Obligatory Disclaimer: If I owned them I'd be making a ton of money at ABC. Instead I'm shuffling around a public radio station.

A/N: I wanted to post this before the season 2 premiere this Sunday makes it out dated. This is just a short character piece I wanted to do about Emma and Snow's feelings during the Charming family reunion. Enjoy.

A/N 2: Edited on 3/30 for a couple of typos.

embrace

verb (used with object)

1. to take or clasp in the arms; hug

2. to take or receive gladly or eagerly; accept willingly

3. to avail oneself of

4. to adopt

5. to take in with the eye or the mind.

Believing had never been Emma Swan's strong suit. She had in fact spent her entire life actively not believing in things. As a child she scoffed at the ideas of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. That sentiment had only extended as she had grown older. The world was a tough place with little room for dreaming. The only way to get by was to except one's reality, no matter how grim. And yet hear she was, suddenly very much accepting of a Grimm reality.

She smiled as she tucked Henry into bed, cocooning him in one of Mary Margaret's colorful quilts. Henry seemed fine, but the fairies/nurses had suggested she put him straight to bed when they got home. She decided they were the best authority on the subject. Lord only knew the proper way to recover from Dark Magic. She watched Henry snuggle down into the blanket.

Dark Magic.

The thought was absurd, and yet so tangibly real it still made her head spin.

"But I'm not tired," Henry protested. He betrayed himself with a long yawn, and then frowned with the realization that he had given himself away.

"No buts," she said, as firm as she could manage, which was not much at all. She sat on the edge of the bed and pushed a lock of hair out of his face. "You've been through a lot today. Get some rest and when you wake up I promise I'll tell you all about it. Magic. A sword. A ferocious beast." At the word beast she raised her hands in the air, mimicking claws. "I'm sure you'll find it all very thrilling."

Henry's eyes widened with excitement. "Can you tell me now?"

Emma shook her head. "Nope. Sleep."

"But Mom," he whined. He froze as the words left his mouth. His eyes darted up to hers, and she could see his fear. Fear that she wasn't ready for him to call her that or that she would withdraw from him again. Her heart swelled and suddenly the rush of love she felt for her little boy made everything she had experienced over the past day and a half make perfect sense. Fairy stories and mystic spells were no longer sick and jarring thoughts to the ever cynical Emma Swan. She could believe in all of it because she believed in him, and by extension, for the first time she could remember, she believed in herself.

She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "I said no buts," she said gently. "Sleep, and tonight we'll make the rounds so that you can tell everyone I told you so."

He smiled but still seemed a little anxious. "We don't have to do that."

"Sure we do. If I have to deal with the fact that my ten year old son is smarter than me then so does everyone el-oof."

Henry had sat up and threw himself in a bear hug around her. She wrapped her arms around him and planted a kiss in his hair.

"We're going to figure this out Henry. I'm going to be better at this from now on," she whispered to the top of his head.

"Just don't leave again okay," he pleaded.

For the first time since he showed up at her door she realized how small he really was. He had been so patient with her, and he had been so strong through her various emotional crises. She, as a grown woman, had not wanted the responsibility of being accountable for everyone's happiness. Henry had held that entire burden on his ten year old shoulders. She had so much to make up to him.

He sniffled against her shoulder and she held him closer, rubbing his back. She felt heat prick her own eyes, but held it back. It was her turn to be tough.

"Never. You and me, we're a pretty good team. You're stuck with me Kid."

"Promise?" he asked.

"Promise. Wild unicorns couldn't pull me away. If you still have doubts I'm sure we could find at least one to test that." He laughed a little, but hugged her tighter.

So much had come to pass since yesterday, but what scared her more than magical monsters or poisoned apples was that she had almost willing left him again. The thought put a sick knot in her stomach. Now she pitied anyone who tried to separate them. In retrospect, that poor dragon never stood a chance.

After a quarter of an hour of just sitting and holding him, Emma heard Henry's breathing began to even out. She carefully lay him back down and his head flopped onto the pillow, fast asleep. She sat there watching for a while before slipping out of the room and closing door.

She put a pot of coffee on, her own exhaustion taking hold of her. She went through the motions, deliberately not thinking of the story book inside the bag on the counter or the implications it had on the rest of her life. Despite her best efforts to ignore it her eyes fell on the bag, and her stomach sank in panic.

