Disclaimer: i do not own once upon a time nor do i make money from this fan fic. But you know, in an alternate universe, I'm probably rich, famous, and tv screen writer. And who knows, maybe in that wonderful reality, i do own once upon a time... if you'll excuse me i need to invent a portal gun that will take me to alternate universes.

Chapter 7

Lily and Ingrid walked silently side by side, following the enchanted floating poster for quite a few blocks. The two women would occasionally glare at one another, wondering what the other was even still doing here. Things were beyond tense between them to say the least, but Emma needed to be found.

A few more blocks came and went, and the poster showed now signs of slowing down.

"So...how do you know about magic?" lily asked out of the blue, in an effort to chase away the stifling silence.

Ingrid gave her a sideways glare, and her hands clenched. Scoffing, ingrid turned her attention back to the thier floating guide without answering. The two kept walking for a while longer in silence. However, lily wouldn't be brushed off so easily.

"Can people learn it, or do you have to be born with it?" Still silence. Though lily could see she was really getting under the woman's skin. The woman's eyes would always twitch whenever she spoke.

"Is there a way to tell if someone's born with it? Because i got this birthmark on my wrist that's-"

"NO!" Ingrid finally shouted in annoyance. Lily fought valiantly not to smirk,

"you can't learn it because magic doesn't exist normally in this world!"

Lily frowned, "Wait, you just used magic, so why would you say magic doesnt exist?" She asked.

"I never said it doesn't exist." Ingrid ground out, "I said it doesn't exist normally. Some beings are capable of generating their own magic, so they can use magic anywhere, even places where magic doesn't exist."

Lily thought about that for a moment. She knew that she was originally from the enchanted forest, and was the daughter of a super powerful witch who could turn into a dragon. She was from a world were magic existed. But to hear Emma's foster mom tell it, magic didn't occur naturally on earth. This got lily thinking that she and emma may acually share a ancesteral home.

Maybe, Emma was origanlly born in the enchanted forest like me. A place where magic existed. Lily thought to herself.

Before she could continue that line of thought, however, the two suddenly came up on the remains of a shattered tree branch. Looking up the two saw that it had been broken off right from the tree. The two looked at eachother and both had the same thought. Emma must have done this. They continued following the poster further down the street. Soon they came across their second sign of emma: A car with a massive dent in the driver side door.

"Looks like Emma's really starting to lose control," Lily muttered to herself.

"We have to find her before she does something she'll regret," ingrid chimed in.

The two women once again ran off chasing the poster which seemed to double in speed, as if it sensed their urgency.

Please emma, lily prayed to herself, please, be alright.

It was quite a while before they found another sign of emma. Lily and Ingrid were coming up on an alley way when they spotted the flashing red and white lights of an ambulance. Lily froze in place staring at the lights. Terror filled her heart and before she could even think, she was running over, hoping and praying she hadnt just spoken to her friend for the last time.

-0-0-0-0-

Emma was only a few blocks away from her destinaiton. The park was just behind a group of buildings. She could probably see it if they weren't in the way. Anxious to finally reach safety, Emma decided cut through a small alleyway that cut through the three blocks seperating her form her safe haven.

The sun was hanging low on the horizon and cast dark shadows all the way down the corridor. Emma's instincts were warning her not to down the deep dark alley, but her mind wasnt really functioning on logic at the moment, so she started down long dark alley. She made it through the first alley without trouble, so without any hesitation she entered the second one. That was when thing went horribly wrong. Emma was halfway through the second alley when she suddenly heard noises coming from behind her. Howling laughter from what sounded like a group of teenage boys. Stopping just long enough to glance behind her, Emma began cursing every force she could think of for her absolutely rotten luck. Coming down the alley towards her, was the last person she wanted to see today - Her foster mother and former friend not included - Malcom and his two goons.

Once she turned around, the jock instantly recongnized her.

"Well, well, well, I thought that blonde head of hair looked familiar." He taunted with a smirk, "you know i got suspended because of you."

The three boys stopped just a few feet from Emma and leered at her menacingly. Emma's magic flared up again with a vengeance. Quickly hiding her sparking hands behind her back, Emma tried desperately to reign in her power. As much as she's despised Malcom, she wasn't about to accedently commit murder; which was exactly what would happen if she didn't get away from him as soon as possible.

"Look Malcolm, now is quite literally the worst time to be around me," Emma said, all the while debating the feasibility of outrunning a linebacker and his two goons.

"Oh really?" Malcom laughed sadistically, "let me guess, it's little Emma Swan's time of the month huh?" The group descended into uproarious laughter for some reason. If there's one thing emma was sure of now, it was that Malcolm and his friends were genuinely psychotic.

