The Visit 2

A/N: The sequel bandwagon has spoken and this story has now been continued with part two. Thanks to reviewers and those who requested or demanded a sequel :). This begins just after Hook turns up.

"Who was at the door, Mom?" Henry asked again.

Emma shrugged without looking up from her breakfast plate. "I told you, I don't know."

"You never tell me anything."

Emma tried not to feel exasperated by his persistent questioning. She stuffed another forkful of pancake into her mouth. The last thing she was going to do was explain to her twelve-year-old son that she'd been kissed out of nowhere by some crazy guy who smelled of rum and leather and looked like he'd walked out of Treasure Island. The man knew her name though and that rattled her. Was there a threat to her family's safety?

Henry was a kid who was not easily dissuaded by a vague answer. She was yet to tell him something that she'd known about for a few days, something that he'd even less like hearing. But she was running out of time. Might as well get it over with.

"Kid, there is something I have to talk to you about…" said Emma. "We gotta start packing today ok? It's time we moved on."

Henry blinked in surprise. "We're moving again? Why."

"We were never meant to stay here for long. You know we're only subletting this place while the Taylors are in Europe. I got an email from them saying that they're coming home early because of a family emergency and they need the apartment back. We can't stay here. It isn't our home."

"We don't have a home," said Henry shortly. "I don't want to move again. We never stay anywhere long enough, I never get to make friends. Why did you have to spring this on me like this?"

"I know, Henry," said Emma gently. She reached across the table to put her hand over his. "I'm sorry. Next place will be different. Boston? Maybe we can really settle down there. It'll be good for us, you'll see."

"Is this because of Amy? Are you looking for an excuse to get away from her?"

Emma was shocked. "Wh- How do you-"

"She called last night while you were in the shower. She sounded nice. Why didn't you let me meet her?"

"Kid, it's not like we were serious. It just didn't work out."

"Because you didn't let it. You always push everyone away."

"It's nothing to do with Amy," Emma said firmly. "We have to leave because the Taylors need their place back by Monday. We are moving today. I want you to start packing your stuff after breakfast please."

"NO. I'm not going!"

Henry dropped his fork with clatter. His chair scraped loudly as he stood up and stomped off to his bedroom (or rather, Mrs Taylor's sewing room).

"Fine!" she said over her shoulder. Emma had just about lost her patience with his pre-teenage backchat. "You can live here with the Taylors then. Maybe they'll adopt you."

"I wish they would! I wish you weren't my Mom."

Henry disappeared into his room and slammed the door shut with a bang. Emma sighed and closed her eyes. He really knew how to get on her last raw nerve and the worst part of it was that he was right. She needed to get her act together and provide a more stable home for her son. Ever since he was born he'd been carted around the country with her, never stopping in one town or city for very long.

She felt incredibly guilty dragging him through her itinerant life. Not for the first time she wondered if she'd done the right thing by keeping him.

He didn't mean it, she told herself. She knew not to take it personally and that he was just saying it because he was angry and frustrated. She'd read in those parenting magazines that kids say things like that when they are not unable to express their emotions and they feel powerless. He was pushing her buttons, trying to get her to change her mind like he often did on moving day. It still hurt though. Especially because he was the only person in the world that loved her. He was everything.

"You don't mean that, kid," she said to the empty air. "If you woke up tomorrow and never had any parents at all you'd regret it."

"Why do I do this to myself," Emma muttered, stuffing her clothes into her suitcase. Packing was coming along quickly and easily. One of her boxes was ready to go because she hadn't even unpacked it from the last move. Why did she even keep it then if she didn't need whatever was inside? What was the point of all this?

Moving is one of the most frustrating pain-in-the-ass things you can ever do and yet I do it all the time, she thought sarcastically. What am I searching for in all these different places? A home? Well, that's just great. I'm never going to find what I'm looking for because a home isn't a place on a map. I should stop running and stay still. For Henry at least.

