This is the week! OUAT season 3B is coming back on Sunday!

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Emma woke up a few minutes later with a headache. Thankfully, Henry was still asleep but soon he'd be up to get ready for school. She took a deep breath and looked at her hand where the picture of her family was now crumpled. She remembered—everything. Neal leaving her. Jail. Henry. Giving him up. Then him at her door. Storybrooke. Regina. The curse. All of it. Except that now, it was tangled with memories that were not real. Memories that Regina had given her when they had left Storybrooke a year prior to now.

Hook had mentioned that her family was in danger and that she had to come back. What did he mean? Emma showered as quickly as she could and prepared Henry's breakfast before his alarm clock went off. A few minutes later, her son entered the kitchen, rubbing his eyes from sleep. She wondered briefly if his memories were back, too. She quickly realized that they weren't. Henry didn't look any different than yesterday. Emma herself was a mess on the inside, but she kept her expression neutral. No need to alarm the kid.

"Hey you."

"Hi mom."

"Henry look, I've been thinking that since you only have two more days of school before the holidays, what would you think of skipping class?"

He looked at her as if she had just told him the Earth was flat. She cleared her throat and added:

"Just uh, you know, we could pack today and go for a vacation?"

Henry seemed skeptical at first and she totally understood why. It wasn't like her to ask him to skip class.

"I just need a few days off," she said. "So I thought we could use that time to travel."

"Where do you want to go?" Henry asked as he poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"There's this little town that I used to go when I was younger. It's in Maine."

"Maine? How long until we get there?"

"Well, it's close to the border but I'd say approximately eight hours."

Her son made a face at that and she smiled.

"Maybe we can catch a plane if you hurry, then. Look, kid, I have to leave but I'll be back very soon. There might be someone coming with us, too."

"Who?"

"A… a friend."

Thankfully, Henry didn't push further. Emma grabbed her coat, kissed the top of her son's head and left the apartment. In the back pocket of her jeans, she had put the picture of her family. She needed to find Hook.

As it turned out, she didn't have to look very far. The pirate was leaning against the brick wall on the other side of the street. She spotted him on the crowded sidewalk. He was looking at her, waiting. Emma joined him a minute later, once the flow of vehicles stopped to allow her to cross the street.

"Hello, love."

"Hook. What's happening in Storybrooke? Regina told me they were all back here?"

"Oh, so you do remember. I couldn't quite believe it when Regina told me."

"Regina told you? How does she know?"

"Well apparently from the reaction you had when she touched your hand; she strongly suspected that it somehow gave you your memories back."

"No, it was when I looked at that picture," Emma said as she pulled the photo out of her pocket and showed it to Hook. "That's when I remember."

He looked briefly at the picture and offered a half-smile.

"And how do you think that picture made its way to you?"

Emma frowned. Yes, how?

"Regina put it in your hand right before you woke up, hoping her magic would be strong enough to send it back with you," Hook finally told her.

"Oh."

"Yeah. What about your kid?"

"Henry doesn't remember anything. I need you to tell me what's happening. I told him we were going on a vacation, but is it dangerous there?"

"Dangerous for Henry, I don't think so. But the rest of us? Aye. Some Wicked Witch is after Regina. By extension, after your parents, and pretty much all of us. We don't know why. Well I guess Regina knows why but so far she's been unwilling to share."

"Of course," Emma muttered.

"Emma, she insisted that I bring you back."

"Regina?"

"Aye. She didn't say the words but I suppose it means that she needs you. She needs your help."

Emma sighed and ran a hand through her blond locks. She looked back at Hook who was waiting for her to give her answer.

"Fine. Give me an hour and we'll be on our way. How d'you get here anyway?"

"Long story. But I'll go back with you if you don't mind."

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

"Go now, I'll be waiting right outside."

Emma nodded and she went back to her apartment, all the while feeling Hook staring at her retreating back.

Henry was getting restless. He didn't like to sit for hours without doing anything. Since he had turned twelve, he had become more outgoing and he liked sports. Emma now wondered if Regina had created new traits of personality for him as well, along with his fake memories.

"Hey kid, we'll be there in a couple of hours, okay?"

"Where's there, anyway?"

