United In a Second Chance

Chapter Thirteen

Once everyone returned to the Emerald Palace, this time with Killian, Rogers, and Alice as well, they all sat down together again at the long table so they could continue eating and then began to discuss what happened aboard the Jolly Roger during the villains' attack, why Black Beard and the Lost Boys attempted to steal the Captain's ship, or if their plan really was just to draw Killian out, and they also discussed their options of what they should do with the boys rather than simply just leaving them inside the cells within the sheriff's station for any given amount of time.

The Good Queen looked at Killian, as did everyone else too, once he started to explain that Black Beard's motives were always to kill him, as well as to steal his ship once he had succeeded, then Regina turned to look over at Rogers in concern when he went on to explain how Rogers had come with him to protect him, which Killian expressed he was truly grateful for.

Rogers once again shrugged off his friend's gratitude and then he stated, "It was right that I should have done so. You and I were both vastly outnumbered as it was. Had you attempted to fight them yourself…"

Killian finished for him, "I would have been killed today. I know."

"And had Emma, David, and Chad, as well as Henry and Alice not shown up when they had too, you both would have been killed today," Regina answered the man she'd become close friends with within the New Enchanted Forest, then all over again in Hyperion Heights as well while they had both been cursed with new identities. "You should have waited."

"And if we had, Black Beard or the Lost Boys might have killed Marco or Pinocchio instead," Killian sternly responded to her. "They were holding our friends captive when we arrived. And for all we know, they might have hurt someone else if we didn't arrive when we did. Had they sent the message to you and threatened Henry, Your Majesty… or anyone else even, you would have gone there by yourself too. All of you would have."

Regina nodded at last to admit it, then she replied, "You're right. I would have."

Zelena at last spoke up as well saying, "It's just a good thing Emma was able to heal Rogers here when she did. Luckily for you, Rogers… you weren't hurt worse than you had been."

"As much as I understand why you helped Killian, Papa… and as proud of you as I am, I still don't like that you were almost killed again today," Alice softly spoke to her father out of worry, without raising her head to look at him once he turned his head to look over at his daughter sitting beside him. "After losing you while I was still trapped in the tower all those years ago, Gothel kidnapping the both of us and threatening your life to force me to help her with her bloody spell before the curse was finally broken, and then nearly losing you weeks ago when the poison in your heart did at last kill you… I'm tired of seeing you risk your life for everyone else, over and over. It isn't fair. You could have been killed today… again. You almost were."

"Alice, I…" Rogers whispered as he attempted to answer her, until Alice immediately cut him off again when she abruptly stood up from the table.

Then, as she slammed her fists down, she shouted angrily and ashamedly, "No! I… I'm sorry."

Upon her sudden outburst, the girl from the tower suddenly ran from the Great Hall within Zelena's palace, then rushed through the doors once the witch's guards opened them to her so she could keep running. As soon as she started to run, Rogers quickly stood to follow after her as he cried out to her, pleading with her to stop.

However, Regina swiftly reached out to grab his arm to hold him back while she stood as well, then she said to him, "Try not to worry. Please… let me go after her. I'm not so sure she can talk to you right now and I have a feeling I know what's really wrong. Aside from her simply being worried about you that is."

"Alice is right," Rogers answered when he spoke again to the rest of his friends once Regina left the room to find and help his daughter. "I've been careless with my own life because I never really cared much about what happened to me. I've only cared about everyone's lives and what I had to do to make sure those I care about were safe. But I never really thought much about Alice's feelings and how she would feel if I actually died and there was nothing anyone would do could save me. Not really. I know she'd be devastated, but… I've always thought she'd get over it in time."

"She might eventually come to terms with losing you over time, Rogers, but your daughter would still be heartbroken," Emma sadly responded to the man who looked like her husband, as she then looked over at the man she loved and was reminded of all the times Killian risked his own life for her safely as well as for everyone else's, not caring about what happened to him either upon loathing the man he was despite being a hero to her and others. "Just like I would be if I lost Killian the same way… like I have. Too many times to count. And like I fear one day I still might again."

She then looked down at their daughter within her arms as she added, "Like Hope would be too once she's old enough to understand that her father, or me could one day be gone because we were killed protecting those we love from another villain."

Zelena turned to Chad and smiled at him sadly, then turned back to the others while she replied, "Just like Robin would have been had I actually been killed when I risked my life that time to save hers from Gothel in Memento Mori. Or my fiancé would have been had I been killed by Hansel to save him."

"We've all risked our lives to save those we love a number of times," Snow continued om with what her daughter had begun to say. "And it's right we fight to protect one another no matter the risks. But we can't do so with such callous disregard for our own welfares either. With complete disregard for how our loved ones would feel. We have to be careful by how it is we risk our lives and be sure that we're doing so for the right reasons."

"Which today, Rogers… I believe you did so for the right reasons," David answered when he looked first at his wife, then to Killian, until he finally turned his attention fully on his new friend. "You saved our son in law and for that, Snow and I will always be grateful. Just like Hook, Emma, and Hope will always be too. And Alice understands that, I'm sure of it. Just don't continue to think so little of yourself. I think that's what she's most afraid of. Is losing you because you still haven't forgiven yourself for the tragedies in your past and because you feel you don't deserve the second chance at life that you've been given. But you're as much of a hero as the rest of us."

Rogers smiled at him sadly, then nodded and responded, "Thank you, mate."

Prince Charming smiled back and reached out to pat his friend on his shoulder as he replied, "You're welcome."

