Emma Summers woke up, in her small room at the inn, to the sound of the clock ticking. Weird. She thought that the clock was broken, like Henry said, but do broken clocks suddenly start working again?

There might be some magic going on, but who would use magic to get a broken clock working? That would just be a waste.

Just after she got dressed and did her morning routine, there was a knock at the door.

It was Regina. Course it was. She was holding a basket of apples.

"Did you know the honeycrisp tree is the most vigorous and hardy of all apple trees?" she said. Emma looked all confused. "It can survive temperatures as low as 40 degrees and keep growing. It can weather any storm. I have one that I have tended to since I was a little girl. And to this day, I have yet to taste anything more delicious than the fruit it offers."

Is she the demon of apples or something? Emma thought as she handed her one. "Thanks."

"I'm sure you'll enjoy them on your drive home."

"Actually I'm gonna stay for a while."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Regina stated. "Henry has enough issues, he doesn't need you confusing him."

"All do respect Madame Mayor, the fact that you have threatened me twice in the last 12 hours just makes me want to stay more," Emma said.

"Since when were apples a threat?"

"I can read between the lines," Emma confirmed. "Sorry, I just want to make sure Henry's okay."

"He's fine, dear," Regina said. "Any problems he has are being taken care of."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I have him in therapy," Regina answered. "Take my advice, Miss Summers, only one of us knows what's best for Henry."

"Yeah, I'm starting to think you're right about that."

"It's time for you to go."

"Or what?"

"Don't underestimate me, Miss Summers," Regina stated. "You have no idea what I'm capable of."

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Emma was standing in the graveyard with what she assumed were her sister's new friends (guess their mom was right about her making friends immediately), away from the vampires. They stopped for a second, realising they were surrounded.

"Oh no, what do we do?" asked Willow.

"Just wait for Buffy," said Xander. "She'll know what to do."

"Yeah, apparently she will," Emma moaned.

Quickly, a few were taken. Emma could barely see it all. She woke up and saw Xander being taken.

"Xander!" Willow shouted.

Buffy appeared and quickly punched both vampires, got out a tree branch and stabbed them both to dust.

"Xander, are you okay?" asked Willow.

"Man, something hit me."

"Where's Jesse?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know, they surrounded us," Willow answered.

"That girl grabbed him and took off," Xander said.

"Which way?"

"I don't know."

Buffy looked into the distance. "Jesse."

"Yeah, why don't you go and find him?" Xander asked.

"Not now," Buffy said. "It's late. Why don't we all get some sleep?"

"After what we just saw?" Willow said.

"We'll figure out a plan at school tomorrow," Buffy said. "Right now, we all need to get home."

Xander and Willow separated from the group as they left the graveyard, allowing Buffy & Emma time to talk.

"Why don't you tell me what just happened," Emma demanded.

"I'm a vampire slayer, okay?!" Buffy revealed. "You happy now? You got that? Why'd you sneak out?"

"I can't let you have all the fun," said Emma. "How long has this been going on?"

"Just under a year now," Buffy said.

"And you haven't told me or Mom?"

"Yeah, and you would've believed me," Buffy said, sarcastically.

"Good point," Emma admitted as they got home. "At least now I know why you blew up that gym."

Buffy smiled, and they both entered the house.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Emma went to the local diner to get a snack and maybe a drink, maybe some hot cocoa. She needed some refreshments before she started the day fully. Yes, she had that apple, but she wasn't going to eat an apple from someone she suspected to be a demon.

She stood at the counter, about to order a sandwich, and saw the local newspaper. 'Stranger destroys historic sign," it said. Without a doubt Regina had a hand in the newspaper writers. Ugh.

"Here you go," a red-haired girl from behind the counter said, before handing her a hot cocoa, which she didn't order.

"Thanks, but I did not order that."

"Yeah, I know," the red-haired girl continued. "You have an admirer."

Emma looked and saw Sheriff Graham from yesterday sitting at another table.

"Ah, so you've decided to stay," he remarked.

"Observant. Important for a cop," Emma said. Emma hadn't met many good cops.

"It's good for our tourist business, bad for our local signage," he continued. Emma looked at him. "It's a joke. Because you ran over our sign."

