Emma woke up to the annoying sound of dozens of birds chirping outside her window. Emma liked the birds, and was normally fine with them being there, but she really wished they didn't chirp so early in the morning. It was Saturday, the kids didn't have school, and she could sleep in. Also, it was her 28th birthday. Not that it really mattered. Her birthday was the day she came into the world, but the people who brought her into it apparently didn't care about her. She was just starting to get out of bed when she noticed that Neal wasn't there. He almost never woke up this early. "Strange", she thought. She went to Andrew's crib and picked him up. She began feeding him. Then she heard the front door open. She put down the bottle and Andrew and went downstairs. Neal and Henry were entering the house.
"What were you two doing?", Emma asked.
"Come outside and see", said Henry.
Emma walked outside, somewhat hesitant. The last time Neal and Henry had planned a birthday surprise for her, it had involved fireworks, a trip to the hospital, and several weeks before Emma's eyebrows grew back. As soon as she walked outside, however, she couldn't help but be amazed at what they'd done. The lawn was covered in flowers, still growing, spelling out the words "Happy Birthday Emma".
"Thank you", she said deciding that this surprise couldn't go wrong, "Thank you both."
They looked happy that they were able to please Emma, but Neal looked like something was worrying him.
"What's wrong, Neal?", asked Emma.
"Nothing. Nothing's wrong."
"OK. Let's go inside."
Emma, Neal, and Henry walked in the door and immediately smelled bacon.
"Why do I smell bacon?", asked Emma.
"We made you breakfast, mommy", said Kelly, "Since you always make us breakfast on our birthdays".
"Yeah", said Jessie, "But I did most of the work."
Emma smiled. She thought about how she always made her kids breakfast on their birthdays, and how her parents had never made her breakfast on her birthday. She promised herself that her children would never grow up without parents, the way she had.
"Thank you, girls", she said.
They all sat down together to eat breakfast. Midway through the meal, Neal spoke up.
"Guys, I... uh... have something to tell you."
"What is it, Daddy?", Kelly asked.
"Remember that man who said there was a curse that Emma was destined to break?" Emma and all the kids had forgotten about it, but suddenly they remembered.
"Yeah", replied Emma.
"Well, he was right. I am from the Enchanted Forest."
"WHAT?!", Emma screamed. Then, quieter, she said, "You lied to me."
"Actually, I just left some stuff out."
"HUGE stuff!"
"I wanted to protect you, Emma."
"Protect me from what?"
"My past. A lot of dangerous things and people were involved. Including my father."
"Who's your father?"
"Rumpelstiltskin. Also known as The Dark One."
"Unbelievable"
"No, it's true", Neal said.
"I know. And I'm guessing your real name isn't Neal."
"Nope. It's Baelfire." Emma stared at him for a while.
"And, I'm gonna keep calling you Neal."
"I figured."
"Dad, If you're from there, that means you have a fairytale story!", Henry exclaimed.
"I've got a story, but it's no fairytale. And I'd love to tell it, but right now we need to get to Storybrooke."
"Um, one question", Emma said, "Where the hell is it? All August said was that it's in Maine. Where exactly is it?"
"Only one way to find out", Neal answered. He pulled a paper out of his pocket, grabbed the phone, and dialed.
"Hello?", came the answer.
"Hey. August?"
"Yeah..."
"This is Baelfire. Where exactly is Storybrooke?"
