AN: Huge thanks to Shelley for being an amazing friend and always being willing to read through something I've written and tell me exactly where I've driven it off the tracks. And thanks to all for the kind reviews and notes I got on the first chapter. It is appreciated!

CHAPTER 2

As exhausted as she was, it took some time for Emma to get to sleep that night. Her mind raced as if it was on a circular track, constantly replaying the events of the last 48 hours.

At first Regina dominated those recollections. Regina menacing… Regina threatening… Regina hurt. There was no doubt about it; her actions had caused the other woman's pain. Even if the Evil Queen was to blame in the first place, Regina was trying to leave that side of her behind, trying to change and Emma had just brought her past full circle and right to her doorstep. Regina's charge haunted her, because she was right. How could she, in all good conscience, enjoy a new beginning on the very day she may have caused such a heartbreaking end?

Images from the trip to the Enchanted Forest began to loop repeatedly in her mind. She saw herself in Regina's dungeon, that thought did assuage her guilt somewhat. Because when she considered Marian, thought of her as a person, she couldn't work out in her mind how she could have done anything differently. She felt terrible for what Marian's arrival meant for Regina, but she couldn't figure out an alternative course of action. How could she work up remorse for not letting an innocent woman die?

From there her mind raced to the moments after they'd escaped. These were the most nightmarish of all. Because, honestly, any troubling thoughts of Regina and Marian didn't hold a candle to what she'd seen in the castle after leaving the dungeon. She'd experienced much heartache and pain in her life, but few of those moments compared to the gut-wrenching anguish of watching her mother burn at the stake. This time, though, there was one big difference; she hadn't gone through it alone. Growing up, she'd never had someone to hold her, wipe away her tears and whisper that things would be okay. To just be there. This time she had and it hit her suddenly and painfully and wonderfully that she didn't want to go back to facing things alone. That terrified her. It gave her something very real and very precious to lose.

As thoughts of their time in the Enchanted Forest cycled to the forefront, she couldn't imagine being there without him. What would she have done if the time portal hadn't also sucked him in? She couldn't help the small smile that curled her lips as images of him, of them on their adventure, rushed by. She saw him, every bit the picture of a dashing prince, dancing with her, clashing swords for her and standing by her as they watched her parents fall in love and she realized their adventure actually had more good moments than bad.

Her mind flitted to the good and, unbidden, images of her seducing the past version of Hook came into sharp focus and her face split into an unconscious grin. In the moment, it had felt delicious, dangerous, and appealing for its seeming lack of emotional repercussions, in retrospect the glimpse into what Hook had been like before he met her was priceless and her Hook's jealous reaction to it all, made her smile even wider. She knew he hadn't wanted her to see him like that, a drunk, care-for-nobody pirate driven by revenge, but the truth was she'd still liked the guy. Maybe someday she'd tell him that.

Her thoughts came full circle and brought flashes of the long blissful moments she'd spent with him outside the diner. The way they'd seemingly melted together and everything else had ceased to matter and she'd stopped thinking and just felt. Remembering those moments and his lips on hers and his sweet, but solid embrace sent flutters dancing across her stomach. That must be what people meant when they talked about having butterflies. Emma hadn't had many occasions to feel that in her life, at least not since she was 17-years-old. And any memories of falling in love during that time of her life were irrevocably tainted, so this feeling was new and different and wonderful.

That flood of happiness reminded her of Regina and her suggestion to enjoy it while she could. Memories of Regina's past treachery and way of dealing with disappointment roared to the forefront of her mind and Emma once again felt her stomach churn. However, there was nothing Emma could do to change her actions in the Enchanted Forest, Marian was back and back she would remain and Emma would have to live with the guilt. Regina would also have to get used to it, the question was how would Regina make Emma pay for the role she had played in her return? It made her nervous, but she was certain that however Regina might act out in her misery she would leave Henry out of it. However, these days Henry wasn't the only way to hurt Emma and Regina well knew it.

Her heart ached when she thought of the look on Killian's face as they'd parted earlier in the night. The moment played again and again in her mind, even though she knew she couldn't change the outcome. Both the guilt of what she'd done to Regina along with the fear of how she might choose to retaliate had definitely conspired to ruin her mood. Rationally she knew she didn't want her first time with him tempered by such negative emotions anyway, so it was best that things between them had cooled. He knew her change of heart had just been about last night. Hadn't he? She couldn't remember if she'd made that clear or not. Probably because it hadn't been clear in her own mind at the time.

But he was Killian. He'd been the very definition of patience when it came to his pursuit of her. The man gave up his ship for her and then didn't even tell her he'd done it. He would certainly understand her need to wait until she could sort through things. Right?

On that unresolved thought, Emma drifted off to sleep. Her jumbled and racing mind finally silenced by sheer exhaustion.

xXx

"Mom! Mom, get up. It's snowing!" Henry called excitedly from where he'd just pulled open the curtains to expose the window.

