A/N: Thanks so much to those of you who read, reviewed, alerted and added this story to your favourites! I hope you like this chapter and I'd really appreciate any comments you may have on it.
"Henry?" Emma asked, a slight nervousness in her voice. "What do you know about purple fog?" In any other circumstance, it would have been odd for Emma, the mother, to be asking her son for answers; but out of everyone she knew, he knew the most about the curse.
"Well, in the book, when the Evil Queen enacted the curse, black fog swallowed up the enchanted forest, so maybe it's something to do with magic…" he suggested, standing beside her and looking out the window as the fog seemed to dissipate.
"Magic in Storybrooke, huh? That can't mean anything good," Emma mumbled.
Henry silently agreed, shaking his head. But the fog that had descended upon Storybrooke, didn't appear to have done anything much. Now that it had cleared, Henry and Emma could see the town looked the same as always, as did the people.
Emma helped Henry back to his hospital bed, aware that after his near-death experience he needed his rest. She couldn't resist the urge to tuck the sheets in around him, though as soon as she finished, Henry wriggled around so much that she might as well not have bothered. The sight brought a smile to Emma's face. For the first time since Henry had entered her life, she actually felt like a mother.
The thought had no sooner entered her mind than she found herself looking at her own mother. People, mainly the hospital staff and other patients, had been gathered outside Henry's door ever since the curse had broken, wanting a chance to thank Emma and Henry, but it was a shock to suddenly see Mary Margaret and David staring at her in wonder.
In what felt like slow motion, they pushed open the door and slid inside, smiling shyly at their daughter.
But Emma was still finding it hard to believe that Henry hadn't been lying when he said that Mary Margaret, her roommate, was Snow White and David was Prince Charming, let alone when he'd revealed that Snow White and Prince Charming were her parents.
"Well this is exceedingly awkward," Emma muttered, more to herself than anybody else. Nobody knew what to do or say. Emma didn't feel she could acknowledge the parents she'd never met who happened to be the same age as her. But Snow and James wanted more than anything to greet their daughter, to pull her close and never let go. Though they could see the apprehension in Emma's face and, though it felt like it would kill them, they hung back, staying near the door.
"Hey grandma, grandpa," Henry said cheerfully, breaking the atmosphere.
"Hey Henry," Snow said softly. "I'm glad you're feeling better."
Henry grinned back at her, leaving Emma wondering how he didn't feel odd calling his teacher, grandma.
"Emma?" Snow asked hesitantly.
"Hi," Emma replied, feeling out of place.
"Are you…okay?" It seemed a ridiculous question to ask, how in the world could she be okay.
"Physically."
"And how about emotionally?" James asked, speaking for the first time. His throat was tight with emotion and he struggled to get the words out.
Emma simply shrugged. It had been one heck of a day. Whilst she had no physical injuries, she was exhausted from battling a dragon. And then on top of that, she felt emotionally and mentally drained. Because as if it wasn't enough that the son she'd only so recently been reunited with had died only to come back, she then broke the curse. The curse that she'd stoically refused to believe in for months. And the icing on the cake was that she was standing less than three feet away from her parents.
She'd spent years searching for them, only to find them in Storybrooke but not know it.
Before she knew it, Snow was right next to her, holding her and smoothing down her hair in a motherly gesture. A motherly gesture that Emma couldn't quite wrap her head around. Her arms remained by her sides, as she tried to figure out what to do.
She knew that not reciprocating would hurt her mother's feelings, but in Emma's head, Snow was still Mary Margaret, her friend and roommate. It would take a long time for her to get used to thinking of her as a mother. Perhaps it was easier to think of David as Prince James or her father as she hadn't been as close to him. But even then, she'd gone years without parents, believing they didn't want her.
"We've missed you so much," Snow whispered, seeming oblivious to Emma's frozen form. But that didn't mean Henry couldn't see it. He winced, hoping that against all odds Emma would react.
"Missed me?" Emma mumbled, half-confused and half-angry. After abandoning her in an unknown world, what right did they have to miss her?
"Of course we missed you," James answered, walking towards his family with a wide smile. It all seemed perfect. "We love you."
Nobody had ever told Emma they loved her. Not her many foster parents, not her various siblings and not even Henry's father. She's spent her entire life, as a result, believing that nobody could love her, that there was something wrong with her. After all, there had to have been a reason her parents hadn't wanted her, didn't there?
