Earning Happy Endings

by BrainWithAMouth

All it took was one choice. Cora decided to allow Regina's curse to take her as well, though not without securing some protection of course. Now, more people from the Enchanted Forest lived a lie in Storybrooke for 28 years, and Emma will find herself in the midst of it all. With the help of her son, they'll find out who can be trusted, and who may want them gone. Canon divergence.

25. What Do We Do Now?

In this chapter, characters make new discoveries, feelings are hurt, and a general sense of wariness begins to set in.

Whew! So this chapter didn't take me as long as other chapters did, but it hit me right at the junction of nearing writer's block and general eh-ness. However, this was one of those lucky chapters where I figured out the chapter title before I finished writing, so that's a plus.

Disclaimer: Everything canon belongs to A&E, ABC, and Disney.

Thanks to meglennox, MerlockVonBaron, and Nightblade888 for following this story, and thanks to meglennox (again), and MerlockVonBaron (again) for following this story.

Special thanks as always to Can't-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me edit this chapter.

Also congrats to Can't-Stop-My-Fandoms (and me) for getting nominated for OUAT's Fandom Choice Awards on Tumblr!

Enjoy!

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What Do We Do Now?

---

February 24, 2012

Emma let out a surprisingly harsh cough as she entered the station with her and Graham's coffee.

"I certainly hope you didn't cough on that." Graham said as he accepted the coffee.

In retaliation for his lame attempt at a joke, Emma sent a comically fake cough his direction, smiling when he instinctively shielded it from her. Emma tried to say something, but a sneeze soon came out.

"You feeling alright?" Graham asked concernedly.

Emma waved a hand as she took a sip of her coffee. "I'm fine." She told him. "It's just allergies."

"In the winter?" Graham questioned.

"The point is I'm not sick." Emma said decisively. "Now, did anything hap-"

The phone soon rang, and Emma knew she had just jinxed herself. She went over to pick up the phone, answering "Storybrooke Police Department."

"Please, I need help." A woman's frightened voice said. "A man just took off with my purse."

Quickly mouthing "Robbery" to Graham, Emma asked the woman, "Where are you?"

"The cemetery." She said fearfully. "I was visiting my husband when he came. I tried to follow him, but he's still hiding in this...this mausoleum. I think it's the Mi-"

Emma paused as silence followed, and soon she realized that the phone call cut off. She tried to redial, but for reason that failed. Hanging up the phone, she told Graham, "Robbery at the cemetery. Suspect's apparently hiding out in a mausoleum."

"Did the victim say more?" Graham asked as they made their way to their cars.

"No, the phone call cut off." Emma said as she was about to get into her Bug. "Meet you there."

Soon they were off, driving to the cemetery with sirens turned on. It didn't take long before they parked next to the cemetery, hands on their weapons just in case the suspect was armed.

"You see anyone?" Emma asked as they searched the area.

"No." Graham said. "The victim said it was a mausoleum?"

"Yeah." Emma told him.

"There's only one mausoleum in the entire cemetery." Graham told her as he began to lead her to another direction. "It belongs to the Mills family."

"How do you know that?" Emma asked as they hurried along, keeping an eye out just in case.

"Regina wouldn't…" he trailed off with an uncomfortable, almost pained look on his face. He cleared his throat before adding, "Regina wouldn't have me on Wednesdays. That's when she visited the mausoleum."

"Good thing it's Friday." Emma said as they walked further and further away from the singular graves, and soon found themselves a little ways away from anything else when they came upon the mausoleum.

"Be careful." Graham said as they drew their weapons. "We don't know what this guy has on him."

Emma merely nodded seriously as they approached.

"Storybrooke Police!" Graham called out. "If you're in there, put your hands on your head and exit slowly!"

There was no response, and Emma wondered if maybe the guy didn't just book it, but they had to make sure.

Graham nodded at Emma before advancing towards the mausoleum, Emma behind him as they slowly approached the mausoleum. One of the doors to the mausoleum was still open, and when Graham quickly opened the second door, what they first saw was a coffin. Upon closer inspection…

"What the hell?" Emma asked as she and Graham both saw how the stone coffin was closer to one wall of the mausoleum, but only because it apparently was meant to cover up a staircase leading down somewhere. "Since when do mausoleums have hidden stairwells."

"This would be a first for me." Graham breathed out. "Think our robber is down there?"

"Only one way to find out." Emma said before she and Graham carefully began walking down the stairs.

Below, they found this sort of space under the mausoleum, like it's own separate space illuminated by sunlight that was filtered in by vents. It had clearly been renovated, as evidenced by the brick walls, the carefully sculpted arches, the damn curtains. The only thing that wasn't here was this damn suspect.

"Did you know about this?" Emma asked as she and Graham looked around.

"I had no idea." Graham responded, sounding as confused as she felt.

Emma's eyes strayed to one of the walls, which was decorated more ornately than the other. Something about it seemed strange. There seemed to be Roman numerals etched into this squares that jutted out, but something about them seemed off to her. Something-

"Emma!" Graham called out, his voice teeming with surprise and disgust. "Emma, get in here!"

"What is it?" Emma called out as she ran into the room he was in, fearing that he had been confronted by the suspect. Instead, she founds him standing in shock over a box on the floor, peering at its contents with horror.

Walking forward, Emma went to see what he was looking at. "What is- What the hell?!"

Emma's jaw dropped and her eyes peered intensely on the fucking heart that lay inside the box. What's more, not only was a damn heart inside that box, but it was beating and glowing.

"H-How…" Emma trailed off as Graham holstered his weapon, and hesitantly touched the heart before pulling his hand back like it had burned him.

"Fuck." Graham swore in surprise. "It feels...it feels like fucking flesh."

"No." Emma immediately denied. "No, no, this has to be a trick." She then holstered her own weapon and knelt down to pick it up. She barely got her fingers around it before it beated in her hand - thump-thump thump-thump - and she too pulled her hand away. Her own heart had started hammering in her chest, and it felt like legs were being pricked by needles as she couldn't help but stare at the heart. It would've been bad enough if it was a heart in a box, evidence that the owner was long gone, but this thing felt...alive.

"There's…there's got to be a light inside it or something." Emma denied further. "Maybe it's made of some sort of synthetic whatever, I don't know."

The Evil Queen ripped out people's heart, Henry's voice said, entering her thoughts intrusively. And she locked them away in a vault. I don't know if it's here though.

It's just a story, Emma told herself as her mind irrationally began to panic.

"What the hell could mimic a heart like that?" Graham snapped at her incredulously.

"I don't know." Emma snapped back, both frustrated by Graham's tone but also feeling a welling sense of dread inside her. She took a calming breath, which didn't calm her all that much. "I don't know...but we are going to find out."

---

"Um, not to be rude, but LJ doesn't look so good." Declan whispered to Henry as they sat next to each other at lunch time.

"None of them do." Henry whispered back as he observed his other four friends. None of them looked like they had gotten any sleep last night. Nick was chewing his food too slowly, LJ wasn't even eating it, and Ava looked like she was about to throw up with every bite. In class, Paige had been high-strung, even snapping at one of her old friends for touching her hair.

"Uh, guys?" Henry called out in an even voice, which still somehow managed to startle all four of them. Sharing a confused and concerned look with Declan, Henry asked, "Are you okay?"

"Fine." Paige said unconvincingly. "Just, uh, yeah we're uh-"

"Henry, we need to talk." LJ blurted out, which caused the other three to immediately look at him in surprise and incredulity, with Nick even whispering, "What are you doing?"

"Okay, sure, about what?" Henry asked as he saw LJ get up, walk around the table, and tug on his and Declan's arms.

"You too, Declan." LJ said as he practically pulled them out of their seats. "Come on."

Neither Henry or Declan knew what was going on, but the almost frightened look on LJ's face was enough to get them moving. One of the teachers tried to stop them from leaving, but after LJ promised that they were only going to the bathroom, they were allowed to leave. Given that LJ still had a somewhat solid reputation as someone who wouldn't pull that mind of stunt, despite them doing this very thing, it didn't surprise Henry.

However, they were barely inside the boy's bathroom before LJ searched each and every stall. Once he was sure it was empty, he grabbed a nearby sign that said 'closed for cleaning' that the janitor must have left behind. He then put it outside and all but barred the door.

Declan began to ask, "LJ, what-"

"You were right." LJ blurted out, and before anyone else could speak, he looked directly at Henry and said, "You were right about everything. The curse, the hearts, your mom, everything."

"Wait, what?" Declan asked before the words registered in Henry's head.

Henry couldn't help but smile, something heavy in his mind disappearing as he realized something amazing just happened. "You...you really believe me?"

"Yes." LJ said with a frightened look, which dampened Henry's suddenly uplifted.

"LJ." Declan told him warningly, likely worried that LJ was getting Henry's hopes up.

"No, Declan." LJ told him firmly, even as it looked like he was seconds from hyperventilating. "I found proof. I know it's real. Oh my god, it's all real. That heart…"

"What about a heart?" Declan asked frustratedly. "What are you talking about?"

"There was a heart in a mausoleum." LJ explained. "E-Except it wasn't the whole mausoleum, it was this underground place. We were looking around-"

"We?" Henry asked.

"Me, Ava, Nick, and Paige." LJ said shakily. "W-We thought something might be in this mausoleum in the cemetery, s-so we looked a-and there was this heart and it glowing. It was actually glowing, a-and I saw the veins in it and it was beating and-"

"Whoa, whoa, easy." Declan said as LJ looked more and more unraveled. "Take a breath, man."

"I-I can't." LJ shook his head. "I couldn't sleep last night. All this time…" LJ looked at Henry guiltily. "I'm so sorry. This whole time I thought you were just sick, t-that this wasn't….I'm sorry I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't." Henry said, not even feeling hurt that LJ really hadn't believed him, because his friend just looked too scared. "It was the curse. The whole point was to make sure you didn't remember."

"Okay, back up." Declan said disbelievingly. "You actually believe it."

"Dude, I saw it." LJ told him insistently. "We all did. It's real. Everything Henry said has been real the whole time."

Henry felt...heavily conflicted. On the one hand, yes! He finally had someone who was outright saying that he was right, that he wasn't crazy. And it was one of his best friends too, who said that three other friends would back him up. On the other hand...LJ looked almost terrified, and judging by the other's reactions, Henry knew that the knowledge of the truth might have been too much for them. Not to mention the fact that his mom's vault was definitely in Storybrooke, and now he had to worry about who she had under her control that didn't even know it.

He had always wanted this, so why wasn't he happier about it?

"It's gonna be okay." Henry told LJ. "My real mom's here, and you know who she is, right?"

"The Savior." LJ said quietly.

"Right." Henry said encouragingly. "And she's going to break the curse and save everyone."

"What the hell are you guys-" Declan cut himself off, clearly still in disbelief. "You actually...this is insane."

Just then, people began pushing the door open, but as LJ was trying to stop them, Nick's voice said, "Let us in."

LJ opened the door, and closed it as soon as Ava, Nick, and Paige entered the bathroom.

"How did you know we were in here?" Declan asked, not even bothering to make some joke about how girls weren't allowed in the boy's bathroom.

"The sign outside said someone was cleaning, but the janitor was already walking away from this place." Paige pointed out.

"You guys know the truth?" Henry asked.

"Well, yeah?" Nick said in a questioning voice. "There was a heart in there, and when LJ brought you here, we thought that maybe he was telling you the truth. So we were talking, a-and-"

"Okay, stop." Declan interrupted, looking as if his head was going to explode. "What is actually going on? You can't all seriously believe this."

"You want us to take you to the cemetery and show you?" Ava challenged.

"Oh fuck no, I am not going back there." LJ swore, and neither Henry or Declan could stop themselves from gaping at LJ's language.

This...is not good, Henry thought as LJ didn't even bother to apologize for swearing.

Declan, surprisingly, chose to remain silent.

"We've got to prove it somehow." Paige added tersely. "I can barely believe it, and I saw the thing!"

"Guys, we've got to keep it down." Nick warned. "Someone's going to hear us."

"Just-" LJ started before stopping himself, taking a moment to pause. He waited a couple of moments to collect himself before suggesting, "How about...we meet up at HQ, after everyone goes to sleep? Explain what we saw. Then...we figure something else out, agreed?"

"Agreed," Ava said at the same time Nick and Paige added their own "Yeah" and "Sure".

"Not agreed." Declan said. "What's HQ?"

"Your old shack." LJ said to the surprise of Henry and Declan. "We've been meeting up there for awhile."

"What have you-" Declan started, but LJ wouldn't let him finish.

"Look, just let us explain there, and then if you want, just ignore us." LJ said seriously. "If you don't believe us, then fine. I don't care anymore. I can't unsee what I saw there."

There were several moments of silence as Henry pondered both LJ's words and the expression of Declan's face. The way LJ seemed ready to scream, the way the others were nearly shaking, from how Declan's disbelief was slowly being overcome by curiosity. Like Henry, he probably knew that whatever else they said, their friends believed it wholeheartedly, and something had definitely rattled them.

It was at that point that Declan said, "Okay fine. I'll find some way to sneak out of the sheriff's house."

LJ nodded before he looked at Henry.

Henry wasted no time in eagerly answering, "Of course. I can't wait."

Given how the others looked, he was the only one eager for this meeting.

---

My apologies, Mr. Leander, but there simply isn't enough evidence to go on.

