AN: See chapter 1 for story notes and summaries.

Ships: Snowing, Rumbelle, Swan Believer, eventual Swanfire, and a delightful Golden Mad Charming BroT3. :)

Please consider leaving a review. Feedback is much appreciated.

Also, feel free to follow me on Tumblr lilacmoon83. In an effort to grow my Snowing fanfiction blog on Tumblr and get more visibility for my writing, I invite anyone following my stories here on to follow me on Tumblr. I have a sizable following here on , but that hasn't really transferred over to Tumblr. I've been considering doing face claims for all original characters in this story too. So if you're interested, give me a follow on Tumblr and help my stories get a bit more visibility through reblogs and shares!

For one face claim reveal, I will tell that I chose Gal Gadot as the face claim for Persephone...cause she's perfect as Persephone!

Thanks for awesome the reviews. Here are individual responses:

Saberius Prime: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! Yep, Snow and Persephone had a bit of a disagreement. It makes sense, because Persephone kind of takes over, which works in their favor sometimes. But she doesn't have the connection to the other people in Storybrooke that Snowing does. She wants to protect them, but Snow and Charming don't run away. Yep, Cora and Hook are on the way.

XxThe-Crest-of-AnubisxX: Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, Neal will soon be joining the story!

Barratta Jennifer: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

Naomi Blue: I know, there's so much going on and then you add George on top of everything. It's a bit overwhelming. You're right, he's still the worst. Yes, Zelena has shown up early.

Number Ten: Yep, everyone has it in for the Charmings it seems. I explained how Zelena is already there a few chapters ago. Remember, Hades got the Ruby slippers for her. Then she double crossed them and used them without him as soon as the curse broke. The true love angle is implied in the show. Aurora was pregnant too at the same time Snow was and further along. Her baby would have probably been easier to seize, but she needed Snow and Charming's. I just emphasize it a bit more than the show does.

Izzypirelli: Thanks. Yes, Snow wants a relationship, but she and Persephone are going to disagree on things like this. Persephone feels no loyalty to anyone in Storybrooke except her family, so she's going to protect them first. But Snow and Charming would never abandon their people to save themselves. I'm glad you liked the scene with Snow expressing her feelings to Charming. I could easily see Gosh acting that scene out too. Yep, Zelena has arrived early and that will be interesting. It's funny you mention the birth control issue, because in the next chapter, I do have Snow reflect on that. As for magical intervention...maybe. Zelena does want that baby to become a reality. ;)

George is definitely going to have to adjust his plans here. But he is definitely up to no good. You're welcome on the Kathryn thing. I see them being friends too. Glad you're still enjoying!

Sara K M: I agree with you. There are a lot of writers out there that focus on the family aspect and make Emma the center of Snowing and that always bothers me. It's hard to find writers that balance both Snowing romance and family moments, so I'm glad to do it. :) Belle definitely might be a little more open to listening to Rumple this time with Persephone in the mix. She's seen this woman go to great lengths to reunite with her daughter, so I think Belle sees that Rumple is trying to do the same. Yep, Persephone cares mostly about her family. She doesn't have the ties to everyone else that Snow and Charming do. She's going to have to let them endure the danger ahead and that will be hard for her. But she'll eventually come to see that it's the right thing. She'll struggle with it though. This is a woman who endured centuries of Hades' abuse so the thought of Snow suffering anything close to what she did terrifies her to the core. It will definitely be a journey of growth for all. Glad you like Snow's "who am I" moment. She's still coming to terms with everything so I thought it was a very important scene. Yes, George and Zelena are both creepy, but appropriate scenes as you said. You're welcome on the Abigail and Frederick thing. :)

Beth1980: Glad you like the dynamic between Rumple and Persephone. It is an interesting relationship to explore. Yes, Snow and Henry do have that in common. Yep, there is a bit of conflict between Snow and Persephone. The latter wants to protect her family at any cost, while Snow isn't willing to run away. I have always headcanoned that Zelena needed Snowing's baby, rather than say Aurora's, because she knew they had produced one magical baby and I've always held Snowing's true love on a tier above other true love's. They set the example, so to speak. Glad you like the closure between Snow and Abigail. Yep, I had to get that Grandpa Charming playing with his grandson scene in. Yeah, George is going to be trouble. Glad you're still enjoying!

