"Babe..." Derek said in a gentle reprimand, even as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. He nuzzled into her neck, pressed a kiss there, pulling her away from the table to prevent her from rearranging once again the perfectly arranged table settings. "It's perfect," he insisted. "And I really don't think Clara is going to care if the vase is perfectly centred in the middle of the table. Tonight is about us getting to know our daughter, remember?"

She nodded, but pouted anyway because she wanted to make everything look perfect...given that it was the one thing she felt like she could control right now.

Derek spun her around as if they were dancing, pulled her back into his chest so that they were now facing each other. "So, what did you order for us at the diner?" he asked, changing the subject. Between her lack of cooking skills and the fact that he'd been released from the hospital mere hours before, they hadn't exactly had time to prepare a gourmet meal themselves.

She looked slightly embarrassed then, as she may have gone a little overboard. "Pretty much everything she orders most," she admitted. "I don't know what her favourite food is yet, but I figured they were all safe bets."

He smiled softly down at her, reaching to stroke her cheek with the back of his knuckles, still getting used to the fact that he could once again hold her, touch her, kiss her...

"What?" she asked, brow raised at the almost awe-struck expression on his face.

"You're such a wonderful mother," he murmured. Then, as if reading her mind, he added, "Don't ever doubt that, okay?"

Her cheeks pinked at the compliment, even if she wasn't entirely certain she believed him, given the fact that she had literally just remembered she was, in fact, a mother...

Then, in an attempt at levity, he added, "I hope JJ gave you a discount, you know, since we're family now..."

That, apparently, was the wrong thing to say, judging by the way Emily's face fell. "I missed her wedding," she whispered. "I wasn't there for her that day. You didn't get to walk her down the aisle. She was all alone..."

"Shhh, Em," he soothed, stroking her hair. "You know I would have given anything to be there for her, but if she's happy, isn't that really what matters most?"

She pouted, reluctant to admit that he was right. Any response she might've given was interrupted by the doorbell and the panic that clearly ensued, washing across her face like a wave. "She's here," she said breathlessly, "Our baby..."

"Princess, she's eighteen and married. I kind of doubt she still wants to be considered a baby," he pointed out.

She gave him a pointed look. "She may not literally be a baby, but she will always always be my baby. Our baby."

He held up his hands in surrender, then moved to open the door. He'd barely opened it when Emily flung herself at Clara, wrapping her in the tightest embrace she could manage, holding her as if her life depended on it.

Clara struggled to get a breath out, let alone any words, amidst the bone-crushing hug her long-lost mother was currently giving her. But she couldn't help but smile at the open affection she'd sought for so long, even if she couldn't yet voice it.

Then, as if suddenly remembering herself, Emily released the girl just as quickly, took several stutter steps backwards. Smiling shyly, she murmured a more muted greeting, "Clara, hi..."

Several long and perhaps awkward moments of silence followed, neither parent quite sure how their daughter was going to react.

She ended up surprising them both, then, when a wide smile crossed her lips. "Mom..." she rasped, voice choked by tears, "Dad..." She cautiously wrapped her arms around him, then Emily again. "I can't believe I've finally found you."

They had barely gotten three bites into their dinner when Emily could contain herself no longer. "Clara, Sweetheart, there's something I... We want you to know. We love you so much and we would have done anything to save you and that's... That's why we had no choice but to..."

"No, Mom, wait," Clara interrupted. "There's something I want to say first." She paused, gaze darting down to her hands where she was nervously wringing them under the table. "Growing up, I always knew I was adopted and there were times where I couldn't help but wonder why my real parents didn't want me... There were times that I hated you for abandoning me – I wondered what was so wrong with me that even my parents couldn't love me."

Derek, unable to watch her words breaking Emily's heart any longer, burst out, "Sweetheart, no..."

She continued on, in spite of his assurances, "When I heart about the Curse, I felt so stupid for ever thinking you didn't love me and I... I'm so sorry!" Tears welled in her eyes at that.

"Don't say that," Emily choked out, in tears as well. She reached over to squeeze Clara's hand in silent reassurance.

"I know that you must have loved me so much to do what you did," she said, sniffling. "I know you didn't have a choice..."

Derek nodded, clearing his throat to keep from breaking down himself. "Clara, if there had been any way to protect you without being apart, we would have done it. You have no idea how much we struggled with this decision, but we knew that one day we would meet again."

Clara's smile was watery as she looked first at Emily, then at him. "I know," she confirmed. "I get it now. But at least there's a good side to all this: I never would have met Henry..."

"Well, that's not quite true," Emily said before she could stop to think about what she was going to say.

Clara raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"Henry is from our world..."