Not enough evidence?, Freddie thought incredulously as he replayed the judge's words in his head. The sheriff and deputy found Gold beating me. How is there not enough evidence? What, was I not bleeding enough? Did he not crack my ribs as much as he should've?

"Oh my god." Mary Margaret said in a horrified voice as she served Freddie tea, not even minding that Missy was on the counter too.

"This is horseshit." David swore angrily as he sat next to Freddie at the kitchen counter in Mary Margaret's loft.

"David." Mary Margaret said in both a soothing and warning voice.

"I'm sorry, but no." David said, likely apologetic only for the swearing. "Gold attacked you. He was caught in the act. How-"

"The judge made it clear that going ahead to trial would be a waste of time." Freddie cut him off. "At least that's the impression I got." He then added with a sigh, "And because the charges have been dropped, Gold's no longer out on bail, because that was dropped to."

"So that means he can contact you?" Mary Margaret asked incredulously.

"Not if I talk some sense into him." David said about to get up.

"David, stop." Freddie said a little tersely. "I get that your mad, but the last thing I want is for one of my friends to go to jail because of me."

"I'm not just mad." David said before admitting with vulnerability in his voice, "I'm worried too. This...this isn't right."

"Don't you think I know that?" Freddie asked. "I was the one who was attacked. I was the one who thought I was never getting out of that cabin. I-" Freddie cut himself, placing his hand over his eyes as he tried to control his own emotions. His heart welled with rage, fear, disappointment, and above all an emptiness at realizing that there was nothing he could do.

"It's going to be okay." Mary Margaret told him as she walked around the counter to rub his back soothingly. "You have us."

"I don't even…" Freddie trailed off as his voice became somewhat uneven, as he just didn't know what he was going to do now that Gold was free to do whatever he wanted.

"You want a hug?" Mary Margaret asked, and Freddie was vaguely aware that he said something similar to her when she was feeling down about her suspension.

So it was with no reluctance that Freddie nodded, and Mary Margaret wrapped him up in a hug.

"It's okay." Mary Margaret tried to tell him. "We won't let Gold hurt you."

He's already hurt me once, Freddie thought numbly, feeling Missy paw at his arm.

There was a ringing sound, and when he pulled back he saw David walk away to take a call.

"Hi Ray." David answered, and there were a series of pauses intermingled with David responding to whatever Ray was sending, occasionally sending glances Freddie's way. "Okay, we'll be there soon." David finished off before he ended the call. He then said, "Sorry Mary Margaret, but Freddie and I have to go."

"Why?" She asked him.

"That was Ray." David explained before looking at Freddie. "He wants us to help him on a project."

A project huh?, Freddie thought, realizing that it was code for them to gather.

"Oh, need any help?" Mary Margaret asked as they got ready.

"We'll be fine." David said before pausing, then walking up to her and kissing her on the cheek. "We'll meet up soon, okay?"

"Okay." Mary Margaret said with a sweet little smile that matched David's. "Have a good time."

"You too." Freddie said as he began to leave, Missy on his shoulder.

"Freddie." Mary Margaret called out before approaching him to give him another hug. "I mean it. It's going to be okay."

Freddie didn't really know what to say, so he simply hugged her back. Once they released each other, he gave her a silent nod before leaving the loft with David.

"So, we're meeting at his office?" Freddie asked David as they walked to his truck.

"The sheriff's station, actually." David said to Freddie mild surprise. "Apparently, Emma's in on this, and he's catching Graham up to speed. Plus, I think Emma's the one who called this meeting."

"You think something happened?" Freddie asked as they got in David's truck, putting on his seatbelt before resting Missy on his lap.

"Don't know." David said as he got in the truck and started the engine. "Whatever it is, I've got the feeling it's important."

David then drove them to the sheriff's station, leaving Freddie to wonder what prompted the occasion.

---

This can't be real, Emma thought as she stood in Graham's office, the two of them staring silently at the closed box on his desk, knowing that inside lay something that was supposed to be a heart.

Luckily there had been no other calls today, not even one about Leroy having a drunk and disorderly. She couldn't be sure, but Mary Margaret had mentioned him having something with a nun, and Emma didn't want to pry. It was a good thing too, since Emma wasn't sure she or Graham would've been able to keep it together in front of anyone else.

They were barely keeping it together in front of each other.

"When's Ray getting here?" Graham asked quietly as he stared at the box.

Emma checked the clock before saying, "Any minute now."

Graham sighed. "How the hell are we going to explain this?"

"Well the beating heart in the box should say enough." Emma tried to snark, though she was unable to stop herself from sounding like she was losing her breath, unintentionally allowing her voice to hit a higher pitch.

Finally Graham looked at her, "Emma-"

The two of them nearly jumped in their places as the door to the bullpen opened.

"Emma, you here?" Killian's voice asked.

"What the hell?" Graham swore softly in confusion, in contrast to Emma's sense of relief knowing Killian was there.

The two of them left his office, and found that not only were Killian and Ray there, but also Freddie and David as well.

Killian stood closely to Emma, which allowed her to only have to take a step forward to hug him, wanting to hold onto some proof that the world wasn't going sideways.

"I invited them." Ray said, answering their unasked question. "I thought they could help with whatever was worrying you two so much. I hope you don't mind."

"No, that's...that's good I suppose." Graham said slowly. "Yeah, it's better that we have more than one person we trust confirm we're not losing our minds."

"What is it?" David asked him.

"Just...come into my office if you can fit in." Graham told them before entering his office, and shutting the blinds.

"Swan, what is it?" Killian asked softly as they let go of each other.

"It's better if you see it for yourself." Emma said as she grabbed his hand and let him into the office. It was a bit of a tight fit, especially when Emma shut the door behind them, but she didn't want to take the chance that someone would walk in without them noticing. Pulling down the door's window blind, Emma turned to find curious eyes staring at her.

Emma crossed her arms over her chest and said, "Earlier today, we got a call about a robbery at the cemetery. We were told that the suspect was hiding in this...mausoleum." She hesitated on the world as her mind immediately flashed to the moment she saw the heart. Steadying herself, she continued as she pointed at the box, "Graham and I went inside, and we found this."

Even pointing at it made her feel unclean, like there were dull needles pricking her from beneath her skin.

"So, what's the problem?" Freddie asked with a frown.

That's when Graham said, "Because of what we found inside the box." He then turned the box around, so that the latch was facing them, and opened it.

Everyone's reactions were a mixture of revulsion and fascination, with some key differences. David didn't seem to understand what he was looking at. Freddie apparently saw something that disgusted him, as he immediately took a step back. Ray just barely seemed to register it all, and even seemed curious as to what it was despite the clear shock on his face.

And Killian...his was the most curious of all. He looked at the heart as if he was staring into some kind of void, some incomprehensible thing, wordlessly watching as the heart beat slowly in the box. He even took a minute step forward. The way his eyes looked were contradictory, a mixture of feeling lost and yet nearly hyper focused on it.

"Killian, you okay?" Emma whispered at the same time the other three men began fervently questioning what they were looking at. Why did the heart elicit that particular reaction from him when so far it hadn't done the same to anyone else?

Her words seemed to break the spell that had been over Killian, at least a little bit, and as the others asked more and more questions, he simply said, "Yes, I'm fine."

"Is this...this can't be-" David had started staying, but when he reached in to touch him, the words died on his lips as he gently grasped the beating heart in his hand, though he seemed too stunned to pull it out. Instead, he paused a few moments before retracting his hand, taking a step back.

Soon, Freddie and Ray did the same, and they too had similar reactions.

"It's a fucking heart." Ray breathed out, causing the others to snap their heads in his direction at his rather unexpected swearing.

"Is that real?" Freddie asked, but before anyone could respond, he then asked, "Wait, you said this was in a mausoleum. Who's mausoleum did you find this in?"

"Regina's." Graham answered simply.

"Why do-" David started but cut himself off, instead breathing out, "This is insane."

"What are we going to do?" Freddie asked, his eyes going between the heart still beating in the box, as if he was waiting for it to stop, and the others in the room, likely wondering if he was really seeing this.

"Maybe...maybe figure out how it's doing that?" Ray suggested, though he didn't seem sure of himself, because, again, a heart was glowing and beating outside of someone's body.

Emma paused a moment before asking Graham, "Maybe we should take it to a doctor? They'd probably know more about how a heart is supposed to work than we do."

Graham hesitated. "I don't know. I don't want to risk this getting out, especially since this came out of Regina's vault. Who knows how she'll retaliate if she finds out."

"Point taken." Killian commented. "Is there anyone you trust enough to keep their mouth shut?"

Graham paused before a few moments before saying, "Maybe...there's a mortician that works in the hospital. Nice lad, and as far as I know, he's got no ties to Regina."

"What's his name?" Emma asked.

"Bill Paget." Graham told her.

"And you're sure we can trust him?" Emma asked firmly.

"I think so." Graham replied carefully. "At the very least, he's the most trustworthy person with a medical degree I can think of. Besides...how much of a choice do we have?"

Emma hated to admit it, but he was right. They were already in unfamiliar territory as it was, and despite how much it grated against her nerves, she knew they really didn't have much of a choice.

"What do we do now?" Ray asked. "Go home and pretend like this never happened?"

"It's a little late for that." Freddie commented.

"We are going to pretend." Graham said to the surprise of everyone. "Just not to each other. We can't afford to forget this, not when it proves that Regina is more dangerous than we thought. Emma, you remember those walls in the mausoleum's underground space. How much you want to bet that there are more where that came from?"

The thought made Emma feel very uneasy, especially since Henry's voice kept appearing in her mind, talking over and over about the Evil Queen. Emma didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be true, and yet...

Graham then addressed the group. "We keep this between us, and we keep a closer eye on Regina. From now one, no one is left alone with that woman, agreed?"

There were a chorus of agreements.

Graham nodded. "Good. Now, I'm going to take this heart to Bill, and let's see if we can figure out just what in the hell we've gotten ourselves into."

---

It was a slow night, and normally on slow nights Ruby would try to find an excuse to leave early. Usually it would end with Granny scolding her and making her stay longer, but hey it was the effort that counted. This night, however, she just didn't feel like leaving, and deep down she thought that maybe, a little bitty maybe, it had to do with the idea that Ray could come in through those doors and order some food.

Oh my god, Ruby thought to herself incredulously, get ahold of yourself. You aren't even exclusive.

It was true. After all, they had only been on a few dates, and yeah it was fun but it wasn't like they talked about being exclusive. Okay, maybe hinted at it but…

Ruby quietly scoffed to herself as she wiped down a table. Sure he was nice and good-looking and actually a really good person to hang out with, but Ruby didn't know if she was ready for a commitment. If she were though…

The bell at the front door of the diner rang, and instinctively Ruby turned to see who it was. She then was disappointed when she realized it wasn't Ray.

Instead it was August, who was handsome in his own right, but it just wasn't the same.

August sat at the counter, so Ruby came over to greet him.

"Evening, stranger." Ruby said with a smile, playing on the old joke that he was the only person besides Emma who wasn't from Storybrooke.

August good naturedly smiled back and said, "Evening Ruby. I'll just have a coffee and a sandwich."

"Any in particular?" Ruby asked as she started writing it down.

"Surprise me." August said.

"So, a coffee huh?" Ruby said as she gave the order to Alan before starting up the pot of coffee. "Planning on pulling a late nighter?"

"Oh yeah." August replied. "I've got a little project going on, and I want to get it ready by tomorrow."

"Ooh, what's the project?" Ruby asked intrigued.

August touched his nose almost thoughtlessly as he said, "It's a surprise. Plus, I don't want the recipient to know it was me."

"Are you trying to be a secret admirer?" Ruby asked teasingly with a tilt of her head.

"Not exactly." August replied. "But enough about me. How's your day been going?"

Ruby sighed. "Boring, as usual. The days drag on and barely anything exciting happens. Well, there was the mine collapsing a while back, and a guy coming out of a coma, but nothing exciting that wasn't life threatening, you know?"

"Not really." August admitted. "Before I came here, I generally tried to shake things up, or challenge myself. Once, I was on a tiny budget, and I spent a year living in places that didn't have roofs."

"Really?" Ruby asked intrigued as she began to pour the coffee. "A whole year without a roof over your head?"

"I got used to it." August said with a shrug. "Plus I had the motorcycle so, if I didn't like a place after a while-"

"Ruby!" Granny called out, and Ruby suppressed a sigh as she remembered that her grandmother was at the end of the counter going over the books.

Ignoring her, she told August, "I've never even been out of Storybrooke. What was your favorite place?"

"Nepal." August said smoothly. "Best people. They have these prayer temples carved into mountains that are overrun with lemurs."

"What's a lemur?" Ruby asked, her curiosity spiking.

"Ruby!" Granny called again in a firmer tone.

"Just give me a sec!" Ruby called back before turning her attention back to August.

"They're little animals." August explained. "And they have these eyes that reflect light. So, at night it looks like they glow."

Ruby smiled as he described it almost wistfully, trying to imagine little creatures whose eyes reflect in the dark mysteriously. If she ever got the chance, she would go to Nepal. Maybe she could take-

"Ruby!" Granny nearly shouted, and from her tone, Ruby knew she was in for a lecture. "Stop flirting and get over here." She then knocked on the counter twice just to make her point clear.

Ruby tried to smile at August reassuringly, but she knew it looked stiff. She couldn't believe Granny would talk to her like a child. She walked towards Granny, and once she turned her back to August her smile disappeared. "I can't believe you did that." Ruby told Granny incredulously. "That was humiliating."

