Birthday

After they arrive back to the EF in season 3 Hanna celebrates her birthday.

Hanna heard someone coming into her room. She listened to the footsteps. Two sets of footsteps. Both of her parents were coming in to wake her up today, but she wasn't sure why. She opened her eyes and found them standing beside her bed. Her dad held a tray full of breakfast food. Usually she ate downstairs. She was so confused until she heard them say…

"Happy Birthday!"

Hanna sat up and couldn't help but smile. "It's my birthday?" Hanna didn't even bother to figure out what the date was when they came back here, so hearing that it was her birthday was truly a surprise.

"It is!" David set the tray down in front of her. "We made you all of your favorites."

Hanna looked down at the plate in front of her. There were pancakes with chocolate chips, eggs, bacon, and some hot chocolate. "Did you make this?" Her dad didn't do as much cooking here. They had a chef for that, but this looked like her dad's food.

"I did," David said with a smile as he sat down next to Hanna.

"Thank you," Hanna looked down at her plate again. She was so excited to eat her dad's breakfast again. He may have gone a little overboard though. There was a mountain of food here. Hanna looked back up at her parents. "You guys have to help me eat it."

Snow climbed into the bed and sat on the other side of Hanna and they all enjoyed her breakfast feast together.

"So what do you want to do today?'' Snow asked once they had finished.

Hanna shrugged. "I don't know."

"Come on, there has to be something," David said.

Snow gave her a smile. "We have a little surprise for later, but before then we can do anything you want."

Hanna thought for a minute. "Can we go to the waterfall?" It was the only place here that made her feel happy.

"Of course we can!"

David stood from the bed and took Hanna's tray. "I'll go saddle the horses."

I'll go pack everything else we'll need," Snow said. She got up from the bed too. "You get dressed, okay?"

"Okay!" Hanna climbed out of her bed and quickly got dressed.

The place was just as beautiful as the last time they were here. The rainbow was still there. Perfectly arched over the waterfall. Hanna looked up at the sky. There wasn't cloud in sight. It wasn't too hot, but still warm enough for swimming.

"Mom, will you swim with us today? Please?" Her dad taught her how to swim last time they were here, but her mom didn't swim with them.

"Of course I will," Snow said with a smile.

They all spent a couple hours in the perfectly warm water until they were hungry again. They dried off, sat on a blanket, and enjoyed a picnic lunch.

Hanna gazed at the beautiful site in front of her as she ate her sandwich. This was the best birthday she's ever had. She was truly enjoying this day until she realized something that made her heart drop. Emma. It was Emma's birthday too. Did Emma know it was her birthday? Did she remember? Was she celebrating with Henry? Hanna could feel the tears well up in her eyes. They should be celebrating their birthday together. They should all be together. Hanna put down her sandwich, pulled her knees to her chest, and buried her face in her arms.

Snow and David looked over Hanna, then to each other. At first, they had no idea what was going on. She seemed to be having such a fun day. Now she was upset. It took them only a few seconds to realize what caused Hanna's mood to shift.

"We know you miss her, sweetie." Snow went to her daughter and rubbed circles on her back.

Hanna slowly lifted her head. "It's not fair."

"We know princess," David said.

Snow bushed the hair from Hanna's face and wiped a few of her tears away. "We miss her too, but I'm sure she's having a great day celebrating with Henry."

Hanna nodded. She knew her mom was right. Regina made sure they would have a good life and remembering that made Hanna feel a little better. "I hope Henry got her good present."

"I'm sure he did," Snow said.

David gave Hanna a nudge. "How about we head home and see what presents await you?"

Hanna smiled. "Okay, let's go."

They got back to the castle, put the horses away, and were about to walk inside when she stopped suddenly. She looked up at her parents. "You guys aren't throwing some kind of ball with a bunch of people for my birthday, are you?"

Snow and David looked at each other and grinned. The thought had occurred to them, but they knew Hanna wouldn't like that. That didn't mean they couldn't have some fun though.

"It's your birthday, of course there's a ball," David said.

"Your new pink dress is upstairs waiting for you in your room," Snow added.

Hanna's face fell. She looked back and forth between her parents. She shook her head. "I am not going."

David put his arm around her. "We're just teasing."

Hanna let out a sigh of relief.

"There is a cake and a couple presents for you though," Snow said. "We did ask Regina, Red, Granny, and the dwarves to come celebrate. Is that okay?"

Hanna nodded. "Yeah that's fine."

They all changed and went back to the dining room for the small party. Granny and Red made Hanna the most beautiful cake she had ever seen. It was delicious too. Regina gave her a beginners spell book and offered to teach her how to use her magic when she was ready. Hanna had it in her and Regina thought she should learn to use it. Hanna was grateful, but didn't know if or when she would be ready to learn magic. She only accidentally poofed herself onto the ship the one time. She didn't know if she really had magic in her, but maybe she did. The dwarves bought Hanna some of her favorite treats from the local village. Hanna was very excited when unwrapped her gift from her mom and dad. They got her a set of bow and arrows just like her mom's. Hanna couldn't wait to try it. Being in the Enchanted Forest wasn't an easy adjustment, but Hanna was grateful for days like today and the people she still had in her life.