I would just like to make a quick note, if you find yourself reading this and questioning some events that i'm depicting, i'm taking some (alot) creative licence. I started writing this story somewhere around 'nasty habits' and 'good form', and i don't really peruse spoiler sites that much. I will likely be making references to events that happen throughout the season, but i wont be letting them drive me or the stories direction. Keep it simple, they went to Neverland, they saved Henry, trouble ensued, they came home and their lives went back to normal. Also, i'm Australian, whilst we were keeping up to date with episodes (think lovely thoughts is last viewed episode), suddenly they've stopped, and who know's when they'll start again (yay for network programming!)

Any way, that's my ramble, back to the story!

~88888~

Emma practically marched back to the apartment. She was livid! Not only had her father, her father, barged in on her and Hook, he had entered Hook's home, for want of a better term, without any form of invitation. She couldn't fathom what on earth it was that he had been thinking! Had he seriously just woken up that morning and stormed all over town looking for her? And not only that, had the fact that she was not anywhere else in town seriously been grounds for him to barge into someone else's home? She didn't even break stride as she opened the building's door and bounded up the stairs.

"What on Earth were you thinking?" She didn't stop, didn't hesitate, refused to acknowledge the look's her parents were exchanging. She could only stare at her father, dare him to contradict her. "Never mind what you saw or interrupted, just barging into someone else's home? Someone else's bedroom? Did you even think of what you might find on the other side of the door?" She demanded of him, barely even acknowledging her mother's presence.

"What's going on?" Mary Margaret stammered. She was completely shocked by what was happening. Her husband had just been looking at her as though the worst had happened, and now Emma had stormed into the apartment shouting. She found that what was happening was a blur, (although she felt she knew what it was going to clear up to be).

Emma righted herself and looked to her mother. Suddenly she saw her mother in the room properly for the first time; she was no longer a cardboard cut-out, and immediately she backtracked. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Mary Margaret scoffed. "You storm in here shouting at David for barging in on-." She stopped herself immediately.

The picture was clear, and the thing she had been most afraid of happening last night had happened. No matter what, she had no control of her husband, or any control of the plans she had made when she was sound asleep.

"He walked in on you and Hook, didn't he?" She spoke quietly.

Both David and Emma gawked at her.

"You knew?" Emma shouted.

"How did you know?" David shouted simultaneously.

Mary Margaret shook her head blushing. There were many ways daughters and parents broached the topic of boys. The part of Mary Margaret that was Snow White had always envisioned talking to her about it as she brushed her hair in her bedroom. She would be wearing a gorgeous gown, and it would be in preparation for some ball, celebrating her, celebrating her future. There would be a Prince from some distant land who would approach her cautiously, awkwardly asking for her hand to dance then they would grace the floor, awkwardly stepping on each other's feet…Snow White's image was perfect, until Regina and her curse came along and suddenly Snow White was face to face with her adult daughter who already had a ten year old. Emma was an adult, talking about boys for the first time with an adult child was a completely different task, especially when that child was a mother herself, (and none of the manuals had any advice for parenting adults). Still, right now, Mary Margaret could only blush and shake her head as she observed her husband and her daughter.

"I heard you leave last night," she admitted without looking up, "I was curious what you were doing so I followed you and saw you and Hook, you know." It was difficult to fathom which face was pinker, mother, father or daughter, such was the level of embarrassment in the room.

Silence followed, none could find the words to fill it. "You saw us?" Emma squeaked.

"I left before I saw anything, but I acknowledged that you're an adult and can make your own decisions." Mother rushed, finally looking up at her daughter.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me." David breathed, head in his hands, looking at his wife.

"Tell you what?" She scoffed staring at her husband incredulously. "Hi Honey, I just watched our daughter making out with the Pirate you don't approve of and I don't like, but I'm okay with it?" She was looking squarely at her husband. "And besides, you were asleep."

"Yeah, and then I woke up." He contradicted.

"Only to find me asleep and then you clearly went all crazy dad when you couldn't find Emma anywhere, and now you're here." She pointed at the way he was still sitting, clearly uncomfortable.

"I did not go all crazy dad; I went out to buy some milk and eggs to make some breakfast and I assumed she would be at the station so I stopped in on my way there only she wasn't there, she hadn't been to Granny's, no one had seen her, and Ruby suggested I try Hook because Henry had visited him a few days ago." David retorted.

"Why did Henry visit Hook?" Mary Margaret asked, it was clear both had forgotten Emma was standing a few feet away from them as they bickered.

"I don't know; I never got a chance to ask." David shrugged, shoulders high.

"Enough!" Emma shouted, breaking her parents bickering.

