A/U: SOOOOO I heard what everyone was saying, that I should go off of the story a bit more, so this whole chapter off of the show, while still following it. I hope you all enjoy my personal twist at the end. You'll have to let me know what you think! I'm so thankful for everyone's input, and I'm thinking of a way that I can add Hook into the whole mix of everything. It'll be a bit different, but I think I have an idea. I hope you all enjoy! R&R! Love all of the great posts by the way 3

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN OUAT.

Walking down the empty hallway, I can hear Mary Margaret's hesitant footsteps behind me, but I don't wait for her. I'm glad I got all of what I was trying to say off of my chest, but I can't let myself wait. I have to keep walking; I have to move on.

I try telling myself that I can live without her, that it wouldn't matter if she left me again, but I know that's a lie. A lie that I'll never be able to tell, even if I wanted to. The truth is I'm so glad that I finally have someone. No, she doesn't know about what's happened to me, what I've seen, but that's okay, because I know that if I do end up telling her, I can trust her. That's something that I've never been sure of, and it makes my heart feel light.

I hear Mary Margaret's footsteps behind me, suddenly extremely close, and I realize that I've been waiting for her. She turns the corner, and almost immediately I regret waiting. Her eyes are closed and her hand is running along the walls of the castle, our home as she had called it. Her cheeks have tear streaks on them, and I know that I've caused those tears. I shift on my feet awkwardly, clearing my throat.

"Sorry. I thought I'd wait." I mumble when her eyes flash open. She smiles, and continues walking without saying a word. I swallow and follow her. After a couple of seconds of silence, she stops and turns to me, her face back to normal.

"Do you remember when Lancelot was still Lancelot and I told you that he was a good friend?" I nod, a swift action. "Well, I think I'm going to tell you why tonight, that is, if you'd like to hear the story." My eyes widen and I try not to let the smile show on my features. I don't know why I feel like I have to continuously be guarded around my mother, even after everything.

Thinking back to the question that hangs in the air, I'm delighted that she wants to tell me the story behind an old friend, so I decide to accept.

"Sure." I shrug my shoulders, trying to play it off nonchalantly. "Just as long as it's not super emotional." I say, my face scrunching up in distaste. She laughs lightheartedly and continues walking, not agreeing entirely. I narrow my eyes, not knowing what's to come with tonight, but knowing that I'm about to get into something that's sacred and should be treasured.

We find our way back to Mulan and Aurora and quickly find somewhere to camp. Mulan and Aurora had actually gotten something to eat, so we all sit by a fire and start to chow down. This time, I don't question the food about to go into my stomach; I just know that I'm hungry.

We quickly finish off the food, filling all of our stomachs, and Aurora and Mulan head to bed while Mary Margaret says she'll take the first watch. We've picked a clearing close enough to the castle that we can still see the water, so I pick a place to sit and watch it, letting my thoughts overwhelm me.

I try not to think about the look of the fire that I set, burning my only hope of getting back to Henry. Or the way Cora had said Henry's name. I try not to think about Kevin, and everything he's done to me, everything he put me through. I try not to think about Mary Margaret and how to comprehend everything that happened today. But, of course, I end up thinking about all of these things.

"You're a very complicated person, hard to figure out." Mary Margaret's voice cuts through my thoughts. I give a light laugh.

"You sound like all those ogres I dated." She laughs now, but then sobers up a bit.

"But there's a definite difference between me and them." I cock an eyebrow.

"You mean like you're a girl and they were men. Well, if you could call them men." I added brashly, rolling my eyes. She sits next to me, looking out over the water.

"No, well yes, but other than that." I look over at her, waiting for her to continue. She turns to look at me, and our eyes lock. Her eyes are soft, motherly, and I can't look away. "I'm willing to get to know you, and I won't leave you. Not again." She shakes her head, regret clear in her eyes. I give her a small half-smile and look away, my emotional side beginning to drain.

"So, the story?" I ask, not wanting to wait anymore.

"Okay, but, if I tell you, you have to promise me that you'll tell me a story of your own." When she says that, I take it as a challenge.

"Deal. But I get to tell it whenever I'm ready." I shoot back at her. I have to make sure it's the right story, not one that's too deep.