"No," Emma replied groggily as she began to wake. She half-mumbled, "It's supposed to be clear and in the 60s today."

"They were wrong. Look!" He replied as he pointed out the window.

"What time is it?" Emma pushed herself up and gave her eyes a moment to adjust to the light before turning to the window.

"Just before 8 o'clock," Henry answered as she assessed the situation outside. Sure enough, the skies were gray and a few flurries were beginning to fall.

As she frowned over the puzzling view from the window, what he said registered and she pulled her attention away from the weather. "Oh, kid, we've got to get up. We're due at your grandparents in half an hour, give or take. We're making breakfast."

"I'm ready. You're the one who's still in bed," Henry pointed out rationally.

Emma focused on him and saw that he was indeed ready for the day. She smiled at him in silent acknowledgement that he was right, before grabbing jeans, a sweater and underwear from a drawer and disappearing into the bathroom.

When she emerged 25 minutes later, showered and dressed, she found Henry perched on a chair by the window playing his video game.

"Ready?" Emma surveyed the stack of their cold weather gear that he'd gathered and piled on the bed. "You must think this is gonna turn into a blizzard. I'm telling you, it's supposed to be 60 today. It'll clear up."

"Your faith in your weather app is misplaced, Mom," Henry joked as he shoved his game in his pocket and started pulling on his boots. Moments later, they were leaving the room. As she pulled the door closed behind her and shrugged into her coat, Emma couldn't help but let her eyes wander to the door of the room across the hall. She paused and let her gaze linger on it and Henry noticed.

"He's not there."

"What?" Startled, Emma whirled to face her son.

"I knocked on the door while you were in the shower, he didn't answer."

"Oh." Emma crinkled her brow together as she looked down so she could zip up her coat. "Why'd you do that?"

"I assumed he was coming with us to Grandma and Grandpa's for breakfast."

"You assumed he was coming?" she asked carefully. Suddenly, visions of her son witnessing her and Hook in front of Granny's the night before raced through her head. Why hadn't it occurred to her before this that someone might have seen them? No one had said anything, but Emma suddenly felt sick to her stomach at the idea of her son seeing any of it.

"Well, you were hanging out with him at the party, pretty much you hang out with him all the time, except when you're asking him to hang out with me. I thought you'd invited him to breakfast. And if you hadn't, I was going to invite him. What's the big deal?" Henry shrugged and tried to sound nonchalant, but it wasn't quite convincing.

For a moment, Emma was too relieved to process what he'd said and the way he'd said. She was too thankful that it appeared he had not witnessed anything outside of Granny's the night before. But as relief ebbed and she took note of his slightly defensive speech it became plain to her. She frowned suspiciously at him. "Henry, are you trying to set me up with Killian?"

Henry dropped his gaze to the floor and Emma saw his change in demeanor. A blush rose on his cheeks and he looked guilty.

She shook her head in mild annoyance. "Henry, you know, in New York I kinda let you get away with some inappropriate behavior when it came to my relationship with Walsh. When it comes to my love life, kid, you're going to have to let me handle it."

He mumbled, "I was just going to invite him to breakfast…"

"Henry…"

"He's my friend, too." Henry defended as he shoved his hands into his gloves.

"Yes, but you should ask me before inviting him to family breakfast."

At her obvious reticence to include Killian in their plans, Henry looked up at her and with wide, imploring eyes and said, "You do like him, though, don't you? You guys are in my book now. Together. Dancing. Princess Leia and Prince Charles looked very happy in my book."

Emma smiled involuntarily at his interpretation of the book, but instantly regained her composure and studied him quizzically. "Killian is my… friend, Henry, actually, you're right, he's our friend, and I do… like him. But I'm not sure what that means and he and I are the ones who have to figure it out."

"He's in Storybrooke. If you like him, and I know you like him… I can tell… it means you have another reason to stay in Storybrooke." The words tumbled out of Henry's mouth with urgency; he was clearly desperate to convince her of the advantages of their current location.

Finally, realization hit and it made her heart clench painfully in her chest. She really had done a number on her son. She pressed her eyes closed as hard as she could and then with a deep breath she opened them again and focused on Henry. "I'm so sorry, Henry. I'm sorry that you've been pushed and pulled around. I'm sorry that I wanted to leave. I'm sorry that in order to feel stability you think you need to… to find me a boyfriend. It's not fair to you, but I promise that I meant what I said last night. I want us to stay in Storybrooke."

Emma watched as his eyes lit up and a happy grin took over his expression. "I'm glad. I liked New York. But this is our home, Mom."

"I know." She pulled him into a tight hug. "Now should we go feed your grandparents?"

"Sure."

Emma released her son, but her eyes once again found Killian's door as they started walking towards the stairs that led to the front entrance of the bed and breakfast. "So he's not there, huh?"

"Nope." Henry nodded his head. "I just checked a few minutes ago."

