Emma and Regina didn't have to tell Faith twice. Their daughter slid into the backseat of the car without any arguments or protests; she could hardly muster a single sentence. Shocked to her core, Faith rode along in silence with her head against Regina's arm. The brunette had taken the empty spot beside the young woman and assumed "Mommy Mode." While her daughter may have given the entire family heart attacks after running off, Faith had just experienced something no one deserved. The mothers had made silent pact that the chastisements would happen later. Right now, their child needed her parents.

It was dinner time when the three women arrived home. Regina's right shoulder was tear-stained, and Faith felt as if she'd just woken up from a twisted nightmare. Unfortunately for her, she quickly came to the conclusion that she hadn't dreamt it; it actually happened.

When Faith stepped out of the car, she was ambushed by almost a dozen family members. They all galloped towards her, ready to embrace her, but Faith cowered away from them. None of them had been told about Faith's incident, as neither Emma or Regina felt comfortable saying it over the phone. All that they knew was that Faith had been found.

Like Moses and the Red Sea, the clan parted for Faith as Regina helped her inside. The younger children, and the adults, all looked to Emma for some sort of explanation, but the woman shook her head. How do you tell your kids their youngest sister was assaulted?

At Regina's suggestion, everyone other than the Swan-Mills brood dispersed to their own homes. They welcomed Faith back, let her know they were glad she was safe, and left with a heavier heart than when they'd arrived that morning. Whatever was going on, they'd find out sooner or later.

With everyone goggling at Faith, the young woman shrunk in her seat. Shame, mortification, remorse, fright- she was feeling it all. She knew she owed her brothers and sisters some sort of clarification, but she just… couldn't. Her throat closed up on her; she couldn't even whine.

"Kids, why don't you go to your rooms for a minute," Emma said. It wasn't a request; it was an order. Dani opened her mouth to object, but quickly changed her mind once she received a glare from Regina. Dani and the twins stomped up the stairs, obviously angered that they couldn't be present. "All the way!" Emma called up the steps, sure that they were listening like last time. And, she was right. After her second command, she heard their feet drag across the hallway and their doors slam shut.

"Faith, sweetie, do you want to talk about it?" Regina wondered in a soothing tone. She reached to pat her daughter's knee, but Faith pulled away. It wasn't just men she was afraid of right now, it was everyone.

There was a small hole in the fabric of the couch, which served as a focal point for Faith. The strings were stretching and breaking apart, white cotton tried to emerge from the opening; it rather described how she was feeling. She pictured it exploded any second now and puffs of cotton falling to the floor.

Henry and Maya stood together directly across from Faith. His brother radar was on overload; he knew something had happened, and he knew his parents were keeping it from him. For Maya, she's seen that distraught look before, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions. Until Faith said it, Maya would remain open minded.

"Baby girl, I know you've been through a lot… but can you try and talk to us?" Emma asked. She knelt down on one knee in front of Faith so that she wasn't looking down at the woman. Faith seemed intimidated enough without her mother towering over her.

Suddenly wanting to cover all exposed skin, Faith grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over her legs, no matter how hot it had been outside. Her shifty eyes were not lost on Henry, and her abrupt movements acted as red lights. The way she avoided all skin-contact, the way she held herself in her own arms… Henry wasn't stupid. "Faith, were you—"

"No!" the sensitive woman spat viciously. It was the first time she'd said anything since leaving the Boston police station. "No," she repeated.

"What happened?" Henry pressed, his blood boiling. Maya touched his arm as a reminder to stay calm, but the sheriff overlooked it. All he cared about was his sister's safety and well-being.

"I made a mistake, ok?!" Faith snarled. "It was stupid and- and I shouldn't have left, all right? I know! If- if I'd stayed here, nothing would have happened!"

"Faith, you can't blame yourself for what other people do," Emma said with as much delicacy as she could summon. "You didn't know what was out there."

Emma was right: Faith hadn't a clue of the real world's darkness. Storybrooke wasn't exactly rainbows and unicorns, but their idea of "evil" was a lot different than the rest of society's. She'd never been exposed to humanity's non-magical scumbags. She'd never experienced that kind of malevolence before. And, while she wasn't completely naive or oblivious, there was a fair amount of life she hadn't explored.

"Can you… can you tell us why you left, dear?" Regina masked her maternal anguish with a curiosity that very few would have been able to see through. Now that Faith was home, all Regina wanted to do was hold her baby.

Faith let out an amused scoff and rolled her eyes, "Does it matter?"

"Of course it does! Faith, sweetie," Regina turned her whole body so that she was facing her daughter, "if you tell us, we can make it better."

"It's not like I scraped my knee, Mom. You can't just kiss it and the pain will stop," Faith muttered.

"Then what is it like?" Emma probed quietly. "Baby girl-"

"Stop calling me that!" Faith leapt off of the couch and into a power stance, her arms folded snugly over her chest. "I'm not a baby anymore. I'm not… I'm not a little kid."

