Wednesday dawned bright and cheerful as always.

Emma Swan was not so bright and cheerful.

In fact, she was strongly considering the possibility of staying in bed for the rest of the day. And not in a good way.

If she pulled the covers over her head and shut out the world, maybe she could ignore the depressing series of facts looming over her.

Fact One: This freaking day would not stop repeating.

Fact Two: Her only hope of stopping it was a woman who didn't take her seriously and pretty much hated her.

Fact Three: Her attempt at having a consequence-free day of "enjoyable activities" with Hook was a massive, epic failure because

Fact Four: She was in love with Hook.

Groaning, she did pull the covers — and a pillow — over her head, silently screaming into the pillow as Mary Margaret sang cheerfully downstairs.

She. Was. In Love. With Hook.

She wasn't sure exactly when or how it happened, though truthfully she should have known in Neverland, in Dark Hollow. She'd been afraid for Neal when the shadows attacked, sure, but the almost-paralyzing fear she'd felt while watching Hook's shadow being torn from him was a mirror to the feeling of watching Henry collapse after eating the poisoned tart.

Magic was fueled by emotion, and the sheer terror she'd felt could probably have sparked a whole forest fire instead of just the candle she'd held. It was probably nothing but dumb luck that prevented her from setting herself ablaze at the same time.

Still, she'd pushed the feeling down, burying it in anger at both of the men for the stupid lighter stunt. Henry had to be her sole focus, and she couldn't afford to be distracted by anything or anyone.

But her day with him, being loved by him, had unearthed all the feelings she'd kept buried. A whole day in bed with the man she loved, with nothing to show for it. She should feel something, should feel sore and used in all the right ways, should be marked by him. But it was like that day never happened, and the only marks he'd left were inside where nobody could see.

Good lord, I am pathetic.

She sighed and threw off the covers. Wallowing in bed all day was not going to get her what she wanted. It was time to end this damn curse for good.

She rushed to get ready and called her parents together downstairs.

"All right," she said quickly when they were seated across from her at the table. "Two things. First of all, I want to tell you that there is no way I'm ever going to get back together with Neal. I know you want me to give him a chance, but if you knew everything that happened with us, you wouldn't be so thrilled with the idea. I really don't want to get into it all right now, but I just need you to trust me."

The loft was silent as her parents exchanged a long look, having one of their silent conversations before turning back to her in synch.

"Okay," Mary Margaret said simply. "We only want your happiness, Emma."

Emma laughed at herself. All the anger and angst she'd expended on this, all the frustration over Mary Margaret pushing her toward Neal, and all she'd had to do was just tell them how she felt, and it was okay?

Talk about making things harder than they had to be.

"Okay," she echoed. She figured if she was going to be honest, she might as well go big. "Um, it's not really one of the two things, but on a related note … I think I'm in love with Hook."

"WHAT?" David stood up, planting his hands on the table. "We are talking about the pirate, right?"

All righty, apparently honesty only goes so far.

"I thought you liked him now," Emma said.

"Well, I do, but …"

"But?" Mary Margaret prompted, obviously holding back a smile.

He sighed and sat back down. "But she's my little girl," he said sheepishly.

Emma smiled. She was nobody's "little girl," but she had to admit it kind of warmed her that her father was so protective of her.

"I love him," she said gently. It seemed strange to say, and she probably should have told him first, but somehow it made her feel better to say it out loud.

Her mother smiled and rubbed David's shoulder. "Charming," she said softly. He turned to her, and they had another one of their silent conversations.

"All right," he said after a moment. "Moving on. What was the second thing?"

"This one is going to sound a little crazy."

"Crazier than you being in love with Hook?" David asked, suddenly yelping as his wife punched him in the arm and Emma kicked him under the table.

Rolling her eyes, Emma filled them in on the time loop as quickly as she could.

"I know it sounds crazy." She turned to Mary Margaret. "Eventually you'll believe me, but to save time I'm supposed to tell you that your favorite toy as a child was a pink rabbit that you named Chicken."

"A rabbit named Chicken?"

Mary Margaret elbowed David. "Don't mock; I was 4."

"Deja vu," Emma muttered.

"I take it we've had this conversation before?" her father asked.

"Thankfully, just once," she said. "Anyway, I need to go talk to Regina and see if she knows a way to end it. This time, I'm not leaving until I make her believe me."

"We could go with you," Mary Margaret offered.

"No, she's really not feeling well, and having all of us descend on her might make her even less inclined to help. I just wanted to tell you so you can be ready in case I need your help to fix it."

David reached out and took her hand. "Whatever you need, Emma. We're right here."