"He's probably down in the diner. I'm sure he's already had breakfast."

"Probably," Henry agreed. They descended the stairs and were soon at the front entrance of the building. After a momentary pause to evaluate the weather, Henry pushed through the door. The snow was just starting to stick, and was falling at a rate that promised to soon become a fluffy white blanket covering everything.

The cold air hit them with stinging briskness and Emma shivered and pulled her hat down over her ears. "Brrr, it is cold out here. Can the weather people ever get anything right? 60 degrees my…" Emma stopped before saying something unnecessarily crass in front of her son.

"I told you so," Henry replied smugly.

Emma harrumphed, but instead of belaboring her beef with the weather forecasters, she returned to their prior conversation. "We'll see him later."

Henry was confused for a second, but then a knowing smile spread across his face. "Yeah…"

"What?" Emma side-eyed him suspiciously as they started down the sidewalk for the short walk to the loft.

"You do like him."

The comment made her laugh self-consciously and shake her head, but it wasn't convincing.

"You know, he really likes you, too. Like really likes you. I can tell that. Actually, everyone can tell that."

She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face, but she swallowed hard and then took a light but serious tone. "You'd be okay with it? I assume after the conversation we've just had, that you would, but you don't need to worry about us staying in Storybrooke. So with that set aside, would you be okay if Killian and I…"

"Killian and you… what?" Henry prompted in a teasing tone when she didn't continue.

Emma shuddered, not believing she was having this conversation with her son. "Dated. I guess is the best word. Would you be okay with it, if Killian and I dated?"

In answer, Henry just smirked and proclaimed, "My mom's boyfriend is Captain Hook. That's so cool."

"He's not my boyfriend," Emma replied as she stopped in front of the corner store and turned to look at him, but she couldn't stop the corners of her lips from tugging upwards.

"You're in the book together; he's totally your boyfriend."

By now, they were in view of her parents' building and she realized she didn't want to continue this conversation in front of them. At least not now. If ever. Trying not to sound like it was a big deal, she held the door to the store open and said, "You know Grandma and Grandpa aren't as... predisposed to accepting Hook as you are, so maybe we don't mention the possibility of me dating him during breakfast? I have a feeling I'm going to have to ease them into that idea."

"Sure, Mom," Henry replied happily as he walked through the entrance. "Whatever you say."

xXx

A few minutes later, they were standing in front of the door to the loft, Henry holding a grocery bag that contained eggs, bacon, bread for toast and some fruit and Emma carrying a jug of orange juice. She knocked softly on the door to the loft, it was more of a warning that they were there than a request for someone to open the door. She was already pulling out her keys so they could let themselves in, when David opened the door. He was still in his pajamas, his short hair mussed and his eyes blood shot. He looked beyond tired.

Emma surveyed him as they entered. In a low voice she asked, "Tough night?"

David nodded wearily. "Neal's been up to eat every three hours. It takes 45 minutes to feed him, so by the time he's done and we change him and get him back down and finally get back to sleep ourselves, he's awake again, wanting to eat."

Emma smiled warmly at him. "Well sit down and rest a minute and I'll start some coffee. Henry and I are going to do everything for breakfast so you can relax. Are they still asleep?"

David gratefully slumped down on a stool, but shook his head. "Neal woke up about 15 minutes ago; your mother is feeding him."

"Perfect timing then, we'll have breakfast ready just as Mary…" Emma stopped herself and paused for a moment. "I mean Mom, we'll have breakfast ready just as Mom is finished feeding him."

David didn't say anything to that, but he beamed at his daughter, his delight at her making an effort to call Mary Margaret 'mom' evident. Emma looked over to Henry as she pulled out a frying pan. "How about you set the table and take on toast duty and I'll start the eggs and bacon?"

Henry nodded in agreement and they got to work.

About 15 minutes later, David was sipping coffee as Emma checked on the bacon in the oven. She glanced over to Henry. "Why don't you take Grandma some juice and let her know that breakfast will be ready when she is." As Henry complied, she turned back to her father. "Just a few more minutes and everything will be ready."

"Great," David smiled at her appreciatively. "It's really great that you're here, Emma."

"Sure," Emma returned the smile as she finished cutting up the melon and putting it in a bowl. "Henry and I are happy to come over and help anytime."

"No," David replied as he sat down the mug and looked at her intently. "I didn't mean today, for breakfast, although that's great as well, I mean it's really great that you're here. That you're staying. You've made your mother and me so happy."

The sincerity in his voice hit Emma in the gut and, unbidden, tears sprung to her eyes. She turned away from him and pretended to check on the bacon once again. She attempted to swallow the lump that had taken up residence in her throat, but was unsuccessful. All the times she'd talked about leaving, she'd been so busy protecting her own heart, that she hadn't realized how much she was hurting her parents. But she had. Every single time she'd talked about leaving or shut them out of her plans, she'd hurt them. She felt her face twist as she attempted to control the emotion that was suddenly overwhelming her.

