So I got a few comments on the last chapter and subsequently updated the chapter notes. If you missed it, I'm going to reiterate:

I've made Regina younger when she married than she was in canon - my reasoning being thus: Cora was pretty determined to marry Regina off (specifically to Leopold). The politics of the EF seems to parallel those of medieval England. While child marriages were not as common then as people seem to think, among nobility they were amazingly common. You cannot tell me that Cora waited ten years plus after Regina became 'eligible' for marriage before marrying her off.

This is an AU, as should now be evident. It is currently following the storyline of the show, but there were several things that didn't make sense to me, so this will start to change. If you want something that adheres fully to canon, I suggest you rewatch the show.

Also, someone commented that I was making David seem useless to make August seem more important. That wasn't my intention. I assume this was sparked by the last part of the last chapter - David's relief at August's arrival was not due to him not knowing what to do, it was due to him not wanting to leave Henry alone and upset and suddenly having someone (anyone) arrive to look after him, while David dealt with Regina.

"Mom!"

Emma's feet had barely touched the ground before Henry practically threw himself into her arms. She hugged him tightly, something settling into place inside of her; how had she ever managed to give him up in the first place.

Snow's arms wrapped around both of them and she leaned into her mother's warmth, finally allowing herself a breather as the last few days came crashing down on her.

"What is she doing here?"

Emma's focus finally shifted from her son to her surroundings. They were at the old wishing well, Ruby only just stirring a few feet away.

Snow's question had clearly been about Regina, who was slumped on the ground nearby, pained eyes fixed on Henry.

"She saved you," Henry said, only just audibly.

Emma's eyes widened. "Thank you."

Regina managed a small smile. "You're welcome."

"Snow!"

And then Ruby was there, hugging all three of them.

"Where's David?" Snow asked urgently.

"Back of Gold's shop," Ruby said. "The dwarves are watching him."

"Go," Emma said, slipping out of her mother's arms. "Wake him up."

Henry pulled out of her arms, but grabbed her hand. "What was the Enchanted Forest like?"

"No electricity, no running water and no fast food," Emma said. "It was an interesting experience."

Regina had disappeared, and Snow and Ruby had taken off in the direction of the town, so Emma took advantage of the quiet to follow at a more leisurely pace, hand-in-hand with her son.

"Has she been alright?" She asked in an undertone. "Your mom?"

"Not my mom," Henry reminded her.

Emma sighed. "Henry …"

"You're my mom," Henry continued stubbornly. "The fact that she adopted me doesn't change the fact that you gave birth to me."

Emma stopped and crouched down so she was at eye level with him. "I know that. But the fact that I gave birth to you doesn't change the fact that she raised you for nearly eleven years. And she did a great job - you're a wonderful, smart, compassionate young man, and I can't take any credit for that."

Henry kicked at the floor. "But I can't have two."

"Of course you can," Emma said. "You're my son, and I love you. But you're her son too. And she loves you."

"She threatened the whole town to get me to come home," Henry protested.

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Did she?"

"Yeah, and then she sent me home with Grandpa anyway," Henry said. "She said that … She said sometimes she doesn't know how to love very well."

"I think," Emma said slowly, "that she's afraid of losing you. And sometimes when people are scared, they make some bad decisions. But I don't think Regina's evil."

"You don't?" Henry asked. "But it's in her name."

"The Evil Queen is not her name," Emma said. "It's a name she was given. But her dark curse was supposed to make people suffer. Did they?"

"They were taken here," Henry said.

"Yes," Emma agreed. "But did they suffer? You grew up in Storybrooke, Henry. Were people suffering?"

"They were miserable," Henry said. "That was the point. Like Mary Margaret could never find love, and Ruby wanted to travel, and …"

"Those are unfulfilled dreams, Henry," Emma said gently. "Were they suffering?"

"No," Henry admitted. "But they didn't know they'd been cursed."

"Everyone had food on the table and a roof over their heads," Emma said. "A few people really suffered - Jefferson, I think, suffered the most, and I got a thing or two from his rambling that suggested she blamed him for something. Also, he kept using Cora's name so I'm not sure if his memories were her, instead of Regina. Even Snow White, who was the target, was not exactly suffering. Yes, she was separated from her family, but she didn't know that."

"So what do we do now?" Henry asked.

"Now," Emma said, straightening up, "we go and find your grandparents. And then tomorrow, I'll see if I can track Regina down and have a chat about how this is going to work."

Henry's hand tightened around hers as they started walking again. "Mom, I … overheard something I wasn't supposed to."

"Eavesdroppers often do," Emma said lightly. "What did you hear?"

"August was worried about you," Henry said. "He told Grandpa about the argument you had before you disappeared."

"It wasn't an argument," Emma said automatically, before she stopped dead. "You overheard him? You know …?"

"I know my dad wasn't a firefighter," Henry said.

Emma closed her eyes. "Henry … I'm so sorry. I should never have lied to you. I know that."

