I do not own Once Upon a Time.
Wow, here we are, the beginning of season 4! Thank you for all your support, follows and reviews! I would not have made it this far without them. Don't forget this is a series, so please read "People like me don't deserve happy endings", "The fresh start I dreamed of", "Balancing the past with the present" and "Never going to let you out of my sight."
Note- Neal is alive and well. He is tri-parenting with Emma and Regina. While the show focused on the Snow Queen drama, Amelia is more involved with Marian's story and Gold's drama, she is going to be his daughter in law eventually.
Enjoy this story. Back to the drama.
Chapter 38 of Never Going to Let You Out of My Sight
Before Amelia was able to ask a single question, someone threw themselves into her arms.
"Bernadette, I never thought I would see you again."
Amelia almost didn't recognize the voice. She pulled back to see Marian standing in front of her.
Marian was supposed to be dead, that's what Robin and Neal had told her. How was this possible? Nothing can bring back the dead.
Then Amelia noticed Emma, who looked so guilty.
"What did you do?" Amelia asked, doubting she would hear a logical answer.
All Amelia Hunter could do was stare, she opened her mouth but nothing came out. How was Marian here, in Storybrooke, right now?
Marian let go of Amelia to pick up Roland. The child didn't seem to be traumatized by the fact that his mother just appeared out of nowhere.
And she clearly wasn't the only confused one. Regina just kept looking between Emma and Marian and Robin. She also looked on the verge of tears.
Emma still hadn't answered Amelia's question or Regina's "You did this?"
An uncomfortable silence fell over the diner and Amelia half wondered if Regina was going to go all evil queen on them. But it seemed running was the answer to Regina's problems and she bolted from the diner.
But Robin followed her, along with Amelia, Neal, Emma, Killian, Mary Margret, David and Marian, who still held Roland.
"Regina, wait." Robin grabbed her arm.
"No, you should be with your wife. I bet you two have a lot to catch up on." Regina tried to reason with him. Amelia could just about feel Regina's heart breaking. Could she not get a happy ending? The man she came to love was now reunited with his wife. What could she do but be the bigger person, for once.
"Robin? What's going on?" Marian asked then noticed the worried and concerned faces of everyone outside. "You care about her feelings? You all care about her? She is the Evil Queen. She is a monster!" Marian said then rounded on Amelia. "Remember what she did to Derek? Even considering being friends with her is an insult to his memory."
That comment stuck Amelia like a slap across the face. She took a step back, she felt Neal's hand on her shoulder, trying to be comforting.
"Marian!" Robin almost yelled, shocked. He knew that went too far. He was so lost at what to do first.
"I should go." Regina said before walking down the street.
Robin looked torn. Amelia had regained her composure and stepped forward. "Go. I've got her."
"Thank you." Robin told her gratefully before taking off after Regina.
"You got me? Where are you taking me?" Marian asked.
"My place, you need a bath, warm clothes, food and a real bed." It took all of Amelia's strength to be helpful. She really wanted to crawl into a corner and cry or drink, or both.
But she was going to be the better person. She felt Neal leave for two minutes, he returned with her coat. He helped her put it on, giving her a tight shoulder squeeze.
Amelia turned to Mary Margret and David. "Really nice party, thank you for inviting us. We'll see you around." Then she turned to Emma and Killian. "You are coming with us. You are going to explain this." She did not leave any room for argument. Then Amelia sped off in the direction of her apartment.
Neal walked next to Marian. Emma and Killian trailed behind.
"I didn't catch your name." Marian asked Neal.
"Neal, Baelfire, Rumpelstiltskin's son, Amelia's fiancé." Now that his father had turned over a new leaf, there was no reason to be ashamed of his family.
Marian stopped short and stared at Neal. "You're the Dark One's son? She's marrying you?" She felt bad about assuming the worse about a stranger. "I'm sorry that sounds harsh. I doubt you're anything like him."
"I'm only like him in the sense that we take care of our family. We should catch up before Amelia gets anymore out of sorts."
"Amelia? You mean Bernadette?" Marian was so confused.
"Yes, Bernadette. Don't worry, we will get you up to speed on everything."
They arrived at the apartment, Amelia showed Marian and Roland to the guest bedroom. Neal led Emma and Killian to the kitchen.
"You can put him to bed here; I'll get your bath ready and find clothes for you." Amelia tried to smile but she was torn. She left the room quickly after getting the bath ready. Now did she have anything for Marian to wear? She knew her friend well enough, no pants or short skirts. But luck would have it there one random long skirt in her closet and long sleeve top.
Marian was placing a kiss on Roland's head when Amelia walked back in. "Aright, so the bath is ready, towels are in there. Here are clothes. I'll have food ready when you're done."
Marian stared for a moment at Amelia then nodded. "Thank you."
"It's the least I can do, you had an exciting day." Amelia had a tiny smile on her face.
Marian disappeared into the bathroom and Roland shifted in the bed.
