Chapter 5

"Emma."

Nooo... good dreams... go away.

Blonde curls were all that was visible as she buried her head under the nearest pillow. Whatever hope she had that they would take the hint and leave her be was quickly dashed as the soft voice continued to call out to her.

"Come on, Emma. It's time to wake up," was the frustrated response to her childish behavior.

Green eyes finally fluttered open to the small, incessant hand shaking her shoulder. The pillow was pulled from her face and she squinted into the bright light streaming through her windows. Blurry images in her sleep fogged mind coalesced into the pixie-like face of a young brunet boy hovering a few inches from her own.

"Kid, what is it? It's early," she slurred as she rose up on her elbows and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

Henry's head tilted and his face scrunched in clear confusion.

"It's almost noon."

"Okay, so it's not so early after all," she deadpanned.

Rolling onto her back with a slight groan, she propped herself against the dark head board and patted the now free space next to her in invitation. Henry climbed onto the fairly high bed and settled next to her green eyes, wise beyond their years, studied her silently before he spoke.

"You told them, didn't you?" he asked evenly.

"Uh...yeah. How did you know?"

Small shoulders lifted in a negligent shrug as he answered, "You've all been acting weird the last few days. The three of you have barely spoken to each other, they keep looking at me then looking at each other whenever they think I won't notice, and you've been kind of grumpy. It wasn't hard to figure out what happened."

This kid is way too smart for my own good.

"So what exactly did you tell them?"

"Well… I didn't actually… tell them anything. I just showed them my blanket and they figured it out from there."

"And..." he prodded when she didn't continue. "What did they say?"

"They really didn't say much; at least not to me. It looked like they needed some time for it to sink in, so I left."

"You ran," he called her out.

"Uh… yup."

There was no denying it; he knew her too well and would see it for the lie it was anyways. At least she could own up to her cowardice.

"Did you tell them about my mom, too?"

Messy blonde curls swirled as she shook her head. Disappointment and frustration showed clearly in the green eyes staring back at her.

"I'm sorry, Henry," she sighed. "You know I'm not ashamed of my feelings for your mom, but I'd already dropped one major bomb on them and you see how well we've all been dealing with that. I think telling them I've got a thing for the Evil Queen would have just been too much."

"But she's not the Evil Queen!" he protested. "Well... she is, but she's not like that now."

"I know, Henry. You're right, she's not," she was quick to reassure him. "But so little time has passed since we arrived here and everyone is still pretty mad about the curse so it may just take a while for all the hard feelings to go away," if ever.

He remained silent as his head lowered to stare at the twisting hands in his lap. Emma watched as a small furrow settled between his eyes and knew he was worried about something.

"What's wrong?" she asked gently.

Troubled eyes met hers as he asked in a small voice that broke her heart, "Do you still think she's looking for us? Or are you just saying that to make me feel better?"

Emma felt like smacking herself for not seeing how worried he'd been this whole time. She'd been so caught up in her own doubts and fears that she had completely missed his. For all his maturity, he was still just a child; even if she did forget that at times.

"I don't know, kid. I'd like to think so." I really hope so.

"If you're not sure, why don't you go looking for her instead?"

Emma was honestly beginning to wonder about that herself. It really wasn't in her nature to just sit around and wait. No, she had always been rash and headstrong; willing to take on the world to get what she was after. Something here, though, felt like it was holding her back. She figured it was Henry and her reluctance to leave him behind, but as each day passed that excuse got weaker and weaker.

"It's really complicated," she replied as she ran a hand through blonde locks in frustration. "I'm not even sure I understand the reasons myself, but I'll make you a deal. If your mom isn't here by this time next week, I will go out and find her myself."

Henry studied her for a minute before nodding his head in acceptance. He didn't seem very reassured, but it was the best she could give him for now.

"Do you think Snow White and Charming will be okay with all of this? My mom, too?" his skepticism was ringing crystal clear. "Because I kind of miss Snow's stories and Charming said he'd teach me how to ride a horse."

"Of course they will. They just need a little more time is all. This was a big shock for them; much like the one you gave me not that long ago," she teased and was glad to see a smile form as some of his fear left him.

"They absolutely adored you before and knowing you're their grandson could only make them love you even more. I don't think anything could ever change that."

