Two Words

Wow. That's legitimately all I can say about the finale. What an amazing roller coaster of a season it was! I of course just had to write a fic about Emma FINALLY calling her parents mom and dad and their "last moments" as a family. Reviews would be much appreciated.

"I can't contain this much longer," Regina says, still holding her hands over the glowering diamond. The words hit Emma like a tidal wave as she realizes their weight. Her mind goes blank but it is clear as she looks over at the three most important people in her life. Tossing aside the now unwanted pouch that contained their only salvation, Emma takes slow unsure steps. She can feel it; just like Regina said. The magic being sucked out of the air, which feels like it is being sucked out of her lungs. She finally lets herself speak but two words:

"Mom. Dad."

Emma lets the words she's been waiting so long to say to spill from her lips. Her voice cracks as she says it, looking from one of her parents to the other. She's crying, she can taste her tears and she knows this is how it has to end. Somehow, someway they would be caught in a life or death scenario and Emma knows as she rests her head on her father's shoulder that this is how it has to end.

But the unfairness of the situation strikes her. Because her parents were never there. They did not get to see her take her first steps, or ride a bike, or speak her first words. The family that sent her away when she was just 3 years old did. It's kind of funny, Emma thinks, that her parents did the same to her. They sent her away in the deep of the night; her father fighting off guards to save her and their people. As her tears find her father's leather jacket and she feels his hand rub against her head and her mother's grip tighten on her arm she adjusts her head, now cheek to cheek with her father. She's never been this close to two people who have cared so much for her. The immensity of the moments ticking down frightens her, but she is now in the arms of her parents, the people that will love her forever and beyond.

Emma knows this is the end. She finds solace in her parents embrace, yes, but it also comforts her to know that her kid is there. Even if the only other person in the world she would want to be right beside her isn't there either. Neal. Again, Emma thinks of how this is truly the brink of no return. She will never see Henry grow up, or watch her parents bicker and be adorable (though she would never admit it) or see Neal again. She will never get to be parented, or to be a parent, one of the greatest gifts you can ever be given in this life. Emma can feel her throat tighten, raw from crying and her emotions pouring out. She feels like she should say something else to her parents. Apologize, say she loves them one last time. But then as she still feels her parents grip tighten around her body, she can still hear their heartbeats, remember just a few moments ago her parents reaction to her finally calling them mom and dad. She did not get to see, as burying her face in her father's jacket seemed to be her last solace, but she could feel their bodily reactions. Her mother's body had instantly relaxed, but still clung tightly to her daughter. Her father's hand had found the back of her head, trying to comfort her, rubbing slightly at her hair. Just like he had done, she remembered now, when she was an infant. Both their heartbeats had also slowed, as if their daughter calling them her mother and father had brought them the last peaceful moment they needed. Standing here, watching Henry walk over to Regina and hug her one last time, Emma keeps the word family in her mind. She wants it to be the last thing she thinks about before she welcomes the end, but there is a moment she will never forget.

It had been shortly after Emma and Snow had finally made it home from the Enchanted Forest. Practically the next day, Henry and James had set up a picnic on the beach, looking out over the water. It had been the best time she had ever imagined. Watching Henry build a sand castle, rolling her eyes as her parents fed each other, and then watching the sunset all together. She still remembers the overwhelming amount of love that radiated from the group. She had sat facing the horizon, with Henry sitting lop sided in her lap. Her parents had been behind her, both wrapping their arms around her shoulders. She had leaned her head against her mother's shoulder, smiling as she felt her mother tense and relax. As they all watched the sun sink below the horizon, she knew. This was all she ever wanted. A family to call her own.

Emma holds onto the memory even after she's exited it. She thinks about the two syllables, the two words, what she had called her parents before it had come to this, their last moments. She knows it was all she wanted to say. Because she knows, if these are her last moments, those are the only two words she would ever want to end her life with.