Hey guys, so the next chapter is going to be the last one for this, but it'll tie up all loose ends. I already have some of it written out. Once I'm done with that, I'll try to get the next chapter of Only Hope up. I also may even do a couple of flash forwards for this story, as I love this verse so much. Anyway, onto the chapter. For those have been asking to see Emma's sister again, your wish is about to be granted.

Chapter Twenty-Four: A Mother's Love

"Are you sure this going to work?" Snow asked Regina as they gathered inside the loft's living room.

It had been a few days since the welcome back party at the diner and Emma had brought up using the shoes to go back to where she was from. When she had originally come back with Tink, Regina said the shoes didn't have enough magic to take everyone to the Enchanted Forest. However, she did say it'd be enough to let Emma take her parents back to her old kingdom. It had been 7 months since she left, it was time. Since the shoes only had enough magic to take three, it was just going to be her, Snow and Charming. August and Tink would help Regina with the town.

"It should, you just have to hold tightly onto Emma's hands and she has to focus on going back to where she came from, same when she wants to come back here," Regina replied.

Emma smiled. "I got these to work before, I can do it again."

She turned to August, wrapping her arms around him. He hugged her back just as tight. He hated to be separated from her so soon after she had returned, but knew that if anyone should go back there, it was Emma. Plus, he could always return with her later. If all went well, Alise would agree to let Regina and Jefferson work on a portal so they could visit each other more often.

"Be safe," he told her. "Listen to your parents."

Emma rolled her eyes. "You listen to Tinkerbell."

"You heard her, Aug," Tink said with a wink.

August rolled his eyes in turn and pulled away, allowing the two friends to hug. Snow and Charming each took hold of one of Emma's hands, exchanging a look. They were extremely worried about how Alise would react. After all, Emma and August had been missing for a very long time. Would she try to stop Emma from going back with them? Try to claim custody of some sort? They had fought so hard for this family, but she was a part of Emma's. They decided to just go into it with peace of mind and just be kind. Alise wasn't the enemy here, she was simply another person who loved Emma as much as they did.

Emma shut her eyes and clicked her heels three times, thinking of her old kingdom. A cloud of smoke overcame them and when she opened her eyes, she was no longer in the loft. Instead, they stood in front of the castle she had grown up in. She took it all in. It wasn't that she had expected it to change, she was just surprised that it looked exactly the same. She looked from Charming to Snow. They were staring in awe at all of it. It was about the same size of their own castle, so they weren't star struck. They just couldn't believe they got to see where their baby had grown up.

Emma pushed the doors to the castle open, guards instantly running to her. It took them a moment to recognize the princess (who was wearing a navy blue sweater and jeans, rather than her usual royal attire), but they did. Their jaws dropped open and they rose their swords to Snow and Charming (who had dressed up a bit, but it wasn't as if they had any of their own outfits from their homeland).

"It's fine, it's not what you think" Emma told them. "Please, just let me see Alise. Where is she?"

The guards looked at one another, wondering if the princess had been brainwashed. However, one of them took a closer look at Snow, cocking his head and raising an eyebrow.

"Snow?" He asked. "Is that really you?"

"Jude," she replied, a small smile spreading across her face. "Look at you, you're so grown up now."

"You know each other?" Emma asked.

"Jude was a guard in my castle when I was a teenager, we were around the same age. I didn't see him after I ran off."

"Regina was just too harsh a ruler. I got an offer to work for King Derek and Queen Odette," he explained. "But why are you so young? What happened to your hair?"

Snow touched her pixie cut. "It's a long story. All you need to know is, Emma is my child, our child." She reached over and grabbed Charming's hand. "We would never hurt her."

Jude studied her for a few minutes more but finally nodded, signaling for the other guards to back down.

"We can trust her," he assured them. "Come with me, I'll take you to Queen Alise and King Hank."

Jude lead them up a few flights of stairs to Alise's study. He knocked and upon being granted entry, he entered with the Charming family. Emma held her breath at the sight in front of her. Just as the castle, Alise looked the same. Her straight brown locks were pulled back in a bun and her matching eyes widened in shock at the sight in front of her. Hank stood beside her, looking just as surprised. He helped his wife to her feet and it was only then that Emma realized that she was heavily pregnant. Her heart sank, had she waited just a few more weeks, she may have missed knowing about her first niece or nephew.

