Author's note: Hey you all amazing readers! This is Carlet's friend, Koraima, or MonkeyLovr here on fanfic. Im afraid i have some bad news. Valerie had decided to no longer continue any of her stories. She is giving up on writing almost entirely. Her lack of motivation scares me. Never in my whole time of knowing her have i seem her like this. Refusing to touch a computer and paper, unless its school related, jus simply showing no interest in her stories. Last time i talke to her, she confessed it was due to the actual lack of Captain Swan on the show, and Sunday night, after Neal's death, she said she would give up writing completely. I didnt believe her, but its true. She wasnt gonna post this latest chapter, but she emailed it to me a bit ago and luckily i saved it AND kno her password to this site. I know this is probably hard, as her stories were always fun to read, but her lack of motivation has been scaring me, and honestly, i don't think she'll get it back. Anyways, i hope you all enjoy this last chapter and maybe, hopefully, she'll change her mind.

Chapter 11

(A week later)

Emma huffed in frustration as she leaned back against her suitcase, which sat in the middle of a sea of clothing. Why wouldn't it close? She sighed and started to yank things out. Of course she waited until the last possible moment to pack.

"When did I buy this?" She frowned as she perused a white turtleneck. The more she pulled out, the more she realized that she didn't recognize half the clothing she owned.

Just then, she heard the click of the front door as it opened.

"Mary Margaret?" Emma called. "Is that you?"

There was no answer, but she could hear shuffling in the kitchen. Her roommate fixing dinner, presumably. A dinner that Emma would take with her for the road. She already missed Mary Margaret's cooking.

"Hey. Did you mix up your clothes with mine?" She said as she balled up yet another unfamiliar top. "I don't remember buying half of these things."

"What?" A voice said. Emma looked up to see Henry standing in the doorway, a bottle of juice clutched in one hand.

"Oh, hey." She replied. "Nothing, I thought you were Mary Margaret. What're you doing here?"

"I thought we could hang out, watch a movie or something." He replied.

Emma frowned. For the past week, Henry had been coming over at any chance he could get, bringing over games, movies, and whatever else he thought would keep them entertained at the apartment. For some reason, Mary Margaret insisted that Emma should stay at home. Something to do with doctor's orders, but it seemed more like Mary Margaret was trying to hide her.

"Don't you have homework?" She asked.

"Nope." He answered breezily. "Finished it."

"Well, I'm sorry kid but I gotta pack."

"Why?"

"We've been over this." Emma stood up and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Remember? I told you a couple days ago. I'm leaving."

"B-but..." Henry stammered. "What about your job? You're the sheriff."

"I turned in my badge this morning." She responded. "I imagine your mom will be plenty happy about that."

"You can't just leave." Henry protested. Weirdly enough Emma had a brief flash of deja vu. "Your family, they're all here. They need you."

"Oh, kid." Emma gazed down sadly. How could she tell him that she had no family? She bent down until she was at his level. "Its going to be ok, Henry. I spoke to your mom, we're gonna be able to see each other. Just...not everyday."

"B-but..."

"Its for the best." She shot him a shaky smile as she stood back up and turned back to her suitcase, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"Hey, I'm home." Mary Margaret called. "I brought dinner from Granny's."

"Oh good." Emma said as she finally snapped her suitcase shut. "I'm starving." Granny's food was even better than Mary Margaret's. "Wanna stay for dinner?" She called over her shoulder as she started to heave her stuff down the stairs.

"Sure." He answered dejectedly, following her.

"Did you bring grilled cheese?" She said as she set her suitcase down by the door.

"Of course." Mary Margaret replied, a wry smile on her face. "Oh, you should've let me take that." She gestured to the stuffed bag.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Its fine. You can quit treating me like an invalid."

They sat down to eat; luckily Mary Margaret had thought to buy an extra serving. There was a weird, tense feeling in the air. A feeling of finality. It occurred to Emma that this was the last meal she'd eat with others. Fake dates with the dirtbags she chased down didn't count.

