Chapter 3

The footsteps echoing off stone walls matched the heavy cadence of her heart. A large weight, like a stone, had settled in the pit of her stomach and it seemed to grow heavier with each step.

Realistically, Emma knew that what she was about to do, while huge, was unlikely to get her banished. Still, she was about to drop a bomb on two people she really cared about and while there was no way to predict just what their reaction would be, she'd already made up her mind and wasn't about to back down now.

As she rounded the final corner, she took deep, calming breaths to steady her nerves and slow her racing heart. She could just make out the soft murmuring of two voices coming from behind the closed door in front of her.

Well, at least I won't be waking them up.

She raised her hand and knocked swiftly. The voices ceased and she heard James call out a clear "Enter."

The brass handle was cool to the touchas she eased her way into the room, careful to keep her left hand hidden behind her back.

"Emma? Come in," said a clearly surprised Snow White.

The blonde carefully shut the door behind her as she stepped into what looked like a formal sitting room. A fire burning brightly on her right cast a warm glow throughout the room. Its flickering flames caused shadows to dance over the love seat and wing backed chairs that were strategically placed around it. A small writing desk sat across the room from her while another door to her left lead to what she assumed was the bedroom. Sheer white curtains covered the windows behind the desk allowing only the slightest glimpse of the black night that lay beyond them. The dark wood of the furniturecontrasted nicely with the white of the upholstery and when the flames bounced just right she could catch the outline of gold leaves sewn into the fabric.

The couple stood and walked around the sofa to greet her. James was in the same clothes from earlier, minus the jerkin, while Snow was in a simple plumb colored dress that brought out the green of her eyes. Emma could tell they had been settling in for the evening and hoped she wasn't interrupting anything.

"Hey guys, sorry to bother you, but I kinda need to talk to you if you have a second?" she asked with slight hesitation.

"Of course, Emma, come in and have a seat," James replied with his arm stretched towards the couch in invitation.

Emma remained where she stood, arms behind her back and shoulders tense under her blue cotton blouse. She had yet to adjust to the difference in clothing style, but at least she could still wear pants.

"Thanks, Charming, but I'm fine here. I don't want to take up too much of your time."

"Sure," the sandy haired man replied easily, wanting the tense woman in front of him to feel as comfortable as possible.

"What's wrong, Emma?" asked the concerned brunette. Her eye brows furrowed as she studied the blonde. They'd been friends and lived together for nearly a year and she couldn't recall one single time where Emma had seemed so jittery.

"You barely said a word at dinner and James said you seemed distracted when he saw you in the library earlier. You aren't still worried about the Evil Queen are you?"

"No." Yes. "This is something else."

"Well, is it Henry then?"

"No, Henry is fine. This is actually about me."

"Okay," replied the clearly confused brunette.

Green eyes darted nervously between the couple standing in front of her.

It's now or never.

"I just... I found something the other day. I was bored and wandering around checking out the palace and I found it. It explains a lot and Henry had already told me but I didn't believe him. I thought it was just the over active imagination of a ten year old boy with too much free time on his hands. I actually thought it was kinda funny because it was all just so ridiculous. Everyone knows fairy tales aren't real, but here we are and it is real. So he has to be right about this too, otherwise why would it be here? It's the only thing that makes sense."

She took a deep breath as her rambling came to an end. It had sounded a lot smoother in her head on the way here.

James and Snow exchanged confused glances. Neither had any idea what Emma was trying to tell them.

"Emma, what are you talking about? What did you find?" James asked.

"This," she said as she pulled her hands from behind her back.

"Oh, shit," green eyes widened as a trembling hand rose to cover dark red lips.

Two sets of eyes snapped to the petite brunette in surprise.

"Snow?"

Now James was truly lost. The harsh words were very uncharacteristic for his wife and he had no idea why a simple piece of cloth would warrant such a reaction.

Both women ignored him as their eyes locked. Emma stared intently into eyes so much like her own reading the truth behind them.

"You remember this, don't you?" Her voice was low but steady.

Snow White could only nod.

"Do you remember the discussion we had right before you saw it?"

Brunette curls bounced as she nodded again.

"What is going on? What are you two talking about?" James asked as his frustration became too much. He'd watched the conversation unfolding in front of him like a spectator at a tennis match; his eyes bouncing back and forth from one woman to the other as he tried follow what was being said.

Snow White turned to him lowering her hand from her mouth.

"I... it..." She turned and walked towards Emma. She eased the fabric from between shaking hands before walking back over to her husband and placing it into his grasp.

As he studied it, he could see that it wasn't simple cloth, but instead thick, soft thread knitted together. The tips of his fingers ran across a rough spot along the bottom. Curious, he turned it over and discovered thick purple stitching that clearly read 'Emma'.

He paled as the blood drained from his face in realization.