Because of her juvie record and lack of education or skills she had trouble finding good decent-paying work for several years. Things were a lot better lately, but when Henry was much younger she'd had no choice other than to rely on childcare while she worked two jobs. Thankfully he was smart and his education hadn't been too screwed up by changing schools often. Books for Henry were the one thing she'd always managed to scrape together enough money for. She wanted him to have a better chance in life than she had.

But she was still failing at being a stable parent. He needed roots. He was at the age when peer groups were increasingly important. He was old enough now to see the difference between his life and other kids' lives. He had no family other than her and eventually he stopped asking why he didn't have a Dad. He knew that she dated women these days now that he was a bit older, but Emma wasn't interested in a long-term relationship so she never let her son see that part of her.

Before we leave I should call Amy to apologise for being a non-committal jerk and say "It's not you, it's me."

Biggest cliche ever, but it was true in this case. Another cliche came to mind: orphans have trouble with emotional attachment. For Emma that wasn't completely true. She'd loved before, someone who ended up betraying her, but still - she'd given her heart fully and got handcuffs slapped on her wrists in return. Now the only love she had time for was Henry.

Emma shifted a manila folder full of important documents, including their birth certificates and Henry's health records, and slipped it into the pocket of her suitcase.

A small piece of cardboard fluttered to the floor and caught her eye. It was a photo. She picked it up wondering where it'd come from. She stored all of Henry's growing-up pics digitally.

It was a photo of her and Henry, but the strange thing was she wasn't standing directly behind him or next to him. They were the only two in the photo but there was a space next to her, almost like another person could've been standing there.

"Where did this come from?" Emma murmured. "I don't remember where this was taken."

Henry looked about the same age but she didn't recognise the background. The photo had no printer's watermarks on the back and it looked old and rough around the edges. She hadn't noticed it among her belongings before.

Maybe at the next place you'll find someone who could fill that gap in your photos, her mind noted wryly.

Emma caught sight of her alarm clock. It was time to move on. She slipped the photo into the back pocket of her jeans and closed up the zip on her suitcase. She made a vow to herself about changing her ways like she had many times before.

At the new place things will be different this time. I'll be different. I can change.

"I hate moving," the boy grumbled under his breath. "My life sucks."

Twelve-year-old Henry pulled his suitcase out from under the bed. His supply of clothes was already in there because there was no closet. He knew from experience that the rest of his things would easily fit in the small suitcase with room to spare.

He and Emma had just enough to get by on. Sometimes he felt weird at school wearing the same set of outfits all the time, but at least he didn't have to wear stuff from thrift shops anymore. Other kids had made a point of letting him know what a dork he looked like back then.

It wasn't difficult to locate which things were his belongings and which things were endemic to Mrs Taylor's flowery sewing room. When they'd first got here he'd had to move the sewing machine off the desk so he could have a place to study. He collected his school books from the desk and his favourite comics and packed them all. Next, he stored his laptop carefully in between layers of clothes so it wouldn't get damaged. His mom had saved up for a while to get it and he knew he wasn't likely to get a replacement for a few years.

There wasn't much point in accumulating more stuff than would fit in the car. Sometimes on moving day they'd have to drop by charity stores to get rid of whatever they wouldn't be taking to the new place.

Birthdays were his favourite time of the year. Not because he got presents though. Emma always gave him something far better than presents every single year. Even the years that she was particularly short of money. Each year she granted a wish for him, whatever he wanted to do or go to see she'd do her best to make it happen. His wishes over the years had included swimming lessons at Miami beach, looking for dinosaur fossils in Utah, and meeting one of his favourite artists at a comic book convention when they lived in San Francisco. He knew not to ask for expensive adventures but as he'd come to realise over the years, he'd seen and done a lot of cool stuff that other kids hadn't.

It's almost like Mom doesn't want me to feel trapped by living in one place, he thought.

Kids everywhere thought he was weird. He didn't play sports because he moved too much and missed tryouts, he didn't have a game system or a phone, he spoke differently (more grownup and with a different accent, depending on where they happened to be). They seemed to know he'd only be around for a short time and didn't bother asking him to hang out.

Being different was really starting to suck hard.

