Well folks, we made it! And I do mean WE. You have no idea how much all of you shaped this story. Your reviews, follows, and favorites have meant the world to me and I truly hope you enjoy the conclusion to this story! (I'm becoming misty eyed at the thought that it is actually finished) Happy reading and much love.

The first thing she noticed was the dampness creeping through her jeans as she found herself seated on soft dirt. It was a stark difference compared to the hard asphalt she had fallen to moments earlier. That realization was soon followed by a feeling she couldn't place. She felt different, almost free, as compared to earlier. And that buzzing presence was still within her.

Opening her eyes after a moment more of gathering herself, her heart sank as she took in the thick forest around her. She was still in the woods, and in all likelihood nowhere near Storybrooke.

Her heart sank as she tried to sort through everything that had just happened to her. The blast from the locket hadn't brought her closer to her family, in all reality it more than likely moved her further away. It wasn't something she had caused, but was probably from Regina. Gold hadn't actually helped, and now she was on her own.

It didn't take long for the tears to flood her eyes. Slowly, Emma placed her head down on her forearms, which rested atop her knees, pulled close to her chest. The ideas of Regina and never seeing her family again running rampant in her mind, so much so that she didn't recognize what should have been familiar.

The large, slightly odd-looking tree she was leaning up against. The wide-open space in front of her, only broken by the fallen log not too far away. The slow trickling nearby creek. It was the same place she and Noah had stumbled across on their first real adventure in Storybrooke. It was where she first remembered Graham finding her as a young child. The place where she arrived after the curse had been initially cast. Her first memories of this world revolved around this small, and yet expansive, space.

But none of that registered. None of it mattered. She was still alone. She hadn't broken the curse correctly, she only managed to break her family. And so, she started to cry.

Snow found herself standing at the sink, facing out the window. She couldn't help but feel like she was back to the same position where she held some of her earliest memories. Like everything started at that point. A déjà vu of sorts. And it took her a few moments to gather herself before everything started to fall back into place.

Her true identity. Their life in the Enchanted Forest. David, her Prince Charming. And most importantly, Emma, Noah, and Kate. Their kids. It was a lot to take in. Perhaps less shocking than it had been when the curse first broke, but certainly not easier.

Tears welled within her eyes involuntarily. Consumed by every memory and even worse, all the memories that could have been, that she wasn't certain would now ever be. A small creak of the hardwood floor behind her caused her to swivel around instantly.

"David," Snow managed to get out, her voice catching in her throat at the end. They'd already been reunited, earlier that afternoon, but now it was more just relief at seeing him. That he was still with her. That they could take on whatever was next together.

"Snow," was all he could reply with, his tone full of the same comfort his wife's had just shown.

They were both quick to move across the kitchen, closing the distance between them and falling into the other's embrace. They held on tightly, as if they let go, everything would reset and they would be split apart once again.

Snow could feel David's heart beating hard and fast, and David could feel Snow shaking within his arms. Both of the action's letting the other know they were equally frightened and unsure of everything happening around them. They each took a deep breath and broke away from one another.

"The kids?" Snow asked, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

David shook his head. "I just came from upstairs and they weren't there."

Snow ran her hand through her short, dark locks, aware of how different it was compared to the Enchanted Forest.

"We'll find them. I promise," David reassured, picking up on Snow's worry. Worry that matched his own.

Snow nodded in reply, like she was on autopilot, her thoughts having already moved to where the three could be. And David wasn't too far behind, wringing his neck as he started to come up with a plan.

"I'll call Graham…," he started and paused, each of them recalling the memory of their friend's heart in the hand of the Evil Queen. She'd still had it before everything went blank and they ended up back at their house. Neither of them sure of what had ended up happening. Hoping for the best. David continued, "I'll call Graham, maybe he knows something."

It was only a few seconds before David let out a sigh of relief, phone held to his ear.

"Graham, good to hear your voice," pausing only for his friend's reply before getting to the reason he called, the reason that mattered more to him than the rest of the world.

"Graham, have you seen or heard anything about Emma, Noah, or Kate?"

