Another week gone by, and another update. This is a big one ;) Thank you for all your lovely words, hope you'll enjoy this chapter!
STORYBROOKE, PRESENT DAY
"So, why exactly are we here again? With him?" Henry had been asking questions since they left New York early that day. Emma couldn't entirely blame him. She'd told him some story about living in Maine for a little while when she was younger, and that Killian was a friend she'd met there.
"I told you, Henry. We're just going to visit my old home, and a few friends." Emma tried to sound as casual as possible, even though she had no actual clue where exactly they were going. Sure. Storybrooke, Maine. Supposedly a nice little town, if you'd believe Killian. Which she still didn't, entirely. She let out a sigh of frustration. She still couldn't believe she was actually doing this, yet she somehow knew all the answers she wanted were there, in that nice little town of Storybrooke.
"Alright, stop right here." Hook's voice snapped her out of her endless stream of thoughts, and she pulled over. That's when she saw the sign. 'Welcome to Storybrooke'. She suddenly felt a jolt of something that could pass as both fear and excitement. "Alright Swan, let's get out for a moment," Hook said, but shook his head when he saw Henry made an attempt to get out as well. "Sorry lad, not you. Need to have a word with your mother alone."
Hook walked over to a red line that seemed to be painted on the road, and he stopped right in front of it. "As that sign has undoubtedly informed you already, we are about to enter Storybrooke. This red line here represents the border of this town. People who try to cross it leaving Storybrooke… Well, not so pleasant things will happen to them. Now, I've been told that if you and your boy cross the line to enter Storybrooke, it will jog your memory. Of course, I don't know if this will happen for sure, but if it does, you can feel a bit disoriented."
"Disoriented? And what do you mean by 'not so pleasant things'?" Emma started to feel more uncomfortable by the second.
"Your old memories will be returned to you, but you will still have your new memories as well. It could confuse you," Hook explained.
"Not sure I could feel anymore confused than I already do," Emma mumbled.
"So, you're ready?" Hook asked, stepping over the line while holding out his hand to her.
"What about Henry?"
"Well I thought it'd be better for you to regain your memories by yourself. Plus, I'm not all too familiar with that metal form of transportation you people call cars, but it seems to me things could go horribly wrong if you become disoriented while driving that."
Emma stared at him, processing what he just said. Then she nodded. "Yeah alright, makes sense."
She took a deep breath, and stepped over the line. For a few seconds she just stood there, without anything particularly interesting happening. But just as she was about to open her mouth and ask Hook if this was part of some prank all along, she felt like she was suddenly being punched in the face. Flashes of images were floating through her mind, voices, faces, his face. More and more memories were revealed to her, until suddenly it all stopped again. She grabbed her head and waited a few seconds before she opened her eyes. "Oh, that was… unlike anything I've experienced before."
"And?"
She looked up and smiled a little. "Hook. Hey."
Hook's face broke into a smile. "You remember, then."
"Yeah, I do. It's uh… it's a little foggy, but it's there. All of it." Then her smile faltered as she remembered something. "He's dead."
Hook frowned. "Who is?"
"Graham. Graham is dead."
Hook didn't say anything, but carefully grabbed her hand. "Let's go, Swan. We've got to get your son here as well."
They got back inside the car and Emma pushed down the gas pedal, still a little bit shaken by what just happened. "Mom, are you okay?" Henry asked, noticing she was upset.
Emma managed to give him a small smile in her rear-view mirror. "I'm fine, Henry." They approached the red line. "Now don't freak out, okay?"
"Freak out? Why would I -." He was cut shot mid-sentence as they crossed the red line, entering Storybrooke. Emma saw him grab his hand much like she'd done a few minutes ago, and knew he was regaining his memories as well. She drove for a little bit more until they had reached the town square and she pulled over next to Granny's. She turned to Henry as he slowly opened his eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, I think so." He blinked a few times and then looked at Hook. "Hey, I remember you."
"There's a good lad," Hook grinned.
Henry looked outside the car window. "So we're back in Storybrooke. What happened, I thought it was gone?"
"Yeah, so did I. What happened here, Hook? Why is everything back again?" Emma asked him.
"I don't know, to be honest. Nobody does. All everyone knows is that there's another Curse," Hook replied while he got out of the car.
Emma and Henry followed. "What do you mean, another Curse? Haven't we had enough of those?"
"One would think so, but apparently Regina isn't the only one with Curses lying around." He led them up the stairs to Charming and Snow's apartment.
"So Regina didn't do this?"
"We don't know for sure, but she wouldn't have anything to gain with it. Memories wiped, no Henry." He knocked on the door before he continued. "It seems unlikely she would do this. Which is why your parents have been working with her, trying to figure out what happened."
The door opened and Hook grinned at Charming. "Special delivery."
Charming frowned, but when he looked past Hook, his expression changed immediately. "Emma. Henry. You're here, how…?"
Emma smiled and hugged him. "Hey David." She felt him wrap one arm around her as his other hand cradled her head, like he had done so often. It had always made her feel so safe.
