Hey! Thank you all so much – I'm blown away by the response these past few chapters have received! Hope you guys like this one!

I do not own OUAT.

The silence following her little revelation was deafening. Deep down she knew it was the right thing to do but the way Mary Margaret's face twisted in grief had the power to still her rampant heart. There was no choice in the matter; Emma couldn't pretend that she was okay and that she knew exactly what everyone was talking about. It was better to tell her herself than have her find out later by some misunderstanding or slip-up on her part. She still harboured a load of anger and resentment, but if there was one thing Emma was not, it was cruel and stringing her parents along fell into that category.

Mary Margaret grabbed the top of the chair next to the bed for support, her frame looking more fragile than ever before. Even the sight of the brunette in emotional pain brought a film of tears to Emma's eyes and she felt the urge to console her. But she was lost. What could she possibly say to fix the situation; or, at the very least, make it better somehow? Words hardly seemed like enough – but they were all she had right now.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, unable to look at her friend anymore.

It didn't seem like much but the sentiment snapped the woman out of whatever haze that had taken her over and she leaned forward, careful not to touch the bed. "What for?"

"What do you mean?"

"What are you sorry for?" She wasn't angry or upset – she was curious.

Emma shrugged. "For…eh…I…forgetting, I guess." It was silly; she sounded like a kid trying to come up with a good reason that would pass parental scrutiny.

"Oh, Emma, don't…don't apologise. It's okay. It's not your fault," she said with as much conviction as she could muster – which wasn't a lot. Part of Emma believed that she was saying aloud for herself more so than Emma. She was a woman on the brink of emotional meltdown – holding it in with so much effort it looked as though it would be the end of her.

It was only really then that Emma let her thoughts drift in wonder at what had actually transpired between the two of them outside of just being Mary Margaret and Emma. Outside of just being ordinary citizens of Storybrooke. They were mother and daughter. And right in that moment in the hospital room, among the tubes and machines and medication, Emma felt something, albeit rather small like a flicker, of the bond they had that ran deeper than mere friendship. They were family.

The mask of heartbreak that Mary Margaret wore only manifested that notion.

Unfortunately, not having any kind of memory or picture of anything to connect that feeling to left Emma completely in the dark, floundering in bay of confusion. Yes there was something but not enough for her to release her grip on the walls that guarded her so well for as long as she could remember.

"Mary Margaret I-"

"No, you don't need to say anything more," the brunette interjected, trying to smile – and failing. "Like I said, it's okay." She paused to wrap her arms around her body, not sure of what to do with her hands. "You should rest; it's been a long day and you need to sleep."

"I'm not that tired," Emma asserted, though that couldn't have been further from the truth. Yet, she felt she had to say it. Maybe she wanted to say it. All she knew was that seeing her friend so upset made her stomach knot.

"Yes you are," Mary Margaret laughed sadly. "I can see it in your eyes. Plus, you'll feel much better when you do. I think I'll take a walk, clear my head for a little while."

Emma nodded. "Oh. Okay, then."

The brunette moved away from the bed, Emma watching her every move. Suddenly, she stopped, took in a deep breath and twirled back around to face her. "If you need anything, anything at all, you tell us, okay? I mean it; if you're unwell or in pain or whatever, just please let us know. I can't guarantee that we won't be checking up on you like crazy but just don't be afraid to talk to us. About anything. We're not going anywhere. Well, we're being released today but we're gonna be here every day for as long as it takes." All of her words came tumbling out of her mouth in a rush almost as if she thought that if she didn't get them out now, she'd never do it. "We care about you, Emma. Infinitely more than you think we do."

She swallowed, breathing in the affection loaded in each word. She didn't say anything, mainly because every word she knew had disappeared. Mary Margaret stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on Emma's and, leaning over, brushed back strands of hair that fell on the blonde's forehead, resting her hand ever so slightly on her cheek. But as soon as it was there, it was gone and she pulled back quickly, eyes squeezed shut, as though she was inwardly cursing herself for doing such a thing in the first place.

"I'll see you later," she whispered and then left before Emma had a chance to say anything.

The hallway was cold and dark – much darker than it should have been for the afternoon; not a soul wandered the corridors. Keeping her arms tight against her body, Snow quickened her pace though she wasn't sure where she was going. She just wanted to walk.