"Look, the cocoa was a nice gesture," Emma admitted. "And I am impressed that you guessed that I like cinnamon in my chocolate because most people don't, but I am not here to flirt. So thank you, but no thank you." She put it down on his table.

"I didn't send it."

"I did, I like cinnamon too," said Henry, appearing at a table behind Graham's.

"Don't you have school?" Emma asked.

"Duh, I'm ten," Henry said. "Walk me."

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Emma started taking Henry to school after drinking her cocoa.

"So what's the deal with your mom?" she started the conversation with.

"It's not about us, it's about her curse," Henry said. "We have to break it. Luckily I have a plan. Step one, identification. I call it Operation Cobra."

"Since when do investigations need a name?" Emma commented. "They sound cool at first but after a while, they get old."

"It's a codename," Henry said. "To throw the Queen off the trail."

"Is that really necessary?" Emma asked. "She already knows we're, or at least you, are onto her."

"That doesn't mean we can't throw her off," Henry said.

"Suppose," Emma said. "So let me get this story straight, you think everyone here is a fairytale character, they just don't know it."

"I don't think, I know," claimed Henry. "It's the curse. Time's been frozen. Until you got here."

"Don't you think that might be just a coincidence," asked Emma. "I mean I've been around people who are special my whole life, there's nothing special about me."

"Course there is," said Henry. "You're The Saviour."

"So you're really sure about this curse?" asked Emma. "Do they know about their pasts?"

"They don't know, it's all a haze to them," Emma said. "Ask anyone here anything and you'll see."

"So for decades, people have been walking around in a haze, not aging, with screwed up memories stuck in a cursed town that kept them oblivious."

If what Henry saw was true, this was bigger than any spell even Willow could've thought up.

"I knew you'd get it," Henry said. "That's why we need you. You're the only one who can stop her curse."

"I doubt I can stop anything by myself," Emma said, flat out. "I know some people who can do it easily though."

Like, how has not a single slayer found this place yet? There's thousands of them now, and more and more being born every year. If there was something suspicious, someone would've found it.

"No, it has to be you," Henry stated. "You're the daughter of Snow White."

"Only by blood," Emma corrected. "I know who my parents were."

"Well, we have the advantage right now," said Henry. "She doesn't know that. I took out the end, the one with you in it." He gave a few pages to Emma. There, she saw a man holding a baby in a blanket, running over and she started reading.

It read,

The prince ran across the halls, fighting knights as he ran to get his baby daughter to the wardrobe, to save her so she can become The Saviour one day, Emma.

Emma's parents had said the reason they kept her name from her birth parents is that they wanted Emma to have something to remember them by. She knew they were from another dimension, but a fairy tale one was obviously something she hadn't considered.

"See, your mother is Snow White," he said. Emma looked at him. "I know the hero never believes at first. If they did, it wouldn't be a very good story."

"I never said I didn't believe you," Emma explained. "You could be right about the town, and maybe even the curse, but not the fairytales, and certainly not me."

Emma knew she wasn't special. Both her sisters were vampire slayers, one of her best friends was a witch, her old boss was a vampire with a soul, who worked with a millions year-old evil goddess and was in love with a part-demon psychic who was once a higher being.

Maybe she just didn't want to be like that. Her friends and family all had so much responsibility, she only joined in, well because she could and everyone she knew was doing it. But she had the choice to leave that life, and she did. They didn't. And if she is a 'Saviour', a Chosen One of a fairy tale, then she would have to go back into, at least that kind of life.

"Well, if you need proof," Henry said. "Take them, read them. But whatever you do, don't let her see these pages. They're dangerous. If she finds out who you are, it would be bad."

They got to the school.

"I have to go," Henry said. "But I'll find you later and we can get started."

"I knew you'd believe me!" he shouted over as he left.

Emma sighed, as she saw Mary standing outside.

"It's good to see his smile back," she said.

"I didn't do anything," Emma claimed.

"You stayed," Mary corrected. "So, does the mayor know you're still here?"

"Oh, she knows," Emma confirmed. "I know mayors can be a piece of work, but this one's just…"

"She's been mayor as long as I can remember," Mary said. Emma stopped. As long as she can remember? Regina can't be more than a decade older than Mary, and she even said she became mayor after she adopted Henry. This definitely lines up with what Henry said. "No one's ever been brave enough to run against her. She espouses quite a lot of, well, fear. I think I only made it worse by giving him that book. Now he thinks she's the Evil Queen."

