A/N: A VERY Happy Birthday to Colin O'Donoghue, who without his talents, Hook just wouldn't be Hook. I even named a secondary character in this chapter in his honor :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time or its characters, but I've got plenty in store for them :)

This Chapter's Rating: T (borderline M) for graphic violence and mild language.

Between the sounds of men shouting for their lives and dangerous waves crashing against the ship, surely taking pieces of the vessel with it back out to sea; Emma should have stayed wrapped in the safety of his cabin.

But she didn't.

Before opening the hatch, Emma had just enough time to wonder what was happening before the whipping rain stung her face. She stepped onto the main deck, and getting her bearings, she took in the chaos happening around her.

Most of the men were running back and forth, doing their best to maintain the sails and yards controlling them. Some had been injured and were yelling for help, their cries ignored over the current crisis at hand.

Where the hell was he?

Emma came across an injured sailor, noticing he had been sliced through the lower abdomen, and was doing what he could to keep his insides where they belonged. He couldn't have been much older than sixteen.

Bending down, she pushed hard against his wound to try and staunch the flow of blood and the boy cried out in agony.

Emma was about to yell for help, but a large wave crashed over the starboard side, filling her mouth with the taste of salty bitterness. After choking on the water for a moment, she found a way to speak.

'What's your name, sailor?'

'Colin.' He spluttered red and Emma noticed that his skin felt cold and rubbery against her hand. 'Colin McGrath, your Highness.'

She glanced over and saw something large fall from the Quarter Deck and realized it wasn't a man.

Someone had injured a mermaid and had attempted to throw it overboard, its scaly tail glimmering in the moonlight and thrashing wildly at the crewman nearby. Finally, a burly sailor speared the creature in the heart, finishing it off.

A mermaid attack. That must have been what put her out of commission in the first place.

Emma squinted toward the stern of the ship, hoping to catch a glimpse of the man she was searching for, but the winds had picked up even more. The thunder boomed so loudly that Emma could barely hear the shouting of the crew around them.

Looking back down at the boy, she noticed he was no longer conscious. Emma moved to check his pulse with her free hand, but the ship's bow rose up suddenly, launching her backward.

The back of her head hit the deck and she saw a flash of spots, the pain from her previous injury overwhelming her for a moment. Emma somehow regained her wits, lifting herself up and looking around. She had lost sight of the boy sailor.

Suddenly, she heard a faint buzzing, like that of an active bee hive, only louder and more ominous. As she looked around for the source, Emma was distracted by a flash out of the corner of her eye.

It was coming from the stern, next to the helm, and Emma knew immediately that she'd found him.

'Emma!'

She was able to make out the word despite the noise around them, but his voice sounded so far away. She started toward his direction when a scream rang out. It had been the same one she had heard in the captain's cabin, and Emma frantically scanned the deck to see if it was the young sailor.

"Emma!"

The voice wasn't his this time. Peering back at the stern, she saw that there was no one. Emma realized that she was suddenly alone, as the wind calmed and the rain slowed to a drizzle.

The eerie silence was frightening and she yelled out for him. Her voice echoed over the ship, the only sound to be heard besides the strange buzzing from before.

It grew darker and darker, two stars in the sky shining brightly as the only source of light in the blanket of shadows enveloping her.

"Emma! Emma, wake up."

The darkness that had engulfed her was slowly fading and when her green eyes opened, they were met with another pair, brown and determined.

"Finally," Regina frowned as she stepped back from Emma's bed. "I thought I was going to have to smack you awake."

Allowing herself to adjust to the light, Emma took in the room for the first time since being in an exhausted state. Besides a small, ceramic sink in the corner, there wasn't much in terms of furniture, and Emma was reminded of her room at the penitentiary in Arizona.

She glanced at Regina, who seemed to be scrutinizing her, and tried to overlook the feeling of dread from the dream. Slowly, she came to her senses and started piecing together the events of last night.

This was the previous Evil Queen who ruined her life, couldn't use her magic, and therefore needed Emma's help killing the Wicked Witch.

She also happened to be the woman who raised Henry since Emma gave him up as an infant.

Oh, we can't forget about that.

Emma met Regina's eyes with an exasperated sigh and broke the silence. "Where's Henry?"

Regina's face softened at his name and nodded off to the distance. "He's having breakfast with Hook in the cafeteria."