David watched her in profile and when he noticed the troubled expression come across her face, he jumped to his feet and immediately rounded the counter. "Emma, what is it?"

Her back was to him and unable to trust her voice, she just quickly shook her head.

"Emma…" His voice was soft, but imploring and he put one strong hand on her shoulder and gently attempted to turn her around. That was all it took. Emma turned and threw herself into her father's embrace.

Immediately, his arms came around her, one hand cradling her head and the other soothing her back. "Are you okay, what's the matter?"

"I'm so sorry, Dad." His shoulder muffled her voice, but he understood every word.

"For what? You have nothing to be sorry for," he replied softly, but continued to hold her tight.

"For wanting to run away," she sniffed. "For not considering your or Mom's feelings."

"Oh, Emma, I'm the one who's sorry." David grimaced, excruciatingly aware of his own culpability in the situation. "I should have been there for you so many times. The life you've had is not what I ever wanted for you, or what your mother wanted for you. You have no idea the things we dreamed of giving you." At that, he released her and leaned back so he could see her now tear stained face. He brought one hand up to cradle her cheek as he leaned forward and kissed the other one. "But now we're all here and we're a family and we're going to stay that way. Okay?" he asked her, his own eyes slightly glassy.

She nodded in agreement and he released her. Grabbing a tissue from a box on the counter, she wiped her eyes. With a bit of a laugh she said, "I don't know when I started getting so emotional. This never used to happen to me."

"You get it from your mother," David said dryly and Emma quirked an eyebrow at him.

"It's true," he replied earnestly. "Actually… I wanted to talk to you about something; I'm a little concerned about her. "

"Why?" Emma asked, giving him her full attention, grateful for the change of topic.

"She's been acting… I don't know… weird since last night, like she's hiding something."

"Like what?" Concern knit Emma's brows together as she studied her father.

"I'm not sure, but she said it had something to do with her body or her health after the baby and she wanted to talk to her friends about it last night. That's just not like her. And she wouldn't let me get the doctor, so I'm not sure what to think. Maybe she'll talk to you about whatever it is that's bothering her."

Emma hadn't the foggiest what it might be. With a shrug she agreed, "I can try."

David sighed with relief. "Thank you. I would appreciate that. I'm sure it's not-"

But he didn't get a chance to finish his thought, as just then Mary Margaret appeared with the baby, Henry close at her heels and the family sat down to breakfast.

xXx

"It's the oddest thing," David was talking and spearing a piece of melon with his fork at the same time, "I was up about 6:30 this morning and there was absolutely no sign of a storm… and now look at it."

"It is strange," agreed Mary Margaret. "But that's Maine, the weather can be unpredictable."

Emma was about to speak when Henry cut her off. "Don't say it, Mom." He turned to his grandparents, "She's annoyed her weather app got it wrong again."

"I was looking forward to 60s today is all," Emma shot a playful glare at her son. "I need to patrol and was hoping for good weather."

"What does your app say now?" David asked curiously.

"I don't know I dropped my phone last night-"

"There can't be any need for you to be out in this, can there?" Mary Margaret interrupted. Her voice was full of concern as she sat her fork on the edge of her plate. Just then, the baby started to fuss. Mary Margaret started to rise, but Emma waved her off, motioning for her to continue eating, and instead jumped out of her seat and claimed her little brother from the bassinet.

With impressive grace, she nudged her chair back with her foot in order to give herself more room at the table and sat back down. "I'll play it by ear; in any case I'll go by the station this afternoon."

"I'm sorry to leave you in the lurch-" David started to apologize.

Emma cut him off, but didn't look up from the bundle in her arms. "You're not. Don't worry about anything. I've got it handled. Besides I've got Hook, he can help me."

At the mention of Hook's name, Mary Margaret gave a strangled sound between a cough and a choke. Everyone looked at her with concern but she waved them off and composed herself by taking a sip of her juice.

"So, Mom, speaking of Hook, what other fairy tale adventures did you experience in the Enchanted Forest? Besides pretending to be Princess Leia and dancing at the ball and helping Grandma and Grandpa get their story back on track," Henry asked, changing the subject as he took a bite of toast.

A glance around the table confirmed for Emma that Henry wasn't the only one interested in the topic. Both David and Mary Margaret were looking at her with unbridled curiosity.

"Well, let's see," she began as she bounced in her seat, trying to find a soothing rhythm for Neal. "Seeing your other grandfather as full on Rumpelstiltskin was quite something."

"Oh, yeah, was he scary?" Henry asked eagerly.

"Not like I imagined. Although, when we first met up with him he immediately tried to kill Hook so there were a few hairy moments to begin with."

"How'd you stop him?"

Emma smiled at him, "I mentioned your dad; that seemed to do the trick and he was willing to hear me out."

Mary Margaret's eyes darted between Emma and Henry as they smiled at each other. Neither of them seemed agitated by the mention of Neal. Perhaps they had come to terms with his passing.