Emma headed for Regina's with a smile on her face.

All this time, and she was still trying to get used to having parents, people who supported her. It was all a little overwhelming, but also pretty great.

Tink greeted her at the door.

"I need to see Regina."

"Can it wait?" the fairy asked. "She's really not well at the moment."

Emma frowned. She'd never had a problem getting in to see Regina before. "It really can't wait," she said. "I'm sorry, but I have to talk to her."

"Mom," Henry came up behind Tinker Bell. "I don't think I can go to lunch. My … my mom is really sick."

Now she was getting alarmed. This was definitely not how it went the last time.

"I need to see her," she told Tink. "Now."

The sight of Regina, sickly pale with dark circles under her eyes, was a shock. Emma sank down on the bed beside her, ignoring the mayor's annoyed groan.

"You look terrible," she whispered.

"The Charming gene obviously skipped a generation," Regina said, but there was no energy, no snap in her voice.

Emma swallowed hard, then called for Tinker Bell and Henry. They should all hear what she had to say.

"When you broke Pan's curse, something happened," she said, glancing at the other two before looking back at Regina. "Something is wrong. We have been living the same day over again since. For over a week now. I'm the only one who knows."

"You're just now telling us this?" Tink asked.

"No, I told Regina before, and she didn't believe me," Emma said. "The thing is, the last time I was here, Regina was exhausted and in bed, but she had enough energy to sit up and sass me before she sent me away. Her health is the only thing I know of that has changed this whole time. It has to be related."

She bit her lip and considered whether to confess the truth. "I'm really sorry," she said finally. "The last couple of days, I haven't even tried to fix anything. I've just been screwing around; I didn't realize anything was wrong with you."

"You can fix it, though, right?" Henry asked hopefully, settling on the other side of the bed.

Regina and Tinker Bell exchanged a look that gave Emma a very, very bad feeling.

"What? What is it?"

Tink sighed. "Something has completely drained Regina's magic. And since her magic is gone, it is draining …" She glanced at Henry before continuing. "It's draining her life force instead."

"If we don't fix this …" Regina rasped.

"Well, we will fix it," he said. "That's what we do."

"Henry's right," Emma said briskly; she'd never admit her own doubts. What the hell did she even know about magic, anyway? "Do you have any idea what's causing the time loop?"

"I'm not sure," Regina said. "But I think it's … somehow, an echo of the original curse. When we first came here, it felt to me like I was reliving the same day over and over, too."

"Okay, so how would we undo this?" She looked from Regina to Tink.

"The only person who would know for sure is the one who created the curse in the first place," Regina said. "And I have no idea how to contact him."

"Gold," Emma said, nodding. "But … he's dead, right?"

Regina shrugged, then sighed. "I don't think he is, but I can't know for sure. Even if I did, I don't have the magic I'd need to contact him."

"What about the Blue Fairy?" Emma asked Tink. "Would she have any answers?"

"Maybe," Tink said. "But the curse was dark magic, so …"

"There's one thing that breaks any curse," Henry said. "True Love's Kiss!"

Out of the mouths of babes.

She exchanged a look with Regina and saw that she wasn't the only one who'd overlooked the obvious.

"Come here, kid," she said, and he crawled over the bed.

She twisted toward him and cupped his face, focusing on just how much she loved him before brushing a kiss over his forehead.

Nothing happened.

She frowned and looked at Regina. "Well, it was your spell, maybe you have to …"

Henry climbed over the edge of the bed and crouched beside Regina. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

Nothing, again.

"Why won't it work?" Emma asked, frustrated. "It worked last time."

Regina shrugged. "Magic can be a tricky thing," she said, her voice tired. "And there's more than one kind of true love."

"Of course!" Henry said excitedly. "My dad!"

"What?" Emma did not like where this was going.

"You have to kiss my dad," he said.

"Henry …"

"It'll be just like Snow White and Prince Charming," he said, beaming.

"I don't …" Emma trailed off, sighing. "Okay, kid. We'll find Neal."

"I'll go call him and find out where he is." Henry rushed from the room.

"You know," Tinker Bell said softly, "it's not going to work."

"I know," Emma said. "But … I think maybe it'll be good for Henry to see that. Neal, too, for that matter."

"Just don't waste too much time with him," Regina snapped, a little strength back in her voice. "You know who you have to kiss."

"Hook," Tink said helpfully, just in case Emma didn't get it.

"Thanks for the tip," she said. "The thing is, I have kissed him, and it hasn't broken the curse."

"But you love him," Tink said. It wasn't a question.

At this point, half the town will know before he does.

