Summary: Emma and MM have a moment after Emma tells them her plans to save Hook.
"Forgive me if I'm missing the obvious, but how exactly does one get to the Underworld?" asked Robin.
"That's where Gold makes himself useful," Emma said bitterly. "We'll use his blood to call the ferry at the lake."
Regina scoffed beside her, looking directly at Emma. "And he just agreed to this?"
"If he doesn't want Belle finding out about his return to Darkness, he'll do whatever I ask of him."
"Poor Belle," sighed Mary Margaret softly before popping her head back up. "Is this really fair? To keep her in the dark like this?
Emma's lips formed a grim line, swallowing before she spoke. "I don't like it, either, but he's my only chance to save Killian." Her voice remained stern, telling the others she would not be swayed on her decision.
There were mixed nods of agreement, pity, or resignation; she couldn't tell which. When no one said anything else she straightened her shoulders and continued. "We have to wait until the moon fully rises. Then we meet Gold by the lake."
"So we have a few hours," David added. "We best make our preparations...the ones we can make anyway." He wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulder.
A somber silence hovered around them. They had absolutely no idea what they were walking into. All Emma knew was that she had something that resembled a plan and that was enough for her. She nodded her thanks to her father for supporting her.
She swallowed down the lump in her throat at the thought of everyone coming with her. She was beyond grateful for it, but she couldn't bear the thought of losing anyone else. She was gripping and twisting the ring around her neck when her mother's voice startled her.
"Emma," she started. "Can I talk to you?" She nodded towards the sofa in front of the window.
Emma glanced at the others who seemed to be discussing the plans for Neal, Roland, and the baby while Henry was rummaging through his backpack. Turning back to Mary Margaret, she nodded and followed her to the couch.
After they sat, her mother took her hand in both of hers, squeezing in comfort. She didn't say anything and neither did Emma. They both watched David exchange a final nod to Robin before heading back into the bedroom. Regina glanced at Emma before following Robin out of the loft.
Mary Margaret shifted more towards her after the door shut with a soft click. Then she spoke the question Emma had feared was on her lips since Emma had posed her quest. "Emma, are you sure about this?"
The tiniest amount of doubt could be heard in her voice and without thinking Emma yanked her hand out of her grip, immediately regretting it when she saw the brief hurt flash across her mom's features. She gave a sad smile in apology before placing her hand on top of her mom's. "Yes," she replied strongly. "I've never been more sure of anything."
Her mom nodded, not arguing any further. "You love him. Truly," she stated.
Her free hand returned to its vice hung around her neck. The words weren't a question; her love for Killian wasn't exactly a secret anymore but for Emma, it was only in the recent weeks that she'd let herself really fall, really open up. For that reason, her emotions were right on the surface, fresh and new and almost uncontrollable. "There is no one else," she declared, her voice a broken whisper. She fought the tears burning the back of her eyes.
"I saw you wearing that in Camelot. Is it-?"
"What? Oh," Her eyes bugged when she realized what her mom was looking at. Her hand was still on the ring in question. She focused on its carvings as she answered. "It's not an engagement ring." She wondered if her mother could detect the slight disappointment in her voice. "It was Liam's-his brother's. He said it was the reason he had survived for so long." Her lips formed a bitter smile, cursing at the ridiculous irony.
Suddenly, everything started to spill out of her, Mary Margaret listening intently and grasping her hand again in encouragement. "All I could think about last night was how much time I've wasted, pushing him away because I was too scared. And for what?" She laughed humorlessly, peering back to her mother. "You want to know the reason I couldn't light the flame back in Camelot? It was because I knew being free from the darkness would send us into this seemingly perfect life that we knew wouldn't be perfect but it would be ours and everything I never thought to even hope for and I just..." Her shoulders slumped as a sob overtook her. She allowed herself to be cuddled by the woman beside her, her tears falling onto both of their shoulders.
"He knew Emma," came her reply, her hand running up and down Emma's arm. "He knew how much you loved him."
She kept her head on her mom's shoulders, trying not to focus on her use of the past tense. She sniffled before adding, softly, "He's the one who picked out that house, you know."
"Well, I helped," a voice chimed in. They looked up at Henry, who proceeded to pull out a chair from the table, dragging it over to sit in front of them. His confident, boyish smile immediately soothed Emma and she felt her shoulders relax.
"You did, indeed, kid," she smiled, wiping the wetness from her cheeks. "I never thanked you for that."
Henry waved her off with a hand. "It was my idea and my name, of course, but Killian picked the house."
She felt herself take a deep breath. He knew. He knows, she corrected, the statement quickly becoming a mantra in her mind.
"We'll find him, mom," Henry said, his signature Believer voice filling the words. "We'll find him and you'll have your happy ending." His eyes glistened on his last words. "We all will."
Her happy ending. It's you. His elegant voice slipped past her fears and hugged her mind until she felt the conviction her son exuded. She beamed with pride and love for her son and for the first time the hope she had been holding onto since she came up with the plan held her right back.
"That's right. If there's one thing this family is good at, it's that we always find each other," came her mother's reminder. She then reached forward to clutch Henry's hand in her left, Emma's still in her right. She exchanged looks between both of them and grinned, eyes shining with unshed tears. "Let's go get our pirate back."
