"What about the diaper genie? Do you think we can carry it?"
"With what? Our team of pack mules?!"
Emma stood frozen in a moment of sheer panic, her mind whirling through all of the possible outcomes of the next few minutes as her parents endured a panic all their own.
"David, we have never raised an infant in the Enchanted Forest, you have no idea what we'll being dealing with."
"I know we won't be deposited there with a mini van just waiting to carry all of these 'few necessities' around," David replied, begrudgingly stuffing yet another of baby Neal's onesies into a diaper bag.
Emma glanced over at Killian, sitting stoically on the steps at the center of the loft, his arms crossed as he stared at the floor. As if he could sense her watching him, he looked up and caught her gaze, giving her a reassuring smile and then even a slight chuckle as they both heard Mary Margaret call out from the bathroom, "I thought you were supposed to be charming, Charming!"
After letting news of this most recent curse wash over them all, they'd quickly left the diner and gone separate ways to grab whatever items they absolutely needed before regrouping at the center of town. Regina told them all mysteriously there was something she needed to get at her crypt, and had surmised they had about 20 more minutes until the full effects of the curse hit. Those minutes were now quickly dwindling down.
"I got the last Madden PS3!" Henry shouted, barreling down the loft steps, almost taking out Killian in the process. The pirate quickly righted both himself and Henry in one smooth monition, setting the teenager on solid ground with a quiet, "Easy, lad."
Henry beamed at Killian, laughing good naturally before rushing over to Emma.
"Kid, I don't think you fully understand what we meant by 'essentials only.'"
"Thank you!" David grumbled, appearing beside Emma, a stuffed clown in one hand and a humidifier in the other. The prince looked down at his grandson, took in the stack of video games clenched tightly under Henry's arm, and walked away again with a mumbled, "Just like your grandmother."
Emma would have laughed at the chaos of it all if her life wasn't on the verge of once again changing in extraordinary and unpredictable ways.
"Don't worry, Mom," Henry added. "I brought the real essentials as well."
Henry held up his infamous storybook, which Emma accepted, tucking it into the leather satchel she had pulled out to pack a few of her own personal items. Looking inside she saw her old baby blanket, her swan necklace, and the single photo of her and Neal she still owned.
"Let me help," Killian said, taking the satchel and slinging it over his back, much as he did during their last great adventure together, that one also to the Enchanted Forest, albeit an incredibly different time period.
"All set?" Mary Margaret asked suddenly, reappearing from the bathroom with large, overstuffed bags over each shoulder. She reached for baby Neal, taking him dutifully from David's arms, before heading off toward the front door with purpose. She looked over her shoulder ensuring she was being followed, only to be met with at least three pairs of unsure eyes.
"Hey, it's going to be fine," she told the room brightly. "This isn't like last time, we're together now."
She strode over to Emma, placing one hand soothingly against her cheek, her other arm still clutching her son.
"We'll be together, and that's all that counts, right?"
Emma nodded tightly, placing one arm around Henry as Killian stepped into their space and took her free hand. David joined them all, placing a hand of solidarity at Snow's back before saying calmly, "Let's go."
Their small group moved easily through the apartment building's stairwell, reaching outside to see the billowing smoke of the curse was closer than ever. They made haste toward the center of town, Emma keeping a hand at Henry's shoulder and Killian easily matching her step for step. By the time they rounded the corner and had Granny's in sight, they could see the majority of Storybrooke's residents had gotten the memo and were likewise preparing for yet another sudden departure.
"Let me get this straight, sister," Leroy shouted above the din. "You're telling us we're about to get magically yanked out of this place, and there's nothing we can do about it?"
"Like I said, dwarf," Regina replied through gritted teeth. "If I had a vote in this, we'd all be staying put."
Regina ran a worried hand through her hair, looking like she'd been going through more than one round of 20 questions with the angry looking townsfolk.
"Well how come whenever something magical and dangerous is about to happen, we little people never seem to get consulted?" Granny asked exasperatedly, her cross bow perched on one hip.
"Why don't you ask your new mayor?" Regina replied happily, finally noticing Emma, Mary Margaret and the rest of them arriving in the middle of the street. Mary Margaret took a deep breath, handing Neal over to David and entering the fray. Emma could hear her begin to answer questions as Regina strode over to take the place Snow had just vacated.
"Thank God you're here. What took you so long? Stop for ice cream?"
"Yes," Killian said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "So sorry we couldn't join this party earlier."
His comment ended just in time for their little group to hear an infuriated dwarf shout, "But what about my Miata?!"
Emma watched as Regina rolled her eyes and turned to Henry, checking him over to make sure he was prepared and, if possible, feeling unafraid. Killian discreetly slid an arm around Emma's waist.
"Are you all right, love?"
"I think so," Emmas said nodding. She took a deep breath, taking in the comforting scent of leather and the lemon soap he'd been using in the small bathroom at Granny's. "It's like Mom said, we'll be together, right?"
Emma blinked up at him, realizing tears had formed in her eyes for the second time that morning. This was becoming a habit with them.
"Aye, we'll be together."
He hugged her close then, one of the rare times she allowed herself a display of public affection. She didn't care at the moment, burrowing her face deeply into the crook of her neck. She could feel his arms tighten around her, as she wondered how it had been just minutes ago that they had been holed up in his bed, warm and safe and content. With her eyes closed tight, she could almost pretend the curse wasn't moving in on them. But the howling wind of the smoke made denial impossible, and Emma knew they were only moments away from being snatched from their realities.
"Stay with me Swan," was the last thing she heard before the sudden woosh of familiar magic whipped through her body, pulling her in an unfathomable vortex of light and wind and static. She could feel her grip on Killian loosening and she held fast, reassured as she felt him grip back in return. The colors were blending in a wild storm, but she could see Henry beside her, held safely in the arms of Regina, before just as quickly as it had come it was gone, and all was quiet once more.
Emma landed with a thud on the hard grass, her hand slipping away from Killian's. She felt as if the space around her was spinning, the dizziness seeming to go on and on. She looked upward to see clear blue skies, a few birds chirping the only sound beside a few grunts and moans from those around her, likewise sprawled out on the ground.
Emma looked around, cataloguing faces, the panic only easing once she saw Henry, Killian, her mother and father and the baby, Regina and the rest of Storybrooke spread out in various positions, shaken up but all in one piece. Their faces were highlighted by the lush greens of the forest trees around them. They were most assuredly back in Fairytale Land.
Emma leaned back again, intent on catching her breath before trying to stand. She closed her eyes as she heard her mother's morose cry of, "We lost the diaper genie!"