Dreaming Out Loud

Chapter 44: Broken Promise

Later that evening, after they enjoyed dinner together at Granny's, the newly joined and reunited Charming family made their way to the Sheriff's station with a takeout bag.

"Henry…" Regina called, as she rushed to the bars and looked upon him with a teary gaze.

"We brought you dinner and dessert," he said, as he handed her the bag through the bars.

"Thank you," she said, as she sat down, while Henry pulled up a chair outside her cell.

"You won't even let me come out to eat with him?" Regina snapped, as she glared at Emma and her parents.

"It's up the kid," the blonde replied. The boy looked at her and cocked his head to the side slightly. Regina took a sharp breath at that, as she noticed Snow gazing at her with a very similar expression and the same head tilt. She wondered how she hadn't seen the resemblance before and Persephone's words seared in her mind. She hated the comparison though. Henry and Snow being so alike wasn't something she liked to entertain...at all. But they were. In many ways, Snow was still that little girl she had rescued so long ago and that she had loved. Then that love had died for a very long time...until Henry came along and she started to learn to love again. But it hadn't been enough to allow her to give up her revenge and even now, she wasn't sure she could let it go.

"You won't hurt them?" Henry asked her with scrutiny and that was heartbreaking. She swallowed thickly. Even if she tried to use her magic, she knew Persephone would quash any attempt. But at this point, even trying to hurt his biological family would mean losing Henry forever.

"I won't," she replied.

"You promise?" he asked again, still scared, not for himself, but for them.

"I promise," she replied and she was determined to keep it. Henry looked up at Emma and the Sheriff unlocked the cell, allowing Regina out and to sit with Henry on the nearby couch. They allowed them some time together, as Emma turned to her parents.

"You okay, Princess?" David asked. She smiled for their benefit and nodded, though they could see through it all. Emma was angry, not at them, but at the situation. But she was trying, for Henry's sake. Perhaps if she hadn't been raised by her parents in the dreamscape, she'd be a lot less angry at Regina. It was not lost on Snow and David that her anger could have easily been at them if she hadn't known them and all the reasons why everything had happened as it did. But Emma's perspective was still very much from that of a daughter that had been forcibly kept away from her parents, because of one woman's anger at her mother. Perhaps if her perspective had been from an orphan, she'd be much more sympathetic to Regina, but she couldn't be. Emma may have been twenty-eight, but she very much needed her parents and all they had been cheated out of was still fresh wounds. Especially when it came to Henry. Not for the first time, Emma realized more than ever that she would have never given him up if she had her parents there. Even if she had still messed up as badly as she did and had him in prison, she knew they would have been there for her. She knew they would have taken Henry for her until she had been released and she was struggling deeply with these emotions. She wasn't unaware that she wasn't the most emotionally mature person in the world or that she didn't have serious trust issues. She wanted to trust Regina for Henry's sake and knew her mother still held onto her hope that the woman she once knew was still inside her. Her father supported her mother, but she knew he always had a hand on his sword in ready for the very real and possible betrayal that could happen. Regina had a very long way to go before Emma could trust her. They would try for Henry. But she hoped that he didn't end up getting his heart broken if Regina proved unable to walk the long, jagged path to redemption. Her inner thoughts were interrupted by Regina's slightly raised voice.

"What's this?" Regina asked her son curiously, as she touched the pendant around his neck.

"Mr. Gold gave it to me. It's to protect me in the fire room," Henry replied.

"Fire room?" Regina asked, as her tone changed and her eyes darted to them like an animal ready to pounce.

"Yeah...the fire room. Apparently, there's a side effect to the sleeping curse. Mom knew what it was, because she spent months and months of nightmares inside a burning room, thanks to your sleeping curse," Emma informed her.

"And Henry is going to this place now?" Regina asked.

"Gold gave him the necklace to keep the flames at bay until we figure out a way to get to him from the dreamscape," David answered.

