Disclaimer: I do not own ABC Once Upon a Time or any of its characters. Just Aria and Amaya.
It was only a few days later that Dav-Dad was put under a sleeping curse in order to talk to Mary-Mom. God, this was gonna take some getting used to.
"Henry, time for school!" I yelled up to the loft.
"I'm ready!" He said, rushing down the stairs.
"Feed the monster under your bed?"
"Yup," He smiled, as Amaya and Purdy played on the front rug.
"Okay, munchkins. Time to go," I said as we walked out the door and towards the school.
"So, without the whole magic, fairytale thing, how are you liking Storybrooke?" Henry asked.
"It's a good place to get back on my feet and start over." I said truthfully, "Plus I have somewhere I have to go once I drop you off at school."
"You're going to buy the house!" He said excited.
"Yes I am. Now, listen to your teachers, and pay attention. You still need to graduate mister."
"Yes Auntie," He sassed.
"Go, be good," I smiled, shooing him off. Once I saw him running into the school, I turned to make my way down the street to Granny's Diner.
"You are new," a voice said. I turned and saw a man wearing a long black coat, with a scarf wrapped around his neck.
"I am. I'm Aria, Emma's twin." I said, politely as Purdy sat down patiently.
"Jefferson," He said, smiling at me flirtatiously.
"And who is this darling little girl?" He asked.
"My daughter, Amaya." I said, as Amaya smiled shyly at him.
"I bet you like rabbits?" He asked, pulling a small stuffed rabbit from his pocket.
"Are you a magician as well?" I smirked, as Amaya greedily took the stuffie.
"No, Grace, my daughter, she likes rabbits. I like to surprise her every once and a while with a new one."
"Then please, give it to your daughter," I said, moving to take it from Amaya.
"No, I insist. Every little girl needs a stuffed friend," He said, smiling and nodding farewell. I shook my head slightly and kept walking towards Granny's.
"Can I have…"
"Hot chocolate with whip cream and cinnamon," Ruby, the waitress at Granny's smiled as I walked up to the counter.
"Yikes, am I an open book or something?" I joked.
"You, Emma and Henry get the same thing every time." She laughed.
"How about a small glass of milk for Amaya."
"Absolutely. There's an open booth by the window," She smiled as I looked to where she was gesturing.
I sat down and sighed as Amaya wriggled on the seat.
"Little love, if you settle down, we can have some breakfast." I coaxed her.
"Amaya," Ruby said sweetly, setting down the milk in a small glass.
"What do you say to Ruby?" I asked her and Amaya smiled up at her, blowing a kiss.
"Words, little love." I said softly and she said, "Thank you."
"You are welcome Princess Amaya," Ruby said with a curtsey.
"What's on special today?" I asked Ruby.
"Well other than Granny's lasagna at lunchtime, we have pancakes, eggs, bacon and toast."
"We'll split that then," I smiled and Ruby went to go ring up our order. I sighed, as I thought about the rest of my day.
"We get to buy our house today," I said to my daughter, excitedly. She looked up in excitement as I showed her the picture. I cut up her pancakes for her when Ruby dropped our food off at our table, and cut up some of the bacon for her too. I finished my hot chocolate quickly, knowing we had to be at the relator's office soon.
"Thanks Ruby," I said as I dropped money on the table as I gathered Amaya up, into my arms. The Relator was quick about the sale, as no one had claimed it when the Curse first happened. It was beautiful, and I couldn't wait to start my life here. I was secretly very glad to have found my parents, or at least one of them. If Gold hadn't given me back the ability to believe, I would never have thought any of what Henry told me to be true.
When I had picked Henry up from school, a woman with dark hair was with him.
"Hello, are you Regina?" I asked, noticing the similarities from the book.
"Yes, and you are?" She asked, confused.
"I'm Aria, Emma's twin."
"The other Swan. I was only aware of one Savior." She said, holding out a hand for me to shake.
"I'm not the savior, I'm just Emma's sister. Henry, do you want to go sit with Grandpa today?"
"Sure!" He exclaimed, taking Purdy's leash from my hands.
"May I join you?" She asked with a polite smile.
"You don't seem as bad as everyone's making you out to be," I said, smiling back at her.
"I'm working on being better, for Henry."
"Just remember, nobody is perfect." I offered, as Amaya held my hand at my side. I looked down at Regina's gasp of surprise and saw she had taken a hold of Regina's fingers.
"Amaya, can you say 'Hi'?"
"Hi," She smiled cheekily up at Regina.
"Hello," Regina smiled back warmly.
"She trusts you, meaning I can trust you." I said, as Henry stopped in front of the Pawnshop where my father was under the Sleeping Curse.
"Well, we have to tie Purdy up outside," I said to Henry as he moved to go inside.