The three budding psycho's then started inching towards her again. The closer they got though, the harder it got for Emma to reign in her powers.

Taking a step back, Emma tried again to make them back down, "Listen guys, i really don't want to hurt you-"

The three boys burst out laughing and Emma started to panic. She was starting to realize they wouldnt stop. They just weren't getting how much danger they were in.

"Hurt us?!" Malcom barked, "what a joke. You got us suspended you little bitch! We lost to the falcons, because of you!"

Malcom was almost within arms reach, and from how his voice got harder and harder with each word, Emma was now certian Malcom intended to attack her. Fearing for her safety Emma pulled her hands out from behind her back so she could show him her glowing hands. Maybe if he saw her magic, he would run away liked he kids did. But as she raised them, it never crossed her mind how stupid it would be to point her hands directly at the advancing jock. All she wanted was to show him her powers to make him back off. Unfortunately her will and desire to get him away from her, coupled with her overflow of magic, was the worst combination to have and it all finally blew up. Literally.

The blast of magic was the biggest yet. Malcom, who was closest to the blast, was flung off his feet and slammed into a stack of garbage bags on the side of the wall. The blast quickly reached his two friends, and they too were flung away. The two boys were instantly knocked out as they hit the concrete.

Emma looked at horror at what she had done. The two boys unmoving forms made her heart seize in her chest. Tears began welling up in her eyes as she realized what she'd done. Her magic had hurt someone, badly.

A pained groan sounded off to the right. Malcom's still moving body drew Emma's gaze and she saw the horror in the boy's eyes.

"What are you?" He whispered hauntingly, Emma could only watch as he drunkenly stood up and backed away from her, "you're a witch... you're a fucking monster!"

Emma didn't wait to see what Malcom would do next. She just spun around and bolted down the alley to the park, as hot tears rolled down her cheeks yet again.

As she raced down the third and finally alley, Emma thought about all the reactions she got to her magic. Three times people had seen what she could do, and three times they had looked at her with terror. In all her time working with Ingird on her magic, she never thought about what other people would think. At least not completely. She always believed that her magic was something amazing, as she now painfully found out, other people didn't see it that way. They just saw a witch, a monster. Emma loved her magic, but if this was how people would always react, why even bother. It was a lost and empty girl that finally stumbled into the desolate park just a few blocks from her school.

As she made her way over to a bunch off trees, Emma withdrew further and further into herself, shutting out the world and the people who now despised her.

She stepped behind a group of trees that hid her from prying eyes and slumped against the rough bark of a tree. Gradually the strength in her legs seeped out of her and she sank down to the ground. Finally, she gave in fully to her despair and drew her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, and buried her head into her folded arms.

Alone with her thoughts and feelings, Emma broke down and began sobbing like she never had before.

She couldnt believe how horrible wrong the day went. It all started out so happy. It was one of the best birthday parties she'd ever had. How did it all go so wrong?

Why Ingrid? Why would you do this to me? She thought desperately.

Emma's chest hurt so bad. Every thought she had about her foster mom, sent waves of hurt through her entire body. Emma still felt horribly betrayed, but at the same time, she also wanted to forgive Ingrid. She wanted to just go home and hug her once again, simply because she loved Ingrid. The past month she'd spent with her had been so amazing and Emma could tell Ingird loved her too. All those moments they shared as mother and daughter, learning magic, going to the arcade, and even just plain family dinners. They still made emma feel happy to think about. Which was why she felt so horrible because of what Ingrid did. She wouldnt feel this bad if she didn't love her.

Then there was Lily. She had been so ready to forgive her, but then she tell her that she's a fugitive from the law. Emma had been betrayed by her just like Ingrid, and now she comes back into her life with all that baggage and throws it onto her. She felt so conflicted because of this, and what's worse, she felt like such a horrible person for trying to turn her away. She came to her for help and she just threw her away. Lily could very well be her truest friend, but things were always going wrong. Emma just wasn't sure if she could deal with the floundering bad girl, certainly not now.

As all these thoughts, rampaged though Emma's head, the poor blonde slipped further and further into her growing depression. She just wanted it all to go away, and for the stinging in her chest to stop. She wanted her magic to stop scaring her. She wanted a friend to help her. And above all, She just wanted Ingird, she wanted her mother back. She was so wrapped up in the storm of emotions raging in her head, she didnt notice the voices calling her name.

-0-0-0-0-

Lily and Ingrid arrived at a park and watched as their paper guide circled above.

"It looks like she's close," Ingrid said.

Lily scanned the desolate park for any trace of her friend.

"Emma!" She called out. Ingrid followed her example and started shouting Emma's name at the top of her lungs.