"This bed is huge." He said. "Where's my mama?"
"She's in the next room. She's getting washed up and then she will be right back out here with you." Amelia sat on the bed and pushed Roland's hair out of his face.
"Mama's back, it's like magic." He stated.
Amelia gave him a fake smile. And all magic comes with a price, she knew that was a fact. She couldn't find any words to say, so she just kissed his forehead and left the room.
Amelia stood in the hall and froze. What was going on? How was Marian back from the dead? Could anyone come back? She had to stop wondering and get real answers from Emma.
"Hey, you alright?" Neal suddenly stood in front of her. "How's Roland?
"Poor thing is overtired and confused. Imagine your mother coming back from the dead." Amelia said, forgetting who was in the other room.
"You would beat her up." Neal responded, placing his hands on her arms.
She smiled. "As much as I do not agree with any of her actions, I'm grateful, I wouldn't have met you." Neal returned her smile and gently kissed her. "But that doesn't mean she would walk away unharmed."
"And here I was thinking I tamed you."
"You wouldn't like me tamed."
"True, I wouldn't feel as safe."
"I need to go yell at your ex now." Amelia entered the kitchen to find Emma and Killian sitting on the stools. There was a bottle of opened rum and four shot glasses.
"And the pirate already has the booze out." Amelia remarked and filled one glass and quickly downed it. She slammed it onto the counter and stared at Emma. "That was you cue to start talking."
"Zelena's time portal opened and Hook and I fell through. I was thinking about when my parents met and that's where we landed. Then my parents didn't meet so we had to set everything right. I met Marian in Regina's dungeon…"
"She had no idea who the lass was, Marian did not tell us her name." Killian jumped to Emma's defense.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Amelia asked.
"She was going to be killed. I'm the Savior, I'm supposed to bring happy endings." Emma kept her voice level.
"I don't care if you're the Snow Queen, if someone is supposed to die in the past, you let them die." Amelia started pacing.
"You're a wonderful friend." There was a scoff from Emma.
"This has nothing to do with friendship. No one is unimportant, everyone has a role to play, if that part is to die, so be it. People come into your life when they are supposed to and they leave when they are supposed to."
There was silence around the table, they knew Amelia was right. She took a deep breath. "Imagine if one person overstayed their welcome. You wouldn't be here. And I don't mean in my kitchen, in Storybrooke. I'm talking mentally, emotionally you wouldn't be here.
"I was trying to do the right thing." Emma told her.
"One seemingly small change could impact the future. You might have brought a family back together but you tore a couple apart. No good deed goes unpunished." She slouched onto the counter. "We came so far with Regina. She was finally an ally; someone we could actually trust. You know you started world war three with her? All we are all dragged into it because we are family."
"Aunt Mia…" Came a tiny voice from the doorway. They all turned to see Roland standing there, almost shaking. "I had a nightmare." Amelia scooped him up in her arms and held him close. "There was a flying monkey chasing me."
"You're safe now. There are no more flying monkeys, besides nothing is going to happen to you. There are a lot of people protecting you."
"Like Gina?" He asked.
Gina? Did he mean Regina? Amelia froze. Would the possible newly reborn Evil Queen protect him? But she gave the child another fake smile. "Yes, Gina will protect you." She placed a kiss on his forehead. She locked eyes with Killian and made her way to a drawer. "An old friend taught me a trick to keep nightmares away." Amelia grabbed a pack of matches and headed back to the guest room.
Amelia entered to just see Neal in the kitchen. "I sent Emma and Killian home. You lectured her enough. She was trying to do the right thing, maybe you were too harsh." Amelia opened her mouth to say something but Neal stopped her. "You need sleep, now."
For once she didn't argue with him. She felt emotionally drained.
Neal shifted in bed much later that night to find empty space next to him. He got out of bed and quietly walked into the living room.
There was quiet crying from the couch. Amelia was sitting there, wrapped in the wolf blanket and hugging something close to her chest. He didn't say a word, she heard him and quickly wiped her face.
"Am I insulting Derek's memory by being friends with her?" Amelia barely had a voice.
Neal sighed slightly and sat down next to her. "Regina is not same woman she was back in the Enchanted Forest. She sided with us to save Henry in Neverland. She gave up Henry to protect us all. She is on friendly terms with Mary Margaret. She defeated Zelena, her own sister. But the most important thing isn't even about her, it's about you. You mastered a very important skill that took me centuries to learn." She turned to look at him slightly confused. "Forgiveness."
Amelia sighed and crawled into Neal's lap. He just held her as she softly sobbed.
She had been holding a picture frame, the one containing a sweet picture of herself and Derek. That was the first picture Neal noticed when he walked into her apartment so long ago.
"I miss him so much."
Neal didn't say a word, just ran his hand comforting up and down her back.
And this is why I love Amelia with Neal. Was Amelia too harsh to Emma? Aww, the matches to keep the nightmares away.
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