Too soon, dinner was over. Emma looked over at the clock. It was almost 7. "I should go. Don't wanna be driving too late." She pushed back her chair and picked up her plate.

"Yes. Of course." Mary Margaret nodded. "Here, I'll take that. You go and make sure you have everything."

Henry remained seated, his face an unhappy mask as he picked at the remains of his burger.

Emma zipped up her jacket as she barreled down the stairs. "Think I got everything." She picked up her car keys and stuck them in her pocket. "Here." She set the apartment key down on the counter. Suddenly, she couldn't meet Mary Margaret's eye. "Thanks for...everything."

"Of course." She looked sadly at Emma. "You sure you have to go?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Just..." Mary Margaret seemed to be considering something carefully. "Think about what you'll be leaving behind."

Emma looked quizzically at her. Um, what? But before she could say anything, the brunette reached out and wrapped Emma in a tight hug. She breathed in her familiar smell, a smell that she'd come to associate with home. A smell that suddenly brought tears to her eyes.

"Call if you need anything." Mary Margaret released her, forcing a smile. She seemed to be holding back tears.

Emma nodded. "Yeah. Will do."

Henry ran up and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Please don't go." He begged.

"I'm sorry." She said, meaning it. "But I have to." She pressed her chin to the top of his head, thinking idly that he seemed to be a lot taller than she last remembered. "Hey." She said as he stepped back. "This isn't goodbye. You and I are still gonna see each other. And you have my number. You can call me anytime."

"Except at night." Mary Margaret joked in an obvious attempt to lighten the mood. "You know how Emma gets when she doesn't sleep."

Henry nodded. "I'm gonna miss you."

"Me too, kid." Emma picked up her suitcase and turned towards the door. She looked back at the apartment one last time. She was really gonna miss this cozy little place. Though a far cry from her sleek, modern apartment in Boston it had felt more like home than any other place she'd ever lived in.

"Have a safe trip back." Mary Margaret said as she reached out to open the door. She wrapped her in one last hug. "Call me as soon as you get there."

Emma nodded, a thick lump in her throat. As she shot a smile over her shoulder, turning to walk out the door, she had the strangest feeling that she was in fact leaving something, or maybe someone behind. Something or someone forgotten.

But what? Or who?

(Two years ago)

As the sun rose between the trees outside the window, all Emma could think about was how, in that moment, she was back to being the scared out of her mind eighteen year old girl she'd tried so hard to bury deep inside.

It was the eeriest feeling of deja vu, mirroring that horrible day nearly eleven years ago, a day where she'd had to do something she'd vowed she'd never do.

Give up her child.

Granted, it was for his best. What kind of life could she have given him anyway, a teenager in jail with no one in the world, no support system? She'd consoled with the fact that least he would have food and shelter, something that wouldn't be guaranteed to her after her sentence was over.

But it hadn't made it hurt any less.

These awful thoughts coupled with the horrible pain racking through her stomach did little to soothe her. She looked and felt like absolute crap, to put it lightly. She hadn't slept in days and she was sure that she looked awful, with tears streaming down her face and her hair pulled back in a sweaty knot.

Something didn't feel right, this pain was different. Worse than last time. Pain, she could handle. She'd had her fair share of it, both emotionally and physically, throughout her life. But it wasn't that. She was literally paralyzed with fear. There was an overwhelming feeling that something was wrong with her baby. That she'd inevitably messed something up just as she'd expected she would.

In the background, she was dimly aware of Hook's hand entwined in one of hers, his accented voice murmuring words intended to calm her down, but it wasn't working.

"All right Emma, at the next contraction I want you to push as hard as you can." Doc called from his position at the foot of the bed. When she'd first heard that Doc, one of the iconic seven dwarves, was going to deliver her baby, she'd snorted with laughter.

"No." Her voice was hoarse. "I can't." She hated feeling so weak and helpless. "I can't do this."

With the cold metal hook, he brought her face up to meet his, his eyes looking deeply into hers. "Yes you can." He squeezed her hand tightly and pushed back a sweaty strand of hair back.