"I want you to start working Saturday nights." Granny said without preamble.

"Come on." Ruby nearly groaned. "We have an agreement about Saturday nights."

"I want to start training you to do the books and the reorders." Granny told her. "Business is booming lately, and with more money comes more paperwork."

"Yeah, none of that sounds good." Ruby retorted.

"It's got to be done." Granny told her tersely. "Besides, it's not like it would be the first time you switched your nights for something else."

"That was one time, and you know it." Ruby told her.

"Well this is for business, not a date with a lawyer." Granny replied.

Ruby paused before asking, "Is this a punishment for going out with Ray? What is your problem with him?"

"I don't have a problem with him." Granny denied.

"Oh come on." Ruby scoffed. "I remember you glaring at him the whole time he was here on Valentine's Day."

Granny didn't bother to deny it that time, so instead she said, "If I wanted to punish you, I'd have better reasons. For one thing, you were late today. For another thing, Liza, you dress like a drag queen during Fleet Week."

Ruby raised an eyebrow before challenging, "Well you look like Norman Bates when he dresses up like Norman Bates' mother."

Granny frustratedly replied, "Ruby, you are a grown woman. You can't keep acting like some kid."

Hurt and feeling indignated at Granny's presumption, Ruby said, "You just want me to act like you until I turn into you. Well I am not a fossil yet, Granny. I should be out there having adventures with lemurs."

Looking ready to really lose her temper, Granny shut the books with more force than necessary. "Well, as long as you work here, you are gonna listen to me."

"I didn't ask to work here." Ruby fired back impulsively.

"Well then, what's keeping ya?" Granny challenged without looking at her as she walked away.

"Nothing." Ruby said before finally adding, "I quit!"

She caught the barest glimpse of Granny's shocked face before Ruby left the diner, practically ripping off her apron.

I am not some kid, Ruby thought as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She always treats me like a kid, but then when I try to have fun she doesn't let me do anything.

Angrily, Ruby headed to her room at the inn, and after some searching immediately began to pack up. Maybe this was the incentive she needed to finally go out on her own. That way she wouldn't have Granny harping on her on what she could or couldn't do all the time.

She wants me to act like a grown woman?, Ruby thought challengingly as she finished packing, heading out the door, Fine. I'll show her.

Ruby felt mostly relieved that Granny hadn't been there to talk her out of it, but at the same time a small part of her felt...disappointed. Ruby shook the thought from her mind as she continued walking down the streets of Storybrooke to the bus stop.

Ruby suddenly stopped. Where would she go? Nepal was far away, and she wasn't familiar with anywhere else yet. She wouldn't just leave Storybrooke behind, but everyone she knew. Ruby sighed, hating how she was so eager to leave but too uncertain of the future. Ruby started walking again in a different direction to clear her head.

Maybe...maybe she could stay with someone? Just for the night so she could get a handle on things. Ashley and Sean had a baby so that was a no-go. Mary Margaret was still reeling from her suspension, and she didn't know if Emma could handle another roommate, so that wasn't possible either.

Um...maybe Dada. Yeah, maybe she could just let her stay for the night. If not….well, Ruby would have to make do.

Ruby headed to Dada's apartment building, and groaned when she realized that the elevator was broken, only then remembering all of Dada's complaints about it. Ruby took a minute to prepare herself before she can dragging her suitcase up the steps.

She only got a few floors up before she had to take a breath, shaking her head as she wondered if this was a good idea.

"Ruby?" Ray's voice asked.

Her head snapped down the hall, where she found Ray with his keys in hand, ready to enter an apartment she figured was his.

"Oh, uh, hi Ray." Ruby said awkwardly.

"Hi yourself." Ray said curiously as he walked towards her. "What are you doing here?"

"I, uh…" Ruby trailed off before she cleared her throat. "I moved out of Granny's. I was kinda hoping that Dada would let me stay in her apartment for the night...even though I didn't call ahead."

"Ah." Ray said understandingly. "You want me to help you up? Her apartment's on the top floor. Plus, there's this thing where the floor kind of slants, and hers is on top of the slant, so it might even be the highest room."

"Great." Ruby groaned before catching a look on Ray's face once he had finished talking. He looked more stressed out that usual. Even his breathing seemed a little harder, and for some reason Ruby didn't think it had to do with walking up the stairs. "You okay?"

"What?" Ray asked in a surprised tone, like he had forgotten where they were. "Oh yeah, just...it's been a long night."

"Same." Ruby said tiredly.

Ray paused for a moment before saying, "If you want, you can crash at my place."

"Really?" Ruby asked hopefully before trying to downplay it. "I mean, only if you're sure. I know LJ's there, so you don't have to-"

"I want to." Ray said before a shy, cute little smile came over his face. "I mean, I can take the couch and you can take my bed. I promise my room's not mess."

"No." Ruby said. "It's your place. I'll take the couch."

"I insist." Ray said firmly. "I'll sleep on the couch. If it really makes you feel bad, repay me in coffee."

"Just coffee?" Ruby asked, unable to stop the flirtatious tone or smile she took on.

Ray smiled all nervously as he stammered, "Uh, yeah, yes." He then took a moment before nodding toward his apartment. "Shall we?"

Ruby gave a false sigh. "If we must." She said before smiling teasingly.

Ray goodnaturedly gave a chuckle and led her to the apartment after Ruby grabbed her suitcase.

Maybe things were looking up after all.

---

It felt strange being back in Declan's shack. Henry hadn't been there since before Declan passed out at the school, before he was sent to live with Graham. Looking at it now brought both good and bad memories, but it was no longer Declan's place. No, instead it was HQ for his friends to discuss the curse.

Sitting inside the shack, Henry noticed some differences. For one, things were a little cleaner than before, and even the police tape had been taken down and used almost as a decorative ribbon around the bedpost. There were cleaner blankets, which Ava said came from each of them, and there were already snacks there. There was even soda and red plastic cups. Furthermore, there were more chairs than before, so everyone had a place to sit.

Once there, LJ told Henry and Declan, "We wanted to tell you two before, but we wanted to give you something to protect yourselves from Regina first. We all hated what she did to you, and we wanted to do something because...well because we didn't think the adults were." He then added, "Look...I'm still not sure what I was looking at, but ever since we left that mausoleum, the only thing I'm sure of now is that Henry was absolutely right about this. That was a heart, and Regina's...Regina's the Evil Queen."

Henry saw Declan roll his eyes in exasperation, but even that wasn't enough to ruin Henry's good mood. Finally, validation! More people on his side that proved that he was telling the truth, who knew for sure that he wasn't crazy.

Paige looked at Declan rolling his eyes and snapped, "I know it sounds crazy, but why would we make this up?"

Declan still didn't look too sure.

Henry said, "Then we should go into the mausoleum and see for ourselves."

Declan looked at him incredulously. "You want us to break into your mom's mausoleum, a place for dead people, after everything she's threatened to do to us?"

While Declan had some good and fair points, Henry knew that proof of Regina's alter ego was exactly what they needed.

"Then I'll go by myself." Henry said. "And I'll bring heart back and show it to you."

Declan didn't seem comforted by this. "Don't be stupid."

"I'm not being stupid." Henry retorted hotly. "I'm getting proof because you still don't believe."

"What if you get caught?" Declan shot back.

"I won't." Henry said angrily.

"But what if you do?" Declan said as he raised his voice.

"Then screw it!" Henry shouted, vaguely aware of how everyone except Declan flinched in their seats. "I don't care! I just want to break this stupid curse! I am tired of everyone thinking I'm crazy!"

"But I don't want her to hurt you!" Declan shouted back. There was a long silence that followed as Declan and Henry looked at each other, and Henry saw both frustration and fear on Declan's face.

Henry huffed before he looked away, knowing that Declan still didn't believe. He had to change his mind somehow. He just had to.

"So, uh…" Ava trailed off awkwardly, reminding a now embarrassed Henry and Declan that they had an audience.

"What are we going to do now?" Nick asked.

No one really knew.

Truthfully, Henry had only two thoughts in his mind. The first was that he now had four more people who would be on board for Operation Cobra. The second was that, no matter how much Declan might protest, Henry was going to get his hands on a heart.

---

February 25, 2012

"Daddy, Daddy, breakfast is ready." Mai's voice said to Killian as his eyes remained closed. "Daddy."

"I'm up, I'm up." Killian said, eyes opening slowly as he banished the remnants of the nightmare he was having from his mind. In his dreams, he saw that heart glowing and beating unnaturally in that box before it was replaced with an image of a similar heart in scaly hands. In an agonizingly slow movement, the scaly hand wrapped around the heart more and more until-

"Daddy?" Mai asked again, and Killian's bleary vision finally cleared as she saw Mai standing up, nearly eye level as he was still lying on the couch.

"I heard you." Killian said before teasingly grabbing her in a surprise hug. "That's what you get for waking me."

Mai just giggled as he pretended to bite her cheek. "Phoebe made pancakes."

"Did she?" Killian asked as he let her go, sitting up to see Phoebe putting some pancakes on a plate.

Not a bad way to start a Saturday.

He looked at the time and realized he slept in. "Did my alarm not work?" He asked curiously as he stood up to go the bathroom.

"It did." Phoebe said as she began to pull out some napkins. "You just slept through it, which is kind of surprising since you never sleep through the alarm. We decided to let you sleep in. You looked like you could use it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Killian asked through the now closed bathroom door.

"You just seemed a little off last night." Phoebe answered. "Coffee will be ready when you get out."

"Thank you." Killian said before getting ready. Once he was done and washed up, he looked at himself in the mirror, and nearly sighed when he realized that the girls must have seen how stressed he was. It was a wonder he didn't just start blurting out the truth of what he saw, or how on some imperceptibly deep level he felt shaken.

I can't let the girls know that, Killian thought, not least of all because he had sworn himself to secrecy. He was a grown man. What kind of effect would seeing that have on two young girls.

Killian took in a deep breath through his nose before releasing it, thinking, Keep it together. It's not fair on them to pick up the slack because you're being weak.

With that in mind, Killian put on a smile before he left the bathroom, joining the girls at the counter.

"Thank you." He said as Phoebe poured him some coffee. "So, what do you two want to do today?"

"Not sure- ah crap." Phoebe said after she accidentally spilled some orange juice on her pajama shirt. "I'll be right back." She promised as she went back into the main room before closing the door.

Killian then looked at Mai who was looking at him curiously. No, not him. As Killian followed her gaze, he realized that she was staring at his stump, which he'd forgotten to put his prosthetic hand on.

"What happened to your hand?" Mai asked him curiously.

"Uh, an accident." Killian said, feeling slightly embarrassed as she kept looking at it. "It's not nice to stare."

"Sorry." Mai apologized, looking away though her eyes tended to stray back to the stump. "Does it hurt?"

"Sometimes." Killian admitted. "Not a lot though."

Mai looked at him with all the sad contemplation a 4-year-old was capable of before pressing two fingers to her lips, and then reaching over to press those fingers against his stump. "Feel better." She said warmly.

Killian smiled at her sadly, yet appreciative of what she was trying to do, before leaning forward and kissing her on the top of her head. "You're a very sweet girl, you know that?"

"I try." Mai said sassily.

Killian gave her an amusingly surprised look. "And cheeky too. Come here." He then used his right hand to start tickling her, trying to her his other arm to hold her in place so she didn't fall off the stool in the midst of her squirming.

"Daddy, no!" Mai protested while laughing.

That's when Killian spotted Phoebe, now in a proper shirt and jeans, looking at them with a mixture of wistfulness and longing. However, the longing was tinged with something else. Discontent perhaps. If so, why?

Killian stopped his tickling assault to say, "Well, come over then. You put in the work. Enjoy your breakfast."

"Yeah." Phoebe said quietly before walking over to eat her pancakes with less enthusiasm that she showed before.

"What's going on?" Killian asked her.

"Nothing." Phoebe said, not looking up from her plate.

"It's not nothing." Killian said as Mai ate her pancakes. "You've been acting this way for a while. Something's bothering you."

"It's nothing." Phoebe repeated, this time a little testily.

Incensed at her tone, Killian said, "Phoebe, don't take that tone. What's going on?"

"Nothing." Phoebe said frustratingly when she finally looked at him.

It was then that Lady seemed to appear out of nowhere, and circled around them while she yipped.

Lady's appearance didn't break the tension, however, as even Mai seemed to pick up the beginnings of an argument between Killian and Phoebe.

Killian tersely said, "Phoebe, come with me. We're going to the bedroom."

Phoebe started, "But-"

"Now." He told her firmly, leaving no room for argument. Soon, the two of them were in the room, and he closed the door just enough so that he could still keep an eye on Mai through the little gap. He turned to Phoebe and said, "Something has been bothering you, and I've tried to give you your space, but clearly it isn't working."

"It's not your business." Phoebe snapped out.

"It is my business, because I'm your guardian." Killian told her.

"Guardian, yeah, so stop acting like your my dad!" She shouted, and then a second later all of the anger drained from her face as she realized what she had just said.

Killian himself felt the anger leave him as well, as it was overwhelmed by a crushing feeling in his chest. His mind thought back to when she had called him Dad at the Miner's Day festival, and logically he thought that maybe she was just saying it to hurt him. It didn't prevent him from feeling the full brunt of how badly it hurt.

Phoebe said quietly, "Killian...I-"

"Eat your breakfast." Killian said stoically. "It's getting cold."