"Screw it." She turned off the coffee maker and instead pulled the bottle of MacCutcheon Whisky from the cupboard below the sink. She yanked a glass out of the dish drying rack, and quickly poured herself a hefty drink.

As she set the glass down the front door opened. She immediately picked it up and took another long swig as she set eyes on Mary Margaret and David standing in the doorway. Both had clearly been crying, their eyes still red, but now they had their heads held high and determined.

An all encompassing, mind numbing fear took hold of Emma as she grabbed the edge of the counter to stay upright. She forced air into her lungs through a couple of long shaking breathes. It was the same feeling she had when she found out she was pregnant with Henry.

She thought of the night Henry had found her. Specifically, she thought of the low-life bail jumper she had nabbed that evening of her birthday. He had called her a friendless orphan in a clumsy attempt to flirt, and later in his anger at being busted he had accusingly asked her what she knew about family. 'Nothing' had been her honest reply. It was that truth that had her so frightened. The burning behind her eyes returned. She was staring into the faces that she had been looking for her entire life, and she had no idea what to do next.

She had been prepared for this moment since she was fifteen. She had known what she was going to say when she found the people who had abandoned her, disregarded her on the side of the road like trash. The plan had always been to ask them why, and there had been an in depth telling off outlined for when their answer was insufficient.

None of that was applicable anymore. David and Mary Margaret stood quiet and still, as if they were trying not to spook a deer. The silence was extending, and she realized they were waiting on her. Tears began to blur her vision, and she wiped her eyes in frustration. Her heart twisted again and she let out a small laugh at the insanity of it all. She cleared her throat in an attempt to remove the lump of emotion there. Her mind flicked back to one of the first conversations she had in this apartment. Her eyes met Mary Margaret's.

"I'm starting to reevaluate my definition of crazy."

Snow was not sure what kind of reaction she had been expecting, but she took Emma's statement as an invitation to come inside. James closed the door behind them with his foot; his right hand still firmly in Snow's left.

Emma kept her eyes on them, and then looked down and refilled her whiskey glass. Snow felt James' grip tighten on her hand and knew that he was sharing her feelings. She was using every ounce of strength she had in her to keep from running to her daughter and pulling her close.

She and her husband had discussed this moment at length when they found that Emma and Henry had already left the hospital. She had informed James of how easily emotion could overwhelm their daughter. They had to ease into this moment.

Again silence began to fill the room, and to Snow's surprise James was the first to speak up.

"I think perhaps we should all sit down. Clearly this is a lot to process," he said.

Emma held up the whiskey bottle. "Anyone else want one?" Snow shook her head, but James raised a hand to indicate he'd like one.

Emma poured a second glass and joined her parents at the table. She handed James the glass, but their fingers lingered together as he took it from her. She gripped her own glass tighter and took another sip. Emma's gaze remained fixed on James for a moment.

"I have your eyes," she said.

He grinned broadly, but the affirmation also broke his composure. He covered his face with a shaking hand as he tried to keep the tears at bay.

Snow caressed his shoulder as he struggled to gather himself. She looked up, to find Emma closely observing their interaction. As her gaze found her daughter's Snow saw something in Emma's eyes shift. The stunned look slipped away and was replaced with a look more lost than anything Snow had ever seen. She knew it had finally happened. The stress of almost losing Henry, fighting a dragon, the truth of her birthright – essentially the absolute shattering of her reality – had finally been too much for the otherwise unflappable woman. Emma dipped her head, her shoulders racking as a heavy sob escaped her.

Snow nearly leapt over the table, moving quicker than she ever had as Mary Margaret. She pulled Emma from her chair and into a hug, which she was surprised to find the other woman return. Emma sobbed freely into her mother's shoulder.

"Oh sweetheart, I've got you." Snow felt her own tears begin to fall. Another pair of arms wrapped around her as James came over to embrace both women.

They stood there for several minutes, locked in their first full embrace ever shared as a family. Finally, Emma pulled back from the hug slightly.

"I'm a mess," Emma said, letting out a forced chuckle.

"You have every right to be," Snow said gently. "But you need to understand that you aren't alone anymore. You haven't been alone since you arrived here." It was an important sentiment to get across, mostly because Emma needed to hear it, but also because Snow knew that soon they would have to face the aftermath of that purple cloud head on. They needed to stand together as a family.

"I don't know how to do this," Emma admitted, her composure precariously restored.

"Together," James said. "That's how we'll do everything. Together."

End

A/N: Thanks for reading! All reviews welcome.