A/N: Second to the last chapter, I hope you all enjoy this. I LOVED writing it, and I absolutely love the way it came out. I've had so much fun writing this, and working with Emma. She is a tough cookie to crack, but so much fun to write.

"Henry!" Emma called, as he dragged her down the stairs. "Slow down. Where's the fire, kid?"

Henry chuckled lightly, as his feet hit the landing. He groaned as he waited for Emma to finish up the last few stairs, and join him on the ground floor of the building. "We have to be back in time for my party, Emma."

Sighing, Emma rolled her eyes. Of course he had figured out that she and Snow had planned him a party. "How did you know?"

Henry shrugged. "Hushed conversations on the phone. Ones that you would abruptly hang up whenever I came into the room," he ticked up one finger, "hushed whispering coming from grandpa and grandma's room." he ticked up a second finger. "And then yesterday when I came down the stairs? I may have been listening from the top of the stairs for a little while."

Emma chuckled at Henry's reasoning. "So, we can't plan you a secret birthday party, but you can keep a secret from me for almost a week?" She raised her eyebrows considerably as she waited for his answer.

"Well, it's no secret that today is my birthday. Next time, have the party either before or after my birthday. Much more surprising, plus my secret is much more important than a birthday party."

Emma shook her head, as she followed Henry toward what had been described as her pride and joy. Her nose wrinkled as she took in the beat up, yellow bug, again. She hadn't yet understood why the ugly, old thing was her 'pride and joy', and Snow had no further details for her on the subject. Slowly she walked around to the driver's side as Henry climbed into the passenger-side seat. Once she crawled into the car, she pulled her seatbelt on and looked over toward Henry to ensure that he had his seatbelt buckled as well.

"So, where to?"

Henry smiled a toothy grin, as excitement overtook him. He couldn't believe it was time, and the greatest gift he could be given on his birthday was for Emma to remember. "Just head out straight, and head for the coast."

Emma eyed Henry, before shrugging. She had been driven around Storybrooke enough to at least know how to get to the small, sandy beach. Though she didn't know what Henry had been doing out there that would need to be kept a secret. She did as she was told, and headed straight. Emma wasn't entirely sure what she was about to get herself into, but from the grin on Henry's face, he assumed it would be life-affirming.

Emma took a deep breath as she followed Henry up the rest of the gravel road. She could almost see the sandy beach from their current vantage point, but something large was blocking most of her view. Her eyes squinted as she attempted to figure out what she was looking at. The closer they got, the clearer it became until she realized that she was looking at a large castle play area. It looked nearly brand new. Emma's eyes scrunched up at the corners, as she turned a confused gaze to Henry.

"Did you have the guys help you build this castle?"

Henry sighed. Archie had said that it could take time for her memory to come back—if it was even going to work right. "Yeah. Do you remember it?" he asked, a hopefulness in his tone.

Emma peered back at the castle. She stared at it long and hard before looking back at Henry. "No, Henry. Sorry."

His lip puckered out slightly, he tried to hide the disappointment. He kicked at the sand, trying to stop the wetness growing in his eyes from slipping down his cheeks. "It's not your fault. It was a stupid plan. I never should have gotten my hopes up."

Henry waited a beat, expecting Emma to give him this big lecture—for her to try and reaffirm his hope, or at least apologize again. Instead, all he heard was a loud, audible gasp. He looked up, and saw Emma's eyes were unfocused. His brow furrowed as he examined her.

Emma stared at the castle as Henry's words flowed from his mouth. She felt bad, and according to him, she should remember this castle. It didn't make sense as to why she should remember it, if James and Graham had only built it over the past week. Emma blinked, once, twice, three times. There was something there, just out of her grasp. Focusing, Emma shut her eyes and tried to retrieve what was there. After a couple of minutes it hit her like a ton of bricks. Her eyes snapped open, but everything was out of focus. She was no longer seeing what was in front of her. It was images, not still ones and not grainy film either. It was bright and vibrant.

It was all coming at her so fast. It was like she was watching her life story on fast forward. Nothing stuck with her too long before the next wave of memories came rushing through. Her legs started to shake, and she could feel them starting to buckle. There was nothing she could do to stop her downward tumble. She knew that she should be in pain, but she was far too stuck in her memories to feel anything besides elated. She felt someone sit down beside her and grab her hand. Emma just knew that it was Henry.

Suddenly she was there. It was nearly a year ago, and she was sitting on a rock on the outskirts of Storybrooke. Her body was convulsing with the freezing cold air, as the snow fell around her. It was almost like she was seeing it for the first time, like she was a spectator on the outside looking in. She watched as her father pulled up beside her. Running over, checking her over, talking to her and soothing her softly. Helping her into the truck and pulling off.

Emma's heart constricted uncomfortably as the scene changed quickly. She was in the library, her father was unconscious on the floor. Henry was crying, screaming, and Emma felt helpless. Absolutely, one-hundred percent helpless. She helped her son as best as she could, before helping her mother. It was quick. The gunshot was loud, booming, that much she did remember. The pain was unforgettable. Like fire burning deep within her, and tears pressed against her eyes.

Finally the memories started to slow until finally they came to halt, and she could see everything clearly now. It was like an enormous weight had been lifted off of her. Everything was lighter, brighter, and just a bit happier now. With a smile etched on her face, Emma turned toward Henry.

"Thank you." She hadn't even realized that tears were flowing down her cheeks, until he reached up and brushed some away with his thumb.