He then turned and left the room, leaving Phoebe to stand there wondering what the hell she had just done.

---

I can do this, Henry said as he sneaked across the cemetery in broad daylight. I can totally do this.

Of course, no one else knew he was doing this, which was probably for the best. Whether or not they knew his reasoning, he knew that someone would have tried to talk him out of it. But as he came to the sight of the mausoleum, where the doors were closed, Henry knew that there was no point in turning back.

In truth, Henry felt more than a little nervous. He had always thought of this as a place where his mom visited her dad, which given how she murdered him seemed creepy. Now, though, he knew it was where she placed her vault, where all of the hearts of her victims resided.

But he needed proof. He needed to show Declan the truth so that he could finally understand what was going on, so that he wouldn't think Henry was crazy anymore.

With a deep breath, Henry opened the doors of the mausoleum. There, he found that the coffin was still pushed to the side, and that there were stairs like the others had said. Steeling himself, Henry descended down the steps.

It was everything like they described, and it looked very much like it did in the book, and yet Henry had to look around, feeling mystified that he was actually standing in his mom's vault.

No, he told himself, reminding himself that she wasn't his mother. I'm standing in the Evil Queen's vault.

Henry forced himself to start walking, looking around at everything. There he saw the shelves that the others had described, where he knew the hearts were hidden. He also saw through some curtains was an area with a dais and, unless he was mistaken, some vials woh mysterious fluids inside them.

Henry wanted to explore that area, but he was on a mission, and he didn't know how much time he had before he was discovered.

So, with shaking legs and even shakier hands, he went to one walls, and opened one of the compartments like how Ava explained it.

With careful yet cold hands, Henry lifted out the box that had been hidden in the compartment, and opened it.

Henry had seen the images of glowing hearts in his book many times, sometimes even in the act of it being ripped out of someone's chest. The first time he had seen that he'd been stuck staring at it for a solid five minutes. And yet it couldn't even compare to the stunned feeling that left Henry breathless. There it was - someone's heart that had been cruelly ripped out, glowing and beating in this cold, dark place like it would have done in its owners chest.

Who do you belong to?, Henry thought sympathetically. Where are you supposed to be?

Henry stared at it in horrified wonder when he heard a sound. He startled so badly that he nearly dropped the box, unless he realized it was the sound of bird chirping nearby, it's chirping echoing down there.

Deciding that he'd been there long enough, Henry snapped the lid of the box shut and ran up the stairs. Once he was outside he ran as quickly as he could away from the cemetery.

Now he had proof, and with it he was going to show Declan once and for all that the curse was real.

---

"You want to be a librarian?" Dada asked, just barely able to not laugh at the way Ruby's face frowned at the suggestion.

"Ehhh, I'm keeping my options open." Ruby told her. "Besides I just need to find something to do so I don't have to work for Granny again."

Dada winced sympathetically, as Ruby had given her the rundown of the fallout between Ruby and her grandmother. "Well...we can look out for any job openings."

"If we have to," Ruby sighed dramatically, causing Dada to roll her eyes.

"In any case, I'm sure there's something out there for you." Dada says. "If not, well...are you going to leave Storybrooke."

"I don't know, maybe?" Ruby said uncertainty. "I mean, I'm always talking about how there's nothing to do in Storybrooke, but I don't think I have enough money to go anywhere else. I mean, August talked about spending a whole year without a roof, and maybe I could do that, but…"

"You're still not sure if you want to go." Dada said, and from the look on Ruby's face, she knew that she'd hit the mark. Dada then said, "If anyone can understand that changing things up that dramatically is scary, it's me." Dada then stepped closer to Ruby and said, "Whatever you need, just ask me, okay?"

Ruby paused for a moment before smiling a little. "Okay."

"Great." Dada said, feeling better on Ruby's behalf. And then, to keep the mood up, she teased, "By the way, what was spending the night with Ray like?"

Ruby gave her a mostly amused look. "Not as exciting as I would've liked. He insisted I sleep in his bed while he took the couch. He got all shy every time I suggested he join me."

"You're so bad." Dada said at the gleam in Ruby's eyes.

"I try." Ruby replied with a smirk. "Speaking of relationships, how are things going with Jefferson?"

At that, Dada's smile dimmed, and her good mood dissipated.

Sensing this, Ruby said, "Oh. Not good then?"

"No, no, they're fine." Dada said readily before admitting, "Okay, not totally fine." Dada then sighed in embarrassment. "I got drunk the night of my birthday party. I don't even remember how I did it, but all I remember is wandering by Gold's shop, and then Jefferson taking me home. Ever since then he's been all shifty on what happened that night."

"I mean...it's probably fine." Ruby said before her tone turned more protective and serious. "You want me to talk to him?"

Embarrassed, Dada said, "No, no. I just...I don't know what's bothering him. Usually he'll tell me something, just to get it off his chest, but this is different somehow. For some reason, it's like...he feels guilty about something, but he won't tell me what."

"Weird." Ruby commented. "You sure you don't want me to talk to him?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Dada said resignedly. She didn't know how she was going to get Jefferson to admit the truth, but she would have to do it somehow. There had been this hesitancy, this distance between them, ever since the night she got drunk. If they were going to get over this, she had to do something.

Dada then remembered that Ruby was still there, and put a smile on her face. "Enough about me. We need to find you a job."

"Actually," Ruby said, an intrigued look on her face, "I'm going to see if maybe Graham and Emma are hiring."

"You want to be a cop?" Dada asked.

"I don't know." Ruby replied. "Like I said, I'm keeping my options open." She then hugged Dada, who hugged her back, and left the library.

Dada was alone in the library, and probably would be alone since Killian, his girls, and Lady left, albeit with a tense air between Killian and Lady.

Dada let out a slow breath. Maybe she could use this time to figure out what to do next.

---

Mary Margaret didn't know why she was doing this. Honestly, was this even a good idea?

Yes it is, a voice in her mind insisted, and Mary Margaret was loathe to disagree with it.

She entered the Storybrooke Pet Shelter, where she coincidentally bumped into David.

"Mary Margaret, hi." David said as a little smile came over his face, one that likely matched the smile on her face. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi, um…" Mary Margaret trailed off, a little nervous now that she was actually going to get a second opinion. She talked about it with Emma last night, but her roommate seemed preoccupied with something. She still said yes though, so that was something right. Clearing her throat, Mary Margaret said, "Well, I've thought a lot about what everyone said and...I want to adopt Copper."

Mary Margaret felt her heart lighten at the excited look on David's face.

"Really?" He asked with an encouraging smile.

"Mhmm." Mary Margaret hummed, feeling better that David seemed to think it was a good idea. "I already talked it over with Emma, so we're good to go."

"Great." David said before nudging her to the front. "Let's go get Copper."

Mary Margaret's smile widened as she and David went to the front.

The person at the front desk recognized Mary Margaret immediately, but thankfully they didn't seem to mind. "Hello. How can I help you today?"

Getting reassuring look at David, Mary Margaret said, "I'd like to get a dog."

The front desk person smiled as they asked, "Well, we have a lot of dogs in need of a good home. Do you have any ideas on what you want?"

"I do, actually." Mary Margaret said. "I've met this little puppy before, Copper, and I'd like to take him home."

"He's a little trouble maker, but very loyal." They told Mary Margaret before leading her and David to the back.

Soon, they came upon the cage Copper was in, and the puppy immediately started barking and jumping around excitedly at the sight of Mary Margaret.

"Hi, Copper." Mary Margaret said as David handed her the puppy, who immediately began trying to lick her face. "I know, it's good to see you too."

"We'll just need you to sign a fee and some paperwork." The assistant said. "Plus, we may do a check up sometime in the near future."

"No problem." Mary Margaret said, knowing that she'd gotten enough savings so that buying Copper wouldn't be a huge hit. Even if it did, it would've been worth it.

The paperwork took a little time, as did the arrival of the head of the facility. This person then gave an overall explanation of what the dog would require, how training would work, numbers to call in case she needed information or an emergency, and so on and so forth.

As she was signing things, Freddie came in to clean a mess one of the animals had made. Missy was on his shoulder, and immediately Missy and Copper started staring at each other challengingly.

His eyes immediately lit up as he realized what was happening, but because he had work to do, all he could say was an excitedly whispered "Congratulations!" before quickly leaving. Missy and Copper didn't stop staring at each other until she and Freddie disappeared around the corner.

After signing one final signature, Mary Margaret handed in the paperwork.

"Congratulations, Ms. Blanchard." The head of the facility said with a smile. "You are now Copper's mom."

"Yay." Mary Margaret said quietly with a grin as she put a leash on Copper. "We're going home."

Copper barked happily as they walked out of the pet shelter together, David walking beside them.

"Don't you still have work?" Mary Margaret asked him.

"Oh yeah, darn." David said with a snap of his fingers. He then sincerely said, "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Mary Margaret said before her thoughts turned to darker matters. "Have you heard anything about where Kathryn is?"

David shook his head, his expression forming a frown. "No, and I'm getting really worried. I keep trying to think about who could do this, but as far as I know, Kathryn didn't have any enemies."

Mary Margaret told him, "I'm sure she's fine."

"How do you know?" David asked her, something in his tone hoping for confirmation.

How do I know?, Mary Margaret asked herself. She answered honestly, "It's just a feeling I have." Seeing the dissatisfied look on David's face, Mary Margaret risked briefly touching his arm comfortingly before pulling her hand back. "It's all going to be okay, David."

"I hope so." David told her before nodding to Copper with a somewhat forced smile. "Go on, enjoy your day with the little guy. You deserve it."

"You too." Mary Margaret said, lingering on as she wanted to touch him, kiss him, but still mindful of where they were. So she simply nodded, and left with Copper in tow, turning back only once to see David still watching her.

Continuing her walk to her car, Mary Margaret helped the puppy inside before placing the bad in the back of the car. Once she was safely in the driver's side, Mary Margaret took off, smiling when she glanced at Copper in the rear view mirror. "So, let's see if we can get the loft doggy-proof before Emma gets home."

---

"Has he called back yet?" Emma asked Graham as she threw darts at the target on the wall.

"For the fifth time, no he has not." Graham said a touch irritatedly, likely caused by his lack of sleep.

Emma, due to her own lack of sleep, snapped back, "I was just asking."

"I know." Graham said as he learned against the outer wall of his office, rubbing his eyes. "Ugh, if I didn't think Archie would find me mad, I would be in therapy with Declan right now."

Emma tried to say something, but she simply didn't have enough energy for it. She was currently surviving on a lot more coffee than she probably should've drank, but she could barely sleep. All she could think about were potential logical explanations for the heart in the box, and failing to stick to any of them.

It doesn't make any sense, Emma thought. She had tried looking up anything that might be similar to it, but nothing came up.

"Hello." Someone called out cheerily, but it was enough to cause both Emma and Graham to startle in surprise. Turning her head to look, Emma saw that it was Ruby, who took on an apologetic look. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to know if, well, maybe you guys had any openings."

"Openings?" Graham asked her.

"Mhmm." Ruby said a bit nervously. "Like any jobs or positions you might have open. Even if it's to just help organize or clean up something or whatever."

"I thought you worked at the diner." Emma said.

"Not anymore." Ruby said, and from her tone, Emma guessed that things hadn't gone well.

"Um…" Graham trailed off. "Well, we might have enough in the budget for another employee, just not one in the line of duty."

"Wasn't planning on it." Ruby joked before she hurriedly added, "But I can do other stuff. Just anything you need. Please."

Emma recognized Ruby's desperation, and thought about what they could do when the non-emergency phone rang.

"Is that an emergency?" Ruby asked as Emma answered the call.

"Hello Mrs. Ginger." Emma greeted the irritated old woman as Graham explained what the emergency line was. Listening to the older woman's complaint, Emma said, "No, Mrs. Ginger, that's Pongo. Archie will want him back. Do you still want me to come over?" After the old woman said no, Emma hung up.

Looking back at Ruby, Emma got an idea. "Hey Graham." Emma said. "Do we have enough in the budget for a secretary?"

Graham, understanding her idea, nodded. "I believe so. How about it, Ruby? You think you could help us get organized and answer the phones."

"Yes, absolutely." Ruby said eagerly. "I promise you won't regret it."

The non-emergency phone rang again, and Emma said, "There's your chance. Go nuts."

Ruby eagerly set to work answering the phones as Graham grabbed his jacket.

"I better get going." Graham said. "I'm going to be late picking up Declan. Think you can hold down the fort?"

"It's me, remember?" Emma asked rhetorically before she walked forward, whispering to him so that Ruby wouldn't hear, "Listen, if you get a chance-"

"I'll check in with Bill after I pick up Declan." Graham said more patiently. "I'm freaked out too, and the sooner we figure out what we're dealing with the better."

Emma merely nodded as Graham walked away, leaving Emma in the station with Ruby, feeling something twist in her stomach, like she was waiting for something to happen.

---

Where is he?, Henry thought as he nervously stood by the the door of Graham and Declan's place, awkwardly hiding the heart box behind his back as he caught his breath. He'd been running around the town for awhile now, but he couldn't figure out where Declan was. He had tried to find Declan at the apartment earlier, but no one was there. He only came back because in his tired mind, he figured that Declan would have to come back eventually.

He couldn't risk going home yet, and the longer Henry had the heart with him, the more a part of his mind told him that he would be caught.