"Oh, right," He said as Purdy sat at the fire hydrant. I tied her up, wiping away a quick tear and smiling at Amaya. She was petting Purdy and saying, "Good Purdy."
"Let's go see Grandpa," I said to Henry as we all entered Gold's shop.
"Ms. Swan."
"It's actually… never mind," I said, putting the thought to the back of my mind.
"We are just waiting on your father to wake up. True love's kiss may work in the burning room, but we don't think it did." Gold said as Henry ran to the backroom.
"Okay, so we wait until Emma and my mom are back."
"We aren't so sure that's gonna happen either."
"So what are you going to do?" I asked with narrowed eyes.
"We have to assume that Cora will make her way through the portal, not your family."
"You're logic is sound, but you forgot one very important thing." I said, picking up my daughter.
"My family has always found each other. How will it look to Henry if we all just gave up? Hope is going to be our guide right now, because you can be damned sure I'm not giving up on my family." I said, before I moved back to the room where my father was laid. I knelt beside him and whispered, "Come back to us."
Pressing my lips to his temple, I felt something happen.
"Snow?" He gasped before looking up at me.
"Aria," He smiled happily.
"Daddy," I smiled, as Amaya reached to hug David.
"Well, do you think we can go home now?" He chuckled.
"I hope so. I was going to order us something from Granny's for dinner. You're probably starving."
"I am," he smiled, sitting up.
"Well, now we know that True Love's Kiss works between family members." Gold said, as Henry hugged David.
"He's my father. No matter what age, I will always love him."
"I believe we need to go meet them at the portal," David said to Gold.
"Did they get your message?"
"Yes, they are going to Lake Nostos."
"The Well," Gold said, nodding.
"I can't imagine its gonna be an easy victory. But they know about the squid ink in your cell."
"They'll come through," Henry smiled.
"They will," I said, tucking him into my side.
As we watched the light shine from the Well, Henry was antsy. He knew it would be Emma and my mother, but somewhere in my heart, I wasn't sure it would be that easy.
"Should we throw them a rope?" Ruby asked from beside David.
"Uh, nevermind," Ruby said as a hand shot out to grip the ledge of the Well.
"MOM!" Henry yelled, as Emma's form climbed overtop the Well. A dark haired woman following her.
"Henry!" Emma yelled, as Purdy barked beside me.
"How are you awake?" The woman said to David, moving to kiss him sweetly, as he held her against his chest.
"Our daughter," He said and she turned to look up at me. My eyes never strayed from hers, and it seemed like we were both starting to cry. She walked towards me slowly and I moved Amaya to my other hip.
"I'm Mary Margaret, I mean Snow. I'm your mother," She said, still looking to be memorizing me.
"You are more beautiful than imagined you'd be," She said softly, holding my cheek in her hand. I smiled softly, "It's nice to meet you."
"It's so nice to meet you too," She said, hugging me close. Emma smiled from beside the Well with Henry, and made a face at Amaya for giggles.
"And who is this?" She asked, smiling at the little girl in my arms.
"This is your granddaughter, Amaya."
"Emma mentioned you were married, but she never mentioned you had a daughter." She said, smiling but still confused.
"Emma didn't know about her. She's a well kept secret of mine."
"I knew, I just knew you'd tell me when you were ready," Emma said, coming up to hug me tightly.
"So does anyone have any dinner suggestions?"
"Not Chimera," My mother and Emma said at the same time.
"Granny's, on me!" Ruby said as she hugged Snow.
"Gold, Regina, they have a bean."
"I thought there were no more beans."
"It's dead, but they were at Lake Nostos. We have to assume they figure that out, that the bean can be brought back to what it once was." Mary Margaret said.
"We should then assume they are already here." David said.
"Okay, so my mother is on her way."
"Not just Cora. Hook is with her." Emma said looking at Gold.
"Then I have the perfect plan." Gold said, smirking.
"For now, we should just have dinner and wind down."
"Good thinking." I said, smiling at Regina.
"Okay, Gold. You have your plan, we won't get in your way."
"When we went back to the camp Cora was using as cover, we found this." Mary Margaret said, taking something out of her bag.
"Ugh, what is that?" I asked as I looked at the black glowing mass in my mother's hands.
"My mother's heart." Regina said.
"Why not put it back in and see if she still holds love for you in her heart?" Mary Margaret said hopefully.
"I won't risk the chance she doesn't. I'll hold onto it." Regina said, waving her hand over it. It disappeared in a puff of purple smoke and Amaya squealed in delight.
"Magic!" She said, smiling up at Regina.
"That's right Amaya," Emma said, coming to take Amaya from my arms, to hold her for the first time.