When she was out in the forest in her corner of solitude secretly pining for David, she would walk and walk for hours and hours on a specific trail she had set, hoping that the peaceful wilderness would somehow calm her soul and block any thoughts of him from her mind. Sometimes it worked, but mostly, she found herself walking and wishing. Wishing and walking. Wishing that he was there and talking to her about absolutely anything. She just wanted to be with him and listen to him. And every day she hoped that maybe he would find her like he promised. Walking was the only thing she could do to keep her from going insane.

Even back in the forest with Emma, walking was her way of trying to figure out what to do and how to deal with being back at home whilst trying to navigate her relationship with Emma. It provided her with the means to clear her head, to shut out all the buffer and just focus on what was important.

So all she could do now was walk.

She moved faster around the corners, narrowly avoiding chairs and carts and anything else in the way. Her vision blurred with tears, she rested against the wall by the main door, not ready to brave the outdoors. Rain was falling in sheets, the wind blowing it sideways, throttling the glass doors. It was as if the weather was picking up on Snow's mood.

She didn't want to cry. Her daughter, whom she loved with all of her heart, was alive and well – shouldn't that be enough? The answer was simple: yes. But no matter how many times that repeated in her head, she wrestled with the ache in her heart and soft sobs that stemmed from her core.

Emma didn't remember they're time together. She didn't remember the quiet moments they had shared that led to them becoming closer. Emma was finally opening up and willing to be a part of their family – in fact, she wanted it, and now…now all that was gone.

Snow leaned back, resting her head against the wall, her sobs racking her body. She flung her hands up to cover her face, letting the darkness consume her briefly. This news had cut through her like a blade, leaving nothing but a gaping hole in her heart. In a way, Snow felt like she had lost Emma again.

They were back to square one, with Emma withdrawn and cautious and reticent. Snow could see the steel in her eyes, the resentment that flared beneath the surface. The Emma that had been with her the past few months had been replaced with the guarded woman Snow had come to know as her best friend and while every inch of her maternal instincts were screaming at her to wrap the blonde in her arms and explain to her how much she loved her, maybe giving her a little space was what she needed most.

"Snow, are you okay?" She brought her hands down from her face, wiping away the tear stains in the process. Dr. Whale was holding a medical chart but he tucked it under his arm when he registered how upset she was. "What's the matter?"

She didn't have to tell him but he was Emma's doctor and had to be told about her condition. "It's Emma; she doesn't remember," she said, her voice wobbling, her hands shaking uncontrollably.

"Here," he soothed, ushering her over to the waiting area, taking a seat. "She doesn't remember anything?"

"No she does, but anything after the curse breaking is gone," the brunette sniffed.

"I see." He whipped out a pen from his shirt pocket and scribbled down something illegible on the page in front of him.

"But this is just a side-effect of the coma, right? She'll get it back?"

Whale put down the pen and crossed his arms, leaning forward. "Like I said earlier, Emma has been through quite a traumatic event. And, the thing is, we don't know what happened to her in those moments; we don't know what she might have seen, what she might have experienced - only she does. What a person experiences in those brief moments can have a profound effect on them when they do wake up. Short-term memory loss is quite a common occurrence actually with this particular issue and the good news is that the majority of the time, their memory does comes back."

Snow gazed at him expectantly. "So you're saying that she'll remember soon?"

"I'm saying there's a strong possibility that she will regain anything she has lost within a relatively short period of time. But we'll have to keep tabs on her and record any kind of fluctuation in brain activity."

"So what do we do?"

"Talk to her," Whale suggested, rising to his feet. "Tell her stories, fill in the gaps. The slightest thing could trigger her memory. But most of all, be patient."

With a departing nod, he left her alone with her thoughts in the chilly waiting area, wondering what to do next. Standing up, she patted down her gown and steadied her heart before walking back to her room.

She needed to see Charming.

Falling into a deep enough sleep that her thoughts couldn't weigh heavily on her and ravage any slither of peace she had left was proving impossible. Every time she closed her eyes, Emma pictured the broken Mary Margaret that stood by her bedside, struggling with what to do or say. Just seeing her like that…well, it was beyond difficult. And knowing that she was the one to inflict the pain was worse.

