(The Enchanted Forest-Past): Prince Charming rides his white horse as fast as he can with a determined expression on his face, he has one goal and one goal only and that is to find the woman he loves... Snow White. He sped into the woods on his steed and at last he found a clearing and a group of seven dwarfs surrounding a coffin made of glass, the dwarfs who heard him coming turned to face him. The dwarf with the glasses known as Doc who had a sad expression on his face and tears in his eyes said, "Your too late." The dwarfs part for Charming to see a young woman with hair as black as ebony and skin as white as snow is in a death like sleep inside the glass coffin who is revealed to be Snow White. Charming looks at Snow White devastated that he had lost his true love. "No. No!" He frantically rushed to the coffin and looked at Snow White with tears in his eyes, then he says tearfully, "Open it." The other dwarf who is leaning against the glass coffin otherwise known as Grumpy with two other Dwarves argues. "I'm sorry, she's gone." Charming looks at Snow White again and says, "At least let me say goodbye." The dwarves exchange silent looks to each other and agreed, they remove the lid to the glass coffin. Charming knelt down and kissed Snow White, once he kisses her a gust of winds blow through the land. Charming pulls away from the kiss and Snow White awakens taking a breath. Snow White looked around until she settles her gaze on Charming. "You..." She whispers breathily and gently placed her hand on his cheek, "You found me." Charming smiled. "Did you ever doubt I would?" He asked, "Truthfully, the glass coffin gave me pause." She said smiling and sitting up in the glass coffin. Charming lovingly brushed her hair away from her face, "Well, you never have to worry. I will always find you." Snow White smiles happily, "Do you promise?"
"I do." Charming says at their wedding with a gentle and loving smile on his face. The bishop asks, "And do you Snow White promise to take this man to be your husband and love him for all eternity?" Snow White smiled lovingly at her Prince. "I do." "I know pronounce you husband and wife." The bishop declared. All the guests including the dwarves give a round of applause. Snow White and Prince Charming are about to kiss when the doors burst open, there standing at the end of the hall is The Evil Queen. The Evil Queen flashes a wicked grin. "Sorry I'm late." The Evil Queen struts into the church, two guards attempt to attack her, but she sends them flying with her magic. Doc worried for Snow White rushes toward her, "It's the Queen. Run!" But Snow White stands her ground and draws Charming's sword and points it at the Queen. "She's not a Queen anymore." The Evil Queen smirks at Snow White, "She's nothing more than an evil witch." Charming gently takes the sword from Snow White's hand and says soothingly. "No, no, no. Don't stoop to her level. There's no need." Prince Charming stands bravely in front of Snow White protecting her from the Queen, "You're wasting your time. You've already lost. And I will not let you ruin this wedding." "Oh, I haven't come here to ruin anything. On the contrary, dear, I've come to give you a gift." Snow White defiantly responds. "We want nothing from you." The Evil Queen sneers at Snow White, "But you shall have it! My gift to you is this happy, happy day. But tomorrow, my real work begins. You've made your vows, now I make mine. Soon, everything you love, everything all of you love, will be taken from you. Forever. And out of your suffering, will rise my victory. I shall destroy your happiness, if it is the last thing I do." The Evil Queen turns and walks toward the doorway when Charming yells angrily at her to get her attention. "Hey!" The Queen turns to face him. Charming throws his sword at The Evil Queen but she uses her magic to dissipate in a cloud of purple smoke before the sword hits it's target. The people at the wedding are now scared to death by the Queen's threat, Charming and Snow White embrace each other also frightened by the Queen's threat. Their image freezes and changes into an illustration from a fairytale book.
(StoryBrooke Maine-Present): 1 year old Emma sat calmly in her car seat looking out the window of Ms. Stevens' car. On the inside she couldn't contain her excitement, she was being adopted by a very nice lady named Mary Margaret Blanchard in a place called StoryBrooke Maine. "So Emma, are you excited about meeting your new mommy?" Ms. Stevens asked looking in the rear view mirror at the toddler in the backseat. Emma nodded with a big smile on her little face, they were close to their destination. Ms. Stevens saw a sign that said 'You are now entering StoryBrooke.' Ms. Stevens smiled and said, "Emma, we're here. " Emma looked out the window and saw a sign that said 'Welcome To StoryBrooke.' Emma smiled and clapped her little hands and squealed, "Yay!" Ms. Stevens laughed and shook her head, as they entered the town Ms. Stevens stopped the car in front of a quaint little apartment building. Ms. Stevens unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the car door, she went to the back door of the car opened it and leaned in and unbuckled Emma from her booster seat took her in her arms, picked up Emma's purple sparkly duffle bag and Emma's baby blanket. "I hope you like your new and hopefully permanent home, Emma." Emma looked up at Ms. Stevens while sucking her thumb with her big beautiful emerald green eyes and nodded her head slowly. Ms. Stevens entered the apartment building, climbed up the stairs to Ms. Blanchard's apartment and knocked lightly on the door. "I'm coming!" Ms. Stevens was stunned when the door opened to reveal a raven haired woman with big beautiful emerald green eyes