"Yes," she said. "I guess I do."

"If you're having trouble admitting it, True Love's Kiss won't work," the fairy said. "Don't hold back, Emma. It's the only way to stop this."

Neal was still at Granny's, as it turned out. He met them out front, and Emma quickly scanned the street to see what kind of audience they would have. It looked like the coast was clear, so she planned to get this over with as quickly as possible.

"So, what's up?" Neal asked. "Henry wouldn't say."

"You have to kiss her," Henry said. "We need a True Love's Kiss to stop a curse."

"What curse?"

"Never mind," Emma said. "Just, you know, lay one on me."

Neal laughed. "This is a joke, right?"

"It's no joke," Henry said seriously. "There's a curse; we're stuck in a time loop. Like 'Groundhog Day.' Now, kiss her!"

Emma stepped closer to Neal, pushing back her discomfort. It was weird enough to kiss him now, knowing she was in love with someone else; with Henry watching it was a thousand times more awkward.

Neal, surprisingly, wasn't leaning toward her. He'd just asked her to marry him the other day, but he seemed just as uncomfortable as she was; she thought that was a good sign. Even if he didn't fully realize it, a part of him surely knew their relationship was strictly in the past. Still, they had to get this over with, so she grabbed his collar and pulled him into a kiss.

It was nice, she supposed.

No magic, of course, no fireworks. No flutter in the pit of her stomach like she used to get when she kissed him.

After a moment, they both pulled away.

"Well," he said.

"Yeah," she said.

They both turned to look at Henry, who was clearly disappointed.

"I thought it would work," he said quietly.

"Sorry, kid," Emma said, stepping closer and pulling him into a hug. She glanced at Neal, who still stood where she'd left him. "There are different kinds of love."

Her former love winced, then turned to smile at both of them. "Henry, just because your mom and I aren't together doesn't mean we can't be a family."

"That's right," she said. "We —" She broke off as David burst out of Granny's Diner.

"Emma, I think we have a problem."

"What now?"

"Am I right that you were trying … True Love's Kiss?" He glanced at Neal.

"Um, yeah. Henry thought it might break the curse."

"Right. Well, a certain pirate happened to look out the window right when you were … trying that," David said.

"Dammit," she said, heading for the door.

What had she been thinking to kiss Neal right in front of the damn diner? She'd just wanted to get the kiss with Neal out of the way so they could all move on; she hadn't even thought about anything else.

"He went out the back," David said. "He's long gone."

When she made it to the docks, the Jolly Roger was gone, too.

Emma, you are an idiot.

She settled on the nearest bench to wait, hoping he'd make it back in time. Waiting gave her plenty of time to replay her own stupidity in her head. God, what must Hook have thought, seeing her kiss Neal like that?

David found her there two hours later, dropping onto the bench next to her.

"You going to sit here all day?"

She shrugged. "I literally have nothing better to do."

He nodded, and they sat in companionable silence for a while before she finally felt the need to say something. "I don't even know if it will work."

"True Love's Kiss?"

"Yeah. I mean, I don't know anything about love, much less True Love. I just … it's the only thing I know of to try. And if I don't break this curse soon, it will kill Regina."

David sighed, putting his arm around her and dropping a kiss in her hair. "Henry filled us in on all of it; Snow's with Regina now. Emma, I hate it that the burden always falls on you, but I want you to know, we believe in you. If there's a way to break this curse, you will find it. Even if it's … you know …"

"Sucking face with a pirate?" she supplied with a small smile.

"Yeah, that." He sighed. "Look, I've asked the dwarves to keep an eye out for the Jolly Roger. You don't have to sit here all day."

He stood and held out a hand; after a moment she followed suit and let him lead her away from the docks.

Hook hadn't come back.

Everyone was gathered at Regina's house; she hadn't gotten worse, but she also hadn't improved. People were shuffling around the kitchen, making food nobody wanted to eat and talking in low voices; to Emma it seemed a little too much like they were all waiting for Regina to die.

The longer she paced around the house, the more weighed down by responsibility she felt. She managed to slip away after 11 and make her way back to the docks.

She knew he wasn't coming back in time, but she still sat, shivering on a bench and watching the water.

"Damn it, Hook," she grumbled. "Get your ass back here already."

Truthfully, it was too close to midnight to matter, even if she did see his ship. She pulled out her phone and stared at the clock, willing the numbers to advance. She'd never wished for midnight to come so quickly before. Tomorrow, she would do this right. It might be her last chance to fix things, and a lot more than her mess of a love life was at stake.

Come on, come on, reset.

Midnight.

Rewind.