As much as the situation frightened and bewildered her to the point of thinking it ludicrous, she had never tried so hard to remember anything in her life. In all the tests she had taken throughout her life, this was by far the hardest. The thing was, every time she really focused – blocking all else out of mind – there was a soft pull of memory; tiny particles of moments all sprinkled around, without any coherency or pattern - which wasn't enough. It was one of those feelings where it was all on the tip of her tongue and then in a breath, all gone like a gust of wind.

It was so frustrating but yet still so comforting because Emma knew that it was still all there. Somewhere. Waiting to be unlocked by the key. If only she knew how to do that part.

She pulled the covers up to her neck, suddenly taken over by a chill. The medication was wearing off and she was feeling the effects of being burned and virtually having zero energy to run off. It was surprising that her body was still functioning – though in fairness, it was doing so at a much slower rate than she thought possible. Emma hadn't felt so bad in her entire life and knowing that she had a long road ahead to recovery only made her body cry out more.

Maybe she could try to sleep now…

"Emma, how are you feeling?"

She groaned, her eyelids glued shut for the time being. She didn't need them open to see who it was. Whale. "Super," she deadpanned, and irked as he pressed down on the center of her palm.

"Still tender, huh? Well it should only be a few more days until the pain subsides substantially. Can you open your eyes for just a minute?" She felt his hand on her shoulder and reluctantly relented. "Good." Pulling out the torch from his pocket, he shone the light into each eye, examining her right one closer than her left. "Okay, good. Now for the hard part." Emma tensed slightly. She had a feeling what was coming next. "Can you sit up for me?"

"If I said 'no' would you leave me be?" Her tone was playful but she really wanted him to say yes. The thought of having to haul herself into some form of seating position made her want to throw up. She couldn't even manoeuvre to the side, never mind upright. It's not like she was some kind of superhuman.

"How is your movement?"

"It's non-existent. My back refuses to contribute to the cause."

"Well that's natural. Give it a day or two and you should see a big improvement." In a swift action, he removed his stethoscope from around his neck and had a listen to Emma's chest. "Breathe in." She inhaled deeply and held it for what felt like forever. "Breathe out." He didn't have to ask her twice. She repeated the action three more times before he pulled away and re-hung the instrument around his neck. "It would seem that you're recovering at a good pace and hopefully you will be back to normal in no time."

Emma scoffed. "I don't think normal applies to me. I'm not sure normal even exists anymore."

"Maybe it never did," he offered conversationally. Something in Emma's expression encouraged him to continue with his line of thought. "I mean, what is normal? Here, in Storybrooke, there are all types of characters roaming about with two conflicting lives in their heads. We may not be exactly used to it, but that has become the norm to us. That's what we deal with – day in, day out. Whatever your situation is now, I can tell you that soon it will become normal to you. Whether you choose to believe that or not."

The blonde brought an arm out from underneath the blanket, laying it gingerly on her stomach and raising her gaze to the ceiling. "I've been experiencing some memory issues," she confessed.

"I know."

Emma arched an eyebrow, a sly grin on her lips. "Let me guess: Mary Margaret told you?"

The doctor sighed. "She was worried; she wanted to know if it was a side-effect of what you went through."

"Is it?"

"More than likely."

"Will it come back?"

"Yes I believe it will."

She drummed lightly on her stomach. "How long?"

"Now that I don't know. Could be hours, days, weeks… It'll come back when you're ready. Now, try to get some rest; I imagine you'll only have a short while before your family come and visit again."

Emma didn't watch him leave but the faint sounds of his footsteps alluded that he did.

Before her family came to visit again.

Family.

Again.

What a strange concept for her to wrap her head around. She had a family now. Her parents had been found, her son was safe and apparently she was on route to fulfilling her destiny. It was all so crazy, so unbelievable that she thought she was dreaming.

Dreaming.

Something tugged at the back of her mind. A dream, maybe.

A dream?

She squinted in concentration trying to make sense of the feeling.

But nothing came. No amount of face pulling was going to break through.

Yet as she closed her eyes, her fear and anger lessened, and a fresh determination rushed to the fore.

She was going to remember because…because she just had to.

"There you are," David smiled as he caught sight of his wife in the doorway if their hospital room. "I thought you'd run away," he joked as he strolled over to her to plant a kiss on her forehead.

"Not yet," she replied with a timid smile. Her teases usually had a bit more bite but he thought nothing of it as he went back over to his bed, putting his personal items into a backpack. "Where did you get the clothes?"