"Oh, don't worry, you didn't know he was going to think that," Emma pointed out. "Plus it's something even I might've believed at his age. By the way, who does he think you are?"

"Oh, it's silly," Mary said.

"Maybe it is," Emma said. "But I think I need to learn more about this."

"Snow White," Mary confirmed. Okay… if this is her mother, she's about the same age as her physically, which at least she's not unfamiliar with, having an old boss and brother-in-law who are both vampires. "Who does he think you are?"

"Oh, the Saviour of the entire realms," said Emma, of course not revealing she could be her daughter. "The Chosen One, the person to bring back the happy endings."

"Wow, maybe that's why he even went to find you," Mary joked.

"Well, can I ask you a favour?" Emma asked and Mary nodded. "Regina mentioned the kid's in therapy, do you know where I can find the doctor?"

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Emma knocked on Dr. Hopper's door and went in.

"Hey," she said.

"Emma Summers, I was just reading about you," Archie said. "Let me guess, you're here for a little help with post-traumatic stress. That diagnosis was free by the way."

"I'm sorry, I really shouldn't…"

"I know, I'm sorry," said Emma. "Just tell me something, how did these thoughts of his come about? Do you know if anything strange has been happening here?"

"Henry uses these stories to interact with the world," Archie responded. "They're his language. He has no way to express strong emotions so he's trying the best he can. This is how he communicates. He's using this book to deal with his problems."

"But he only got the book a month ago," Emma pointed out. "Has he been seeing you longer than that?"

"Yes, he has."

"So do you know if something strange happened to him, and he was trying to find an explanation for it, and Regina sent him to therapy when he started asking?" Emma suggested, trying to make it sound as believable as possible.

"It doesn't seem like that's what happened in his life," Archie replied. "There's a lot to say about his mother." Archie went over to some drawers, opened one and took out a file. "Why don't you take a look at the file? Maybe then you can find out." He suspiciously handed the file over to Emma.

"Why are you doing this?" asked a very confused Emma.

"He talks about you a lot," Archie answered. "You're very important to him."

"Thank you," Emma said, still taking it as she did want to find out more about this.

"Just see that I get it back, okay?" he said as he opened the door for Emma to go through.

"Of course," Emma said as she was about to leave.

"Wait, Miss Summers," Archie said. "Just for the sake of the boy, be careful how you handle his belief system. Destroying his imagination would be devastating."

"Don't worry, I think I can handle this well," Emma responded.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Emma couldn't sleep after that night. Vampires existed and her sister was a supergirl who slayed them or something. Really? She was hoping it was all a dream, but it wasn't. How was this possible? How was this happening?

School was strange too. She hadn't made any new friends yet. Buffy clearly had. Then again, Emma was always a bit of a shy one. But she couldn't stop thinking about this.

When she got home, all she did was go to Buffy.

"So, is everything okay?" she asked quickly. "Did you…" Their mom came in. "Have a nice day at school today? Because mine was awful."

"Not doing very well from the looks of things," their mom said. "Your sister missed some classes today."

"I was running an errand," said Buffy.

"And now you seem you want to go out again," their mom said. "I didn't even hear you come back last night."

"I did," Emma lied, trying to cover for her sister.

"Well, Buffy, we haven't even finished unpacking, and I'm already getting calls from the principal," their mom complained.

"Mom, I promise you, it's not going to be like before," Buffy tried, "But I have to go!"

"No."

"Mom!"

"The tapes all say I should get used to saying it," said their mom.

"Hey, you're being a little harsh," Emma interrupted. "She could be doing something pretty important."

"It is!" Buffy insisted. "It's really important."

"I know it is, everything's like the end of the world for a 16-year old girl," continued her mom.

"Don't scare me, Mom," Emma said. "Only 2 years off it."

"I don't have time to talk about this…," Buffy continued to insist.

"You've got all the time in the world, you're not going anywhere," her mom continued on. "Now, if you want to stay up here and sulk, I won't hold it against you. But if you want to come down, both of you, I'll make us some dinner."

Their mom left the room.

"So by 'errand', you mean killing vampires, right?" Emma said just to confirm.

"Of course," Buffy said. "If you weren't caught up, vampires are going to the Bronze, the world is literally going to end if I don't stop it."

