Silence shot through the room as everyone tried to comprehend what Cora had just announced. It was Emma who recovered first.

"What do you mean she's free?" She asked quietly. "How?"

"She's at the station," Rumple revealed. "Rogers found her in a basement on her own." His eyes widened as he emphasised her location. "Apparently there was just a dim lantern for light and graffiti on the wall that looked like a cult logo."

Emma then understood what he was getting at. "The basement I was taken to?"

Rumple nodded. "The very same." He paused as he tried to explain what was going on. "Rogers received an anonymous tip about her whereabouts. I mean, I heard the tape and it's obviously Jacinda, but I couldn't say that to Rogers. He was very pleased that his hard work was for a reason."

"But what happens now?" Emma asked.

"That's the question indeed," Rumple sighed. "She needs to have all the checks and taken somewhere safe to stay. I just know for a fact that Rogers will offer his own place as a safe house, but we can't be having that."

"We can," Regina disagreed. "We can set up a containment spell on the apartment and put a tracker on her, we'll know her every step." When Rumple looked like he was going to argue, Regina cut him off. "Think about it, we know their plan. They want to get to Sophia, Victoria and Lennie." She swallowed when she said her daughter's name.

"Me?"

Everyone turned to see that Lennie was looking worriedly at her mother. She shuffled from Zelena's lap and into her mother's.

"Why would someone want me?" Lennie asked, confused. "I have magic. I'm fine."

Regina smiled softly as she ran a finger through Lennie's hair. "You're still just a child, my darling, even if you do have incredible magic." Lennie ginned at the compliment. "We still need to keep you safe." She turned back to Rumple. "Can you do that?"

Cora looked at Rumple too, silently saying something to him before Rumple sighed.

"I'll go now and get it done," he said and stood up. "I'll also head to the office and compliment the former pirate for succeeding. I'll see if I can talk to Gothel while I'm there."

"Be careful," Cora cautioned.

"I always am," he replied. He leant down and pressed a soft kiss against her lips before flicking his wrist, disappearing in his signature cloud of deep red.

Once the smoke faded, Ivy sighed. "I'd better get going too. I can check up on Mother and see if Jacinda ever turned up to keep playing her role."

"Call us if anything happens," Regina requested.

"Of course."

Ivy then bid the women goodbye before repeating Rumple's actions but disappearing in her cloud of blue.

Emma glanced at the where the smoke disappeared before looking at Regina who was playing with Lennie's hair.

"Where does the colour come from?" Emma asked.

Regina dropped Lennie's hair and turned to her girlfriend. Realising that Regina was now preoccupied, Lennie stood from her lap and headed to the sofa where Cora was sitting and picked up the remote to watch something on TV.

"I'm not sure," Regina replied. "Mother, do you know?"

Cora looked up from the screen and paused to think of the answer. "I've never thought about it," she said eventually. "I suppose everyone just has a different type of magic and your location can come into play. I mean, Zee, your magic was developed in Oz which is very much associated with green. Regina, ours is from being associated with royals as purple if a very majestic colour and Emma, well you're the saviour and the daughter of True Love, yours was always going to be white."

"Why is mine pink?" Lennie asked.

Emma hadn't even known that her daughter was paying attention. She was still looking at the TV when she posed her question. When no one replied, she looked around.

"I guess it's because you're a mixture of your mothers," Cora replied. "Pink is halfway between white and purple."

"Okay," Lennie said before going back to the TV, happy with the answer she received.

Emma raised her eyebrow at her daughter before shrugging it off. Lennie could be a bit of an oddball sometimes.

"I'll make dinner," Emma said instead of responding to her daughter.

Regina offered to help, but Emma wanted some time to think and cooking always gave her that. She got out the ingredients for a stir fry, wanting something quick and easy.

With a wave of her hand, a chopping board settled against the top and a knife started slicing up some chicken, she hated chopping raw meat, before getting another chopping board and knife out to start prepping the vegetables manually. She pulled a carrot towards her and started peeling it into strips.