"Hey kid, you need any help?"

Henry raised his eyes and saw his mother standing in the doorway. "Nope. I'm pretty much done."

"Me too." Emma smiled. She was dressed in her day clothes now. His mom came into the room and sat down on the bed next to him. She bumped her shoulder against his by way of apology.

"I'm sorry about before," she said. "For making you feel like I wasn't listening to why you're angry. I get why you're upset. I know it sucks to be bounced around all over the place when you're a kid and you don't get any say in what happens to you."

Henry looked at the carpet and shrugged. "I guess so. I'm sorry too, Mom. You know I love you?"

She wrapped him up in a hug and all was forgiven. They were both loners and they didn't have much, but the most important thing was that they were together. Fights were gotten over quickly.

Emma kissed his forehead and ruffled his hair. "I gotta go make some phone calls and then we'll start packing the car ok?"

"Yeah. I'm ready now."

Emma left. She'd only been gone from his room about thirty seconds when he called out to her. "Mom? Hey Mom, do you want me to gather the toiletries from in the bathroom? Mooooom?"

"Mom, where are you?" Henry went into the living to see where she'd gone. He stopped in his tracks.

A tall dark-haired man in a long black leather coat had his arms around Emma from behind. She was was neither struggling nor screaming though she was definitely afraid. Her eyes were telling him to run but he was motionless with fear. The first thing Henry noticed about the man was that he only had one hand and it was clapped over his mom's mouth to prevent her from calling for help.

Instead of his other hand, there was a silver hook pressed against Emma's throat.

The pirate winked at Henry. "Time to weigh anchor. Be a good lad and pick up that jellybean on the floor over there will you?"

Fairytale Land

A swirling vortex of light roared like a tornado and dropped its three occupants into the meadowy field. They fell roughly to the ground. The portal closed, having delivered its travellers successfully, and then it disappeared.

"Let go of me! What the HELL was that?!" yelled Emma. She staggered to her feet and grabbed for her son. She checked Henry over for injuries and pulled him close to her by the shoulder. She looked around warily, assessing the new surroundings for immediate threats.

"That," said Killian with a groan, aching already from his faceplant. "Was a portal between realms created by a magic bean. Rough way to travel for a seafarer such as myself but beggars can't be choosers."

"Magic?" cried Henry. "For real? Where are we?"

"Allow me to be the first to welcome you to the Enchanted Forest, young sir. As for your mother, 'welcome back' is more appropriate."

Emma's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean."

"You were born here, princess. This is your home." He swept his arm out and around in a grandiose manner.

"Look, I don't know how or why you brought us here and dropped us in the middle of some damn forest. But you are going to take me and my son back to where we came from. Now. I don't have a home and this is not where I was born."

Killian stepped up close into her personal space. To her credit she didn't lean away but returned the flirty look with a defiant challenge of her own. His eyes travelled down over her form, red leather jacket and dark skinny jeans tucked into boots, and then back up. He pointed over her shoulder making sure his arm brushed over her collarbones.

"There," he said. "You were born there. In the highest room of the tallest tower I believe."

Emma and Henry turned around and their mouths gaped open in identical expressions of shock. Behind them, rising into the sky was an enormous golden castle. Its many turrets gleamed in the sunlight and it was backed by rocky steeps that met a sparkling lake at their base. The gate was closed by the portcullis and the footbridge was in ruins. The walls showed signs of recent attack and damage.

"Woah," said Henry, taking in the sight with wonder. "It's a castle. A real one."

Emma shaded her eyes. "It looks like something out of-"

"A fairytale?" suggested Killian.

"I was going to say Fantasyland at Disney World. After a bomb went off out front."

"Ah, actually the Disney castle design was based on Sleeping Beauty's castle. It's a two day ride from here. This one belongs to Snow White."

"Really?" said Henry excitedly. "They're real people? That must mean … are you Captain Hook? You are, aren't you."

Killian saluted the boy with his hook. "Good guess, mate. Lost my hand to a nasty croc."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Right. Hey, if I'm a princess and I was born up there doesn't that mean it should be my castle? I'm gonna kick this Snow White's ass."

