A/N: How are you all enjoying this thus far? Well I hope you are, indeed, enjoying it. With that said lets get to the chapter itself shall we?

After the nurses had managed to, once again, get Emma's heart started the group decided it would be best to just let Emma rest, even if everyone was reluctant to leave her side. Chaya needed to know who the fuck these people thought they were, and the group needed to know who these children, this woman were. They all needed to know what was going on, so they decided Granny's would be a suitable middle ground.

"The boys are twins right? They are her sons?" Regina said as she eyed the boys carefully. They were fully engrossed in their own little world. Greedily eating the piles of graham crackers, grapes, and cups of milk Granny had placed in front of them. The hospital had no cafeteria, so, the diner served as the only eating option.

"Yes" Chaya looked at her boys with love and adoration. Before eyeing Regina. "Her eggs and my dad's sperm. You are the mayor. And you adopted that boy" Regina flinched with how she referred to Henry. Who was still at the hospital, in the waiting room, crying into his grandfather's arms. "You are her older sister, and lastly, you are her best friend slash deputy?" Her eyes danced between people as she spoke.

"That is all true" Ruby sighed out. "Emma's our Sheriff. She. She's just. I don't. I" Ruby stopped trying to talk at that point, deciding it was best to leave that up to the mayor because she simply didn't know what to say. Belle hugged her wife, she could understand her pain. She loved Emma too.

Silence crept into the diner like the plague. Enveloping everything, and everyone in it's grasp. Eyes glanced around awkwardly. Each being trying, desperately, to find what to say next. All were confused, startled, scared, and beyond completely mindfucked with the events of the past day. Chaya included. Only the two little boys seemed, for the most part, unaffected.

"I see." Was stated slowly as Chaya's eyes narrowed, her anger apparent. "What exactly do you know about my Emma? Do you even truly know anything about her at all?" Regina hated that this woman, even as Emma's ex-wife, tried to claim Emma. Although she bit her tongue, she didn't need to start a fight. Yet.

There was an abundance of accusation in the tone the newcomer used. It was clear that she thought they knew nothing. And really, was she wrong? What did they actually know about Emma's past beyond the fact she'd given Henry up for adoption? That she was a bounty hunter? That she'd spent some time in jail? All stuff they could learn from a google search, nothing of real value.

"Well. Truthfully. We don't know that much about her past. We do know that Henry found her in Boston, on her twenty-eighth birthday. That she spend eight months in jail, as well as growing up into the foster care system." Belle spoke softly. "Emma doesn't like to talk about her past, we've done our best to respect her wishes." Which was true, but then, they'd never thought to pry in the first place.

The clenching of the woman's fists didn't go unnoticed by a single pair of eyes. Belle's words, while kind, honest, and soft spoken had angered her. They really couldn't blame her. Chaya's eyes, face, hell her entire body was screaming to everyone that she'd like nothing more than to strangle them all to a painful and breathless death. Or worse, which, was the truth. The woman couldn't believe that none of them had cared enough to learn anything real about the woman she still loved.

"Then you know NOTHING" Was spat at them like the poison from a venomous viper. "I have known that magnificent woman since I was twelve and she was half that! There is not a thing I don't know about her! We met when I had run away from home, and gotten myself lost in the big city! Ending up climbing a tree after a humongous dog had chased me!"

Angrily Chaya went on to tell them about how the dog had continued to bark, growl and attempt to get at her. How she had been terrified. How, at twelve years old, she had been certain she was going to die, alone, up in that tree. Then Emma had shown up, barking and growling and she had managed to shoo the dog away.

How at that point Chaya had found she was scared of heights, and couldn't get down. She told them how Emma had laughed at that information, and rather than run off and find an adult to help the older girl she'd simply climbed right on up and talked and helped Chaya down to the ground. Even helped Chaya get home.

The story continued. Skipping to the point where they had met for the second time. When Chaya had been nineteen. She'd been volunteering at Boston General, the very same hospital that the thirteen year old Savior had just happened to be receiving treatment at. How Chaya's job was to spend time with patients who had little to no family, how she'd walked into Emma's room and knew at once who the girl was.