As she peeled, she let her mind wander enough to ponder what had just happened but not lose concentration so that she would cut herself. She tried to put herself back into her bail bond days when she was tracking someone. She would put herself in their position and figure out what they would do next.

Jacinda would surely be in panic mode. She'd revealed all her plans to the person on the top of her kill list but then they got away. So now Emma predicted she would leave Sophia and Victoria alone until she got Emma. Now, Emma had magic when Jacinda didn't. This was probably why Gothel had been let out to play. Jacinda needed someone with magic, clearly wanting to fight fire with fire.

Emma moved on from peeling the carrots to slicing up an onion into fine strips and crushing some garlic cloves, rather impressed with herself that neither vegetable had started to make her cry.

Her next question was how would Gothel and Jacinda meet up if the former was going into police protection? Perhaps she would offer her a place to stay? No, she knew Henry wouldn't allow a complete stranger into his home, not when he had Sophia to think about. There had to be something else…

It wasn't hard to figure out. Jacinda still had Victoria wrapped around her finger because the older woman was completely oblivious to what was going on. Yes, Jacinda would ask surely ask Victoria to allow her to stay in a nearby apartment after her stint in the safe house was over, if not, to just put her back wherever she had been hiding before.

With Gothel free, Emma would have to up her guard. She would need to be on alert whenever she was alone and if she was working at Roni's. Regina had said she was going to reschedule the rota so that no one was ever alone. It meant that people would be doubling shifts, but she had claimed it was needed after what had happened the night before. Although Margot was going to pick up some shifts again which would help.

What would be their plan if they couldn't get to Emma? Either Sophia or Victoria. She just couldn't figure out which came first. Unless they could tackle them both together? That sounded too convenient.

Emma was still trying to understand what Victoria had meant by combining the three. Gothel was one for sure and Lennie but was the other? Waking Regina as the brunette had thought? But that seemed too obvious, so she tried to remember what else Victoria has mentioned.

"I've got it!" She murmured more to herself than anything.

"What?"

Emma looked up and saw that Regina had made her way over carrying the empty plates from lunch. She placed them in the sink beside where the blonde was now onto slicing the peppers.

"The third thing that Victoria meant," Emma said realising she should probably say her idea out loud to try and wrap her mind around it. "Motherhood."

"Come again?" Regina asked as she got the wok out the cupboard to start frying off the chicken. She turned the heat off before turning back to the blonde.

"Gothel is one, Lennie is the other and the last thing is motherhood," Emma revealed. "Think about it. One of her first things she said was insulting my mothering skills regarding Lennie, but maybe she was talking about mothering skills in general. She's a terrible mother, I gave Henry up and yeah, I essentially let Lennie steal the memory potion. You know what Gothel's full name is, don't you? Mother Gothel."

Regina's brows furrowed as she stepped over to the blonde, pulling the knife out of her hand so that she wouldn't hurt herself while she was concentrating. "I don't follow."

Emma reached out and pulled the brunette to her, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Gothel is behind everything. We're just pawns is what Victoria said. Gothel wants to become the mother of everything and everyone. That's her ultimate goal."

"What does Jacinda get out of this?" Regina asked, trying to wrap her head around everything Emma was saying but failing.

"Henry as hers and Victoria dead," Emma replied. "She's simple. She doesn't realise that she's just a small piece to the bigger picture."

"Then why does Gothel want Lennie?"

Emma bit her lip. "I don't know the answer to that one."

Instead of replying, Regina leant forward and pecked the blonde on her nose making her smile. "Well that's enough deducting for now. Let's cook."

Emma nodded and Regina went to step away from her embrace before Emma pulled her closer to steal a kiss or two, or three.

Chuckling, Regina removed Emma's hands from her body and stepped back to the wok. She added some oil and turned the heat back on.