"No, you're not, are you…" Regina breathed. Troubled, she stood to match Faith's posture and so did Emma. It was as if it were only the three of them; Henry and Maya were almost nonexistent in their moment.

"I heard what you said about me," Faith grumbled. "Super hearing, remember?" The heat of Regina's gaze burned a hole through her daughter's head, but Faith remained composed. "I know what you think about all of this… about what I am- that I'm dangerous, that I would hurt my siblings. Yeah, wayta follow through with your promise, Mom." Her words bounced off of a thick layer of bitterness, but just barely; they were nearly submerged in the acidity of her torment.

Humiliated at her own sentiments, Regina fell back onto the sofa and pressed her hands against her forehead as if she were praying. She wasn't about to make excuses for her behavior, she knew she'd been acting unreasonably. She just hadn't stopped to think about what the ramifications her actions would bring onto her child. "Faith, I'm sorry you overheard all of that. You have to understand-"

"I get it, Mom. That's the problem! I do understand! I didn't ask for any of this any more than you did! It's not like I wanted to be a monster! But I can get over that… you're the one who can't," Faith huffed. "Everyone- Ma, Henry and Maya, Dani and the twins, Aunt Red, Grandma and Grandpa- has been having trouble, but they're not calling me a safety hazard! And it's not because they know I'd hear them; it's because they're willing to see past it." On a roll, Faith couldn't stop just yet. She felt as though she could run a marathon with the all of the epinephrine streaming through her system. "Mom, here's the thing: I don't care how or why I'm like this. I don't care if my great grandfather was a wolf or if my great-great-uncle's cousin's sister was one. The point is, I am, and I've been working my ass off to make sure no one gets hurt."

Regina listened to her daughter and gave her her undivided attention. What Faith was saying was real, and it took courage for her to be so honest; Regina got that. She even accepted the disappointed expressions from her wife and son; she felt that she deserved them. "I know you have, dear," she finally exhaled.

With her blood pressure returning to normal, Faith released her tight fists and sat across from her mother. "Mom, I'm sorry I ran away. It wasn't the right answer, and I'll do everything to make up for it. But, just… not here."

Regina's eyebrows scrunched together and Emma mirrored her wife's reaction. "What?" the women asked together.

"I've only got a week until the next full moon, guys. I need to get to ready, but I need to do it somewhere else. I'm not leaving town again," she said quickly at Regina's grimace. "I'm gonna try and talk to Red, see if she'll train me." Giving up wasn't the solution Faith wanted to settle on. She was going to make contact with Red once more. "And… I'm gonna see if Granny'll let me stay at the Inn. Just until I know that no one will get hurt."

"Faith, that's- that's insane! This is your home, our family's here!" Regina revolted forcefully.

"Baby gi- Faith, no one's gonna get hurt," Emma added. "We know you're not dangerous."

"No, I won't stand for it! You need us, Faith! You've just been through a terrible ordeal!"

Faith's heart swelled at her parents' objections. It hadn't been an easy decision, but it was the only one she could see herself making. "Moms, please… I've gotta do this for me," and you, she thought to herself. "I'm adult now, I'm starting to understand how things work. I'm not gonna take any chances."


All the while Faith packed her things, Dani and the twins begged her to stay. They'd just gotten their sister back, and now she was leaving again? It wasn't fair! They tried everything; August promised he'd do her chores for the next two months, Dakota offered to share a room with Dani, and Dani said she'd talk to their parents- as if she had any control over them. The departure was painful enough for Faith without her brother and sisters pleading with her, but Faith couldn't back out now. With the majority of her possessions jammed so tightly in her bag that it wouldn't zip closed, Faith shifted nervously. She wanted to hug Dani and the twins, but the idea of skin-to-skin contact with anyone freaked her out. So, while she didn't pull them into a group hug, she assured them that none of it was their fault and that they had nothing to do with her leaving.

Henry and Maya were waiting on the front stoop. They'd told Faith she could ride with them, much to their mothers' utter dissatisfaction. It wasn't without their own doubts that they'd donated their car, but what else could they do? From Regina and Emma's view, Henry was committing treason by transporting Faith to her new quarters.

Faith had inherited a fair amount from each mother, and it would seem that Emma's headstrong nature had also been passed down. It was for that reason that Emma made herself go along with Faith's choice; she could empathize with being told not to do something even if her mind was already made up. She wasn't supporting it or accepting it, she was just… going with it. Regina, on the other hand, was a wreck. She was doing everything possible, without magic, to convince Faith not to go.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry," Faith said over and over again. She knew Regina wanted to wrap her arms around her, but Faith just wasn't ready for that.

The evening glow around them was more cheerful than they were. How were the singing birds to know it wasn't the appropriate time to serenade the small group? They weren't human; they didn't know Regina's tears were tears of sorrow, not of joy.

