Emma came home to a disaster.

Though, admittedly, disaster probably wasn't the right word. As far as serious messes went, this probably didn't even rank. (Yes, there were dishes all over the counter. But the dishes were stacked neatly and organized, for Pete's sake.) In light of Snow White's usual impeccable cleanliness, however, this could be considered havoc. Even as Mary Margaret, Emma had never seen her make half so much of a mess without cleaning it up right away. The apartment looked positively overturned.

"Mom?" Emma called, hanging up her jacket and tossing the keys on the table (an act that would normally constitute a scolding, but Emma figured couldn't really be complained about today, as the table was covered any number of random objects).

"In here," came Snow's voice from the other room, sounding distracted and just a little desperate. Emma stepped through the curtain to find her mother taking clothes from the dresser, shaking them out, and tossing them carelessly on the bed.

"Um, mom? What are you doing?"

"Hmm?"

"You realize you're doing that backwards, right? You're supposed to fold the clothing and put it in the drawers."

"I can't find it." Yup, definitely distracted. And not making any sense. Emma waited for her to elaborate. She didn't.

"Can't find what?"

Snow didn't reply, simply continued to reverse the laundry day process.

"Mom! What are you looking for?"

Snow's head came up briefly. "My ring. My wedding ring. Oh, David's going to be so upset!" she looked as though she might burst into tears any second. Emma's tone softened.

"Mom. It's ok. It's just a ring. It's got to be around her somewhere. Probably not at the bottom of your winter clothing, but somewhere. Besides, you can get a new one that looks exactly like it if you have to."

"No, I can't. I can't get one exactly like it, ever."

"Sure you can. There are special order sites all over the internet."

"The ring is not from here, Emma. It's from the Enchanted Forest."

"I know that. But it was a simple enough design. It wouldn't be too hard to replicate."

"It was your grandmother's ring!" Snow shook a sweater extra hard for emphasis.

"It was Eva's ring? Didn't she have a lot? She was a queen; surely you have some other jewelry of hers. Your tiara, for instance."

"No. Not Eva's. Ruth's. David's mother. Oh, I have to find it!" Snow ran her fingers though her hair and pulled open another drawer.

"Mom! Calm down, please! You're just working yourself up."

"You don't understand, Emma! It's important!"

"Mom, I get it. The ring is how you met Dad. But he won't stop loving you because you don't have it!"

Snow still looked as though she might start crying any second. "She gave up everything for us. You wouldn't be here without her."

Emma sighed. "Yeah, I know. She raised my father. Without her, he wouldn't have been born, et cetera, et cetera. I get it."

"That's not what I meant. Emma, she saved your life, even before you were born." Snow stood and moved to the closet, pulling out boxes of shoes.

"Now you really aren't making sense. Are you sure you are ok? She died before you were married, remember?"

"No she died just after we were married. That was before the wedding though." Snow's tone was again distracted and distant. Emma frowned.

"Mom, I think you need to take a break. You're talking crazy."

"I can't stop. I have to find it. She made me drink that water to break the curse. She and Lancelot did, I guess. I didn't even know. She died because of it."

Running a hand over her face, Emma groaned inwardly. She was beginning to think her mother truly had turned into a crazy person. "You know I have no idea what you are talking about, right? What water? What curse? Are you sure you don't have a fever?"

"Emma, I'm fine!"

"Right. Ok. But will you please explain yourself? In less vague terms?"

"I have to find it!" Snow's voice reached desperation.

Emma took her mothers arm, hauling her to her feet against all resistance. "Tell you what. You explain all this about Ruth and the water and the curse and how Lancelot, of all people, fits into it, and then I'll help you look for the ring." Emma plunked Snow down in a chair at the table and looked at her expectantly to see if she would cooperate, fully prepared to take more drastic measures to calm her mother down.

The prospect of help seemed to do the trick, because Snow brightened a bit and then sighed. "Fine." Emma smiled, satisfied, and sat down in a chair facing her, waiting.

Taking a deep breath, Snow smiled nervously at Emma. "I've never told anyone this, not even your father. No one knows the whole story. I suppose Lancelot did. I did tell you that you owe him your life, didn't I?"

"Mom," Emma said pointedly, to keep her on track.

"Right. Um. Where to begin?"

"How about with the curse? What curse would that have been, exactly?"

"Oh. Yes, I suppose that's a good place to start. Well, after your Father and I became engaged and decided to take back the kingdom, King George captured me and cursed me with a curse he and his wife had allegedly bore. He gave me a drink of water that would make me unable to bear children. He wanted to hurt David, whom he had never considered his son. David ruined him when he didn't marry Abigail, so he wanted to ruin David."

"Why did you drink the water?"

"He tricked me. I didn't know until after."

"Right. Ok. So, Ruth. What does she have to do with this?"

"Well, David and I went to the farm where he grew up. We were supposed to meet there, and then I would get to meet her for the first time. He got there first, as did some of George's soldiers, and Ruth was wounded in the crossfire, shot with a poisoned arrow. Lancelot had been working for George, I think, but when George cursed me, he brought me back to Charming, and was loyal to us from then on. We decided to travel to Lake Nostos, to heal Ruth with the water."