"Emma," Alise breathed. She stepped closer, almost as if it were mirage. "It's you."

Emma nodded. "It's me, Ally."

She pulled her into a big hug, not even caring about the bump that was in the way. Emma hugged her tighter, not realizing just how much she had missed her until that moment. When she pulled away, she looked from her to the royal couple standing nearby. She had to do a double take. She had only met Snow and Charming once, as a small child, and they looked nearly the same as they did all those years ago. She quickly remembered the curse and stood there, unsure of what to say or do.

"I'm not sure if you remember us," Snow said, stepping forward with her husband. "I am Snow, this is Charming. We met you once when you were much younger."

"Congratulations," Charming added, gesturing to her baby bump.

Alise merely nodded and Hank stepped forward, putting a protective arm around his wife. "What the hell is going on?"

"Hank," Alise whispered.

"No! I won't act as if this is some happy occasion and ask the maids to break out the tea and crumpets. We got a letter months ago that Emma had run off to some strange land. We had no clue where to even begin searching. My wife has been a wreck for months and now you all appear, talking about what she was like as a child?!"

Emma was taken aback by Hank's outburst. He had always been a quiet man, usually just going with the flow. She realized just how badly she had messed up by not sharing her original plan with her sister.

"I'm sorry," she spoke up, not wanting her parents to get dragged into this. "They had no clue what I was doing, they were cursed when I showed up. Please, just be mad at me."

Alise took in her little sister, letting out a deep breath and pulling away from Hank. "I think we all just need to sit down. I'll have a meeting room cleared out for us."

An hour later, the 5 of them sat around a table, silence filling the room. Alise was staring at the dream catcher in her hand, though the image had long since faded. August's abuse and Tinkerbell had been easy to believe, she knew her father was no saint. It had been her mother's murder that was harder to swallow, along with the fact that he was still alive. She only acknowledged that it was true once she saw it for herself. Hank had a hand on her back, staring down at her with sorrow in his eyes.

Emma didn't know what to say to her in return. No words had been able to comfort her after she learned of Derek's sins. All she could do was wring her wrists and look over at her, opening and closing her mouth every so often. For a girl that always had something witty to say, she was finally at a loss for words.

"You locked him up?" Alise finally asked, her voice barely able to be heard.

Emma nodded. "Yes, he's in Oz. Along with Zelena."

"Who was pretending to be Sarah, your magic teacher, our entire lives." When Emma nodded yet again, she set the dreamcatcher down. "Well if this isn't fucked up, I don't know what is."

Hank bit his lip. "I'll admit I never liked Derek much, but I never saw this happening."

"I am so sorry that you have to go through this," Snow said. "I understand what this is like, in a way."

Alise nodded, running her hand over her face. "And where is August?"

"The shoes could only transport the three of us, so he's back in Storybrooke."

"But he's safe?"

"Yes."

Alise rose to her feet, beginning to pace the room. Her hand stayed on her baby bump as she shut her eyes, trying to contain her anger. She felt a hand touch her arm and she looked down, meeting Emma's glance.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to cause all these problems."

Alise sighed, cupping her cheek. "This isn't your fault, Em. Even if you hadn't ran off, Dad still would've done what he had." She looked over at Snow and Charming. "I want to talk with you two, please. Alone."

Emma folded her arms over her chest. "About me?"

"Yes."

"It's my life, I should get a say."

"Emma, please do not push me right now." She turned to Hank. "Could you take her to get something to eat?"

Hank nodded, rising to his feet. "Come on, Em," he said.

Emma met her parents' eyes and saw they were strongly encouraging that she follow her brother-in-law. She scoffed but stood up and followed him out of the room. They got up as well and went over to Alise. She lead them out the heavy doors and back down the stairs, out to the garden. Together, they quietly strolled together through the different flowers.

"I understand you were cursed when Emma showed up, so you had no way to know she was coming. I don't blame you for any of this," Alise told them after a few moments. They were unsure of how to respond to that. "The truth is, I knew where she was, so it wasn't that I was worried. I just missed her."