"Henry?" Declan's voice asked curiously.

Henry snapped his head to the side, relieved to see Declan was there with the key to the apartment in his hand.

"Where have you been?" Henry asked him, keeping the heart box behind his back, still freaked out by how he could almost feel the heart beating inside it.

"I was at therapy with Archie." Declan responded. "What are you doing here?"

Henry nearly blurted it out right there before he said, "We should go inside. I want to tell you something."

"Okay, cool." Declan said a touch warily as he opened the door to his apartment, and let the two of them inside. Once he locked the door, he asked, "What's that behind your back?"

Henry smiled as he brought the box forward, presenting it to Declan without opening it. "It's proof that the curse is real. That everything LJ, Ava, Nick, and Paige said was true."

"Henry, come-" Declan started before the words died on his lips, as Henry had decided to wait no longer and opened the box. Declan looked like he wanted to take a step back, but he managed to maintain his footing as his eyes focused on the heart beating in the box.

"I know it's weird." Henry told him.

"Yeah." Declan said. "How is it doing that?"

"Magic." Henry insisted, barely suppressing a frustrated sigh when Declan rolled his eyes. Henry placed the box on a nearby side table, carefully pulling out the heart despite the shiver that ran throughout his body. He then turned to Declan and said, "Touch it."

Declan looked at him incredulously before shaking his head with a "No."

"Come on." Henry goaded. "It feels like flesh, just like our friends said."

Declan paused for a moment before sighing. "Okay, fine. It's probably just some synthetic-" Declan reached out to touch the heart, likely expecting to feel plastic or something artificial, but the second the tips of his fingers touched it, he stilled. Pulling his hand back slightly, Declan hesitated a moment longer before touching the heart again, this time longer.

Declan jumped back in horror, pulling his hand back as if the heart in Henry's hand had burned him. "What the fuck?!" He shouted.

"Whoa, take it easy." Henry said as soothingly as possible, his heart sinking as Declan reacted the last way Henry would've wanted.

"No, no, no, no." Declan stammered out as he took a step back. "No, fuck, what? Fuck that's...that's a real heart. That thing is fucking beating Henry!"

"It's okay." Henry tried to assure him. "We'll figure out who it belongs to-"

"Who it belongs to?" Declan repeated, his eyes wide and frightened. "That's...th-that's someone's heart. That's a heart that's out of someone's body and it's beating."

Henry felt something in his stomach clench at Declan's reaction.

And then, a look of horror came over Declan's face. "Oh fuck." He swore quietly. "Oh god. You were right. About everything. All the weird things that happened in town, your mom. Your adopted mom is evil. Your mom is the actual evil queen?"

"Yes." Henry said, for the first time actually uncertain about repeating this story given the scared look on Declan's face. "She's the Evil Queen, but my real mom is the Savior. She's going to save us."

"Not me." Declan said as he started breathing hard. "I'm nobody. I'm no one. She'll save you and her family and important people but me? Your evil mom's going to kill me."

"No she won't." Henry told her.

"Yes she will!" Declan shouted in dismay.

"No she won't!" Henry shouted back. "I won't let her."

Declan started laughing, but it wasn't from humor or joy. It was born from a mixture of fear and anxiety that only served to show how frayed Declan's nerves had become. Henry, for the first time, was beginning to regret showing him the truth.

"She's gonna kill me." Declan smiled fearfully. "She's actually going to lock me away in a dark place and kill me."

"No, she-" Henry started, but Declan ignored him and raced into his room. Henry, careful not to jostle the heart too much, followed Declan into his room, and saw Declan frantically stuffing his clothes into his backpack. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving." Declan told him as he searched around and began looking for anything he might try to see.

"What?" Henry asked in surprise. "You can't. You know the truth now. If you go over the town line, something bad will happen."

"If Graham and I stay here, something bad will definitely happen." Declan shot back as he went to get his egg.

"But-" Henry started once more, but he heard the door to Declan's home open.

"I'm home!" Graham announced, and Henry quickly hid the heart behind his back. Graham saw Declan and started saying, "There you are. I went to Archie's to find you but-"

Declan practically ran past Henry as he went up to Graham. "We have to go." He told him hurriedly.

"Go?" Graham asked. "What do you mean?"

"We have to get out of town." Declan said as his breath stuttered. "You, me, Marian and Fernando. We have to get out of town right now."

"Whoa, easy." Graham said soothingly as he kneeled down to try to be eye level with Declan. "Where's this coming from?"

Henry saw Declan hesitate before saying, "Just...it's just not safe here. It's not safe with Regina here."

Graham took on a worried look and gently put his hands on Declan's arms. "Declan, did something happen?" He asked with protectiveness in his voice. "Did Regina do anything?"

"She…" Declan trailed off. "Please, we all just have to get out of town."

"Not until you tell me what's happened?" Graham asked, now with a touch of fear in his tone.

"This happened." Henry said, pulling the heart from behind his back and presenting it to Graham, who looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Oh my god." Graham breathed out as he approached Henry. "Henry, where did you get that?"

"My mom's vault. L-" Henry started to say that LJ and the others found it, but he kept his mouth shut in the fear that somehow the Evil Queen would make Graham tell her. Wait...oh crap. Henry put the heart behind his back as he tried to cover up what he just did. "Um, actually, it's a trick and-"

"You went under the mausoleum, didn't you?" Graham asked.

Surprised, Henry asked. "How did you-"

"Henry." Graham said more sternly than he'd ever spoken to Henry before, making it clear that he wasn't joking around. "Show me the heart."

Henry reluctantly did so, and hesitantly allowed Graham to take it. However, there was something curious in Graham's expression. Instead of the horror and shock Henry had seen in everyone else's expression, Graham seemed strangely more...resigned. No, not resigned, but he seemed way more familiar with the concept of a beating, glowing heart than he should been.

With that in mind, Henry then questioned again, "Graham, how did you know about the vault under the mausoleum?"

"Because I've been there." Graham responded, to which both Henry and Declan nearly shouted, "What?!"

That seemed to snap Graham out of his reverie, but before he could say something he got a call. "Get something to put this in." Graham ordered as he answered the call, and Henry went to get the box. By the time he got back, Graham placed the heart in the box as he was saying, "Yeah, I've- Is it Kathryn?" There was a pause before Graham breathed out a sigh that was nearly relief, but not quite there. "A heart attack? Poor man. No, no, no listen." Graham then sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "Alright, Emma listen, I can't go. Yes this is an emergency. Just get the information you need, send the body to the morgue, and as soon as you finish up, get to my place. I can't explain over the the phone, but just trust me, okay?" There was another pause before Graham answered, "Alright. See you soon."

Graham then ended the call with a sigh, and looked seriously at the boys, causing Henry to swallow a sudden lump in his throat.

"Alright." Graham said. "We are going to have a long talk about what you know before Emma gets here. Tell me everything."

---

I've just got to get through the day, Ray thought, already eager to go home as it was a Saturday. LJ was hanging out at a friend's house, but something about him seemed off. Ray couldn't tell what it was, but LJ seemed more stressed that usual. He'd tried broaching LJ about it, but his nephew said that he was just worried about school. Even Ray's assurances that he was doing well didn't seem to ease his mind.

Maybe I should take him out for ice cream, Ray thought. Or maybe-

"Oh, sorry." Ray apologized when he bumped into someone, just managing to maintain ahold of his documents.

"Oh, it's you." The man replied, and Ray suppressed and aggravated sigh when he saw that it was Albert Spencer.

"Hello, Albert." Ray said with a hard smile.

Albert raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Do I have to constantly ask you to refer to me as 'Mr. Spencer'?"

"When you stop calling me Ray in court, maybe I will." Ray replied, his smile still on his face. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

Ray began walking away, though to his displeasure he found that Albert was following him.

"You know you're not obligated to defend a criminal." Albert told him. From anyone else, it might have been well-intentioned but misguided advice. From Albert it was just another way to pester him.

"I defend clients, which unless they're conflicting with you, is none of your business." Ray said without looking at the man.

"Do you know something about Kathryn Nolan's disappearance?" Albert insisted.

Ray suppressed another sigh as he glanced at Albert. "I don't know where Kathryn Antonis is."

"Does your client?" Albert pestered.

Ray stopped them as he turned to shortly tell Albert, "Listen to me clearly - I don't want to deal with you, and you clearly don't like dealing with me, so whatever my client may or may not say to me is, as I said, none of your business."

Before Albert could say more, someone came by.

"As much as I love the sight of two lawyers arguing," Judge Herman said as he approached, "I believe Mr. Fitzroy and I have an appointment."

Albert noticeably calmed and softened - as much as he could - his own features before Judge Herman before saying "Your Honor," and leaving, though not without sending one last dirty look at Ray behind Judge Herman's back.

Then Ray was alone with Judge Herman, and not for the first time, Ray remembered the day he swore at this same judge in the courthouse.

Trying not to let his embarrassment show, Ray greeted, "Hello, Judge Herman. I thought I was meeting with Judge Santos for this."

Judge Herman replied, "Well, Judge Santos was sick with the flu, so now I'm taking over. Is that a problem?"

When is it not?, Ray thought snarkily. Instead he said, "Not at all."

"Let's proceed then." Judge Herman said as he led Ray into a private room.

As expected, the meeting was rather...awkward. If anything, it was even worse than usual, because now Judge Herman was barely holding onto his level of professionalism. It was clear that he wanted to get Ray out of there as quickly as possible. This was nearly too much.

And then Judge Herman said, "Anything else, or do you have something else to do?"

Maybe it was because of the flippant tone. Maybe it was because of Ray's still simmering annoyance with Albert. Or maybe it was both.

Either way, Ray had had quite enough of this.

"Your Honor," Ray started, knowing he was treading on thin ice but just finding it difficult to continue on, continued to say, "would you have preferred for me to have not helped Sean, Ashley, and Alexandra at all?"

Judge Herman looked at him and asked, "Do you think this is an appropriate line of questioning in the workplace?"

"It must be." Ray said. "After all, you've seen fit to hold me accountable for helping them today, which is why I can assume you're so eager to see me gone."

"Now hold on-" He started, but Ray wouldn't let him finish.

"Judge Herman, I'm well aware of the fact that you don't like me." Ray interrupted. "I'm in fact perfectly okay with this as long as we can maintain professionalism. I didn't get into the business of being a lawyer to be well-liked. My main issue is that while we're here trading verbal blows, Sean is working himself to the bone at the mechanic's shop to support himself and his family."

"He is a kid." Judge Herman said with a touch of anger. "He shouldn't be working at all."

"I absolutely agree." Ray said. Seizing on Judge Herman's clear surprise, he added, "He should be going to college, hanging out with friends, not raising a baby at this state, but it happened. He and Ashley were careless, and now they're paying for it, but at least they're trying to do right by their baby. At least Sean isn't pulling a runner like some people."

"I know that." Judge Herman said, still with a stern expression, but now seemingly less assured of his convictions as he once was.

Ray took a calming breath before saying, "When you brought up my cousin and LJ's dad, I was angry, and I shouldn't have sworn at you, but the fact of the matter remains that I am well aware of how badly a situation can go when two young people have no idea what to do with a baby. I was alone, with a baby that wasn't even mine, and I didn't have anyone, least of all my father who couldn't begin to care about what I was up to. Because of that and other things, I haven't spoken to him in years, and I still resent him. Forgive me for saying, Your Honor, but unless you can figure out this thing between you and Sean, your son might be giving the same speech about you that I've just given you about my father."

For a long moment, it seemed as if Judge Herman would argue. In lieu of that, he was doing an admirable job at trying to burn a hole in Ray's head with his eyes. Instead, after that long moment passed, Judge Herman just sighed with a resigned look as he leaned back in his seat.

Ray did his best not to shift in his own seat as the silence dragged on.

Finally, the judge spoke. "Ashley was the first girl Sean ever loved, you know? I mean, he'd had crushes here and there, but her...she was special. I was even happy for them, but then she got pregnant, and all I could think about was how he would end up working a 9-5 job making ends meet to support them. I didn't want that for him. I wanted him to have a shot. The only reason I wanted Ashley to go through with the adoption was so that she could have a shot too. Now though...he's working a 9-5 job because I won't help, isn't he?"

Ray hesitated before nodding silently.

Judge Herman sighed before looking at Ray once more. "Let me make one thing clear, I still don't like your interfering with my family...but it was wrong of me to bring up what happened with your family." And a pause, he added, "I'm sorry."

Ray just silently nodded again.

Judge Herman nodded back at him. He then said, in a more patient voice, "Alright. I suppose I've been remiss in my duties. This is a place of work, not for petty feuds. Come on. Did you have anything else?"

"Yes, just one more thing." Ray said before handing him the last document he had. "It's a petition for my client to fight for custody of her son."

"Who's the plaintiff?" Judge Herman asked as he opened the document.

"Deputy Emma Swan." Ray said. "She wants to fight for custody of her son Henry."

Ray would have laughed at the look on Judge Herman's face as he realized that the defendant in that case would beRegina, but that didn't seem appropriate.

Eventually, the meeting concluded, and Ray left the courthouse ready to get something to eat.

On the way though, he spotted Ruby leaving Granny's in a disappointed, saddened huff.

"Hi, Ruby." Ray said as he halted her.

"Hi, Ray." Ruby said with a disheartened look.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ray asked her concernedly.

"Nothing." Ruby said with false cheer in her voice, and an equally false smile. "I got a job as a secretary for the police."