Snow was filled with a paralyzing fear like nothing she had felt before, and couldn't help but let out an audible sigh of relief as she watched David relax.

"Okay. Okay, good. We'll be here," David said, hanging up and placing the phone back on the counter.

Snow set her hand on his forearm, unable to take the uncertainty any longer. David covered her hands with his own, giving a gentle squeeze of reassurance. The small gesture enough to ease them both away from the ledge of the unknown they'd both been teetering on the last few minutes.

"Graham has Noah and Kate," he started, Snow nodding along with the information. "He's bringing them back right now. Should only be a couple of minutes."

Snow nodded once again in understanding. Relief washing over her.

"And Emma?"

David shook his head in reply, breaking eye contact, knowing that if he continued to look at his wife he would lose what little control over his emotions he had left. They were both emotional beyond belief.

Snow ran her hand up and down his bicep, the small gesture providing the comfort he needed. They could be strong for each other if they couldn't be for themselves at the moment.

"We will find her," she reassured.

He turned to meet her gaze at the statement, his face full of concern, hope, fear, love. He believed her, had to, it was the only way he was going to make it through until he knew for certain all of his family was okay.

Their thoughts were going a mile a minute, both attempting to process everything they had been through in the past hour. Neither of them able to shake the plan Regina had explained to them.

"You don't think Regina actually…" David couldn't finish the statement.

Snow shook her head vehemently.

"Emma is smart and brave, she's our daughter. She didn't let Regina take her heart," she answered.

David started to nod. "We would know, right?"

Snow let the question settle before answering. She would have liked to immediately answer 'of course', but the both of them had gone 10 years believing she was dead, only for them to painfully realize she hadn't been. Forcing that pain away, she focused for a moment. Now that the curse was broken, she could feel her daughter, and was certain David could too. And with that, she started to nod her head.

"Yes, we would. She's out there. I know it."

"Me too."

They fell into a momentary silence before David spoke again.

"And what do you think happened with Regina?"

"I… I don't know."

"Me either," he added, evident concern in both of their voices.

Quiet grew in the small space between them. Their thoughts could have been shared, as practically the same ideas coursed through each of them. There was fear of what the Evil Queen could do if she were still in Storybrooke. Fear of what actually could have occurred with Emma. And then hope for what was to come. Because while they realized all the dark that had overshadowed the past 10 years, they both knew the truth. Good always won.

"Our family will be okay," David spoke. Snow nodded in reply, leaning into him, her head falling to his chest. They stayed that way until the sharp noise of the front door opening pulled them apart.

"Mom? Dad?" the frantic plea coming from the front entry, both of them recognizing the fear laced in their youngest daughter's voice.

In what felt like a millisecond, they were both steps away from the two kids that filled the hall. Noah and Kate weren't in their sights for a split second more before the two had them wrapped in their arms.

Graham stood off to the side, smile pinned to his face at the sheer joy and relief all four of them shared in that moment.

Snow and David pressed kisses to Noah and Kate's heads, before they let the two out of their arms, though never completely breaking contact with them. Their eyes filled with newly formed tears.

Kate tilted her head to the side, slightly confused.

"Why are you crying? Are you both sad?"

Snow and David let out a small chuckle.

"No we're not sad, we're both so happy to see you two," David started. "These are happy tears, I promise."

Both Noah and Kate seemed to understand what he meant, each of them scooting just a touch closer to their parents, finding extra comfort in the additional contact. That easiness between the four of them only lasted a moment longer as Noah looked around the room, David and Snow knowing the question that was coming next.

"Is Emma here?" The concern in his voice was gut wrenching.

"No sweetheart, she's not," Snow replied, squeezing David's hand for support, while pulling the boy even closer to her side.

His follow up question was even harder to answer.

"Do you know where she is?"

David cleared his throat and forced himself to swallow. "No, we don't, but we will find her. We promise."

Snow caught eyes with her husband after he finished, and could see they were thinking, hoping, the same thing. That neither Noah or Kate had been close enough to hear what Regina had said about hearts and dark magic. Because while they both had full belief that they would find her, neither of them could be certain of anything once magic was involved. And they didn't want either of them to worry any more than they visibly had.

