"Regina!" Robin's voice cut the air as he ran to where she lay, face down in the dirt. He gently rolled her over, and Regina's head lolled on her shoulders. A thin trickle of blood leaked from her nose and her breathing was shallow.

Snow immediately pulled out her bow and David drew his sword, pushing Henry behind him, but Killian stepped in front of them both.

"Why are you here?" he asked Loki.

Loki answered with a taunting grin. "I should think that would be obvious. I'm here for my pound of flesh."

Killian's eyes narrowed. "You know you can't get that from me."

"I'm well aware," Loki said calmly. "But I'd hardly gotten started with your girlfriend." He glanced around. "Is she not invited to this particular party?"

Killian let out an uncharacteristic bark of laughter, hoping to keep Loki's eyes on his face and not any of the people behind him. He wasn't going to look over toward the carriage and he could only pray that everyone else was keeping their eyes on Loki. The door to the coach was still standing open, showing the empty interior, and with Emma lying down on the seat behind the panels at each end and combined with the orientation of the coach, she was invisible.

"She's taking care of other business right now," Killian lied smoothly. He looked over his shoulder at Regina. "What have you done to Regina?"

"She was the biggest threat," Loki replied. "And without her or your girlfriend around, that means the rest of your friends are quite defenseless." He made a tsk-ing sound. "Such a shame. I'd have enjoyed a little sport."

He brought his sceptre around to take aim at Robin, and it met with David's sword, deflecting the beam. It hit a nearby tree, blasting it into a thousand pieces. David parried again, striking Loki on the shoulder, only to have the blow glance off, as though it were hitting solid rock. Loki gave a low laugh and wrapped a fist around David's shirtfront, throwing him far out into the lake, then moving his free hand with lightning precision to catch the arrow Snow sent flying toward him.

"You're a good shot," he smiled. "Unfortunately, so am I."

He sent the arrow flying toward Henry. Killian caught the edge of it with his hook as it flew by, knocking it out of alignment. It hit Henry in the shoulder before he dove out of the way.

Killian didn't think - he just reacted, throwing himself at Loki. His hook slammed into Loki's neck but couldn't sink in, and Loki's low, taunting laugh made him see red. They grappled a moment, and he strained with all his might as Loki held him at arm's length.

"We can't hurt each other," Loki reminded him. "And if you think to stall me - there's nowhere they can run that I can't follow."

"Let him go."

Killian's eyes closed and a look of pain crossed his face.

"Damn." He said it under his breath, and Loki chuckled. whirling around to face Emma as he tossed Killian aside. He thrust the scepter at Emma's chest, tapping it lightly. Emma glanced down at it, stony-faced.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked.

He tried it again, a puzzled frown twisting his forehead. "Why isn't it working?"

"Because her heart is protected," Killian said scathingly. "She's the savior. You can't control her."

"Time for you to take a hike," Emma said, shooting a bolt straight at Loki's chest. It blasted him backwards, right into David, who was just slogging up out of the water. Loki rolled off him, taking aim at Emma and hitting her with such force that it knocked her off her feet, slamming her into a tree nearby.

"Emma!"

Killian dove for her, rolling himself on top of her.

"You can't shield her forever!" Loki called out, advancing on them all while dodging arrow after arrow from Snow's bow.

"We've got to do something!" Robin cried, cradling Regina close. "She's slipping away!"

"David - do you have the bean?" Snow's voice was low, urgent.

"Killian gave it to me for safekeeping," David said. "Why?"

"Give it to me."

"You're going to open a portal?"

"Something like that. Give it to me."

"We need it!"

"He's too powerful!" Snow hissed. "It's our only hope!"

David reached into the pocket of his doublet just as Loki blasted the ground next to Killian and Emma.

"David!"

He tossed her the bean, and Snow held her hand up in the air. A bluebird from a nearby tree alighted on her outstretched fingers, and Snow pulled her hand in, whispering something to the bird as she held out her other hand. The bird cocked its head to the side, then picked up the bean in its beak before flying away. A few seconds later, a blaze of light lit the sky.

"You're simple enough to remove," Loki said, standing over Killian.

"So are you," Emma leaned out, shooting a bolt at Loki that he blocked with his scepter, and it ricocheted off, slamming into a nearby tree and toppling it over - it narrowly missed Henry, who rolled out of the way just in time.

"And I thought I was going to have to kill the boy," Loki purred. "It looks like you'll save me the trouble."

Emma struggled to get out from under Killian. "Stay away from him!"

"I'll warm myself over his roasting corpse," Loki promised. He pulled the scepter bag, taking aim as David moved to block Henry.

Suddenly, the sky flashed so brightly, it made their eyes smart, and a booming voice rang out.

"Loki!"

Loki's eyes narrowed and he looked at Snow accusingly. "You sent a message."

Snow smiled smugly as Loki let out a heavy sigh. "Always the damsels in distress," he said.

"Snow White." Thor gave her a deferential nod. "You look well."

Snow reached out, tweaking a bicep. "So do you." David cleared his throat behind her and she gave a guilty start. "And this is my husband - David."

Thor gave David a nod. "You were wise to send the bird through the portal with a message. Leave Loki to me."

"Please tell me we're not having another one of your heart-to-heart chats," Loki sneered.

"Please!" Robin called out, cradling Regina close. "She's barely hanging on! Can you help us?"

"I know what she needs!" Snow said, rushing toward the lake. She cupped her hands, then ran over and sank down next to Regina, trickling the water into her mouth as Robin held it open. Almost immediately, Regina began to choke and cough, and Robin pulled her up, patting her lightly on the back.

"What the hell was that?" Regina spluttered.

"Water from Lake Nostos can heal anything," Snow beamed.

