DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for the purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: just a little less than a week until s4 for those of you that weren't ruined by the last finale. i've had this sitting here for a while, unable to post it because of a solar storm that knocked out the wifi, so sorry for the delay. i've gotten a lot of PM's regarding when our ladies will find out about Henry's biological origins. the answer is soon. once that happens, there is not much of this story left to tell beyond it, and what there is to tell is not all fluffy fluffy joy joy. so let us all enjoy this ignorant bliss. we will, however, find out the answers to Emma's dreams. are they real? what happened to the princess and the queen? all those answers will be coming fairly soon. I'm shooting for 70 chapters total here.

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Chapter 54: How It Is And How It Should Be

She looked out the window of the chamber once more, regarding the distant clouds that gathered in the eastern sky, a charcoal grey darker than any storm she'd ever seen, swirling and malevolent-looking even from the great many leagues between where they were massing and the window. She knew what she saw on the horizon, coming rapidly and inexorably in her direction, was no storm, but the wrath of her True Love come to bear at last. Those clouds, thick, consuming, and, now she saw, crackling with flashes of magic and force, were the manifestations of Regina's ultimate plan to keep her. She knew somewhere down, hidden by the lush green canopies that stretched unbroken for leagues to the east, was Regina, riding back for her, the storm following her, a chariot the size of the sky, dragged by her horse towards its inevitable destination: her.

This had not been her plan. She had never wanted this curse cast, and she had schemed to stop it. But now Snow White, her own mother, a woman she had once considered to be admirable and fair (if a little exhausting at times), had forced her to let the Dark Curse be cast. Much to the Blue Fairy's protests. But it was the only way for her now.

Her own plan, regarding herself and the child, would still be changed little by the new development. But this curse, letting it reach completion, was the only way for her to ensure Regina's safety. It would sweep the residents of the Enchanted Forest to a land with no memory of the blood feud. It would eliminate a past that long ago should have reached its completion. And, paramount of all, her True Love would no longer be prey, no longer be hunted. She would have freedom, the one gift the Princess had always wanted to give her, but had never known how. Now she did.

"She rides for you." Pinocchio appeared at her side, bringing the faintest scent of sawdust, a smell she had never known him to be without. There was a mixture of awe, amazement, and -buried almost too deeply to detect- jealousy in his tone.

She glanced briefly at his haggard face before turning her attention once again to the coming clouds. No words escaped her. None were needed, and they probably would have served no other purpose than to embitter him more.

There was a long silence as both watched the physical movement of fate rolling steadily towards them.

"The time is coming Your Grace. We must depart if we are to make it before..." He trailed off, his eyes returning to the roiling cloud meaningfully.

"There is time yet." Her eyes repeatedly scanned the tree line beyond the castle walls, with an almost frantic desperation to the movements.

"Time is short." He kept his tone gentle, touching her arm in a soft draw of her attention.

Finally she looked up into apologetic blue eyes. She read easily his hurt for her in the expression on his young face.

"It will only hurt worse to see her again. You must let her go." He squeezed her arm softly and let go. "Always remember Emma, the memory of her will live on here and here." He touched first her forehead and then above her heart with the back of a finger. "You do this so one day your child will know her. You will retain the memory of her; it is she who will forget you. She will know peace."

The Princess fought tears. "I sometimes wonder if it is not she who has the luck in this."

"It is your child who has the luck, for it is your child who will know you both."

She nodded, one hand going to her stomach as she turned her back on the storm and the window. She looked at him, her expression serious. She knew he would object, but she had to say the words. "If I die..."

"Emma..."

She held up a hand to cut off his protests. "If I do not survive what is to come, and I don't live to see my child, remember your promise. Get the child to her, no matter the cost. She will protect our baby. Find her."

He nodded. "I will. I give you my word."

Emma smiled down at her stomach, barely rounded with the barest hint of her condition, looking happy for the first time since the Dark Queen had ridden away hours before. "If it's a girl, I want her to be named Piper, after the place we met."

"And if the child is a boy?"

"If it's a boy... Henry."

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"Penny for your thoughts?"

Emma was jolted from her thoughts by the young waitress, sliding a new mug of cinnamon drizzled cocoa in front of her, pushing it to line up with the two empty mugs already consumed. She offered her a weak smile as she drew the cup closer to herself. She knew Ruby was a great listener, despite her flighty demeanor, and she could certainly keep a secret, but how could she explain last night's dream? It was now obvious to her that they couldn't be real, no matter how much they felt like a tangible memory. She was just projecting her newfound life onto this strange fairytale dreamworld her subconscious had created. Even in some moment of stupidity, if she was able to delude herself into believing that world was real... Henry being her son? It was impossible. His birthday was the better part of a month after her own son's.