"Being in his castle was surreal, my favorite part of that was seeing Belle. She really had his number, even back then."

"What else?" Henry prodded as he stirred his hot cocoa.

"Well… I must admit I enjoyed meeting Captain Hook."

David knit his brows together. "What do you mean; I thought you were with Hook the entire time."

Emma shook her head. "I was with Killian, our Killian. But we needed to get him on the Jolly Roger so he could talk to you," she nodded at her mother, "and make a deal for the ring. So I was keeping Captain Hook busy in a nearby tavern." She smiled inwardly at the memory. "That's not something I'll soon forget.

"You were in a tavern? By yourself? With Captain Hook?" David asked, suddenly everything about him was so tight with tension it would require his sword to cut through it.

Emma fought the urge to roll her eyes at his agitation. "It was fine."

"Emma, you have no idea what those port cities are like. A daughter of mine, there, in a tavern? And a tavern frequented by pirates? It's not safe. I'm going to have a word with Hook, he should have known better," he finished a menacing note in his voice.

Emma was a little annoyed that he didn't think she could take care of herself. However, truth be told she had been a bit out of her depth in the Enchanted Forest plus it was nice to have a dad who was concerned about her, so she tried to reassure him. "I was with Captain Hook, so no one else bothered me. And, trust me; I know how to handle Hook. Past or present."

Mary Margaret crinkled her brow. "But last night you said that while you were in the Enchanted Forest you were keeping a low profile so that no one would remember you. Does Hook remember you?"

"No. To keep him busy I was feeding him rum. A lot of rum. We think that effectively washed away the memories. Well that and being knocked out cold."

"You hit him?" David asked, the angry scowl finally disappearing from his brow.

"No!" Emma held up the hand that wasn't holding the baby in a gesture of innocence. "He got a little frisky, which…" she once again held up her hand, but this time it was because she saw the vein jump in her father's forehead and she could tell he was about to interject. "He was actually a perfect gentleman, or as perfect a gentleman as a pirate captain can be. And, trust me, I had him handled, but our Hook stepped in and knocked him out."

"What do you mean knocked him out?" David questioned, wanting to get the details right.

"He punched him right in the face." Involuntarily, a self-satisfied grin spread wide across her face as she said it. It never ceased to amaze her the lengths Killian was willing to go for her, even willfully inflicting pain on himself.

"He punched himself?" Mary Margaret asked incredulously.

"Essentially, yes."

"Awesome," Henry smiled brightly, enjoying the tale much more than either of his grandparents. "What about Mom? You saw the Evil Queen, right?"

"I did." At the mention of Regina a wave of guilt hit her, looking down she realized that she'd succeeded in lulling baby Neal to sleep so she gently rose from her seat and took him over to the bassinette. As she moved, she thought about how she wanted to respond. In all honesty, she hadn't thought much about Regina and the situation with Marian this morning, what with how occupied she'd been since she woke up to a freak storm and having relationship conversations with her son and breaking down in her dad's arms while fixing breakfast. It had been a busy day so far and it wasn't even 9:30. Killian had been right about the good night's sleep. Things did seem less bleak this morning, but there was still much to deal with.

"Obviously, seeing Regina as the full on Evil Queen was quite… interesting." Emma replied as she sat back down in her seat at the table and took a sip of cocoa.

"Interesting? Come on. I know the stories; I know what the Evil Queen was like."

Emma smiled indulgently at him. "I thought I knew too, but I really had no idea until I was standing in front of her. To be honest, she was pretty scary. Killian stopped me from almost tangling with her a couple of times; I guess part of me thought I could reason with her as I would with Regina. I soon saw he was right and reason wasn't going to work… she eventually caught me anyway." Emma took a deep breath before continuing, she knew she needed to broach this topic for everyone's sake, especially Henry's. "We should talk about that. About Regina and what happened last night."

Her family gave her their full attention and waited for her to continue. She looked at her son, "As you know, Henry, Regina and Robin have been seeing each other."

"He's her boyfriend, just like-"

"Yes," Emma quickly cut him off, afraid he might have been about to make a comparison she didn't want made in front of her parents. At least not yet. "But I'm afraid things on that front have been..." She searched for a word and then settled on the one Killian had used the night prior, "Complicated, by my bringing back his wife from the past."

"Wow," Mary Margaret replied slowly. "I should say so. 'Complicated' is a bit of an understatement. I knew something was going on last night, but I didn't realize it was this… complicated." She replied realizing that, understatement or not, it was the only word that really fit. "Poor Regina."

"Yeah," Emma sighed. "Look, I didn't know who she was. She wouldn't give me her name. Our cells were right next to one another in the Evil Queen's dungeon and we were scheduled for execution the next day, so when I escaped I couldn't just leave her there. Especially when she was imprisoned for not informing on you."

