Thanks for your patience with this fic. I have struggled to find the time to write and then got slammed with an idea for a ficlet that I finished yesterday. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I still own no characters, no show, and nothing more than a few crazy ideas in my head.

The glass reflection looked no different than one of the mirrors in her bedroom, but it was, she supposed, a different sort of contraption. Her own pensive face stared back at her, blonde hair, green eyes, the slight upturn of her nose, darkness of her lashes framing her eyes. As nothing unusual happened while she stared, Emma exhaled in relief. That's when she saw the reflection react to her.

"You're the last one I expected," the reflection said with a toss of its golden hair. "You've never really been one to want to know more about yourself."

"I want to help my father," Emma said, feeling a bit silly to be talking to her own reflection. "The Snow Queen…"

"Yes, I know," the mirror responded. "The Snow Queen has him trapped and you are risking life and limb to save him. Isn't that just like the Savior?"

"Tell me where he is," Emma demanded, not taking her eyes from the image. "I need to find him."

"Why? Surely his own wife should be the one searching for him. Why does it always fall on you?"

Emma blanched. "I am here to find him."

"Yes, yes," the image said, leaning a bit forward almost conspiratorially. "That's your family motto. But what about you? They don't seem to want to find you very much. For 28 years they left you alone in a world that they themselves didn't fully understand."

"The curse," Emma said. "They couldn't because of the curse."

"Yes, that's convenient," was the response. "What about the time portal? They saw the dangers of it and you got what? A voicemail message? None of them came after you. They didn't even seem to realize you were missing from the party for your baby brother."

Squaring off her shoulders, Emma stood there and wondered for a moment if Elsa and Belle could hear the conversation. What did they see? "Killian followed me through that portal," she finally said. "And when the portal opened up after the curse broke, my mother followed me to help me get back home."

"Yes, a lovesick pirate and a guilt-ridden mother," the image crowed. "Such a lovely family for you. But think about it. Did your parents – your own flesh and blood – try to get to you after your year in New York? You found them. They didn't even try. It was the pirate who went rogue and came after you. And he would even admit that it was probably more about his lust for you than any sense of duty."

"The flying monkeys…"

"They didn't even know they were a threat at that point," the mirror said. "No, Emma, they were sitting there waiting on your brother to be born. The look of shock on your father's face when you came back to them wasn't about missing you. It was gratitude that you would be able to save them again. That's all you are to them – a safety net."

Emma wanted to close her eyes. She wanted to ignore the words that her own reflection was speaking to her. "I don't believe that," she said, less harshly than she had sounded before.

"Of course you do. That's why I said it. If you didn't believe it, even a little bit, then I wouldn't be able to say it. Should I continue?"

The thought of screaming no crossed her mind, as did running away or curling up in the fetal position. She hated this. She hated that she was so weak that these thoughts did more than cross her mind. She knew that she would never be totally comfortable, never fully trust that her family was her own. "Go ahead," she almost whispered, digging her toes into her boots as she tried to stand straighter.

"You're scared," the reflection observed succinctly. "You're the Savior and this brave soul, but you're scared to death of so many things."

"I'm not scared."

The reflection tapped its tongue against the roof of her mouth and let out short bursts of air. "You're scared of failing. What would the town think if the Savior fails? But more than that you're scared of not living up to expectations. You're the daughter of…"

"Snow White and Prince Charming," Emma finished for the reflection, denying herself the right to roll her eyes. "What about them?"

"They are the epitome of true love in this town," the mirror said. "There isn't a person out there that doesn't want what they have with each other. You included. But you're also scared of that. What if you don't find that kind of love? What if you're too broken to see it when it comes knocking on your door? What if you're too busy to notice it? What if you are too scared or jaded to recognize it?"

***AAA***

Mary Margaret passed the third bag over to Mrs. Lucas and smiled tentatively. "I appreciate this, Granny," she said. "It's not easy for me to…." As a mother of an infant she had an urge to give instructions about bottle temperature, diaper brands, and emergency numbers. But it didn't seem right somehow.

"It never is," the older woman said, adjusting the blankets on the sleeping infant. "I'd say don't worry, but I know you will. Just take that energy and put it toward finding your husband and daughter. They need you to be Snow White right now, not Mary Margaret."

The brunette nodded and took the coat that Ruby was holding folded over her arm. "We'll find them," she said. "I know we can." The younger woman was the face of determination, focused and ever ready. It was that determination that had made Mary Margaret call her, remembering it well from years in the Enchanted Forest. When Ruby was on a mission, there was no stopping her.

Ruby ushered Mary Margaret and Killian out of the door, her long hair flying behind her as a blast of cold air assaulted them. Her face contorted and her eyes narrowed, concentration evident as the young woman cocked her head to the side. "This way," the woman said. "I am sure they headed toward the East trail."

The trio practically ran along the sidewalk and past the houses that lined the streets before entering the more undeveloped area of town. They spoke only when necessary and even then it was just a few words to convey an important message. Ruby led them down the path, holding back a little so that Mary Margaret could keep up after months of not really doing much tracking.