"Henry's birthday is tomorrow." It was the other thing on her mind and a safer topic of discussion than her dreams.

Ruby nodded solemnly. She bit her bottom lip. "Are you guys celebrating?"

Emma shrugged with a sigh. "I want to. He'll only turn six once and he..." She closed her eyes briefly, amazed at how the words stuck in her throat. "We all live on borrowed time." She took a sip from the new cup of cocoa, the liquid scalding her throat, but she barely noticed. "I just don't want him to have to celebrate from his room. Don't get me wrong, Regina spoils him... hell, she spoils me. Lord knows all the games and toys she'd buy him would keep him and me occupied for weeks, but all he's seen since we brought him home is those four blue walls. He needs freedom. He needs... life."

Ruby stood straight up, gesturing around. "Have it here."

Emma's face shot up, a look somewhere between shock and confusion on her face. "What?"

Ruby nodded, warming to the idea. "Yeah. We can make it after school, invite his whole class, sundaes all around."

Emma shook her head. "Thanks Rubes, but there's no way I could get something like that arranged by tomorrow. I don't even know a fraction of the kids in his class, let alone their parents."

Ruby waved it off as if it was inconsequential. "Don't you worry. I will take care of everything! I'll enlist a couple recruits to help me out and we'll have it all taken care of. You just get our illustrious mayor on board and I will handle all the rest! It's going to be Henry's best birthday ever!" She clapped her hands together in gleeful excitement, already hurrying away, leaving no room for the blonde to object.

Emma groaned into her mug, her head falling down onto an arm. Somehow she felt she was going to have the harder job.

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Katherine walked into the foyer just as Emma walked through the front door, her arms laden with a few bags. She kicked the door closed with a foot as she smiled at the older woman. "Hey, sorry, I know I'm a little late. I had a couple unexpected errands to run."

The other woman waved off the apology. "It's no trouble. It's nice to get a break from that house every once in a while, especially the past few weeks. How was your morning off?"

Emma searched her mind for the right word. "Unexpectedly productive?" She took the bags straight through into the dining room, relieving herself of them on the table. She turned back to Katherine before sparing a glance at the ceiling above. "How did he do?"

"He's a five year old trapped in a glorified hospital bed." She gave Emma a pointed look from where she stood on the other side of the table. "Despite all that, he's taking everything quite gracefully."

"He's stronger than I am." Emma sighed. "At least he may not have to be stuck there for too long."

Katherine raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

Emma tried her best to reiterate Ruby's plan with the same enthusiasm the young waitress had used, only falling slightly short of the mark. She had been warming to the idea since she'd left the diner, taking advantage of the morning off Katherine had allowed her.

The older blonde looked at her with something akin to amusement. "You do know what Regina will say?"

Emma's good mood took a nosedive off the cliff and back into impossibility. Regina was too protective. It would be near impossible to convince her to go along with Ruby's idea. She should have been more forceful, said no and cut Ruby off before she had a chance to make any arrangements.

Seeing Emma's face fall, Katherine leaned over and grasped her shoulder in understanding. "Good luck. You're going to need it."

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"Ow! Shit!" Emma grimaced as she reached for the open box of bandages lying on its side beside her project, where she'd kept them close at hand since she'd pricked herself the first time. She withdrew one and wrapped it around one of her three remaining free fingers. She looked at the assortment of Batman bandages arranged around the tips of her digits. "And then there were two."

She glared down at the mess before her on the kitchen table. So maybe this had been a little ambitious of an undertaking. She considered her upcoming conversation with the mayor, looming a couple short hours away, and realised that maybe the situation as a whole was too ambitious of an undertaking. What had she been thinking, letting Ruby run away with such an absurd plan? This plan had been futile from its inception and she should have put a stop to it before things had come this far.

She picked up the needle again. Many skills she had learned in her life, but none among them included sewing. Did people even really sew anymore? Sure, there were those contestants on Project Runway, but that was their dream, they actively sought out to learn those skills. It wasn't like they lived in times past where all good little girls were taught needlepoint and other domestic tasks. She wasn't even sure she'd ever owned anything that hadn't been made in some factory by a machine or an underpaid worker.

A knock sounded at the door, interrupting her thoughts. The knock was hesitant, soft, almost too soft to be heard.