Telling the group how Emma had recognized her as well. How they had talked about just about anything and everything and became friends. The day that Emma was released Chaya had slipped her ways to contact her, and how they had called each other, met up, or sent letters to each other after that.

Everyone was captivated by the story. Listening about how Chaya's father had tried long and hard to adopt the sickly teenager to save her from her unsavory, and long list, of foster and group homes. Trying to, at the least, just foster her. Listening to how the state had laughed in the openly gay, single, jewish man's face. How, not even his wealth, could get the state to change their minds.

Of course when it came time to tell them about how some madman had been pissed off that Emma had continually refused his advances he had stalked her, overpowered her, and raped her. Thus creating Henry. When she told them that everyone cringed save the two little ones who didn't fully understand what they were hearing.

Their obvious discomfort at hearing this part of the tale didn't stop her from telling them all how Emma had tracked him down and killed him a few days later. How he had continued to stalk her, intent on re-enacting their 'lovemaking' as he had called it. That Emma had received a shortened sentence of only a year, eight months with good behavior, due to the circumstances. Though Regina's urge to kill her grew tenfold when Chaya told them how she had a team of lawyer fight for the state to allow Emma a late stage abortion.

They continued to listen silently as Chaya told them how she had, apparently, tried to fight off Emma's advances until the younger woman was eighteen. How Emma had grabbed her on her birthday and told her 'Just one kiss, and if you don't like it, then I'll never try again'. One kiss was all it took, it was then that Chaya knew she'd never have enough of Emma.

Nine weeks later they had been legally married, it was only a few weeks after Henry was born. They had married quickly to try and make that time a good one, rather than a bad one. How together they had celebrated being rid of Henry, and of a prison. Loving each other, and their father. Of course Chaya never called Henry by name. She referred to him as the 'parasite' or the 'thing'.

"It sounds like, despite her incarcerations and how Henry came to be, that you were both very much in love. Perhaps even before she was of age, even if you never acted on it. From what I understand you were both extremely happy with each other" Belle said with a smile, she was a sucker for love. Chaya returned her smile and nodded, glancing at her sons.

"We were so brilliantly happy. We were amazing together, we went all over the world. I can't remember a time we weren't happy. At least, until I couldn't hide the fact that I had always wanted a child. That I always would, and that I wanted a child with her. That was when everything we built came crashing down around us" She said sadly as she ran a hand through one of the boys hair.

"Granny why don't you take these two super hungry munchkins over to the counter and get them jumbo bowls of ice cream, and maybe something to color" Ruby said as Chaya paused. Ruby understood why she had, the kids weren't paying attention but there are some things you just can't say in front of your children.

The boys climbed over their mother and Granny scooped them both up into her arms. They were excited as she promised them their favorite flavor of ice cream, taking them to the other end of the building. Plopping them down and handing them some paper and some crayons before disappearing into the kitchen for strawberry ice cream for the smaller one, and banana for the other.

"She never wanted children, even before the parasite. Too scared that whatever she had was genetic even though the doctors assured us they didn't believe it was. Not that they ever really know what it was that she has. So, we had her embryos harvested. But shortly after she backed out. We fought for over a year before she made me a deal" Chaya paused again. Wiping at a tear.

In no way was Regina amused. She hated Chaya with a passion that rivaled the hatred that she once held for Snow. Strike that, she hated Chaya more than she had ever hated Snow. And she didn't know why. Nor did she know why she felt betrayed when Belle reached out and squeezed the strangers hand in a friendly manner.

"It's going to be alright. No one is judging you" Regina held back a snort at Belle's words, as did Snow. Everyone besides perhaps Belle was judging the woman in at least some manner. "We are listening whenever you are ready to finish" Chaya gave her a grateful nod before opening her mouth once more.

"The deal was I grant her a divorce, and I could have her baby. Under the condition that she never had to know him or her. As long as she got literally nothing in the divorce. We kept in minimal contact after, I tried so hard to win her back. But then she just vanished" Her voice broke as she whispered the last sentence.

