Emma gave what she hoped was a small, comforting smile, nodding in understanding.
She'd done a lot to survive over the years, and some of it wasn't exactly going to win her any awards as a 'saviour'. Giving up Henry for his sake was both the best thing she could've done and the worst. If she'd kept him, they'd have struggled, sure, but maybe she wouldn't have been so embittered and maybe he'd be more adjusted and he certainly would've have had to almost die for her to believe in magic. If she'd been destined for breaking the curse, surely she would've done it regardless of where she was in her life at the time.
It was the same as Snow and Charming, Mary Margaret and David. Sending her away had been their only hope to save everyone else, but their altruism had cost her a childhood, and hardened her at a very young age to the reality of the world. So much so that she still wasn't sure about letting them in.