Author's Note: Just a little filler idea I had for episode 2x19 before Emma goes to read Henry's storybook (specifically her parents' story) at the docks.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Once Upon A Time or claim to own any of its characters.

Enjoy!

Beans.

Not just any beans, magic beans, and they had kept this from her until now? What about Storybrooke? And Henry? And everything else?

Truth be told, she was beyond thrilled that David and Mary Margaret hadn't opposed to her going back to the apartment instead of her following them around like a lost puppy everywhere. She really didn't want to see them, let alone be near them, after they had dropped the biggest bomb imaginable at the worst possible time. They wanted to go back to the Enchanted Forest and leave everything behind to restore their ruined kingdom — the one she had been ecstatic to leave as soon as possible to return home.

This was her home, and now she was honestly contemplating the actual possibly of going back to the land she came from? What the hell?

This world has been nothing but cruel to you. If we go back you might be able to have your happy ending.

The hell with it. Maybe it was what was best for everyone, especially for Mary Margaret, but she currently wasn't anywhere near the ship they were willing to sail. How could restoring a land be her chance to have a happy ending? Being a princess wasn't exactly appealing to her either with all the frilly, stupid gowns and everything else her mother loved so much. She only wanted to be the sheriff of Storybrooke, and that was that.

But a nap, she decided, would be much better than thinking about magic beans and other lands, and, as soon as her head hit the pillow after she flicked on her alarm clock, she was out like a light and succumbing to slumber.

Usually, she dreamt of things she could never remember, but this. This was different.

She was standing in the biggest room she's ever been in, which was beautifully decorated with ribbons and garlands of gold and silver of every kind. Men and woman were dancing before her eyes, dressed oddly, but the quick flashes of bright colors was so mesmerizing that she couldn't help but stare anyways. Women are in gowns and dresses, dressed at their finest, and men are dressed in suits she's never once seen before. It was better and classier than a tuxedo, at least, and they gracefully kept waltzing all over the floor with their partners. The music everyone was dancing along to was some kind of classical genre that wasn't bad, but wasn't that good either. It was perfect for whatever the hell this kind of dance was, a mixture of harmonized tunes for ball dancing, but that was it.

Ball dancing. That's it! That's where she was! At a ball!

Yeah, so where was the nearest exit then?

But, if she's here, Henry must be too, and so leaving without him was out of the question. She didn't know anyone else here, and had no intention of dancing with anyone at all either. Ever. He was probably on the sidelines somewhere like she was, and finding him wasn't exactly that difficult. But what she hadn't been expecting was to find him excitedly enjoying himself dressed like… Like a prince.

"Kid, we're leaving. There's no way I'm staying for a ball, and neither are you."

Wait. If she was at a ball, did that mean she was wearing… Fuck.

She was afraid to look, but she did anyways, and she immediately wants to set herself on fire for wearing a soft, fluffy, satin blue gown. She's not a princess, and she isn't a ball person either. The sooner they could leave so that she could change, the better.

"Emma, we can't leave!" he protests, and he uses those puppy dog eyes she can never resist. "You promised you'd stay. The ball barely started yet! And this is my first one!"

When had she ever promised that she'd stay for a ball?

"Fine, but later we're leaving," she sighs, trying to conceal her irritation. "I hate this gown."

"Nawh. It's cool!" Henry grins, and she affectionately ruffles his short, brown hair. He always knew exactly what to say.

"Thanks, kid," she smiles, but before she has the time to say anything else the music suddenly comes to an end, so does the dancing, and a horn is blown. That typical arrival tune she's heard so many times in movies is being played for a brief moment to catch everyone's attention, and she's assuming that someone highly important had arrived; someone who had enough authority and power to interrupt an entire ball.

"Presenting his Royal Highness Prince David, and her Royal Highness Princess Snow White!" a man's voice loudly announced, and she sighed deeply.

Of course.

She should have known that it was going to be them. She should have, but she didn't; however, she took queue from the crowd and applauded along with them anyways as David and Mary Margaret, well, Snow White and Prince Charming, elegantly walked into the ballroom together with an arm linked and their hands intertwined like the lovesick couple they are.

"C'mon, let's go see them!" Henry excitedly blurs out as the music from earlier started again, but, before she even has the time to refuse, he's holding on to her hand and dragging her with him to see her parents. His grandparents. The Prince Charming and Princess Snow White.

"Woah, kid, slow down a little!" she exclaims, but by then they had already reached them, and she can't help but gasp in pure shock at the sight before her.

This… This didn't look like David and Mary Margaret at all. Well, David still looked like David aside from the princely outfit he was dressed in, but Mary Margaret was an entirely different story.

