A/N: So it's gone midnight here in the UK... MERRY CHRISTMAS! So as a special treat here is another chapter. Two in one day! Happy holidays :)

Chapter 7:

The next morning, Snow entered the room of her daughter uncertainly.

"Good morning Emma. Oh sweetheart what have you done to your hand?" Snow reached out to inspect the swollen and bruised fist.

"Oh. I… um… had a bad dream. I must have lashed out in my sleep. Hit the headboard or something. Don't worry. I've had worse."

Emma knew she had to act like nothing had changed since last night even though that couldn't be further from the truth. Regina was alive and her own mother had betrayed her. In this moment all she wanted to do was punch Snow, sore hand or not, but that couldn't happen. She might lose Regina, having only just gotten her back. With this in mind she forced herself to smile.

"Is everything ok Mom? What are you doing here so early?"

"I just wanted to speak to you alone for a minute. I'm worried about Henry. He's so distant from everyone, except you of course. He seems sad, angry even. I'd do anything to fix that. So…. do you think we should get him a puppy?"

"A puppy?"

"Yeah. Maybe that will make him feel better?"

"You know why he's upset right? The woman who raised him for 10 years is gone. He loved her, we both did. How do you expect him to be acting right now?"

"But… but… but." Snow was at a loss. She knew her daughter had practically moved in with the Mayor and Henry but she had assumed it was just to be closer to the boy. Now she had her doubts. Had Emma really just declared her love for Regina? Snow started to feel slightly guilty. No, she told herself, I'm doing this for her own good. She doesn't know what the Evil Queen was capable of. I'm just protecting her, like a mother should. Emma would have done the exact same thing for Henry wouldn't she?

"I still think a puppy is a good idea. Think it over Emma. I'm very good with animals you know. They just love me! I'll see you in the Great Hall in a second darling."

Emma sighed with relief when her mother left the room. This pretending thing was gonna be hard. She hadn't even had to deal with Henry yet. Still it was worth it. Regina was still alive and they would all be together again. Her little family. That was all that mattered to her anymore. Tonight couldn't arrive quickly enough.

Emma hesitated long enough to put a decent distance between herself and her mother and then headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. It was the only room large enough to hold the vast number of people present for each meal. Not only had most of Storybrooke opted to stay either in or near the castle, those who had been unaffected by the curse had been invited to stay for the celebrations. Emma had to admit, meeting a certain famous lion, king of a nearby realm, had been particularly surreal.

The first thing she did upon entering the Great Hall was to look for Henry. He had not noticed her arrival yet. He was slumped in his seat at the head table, only playing with his food. Regina wasn't the only one to have lost weight. Neither Emma nor Henry had had much of an appetite recently. The empty look in his eyes made Emma's stomach contract. He was in so much pain and she could end it with just three words. Regina's not dead. She resisted the temptation though, she had made a promise not to tell him yet, and as wrong as it seemed, she couldn't take the right to decide from Regina. It wasn't like she had many of her other rights left. Emma shuddered and headed towards her seat between her son and father.