1. The Dressing Room

Hands ran down the white satin dress. It was simple yet elegant. Her swan pendant now hung on her neck on a shorter golden chain to make it more elegant. Emma took a deep breath as she folded her hands across her flat abdomen and looked at herself in the mirror. Her mind was racing both from fear and excitement.

It had only been three months since Neal had come back into her life after being away for eleven years. The first month was rocky between them. Emma had so much hate and anger built up so she didn't exactly make it easy.

By the second month things had gotten better and the two had been back to their old selves, a side of Emma no one had ever seen until then, and yet they still managed to keep hold of their present day adult selves. For the first time Emma had understood what the people of Storybrooke, Neal included, had meant when they talked about having their two separate lives conflict.

Come month three Neal had proposed out of the blue. He made a compelling argument saying that they didn't need to waste anymore time getting to know each other. Emma had tried to fight it but ultimately she saw it his way both as a result of her own beliefs as well as looking at her parents who had spent twenty-eight years apart and yet were still as in love as ever as if the twenty-eight years without each other had hardly mattered. What was twenty-eight years to eleven?

The wedding of Neal Cassidy and Sheriff Emma Swan had been the buzz of the town. It was impossible to keep hidden when the Savior was engaged to the son of the Dark One, that's how the town saw Neal at first- a threat simply because of his lineage despite the fact that he was nothing like his father. Little by little as people saw that the wedding was going to in deed happen some of them began to ease up. Others, family especially such as Emma's aunt/godmother, Ruby and her grandmother, had gotten to know Neal, spent time with him. And Henry was always quick to defend his father against anyone who might say otherwise.

Now here she was two months later, her wedding just moments away. Her wedding. The words still didn't sound real. Eleven years ago Emma had known she was ready to spend the rest of her life with Neal but now that it was actually happening she couldn't wrap her mind around it.

Emma took another deep breath, "So what do you think?" she said looking in the mirror seeing Mary Margaret stand in the doorway in a red dress similar to Emma's. Her mother had a huge smile on her face.

"You look beautiful. You're wearing your necklace."

Emma looked down and touched her swan and smiled. "Yeah, it just seemed right."

"I always noticed it but I don't think you ever told me the story behind it. It must mean something special."

"It does." Emma let out a small laugh, "It was actually a keychain. Neal stole it for me eleven years ago during one of our final heists. Despite what happened he really gave me a lot back then. Not just the keychain and the car but a son," Emma said trying to keep it together. "Looking back regardless of how things turned out having not just any kid but Neal's kid, it's one of the best things that ever happened. This is really happening isn't it?"

Mary Margaret smiled and took hold of Emma's left hand. "It's happening. Are you ready?"

"Honestly, the wedding part I'm not so sure but spending the rest of my life with Neal, I've been ready for that since I was seventeen."

The two continued to look and smile at each other. There was a knock on the door and after Emma said it was okay to enter Henry and David came into the room. Emma's eyes widened as did her smile. He stood there in a black tux, white shirt and red tie.

"Henry," said Emma, "You look handsome."

"And you look beautiful mom," Henry said going in to hug her.

"He's right," said David, "You really do."

Emma smiled and hugged Henry back and glanced up at her parents who all smiled as well. In the past couple of months Henry had been using the word 'mom' more often. It always tore at Emma's heart strings every time he said it.

The two released each other.

"Have you seen your dad?"

"Yeah," Henry replied. "I can't tell whose more nervous you or him."

"We're probably tied on that one kid."

"Hey Henry," David said to the boy, "You'd better go take your place with Neal, it's almost time."

Henry nodded. "Okay."

Henry left the room leaving Emma with her parents.

The music slowly started up outside.

"Well," said David, "No turning back now."

"Thank you," Emma said.

"For what," asked Mary Margaret.

"For accepting Neal," Emma replied. "I know it was hard at first, what he did for me, who he is but unlike most people in this town you never judged him. He was always just Neal to me even after I found out the truth. It means a lot that you could think of him the same way."

Mary Margaret squeezed her daughter's hand, "He may share Gold's blood but he is not his father. We see how much he loves you and that's enough for us."

David placed a hand in his pocket, "Just as long as he never hurts you again," he said with a smile.

The music's tempo changed and Mary Margaret looked at Emma and David. "That's my cue," she said leaving the room.

David held out his arm to Emma and she smiled at him linking her left arm in his. The two walked outside and paused at the steps.