The thin blanket of fresh snow on the pavement crunched underfoot as the children stepped off the school bus parked at the bus stop on Main Street. Today was the official start of Christmas Vacation in Storybrooke, and all the school children were eager to begin the break from school.

As Henry broke away from the group of his classmates to make his way to his grandparents' place, he stopped when he heard someone calling out his name.

"Henry! Hey, Henry!" Turning, Henry saw his friend and classmate, Grace (who sometimes went by Paige) jogging over to him. A smile immediately appeared on his face when he saw her. Ever since the new school year had begun, they hadn't seen each other that often, due to them no longer sharing any classes. But they had become very good friends over the summer.

"Hi, Grace," Henry greeted when she reached his side. "What's going on?"

"I've been wanting to tell you all day!" Grace stated, her excitement evident on her face. "Papa and Belle finally returned home from the Enchanted Forest last night!"

"Really?" Henry exclaimed. "That's great!" It had been months since Jefferson and Belle had ventured into the Enchanted Forest to secure the objects that remained in Rumpelstiltskin's vault, to ensure they wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. Even though Grace had been able to keep in touch with them with an enchanted compact mirror Emma had given them, it had been clear that she missed them terribly. So Henry was very happy to hear that they'd returned home at last.

"Yeah," Grace agreed with a nod. "And I was told to give this to you." As Grace spoke, she handed Henry a small envelope. Upon opening it, he saw it was an invitation.

"You're going to be hosting a Christmas dinner?" Henry asked as he read the invitation.

"Well, it's a combination of a Christmas dinner and a celebration of Papa and Belle's safe return," Grace explained. "Belle wanted a way to express how much she's missed everyone. And, considering the size of the guest list, it makes sense for them to host the party at Papa's house. It's one of the only places in town that's big enough accommodate everyone."

"Yeah, good point," Henry agreed, trying to picture everyone trying to fit into the loft apartment, which was cramped enough with his grandparents and mother living under the same roof. "So, you wanna come over for a bit? Grandma's going to be making her Christmas cookies."

"I'd like that," Grace replied. "But I need to get home soon. The weatherman said a nasty snowstorm's going to hit town the day after tomorrow, so Papa wants to get to the store as soon as possible, so we can get everything we need for Christmas dinner before the blizzard hits."

"Okay," Henry said, nodding in understanding. "I'll see you later, then."

When Henry made it back to the loft apartment, Mary Margret and Emma had already finished laying out the ingredients in preparation for their cookie baking. On the dining table, there were a good number of decorative tins waiting to be filled. When the Dark Curse was in effect, Mary Margret had held a tradition of giving out tins of homemade cookies to the town residents every Christmas. A tradition that Emma had participated in the year before, when they had simply been roommates with no knowledge of their true relation to one another. While this would be the first Christmas in Storybrooke since the curse was broken and everyone's memories were restored, Mary Margret saw no reason not to continue the tradition. But this time, it would be a true family tradition.

As the three of them worked on mixing up the dough and preheating the oven, Henry told Emma and Mary Margret about Jefferson and Belle's return, and how they were inviting everyone to Christmas dinner at Jefferson's mansion. Both women expressed no objection to the idea. In fact, it seemed like the perfect solution to an issue they hadn't gotten around to discussing. Mary Margret's pregnancy had reached the fifth month, and she had been instructed to not overstrain herself. Considering this would be the first Christmas where her whole family was back together, expecting her to take it easy when it came to preparing the holiday dinner seemed like wishful thinking. So the news that Jefferson and Belle were inviting everyone over seemed like the answer to their prayers.

In no time at all, the delicious smells of vanilla and cinnamon filled the loft apartment as the batches of sugar cookies and snickerdoodles baked in the oven. The enticing aromas were accompanied with amicable chatter with occasional laugher as Mary Margret, Emma and Henry talked about nothing in particular. When the first batch of sugar cookies had cooled enough to decorate, there was a soft knock on the door. Upon answering the door, Emma found Robin's small son, Roland, looking up at her.

"OH, hello, Roland," Emma greeted.