"Me?" Mary Margaret asked in surprise, before grimacing with guilt and revulsion. "I guess it makes sense. Back then, having anything to do with me was punishable by death. I should meet her; see if there is anything I can do for her as she adjusts to Storybrooke."

"So the woman who was with us in the Queen's castle… the woman who escaped with Princess Leia was Robin's wife?" David said putting the pieces together from his new memories.

"Yes. And once I'd saved her I couldn't leave her in the Enchanted Forest to wreak havoc on the timeline, so regardless of what she wanted to do, we brought her back."

The picture became clear for David and he wagged a finger at his daughter. "I knew there was something shady about you! Prince Charles… now he was a stand-up fellow, but his princess, I definitely was suspicious of her. So when this Marian was splayed out on the forest floor and you said she was sleeping…"

"Knocked out. I hit her with a stick," Emma answered matter-of-factly. "We essentially kidnapped her."

"Emma!" Mary Margaret's hand went to her mouth in horror.

David chuckled, but stiffened slightly. "You've been hanging around Hook too long. You're turning into a pirate."

"You just said the pirate was a standup guy," she reminded him, a blush starting to creep up her neck. "And maybe I've always had a little pirate in me."

That caused Mary Margaret to gasp. Emma noticed her scandalized expression and quickly defended her actions, "You were a bandit and gave dad that scar. So maybe it's that I have a little bandit in me, too."

That seemed to satisfy Mary Margaret; at Emma's comparison to herself, she actually looked quite pleased.

Emma turned her gaze on her son and spoke gently. "I'm afraid Regina is pretty upset about the whole thing. Understandably so… but she blames me, so things could be a little… tense for a while. I wanted you to know, but that doesn't mean you're in the middle. We'll figure this out."

Henry nodded quickly. "Maybe I should go see how she'd doing?"

"Maybe," Emma's heart lifted at her son's sympathetic soul. "We'll see. She may just need some time." The last thing Emma wanted was for her son to take on the burden of a grown woman's mental health, whether she was his mother or not.

"Wait, she blames you?" David set his fork down in emphasis as if he'd just worked through the story. "She was going to put her boyfriend's wife to death, you stopped it, and she blames you?"

"David!" Mary Margaret admonished, trying to remind him, with a surreptitiously nod towards Henry that the woman was his mother.

"It's okay, Grandma," Henry replied. "I know better than anyone how she can get. We just have to help her remember that she can be good."

"She does blame me," Emma replied as she reached over and pulled Henry towards her so she could plant a kiss on his head. As she released him, she turned her attention to her mother. "She compared me to you, never thinking of the consequences of my actions." Emma purposely left out the part where Regina made subtle yet ominous threats to her family and happiness. For now.

Mary Margaret swallowed hard as memories flooded her. With a forced smile she said, "That sounds like Regina."

xXx

"So far my milk hasn't come in all the way, so we have to supplement some of his feedings. Or maybe the son of Charming just eats more than normal." Mary Margaret laughed lightly at her own joke as she brought her dishes to the sink. "Neal's next feeding will be from the bottle, so if you wouldn't mind staying…"

"Of course I wouldn't mind. That's why I offered and don't bother about the dishes, I'm going to do those, too. You two go and try to get a couple hours of sleep. Henry and I will handle things down here for the rest of the morning," Emma responded emphatically, pleased that she could do something for her parents even if it was just letting them get a much needed morning nap.

Mary Margaret succumbed to a yawn. "Thank you, Emma. That is really lovely of you."

"Is that what you needed to talk to your friends about last night? Your milk not coming in all the way?" Emma asked, trying to keep her tone neutral.

"What?" Mary Margaret looked and sounded confused. "What are you talking about?"

Emma sighed; she was not good at stealthy conversations when it came to her mother. She glanced and saw that Henry and David were over at the window; they were once again looking at the storm, which put them out of earshot. "David talked to me this morning, he's concerned. He said there was something… maybe related to the pregnancy that you needed to talk to your friends about, he's worried that you won't talk to him about it. He thought you might talk to me."

Mary Margaret's eyes continued to grow wider as Emma spoke. She knew exactly what Emma was referencing. It had been her cover story last night when she hadn't wanted David to witness… what she'd witnessed. "Oh my goodness."

"What?" Emma asked with concern.

Mary Margaret brought her hand to her forehead and shook her head. "This isn't happening."

"What? What isn't happening? Ma… Mom, please talk to me." Emma wasn't sure why it was harder to call Mary Margaret 'mom' than it was to call David 'dad.' But it was. It just meant she had to try that much harder.

Mary Margaret screwed her eyes shut and then popped them open to look at her daughter. "What I'm hiding from your father is the fact that I saw you and Hook… last night… outside of Granny's."

Emma stopped breathing. She could feel her face turning red. And her neck. And her chest. Probably her entire body. She put her face in her hands. "Oh my god."

"Yes." Mary Margaret took a deep breath, actually relieved that her daughter was at least as embarrassed about it as she was.

