back all of the happy endings, in fact. He was more into the marriage officiating business those days.

"That's right." Emma sighed. "Well, a lot of things have happened in the last few weeks other than my kid... and I need to speak to someone who isn't..." She let her shoulders slump. "I'm living with my parents..."

That seemed to do it for the cricket because he instantly stepped back and moved aside, allowing her entry. Emma stepped inside and walked over to the couch. She sat the car seat on the coffee table before plopping down onto the couch.

Archie took a moment to join them because he was currently rummaging through his drawers and scouring his desk for his notepad. Pongo had gotten up from his bed and moved a bit closer to get a look at their guests. He wagged his tail happily and Emma gave him a smile.

She glanced at her daughter who was still sound asleep in her cute little white romper dress covered in tiny dark blue polka dots. Along the bottom were large white daisies and ladybugs crawling on them. Her white hat had a ladybug on it as well. Emma leaned over and took off the hat. She didn't exactly need it inside. She combed her fingers through the child's hair, smoothing out her curls that had flattened under the hat.

"Looks like there's more hair than baby there." Archie joked as he took a seat in his armchair across from Emma.

Emma smiled as she sat back. "Yeah, she certainly didn't get that from me but I'm not sure. I don't know what I looked like as a baby."

Archie nodded. "Right. No photos from the foster system."

Emma cleared her throat as she felt it tightening. That's something she hadn't had to face in a very long time. She was unsure if she could discuss it right then. Those wounds were healed by her family, especially Regina but the scars are still there and more prominent than ever. "Yeah."

He fell silent for a moment before pushing along. "You mentioned living with your parents again. How did that come about?"

Emma blew out a breath. "I screwed up real bad." She confessed. "I hurt a lot of people. Anyway, my parents said they wanted me to move in for a while so they could help me with Roe but I know it's because they think I can't do anymore damage under their roof." She didn't believe that but she still felt a bit bitter.

"Are you going to tell me what you did?" Archie pressed. "When did this all start?"

Emma scoffed. "At birth honestly." She replied. Archie gave her a look and she sighed deeply. "I can't even tell you. That's why I need your help. I can't fix this if I don't know what's wrong."

Archie tapped his pen on the pad. He caught Emma's eyes. "Well, the first part is admitting that there's an issue and the second step is reaching out for help. You have that down. Now we have to discover what the issue is exactly and from there we can address it and eventually deal with it."

Emma nodded. "Sounds simple enough. Okay, so now what?"

Archie leaned back in the chair. "Now you talk and I listen."

Emma exhaled softly. She didn't exactly think this through but it was too late to go back now. She fought back a grimace. That was easier said than done. "Uh..."

Thanks for reading. SQ will be united soon, I promise. I just want it to flow and I don't want to rush it. There's a method to my madness.

Also, THIS Emma is the way Emma is now as of seasons 5,6 and 7. She's seen as a lot "weaker" than she was in the earlier seasons and she has forgotten her worth. That's what I'm working on... getting Emma back to who she was. This is not an AU. This is canon Emma Swan. I would love to write her the way I do in my AU's but I can't if I want to stay true to her Canon personality. Will we get our Emma back? Our bad ass, white knight Emma? Yep, eventually. This story has multiple arcs and journeys. This is one of Emma's. I will get to Regina but I feel like describing what Regina was doing at the time of this chapter would be redundant since we already saw it in the show. I'm eager for Regina to be with them too so I just ask that you guys bear with me. Every single thing I do in my stories is for a reason and carefully thought out.