Emma was up bright and early the next morning, she'd hardly been able to get a wink of sleep. She's going to see her son after three months and considering how she left things, it was safe to say she was beyond nervous. She sat up on her bed, contemplating how she was going to approach him. Mary Margret-Her mom- had said he was living with Regina now, but she couldn't just walk over to the mayor's house and demand to see the son she left behind, could she?

Her throat closed up at the thought of Henry not wanting to see her, her heart clenching painfully. She had left him just like she promised herself she wouldn't ever do. What kind of mother does that? she thought to herself, her self loathing raising, suffocating her.

The kind who's a coward, her subconscious echoed, the word haunting her ever since he called her out on it. She pulled her knees up, hugging herself, curling into a feeble position just like she'd done the past three months whenever she felt like she was about to break, hold herself tight as if holding together the broken pieces of her heart.

But it was not her heart alone she broke when she left.

Her resolve strengthened as she found the courage to face her parents without the cover of tears as an excuse to not explain anything. They'd left her off the hook yesterday, but she knew she had to explain her actions. They deserved it, after everything.

She slid out of bed, padding down the stairs, her thudding alerting the other two of her presence, making them stop whispering about whatever it was that they were talking about.

She shot them a suspicious glance, her eyebrows pulled together. "What's going on?" she asked, taking a seat on one of the bar stools.

"Nothing," the both said in unison, entirely unconvincingly to be sure.

She raised an eyebrow, staring at them with a dry stare as if to say, Orly? David simply shrugged, his eyes glued to his pancakes, as he stuffed some into his mouth.

Her mother's gaze flitted between her and David, struggling to keep whatever it was to herself. And if anyone knew her mother, they knew she couldn't keep a secret.

"Are we really going to play this game?" Emma asked, as her mother slid her her own batch of pancakes.

"What?" she asked innocently.

Emma remained silent, having a stare off with her mother, who surprisingly kept mum. "Oh, come on you guys! You don't have to keep things from me," she said finally, throwing her hands up in the air.

"We're not keeping anything from you," David said, shooting his wife a quick look. "We were just talking about...our situation. We-um, we never got a proper explanation yesterday..." he trailed off. "Not like we need an explanation for why you came back, obviously!" he rushed to correct himself. "We're-we're glad you're home. We just-"

"We just wanted to know if it was permanent!" Mary Margret burst out, unable to contain herself.

David's wide eyes shifted to his wife, his eyebrows raised in alarm.

Emma flushed, looking down at her pancakes. She poked at them, as she felt the shame take over. It must hurt, for her mother having to ask her daughter if she was planning on staying.

"Of course," she answered in a small voice. "I'm staying. For good this time," she replied, the tension mounting by the second.

"Emma, I didn't-"

"Mom, it's al-"

"These pancakes are really good!" They all said at the same time, both women turning their incredulous glance to David who had stuffed two whole pancakes into his mouth as he exclaimed his love for the food.

After a moment of cricket-chirping silence, the two of them started laughing as David blushed this time. "I was just-You both- I'm late for work," he finished lamely, standing up.

"I'm glad you're back, honey," he smiled at Emma, kissing her forehead. She smiled, relishing the warmth of her father. "And good luck for today. You know, with Henry," he said.

"...And Killian," she added, making him stop in his tracks.

"You're going to-to talk to him, too?" he asked, turning towards her, looking wary.

"Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I-considering how I left, I owe him an explanation, right? It's the right thing to do," she answered.

"Oh. Oh, well, that...makes sense. But maybe you should, you should wait?" he finished it as a question, rather than a statement.

"Why?" she asked confused, although her heartbeat faster dreading the answer.

"Emma," her mother sighed, "What your father is trying to say is that, maybe you should let him come to you?"

Her heart dropped as his last words to her rang in her mind, loud and broken and God, she shouldn't have left. "No, I should go to him," she answered, her voice breaking towards the end. "It's about time I go to him."

David dropped his head, "Emma, he's not himself," he said finally.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her fist clenching.

"He's just- he's not himself," he replied.

"You mean he's...angry with me?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"I-" he began, exchanging a desperate glance with his wife, before settling for the truth. "Yes."

She sucked in a deep breath, the truth making the hole in her heart wider, ragged, painful. "Oh," she breathed. "Well, I-will make amends," she declared. "To both of them, and you. And everyone else."

"Emma, you don't have to 'make amends' with us," Mary Margret chimed in. "We're your parents. We'll love and forgive you, no matter what you do," she smiled, squeezing her daughter's hand.

"Thank you," she swallowed hard. "But that doesn't mean I don't have to apologise to the others."

"There are only two people you have to apologise to. You don't owe anyone else anything," David argued.

She nodded jerkily, "Thanks, dad," she smiled, making him grin.

-/-

Emma shuffled her feet, her hands clenching and unclenching as she stared at Regina's door, the bright red door seeming to mock her.

She raised her hand to knock, but dropped it, her mind going over the possibilities, about how Henry would react. Would he be angry? Would he be happy? Would he even want to talk to her? Oh, God, he probably hates her.

She frowned, her teeth worrying her bottom lip, her stomach tight with knots and her heart in her throat. She felt the air freeze in her lungs, making it hard for her to breathe. How is she going to face her son after what she did? She couldn't take him being mad at her again. For him to pull away from her.

She steeled herself, bringing her hand to knock on the door, waiting for someone to answer. When there was no reply, she tried again, harder this time.