"Come in." She turned her attention back to the task at hand. Ruby had texted her that she might stop by to finalise a few things after her shift. Emma had a feeling she just wanted to see how much of her was left after she'd explained their plans to Regina. The young woman probably had a weird fascination with carnage. She took a small snippet of satisfaction in knowing that the young waitress had arrived too early.

The front door swung open slowly, carefully, too careful to be her friend on the other side. Emma stood up in alarm, her body tensing in defensive awareness. She had let her guard down, let herself start to feel comfortable in this small town environment and forget all the skills she learned from her time in the cities. She'd kept herself safe many a time by always remaining wary and aware, never totally at ease.

Standing just in the doorway was the last person Emma had expected to show up on her doorstep; the fidgeting person that shut the door was not Ruby Lucas, nor even Katherine Nolan. Her first instinct was to push Mary Margaret out the door and slam it in her face, but she was too far to retain the element of surprise necessary, and she held back for fear of waking Henry. Instead, she settled for the ever-beloved classic of putting her hands on her hips and tapping her foot with impatience. "What do you want?"

Mary Margaret held up a large manila envelope between them, as if it were some sort of peace treaty. "The kids in Henry's class made him a get well soon card."

Emma stared at the envelope. Finally she crossed the length of the foyer, reached out, and gently took it, her attitude fading, replaced by a faint guilt. She remembered the reasons she'd liked this woman in the first place. It wasn't enough to make her forget what she'd done, but it was the first step in maybe salvaging a friendship. "Thanks. For bringing it by."

"How is he?" Mary Margaret glanced up toward the second floor as if she could see the sick little boy in his bed upstairs.

"He's... stable."

"And how are you?" Bright green eyes came to rest once again on the blonde woman, Mary Margaret tilting her head in that motherly way she had.

Emma pursed her lips. "Fine."

Her gaze dropped meaningfully to Emma's bandaged fingertips. "Are you sure about that?"

Emma followed her gaze and almost hated herself when her hands moved guiltily behind her back before she could stop herself. She quickly brought them back into view, gesturing over her shoulder toward the dining room, where she'd left the mess of fabric and pins. "I'm not the best at sewing."

"So it would seem." She took a step farther into the foyer. "I have some experience. Maybe I can help?"

Emma unconsciously moved to block her way, looking uncomfortable. "I don't know. Maybe it's not such a good idea."

"Is that you speaking, or Regina?" She sighed. Mary Margaret had never been particularly good at disguising her emotions and the hurt on her face was palpable. "Ruby told me about your birthday party for Henry tomorrow at Granny's. I think it's sweet of you, and I have a feeling that's for him." She raised her right hand as if she were swearing an oath. "I'll just show you the basics and then leave, I promise. Doesn't he deserve it?"

Emma studied her. A part of her was still hurt by where they'd left things, but a bigger part of her was suddenly tired of all the fighting. It exhausted her just as much in real life as it did the princess from her dreams. It just wasn't worth it to be at war. She sighed and stepped back to allow her forward. "Maybe just a quick minute. For Henry's sake. He deserves better than what I'm accomplishing." She'd just let her in, accept the olive branch the schoolteacher was offering, and then sweep her back out before Regina came home from work.

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Emma. Henry. Emma. Henry. Those two words had been her heavily repeated mantra throughout her workday. With Henry's condition in such a state of fragility, work was becoming tiresome, the most menial tasks becoming tedious under the strain of her emotions. Every time she had allowed herself a moment from the press of her work, her mind had been flooded with impossible questions of what to do next, where to go from here. She found that she had unknowingly come to rely on the blonde, on her input and guidance, that when she found herself without it she was lost. So she had attempted to bury herself in the files on her desk, but nothing could keep her mind from inevitably returning back.

She had almost cried in relief when the clock had struck five and she'd been able to push it all aside. All she had been able to think about from the moment she'd stood up from behind her desk and gathered her things to leave, was Emma's embrace and her son's smile. And maybe a bath. Yes, a long relaxing soak would be most nice; her muscles had begun to relax at the mere thought. As she'd driven the few miles home, she had even convinced herself that she could talk Emma in with her. A half to a full hour, just the two of them, light touches, stolen kisses. It sounded like heaven. She smiled secretly to herself as she walked up the brick path to the front porch.

Just as she mounted the porch to the front door and reached for the handle, it fell further away from her as the door was opened from the inside. Expecting to see Emma standing there inside the foyer, just as anxious to be with her as she'd been to see the blonde, her smile came easily, prepped and ready. It fell immediately when her eyes registered just who was standing before her. For what it was worth, the other woman seemed even more shocked at the sight of her.