Ray replied, "That's great, but that doesn't explain why you seem so sad."

Ruby paused before saying, "I told Granny about my new job, but she couldn't care less. Figures." Ruby looked away, her lips turning down to a frown.

Ray felt his heart clench a little at the disappointed look on Ruby's face. Despite her ranting from last night about how controlling her grandmother was, he knew that she wanted to impress the old woman. In any case, despite Mrs. Lucas' somewhat frosty demeanor towards him, he did respect her, but more importantly, he wanted Ruby to be happy.

So he smiled a little and said, "Just give it time. First, prove to yourself that you can do this, and then show your grandmother what you're capable of.

Ruby blushed, and she felt something in her heart lighten at the sincerity of Ray's words. He really did believe in her, didn't he? If he didn't, he wouldn't have said so. People would say stuff to spare her feelings, but not him. He was honest with her, and it made Ruby smile to realize that someone finally believed in her.

Because of this, and with a little help of impulsiveness, Ruby leaned up to kiss Ray.

Ray instinctively held her, both to keep her close and steady her, and kissed Ruby back.

---

This...is not good, Killian thought as he stood in Graham's apartment, looking warily at the new box with another glowing heart in it, and then to the boys sitting on Graham's couch. He was glad he had dropped off Phoebe and Mai with Dada. He didn't know how he could've handled the two of them knowing on top of this.

"What were you thinking?" Emma asked Henry, who squirmed under her gaze.

"I just wanted proof." Henry said awkwardly, clearly knowing that a lecture was underway.

"You mean like the time you went into the mines to get proof?" Emma retorted.

"Well you have to believe now, right?" Henry shot back, and immediately got the look of a boy who knew he stepped a bit too far.

Even Declan looked awkward at the look Emma was giving Henry.

Emma looked like she was barely restraining some intense maternal anger as she said, "Let's make something clear right now. You are grounded."

"What?" Henry asked. "You can't do that."

"Watch me." Emma retorted sharply, and nearby Graham and Killian were wisely remaining silent. "You keep putting yourself in danger. What would have happened if Regina caught you?"

"I...I don't know." Henry said a little worriedly.

"Exactly." Emma told him. She then took a breath as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She then released it and said, "I know you want to help, Henry, but you're a kid. We're the adults. We're supposed to protect you. You get that right?"

Henry paused before nodding, adding a quiet "Yeah."

Before anyone could say anything, Declan asked without looking at anyone, "Is Regina gonna hurt us?"

This time, Graham went forward to say, "No, we won't let that happen."

"Why not?" Declan said with a somewhat hopeless look on his face. "If she's really the Evil Queen, it's not like she hasn't killed people before."

Ah right, Killian thought. The Evil Queen from Henry's storybook.

Killian might have once been worried about Declan believing in the curse as well. Now though, Declan fearing Regina seemed to give credence to the curse.

Emma then asked, "Did you tell anyone else?"

Henry and Declan shook their heads.

"Does anyone else know?" Emma asked. When the boys hesitated, she then said in a warning tone, "Henry."

Henry, with a guilty look on his face, said, "LJ knows. So do Ava, Nick, and Paige. They're the ones who found the hearts in the first place."

"Tell us how." Graham said, having had time to talk to the boys beforehand.

Henry and Declan then began to talk about what their friends had been up to, and why they went into the mausoleum, all the while doing their best to mitigate what the kids had done.

The adults in the room left the boys to sit on the couch as they went to the side to discuss things.

The first thing Emma said was, "Regina can never know that they know."

"Agreed." Killian replied as Graham added "Absolutely."

"Do we need to talk to the other kids?" Killian asked them.

"At this point, I think we have to." Graham said. "If Declan's reaction is anything to go by, I doubt they're taking this discovery well. They'll want some answers soon, or else they might say something to the wrong person."

"They're just kids." Emma said concernedly. "They shouldn't have to see things like this."

Killian sympathized. After all, he didn't even want to imagine Phoebe or Mai being as hopeless or desperate as Declan was now. "No, they shouldn't, but it can't be helped now. The best way we can protect them is making sure they know what's going on, and making sure that no one realizes that they're in the know."

Emma hesitated before saying with a worried look, "This is really happening, isn't it? The curse...it's actually real?"

"We don't know that for sure." Graham said, although with a notable lack of confidence. "I...I have no idea what this could mean, but maybe it's an isolated incidence of strangeness. We'll know more once Bill calls back."

"Yeah, yeah, okay." Emma said, nodding along with the clear hope that maybe Graham was right.

Killian wasn't so sure. He was hard pressed to believe it himself, but he highly doubted this was an isolated incident. For one, there were two of those damn things, if not more. For another, something just seemed too wrong with all of this.

"I'll let the boys know." Graham said before going over to talk to the boys on the couch.

Killian turned to Emma now that they were more alone.

"This can't actually be happening." Emma said, though more to herself than to Killian.

"I'm afraid it is." Killian replied. "Whatever it is."

"It just can't." Emma snapped back insistently, though not so much in frustration as in the desperation of someone with frayed nerves. "I mean...there's got to be a logical explanation for this. There was this thing, uh, bioluminescence. That's in animals, but that could be the case here, right?"

Killian said nothing, though something in his expression must've betrayed how little he agreed with the idea.

Emma said, "It can't be Henry's curse. It just can't be."

"Why not?" Killian asked.

"What?" Emma asked back in surprise.

"Why can't it be because of Henry's curse?" Killian asked again. "In its own way, it's the only thing that can make any sense of this."

"Oh come on." Emma scoffed, though her heart didn't seem to be in it.

"Think about it." Killian told her, his conviction in this assessment growing. "A place full of glowing beating hearts, just like that vault in Henry's storybook. And not only that, but there's also every weird thing that's happened so far. No one realizing who David was until Regina just so happened to bring Kathryn to the hospital. No one can remember the last time a visitor besides you and August came along. Henry's insistence that no one aged until you came along. The fact that no matter how hard anyone seems to try, no one can leave town without something happening. And now we've got beating hearts in chests right in front of us that no one can explain. I'm sorry Emma, but it I don't think Henry's curse is as imaginary as we thought."

Emma looked at him silently with a mixture of disbelief, betrayal, and some signs of resignation while also clearly wanting to disagree with him.

Killian held his breath as he waited for a response.

Emma eventually said, "Okay, weird things have happened for sure, but I'm not ready to go along with that...idea until we get the test results back."

Killian barely restrained a frustrated sigh. "You think the test results can prove or disprove that this town is under a magical curse?"

"I don't know, Killian!" Emma nearly shouted.

A throat cleared, causing both Emma and Killian to stiffen, before turning towards the living room where Graham and the boys were standing.

Emma then said, "Henry, put your shoes on. We're going home."

"To my house?" Henry asked.

"No, to the loft." Emma said as she waved the boy over.

Henry first looked elated at the idea of spending time with Emma, but then worry took over. "But if my mom comes looking for me..."

"I'll deal with her. You're not going back there if I have anything to say about it." Emma said as Henry got his shoes on.

"I'll walk with you." Killian offered.

"No." Emma said quickly, stopping Killian in his tracks as he felt a little hurt. She then added more quietly, "I can handle it from here. See you."

She then walked out of the home with Henry without another word to them.

---

David sighed for about the hundredth time that day.

"You know, I'd like to think that my stories are pretty entertaining, but your yawning isn't helping." Freddie snarked as he cleaned up after some animals.

"Sorry." David apologized as he put some dogs back in their pens after their walk. "I was just thinking about Kathryn."

"Ah." Freddie said sympathetically. "Still no word about her."

David shook his head in worry. "They still haven't found her yet, and as far as I know she hasn't called anyone. I'm really starting to worry about her." David bit her lip in guilt, feeling as if he wasn't doing enough. "Maybe I should just search the woods. Maybe there's something there."

"By yourself?" Freddie asked. "You're more likely to get lose than anything else."

"Well I can't just sit here and do nothing." David snapped back.

"Hey, no need to snap at me." Freddie warned him.

David nearly sighed again, but held himself back as guilt began to overcome him. "Sorry, it's just...this isn't right. Kathryn doesn't deserve this."

Freddie nodded. "Well if you're really keen on combing the woods, at least let me come with you. Better yet, we should try making a plan on where to search and how. After work, we can probably talk to Graham and Emma about using a grid search."

"Sounds like a plan." David said, although he was itching to get out there already. Even if his marriage to Kathryn was all but dissolved, he still cared enough about her as a person to want to make sure that she was alright.

"We'll find her." Freddie told him. He looked around to make sure no one was listening before whispering, "Honestly, I'm just hoping Kathryn's disappearance has nothing to do with...that thing we saw at the sheriff's station."

David's stomach clenched uncomfortably at the memory of that thing, that beating heart. The minute he got home he ran straight into his bathroom and threw up in the toilet. The sight of that thing disgusted him to his very core, namely because something about it just felt so wrong.

"Yeah, me too." David said, trying not to think too hard about that thing.

Wherever Kathryn was, he sincerely hoped that her heart was still beating in her own chest.

---

So far, being a secretary for the police department wasn't so bad, especially since she and Ray got to eat lunch together in the sheriff's station all by themselves. The only downside had been Granny's lackluster reaction, and that one call made on the emergency line that turned out to just be some guy who wanted to know how to figure out why his TV wasn't working.

Yeah, that actually happened.

Now though, things were pretty quiet, and it was nice to spend some time with Ray.

And then Emma called the station.

"Hey Emma." Ruby said as she answered the phone.

"Ruby, listen, something came up, and I can't search the area Kathryn's car was found it." Emma said, getting straight to the point. "Neither can Graham, so I need you to go there and search the area."

"You want me to go?" Ruby asked in surprise.

"Yes, it's really important." Emma said. "I'd go myself, but I have something I need to handle right now. Can you go?"

"Are you sure you want me doing this?" Ruby asked her uncertainly.

"Ruby, you're the only one who can right now." Emma told her. "Please, I wouldn't ask you to do this unless I thought it was important."

Ruby looked at Ray, who was watching her curiously, when she asked, "Can I take Ray? He's already here at the station."

"If he's okay with it, sure." Emma said. "Can you do this?"

Ruby hesitated before saying, "Absolutely."

"Great." Emma replied. "And listen, if you guys see anything that might count as evidence, don't touch it without gloves or one of those evidence bags we have in the back. We need to make this as legit as possible, alright?"

"Alright." Ruby said as she began to get up.

"Okay. Let me know what you find." Emma said before she and Ruby said their goodbyes, and hung up the phone.

"What was that?" Ray asked.

"Emma needs me to search the area where Kathryn's car was found." Ruby told him. "She and Graham had something come up, so they can't go. I asked her if it was alright to bring you, and she said it was okay. You don't have to thought."

"I'm not about to let you go off on your own." Ray promised as he stood up. "Come on. We've got some searching to do."

The two of them grabbed gloves and evidence bags in the storeroom before they left in Ruby's car, arriving at the scene of the crime in no time at all. They began to search the area there, and started calling out Kathryn's name just in case she was around, but they go no response back.

"Think we'll find anything?" Ruby asked Ray as they walked through the woods.

"Not sure, but let's hope we find something that'll tell us what happened to Kathryn." Ray responded.

Soon, Ruby heard the sound of rushing water. "Is that the toll bridge?" She asked him as something enticed her to go towards it.

"I think so. Wait up." Ray said as she hurried to keep up with her.

"Let me call Emma." Ruby said as she got out her phone and dialed Emma's number.

"Hey Ruby." Emma said as she answered the phone. "You find anything yet?"

"Not yet." Ruby said as Ray called out for Kathryn again. "Any idea what we're looking for?"

"Anything out of the ordinary." Emma said. "If you can turn something over, do it."

As Emma said this, Ruby's eyes drifted to a piece of wood near the shore. It seemed innocuous enough, but as she looked around, she saw a lack of structure of similarity to the piece of wood. It didn't resemble anything nearby, which was mostly stone, metal, or nature, that could've indicated that it simply broke off of something. It was a bit too clean cut for that.

"And...if we find something?" Ruby asked as she looked at the piece of wood.

"Just...follow your instincts." Emma said, and Ruby thought she heard Henry's voice in the background.

Following that advice, Ruby kneeled down in front of the piece of wood.

"Found something?" Ray asked as he joined her.

"Not sure." Ruby replied as she tried to lift up the piece of wood with one hand as she held onto her phone, thanking Ray when he helped her turn it over. Once it was gone, she saw that the area of sand that was once under the board was too uniform, too organized compared to the natural mess of the stone and sand around it.

"I think something was buried here." Ray commented.

"I was thinking the same thing." Ruby said as she put her phone to the side, picked up a stick and began to dig at the sand, Ray joining her soon after.

It didn't take long before there was a dull thud, and Ruby and Ray looked at each other in surprise.

"I've got the evidence bag." Ray said as he first put on the gloves, and then pulled out the evidence bag as Ruby began digging up the rest of the sand.

"What is it?" Emma asked over the speaker phone.

"I think we've got something." Ruby said as the sand parted, revealing some sort of box under it.

"Shit." Ray swore under his breath, somewhat surprised Ruby as he, with an apprehensive look on his face, reached in and carefully took the box out. "Emma, it's a box."

"Oh….okay." Emma said, and Ruby knew she heard some suspicion in her voice, but she was too fixated on the box Ray had pulled out. "What does it look like?"

