Hey there! I didn't plan on writing another story for quite a while but I just had to write something after last week's episode; it was just so good! So anyway, I hope you enjoy what you read! :)

I do not own OUAT unfortunately.

Silence.

Apart from the faint footsteps of each of them as they manoeuvred in the dark through the forest floor littered with snake-like tree roots, there was nothing but shrieking silence. Usually the lack of chatter would suit Emma, but following the moment she had shared with Mary Margaret back in her nursery, it felt misplaced. She couldn't describe what happened back there in that moment; it was like something else took over. Being vulnerable was not something Emma took pride in and over the years her ability to call upon her steely resources kept her protected, guarded, out of reach of anything to do with emotion. But now…now it was different.

Watching her best friend-turned-mother recall the life she had wanted for her and feel the love that that room embodied and symbolised was too much. For most of her life, Emma had trained herself into believing that she was never wanted, never loved. And as she bounced around from foster home to foster home, that belief was only underpinned and made true. No one had ever made her feel worthy or deserving of love; or maybe they had and Emma just didn't want to listen to it. She worked better alone – the only way she knew how to survive. But Emma knew now that she was loved, and more so than she ever thought imaginable. The way Mary Margaret looked at her with those tender, affectionate eyes made her heart swell and automatically sparked tears at the back of her eyes.

And yet they hadn't spoken a word since then and for the first time, Emma wished that they were talking. Her mother walked ahead of her, dancing lithely around the underbrush, clutching her bow as if anticipating an attack, every now and again glancing back to make sure Emma was still behind and not ogre food. Yeah, Emma didn't want that to happen again anytime soon. That was a moment that should never be relived. She was pretty sure that was the closest thing to true terror she had ever faced – and true terror had really bad breath. So, she was sticking close behind the brunette.

Further ahead, Mulan was strutting the way with her suit of armour swaying with her movement, her right hand gripping a knife while Aurora tried her best to keep herself warm – but to no avail. Even from a distance, the blonde could see the woman's shivering body. Emma didn't want to admit it but those two were growing on her. Despite the initial hostility and scoffing looks they each gave them over their choice of clothing, they vowed to keep them safe and help them return to Storybrooke. That was all Emma could ask for even though she was positive Mary Margaret – or Snow, whatever – was more than capable of keeping them out of harm's way. Or at least alive, anyway.

As they kept marching forward with no one uttering a sound, Emma became restless, needing someone to say something. And who better than herself?

"Hey, Mulan!" she called, attracting attention from the rest of the group…and the wildlife. It was as if her voice was a siren call; flocks of birds jolted from the trees into the dense night air and the hum of wolves howling resonated through the land. Maybe not her best idea. She really had to learn to be quiet.

"Emma, what did I tell you about ogres and sound? Haven't you learned anything from the gun episode?" Mary Margaret scolded with a heated whisper, as she twirled around and grabbed the blonde's arm before setting off again at a much quicker pace.

"I'm sorry, I forgot," Emma said, quickening her walk while letting her mother lead.

Mulan and Aurora closed the gap and the four of them stomped aggressively side-by-side, listening for any sign of ogre movement. Emma wasn't exactly sure what they were listening out for but she was so relieved when they seemed content to slow the walk to a stop. No ogres for the time being.

"Now," Mary Margaret started, seemingly regaining her patience, "what is it you wanted to say?" She laid a hand on Emma's shoulder in a gentle gesture signalling her apology for snapping at her earlier, despite having every right to do so.

"Yes, what was so urgent that you felt the need to raise your voice and put us all in grave danger?" Mulan sneered. It was true that the warrior was shedding her armour – so to speak – and softening somewhat, but there still existed this layer of sass that wasn't fading anytime soon. One minute it was like she was trying to forge some kind of friendship with them, the next she was rolling her eyes, unwilling to entertain their presence. She was a moody one, a theory only reinforced by the woman's defensive stance.