"Okay." She agrees. "Where to start, where to start." She whispers to herself, but loud enough for me to hear. "Ah! Okay, so, James's dad, King George, had hated James because James refused to marry King Midas's daughter, Abigail, or Katherine, as you know her. I'll just call everyone by their Storybrooke names if you know them." She adds to me, and I nod my head, grateful for that. "And he refused because he had fallen in love with me." I see a blush creep up her face, and I know she's lost in the memories. I smile at her happiness. "So, when James proposed to me and I said yes, I knew that we were going to need a place to stay, so we both decided to take back the castle, as a family." My heart warms when she says the last few words. "So we got all of our friends, Ruby, Granny, and a couple other people that you don't know. We all set up camp, and Ruby picked up-"

"Who is Ruby? Fairytale wise." I interrupt, trying to remember what Henry's book says about her.

"Red, or as you might know, Red Riding Hood." She informs me, a smirk playing at her lips.

"Right. I read about her in Henry's book. She found the…" I let out a shiver. "She found the heart. Anyways, sorry, go on."

"Okay, so, Ruby came back to the camp site that we made and told us that she picked up on some people talking in the castle and that there was an army coming to attack us. One that nobody's ever defeated. The general was Lancelot. He went by a different name then, Leviathan. Anyways, we didn't know how close he was, but then an arrow came through the top of the tent we were in, so we figured he was fairly close." She laughs lightly at the memory. "Everyone went out to fight, and I suggested that we split up, dividing the army. I started to run, expecting James to follow me, so when he didn't, I asked him if he was coming. He told me that he was the one that the king wanted, and that I had a better chance of escaping on my own. He told me not to worry, that he would meet me at two days time at his mothers cabin. I'd never met his mother, so I wasn't sure if I would be welcomed, but James reassured me. I ran through the forest, attempting my escape, but Lancelot ended up capturing me. He took me to the King-"

"He doesn't seem like that close of a friend to me." I say, bringing her back a little. "I'm not sure I would be friends with someone who'd kidnapped me."

"I'm getting there. Be patient." She teases.

"Fine." I grumble.

"Anyways," she continues, giving me a pointed look, "he took me to the King, and I told the king that I would never tell him where James was. He already knew that, of course. He told me that that wasn't the reason I was there. He offered me some water, and I can remember being so confused. I was so naïve." She shakes her head, and I know her memories have turned sad. "He told me that I needed to hold on to my happiness. That it could be replaced by pain. I remember telling him that the only thing he knew about pain was how to inflict it. Lancelot had brought back the water, and I yanked it away from him, not really appreciating the kidnapping thing. The king told me that I was wrong; that he'd had his fair share of pain. He told me that he had a son that he loved that died before he was supposed to. He had tried to replace him with James, but James refused to do what he said, humiliating him in front of his kingdom. All for the sake of true love, as he had put it. I told him he knew nothing about true love." She draws in a shaky breath, and I know something that has haunted her is about to come out. "I took a sip of the water he had given me, and again, he denied that he knew nothing about true love. I almost laughed in his face. He told me that he'd been in love, that his wife had drunk a potion that allowed her to not have children."

"Wait, then how did he have James and James's brother?" Confused is an understatement of how I feel.

"That's another story, my dear." She says, and I find that I like the nickname, though someone might think it's silly.

"Okay. Please, continue." I say, trying to lighten the dark mood. It doesn't work.

"The king told me that family was everything, and that loosing all hope of having one was the greatest of miseries. He said that James could have been that child that he wanted, but that he had only made the kings suffering worse. He told me that death was to good for him; that he had to make him suffer. That James had to know his pain." She's about to choke on her words. I'm entranced by the story, and want her to continue, but I don't push. She looks over at me, tears in her eyes. "I realized that the water I drank was poisoned. I was never going to have children." She whimpers. She doesn't talk for a few seconds, so I look over at her.

As the tears start to flow down her checks, I don't know what to do. I'm not very good with emotions, as many people already know, but I try to comfort her. I scoot closer to her and let her lay her head on my shoulder. The tears don't stain my dirty tank top, but they leave wet marks.

When her tears calm, I want to ask questions, but I don't want her to start crying again, so I just let her continue from where she left off, not daring to interrupt.