Emma stretched her muscles and stepped out of bed, now realizing that it had to be later in the morning than she was used to waking up. She looked up at the clock on the wall, now easily visible in the morning light, and saw that it was 10:30.

Suddenly realizing she had forgotten something, Emma caught Regina's gaze. "What happened to Neal anyway? How did he get those burns?"

Regina shook her head. "It's a long story. Basically, he tried to leave Storybrooke to find you, but the invisible barrier had other plans. That's how I thought to make potions for you, Henry, and Hook."

He had tried to find them, putting himself at great risk. That didn't sound like the Neal she knew. Emma tried to push away her negative feelings toward him, for Henry's sake. "Is he going to wake up?"

"We don't know. I'm not entirely sure what kind of spell he's under, but Whale said his stats are fine."

Emma nodded somberly and grabbed her bag, still sitting by the chair Jones had used. She suddenly remembered their shared moment and her eyes found the cupcake still sitting on the side table.

So that hadn't been a dream. Jones really did wish her a "Happy Birthday" with a cupcake and candle.

A candle that was lit with magic.

Her magic.

Emma briefly considered asking how she, herself, was able to light the candle if no one could use magic in this town, but decided against it. Regina must have noticed her gaze. "What's with the cupcake?"

Shrugging off the question, Emma headed toward the bathroom. "I need at least thirty minutes to wake up," she said over her shoulder.

"No problem. Just try your best to hurry, because we need to be at Town Hall by noon."

"Great," Emma murmured aloud as she shut the bathroom door. Moving to the tub, she turned on the hot water, steam escaping from the faucet.

Time to meet the residents of Town Not-so-Happily Ever After.

Suddenly a mermaid attack didn't seem so bad.

"You're telling me that you guys never had pancakes on your ship?"

Emma walked into the large cafeteria lined with row tables and benches. Henry and Jones were sitting across from one another at far end of the room. The pirate was trying to cut his pancakes one-handed.

"We didn't always have the luxury of a decent cook, lad."

Henry sniggered and pulled his fork up to take a bite as he saw Emma approaching them.

"Mornin' Mom. How did you sleepf?" His mouth was full of food, but his face was covered with concern.

Emma's insides tightened briefly when Henry had said "Mom." Apparently having two mothers hadn't changed anything for him and their relationship was intact, which provided her a great deal of relief. She shook her head and tried to cover the emotion going on inside and sat down next to her son.

"Don't eat with your mouthful, Kiddo." She ruffled his hair lovingly and glanced over at Jones to see him giving her a knowing look, as if to read her mind.

This guy must really know what makes me tick. Ugh, now's not the time, Swan.

"Hey, hold on. I have to grab something, I'll be right back." Scurrying out of his seat, Henry ran to the front where the cashier was ringing up customers.

Emma picked at her nails, feeling awkward being alone again with Jones since their last encounter. She took a chance and glanced up at him through her lashes, unsurprised to see that he was smiling at her.

"Did you rest well, lass?"

She didn't hold his stare for long, pretending to find the menu on the wall behind him very interesting. "Not unless you call dreaming about being attacked by mermaids on a ship in a thunderstorm well."

He frowned at that, dropping his fork. The aroma of hickory bacon wafted from the kitchen and Emma's mouth watered, suddenly realizing how hungry she was.

"You had a dream about my ship?"

Emma looked around, wondering where Henry had gone to. She shook her head and sighed, absentmindedly watching a janitor scrub the floor around them.

"I'm not sure, but it might have been. For some reason, I'm pretty sure I was looking for you."

She heard him snort in amusement and Emma rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying that because I think I heard you yelling for me. It seemed like you were trying to get my attention, but it was hard to hear with all of the thunder and crew shouting around me."

Emma didn't want to tell him how familiar it felt or that she had dreamt a similar one like that before.

When Jones didn't respond, she continued, returning to her nails. "It felt like a memory, but of course I couldn't make any sense of it."

Emma peeked at Jones to get some insight, but he was staring at his plate deep in thought. She decided to change the subject and get his attention another way.

"Look, if we're going to continue to work together, I need you to be honest and stop leaving me in the dark. No more like that crap you pulled last night, got it?"

She saw him lift his fork again, the sticky syrup stringing between itself and the plate. Jones finally spoke. "You said there was a crew?"

