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Snow and James lay in bed, amazed at how well they fit together. It was like fate made them just for one another.

"I've never been happier." Snow murmured, staring up at the ceiling, absentmindedly tracing circles on James' chest.

"What more could we ask for?" He agreed.

"I just hope the plan works." She sighed. "I'm so sick of being afraid. It's silly, I know. I want it all to end."

"I know, Babe." James said, stroking her hair. "It will be soon. Just go to sleep, okay?"

"How am I supposed to sleep?" She flipped onto her side to face him. "My daughter is going to be bait, and we're taking some lunatic's word that she's going to be fine. Explain how that should make me feel better?"

"Emma said he wasn't lying, and I didn't think he was lying." James said. "So he wasn't lying."

"He's the Master of Manipulation, Charming. Do I need to say any more?" Her eyes filled with tears of fear and sadness, yet there was a steely determination in them.

"We made a deal."

"Are you that stupid?" Snow whisper-yelled. "Never make deals with him."

"All we have to do is give him his son back. It's not that difficult." James insisted. He placed a tender kiss to her lips. "Don't worry. We have everything under control. Just relax."

"Fine." She snuggled into him. "But I'm still worrying."

OUATOUATOUATOUATOUATOUATOUAT

Graham reached over to the other side of the bed, frowning when he found it was cold. He sat up and scanned the room, finding it empty. His frown deepened when he realized it was still dark out; Emma never got up this early. Sighing, he got up and padded to the living room, where he found her sitting on the couch.

"You okay? You're up before noon." He took a seat beside her. She jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Yeah. Yeah, couldn't sleep." She smiled reassuringly, or at least attempted to. Graham saw right through it.

"Something woke you up." He commented.

"What time is it?" She deflected, turning her attention back out the window.

"6:15." Graham replied.

"Wow, I really am up early." She slouched back into the couch.

"What's going on?" He asked tenderly, following suit.

"Nerves, I guess." Emma shrugged. She looked down at her hands and started fidgeting.

"Hey, it's okay. Everything's gonna be fine." He pulled her into a hug.

"I know that. I'm mad that I'm even nervous. I've dealt with people a lot scarier than Regina with no problem." She glared at the floor.

"It's okay to be afraid, Emma. Fear is a part of life. You should learn to accept it." Graham advised.

"I hate it when you go all philosophical on me." She grinned, kissing him fiercely. Without missing a beat, he deepened the kiss, pushing her down and pinning her hand above her head. "Emma likes." She said when they broke apart for air.

"Graham likes, too." He said, breath tickling her neck, making her shudder.

"This is really ironic." She said. "This is like a fairytale ending. I'm so happy."

"Well, we are living in a fairytale." Graham said.

"Shut up." She muttered, and kissed him again.

"Hey, hey, hey." Graham gently pushed her away.

"What?" Emma pouted, still straddling him.

"Let's go up to our room. Henry gets up early."

"I think you should stay down here." Emma got off him.

"Emma, I'm sorry." Graham put his hands up in frustration.

"If you go up with me, I won't sleep. I need to sleep." She said.

"So you're banishing me to the couch?" He asked.

"I wouldn't say banishing so much as politely asking you to stay down here." She replied.

"But it's not my fault that I distract you." Graham protested.

"Yes it is. Now, I'm going to sleep. Make sure Henry stays quiet, okay? If you want to sleep later, you can. Goodnight, morning, whatever." Emma gave him one last kiss before running back up the stairs. Sighing, Graham took his place back on the couch.

The afternoon sun lightened the room, creating a cheery atmosphere for Snow, James, Graham, and Henry, who sat in the kitchen.

"She's still sleeping?" Snow asked, something akin to amusement plastered on her face.

"She was up early this morning." Graham supplied, the previous night's events seen clear as day on his face. The dark circles and bedhead explained it all.

"Now that you mention it, you look like crap." James said. Snow flashed him a stern look before returning her attention to her hot chocolate.

"I understand that you're an overprotective father, but bullying me isn't going to change anything between me and Emma." Graham said.

"A father can try." James sighed. "What was it last night?"

"I love how we just talk about her when she's not around." Graham smirked.

"We're doing it for Emma's own good, so we're not bad people for doing it." Henry said, that same constant smile on his face.

"Smart boy." Graham ruffled his hair. Then he turned to James and Snow, her were leaning into each other. "She was nervous about today."

"But Emma never gets scared." Henry's face fell, as if he learned the cold hard truth about the world.

"She's worried about failing, Henry. If she does, she'll lose you."

"I have a crazy idea." James said.

"What's crazier than sending our favorite blonde to take out the Evil Queen based on Rumplestilskin's word that the magic can't harm her?" Graham mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"What if we hid Henry?" James ignored Graham. "Then she couldn't find him, and she'd have to get through all of us to get to him."

"You're forgetting the fact that she can use magic on us." Snow pointed out.

"It still can't hurt to hide him."

"Hey! I think I should have a say in this." Henry declared. "I'm not a kid anymore, I'm 16. I want to fight, too." No longer was he protesting with child-like exuberance, but man-like determination, his only focus to save his family.

