Find My Way Back To You

Chapter 7

--- EMMA'S POV ---

I approach my past self and smile at her, in an attempt to calm her down. I know the next part will be hard to hear for her and possibly her parents, too, but my focus is on Emma right now. I wouldn't even include her in this, if I thought I had another chance, but unfortunately, I doubt that. We're both saviors, so I'm sure combined our magic could be powerful enough to reopen a time portal.

In our childhood no one ever really cared about us, so smiles directed to us were a rare occasion. So, I smile at her now, to show her, that she can trust me, and her walls aren't necessary for her right now. I know it's going to take time for her to let me in, but this could be a start. All I really know is that I have to be careful and patient with her since she's been through very tough things before coming to this town and there are only more terrible things about to happen – like Killian's deaths and the visions about the final battle once she just got him back. So, in a way the smiles are also meant to comfort her and to let her know that everything will be okay. Why not try to give her a little hope, while I'm here? She has earned it.

"Don't freak out, okay? I'm you..." I say to her softly. I can momentarily see how much this freaks her out, but I continue talking to explain this weird statement to her. "I'm from the future and I need your help to get back home. I'm sure together we can figure something out."

For a flash nothing happens, but then suddenly I see Emma's eyes flying wide open after a blink. Her face turns extremely pale and she looks at me and at Hope in fear. Not even a heartbeat later she runs out the door because all of this is too much for her. I should have known that, but I guess that back then I really didn't know myself all too well. I never bothered to get to know myself because I knew that no one else wanted to know me either. It was always easier to build my walls up higher and higher and to run away whenever things got too real. It was a good way to avoid pain. It wasn't that hard to make myself believe, I was never going to be happy, either, so I was more than willing to sacrifice any chance at it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see how my mom starts to follow Emma, but I stop her. She's already freaking out. This would be too much for her now. She needs her space for a while, and then I'll talk to her.

"Don't go after her just yet. She's freaked out and scared. If you push her too much right now, it'll send her running. Or she'll build her walls up even higher than they already are. She needs her space for now before anyone should comfort her. Trust me."

My mom straightens her posture, crossing her arms in front of her. She's about to argue, but that's nothing I can't handle. I've gotten used to her lectures by now. I might've not been able to talk some sense into her about how wrong the whole coronation thing is – Regina's past victims having to bow in front of their family's murderer even though she honestly doesn't deserve it since she never even bothered to apologize or give them back their hearts. I won't fail this time though.

"She needs her mother right now. You said yourself that she's scared. Emma runs when she's scared. You should believe me. I am her mother, I know best."

So, she knows me better than I know myself? Interesting. I wasn't even aware of that. If anyone actually does know me better than I do, it's Killian, I'd say. That is because we spend literally all our time together and we understand each other – always have and always will, unless I already changed the future too much and can't change it back. But let's forget about that and be optimistic right now. And that means changing my mom's mind since me leaving Storybrooke was never a good thing before.

"So, you're just going there to control her – to make sure she isn't leaving?" How typical. She only ever cares about anyone who isn't Regina, if it's for her own personal gain. I know she loves me, but something she has a shitty way of showing it. That just proves, that she doesn't know me as well as she might think. Back then I didn't let anyone see my real self, not even to my roommate, who turned out to be my long-lost mother. "That's definitely not what Emma needs right now. I know what she needs because I am her. Remember?"

"So, the time travel thing is real?" my dad asks, obviously having blacked out on the conversation and the rest of the world until now. I can't blame him. They might be fairytale characters, but this can still be a little hard to process. I guess I got my weird reaction from whenever I meet a new fairytale character from my dad then.

"Yes. I know it's a lot to ask anyone to believe in, but it's true. In this town, the crazier something is, the most likely it's real."

Dad nods and smiles at me. He then uncrosses my mom's arms and takes her hand. She seems to relax, too. I should thank him for it later. He's really the only one, who can break through her stubbornness at times, which might be because he's just as stubborn. He'd just never admit it.

"If you say so, then it's probably right." My mom says to admit her defeat in this debate. I sigh in relief and smile at her and also my dad brightly. And it's in that moment, that Hope begins to make these laugh-like sounds again. I instantly look down at her and realize, that she is already looking at me. I beam lightly at my precious daughter. Then I pull her up a little and hug her more tightly, but I still make sure not to hurt her. She continues her 'laughing' and I press small kisses to her cheek, which only seem to make her happier.

For a moment I was lost in my own little bubble with Hope, until mom and dad begin to speak again. "So, that really is your baby?" my mom says, which causes dad to cross his arms. "Who do I have to kill for knocking up my daughter?" he says. That statement makes me giggle a little since it's so typical for him – always being my overprotective father.

But then I realize, that I should answer something. I'm just clueless as to what I'll say to them. The truth could change the timeline, but so could a lie. I mean I do have already changed enough and need a forgetting potion or spell for the town, but would it be smart to tell them even more about the future?