So, in case you don't know, IT'S BACK TODAY! HUZZAH! I saw the first sneak peek yesterday and like the loser I am, I got inspired to write stuff. I know, shocking, right? That and the fact that I've had this song on repeat ALL WEEKEND. IF YOU DON'T KNOW THIS SONG OR THIS BAND YOU MUST GO LISTEN TO THEM RIGHT NOW BECAUSE FEELS.

Warning: Captain Swan feels – because seriously, this is how we OTP

Disclaimer: I don't own All Time Low or their song "If These Sheets Were States". I also don't own any Once Upon a Time characters – they belong to Adam and Eddy… *whispers* except Pan because he's hot… SHHHH

Emma walked into her apartment, her mind spinning from what had happened at the park. She shrugged off her coat and hung it up, then went into the kitchen and pulled out the ingredients to her favorite beverage. Her hands knowingly went through the ritual of mixing the cocoa and milk, adding a dollop of whipped cream on top when it was finished and a rather large dash of cinnamon for good measure.

As she sat down at the table and took a sip of her drink, she mused over what had happened. Everything that had happened since the guy in leather had showed up was… Well, it was crazy. He talked about her parents as if he knew them personally, which especially pissed her off. What kind of sick trick would it be if that guy knew her parents better than she did? Emma set her mug down in the sink, having drained it rather quickly. She was washing it out as Henry entered the room.

"Hey, Mom," he said as he walked up to her and planted a quick kiss on her cheek. Emma pulled him into a hug.

"Hey, kid," she replied. "How was school?"

He shrugged. "Same old, same old." He then broke out into a grin. "Oh, I almost forgot! Remember that project we got last week? The one where I had to rewrite a classic fairy tale with a new twist?" Emma nodded and he continued. "Well, I got a 100!" She smiled as he pulled out a giant book, the title, Once Upon a Time, written in bright letters.

"Wow… That's some book. How many fairytales did you rewrite?" Emma asked as she started leafing through the book. She had heard of the project but hadn't seen the fruit of her son's labors.

"A lot," Henry admitted. As Emma skimmed through the pages she saw various fairytales written with new twists or happy endings. One page contained characters that Emma assumed were Snow White and Prince Charming holding a baby, the name 'Emma' embroidered on the blanket she was wrapped in. She smiled, knowing that was Henry's way of trying to give her the best family possible. A family of true love.

Yeah, right. Like that would happen.

Henry's words brought her back to reality. "I dream up some weird stuff, huh?"

She nodded, not taking her eyes off the book. "Can I keep looking at this?" she asked. Henry nodded and said something about going up to his room before racing away, leaving Emma with the book. She mused over it for a while. Some of it bothered her – the Huntsman's relationship with the Evil Queen made her wonder if Henry was hanging out with the right people at school – but most of it made her smile. The scene with Ariel stabbing the Queen in the neck with a fork to save Snow White's life made her laugh until her stomach hurt. Still smiling, she stood to get some water. When she returned the book was open on an entirely different page from whence she'd left it.

It struck Emma as odd, but she dismissed it rather quickly as the faulty AC in the apartment. She sat back down and looked at the book again, and there, on the page, was the crazy guy in leather. Emma's eyes widened as she recognized him immediately – he was much younger, in a navy uniform instead of leather, and wearing his hair in a ponytail (which threatening to make Emma choke on her water from laughing), but she still recognized him. It was probably his eyes; she had never seen anything like them before. She read through his story. It was a story of loss, betrayal, love and sacrifice. She'd never heard this type of story for Captain Hook before. She connected with it, she really did. And, wow, was Peter Pan a dick or what?

Emma flipped back through the book to find the picture she had seen earlier and within a moment she was staring at the page, at the picture of Snow White and Prince Charming holding their newborn daughter, and being forced to part with her after only a moment.

She was their only hope, the book read.

She was their savior.

Emma cringed. That word… It felt wrong. There was no such thing as saviors. There was only what you did for yourself, because that was what you got out of life. What you give is what you get, after all. She closed the book, deciding that she needed something to clear her mind. As usual, she went for loud music. She reached to grab her phone out of her pocket but her hand felt something else in there besides. Her fingers closed around something round, and she pulled out the purple vial that what's-his-face had offered her. He must have snuck it into her pocket as she was leaving.

Sneaky little bastard.

She went back into her pocket and pulled out her phone, plugging it into the docking station and pressing shuffle. Her mind couldn't decide on one song, so she let it play. She was only half-listening until the chorus started, which seemed to suck her right in.

If these sheets were the states

And you were miles away

I'd fold them end over end

To bring you closer to me

Because I don't sleep at all

Without you pressed up against me

I settle for long-distance calls

I'm lost in empty pillow talk again

(I'm lost in empty pillow talk again)

The song continued from there but Emma wasn't listening. It had struck a chord with her. She'd always wanted that kind of love. That… longing, that needing to be with a person, to have them in your life and to never let them go. She thought she'd had that with Neal, but she was wrong.