just like Emma's and a pixie cut. Mary Margaret smiled warmly, "Hi. You must be Ms. Stevens and this little cutie must be Emma." Ms. Stevens nodded and smiled. "Yes she is, can you say hi Emma?" Emma just buried her head in Ms. Stevens' neck. "She's a little shy but don't worry, she'll warm up to you." Mary Margaret nodded. "I certainly hope so. Please come in." Ms. Stevens entered the apartment and handed Mary Margaret Emma's duffle bag and baby blanket. Mary Margaret looked confused, "Is this all her stuff?" Ms. Stevens nodded. "Yes. Orphans don't have many belongings." "Oh. I see... Her bedroom is just up those stairs, I'll go put her stuff away." After Mary Margaret put Emma's things away they started working on the adoption papers. Emma was sitting on the couch watching her favorite cartoon Sofia the First. Mary Margaret looked at Emma with curiosity and said, "How long has Emma been an orphan?" Ms. Stevens' face became sad. "Ever since she was a newborn, a little boy found her on the side of the freeway. I don't want to even think of what would've happened to her if the boy hadn't found her." Mary Margaret was shocked and angry but she also felt hurt for poor little Emma. 'Who would abandon their own child on the side of the freeway! That's inhuman!' She was shaken from her thoughts when Ms. Stevens said, "The only item she has from her birth parents is her baby blanket. Sometimes I wonder why her parents gave her up. Maybe they did it to give her best chance." Mary Margaret froze, where had she heard that before... It felt like a distant memory that was trying to break through but the memory became fuzzy. She snapped out of her daze and looked up at Ms. Stevens, "Yeah... I-I guess so." Ms. Stevens just nodded her head with a solemn look on her face. "Well let me go over the papers... Mmhm, looks like everything is in order. I hope you don't mind but I would like to say goodbye to Emma." Mary Margaret nodded, "No I don't mind at all, go right ahead. I'll just be in the kitchen putting the dishes away." While Mary Margaret was emptying the dishwasher Ms. Stevens walked over to the couch where Emma was sitting and watching tv. Ms. Stevens grabbed the remote, turned off the tv and turned to Emma, she knelt down to Emma's height takes her in her arms and hugs her close, "I'm going to miss you Emma. I love you so so much." Emma's green eyes watered and her bottom lip quivered, Ms. Stevens slowly pulls away from the hug to see tears rolling down her cheeks. She gently wiped her tears away, "Shh. Everything will be alright sweetheart. You have a new mommy who loves you now!" Emma sniffles, eyes still watery from her tears nods her head slowly. Ms. Stevens picks up Emma and stands up, "Your going to love it here Emma! I promise. Ok?" Emma nodded. Ms. Stevens smiles tearfully, "Goodbye Emma." And then she kissed her on the forehead. Mary Margaret who was almost done unloading the dishwasher froze again where had she heard that before. The image in her head was trying so hard to become clear but it stayed fuzzy again.
Mary Margaret finished emptying the dishwasher and left the kitchen. "Ok so Emma's things are all set up in her new bedroom." Ms. Stevens nodded, kissed Emma's forehead and reluctantly handed her to Mary Margaret who took her willingly, "Well I should get going. Goodbye Emma. I'll miss you." Emma waved goodbye to Ms. Stevens, when Ms. Stevens left Mary Margaret looked at Emma. "Well it is 8:15, we should get you ready for bed. But first I'm taking you to Granny's, what do you say to a grilled cheese?" Emma smiled and clapped her hands "Yay!" Mary Margaret laughed warmly and kissed her on the forehead. "Let's get dressed and then we'll go ok." Mary Margaret put on her jacket and then helped Emma into her little purple coat. "Well then looks like we're ready to go to Granny's." When Mary Margaret entered Granny's she was greeted by Granny, "Hello Mary Margaret." "Hi Granny." Granny notices Emma in Mary Margaret's arms, "Who's this little sunflower?" "Oh this is Emma, my adopted daughter." "Oh she's so cute. How old is she?" "She's a year old." "I'm sure you will make a wonderful mother Mary Margaret." "Thank you Granny." "Now what would you and Emma like to eat?" "Two grilled cheeses and two hot chocolates with cinammon." Granny smiled warmly, "Coming right up." After they ate at Granny's, Mary Margaret and Emma headed home, when they got back to the apartment Mary Margaret gave Emma a bath and helped her into her purple Princess footie pajamas and also helped her brush her teeth, than she put her to bed. Mary Margaret kissed Emma's forehead, "Goodnight Emma. Sweet dreams." Emma shut her eyes and fell asleep in her big comfy bed. Mary Margaret plugged in Emma's castle nightlight and left the room. She went downstairs, got into her white sweater and matching pajama pants, climbed into bed and fell asleep hoping Emma would have a good first night in StoryBrooke.
(Boston-Present): A 10 year old boy named Henry is reading a book called Once Upon A Time on his lap, he is at the part when The Evil Queen threatens everyone at Snow White and Prince Charming's wedding. He is riding a Greyhound bus to Boston. A woman looks at Henry and notices the book in his lap. "That a good book?" Henry looks at the woman. "This? It's more than just a book." "Oh?" The woman chuckles warmly and Henry turns his attention back to the book when an announcement is heard on the bus, "Boston, South Station. Thank you for riding Greyhound." Henry leaves the bus when it makes it's stop, he sees a cab nearby walks over to it and knocks on the window the cab driver rolls down the window and Henry pulls out a credit card. "Uh... Do you take credit cards?" The cab driver nods his head, "Where to, chief?"