"It's okay," Henry said. "I was really upset, but August figured out that I'd been listening, and he said that you probably panicked and didn't want me to ask you questions you didn't know the answer to."

Emma's heart swelled with affection for her … August. (She really needed to figure out what they were to each other). "He's right. You were already disappointed with Regina because of who she was. You'd just found out that you were born while I was in prison. I wanted you to have at least one parent to be proud of."

"You saved the whole town," Henry protested. "I'm proud of you!"

Emma smiled. "Thanks, kid, but that wasn't the case at the time. Do you have any questions about your dad?"

"Would he have come back if he knew you were pregnant?" Henry asked.

Emma grimaced, because that was one of the questions she hadn't wanted to answer. "I don't know. I'm still not completely sure why he ran. August told him I was better off without him, but not to … disappear like that. Have you … mentioned your dad to anyone else?"

"Like Mr Gold?" Henry asked. "No. You owe him a favour, right? Maybe that could be it."

Emma sighed. "Maybe. Neal might be hiding from him for a reason."

"I would like to meet him," Henry continued, as they carried on their way.

"We'll see."

"That's a no," Henry grumbled.

"No," Emma said. "It's a 'we'll see'."

"When grown-ups say that, they mean no," Henry said.

"Henry …" Emma sighed again. "You're right. They do. But I don't. If I mean no, I will say that, okay? I will try and find him, I promise. But I can't promise that I'll be able to, and I can't promise that he'll come even if I do. So we'll see."

The party at Granny's went on for hours, and August was conspicuous in his absence.

Emma would have been upset, if Ruby hadn't cornered her within seconds of her arrival to show her a text.

R: They're home & safe. Party the diner.

A: Thank the gods. Will stay away - don't think she'll want to see me. She knows where I am.

And she did.

But however much she was burning to go and find him, she also did not want to disappear straight away, especially given the way David seemed to be finding excuses to touch her and Snow, as though reassuring himself that they were definitely home.

Eventually, as the sky began to darken, Emma made her excuses and gently extracted Henry from his lively conversation with Sean and Ashley (Thomas and Ella, she had to remember).

Ella gave her a smile as Henry stifled a yawn. "At least mine can sleep wherever."

"Yeah, this one's a bit too big for me to carry home," Emma quipped.

Ella adjusted her sleeping baby. "I haven't had a chance to thank you yet. For Alexandra, I mean."

"You thanked me at the time," Emma pointed out.

"Yes, but we didn't know who we were dealing with," Thomas said. "What did Gold want in exchange?"

"A favour," Emma said. "I can deal with it."

"Still," Ella whispered. "I should never have made that deal."

"You were desperate, sweetheart," Thomas said gently, kissing her forehead. "It's okay."

Ella gave Emma a tremulous smile. "You and Allie were supposed to be playmates, but … maybe you and I can grab coffee at some point?"

Emma hesitated, but nodded. "That sounds good. Come on, kid. You look like you're about to fall asleep on your feet."

Snow caught up with them at the door. "Are you going back to the loft?"

"Actually, I was going to go to the inn," Emma said.

"I was afraid of that," Snow said. "Emma, you know …"

"I do," Emma said hastily. "But you and David haven't had a chance to really reunite yet since the curse broke, and you don't need us under your feet when you do. Not to mention, I need to speak to August, and he's clearly avoiding me. So we'll go to the inn tonight and we'll meet you for breakfast tomorrow before Henry has to catch the school bus. Okay?"

After a slight pause, Snow nodded and reached out to hug her. Emma automatically stiffened, but her mother waited patiently for her to relax, rather than immediately pulling back.

"Sleep well," Snow murmured, when she finally released her.

"You too." Emma tucked Henry under her arm, and they stepped out of the diner.

It was only when they reached the inn that Emma realised that Granny and Ruby were still at the party - except Ruby wasn't.

She was waiting for them at the front desk.

"I took the short cut," she said cheerfully.

"Thanks for telling me," Emma grumbled good-naturedly.

"Family secret," Ruby said. "You want me to watch Henry tonight?"

Emma frowned. "Sorry?"

"I'm guessing you and August have a lot to … talk about," Ruby said, giving her a wink over Henry's head.

"It's okay, Mom," Henry said. "I don't mind staying with Aunt Ruby."

Emma was startled, but Ruby just about melted.

"You're okay calling me that?"

Henry nodded. "Grandpa said that you were going to be Mom's godmother, but that's not really going to work now. So I thought maybe you could be mine instead?"

"I'm fairly sure it's your mom's job to choose your godparents," Ruby said gently.

"And you'd be a great one," Emma said, recovering her composure. "If you could have Henry tonight, I'd be very grateful."

"No problem," Ruby said with a smile. "I know you don't exactly need a godmother anymore, Emma, but I like to think we were friends before the curse broke."

"We were," Emma agreed. "Not to mention you were the best deputy I had."