"Lancelot was just as distraught as I was, though I didn't believe him at the time. The king said nothing more and had his guards throw me back at the campsite that he'd attacked. Everything was ruined." She pauses.

"Somehow, Lancelot had managed to follow the men without them noticing, but I attacked him nonetheless. He had just poisoned me; I had no reason to trust him. But he told me that the king's men were going to attack the cabin and kill James's mother. They didn't know that James was there, and I wasn't going to take the chance that he was telling the truth, so we hurried to the cabin. When we got there, his mother had already been shot with an arrow, but not killed. Lancelot figured out the arrow had been poisoned, and that she was going to die eventually. But we found an antidote. Lake Nostaus." When I give her a questioning look, she explains. "It can heal anything you're heart desires. To get out of marrying Katherine, James had to pour the water on her loved one. King Midas turned him to gold on accident. There was a siren guarding the lake, and James killed it."

"Little harsh, don't you think?" I ask wondering why he had to kill the siren, not really knowing what a siren is.

"A siren lures you to your death by calling out on your greatest wishes." She clarifies.

"Oh. That explains the killing." I say, nodding my head.

"Yeah, back to the story. We head over to the lake, and, on the way there, the boys went and scouted ahead to make sure there was no danger. I noticed that James's mother was shaking and sweating, so I dabbed at her forehead with a handkerchief. She thanked me, and I told her that it was the least that I could do. She corrected herself and said that she was thanking me for giving her son something to believe in. She told me that all he'd ever dreamt of was having a wife and a son. I realized that I couldn't give a son to him, and it made my spirits fall quite a bit. I tried to hide it from her, though, because I didn't want her to be unhappy that I couldn't bare any children. It didn't work and she took it the wrong way. She told me that it could be a daughter too, that as long as it was healthy, anything would make him happy."

"She took off a necklace that her mother had given her when she was pregnant, and told me that it was spelled by a gypsy, to predict the gender of the baby before it's even born. When it swung north to south, it was a boy and east to west, it was a girl. She told me that she wanted me to try it, and I quickly refused, telling her that it wasn't a good idea. She played the guilt card on me, telling me that it would help her take her mind off of the pain and, ultimately, her death. I fell for it, of course, giving her my hand. When it didn't move, she told me that it was a silly superstition, but I already knew I wasn't having any children. I tried to hold back my tears, but I couldn't. She saw this and asked me what was wrong. I told her about the king and how he'd spelled me, making sure that I wouldn't have a family."

I have been quiet the whole time, not wanting to interrupt, but there's something that won't quite leave my mind. James had wanted a boy, not a girl. That hurt a little bit, but I dare not let it show.

"She reassured me that if the water from Lake Nostaus could heal her, that it could heal me, too. I was ecstatic; I was going to have children. But when we got to the lake, it was completely dry because James had killed the siren."

"Of course it was." I say dryly, not meaning for the words to slip. Snow gave me a small smile, but continued with her story.

"Lancelot was the one that found the sip of water left in a small shell. It was the only water left from the lake. James's mother told me that I had to take the sip, but I refused. I wasn't about to let his mother die, but she insisted. She told me that is what you do, you put your children first." She looks over at me and smiles a genuine smile. I find myself studying my hands intently, not wanting to get emotional. "I told her that it was for the best. That I was raised without a mother and that, because of that, I wouldn't know how to be one." This made me look up. That was one of the thoughts that I'd had about Henry after his birth. I didn't know how to be a mother because I was raised without one.

"She ended up drinking the water, but it didn't work. James tried to go look for more water, but she stopped him. She said that there was no more magic in the lake, and that she didn't want to spend her last moments that way. She talked to James and told him that her only regret was not getting to see James and I get married. I had a revelation; Lancelot could still prepare the wedding ceremony, even though he was a disgraced member of the round table. So, Lancelot married James and I. He poured some water into a cup as part of the ceremony, and James and I both drank out of it as a bond. When the ceremony was over, we looked over, and his mother had passed."