"Very good," Zelena stated. "And now that we've got that all settled… Black Beard's been taken care of, but what exactly are we going to do with the Lost Boys? It's like all of you've said… we can't just leave them locked up in the sheriff's station. My protection spell will definitely keep them inside without the risk of them breaking out, but someone will still always have to keep watch over them and it's not like we have the manpower for that. We have few sheriffs and deputies for our entire kingdom now as it is."

"What if we create a home for juvenile children?" Snow then suggested as she looked between her family and friends. "I mean… I'm sure we've got empty buildings and castles now that all the realms have come together. And there are a number of the Lost Boys whom we brought home with us from Neverland that could potentially become wrongly influenced by these new ones if we were to set them free after a time. If we were to start a juvenile home right away, we can keep these boys and any children who make trouble in the future there to be looked after. I'm sure people throughout the realms will volunteer."

Everyone thought about the Princess' idea, and Emma finally answered, "I think that's a great idea, Mom. I'll make some calls later this afternoon once Killian leaves with Sir Henry and his crew to go out on the Jolly Roger."

David rubbed his wife's back, while Rogers then responded, "It's an excellent idea. I'll make a few calls myself. I think I know of at least one person who would be perfect for the job and would be happy to help. Jiminy Cricket… from my own realm. Now that's he's come over with everyone else in the Wish Realm within Regina's curse, and he's no longer a man in his cricket form, he's been looking for work. I believe Arche's offered him a position within his psychiatry practice, but… when he helps him, it's more side work than anything else."

"Yes… perfect," Emma replied to him, then she handed her daughter over to her mother again so Snow could hold and play with her long enough for Hope's parents to eat, and finally reached out to place a few pancakes on hers and her husband's plate. "Now let's keep eating. I'm starving this morning."

Meanwhile…

It didn't take long for Regina to find Alice again once she searched a few places for her after she thought about all the places in Hyperion Heights she liked to go when she was upset or just to think, then finally she poofed herself out to the tower where Alice had remained trapped in for the first seventeen years of her life. To where her troll and dear friend she once conjured to break her free from the tower, remained in stone outside of it to watch over the tower. As though he were watching over her.

"I should have known I'd find you out here," the Good Queen said to Alice gently upon approaching the girl sitting down on top of a boulder in front of her friend. "I understand why you ran off and so does your father of course, but… he's worried about you, Alice. He's very worried. You know that he didn't mean to upset you like that… don't you? That he risked his own life in order to save the life of one of the men who gave him a second chance at life? He has been blaming himself for Weaver's death and can't do anything to pay him back except to continue to be the good man he is. The good man Weaver died for. But to Rogers, that doesn't seem like enough. So saving Hook… was your father's other self today was his way of paying him back. And Hook too. Plus, it was the right thing to do. Hook might have died had his wound been worse, if your father didn't get in the middle of him and that dagger."

Alice nodded at last and then she answered, "Of course I know all that. And like I said, I couldn't be more proud of him. I just don't want to lose him again, Regina. I can't. I lived at least half of my life without him, not knowing where he was or if Papa was even still alive. I knew how devastated he was after what my mother… that witch, Gothel did to him. And even once I was finally freed from this tower, I still couldn't be near him for so many years once I finally found him again because of the poison over his heart. I just want to spend as much time with him as I can… to help make up for all the time we lost out on. And today seeing him get hurt again, I just… I just got really scared and I overreacted. I'm so sorry for that back there."

Regina at last sat down upon the boulder beside the young woman, and reached out to lay her hand over her back while she responded sincerely, "That's perfectly understandable. I've overreacted like that before, when it came to Henry risking his life. Back when I first realized he was all grown up upon seeing him fight alongside side his wife when they were first getting to know one another and I had just agreed to stay in the New Enchanted Forest to remain close to him. Also, when he was just a boy. Henry used to risk his life all the time in order to convince Emma the truth about all of this… about all of us being real. About the curse being real and he made me so mad, more often than I wish I had been. But now… I realize that if he hadn't have done all of those things, Emma never would have discovered who she was, my first curse never would have been broken, and I would still be the Evil Queen. None of this would have ever been possible. Henry would have continued to hate me. Our love… Emma's and mine for him… it's what saved him from the sleeping curse he once fell under. All of our love for those we care about is what protects each one of us. Your love for your father saved him and everyone else today. Your father's so proud of you for that, you know?"

"I do," the girl from the tower replied to her with a smile on her face, as she finally raised her head to look over at her. "Thank you, Regina. But I uh… I was hoping I could ask you for something. For help… in training me to develop my powers so they won't just accidentally shoot out of me like they did today. I was lucky, but it was also a mistake. I could very well have hurt my father and our friends just as easily. But if I can develop them, I can protect him and all of you under my own willpower. I won't have to worry about them not working."

"Unfortunately, there are always risks when it comes to using magic and it doesn't always work like we might want it to," the Good Queen answered her with complete honesty. "It can also come with a heavy price if you're not careful."

Alice nodded in understanding and then she responded, "You're right. Of course, you're right. However, I would still like to have control over my powers as much as I can. They are a part of me after all. And it isn't just my father, or you, or Robin who I care to protect. I wish to be a hero for everyone here as much as my father is."

Regina let out a quiet laugh as she smiled again, then at last she replied happily, "I would love to train you in magic. I'd be honored to, so long as your father's okay with it. I think he will be. Weaver… our Rumplestiltskin… helped train me. Now… back then we were both villains, so obviously I won't train you like he trained me. But I think we can definitely do better, and you're going to be great at it."