Hi Folks - He is the next chapter. Sorry that it took so long, I was having a bit of an issue with my computer. But it is fixed now. My goal was to have this up yesterday, but I didn't like the way I had ended it, so it needed to be changed. Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers. I truly appreciate all of your feedback. You guys are fantastic. And, as always, please review. Let me know what you're thinking! Enjoy!

Chapter 21 - One Moment in Time

The spring sun broke through my bedroom window pulling me from the last evenings sleep. I groaned as I rolled over to shield myself from the bright rays and maybe get another thirty minutes of slumber. But I knew that wasn't meant to be as soon as I heard the familiar chirp of my phone indicating that I had received a text message.

It took a minute for my eyes to focus on the small print, especially since I didn't have my contacts in or my glasses on. It was blurry but I was able to make out that it was from JC; 'on the 6:15 am flight out of LAX. Be in Storybrooke late this afternoon.'

I sat up and rubbed my hand over my face, trying to rub off the sleep. In all of the excitement of yesterday, I had completely forgotten about JC coming straight to Storybrooke from Los Angeles. We were supposed to confront Mr. Cooper together when he arrived, "I guess that won't be happening," I mumbled to myself as I lifted my body from the bed.

I pulled my hair into a messy pony tail and made my way to the stairs. Looking around I had seen that Henry had already left for school. It was just my brother, my parents, and me in the loft. I looked over to the kitchen as I reached the bottom of the stairs, "not what I needed to see," I complained when I saw my parents standing next to the sink kissing. "Ah, come on guys, don't you have any compassion for your daughter, whom you love so very much? Dad, could you at least put on a shirt," I whined as I looked away from their make out session in the kitchen that they still hadn't pulled back from. Sure, it was cute that they loved each other so much, and I longed to someday have a relationship with someone that was filled with as much love as theirs, but it was still too early to be flaunting it outside of the confines of their bedroom.

I stopped in my tracks when I caught a glimpse of the couch. Wasn't my father supposed to have been sleeping on the couch after our little cheating escapade last night? There was no evidence of anyone having sat on the couch, let alone sleeping on it. My leather jacket was still strewn in the middle of it; right where I threw it when I came home from the station yesterday.

"Why do you let them do this stuff in front of us?" I asked my baby brother who was content in his high chair playing with a tray full of cheerios. He just giggled and threw a piece of cereal in my direction. "Thanks for sharing, but I'll get my own." I said as I picked the slobbery cheerio off of my shirt and flicked it back at him.

I walked around the two love birds to get myself a bowl, but my dad caught my arm on my way past. Great, now he was multitasking. He finally pulled away from my mother and pointed to the bowl of cereal that he already had poured for me. "Nice of you two to come up for air long enough to feed your child a bowl of cereal. The least you could have done was to make me some bacon pancakes if you were going to subject me to your morning PDA."

Mary Margaret threw me a cross look. "Funny how my child is always telling me that she is 30 years old and can take care of herself," I screwed up my face in a gentle protest of my mother using my words against me.

"Didn't we establish last night, that I can't cook. Or I would make my own breakfast." I still harbored a small amount of animosity over Henry's cooking comment yesterday. It was true to a point, cooking was not my strongest skill set, but the food that I made wasn't poison either. I poured the milk on my cereal and splashed small amount in the nearby mug to fill with coffee. "Which, speaking of cooking, I take it that since Dad didn't sleep on the couch; you're not holding us to that little wager?"

"Oh no, sweetheart, I'm holding you to it. You and your Dad are on dinner duty for a week." She poured some coffee in my mug then lifted her own mug to her lips. She cradled her mug in her both of her hands like she was using the heat of the hot liquid warm them up. She held the her mug close to her face hiding the smirk on her lips but the raise of her eyebrows was clearly visible.

"What?" I used my moody teenager voice. "Wh…what about last night? What happened to 'Charming make sure you have enough blankets for the couch?'" My tone was very mocking and condescending.

"Come on Em, you didn't really think that I would make your father sleep on the couch, did you?" I didn't like the sultry look that was on my mother's face.

My father, who was standing behind my mother and still did not have on a shirt, snaked his arms around her waist pulling her closer to his body, "I have ways of making your mother change her mind." And that comment didn't help.

I dropped my spoon and curled my upper lip in disgust, "Eeeww…gross." I pushed away my bowl of unfinished cereal.

"You had to come from somewhere…" He gave me a sly smile then leaned his head forward and began to kiss the nape of her neck.