A woman with red hair and blue eyes named Rose Swan exits the elevator and enters a fancy looking restaurant. Rose looks around until she finally finds her date. The man smiles and gets up from his seat and walks toward Rose and goes to shake her hand. "Rose." Rose smiled and shook his hand, "Ryan? You look relieved." Ryan shrugs, "Well, it is the internet. Pictures can be..." Rose interrupts him. "Fake. Outdated. Stolen from a Victoria's Secret catalogue. So..." They sit at their table, "So... Um... Tell me about yourself, Rose." "Oh. Ah, well, today's my birthday." "And your spending it with me! What about your friends?" Rose shrugs, "Kind of a loner." Ryan looks at her with a curious look on his face, "And, you don't like your family?" Rose's shoulders slumped. "No family to like." Ryan scoffs in disbelief, "Oh, come on. Everyone has family." Rose's eyes start to water and her voice cracks when she speaks. "T-Technically, yeah. A-And everyone knows who they are... Ready to run yet?" Ryan reaches over, wipes away her tears and whispers, "Oh, not a chance. You, Rose, are by far, the sexiest, friendless orphan I have ever met." "Ok..." Rose laughs and drys what's left of her tears. "Your turn. No wait, let me guess. Um... You are handsome, charming..." Ryan smiles, "Go on." "The kind of guy who -and now, stop me if I get this wrong - embezzled from your employer, got arrested, and skipped town before they were able to throw your ass in jail." Ryan chuckles nervously. "What?" Rose looks at him with disgust, "And the worst part of all is your wife. Your wife loves you so much that she bailed you out, and how do you repay that loyalty? You're on a date." Rose hissed. Ryan's expression is serious, "Who are you?" Rose smirked, "The chick who put up the rest of the money." "You're a bail bondsman." Rose corrects him. "Bail bonds person." Ryan nods, but all of a sudden he stands up quickly flips the table spilling wine on Rose's black dress and makes a mad dash out of the restaurant. Rose looks annoyed and angry, "Really?! This was my favorite dress! That asshole's gonna pay!" She storms out of the restaurant following Ryan. Ryan runs real fast across the street, while dodging traffic, all the way to his car. Rose angrily exits the restaurant and follows Ryan while also dodging traffic. Ryan starts the ignition, but the car doesn't move. He opens the door, looks out and sees a parking boot on one of his tires. Rose finally catches up to him with a very angry look on her face. Ryan tries to negotiate with her, "You don't have to do this, ok? I can pay you. I got money." Rose is disgusted and boiling mad, "Guess what asshole! No, you don't! And if you did, you should give it to your wife to take care of your family!" Ryan sneers at Rose. "What the hell do you know about family, huh?" Rose, now infuriated reaches in grabs Ryan and slams his head against the steering wheel rendering him unconscious. Rose furiously wipes away the tears rolling down her cheeks, "Nothing."
Rose arrives to her home which is an apartment. She goes into the kitchen and opens a box that has one little cupcake with chocolate frosting on the top. She takes out a single, star-shaped candle puts it on top of the cupcake and lights it. She leans on the counter, her eyes still red from crying and stares at the candle. "A-Another b-banner year." Rose closes her eyes and makes a wish, 'I wish I didn't have to be alone on my birthday.' She blows out the candle. All of a sudden the doorbell rings. Rose looks up with a confused expression on her face, 'Who could that be?' She leaves the kitchen walks down the entry hall and opens the door and sees a ten year old boy. "Uh? Hi. Can I help you?" The boy speaks, "Are you Rose Swan?" "Um... Yeah. Who are you?" The boy answers. "My name's Henry. I'm your son." Rose is stunned. 'He... He can't be. T-That's impossible.' Henry pushes past Rose and walks into her apartment. Rose is brought back to reality, "Whoa! Hey, kid! Kid! Kid! I-I don't have a son! Where are your parents?" Henry turns to face Rose and says, "Ten years ago. Did you give up a baby for adoption? That was me." Rose is stunned once again. "...G-Give me a minute." She rushes into the bathroom, locks the door and takes deep breaths, trying to compose herself. Henry yells from outside the bathroom door. "Hey, you have any juice?" Rose keeps taking deep breaths, "Never mind, found some." Finally Rose is calm, she exits the bathroom. She sees Henry drinking orange juice straight from the bottle. He puts the bottle down and says, "You know, we should probably get going." Rose looks confused. "Going where?" Henry smiles. "I want you to come home with me." Rose scoffs, she has had a rough day the last thing she needs is this kid telling her she has to go with him to some random place. "Ok, kid. I'm calling the cops." "Then I'll tell them you kidnapped me." Rose looks defeated and hangs up the phone. "And they'll believe you because I'm your birth mother." "Yep." Rose smirks at Henry, "You're not going to do that." Henry smirked back. "Try me." "You're pretty good. But here's the thing -there's not a lot I'm great at in life. But I have one skill. Let's call it a superpower. I can tell when anyone is lying and you, kid, are." Rose starts to dial 911 when Henry stops her. "Wait... Please don't call the cops. Please, come home with me." Henry pleads. Rose sighs, giving in. "Where's home?" "StoryBrooke, Maine." Rose scoffed, "StoryBrooke? Seriously?" Henry nods, "Mmhmm." Rose sighs. "Alrighty, then. Let's get you back to StoryBrooke." Henry smiles and follows Rose.
(The Enchanted Forest-Past): In the forest is a big beautiful ornate castle, Snow White is leaning on the door sill of the balcony, she is now pregnant. A bluebird that is perched on her finger flies away. Charming approaches Snow, concerned. "What's wrong?" Snow smiles reassuringly and shakes her head, "Nothing." Charming sighs. "You're thinking about what the Queen said again, aren't you? Snow, please. I can't keep having this conversation. You have to let it go. We're about to have a baby." Snow White walks toward the crib, "I haven't had a restful night since our wedding." Charming walks toward her. "That's what she wants - to get inside your head. But they're only words. She can't hurt us." "She poisoned an apple because she thought I was prettier than her. You have no idea of what she's capable of." Charming sighed, "What can I do to ease your mind?" Snow looks up at Charming. "Let me talk to him." "Him? You don't mean..." Snow White nods. "I do." Charming shook his head, "No, no, no. It's too dangerous." "He sees the future." "There's a reason he's locked up." Snow White sighs, "Can you promise me that our child will be safe? Can you guarantee it? Because he can." Charming sighs and finally nods his head in agreement. "Alright. For our child."