"Okay, okay, okay, this is escalating a little fast," Emma said. "It's the end of the world now?"

"Yes, and I need you to cover for me," Buffy said.

"No way," said Emma. "I'm coming with you. No way I'm missing this."

"I don't want everyone to be injured in the crossfire!" Buffy insisted. "But if you really want to go, come armed." Buffy got out a blue chest and it looked like it had regular teenage stuff in it until she lifted it to reveal stakes, crosses and more stuff which Emma assumed would stop vampires. She packed all of them in a bag herself, except one cross which she gave to Emma.

"There you go," Buffy said. "Hold it up to a vampire and it would freeze them for a while. Now let's go."

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

When Emma got back to her room at the inn, she started reading the files, and there was nothing really of note. Only that he was originally sent there because he was 'finding the town a little strange' and because of his mistrust after recently finding out he was adopted. Nothing which indicates he had a demon infestation that went unexplained.

Just as she was about to read more, there was a knock on the door, and it was the sheriff.

"Hi," said Emma. "If you worried about the 'do not' disturb signs, don't worry I left them alone."

"Actually I'm here about Dr. Archibald Hopper," Graham explained. "He mentioned you got in to a bit of a row with him earlier?"

What? "No."

"I was shocked too," Graham said. "Given your shy, delicate sensibilities. He says you demanded to see Henry's files, and when you refused, you came back and stole them?"

"He gave them to me," Emma insisted. Did Regina pay or blackmail the therapist to lie or something? She really was getting desperate.

"Alas, he's telling a different tale," Graham said. "May I check your room or must I get a search warrant?"

Emma walked across the room, and just came right out to say, "This what you're looking for?"

"Well, you're very accommodating," said Graham. "But I'm afraid, Miss Summers, you're under arrest. Again."

"You know I'm being set up, don't you?" Emma asked, directly.

"And who, may I ask, is setting you up?" asked Graham.

"I'm guessing the adoptive mother of the boy I gave birth to?"

"Yeah, okay then."

The conversation continued when they got to the police station.

"You know the shrink is lying, right?"

"To the right, please," Graham said, as Emma turned. "Why would he lie?"

"The mayor put him up to this," Emma suggested. "She's gotta have something on him. He's terrified of her like everyone else in this town." On one hand, Emma thought this was suspicious, on the other, it could just be that people are afraid of authority figures, which she knows from experience aren't the best.

"To the left," said Graham. Emma turned again. "Regina may be a touch intimidating, I don't think she'd go as far as a frame job."

"How far would she go?" Emma asked. "What does she have her hands in?"

"Well, she's the mayor," Graham explained. "She has hands in everything."

"Well that's mayors for you," Emma said. "Does this include the police force?"

And then, as she was talking, she saw Henry walk in, followed by Mary.

"Henry, what are you doing here?" Graham asked.

"His mother told him what happened," said Mary.

"Of course she did," Emma moaned. "Henry, I don't know what she said…"

"You're a genius!" Henry exclaimed.

"What?"

"I know what you were up to," Henry said. "You were gathering intel." Emma stared. "For Operation Cobra." He technically wasn't wrong.

"Sorry, I'm a bit lost," said Graham.

"It's need to know, sheriff," Henry explained. "And all you need to know is Miss Blanchard is going to bail her out."

"You are?" Emma asked. "Why?"

"I trust you," Mary said, nervously.

"Well, if you could uncuff me, I have something to do," Emma said.

And then the next minute, Emma went up to Regina's garden and started cutting down her apple tree she stated she loved. If she was the demon of apples, Emma had just weakened her power source.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Regina shouted as she stormed down.

"Picking apples," Emma stated, sarcastically.

"You're out of your mind!"

"No, you're out of your mind if you think a shabby frame job's enough to tip me off," Emma said in response. "You're gonna have to do better than that. You come after me one more time, I'm coming back for the rest of this tree. Because you have no idea what I'm capable of."

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Buffy and Emma met Xander, Willow and a curly-haired man with glasses outside the house.

"What took you so long?" Xander asked.

"I was grounded, okay?" Buffy said. "Now, we need to go."

"Is she coming?" Xander asked, referring to Emma.

"You got a problem with that?" asked Emma.