"No." She shook her head stubbornly. She didn't know what was holding her back; last time she'd just sucked it up. Maybe it was because this time, there was more at stake. The second her baby was born, she'd be responsible for her. And Emma was terrified at the thought of taking care of someone so helpless.

"Yes, you can." Hook repeated. "It's going to be ok. I'm right here."

Before she could respond, the next contraction hit, causing an involuntary scream to fill the room. She could hear Doc's voice in the background, urging her to push. The room began to spin in a blur of tears. Her mind slowly filled with images of her somehow accidentally killing her baby. She couldn't do this.

"Emma." Hook said in her ear. "You can do it. Do it for our baby."

Suddenly, she just let go. Pushed as hard as she could, a deafening scream escaping her lips as she fought through the pain and the mind-numbing terror.

And then it was all over as a loud cry filled the room.

"It's a girl!" Doc called out. As if they hadn't already known for weeks.

Emma flopped back onto the bed, utterly exhausted as Hook pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "You did it, love." His voice was thick with relief and happiness.

As she caught sight of Doc walking towards her, a wide smile plastered on his, her eyes immediately fixated on the small, crying bundle in his arms. The bundle that was her kid.

Something warm bloomed inside as he placed her daughter in her arms. Though she'd never so much as touched a baby before, she instinctively knew what to do.

"Hey." She said softly, looking at her daughter for the first time. How could she have been so scared? As she admired her baby's small tuft of blonde hair, so similar to hers, and pressed a kiss to the smooth skin of her cheek she vowed that she would never abandon her.

Never leave her behind.

Hook hung up the phone, feeling numb as he did so. In front of him, Ava played happily on the carpet with her bear, completely unaware of what had just happened.

Mary Margaret's words echoed in his head. Emma left. We've been trying to stop her but her mind was made up. I'm so sorry.

He'd known on some level all along that this would happen, since she hadn't shown any signs of remembering aside from that one night two weeks ago, but he'd been trying to squash any thoughts.

But there was no denying it any longer. So that was it, then. She was gone. Really, truly gone without a second thought. She really didn't remember him and Ava. What were they going to do? There was no telling how long Emma would be gone. How was he supposed to raise their daughter all on his own?

As if sensing his distress, Ava chose that moment to look up. "Where's Mama?" She asked. It was a question that she'd been asking all week, one that he'd managed to deflect in hopes that Emma would remember and come rushing back to them.

But now there was no more beating around the bush.

"Hey, princess." He walked over and scooped her up. "Daddy has to tell you something, ok?"

She nodded, her plastic tiara falling down from atop her blond curls as she did so. Aside from her bear, that was her favorite toy.

He quickly reached up and fixed it. The thought that this was an easy fix compared to everything else occurred to him. "Mommy's not coming back for a while." He started, his voice cracking as he spoke.

She just looked at him, her thumb automatically finding its way to her mouth, something she did when upset. "Why did Mama hafta go?"

"Um well...she had to go somewhere." Hook improvised. "Mommy still loves you very, very much. Both Mommy and Daddy love you. That will never change. But she's not coming home."

To her credit, she didn't immediately burst into tears. Maybe because she didn't fully understand.

"I'm sorry, Ava." He sighed. This was the worst thing he'd ever done, having to break a two year old's heart by telling her that her mother was essentially gone. Forever.

She began to pout, balling up her fists. "I want Mama."

"Me too."

"How long Mama gone?" She asked.

"I don't know." He responded. "I wish I did. But I don't."

She nodded and was silent for a long time. "I hope Mama come back soon." That was probably the longest sentence she'd ever said. Normally it'd be a cause for celebration, but not when it was such a sad statement.

"Me too, Ava." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Me too."

Author's note: Don't you just love the angst in this ch?

DID YOU FALL FOR MY LITTLE APRIL FOOL'S JOKE? Special thanks to MonkeyLovr for writing that little A/N at the top.

HAHAHA LIKE I WOULD EVER LOSE THE MOTIVATION TO WRITE! Now, plz don't hesitate to tell me what you thought of this ch :)