(Boston-Present): Rose is driving Henry back to StoryBrooke in her little yellow bug when Henry says. "I'm hungry. Can we stop somewhere?" "This is not a road trip. We're not stopping for snacks." "Why not?" "Quit complaining, kid. Remember - I could have put your butt on a bus. I still could." "You know I have a name? It's Henry." Henry turns his attention away from Rose and back to his book, Rose notices the book. "What's that?" Henry shook his head, "I'm not sure you're ready." Rose scoffs, "I'm not ready for some fairy tales?" "They're not fairy tales. They're true. Every story in this book actually happened." Rose sighed. "Of course they did." She said sarcastically. "Use your superpower. See if I'm lying." Rose looks at Henry for a minute then turns her attention back to the road. "Just because you believe something, doesn't make it true." "That's exactly what makes it true. You should know more than anyone." Rose looks at Henry with a skeptical look on her face, "Why's that?" "Because you're in this book." Rose sighs. "Oh, kid. You've got problems." Henry nods his head in agreement, "Yep. And you're going to fix them." Then Henry looks at the page in his book, which is an illustration of a torch.
(The Enchanted Forest-Past): A guard carrying a torch, Snow White and Prince Charming are walking down a tunnel leading to the dungeon, the guard says. "When we reach the cell, stay out of the light. And whatever you do, do not let him know your name. If he knows your name, he will have power over you." They reach the cell, the guard calls the prisoner's name. "Rumpelstiltskin. Rumpelstiltskin! I have a question for you." Rumpelstiltskin uses the bars of his cell to slowly climb down from the ceiling. "No, you don't. They do. Snow White and Prince Charming... You insult me. Step into the light and take off those ridiculous robes." Snow White and Prince Charming remove there hoods. "That's much better." Prince Charming along with Snow White approaches the cell, "We've come to ask you about the..." Rumpelstiltskin interrupts Charming. "Yes! Yes! I know why you're here! You want to know about the Queen's threat." "Tell us what you know." Snow White demands harshly. "Ooh, tense, aren't we? Fear not! For I can ease your mind. But... It's going to cost you something in return." Charming interrupts him. "No! He's just a waste of time." He whispered to Snow White who steps closer to the cell, "What do you want?" Rumpelstiltskin pretends to ponder that thought for a moment. "Oh... The name of your unborn child?" "Absolutely not!" "Deal! What do you know?" "The Queen has created a powerful curse. And it's coming. Soon, you'll all be in a prison. Just like me, only worse. Your prison, all of our prisons, will be time. Time will stop, and we will be trapped. Someplace horrible, where everything we hold dear, everything we love will be ripped from us while we suffer for all eternity. While the Queen celebrates, victorious at last. No more happy endings." Snow has a worried expression on her face. "What can we do?" "We can't do anything." "Who can?" Rumpelstiltskin giggles mischievously, "Why... Your eldest sister of course." Snow looks confused. "I don't have a sister." "Why yes you do. King Leopold and Queen Eva's first born, Princess Rose Red. She was sent through a magic mirror to be saved from a different type of curse from another evil witch I'm well acquainted with... The Princess is our only hope, and on her twenty-eighth birthday, the Princess will return. The Princess will find you and a final battle will begin. As for your child... I'd find a way to get it to safety! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Prince Charming takes Snow White by the hand and they turn to leave. "We heard enough. We're leaving." Rumpelstiltskin starts to yell at them, "Hey! No! We made a deal! I want her name! We had a deal! I need her name! I want her name!" Charming stops and turns to face him. "Her? It's a boy." "Missy... Missy... You know I'm right. Tell me, what's her name?" Snow turns to face him, "Emma. Her name is Emma." Rumpelstiltskin grins evilly. "Emma..."
(StoryBrooke-Present): Rose and Henry finally arrive in StoryBrooke. "Ok, kid. How about an address?" Henry smartly replies. "Forty-four Not Telling You street." Rose immediately stops the car in the middle of the road and gets out of the car. Henry also gets out. "Look, it's been a long night and it's almost... 8:15?" "That clock hasn't moved my whole life. Time's frozen here." Rose looks confused, "Excuse me?" "The Evil Queen did it with her curse. She sent everyone from the Enchanted Forest here." Said Henry. "Ok, the Evil Queen sent a bunch of fairy tale characters here." Henry nods, "Yeah, and now they're trapped." Rose scoffs. "Frozen in time, stuck in StoryBrooke, Maine. That's what you're going with?" "It's true!" Henry insists. "Then why doesn't everybody just leave?" "They can't. If they try, bad things happen." Said Henry. "Henry!" A man wearing glasses, walking a dog and carrying an umbrella approached Rose and Henry. "What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" "I'm fine, Archie." Archie finally takes notice of Rose and immediately gets lost in her big beautiful blue eyes. "Who's this?" Rose blushed, and turns away now facing Henry. "Just someone trying to give him a ride home." Henry smiles. "She's my mom Archie." "Oh. I see." Rose finally looked Archie in the eyes and said, "You know where he lives?" "Yeah, sure. Just, ah, right up on Mifflin street. The Mayor's house is the biggest one on the block. "Wait... You're the Mayor's son?" Henry looks at his shoes, "Uh, maybe." "Hey, where were you today, Henry? Because you missed your session." "Oh, I forgot to tell you. I went on a field trip." Archie sighed and knelt down to Henry's height. "Henry. What did I tell you about lying? Giving into one's dark side never accomplishes anything." Rose interrupts him, feeling awkward. Umm... Oookay. Well, I really should be getting him home." Archie looks at Rose getting lost in her beautiful eyes again. Rose looks at Henry confused, Henry just shrugged and Rose turned her attention back to Archie and snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Um... Hello? Anybody home?" Archie snaps out of his daze. "As I was saying I should get him home." "Yeah, sure. Well listen. Um. Have a good night and, uh, you be good, Henry." Archie walks away whistling. Rose watches Archie leave and then turns to Henry, "So that's your shrink." "I'm not crazy." Rose shrugged. "Didn't say that. Just, he doesn't seem 'cursed' to me. Maybe he's just trying to help you." "He's the one who needs help because he doesn't know." Said Henry. "That he's a fairy tale character?" "None of them do. They don't remember who they are." They walk back to the car. "Convenient. Alright, I'll play. Who's he supposed to be?" "Jiminy Cricket." "Right, the lying thing. Thought your nose grew a little bit." "I'm not Pinocchio!" "Course you're not. Because that would be ridiculous." They got in the car and Rose drove away.