"What?" Emma squinted her eyes at him, baffled at his switch in direction.

Had he even heard a word of what she just said?

"In your dream you mentioned something regarding a crew aboard my ship. Am I right?"

Emma rolled her eyes and made a frustrated sound. "Yeah, why?"

Jones opened his mouth to answer when Henry finally reappeared. "Here we go. All of your favorites!"

He presented her with a plate filled with bacon, eggs, and even a bear claw donut. She looked over at her son, who wore a giant grin as he set down a cup of cocoa with a dash of cinnamon on top.

"Happy Birthday!"

Emma's eyes filled with tears suddenly and she let the emotions of the last twenty four hours show on her face. Hugging him tightly, she choked out a sob of thanks.

"Don't be sad, Mom. We're almost home and soon you'll have your memories too." He pulled back from her gently and looked into her face. "You haven't remembered anything else, right?"

Emma recovered quickly, slightly embarrassed that she'd acted that way in front of Jones, and shook her head. Grabbing a piece of bacon and crunching into it, she shot a look over at Jones that suggested not to say anything else.

"No I haven't, Kiddo. Sorry."

The last thing Emma wanted to do was give him false hope before she was sure her memory was actually returning.

Henry shrugged and sat back down to continue eating. He grabbed his juice and looked between her and Jones. "So how did you like your cupcake?"

Emma's eyes grew wide at her son as she swallowed a bite of her donut. "It was your idea?"

Henry looked mischievously over at Jones. "Well, no. It was his idea, but he didn't know what a cupcake was. So… while you were getting gas, I helped him buy one."

She couldn't help the smile that crept onto her face when she caught Jones' eye at Henry's confession. "And the candle?"

Jones answered her before taking a bite. "Nurse's station was quite helpful, luv."

He was grinning at her with a mouthful of pancake, syrup running down into his beard. Emma was sure she thought Jones a handsome man, but she never believed he could look adorable until now.

"Well thank you both," she said, keeping eye contact with Jones as she put her arm around Henry.

Jones bowed his head slightly and threw a wink in her direction as she noticed Regina and Robin hurrying over toward them.

"There you are; I was waiting for you outside of your room. We need to get moving."

Emma glanced at her cell to see that they had twenty minutes to get to Town Hall. She took one last bite of her eggs and grabbed what was left of her bear claw and cocoa.

"Do I get to come?" Henry was standing now, looking excited.

Emma met Regina's eyes, and took her expression to mean that it would be best if he didn't.

"Henry, why don't you stay here and watch over Neal." She saw his face fall slightly, and Emma grasped his shoulder. "You don't want him to be alone when he wakes up, right?"

Henry met her eyes and shook his head. "No, you're right. I'll stay."

"Besides, Robin will be with you, Henry." Regina patted Robin's shoulder when he made his way over to them. She smiled at Henry reassuringly. "After all, I can't marry any man before you approve, can I?"

Henry looked determined then, meeting Robin's stare. "You're right about that!"

Emma kissed Henry's cheek and thanked him one more time for her birthday breakfast. Glancing over her shoulder as she watched Regina hug them goodbye, Emma called for Jones.

He was beside her in seconds, wiping his face with a napkin. "Afraid you're going to miss me, luv?"

Emma took one last bite of her doughnut before throwing the rest in a trash can. "No, I just need to be sure someone's standing in front of me if the Wicked Witch and her monkeys show up."

As Regina joined them and they made their way out the main exit, Emma heard Jones give a loud huff.

"Who the hell keeps a bloody primate as a pet?"

"So let me get this straight…" Emma was doing her best to keep up between Regina and Jones' explanation of everything that had happened since her and Henry left for New York. Backing into a spot outside of Town Hall, she continued.

"My parents are still trapped in the Enchanted Forest, but the witch sent you all here so you couldn't use your magic?" Emma directed her question at Regina and put the car in park.

Regina nodded while she and Jones removed their seatbelts. "I believe that's what happened, yes."

Removing the keys from the ignition, Emma turned to face Regina in the backseat. "Ok, so if magic doesn't work here, why was I able to light a candle with it last night?"

Regina's eyes went wide and she looked over to Jones to gauge his reaction. "She used magic?"