"She's right, you know," came the familiar soft voice from the door.

Two heads turned quickly towards the sound. Emma really shouldn't have been surprised; the petite brunette had an uncanny sense of timing and always seemed to pop up out of nowhere just when she was needed. Still, it was a little unnerving and she could only pray that the other woman hadn't been listening too long.

"I apologize for interrupting. Charming and I were worried about you and the door was open... May I come in?"

"Of course," Emma gestured for her to join them.

The pale blue dress brushed against the stone floor as the shorter woman made her way across the room before coming to stand next to Henry. Her gentle gaze remained steady as soft fingers brushed lovingly through his short hair. Emma watched as the boy visibly relaxed under the reassuring touch.

"You are such an outstanding child, Henry. Even in Storybrooke I was constantly amazed not just with your intelligence, but with your kindness and compassion as well. Emma is right," she said as her eyes flickered to meet the blonde's briefly before returning to Henry. "You have both come to mean so much to us over the time we've known you, but knowing you are family brings us nothing but joy and only expands the love we already feel for you."

A bright smile broke across his face. It was one Emma hadn't even realized she'd missed seeing until this moment. His tiny arms wrapped around the brunette's waist as she leaned down to place a loving kiss on top of his head.

"Emma, may I speak with you?" Snow White asked as she took a seat across the library table from the blonde.

"Of course, Snow. What can I do for you?" she replied with an easy smile as she cleared away the map she had been studying.

Things had drastically improved over the last couple of days since her conversation with Henry and Snow White. There had been a few awkward moments here and there, but now they seemed to be getting back to normal; for which Emma was completely grateful. 'Parents' were a foreign concept to her and the fact that they were only a few years older than her made her brain hurt just thinking about it.

"Well," the brunette started, bringing Emma back to the present. "Charming and I have been talking a lot over the last several days, as I'm sure you can imagine. We've come to a couple of decisions and we're not sure how you're going to handle them."

"Do any of them include kicking Henry and me out?" she asked mostly teasing.

Apparently, her humor needed some work, though, because the brunette immediately looked appalled at the suggestion.

"Of course not, Emma! Why ever would we do that?"

A contrite look took residence on the blonde's face as she reached across the table to squeeze Snow's hand in apology.

"I'm sorry, that was a lame joke. What did you two decided, then?"

The brunette seemed hesitant now but forged ahead none the less.

"We want to host a ball in celebration of your return to us, Henry as well of course, and officially crown the two of you as royalty."

Wait… what?

The blonde wasn't so sure she liked the sound of any of that. Clubbing with a couple of friends or slamming down shots alone at some random bar was more her style. She wasn't even prepared to touch the royalty part yet; it was just too ridiculous.

"What exactly would this 'ball' entail?" she asked as green eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Not much, really," the other woman fidgeted slightly in her seat. "There will be food, music, and dancing just like at any other party. We already have one planned for next week in celebration of our return to Happily Ever After and thought it best to combine the two so that it would keep some of the attention off of you. We're planning to keep it small if that helps."

Emma didn't even need to use her super power on the brunette to know she wasn't telling the truth. It seemed Snow White was as bad a liar as Mary Margaret was. Still, the blonde could clearly see the hope and excitement shining past the anxiety that clouded the green eyes across from her. She didn't have the heart to disappoint, even if she really wanted to.

"Well, if you think it's a good idea I don't see how I can say no. I guess I'll have to get used to this whole 'life as a royal' thing at some point anyways," she stated with obvious resignation.

Snow White smiled as she realized Emma was giving in without a fight.

"Have you told Henry yet?"

"No, we thought it best to come to you first, but I'm sure he'll be thrilled."

"Yeah, his very own fairly tale come to life," she quipped.

Snow stared at her in disbelief.

"Really? With the pun?"

"What? It fits," she defended.

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the delay. I hope this was worth the wait. I wanted this posted last night, but I was at work from 7:30 in the morning until 10 that night so by the time I got home all I could make myself do was go to bed. Anyways...Chapter six is when the ball really gets rolling (ha!) and I think you'll like what I've got in store for you. Hopefully, there won't be any other stories or work craziness to distract me. Thank you, as always, to any and all who read this, but most especially to those who comment. They just make my day, seriously.