The most surprising change was that her hair wasn't short anymore. It was even longer than hers, and was somehow pined up on her head along with the tiara she had once seen in the apartment back home. She was wearing a gown similar to her own with matching gloves; however, hers was a soft, satin purple color, and the chest piece was incrusted with a diamond pattern or something similar to it anyways. Snow White's eyes were sparkling and shimmering against the soft candlelight, and her smile was an exact replica of how happy she truly was. No, she didn't look like Mary Margaret at all. She looked like a princess.

Not once before had she ever seen her so happy. She belongs here in this land as their kind, just, and fair ruler over this kingdom — their princess. It's her title and responsibility, not hers. She's the one, out of everyone else, that feels like she doesn't really belong to be here, and she's pretty sure that look must've flashed in her eyes since she suddenly felt a gloved hand gently and lovingly caressing her cheek.

Henry was probably over the moon discussing with his grandfather, but it was the very last thing on her mind. Right now, she was having a moment of her own with her mother.

"You don't have to dance or mingle with anyone," Snow reassured with a warm smile, gazing into her eyes in the exact way she always did with Henry: a mixture of pride, joy, and pure love. "I'm happy you came to celebrate with us, and that's all I could ever ask for."

"I could do without the stupid dress," she counters, and her mother laughs the most beautiful laugh she's ever heard. The mock frown she beamed in response was almost too inevitable. "But what are we celebrating?"

"Oh, we're celebrating and honoring our guests for their kind, appreciative, and wonderful support these past months while we were restoring the kingdom. It's finally come to an end. This is our happy ending, Emma," Snow replied with teary-eyes, almost immediately pulling her into an embrace afterwards.

This was it. This was their happy ending.

This was her happy ending too.

If we go back you might be able to have your happy ending.

As long as she had her family, no matter where they were, they would be her happy ending. They were the source of her everlasting happiness, and she couldn't possibly dream of being the reason why Mary Margaret would have to spend the rest of her life in Storybrooke instead of here. She deserved to have her happy ending as much as she did.

"I love you, Mom," she mumbled, sighing away the weight she's been carrying on her shoulders for too long as she clung tightly onto Snow and closed her eyes shut. Tears didn't spill, but they were surely present in her eyes.

"And I love you. I always have, and I always will," her mother answers, soothingly running a hand up and down her back, and she she's pretty sure she heard her choke back a few tears.

As much as she doesn't want to pull away, she does, and Snow motherly wipes away the single tear that had somehow managed to escape with her gloved thumb. She shrugs back a little and genuinely smiles back, and so does her mother.

"Hey, Mom! Gramps said I can have a dance with you now!" Henry perks in, interrupting the little moment they were having, and she loves him even more for it.

"Henry," David chastises, giving him a knowing look as he raises an eyebrow. It must be the "princely code" he was silently reminding him of.

"Oh yeah, um," Henry bows, extending his hand before her. "May I have this dance, Mom?"

"Of course, kid."

In seconds, she's taking a hold of his hand with a beaming smile and following him to join the other dancing couples. As she does so, she catches sight of her father asking Snow to join him for a dance, which she obviously agrees to. He leads her inside the crowd, and she can't help but roll her eyes as everybody clears away and stands to the side until it's only the four of them that are left on the ballroom floor. Figures. Royals always got the spotlight.

Abruptly, the music suddenly stops then picks up again with a different song, and Henry is adorably dancing with her as best as he can for his height and age. She isn't much of a dancer either, so they work perfectly together, but her parents are the ones who have everyone's eyes on them as they literally float across the ballroom floor together. She's never seen a more beautiful sight than this, and she hopes it never comes to an end. This was her family, as strange as they could be, but she wouldn't ever trade them away for the world after spending so much time looking for them.

After dancing a little while longer with Henry, she suddenly catches David and Snow smiling foolishly at each other. He dips her, leans down, and…

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

"Ew no," she grumbles groggily to herself, burying her head in her pillow. "Henry look away."

But when the reality of where she truly is and where she isn't finally settles in, she sits up and sighs to herself. Yeah, that had certainly been one heck of a dream, but it had also been the eye opener she had needed. Selfishly, she had been blinded by the comfort of what she's known for her entire life rather than the best interests of her family. Not only had it given her answers, but it had left her searching for more as well. Luckily, she knew exactly where to find them.

Not bothering to fix her hair, she slid on her black coat and boots, took Henry's storybook, and headed out of the apartment after a quick lock of the door to the loneliest place she could think of: the Storybrooke docks.

Dreams give us the answers we can't always find when we're awake, while stories, fairy tales especially, give us the answers we long to find when we're actually awake, and it was her parents' story that held the remaining answers to her dilemma.

And as the prince chased the thief on horseback…