"What did you see?" Emma asked with a cringe, she'd lifted her head from her hands, but now her left hand shielded her eyes as she gripped her temples.

"I'm not going to describe it, Emma!" Then to Emma's chagrin, she proceeded to do just that. "You were on his lap… and, in the words of the Mother Superior herself, making a public spectacle of yourself."

"Blue saw too?" Emma once again flushed crimson.

"You were right outside the diner, in full view of a party attended by almost everyone you know in this town. Yes, Blue saw."

"Who else?" Emma asked as she pushed her hand against her forehead and then raked her fingers back through her hair. However, when she met her mother's stern expression some mental switch flipped and she went from being embarrassed to suddenly finding the humor in the situation. She'd been caught making out with the town bad boy and now her mother was confronting her after finding out about it from a nun. It was something that should have happened when she was a teenager, not as a 30-year-old woman. The thought struck her as so funny that she started to laugh.

"Emma, this is not funny! You were necking with a pirate in front of the whole town."

"Are you going to ground me?" Even though she was currently succumbing to belly laughs, it occurred to her that the situation was also kind of endearing. She'd thought the ship had sailed on experiencing the whole over-protective parent thing. It was sort of sweet that it hadn't.

"What?" Mary Margaret crinkled her brow at the question.

"Never mind," Emma tried to catch her breath. Once again, she grabbed a tissue from the counter and wiped her eyes, but this time it was because of mirth. "So would it be easier to ask who didn't see?"

"You're really not going to take this seriously are you?" Mary Margaret huffed with slight indignation. "I'm sure there are any number of people who could have seen you two, but they would not bring it up to me if, in fact, they had. However, I'm pretty sure neither your son nor your father saw, so at least there's that. As far as I know only Blue, Aurora, Ruby and Granny saw you."

Emma blew out a breath of air. "Blue, Aurora, Ruby and Granny… I guess that's not too terribly embarrassing. It could be worse."

"Speak for yourself!" Mary Margaret charged with a fierce whisper. "I had to sit there while they talked about how… 'hot' he is and they actually toasted your conquest. I was mortified!"

Emma's jaw dropped open and she took a moment and just gaped at her mother in disbelief. However, after a short pause, she started to laugh again.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret chastised as her daughter dissolve into giggles right in front of her. However as she watched her it suddenly struck her that Emma never laughed. Ever. And suddenly she felt a smile begin to grace her own lips.

"Oh, I can't wait to tell Hook about this. Blue actually toasted how hot he is?" Emma asked through gasping breaths.

At that Mary Margaret couldn't help herself, she nodded and began to laugh too.

It took another minute for their now joint merriment to subside, but then Emma adopted a look of contrition as she met her mother's eye. "I'm sorry you had to find out like that."

"Right. Find out." Mary Margaret repeated slowly, trying to sound non-judgmental. "What did I find out exactly?"

"Uh…" Emma stumbled searching for the words to describe the situation. She may not have wanted to bring it up to her mother, and she was certainly embarrassed over the way she found out, but she was surprised to find that she was actually pleased that she knew. There was part of her that really wanted to talk to her friend Mary Margaret about the new developments in her love life. "I guess what you found out was that Killian and I are on… uh… kissing… terms… now."

"Kissing terms?" Mary Margaret asked, not bothering to hide her confusion. "What exactly does that mean?"

"To be honest, I don't know." Emma may have been unsure of exactly what they were doing, but she couldn't stop the huge smile that graced her face and lit her eyes involuntarily.

"You don't know…" Mary Margaret was about to question her further, question her choices when she saw how happy Emma looked. One might almost say she glowed. With great restraint, she stopped herself and let her prompt stand as it was.

When Mary Margaret didn't continue, Emma shook her head. "I really don't."

"How do you not know?"

Emma sighed, there was a hint of exasperation in it, but it was mostly at herself, for her own inability to define what she was doing with him. "Because it just happened last night. I kissed him. It was really good. I mean really good. And the kiss lasted a long, long time." She noticed her mother's cheeks grow even pinker. "I guess you know that part. Look… apparently, it's no secret that he has feelings for me."

"No, no it's not." Her mother agreed without reservation.

"But what may be a secret is that I… might have feelings for him." At the declaration, Emma casually picked up a dishrag and started to swipe at the counter. The false nonchalance masked how monumental the confession was for her.

"You might have feelings for him?" Mary Margaret whispered, trying to keep her voice non-confrontational.

"No, I mean… I have feelings for him." Now that it was out there, Emma found it easier to talk about, easier to own, which surprised her a little. Divulging to Henry that she might want to date Killian was different. That was about admitting she liked him enough to go to dinner with him, a foregone conclusion. This was much more and it surprised her a little how natural it was to utter the words. "I do. In fact, I've had feelings for him for quite some time, but I've been running away from them, and ignoring them and pretending they don't exist. Right now, all I know is that I can't do that anymore. I don't want to do that anymore."

