Never mess with time travel. The season finale broke my heart, but I couldn't help but think about tiny things that Emma and Hook did in the past might cause MAJOR effects. And maybe some of these might help out my favorite pairing...

Taking a cue from "Misery" by Stephen King (when his author Paul Sheldon was told by crazed fan Annie Wilkes that he couldn't just erase the events of his previous book and that he'd have to get his character Misery out of the grave), I decided I'd start this story right at the end of the season...

Your comments will help me continue this! I do not own OUAT; that distinct pleasure belongs to Disney and the show's creators.

Chapter 1

Rumplestiltskin, also known as the Dark One and, in the tiny town of Storybrooke, Maine, Mr. Gold, said his vows. He could hear his words, see Dr. Hopper nodding his approval, feel Belle's hands in his. It was his wedding and, with the loss of Bael, he could think of nothing that could make his heart feel whole more than being married to the woman who made him more than the Dark One.

But the wind was whispering to him, cold words and hints of magic.

"Rumple? What's wrong?"

"Belle. We need to get back to town."

"What's wrong, Mr. Gold?" Archie's brows creased in concern.

"There is magic coming."

Emma watched as Regina vanished in violet smoke, anger and pain transforming her elegant face into a tragic mask. Emma could still hear Robin talking to his family, but the thief's eyes held the same ache as Regina's when he perceived the queen's departure.

The enormity of her actions hit the Savior's gut like she had jumped into frigid water. With the clarity borne of apprehension, she saw Henry slip out of the diner and after his adoptive mother. He will take care of her...

Her parents remained seated, stunned. Her mother, Emma knew, wanted to chase after her grandson - that was what Snow White was like. Loving and fierce, and the realization once again that this was her mother spilled over Emma's emotions. Too much. It was too much, but she had to focus. One problem at a time.

"Emma, what has happened?" Robin held his wife almost timidly, like she was a phantom he would destroy with too tight a grip.

"We went back, Hook and I, to the past. We found Marian. She was going to die... was supposed to be dead, so we-"

The woman in question clung to Robin, ducking her head against his shoulder.

Robin rested a hand on Marian's back in a soothing manner, his eyes still a storm of emotions.

Emma swallowed. "I brought her back. I thought it would be safer. That it would keep events in the Enchanted Forest on track. So nothing would be changed."

Every eye was on her and the intensity of all those gazes - was this what it was like to be a ruler? - made Emma straighten. She could do this. She would do this. She would not back down from the challenge. She had not been wrong to save a life, even if she had hurt someone she had seen as a staunch ally. Maybe even a friend. Maybe even family.

The bell above the door jangled, the sound loud in the silence that had enveloped the diner.

"What has happened?" Rumplestiltskin burst in, trailed by Belle, her father, and Dr. Hopper. His cane struck the floor with harsh cracks.

"We went back in time.. Zelena's portal took Hook and me back to when my parents met."

"You went back in time?!"

Emma gaped at the normally reserved Belle.

"Belle?" Rumplestiltskin clasped her hand, squeezing with his own.

"Emma, you have to understand. Everything you and Hook did may have drastically changed our lives. I started to read about the theories of changing time when we realized that was Zelena's plan."

"What could happen, Belle?" David spoke for the first time, walking over to Emma's side.

"Well, some magicians had a similar theory." Belle sat down, exhaling as she seemed to collect her thoughts. "Casting such a spell could be like throwing a rock into a still pond." She looked at Rumplestiltskin.

The Dark One nodded, having taken the seat next to her. "Go on, Belle. You most likely know the theories better than I."

Robin ushered his family to the booth he had vacated, with murmured apologies to the townspeople listening. He sat opposite his wife, who cradled her son in her lap awkwardly.

"Okay, what do you mean?" Emma's stomach clenched into knots and she tasted bitter bile in her throat. David squeezed her shoulder.

"When you throw a rock into a pond, there's a splash. The ripples move outward, starting at the center. Any splash, even small, can still create many ripples."

"We sought the aid of the Dark One to keep from changing anything, but it couldn't be helped." Hook's words seemed almost apologetic, and Emma wondered who they were for.

"But that's just it. We have no idea what you may have changed. If you walked through the forest, even if you avoided people, you may have scared an animal. That animal may have been meant to be caught by a hunter. It's a small change, but we don't know that all could have transpired from that change. He could have sold the skin..." Belle bit her lip. "...which kept someone warm one night. But now that didn't happen."

"So, a ripple in the pond." Snow whispered.

"Yes. The theory I'm describing states that the changes will come across as waves, each one spreading out from the initial impact, or changed event. We stand at the edge of the pond, and eventually the ripples will reach us. And when that happens..."

"And?" Robin's voice was the first, but not the only that asked the question.

"We may not recognize the changes when they catch up to where we are. As far as we know now, these changes are how it should be. Zelena wasn't planning on coming back from the past. She wanted to change things for herself, and didn't care what chaos she would have caused." Belle leaned on Rumplestiltskin.

He put his arm around the petite brunette and she smiled at him, gratitude in her eyes.

Emma blinked, momentarily distracted by a glint of a diamond on Belle's finger. Is that? She shook her head, opened her mouth to ask a question.

That was when the lights of the diner exploded, glass shattering with the force of pure sound, the howl of pure power slamming those standing to the ground. Emma grabbed her head, the only thought coherent through the pain was that she was grateful that Henry had followed Regina, and was not in the building. Henry is safe.

She took a moment to breathe when the noise faded. The little diner was a shambles, but the worst of the damage - overturned tables, jagged shards of glass panes, broken ceiling tiles - hovered within glows of white and dark gold, dust swirling around in the air.

"Is everyone alright? Henry? Robin?"

Emma rolled to a sitting position on the tile floor and stared at the woman who had spoke.

"Regina? You're here."

Regina waved her hand in concert with Rumplestiltskin, the two magic users sending the bulk of the debris to a clear corner of the restaurant.

"Where else would I be, Ms. Swan?" Regina said, voice tart. "I was needed here. Henry?"

"I'm fine, Mom." Henry slid out from under a booth, pushing aside a chair..

"But-"

Robin stood next to the former queen, pressing a quick kiss on her dark hair before looking at the stairs.

Regina smiled at him. "Go check on Roland."

Emma wobbled to her feet, looking at the booth where Robin's family sat to see how his wife was responding to her husband's actions.

Marian was gone, as was her and Robin's son.

Regina spoke again. "I wouldn't abandon him. Not like she had. And it's a good thing I stayed."

There were words trying to come out of Emma Swan's mouth, and they were at her lips. She didn't know if they would make sense at all.

"Swan?" Captain Hook burst into the diner, gaze frantic. The urgency in his voice cut her off before she could say anything.

"Killian?"

"We need to talk, love. Now."

WHEW! First of all, I PROMISE you that Roland is okay! This story is going to go through quite a bit of angst, but I'm a happy ending sort of gal!

Please read and review!

Also, since I'm mucking up the time stream (well, Emma and Hook did that), I welcome any thoughts as to what other changes may have occurred in the past and how it affects our favorite town in Maine. I can't say I'll put your ideas in since I have some definite thoughts as to things I want to happen, but I welcome the input!