"I told James how sorry I was that his mother has died, that she was the only family that he had left, but he told me that I was wrong. That he still had me. He told me he loved me that that we could start a new family, together. I remember feeling as though I was going to die, having to tell him that I would never be able to have children. He took out the necklace that would tell you what your child would be and tried to get me to hold my hand out. I recoiled and asked him not to, but get got defensive, much like you would, and told me that it was just a superstition." She smiles at the recognition of the two defensive people in her life, and I can't help but smile back. "I almost told him, but then I looked down at my hand in his and noticed the necklace moving east to west. I was overjoyed and kept repeating that we were going to have a child. James freaked out a bit, asking if there was something that he needed to know, but I clarified saying that someday we would have a child. He told me that of course we were going to, but I never told him of my doubt. He asked me what gender you were going to be, and I told him it was a surprise. He told me that he was going to gather all of the armies he could, so we would take back the kingdom as a family."

"I couldn't figure it out at first; how I was able to have children again, but then it dawned on me. James's mother had only pretended to drink the water and Lancelot had put it in the cup that we drank out of at the wedding ceremony. I had ended up drinking the sacred water. When I confronted Lancelot about it, he told me he had no clue what I was talking about, but I knew he did. He asked me what you were going to be, and I told him that you were a girl." She smiles over at me, but something is nagging at me, and I try to think of what it could be.

"That's why Lancelot meant so much to me. I owe him everything." She says, looking over at me, gauging my reaction. My face, I'm sure, looks like stone. I'm not trying to be ungrateful of the story time, but somewhere along in the story, an unpleasant memory attempted to come up. She knew she was going to have a child before it ever happened; yet I had to wait and see if I was going to have children. And I had wanted my child. I didn't want to give Henry up. He was born in jail, so I had no choice but to give him up. These thoughts make me defensive against my mom again, though I don't want to be.

"I-" I shake my head. "Never mind, I don't want to do this again." I say, standing up. I don't want to argue with her. She gave up everything for me, as I found out painfully just a few hours ago. But it doesn't stop the sting of her giving me away.

"No, please. I want to know what you think; even you think I might get frustrated. You don't have to protect my feelings." She says stubbornly. I know she won't get frustrated, but I don't want to hurt her. Even if I don't have to protect her feelings, I want to. I don't like seeing my mom in pain.

"Fine. I understand how you could give me up, I just… I don't know. It still hurts. That's all." I say, looking down at the ground. "It hurts to think of how you could let me come to this cruel world where bad things happen and not give me anyone. Even if, in the long run, it was protection, it doesn't stop the sting."I still don't meet her eyes. I know all I'll find is hurt.

"Emma. I'm so sorry." She sounds devastated, and I know this is what I had wanted to avoid. "I really am. Can I put it in a different prospective for you?" She asks softly. I've started to walk away, back to our little makeshift tent.

"I guess you can try." I say, turning around, this time looking her directly in the eyes.

"Under different circumstances, would you have kept Henry?" She asks, clearly trying to get to her point.

"You mean if I hadn't had him in jail." I say accusingly, though I'm not sure what I'm accusing her of. My eyes are narrow, and I can almost feel the anger rushing in my veins. She gives a slight nod, and my anger melts into despair and I try to focus on a memory.

I don't remember much about the night I gave birth to Henry. I remember that I was in jail and that something happened, bad I'm sure, because I blocked out the supposedly happy memory of his birth. It's a shaky thought, though I'm sure something terrible happened. I remember having nightmares, but eventually, everything went numb. I didn't feel any emotion. It was all just… nothing. A blur? Maybe, but there was something more that happened in the jail cell. As much as I rack my brain, I just can't see to remember. In the process of racking my brain, I almost forgot to answer her question.

"Yes." My voice sounds distant, so I clear my throat quickly. "I would definitely have kept him." That much I know for sure. I don't remember what changed my mind, but I know I wouldn't have changed it if it weren't for his own good.

"Then what changed your mind?" The curiosity obviously getting the better of her as she forgot the point she was trying to make.

"That… that will be my story, and I'll tell it to you when I'm ready, just like we agreed." I say briskly, not wanting to talk about it anymore. I don't know is what I want to say, but that would only make more questions. More questions that I can't answer.

"Will that be closer to soon or never?" She daringly asks, and I just turn around and look at her for a second. "That's what I thought." She sounds disappointed, but I don't know what to tell her.

I march back to the tent, not entirely ready for bed, but it's somewhere that I can sort out my own mind. The question she asked is still on my mind, and I'm determined to get an answer.