After a few seconds they pulled apart and Henry grinned at Charming. "Hi grandpa, good to see you."
Charming smiled back as he pulled his grandson in for a hug. "You too, buddy."
He then held open the door for them. "Come in, please."
"Look who are here," he announced to Snow and Regina, who were sitting on the couch, anxiously discussing something while looking slightly concerned. They turned around, and their faces lit up when they saw Emma and Henry come in.
"Oh my God, Emma, Henry!" Snow smiled as she got up to hug them. "When Hook didn't show up after a few days, we were starting to get worried."
"Well it's not easy to be convinced about magical lands and curses when you don't remember anything," Emma said, staring at her mother's huge belly. "And wow, when did this happen?"
Snow rubbed her belly and smiled nervously. "Sometime during this last year, I suppose. I can't imagine it came with the Curse."
"You don't know?" Emma asked her shocked.
"No, we just woke up one day and we were here, in Storybrooke. Everything and everyone was back again, plus a few more. Except nobody knew how we got here, and what happened to us. That was about a month ago."
"That is so weird. How can something like this just happen. Did you have more Curses like this, Regina?"
Regina, who had been locked in an embrace with Henry, shook her head. "Curses don't come in a dozen. There's just one of them, and it takes a lot of magic to create them. Whoever did this must've known a hell of a lot about not only us, but also about our lives in Storybrooke, as well as magic. Not everyone can pull this off."
"What about leads, you got anything yet?" Emma asked.
Charming shook his head. "Nothing solid yet. The problem is that more people have joined us this time. Somehow, whoever did this, managed to include just about everyone. No magic bubbles or domes to protect them from the Curse. Which means we've got a lot of people we don't know or trust."
Emma grimaced at the thought of this, but then she saw Henry yawn. "I saw that, young man. It's bedtime for you."
"What, but we just got here, and we just got our memories back," Henry protested.
"That's no excuse, it's already way past your usual bedtime, so you need to go to sleep." She turned to Snow. "Can he use his old bedroom here?"
Snow nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. We haven't had a chance yet to redecorate it as the nursery room."
Emma gave Henry a little push towards the bedroom. "Let's go, go brush your teeth."
She followed him into the bedroom and put his backpack on a chair, and waited for him to come out of the bathroom. Regina peaked around the door. "Hey. Is it okay if I say goodnight to him?"
"Of course it is! Regina, he's your son, too. How about you tuck him in? Don't let him fool you, he still likes that."
Regina smiled. "Thank you."
"No problem." Emma nodded, and looked up when she heard the front door slam.
"Probably Leroy, he's been keeping an eye on the new people in town," Regina said.
"Sounds like the perfect job for him," Emma chuckled. She turned her head when Henry came out of the bathroom. "Alright, your mom's gonna put you to bed, okay?" She kissed Henry on his forehead. "Goodnight kid. I love you."
"I love you too, mom," Henry smiled.
Emma and Regina exchanged a brief nod and smile before Emma headed back to the living room, quietly closing the bedroom door behind her as to not to disturb the others. When she turned around, she felt as if though the air was sucked out of her lungs, and her heart started beating faster. She couldn't move or speak. All she could do was stand there, and watch. Watch as the man she'd had dreamed about for weeks, was standing next to her parents and Hook. Talking to them, although Emma seemed to hear nothing but the rush of her blood. This was not possible. He was dead. It was one of the first things she'd remembered today. He was dead, died in her arms over two years ago. He could not be here. And yet he was, heavily involved in a discussion with her parents, it seemed. She swallowed a few times, and when she finally managed to speak again, her voice sounded raw and hoarse.
"What the hell is this?"
The four stopped talking immediately and turned around in union. Charming took a few steps in her direction. "Emma, I know. Take a deep breath, okay."
"Don't tell me to take a deep breath, what is this?" Emma snapped at them. "Who are you?"
Graham looked at Snow with confusion. "She doesn't remember yet?"
"Oh, I do remember. I remember everything. Including Graham's death. Very vividly, trust me. So who are you?" She felt like she was being choked and she could hardly speak at all. Was this part of the Curse? Did it play mindgames with the people somehow?
Graham shook his head. "It's me, I promise. I don't know how, but I woke up here a month ago, just like everyone else. I remember dying, and then… Then I was back in my apartment again. But it is me, I promise." He took a few steps towards her. "Emma. This is real."
She was afraid to move, afraid that if she would take so much as one step, her legs would give in. She watched as he carefully moved closer to her, his face filled with concern. She saw his eyes, those sad grey eyes, now focussed on her. Then he was only a few inches away from her. He slowly took her hand, and placed it on the left side of his chest. She felt the soft thump of his heart underneath her palm, inside his chest, just as she had felt it two years ago. She let out a soft sob. "Graham?"
He simply nodded, and then he pulled her in for a hug. For a few seconds she couldn't do anything but stand there, but then she wrapped her arms around him. She closed her eyes, and felt the tension flow out of her body. He was alive. Graham was alive.