"Indeed she did," Jones said with a tone of bragging in his voice. "It was brilliant." Emma felt her cheeks flush, but focused on Regina.

"What does that mean? Is there a way we can break the curse and get everyone back home?"

Regina seemed to be deep in thought, as if she was solving a Calculus problem in her head. "Well, I don't know about breaking the curse, but if you're able to use magic, we may have a chance against the Wicked Witch."

Emma watched as Regina stepped out of the backseat, she and Jones following closely behind. "So, if I'm the only one who has used magic here so far, how were you able to make those potions for us?"

Regina snapped from her brief reverie. "I have a hint of magical ability, but potion making is more about the ingredients you have and the time it takes to brew it. Sheer magical power is what we really need."

Despite what happened last night, Emma doubted highly that her little bit of magic was powerful enough to bring down a witch who could curse an entire town.

"What makes you think that my magic is powerful enough, then?"

Regina didn't hesitate for a second, her tone suggesting the obvious. "Because of your parents."

Emma heard the laughter of children playing on a set of swings nearby and she allowed herself a moment to enjoy the simplicity of it, despite everything.

"Oh right, the true love thing," Emma said, her words dripping with sarcasm.

Jones seemed to notice her disbelief and stepped toward her. "Being the product of true love has made your magic remarkable, Emma. You just need to realize how much so that you may utilize it."

Emma saw Regina nod her head, seeming to agree with Jones. "Yes, but for now we need a plan of action until your memory is restored. I can try and train you, but that will take time and we may not have much of that left."

Blowing out all the air in her lungs, Emma leaned back on the hood of the car, covering her face in her hands. "Can't we just throw some water on the bitch or something?"

She caught the look between Regina and Jones, one that portrayed absolute confusion. "What are you on about, luv?"

Emma straightened again and was surprised to get such a reaction. "Water. Water isn't her weakness?"

Neither of them said anything, but rather stared at her dumbfounded.

Isn't there anything true about these damn stories?

Deciding to brush past it, Emma made her way toward the Town Hall building. "Ok, forget it. Why are we talking to the town, anyway?"

"We need to get everyone on board with a backup plan in case we can't defeat her directly. Besides, if they see you've returned, it may give them hope."

Emma paused in the doorway and turned to them both. "Look, just so we're clear. Magic or no magic, I'm not anyone's damn Savior. I just want to make sure Henry is safe and we get back where we belong."

Jones moved on ahead into the hall, but Regina grabbed Emma's arm, stopping her. She noticed her pull something out from a purse, and was baffled at what she saw.

"Emma, no one besides Robin and Hook know I have this. I need you to follow my lead in there and do exactly what I say."

The people all seemed like any small town residents, their clothing more modern than Emma would have thought for characters that she grew up reading about.

Of course, she was learning quickly that what she thought was true, was the furthest thing from it.

Everyone seemed anxious, speaking together in hushed voices and curious looks in Emma's direction. She saw Jones and Regina greeting a few of the people with handshakes and awkward hugs.

Suddenly, there was someone grasping her arm and Emma turned to see a middle-aged man with thinning hair and glasses. He smiled at her timidly and made eye contact.

"Hello, Emma. I'm not sure how much you remember of me, but I'm Jiminy….well, Archie. Some people call me Dr. Hopper, but you've always just called me Archie."

Did he just say Jiminy? Like, Jiminy Cricket?

Emma gave him a polite smile and shook his hand, not really knowing what to say. "Hi there."

He didn't miss a beat, and started rambling before she could say anything else. "I'm so glad that you and Henry are alright. Regina tells me that he already has his memory back, which doesn't surprise me in the least. Henry never doubted the truth about our pasts, even when the rest of us did. He's a very resilient young man."

Yeah, that was Henry. This guy certainly seemed to know him very well, and before Emma could ask how, a young red-haired woman approached them.

"Emma, thank goodness. We were all so worried about you and Henry." Emma didn't have time to react before the woman pulled her in for an embrace.

She heard Archie address her as "Belle," and Emma only a second to guess which character she represented.

Belle must have noticed the hesitation on Emma's features, because her smile fell. "Oh, I'm sorry. Regina said you've been through so much. I want you to know that we all have faith that you'll defeat whatever this evil is and get us home." She stepped away, but kept her hand on Emma's shoulder.

