I don't own Once Upon A Time and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Emma and Henry Swan are happy, but neither can shake the feeling that they're missing something important. Emma just can't put her finger on what it is so she's learned to live with it while Henry tries to ignore it. It's not really working for either of them, though. They have a routine – Emma will make breakfast for her son, then drop him off to school, and then head out to find the latest criminal who has skipped out on a court appearance. She tries to make sure she's home in time to pick him up for school, but it doesn't always work like that and their neighbor has to do it. On the weekends, they explore the city and try to have fun.
Something nags at Emma whenever they watch Disney movies – Henry loves them – but she can't figure out why. It worsens when they watch Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, her son's favorite of them all. What is it about this particular movie that makes her feel even worse about what is it they're missing? She isn't sure, but she pretends to be enthralled for Henry's sake. Meanwhile, he feels weird every time the Evil Queen is on screen but doesn't tell his mother in case she bans him from watching the movie again. That is something he definitely doesn't want.
Emma doesn't understand why this feeling has only cropped up this year – she felt perfectly normal up until recently. Sure, it feels a little foggy when she thinks about the past, but Henry's birth is clear as a bell. Her decision to keep him had been easy once she held the newborn for the first time. Giving him up after that hadn't been an option for her. And they moved a few times – Boston and Maine are a few of the states they've lived in – but she always tried to make sure that it was during the summer so Henry wasn't uprooted during the school year. Maine is a blur, though, which confuses her since that move only occurred last year. She tries to push it to the back of her mind and only think about the present. Everything makes more sense now.
Henry's loved every place they've been too, although Maine is a bit confusing to him too. He blames it on the fact that he is a little kid and can't remember everything. That theory makes a lot of sense. And he gets a headache every time he tries to remember what happened there. It's pretty confusing, but he only likes to think of the here and now, just like his mom. The past isn't all that important.
Emma and Henry are normal and that's all there is to it. They won't hear otherwise. So Emma smiles at her son after as they prepare to go out for the day and jerks her head to the closet so he won't forget his coat. "You really need to remember this on your own, kid. I can't remind you all the time."
He shrugs. "You love me too much to let me freeze."
She laughs. "You're probably right. Come on, let's go." She watched as he heads to the closet and gets his coat. The two then head out for a day of fun.
"I love you," Henry murmurs later that night. He's exhausted and she practically had to carry him inside. He's starting to get a little too big for her, however, and she mourns the time when he was a baby.
"I love you, too." Emma kissed his forehead and leaves his bedroom, shutting the light as she goes. She hopes he won't be too hyper tomorrow. That tends to happen after he's had long days for some reason. She really doesn't understand it.
The pattern they stick close to keeps chugging along, but something happens only a week later that changes their lives. Emma is horrified when the strange man shows up and kisses her (she intends to report him to the police), but he seems familiar for some reason. She really doesn't understand why and files it away for later. And the last straw is when he shows up at Henry's school, ranting about fairy tales. Emma will not tolerate some creep stalking her son like that.
But something clicks into place for both Emma and Henry after that day and when their memories return, everything makes sense again even though neither understands why. It feels like a relief to know what they were missing, why everything felt off. They are now seeing clearly for the first time in a long time, but they have another crisis to deal with – Storybrooke is somehow back and being attacked by the Wicked Witch (and why is she surprised Oz is real? There seems to be endless worlds), and her help is needed.
Emma Swan is the Savior and she is going to do what she needs to do to help her family and friends. Henry Mills can't wait to see his family – especially his grandparents, father, and other mother – again. He's missed them, even when he wasn't sure what was missing.
It feels like home when they cross the town line into Storybrooke with Hook. Emma can't wait to see her parents again and she wonders what she's missed in their year apart. She has a feeling it's a lot. Catching up with them is both exciting and terrifying, but Henry's grin is infectious.
Just like they thought, a lot has changed in the year they've been gone. They can't help but smile at the familiar sites, all the places they never thought they'd see again. Granny waves excitedly at them as they pass by and the two of them enthusiastically wave back. Hook just nods at them.
For the first time in a long time, Emma Swan and Henry Mills feel like themselves again. They don't intend to go through this again and hope that the Wicked Witch doesn't have any spells up her sleeve that will tear everyone apart again.