"Hi," Roland replied. "Is Henry home?"

"Yes, he is. Why don't you come inside? We're about to start decorating the Christmas cookies. Would you like to help?"

"Yeah!" Needing no further invitation, Roland stepped inside and promptly climbed up into the chair next to Henry, giving him a wide smile. Ever since Henry had helped Roland escape from Zelena's horde of flying monkeys months ago, the young boy had practically hero worshiped him.

As Mary Margret offered Roland a kid's paint brush and the pallet of colored sugar icing, Roland started to glance around at the various decorations that already filled the loft apartment, from the strands of garland wrapped around the wooden weight-bearing poles and banisters to the small tree standing in the corner of the room.

"Who's that?" Roland asked, pointing at a cardboard cutout of Santa and his reindeer, which was taped to the wall.

"Oh, of course," Mary Margret said, eyes widening in realization. "That's Santa Claus and his reindeer. I'd almost forgotten you weren't familiar with Christmas, since you weren't brought over to Storybrooke through the curse like the rest of us."

"You don't have Christmas in the Enchanted Forest?" Emma asked.

"No, we didn't have Christmas," Mary Margret stated. "At least, not quite. In the Enchanted Forest, we had the Winter Solstice Celebration, which does have similar traditions. Such as the evergreen trees being brought indoors. But the Winter Solstice Celebration was mainly focused on celebrating the fact that the winter was half-over. It was a celebration of life, and the reminder that spring would come again. Christmas, on the other hand, Roland; it's a special time of year where you get together with your family and closest friends. It's a time to express your love for one another, and show kindness and generosity to everyone. Even people you don't know very well."

"And who's Santa?" Roland asked again.

"Santa Claus is a very special part of Christmas," Mary Margret continued. "After everyone goes to sleep in Christmas Eve, Santa will come on his magic sleigh, pulled by flying reindeer. He visits every house, leaving presents for all the good little boys and girls."

"Really?" Roland exclaimed with wide eyes.

"I'm surprised Henry hasn't told you about Santa, yet." Emma commented.

"I don't think he's real," Henry admitted, focusing his eyes on the cookie he was decorating.

"Really?" Emma blinked in surprise. "I'd have thought you'd believe in Santa more than anyone."

"I wasn't really allowed to believe in Santa," Henry explained with a shrug. "Apart from the candy canes we got in school, the only gifts I ever got on Christmas were from my other mom." Emma could only stare in shock for a few minutes as Henry continued to decorate the cookies in front of him. Finally, she was able to tear her eyes away to look up at Mary Margret, who was giving her a sorrowful look. Wordlessly, she gestured for Emma to come over for a private word.

"I didn't realize Regina didn't even let him believe in Santa," Emma stated once she and Mary Margret had moved to the other side of the loft.

"I'm sorry for not telling you before," Mary Margret apologized. "It's just…. I could tell how upset you were last year, when it was just the two of us for Christmas. I could tell you wanted so badly to at least see Henry for a little bit, and how sad you were that you two couldn't be together that day. I thought that, if you knew Henry didn't believe in Santa Claus, it would only upset you even more."

"Yeah, I get that," Emma replied. "It's just… I thought every kid believed in Santa at some point. And, since Henry's supposed to have the heart of the Truest Believer, or whatever Pan said, I thought he'd believe in Santa more than everyone else."

"Well, maybe this year will be different," Mary Margret pointed out.

"What, are you saying you think there is a Santa Claus?" Emma asked. "But I thought you said Christmas didn't exist in the Enchanted Forest."

"Well, that doesn't mean he didn't exist in some other world," Mary Margret announced. "After all, Dr. Whale didn't come from the Enchanted Forest, but he still wound up in Storybrooke. And, now that the curse is broken and everyone has their memoires back…."

"Hang on," Emma interrupted. "Didn't Dr. Whale come over in the curse because Regina wanted him to? So, why would she have specifically chose to bring over Santa Claus?"

"Oh," Mary Margret's shoulders slumped slightly. "I guess you have a point. Even if there was a Santa in some other realm, the curse wouldn't have picked him up unless Regina willed it to."

