A few hours later, traps had been set and branches gathered. In the midst of their work, they'd done their best to set up a simple ceremony. Emma had dug the candle out of her satchel and set it on the mantle above the fireplace. Around it, Bae had arranged a handful of wildflowers he'd found straggling in the yard. Once they'd both finished their tasks, she lit the candle, looking at Bae expectantly. "Ready?"

"One more thing," he said, disappearing out the front door. He reemerged seconds later, one hand hidden behind his back and a lopsided grin upon his face.

"What?" Emma asked, looking at him quizzically.

"There's a question I'm supposed to ask," he said. "I can't remember exactly, but I seem to remember something about asking if you'd be mine forever." With this he pulled his hand from behind his back, producing a circle of daisies, crudely woven together. She raised her brow, a smile creeping into her face despite herself.

"You remembered."

He shrugged. "Story had to be consistent... for the people, you know."

"That wasn't the story we went with!"

Another shrug. "But it was ever so much more endearing." He smiled at her for a moment before continuing. "You haven't answered the question, anyways."

"Of course I will," she said, tilting her head down and allowing him to perch the crown atop it. Meeting his gaze once more, her brow furrowed. "Who's going to conduct the ceremony?"

"I will, I guess."

"You can't officiate and be the groom!"

"Why not?"

"You just... can't."

He shrugged. "There's nothing to officiate. I'll just say a few things - here, like this."

She rolled her eyes as he launched into a speech, a false haughtiness about his tone. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the presence of the straw tumbled from the mattress, the rainwater leaking through the thatch and the cows in the meadow across the way. Fortunately the legalities concerning this union have long since been dispensed with, leaving only the vows of the bride and groom as they convert this marriage from a bond formed under duress to one forged in love."

"Nice, Bae. Straw and cows, really?"

"Are you prepared to do better?"

"No."

"Then let's get on with it, shall we?"

Emma nodded, the sarcasm of the situation fading away as she stared at her husband - or husband-to-be, whichever was more accurate in the moment. She picked up his hands, turning them over and studying them. Tracing their creases with her thumbs, she gathered her thoughts about her. "Bae, I, um..." she finally began, letting out a shaky breath. She raised her eyes to meet his gaze, her sudden nervousness reflected in the tight smile she sent his way. Drawing in another breath, she tried again.

"Baelfire, I'd no idea what to expect when I found out I was being forced into an arranged marriage. Sure, my father said I had a choice - but given the choice of marrying or watching my parents be killed, there really were no options. The stories I'd heard growing up, girls whose lives were no longer their own once they became the property of a husband... to say I was terrified would not even come close to my emotions as the carriage rolled away from the only home I'd ever known.

"But it took only a day for me to learn you weren't at all what I thought. You sacrificed as much as I did in entering this marriage, and your respect for me in those early days was a shock. I found myself insatiably curious about this boy, whose past was so much more complicated than the spoiled son of a reclusive sorcerer.

"And whatever I needed - breakfast, accompanied to the ball, run away and leave your life behind - you were there, no questions asked. These things you do because you don't see your own worth - they are the very things that make you worth so much.

"And so my promise to you, first and foremost, is that I won't ever let you forget how important you are, and how much you are loved. Because I do love you, that crazy emotion that crept up on me through months of berries and caves and bacon and balls... I love you more than I ever thought possible. And I promise that whatever we encounter, I will stand by your side, or at your back - wherever you need me to be to ensure you never need to go it alone again."

He smiled at her, somewhat unsure what to say apart from a whispered "thank you." As she smiled back, he finally settled on "My turn, huh?"

"Mmhm."

"Okay. Um… my dearest Emma… If I'm being truly honest, I don't even know when it is that I fell for you. One day, I was bound to protect you, absolutely desperate to get you home safe - because it was what I owed to your family, to the kingdom. Yet somehow along the way, it became for me, too - because I needed you, needed you like I was terrified to need anyone ever again. I've loved so few people in my life - and it's always ended in heartache - the very notion that I can love you best by simply being present is a foreign one to me.

"And so I thank you, my dearest darling, for being steadfast in your reminders that it's me you need, not anything that I might be able to give to you or do for you. I'd no inclination to be needed - or necessary - when we started out, I just needed to get you safely home.

"You suggested early on that I might find a home again - and I have, in you. And to find instead that you've become my home - in a cave, a barn, a pine tree or beyond - there are no words to express how much it means. For the first time in a long time, I have something to lose. And that terrifies me as much as it excites me, but most of all, dear heart, it makes me humbled to be chosen as yours. A girl who could have any hand in the kingdom… and she's given it to me. And though I'm still not certain I'm worthy of the Princess, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the girl beneath that mask is my heart's desire.

"And as you promise to remind me that I'm loved, I swear I'll do the same for you - love you for you, not for your title or your crown or for your family. Should we remain here for the rest of our days, destitute peasants in a tumbledown shack, we shall remain forever together - me every bit as in love with you as I am today."