"Maybe she's where she came through the first time. Like us," Kate said, somewhat into David's side, part of her response coming out mumbled.

All the adults looked between one another, slightly struck by the simplicity and profoundness of the suggestion. And they each knew it felt right, because fifteen minutes earlier it had happened to them.

It's why Snow felt like she'd stood in that exact position, exact moment to be more accurate, when she came to beside the sink. Why David had been hit with déjà vu walking down the stairs, finding his wife in the kitchen, the rest of their house empty. They had both experienced it before, both realizing that those were their first memories of their lives in Storybrooke.

And it also explained why Graham had felt so confused. Because his "reset", the term didn't quite fit, but he wasn't sure how else to explain it, his didn't fit the original. Instead of being drawn into the woods by soft cries, he'd been pulled away by the frantic shouts of Noah and Kate at the town line. Rather than a call to Regina, he received one from David. And instead of finding Emma, he'd left her, if in fact Kate's theory was correct. A pit formed in his stomach at the idea he let her down once again.

Snow turned to David, eyes wide with fear and hope.

"Where did she come through?" her voice coming out as a whisper, the strength that she had been desperately clinging to starting to fade.

David shook his head, painfully aware he had no idea where his daughter could be. Ten years ago, neither of them believed her to be alive. They had no reason to look.

"The woods," Graham managed to get out, his voice coming out deep and cracked.

Snow and David snapped their attention to him, waiting for more, but it was Noah that had the realization and started to answer their unasked question.

"By the creek," he started, looking over to Graham for reassurance, getting a quick nod. "When Emma and I were exploring out there that one day, she fell by this really big tree. I think that's when she started to remember things. Is that where she is?" The question directed at Graham.

He nodded in reply. "It's about three-quarters of a mile directly West of here."

There was no questioning from Snow or David, they both trusted Graham completely. All memories from the Enchanted Forest and the uncertainty of if Regina controlled him via his heart, cast aside never to be thought of again. They gave the other a gentle squeeze of their hand.

"Can we come with you?" Kate asked.

David took a knee, coming to eye level with the little girl.

"I think it would be best if you two stayed here with Graham. Maybe you could make some decorations with those new markers you got. I know Emma would love to see that when she comes home."

Both Kate and Noah seemed reluctant, but nodded in agreement after a few moments.

A light discussion with Graham was quickly had. Quick goodbyes were given, along with reassurances to bring Emma back, to Noah and Kate. Jackets were hastily thrown over shoulders.

David and Snow stood on the back porch each facing the woods. Both knowing that Emma was just inside the thick maze of trees. Snow squeezed David's hand. David pressed a kiss to Snow's temple. And the two started in the direction Graham had pointed them in. Each of them anxious to find their daughter, to ensure that she was safe and unharmed, and to bring her back where she belonged. Home.

Tears had been involuntarily slipping from her eyes, running down Emma's cheeks, until they weren't. Not because she had suddenly found herself able to stop them, but more so because she had seemed to have run dry. And so, she continued to sit, dry sobs still making her shake, keeping her from catching her breath entirely.

Her butt was completely soaked and her left foot had gone numb, but she couldn't find herself to care. She couldn't feel anything besides the aching in her chest, a pain she feared was only going to grow until she found herself unable to breathe from the weight of it. It was full of uncertainty. Unfairness.

Emma kept her head resting on her arms, eyes squeezed shut, concentrating, because it had been minutes, an hour at most, since she realized who she was along with everyone else, and yet they were all already slipping away. It was taking all of her efforts to recall the exact firmness of Snow's hugs, the timber of David's daily 'goodnights', the electricity of Noah's excitement, and the purity of Kate's joy.

And so, she found herself reciting things about the four of them to herself. The things she thought were most important, that if she forgot everything else, she would still recall exactly who they were. Because of these thoughts, the intensity to them and the memories they evoked, she tried to ignore the faint but sharp calls of her name that rang through the woods.