"This is Auntie Emma," I said as we walked back through the woods.
"Emma!" She said, hugging my sister's neck tightly.
"Ohh, You're strong for a little girl," she laughed. As we all ate at Granny's that evening, Regina sat on the opposite side of Henry than Emma and I was at the end to the table with Amaya in a highchair. She and her grandmother had their cuddles during dinner and she was crashing hard as dessert came to the table.
"I'm gonna get her to bed," I said, as Amaya tried fighting the wave of sleep to stay up with everyone.
"Mom, Aunt Aria got this awesome house, just around the corner from the apartment." Henry said as I took out the listing to show them the photo.
"We'll come help set you up," Mary Margaret said, excited.
"Thank you," I said, as Ruby gave me a key to a room for the night.
"No need Red, I've got plenty of spare rooms. Aria can stay with me," Regina offered.
"That's so kind of you Regina. I wouldn't want to impose," I said, as my parents looked shocked at Regina's offer.
"I insist." She said and I knew it wasn't because of Henry that she was asking so publicly.
"I would love that. The apartment's going to be a bit crowded anyways." I laughed as Regina got out of the booth to give me the extra key on her key ring.
"It's the big white one down the road," She explained, and I nodded as I gathered my things.
"I'll just quickly grab a couple of Amaya's things from the apartment." I said as I walked out. Purdy was waiting patiently, and I figured I would leave her with Emma and Henry tonight. I don't know how Regina would feel about a dog. Amaya had already fallen asleep on my shoulder and I sighed as I realized I would have to at least put her in the car.
"You'll sleep and I will get your things," I said quietly, as I locked the car. I was able to locate everything quickly, but not so able to carry it all down by myself.
"Do you need help Miss?" A voice called and I barely looked up before what I had in my arms dropped to the ground. Groaning, and sinking to my knees on the pavement, I started picking things up again.
"No, I'm just loading the car up." I said as I started putting things in any free bag I had. Looking up as a hand moved to grab Amaya's new rabbit, I saw the man that asked if I needed help.
"Who were you back in our land?" I asked jokingly.
"Sheriff George of Nottingham," he chuckled, handing me back the rabbit. He picked up Amaya's playpen as I opened the trunk of the car.
"Well, thank you." I said, looking at his face again.
"A child. Well there goes my idea of asking you out for a drink," He said suavely. I wanted to roll my eyes at his attempt at flirting.
"A widow, buddy. You just had to pick the widow, with a Taser," I said, as he kept advancing towards me.
"I don't know what that is, but even widows need a little company."
"Back off, before I put you on the ground." I snarled as I closed the trunk.
"I doubt you could, love," He said, that accent making him sound full of himself. As I moved to grab the Taser in my purse, a flash of metal came at the man's throat.
"The lady said to back away." A menacing voice said, as whoever it was, held the sword to the former Sheriff's neck.
"Okay, I got it." He said before the sword was moved from his neck and the little bitch ran away as fast as he could.
"Thanks," I said, looking up to see a handsome man dressed in black leather from head to toe. It wasn't until I saw his blue eyes that I felt the need to smile softly.
"When a lady says no, the answer should never be misinterpreted." He said, before sheathing his sword. I noticed the hook he had for a hand and said, "Killian Jones, right?"
"Yes, how do you know?"
"My sister, Emma. She told us about you tonight. And might I say that you're not going to win your fight against the Dark One easily."
"You know my quest too. What else has your sister said about me, love?" He asked with a mischievous smile.
"That you weren't her kind of guy." I smirked, before moving to get in the car.
"What about yours love?" He asked, a more genuine smile appearing.
"If I wasn't still in love with my late husband, and you didn't try to proposition me right after another guy got the wrong idea, maybe. And as I said to the last guy, I have a daughter that I put first in my life. You've got to deal with your anger and resentment before your going to be ready for anything other than a one night stand." I said, closing the door and turning on the car. Sighing, I pulled out into the street, only to remember something.
"You can't hold onto me forever," He had said as I hugged him goodbye.
"I'm gonna try," I laughed, as he kissed my forehead.
"You need to let go of me eventually. I may not make it home one day, and you will need to move on."
"How long after?" I said, jokingly.
"Grieve me for six months and then find look for love again. If I wasn't already married to you, I would be so jealous of all the men that get to meet you for the first time."
"I'm never going to stop loving you." I said seriously.
"You don't need to stop loving me. You just need to learn to love someone else." He said, before the signal sounded for him to load up into the truck.
"Let's go boys!" He yelled, grabbing his helmet. He kissed me quick and ran off to suit up. I heard the announcement about a 10-39 fire at a high-rise on VFW Parkway.
Later that night, I would answer the door. The Chief would tell me that my husband was dead.