The blinding light pulsed through the Storybrooke with the force of an earthquake. Emma clutched the railing of Ava's hospital bed to steady herself, rapidly looking around for the source of the mysterious phenomenon.

"Where am I?" a weak voice groaned.

Emma's face whipped to her daughter's face. Ava's face was sunken and she lay nearly lifeless in the bed like a ragdoll, but her eyes were open. Bloodshot and exhausted, but open.

"Oh my god..." Emma's words caught in her throat as she leaned over to gently embrace Ava.

"Something happened..." Ava struggled for the words, "I was.. What..."

"It's okay," Emma cooed, resting her cheek on Ava's head and stroking her hair. "You don't have to worry about anything of that now."

"Can I see Nicky?" Ava pleaded.

Emma kissed her forehead once more and dash out of the hospital room to deliver the good news. "Ava's awake," she blurted out from the hallway. Mary, Nicky, and Henry were sitting nearby. "She's going to be okay," Emma's tone was giddy, a light laugh forming at the end of the sentence.

The boys rushed past her into Ava's room. Mary rose from her seat, but she didn't move forward. Her eyes were fixed on Emma, glassy eyes and shocked expression.

Emma stepped forward, "Mary, are you okay? What's wrong?"

Tears came to her friends eyes. "My name's not Mary, it's Snow White."

Emma sucked in a shallow breath, then step forward to embrace her mother. Snow melted into the hug, burying her face in Emma's neck as she stifled a sob. After a long moment, Mary stepped back, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"The curse is broken," Emma stated with a note of awe in her voice. "How did that happen? David and I have been running around town trying to find a save Ava and the curse just...vanished."

"I'm not sure," Snow answered. "We can worry about that late- Charming!" She sprinted down the hallway when she caught sight of her husband. David nearly fell backward as Snow launched herself into his arms, but he laughed joyously as he found his footing and lifted her into the arm.

Emma watched the scene with an odd emotion squeezing her heart so tightly it hurt. Those were her parents. She hadn't stopped to think about it because she was so focused on ensuring Ava's survival, but those were her biological parents. Emma averted her eyes as Snow and David kissed, unsure how she felt about the situation. She should be happy that she had reunited with her parents and they loved her and they had never meant to abandon her, but...

But she had still been alone. Tears threatened to spill over her eyes remembered how she had been tossed around her entire life. Nothing would ever fix that, she would never get the chance to have a happy childhood. A deep, gaping agony cracked her soul wide open as she thought of the years she'd lost with Henry, the way she hadn't even remembered that he was her son. The fact that there was a point in his life when he thought she had abandoned him, just like she thought her parents had abandoned her.

"Emma," David called out her softly. He and Snow were walked toward her with expectant looks on their face. Her guts felt like writhing snakes. What was someone supposed to do in this situation? How did her parents want her to react.

"We should check on the kids," Emma croaked, her throat suddenly tight. She fled into Gretal's hospital room before she could see her parents' reaction.

"..and then I just woke up," Gretal finished telling Hansel and Henry. She had regains some color in her face and now sat upright in the hospital bed. Hansel was sitting in the bed with her, while Henry took the seat that Emma had vacated.

"Hey kid, how are you feeling?" Emma asked her daughter fondly.

"Not as bad as before, but I've been better," Gretal admitted.

"Getting put under a sleeping curse is no joke," Snow noted. "If ever need someone to talk to, I know exactly what you've just been through."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Gretal replied shyly.

Snow shook her head and tsk'ed, "None of that. We're practically family."

"We are family," David confirmed, wrapping an arm around Snow's shoulder.

Emma let out a weak smile. Sure, she had no idea how to react to this situation, but it was good. The curse was broken, she had her parents and children back, her memories had all returned to her. There was nothing that could get rid of the scars, but that didn't mean they could make a better future for themselves. "We are," she repeated.


Belle's eyes opened for the first time in far too long. She found herself looking into the face of a young boy. Something about him seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite place him. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open, but he didn't move a inch despite his obvious surprise.

The sleeping curse! Belle's heart began to beat faster as the thought of her husband and baby. Were they safe? Where were they? Had this boy been the one to wake her? He couldn't have been it on purpose, judging from his reaction.

Belle smiled her him, feeling both grateful and awkward. Her body was weak and in pain, as she'd fallen from some great height. "Hello. My name is Princess Rosalie, but please call me Belle. Everyone does."

"I know," the boy answered in a quiet, shaky voice. His eyes watered. "Do you know how I am?" Despite the question leaving his lip, he didn't look as though he wanted to answer.

Belle studied him for a moment, hoping not to upset him with her answer. "I think I should, but...I might need some help piecing things together." The boy's eyes dropped to the ground, but Belle reached for his hands. "Please, don't be upset. I think I just need a minute."

Where was Adam? When she fell under the sleeping curse, she imagine that if she ever woke up, it would be to her husband and son smiling down on her. But now she was almost certain that she was no longer at the palace. How long had she been asleep?

Belle brought her hands to the boy's face, looking sweetly into his familiar wet eyes. She had done this before, comforted him. "Oh. Bae, it was you," she realized. Belle pulled her to him and he collapsed into her arms. Bae rested his head on her chest as he had when he was an infant, the tickling of her hair against her chin and nose feeling as natural to her as the sound of her own heartbeat. "You grew up."

The words turned her inside to ice, as it dawn on her how much of her son's life she had missed. A decade at least, probably more. She clutched him tighter as the implications came at her like a storm of knives. What sort of mother left her son to fend for himself? Could she even claim to be his mother when she hadn't raised him?

Before she could continue down the dark path her thoughts were taking her, a pillar of deep purple smoking burst into the room. Belle felt her body relax slightly. Adam stood before her, off-kilter and hopeful and afraid. He always seemed so poised and in-controlled, but he was rattled to find her awake and alive.

"Belle, my dear, your curse..." Adam struggled for the words. Baelfire shot up abruptly, surprised by his father's appearance, but Belle tugged on his shirt to keep him near her. She had only just regain her son, and despite her concern that she was practically a stranger to him, she wasn't ready to let him go.

"Yes," she nodded. "I don't know what happened, but my curse has broken."

"I couldn't save you," he confessed so quietly his voice was nearly a whisper, with an undercurrent of shame. "I can't take credit for breaking your curse, it wasn't anything I did. I failed you."

Belle held out her hand to him, indicated that she wanted him to come to her. Adam obeyed with trepidation, his nervous eyes never leaving her face. Belle took both of his hands and kissed them. "If you're with me, you haven't failed anything," she told him gently. Belle didn't care what had happened or where they were or what would come next. Her curse was broken and her family was together again. There was nothing more she needed out of her life.