"Swan! Don't-" hissed Killian. But his warning was too late. He felt the prick of a sword at the back of his neck.

"Halt!" a gruff voice commanded. "Treacherous trespassers! We are the Queen's guard. Keep your hands, hooks, or hooves where we can see them and turn around. Slowly!"

The three of them did as they were bid. Two guards, one male and one female, outfitted in black livery and shining silverplated armour, were holding them at swordpoint. Emma and Henry raised their hands in surrender.

"There's been a mistake," said Killian impatiently. "I'm here on the Queen's orders. You could say we're friends."

The two guards chuckled to each other. "Friends eh? You believe that, Jack?"

"Nope, sounded like they were talking treason to me, Jill."

Emma snorted. "Ok, what the hell is going on here. Magic, fairytales, castles? I'm hallucinating."

Jack gasped. "Illegal drug use! What do you think this is- Wonderland?"

"We don't tolerate that sort of nonsense here," said Jill sharply. "We're taking you in."

"What?!" said Emma in disbelief. "I didn't mean- It was a joke! God, you're worse than the TSA."

The guards ignored their protests and shackled Emma's and Killian's hands together behind their backs. There was some debate over whether to restrain the boy and in the end it was decided that anyone old enough to fight in the Ogre Wars ought to be shackled. The conscription age had been lowered yet again to supply the army with fresh soldiers and sometimes the recruiters "accidentally" rounded up younger children anyway.

The three of them were shoved towards the castle and ordered to march.

"I guess this is one way to get inside the castle," said Killian sarcastically. Being tied to Emma and force-marched at swordpoint made walking difficult for both of them.

Emma eyed Henry walking in front. She growled under her breath and whispered to the man beside her. "I don't care what happens to me. I definitely don't care what happens to you. But if anything happens to my kid… I'll shove that hook somewhere unpleasant and hang you out to dry."

"I've missed your ladylike repartee, Swan." Killian turned his face to talk to the guards. "You bucketheads are making a mistake! Do you have any idea who this woman is? You'd better be taking us to the Queen."

"Oh yes, treasonists, you are certainly going to face the Queen's wrath." Jack laughed. He prodded Killian in the back with his sword.

Jill shot her brother a sly look. "I think they'll enjoy meeting her, won't they."

"Indeed. She is not in a forgiving mood today I hear."

Throne room

"Your Majesty, a word? My guards have captured three prisoners who need your attention."

Snow White barely looked up from her parchment map, annoyed at the interruption. "Prisoners are nothing to do with me as you know, Head of the Guards. Ride them outside the castle territory and release them with whatever food they stole. They probably need it. I have neither the time nor inclination to deal with minor infractions. My entire Kingdom is in danger."

"But, Your Majesty. We fear a plot against your life-"

Snow sighed. "What were they arrested for?"

"Treachery, trespass, treason," the Head Guard answered. "And drug use."

The main doors burst open and two armed guards shoved their three prisoners into the hall. The two adults were gagged now and struggling with their captors and the third prisoner was a young boy. When the Queen saw the identities of the prisoners her jaw dropped in shock and she felt her heart start to beat in her chest again.

"Release them now! Then all of you go," she ordered hastily. Snow spoke to the tiny blue bird sitting on her shoulder. "Tell her to to join us immediately and bring my husband."

The guards side-eyed each other wondering what was going on, but they made quick work of untying the bonds. They left and the little blue bird flew out the door after them.

Killian coughed. "Appreciate it, Snow. Usually when I'm handcuffed to someone we're naked and it's a lot more fun."

"It was good for me too," Emma said flatly.

Snow felt the prick of tears as she stared at Emma, then at Henry, then at Emma again. She couldn't believe it. The plan had worked. They were finally being reunited after all these years of waiting. Her daughter and grandson were finally home.

"Emma! Henry! Oh, you're back at last."

Snow went to throw her arms around them both. Emma's eyes widened at the sudden movement. She jerked backwards and pulled Henry behind her, protecting him with her body as though they were being attacked.