"I'll do what I can," she mumbled, and it seemed to placate Belle and Archie both.

Excusing herself to go up and join Regina, who had now walked to the front of the room as if to address everyone, Emma noticed others nodding to her familiarly.

It was quite unnerving to realize that other people knew more about your own life than you did.

Emma wasn't sure what she was supposed to do in preparation for meeting all of these people. Regina had said "follow her lead," but didn't explain what she was supposed to say to anyone, just that she shouldn't make it obvious that her memories hadn't returned.

Regina motioned for Emma to join her and she clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Excuse me, let's all settle down, please."

The crowd noise quieted and everyone took a seat. Emma noticed that a majority of the residents were looking at her, rather than Regina.

"Now, I know everyone came here to get more answers on what's happening. Emma and Henry did, indeed, return last night and crossed the town line without any harm done."

A few people made noises and gestures of relief, some of them whispering to each other as Regina continued.

"We're happy to inform you that we've devised a plan and have everything under control." Emma briefly peeked over at Regina, but her expression was determined. "Since we've figured out how to defeat this evil, we'll need your complete cooperation if we are to succeed."

A woman to Emma's right stood up and placed her hands on her hips, looking at Regina. "If Storybrooke isn't safe, we should go back to the Enchanted Forest with the rest of our loved ones."

There were various noises made in agreement and Emma saw Belle step forward. "The Blue Fairy is right. We need to be better informed about what's happening." Belle continued, this time speaking directly to Emma. "Do you know who cursed us?"

There was another general wave of muttering and Regina nodded to Emma with a look of confidence, giving her the floor. Without thinking, Emma turned to everyone awaiting her response.

"Well, uh, I know that you all must be scared." She took another shaky breath, noting the smell of cedar from the benches some were sitting on. "To tell you the truth, so am I."

Emma could hear sounds of grumbling at that in response, noticing a few people were holding each other's hands in anticipation.

She felt herself shaking, the heat rising in her throat, and Emma suddenly felt so inadequate. She couldn't give these people the answers they were looking for or the hope that Regina said they all needed. Emma, herself, was still trying to decipher the truth hidden within all of this mess.

Considering the idea to sit down and let Regina take over again, Emma caught Jones' eye in the crowd. He was standing in the very back, his arms folded over his chest, and he gave her a poignant look of encouragement. She felt her strength return and took a deep breath before continuing.

"Look, I won't tell you that we have all the answers and I can't promise you that this plan will work." Emma saw Regina shoot her a glare out of the corner of her eye.

"But if all of us can work together and trust one another, I do believe that we'll somehow find a way back to where we belong."

Suddenly she felt Regina standing next to her, the other woman's hand on her shoulder, before adding something else herself. "And believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing."

There was a flash in her mind and Emma saw the woman with short, dark hair from her dreams. These were the same words she had said to Emma; something that had really struck her at the time.

Emma could see people in the crowd nodding their head in agreement and looking at each other with support and determination.

They had both invoked a feeling of hope in the room and Emma never felt so empowered. For the first time, she believed that her and Regina could work well together.

Emma turned her head toward Regina and kept her voice just low enough that only she could hear. "Nice touch there, at the end."

Regina made eye contact with Emma and smiled slightly. "Those were the words of your mother."

Her mother. She was the woman from Emma's dreams. They had so many genuine conversations with each other, and she was sure that they were close at some point. Emma now understood that reuniting Henry with the rest of their family, had to be her top priority.

The crowd noise died down a bit and Emma saw a very short, balding man with a scruffy beard stand up in the front row. She noticed he was surrounded by six other short men and her eyebrows shot upward.

The seven dwarves.

"Hang on sisters," he said in a gruff tone. "If there is a plan, then shouldn't we all know what it is? We want to get back to Snow and Charming as much as anyone."

Regina stepped forward in front of Emma then, and opened to her mouth to respond, but was cut off.

The sizeable boom had nearly brought the roof down around them. Emma steadied herself and tried to make sense of what had caused the noise, the town residents beginning to panic.

"Was that an explosion?" Regina's voice was loud over the screaming around them and Emma could see through a nearby window that she was probably correct, the smoke and flames rising in the distance.

Archie entered the building, apparently having gone outside to see what caused the commotion. "It was the library," he said breathless, his eyeglasses askew from running. "It's gone."