"Yeah," Emma agreed. "So… maybe, in this case, it's best that Henry never believed in the first place."

In response, Mary Margret let out a noncommittal hum. But a plan was already formulating in her head.

Mary Margret made her way down the Storybrooke pier, clutching her parcels close to her side. Even with her heavy winter coat on, she could still feel the early winter chill in the air. So it amazed her to see the group of men moving briskly about the docked ship, showing no sign of being bothered by the frigid coastal wind. Perhaps it was possible that their years at sea helped them grow accustomed to working in bad weather. Even so, she couldn't fight the empathetic shiver at seeing one particular figure standing out on deck without so much as a scarf around his neck. Right away, she made a mental note to try and convince him to expand on his wardrobe. At least to include something that would offer more protection against the wind and snow. Maybe she could even coerce him into it by giving him a new winter coat for Christmas. And perhaps a matching hat and mittens, as well.

Well, maybe just one mitten, Mary Margret amended to herself.

As Mary Margret approached the gangway, the man standing closest to the railing glanced up and saw her.

"Good morrow, my lady," he greeted, getting to his feet.

"Hello, Starkey," Mary Margret replied, making her way up the gangway. "What are all of you up to?"

"We're preparing the Jolly Roger for the storm that they say is on the way," Starkey explained. "The sails have to be taken down and stored below, and the gun ports need to be sealed shut, among other things. And we have to take steps to ensure no snow gets below deck. Otherwise, we'll have a flooding issue when the snow melts."

"Well, if you're going to be out her for a while," Mary Margret announced, "perhaps you really will need something to keep your energy up. I've brought you all these fresh-baked cookies, so you can share them amongst yourselves. I also brought you something warm to drink." As Mary Margret spoke, she held out a large tin of cookies, along with a large thermos.

"Thank you, your highness," Starkey replied, accepting the gifts with a large smile.

"Alright then, Starkey," Hook announced, stepping over. "You heard the lady. Better start distributing those vittles to the rest of the crew."

"Aye, captain!" Starkey said, turning and rejoining the others. After watching for a moment as Starkey started handing out the cookies to Smee, Bill and Robert, Hook turned back to Mary Margret.

"I might be wrong," he began, a hint of concern gracing his expression as he glanced down at Mary Margret's baby bump, "but I'd heard you were instructed to take it easy, for the sake of the little prince or princess there. Coming out here in the cold, carrying that large drinking vessel, hardly strikes me as following the good doctor's orders."

"It wasn't that much of an effort," Mary Margret insisted. "Besides, I hate the thought of you and your men working outside in this weather. Making sure you had something to keep your energies up seemed the least I could do."

"Well, for what it's worth, your efforts are appreciated," Killian stated. "Although, I wouldn't make a habit of it. You spoil my crew too much, and they might grow negligent about their duties."

"I'll keep that in mind," Mary Margret promised. "Although, I do have a confession. I did have another reason to come out here."

"And what was that?"

"Well, you've been spending quite a bit of time with my daughter, so…" Mary Margret trailed off when she noticed a shift in Killian's expression. Up until now, he'd maintained an air of casual formality, but the moment he'd heard Mary Margret bring up the subject of Emma, he suddenly looked resigned, and almost fearful. Immediately, she realized what he was thinking.

"Oh, no!" she went on, speaking quickly. "Don't misunderstand me. I'm not here to discourage your relationship with Emma."

"You're not?" Killian asked, visibly surprised.

"No. Emma seems happy with you. And that's all I've ever wanted for her. Actually, I was going to say that… I was hoping you'd be willing to do me a favor. I know it's probably asking for a lot. And if it wasn't for the fact that you're dating my daughter, I wouldn't have even dared asking."

"What is it that you want?"

"Well," Mary Margret began, choosing her words carefully. "To start off, I'd like to know how much Emma has told you about Christmas."

AN: I really don't know what procedures have to be done with old wooden ships like the Jolly to prepare them for snowy weather while in port. As you can imagine, the only information I can find on the subject is limited to modern motor-powered boats. So if the information isn't accurate, then I apologize.