He looked at what he was wearing: a pair of jeans, a white undershirt and a blue, long-sleeved top. "Regina came by to pick up Henry and I guess he told her to pick us up some clothes on the way. Yours are on your bed." He gestured to her bed and watched as the sun's rays seeped into the room framing her face so perfectly. If he could freeze that moment he would have. She was so beautiful.

"Regina bought us clothes?"

"Well I don't really know. Maybe Henry had already picked them out and she just collected them?" He hadn't given much time to how Regina had acquired their things but now that he thought about it, it was pretty strange.

"I hope so because the idea of Regina shopping for me makes me nauseous." Snow walked over to the bed and held the sweater in the air as if inspecting it for contamination. All David could do was smirk.

"So where'd you go? Henry said you went to see Emma but that was ages ago."

"I went for a walk."

"Oh."

Snow spun around to face him. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"Don't play games with me, Charming. What was the 'oh' for?"

He slowly perched himself onto the edge of his bed, running a hand through his sandy hair. "It was nothing. A simple, innocent reply." The brunette's eyes contracted hastily as if they were trying to suck the life out of him. He recognised the need to elaborate. "It's just that you only go for walks when you're trying to figure something out…usually after something has gone wrong." As much as they both were aware of that truth, the man prayed that it wasn't anything too serious. He wasn't sure if he could deal with anymore kind of bad news.

She let out a heavy sigh – never a good sign. "Emma…"

"Yes…?" He rose to his feet in misplaced anticipation, probing her to finish. Although hiding the immediate ache in his chest whenever Snow started a sentence like that when it concerned their daughter was never one of his strong suits.

"She's…having trouble remembering certain things." A pang of dread shockwaved around his body at his wife's lost expression. The heartache was evident in her voice.

"What kind of things?"

Her eyes met his. "Anything after the curse breaking."

His heart skipped a beat. "Anything?"

Snow shook her head.

Running a hand over his face, leaving his hand resting on his chin, he calmed himself knowing well that Snow needed him to be strong for her. "But she knows who we are?"

"That we're her parents? Yeah, she does." There was some good to take with that at least.

"She's just not ready to accept that yet." Even though he had a long way to go with Emma, if there was something he knew about the blonde, it was that she wasn't going to automatically dive into the situation with enthusiasm. That much he had learned from their reunion.

And now they were back in that place.

And they probably totally freaked her out when she first woke up.

He closed his eyes at the thought of how uncomfortable Emma was around them; backing away, not making eye-contact, talking minimally. Snow was right; there was something more going on behind the scenes.

"Not really, no."

"Did you talk to Whale?"

Snow stood up and closed the gap between them, wrapping her arms around his waist, her head tilted toward him. "He thinks that it's only temporary," she explained.

"Well that's good isn't it?" He tightened his hold on her. "Everything will be okay, Snow." It wasn't hard to read the pain shimmering in her green eyes and as he brushed hair behind her ear, he leaned in to kiss her lips softly. "She'll remember."

Emma not remembering them or the relationship she had with them was painful enough, but David knew that her forgetting the time spent with her mother in the Enchanted Forest was like ripping Snow's heart out. He was amazed at how she was holding it all together; her quiet strength helping her cope.

"She has to," she whispered into his chest.

"Hey why don't you get dressed and we'll stop by her room again before we go to Granny's?"

It was almost as if he could feel her deliberation shudder against him. "I think it'd be best if you go and see her alone. I'll get ready and go and get our room at Granny's and meet you there later."

She started to pull away but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her in for a longer kiss, drinking in her presence. "You sure you don't want to see her?"

"It's not that I don't want to, I just feel like I need to give her some space. I feel like I'm smothering her and I don't want to push her or make her uncomfortable. I think it's best if you just go for now." Her fingers danced along the scar on his chin, his skin heating under the soft touch. She pressed her lips against the mark and then turned her back to him, unfolding her clothes pile.

Charming hated to see Snow so upset but he knew that there was no point in pressing the matter, not until she had some time to thoroughly think it all out. "I'll see you later, then," he said, rubbing her shoulders before quietly leaving the room.

A knock on the door forced Emma to break from her half-slumber and she looked over to see David leaning on the door frame rather awkwardly like he was prepared to duck away if she refused him. Even though the thought of him as being her father made her weak and sort of uneasy – that was the only way she could describe it – she couldn't turn him away. Especially if she wanted to remember.