"But what about when he lied to you and tried to kidnap Henry? I thought you couldn't trust him anymore. You said you couldn't trust him." Mary Margaret leveled the charge against him, unable to help herself. She was a mother and she would never forgive herself if she didn't voice her concerns.

Emma frowned, but she knew this was coming. She dropped the dishrag she was holding and turned to face her mother. Part of her wished she had more time to formulate an answer, but the other part was anxious to address the issue and move on. "I trust him. I promise he's given me plenty of reasons to trust him. In that instance his judgment was off, but his intentions were good."

At the unconvinced look her mother was giving her, she decided now was not the time to delve into the details that might reassure her. It was much too long of a conversation. She was clearly exhausted and Emma had not come over to add to her burden. "Look, I'm not sure where we go from here, we're friends, nothing is being decided and I promise we can talk about this later. But right now, you have an opportunity to get some sleep and the clock is ticking."

Mary Margaret tried to disclaim, but couldn't suppress a giant yawn. When it subsided she said, "Emma, I want to talk to you more than I want to sleep. I want to continue this conversation."

Emma shot her a genuine smile. "I appreciate that, but we can talk anytime. Right now you need sleep, so go, because…" She gestured to the kitchen and the basinet that held baby Neal, "Henry and I've got all this."

"Okay," Mary Margaret wanted to protest, but she was honestly exhausted. "But we're not finished here."

Emma gave her a nod of agreement and it was apparently enough, because Mary Margaret started towards David and Henry.

She was only a few steps away when Emma called back her attention. "Mom…"

Mary Margaret looked back at her in inquiry.

"I wasn't going to tell you until I was sure of what we were doing, but… I'm glad you know."

Even though Mary Margaret still had serious reservations about Hook as a romantic partner for her daughter, a genuine smile spread across her face as she replied, "Me, too."

xXx

Time flew for Emma and Henry as they cleaned up after breakfast and then did as much around the loft as they could without creating unnecessary noise; this was limited to straightening and dusting. Emma enjoyed the opportunity to feed her brother, the diapers were less enjoyable but she took that as part and parcel of her duty. She was just getting him back down for his nap after a prolonged play period- that pretty much consisted of the newborn grabbing onto Henry's finger— when David came down the stairs of the loft.

Emma turned when she heard him. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you. A couple of uninterrupted hours. I feel like a new man." He smiled brightly at her and then came over to get a look at his son. "And the best part is your mother is still asleep."

After checking on Neal, he immediately headed to the window. The weather had gotten much worse in the intervening hours. "I'm sure you want to get out of here," he said before looking at her imploringly, "But promise me you'll take Hook with you if you patrol."

The old Emma would have bristled at the suggestion, but her reaction was tempered by the fact that she didn't particularly want to patrol by herself in this weather and it was her idea in the first place that Killian go with her.

"Yeah, maybe I'll give him a call so he knows we're still on for patrolling." She'd become increasingly anxious to speak to him as the morning wore on, feeling apprehensive over the way they'd left things the night before. She was eager to tell him how much better she felt about things this morning. "Damn, I forgot I lost my phone. May I-" Before she could finish, David tossed her his.

"I'm sure with this freak storm there are plenty of complaints for you to check out. Funny thing is I haven't gotten any calls." He said anecdotally as she began to dial. "That's strange in and of itself."

After a minute, she looked at her father and shrugged. "He's not answering the phone in his room at Granny's. He's probably downstairs." She was about to let it go when she decided against it. "You know, I'll just call the diner and see if he's there."

A blush graced her cheeks at the smirk she heard in Ruby's voice as she asked if he was there. However, she forgot about any embarrassment when she got her answer. He wasn't. Ruby hadn't seen him all morning.

"Hmmm… he's not there." Emma couldn't help the puzzled crease that formed between her eyes.

"Maybe he went to the Rabbit Hole or the bakery." Henry supplied helpfully. "It can get old eating every meal at Granny's." Emma forced an agreeing smile to that. The trouble was that they'd had lunch plans. The night before, Killian had promised that he'd be there waiting for her. Could he have been upset at the way they'd parted? Or was he tired of waiting?

Emma was about to shrug into her coat when her eyes fell on her son. She'd intended for him to spend the afternoon at Granny's, but suddenly that didn't seem like a good idea. Her eyes met David and a silent understanding passed between them.

"Hey Henry, how would you feel about staying here with your old grandpa and helping me finish the crib? We can't make due with bassinettes forever."

"Sure!" Henry agreed enthusiastically.

Emma exhaled and mouthed a 'thank you' at her father as she quickly continued to pile on her warm weather gear.

As she was about to leave, David threw her a set of keys. "Take a cruiser; I have one parked in the garage." Emma caught them and consented with a nod.

She didn't show it, but a knot of worry had started to form in her belly. Something was wrong, she could feel it.

TBC.