Within fifteen minutes, the food was plated up and put on the table. Lennie rushed over from the sofa and started digging in immediately. Glancing up at the clock, Emma realised that it was close to seven which was much later than Lennie usually ate.

"Sorry, it's late," Emma murmured before she dug in.

Once they finished their meal, Zelena offered to do the pots afterwards. Well offer was kind of the key word. She simply waved her hand and the dirty pans and plates washed themselves.

"God, magic is beautiful!" She sighed happily.

"Too right!" Lennie agreed. "Auntie Zee, watch this."

Lennie stood up and stretched out her hands in preparation. She then flicked her wrist and produced a fireball which Regina went to put out when she saw her daughter messing with fire, but Emma pulled on her arm to stop her.

"Wait," she murmured.

Regina nodded and stopped her movement as she watched her daughter.

The fireball in Lennie's hand then reduce until it was a little flicker in her palm. The young blonde's tongue was sticking out as she concentrated. The little flicker then became two, then four, then eight and so on before they started changing colours as they bounced around Lennie's hands. They were yellow, orange, blue, green and many more. Every time they bounced, the colour changed, before they slowly started getting bigger again. Finally, Lennie waved her hand once more and the small flickers rejoined to make the original fireball but now full of different colours.

"Tada!" She cheered and Regina started clapping.

"You're so talented for so young," she complimented and Lennie blushed.

She closed her hand and the flame disappeared. "I'm just as good as what Grandma and Mom taught me."

"Hey, don't forget my lessons!" Zelena piped up.

Lennie rolled her eyes. "Yes, you too, Auntie Zee."

Emma chuckled. "Now, it's time for a bath before bed. Do you want to do it alone or want me or your Mom to help?"

Once again, Lennie rolled her eyes. She was getting too much like Regina, it was scary. She pondered the question for a moment before deciding. "I can do it, but can someone wash my hair?"

Lennie's blonde hair wasn't just long, it was also rather thick which could have come from either of her parents.

"Okay," Emma agreed before letting Lennie run along to the bathroom. She knew well enough that Lennie would used her magic to fill the tub, so she didn't have to worry about the apartment getting flooded.

Once she was gone, Regina turned to Emma. "Tell them what you were telling me earlier."

"What's going on?" Cora asked.

Emma sighed before repeating to Cora and Zelena what she had said to Regina before dinner about what she though Gothel's plan was.

When she was finished, Cora looked unimpressed and Zelena just looked annoyed.

"It wouldn't surprise me," the witch muttered. "She's always gone for people who have children. She liked to take the child under her wing and separate them from their parents. It's like she has some bizarre complex about children. Take Jacinda. Gothel killed her mother and then turned her against Victoria and took her away from her. She went after Robbie too and try to take her from me. It was actually Alice who stepped between them and she just left her alone. She's always been very wary of Alice and no one really knows why. Then with Sophia, she tried to take her one night, but Ivy and Henry got in the way. I guess that's why she calls herself Mother Gothel."

Cora listened to her daughter, considering what she was saying. "So it's just daughters then?"

"I guess," Zelena shrugged.

"Then perhaps we should play her at her game," Cora suggested. "We have another set of mothers and daughters here."

Emma's eyebrows shot up to her hair line as she turned on her mother. "Are you really insinuating we send Lennie in there?!"

"What? No!" Cora gasped. "Jesus, no. I mean you or Regina who can handle yourself. She can try and take you from me. I would never offer Elena up as bate."

The blonde blushed at her error. "I'm sorry," she murmured.

Cora reached out and squeezed her hand. "It's alright."

Just as Regina was about to offer her opinion, Rumple's signature cloud of smoke appeared and he stepped out of it looking very pale.

"Rumple!" Cora called before rushing over to help him onto the closest sofa. "What happened?"

"She's a daemon," he hissed. He flicked his wrist and five dreamcatchers appeared. "I don't have the effort to tell it all."