"She insisted and I didn't have time to argue," Buffy pointed out. "Now come on!"

The gang got to The Bronze. Buffy went to open the door. "It's locked!"

"We're too late," said the curly-haired British man.

"I didn't know I was gonna get grounded!" exclaimed Buffy.

"Can you break it down?" Xander asked.

"Yeah, with your new-found superstrength?" Emma teased.

Buffy looked at her. "Not that thing. You guys try the back entrance, and I'll find my own way."

"Let's go!" said the British man.

"Guys, wait!" Buffy said. She gave the bag of weapons to Willow. "You get the exits cleared and the people out. I don't want you going all going Wild Bunch on me."

"See you inside then," the British man responded.

Emma was about to run with them, but Buffy said to her. "Stay safe."

The four ran to the back entrance. Willow tried opening the door. "No joy."

"We got to get in there before Jesse does something stupider than usual," Xander said.

"Listen to me, Jesse is dead," said the man. "You have to remember when you see him, you're not looking at your friend, you're looking at the thing that killed him."

"Jesse's dead?!" Emma questioned. "What happened?"

"Did Buffy not catch you up on anything?" asked Xander.

"We didn't have time," Emma pointed out.

"Oh, I don't think we've been properly introduced," said the British man. "I'm…"

"He's Giles," Xander said. "Let's just wait for Buffy. She'll know what to do."

"She's probably already in by now," Emma commented.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Emma was about to go back to her room, until she was being met with the old woman who owned the place.

"Miss Summers," she said. "Oh, this is terribly awkward. I'm afraid we have a no felons rule. Turns out it's a city ordinance."

"Let me guess, the mayor's office just called to remind you," said Emma, stating the obvious.

"You can gather your things," the old woman said. "But I'm gonna need your room key back."

Emma just then walked to her car, and was figuring out what to do, but then her phone rang.

"Miss Summers, I'd be happy to continue demonstrating my power," said Regina. "But am I right in guessing your resolve to stay is only growing?"

"You have no idea," Emma said, angrily.

"Well then, it's time we made peace," Regina claimed. Yeah, right. "Why don't you drive over to my office? Or walk, whatever suits you."

Emma thought about not going, she doubted Regina was genuine, and judging by what she's seen in the last couple of days, it is very possible she could be a demon, or a very powerful dark witch. But she needed to gather information, so she can just pretend she's falling for it, so she walked into her office.

"I'd like to start by apologising, Miss Summers," Regina said, as Emma sat down.

"Okay," Emma said, insincerely.

"I just have to accept the reality that you want to be here."

"That's right, I do."

"And that you're here to take my son away from me."

Emma sighed. "I'm not here to take Henry away from you at all."

"Well then, what are you doing here?" Regina asked. It hasn't seemed at one point in this conversation that she was being sincere."

Emma thought for a second. She couldn't tell her the truth, but it had to be pretty convincing. "Look, I know I'm not a mother. I think that's pretty self-evident. But I did have him. I can't help that he got in my head and I want to make sure he's okay."

"Well, he's fine," Regina said.

"That's just it, I don't think that he is," Emma said. "He thinks everyone in this town is a fairy tale character. There's got to be a reason for that."

"Well, do you not believe that?"

"Of course not," Emma said. "But he does and there needs to be a reason why."

"Well, there is a reason why, it's true!"

"Well, there must be some reason…" Emma started to say until she realised Henry was there standing right behind them. "Henry…"

Emma was about to run to him, but Henry had already run himself.

"How long was he there?"

"Long enough," answered Regina.

"You knew he would be here," Emma said, figuring it out quite quickly.

"Did I know that my son comes to my office at precisely 5pm so I can take him for dinner before his therapy session," Regina said in a condescending voice. "Of course I did - I'm his mother." She stopped for a little bit. "Your move."

Emma didn't know what to do now. She didn't want to tell Henry about what really went on in the world, what his thoughts were really all about, but she would need to stop making him feel confused.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Emma wasn't sure what to do now. She couldn't tell Henry about the secret vampires and demons which she knew they were probably responsible somehow, but then how was she supposed to explain? She felt like for a second that she was only there for the mystery, and not for Henry.

