Some Days

"Hello Snow." Charming greeted coldly when they met at the Diner. Emma sat by Snow's side, her hood pulled up and her hands jammed in her pockets. She was thirteen today and she wanted to be anywhere but here.

"James." Snow replied, one hand resting on the lower half of Emma's back, to ground her.

"Emma...?" James asked. She glanced up, glaring at her Father before dropping her head again and mumbling something under her breath. Red bounced over slightly with a smile.

"Hey Emma, you wanna come sit up at the counter with me?" She asked with a smile, her voice quiet. Snow urged her daughter out and Emma went willingly. Anything to get away from the awkward situation going on at the booth.

Once Emma's... episodes, had started, James couldn't handle it. He either wanted Emma back to normal, or gone. When Snow had refused to kick her daughter out, and Archie had assessed that Emma would stop doing this in her own time or not at all, James had left.

The family met up every so often, when Emma was old enough to not be too much of a bother in public, and at an age where James wouldn't feel too uncomfortable sitting with her.

What they didn't count on was Emma's feelings towards her Father. No matter her age, she wasn't fond of him. Sometimes, Snow thought that she was right, that the two of them should hate James, but most of the time, she understood where he was coming from, but she loved her daughter too much to even consider trying to move her out.

"Don't you want your Mom and Dad back together?" Red asked, placing a hot chocolate in front of Emma, who pulled her hood down now she was away from her father.

"No. I hate him." She replied with the venom that only a teenager can possess. Red sighed quietly and lent on the counter opposite, reaching out to gently tuck some of Emma's hair behind her ear.

"Why?" She asked quietly, already knowing the answer. They'd talked about this a lot, the best conversation they'd had was when Emma was about six, because she was so willing to talk at that age. At thirteen, getting a coherent conversation out of her was a lot harder.

"He left Mom... and me... it's not fair." Emma mutter, drinking half the hot chocolate in one go, ignoring the burning sensation. Red nodded and moved, sitting next to the blonde and rubbing her back gently.

"What if he came back?" She asked quietly. She didn't want to get Emma's hopes up, especially considering how this meeting had once again dissolved into an argument that was thankfully quiet enough that Emma didn't hear.

Emma shook her head and downed the rest of her hot chocolate in sulky silence before speaking.

"I'd still hate him. He's an ass."

"Language young lady!" Red scolded, knowing Snow wouldn't want her thirteen year old daughter swearing. It was one of the few things Snow really liked about Emma being younger most of the time. She didn't swear. At least not as much.

"Whatever. M'goin' for a walk." She mumbled, standing and storming out the Diner. Snow looked up and sighed.

"I've had enough James! Now either get your priorities in order and come back to your family who need you or just get out of our lives! I've had enough of you upsetting my daughter." Snow practically shouted, standing suddenly, the look of shock evident on everyone's face, including James'. Slowly, he stood too, looking Snow right in the eye.

"Goodbye. Snow." He said with a daunting tone of finality to his voice before he left the Diner and Snow broke down into tears in the booth.