"You did not just bring my conception into this." It wasn't a question. More like a horrified revelation. That was it, I had just about enough of 'mentally scar Emma' day. So I used the only defense that I had; I pointed to the two of them, "That right there is why you are getting granny's take out all week…on paper plates." It was weak, but it was all that I had at the moment.

They both began to laugh, uncontrollably, I might add. "Oh, come on, Em…" my father tried to talk to me. I took to opportunity to add to my point.

"…with plastic forks…"

"Emma…" my mother pleaded through a laugh.

"…and knives…"

I turned to retreat upstairs to change my clothes for the day, "get your orders in to me noon today, otherwise it is grilled cheese and onion rings all week," I called over my shoulder as I stomped up the stairs to my bedroom.

The rest of my morning and afternoon went off pretty seamlessly. I also didn't receive any menu orders from my illustrious parents. That meant one of two things, they either didn't care if dinner was grilled cheese and onion rings or they didn't take my threat seriously. I was leaning toward the latter. I guess that summed into one solution; I just had to make good on my promise. I called my order into Ruby and told her that I would pick it up at five.

Things in town were pretty quiet that afternoon, it made it hard to keep my mind off of JC coming into town and telling him about my father helping him across the town line. I had wanted to go out to find King George and drag him in for questioning, but David advised against it. He said that before we confronted him, we had to be armed with every piece of information that we could find and that meant talking to JC first. I decided to take David's advice and leave King George alone for the time being. David had taken him on before and experience is a hard thing to argue against.

"You look deep in thought," I jumped when I heard the voice. I was reading an article that I had found on the internet about bottlenose dolphins getting lost in the fresh water rivers that empty into the ocean. At least, I think that was what the article was about, I was really just reading the words without really comprehending them. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

I held a long blink before I responded to JC who had just walked into the station. "What? Oh…no…Sorry, I was just engrossed in this article."

He peaked around the monitor to see what I had opened on the screen, "Freshwater sharks?"

"Sharks, really?" I looked at the screen. I'll be damned, it was talking about sharks. Sharks…dolphins…they all swim in the ocean.

"Emma? Are you ok? What did you think that article was about?" he asked. "Or more importantly, what was going on in your head that you weren't really reading the words?"

I gave him a quick smile before I answered. "You, actually..."

"Ah…I see." He leaned against my desk and studied my face a minute before he continued. "I'm here now; we can take care of Cooper and get on with our lives."

"Yeah, that won't be necessary." I never took the time to update JC on the events that occurred after we last talked.

"And why is that?" The look on his face said that he already knew the answer to that question. But I answered him anyway.

"My father…" Those were the only words that I needed to say.

"Ah ha…" JC looked away from me. To any other person that action would have indicated that he didn't know what to say, but I read something else. I read guilt.

"He didn't go quietly," I offered. "As a matter of fact, I think that there were a couple of left hooks and right crosses involved in his enticement to leave town."

"Did you think that he would?" JC still wasn't looking at me. There must have been something very interesting on the floor, because he was staring a hole into it.

"JC, I'm going to be real clear…" I stood from my chair and closed the door to my office. I didn't want anyone who may have walked in to overhear any part of our conversation. Conveniently, it was an action that got him to look at me. I positioned myself in front of him and crossed my arms. "You're going to cut the crap and tell me everything that you know. Starting with how long you've known that you were my cousin."

He wasn't quick to give up anything. He stayed there for a long moment trying to form the right words. "Do your parents know?" he finally asked without giving me an answer.

"No, you don't get to ask the questions here." I yelled in frustration. "How long have you known?"

"It was right after you left." He stood upright and began to pace the small office. "I didn't know until after he was in jail that Cooper wasn't my real father."

I nearly fell over. I couldn't believe it, he had known since I was sixteen years old. How in the hell did everyone know who I was when I was a teenager except for me. "Go on…" I strongly urged. I uncrossed my arms and hooked my thumbs onto the back pocket of my jeans, prepping myself for the story that I was about to hear.

He sucked in a deep breath. "After I gave you the money and plane ticket, I had to adjust to taking care of my mother. Her recovery was long, and I actually took a semester off from school. I used that time to start going through his things to get the house cleaned out. My mother wanted to sell it. To be completely rid of him. In the process I found my birth certificate. I asked questions when I saw that Cooper wasn't listed as my father. My father was listed as James Prince. Suddenly years of beatings and antipathy made perfect sense."