He smiled at her after he finished and she smiled back, tears pricking at her eyes. "You may now kiss the bride," she whispered - and he wasted no time doing just that. There they stood, alone in the cabin, celebrating their new union - for a minute or five or more, who could count. When they finally broke apart, Emma bit her lip, eyes listing to the bed in the corner. She linked hands with her husband, pulling him behind her as she took the few steps necessary to cross the cabin. Standing on tiptoe, she wrapped her arms around his neck before she resumed kissing him.

"Are you sure?" he asked, drawing back to search her eyes for any sign of doubt or concern. He found none, and after she gave a decisive nod, he bent to kiss her once again before they tumbled onto the bed, finally allowing them to solidify the marriage they'd started so long ago.

"I'm fine, Charming. It's only a bit of discomfort when Doc examines me - aside from that, completely fine."

"You're not!"

"I am," Snow pressed. "I don't understand why you insist on keeping me bedridden."

Charming sighed. "It's important for the healing process, Doc said."

Snow squinted at him suspiciously. "He never told me that."

"It was… towards the beginning, when you were out."

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

"David, you are lying to me, and I want to know why!" Her voice rose as she spoke, ending in a yell - uncharacteristic for the even-tempered Princess. She shook her head. "Our daughter is out there, and I am fine. Why don't you leave me to run the kingdom and go to find her?"

Charming rose from his seat near Snow's bed, where he'd spent almost the entirety of his last seven days. He paced the floor, running a hand over his face - stopping, turning to Snow, opening his mouth, then closing it. He scrubbed his face again as he resumed his pacing before stopping once more and meeting her gaze. "I can't."

"What do you mean, you can't." Snow leaned forward, shooting daggers at her husband. "It's Emma. Of course you can."

"No, I - I can't. It's…" He swallowed. "It's the price."

"Charming."

He looked at her, guilt plain on his face.

"Tell me you didn't."

He hung his head, his eyes welling up with tears of shame - of feeling the weight of his wife's disappointment. "You were in so much pain…" He trailed off, quiet for a minute before he looked back at his wife. "I hadn't a choice."

"David, there is always a choice." She threw back the covers and moved as if to get up off the bed.

"No, Snow, you can't," he said, rushing to get side. "Rumplestiltskin said-"

She cut him off, not even hearing his last statement. "What do you mean I can't. I feel fi-aaugh!"

Charming caught her - barely - as she cried out in pain. Her nails dug into his shoulder - she'd grabbed on for support to avoid collapsing back onto the bed. He leaned over, laying her back down - and as he glanced across the bed, he found that the sorcerer responsible for the mess was standing on the other side.

"You!" he cried. "Why is she in pain again?!"

"Told you to keep her calm, didn't I?"

Charming went to lunge for Rumplstiltskin, only to stop as he realized Snow was still clinging to him, whimpering. Looking satisfied, Rumple waved his hand and her body relaxed.

"Now, dear Princess, there shall be no more of this fine business. The leg's got a clean break. It'll heal, but it's a six week process - at a minimum. You may well have just started it over again."

She narrowed her eyes. "What was the price."

Rumplestiltskin giggled. "Just your husband's presence by your side."

"And you were to find Emma," Charming accused. "Have you failed again?"

"She's not to be found, dearie," Rumple replied with a click of his tongue. "Disappeared into the ether, it seems."

"Your son has stolen her! I'll - I'll - I'll put that boy before a firing squad when I find him."

Rumple rolled his eyes. "Are all of the dramatics really necessary?"

"It needn't be dramatic when it's to avenge the kidnapping of a princess."

"You won't be harming my son," Rumplestiltskin replied tersely. "Should you try, the price of his call for help would be greater than you could ever pay."

Charming raised an eyebrow. "Will he even call? Seems to be no love lost between the two of you."

Rumplestiltskin paused, considering the words for a moment. Bae was rather prideful about relying on his father, and should he choose the wrong moment to draw on that pride… Rumplestiltskin made a face and then replied. "Bae's a smart boy. But to save us all the dramatics, how about this: I'll see to it that your daughter makes it home safely… you see to it that my son isn't harmed in the return."

Charming paused, considering. "If - if he returns Emma whole and unharmed, I'll consider letting him live." Rumplestiltskin went to speak, but Charming rose his hand. "On one condition."

"What's that?"

"You allow the marriage to be annulled."

Rumple paused for a moment; there was nothing that compelled him to comply. But on the other hand, if their adventure hadn't drawn the children together, his plan would have failed and releasing them would cause no harm. In that event, it would be likely to please Bae all the more. So with that forefront in his mind, he replied.

"Bae's life in exchange for an annulment?"

Charming nodded. "Yes."

"Well I do believe you've got yourself a deal."

Emma's eyelids fluttered open, finding thin beams of light seeping between the logs that comprised the cabin's walls. They fluttered shut again, armor against the assault of the sun, before opening once more to find brown eyes watching her from mere inches away.