The two of them split up without a word, looking for any trace of the missing blonde.

The lights of the ambulance were still flashing in her mind as she despeately searched for emma. The fear that shot through her when she saw the lights was probably the worst she'd ever experianced. It took three EMT's to hold her back until they told her it wasn't Emma. Her relief was palpable, but it still showed her just how important Emma was to her if even the threat of losing Emma sent her into hysterics.

A few minutes after she began her search, she spotted a small group of trees on the edge of the park. As she neared them, she began to hear a quite sobbing coming from behind them.

"Emma?" She called quiter than before.

Taking a few more steps forwards Lily called Emma's name a second time, the sobbing got quieter.

Knowing she found her, Lily carefuly stepped around the largest tree, found the little blonde teen slumped against the tree.

"Emma..." Lily murmured softly.

Emma looked up slowly. The moment she caught sight of Lily, she started to freak out.

"Stay way!" She shouted, trying to scramble away.

"Emma, its ok. We're here to help," Lily said trying to calm her down.

"No! You have to stay away, i cant control it" Emma shouted again.

At this point, Ingrid had heard Emma's shouting and was running over.

"Emma!" She shouted just before she arrived.

Scrambling back some more, Emma's eyes began darting around looking for an escape, but she quickly realized she's been backed into a corner.

"Emma, listen to me, i'm sorry." Ingrid said coming to a stop next to lily.

Emma shook her head violently, "no. Just stop. I'm dangerous. Go away before you get hurt!"

Ingrid didn't listen however, and instead took a few more small steps forward.

"Sweetie, I know what's happening to you. You're afraid and right now that fear is making your magic spiral out of control,"

Taking a few more steps forward, Ingrid extended her hand, "but I can help you. Just let me get close, sweetie."

Seeing Ingrid inching closer, caused Emma to be even more scared for her foster mothers safety. It had been a while since her powers exploded, so she figured she was long overdue for another one.

"I dont want to hurt you." She pleaded, "Please Ingrid just leave me alone."

But Ingrid wasn't stopping. She knew that if she could just reach Emma, she could bring her powers under control just like her sisters had done for her. But Emma was far too scared to let anyone close to her. So as Ingrid crept closer, Emma felt her magic start to boil over again.

No, please not now! Emma pleaded desperately

"Ingrid, please stop, I'm losing-" then her worst fears came true. Emma's magic suddenly exploded outward, striking Ingrid and flinging her way.

Ingrid gasped as she was thrown backwards over 2 feet onto the thick, unmaintained grass around her. Struggling to get more air into her lungs, Ingrid had to lay there for a second to catch her breath. Meanwhile, Emma looked on in horror at what she'd just done.

"No... no, no, no. Please not Ingrid." Emma started muttering over and over again.

Lily could hear Emma's muttering and realized she was in shock. With Ingrid out of commission, Lily realized it was up to her to save Emma.

"Emma, look at me," she said putting her hands out in a calmng gesture. Emma looked up at her with wild terrified eyes, which only made Lily even more determined to help her.

"Look, I know you're scared, but that's what's making your magic go crazy. Your Foster mom told me that on the way down here."

Deciding to take a small step forward, Lily slowly but surely began moving towards Emma.

"You're scared of your magic, I get that, but you dont have to be," Lily said, taking another measured step, "this all started because you were angry at me, right?"

Lily paused for a moment, waiting for Emma to answer.

"Right Emma?"

Emma nodded. She still looked terrified, but at least now she was listening.

"I'm so sorry, Emma." Lily said lowering her head in shame, "I messed up. This is all my fault. I made you angry and that's why you lost control. I was stupid for going along with those guys, I was stupid for not explaining things better, but above all, I was stupid for ever letting you go in the first place."

Lily felt tears slowly stream down her cheeks, but quickly swiped them away. Now was not the time to cry.

"my life's just been one big mess after another. Most of them were my fault. I lied and betrayed you that day at the cottage. I should have just told you the truth. But I wasnt lying when i told you you make my life brighter. I dont know how you do it, but you chase away all the darkness when I'm near you."

Lily took another careful step forward, but Emma was so enthralled by Lily's words, She''d completely forgetten to be afraid. She could feel the sincerity radiating off of the dark haired girl as she poured her heart out to her.

Lily took this opertunity to move even closer; Taking a few more steps forward.

"I know now I messed up before, but I promise, from now on, no more lies. I promise I'll be a true and loyal friend to you. I will never betray you again. I swear."

Lily was now right next to Emma who still looked up at her in shock. Lily knelt down and contunied to hold Emma's gaze. Finally, she reached out and gently took Emma's now bearly sparking hands into her own, lacing their fingers together.