"I hope you'll all take advantage of our hospitality," Thor rumbled. "I've instructed Heimdel to open the bifrost and bring you to Asgard, where you may feast and rest before continuing your journey."

"That sounds wonderful," Emma said, wincing as Killian pulled her to her feet and she stepped on his foot. "There's nobody up there I can do any damage to, right?"

"Other than me?" Killian asked, raising a brow.

"This is all quite compelling, but I'll be going now," Loki snapped. He gave Snow a pointed look. "There was no need to call in the brawn."

"You have to admit he's effective," she said with a satisfied grin. Loki gave her one more dark look before stepping into the light and disappearing.

"That was completely awesome!" Henry said, his eyes wide with amazement. He turned to his grandmother. "You know Thor!"

Snow gave a negligent shrug. "We dated for a while."

"You dated?" David's voice was incredulous.

"Oh please. It was years ago."

She signaled the others, and together, they all stepped onto the bifrost, and as they disappeared, David's voice could still be heard.

"So you dated, or you dated?"

###

"You're sure you're feeling all right?" Robin asked, leading Regina over to the bed. "Perhaps you should turn in early."

She looked up at him with raised brows. "I feel fine. Didn't you hear Snow? That water cures everything."

"I still think you should call it a night."

"Robin -"

He set his bow aside and reached down to pull off his boots. "Regina, how many hints does a man have to drop?"

Regina smiled a cat-like smile. "Oh. Well, then...turning in seems like a great idea."

Robin put a knee down on the bed, and Regina welcomed him with open arms.

###

"It was smart giving the bird the bean so it could fly to Asgard," David said, "but now we don't have a magical item to enact the reversal spell."

"I've been thinking about that," said Henry. "Will this work?"

He reached into his cloak, pulling out the blank dagger."

Snow reached for it. "Is that...?"

"The Dark One dagger," David finished for her. "It's lost the darkness, but it's still a magical object."

"It's traveled here with me," Henry said. "Everywhere we've gone. Like Hook's compass."

"Only the dagger would be much more powerful," Snow said.

"We're so close," David said. "We just need a few more things."

Henry put the dagger back in his cloak with a sigh. "And we need my Mom to get lucky."

###

Emma was relieved to see the large, steaming bathtub set up in the corner of the room. She stepped carefully inside as Killian closed the door behind him.

"You want to have at it first?" she asked, gesturing to the enormous, claw-footed tub. It looked to be made of solid gold and could easily pass for a small above-ground swimming pool back home.

Killian glanced down at himself. "I suppose I should if you don't want me smelling like onions and boar all night."

"At least I didn't scald you," Emma mumbled. "If you hadn't been wearing your leather pants when I knocked the soup all over you, I could have done some damage."

He reached out, grasping her hand and pulling her in. "You need to stop worrying, Swan."

"Killian, I'm a walking calamity! You're all better off as far from me as you can be."

He shook his head. "Not a chance."

He stepped in closer, leaning in and putting his lips against hers. The kiss started softly, but soon enough she had her hands fisted in his lapels as the kiss deepened and became a wild and ravenous thing. Killian pulled back slightly, keeping his lips hovering just above hers.

"What say we share that bath, love?"

She looked up at him warily. "I'll probably get soap in your eyes."

He started unlacing the ties on her shirt. "Then I'll just have to wash you by touch." He shrugged his jacket off, and pulled her shirt off over her head.

Emma started helping him out of his own shirt. "Or we'll conk heads and you'll slip under the water and drown."

The corner of his mouth lifted. "Then you'll have to put your lips on mine like you did the last time that happened."

"We're liable to slosh water out on the floor and then you'll slip and break your leg."

He pulled his shirt off, then kicked off his boots and pants as she did the same. Then he scooped her up in his arms.

"We're definitely going to lose some water in this endeavor," he promised, kissing her again. "And as always, you'll be worth any trial I have to endure."

The bath didn't last long. The feel of hands sliding over skin, the heat of the water and their bodies together guaranteed that they were both more than ready to move to the bed.

They didn't quite make it. Killian somehow avoided the the puddles of water on the floor, but Emma tripped over the corner of a large fur rug next to the bed and went facedown, with Killian tripping and falling on top of her.

"Sorry," she gasped. "Did you break anything?"

Killian shook his head ruefully. "You?"

"I'm fine," she grumbled. "What a way to break the mood."

His hand slid down her still-wet skin. "My mood is far from broken." He began kissing the back of her neck as he shifted, kneeing her legs apart from behind. "And you are in a prime position for what I have in mind."

His fingers moved down to toy with her, and in no time, the fire was stoked again and Emma was moaning and pushing herself into those questing fingers. She raised up to her knees, pushing back and rubbing against him. Killian growled at the invitation, moving his hand to her hip as found entrance and drove himself deep. He moved his hand back around to touch and tease, feather-light and in direct opposition to the power of his thrusts, making her wild for him until they both ignited and burned, collapsing together into a gasping heap on the fur beneath them.

"I don't know if I can make it up onto the bed," Emma groaned.

"Knowing you, we're probably safer here," Killian teased. He reached up, grabbing the edge of the large coverlet off the bed and pulling it down over them. "Here we go, love. I don't have the strength to go for the pillows."

She moved in closer setting her head on his chest. "I've got my pillow right here."

"Indeed you do." He stroked his fingers through her hair, and she was lulled by the feel of his fingers sliding through the strands.

"Killian?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think we'll find a way to turn my luck around?"

"Absolutely. I've told you before, Swan...I've yet to see you fail."

She rubbed the side of her face into his chest. "I certainly got lucky with you. Maybe all this is just to counter that."

He chuckled. "Say all you like about fortune and its vagaries. You and I simply knew what we wanted."

"And we finally allowed ourselves to have it."

His hand stilled in her hair and he tilted his face down to look at her.

"Aye," he said. "We did."