Chapter 7

Neal helped Emma to a sitting position.

"What are you doing here," Emma asked.

Neal didn't say anything instead he turned to look at Henry who had a big smile on his face.

"He did it," said Henry. "He woke you up."

Mary Margaret and David looked at each other with smiles on their faces. More than anything they wanted to go toward each other but now was not the place or the time.

Instead Mary Margaret held out her hand to David and said, "You found me."

He smiled and squeezed her hand. "Did you ever doubt I would?"

Emma felt a huge relief as she reached out her arms, "Henry!"

The boy ran towards her, "Mom!" he replied gleefully.

Emma held onto her son tightly, eyes closed. She knew what her son had done, in her state she had heard everything but she could not be mad at him right now. He had been right about everything, about the curse, about true love, all of it.

"I love you Henry," she said to him.

"I love you too mom," Henry replied.

It warmed her heart to hear Henry say those words.

After a brief moment Emma stood up. She saw Mary Margaret and David standing before her, tears in both their eyes. Mary Margaret took a step forward and Emma stood in place, frozen, unsure on what to do or how to act.

No words were said as Mary Margaret reached out and hugged her daughter. David hugged her as well. Behind them Henry looked at his own dad and smiled and Neal returned it.

Emma's mind was racing. All that Henry had told her was true: she now was standing with the parents that had saved her life from the curse and to make things even more complicate the love of her life, after ten years, had all of a sudden returned.

"Grandma," Henry said going up to the family of three, "Grandpa."

Both David and Mary Margaret laughed and Emma pulled back, pulling Henry to her side.

"Yeah kid," said David. "I guess so."

"She did it," said Henry, "She saved you," he then turned to Neal, "they both did."

Emma turned in Neal's direction. Ten years. Ten years since she had last seen him, since he had gotten her sent to jail.

Neal nodded, "Emma," he simply said.

Emma looked at him coldly. More than anything at this very moment she wanted to hate him but she knew that part of that was unfair given all that she had heard him say. Emma could still remember the room of fire that she was in during her sleeping curse. All she could do was try her best to avoid the flames but she had heard them: she had heard Henry, she had heard Mary Margaret. She had heard Regina come and try to take Henry and Mary Margaret standing up and protecting her son when she couldn't.

And she had heard Neal.

She walked over to him and crossed his arms. "I heard you," she said to him. "Did you mean it?"

"How much did you hear?" Neal asked.

"All of it," she replied.

Neal nodded. "Every word," he told her.

Emma just nodded and let those two words set in. "It won't be easy. I'm still mad at you."

"I know, I'm mad at me too but don't you think we at least deserve a chance," Neal asked. "Fate brought us together once didn't it and it seems to have brought us together again."

"You really believe that?"

Neal shrugged, "Sure why not, I mean me kissing you wouldn't have worked, it wouldn't have woken you up if it didn't mean something so maybe there's still a chance."

"There's still a lot of road blocks though Neal, like why you left. I can't just forget that the past ten years didn't happen. I can't just forget what you did."

"I don't expect you to," Neal answered, "but for what it's worth I still do love you, that hasn't changed regardless of what you may think."

Emma looked at him, her gaze softening. She knew there were still a lot of things to cover but if she was being truthful to herself loving him was something that she had not let go of either, regardless of what he had put her through and regardless of the time that had passed. For years she had tried to suppress it, to bury it deep within her and forget that part of her soul didn't exist but with him standing before her now, coming to her rescue and for her son to reach out and find Neal so he could bring his father home; it made her realize that yes what they had was true love. If it wasn't Neal wouldn't have come back and he wouldn't have held onto her as long as he did much like she had done with him.

She let out a small smile, "It hasn't changed for me either," she admitted to him and to the family in the room who could hear their conversation. She smiled wider, "Who needs Prince Charming when I've got you?"

Neal smiled, "Yeah about that, there's something you should know about me, something I never told you."

Before Emma could ask what that was she turned at the sound of Henry's voice.

"So," Henry said a little leery and coming up to his parents, "I guess you're not mad at what I did? I mean if you heard everything then you knew I was behind getting Neal here."

Emma looked down and laughed a little. "Oh I'm a bit mad but we'll talk about that later. Though if it hadn't been for you I'd probably still be in that sleeping curse," she said to him. She then knelt to his level. "I'm so sorry for not believing in you Henry. I should have had more faith."

"It's okay," the kid replied. "Sometimes it just takes a life and death situation to make someone believe something is true."

Emma ruffled his hair, "You're too smart you know that?"

"Emma," Mary Margaret said from behind Henry.

Emma looked up at Mary Margaret and David. It was so strange that her roommate and friend and her friend's complicated romantic interest were her parents. She looked at them with the same look she had given Neal earlier- a sense of coldness but with a sense of longing as well. She stood straight, leaving Henry with Neal and walked over toward them.

David placed a hand in his pocket, "I guess there's a lot we need to talk about."

Emma nodded. "Yeah I guess so."

"We've got time though right?" Mary Margaret asked. "I know this is a lot to take in, for all of us- us being reunited, Henry finding his father, you and him reconnecting. Shouldn't we try to talk this all out, all of us?

"I don't know," said Emma, "I guess. I just need a little time. What I really need is some air."

Emma walked over to the coat rack and grabbed her red leather jacket. She turned to the four people in the room.

"I promise we'll talk, I just need a minute."

Her parents simply nodded and let her go, Mary Margaret and David holding hands as their daughter left the apartment.

~END~