"It looks kind of decorative." Ruby commented. "And it doesn't look locked."

Emma paused before saying, "Open it."

Ray's eyes glanced at the phone in hesitation before he placed one hand under the box to steady it, and then using the other hand to lift up the top.

"Aah!" Ruby screamed as Ray looked away.

"Ruby?" Emma called out. "Ray, what's going on?"

"God." Ray breathed out as he closed the lid, with Ruby too freaked out to form words.

"What is it? What happened?" Emma asked hurriedly.

"It's a fucking heart." Ray swore again, and Ruby was beginning to breathe. "It's...it's a still heart."

Ruby distantly thought, Of course it's a still heart, why wouldn't it be?

However, she was too busy trying to remember to breathe to think on it further.

"Oh god." Emma breathed out. "Listen, bag that thing and bring it to the station ASAP."

"Okay." Ray said with a somewhat freaked out look on his face, but he still seemed to be holding it together more than Ruby was.

That's when Ruby blurted out, "How can you be so calm about this?"

Ray paused before saying, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ruby asked as Ray put the box down, and immediately held her. Ruby tried to fight it off at first, her nerves beginning to fray, but soon she simply held him back, trying to hold onto some semblance of normalcy she had left.

There was a heart in a box nearby where Kathryn went missing, and Ruby didn't want to think about what that might mean for Kathryn.

---

Henry knew something bad had happened, at least something bad enough that Emma had to drop him off at the library with Dada to go to the station. Soon after, Declan was there too, along with LJ as Ray was apparently tied up in it also. Phoebe and Mai were there also, so something was keeping Killian busy as well.

Henry had heard Emma talking to Ruby over the phone, and he figured that they had found something, but since he was still grounded, Emma wouldn't tell him what it was. At least, that's why he thought she wouldn't tell him.

The place was still relatively empty, and the sun was beginning to go down, and Dada had tried to keep them entertained by playing a board game.

Henry had managed to whisper to LJ that the adults knew about the hearts, but he couldn't risk saying anymore as Dada, Phoebe, and Mai were still nearby. Dada was organizing something at the desk, and Phoebe was playing the board game with them while Mai played with Lady. He couldn't risk talking about Operation Cobra without them becoming too curious.

Besides, he had made a promise to his mom - Emma - that he wouldn't tell anyone for their own safety, and he wasn't about to break it now. Not only did he want to keep people safe, but she was mad enough at him already.

"So, uh, what'd you guys do today?" Phoebe asked Henry, LJ, and Declan as she moved her piece around the board.

Found a heart in the Evil Queen's mausoleum, Henry thought. Instead he said, "Exploring."

"Oh?" Phoebe asked, clearly hoping to get the conversation going. "Where'd you go?"

"Um, just around." Henry said, making the next move as it was his turn.

"Ah, cool, cool." Phoebe replied, although she looked hurt by brush off.

Feeling bad, Henry asked, "So, how was your day?"

"It was fine." Phoebe said, although for some reason there was the slightest sliver of guilt was on her face. "I got to hang out with my- with Killian, Mai, and Lady today."

"That's cool." Henry replied, and he could feel the awkward glances Declan and LJ were sending him.

"Lady, come." Mai giggled as she tried to catch Lady, who had a ball in her mouth.

Without meaning too, a bit if jealousy creeped up in Henry's heart as he remembered all of the attention Killian had given Mai. Again, he knew that it wasn't her fault, or thought that she was a bad kid. He just couldn't help but feel a little jealous of her, and of how blissfully ignorant she could be about everything.

Looking over at Phoebe, Henry was surprised that he found a similar expression on the teen's face.

"Are you okay?" Henry asked, now taking note of the light shadows under her eyes.

"I'm fine." Phoebe told him before she brow furrowed and her lips pursed, as if she was trying to hold in some difficult emotion. She then cleared her throat and asked, "What do you think is holding everyone up?"

Probably something bad, Henry thought before he said, "Not sure. I'm guessing it's something important."

"Yeah, probably." Phoebe said before turning her attention to the others. "How are things going with you two?"

The guys mumbled affirmations that things were fine, but it was clear to all that they weren't.

"When's Daddy coming back?" Mai asked, suddenly appearing by the table with Lady in tow.

"Don't know." Phoebe replied with a shrug.

Mai then walked around the table so that she was standing next to Henry. "Is your mom coming?"

"I don't know." Henry said as he lazily moved his game piece.

"Is your mom going to marry my daddy?" Mai asked with a little smile on her face.

"I don't know." Henry said before he excused himself to go to the bathroom.

Mai, to his annoyance, followed him.

"It'd be nice if they got married." Mai said optimistically.

"I have to go to the bathroom, Mai." Henry said, feeling a little on edge as she wouldn't leave him alone. Honestly, things were getting a little too much, as he'd just gotten proof of the truth, his friends were on edge, and even the adults seemed scared. There was also the fact that they didn't seem any closer to breaking the curse. And now Henry had this little girl following him, and he really was trying to be patient but-

Mai then asked, "Ooh, if your mom marries my daddy, would that makes her my mommy?"

Quick as a flash, with a sudden rise of anger, Henry whirled around and told her, "She's not your mom!"

A moment passed before Henry's words sunk in, and he immediately began to regret his outburst when he saw Mai's lip wobble.

"No, no, wait, I-" Henry started before Mai let out a little sob, and before he could reach her to try to hold her, to try and explain, Mai ran off as she began crying.

Mai ran around the corner just as Phoebe came by, and she quickly pieced things together. "What the hell did you do?" Phoebe asked with a glare.

"I…" Henry trailed off before quietly saying, "Sorry."

"What is wrong with you?" Phoebe shot back before she ran off to catch up with Mai.

Henry stood in the same spot as guilt welled up inside him, then thinking, Great job, Henry. You managed to break something.

---

Emma seriously began to wonder what missteps she took in life to have this be the third heart in a box she's seen this week.

The box remained closed for now in the evidence bag, and everyone - including herself, Graham, Ray, Ruby, and Killian who had recently arrived - were staring at it. Soon they would have to put it on ice and send it to the hospital, but right now everyone except Ruby was trying to piece together what their life was coming to. Meanwhile, Ruby was in a state of shock with Ray holding her with one arm, trying to comfort her.

"That's really what I think it is, isn't it?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah." Emma replied.

"Oh god." Ruby said as she extricated herself from Ray's arm and walked away. Ray looked like he wanted to follow her, but he decided to let her keep her distance.

"I'll take it to the lab at the hospital." Graham said.

Emma nodded as she went over to check on Ruby. "You okay?"

"I don't know what I am." Ruby replied.

"It's going to be alright." Emma told her. "We can figure out what happened now. You did good, Ruby."

Ruby's eyes glanced towards the box and she asked, "This is doing good?"

"She's right." Ray told Ruby. "We wouldn't have found it without you."

Emma tried to reassure Ruby by adding, "I know you say you don't know what you are, but I've got to say that I'm impressed."

Ruby chuckled with little tears in her eyes. "Don't be. I'm...I'm scared out of my mind."

"But you did it anyway." Emma told her firmly. She then added, "Listen, if you want to take the rest of the night off, that's fine. Right, Graham?"

"Absolutely." Graham replied. "Take the night, Ruby. You've earned it. You too Ray."

Ray nodded before he offered his hand to Ruby, who quickly accepted it, and together the two of them walked out of the door.

Once they were out of earshot, Killian asked, "How much does Ruby know?"

"Nothing." Emma answered. "As far as she knows, this is the only heart in a box in this town."

"Lucky her." Graham commented. Before anyone else could answer, he gave a great sigh. "Why do I get the feeling things are only going to get weirder?"

Truth be told, Emma was feeling the same way herself.

Graham then told them, "I'll take care of the paperwork."

"You don't have to." Emma said.

Graham shook his head. "It shouldn't take too long...hopefully. I'll pick up Declan as soon as I can. You mind watching him until I do?"

"Of course." Emma replied at the same time Killian nodded.

"Thank you." Graham said. "Now go on. Get your kids and get some sleep. At least some of us should, you know?"

Emma didn't know if she could go with that, but she nodded nonetheless. She'd give it her best effort.

Emma and Killian soon got into her Bug, and drove to the library.

What they found there wasn't so much peace and harmony as awkward tension, a locked apartment, and a guilty looking Henry.

Dada quickly explained what happened, which immediately Emma a bigger headache than she already had.

Killian quickly went upstairs to console Mai, sending Henry a disappointed look as he did so. Dada kept Henry's friends in the main area of the library while Emma took her son to the back for some privacy.

"Henry, why would you say that?" Emma asked him incredulously. "Why would you snap at her? She's a little girl."

"I didn't mean to." Henry offered, though it was clear he knew he screwed up.

"It doesn't matter if you meant to or not." Emma said. "You're older, you should know better."

"Why do I have to know better?" He shot back indignantly. "It's not like she's my actual sister."

"Where is this even coming from?" Emma asked him incredulously. "She made an innocent comment. It's something to yell at her over."

"She's always getting your attention." Henry blurted out. As he continued to speak, a hurt expression came over his face. "Every time we come over to Killian's apartment or they come to our house, when she comes around everyone looks at her. It's like suddenly it doesn't matter if I'm there or not, because Mai's around, and then she talks about how you and Killian could get married and you're going to be her mommy." Henry's lip wobbled a bit as he choked out, "You're my mom. I finally got a mom that actually loved me, but now it's like I don't even matter, because I'm not young enough or cute enough, and now I've got no mom."

Emma heart sunk as she took in Henry's desperate words and the worried look on his face. Did he...did he actually think she didn't love him? And did he really think that she didn't care about him because he wasn't young enough or cute enough? God, how many times had she thought that whenever she was passed over for adoption?

The very thought made her feel hideous.

"Henry." Emma said, seeing that Henry was now avoiding eye contact. She placed a hand under his chin and tried to tilt it up. "Henry look at me."

Slowly, Henry did just that, and it was a clear struggle for him to do so and trying to maintain the facade that he didn't look like he was about to cry.

"Henry," Emma said as she cupped his face, "you are my son. If I pay attention to Mai, it's because I care about her, but don't ever think that I don't love or want you. You are the whole reason I decided to stay in Storybrooke. I'm...I'm sorry that I didn't get to watch you grow up, and I know that it feels like we might have lost time or something, but I love you. You are the most important person in my life, and nothing is going to change that."

Henry looked at her for the longest moment, seemingly wanting to believe her, before he pulled away. "It doesn't feel like it. I'm going...I'm going home." He said morosely before he ran out of the library.

"Henry, wait!" Emma shouted as she ran outside, but once she got out there she saw that he was gone. She noticed his bike was gone, and unless he found himself at the loft, Emma figured that he went back to Regina's.

Great, Emma thought with a clenched heart and a sigh. Just great.

---

Graham sighed as he looked at the time. Thankfully tomorrow was Sunday, but he still wanted to get Declan home before it got too late. Little things like enforcing certain curfews went a long way towards getting someone like Declan to actually follow the rules.

Graham felt a headache come on, and not just because of worries about his foster son. Seeing hearts that glowed, that were beating outside of someone's body, with no fathomable explanation as to why was frustrating to say the least. However, despite Emma and Killian's attempts to pretend otherwise, he'd heard them talking about a curse. He bet it had something to do with Henry's curse, the one Declan had talked about freely when they all believed it was just a product of Henry's mind.

Now though, it stuck with Graham more than he wanted.

Even if he didn't think that a curse was involved, Graham couldn't help but worry about what this meant for everyone else. If these hearts were real, who did they belong to? Why did Regina have them? What could this mean for people she didn't like, such as Emma or Graham? Or worse, their kids, or innocents like Nancy and Fernando?

His cell phone rang, startling him out of the silence of the bullpen, and once he saw it was Bill, he quickly answered it. "Hello."

"Graham, what the hell is this?" Bill asked in a sudden panic. "What did you give me?"

"Whoa, whoa, Bill, calm down." Graham said, trying to placate him while feeling confusion rise up. "Take a breath, what's going on?"

"Remember that heart you gave me?" Bill asked him. "The glowing one, yeah? Okay, something happened when I was trying to examine it. I was trying to dissect it further, and then it just...turned into ashes. Like that." Graham thought he heard fingers snap in the background of the call.

"Turned to ash, are you sure?" Graham couldn't help but ask.

"I saw it." Bill insisted. "I didn't know what to make of it, so I bagged it, and then that guy came in but everyone was swamped and-"

"Bill, breathe." Graham insisted when it was clear Bill was beginning to freak out.

"Mr. Latimer, the man who died of a heart attack earlier today." Bill said as he caught his breath. "Everyone said that it looked like he died of a heart attack, because he clutched at his chest and all, right?"

"Right." Graham said slowly, not getting what he was saying, though he certainly didn't like whatever it was Bill was building up to.

"You need a heart to have a heart attack, right?" Bill asked, his voice reaching a pitch as he spoke.

"Bill, what are you talking about?" Graham asked, though his stomach sunk as he began to slowly piece things together.

"The heart." Bill blurted out. "Mr. Latimer didn't have a heart in his chest. None at all. A-And when I checked the time stamp, I saw that when I was doing the examination of the heart, when it turned to ash, that's when Mr. Latimer die. Graham, Graham, what is going on?"

Graham sat there in shocked silence, listening to Bill demand to know what was happening, as Graham fearfully began to wonder if they had just gotten someone killed.