"Emma... but, how?" he asked as his eyes rose to meet the blonde's. He could clearly see the panic written across her face, but he needed to be sure. He needed her to spell it out for him.

"That blanket is the only thing I had with me when I was found as a baby. It's how they knew what to name me. It's the one thing that I always made sure went with me from home to home, even Storybrooke. This never once left the apartment. I was in my office that day and when all Hell broke loose, I ran to find Henry," and Regina, "and wasn't anywhere near it when the curse was lifted. I found the nursery a few days ago and in the crib was the blanket."

Silence reigned as Emma waited to her friends, her parents, to say something… anything. She'd expected surprised anger or even joyful laughing. This stunned silence, however, she had no plan for. She resisted the urge to fidget as teary blue and green eyes continued to stare at her. She couldn't deny her desire to flee, though, and cleared her throat awkwardly before speaking.

"Look, I know this is a lot to take in. Believe me; I've been freaking out over it for the past few days myself. I just… I thought you guys deserved to know. I'm just going to go check on Henry and let you guys process all of… this."

With that Emma turned and walked out the door. She'd make sure Henry was sleeping comfortably before heading to her own bed. Though, she highly doubted she'd be getting much sleep tonight.

As the door shut behind Emma, their daughter, Snow White let loose the tears she'd been holding back and turned to bury her face in her husband's neck. His familiar scent washed over her and strong arms held her tightly as she sobbed tears of joy, sorrow, and anger into his shirt.

James rocked her gently until her ragged sobs had calmed. He pulled back slightly and a strong hand cupped her cheek, raising her eyes to meet his. She could see tears trailing down his face even as he gently wiped away hers. He leaned in to place a soft, comforting kiss on her lips before taking her hand and leading her over to the couch.

Snow curled against James's side with one arm across his stomach and her slipper covered feet tucked underneath her. His arms wrapped around her again as they stared into the fire lost in thought.

"How could we have missed this?" James asked his voice no more than a rough whisper in the otherwise silent room.

"I don't know," the brunette replied just as quietly. "I haven't been able to bring myself to go back to the nursery yet, have you?"

"No," he replied simply.

Immediately upon his return, he'd been bombarded with the memories of his old life. He was grateful no one had been around to watch as he fell to his knees and wept as his final moments flashed across his mind. He remembered placing his newborn daughter, wrapped only in a blanket, into the magical cabinet and his relief that she was gone when it was opened by the Evil Queen's soldier. He knew they had done what was necessary to protect her, but he couldn't rid himself of the guilt he felt for not being able to protect her better and for sending her away without knowing where she'd end up.

"But you knew, didn't you, as soon as she pulled out the baby blanket?" There was no accusation in his voice just honest puzzlement.

"Yes," she said with a slight nod against his chest. "After she reunited the twins, Eva and Nicholas, with their father, we were in my room and she was wondering what it would be like to find her own parents. Then she told me Henry's theory that she was the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. We just laughed it off and as she was leaving I saw her blanket lying in a box. I remember commenting on how pretty it was and that was the end of it. Then, when we were back here there was so much confusion and things that needed to be taken care of that it just never crossed my mind. Emma is not a unique name and she is only a few years younger than us. There was never any reason to believe that she could be ours."

"Do you remember how long we were in the other world?" he asked. It was something he'd been trying to figure out since their return.

"Apparently it's been twenty-nine years, but it only seemed like a few years at most. Almost as if we had just…"

"Always been there," he finished for her.

Time had always been a funny concept in his life as 'David'. At first he thought it had just been the amnesia, but even after recovering his memories he could never recall exactly when or how he'd ended up is Storybrooke.

"I will never forgive the Evil Queen for making us lose so much time with our daughter," he growled. "If I ever get the chance, I will make her pay."

Snow remained silent, but knew in her heart that she would be right there next to him if the opportunity ever arose.

A/N: First, I want to thank everyone who has not only reviewed my story so far, but who has also added me to their author alert/favorite, and/or my story to their alert/favorite. I cannot begin to say how honored I am that you guys like this enough to want to read more. I get giddy every time I get an email telling me that someone else likes it.

Second, I need to send a shout out to Starclipper01 and MayorIsHot. Starclipper01 brought Emma's blanket to my attention by asking if I would use it. I hadn't planned to at first, but she got me thinking and this is the result. MayorIsHot is just always fantastic to me. If I feel a little unsure about my story or my writing she is always quick with an encouraging word that makes me want to write more.

Finally, I am kinda paranoid about this fic so I want to take this opportunity to let everyone know that I have this story plotted out through the ending and have since before I wrote the second chapter. There are so many OUAT fics and they are so good, but I am being very careful about what I read to make sure it does not influence my writing. So any similarities between this and any other fic are completely coincidental. I know this seems random, but like I said, I'm kinda paranoid cause this is going to take me a while to get through. I have at least 10-12 chapters planned. I hope that's okay with all of you guys.