Some Things Never Sleep

Chapter Four

"Emma? Emma, sweetheart, it's time to wake up." Emma's eyes fluttered open as she awakened from what felt like a deep sleep. The first thing that struck her was how bright it was and not from the usual florescent lights that she was used to at the Hydra base. No, it felt warm against her face...the heat making her feel healthier than she had felt in a long time. It was the sun.

Emma smiled as she felt the sun against her skin. She hadn't seen the sun since she was taken from her home in Oklahoma. It had been years and Emma had long forgotten the way it had felt against her skin. It struck her in that moment just how much she had missed the sun. Too much time had passed since she had last felt this warm. Emma sat up from the ground where she had been laying. The grass was green and lush, feeling soft against her back and the ground beneath it was earthy. She could see miles upon miles of green as far as the eye could see. The sky was incredibly blue without a cloud to be seen and sun was so bright and warm that she had to shield her eyes from its brightness.

"Oh, Emma, you've gotten yourself into quite a bit of trouble, haven't you?" Emma turned to look at the person speaking. The voice sounded so familiar to her ears that it caused her to briefly lose her breath. Emma's eyes widened surprise as she saw the one person she never expected to see again. Her mother.

Margot Rogers still looked just as she did the last time Emma had seen her alive. Her pale skin practically glowing under the sunlight, her dozens of freckles making her look even more like the fairy she resembled. Her vibrant red hair shone in the sun, making her look more angelic than anything. Maybe fairy was the wrong word for her. Her emerald green eyes stared at Emma with such lovingness that it completely floored the small girl. No one had looked at Emma like that in so long. What was most mesmerizing about Emma's mother was her beautiful smile. Margot's smile felt like the sun itself.

"Mommy?" Emma said, sounding exactly like the age she was...the age she forgot she was.

"Hello, Emma." Emma's eyes brimmed with unshed tears as she looked at her mother's face. Analyzing every detail and storing it in her memory.

"What is this?" Margot smiled.

"A place where only light and happiness can enter." Emma sniffled as she struggled not to cry. Her years at Hydra had made it a habit of hers...not to cry or show any signs of weakness.

"Am I dreaming?" Margot's smile didn't falter as she gently pushed a strand of Emma's blonde hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear with more grace than humanly possible.

"Yes. That's why only light and happiness can enter because you're full of light." Emma felt saddened that it was only a dream but she didn't care. If it meant that she got to spend any time with her mother, even a dream version of her mother, she would take it.

"What about daddy? Is he okay? Is he with Grandpa Steve and Grandma Edith?" Emma asked in reference to her deceased grandfather on her father's side and deceased grandmother on her mother's side. Emma knew it was only a dream but it would be nice to know if everyone was safe and happy.

"Yes, he's on a fishing trip with your Grandpa Steve as we speak. They're talking about things only a father and son can understand." Her mother told her as she ran her fingers through Emma's hair. Emma smiled as she listened to her mother tell her about the happy life they were living. It was a nice notion that her father could be reunited with his father in death... the father he never got to know. None of it was real but it was a nice thought.

"That's nice." Something occurred to Emma in that moment. If this was a dream then she would have to go back to the real world... The Hydra base. "When I wake up I'll be back at the base, won't I?"