Ok so finals are officially over with. Fingers crossed that I finally get to graduate and be done with school! Now here is the reward for me being done…another chapter! Wootness!

Btw sorry for what I put Henry through. It'll get a bit better…eventually. Seeing as the mid-season finale totally ripped my heart out and crushed it to tiny ity-bity pieces…and add to the fact that Killian did not go to the Underworld in the beginning of my story and I did hint that Emma did go there briefly…we are ignoring the mid-season finale in this. So that being said, it is fanfiction for a reason, before anyone calls me out on events and whatnot, let me save you the trouble and say, "Get over yourselves."

Real or Not Real?

"So remind us again why we are babysitting your daughter?" Grumpy asked as he looked between Emma in the cell with the cuffs on her wrists and glaring murderously at the group, then back at the group in front of him.

The dwarves were called to the station, and when they had gotten there, they had seen the sheriff yelling and threatening their leaders, Archie, Belle, the former Dark One, and the Evil Queen within the very inch of their lives. Archie had tried to calm Emma down by explaining why she was in the cell and how it was safer for everyone in her current state of mind, however she had also tried to reason (very loudly) that he was being brainwashed and that everyone needed protecting from the 'demonic evil demons'. Eventually things had fallen silent and Regina had painstakingly explained the reason why all this was happening.

However that did not stop Emma from trying to counter everything that was being said, "Look just keep her calm and try and talk to her. You two had gotten close as friends before right?" Snow asked, or nearly begged.

"And what are we supposed to do if she gets free?" Doc asked nervously as he looked towards the blonde, who aggravatedly sighed and sat on the cot in frustration muttering expletives.

"She won't. Those cuffs have blocked her from using magic." Gold said rather sadly, "She shouldn't be of any problems."

The dwarves reluctantly nodded, "Alright we will do it." Grumpy said as he looked at his friend.

"Thank you. We will be back tomorrow to try and talk to her again." David said.

"She may talk to you about past events she is not sure about. If she says 'real or not real', just answer her and elaborate on the event in question to the best of your ability." Archie advised and with that the group left.

"So who has first watch?" Sneezy asked as he bit back a sneeze, remembering the last time he had sneezed he was turned to stone by Emma.

Dopey dug into his pocket and pulled out seven straws and tugged on Grumpy's sleeve to show him, "Seriously?" He asked glaring at the offending objects in his hand. Dopey nodded furiously and glared at his 'brother' as if pointing out how many times they solved problems by using these things…and the end result him drawing the short straw, "Alright let's do this." Grumpy stated getting the message crystal clear.

Emma was watching curiously as they drew the straws and seeing that Grumpy had the first shift, the other's left for a bit claiming they were going to help with clean up. Once they left, Grumpy pulled a chair right up to her cell, "So apparently you are stuck here with me?" she asked him casually, not moving from her spot on the cot.

"Appears so sister." Grumpy growled out with his arms crossed, "I drew the short straw on this."

"Ok then…" She said leaning back. They sat in silence for a good minute as Emma closed her eyes to think for a bit. Small flashes of memory came to her in bits and pieces about the dwarf.

Grumpy was perplexed as he watched her closely. It was unnerving to see the fiery sheriff and Savior this quiet and this on edge about everyone. It almost reminded him of the woman that had first came to Storybrooke. In fact he was so lost in thought about how everything changed so rapidly that he almost missed her say, "Your originally name was not Grumpy…it was Dreamy. Real or not real?"

He felt his heart stop and stomach plummet. That was a name he had not heard in years, and a name he did not wish to hear ever again; despite the fact that him and Nova were on slightly better terms although with everything that had been happening since the curse broke they hadn't really had the time to fully reconnect. None the less, seeing Emma looking at him with narrow eyes, he swallowed a lump that formed in his throat and said, "Real."

"What happened? Why did you change your name?" Emma asked. She felt as if she knew the story, but wanted him to tell it to her anyway. Besides it would help her to see if this dwarf could actually be trusted.

"It is a long story." He said after a few minutes. In all honesty, Grumpy did not want to go into it. In fact he was tempted to call one of his brothers back and bolt faraway from this situation as possible.

"Does it look like I am going anywhere?" Emma asked critically as she held up her hands and then motioned to the cell.