"Hey, don't talk to her like that!" Mary Margaret barked, her tone assertive and powerful. Just like a Queen's. Just another thing Emma had to get used to. No longer was the brunette timid; she was an authority figure who demanded respect, especially when someone got in her daughter's face. Emma hoped that her own assertive disposition derived from her, but she was aware that her attempts at garnering respect off others paled when compared to Mary's. Or was that Snow's? Ugh, so confusing.

"Well maybe if you controlled your daughter better I wouldn't have to talk to her like that," Mulan retorted, moving over so that her face was inches from hers.

"I was just wondering where we were going, that's all," Emma said weakly but her remark fell on deaf ears as the girls remained planted to the spot, locked in a staring competition. She and Aurora exchanged an uneasy glance. Both understood that letting Mulan and Mary Margaret face-off was not a good idea; not when they all needed to be united. What was that saying…united we stand, divided we...? Fall, was it? Emma wasn't one for mottos and all that sort of stuff. She never had anyone to be united with, so it never really applied to her of her life, but now it was the only thing that'll help them get back home to their family. Obviously, Aurora was thinking the same thing as at the same time, both she and Emma slipped in between the two fairytale characters who were almost ready to rip each other's heads off.

With a rather forceful shove, Aurora managed to push Mulan away, giving her a stern look. "You need to relax," she warned, narrowing her eyes at her new friend's brashness. "We can't be turning on one another."

"Sleeping Beauty's right; we gotta stick together. It's late and it's cold and we've done a hell of a lot of walking this past day, so I think we need a recharge." She traded a look with her mother who returned it with a shimmer of pride and a grateful smile. "So let's find a place where we can make camp."

"What did you call me?" Aurora paused, tilting her head to the side in curiosity.

"Oh, eh, Sleeping Beauty. That's what you're called back home. You're a very popular fairytale character."

"I am? Sleeping Beauty…that's clever." Her face broke out in an enormous smile, her eyes shining with some unknown emotion. Emma hoped she hadn't created an egomaniac.

"She is?"

"Well, you know…after Snow White," Emma appeased, somewhat amused by her mother's show of jealousy.

"What?" Now it was Aurora's turn to be envious and much to her dismay, Mary Margaret shot her a sly grin.

Foreseeing yet another verbal battle, Emma was quick to the mark and changed the subject. "So I think we should head out over there; there's plenty of trees for shelter." She pointed toward the edge of the forest next to a clearing. Still out of her element, she recognised the need for shelter and for a clearing; shelter for obvious reasons and a clearing in case something happened to go wrong and they were forced to make a break for it.

"Yes, she's right. It's too dark for us to continue and our situation could become precarious. Resting for the night is our best option." Finally, Mulan was making sense and the plan sounded better coming from her than a blonde chick in a leather jacket.

"Okay, let's go," Snow agreed, breaking her stare and placing a hand on Emma's back as she ushered her to follow Mulan.

It didn't take long for them to set up a place to sleep for the night once all the tension sizzled out. As soon as each of the nestled against the trunk of a tree, slumber consumed them. Snow didn't want to succumb to the thumping in her head until she was sure that Emma was asleep which she knew was silly. Emma didn't need her to sing her a lullaby or tell her bedtime story; she was old enough to close her eyes on her own terms. And if Snow was honest with herself, that was something that make her heart ache. The realisation that Emma would never need or want her to do anything like that for her was almost too much to bear. Seeing the nursery again and recounting the moments she always wanted to share with her daughter pulled her wounds wide open, leaving nothing but pain behind.

Just so much pain.

She never even got to spend one night with her baby and all of sudden, in the blink of an eye, that baby appeared and was now the same age as her, completely self-sufficient and guarded because of the life she had led. There was nothing Snow could do; no matter what she would ultimately never be able to raise her own child.

Of course, having Emma back in her life brought her untold happiness and made her heart beat again; there was no doubt about it – life without Emma, without her daughter, wouldn't be a life at all. Even being around her made her feel something again, made her want to live life and be the Snow White that she knew she could be. She made her want to be her mother. And though there were certain aspects of that role she wouldn't be able to fulfil, there was still a lifetime of things she could share with her and that was enough to dull the ache for now.

