You Knew

The four women forged on all weary and all tired but they pushed on determined to get through any obstacle this enchanted forest had to throw at them. At night was when things were quiet for them. They would camp in the woods and takes turns at watch. This night was only slightly different.

Snow white had these ideas running through her head. While she knew she needed to be worried about getting herself and Emma back to Storybrooke while also keeping herself and the other three women safe she wanted to be able to talk to Emma. She had questions that she wanted a few answers to but it seemed the timing was never quite right but then again there might not ever be a good time.

She walked over to Emma as she sat by the fire. She dropped down to sit beside her. Mulan was keeping watch over camp and Aurora was asleep a few feet away from the fire. She thought to herself... "It's now or never."

"Emma?" Snow said. "How are you feeling?"

"Good. I'm great. I'm... fine." She answers sarcastically as she throws a twig into the fire.

"Can I... Look... I don't want to scare you off..."

"Ah, seriously? You want to do this now?"

"Emma, I have to do this now. Who knows when I'll get the chance. You're just going to have to get over this. I can't force you to talk to me I know this but I'm just going to keep trying until I get some answers from you so... yes... we're doing this now."

Emma relented. She sat back against the log behind them and waited. Snow moved to sit closer. "I mean it isn't like you have somewhere else to be right?"

She let out a sigh of annoyance followed by a muttered, "Fine."

She takes a moment to think of her first question before deciding instead to just wing it. "When we were back in Storybrooke, when we were living together, you were so different then. I just don't understand why you are pushing me away now."

"Wow... you just jumped right into that."

"It wasn't where I planned to start but now that it's out there... why are you pushing me away?"

"I'm not... I mean I didn't think I was... at least I don't mean to... Look." She let out a sigh, now in frustration, as she meets Mary Margaret's gaze. "You just... it's like overnight you turned into someone else. I mean you were Mary Margaret this teacher from Storybrooke and now you're... I mean you're Snow White this fairytale princess. I guess I'm just confused. It's like you're a completely different person."

"Well I guess I am but the whole time we were together you knew who I was didn't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Since Henry found you and brought you to Storybrooke... when he told you that Snow White was your mother..."

"No. I didn't think you were my..."

"Emma. Deny it all you want... when you first asked me who Henry thought I was and I told you that I was Snow White you knew then didn't you?"

"I... No of course not. I mean..." Emma fidgets where she sits not sure if she should get up and walk away or ignore the question altogether.

"You wanted to believe it." Snow says smiling. She takes Emma's hands and holds them in hers. "I saw that expression on your face when I said it. At the time I thought the look you had on your face was because you had forgot something or that you heard me wrong but I've had time to think about it. You knew then."

"I couldn't have known then. I was just... Henry had just brought me to town the day before. He told me the story, this story, our story and it was all so unbelievable. I mean he told me that Snow White and Prince Charming were my parents right before I spoke to you then and it just... I mean... then I asked you who he thought you were and you said Snow White and I guess I just..."

"You wanted it to be me." Snow reaches out to touch Emma's face.

"Maybe." She says moving awkwardly away from her.

"Well... if it makes you feel any better the more I saw of you the less I wanted you to leave. From the beginning I felt like I knew you but I couldn't quite pin it down. We got to know each other and I know you grew closer to me just like I did to you. You finally told me that Henry thought I was your mother and for some reason I just accepted that this was what made you grow so close to me."

"What? No... that's not it at all." She says in defense.

"Emma. Stop fighting it. I know you love me. I know you do and it's okay. You don't have to be tough all the time. Like it or not I am your mother. Like it or not this is all real. You're in a fairytale." She pulls Emma's head to rest on her own shoulder and as Emma does not fight her she continues to share her thoughts. "We've been taking care of each other this whole time. It's funny isn't it? We've been acting as family not knowing that we were but that didn't matter. You wanted me to be your family and so I was. It was that simple."

It was quiet for a few minutes before Emma got the courage to speak. "Do you remember when you ran away from jail and Jefferson captured us?"

A laugh escapes her but she replies, "Of course I remember."

"Well... I never told you what he tried to make me do. Jefferson I mean."

"He didn't hurt you did he?"

"No, he uh..." She laughs uncomfortably, "He asked me to make his hat work. He kept telling me I had to make it work. We... uh... we talked about his daughter and about who he thought he was. I... never told you what I said to him when he asked me if I believed in the curse."

"No, you didn't tell me much of anything. What did you say?"

"I said that if the curse was real... that the... that... the woman in the other room is my Mother and I wanted to believe it more than anything."

Snow's eyes water but she fights off the need to shed the tears. In almost a whisper she asks, "You... said that?"

"Yeah. I did. The thing is... I think at that point I already believed you were."

"So I was right. You knew."

"Well... I guess so." At the realization of being caught in her admission she smiles sheepishly.

"You know... I guess the other questions I had don't matter."

"Why?"

"I'm too emotionally drained by these revelations I don't think either of us can take much more." They laugh as Emma holds tight to Snow.

"Emma, I know I say I don't need to ask any more questions... I mean you know me, eventually I will... I don't want to make you uncomfortable in anyway but I wanted to point something out to you."

"Okay." She sits up straight to watch as Snow tries to gather her words now.

"As Mary Margaret I got to watch you in sort of this impartial way. I noticed you noticing me. Does that make sense?"

"Uh... no..."

"Okay... well... when we first met I remember how you looked at me. You looked at me like you were shocked to meet me. I noticed it again later on when you were ready to leave Storybrooke the first time and I asked you in to talk to me. Remember that night?"

"Yeah."

"You were watching me. I could see out of the corner of my eye that you were watching me."

"Yeah. I know... I... I remember." Suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was headed.

"Do you feel comfortable enough to tell me why?"

"I... was looking for it." She says through gritted teeth.

"Looking for what?"

"I don't know... a family resemblance... something that would convince me that you might be related to me somehow I guess." She says this with an almost pained look.

"Emma?" She laughs softly "Oh, I wish you would have told me what Henry told you at first. It would've made some sense to me."

"What? How would any of this have made sense? It was ridiculous wasn't it? You didn't know who you were. How would me telling you that early on have changed anything?"

"I don't know. I guess it wouldn't have made any difference really but by then I already got so used to seeing you I was saying anything at that point to make you stay. I told you, the more I saw of you the less I wanted you to leave. I had already made up my mind to convince you to stay just as soon as you had said you were leaving."

"So I didn't have a fighting chance did I? Leaving I mean?"

"No... " she smiles, "between Henry and me you were pretty defenseless I would say." She laughs.

"Yeah, boy did I get myself into something..." She laughs, "but... I see what you're trying to do here. You're trying to get me to admit in my own words that yes I think I knew right away that what Henry had said was all true but me being a cynic I was very hesitant to believe. I knew."

"You knew." She repeats in confirmation. "Alright then... you are free to put those walls back up until I come at you with more questions."

"Ha ha! Alright. Thank you and I'm sorry you thought I was shutting you out. I don't mean to it's just going to take some time for me to get used to the fact that... well that my friend has now become my Mother. Oh my God, just saying that out loud seems crazy... but it doesn't mean I don't love you or that I won't try."

"Wow, did you just admit that you love me?"

"Ah... you are impossible do you know that?"

"I know." she smiles feeling very sure of herself. Once again she pulls Emma's head to rest on her shoulder. "I promise I won't do anything embarrassing like kiss your head or rock you to sleep alright?"

"Alright, Alright... will the harassment never end?"

"No, no it won't."

Emma pulled back to look Mary Margaret in the eye, "Thank you for jumping in after me."

"I told you, I came here to be with you."

"I know. I'm glad."