"Your mother will never consent to that." Graham said quickly. From the top of the stairs, they heard something shatter.

"She's up." Graham started to push himself out of his chair, but Snow put her hand up.

"I'll go."

"I'm coming, too." James declared. With that, the two cautiously made their way to Emma's room. As quietly as they could, they tiptoed to her door and listened. They could barely make out cursing, and flinched when another object collided with the wall. What the Hell? James mouthed. Snow shrugged, and put a finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet.

"Emma?" She called out softly.

"I'm busy." Came the curt reply.

"Doing what?" James asked.

"Nothing you need to know about." Emma all but growled in frustration.

"We're coming in." Snow said, carefully turning the knob. When the door fully opened, the two stood in astonishment. It looked as if a tornado had torn through the room.

"You were busy tearing the room apart?" James asked.

"I don't do well with feeling out of control." Emma shrugged, looking anywhere but at her parents.

"So trashing your room makes you in control?" He was still confused. He would never understand why women did some of the things they did.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Snow asked, stepping over the broken glass and taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

"No." Emma said in a tone that said 'that's ridiculous'. "Do we have a game-plan for tonight?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, we do." James said, catching what she was doing. "But let's focus on the present." Emma sighed, knowing she wasn't getting out of it.

"I'm worried that the plan is going to fail, and Henry will be taken from me." She said in monotone.

"Everything will work out fine." Snow wrapped her in a hug.

"Let's go take a walk." James held out his hand, and she grabbed it. Emma allowed herself to be led out of the room, and down the stairs. They ignored Henry and Graham's questioning looks, leaving Snow to explain. He led her to the stables.

"I thought it was clear horses don't like me." She said, sniffling in crisp air.

"Get on the horse." He commanded, mounting his own.

"James." She sighed, looking up at him. "I can't afford to get thrown off of one right now."

"You're not. You're going to take control of the horse." James inched forward on his. With one last weary look at him, Emma swung herself up, and took a steadying breath. She dug her heels in, bringing the horse up to a trot. Determination was etched into her features. James smiled.

"There you go."

"I can almost guarantee I'm going to break my arm." She glared at him.

"Come on." He took off down the road in a slow gallop.

"Really?" Emma groaned. From the window, Snow, Graham and Henry laughed.

"She did better this time." Graham said.

"If she hurts herself, Charming is dead." Snow said.

OUATOUATOUATOUATOUATOUATOUAT

James slowed to a stop when they came to a clearing, where even though the sun was intense, there was a slight mist. The grass was dry, which went against everything Emma knew to be possible. The Enchanted Forest was full of strange things.

"What are we doing here?" She asked, relieved to be back on terra firma.

"I want you to see that you're capable of anything." James began, pride shining in his eyes. "I know you feel as though you're letting your mother and me down, as well as Henry. I know you're afraid of failing. Emma, you are everything that any of us could've ever wanted. You're beautiful, intelligent, and strong. I only wish I could've played a part in you being the way you are. You are not letting us down. I want you to always remember that." He placed a kiss to her hand. By now, Emma was fighting to keep her tears at bay.

"Why are you telling me this?" She whispered.

"You have every right to be scared. You don't have to be. When I first met you as David Nolan, I wasn't too fond. I thought, 'she's kinda cocky, and likes to cause problems.' After I got to know you more, I knew why. I learned that you have every right to be cocky." She raised an eyebrow at him. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I have no doubt that you'll be victorious tonight." Emma stared at him, speechless.

"Thank you. I-I don't really know what to say." She blushed, and a single tear fell down her cheek. She swiped at it angrily. "Parents and the system are rough topics for me." She explained.

"It's okay, Emma." James embraced her. "You don't have to be an emotionless loner anymore."

"Mhm." She sniffled into his shirt. After a minute, she pulled back, eyes red, and offered him a watery smile. "Sorry."

"Don't be." James pulled her into another hug.

"It's funny. In my early foster homes, my siblings loved Disney. I could never put my finger on why, but the Snow White and Prince Charming story was my favorite. By 7 I had stopped believing in them but…" Emma shrugged. "It's the only one I ever took a liking to."

"You had it in your blood." James smiled warmly.

"I guess that's reason enough." She chuckled for no reason. "Wow, this is crazy."

"Is it really? You have what you've always wanted. That's the fairytale. Castles, and dragons, and fairies, and curses, none of that really matters." James said.

"You're too young to be this wise." She said.

"Why thank you." He bowed. "We should get going. Tonight's a big night." He climbed onto his horse. This time, Emma didn't hesitate when mounting hers.

"They're back!" Henry yelled from the window, startling Graham out of his nap.

"She really is keeping you up, isn't she?" Snow frowned, then glanced out the window at her husband and daughter, galloping full speed towards the stables.

"That was some riding lesson." Graham mumbled, following her gaze. James and Emma came stumbling in, laughing.

"For goodness' sake, why'd you keep her so long?" Snow threw her arms around James' neck.

"We were having fun." James replied.

"I thought you had kidnapped her or the Queen found you."

"We are fine." He assured her, pecking her lips.