(The Enchanted Forest-Past): The council is gathered around a table at the castle, Charming slams his fist on the table. "I say we fight!" Jiminy tries to reason with him, "Fighting is a bad idea. Giving into one's dark side never accomplishes anything." "Then how many wars has a clear conscience won? We need to take the Queen out before she can inflict her curse." Doc speaks his mind, "Can we even trust Rumpelstiltskin?" "I've sent my men into the forest. The animals are abuzz with the Queen's plan. This is going to happen unless we do something." Snow White sighed. "There's no point. The future is written." Prince Charming shook his head, "No. I refuse to believe that. Good can't just lose." Snow shook her head in disagreement. "Maybe it can." Prince Charming knelt down in front of her, "No. No, not as long as we have each other. If you believe him about the curse, then you must believe him about your sister. She will be the savior." The doors burst open and the guards enter, dragging a piece of a tree behind them. The Blue Fairy accompanies them. Prince Charming stands up, "What the hell is this?" The Blue Fairy flies into the room. "Our only hope of saving that child." Grumpy scoffed, "A tree? Our fate rests on a tree? Let's get back to the fighting thing." "The tree is enchanted. If fashioned into a vessel, it can ward off any curse. Geppetto, can you build such a thing?" Geppetto nods and pats Pinocchio on the head. "Me and my boy, we can do it." The Blue Fairy nods. "This will work. We all must have faith. There is, however, a catch. The enchantment is, indeed, powerful, but all power has it's limits. And this tree can protect only one." Prince Charming and Snow White look at each other with worried expressions on their faces.
(StoryBrooke-Present): Rose parks her car in front of a large, white house. Rose and Henry exit the car and walks up to a gate, Rose pushes the gate open and they head up the walkway. "Please don't take me back there." Henry pleaded. "I-I have to. I'm sure your parents are worried sick about you." "I don't have parents. Just a mom and she's evil." "Evil? That's a bit extreme, isn't it?" "She is. She doesn't love me. She only pretends to." "Henry... I'm sure that's not true." The door to the white house opened to reveal a woman with short black hair who rushes toward Henry and hugged him. "Henry! Henry... Are you ok? Where have you been? What happened?" "I found my real mom." Henry runs past her and a man wearing a sheriff's badge and runs into the house. The woman looks up at Rose stunned, "Y-you're Henry's birth mother?" Rose smiled shyly, "Hi." The sheriff speaks up. "I'll just go... Check on the lad. Make sure he's alright." The woman reaches out her hand to shake Rose's. "I'm Mayor Regina Mills and you are?" "I'm R-Rose Swan." Regina smiled, "How would you like a glass of the best apple cider you've ever tasted?" "Yeah sure, that would be great." Rose and Regina enter the house. Regina grabs two glasses from the kitchen counter and goes into the dining room, grabs a glass container removes the lid and pours out the cider into the two cups. "H-How did he find me?" "No idea. When I adopted him, he was only three weeks old. Records were sealed. I was told the birth mother didn't want to have any contact. "Y-You were told right." "And the father?" Rose looked down at her shoes. "T-There was one." "Do I need to be worried about him?" "Nope. H-He doesn't even know." "Do I need to be worried about you, Miss Swan?" "Absolutely not. L-Look I know what you're thinking, but I have no intention o-of taking Henry from you. I just gave birth to him you raised him, he's your son not mine." Regina smiled warmly at Rose and nodded. The sheriff comes downstairs, "Madam Mayor, you can relax. Other than being a tired little boy, Henry's fine." Regina smiled. "Thank you, Sheriff." The sheriff turns his attention to Rose and gets lost in her blue eyes. "Hello... I'm Sheriff Graham and you are?" Rose smiled shyly, "I'm Rose Swan, nice to meet you." They shake hands and Graham smiles warmly at Rose. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Rose. I hope to see you again sometime, maybe at Granny's?" Rose nods slowly. "Yeah... Maybe." Graham smiled. "Well good night ladies." Rose waves goodbye and Regina curtly replies, "Yes. Goodnight Sheriff." Graham leaves the house and shuts the door behind him. Rose and Regina head towards another room in the house. "I'm sorry he dragged you out of your life. I really don't know what's gotten into him." Rose shrugged. "K-Kid's having a rough time. It happens." "You have to understand. Ever since I became mayor, balancing things has been tricky. You have a job, I assume?" "Uh, I keep busy, yeah." Rose puts the glass of cider down. "Imagine having another one on top of it. That's being a single mom. So I push for order. Am I strict? I suppose. But I do it for his own good. I want Henry to excel in life. I don't think that makes me evil, do you?" "I'm sure he's just saying that because of the fairy tale thing." Regina frowned. "What fairy tale thing?" "Oh, you k-know. His book. How he thinks everyone's a cartoon character from it. Like his shrink is Jiminy Cricket." Regina still looks confused. "I'm sorry. I really have no idea what you're talking about." "You know what? I-It's none of my business. He's your kid. A-And I really should be heading back." Regina nods in agreement, "Of course." Regina opens the door for Rose and they exit the room. Rose walks down the walkway to her car, she turns around and looks up to the second story window and sees Henry peeking out the window. Henry closes the curtain and turns off the light. Later Rose is driving along the road out of StoryBrooke. She looks over to the passenger seat and sees Henry's fairy tale book lying there. Rose shook her head and smiled. "Sneaky Henry, very sneaky." When she looks back to the road, her eyes widen. She sees a wolf standing in front of her car. She immediately swerves to avoid it and ends up running into the StoryBrooke entrance sign. Rose's head hits the steering wheel rendering her unconscious, the last thing she hears is the wolf howling. (Graham's POV): I am sitting at my desk in the Sheriff's office when the phone rings. I sighed. 'A sheriff's work is never done.' I answer the phone. "Sheriff Graham, what's the emergency?" "Sheriff, a woman accidentally crashed into the town sign destroying it." "Is the woman hurt?" "She's unconscious. Must've hit her head on the steering wheel. What should we do?" "Ok. Uh... Take her to the hospital to check and see if she has a concussion. I'll be right there to ask her some questions... By the way, what is the woman's name?" "Uh, let me see... She has a Boston driver's license it says her name is Rose Swan." Graham froze in his seat. 'Oh no, Rose.' "Take her to the hospital. I'll meet you there." "Will do." Graham stands up from his seat, grabs his car keys and his jacket from the coat rack, leaves the station starts up his cruiser and drives to the hospital thinking one thing. 'I hope Rose is alright.'