"Faith, please, don't do this!" Regina sobbed as she turned her wedding ring neurotically. "You can't go!"

"I'm so sorry," Faith echoed, her own eyes welling up. "I'll be right down the block," she said, as if it would make Regina less restless.

Emma broke apart from her unscrewed partner and fought against the urge to embrace Faith. Instead, she pinched the woman's cheek; Faith didn't flinch away this time. "Don't ever, ever forget how much we love you, Faith. Baby or adult, your our daughter. Everything will be ok, you'll see."

"I know, Ma. I love you, too," Faith guaranteed. "I'm sorry."


Red was pacing the floors of her room, waiting to hear something about Faith. The vibe she'd gotten when she saw the woman didn't sit right with the wolf. Her gut was telling her that Faith needed help, but her aunt-instincts reminded her that Faith had parents to look after her. Either way, she couldn't stop moving up and down her room. She couldn't recall the last time she'd been so concerned, not even with Granny's confession.

Every few seconds, Red picked up her hood from the foot of the bed and then dropped it again as if it were nothing but a rag. I can't believe I told her to use it! she berated herself. Gods, I'm such an idiot!

But then, during her anxious strides, there was a gentle tapping at her door. "Granny, not now!"

"It's not Granny!" a muted voice on the opposite side said.

With her mind moving faster than her hands, Red fumbled with the locks until she pulled the door open. The familiar adult she saw before her sent goosebumps down her neck. "Faith?"

Standing with her weight on one leg, disheveled hair tucked into a beanie, and a knapsack dragging behind her, Faith sighed heavily. "Hey, neighbor."


That night, Faith laid awake and stared at the ceiling above her. She was beginning to forget when the last time it was that she'd gotten a peaceful night's rest. It seemed unreal that she'd ever return to dreamland again.

Two days that could have been used getting ready were wasted on Faith's own desires. The punishment her parents were no doubt envisioning couldn't have been any worse than what Faith inflicted on herself. With the impending full moon, every day felt like a new battle; her inner human self fighting her inner wolf, the understanding that she had the potential to kill someone. While she'd gotten stronger and faster in the preceding weeks, she still hadn't gained complete control of the rest of her talents. Every time she thought about her wolf reflection in the water, she became more and more afraid of what would happen this time. At some point, she'd realized that Red had lied about the deer and that it had in fact been herself who killed it. She didn't reveal this to Red, as she was grateful to her aunt for wanting to protect her.

It'd been a long day for Faith. New experiences, good and bad, and some she'd do anything to forget about. She was still processing the event from earlier, still so confused about it all. It didn't make sense to her how someone could be so vile, so repugnant. The first thing she did when she'd gotten to her rooms was take a two hour shower. At some point, she'd talk to something about what happened- someone other than Emma and Regina. She couldn't bring herself to tell her mothers about it, as she had an idea of what they'd say and do. In fact, Emma had already fulfilled some Faith's predictions.

As her eyelids became heavier, Faith drifted off with a few last thoughts: all she could do was try her best the next day and work harder than the previous. Everyone's expectations of her, everyone's hopes for the next week began to wash away until there was nothing left. She was learning that the only expectations that really mattered were her own. True, it was an awful feeling to let your family down. But, Faith decided it was even worse to let yourself down- to know that you could have done better. That was a form of regret she wanted nothing to do with.


While Faith went head to head with insomnia, the rest of her family members did the same. The five of them were struggling with her absence in their own, unique ways. Dakota missed her roommate like mad, it didn't feel right without Faith in the bed next to hers; their nighttime chats had been disconnected without warning. Dani wanted her little sister back, as he day didn't felt complete without telling her goodnight. And August blamed himself for not doing more to help out, however irrational that may have been. None of them felt whole without Faith there.

Emma had been rocking her wife from side to side in hopes that Regina would stop crying. The heartbreak that the mayor endured, however, was unfixable. At least, that's what it seemed like. Regina coughed every now and then from her sandpaper-like throat, own shirt soaked in tears, and her head pounding the harder she shook. She was wearing herself out, but there was no sign of sleep in the heart future. Her daughter was gone, and to Regina, it was all her fault. She'd never be able to forgive herself.

Unable to console Emma, Regina's cries only grew louder and louder until it sounded as though the Swan-Mills household had a ghost floating through. Dani and the twins were still awake- they'd never even closed their eyes. Arm-in-arm, the trio tiptoed through the dark halls in their pajamas and knocked on their mothers' door. They heard a muffled, "Come in," and all of them crawled into Emma and Regina's bed. Their shadows were the only visible forms, but that was enough for them. As long as they knew they were there, and they comforted each other, they'd find a way to make it through the night- the kids were sure of it.


A/N - Ok, dearies. Like I promised, this wasn't as grim as the previous chapter- at least, I didn't think so. I hope you're all still enjoying the story! I've got a few CC papers due, but I'll try and update again soon :-)