The initial shock wore off after three seconds, replaced by a sudden bright flare of anger. What in the hell was this woman doing in her house? Had she been bothering Emma again? Well she'd put an end to this. She pursed her lips. "Miss Blanchard."

The frost in the mayor's tone seeped into her at a far faster rate than the chilly late winter air outside. If she didn't say the right thing now, she held little doubt that Regina would tear her apart. The woman was already looking at her like Regina was a momma bear and the two other people inside the house were her cubs. "I was just dropping off a get well soon card for Henry." She stepped out onto the free half of the porch, closing the door behind her, quietly easing herself away from the dangerous position between Regina and her child. "His class made it for him and his teacher asked if I could bring it by."

"Yes, well, it would seem you've done that. So I'd appreciate you vacating my porch." She pushed her way past the schoolteacher and to her front door, giving one of her most blantantly false mayoral smiles before slamming it once more in the woman's face.

Satisfied with the effect of her actions, she turned, nearly jumping when she saw Emma, standing in the middle of the huge foyer, silently staring back at her.

She pursed her lips once more, crossing her arms as she approached the blonde, who looked suddenly uncomfortable and incredibly guilty, like a young child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. She raised an eyebrow in silent askance as she came to a stop before her.

Emma bit her bottom lip, fidgeting in the silence. "Um... how was work?"

Regina's eyebrow only went higher. "Fine."

Emma sighed. "She was just delivering a card for Henry." She turned and walked back toward the dining room.

Regina was hot on her heels, not about to concede so easily. "I hardly see how that requires that she venture over the threshold of the front door."

Emma turned abruptly, stopping Regina's pursuit with the suddenness of the movement. She held up what looked to be a large piece of fabric that she'd picked up from the table. Was that a flag? Or, no, maybe it was a blanket?

"It's for him to wear tomorrow, for his birthday." Emma held the piece of fabric close, almost as if it were a shield, protecting her from Regina's judgment.

It took Regina a moment to realise exactly what it was she was staring at. A cape. It was a superhero cape, blue with a huge H on the back. It was stitched with an unpractised hand, obviously Emma's own. It was also then that she noticed Emma's bandaged fingers holding the material up. All her anger instantly dissolved away. She stepped forward, taking the homemade article from Emma's hands. She set it carefully down before placing her hands on either side of Emma's face, drawing her in for a kiss. "You're lucky you're cute." She pulled away.

Emma bit her bottom lip. The moment of truth had arrived. "Yeah? Um, how cute am I exactly?"

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Apparently not that cute. She stared at the half filled tumbler of cider in her hand, pursing her lips at the liquid for not having the desired effect.

No. Nope. No way. Absolutely not. Never gonna happen. And all the other various ways she could decline. Emma had those words going round and round like a carousel. Poor Ruby. The waitress was planning a big surprise birthday party and there would be no birthday boy to surprise. She'd have to go by first thing tomorrow to the diner and explain the situation to the younger woman.

She set down her glass so she could take the rice off the burner, raise the lid, and stir the contents of the pot. She wasn't surprised by the arms that settled on her waist from behind or the kiss pressed to her shoulder. She knew Regina wouldn't stay angry for long, not when she knew she'd won.

"Are you still mad at me?"

She could hear the pout in the older woman's voice as she rested her chin on her shoulder. She fought the urge to roll her eyes and smile. "I was never mad."

"And yet you made me bathe alone."

"I'm disappointed, there's a difference." She tried to move over to the fridge, but Regina wouldn't let her move. She sighed and let herself be held, though she did nothing to return the embrace.

"I just want to protect him."

"Protect him from what?" She pulled away, pushing Regina's hands off her. "Life?" She moved to the fridge, taking a deep breath and trying to avoid her own anger, bubbling beneath the surface.

Regina rubbed her temples as if they had gone over this more than once before. "His immune system is weak. You're asking me to let him go into a diner full of children, all with who knows what germs all over themselves. I can't let him be exposed to that kind of environment. It's why I've kept him away from school for so long. He's just not like other kids his age."

Emma finished adding the teriyaki to the chicken and giving it a good stir before turning off all the burners. She took a dish towel and wiped her hands before tossing it down on a bare section of counter space. "Your dinner's done." She grabbed her glass of cider and left without a backward glance.

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"Ready? One, two, three, GO!" Emma frantically pushed her button as the white marbles scattered across the blue center of the plastic game board propped on the bed between her and her five year old playmate. Her pink hippo frantically extended its neck and opened its mouth, desperate to consume more of the white plastic orbs than the orange hippo Henry was operating.