Knowing that she was right, Grumpy began to tell his story, "Well I guess you can say it started a long time ago in the Enchanted Forest…"

In the meantime, back at the loft, Snow and David sat in the kitchen. They had just placed Neal to bed, and Regina had called to say that Robin was staying on Hook's ship and that Henry was at her house holed up in his room. They had made plans to meet up at Granny's the next morning before trying to talk to Emma again. This did nothing to place their minds at ease though. In fact it only cemented their worry and anxiety fueled emotions, "How?" Snow eventually asked as she leaned back in her chair and pushed her cinnamon hot chocolate away.

"Snow?" David asked confused as he came out of his own dark thoughts.

"How come we can never catch a damn break in this godforsaken family?" Snow elaborated on her previous thought to her husband, "I mean ever since the first curse broke it has been one problem after another; and each time Emma had to fight either to get back to Henry or save this damned town! Like she had lost everything time and time again…we have lost everything time and time again! So how does this keep happening?"

David shook his head. He wanted to comfort Snow, but he did not even know how to comfort himself when he had been thinking almost the exact same thing, "I do not know." He whispered out as he too pushed his hot chocolate away not in the mood to drink the beverage that had always brought some kind of comfort, "I cannot give you an answer."

"I do not want answers…I want a solution. I want whatever secret curse that is on this family lifted. I want to understand what I need to do to make everything right…I want our daughter to be happy." She whispered out the last part as she stood up from her chair and began to pace the kitchen.

David got up and pulled her into a hug, and for once this evening she allowed herself to cry and breakdown. She had remained strong not only in Camelot, but throughout everything else. She hardly allowed herself to break except for a very brief instant during the terror of the Snow Queen, "It'll be ok." David whispered as he rubbed circles on her back, also trying to convince himself that the words he would speak next were true, "We will get through this."

"How?" Snow asked as she buried herself in his chest, "How are we going to get through this? If she did not trust us before when she found out we were her parents, how are we going to get her to trust us when she thinks we are here to kill her?"

"Together."

"You heard what she said to Henry though. He is her son, our grandson, she all but broke him in a matter of minutes." Snow said helplessly, "I mean this is as worse as it can get. Like I can't even imagine a scenario that is worse. We have her physically, but emotionally and mentally…she is not Emma."

And it was true, David realized with an already sinking heart. This is as bad as it gets, however he knew that despite his own doubts, he needed to be strong…at least while Snow was with him, "I know it is bad, you do not need to tell me. However let's just do what Archie said and take one day at a time." Pulling away he made Snow look at him, "Ok?"

Snow looked into his eyes to try and see any doubt in his words. Eventually she sighed and nodded, "You are right. One day at a time." Leaning up she gently kissed him and wished him good night before going to their room. He watched her leave before taking their filled mugs and dumping the contents down the drain. As he began to wash them, he allowed his own tears to silently fall and silently break; not knowing that Snow was in the same position in their bedroom. Both tried to pull themselves together, however the both of them momentarily forgot about their shared heart and despite being in separate rooms, they both felt the guilt and pain and allowed it to consume themselves for the remainder of the night.

Henry, true to Regina's words, was holed up in his room. As soon as he bolted from the shop, he ran back to Regina's house…his house. He could not stand going to the loft that held so many memories of his other mother, the one that was the Savior. The woman he had talked to was definitely not her. He had dug underneath his bed and pulled out the book that held all the stories in it. Flicking through the pages, he came across his mother's story and began to read through it.

He knew the beginning by heart as he read of Snow and Charming's sacrifice to save their daughter (August had told him that he had replaced the pages that Emma had burnt), turning the pages he had scanned through their adventures, before pausing on one page in particular…their first curse breaking. His hand shakily touched the page that depicted Emma kissing his forehead, "Oh mom…" He muttered out before continuing on.

Just as he was about to turn another few pages, there was a knock on his door, "Leave me alone." He called not wanting to talk to anyone right now.

However the door opened anyway and he looked up to see that it was Roland, "Hi Henry." The little boy said as he entered the room.

Henry felt his frustration and sadness diminish slightly as the younger boy heaved himself on his bed and looked at the page that he turned to. It was the one of Emma and Killian dancing at Midas's ball, "Hey Roland." Henry muttered as he looked at the picture that captured his soon to be…adoptive step brother…? Henry mentally shook his head, not having the brainpower at the moment to work through the crooked family tree he had.

"Is that your real mommy and her true love?" Roland asked curiously pointing to the page and turning it to get a better look.

"Yup. That is them." Henry said rather sadly as he looked into the real smile that he never really saw on his mom. Sure she smiled, but he never seen one that bright on her until she and Killian started dating.