Killian saw it first and his voice almost echoed through the seemingly empty forest. "Is that…"

Ruby surged ahead, dark hair flying and her coat more like a cape around her. "Just a few more feet," she called. Her feet did not seem to touch the ground as she ran.

Killian was only a few steps behind her as they both stopped short. Mary Margaret caught up to them and gasped for breath. "Why did you…"

"Ice wall," Killian said, his voice low. "There has to be a way in."

***AAA***

Emma's mind flashed through everyone she knew and loved, their faces morphing and changing into each other until they all seemed like one. She was stronger than this, she told herself. Stronger than a mirror. "They love me," she whispered. "They love me."

"Who does?" the reflection asked. "Your father who was encouraging your pirate to give up his efforts when you were trapped with Elsa? Your mother who doesn't trust you to control your magic? Your son who would rather spend time with the mother who has always been there for him even if she is an evil queen? Or perhaps you mean your pirate who is so clearly lying to you that your insides are twisted into knots right now."

"They love me," she said louder, hoping that volume would make up for her fear.

"Of course," the image responded, voice dripping with sarcasm. "And you? How do you feel about them?"

Emma felt her stomach twist, knotted feelings and emotions inside mashed together. "I l…"

"If you can't say it, you can't mean it," the mirror chimed. "You don't even love yourself. You don't understand it. I see that in you. You've never understood what could make someone love you. So you don't trust it. You don't feel that it is real."

"My family loves me."

"Why?" the voice asked. "You have wondered that yourself. Why would these people love you if it wasn't for the fact that they are required to feel that way? You think Snow White would admit that she doesn't love her own daughter? That wouldn't be a very charming fact. You're a burden, an obligation."

Emma reached her hand up as if to block the mirror from her sight. She did not plan on it, but an orange glow shot forward and the mirror lost its image. There was no physical damage, yet the silence echoed louder than any of the words she had heard.

"Emma!" Elsa said, shaking her shoulder. "Emma, are you okay?"

Emma pulled her eyes from the mirror and watched her friend frantically shake her. "I'm fine," she managed to say. "What about you? Belle? What did you see or hear?"

"We're fine," Elsa said, pulling her friend into a hug. "It looked like you were in some sort of trance. Did you see anything? The mirror was blank for us."

Emma swallowed hard, her eyes closing again with the bright glare of all the white in the room. "I did see…" she mumbled. "Where is Belle?"

Elsa stared at her feet, exhaling slowly. "Well, right after you started going into that trance, there was a loud noise. She went to check on it and hasn't come back yet."

With a resigned sigh, Emma turned around on her heel and bolted toward what had been the only exit. She could see the thick wall now blocking her way. The frosted surface was thick with ice, but behind it were three distorted figures. "Where the hell is Belle?"

Elsa looked worriedly at the small bay where they now stood. Fists clenched, she turned her focus back to the new wall. "I don't know. She couldn't have…"

"Escaped?" Emma finished. "No, she couldn't. How?" She was tempted to stomp her feet and pout, as this was the second person in less than six hours that had disappeared while she was busy with other things. Where were they?

Elsa glided along the edge of the wall, her hand skimming the jagged edges as though she was trying to polish them. "There must be.." she started, gasping loudly. Her feet flew out from under her, the blue of her dress billowing up as she almost hovered in the air before dropping into the air below.

"Elsa!" Emma cried out, watching helplessly as her friend dropped from sight. "Elsa!" She was only able to call out to her friend twice before the ice swallowed her as well. The first thing she felt was cold, but it was replaced by a searing pain as her body uncurled itself from its awkward landing.

"Don't move," Belle's voice rang out in a loud authoritative form. "Don't. You could be hurt."

Emma shook off the advice and tried to find traction on the ice. "Where are we?"

"Don't move, Emma," Belle repeated. "I'll be over in a second." The shorter of the two women pulled Elsa up to standing and tried to brush some of the frost off her dress.

"I'm fine," Emma said. "Now tell me where we are."

Belle shrugged, pointing up toward the whole where she had fallen. "I guess the basement or cellar of the cave."

Emma shot her a confused look. "Caves have basements?" she asked, trying to recall her last geology class. The idea of a basement in a cave seemed absurd until she realized she had been having a conversation with a mirror, was chasing a snow queen and was dating Captain Hook. Okay, so maybe a basement was possible.

"Not exactly like a house or a building, but caves can have levels and there can be one over another," Belle explained. "Upper chambers and lower chambers."

Elsa reached a hand out to Emma to pull her up, smiling slightly. "Does it matter?" she asked. "We fell down here and I'm thinking we can't go back the way we got here."

Grimacing as her body protested movement, Emma slid a bit on the ice and followed the other two women down the only path they could see. "Good point," she admitted, digging her hands into her pockets and hoping that it did not get any colder.

Thanks for reading. I'm not sure if there will be an update this weekend, as I'm taking a graduate level screenwriting class that has a big deadline of Monday. I have to concentrate on that, a sick daughter, and a car that seems to be breaking down. Such fun.