Lily felt a slight jolt run through her hand and into her heart, but it was tiny, bearly noticeable. In fact it felt good. Like a part of Emma had just run up her arms and nestled itself into her heart.

Lily smiled softly, "See Emma, I'm right here, and were both fine." Lily said, finally bringing Emma's attention to the fact her hands had stopped glowing. Emma looked down in shock at their safely intertwined fingers and a wave of relief washed over her. Looking back up at the dark haired girl, Emma couldnt help but smile too.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, and then launched herself into Lily's arms.

"It's cool Em. I told you, we're friends, and friends help eachother," Lily said absolutely beaming with joy as she held Emma in her arms for the first time in a long time.

Ingrid meanwhile looked on at the scene with a mixture of emotions. Joy for Emma regaining contol of her powers being the biggest; but also scorn for the girl who managed to do it where she had failed. And finally profound sadness from hurting Emma, and in part, driving her too this whole mess in the first place.

She knew now she would never be able to get rid of the dark haired girl. It was clear to her, Emma would never allow it. Despite this though, Ingrid couldn't really bring herself to care. She may hate the girl, and she most likely would complicate things further down the road, but as long as Emma was happy, she could put up with her... for now.

By the time the two girls had finished their hug, Ingrid had gotten up and was on her way over to them. Looking up, Emma saw Ingrid shyly inching her way over. After everything that's happened, Emma realized just how much she loved ingird. Sure she made a mistake, one that Emma was still a bit steamed about, but taking one glance at Lily she decided she wasn't going to make the same mistake with Ingrid she had with Lily. She was giving her best friend a second chance, so she would also give Ingrid a second chance.

Standing up, Emma walked over to Ingrid who refused to look at her, afraid that if she looked in her foster daughter's eyes she would reject her.

Emma paused for a second, in front of Ingrid. then she launched forwards and enveloped her foster mom in a tight hug.

"Promise me you wont do something like that ever again, ok," She murmured into Ingrid's shoulder.

Ingrid began to sob, "oh Emma, I'm so sorry. I promise I wont. I'll destory the stone if you want, anything for you to forgive me."

The two held each other for what seemed like hours and they never wanted it to end.

Just as the two were finally stepping away, a large piece of paper suddenly floated down from the sky and landed on top of Emma's head. There was slight beat of silence. Then Lily suddenly burst out laughing while Emma snatched the paper off her head.

"Oh my god, that was hilarious, ah ha ha!" Lily Howled with laughter.

Emma raised a very confused eye brow at random piece of paper.

"Errrrr, what the heck is my Cristina Aguilara poster doing out here?"

This time Ingrid also joined in on the uproarious laughter. All Emma could do stand there staring at the two girl's with profound confusion, before devolving into giggles herself.

-0-0-0-0-

On the way home Emma and Lily hung back away from Ingrid to speak in private.

"We gotta talk about this whole armed robbery thing," emma started the conversation.

"Yeah, I know."

Emma kept her eyes on Lily's face as it cycled through every emotion imaginable.

"I came here because you're the only one I thought could help me." The dark haired girl explained, "I want to turn myself in Emma, I swear. I never wanted to rob that store. It's just..." lily cast her eyes down as she contuniued, "I'm not strong enough to do the right thing on my own. I - I'm just so scared Em."

Emma could tell she was telling the truth. Not a single word was a lie. This made Emma smile. It proved to her that Lily really was trying to make amends.

Lily felt Emma's arms wrap around her shoulders and she instantly settled into her friends arms. Both girls felt a ease in each other presence, and for the first time since the horribly sucky day of the robbery, Lily didnt feel so afraid.

"Don't worry. What ever happens, I'll be there for you. 100%" emma said.

"Thank's Em. I - I really apreciate that."

For some reason, Lily got the urge to wrap her arm around Emma's back. Without thinking, she did just that and snaked her arm around Emma's back and rested her palm on her waist. Emma didnt seem to mind though, in fact, she tightened her arm around her shoulders drawing her closer to her body. Lily looked up at her friend, but saw she was lost in thought. She was sure the blonde didn't even realize what she did. Instead of analyzing this, Lily just settled into her and kept walking. The two would stay like that the entire way back home.

A/N:

And there you have it folks. I know this chapter is long overdue, but I just couldn't get some of these damn scenes right. I just wanted the reconciliation to be perfect. I'm still not fully satisfied with it truth be told, but if i wait any longer, I'll never finish this story. Next chapter we will wrap up the last remaining elephant in the room, the fact that Lily still a fugitive of the law. This time i won't wait for three months to update it. He he... sorry.