(The Enchanted Forest-Past): In Emma's nursery Geppetto and Pinocchio are carving the magical wardrobe out of the enchanted tree. Meanwhile in another part of the castle, Snow White stands on a balcony looking sad and scared. She turns to look at Charming with tears in her eyes, "I don't want to do this." Charming looks at her. "It has to be you." Snow White walks toward him shaking her head. "I'm not leaving you." Snow and Charming embrace each other. "It's the only way. You'll go in there, and you'll be safe from the curse." Snow clings to his shoulders. "He said it would be on her 28th birthday." "What's 28 years when you have eternal love? I have faith. You'll save me as I did you." They passionately kiss. They break apart, Snow White has a distraught look on her face. Charming looks concerned. "What is it?" "Baby..." Snow White gasps in pain, "She's coming."
Meanwhile, Grumpy is watching the castle when he sees something. He turns his attention to Sleepy who is sleeping and kicks him. "Get up! Get up!" Sleepy gets up and looks at Grumpy. "Look." In the distance is a huge cloud of dark smoke. Rapidly, it covers the land and is headed towards the castle. Frantically, Grumpy rings the warning bell. "The curse! It's here!"
(StoryBrooke-Present): Rose's eyes open and sees that she's in jail, she hears whistling, she looks into the other cell and sees there is another prisoner across from her, he stops whistling. "What are you lookin' at sister?" An old man reprimands him. "Hey, Leroy! Manners. We have a guest." The old man turns his attention to Rose. "So you are uh, Henry's mother? How lovely for him to have you back in his life." Rose shook her head. "A-Actually, I was just dropping him off." Leroy scoffed, "Tch, don't blame ya. They're all brats, who needs 'em." The old man stepped forward, "Well, I'd give anything for one. My wife and I, we tried for many years. But, uh, he was not meant to be." "Well cry me a river." Leroy snapped and Rose glared at Leroy. Graham enters the room and takes out his keys. "Leroy! If I'm going to let you out, you need to behave." He unlocks and opens up Leroy's cell. "Put on a smile and stay out of trouble." Leroy gives Graham a sarcastic smile and leaves the police station. Rose speaks up. "W-Wait!" Graham looks at her patiently, "Aren't you going to let me out?" Graham nods and walks up to her cell. "Yes. After you answer some questions." Rose nods in agreement. "Ok." "Were you drunk?" Rose shook her head, "No, of c-course not." Graham nods, "Then what happened?" Rose takes a deep breath and tells him everything that happened and about the wolf she saw in the middle of the road. "A wolf? Are you sure you weren't hallucinating?" Rose nods her head. "I-I'm sure." Graham smiled. "Well then..." He takes out his keys, unlocks her cell and opens it. "Your free to go Miss Swan." Rose smiled warmly. "Thank you. And don't worry I know were just doing you're job." Graham nods in agreement. All of a sudden a voice calls out and Regina rushes into the room with a worried expression on her face. "Graham! Henry's run away again. We have to... What is she doing here?" Regina walks up to Rose. "Do you know where he is?" Rose frowned, "M-Madam Mayor, I-I haven't seen him since I dropped him o-off at your house." Graham defends her. "And, she, uh, has a pretty good alibi." "Yeah, well, he wasn't in his room this morning." D-Did you try his friends?" "He doesn't really have any. He's kind of a loner." "Every kid has friends. D-Did you check his computer? If he's close to someone, he'd be emailing them." "And you know this how?" "Finding people is w-what I do... I have an idea. H-How about you guys let me help you find him."
The three of them are in Henry's room. Rose is seated at Henry's computer searching through it with Graham leaning on the chair and Regina standing behind them looking over Rose's shoulder. "Smart k-kid - cleared his inbox. I-I'm smart too. A little hard disk recovery utility I-I like to use..." Graham smiled at Rose and shrugged, "I'm a bit more old fashioned in my techniques. Pounding the pavement, knocking on doors, that sort of thing." "Y-You're on salary. I g-get paid for delivery. Pounding the pavement is not a luxury that I get. H-Huh. His receipt for a website - Who's Your . I-It's expensive. He has a credit card?" Regina scoffed. "He's ten." Rose shrugged, "W-Well, he used one. Let's pull up a t-transaction record. M-Mary Margaret Blanchard... Who's Mary Margaret Blanchard?" Regina glared at the computer screen. "Henry's teacher."