Snow nodded. "I can understand that. I'm also sure it was very hard to receive notice that she was leaving, going to a land you had no access to."

"It wasn't exactly the easiest of moments, you're right," Alise agreed.

"We love her, more than anything in the world," Charming added.

"We only put her through the wardrobe to save her life," Snow took hold of her husband's hand. "Regina, the evil queen, she was going to have her killed. We couldn't allow that to happen, we had to save her life."

Alise faintly smiled. "I believe you. I never thought you two were terrible people. Every time my father spoke poorly of you, I remembered the kind king and queen I met when I was a little girl. I'm not sure if you remember this Charming, but you played with me for a little bit. You said you couldn't wait to have a child of your own, you hoped she'd be as sweet as me."

Charming grinned as the memory hit him. He couldn't believe that she had remembered that.

"Here's the thing, I do love Emma, just as much as the two of you. We were once very close, but time changed that. I don't think things got any easier when I had to become her guardian," she continued, fiddling with one of the roses. "She told me once that she didn't need me to be her mom, she just wanted her sister back. The thing was, I couldn't be. Not then. She needed parents. Even though she's a teenager, she needs structure, rules, someone she can turn to for all those things she went to my mother and father for. I wasn't a very good one."

"Emma talks very highly of you," Snow said, being as so bold as to put her hand on top of hers. "She loves you very much."

Alise shook her head. "I know that, but I was always meant to be her sister, not her mother. And the thing is, while I have missed her these past few months, I've known she was safe with the two of you. I know you love her and were taking good care of her. Seeing her today, despite her strange attire, she seems to be doing well. She's been eating, sleeping. Outside being kidnapped-which isn't your fault-she's well adjusted. I think taking her away from that would be a mistake."

Snow grinned as Charming gripped her free hand. "What are you saying?"

"I think Emma should stay with you, if that's what she wants. I know you have some time to work out moving back to the Enchanted Forest and when you do, I of course still want to see her. But I think in the meantime, she should stay right where she is."

Snow couldn't help it, she threw her arms around Alise, hugging her tightly. Alise smiled and returned the hug, looking up at Charming as he placed a hand on her back. When Snow pulled away a bit, she pushed a stray piece of hair out of Alise's face.

"I think you'll be a wonderful mom to the baby that you're carrying," she told her. "Because you did a wonderful job taking care of mine when she needed it."

Alise nodded, tears in her eyes. "Thank you, Snow. That really means a lot."

Once Alise, Snow and Charming met back up with Emma and Hank, the teen insisted on showing her parents around the palace. Alise decided to let them do it alone while she went to take a nap with Hank, the morning had been quite hectic for them. Emma introduced them to her favorite maids and knights before leading her up to her room. Snow felt as though she was in Heaven, touching each and every thing. She could tell from the look on Emma's face that she hated the beautiful dresses that hung in her wardrobe, but she liked to imagine her daughter in them. Emma did point on one that she was fond of, it was red and had black. It was more the pink and frilly ones that she wasn't pleased with. She showed Charming the sword that August had gifted her for her 14th birthday, that she wanted to learn to use. He figured maybe he could teach her one day.

Eventually, they made their way out into the grounds. She showed them her horse, who took back to her instantly as she fed him a carrot. They didn't stay there long, though. Way off on the grounds was the family plot. In her hand was a single rose she had picked from the garden, Charming had cut the thorns off for her. There was the family plot spread out, where her grandparents and mother were buried. Derek's tomb was still there, which sent a chill down her spine. What had Zelena put in there to look like his body? She didn't want to think about it.

Instead, she made her way to Odette's, running her fingers over it. Gently, she settled the rose in front of it, feeling her heart flutter in her chest.

"Hey Mama," she said, softly. "I know it's been awhile. I haven't been here since the funeral. Lit was just really hard." She let out a deep breath. "I know the truth now, all of it. I was mad at you for a bit, but now I understand. You were doing it for Derek, you died because you wanted to tell me. I'm just…" Tears clouded her eyes. "I'm sorry we never got a proper goodbye. I just need you to know that I'm okay. Even though I've found my parents, you will always be my mom. I have two, I hope that's okay. I love you so much." She kissed her hand and touched the stone. "Goodbye, Mama."

