A familiar tingle rippled through Emma, followed by a dull throbbing pain that filled her head as she started to regain consciousness. What happened? she thought to herself.

Her memories came back in flashes.

Zelena coming back. Emma and Regina pairing up to try and defeat her. Zelena grabbing Emma and stabbing her in the neck with a hairpin. Blackness.

As she continued to become aware of her surroundings, she heard voices arguing.

"…She's my true love, not yours! You shouldn't even be here! You have no right to her love!"

"It's not like I planned for this to happen, pirate." A pause. "You could always lie and tell her it was you."

"Mom, you can't do that! She needs to know—"

"She's waking up!"

As Emma's eyes fluttered open she became aware of two things.

One, even in the dim, horrible lighting of what looked like a hospital room, Regina still managed to look radiant and as gorgeous as ever.

Two, everyone was staring at her, and while they all seemed happy, they also all looked like they were hiding something.

"What happened?" she croaked out.

Snow immediately rushed forward and picked up a glass of water from the bedside table, handing it to her. "Zelena came back… again. She poisoned you with a sleeping curse."

"A sleeping curse?" Emma asked. She took a sip of the water. "How did I wake up—"

"Shh," Snow interrupted, running a hand soothingly on Emma's shoulder. "Don't try to talk right now. You should rest."

Emma gave her mother a look, but before she could say anything, Henry shuffled up to her.

"Hey, Mom," he said with a small smile, one that didn't quite reach his eyes. He gave her a hug. "It's good to have you back."

"How long was I out?" Emma asked.

Snow and David exchanged looks with the rest of the group. "Three weeks," Snow answered softly, not meeting Emma's eyes.

"Three weeks?"

"We… we ran into some trouble figuring out how to… wake you up," Snow said slowly.

Emma shook her head. "No, there's something else. Something you're hiding from me."

Snow sighed. "We're just not sure how… to tell you."

"How to tell me what?"

Her mother looked over towards where Regina and Hook were standing. The two former villains exchanged looks.

Hook stepped forward with a smile that Emma immediately knew was hiding something. "Looks like we're confirmed true loves, love. My… kiss broke the curse."

Henry let out a disgruntled noise and Emma faintly heard him mutter, "Jerk," under his breath before he stomped out of the room.

"Henry—" Regina started, following him out.

"What was that about?" Emma asked.

Hook waved his hand in a flippant manner. "No worries, love. He's just… going through a phase."

Before Emma could respond, Whale entered the room, flipping through a clipboard of papers in his hand.

"Glad to see you awake," he said nonchalantly. "As expected, everything is fine now. We all know the repercussions of being in a sleeping curse, considering how many damn times it's happened, so you are free to go when you'd like." He took out a bottle from his pocket and handed them to her. "These are for sleeping. The first couple of nights might be a little rough, especially considering how long you've been out, so if you're having trouble sleeping, take one before bedtime and it should help."

Emma nodded. "Thanks." As Whale left the room, Emma started to get up out of the bed.

Snow put her hands up in front of her, trying to stop her. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Out," Emma said, gently pushing her mother aside. "Whale said I could go whenever I damn well pleased, so I'm going now."

"But you should re—"

"No," Emma said defiantly. She looked around and saw a pile of clothes on the chair. She quickly grabbed them and rushed into the ensuite bathroom to change.

When she got out, her parents and Hook were still standing there, giving her the same look she'd seen before that told her they were hiding something.

"If you'd like, love, we could just go back to your place to sleep—" Hook began.

"No," Emma repeated, a little louder. "I need to find my son and make sure he's okay."

"But you—"

"Stop it!" Emma shouted, throwing the room into a heavy silence. "I don't need you all telling me what I need to do! Dammit, I'm a grown woman, I don't need you to treat me like I'm a child!" She let out a heavy sigh. "I know you're hiding something from me, and I don't like it. Now stop pestering me and let me go see my kid."