In a classroom full of younger kids, which appears to be an art class. The kids are making bird houses. The teacher, Mary Margaret Blanchard is holding a bluebird in her hands while she walks the kid's desks. "As we build our bird houses, remember - what you're making is a home, not a cage. The bird is free and will do what it will. This is for them, not us. They're loyal creatures." Miss Blanchard let's the bird fly out the window. She turns her attention back to her students, "If you love them and they love you, they will always find you." The school bell rings. Miss Blanchard is brought back to reality. "We'll pick this up after recess. No running!" The kids file out of the classroom, while Regina enters shoving past them. Rose trails behind her. Mary Margaret sees Regina entering the classroom. "Miss Mills. What are you doing here?" Regina stormed up to Miss Blanchard, "Where's my son?" "Henry, I assumed he was home sick with you." "You think I'd be here if he was?" Regina snapped. "Did you give him your credit card so he can find her?" Mary Margaret looks at Rose, who is standing at the entrance. "I'm sorry, who are you?" Rose has a shy look on her face. "I-I'm his... I'm his..." Regina rudely cut in, "The woman who gave him up for adoption." Mary Margaret put her purse down on her desk and takes out her wallet. "Y-You don't know anything a-about this do you?" Mary Margaret shook her head, "No, unfortunately not." Mary Margaret looks through her wallet and notices her credit card is missing. Mary Margaret shook her head and sighed, "Clever boy... I should never have given him that book." "What in the hell is this book I keep hearing about?" Regina snapped. "Just some old stories I gave him." Mary Margaret said calmly. "As you well know, Henry is a special boy. So smart, so creative, and as you might be aware, lonely. He needed it." "What he needs is a dose of reality. This is a waste of time." Regina storms out of the classroom knocking over a stack of books. "Have a nice trip back to Boston." Rose and Mary Margaret bent down to pick up the books. "S-Sorry to bother you." "No it's... It's ok. I hear this is partially my fault." Rose frowned. "How's the book supposed to help?" Mary Margaret smiled warmly. "What do you think stories are for?" Rose shrugged and looked down at her shoes. "I don't know." Mary Margaret smiled, "These stories are classics. There's a reason we all know them. They're a way for us to deal with our world. A world that doesn't always make sense. See, Henry hasn't had the easiest life." Mary Margaret explained. Rose nodded in agreement, "Yeah, s-she's kind of a hardass." Mary Margaret shook her head. "No, it's more than her. He's like any adopted child. Like my adopted daughter Emma. He and Emma wrestle with that most basic question they all inevitably face - why would anyone give me away?" Mary Margaret noticed Rose's sad expression realizing what she had said she immediately felt guilty. "...I am so sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean in any way to judge you." Rose shrugged, "It's ok." "Look, I gave the book to him because I wanted Henry to have the most important thing anyone can have." Rose's eyes watered. "W-What's that?" Mary Margaret smiled warmly and took Rose's hand in hers, "Hope. Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing." "You know where he is, don't you?" Mary Margaret wiped away Rose's tears. "You might want to check his castle."
(The Enchanted Forest-Past):
From a tower window screaming can be heard. Snow White is in labor and screaming in pain. "I can't have this baby now!" Charming who is worried looks at Doc. "Doc, do something." He turns attention back to his wife. "It's going to be ok. The wardrobe is almost finished, just hold on." Meanwhile, The Evil Queen and her cohorts are traveling through the forest towards Snow White and Prince Charming's castle. Back in the Royal bedchambers, Geppetto enters the room and gestures to follow him. "It's ready." Charming smiled and took Snow in his arms, but Doc shook his head. "It's too late. We can't move her." Later Princess Emma is born. Snow White is cradling Emma in her arms. Charming and Snow kiss. Snow looks at Emma realizing something, "The wardrobe... It only takes one." The doors to the castle burst open and they hear the sound of yelling and the clashing of swords. "Then our plan has failed. At least we're together." Snow White shook her head. "No. You have to take her. Take the baby to the wardrobe." "Are you out of your mind?" "No, it's the only way. You have to save her." Charming shook his head. "No, no, no. You don't know what you're saying." "No, I do. We have to believe that she'll come back for us. We have to give her her best chance." Charming looks tearfully at Emma and kisses her on the forehead. Snow looks at Emma with tears in her eyes. "Goodbye, Emma..." Charming takes the baby from Snow's arms and rushes over to a rack holding swords and takes one, looks at Snow one last time and runs out the door leaving a devastated Snow White behind. Meanwhile in the hallway, Charming witnesses the death of one of his guards at the hand of one of Regina's Black Knights. The Black Knights charge toward him but he fends them off. One of them slices his shoulder with their sword while he shields little Emma from the danger. After he takes down the two Knights, he rushes to the nursery and heads towards the wardrobe and gently places Emma inside it and kisses her forehead once again. "Find us..." He shuts the doors to the wardrobe and locks them tight, he picks up his sword to fight two more Knights that entered the room. But one of the Knights stab him in his stomach and he collapses to the floor not taking his eyes off the wardrobe while one of the Knights manage to break open the lock, the Knight opens it only to find that it's empty and Emma is gone. Charming smiles weakly before finally becoming unconscious.
(StoryBrooke-Present):
Henry is sitting alone on his 'castle', which is actually a wooden castle-shaped slide at the local playground. Rose walks up from behind him, carrying his fairy tale book. She sits next to him and gives him the book. "You left this in my c-car." They look at the clock tower. "Still hasn't moved, huh?" "I was hoping that when I brought you back, things would change here. That the final battle would begin." Rose sighs. "I-I'm not fighting any battles, kid." "Yes you are. Because it's your destiny. You're going to bring back the happy endings." Rose rolled her eyes, "C-Can you cut it with the book crap." "You don't have to be hostile. I know you like me - I can tell. You're just pushing me away because I make you feel guilty. It's ok. I know why you gave me away. You wanted to give me my best chance." Rose's eyes watered, "How do you know that?" "Because it's the same reason Queen Eva gave you away." "Rose sighed. "L-Listen to me, Henry. I'm not in any book. I-I'm a real person. And I'm no savior. You were right about one thing, though. I wanted you to have your best chance. B-But it's not with me. Come on, let's go." Rose gets up and walks away from the castle, Henry follows her. "Please don't take me back there. Just stay with me for one week. That's all I ask. One week, and you'll see I'm not crazy." Henry pleads. "I-I have to get you back to your mom." "You don't know what it's like with her. My life sucks!" Rose's starts getting angry and her eyes water. "Oh, you want to know what sucking is? Being left abandoned on the side of a freeway. My parents didn't even bother to drop me of at a hospital. I ended up in the foster system and I had a family until I was three, but then they had their own so they sent me back." Rose sighed and bent down to be eye level with Henry. "Look, your mom is trying her best. I know it's hard and I know sometimes you think she doesn't love you, but at least she wants you." "Your parents didn't leave you on the side of a freeway. That's just where you came through." Rose frowned. "What?" "The mirror. When you went through the mirror you appeared in the street. Your parents were trying to save you from being cursed." "Sure they were. Come on, Henry." Rose puts her hand in his and they walk away from the castle.