"From the dreamscape?" Regina asked.

"Yes...it appears that unprecedentedly, Henry is now in the same realm in his dreams that they are. Only they are separated by a barrier. I am trying to figure out a way for them to get through," Persephone added.

"Well, you need to try harder," Regina snapped.

"Hey...this is your fault! You're the reason he's in this situation," Emma snapped back.

"He wouldn't be if you had just eaten the damn turnover in the first place," Regina hissed back.

"Hey…" David called, as he advanced and Regina used a magical push to fling him against the wall. Snow cried out and rushed to him, as magical vines slowly wrapped around his neck and torso.

"Stop it!" Snow pleaded, as he started to choke.

"Release him now, Regina…" Persephone demanded.

"Mom please...you promised! You promised not to hurt them!" Henry pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears. All Regina could think about in that moment was making Snow pay.

"Regina please...let him go! Punish me if you need to, but not him," the raven haired beauty begged.

"Let him go!" Emma cried.

"Mom please...don't hurt him! Please!" Henry pleaded, as he finally broke through and a flash of regret passed over Regina's features, as she let go and the vines disappeared. David gasped for air and fell to the floor, as Snow crashed to her knees beside him and she took him in her arms. Once she determined he was breathing, she hugged him and pressed his head against her chest, as she cried and rested her head atop his.

"Henry…" Regina breathed, as she reached for him. But he backed away from her, which was like a knife to the heart. But even she knew it was a pain she probably deserved in that moment.

"You promised not to hurt them…" he sniffed.

"Henry...I'm sorry…" she pleaded.

"No...you lied again. And you're only sorry because I'm mad at you for it! Not because you care about them!" he cried, as Emma put her hands on his shoulders.

"I wanna go home," he demanded, as he backed away further from her. Emma prodded him over to Snow and Charming, as they led him out and Emma put Regina back in her cell.

"You've turned him against me," the former Queen accused.

"Oh no, you've done that yourself, Your Majesty," Emma retorted.

"He wanted to come here tonight to see you. He wanted to believe you wouldn't hurt people anymore and I wanted to believe it too, for his sake and for the sake of everyone. But you couldn't resist...you couldn't resist the temptation to cause my mother more pain!" Emma cried.

"She deserves it! She ruined my life!" Regina protested.

"No...your own mother started that! And yeah, Rumple had a hand in it too, but you finished ruining your life when you chose to hurt my parents every chance you got. It's always about your pain. Imagine my parent's pain when all they could do was hold their child after I came to them crying in her dreams, because I didn't understand why they couldn't be there," Emma said, as tears filled her eyes. But she blinked them back.

"I didn't understand why all the other kids and even the adults laughed at me when I told them I saw my parents in my dreams and who they were. They wanted to force pills down me and called me delusional! And my parents were helpless to stop any of it!" Emma growled.

"So next time you think they haven't suffered enough...think again. And I won't let you hurt them again," Emma hissed, as she scoffed.

"Even after all this, my Mother still believed you could change. But now? I think even she's questioning it so if you're really serious about changing for Henry, then you're going to have to prove it. It's time for you to decide what's more important: Henry or your revenge. Good night, Your Majesty," Emma spat, as she stormed out, as Persephone lingered.

"What?" the former Queen growled.

"Please make the right choice, Regina. I do not want to do what you may force me to do if you try to hurt my family again," Persephone stated, leaving her with that final plea, as she too left to follow her family.

Belle watched him close out the register and shut everything down, as she waited patiently for him by the door.

"Am I that interesting?" Gold teased, as he looked back at her. She smiled.

"You are...you like your shop. I mean, I thought maybe this was just a place you had for appearances or to put all your magical items at first," she mentioned.

"In many ways, it is. But I do admit, I enjoy this kind of business. Pawn brokering is a business of making deals all day long and I guess I'll always enjoy that," he admitted.

"This place...this world is definitely different. But there is a sense of freedom that just didn't exist in our world," she mentioned. He nodded.

"Then you understand my desire to not go back. This is truly a land you can be anything you want to be. It was the basis of its appeal to Regina when she cast the curse for me too," he said.

