"Mom!" Henry cried. "Mom, wake up!" Emma let out a low moan as she was shaken awake.

"Henry, wha?"

"It's Christmas morning! Wake up!" Henry cheered. With that, Henry abandoned his task of trying to wake her up and proceeded to head down to the lower level of the loft apartment. A soft smile on her face, Emma pulled herself out of bed and followed after him. When she reached the kitchenette, she saw her parents were also up, drinking coffee.

"Good morning, Emma," Mary Margret greeted, immediately walking over to hug her. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Emma," David echoed, also stepping over to hug her.

"Yeah, Merry Christmas to you, too."

After the four of them ate their breakfast of cinnamon rolls and pancakes, Henry started to pass around the small pile of presents that had been placed under the tree. Even though it was a rather small pile, it was noticeably larger than last year, when it had just been Emma and Mary Margret exchanging presents. That alone had been enough to pleasantly surprise Emma. But there were two gifts in particular that had particularly floored her. The first was a pair of diamond encrusted hair combs that her parents had given her. As she'd taken them out to get a better look at them, Mary Margret had explained that they had belonged to her mother, Eva, but she'd believed them to have been lost forever until Belle had found them while clearing out Gold's old shop.

"It's about time you had a family heirloom," Mary Margret had said.

The other present that had warmed Emma's heart had been the one Neal had dropped off for Henry, which he'd claimed to have been working on for a while. It was a rather elaborate hand-drawn family tree, with small sketches of the people whose names were featured.

"How did he manage to do this?" Emma asked in wonderment, staring at the faces of people she hadn't even met, such as Queen Eva, King Leopold, and David's mother, Ruth.

"He came around while you were at the Sheriff's Station once," David had explained. "He asked us to describe what our parents had looked like. And, seeing as how Regina's parents are featured here, he must have talked to Regina about it, too."

"So, he drew them just by your descriptions of them?" Emma gaped. "I never realized he was that talented."

"He said he wanted Henry to be able to have a way to know his family," Mary Margret noted.

Eventually, the presents had all been unwrapped. That was when David had found a thick parcel that had been tucked away in a secluded corner. Seeing that it was addressed to Henry, everyone sat back to see what it was. Inside was a leather bound journal and a fancy calligraphy set. As Henry admired his present, Emma leaned over to her parents.

"Where'd you guys buy that?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Mary Margret asked, looking at Emma in confusion. "We didn't get him that."

"Wait, you didn't?"

"No," David said, shaking his head. "We thought you did."

"But… if you didn't buy it, and I didn't, then…who?" Emma asked, mirroring their mystified expressions.

Regina was just heading downstairs when she heard a hesitant knock on her door. When she opened the door, she was shocked at the sight of Robin standing on her doorstop.

"Robin?" Regina gaped. "I…I didn't expect to see you here."

"For the record, it was a surprise to me, too," Robin stated with a shrug. "It's just...it was a curious thing today. When we woke up this morning, there was a present for Roland, sitting there outside our tent. It was a tin of candied fruits. The strange thing is, none of my men seemed to know where it came from. I was wondering if you had something to do with it."

"Me? No, it wasn't me," Regina said. "You really don't know where it came from?"

"Well, Roland is insisting it was Santa Claus," Robin replied. "But I was wondering if you had another answer. Considering what happened at Granny's Christmas party."

"I'm afraid I'm just in the dark about it as you," Regina admitted. "The strange thing is, Emma and the Charmings called this morning. Apparently, Henry also got a present that no one has owned up to buying."

"So, both Roland and Henry got presents from a mysterious benefactor?"

"But there is no Santa Claus in the Enchanted Forest," Regina insisted.

"Well, looks like we've got a little mystery on our hands," Robin concluded. "Perhaps…we can discuss it a bit. On a walk through town?"

"You're…asking me to come on a walk?" Regina stared in surprise.

"I believe I am."

"Is this just to discuss who is giving our sons anonymous presents?" Regina was unable to quite meet his eyes, trying not to let her hopes get too high.

"Actually? No. No, to be honest, I was just using the mystery present as an excuse. I'd like to go on a walk with you. Just because."

"I'd like that," Regina said with a smile.

All over town, people in Storybooke were enjoying their usual Christmas traditions with their families. But there was one group of people who were not at home. In the middle of the Storybrooke cemetery, Belle and Neal were standing in front of a stone memorial that had been erected in Mr. Gold's memory. Wordlessly, Belle placed a wreath adorned with golden ribbons and pinecones at the base of the stone. After making sure that it was secure and wouldn't just fall over, she got back to her feet, dusting the snow off her pants. For a long moment, they stood in silence, simply looking at the memorial, unable to think of what to say. Finally, Neal reached out to place a hand on the stone face.

"Merry Christmas, Papa," he said.

After a moment longer, Belle and Neal turned and headed off to the entrance of the cemetery, where Jefferson and Grace had been waiting at respectful distance.

In the psychiatric ward beneath the hospital, Zelena was huddled morosely in the corner, barely looking up when the door was opened by the orderly.

"Good evening," the orderly greeted. "I've brought you your Christmas dinner. Looks like turkey, some potatoes, stuffing, a bit of cranberry…."