"Are you gonna come in or are you just gonna stand there?" Wow she sounded tired.

David smiled. "I thought you'd never ask." He made his way around the side of her bed and took a seat.

Emma didn't know what to say. What could she say to her father she hardly knew and who was the same age as her? "I see you're out of your hospital gown." She was pretty sure that wasn't it.

"Yeah, we finally get to leave," he laughed once.

"I wish I could leave."

"Ah, you'll be out of here in no time. I just hope we have a place by then."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Emma's body stiffened. It was not that the idea didn't cross her mind but to hear him make reference to them all living together just took her off-guard. She assumed that the arrangement they had prior to this hospital stint was all of them under one roof but that didn't mean that she had sufficiently gotten to terms with it just yet.

"I'm sorry; I…I didn't think."

"No, it's okay. I'm just trying to figure it all out, I guess. It's a lot to take in."

"I know and I'm sorry that we're not really making it any easier on you, we're just worried. We weren't prepared for something like this happening."

That something was her memory loss. Emma appreciated his soft approach to the subject with a tentative brief smile. "Where's Mary Margaret?"

David sat up straighter. "She's gone to get our room sorted at Granny's and pick up a few things we need. She, eh, she…didn't want to crowd you."

"I upset her. Earlier, when I told her. She looked really hurt."

His blue eyes were so clear. So gentle and safe. And the way he sat back, relaxed, trying not to spook her was a nice change. "Well that's because she is, but it has nothing to do with you. It's not your fault. It's just that…you guys had become so close because of the time you spent together back home and that time meant a lot to Snow. More so than any of us thought. I mean, you guys weren't happy families just yet but there was so much progress made. With both of us. It's hard to see that go, that's all."

It was obvious that he was barely holding in his tears but Emma wasn't sure of what to say. She was just lost.

"You wanna know a secret? I was a little envious of you and Snow."

"You were? Why?"

He clasped his hands together, his gaze fixed on them. "Because you already had a relationship with her – you were best friends. I was the guy that broke your best friend's heart and made wrong decisions at every turn. We never got to know each other the way you guys did. And then, you found us and I thought that maybe we would get a fresh start and go from there but then you both went through the portal and shared all these, from what I hear, terrible experiences that somehow brought you closer together. I didn't get to share them with you. We never got to bond, to be the father-daughter duo that I dreamed we could be. But we were getting there – slowly." He finally met her eyes. "Actually, you were the one to initiate our first real hug."

That caught her attention. "I did?"

"Yep. I told you I missed you and you hugged me. It was one of those moments I'll cherish forever. Oh, and then you collapsed."

"I did what?" Her head shot up and he smiled crookedly.

"Just fell right on the floor, scaring the life out of your mother and I. Magic was already taking its toll on you in a big way and of course, we were naïve enough to think that as long as we kept an eye on you, there wouldn't be any more of those instances. And we were wrong," he chuckled melodiously. "We'll have to work out some kind of rules for your use of magic. Maybe limit it to the weekends or set a rule that states that you can't use it past nine or something. What do you think?"

Despite herself, Emma laughed and she realized it was the first time that she really laughed since waking up. It was nice feeling. "That's probably best," she yawned; the tiredness creeping its way back in.

"I better go, you need to sleep," David said, standing up but looking as if there was something else he wanted to say. "Emma, I know you don't remember so I feel like I should tell you this." The blonde waited. "I know you've had a rough life and that you've been alone because of a choice we made to protect you and for that, we will always be sorry. Sometimes words don't seem like enough but we had to save you from the curse – who knew what Regina might have had in store for our baby? For you? We had to give you your best chance. We didn't want to put you in the wardrobe, we didn't want to send you away; all we knew was that we would do anything for you, that we would protect you no matter what. We love you, Emma. We always have and always will and I hope and pray that you never forget that."

Tears sparked at the back of her eyes as she allowed him to brush her cheek with the back of his hand. There was nothing – absolutely nothing – she could say back to that. It was completely familiar and completely alien to her all at the same time. But she believed him and that was what mattered most.

Okay so how was it? Did you guys like it? I really hope you all enjoyed it and if you have time, please review and let me know what you thought :)