The truth is, I don't remember much of my pregnancy. I just know that I was pregnant with a baby that I had originally wanted to keep. I don't remember going to my first doctors' appointment, or even going into labor. And that startled me. I hadn't thought about these things in… six years? That was when I had decided to turn my life around, though, now that I look back, I can't remember why I had decided that either. Aren't people supposed to remember these things? Aren't mothers supposed to remember when their child is born, whether or not they kept it?

I blink a couple of times and furrow my eyebrows in confusion. I close my eyes tight, trying to remember anything. Anything that could point me in the right direction.

My head starts to lull forward, my exhaustion taking over, so I lay my head down on my makeshift pillow, my jacket. My eyes flutter, closing slowly, and I go back in time, starting to find my answers. What really happened that night?

When my eyes snap open, I'm in a bathroom stall. I look around, confused, but I unlock the door when I hear someone pounding on the door, clearly wanting me to get out. I pull the door open, my eyes unfocused. The girl look as me like I've grown two heads, but I just stare down at my hands. I'm holding the pregnancy tests with the plus signs on them. The girl looks down at me with disgust.

"Should have been more careful." She says, and I feel tears prick at my eyes. She doesn't know me. She doesn't know what I've been through, so why judge me? She shoves her way past me, practically throwing me out of the stall. I stumble a bit, but quickly catch my balance. I'm going to have a child.

I start thinking about my options. Yes, I'm eighteen, and I know people will tell me that I can't keep this child. That I'm not mature enough or that I'll never be able to support it while it grows up, but that only adds to the reason to keep the child. But I would be giving the child a better home if I gave it up for adoption, wouldn't I? No, I decide. I wouldn't be. All the foster home parents that I went to treated me like trash, while the others told me they loved me, but I couldn't shove the abandonment feeling away long enough to accept their love. I'm not about to put my child through those thoughts. I will love this child like my parents didn't love me.

I shove the pregnancy tests in my back pocket and head out the bathroom door connected to the grocery store. I thank the people at the register and head out, making sure nobody can see the pregnancy tests. I don't have enough money to pay for a doctor's appointment, so I decide that I will just go in and hope that I can pay them off in some other form. I sigh and clutch my hand over my stomach. I will do anything to keep you safe. Whatever it is, no matter what it might cost me, I swear I'll do what's best for you. I silently promise my child. I smile, this kid is going to be the light in my dark world; I just know it. I walk across the street to my little yellow car and hop in, planning on driving to the nearest pregnancy clinic.

Normally, I would walk to the store, but I was feeling a little weak that morning, so I had decided to drive. I try my best to walk everywhere I can, not feeling threatened by the street people, but, because of the pregnancy, I have been feeling sickly, so I drive the places I feel I can't walk. Now, I'm glad I didn't walk; I can just drive to the clinic from the store.

When I park my car at the clinic, I trip out in my hurry, but regain my balance quickly. I walk through the doors with confidence. You would think that an eighteen-year-old would be self-conscious of herself walking into a pregnancy clinic, but I'm not. I'm proud. I know I can take care of this child, and I wouldn't dare miss the opportunity. Yes, this child was made by forceful hands, but I would never dream of treating him or her any differently than if the child was made by loving hands. It never need's to know who it's father is. There would be no point in distressing over the unfortunate incident.

I walk over to the counter looking at the receptionist who's talking on the phone. She looks to be about thirty.

"Oh my God. I have to tell you about-" I clear my throat, clearly wanting her attention. She glances up at me with a 'don't interrupt and adult conversation' look.

"Sorry. I have to go. I'll call you back in a minute. Okay, yeah, bye!" She sounds irritated, but I don't give a crap.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but I was hoping I could make an appointment." I say as sweetly as I can, not wanting to be rude. She gives me a smile that doesn't reach her eyes.

"Of course, sweetheart." I can feel my smile falling.

"Sorry, could you not call me that." I try not to be rude, but I can't stand being called sweetheart. Kevin called me that.

My face has paled noticeable, and the receptionist notices.

"Sorry, sweetie." She raises her eyebrows, silently asking if that's all right. I smile at her in response. She smiles back, it actually being genuine.