Every fucking time she was wrong.

And it hurt. It hurt like a bitch.

But that was what made her strong. It made her Emma.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the vial, right where she'd left it on the counter. For a moment her walls went down and she thought… What if?

Then she mentally slapped herself, and Old Emma took over. Strong Emma. Tough Emma. Beat-drunks-over-the-head-with-a-chair Emma. But also Mother Emma. That part of her that wanted to protect Henry, no matter what the cost. To keep him from growing up the way she did. And she'd do anything to make sure he was happy.

But still…what if?

His words from earlier flooded her thoughts:

"Take a leap of faith, love."

He wasn't lying. He genuinely did love her. And it scared her. It scared her because she didn't know she felt, or how she was supposed to feel.

But she wanted to know what it felt like.

Her fingers closed around the vial and she slowly opened it, the liquid inside being a crystalline blue. It matched his eyes.

And with one hand resting on the book, the other holding the vial, Emma Swan took a leap of faith and took a cautious sip.

The effect was instantaneous; the memories rushed in like she'd had a dam in her mind that had just burst. It all came back – her giving up Henry, living in Boston as a bail bondswoman, Henry showing up at her door on her 28th birthday, the town…

Storybrooke. Her parents. Magic. The portal. The Enchanted Forest. The beanstalk.

Him.

Other memories came back (Neverland in particular making her want to grab their copy of Peter Pan on DVD and run it over with a truck), but the thought of possibly forgetting made her knees weak. She steadied herself on the table before grabbing the book and racing to Henry's room. He looked up, surprised, when she entered without knocking, immediately knowing that something was wrong.

"Mom! What's wrong?" he asked, taking in her disheveled appearance and looking at her as though she'd run across ten New York blocks just to get to his room.

"Henry... I need you to trust me." She knew she had to say this delicately or she would scare him, make him think she was crazy. Now I know what Hook felt like.

"Umm… okay," he replied. "What's that?" He pointed at the vial she was clutching in her right hand. Emma held it up.

"Something crazy happened to us, something that you don't remember. Neither did I," she said, "until I drank this. Just take a sip, okay? It'll all make sense, I promise." He seemed to scrutinize her. Emma was never sure why Henry didn't inherit her ability to tell if someone was lying, but at the moment, all she wanted was for him to believe.

Thankfully, it didn't take much. He did have the Heart of the Truest Believer, after all.

The effect on him seemed to be the same as it did on her. Henry rushed over and hugged her. He might've been crying; she couldn't tell.

"Mom," he said, and Emma ran a hand through his hair.

"I know, I know," was all she said for a few minutes as they held each other, still reveling in the fact that it was all real.

Henry looked up at her. "Where'd you get that potion?"

Emma breath hitched as she answered, "Hook." He started pulling her out the door, grabbing her hand and almost dragging her. "Whoa, where are we going?"

"To find your pirate!" Henry said excitedly. "To find our family!"

Emma smiled. "Now you sound like you," she said softly as they grabbed their coats and raced out the door.

It was Henry that saw him first, sitting on a bench in the park near where she'd left him. He was seemingly staring out into the sky. Henry wanted to run over and surprise the pirate, but Emma stopped him. As affectionate as Henry may be, she wasn't sure that Hook would take kindly to being tackle-hugged by a 12-year-old.

The two of them walked up behind the bench. Emma cleared her throat.

He turned to look at her. "You're here…" he said, and saw Henry. "And you brought the boy. To what do I owe the pleasure? Or would it amuse you to see me detained by the local law enforcement again?" There was no bitterness in his voice, just sadness and pain. He may been trying to be snarky, but Emma saw past it. He thought that his mission had failed – probably thought that she'd thrown out the vial or smashed it, or just thought that he was crazy and was waiting for the cops to show up.

"Killian," Emma said, and he looked at her with bewilderment and new hope in his eyes, "the only person around here that's gonna chain you up is me."

Henry launched himself at the pirate, who was surprised but hugged her son back. Emma laughed, and Killian released Henry only to pull her into the hug. Emma hugged him back, barely able to contain her smile. They broke apart and she wanted to close the distance between them, to kiss him when there was no fear of loss. But there would be time for that later.

Henry broke the silence. "Now what?"

Killian grinned, and Emma saw the "dashing rapscallion" in him return. He ruffled Henry's hair and winked at Emma as he said, "Now, lad and lass, we go home."

Wow. Just… WOW. This is probably the most I've ever written. Like, seriously. God damn.

I had a lot of feels while writing it, though, so it's okay.

Please review with your expectations for the episode, or some con/crit! Both would be welcome!

KEEP CALM AND SHIP CAPTAIN SWAN EVERYONE!