"She is really pretty in this picture," Roland complimented. He looked at Henry seeing that he did not respond, just merely nod in agreement. The young boy knew that something was going on with Henry's other mother, but what that was, he wasn't entirely sure so he asked, "Is she ok?"

Henry was startled out of his thoughts and quickly thought about the question before responding as he turned the pages of his book, "I do not really know." Henry answered not knowing how to answer that question.

"Did the darkness hurt her, like it hurt Mama Regina?" Roland asked as he pointed to the page that Henry had absentmindedly turned to.

"Huh?" Henry asked as he looked to what Roland was pointing to. He was surprised as to what he saw. On the left page he saw a dark tornado like cloud engulfing Emma, and then on the next page was Emma emerging from the Dark One vault. He did not know how these pages were added. Yes he was the author, but he destroyed the pen so technically there should not be any new stories in the book.

In his shocked state, Roland turned the next few pages as the Camelot story arc came to life before Henry's eyes. Emma had given their memories back moments before of stopping Dark Hook's plan; but to see it written made them the more real. He even saw glimpses of his story coming to life with Violet. Which reminded him that he still had to explain to her as to why his mother was a Dark One to begin with, "Here." Roland pointed as he handed the book back to Henry.

It was one of the final pages in the current storybook (for now at least). It had showed Emma taking in the Darkness and then banishing herself and the Darkness into the Underworld. Looking on to the next page he read the words out loud, "The Savior was trapped in the Underworld for a year. The Dark Ones tormenting her with memories that she thought she long since buried within her heart. It was not until long before she succumbed to their torment did they then release her…if they could not destroy the heroes…then one of their own would…" What? Henry thought to himself.

Roland was watching Henry with curious eyes, and he leaned forward to hug the older boy just like Regina does to him to make him feel better, "It'll be ok. Mama Regina will help make your mommy better."

Henry was surprised by the young boy's words that he accepted the hug. While they had not spent a lot of time together over recent months, he was coming to view the young boy as part of the family; besides it felt nice to have someone other than his grandparents and mothers comforting him, "Thank you Roland. I know she will figure this out."

Regina had been sitting in the kitchen, just having gotten off the phone with Robin, who had given her another update. Apparently Captain Guyliner was not doing so hot, having drunk himself into an alcohol induced sleep after spilling his guts (figuratively and literally) to Robin about what he had done, planned to do, and what he should have done to Robin. After Robin's story, he had asked how everyone was.

So Regina had told him as to what occurred between Emma and Henry, to now where Emma currently is, and that they were all meeting at Granny's in the morning to come up with a more solid plan. Robin had mentioned that he would try to bring Killian if he was up to it. Regina had wanted to decline the idea, but thought better of it. After all, Emma's violent behavior seemed to have been more geared towards Killian than anyone else. After wishing each other a good night, Regina had made her trek up the stairs to check on her niece. Seeing that the baby was still asleep she made a move to check on Roland. She opened the door to find that he wasn't there. Panic started to bubble and she was about to call Robin back when she heard talking coming from Henry's room, "It'll be ok. Mama Regina will help make your mommy better."

She was confused as she quietly made her way to her elder son's room. She silently poked her head in to see Henry and Roland in a comforting embrace, "Thank you Roland. I know she will figure this out."

Regina's heart ached at how much faith the younger boy had in her. Deciding though that she really needed to talk to Henry, she had to ruin this precious moment. Knocking on the door to alert them of her impending intrusion she opened it further, "Hey." She greeted.

"Hi!" Roland greeted happily as he wiggled out of Henry's hug and went over to her, "I helped Henry." He announced happily.

Henry gave Regina a small shrug and smile to show that yes indeed the young boy helped a bit. Regina nodded accepting his answer, although knowing that he needed a bit more comfort, "That's good Roland. Thank you for your help." She said gently to the young boy, "Now time for you to go to bed."

"Aw, but I want to help more." He said pouting slightly.

"I am ok Roland. You really helped me a lot." Henry said giving what he hoped to be a convincing smile.

Roland looked at the older boy, who he viewed, as an older brother. Running back over, he gave Henry another hug, "Are you sure?"

"Yes kid I am sure." Henry internally winced though as he used Emma's nickname for him on Roland, however he ignored the stab in his heart for now.

"Ok." Roland said pulling away looking Henry in the eyes one more time, "Remember what I said? Mama Regina will save Auntie Emma."