Emma shook her head, trying to rid herself of the echoing shouts. It didn't matter that they were getting louder, growing more frantic. It was her mind playing a cruel trick on her or something Regina was causing via the potion she gave her, one last dagger to further crush her happiness. It had to be, because no one but her remembered.

"Emma! Emma!"

If possible, the calls were getting crueler, taking on the voices of Snow and David. Her mom and dad.

She covered her ears with her hands, letting her head fall to the tops of her knees, eyes still shut and facing the ground. The action did little to help, aside from muffle the sound, but it was still painfully there.

"Stop, please. Please," she uttered to herself in an attempt to calm herself and stop the shouts, but all it did was bring up the memory of the last time she had said those words. The town square, Regina, her parents, frozen time, all of it rushing back. Her attempt to stop the hurt, only bringing more.

Until suddenly it did stop. Her ears involuntarily straining to hear more than just the chirping and creaking of the forest, but only finding those sounds that belonged. Emma let out the breath she had unknowingly been holding. But the moment was only temporary relief.

A soft gasp, no louder than a whisper yet ringing out like an explosion, filled the air. Ever so slowly, Emma lifted her head and turned towards the sound. And she nearly shattered when she saw them standing fifty feet away. It was a sight that minutes earlier she had forced herself to accept she would most likely never see again. Those fleeting worries of forgetting about the way the smelled and felt and sounded, pushed away in the instant her eyes fell upon them. Every memory she had been attempting to memorize, as not to forget them, now coming to her in a clarity like never before.

Everything continued to move in slow motion.

How was it possible for the woods to have become so thunderously loud, each chirp of a bird and crack of a branch deafening, and yet completely silent. The air between the three of them seemingly not moving. Each of them drinking in the details of one another. Absorbing the fact that they had found each other once again.

And for as much happiness as they were all experiencing, there was also an abundance of sadness. It was a reunion 10 years in the making, one that should never have had to happen in the first place. Had any of them been able to focus on anything besides their family in front of them, they would have said that whoever came up with the saying "ignorance is bliss" was sorely mistaken. The thought that none of them knew their family was out in the world, waiting for one another, was strikingly painful. Especially for Snow and David.

With the same hesitant slowness in which she had looked up, Emma stood. Her back remained flush against the rough tree, the scraping of the bark against her jacket the only thing keeping her grounded in that moment. It told her that at least some of this was actually happening.

The pause that settled between the three seemed to grow. Expand. All of them forgetting how to breathe as they continued to stand there. Because it felt like they were experiencing the realization and reunion, everything that had coursed through them when the curse initially broke, for the first time once again. There was time now though, to let everything sink in without a looming threat.

Emma focused on still trying to process that the two people in front of her were the same as those she had been searching for the past year. That they had been in front of her the entire time. They were the same people she had hoped for, but couldn't let herself fully believe because they were wonderful and loving and amazing, and she had been robbed of their time together.

Snow and David stood frozen as they processed that the grown teenager before them, practically self-sufficient and already full of life experiences, was the same person as the 2-1/2 year old they both remembered as if it were yesterday. Tears built upon those already there, causing them to spill over and run down their already stained cheeks.

Emma took a few steps towards them, equal parts enthusiastic and reserved. Because they were in front of her, and yet it was too good to be true. Words found their way to the tip of her tongue and yet she couldn't seem to say a single one. But it was a single word, her name, not even her full name, a nickname, enough to stop her in her tracks.

"Em?" David said.

She didn't think it was possible, but her world crumbled around her once again.

Emma froze before taking a few steps backwards. The tears she had thought dried up, back again with a vengeance. Her head started to shake of its own accord. The words that came out of her mouth next were strained. Words that she didn't want to say, but was forced to as everything clicked into place and the realization hit her.

"You're not real. You can't be…" she trailed off.

David took a step forward, his hand not breaking its intertwinement with Snow's.

"We are Em, I promise."

Emma responded to the reply with a shake of her head.

"You can't be. You're not supposed to remember, only me. That was the deal. I'm the only one that's supposed to be in pain, that remembers. That was the deal. So, you can't be real, you can't be…" she was forced to stop as the emotions caught up to her.