"So, what day did you want to make it for?" She asks me. I hadn't thought about what day yet, but I know I need it to be done soon.

"What's the soonest day you have open?" I answer her question with one of my own.

"Well, actually, we just had one open up in about, forty-five minutes if you can wait." I smile gratefully at her.

"That's perfect." I'm so wrapped up in all this planning that I almost forgot that I don't have any money to pay for the appointment. "I have a small problem." I say, giving her a nervous look.

"And what might that be?" She's clearly curious.

"Well, I can't exactly pay for the appointment." I say, scrunching my nose in contemplation.

"Well, the first appointment is free in this establishment, but the other appointments you do have to pay for. Do your parents have any money that you could borrow?" I just stare at her, not knowing what to tell her.

"They haven't, umm, been the, uh, most supportive." I say, looking down at my stomach. She gives me a sympathetic look, and I want to rebuke it immediately, but I know this will help me in the long run. The more sympathy, the further I might be able to get on the money situation.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up. What about the father of the child? Can he provide any support?" At this, my eyes widen, and I can feel the color draining from my face. My mind goes blank as I try desperately to not think about the father of this miracle. I know I'm not getting enough air, but I can't seem to make myself breathe normally. My hands are shaking, and I watch at the receptionist races from behind the counter and grabs ahold of me right before my legs give out. A bead of sweat trails down my forehead as the receptionist carries me over to a seat.

"I'll get you some water." The kind woman says, her voice laced with concern. She comes back with the water, and I drink all of it before I even dare talk.

"Thanks." I rasp. I clear my throat, and the woman looks over at me with so much pity that I prefer morning sickness.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't realize you were… well, you know." I look at her, my face surly stone.

"How'd you figure?" I ask sarcastically.

"Well, my friend was actually in the same position, but she didn't get pregnant. Anyways, she did the same thing you just did when we mentioned the guy's name. She had this distant look and she got really pale and started to shake. It was terrifying." I'm sure it was much worse for her, I wanted to bite back, but I held back when she kept talking. "We have a special policy for people in your position. All the appointments are free." I can feel the brightness come back to my eyes. Wow, what a coincidence. I smile over at her sadly, glad that she'd asked me that painful question. I never would have told them that I was raped. Never.

"Thanks, I guess. How much time has passed?" She looks at me sadly again, and I hate it, but I have to shrug it off. Being nice is getting me somewhere for once.

"About thirty minutes, only fifteen minutes to go, and you'll get to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time." She smiles at me when she looks at my face. I'm filled with complete awe. I get to hear my baby's heartbeat. My sweet little child growing inside me, right now.

I look down at my stomach and smile, thinking of all the amazing times we're going to have together. I change my life in my mind to where I can accommodate a child. My child. Pretty soon, the sweet receptionist comes over to get me, taking me back to the right room. She smiles at me and tells me that the doctor will be right in. Soon, the door is opening, and a middle-aged looking woman walks in with a smile on her face.

"Hello, my name's Dr. Jones. I see you haven't filled out a form yet, so I'll just ask you some basic questions." Dr. Jones continues to ask me tons of questions, half of them about family and background, which I know nothing about. So she had a hard time, but she didn't prod for information. She checks for different things that I might have and gives me a ton of vaccinations. Finally, she tries to see if she can hear the baby's heartbeat. Usually, she told me, you can't hear it this early on, but they still try, just in case.

When she starts to smile, I know she can hear it. I'm one of the lucky ones that can hear the heartbeat early. Her eyes widen suddenly, and she looks up at me. My face falls, scared that something's wrong with the kid growing in me. I swallow when she rises slowly.

"Congratulations. I must say, I'm surprised, but the beats don't lie. There are definitely two different beats." My heart skips a beat.

"I'm sorry, what?!" I ask, not sure if I heard her right. She smiles at me, clearly pleased with the reaction.

"You're having twins, Miss. Swan."

A/N: WHAT?! Tell me what you thinkkkk I really wanna know! You guys are all great, and I hope you keep reading. Any suggestions, just PM me, and I'll take them and twist them a bit so you don't know what's coming next. Cause that's how I roll. ~evil smile~ Anyways, review away! As soon as I have chapter nine finished, it'll be up!

~ladywolf101