"But you gave me up," Emma told them, feeling vulnerable for the first time in many years. Seeing her parents for the first time seemed to have brought back all her childhood insecurities, despite the fact that she knew from Henry's storybook why they had had to send her through the wardrobe.
Snow drew away from Emma, resting her hands on the tops of her arms for a few moments to look her right in the eyes as she said, "It was the last thing we wanted, Emma. I wish we could have kept you, but we had to keep you safe. Do you think we wanted you to be stuck in the curse? And where would we be now if we'd kept you?"
"You only wanted me to escape the curse so that I could break it," Emma accused, twisting out of Snow's hands.
"No," Snow insisted, trying to reach out for her again, but Emma backed away and pushed past James, heading for the door.
"Mum!" Henry called out, sitting up and throwing off his sheets as if he was going to get out of bed and follow her.
"I'll see you later, Henry," Emma said over her shoulder, not yet feeling guilty over leaving her son.
"I think it's safe to say that couldn't have gone any worse," Snow muttered, wrapping her arms around her own torso and turning to look sadly at Charming.
"She'll come round," James promised, doing his best to speak with conviction but even he had his doubts. He wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed the top of her head, comforting her as best he could.
When they turned around, Henry was nowhere to be seen.
"What's happened to Henry?" Snow worried. Emma would be devastated if anything happened to him. Snow rushed out of the room and caught sight of the Blue Fairy, who said Henry got out of bed and followed his mother.
Henry climbed the hospital stairs, following the advice of the Blue Fairy that Emma would feel trapped inside the hospital and want fresh air. He also knew, however that she wouldn't want to go too far away. So he was heading to the roof. And that was where he found her, sitting on the edge, loud sobs shaking her body and the wind whipping up her hair. Silently he sat down beside her and leaned in until he was hugging her.
Not only was Emma reliving the memories of all her years searching for her parents and finding nothing, of being convinced that they didn't want her, she was feeling guilty for leaving Henry when he needed her. She didn't think anybody could understand, but Henry's simple act of hugging her was a comfort.
They were still sat that way when Snow and James happened upon them, again unsure how to proceed.
It surprised Emma when Henry spoke up.
"They were giving you your best shot," he said. "Just like you did with me."
"Really?"
Henry nodded. "I've read the book, I know."
"Come here, Kid," Emma said, shuffling further away from the edge of the roof and pulling Henry into her lap. "You're smart, you know that?"
Henry nodded and Emma half-laughed.
Snow and James both gave a sigh of relief and slowly approached.
"Emma?" James asked uncertainly.
She turned and gave them a hesitant smile. Henry moved, allowing her to get up. "Sorry for freaking out on you and all…"
"No, we took things a bit quickly I think," Snow said.
"It's just a bit overwhelming," Emma mumbled, thinking in particular about how odd it was going to be having parents who were the same age as her. She tried not to back away as Snow walked towards her and took her face in both her hands, wiping the tear tracks away.
"You look tired."
"I am," Emma admitted.
"Come on," James said. "I'll drive us home."
It felt odd to hear those words said. Despite living in Storybrooke for months, Emma hadn't really considered it home. She'd spent so long moving from place to place, never putting down roots, that she didn't think she'd ever had a home.
"Come on, Henry, you need to change out of this hospital gown before we can leave."
"Why don't you meet us at the car?" Snow suggested.
Emma nodded and let Henry drag her off.
As she helped him change and gather his things, he kept saying things like, "You did it! You broke the curse!" and "You found your parents, Mom!"
Emma couldn't help but smile and nod, though she knew it would be a long time before she fully accepted everything that had happened in Storybrooke.
"Ready?"
"Yeah," Henry answered.
"Then let's go."
A/N: I hope this wasn't too similar to anything else you might have read. I'd love to know what you thought so leave a review if you've got time.
A timeline for reference so you can hopefully avoid confusion:
Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse
Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later
August Chapter (Chapter 8) – 2 days later
The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later
Jack and the Beanstalk Chapter (Chapter 7) – 1 week later
Hiking Chapter (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks late
Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later
Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later
Whole town Chapter (Chapter 11) – 1 month later
Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later
Grumpy Chapter (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later
Much love, SabreDae
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