And she found herself thinking about Regina. About how cold hearted the woman must be to trick her into thinking she had made her way home after only minutes, compared to the lifetime she had expected.

Snow moved forward, equal to David, but still too far from her little girl. The hurt she was feeling in the moment was nothing compared to having to see the agony on her daughter's face.

"We are real and we remember. I promise sweetheart," she attempted to reassure. "I promise."

Emma's eyes bounced between them.

"How?" she managed to get out. And while the question seemed simple enough, the answer was complex. One that none of them actually knew.

"We're not sure," Snow started. "Neither of us know much, but we remember you. Everything about you."

Her gaze had dropped, but at Snow's answer Emma looked back up again.

"I do too."

The three words seemed to trigger something in Snow and David. The knowledge that Emma remembered who she was, who they were, how they had gotten to that point, all of it enough to drive them mad at the continued separation.

"Can we come over to you Em?"

Emma simply nodded in reply, not trusting herself to speak, and within a split second she found herself wrapped within their arms. The simple action was memorized. Everything the same, the tightness in which her mom squeezed her close and the way her dad cupped the back of her head gently. But all of it was different too. Because it was the first hug they all shared knowing who they were to one another. The idea enough to make Emma breakdown further into their arms. All the strength she tried to gather, evaporated away in a matter of seconds.

The three of them stood there for what felt like an eternity and yet mere seconds. David pressed a kiss to the top of Emma's head and to the side of Snow's. Each of them would have agreed they could have stayed there forever, but eventually they broke apart, though all of them careful to not fully break the contact between them.

There seemed to be a million questions that needed to be asked and answered, but Emma found herself only able to ask one.

"What next?"

David and Snow both looked over to one another, for an answer or strength neither of them was certain. All that really mattered was the kid in front of them and the two back at home.

"We're not sure…" Snow started.

"But we will figure it out. We promise. All of us together," David finished.

Emma nodded at the response knowing it was true. They had been through so much together, the five of them, the past year and she knew her parents were right. They would figure it out no matter what, no matter how long it took. As a family.

That word stirred something inside of her, anxiety flooding her.

"Noah and Kate?" The question coming out frantic.

"They're okay," David reassured. "They're back at home with Graham."

Emma let out a sigh of relief. Everyone that mattered most to her, including Graham, were safe. But just as soon as that comfort had come, it was gone with a single thought. To a single person that caused all of this. That could cause so much worse if she wanted. The words that left her lips next came out soft, almost cautious.

"And Regina?"

Emma only needed to watch the drop in her parents features to know what they were going to say.

"We don't know. Graham didn't think anyone had seen her since…" Snow stopped, stumbling to come up with the correct words. "… since the curse was completely broken, but no one is certain. You have no need to worry about her though. Your dad and I will deal with whatever may come. Promise."

Emma nodded in understanding, but found herself filled with conflicting emotions. Half of her wishing the woman was gone, completely wiped from the town and this realm, and half of her hoping Regina was simply tucked away, free from anyone that wanted to harm her because of the curse, able to possibly find someone to love once again.

They fell quiet again. Emma comparing them to what she remembered, and besides her mom's haircut, the versions of her parents were identical. Snow and David taking the time to simply watch their daughter, observing the same compassion and love and adventurous spirit that was there so long ago. That had never left.

Emma shivered involuntarily, the crisp air creeping in.

"How about we head back home?" Snow suggested.

Emma and David nodded in reply and the three of them moved together before Emma stopped, causing Snow and David to turn back, concern strewn across their faces.

"Emma?" David asked.

She looked between them again. She needed to get this out. To make sure they knew how she felt. Before all the chaos she was sure would swallow them once they got back to the house.

"Do either of you remember anything I said after you were frozen earlier?"

David and Snow glanced at one another, almost wincing as the guilt started to creep in. Everything had gone black at one point. Both of them only able to recall being at the will of Regina and then suddenly back home.

"No honey, we don't."

Emma nodded in understanding. "Can I… can I tell you again then?"

"Of course you can."