"And you're wondering what Baelfire has become...how he has been living in this land," she surmised.

"Letting him go was my biggest regret...and I have a lot of them," he said, as she put her hands in his. The dinging of the shop bell interrupted them though, as Moe French walked into the shop.

"We're closed," Gold growled, as the awakened eyes of Lord Maurice stared at them.

"Belle…" he uttered. But she didn't look very happy to see him at all.

"Father…" she greeted stiffly.

"Belle...please, you need to come home with me. You need to get away from this monster!" he cried.

"Are we really going to have to go over this again?" Gold commented.

"You were his prisoner, Belle!" Maurice argued.

"Was being the operative word. But I'm with him now, because I want to be. You have to accept that," she insisted.

"I will accept nothing of the sort...you're my daughter," he retorted.

"In our land, I left your castle to have control of my own destiny and in this land, that's even easier. It's my life and I get to decide what I want to do with it," Belle argued.

"But him? Do you know the things he's done?" Maurice asked.

"I'm well aware...but I'm also aware of the things you've done. You won't control my life or marry me off to some suitor. I wouldn't let you do it back in the Enchanted Forest and you won't do it here," she responded.

"So...that's it? You've chosen him over your own father," Moe spat.

"No...I've chosen me and you are more than welcome to be a part of my life. But you have to accept me as I am. And in this land, I am going to make my own path," she stated firmly.

"I am going to be with the man I love. But I am also going to find my own niche in this strange world. I am going to have friends and a life and a business," she implored.

"And you can have all that Belle...but not with him," Moe spat. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes...with him and anyone else I want. The question is, can you accept that?" she asked. Moe glared at Rumple.

"No...not as long as he is in your life," he spat.

"Then we have nothing else to talk about," she said, hiding her hurt at his rejection.

"You and your foolish friends are under the Dark One's spell. Can't you see that?" Moe protested.

"Oh, there is no spell, dearie. I know what I am and so do they. A beast. A monster, as you say. But I am not the only monster here right now," Rumple responded.

"How dare you…" Moe hissed, as he started toward the other man. Rumple's hand twitched, ready to summon magic if needed. But Belle stepped between them.

"Stop...we are not doing this. I am not some trophy for you to quarrel over," she protested. Rumple shrunk back, knowing that she was right and hated feeling like a possession. She then turned to her father.

"If you cannot accept what I've told you, then please leave," she said.

"For now...but I will make you see this man for what he is, Belle. I will make you see this beast," Moe spat.

"I have seen the beast inside him, thank you very much. But unlike you, there is more there than just a beast and I see that too. And no one will make me do anything," she said sternly. Moe shook his head with angry disappointment and stormed out. Gingerly, he reached out and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Let's go home," he suggested. She nodded and turned to him.

"It would appear my father hasn't changed a bit," she said sadly. He nodded.

"He hasn't...but if we're being fair, I'm not sure I have either," he reminded.

"You are trying to be the best version of yourself and I'm aware that it's not easy for you to resist your darker urges, but you have so far. My father won't even try to understand or be better. That's the difference," she said. He nodded, a bit wearily, for he knew how easy a slip could come. There would be many temptations in the future that he would have to face, but for now, they were together and he was willing to walk this difficult path for her.

The mood around the loft as they arrived home was a bit solemn. Both Snow and Henry were practically heartbroken at what had just occurred at the station. Emma was still angry and trying to hide it from Henry, while David was sad for them, but also a bit resolved to the fact that Regina might not be redeemable. Persephone wanted her to be, truly she did, but she was ready to do what needed to be done if Regina slipped again.

After Emma and Henry had gone upstairs for the night and Persephone had as well, David joined his wife in their makeshift bedroom. She was sitting on the bed with a pillow clutched to her chest and he sat down on the other side, after shedding his clothes and donning just a pair of flannel sleep pants. He rested against the headboard and looked over at her, as he gently caressed her ear and then let his hand slowly trail down the back of her neck. Snow closed her eyes, relishing his touch, but tonight it didn't bring just the comfort she needed. It brought a reminder of how many times she had come close to losing that touch. She had lost that touch, for twenty-eight years and she wasn't as naive as some thought. She knew there would be more times to fear losing it...losing him again. But the worst part was that she felt she was to blame for it. If he became a casualty in Regina's revenge driven path, which was already littered with bodies, then it would be her fault for not ending her when she had the chance. With those thoughts, her shoulders began to rack with sobs again and he pulled her back to him, spooning her against him, as he let her cry. He rested his head against the back of her neck and gently stroked his hand along her stomach, as she sobbed nearly uncontrollably.