She could feel her parents placing their hands on her shoulder. She turned to look up at them, giving them a small smile.

"I need a minute, okay?" They nodded and watched her walk back off towards the castle. They let her go, allowing her their privacy.

Snow turned back to the grave, kneeling in front of it. She took in the words, Queen Odette. It was a name that meant rich or wealth, and in many ways that was true. Not only had she been royalty, but she had been rich in love. This was a woman who adopted three children that needed a home and loved them with everything in her. She had made mistakes, but so has every parent. She loved and cared for their little girl. For that, Snow and Charming felt like they owed her the world.

"Thank you," Snow whispered, settling her own rose beside Emma's. "Thank you for taking care of my baby girl when she couldn't. If I had to share the title of "Mom" with anyone, I'd want it to be you. I need you to know we will always talk about you, your name will never be outlawed in our home. In some strange way, we're a family. We're connected by a beautiful girl, one we both love with everything in us. I know you're somewhere watching her and I couldn't be more grateful. I hope with everything that you are at peace."

Charming had never felt more pride for his wife. He wasn't sure how Snow would react to seeing Odette's grave, but as always she had acted with grace. He knew that she meant every word she was saying too and he agreed with it. He knelt beside his wife, smiling at the grave.

"We hope we can make you proud and that we have your blessing to also be her parents," he said.

As if a sign from above, there was a sudden wind. It wasn't harsh, it was light, almost beautiful in a way. It blew the grass around them. Snow felt a tear fall down her cheek and she leaned against Charming, a tear trickling down her face. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin upon her head.

"I wish we could've gotten a chance to thank her in person," Snow told him. "A chance to say goodbye."

"I'm sure she can hear every word we said."

"You think so?"

"When my father died, my mom used to tell me that he was somewhere better. That if I prayed hard enough, he could hear me." He stroked her cheek. "Somewhere out there, Odette is looking after our little girl, knowing that she's cared for down here."

Eventually, they caught up with Emma, who was sitting under a tree, playing with a loose thread on her baby blanket. She had been sure to tuck it into her bag with the dreamcatcher when they left. It always brought her comfort in some way. Snow an Charming sat on either side of her, wrapping their arms around her, kissing her cheek on either side. Emma cuddled up against their grip, feeling completely safe in their arms.

Alise knew they wanted to head to the Enchanted Forest and that they had an easy way to get there, but insisted they stay the night in the castle. She also explained that she and Hank had gone there after they received Emma's letter, just to make sure that she wasn't camping out there. There was a whole civilization set up there, lead by a fierce warrior named Mulan. It didn't deter them from wanting to go, but it brought them to think about where to go from there. Was Storybrooke where they belonged? They knew it wasn't just up to them, it was up to the rest of the citizens too. They had some talking to do when they got home.

The later it got, they headed into Emma's chambers. She was curled up in bed, a book in hand. They smiled, walking closer as they gently blew out the candle on her night table. She looked up at them in the glow of their own.

"I was reading that," she said.

"It's getting late," Charming replied, putting it on the side table. "You can read more tomorrow."

Emma rolled her eyes, but allowed them to tuck her in. Something about it felt like making up for years of lost time. Snow kissed the top of her head while Charming gave her a big hug.

"Goodnight angel," he told her.

She sleepily smiled. "Night, Daddy," she whispered in response, her eyes slowly closing. "Night Mama. Love you."

Those two simple terms of endearment were enough to bring tears to Snow and Charming's eyes.

"We love you too, baby," Snow said, softly, giving her head another kiss. They stayed long after she fell asleep, just watching her.

It didn't matter where they ended up. This kingdom, their own or back in Storybrooke. Home was where their family was. As long as they had each other, that was all that mattered.

I hope you all enjoyed! If there's anything you want to see in the last chapter, please let me know! As always, thank you for all your amazing reviews. When I was dealing with that awful troll, I debated taking a break, but you guys kept me going. Thank you for always making me smile. =) Until next time friends.