Emma took a few steps back, creating a bigger distance between them, as if she needed the extra space for the words she was about to say. Her hands shook slightly before she shoved them into the pockets of her jacket. This was the first serious conversation between them since the curse broke. The first of what she assumed would be many, but this one was the most important in her mind.

She took a deep breath before she started. "Weeks before all of this curse breaking, and separation, and finding one another, I stopped trying to figure out all the answers to the questions I had about my past. It occurred to me that none of it really mattered anymore. I didn't need all the closure I initially thought I did, because my life was pretty perfect the way it was. I had Noah and Kate, and… and the both of you. And I realized that I didn't want to find whoever gave me away because they would never be my parents. They would never care about me like you guys. They wouldn't come close to anything compared to you. You're amazing. The best I could ever hope for.

"And then it turns out you're actually them," she let out a small huff of air, something between a laugh and sigh. "And magic is real, and there are different realms, and we've been split apart for years without realizing," she paused for a moment, trying to slow her words as she had sped up and swallow the emotion that was growing in her throat. "And then I only had a moment to say goodbye. There wasn't time to tell you all the things I wanted, so I told you both what mattered most.

"You're my mom and dad, and I love you both so much. I figure you probably already know that, but wanted to finally say it out loud."

Emma watched both Snow and David, each of them slightly trembling, mirroring what she was feeling inside. Because, while she knew this wasn't the first time she had spoken those words to them, having done so as a small child more times than she could count, it was different. Now it came from a combination of unconditional love given as a toddler and love earned from a teenager.

Snow stepped forward, closing the space between and taking one of Emma's hands in both of hers. "You're right sweetheart, we know, but you have no idea how happy it makes us to hear it."

"You, Noah, and Kate are the most important people to the both of us and we love you so much," David added, the soft smile that had reassured her with so many times before appearing on his face.

Emma let her head fall for a moment, swiping at her eyes. Her next words came out as a whisper, almost hesitant, unsure if she wanted her parents to hear them. Unsure if she wanted to divulge the greatest fear she had faced so far.

"I thought I was never going to see you again."

Snow and David stiffened as the thought ran through their minds, the idea practically unbearable.

"Emma, you are strong and brave and smart. We have no doubt you would have made it back, that you would have found us again, but…"

"But you're glad I didn't have to?" Emma cut in, a sudden lightness to her tone. Relief.

"Yes, so very glad," Snow replied, both she and David matching Emma. But the words didn't suffice for how truly grateful they were that Emma was back in their arms. They had missed so much time already and all the time left they knew would be treated unlike anything else they had cherished before.

Emma thought about replying, but instead fell into her parents embrace once again. The hug not lingering like it had earlier, but rather breaking like one normally would. And it hit her, that things would become normal, at least by their terms, once again. All of them would fall into a rhythm like they had before.

The three of them started to make their way back through the trees towards the house. A smile starting to form on Emma's face as a memory, her most prominent one from the Enchanted Forrest, sprung to mind. Almost immediately after the curse broke, she recalled all the memories she had from the Enchanted Forrest. Some were fragmented. Others felt more like a movie playing in front of her, most of the information coming from having read the book. But this one was different. It was clear and hers and meant the world.

Emma looked between both of her parents and chuckled before starting. "I know we've come up against some unseen obstacles, but I'm still waiting for that picnic in the garden you promised."

David threw his head back in response and Snow couldn't help but beam. Each of them knowing the exact moment to which their daughter was referring. The picnic David had promised her the night the curse was enacted.

"I suppose I do, don't I?" David said. "How about tomorrow?"

Emma nodded in reply. It was perfect. Tomorrow. Because tomorrow they would still be together. Tomorrow they would be happy. Tomorrow they would still be a family.

A sudden thought hit her. Was it possible to leave one place and yet return to another at exactly the same time? She supposed it had to be, because that's what they had done. She and Noah and Kate, all three of them Swans forever, had been forced to part with their life and start anew with Snow and David. But for herself, she now understood that it wasn't a new life. Rather one that just needed to be picked up again. She had left, only to find. In the end managing to simply fly away home.