"Just leave it," Zelena huffed, not even sparing a glance at the orderly. If the orderly was put out by her attitude, he didn't show it. Instead, he simply placed the food tray on the bed next to her. But before he stepped out again, he looked back at Zelena.

"Also, this was dropped off for you this afternoon," he said, holding out a small present, wrapped in bright red paper. "Looks like your first ever Christmas present. That's exciting, isn't it? I'll just…leave it here for you. You can unwrap it at your leisure."

Zelena didn't even bother looking up until the sound of the orderly's retreating footsteps had faded away. For a long moment, she simply eyed the present, an unreadable look on her face. Finally, curiosity getting the better of her, she reached out and took it, unwrapping it slowly. Inside, she found an antique broach nestled inside a box lined with velvet and silk. Noticing there was also a small bit of paper tucked inside the broach box, she unfolded it to read the short note.

I found this among our mother's old things. I thought you might want it.

Merry Christmas

'Hmm," Zelena muttered, looking from the note to the broach. Even though her expression remained neutral, she still attached the broach to her shirt with reverence.

In a house across town, Marco stood and watched as Pinocchio lit the menorah that stood in the window. When the boy was done, he went back to his father's side, throwing his arms around him in a hug, which Marco warmly returned. Upon breaking apart, they headed back towards the kitchen, where Archie was placing freshly made latkes out for them all to share.

Over at Jefferson's mansion, the dinner of Christmas turkey had wound down, and the attending guests were enjoying mulled wine, with wassail for the children, while Jefferson and Belle were placing the finishing touches on dessert. Emma was quite impressed at the turnout. In addition to herself, Henry and her parents, Killian, Regina, Robin, Roland and the Merry Men were there, along with Neal, Moe French, Grace's cursed parents, Granny, Ruby and a newcomer named Dorothy, who Ruby, Jefferson and Belle had apparently met and befriended during the Enchanted Forest expedition.

As Emma watched the other guests talking and laughing, particularly Henry and Roland, who were telling Grace about their surprise presents, with Roland once again insisting they were from Santa, she happened to glance over and spotted Killian slipping out. Feeling concerned, she followed after him.

"A bit too crowded for you?" she asked when they were out of earshot of the other guests.

"Not exactly," Killian replied. "I just wanted a bit of fresh air. I do like your hair comb, by the way. It suits you."

"Oh, yeah," Emma chuckled, lightly touching the hair comb that she'd placed in her hair before they'd left the loft apartment. "Thanks. Mom said they were my grandmother's. Oh! That reminds me! I actually…have something for you." With that, Emma reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope. "I realize it's not much, but…I thought you'd like it." Interested in an instant, Killian carefully slipped open the envelope and pulled out an index card. Written across it was what appeared to be a recipe for stew.

"Is this…"

"Before we left that old man's house, the night of Granny's party," Emma explained, "I'd asked him for the recipe for his stew. I wanted you to know that you can have it again, at any time. Again, I know it's not much. But I know Mom was getting you a hat and gloves, and Granny had insisted on knitting you a scarf. So I wasn't sure what else…."

"Emma?" Killian interrupted, taking his eyes off the recipe card. "This is perfect. Thank you." Emma, seeing the sincerity in his face and tone, smiled in satisfaction.

"And….since we're exchanging presents," Killian continued. "I also had something I wanted to give you. But I wasn't sure of the right time."

"Is it another trip to Iceland?" Emma asked, half-teasing.

"No, not this time," Killian replied. To Emma's surprise, he appeared to be blushing slightly. "It's…just something I wanted you to have. You might find it a bit silly. But, from where I'm from, it is something of a tradition."

As Killian spoke, he produced a present that had been tucked away in his coat. Accepting it, Emma took a moment to admire the wrapping, marveling at how well he'd managed to wrap it, considering he only had one good hand. But that was nothing compared to her reaction upon seeing what the present was. Words completely failed her as she stared down at the octagon-shaped wooden box. The lid of the box was decorated with tiny shells that had been arranged in an intricate design. In the center of the shell mosaic was an image that looked like it had come from an antique postcard. It was an image of a majestic swan.

"Wow," Emma breathed, completely blown away. "Where did you get this?"

"Well," Killian muttered with a shrug, scratching his ear nervously. "I…didn't actually buy it from a shop."

"You didn't? Then….Killian, did you….make this?"

"As I said, it was an old tradition where I come from," Killian explained. "Although, it was typically something sailors would bring back to their lady loves after long voyages."

Emma's throat suddenly felt tight, staring down at the box. Her mind immediately started to picture Killian sitting on his ship, laboring away at arranging the design of shells and gluing them in place. In spite of herself, she started wondering how long he'd spent working on it.

"Killian," Emma whispered. "It's beautiful. I love it. Thank you." A wide smile appeared on Killian's face as he reached out to brush his thumb across her cheeks. It was only then that Emma realized she'd been crying. But she found she didn't care. Instead, she moved forward to kiss him in gratitude.

AN: So glad I finished this story in time. Hope it was to everyone's satisfaction.