When Birdie woke up, the first thing that she noticed was the blinding whiteness of the room she was in. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second, and she heard rustling in the corner of the room. Slowly, she opened her eyes again, trying ignore the pain searing in her eyes. Along with the bright lights, her left arm throbbed in pain from the cut. It was a slash across her bicep, and it was stitched together meticulously.

 "Birdie?" Someone asked. The voice was light and feminine, one that she recognized.

 Birdie's eyes settled on the still and somewhat blurry form of the speaker. She blinked a couple times, and the person solidified. Her sister.

 "How are you feeling?" Snow said, walking to her bedside. 

Birdie smiled ruefully. "My body hurts. But I'm here." When she smiled, she felt pain shoot through her face. 

She raised her right hand and ran the tips of her fingers gently over her face. She felt several stitches pulling together a cut on her face. 

When she looked back at Snow, she noticed something else. Her stomach was bulging. "You're pregnant." She stated in shock. Snow beamed and placed her hand on her stomach. "Yeah. Due soon." "How long have I been gone?" Birdie said, not meeting Snow's warm gaze. "Two years. We thought you were dead."

"Dead?" 

Snow nodded. "You have a gravestone and everything." 

Birdie gave a soft chuckle. In a way, the person they had known was dead."How long has it been for you?" Snow asked. 

Birdie blinked in surprise. "How did you-"

 "Well, you're obviously a lot older than fifteen, and you don't know how long it's been here"

 "It's been five years." She said, fidgeting with her blanket. "I'm eighteen."  

Snow nodded thoughtfully. "I thought it was something like that." 

She almost said something else, but Birdie cut her off. "So, how's Henry?" She asked, her tone light and breezy, but Snow could hear the undertone of anxiety to it. 

Snow gave her a sad look. 

"What? What happened?" 

"He doesn't remember Storybrooke. There was another curse, and it wiped his and Emma's memories, and sent the rest of us back to the Enchanted Forest." 

"Did she cast it?" Birdie said, looking apprehensive.

Snow shook her head. "No. We all ended up back here a few days ago, with no memory of the last year, and she was as clueless as the rest of us." 

Birdie nodded. She wanted to believe what Snow said, that her mother was innocent, but she had her doubts. 

"She's not like when you left. She's different now. Better." Snow said, studying Birdie's face, looking for her reaction. But Birdie kept her expression placid, a useful skill she had learned when she was gone. It was a good tactic for keeping people at bay. 

"I'll believe it when I see it." Birdie said. 

"Could I rest for a bit? I'm feeling drowsy."

 Snow nodded. "Yeah, the doctors said they put you on some medication because you kept moving when they tried to stitch you up." She left the room as Birdie's eyes drooped closed of their own accord, and she slipped from consciousness. 

Snow headed to the waiting room of the E.R, where Regina was waiting anxiously. 

"So?" Regina asked, standing up. 

"She's alright. I mean, she's not a flying monkey or amnesiac, so she's doing pretty well." Snow said. "She's knocked out again though. But I think you should see her. It would do both of you good." She advised. 

Regina shook her head. "I don't think she'll want to see me, even after all this time." She said. 

"I think you can get her to see you in a new light. Show her you've changed." Snow said.

 Regina nodded reluctantly, but she wasn't sure Birdie would even believe her. She remembered how they had been. Regina breaking promise after promise. Birdie trying to believe her every time she promised something new. But there had been something different about the last time. When she was planning to cast that spell. She had seen something break in Birdie that time.