Without waiting for a response, she marched her way out the door. She looked to her left and saw Regina and Henry standing in a little corner by the vending machines.

As she approached, unnoticed by the two, she heard a snippet of their conversation.

"You need to tell her, Mom!"

"Henry, I told you, she's better off not knowing."

"But you're lying!" Henry shouted.

Emma cleared her throat, announcing her presence. The two whirled around to face her.

"Hey, Ma," Henry said in a disgruntled tone similar to the one he'd used earlier. He didn't even try to look happy this time, though.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Regina asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," Emma said. "Whale said I could go." She looked at the mother and son duo in front of her with critical eyes. "Would either of you care to tell me what everyone is hiding from me?"

"Nothing," Regina said, a little too quickly for Emma's liking.

"Mom," Henry hissed under his breath. "Just tell her."

Emma crossed her arms in front of her. "Yeah, Regina, just tell me," she sassed, her irritation rising the longer the truth remained hidden from her.

Regina shook her head, looking down sorrowfully. "I can't, Emma," she said softly.

Emma stepped forward towards the brunette and laid a hand on her arm, ignoring the familiar tingle that happened whenever the two came into contact— "Regina—" wait.

That tingle. It's the same tingle she felt when she and Regina opened up the portal to the Enchanted Forest with Jefferson's hat. The same tingle she felt when the two held hands before Regina sent Emma with Henry to New York. The same tingle she felt when the two exchanged a hug last Christmas.

The same tingle Emma felt the instant she woke up.

"It was you," Emma whispered, staring in awe at Regina. The brunette looked up at her. "You're the one who woke me up."

"Yep!" Henry answered with a grin, happy that the secret had finally been let out.

The brunette beside him remained silent, only staring at Emma.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Emma asked softly.

Regina shook her head, tears starting to fill her eyes. "I…"

Before she could continue, footsteps behind them alerted them to the presence of the other three.

"Emma, you really should go and relax," Snow said in her motherly tone. "I've been through a sleeping curse before, honey, I know how it feels after—"

"STOP!" Emma shouted, whirling around as anger flared in her eyes. "Stop trying to tell me what to do! Stop following me, and most of all, stop lying to me!" She looked up at Hook. "Why did you lie to me?"

Hook looked confused. "Lie to you about what?"

"It wasn't you," Emma said. "You said it was you and it wasn't."

Realization dawned on Hook's face as he realized what she was referring to and he looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry, love."

Emma scoffed. "You think 'sorry' is going to cut it? God, you felt that you could—"

"How did you think I felt?" Hook asked, genuine hurt on his face as he looked up at her. "To learn that my girlfriend of two years didn't even love me enough to break her own damn curse! But the woman who cursed us all to begin with apparently was enough! I love you, Emma, and it hurt to not see you wake up when I kissed you the day you were cursed. I spent three weeks wondering if maybe true love's kiss wasn't going to work, or if it was just that we weren't meant to be. And then Regina decides to kiss you on a whim, and just like that, you're all better." He sighed. "I'm sorry," he said again, softer. He shook his head. "I guess we're done, then." He stared at the blonde for a second longer before heading off, muttering something about needing a drink.

Emma stared after him as he left. She then turned to her parents. "Could you take Henry for tonight, so Regina and I can talk?" she asked.

The two nodded, not saying anything. Henry gave an encouraging smile to his adoptive mother and gladly went along with his grandparents.

Emma turned to Regina. "Wanna go for a walk?" she asked.

Regina nodded, and the two set out towards the path behind the hospital. Silence followed them, and they continued to make no noise as they walked for a few minutes.

Finally, Emma's curiosity got the better of her. "Could you… tell me how it all happened? From the beginning?" She gave a supportive smile. "No lies, this time?"

Regina genuinely smiled back. "No lies," she agreed. She waited a minute before beginning her story.

"It all started when a woman showed up at my door with my son, wearing an atrocious red jacket…"