Emma meanwhile had been standing near her parents not really listening to them bicker. She was a little too distracted by the embarrassment inside her head than she had ever experienced. She was unable to comprehend the facts as they stood. Her mother had followed her out of the apartment last night; her mother had seen her making out with the Pirate, who knows what else her mother had seen, or heard! And her father! Her father, who knows what he had heard and chosen to ignore, but he had seen! She found it difficult to comprehend the fact that her parents had found out about her and Hook before she had even really acknowledged it herself – there's not much one can acknowledge when one is engaged in some serious sexual activity. But despite that, she was also immensely relieved that her mother, despite her known dislike for Hook, wasn't judging her for spending the night with him. Still, she couldn't hide the embarrassment, (and her parent's bickering was becoming a little tedious).

"I'm sorry Emma." Finally David found the strength to address her, looking sheepishly at his wife.

"I'm sorry too." Mary Margaret added.

"Sorry, doesn't even begin to cover it." Emma looked to both of her parents, focusing on her father. "But what the hell were you thinking when you consciously decided to open that door?" She was back to being angry rather than embarrassed. "You wanted to talk to Hook, that's fine, but why didn't you knock? Why didn't you acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, he was still in bed?"

David rubbed his eyes, exhaling loudly. "I don't know!" He could see her anger; she had the same angry face as her mother. "I woke up and you were gone and I couldn't find you anywhere in town." He attempted, forcibly. "My desire to see you safe overwhelmed my ability to honor Hook's privacy." He said weakly.

"David, I'm an adult." She had a strong feeling that the likelihood of calling him 'Dad' anytime soon flew out the window the moment he stormed into that cabin. "You can't know where I am every minute of the day. I'm not a child. I know you guys missed out on raising me, and I know you're trying to catch up, but the obsessive parenting thing, that's not going to fly." She was staring at him, completely at a loss as to his mental decisions.

Then she turned to her mother. "Mary Margaret you saw me leave last night; what was your plan for this morning?"

Mary Margaret turned from her husband to her daughter. "I knew if you weren't here, that David would notice you missing. I figured that I would send him off to the station to look for you, and I would head over to where I figured you still would be. I don't know; I probably would have sent some form of smoke signal or something, discreetly letting you know that I knew where you were, and that your father was looking for you. I hadn't really thought that part through." She spoke faster and faster. It was clear that her plan had only accounted for distracting David, not for getting Emma's attention.

"I'm sorry." David said again, causing his wife and daughter to look at him. "I truly do not know what it was that I was thinking when I opened that door. And I swear, it won't happen again." David looked at her, but his eyes didn't meet hers. It seemed the moment they came anywhere near her face they darted off to look at her ears, or her neck. To be honest, Emma wasn't really that put off by it.

Emma could hear the plead in his voice; he was desperate for her to forgive him. But she knew she wasn't going to be able to forgive him anytime soon. He had walked in on her having sex with a man he had never displayed any form of care or acceptance for. To him, Hook was an obstacle, a needless footnote in Emma's life, someone who had spent multiple lifetimes holding onto a relentless anger that had seen him burn everything and anyone he came into contact with. He was not a hero, he was a villain, and no matter how many times he saved the lives of the people he cared about, he was never going to be good enough for his daughter. But Emma knew that the only way her father's opinion of Hook was going to change, was through her. That was her hope. Pity it was now ruined.

"What are you going to tell Henry?" Mary Margaret asked quietly, interrupting Emma's thoughts. "What about Neal?"

Suddenly everything in this moment became overwhelmingly real. Emma heard the two names, the two men in her life that any form of romantic attachment she had affected. Henry, her son, the best thing in her life, and Neal, his father, who no matter what had happened throughout the past decade she still had clear and unresolved feelings for. If last night with Killian – wow, she certainly had strong feelings for the guy if she was suddenly thinking about him using his actual name, but that was a thought for another day – hadn't happened, she would still be staring at Neal's face over ice cream at Granny's making awkward small talk about their son. Strange as it might sound, last night made her realize that her feelings for him were steeped in the past. That's where their relationship was in the past, that's where it belonged. She needed to see him in the present to realize that, to move on. She realized that every 'relationship' she had had in the past decade she had been unable to comprehend or deal with properly because they had never properly ended. They had been a couple in love, about to move forward onto the next phase of their relationship (and soon to learn that they were going to have a baby) when the police and a jail cell had intervened. He wasn't there when she had Henry, wasn't there when she got out, wasn't there as she fought to reclaim her life once she was back in society. But she had needed to face him; face her feelings and the unresolved issues he had left her with. She realized she had done that the moment she realized that Hook was not at the diner that night. Neal was her past, Killian – yeah that was a little weird – was her future.

But what was she going to tell them about Hook? Emma looked to her mother. Honestly, those were two questions she hadn't thought about at all. She had to tell them both, she knew that was a given, but what? What was she going to tell them? How could she tell Neal that she had spent the night with another man? She had to tell him something; but she knew that no matter what, she was effectively – and finally – ending it with him.