She peered over to where Emma had laid her head and watched as the blonde pushed back stray curls of her tousled hair off her face and snuggled into her jacket, her body ready to dive into the depths of dreamland.

Snow thought she was beautiful and looked just like her father as she lay there. She allowed herself to droop her eyelids and replay the moment they had experienced back in the nursery. Within a matter of moments she had drifted off, a small smile written on her face as they last thing she envisioned was Emma accepting an embrace from her mother.

The sun dappled through the leaves on the trees falling onto Snow's face and wakening her. The sun had begun its ascent and heated the air trapped above the ground. The brunette opened her eyes one by one testing the strength of the light. As her vision cleared, she saw Emma and Aurora sitting on a log having a conversation. Straining her ears, Snow tried to listen in and chuckled to herself when she realised that Aurora was asking Emma about her clothes. The princess held Emma's jacket at arm's length examining the stitching and testing the strength of the fabric before handing it back to the blonde and kindly refusing to try it on.

Snow used her hands to hoist herself to sit upright against the bark of the tree. She turned her gaze upward toward the sky and let its rays radiate off her skin. Today they would make the trip back to the 'safe haven' and rethink their strategy and hopefully avoid another encounter with the always lovely Cora.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear Emma approach and take a seat alongside her. That was until she spoke. "How'd you sleep?"

Startled, she faced the woman. "Surprisingly good considering I was leaning against the base of a tree. How about you?"

"Of all of the weird places I've slept for a night, this has to have been the most comfortable."

Snow laughed lightly. "That's good."

Emma looked down at her hands, her fingers locking and breaking over and over. The way her body stiffened alerted Snow that there was something she wanted to bring up.

"Are you okay, Emma?" she asked tentatively, her tone coloured with concern. What could have the blonde so awkward?

Without raising her head, Emma replied, her question taking her mother off guard. "Why were you so quiet yesterday after we left the nursery? Did I…did I say something wrong?"

The words were laced with an innate sense of worry which only served to amplify Snow's desire to quell any doubts in her child's mind. "No, Emma, of course not," she soothed, running a thumb across her cheek to which Emma didn't lean away from. "I was thinking, that's all."

"What were you thinking about?"

She had no wish to make the blonde fret, but there was no point in denying the truth; Emma was perceptive and would know if Snow shrugged it off as no big deal. Besides, did she really want to lie to her daughter?

"Being back in the nursery was more…painful than I realised," she sighed. "Seeing the toys we had purchased for you and the way the room was decorated…it reminded me that I never got to be the mother to you that I always wanted to be. I wanted to see you grow up and experience the world we lived in; I wanted a life fit for a princess. I wanted to be there when you took your first steps, when you spoke your first words, when you learned how to read and write or ride a horse or shoot an arrow." She stopped to compose herself and cursed the tears that filmed her eyes. This was the last thing Emma was to see but it was like it was a river flowing with nothing to obtrude its path. "Before we left I took one last look at the life we would have had. I saw the nursery in all its glory and it hurt. It all hurt. And my mind was crowded with so many thoughts and pictures of things we never got to do. I'm sorry my silence caused you to worry but you've nothing to worry about now, okay?" She articulated a pained smile, ignoring the streaks of tears on her cheeks.

By the look on her face, Emma wasn't buying Snow's attempt at a brush-off. But she didn't have time to respond as Mulan hurried over to them. "We must go," she said, adjusting her armour. "If we start moving now we should be back at the haven by noon."

Wordlessly Snow pulled up to her feet, offering her hand to Emma who took it with only minor hesitation. Progress. "Come on, let's get our stuff."

So how was it? Pointless or good? I wanted to show both sides of the aftermath of the last scene of episode three because I felt that there was just so much to deal with emotion-wise and I hope that I've pulled it off. So please do review and tell me your thoughts – good, bad or indifferent! Looking forward to hearing from you! :)