"So what are you? Thirty-five? Thirty-six?" Regina asked as she eyed the woman up, then down. Sizing her. Chaya was beautiful, intelligent, rich. The complete package. Regina's passionate hatred for her only grew. "The twins, you called them Emmett and Asael? How old are they?"

"Nearing thirty-six. We divorced when I was thirty-two, and she was twenty-five. I didn't even try to get pregnant until a year after the divorce. I got pregnant on my second try. They were three months old when she went away. They will be three in ten weeks. Emmett and Asael are their names" With a smile she glanced over to where her boys were covered in pink and yellow ice cream. "Emma would have loved them, she never had anything to fear. Their hearts are strong. Completely healthy. I have them checked monthly"

When they had learned all that they possible could they bid Chaya farewell and Granny caught a ride with her and the twins to the bed and breakfast. The elderly woman was the only one, besides Belle, who didn't want to run this ex-wife out of town. She set her up in her best double room, feeling dread creep up in her old wolf bones. This Chaya had a darkness around her, and Granny had to wonder if her life was to be short if she was going to snap herself.

Everyone other than Granny headed over to the pawn shop. If anyone in this Goddess forsaken town could save Emma then it was Rumplestiltskin. While the man always had a cost Regina was damn well willing to trade just about anything, even her own soul should she still have one, to save her. That, and if Gold could wipe that bitch Chaya's memory well that would suit Regina just fine.

"This is not a natural disease of the heart" The uncomfortable man said as he glanced the woman over. Snow's, and Regina's, eyes widened with newfound hope. "If I am correct then I would say that this is from the separation of the most powerful, the rarest love of all. A love that I previously believed was little more than legend." His voice was filled with awe.

"True love?" Asked an incredibly confused Snow. Everyone knew about that. Rumple gave her an appalled look. Like she had just eaten bird shit or some other vile, disgusting act. Then again, he supposed, that he should expect such pure stupidity from one of the famous idiot 'charming' duo.

Being the other half of the idiot brigade David was the only one not giving Snow an identical look to the one the Dark One was giving her. While they didn't know what he was talking about they were pretty much clear on the fact he wasn't talking about True love, even BABIES knew about true love. It was the first thing they learned about.

"Of course not you" Gold bit his tongue, he didn't need to start world war: enchanted edition in the middle of the hospital. "No. The rarest, most unheard of form of love is stronger, and infinitely more powerful than true love. It's a love so strong, that it's. It has no name. I've lived for nearly a thousand years and never seen it" The way he looked at Emma in that moment unnerved everyone in the room.

He continued to stare at Emma with this look of intrigue, fascination, and sadness as he told them how only a child of true love, like Emma, could ever possibly achieve that type of love. How at birth her heart was given wholly, fully, and without question to her love without ever meeting. Almost as if their very souls intertwined.

That this bonding must have completed in the short time that Emma was in the old world. That Emma's condition was likely due to the barrier that separated the world from massive but tiny town in Maine. That Emma growing up on the wrong side of the barrier took it's damage out on the girls' heart.

With this grim news came hope. Rumple was convinced that the kiss of her intended love were to kiss her. If the town could track this person down, and convince them to kiss Emma. Then there was a large chance that she could be cured. However, there was a downside. If the wrong person kissed her it would certainly be the kiss of death. The only reason Chaya had been able to do it was Emma wasn't in this state, and possibly because she wasn't from their world.

"What about fairy dust? Won't that tell us who she belongs too?" Regina scowled, as if Emma could ever be owned. "If we can find him then he can kiss her, it will save her, she will wake up. Fairy dust is the only way to find true love so it just has to work!" Rambled an anxious Snow White.

Silence wrapped itself around everyone as Snow hugged herself tightly. She needed her daughter to survive and she was close to losing her grip on reality. The information that had been piled on top of her over the past day was tearing her apart. Not only had her child had a relationship with a woman, she had children. She had a life threatening condition that was killing her.

Add that to the fact that by sending Emma away not only had she lived a life of pain, loneliness, and sorrow. She had separated her from a love so true that it outranked her own, a love that was so rare it had no name. A separation that was literally killing her daughter, and had been doing so slowly her entire life. A fate that had she just kept her instead of throwing her away wouldn't be affecting Emma.