Regina winced as she felt a slight pain in her heart as Roland had gotten off the bed and gave her one more hug before leaving the room. Holding up a finger to Henry, she poked her head out making sure that Roland made it to his room and closed the door. Turning back to her older son, she crossed her arms and looked at him, "So want to tell me the truth?"

"I kind of did. He has faith that you save Emma." He noticed Regina's face fall at the proclamation, "I have faith too. I am just…"

"Upset?" Regina questioned as she occupied Roland's spot on the bed, "That wasn't her. What happened at Gold's, that was not Emma and you know it."

"But it was her though…in some retrospect. Look," he shoved the book at her. He watched her expression as she flicked though the pages, "I did not write that. I destroyed the pen, so I do not know how those got there but it tells everything that has happened so far. Look at what it did to her…" He pointed to the passage in question.

Regina's sick feeling only grew as she read the passages and she sighed before closing the book, "That does not mean anything aside from affirming what Archie, Belle, and Gold told us before."

"But that is just it. Who knows how long it will take before she is healed? Aside from that, how are we supposed to help if she is going to treat us as if we are the villains?"

Regina pulled Henry into a side hug and squeezed his shoulder, "If it is one thing I learned, it is that anything can be solved if we work together. Your grandparents, unfortunately, taught me that as did Emma. She did not give up on me, and I will not give up on her." Henry pulled away as he looked at her, searching for something in her gaze. Sighing again she elaborated on her explanation, "I was going to have you keep an eye on Roland and the baby, but considering you are old enough and circumstances forced you to be in this deep with us, we will take them to the fairies early in the morning and you can come with me to Granny's so you can be a part of the planning process. If we are going to try and help Emma, we are going to need a plan…an operation." She watched as his eyes lit up at this.

"Really? You are not going to try and keep me in the dark this time to protect me?" Henry asked searching for any trace of good intention deceit.

"What is really the point? We try and protect you and yet you somehow wind up in our mess anyway." Regina stated as she got up off the bed.

"Glad you finally learned." Henry said cheekily at he felt smug at this small victory despite himself.

Regina snorted as she crossed her arms, trying to maintain some kind of parental control, "Clearly you have been around Emma too much. When all this is done, I will have to talk to her about her attitude rubbing off on you."

This brought up something that Henry had been wondering about earlier in the evening, "When did you start calling her Emma?"

"What?" Regina asked as she was lost in thought in the lapse of silence.

"Mom…when did you start calling her Emma instead of Ms. Swan?" Henry asked looking at the former Evil Queen.

Regina looked at her son as if searching for any reason why, besides sheer curiosity, he would want to know. Seeing nothing but the innocent curiosity, she pondered it herself before shrugging, "I do not know when things really began to change. Probably after you were taken to Neverland our…relationship…got a bit better. We came to have a mutual understanding that later turned into a friendship." That was probably an over simplified version, but that was all she could think of. When exactly she and Emma became friends was hard to pin-point, but that did not matter because she had come to enjoy having the blonde as a friend…or if she dared to admit it to herself: best friend.

Henry nodded accepting this answer. He knew that he was the ultimate bridge between the two women, but it was nice and he allowed himself to smirk as a thought came to him, "What?" Regina questioned seeing the look on his face and not liking it one bit.

"Well it's just that it's ironic. You are best friends with your step-daughter's daughter. The same step-daughter that you were so determined to destroy." Seeing that she was not taking it as twisted humor, he backtracked, "I mean it is nice do not get me wrong, but even you have to admit the irony in this. Considering that Emma is technically your step-granddaughter."

"Ok that is enough of reminiscing our twisted family tree, and of course reminding me of how old I really am. Time for bed. Now." She said with an air of finality to her voice as he was about to protest.

"Ok fine, and can I add just one more thing?" Henry asked as Regina placed the book down on his nightstand. She started to tuck him in, surprised that he was not really protesting in the action.

Regina quirked an eyebrow at him, "What?"

"Our tree isn't so much as twisted as it is really crooked." He said with a charming smile.

"Good night Henry." Regina said exasperated as she kissed him on the forehead and walked to the door.

"Night Mom." He called back and watched as she turned off the lights, but before she closed the door, he called out, "I love you."

"I love you too." She said and shut his door. Leaning against it, she gently rested her head on it and looked up at the ceiling wondering how could he have such faith in her to save the blonde when she did not really have all that much faith in herself, considering Emma was not really dark when she was the Dark One...