"Wait. How do you know who we are," demanded Emma, holding her hand out like a stop sign. "Somebody better explain right now. Why have you kidnapped us and brought us to… to wherever-the-hell-we-are?"

Snow's heart sank. "You don't remember."

Killian nodded ruefully. "She's still cursed. Getting her here wasn't easy."

Snow thanked him profusely for his success, relieved that nothing had gone awry. As she spoke she caught Henry taking in her royal gown and the flowers pinned in her coal black hair. He must've noticed that her skin was pale and her lips, blood red.

"Are you Snow White?" asked the boy.

She smiled. "Yes, Henry. I am."

The side door opened again and Prince Charming burst through. He was followed by a small glowing blue fairy, flying at shoulder height. He strode into the room and stopped dead when he saw them.

"E-Emma?" he stammered. "Henry. Is it really you?"

Snow caught him by the arm before he could run to hug them. He gave her a curious look which turned to sadness at the slight shake of her head. They'd dreamed of this day for so long it was surreal that it was finally here. Their happy ending could never be complete without their daughter.

"Let me guess," said Emma, eyebrow raised. "You're Prince Charming. What is that blue thing flying around you? What is it supposed to be?"

The Blue Fairy floated close to Emma's face. "Now that the Saviour has returned we may fight this great evil that has befallen the land. We must restore her memories."

"You're a fairy!" said Henry. "Do something magical."

"Very well," said Blue. She waved her tiny wand and two small potion bottles appeared, one in Emma's hand and the other in Henry's.

"What is this," said Emma suspiciously. "Poison?"

"A potion," said Snow. "To help you both remember who you really are. It will return your real memories from the past ten years. You will both remember that you have family and a home."

"Are you serious," said Henry. "We have a home?"

"Let me tell you a story, Henry," said Snow, eyes twinkling. "Once upon a time a beautiful baby girl was born to a prince and princess. They loved her so much but they were devastated because a dark curse was set upon them by an Evil Queen who was determined to destroy their happy ending. They sent their beloved baby away to another land where she grew up and had a child of her own..."

Henry was enraptured, searching her expression for truth as she related tales of Storybrooke, Neverland, and the Enchanted Forest. She could tell that he was ready to believe. The boy was keen to know more and Snow realised that was the key. She didn't like it, but they would have to go through Henry to get to Emma. It was the only way.

"... and so the former Evil Queen realised what needed to be done. She let them escape from the curse's return and gifted them with new happy memories. In so doing she gave up the thing she loved most, her son."

"Me?" said Henry with wonder. "It's me in the story. Emma is the Saviour. You're her parents!"

Emma glared at them, unconvinced. "You're supposed to be kind and good, right? You're cruel. How could you do that to a kid, tell him wild fantasies and lies. All you're doing is setting him up for disappointment and giving him unrealistic hope. My real parents abandoned me, they dumped me on the side of a road like trash."

"No, Emma," Henry pleaded and yanked on her arm. "That's just where you came through! Probably."

Snow nodded once to Charming and Hook. She hated herself for what she was about to do. "Restrain her. Henry? Drink the potion, sweetie."

"Stop, get off me!" Emma yelled angrily when Hook grabbed her again.

The two men only barely managed to hold Emma back by the arms, out of reach of Henry. She struggled against them, fighting like a wildcat, all the time yelling for them to let go of her and leave her son alone. The boy glanced down at the little glass bottle in his hand, with some uncertainty now. His mother was afraid for him and that was warning enough. But he wanted so badly to believe.

"I don't know what to do," said Henry quietly.

"Henry, please trust me," said Snow. "You and Emma can live here with us, your family, and you can finally have a home in this land. With both of your parents. Drink and you'll remember."

"Henry, don't!" screamed Emma. "It could be poison! NO!"

But her last word was too late, Henry pulled out the stopper and downed the bottle's contents in one gulp. He closed his eyes tightly for a few moments and when he opened them again he gasped as the new memories flooded his mind.