Understanding what he meant, they all pulled a dreamcatcher towards them before Rumple projected the prior events into it to share with them.

The scene unfolded in their minds. They appeared at the station after setting up the charms at Roger's apartments. They followed Rumple into Roger's office who was nowhere to be seen.

"He's in the interrogation room, Weaver!" Said someone behind him. "He's got the missing girl."

Rumple nodded and headed out of the room and towards the aforementioned room. He knocked on the door and headed in.

"Weaver, glad you could make it!" Rogers greeted happily. "We did it. This is Eloise. Eloise, this is Detective Weaver. We're going to help you and make you feel safe. You can trust us."

Rumple eyed Gothel with as much distaste as he possible could. If Rogers sensed the tension, he was clearly oblivious. "I'll go get the documents you have to sign," he murmured before exiting the room, leaving the two behind.

As soon as the door snapped shut behind him, Rumple sneered. "So, they let you out?"

Gothel laughed humourlessly. "It's time for my part. Jacinda, bless her efforts, is flailing alone. She had one job, to kill the Saviour, and she couldn't even do that."

"Teamed up with the wrong crowed then, Gothel," Rumple taunted.

"I'm with the right people for what I need," she answered. "I don't have to explain myself to you, Rumplestiltskin."

Rumple weaved his fingers together. "Humour me," he murmured, taking a leaf out of Emma's book from her night with Jacinda. "Perhaps I can help you."

Gothel eyed the Dark One with distrust. "Your help doesn't come for free."

"We could make a deal?" He suggested.

The witch considered his offer, summing up the pros and cons of making a deal with the Dark One, knowing many had fallen fool to it before.

"Fine," she murmured. "I'll make a deal with you, Dark One, but I call the shots. If you want the information, you have to provide the correct price."

Thinking it wouldn't be anything too bad, Rumple said. "Name it."

Gothel smirked. "I'll tell you my plan, if you give me your grandchildren. All three of them."

Rumple's eyes flashed before he reached out, cupping the air as he mimicked choking the woman. Gothel tried to scream but nothing came out as her face turned red and her eyes bulged.

"You will not touch any of them," he growled.

He heard shuffling coming towards the door. Panicked, he dropped her grip on her and stepped back.

Gothel gasped for breath, taking in deep breaths. "Only a coward goes straight to his magic," she rasped. She tried to swallow and hissed at the pain. "Fine. Give me the offspring of the saviour and your daughter. She'll be enough."

"No," Rumple said firmly. "That's not the deal."

"You promised I could pick what was at stake," Gothel taunted. "Not so big and brave when you're not calling the shots, are you, Rumplestiltskin?"

The Dark One's eyes flashed with anger. He went to reach out again when the door flew open and Rogers piled in, his arms full of paper.

Never before had Rumple been so grateful for the pirate's arrival. He pushed back from the table and headed towards the door.

"I'm not needed here," he said as a way of explanation. "You have this under control, Rogers."

Impressively, Gothel was able to switch from the dangerous psychopath to the scared, nervous woman she had been pretending to be when he had first arrived. However, what she didn't know that during his strangulation, he also cast an undetectable tracking charm on her. Wherever she went, he could follow.

As he stormed his way through the office in his fury, he couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself. Back before he'd gone to Storybrooke, if Gothel had offered to reveal her secrets in exchange for a family member, he would have done it. No hesitation. If he needed the information, no one was going to get in his way.

But he did get some information out of her. Just the fact that Gothel wanted Henry, Lennie and Sophia meant that they were her main targets. With that in mind, he headed back to the apartment.

As Emma put down her dreamcatcher, she took in a shaky breath. She looked at Regina who mirrored her expression of fear but before either of them could say anything, they heard Lennie shout that it was time for someone to wash her hair. So lost in the moment, Emma had forgotten Lennie was in the bath.

"I'll go," Zelena offered and she was out of the room before anyone could agree to it.