"Good morning," Bae said, tilting his head forward to brush his lips across her forehead.

"Quite so, husband mine," she replied, blush creeping onto her cheeks as the prior night's memories flooded her mind. "A good morning indeed."

She caught his hand, bringing it to her lips and pressing kisses onto the pads of his fingers before studying it as she was so wont to do.

"Why do you do that?" he asked. "Study my hands so."

Her blush grew deeper, embarrassment this time. "It's silly, really."

"Humor me. We're married now - doesn't that make me privy to your deepest thoughts?"

"I suppose," she replied, unleashing a sigh as if his request was a burden of the world. She lay silent for a minute more, fiddling with the very fingers he was asking about before speaking. "It was this hand that joined mine the first time we were wed - and this hand that helped me over the wall when we ran from Cora's threat. And it was that grasp which led me to realize I'd begun to fall for you. And then, mere weeks later, the morning after the cave... looking at the blisters and cuts and calluses acquired as you devoted everything you had to keeping me safe. What you do speaks so much louder than what you say, and your hands stand as a testimony to all you've done out of love for me. Kept me warm and fed and safe and loved... I just study them and marvel at how much I'm loved. Sometimes it's what I need, more than the words or a kiss or even our vows. I know you love me but I just study your hands and I know that you love me."

She pillowed her head onto his chest, idly tracing its lines with a finger. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and studied her for a moment, taking in the sincerity in her voice and the tears that had sprung up on her lashes. "Are you happy?" he asked, concern soaking his voice, as if the fate of the world was dependent upon her answer.

"Excruciatingly so," she said, looking up at him and reaching out to brush a stray curl off of his forehead. "Far more than I deserve to be."

His brow furrowed. "Why's that?"

"I'm a displaced princess, squatting in an abandoned shack after fleeing for my life with the boy I was forced to marry. And yet I feel safer and more content than I've ever been. It hardly seems right!"

Bae chuckled. "Until you amend that statement by noting that you're a princess in title but not person, tucked in a secluded hideaway with the boy you've now chosen to marry, far removed from the source of the danger." He brushed his lips across her knuckles, a gentle show of affection and reassurance. "You needn't feel guilty for finding happiness in the midst of trials. On the contrary - the ability to do so should be celebrated."

"I suppose," she replied. "You would adopt that position. You sound like my mother. Where did you acquire your optimism, anyhow?"

"Someone has to balance out your cynicism, dear heart."

His eyes sparkled as she thumped him on the shoulder, shooting him a dirty look. "You're so mean to me!"

"Am I now," he said, arching an eyebrow. "I swear I remember being told differently... As recently as last night, as a matter of fact."

Her cheeks burned crimson once again at his insinuation. "Bae!" she scolded, ducking her head.

He paid her no mind, having a chuckle at her expense. "And I suppose now you'll want me to feed you in order to make it up to you."

"Well, I am hungry. It's breakfast time, after all."

"Shocking," he said, his sarcasm doing little to dampen the joy of the morning. He tugged the nearest blanket around his midsection, leaving Emma to yelp and scurry under the remaining layer of covers. "Luckily for you," he continued, nonplussed by her protests, "I anticipated your appetite and grabbed some berries yesterday while I was out picking flowers."

He searched about before finding the berries in the sack they'd gotten from Harold. Swinging it lightly, he walked back over to the bed and tossed it towards his bride. "Here. To make up for being mean."

"You could never be mean to me," she said, fussing with the strings of the bag - as if to hide her sincerity. "You don't have a mean bone in your body, Baelfire."

He snorted. "Says the girl bound by law to take my side."

"Says the girl who fell for you because of your kindness," she rebutted, holding the pouch of berries out to him. "Here. You eat too."

He sighed, shaking his head, but complied. She'd never let up if he didn't.

"What of our day today?" she asked as he chewed.

He swallowed. "Hopefully there's something in yesterday's traps. And -" he paused, knowing he was about to incite a quarrel - "I've a mission to find out whose grounds we're trespassing on."

She harrumphed. "Is it really necessary?"

"Will you truly be able to relax if we don't? I won't."

"I suppose," she conceded sullenly.

"Emma, dearest," he said, reaching up to stroke her cheek, "I've only a mind to wander a bit - to see if there's a nearby homestead that lays claim to this place. If I find nothing - and if no one finds us - then we can stay."

"Well enough," she agreed. "Get on with it then. I'll work on the traps while you head off on your mission."

Bae nodded. Then he leaned over and kissed her - the affection lasting dangerously long. "Hey now," he said softly. "I won't be gone long."

"You better not be," she replied.

Hours later he returned, a pail of water in his hand. "Found this outside," he said. "Drips a bit from the bottom, but it'll do well enough to bring water from the creek."

"And what of your mission?" she asked.

He shrugged. "No one around to inquire with. So, my dear," he said, walking across to where she was gutting the rabbit she'd found in the trap, "the cabin lives to serve another day."