"Lake Nostos? Where we built the portal? But there was no water there."

"Right. We didn't know that yet, since there had been when Charming last visited. When we were traveling, Ruth showed me a charm she had, enchanted to determine the sex of your firstborn child by moving in one direction or the other, even before the baby was conceived. I didn't want to, but indulged her. She held it over my hand, but the charm didn't move at all. I told her of the curse, and she promised the water in the lake could heal me if it could heal her."

"But she died."

"Right. When we got there, the lake was already dried up, save for one small drop in the shell of a snail. Charming gave it to his mother, but it didn't work. He wanted to look for more water, but she insisted that it was of no use. She regretted only that she wouldn't live to see us married, but I asked Lancelot if he could perform a wedding ceremony. He did, and she died shortly afterwards. When David found her charm, he wanted to give it a try. He said she would have wanted me to have it, and it was all a superstition anyway, what was the harm in trying? I wanted to tell him of the curse then, but when I started to, he already held the charm over my hand, only this time it moved."

"The curse broke with true love's kiss, at your ceremony!"

"No, Emma. The curse broke when I drank the water from the chalice during the ceremony. Ruth never drank it. She had Lancelot switch it out, so that I would drink it instead. She sacrificed her life for my and David's happiness. She died so that you could be born, you and Neal. Lancelot denied it, but I know he helped her."

"You knew then that I would be a girl, didn't you."

"I did. Oh, I couldn't wait for you, Emma."

"Did Dad ever find out? About the water and everything. "

"I could never bring myself to tell him. That's why I was so upset when I couldn't find the ring today. First of all, I didn't really want to have to tell him the whole story, why I was so upset. And second, it is all we have left of her.

"Maybe not."

Snow looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"She sacrificed herself for him, you, and me. You learned how to do that from her. I owe her my life, a few times over. So, essentially, she gave you my life. Neal's life. You may not have her left, but you have her legacy."

"Oh, Emma." Snow leaned forward, tears in her eyes, and wrapped her arms around her daughter. "Darling, that was just what I needed today."

Emma hugged Snow back, smiling. "Should we go find that ring, or what?"

"I suppose we shall." They stood and began to search the apartment. Emma was surprised at how much her mother had taken apart that afternoon. Dishes were stacked all over the kitchen, the bathroom drawers were emptied.

"Was it really necessary to remove all the books from the bookshelves? What did you do, use it as a bookmark?" she asked sarcastically, moving back into the main room. Snow shot her a look.

"Don't get smart with me. It could be anywhere." She returned to the bedroom, and Emma heard the shuffle of shoeboxes. With a sigh, she began to put away dishes. Clearly the ring wasn't in the cupboards; maybe Snow had missed it on the counter and didn't see it because of the mess.

Suppertime was nearing (as was the return of the boys; Charming had taken Henry and Neal to the park for the day), when Emma dropped a stack of papers while attempting to clean up by putting away the things on the table. Sheets of paper went flying and slid all over the floor. With a sigh, Emma got down on her hands and knees, hoping that the order of the papers not so important for her to get reprimanded later. Finally, she picked up the last on from where it landed against the base of the stairs and gasped. Tucked at the edge of the stair in a divot in the ground was the ring. Emma picked it up with a smile.

"Mom?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Are you sure this ring is fit for a queen? I mean, yeah, it's a pretty green color and all, but it's so simple. It looks a little dirty too, you might want to get it cleaned."

Snow came bursting from the bedroom, her eyes growing wide as she spied the ring in Emma's hand and the smirk on her face. "You found it!"

"I guess it rolled under the stairs. It I wasn't so clumsy, we would still be looking." She held up the stack of papers with a sheepish grin. Snow hugged her fiercely.

"Oh, thank you Emma. Thank you thank you thank you."

"Don't mention it. You'd help me find something that special."

Snow stepped back with a smile, replacing the ring on her finger. "Thank you just the same."

"No problem. Really. But Mom? I really think you should tell Dad about it. The whole story. He deserves to know. He can't be mad at you anyway, you didn't know. I think it would honor his mother's memory, after all this time."

Snow took a deep breath, and as if on cue, David and the boys came through the door.

"What's with the mess?" asked Henry, a question that was on all their faces. (Well, his and David's. Neal was too young to know different, and simply reached for his mother with a toothless smile.)

Emma gave Snow a pointed look, then turned to Henry. "Hey kid, want to go get takeout for dinner?"

"Yeah!" came the enthusiastic reply.

"Want to tell me what's going on?" David asked Snow while Emma put on her jacket. As the door closed, Emma could hear her mother take a breath and say, "I lost my ring today. I found it, but I have something I need to tell you."

Emma smiled. She wasn't worried; they'd made it this far. Everything was going to be ok. Ruth's legacy would live on in the love of their beautiful little family.