"You remember?" He questioned, his voice low, for fear of hoping too much.

Emma ran a hand against her face, catching the rest of the tears and wiping them away. "I do, Henry, all because of you. You never gave up on me, no matter how scary it got. I love you so much, kid."

Henry's smile mirrored his mother's as he leapt at her, his arms wrapping tightly around her midsection. "I love you too, mom." He relished the feeling of the word seeping from his lips without fear that she would freak out.

She squeezed him back, and kissed the top of his head. Emma wanted nothing more than to sit there in sand with Henry, holding him close and relishing in the fact that she actually knew who he was. However, they had a party to get to, and Emma would be forever grateful that she remembered in time to see her son turn eleven. She had missed ten birthdays, and she had vowed to never miss another one, so long as she was alive.

"This is nice, kid, but we need to head back. Snow'll be mad if we're late for your party."

Henry grinned, "Oh, all right, but there is no greater gift that I could receive than you remembering."

Emma felt tears burn against her eyelids. She closed her eyes, and breathed deeply to keep them in place. "There is no greater gift that I could have received either, kid." She pressed another kiss to the top of his head, before standing up. "That said, Snow will kill us if we're late. So, we better head back."

Emma felt her palms grow sweaty as her stomach started to tumble uncomfortably. Nervousness overtook her, as Henry reached out and shoved the door open. The lights in the apartment had been shut off. The drapes had been pulled tightly closed as they walked into the room. She could hear Henry trying to suppress a giggle, as Emma reached for the light switch. It was a discussion they had shared on their way back to the apartment. He was to act as if he had no prior knowledge of the party, and jump and act surprised when everyone yelled out. They had tried to rehearse his surprised face, but Emma realized after a couple of attempts that it would most likely fall flat. The kid was many things but a great actor he was not.

With one final deep breath, Emma flipped the switch as all their friends and family popped up from various locations, all yelling surprise.

Henry jumped, his fingers to his mouth as he squealed out in surprise. It was much more impressive than what he had showed her in the car, and she just hoped that it was enough to appease Snow. Emma stood at Henry's side as Snow and James stalked forward.

"How is the birthday boy?" James asked, as he knelt down in front of his grandson.

Henry tilted his head toward Emma, as if asking permission to give them the news. With a firm nod, he smiled brightly as he leaned forward. His mouth close to James' ear, "It worked."

James' eyes widened, as he slowly rocked back on his heels and pulled himself back to his full height. He looked at Emma for confirmation, causing her to smile and nod. With no further thought or explanation, James reached out and pulled Emma into a hug.

Snow gasped, waiting for Emma to shrink away from the affection. Instead, she saw Emma reciprocate the hug with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. It was then that she saw it. It wasn't a huge difference, she had always been Emma after all, but it was a slight difference. Her blue eyes weren't quite as dull, and though her eyes were circled with deep purple marks from her lack of sleep, her face seemed to almost radiate with happiness.

Emma pulled away from James' embrace, and looked at her mother. Snow's eyebrows raised expectantly, silently asking her a question, and waited for an answer. Emma merely nodded, the smile never leaving her face. Snow nearly squealed with joy, as she lent forward, and pulled Emma against her. Though Emma reciprocated the embrace fully, she chuckled before speaking, "Uh, mom, Emma can't breathe."

Snow chuckled, as her heart leapt with happiness at hearing Emma call her mom, again. It was something that she had missed dearly. "I can't believe it, you really remember?"

Emma nodded, "I do, but today is Henry's day. We can celebrate the fact that I know who you are tomorrow."

Henry clicked his tongue, and shook his head, "Nuh uh! I am willing to share my party. This is huge, and you deserve a celebration for all your hard work."

Emma smiled at her son. Her heart filled with joy. "Okay, kid." Emma agreed.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms slip around her waist, and she didn't have to turn around to see who it was. She knew the moment his arms wound around her midsection. Leaning her head back against his chest, she felt him brush a kiss against the top of her head.

"I hear celebration is in order." His voice was husky, and thick with his Irish lilt.

"No thanks to you."

Graham's chin settled against her shoulder, and she could feel his smile against her cheek. "All in a day's work, milady."

Emma shook her head, and rolled her eyes. "Glad to see you're as cheesy as ever."

Graham shrugged softly, "It's who I am, Emma Swan. Learn to love it."

Emma turned slightly in his embrace and looked at him, "Oh, I learned to love it long ago, Graham Humbert. I was just really good at faking it."

Graham thrust a hand over his heart, as a playful smile tugged at his lips, "You've wounded me, Emma."

Emma swatted at him playfully, before leaning back in his arms. She had never been a hopefully, cheesy person before. Never once did she ever think that her life would have a happy ending, mostly because she never dreamed that she deserved one. Emma had always believed that she had done something wrong that had forever pissed off the karma god, and that she was doomed to live a life of minor unhappiness. Until the day that Henry had shown up on her doorstep in Boston and told her tales of fairy-tales. Looking around the living and kitchen of the small apartment that she shared with her parents, she knew that she would never be happier than she was right now. This, her family and friends, they were her happy ending.

A/N: I know you're thinking, that was a pretty good ending right there, why not keep it? Because I have an epilogue planned. It's something that popped into my mind a few chapters ago, and I must write it. It will be set into the future somewhat...and it will be light and fluffy (I hope!) and it will tie this story up with a nice big bow. Though, warning, it might be a little on the short side.