Ruby laughed. "I was the only deputy you had! My point is, if you ever want to talk … or just get blind drunk … you can always come to me."

"Thanks," Emma said, impulsively reaching across the counter to hug her. "Out of interest, do you prefer Red or Ruby? I noticed that some people are sticking with their cursed names and some are going back to their real ones."

"I've actually come to like Ruby," she said. "You might have guessed that 'Red' wasn't my real name either. My birth name is … I'm not fond of it, put it that way." She grinned at Henry. "Come on, kid. I'll make us some hot cocoa and then we'll get you to bed."

Emma kissed Henry's forehead. "Night, Henry."

"Goodnight Mom," Henry said. "Make sure he comes home?"

"I will," Emma said, already striding towards the stairs.

Someone had fixed the lock on August's room - probably August himself - so she knocked loudly, not concerned about the surrounding rooms, given that all the other keys were still on the hooks downstairs.

Emma was fairly sure she had something planned to say when she saw him again, but whatever it was, it flew out of her mind immediately, distracted by the startled expression on his face when he opened the door, the one that told her he hadn't expected to see her at all.

Words were never her strong point anyway.

She stepped right up into his space and kissed him, smiling against his lips when he automatically pulled her closer.

"I'm sorry," she murmured when they parted. "Let me finish," she added before he could protest. "I'm not sorry I was upset. You screwed up and you hid it from me. But I am sorry I avoided the conversation. And I'm sorry my last words to you were almost 'I can't look at you right now.'"

"Technically, they were 'I know'," August said, releasing her. "Where's Henry?"

"Having a slumber party with Aunt Ruby," Emma said, slipping past him so he could shut the door. "I thought my parents could do with some privacy and I …" she trailed off, her eyes landing on his typewriter, which held a paper bearing the words Dear Emma. "That's not a Dear John letter, is it?"

"No," August said firmly. "I'm not leaving you again, Emma. Even if you hate me, I'll still be here."

"I don't hate you," Emma said. "What was it going to be then?"

"I didn't think you'd want to see me," August said. "I figured I'd write you a a letter, but I couldn't figure out what to say."

Emma sighed. "Promise me that you're not hiding anything else."

August hesitated. "Henry knows about Neal."

"I know," Emma said with a weak smile. "He already told me. He admitted he eavesdropped; it wasn't on purpose. Thank you for putting into words what I couldn't. Anything else?"

To his credit, August thought about it for a second. "Not that I can think of, no."

"Promise me," Emma said then, "that you won't hide anything else from me."

"Anything?" August asked. "What about birthday presents?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Alright, let me rephrase. Promise me that you won't hide anything else important from me."

"I promise," August said immediately, stepping closer to her. "I swear to you, Emma, that I will be completely honest with you from now on."

"Then I forgive you," Emma whispered, closing the distance between them.

His hands landed on her waist, tugging her closer once more as he deepened the kiss she bestowed on him.

Tomorrow, she would need to speak to her parents, need to catch up on everything that had happened in her absence, need to confront Regina about Henry.

Right now, however, she had all night to reconnect with this man, with no need to worry about room-mates or children or nosy neighbours.

She started as her back bumped against the desk and his grip tightened, lifting her to sit beside his typewriter. The casual show of strength elicited a moan, her stomach clenching at the thought of his hard, strong body on top of her; he took advantage of her distraction to trail open-mouthed kisses down her throat, gently sucking claiming marks into her skin.

"August …" Emma whispered, her head falling back against the wall with a soft thud.

"Missed you," August murmured, his voice sending gentle vibrations against her neck. "Thought I'd lost you."

"Still here." Emma's voice broke with a gasp on the second word, as his hands slipped under the back of her shirt, the sudden skin contact sending mini-shockwaves through her body. "But I … I've been in the forest for the last … Oh god … for the last six weeks and … I really need a shower."

"You're gorgeous," August said, switching to the other side of her throat.

"I feel gross," Emma said, almost in a whine.

August pulled back, an amused smile on his face. "You want to borrow the bathroom?"

Emma smiled back. "Please."

August stepped away to allow her to slip down from the desk. "Feel free to borrow my toothbrush as well."

"That doesn't sound very hygienic," Emma said.

August smirked. "My tongue was in your mouth a few minutes ago."

"Fair enough," Emma said. "Thank you."

"You want me to get your back?" August asked innocently.

"I really do need a shower," Emma reminded him.

"You think I can't control myself?" August asked.

"I'm sure you can," Emma said, letting her eyes linger on the front of his pants. "I'm not sure I can. Give me thirty minutes, and then I'm all yours."

"I'll hold you to that, Princess."

Those of you who read the first story will remember that the next chapter was purely smut. In the interests of keeping this story PG, I'm not going to include it. I am, however, going to have a separate story running alongside this one with smutty outtakes, some Wooden Swan, some Outlaw Queen, and some that may surprise you (I haven't decided yet). So look out for Ohana in Private which will be up shortly.