"Grandma!" he said to her and then to the men, "Grandpa. Hook. I remember everything."

Emma slumped in defeat and the men let her go. She ran to Henry and yanked open his mouth as if she could have looked in and retrieved the liquid, droplet by droplet, until the suspected poison was gone. She checked him over like she was expecting symptoms to appear straight away. But he was fine so far.

"Henry?" said Emma worriedly.

"Emma, I'm ok," said Henry. "You need to drink yours too. Everything you remember from the last ten years isn't real. Our minds only think it was. What really happened after I was born is that you gave me up and I was adopted by my real Mom and I lived with her in a place called Storybrooke. You came to live there when I was ten. A year ago we left to escape the curse, it erased everything that happened in Storybrooke and replaced our memories. It's like I have two lives in my head now. Only one of them was real."

"Your real Mom?" repeated Emma in an unreadable tone.

"You have to believe me, Emma," her son pleaded. "Use your superpower to see if I'm lying. I wouldn't lie to you."

"Kid, you lied last week when I asked you if you'd been watering Mrs Taylor's happy plants every day. You're gonna miss out on that twenty she promised you."

"You're just afraid to believe it because you always push people away. You're afraid that it'll turn out not to be true. But it is!"

Snow reached out to place a comforting hand on Emma's shoulder. "Please?"

Emma shook her head stubbornly. "I can't drink it even if I wanted to."

All of them looked down to their feet where the shattered remains of glass lay in a small puddle of blue liquid on the polished floor.

"There are only two options here," said Emma. "Either I'm dreaming or I've actually gone crazy for real."

"It's not a dream, Emma," said Charming.

"And you are not crazy," said Snow. "I know it must be hard for you to accept. It certainly was the first time you heard the truth."

"You're saying that all of this happened because of some Evil Queen..."

Emma was skeptical, but she felt something inside her urging her to believe. She was in a strange land with strangely dressed people telling her strange things and her son had somehow fallen for it. She was worried about him, but Henry seemed to be having the time of his life. Talking to his "grandma" and "grandpa", asking them all sorts of questions about fairytales and magic. Now he was pretending to duel with the pirate.

Her parents. Well, that was absolutely fucking crazy wasn't it. They were younger than she was. They were fairytale characters. Neither of them was blonde. It couldn't possibly be true and she didn't believe a word of the farfetched tale. It had plotholes in it for a start.

She tried to ignore the fact that this Snow White woman shared an uncanny likeness with her (I think I have her chin), apart from the coal black hair and warm loving serene smile (I feel like I can trust her). Why exactly was she wearing a dress made of feathers anyway (I would never wear anything like that). The prince was handsome and charming like his name indicated, but every time he said something there was a second where she actually did find him charming before chastising herself for it.

Emma was suspicious of the tiny blue fairy who was buzzing around their faces rather annoyingly. For some reason she was wishing for a fly swat.

The Blue Fairy deplored the loss of the memory potion that Emma had smashed, but the others couldn't agree on whether she'd done it deliberately or accidentally during the commotion. The fairy informed the Queen that she was unable to make another one. Until certain rare ingredients became available they couldn't bring Emma's missing memories back.

A tear fell down Snow's cheek. The Queen and Charming held each other and looked upon their daughter with sadness. Emma felt guilty for causing it.

"Alright," Emma sighed. "Let's say that I accept this whole theory for a second, that I really am the Sa... the you-know-what. Why did you bring me here?"

"There's a new threat," said Charming, somewhat evasively. "But don't worry about that for now. We'll deal with that after we restore your memories, Emma."

"There's something you're not telling me."

Snow smiled overly brightly. "We're just glad to see you again. We are your parents. You may not remember us but we've missed you every minute that you've been gone. I know that all you ever wished for was to find us."

"I need some time."

"Of course. Please don't give up hope, Emma."

"The most important thing anyone can ever have is hope. Your mother told me to tell you that. It's why I'm here now..."

It felt like she'd heard that somewhere, a long time ago. Who had said that to her?