"There is only one way that I believe we can find the woman that Emma loves." Snow scowled at his words. "And even then there is no guarantee it will even work. Unfortunately it will require a person who is pure of heart, that loves Emma, to pay the ultimate price. They will need to take the life of a person that Emma has loved during her time on this earth"

Even if it was just a possibility no one thought murdering for the sake of saving Emma was wrong. Almost everyone in the room was willing to do it. The sheriff was their savior, their daughter, their friend. Albeit she was closed off, hid her past, and honestly most thing from them, but they all loved her all the same. Accept her as she was, well beside the girl loving part, no matter what her paranoid personality was.

"I can do it! I can kill for her! So she may find her husband" Snow said firmly as David wrapped his arms around her. "But, whose life should I take? It must be someone that's death won't hurt anyone. What do I need to do?" Her eyes pleaded with Rumple for answers. He let out a long sigh, running a hand through his hair.

"That will do us absolutely no good. Snow, you murdered Cora. Ruby, David. They have both killed. Yes to protect friends, and for their lives and kingdom. But any life taken breaks a person's innocence. That leave only two in this room that love Emma who are still pure of heart, still have that innocence needed." They stared at him, awaiting an answer. "Belle. And Henry" The man admitted softly and reluctantly.

"Henry!" Declared Snow who surged forward and grabbed onto the startled boy's shoulders. Rumple glared at the action, the hand not around his cane turning into a fist. "He loves her the most out of anyone, he can do this!"

Gaping Regina just stared at Snow as Henry looked scared for his very own life. He was a child, a boy. And she wanted to send him down the path of darkness before he could fully comprehend the consequences of the actions? There was no way that she was going to allow her son to make such a sacrifice at such an age, even if she desperately needed Emma alive. Before she could rip Snow a new asshole for such a suggestion someone else was screaming.

"NO" Spat Rumple. "I not once ever contemplated admitting this to anyone, let alone aloud." He stopped. "I knew who Henry's father was before he was even born. Admittedly I made sure that man was put to death for what he had done. I had searched for so long, but I wished in the end, so badly, that I hadn't found him. I am the Dark One, but what my Bae, what Neal, did to those women. Did to Emma"

Teeth grinding together Rumple looked away in shame as he stopped speaking. The pure shame of being his son's father had never been greater, as before, only he had known the truth of his precious sons actions. Now everyone else did too. He had always known he could never repay Emma for what his son had done to her, what he had taken from her. Until now he could pretend Baelfire and Neal were two separate beings, but he couldn't deny that they were the same person anymore.

"What?" Was said so softly you could barely understand it. "What are you saying?" His words broke an uncomfortable silence. Henry was still not over learning that his father hadn't been the glorified dead firefighter his mother had told him about. That he was, in fact, a rapist. Could it be worse? Those women? Henry paled as he wondered if that mean his father had raped more than just his mother.

"I brought Henry here, not for the reason you all assume. You are all under the assumption that I brought Henry to lure Emma here. But that wasn't the reason. I brought the boy here because he's my grandson. I made sure to give him to someone that I knew could love him, care for him, to help him stay away from the dark paths that I fell down. Or worse, the path that his father chose to take" Rumple looked at Henry then. Sadness, sorrow, guilt, love and pleading shining in his eyes. The biggest emotion however was the shame. "I can not allow Henry to ever lose his innocence. The consequences could be too dire. Darkness, the worst possible darkness, lays in his blood"

This was shocking news to everyone involved. No one had put two and two together, not even Regina who knew who Baelfire was had put together the puzzle. Not until Rumple had spelled it out to them. With each new branch Henry's family tree was twisting and turning in a variety of weird, crazy, and impossible ways. Stunned silence wrapped around all of them as Henry wrapped his arms around Regina and buried his face into her stomach.

A/N: Next chapter will be next thursday as always. I hope you continue with me on this journey. If you have the time I'd love to know your thoughts, good or bad.