"I told you, it's a little town called Storybrooke."

"I've never heard of it," Henry grumbled.

"It's pretty cool," Hook chimed in. "I have a ship there, I'll show it to you if you want."

Henry nodded but didn't seem really interested. After all, he didn't even know the man and he wasn't sure that he liked him. He certainly didn't like the way he looked at his mom.

"How did you two meet each other, anyway?" he asked.

Emma and Hook shared a look. Of course Henry would have to learn the truth at some point, but Emma did not want to talk about it now. She wanted to see Regina first. There was still the problem of her not ever being able to see Henry again. Hook let her answer her son's question.

"We met in high-school."

Apparently, it was enough for Henry because he resumed looking out the window of the car, looking bored.

They crossed the town line two hours and thirteen minutes later. The afternoon was well underway when they drove past the sign indicating that they were entering Storybrooke. Henry was now asleep on the backseat and Hook told Emma to drive directly to Granny's Diner. They were expected there.

Her yellow VW had not even come to a full stop that the door to the diner flung open and Mary Margaret appeared, rushing to greet her. She was closely followed by David and as Emma got out of her seat, Ruby appeared at the door, a huge grin on her face.

"We knew you'd find your way back to us," Mary Margaret said while hugging Emma.

"We never lost faith," David added.

Emma stepped back and looked into her car, where Henry was still sleeping, oblivious to his surroundings.

"There's one thing you need to all know," Emma said as the other inhabitants finally gathered around her. "Henry doesn't remember. He has no idea about all this fairytale stuff, and I'd like to keep it that way for now."

Her eyes paused on Neal and she knew that he understood what she meant. Henry could not know that he was his father. After everyone finally finished greeting Emma, the blonde turned to her mother.

"I don't see Regina. Where is she?"

"We never really know. She moves around a lot, never stays in the same place for too long. She's the target number one so she keeps well-hidden."

"I need to see her."

"She'll find you," David assured her.

Emma nodded reluctantly. She had hoped that Regina would have been here but maybe it was better this way. At least it would give her time to introduce Henry to everyone. She could only hope that people would play along and pretend not to know him.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do. My son believes that we're here on vacation. I'll say that Mary Margaret and David are friends of mine and that they suggested we both come here to visit. That's all. I don't really know any of you. Do you all understand?"

There was a small murmur of agreement among the crowd.

"Good. Now spread the word—quietly. We don't want to alert anyone, especially if the… the Wicked Witch is here."

Seriously, Emma thought, even after all this time it still sounded ridiculous to her ears. Fairytales characters were real. Crazy.

"Okay everybody, go back to whatever you were doing and act natural. As long as we don't know the consequences of Henry remembering, we can't take any chances."

Once again, the crowd agreed and they quickly dispersed. Emma remained alone with her parents, Hook and Henry.

"I should wake him now."

Of course her parents had insisted that she and Henry stayed with them, but Emma had refused. Her main argument was that it would be easier for them not to make any mistake if Henry wasn't around all the time. They finally relented and agreed to let her stay at the inn. Henry had met Mary Margaret and David, and a short while after, Ruby and her grandmother. He had been very polite, just like she had taught—like Regina had taught him. Once they had been settled in two separate rooms (Henry had insisted that he was a man now and he needed his privacy), they had gone back to the diner to grab some dinner. There had been no sign of Regina and it made Emma anxious. What if something was wrong? They had no way to know, according to her parents. She hated not knowing.

Emma showered and then lay on her bed, unable to fall asleep. She thought about her life, the real one and the one with the fake memories. She didn't know how to feel about that. Would she have been better off with the fake past? What if Hook had never showed up? Would she have led a carefree, happy life with her son? She felt slightly guilty for thinking that it would have probably been best for Henry and herself if Hook had never found them.

A knock on her door stirred Emma from her thoughts and she got up swiftly. Behind the door, her friend Ruby was waiting.

"Hey," Emma said softly as Henry was sleeping next door.

"Hey," Ruby answered with a nervous smile.

"What's up?"

Ruby dropped the smile and her eyes darted left and right before she answered.

"She's waiting for you downstairs."

A few words to give your opinion/share your thoughts are always welcomed!

OTH-FOQ