Henry ran over and threw his arms around Snow's middle. "Miss Blanch- I mean, Grandma Snow, where's Mom? Not the one slouching over there on the step, the other one. Where's Regina? Is she at her castle? Can we go there? Now?"

"Who is this 'other mom' my son has," Emma grumbled, crossing her arms on her knees. "And where the hell was she when I was knee-deep in dirty diapers and defusing the worst tantrums you've ever seen."

Snow tried to hide the smile that nearly split her face, but it was shortlived. Emma noticed that something about this other mom that made her sad.

"Mom is gonna be annoyed that you let me have candy all the time." Henry grinned cheekily.

"Whatever. What's she gonna do - kill me?"

Snow and Charming exchanged a look that meant there was simply no way to have this conversation without it ending badly. What was going on here that was so terrible they didn't even want to tell her?

"Emma," began Snow. "Do you - um, do you remember Regina at all?"

Emma shrugged. "No. Why?"

"You should have one memory of her," said Charming.

"She came to visit you something like ten years ago?" said Snow. "She came to bring you a message and warn you that Hook would show up one day to bring you to us?"

Emma's mouth dropped open. "Wait - that fake social worker was my kid's mother? She showed up one day to chat and snoop around my apartment. Back when Henry was a baby and we were living in Phoenix. She came to see us. How did she get to my world?"

"She wasn't really there. Regina went under a curse in order to insert herself into your memory, Emma. But she only had enough magic to last for an hour."

Snow explained the particular effects of a Sleeping Curse for her benefit, but to Emma it sounded like a flimsy plan with low expected payoff. She couldn't appreciate how bad it was, even if she suspended her disbelief that it wasn't real in the first place. Henry must've known how dire the situation was because he was clearly devastated.

"My mom is in a sleeping curse?" cried Henry. "Why would she do that to herself! Her True Love was the stable boy and he's long dead. The only way to break it is with a kiss from her True Love. Now she'll never wake up!"

"Never?" repeated Emma, searching for confirmation from Snow. "Are you saying that this woman sacrificed not only her life but an eternity of nightmarish sleep to bring me a message. To give me hope. To spend a single hour with me and Henry?"

"Yes."

Is she in love with me or something? Emma thought to herself. That is romantic as hell. I could love her for that alone. Who IS this woman who would sacrifice herself for me?

No-one had ever helped her in her entire life like that. When things were bad, when she used to cry about being tired from working night shifts or when she couldn't afford some toy Henry wanted that all the other kids had, when she used to go to bed every night wishing that they weren't alone, and when she hated herself for not being a better mother... she used to remember the woman's words. A reminder of hope that got her through tough times.

"Is she insane?" said Emma, shaking slightly with anger. "She drank poison knowing that she might never wake up? I want to see her."

"Emma-"

"Where is she?!" Emma demanded. "I have to see her. Take me to what'sername - Regina!"

"Do you think you can wake her?" said Henry hopefully. "Are you going to kiss her?"

"There has to be a way to wake her. If only so that I can tell her what a stupid sacrifice that was, giving up the rest of her damn life just so that I could stop feeling guilty hosting my little pity parties-of-one. How am I supposed to live with myself now, knowing what happened? She told me that she only had an hour but I didn't believe her. I kicked her out early. The last three minutes of her life. I am not giving up until I repay that debt."

"Lets go!" said Henry. "You might be her True Love after all. Mom, you have to kiss my other mom."

Charming grabbed her shoulder when she jumped to her feet. "Wait, you can't-"

Emma glared. "Why."

"Because Regina isn't here anymore."

"I thought you said she was in a glass coffin and you guys were keeping her here. Where has she been moved to? It's not like she can go anywhere on her own, unless she sleepwalks. This Evil Queen sounds like she was a badass, she's probably capable of it. If only to piss me off by making me search the entire realm for her. Anyway, it doesn't matter, I will find her. She saved me, now it's my turn to save her. I'll find a way."

"Emma, I'm sorry," said Snow, reluctant to be the bearer of bad news. "But she's already been woken up."