"That bitch!" Emma cussed. "If she thinks she's getting anywhere near my children, she's got another thing coming!"

"Em," Regina said softly, trying to calm her down. "She won't get close. We'll make sure of it."

Emma nodded and swallowed but was still could feel her blood boiling under her skin. She had no idea how to calm down when she was this angst up. In the past, she had either gone to a boxing ring or gone for a long run. Neither were idea at the moment.

Zelena then arrived and said that Lennie wanted her mothers to tuck her in.

Emma and Regina stood up and headed into their daughter's room.

"Hey there, snugglebug," Emma greeted with a smile. When Lennie smiled back, she felt herself relaxing. Clearly her daughter's presence was another way to calm her that she hadn't thought of before.

"Hey," Lennie replied. "Can one of you wash my hair next time? Auntie Zee made lots of knots."

Emma chuckled. "Of course, monkey. We're sorry. Grandpa need to talk to us about something."

"Was it about the scary lady who wants to get me?" Lennie mumbled, a shake to her voice.

Regina and Emma exchanged worried glances. "What scary lady, sweetheart?" Regina asked, horrified.

Lennie swallowed. "I keep seeing a scary lady in my dreams," she whispered. "She keeps asking me to join her and call her mother."

At the words, Emma daren't look at her girlfriend, not wanting to see the worry plastered on her face too.

"How long has this been happening?" Emma asked instead.

Lennie shrugged. "Every few nights. Maybe a week or so?"

"The night terror," Regina whispered before reaching out and pressing her fore and middle fingers against Lennie's temples softly. A small purple light came out of the tips. "This is to protect your dreams, my love," she explained. "You'll be safe tonight."

"And tomorrow?" Lennie asked, her voice wavering as she tried to hide her fear.

Usually, Elena seemed very mature for her age but in that moment, Emma saw the fact that she was only seven and still so young and scared.

"Every night," Regina assured her. "You'll always be safe as long as we're here." She leant down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "We love you."

"I love you too," Lennie muttered sleepily as her eyes started to flutter shut.

"See you in the morning, monkey," Emma murmured before repeating Regina's actions and kissing her temple too.

The two then stood from where they'd been perched on the side of the bed before heading out into the hallway and back to the living room. Upon entry, they realised that Zelena was no longer there.

"Margot called," Cora revealed, "and wondered where she was so she headed home."

Emma nodded before sitting beside her mother. "I think Gothel has been visiting Lennie in her dreams."

She then went on to explain what Lennie had said, starting with her night tremor and the fact that the woman in her dream kept telling her to call her mother.

"That sounds like Gothel," Rumple murmured darkly. He then waved his arms, reaching out before pulling an invisible force together. He interlocked his fingers before throwing what looked like nothing into the room. However, the entire apartment seemed to shake a fraction before settling.

Emma waited, thinking Lennie would run out of her room in fear, but it seemed she slept through it.

"An extra protection shield," Rumple explained. "It should be impossible for her to penetrate these walls without us knowing."

"Thank you," Regina murmured. She took a deep breath before looking at the blonde. "It's been a long day. We should get to bed."

Emma nodded and stood up. "Night," she bid to Cora and Rumple before following Regina into her room.

As was typical, the two sorted themselves out in the bathroom before returning to the bedroom where they stripped down to nothing and slipped into bed. Emma opened her arms for Regina to nestle in.

"I've been thinking," Regina murmured softly.

At the tone, Emma felt fear flash through her body and her heart started to beat loudly as her nerves rose. She knew Regina would be able to hear it too which caused her anxiety to grow.

"That doesn't sound good," Emma replied, trying to keep her voice even.

"It's nothing like that," Regina assured her. She closed the gap to kiss her softly in attempts to calm her down. It didn't really work.

"Then what is it?" Emma asked quietly.

Regina hesitated before taking a deep breath. "I think you and Lennie should leave Hyperion Heights. Take her back to Storybrooke or Wonderland, just get out of here."