I offered him the bottle of water that was on my desk. He looked like he needed a drink, although something harder would have probably been a better choice. "What else…" my tone a bit softer, I didn't need to give him any reason to lie to me. And being harsh would have done just that.

"My mother wasn't being very forthcoming with information. But I became obsessed with finding this James Prince. But one thing that wasn't adding up was my birth date. On my birth certificate it was listed as me being born two years later than I was told. She was hoping that I didn't remember, and honestly I didn't. But when I questioned that, she broke down and told me that the date was the day that we came through the portal. I didn't believe her at first. I thought that she was delusional from the blows to the head. But I began to have flashes. Memory flashes of the enchanted forest and coming through the portal."

"You were born in the Enchanted Forest?" I didn't know what else to say.

He just shrugged then continued his story, "I went to a psychiatrist to try to piece it all together. But being only two years old when it happened, flashes were all that I was able to get. So it was back to hounding my mother. She explained that she got pregnant to Prince James, but he didn't want his father to know. It was taboo for a Prince of his caliber to have any type of relations with a peasant girl. He procured a magic bean for her and told her that using the bean to leave would be best for her and me. He feared that King George would kill us both."

"Stole it from the Giants, is more like it…" I interrupted. He shot me a look. "Sorry…continue." I said with a small smirk. I knew the story between my uncle and Anton's people. It wasn't pretty and Anton nearly killed my father over it 30 years later because he mistook my father for my uncle. My uncle James and his fling Jacqueline had ravished the Giant's land looking to get their hands on the rest of the beans. Anton was able to destroy the crop; save for one piece of plant root that was hidden on the body of Anton's brother; before James was able to succeed.

"She promised him that she would use it right away, but instead she ran off into hiding for the next two years; with the help of King George."

"I thought that James didn't want him to know?" I asked; this was getting more confusing by the minute.

"He didn't. And I guess he thought that he had my mother out in time with the bean. But George did know and he kidnapped my mother. He made it look like he was going to take care of her, but she was his prisoner and when I was old enough, she was to hand over me to him. I think that he was going to claim me as his son when I was old enough should anything happen to James. I guess he wasn't expecting James' demise to be as soon as it was. Although my mother was still being kept by King George he wasn't ready for me just yet; which was when your father was brought in to take James' place. You pretty much know the rest."

I nodded my head, "when did she use the bean?" I asked. I knew that was the only way that she could have gotten to this world and not have been affected by the curse.

"Right before the dark curse hit. After your father rebelled against King George with your mother, he took her and fled. She knew that the curse was coming and that you were to be the savior in 28 years time, but she didn't want to be cursed with him, so she used the bean and we landed here." He answered. "She was lost and scared when she got here. She was a single woman with no knowledge of this world, no money, and a two year old kid. She hitched our way to a truck stop just outside of Boston. That's where she met Cooper. He helped to get her established, took care of me and her. It was a great family for a while."

There was no doubt that I was completely overwhelmed by all that JC had just told me. He was my father's nephew and all along, he knew it. He was also the family that I was told on several occasions that I had to look to for answers. I took a couple of minutes to pause and just digest everything that he just confessed to me. But it led to one burning question and he had the answer. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath trying to find the courage to ask it. I had a feeling that I didn't want to know the answer. It was the other comment that went along with the 'ask your family' advice. The question came out with my exhale, "So what is this big job that I destined to complete?"

"We…" was what he said as he put his hand to his chin. "We are to complete. It is a job that we are destined to complete together because we are the eldest children of the twin brothers."

I didn't speak; mostly because I didn't know what to say. So, I just waited for him to continue. "The brothers were never together were never meant to be together as brothers. But you and I were meant to bring that bond back together as their children. And when we do, time will be reset."

"Reset? What the hell are you talking about? Reset how?" I did not like the sound of that at all. "And what the hell do you mean by bring the bond together? We've known each other for years, we've been like brother and sister; how much more of a bond can we have or 'bring together'?"

"I don't know. I had the same question, what are we meant to do that will ultimately bring that bond together? All that I know is that time will be reset back to one singular event that happened; an event that will change the course of everything that has happened in the last 30 years."

"What event? What will the effects be? What will happen?" Suddenly I as full of panic and worry; I traveled to the past before and screwed up the time line. That little trip was nearly disastrous. What in the world would resetting an event in time do to everyone?

I felt myself stumble. My legs couldn't hold me up any longer. My stomach hurt, it felt like someone had punched me really hard in the gut. My head was pounding like someone was beating on it with a hammer. My hands went cold and I felt JC grab my arms as my legs finally gave out. The world went black.