And what about Henry? He had been truly excited when he learnt that his parents were 'together'. And even then it was hard to describe what they were. They hadn't been on any dates; they hadn't confessed any real feelings to each other. All they had done was have a handful of short conversations – all about Henry – and have one rather large argument. She had a feeling that no matter what happened with Neal, Henry wouldn't really be to hurt by it, so long as she was honest with him. That was his big thing with her, honesty. She doubted it was going to be quick for her to forget how he had looked at her when he discovered that Neal was not only Baelfire and Rumplestiltskin's long lost son, but also his father who was very much alive (and not the brave fireman she had told him he was). Yes she had to tell Henry the truth about Hook; and Neal, she could only tell a version of the truth.

After what felt like an eternity she looked up at her mother, sighing heavily. "I can only tell them the truth." She spoke simply. "I'm not in love with Neal; I haven't been in love with him for some time."

"Do you love Hook?" Her mother interrupted quietly. "Sorry, that was too much." She backtracked immediately. "But do you?" She was speaking quickly, and Emma knew that was a sign that she was nervous.

In the few months that Emma had gotten to know Mary Margaret as her mother she had observed a couple of small differences between the friend that she made and the mother that she really was. Mary Margaret was the first real friend Emma had had. She had been caring, kind, and completely non-judgmental about Emma giving up Henry and then her reasons for coming back into his life. Mary Margaret with the memories of Snow White however was ridiculously nosy when it came to anything and everything related to Emma. It was like she couldn't hold anything back with her, always prying, always searching. This was one of the moments where Emma hated the overly familiar relationship she had with her mother.

"Mary Margaret." David's voice was a warning to his wife and broke Emma's thoughts.

"Sorry, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to." Mary Margaret relented, although it was clear she desperately wanted her too.

"I don't know." It was the truth. There had been many a moment during the night where she had found herself considering the intricacies of the human heart and how hers had beaten faster in recent times when Hook was around; how she had bitten her tongue on a few occasions during the night to stop herself from spilling those three powerful words. "I care about him, a lot." She finally managed. No, she was definitely not telling her mother the truth – there would be no end to that conversation.

"Well you need to tell Neal and Henry, and the sooner the better." Mary Margaret was beaming at her daughter. "You can't start anything with Hook before you do."

"I think it's a little late for that." David mumbled, once again wiping his eyes.

Emma could only stare at her father. "You can't look at me can you?" She asked him quietly. It was meant as a question, although it sounded more like a statement.

David looked over his shoulder at her. "Can you?"

Emma looked to her feet, realizing one key fact. She needed to spend some time away from them, and they needed to spend some time away from her. It was the only way that they could move forward from this point, the only way that they were all going to be able to process the night's events. She would go and spend a few nights at Granny's, her parents could have the apartment (it was her mother's after all), and Henry could go and stay with Regina. She knew Regina would like that, have an extra few days with her son.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I think we all need a few days away from each other." She said not looking up.

"No, Emma, that's not necessary." Mary Margaret attempted, but her husband didn't give Emma any chance to respond.

"No, Mary Margaret, it is completely necessary." He stood up. "It will be good, for all of us to get a little bit of space." He looked to his wife. "We can spend a couple of nights at Granny's, Emma can have the apartment."

"No, David, if anyone should spend a few nights at Granny's it should be me." Emma spoke over his protestations.

"And what about Henry?" He retorted.

"I was actually thinking he could spend a few days at Regina's. I know Regina will be happy about that." Emma admitted.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Mary Margaret asked, apprehension dripping from her body.

"Yeah, I am. I trust her." Emma met her mother's gaze squarely.

Once again the room fell into silence, only this time, it was infinitely more comfortable than before. It was David's turn to end it.

"Well if that's all done, I'm going to get to work trying to fix the thermostat." He pointed at the heater in the room, as though to be clear what he was doing. It was clear he was desperately trying to move away from this topic of conversation.

"Hey David," Emma began as her father moved away from her, "can you promise me something?"

David chose to look at her midriff as she spoke. "Anything." He said weakly.

"Promise me, next time, you'll knock." A charge filled the room as both Emma and David's faces once again flushed a shade of magenta that rivaled Ruby's cloak.

"I promise." David smiled, before quickly turning away, but he didn't head towards the heater, he headed for the door.

Emma sighed, as he left the room. It was now just her and her mother. She had a look on her face that said she wanted to talk more about what had just happened, to fight her on her decision to let Henry stay with Regina for a few days. Emma was keen to avoid it; she'd done enough soul searching in the past few minutes, she didn't want to do anymore.

"I'm gonna take a shower." Emma pointed towards the bathroom, and made to leave the room, she was keen to go before her mother could speak.

"Emma?" Mary Margaret called before her daughter was too far away. "If you do love him, trust me, neither David nor I shall stand in your way. We both understand the power of True Love." With that she followed her husband out of the room leaving Emma alone with her thoughts, staring at the empty door.

~88888~

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