"I win!" Henry raised his little arms in victory as the last ball was snatched from the screen, his collection drawer nearly twice as full as her own.

Emma looked at her own meagre gathering with a sour expression. "I think my hippo is watching her weight."

A knock on the door frame caused them to look up. Regina stood there, looking silently in at them. When she realised she had their attention, she cleared her throat, standing up straighter. "Time for bed young man."

Henry frowned at his mother. Once he saw she wouldn't budge on the subject, he turned his puppy dog eyes toward Emma. "Just a little while longer."

Emma sighed. She knew this was a turning point. If she caved, she would become the weak parent, the push-over. Beyond that, it would make Regina even more pissed off and that was a headache she didn't need right now. "I'm sorry kid. It's bedtime." She reached out, ruffling his brown locks, messy from the bath she'd given him an hour ago. "But I'll be right here when you wake up in the morning and we'll play all day tomorrow, whatever you want, okay?"

Henry looked about to protest, but he nodded, snuggling down underneath the duvet and his magical blanket.

She slid off the bed, leaning down to place a kiss on his forehead. "Sweet dreams little man." She scooped up the game and its box, skirting her way around Regina and out of the door, leaving her to put the game back in its place in the family room while Regina finished tucking him in.

After she had stored Hungry Hungry Hippos back in its space in the game cupboard, she stepped out of the family room. Henry's door was closed, darkness all that was visible beneath the white door. The door to the master suite was open halfway, light pouring out. She could see Regina's shadow moving about inside.

She knew they needed to discuss things. It was the responsible thing to do, the adult thing to do, but the thought of another argument just exhausted her. Between the stress of Henry's condition, her dreams... it was just too much. She turned for the stairs.

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She had never been that fond of alcohol. Sure, she'd snuck her fair share of drinks when she was underage. It had made her feel wild and free. Not to mention the ceremonial binge in honour of her twenty first birthday. But she found that she wasn't really the alcohol type. Beyond the occasional drink here and there, she tended to stray away from anything that could make her forget. That was a very slippery slope, almost too tempting. There were so many things in life she had wanted to forget at one point or another. But she had found that alcohol, and any other temporary fix, was non-discriminatory. It would make one forget the happy as easily as it would make them forget the sad. And it was fleeting, like a vaccine. It would work until it wore off and, as time wore on, it would require more and more to reach the same result. It was a dangerous addiction to have.

Tonight, however, she answered the call. She entered the parlour, grabbing the empty glass she'd left there earlier and pouring herself another generous serving of the amber liquid.

When Regina found her an hour later, she was sitting by the empty fire place, nursing her half-empty glass. She came across the room, took the glass from Emma's hands, and took a quick sip before setting it on the side table. She sat down beside the blonde, the satin of her robe brushing softly along Emma's forearm and making her shiver. "Emma..."

"You said I was his mother too."

Regina paused, finally nodding. "Yes, I did say that. And I meant it. You are. But..." She shook her head. "I don't want to make him worse."

Emma closed her eyes. "I know. Believe me Regina, I do. But I also know what it's like to be trapped by something beyond your control." She reached for the glass on the other side of Regina but then thought better of it. "He deserves to have friends. He deserves to have some semblance of a normal life. It's a complicated situation, but I don't think the solution is to lock him up in his room to protect him from the world." This time, when she reached across the older woman for the glass, she didn't hesitate. She nearly drained it when a hand gently eased the glass down. She allowed the other woman to take the glass away from her. The silence from Regina was unnerving. She sighed. "What good is giving him more time if all we allow him is four blue striped walls and our attention when we can spare it?"

"Is it really that important to you?"

"No, it's important to Henry. Forget what I want, think about what he wants. If you asked him what he wanted, do you really think he'd tell you that he wants to spend his sixth birthday in a bed? For all intents and purposes, it's a prison. His prison. He deserves better than that on his birthday."

"You're right. He does deserve better." Regina sighed, emptying what was left of Emma's glass down her own throat. "I'm scared for him, Emma. I feel helpless." She gripped the crystal so hard her knuckles turned white. "I can't save him."

"No, you can't. We can get him the best care possible, the best doctors, the best treatments, but, in the end, it's up to Henry." She reached for Regina's hand, grasping it in her own. "But you know what we can do?"

Regina glanced up into green eyes, her own glazed with unshed tears. "What?"

"We can make every moment of time he has left, whether it's eighty years or eighty days, the best time of his life. We can be his mothers. We can love him."