"Please...please my darling, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere," he promised. She started to calm and finally turned in his arms so that they were facing each other. He gently wiped her tears away and pressed his lips to her forehead.

"I have to stop hoping for her…" she sniffed.

"Hope is never wrong," he reminded.

"No...it is. It's careless and naive when people get hurt...or worse and all because I'm too weak to let go of someone that I haven't seen a glimpse of since I was a child," she spat angrily at herself.

"Hey...no, the last thing you are is weak, Snow. In fact, you are the strongest person I know. It's easy to lose hope, but you never do. You never waver...you always believe, just like Henry," he reminded.

"I don't know if I can still believe in her," she admitted.

"That okay...you've given her far more chances than she probably deserves," he agreed.

"But Henry…" she said sadly. He nodded.

"I know...but it's still okay to have hope that maybe he's the one that can finally make a difference. That he can finally heal her heart," he replied. She sniffed.

"And if he can't?" she asked. He sighed.

"Then...we do what we must to protect our family and our people," he replied. Snow knew it was the easy path though, but she wasn't sure they could keep walking the difficult path when it came to Regina. At some point, Regina had to walk that difficult path with them and meet them halfway. And she was no longer sure her step-mother could do so.

"I just worry about you," he added and she looked up at him.

"Don't...because I won't lose you again," she said, as their eyes locked. He watched her in awe, as she then straddled his waist and let her hands caressed his bare chest and torso, marveling at the sculpted muscle. She marveled at the mix of hard and soft, as she always did with him.

"No one is ever going to take you from me again," she promised fiercely, as their lips crashed together and they gave in to the ever present passion between them…

Hermes walked through the town, observing how quaint it was. He could understand how the Evil Queen had quickly grown dissatisfied with this spot of a place as her ultimate happy ending. Having people blindly follow your orders and not question you wasn't really as fun as it sounded. Making them and forcing them to do so on the other hand was true power. Hermes craved that power that he had seen both Zeus and Hades wield and in looking around, he realized that this may be the exact place he might finally taste that power. Serving Zeus had led to him being nothing more than a glorified errand boy. But following Hades might truly give him the mantle of rule he deserved. He was not a fool. He knew that he could never usurp someone like Hades or even Zeus. But Hermes could have his own little Kingdom under Hades as a reward if the God of the dead managed to do the seemingly impossible and unseat his brother. But it all started with giving Hades access to this realm and that could only be done with the blood of someone who had been to the Underworld and then returned to the living realm. Storybrooke had only two souls that fit that description. Persephone would obliterate him the moment she saw him, even with the new glamor potion he had fashioned for himself. Disguised as a seemingly normal mortal, he could walk freely in this town. Even then, obtaining Persephone's blood would be nearly impossible. That left only the blood of Snow White. He knew the Princess was no pushover, but she did not have magic like he did. Persephone would soon regret nullifying her daughter's immortality when he succeeded in taking her. Then, once he had a sample of her blood, Charon would bring the King of the Underworld to Storybrooke and they would finally get everything they wanted. He knew the risks too. By now Zeus would have figured out he was gone and it wouldn't take him long to figure out that he had traded sides to Hades. If somehow they lost, he knew he'd be banished from Olympus for eternity. If he even survived. But it was worth the risks, for a New Order was a long time coming. Zeus had ruled long enough and it resulted in worlds like this one where they were but legends. Mortals scoffed at them as silly myths and legends now. But that would change under Hades...he would make an example of worlds like this one. He would restore the Gods to their glory of days past. And Hermes would have not only a front row seat to the dawning of a new era, he would have a hand in making it all happen...