(The Enchanted Forest-Past):
Snow White limps into Emma's nursery. Her eyes grow wide when she sees Charming laying on the ground deathly still. She rushes to his body and cries out, "No, no! No! No! No! Please... Please come back to me." She kisses him twice, attempting to bring him back to life. The Evil Queen enters the nursery with a wicked smile on her face. "Oh, don't worry dear. In a few moments, you won't remember you knew him, let alone loved him." Snow looks at The Evil Queen with tears in her eyes. "Why did you do this?" The Queen bends down to Snow White's level, "Because this is my happy ending." She hissed. The two Black Knights enter the nursery, the Queen turns her attention to them. "The child?" One of the Knights shook his head. "Gone. She was in the wardrobe, and then she was gone. She's nowhere to be found." The Evil Queen with a furious expression on her face turns to Snow White. "Where is she?" Snow White smiled. "She got away... You're going to lose. I know that now. Good will always win." She says while lovingly caressing Charming's cheek. The Queen smirks evilly. "We'll see about that." The ceiling of the nursery starts cracking and finally breaks apart, a twister of purple glittery smoke starts to form in Emma's nursery. Snow White looks around with a scared expression on her face. "Where are we going?" The Evil Queen grins victoriously, "Somewhere horrible. Absolutely horrible. A place where the only happy ending will be mine." The windows shatter, and the dark smoke fills the nursery, whisking them away.
(StoryBrooke-Present):
Regina opens the front door to see Rose with Henry. Henry runs inside the house and goes upstairs. Regina turns to Rose and smiles. "Thank you." Rose smiles back, "N-No problem." "He's seemed to have taken quite a shine to you." Rose laughed. "You know what's kind of crazy? Yesterday was my birthday and when I blew out the candle on this cupcake I bought myself, I actually made a wish. That I didn't have to be alone on my birthday. And then, Henry showed up." Regina sighed. "I hope there's no misunderstanding here." Rose frowned, "I'm sorry?" "Did I stutter Miss Swan? Don't mistake all this as an invitation back into his life." "Oh..." Regina interrupted her. "Miss Swan, you made a decision ten years ago. And in the last decade, while you've been... Well, who knows what you've been doing. I've changed every diaper. Soothed every fever. Endured every tantrum. You may have given birth to him, but he is my son." Rose looked scared. "I-I was not..." "No! You don't get to speak. You don't get to do anything. You gave up that right when you tossed him away. Do you know what a closed adoption is? It's what you asked for. You have no legal right to Henry and you're going to be held to that. So, I suggest you get in your car, and you leave this town. Because if you don't, I will destroy you if it is the last thing I do." Rose has tears streaming down her cheeks. "Goodbye, Miss Swan." Regina goes back into the house and slams the door behind her. She goes into Henry's bedroom, takes his fairy tale book with her and leaves. She walks toward a round mirror as she holds the book in front of her, she stares into the mirror looking very angry.
Meanwhile, Mary Margaret is volunteering at the hospital. She puts vases of pretty flowers next to the patients' beds. She also puts one next to a comatose patient, named 'John Doe', who is otherwise known as Prince Charming. Emma is at Granny's Bed and Breakfast, being babysat by Ruby and Granny while Mary Margaret volunteers at the hospital. Elsewhere, Henry is looking out the window of his bedroom at the clock tower, which still hasn't moved. Meanwhile, Rose goes to Granny's Bed and Breakfast, inside the inn Granny and Ruby are watching Emma who is in her playpen while they are arguing. "You're out all night, and now you're going out again. You're supposed to be helping me watch Emma while Mary Margaret's at the hospital." Emma reaches out her little arms reaching out for Granny. "Gwanny?" Granny smiles warmly, walks down the stairs over to Emma and picks her up from her playpen. "Why hello my little sunflower." Granny kisses Emma on the forehead and Emma squeals clapping her little hands. Ruby interrupts their sweet moment. "I should've moved to Boston.." Granny turns her attention back to her granddaughter, "I'm sorry that my heart attack interfered with your plans to sleep your way down the eastern seaboard." Rose clears her throat. "Um... E-Excuse? I'd like a room." Granny and Ruby look surprised. "Really?" Granny hands Emma to Ruby and walks over to the check-in desk. "Would you like a forest view or a square view? Normally, there's an upgrade fee for the square but, as friends do, I'll wave it." Rose shrugs. "Square is fine." Granny puts on her glasses. "Now, what's the name?" "Swan. Rose Swan." A man who had entered the inn unnoticed until he speaks up. "Rose. What a lovely name." Rose looks nervous. "Thanks." Granny hands the man a roll of dollar bills. "It's all here." "Yes, yes, of course it is, dear. Thank you. You enjoy your stay... Rose." The man exits the inn. Rose looks curious. "Who's that?" "Mr. Gold. He owns this place." Ruby replies. "The inn?" Granny speaks up, "No, the town. So how long will you be with us?" "A week. Just a week." Granny smiles warmly. "Great." Granny takes a key with a swan on it and gives it to Rose. "Welcome to StoryBrooke."
Henry is still watching the clock tower. When Rose takes the room key, the clock starts moving. Henry smiles.