I'M SO SORRY IT'S TAKEN ME SO LONG TO UPDATE. I'VE BEEN PRETTY BUSY WITH SCHOOL AND WORK.

DON'T OWN IT.

"Rumple!" The Hook and James heard Regina angrily yell, followed by a loud thump.

"What the bloody Hell are you two doing to my ship?" Hook runs out of the storage closet he and James had been talking in.

"Nothing." Gold huffs. "It's what our favorite Queen is doing to me. It seems she's throwing a temper tantrum."

"My son is missing, I have every right to." Regina crosses her arms.

"I think it's kind of cute, that you two are using nicknames." James says with a smirk. This earns him a glare from the other two and a chuckle from Hook. He glances around the deck, frowning when he doesn't see his two girls. "Where's Snow and Emma?"

With an eye roll, Regina says, "Mary Margaret went looking for her."

"If I can trust you three enough not to kill each other…" James gestures to the stairs where he had seen Emma run off to.

"Go ahead, Mate." Hook says, his eyes full of understanding. "I'll babysit these two." With a nod, James takes the stairs two at a time. Instinctively, he just knows where to go. He rounds a corner and his eyes land on Snow and Emma. He takes in the sight, marveling at how Snow's arm wraps around Emma's shoulders perfectly. He's hesitant to ruin their moment, but he also wants a piece of it. Sensing his presence, Snow removes her arm and twists her body, gesturing for him to go over. Emma doesn't move, and that concerns him. He walks over and sits on the bench, which has barely enough room for the three of them.

"Hey." He says, giving Snow a peck on the cheek.

"Hey." She responds. They sit in silence for a few moments before, surprisingly, Emma breaks it.

"I haven't had a panic attack since I was Henry's age." She begins wringing her hands together. "So… I'm sorry I freaked out. And yelled at you guys. I just can't panic until we find Henry." After a second, James says,

"Here's the thing, Em." The blonde takes a sharp intake of breath at the name. "There are six of us looking for Henry. That means even if you panic for a little bit, there's still five of us. And we're a family, which means we take care of each other. And your mother and I will never ever leave you or be mad at you for needing us."

"And you don't have to apologize for yelling at us." Snow chimes in. "We know what it's like to have your child ripped away from you." At that, Emma bites her lip, trying to keep the tears Snow had just dried minutes ago at bay. "We understand the anger and the helplessness."

"We love you so much, Emma." James reaches around his wife to grasp Emma's hand. "We couldn't convey it back in the mine, but we do. You don't have to say anything to that, okay? Cause we already know how you feel about us. You were able to convey it when you said, 'mom' and 'dad'." Emma makes a noise acknowledgment, which is all she can manage through the lump in her throat.

"Can I ask you a question?" Snow all but chokes out. Emma nods. "If we were… if we were… if we gave you up because of a different reason… say we really just didn't want you and not because you would have been cursed for eternity or killed… would you still love us just because we're your parents?"

"No." Emma says with conviction. "I… love you two… because you only wanted what was best for me. That's the qualification for being a parent. Loving your kid and wanting what's best for it. If you two were some random junkies who didn't want me, that doesn't… the word 'parents' really doesn't mean that much to me. This is really hard to explain, but I love you because you love me. Just like I loved Mary Margaret. Maybe I could've even learned to love David if he and Mary Margaret worked out. I just wish I could go to every foster house I was ever at and every bully that ever told me no one loves me and tell them that my parents really do love me, and they want me more than anything and they are so sorry they had to send me away." By now, Snow and James' eyes, too, were shining, and not only with tears, but with pride and love. Their daughter had finally said the 'L' word.

"Emma…" Snow gasps.

"I'm speechless." James says. "I used to think you have my level of eloquence, but now I think you have Snow's." The brunette pulls her baby girl into a ferocious hug again, and James joins in.

"I never thought I'd understand it." Emma says around Snow's shirt. "Why someone could give me away and leave me all alone in the world. I never thought I'd ever get past the anger and the pain. Maybe it's because the same thing happened with Henry…"

"We're going to find him." Snow reiterates her earlier point before James had found them.

"I know." Emma offers her parents a half-smile. "It's what we do."