"Good. It's nearly 3 O'clock. I really was worrying."

"She didn't shut up the whole time." Graham interjected.

"You're lucky my daughter loves you so much…" Snow threatened, throwing a glare his way.

"We need to have a strategy for tonight." James announced, flopping onto the couch.

"We have one." Graham said. "Henry has to be bait. Draw the Queen out, and… Well, I haven't gotten that far yet."

"No way." Emma said, eyeing Henry. "My son is not going to be bait."

"It's not that bad of an idea, Sweetie." Snow said. "You'll have your gun, and you can fire a warning shot at her. She'll back down."

"She's not exactly the back-down-from-a-fight type." Emma argued. "There has to be some other way."

"Unfortunately, I don't see one." James said.

"Well, I don't consent." Emma folded her arms across her chest.

"You don't need to. It's a democracy." James gave her a stern look.

"I'm Deputy." She said in a futile attempt to get her way.

"And I'm Prince. What I say goes, unless Snow doesn't agree, in which case she gets her way because bad things happen when she doesn't." He smirked at his wife. "But she agrees. I'm sorry, Emma, but we have to do this."

"Henry, how do you feel about it?" Emma crouched down to his level, speaking softly.

"It was my idea." Henry said.

"Fine." Emma stormed up the stairs and slammed her door.

"Like mother like daughter." James mumbled.

"We've got to do something about that attitude." Snow said. "Every time something doesn't go the way she wants it to, she goes up there and pouts."

"I think it's kind of cute." Graham smiled. At the annoyed looks, he continued. "I mean, she pouted to me once to get out of the night shift. Unfortunately, it only lasted a second since I brought her donuts. It's so out of character for her, it's adorable."

"Since you enjoy it, you are tasked with getting rid of it." James said.

"No, come on. Maybe this is actually her. Maybe all of the walls and masks and façades are finally gone. This is good." He agrued.

"Fine. But the second it puts someone in danger, the blame falls to you."

"I'm fine with that."

The full moon lit the woods as the Charmings walked, eyes peeled for any movement other than their own. They came to a stop in a small clearing, with pine needles littering the forest floor. Somewhere in the distance, and owl hooted.

"I hate the wilderness." Emma mumbled, angrily brushing a leaf off of her.

"The wolves are here to help." Graham said, ignoring her comment.

"Great." She said sarcastically. The ground rumbled beneath them as galloping could be heard.

"She's coming." Snow whispered.

"You guys need to go." Emma said.

"No."

"Yes. She can use magic on you, and I have no idea what she's going to do. Henry can stay with me. Feel free to run interference if things start to go south. Now shoo." She locked eyes with James, her voice firm and determined but eyes pleading.

"Let's do as she says." James wrapped and arm around Snow's shoulder.

"I'm not leaving her again to save us." She whispered harshly.

"We can debate morals after. Go before she kills you." This time, Emma shoved them. Graham gave her one last kiss before following them into the brush. She turned to Henry. "Kid, whatever happens, just know I love you. If I tell you to run, you run like there's no tomorrow, got it?"

"Okay." Henry nodded. The Queen appeared, walking slowly and methodically toward them.

"Henry?" She sang. "Did you miss me?"

"No." Henry replied confidently.

"That's okay. Once you remember our life together, you'll be begging for it back. Ms. Swan, you don't stand a chance. He loves me." Regina sneered.

"I think you have it wrong." Emma said, taking a step forward, putting Henry behind her. "He came to find me."

"Stupid girl." Regina muttered, and put her hand up, magically dragging Henry to her.

"Henry!" Emma yelled. Regina wrapped her arms around the boy in a hug. "Let him go."

"No." Regina smirked. Instinctively, Emma pulled her gun, and trained it on the other woman's head.

"I said, let. Him. Go." She repeated.

"Ms. Swan, do you even know how to use that?" Emma cocked the gun.

"Yes." Regina's grip loosened a little. In a flurry of movement, Snow ran out of a bush and tackled Henry out of the way.

"This isn't over." Regina hissed before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"Huh." James stood up, followed by Graham. "She did that at our wedding."

"Crap!" Emma slammed her palm into a tree.

"Hey, calm down." Graham ran over to her, and massaged her shoulders. "The tree didn't do anything to you."

"Henry, are you okay?" Snow asked.

"Y-Yeah." Henry replied, his voice shaking.

"Why didn't you take the shot?" James asked.

"I couldn't do that to Henry." Emma put her head in her hands, and Graham just kept massaging her.

"Then I guess we have to step up our game." James said, taking the gun from Emma's hands. "Next time we confront her, I'm having an assassin take her out."

"What?" Henry gasped.

"I'm sorry, but it's our only option." James said.

"You guys go back." Graham said, looking down at Emma, who was zoning out. "I think we'll be here for a while." The three obliged, and started the trek back to the castle.

I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THE DELAY. I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR 5 DAYS NOW, SO THAT'S WHY IT TOOK SO LONG. I'M HOPING TO HAVE THE NEXT CHAPTER UP OVER THE WEEKEND. THANKS FOR FOLLOWING THE STORY.