Realizing he had to get this under control, Graham ordered, "Bill, don't tell anyone else what you told me. I'm coming over, right now."

---

February 26, 2012

Emma took some medicine to combat the headache that had persisted since last night. As she expected, Henry got back to Regina's safe and sound, but he was doing his damndest not to see her. It was ridiculous. She was supposed to be the mom here. She was the one who was supposed to be mad.

And she was, but not just at him. He was a kid who spoke thoughtlessly, but she was the adult who was supposed to make sure that he knew that he was the center of her world. And she still fucked that up.

She had left soon after Henry ran out, so she hadn't even spoken to Killian. She honestly didn't know what to say, and so she ended up back at the loft where Mary Margaret had rearranged a lot of stuff to accommodate Copper. Emma had been surprised at first, but then she remembered a conversation she'd had with Mary Margaret about adopting a dog, and she'd felt so embarrassed about how she hadn't paid enough attention that she just went with it.

Dealing with Copper biting the legs of their chairs and couches would have to be something to deal with.

Emma felt something in her curl up uncomfortably thinking about how much she was screwing things up. She wasn't paying enough attention at home. Henry thought he didn't love her enough. And now there was an investigation into a strange death that Graham took over, and fucking glowing hearts and-

The fax machine sounded, drawing Emma out of her reverie, and she shook her head over the fact that they still had fax machines as she stood up and walked over. She saw the heading of the paper coming through, and felt relieved that the hospital lab got back to her with the results of the box in the heart (the one that wasn't glowing). Taking the paper, Emma scanned it, and was relieved to find that they had gotten a match off the fingerprints.

That relief disappeared like smoke in the wind when she saw the identification, drawn on from records connected to employment, had one name: Mary Margaret Blanchard.

"No." Emma whispered out as she looked at the paper over and over again. She then called the hospital lab, and when they confirmed that they ran the tests multiple times, Emma silently hung up the phone. A moment passed before she whispered out, "Fuuuuuck."

This wasn't possible. Mary Margaret? It couldn't be. Mary Margaret could barely bring herself to kill the spiders that made their way into the loft. Even when she did, she'd always felt bad about stomping on them.

I always feel like they just got lost, and then this giant comes along and kills them, Mary Margaret once told her.

Emma looked at the paper again, and felt something cold in her stomach and chest when she saw the results of the examination of the box and heart. Not only were Mary Margaret's fingerprints on the box, but the heart belonged to Kathryn. Apparently Kathryn's father had given the hospital some of her hair for examination from when she was a toddler, one of those clippings from when people were young.

Kathryn's murder was horrible enough, as now Emma knew that she had failed to find someone before it was too late. Now she would have to inform Kathryn's father that his only child was gone. Emma couldn't imagine what kind of pain she was about to force on Kathryn's father. If this was Henry…

Emma shook her head. She had to focus. Kathryn was dead, and now Mary Margaret was the prime suspect. She didn't want to arrest her friend, but she couldn't avoid it. If Regina found out that Emma did so, Emma would not only lose her job, but it would deal her a big hit in the custody battle.

"Okay, okay." Emma told herself as she began to pace around. "Once Graham comes back, we can talk. Yeah, yeah, we can-" Emma cut herself off, her mind racing as she tried to figure out what to do. Mary Margaret was going to need help, and the kind that Emma couldn't provide.

Emma took out her cellphone and made a call.

Ray picked up, "Morning Emma."

"Hi Ray." Emma said stiffly, swallowing a lump in her throat. "Ray, Mary Margaret really needs your help."

---

"Okay, bye." Ray said as he ended the phone call.

"Something come up?" Ruby asked as she came out of the bathroom, having only listened in to little snippets of the conversation.

"Yeah, a new case I think." Ray said before looking at her regretfully. "Sorry. Rain check on breakfast."

Ruby waved a hand in concession. "It's fine. Mind if I still take LJ?"

"You don't have to." Ray tried to say before she placed a finger on his lips, suppressing a grin at the way he seemed to flush at that.

"I'm good with that." Ruby said as she took her finger away. "I know you have to work, but keep in mind that you deserve to take a break sometimes."

Ray nodded with a little smile before he took her hand. "How are you feeling?"

Ruby shrugged. "I'm...still a little in shock, but I'm doing better than I was last night."

"You did a great job." Ray reminded her.

"Yeah, but...I don't know if this is the job for me." Ruby admitted. "Is that bad?"

Ray leaned down to give her a little kiss before pulling back to say, "If you think it's the right move for you, then I say go for it."

Ruby smiled. "Anyone ever tell you that you're sweet."

"I try." Ray said oh-so-humbly.

Ruby rolled her eyes before kissing him on the cheek as LJ came out, dressed and ready for the day. Ray caught him up to what happened, and LJ was okay with going with Ruby to breakfast. He was also fine with Ruby stopping by at the library to check on Killian. Soon, Ruby and LJ got in her car, and drove away as Ray waved goodbye at them.

"Do you know what the phone call was about?" LJ asked Ruby on the way to the library.

Ruby shook her head. "Don't know. It must be important."

"Isn't it always?" LJ said, more a statement than a question.

Ruby caught the somewhat bitter tone in his voice. "Something up?"

"It's nothing." LJ denied.

"Listen, I'm the queen of saying something's nothing to avoid talking about something that's bothering me." Ruby replied. "I did it all the time with my grandmother." When LJ said nothing, Ruby awkwardly added, "Look, you don't have to tell me, but-"

"Do you think he works too much?" LJ asked. "My uncle, I mean."

Ooph. That was kind of a loaded question.

LJ went ahead and said, "I'm not complaining...much. It's just that he works like all the time. And I know it's supposed to pay the bills, but he just...I don't know. It's dumb."

Ruby wasn't sure what to say without risking crossing a line. Her relationship with Ray was still new, and she didn't want to say something that could upset him or LJ.

LJ, likely sensing the awkward silence, tried to end it by saying, "Sorry. I just don't really know what to do."

"That's not really your job." Ruby couldn't help but say. "I mean, you're his nephew. Your job is to go to school and get your own stuff done. From what Ray's said, you're pretty good at it."

"Really?" LJ asked, more intrigued now that sullen.

"Oh yeah." Ruby told him as they neared the library. "He talks about you like all the time. He's really proud of you."

"He is?" LJ asked, this time with a little smile on his face.

Ruby couldn't help but smile back as she parked in front of the library. "Totally. Ah, here we are. You want to come inside?"

"I'm good." LJ said. "You mind if I wait here."

"No problem." Ruby said as she took out the keys and handed them to him. "Turn it on if it gets cold, and don't take it for a joy ride."

"I wouldn't know how even if I wanted to." LJ shrugged.

Normally, Ruby would never hand her keys over to a kid, but from what she'd heard of him from Ray and other people, and from she'd seen herself, he seemed like a decent kid.

If not, well, she knew where he lived.

"I'll be back soon." Ruby said as she got out of the car and went inside the library. "Hello? Killian?"

"Hi, Ruby." Killian said as he and the girls (plus Lady on a leash) walked down the stairs that led up to their apartment.

Something seemed a little off about Killian and the girls. Killian looked tense and upset, Mai was holding onto his hand tightly with a little pout on her face, and Phoebe looked like she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night.

"Hey." Ruby started cautiously. "I just wanted to say hi, and thanks for, you know, letting me have my freakout. Plus I wanted to thank Dada for looking after LJ."

"It's no problem, lass." Killian replied. "Me and the girls were just about the head over to Granny's."

"Oh cool." Ruby said. "LJ's in the my car and we were about to go over too. It's a short drive, but hey I can give you a lift if you want. Plus it'll help me face Granny if I have a mini crowd with me."

Killian paused for a moment before agreeing. Soon the girls and Lady were loaded into the car with LJ, but for some reason Killian seemed hesitant to enter.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked him as they stood on the sidewalk outside of the car.

"What do you mean?" Killian asked her.

"You just seem kind of tense." Ruby told him, mindful to keep her voice down just in case the kids would overhear.

"It's nothing." Killian told her. "Just some things I have to deal with."

"Want to talk about it?" Ruby offered.

Killian sighed. "Henry...made a certain comment that hurt Mai's feelings, and now she feels like she did something wrong. Also, Phoebe has been trying to distance herself, and there are other things like rent and Kathryn's disappearance and...it's just a lot going on."

Ruby sent him a sympathetic look. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm happy to help if you need anything. And from what I can see, you're doing a good job at keeping things together."

"Thanks, Ruby." Killian told her. He then looked at her more curiously before he asked, "What are you going to do about Granny?"

"I...don't know." Ruby replied. "It's definitely going to be awkward."

"Probably." Killian chuckled. "Mind if I give you a little advice."

"Oh no." Ruby joked before saying, "Sure."

Killian smiled at her a little before it slowly dissipated. "I can't claim I'm an expert but how your family works, but the thing is...you don't really know how long you'll have them around. I would've thought that I'd get to grow old with my brother, but that wasn't how things turned out. What I'm trying to say is that...whatever problems you and Granny have, you should try to work them out as best you can without compromising what you want, you know?"

Ruby had heard a little about Killian's brother, about how he'd died young, and while Killian did a good job at hiding most of the pain, there was still enough there in his eyes to show that this was painful for him to talk about.

And so, Ruby nodded and said, "I'll give it a shot. Thanks, Killian."

"It's no trouble at all." Killian reassured her. "Now come on. I'm starving, and from the hungry looks on their faces, they are too."

Ruby looked over, and saw the near ravenous expressions on three kids faces staring back at her.

Ruby didn't need to be told twice.

Soon enough, they were at Granny's, though they had to leave a whining Lady in the car. So long as she didn't do her business in there and remained warm, Ruby was alright with that.

They entered the diner, where LJ immediately greeted her grandmother. "Good morning, Mrs. Luc- Granny." LJ amended that when he saw the look on Granny's face.

"Good morning, LJ." Granny replied. She gave out similar greetings to the others as they took a seat in the booth. When she saw Ruby and her new, more conservative outfit, she paused before saying, "You look good."

"Thanks." Ruby said as she hung up her jacket, catching the encouraging look on Killian's face as he took his seat.

"Want something for the sheriff and the deputy?" Granny asked her as Ruby approached the counter.

"No." Ruby replied.

"So, are you here to tell me more about your fine new job over breakfast?" Granny asked a little warily.

Ruby took in a deep, quiet breath to steady herself. "I want to come back."

Granny looked at her in surprise. "Why? You were pretty mad."

Ah, Ruby thought. Always with the tough front.

"I wasn't mad." Ruby told her.

"It looked like mad from here." Granny replied.

"Yeah, but, uh, here's the thing…" Ruby trailed off, overcoming her awkwardness because she knew this was important. "You were talking about having me do all this stuff, and I wasn't sure. I-I said you wanted me to turn into you, but...what I meant was...I don't know how to be you. You're a tough act to follow."

Granny seemed a little stunned by her words. "Oh."

Seeing that as an opening Ruby added, "And then you wanted me to take on all this extra responsibility, and I...guess I just got...scared."

"Don't be." Granny told her. "You shouldn't be."

"Well, I am, but it's okay." Ruby said self-confidently. "I can do it anyway. I sort of found someone in myself that was more than I expected."

"What about adventure?" Granny asked. "What about lemurs?"

"Emma was my lemur." Ruby told her, pressing down the cold feeling she got as she thought about the heart she found. "Done that. Found out that I could do that, and also that I don't want to. I don't want a job where a good day means ruining someone's life. I wanna do something that makes me happy." Ruby then looked down at the counter and ran her hand over the countertop lovingly. "Somewhere I love."

Granny swallowed a lump in her throat. "Look...just so you know, I wanted you to do the books and everything so you could take over when I retire, own the whole place."

Ruby stared at Granny in surprised as she nearly stammered out, "Own it?"

"Sure." Granny said assuredly. "I mean, who else would I give it to but someone who loves me back?"

I do love you, Ruby immediately thought warmly as she looked at her grandmother. She then impulsively hugged Granny, who held her back, and Ruby felt as safe in her warm arms as she did as a kid whenever something scared her. Granny would tell her to be tough, that she could handle it, but she would also always have a hug ready when Ruby really needed it.

When Ruby pulled back, Granny asked her, "Now, tell me something...did Raymond Fitzroy treat you right?"

Ruby scoffed, "Granny." She then looked at her stern grandmother and said, "Yes. He was an absolute gentleman. He took the couch so that I could have the bed."

"Well, that was...decent of him." Granny said as she stepped back. She then added, "And you were wrong before, by the way. It's not that I dislike him. I think he's a decent man who's raising a good boy. It's just that...I can't remember the last time you've been this interested in someone."

"What, really?" Ruby asked, denial in her voice despite the fact that her cheeks began to flush and her heartbeat sped up a little, not helped by the fact that Granny sent her a knowing look.

"I'm proud of you." Granny said as she began to walk to the back.

"What was that?" Ruby asked teasingly.

"You heard me." Granny said, causing Ruby to roll her eyes.

She was still hungry, but she figured now was as good a time as any to get some work done.

"So," Ruby said as she followed Granny, "what do we do now?"

---

So the adults and kids are now on the same page with the hearts, Ruby's back at Granny's, Henry's jelly, Mai's hurt, Phoebe feels guilty, and things are only going to get more complicated from here :D

At least Mary Margaret adopted Copper...right before she about to get arrested. This woman can't catch a break, huh? ;)

What did you think? Let me know in the box down below.

See you same time next week!