But then again, solving the mystery might save the entire town, including Henry. So could she really leave now? Maybe she could just make an anonymous call to get a slayer to come here. She's never done it before, and she'd have to hope that someone who doesn't know her answers the phone, but it's an idea. It's better if someone comes here who doesn't have an emotional reason to.

She decided to at least go to Mary's loft to give her back the bail money. Because she's done a lot in a short amount of time. At least Henry would have her if she left.

"Hey," she said when Mary answered the door. "Just wanted to say thank you and pay you back the bail money." She gave the money to Mary.

Mary smiled, looked at Emma, and then said "You look like you need to talk."

Mary made Emma some coffee and cookies, and apologised for not asking, but why is that something you really need to apologise for?

"When you bailed me out, you said that you trusted me," Emma said. "Why?"

"It's strange," Mary explained. "Ever since you arrived here, I've had the oddest feeling that we've met before. And I know it's crazy."

"Oh, there are much crazier things like that," said Emma.

"For what it's worth, I think you're innocent."

"Of breaking or entering or just in general?"

"Whichever makes you feel better," Mary answered.

"It doesn't really matter what anyone thinks I did or didn't do," Emma said. "I'm leaving." Mary looked at her. "Thank you for everything, but I think it's for the best. If I stay, Henry's only going to get hurt."

"What happens if you go?" Mary asked. Emma thought. Henry did not have a good adoptive mother, that was certain. So who would protect him? Mary was too scared of her to do anything. And she might be under her demon curse, so there is that. "I think the fact that you want to leave is why you should stay. You care about him. Who will protect Henry if you won't?"

"I don't know," Emma said.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Giles eventually broke the door down, and told everyone to hurry up and get everyone out quickly, as that's what they did. Xander ran in quickly after Buffy while the other three stayed in to get the others out.

It didn't look like enough people were getting out.

"We're going to have to open the front as well," Giles said, just before a female vampire attacked him.

"Get off of him!" Willow shouted as she threw holy water at the female vamp.

"Gotta start hanging out with you guys more often," Emma said.

After a while, they got everyone out and the three joined Buffy & Xander.

"Well, I take it, it's over," said Giles.

"Did we win?" asked Willow.

"Well, we averted the apocalypse," said Buffy. "I'll give us points for that."

"One thing's for sure," said Xander. "Nothing's ever going to be the same."

"Let's just go home," said Willow.

And again, Buffy and Emma separated from the group.

"So can I fight vampires with you more often?" Emma asked.

"I don't want you to get hurt," Buffy said. "I never wanted to involve my family in all this.

"Well, it looks like you have," Emma said. "Well, at least me. Don't worry, I'm not telling Mom."

"Will she believe you?" Buffy asked.

"After what just happened?" Emma said. "This will all be over the news."

"Nope," Buffy said. "Everyone will forget about it by morning except us. Trust me."

"Really?"

"I assume so," said Buffy. "That's what usually happens."

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Emma went to see Archie, hoping Henry would still be there, holding the pages he gave her earlier in the day. He saw Emma there and immediately went up to her and said "Miss Summers, I'm sorry, the Mayor forced me to…"

"I know, don't worry about it, I get it," Emma said. "Henry, I'm sorry."

"I don't want to talk to you," Henry said.

"If she knew you were here…"

"To hell with her!" Emma objected, interrupting Archie.

"Henry, I wanted to stay here for you," Emma said to him. "I wanted to get to know you."

"You want to know why I believe something I know is true," Henry said.

"I don't care about that anymore," Emma said. "All I care about is you. This curse thing, I say there has to be a reason, but maybe there's not. Maybe it is true. In some way."

"But you told my mom…"

"What she needed to hear," Emma said. "If the curse is real, we should be tricking the Evil Queen into thinking we're nonbelievers, because that way she's not on to us. Isn't that what Operation Cobra was about? Throwing her off the trail?"

"Brilliant," Henry said.

"Henry, I read the pages," Emma said. "And you're right, they are dangerous. And there is only one way to make sure she never sees them." She threw the pages in the fire. "Now we have the advantage."

"I knew you were here to help me," Henry said.

"Well, I am, kid," said Emma. "And nothing is going to stop that."

She walked out with him, and then walked him home. She was glad to find out a way to make him happy without telling him the full truth. Because there could be a curse, just not cast by the Evil Queen. Emma knew that. And helping Henry was the number one priority here.