15 months later

They sat around the hospital waiting room doing just that, waiting. It had only been a few minutes since Graham had driven them over after David's call, but it felt like an eternity. Emma watched as everyone else occupied themselves to pass the time. Kate and Noah had started up some type of hand-clapping game, causing giggles from them both. Graham and Ruby sat next to one another in the only loveseat, hand in hand, whispering things into the other's ear, enjoying everything about their relationship. Granny sat in the corner knitting what Emma assumed was another blanket.

It wasn't much longer before their dad poked his head through the double doors labeled 'restricted access'.

"Emma, Noah, Kate, you ready?" It didn't take but a second before the three were by his side, each of them eager to accompany him.

As they walked down the hall, Emma couldn't help but recall everything that had gotten them to that point. Her dad had been right when he'd said they would figure it out. They had. But the road had been tougher and more convoluted than any of them had pictured.

It had taken three weeks before she, Noah, and Kate had gone back to sleeping in their separate rooms. Each of them afraid they would wake up without the others. That the Evil Queen finally accomplished what she set out to do.

It took almost three weeks after that to convince David to become the new mayor of Storybrooke. He had been met with both resounding amounts of support by those that had been under his rule, and firm opposition by those that hadn't. It had taken a small group of folks set on returning to the Enchanted Forrest, it's status unknown, for him to step forward, reluctant to spend more time apart from his family. That road difficult to navigate.

Snow, almost immediately, had accepted the positon of principal. Her natural leadership overshadowing the meek teacher that had been there before. Yet, it had taken almost three months before she stopped using her lunches, or any other break, to stop calling or physically checking in with each of them. Ensuring every member of her family was safe, free from any harm. Especially towards Emma, that guilt of not realizing she was alive that entire time, not leaving during those months.

And it was four months before Emma's nightmares finally gave her a reprieve. They had varied in length and intensity, but each of them the same. She couldn't find them. No matter how hard she tried, it was impossible. She was alone. And she could hardly believe when she got her first night of uninterrupted sleep.

But, she also knew that there were plenty of good times during that span. So many more than the bad, and those were the things she liked to think about. A smile forming as she did so.

They had gotten that dog David had mentioned, a fat yellow lab named Doug. Kate had entered the 1st grade and lost a front tooth. Noah, with much assistance from Snow and David, built a soapbox derby car and got second place. A sweet, simple first kiss from August, had been enough to fill Emma weeks afterwards with happy thoughts. Graham and Red hit it off and began dating. Neal, after reconciling with his father, quit law school to move to Storybrooke and help Gold run the shop. The five of them had started a tradition of picnics in the garden on the first weekend of each month. Snow and David renewed their wedding vows at the insistence of all three kids, all of them arguing that they needed to, since Regina had ruined their first wedding

For a split second her mind turned towards that woman. There hadn't been any sign or signal from her. It simply appeared as though she had been wiped away, and though Emma hoped it wasn't the case, she couldn't help but be relieved that she was gone.

But all ideas of the Queen vanished as they reached their destination. David ushered them into the room and all eyes fell to the bed. Seated upright was Snow, looking slightly disheveled, but undeniably happy. And in her arms rested the new member of their family each had been dying to meet.

"Emma, Noah, Kate," Snow started, looking at each of them before glancing down to the bundle and back up again. "I'd like you to meet your brother, Oliver."

The three of them moved more slowly, careful as they stepped towards the bed.

"Would you like to hold him Em?" David asked.

Emma nodded in reply, unable to form the words to actually speak out loud. And as her brother was set in her arms, all she could do was watch her family in awe. This was what magic actually was. Kate was seated by their mom's feet already asking when she was going to get a baby sister. Noah stood next to their dad, explaining all the things he was going to teach his brother to do. The fearing and excited eyes of her mom and dad, respectively.

Her grin grew wider. They had made it and in her mind, all of them together was the definition of perfection. She looked down, her gaze locking with identical green eyes. Only a few words coming to mind. Ones that she hoped expressed all the comfort and security and love their family had to offer.

"Hi Oliver. Welcome home."