"Coming!" came a muffled male voice, followed by a crash and a yelp. Emma winced, regretting coming so early, but before she could retreat, the door was wretched open.

Robin stood covered in flour, his eyes wide in shock, gaping at her. "Emma!" he exclaimed, stuttering.

"Hey...Robin," she said uncertainly. "You live here now?" she asked, trying to be polite.

"Er, Regina and I are married," he replied, holding up his left hand where his wedding band gleamed.

"Oh, wow, congratulations!" she wished, feeling more like a fool. "I'm so sorry I just dropped in like this," she apologised.

"It's alrigh-"

"Robin, who was at the do-" Regina stopped in her tracks, her smile frozen on her face as she saw for herself who it was. Her smile dropped, her eyes widened comically. Emma internally groaned, getting quickly tired of this reaction.

"Miss Swan," she greeted, pulling her robe tighter around herself. "This is-You are..." she trailed off, her eyebrows pulling together.

"Back?" Emma finished for her.

"So you are," the brunette agreed.

"I came to see Henry," Emma said after a moment of awkward silence.

"Absolutely not!" Regina exclaimed indignantly.

"Regina!" Robin protested.

"You can't just leave for three months and come back as if nothing happened," she snapped, ignoring her husband.

"I know," Emma agreed, stepping forward. "I know what I did was wrong. But I-I was scared and I just-I needed to get away from here. And when he refused to go with me, at that time I just-I just left without him. I knew you would take care of him. I am sorry, Regina, but I didn't know what else to do, so I ran," she implored her to understand.

Regina stared at her in shock, surprised by her open confession. "I was selfish. I gave up...everything, because I couldn't be who everyone expected me to be. But I'm back now. For good. I'll do anything to prove it, but please let me see my son," she pleaded, her eyes welling up.

"Regina..." Robin trailed off, glancing at Emma. She knew what he would say. She did the same thing once, she knew how Emma felt. So, how could she not forgive the woman when she would have wanted the same thing in her place.

"O-Of course," she said finally. "But if he doesn't want to talk to you, don't blame me," she finished haughtily.

Emma nodded, swallowing past the lump in her throat, smiling at her gratefully despite her cold tone.

Robin smiled tightly at her, sensing the awkwardness, as Regina went back inside to call Henry. Emma's heart beat wildly, as an unconscious smile took over her face when she caught a glimpse of his messy mop of hair.

"Mom?!" he exclaimed, his voice thick. He rushed forwards, crashing into her. Her surprise must have been evident on her face because he simply pulled back, smiling at her. "I knew you would come back," he said.

"Oh, Henry," she sighed, hugging him close, resting her chin on top of his head. "I'm so sorry. I am really, really sorry for leaving you behind. I know how angry you were and you have every right to be still," she apologised, tears falling down her face as she hugged him tighter, missing his warmth.

Regina and Robin had left, giving them some privacy. Henry pulled away, his own eyes shining. "Do you want to get frozen yogurt?" he asked, making her chuckle at his absurd question.

"That's all you have to say?" she smiled.

"Let's go get frozen yogurt," he said in reply, grabbing his coat.

-/-

"I'm sorry again, Henry," Emma said, as they sat on a bench. The same bench they sat on when she told him about Neal, to be precise.

"I know you are, mom. I have to admit, I was angry. But understand why you did it. I'm not saying I agree with it, but I guess, I always knew you would come back."

She smiled, running her hand through his hair. "You always were a smart kid."

He wordlessly grasped her hand, "I'm glad you're home, mom."

"Me too, kid. I missed having you around," she hugged him, pressing a kiss into his hair.

"I missed being around," he replied cheekily.

"Henry," she sighed after a while. "I have to admit, I expected you to be angrier. I even expected you to refuse to talk to me."

"Well, I would have been, but I had Killian. And he always kept telling me you would come back," he smiled up at her. But she couldn't return his smile, her stomach clenching at the mere mention of his name.

"Mom, what is it?" he asked noticing her rigid posture.

She cleared her throat, pushing aside her own feelings. "Nothing. So, what else did Killian did say?" she asked, trying to be discreet.

"He said he had faith that you would return," he replied, giving her a weird look.

"He said that?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I mean, he was trying to make me hold onto to that hope," he corrected.

" 'Trying'? What do you mean 'trying'?"

His gaze shifted away from her, looking at a spot behind her shoulder before he took a deep breath, as if he was about to tell her some bad news. "I mean, it didn't sound like he believed it himself. Like he only said it to make me feel better."

"Oh?" she choked out, her heart plummeting to her stomach. She felt the tattle-tale pain between her eyes indicating she was very close to bawling her eyes out.

"I may be wrong!" Henry rushed to reassure her. "I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see that you're back," he vowed, smiling up at her.

"Somehow, I'm not sure 'thrilled' is what he'll feel," she replied, her voice scratchy.

"Killian loves you, mom," he pointed out, making Emma snap her eyes to his. "What? You think I didn't notice? I'm almost 14, mom," he rolled his eyes.

"I love him too," she murmured. "But I messed up."

"Yeah, you did," he agreed. "But if you really love someone, you forgive them even if they mess up."

She smiled through her tears, looking on proudly at how much he'd grown without her even noticing. "You always know the right things to say, kid," she hugged him, hoping with all her heart that he was right.

It was time for her to find her pirate and tell him how she felt.