Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT, but if I did, it would be CS, OQ, and Snowing being badass 24/7. But Adam and Eddy own it and are doing a remarkable job regardless.

alias093001 asked: "Considering Emma's current separation from Hook, I can see her being the one to help Regina through Daniel's "resurrection." "

So glad you caught that. ;)

"With Cora's appearance in Storybrooke, I was just wondering what you were planning for The Queen is Dead. Such as what would become of Johanna? Will she still die, or will she survive past that point?"

I'm still not sure. I have planned a certain something out, and since Cora's going to be in SB a while she's going to need something to do...

asked: "Are you going to do some sort of triangle with Mad Wolf and Whale? It would be fun I think ."

I've actually been considering that because jealous Jefferson would be fun to write.

"I was wondering if you are going to have Hook have that car accident but than what would be the reason for him to be at the town line...?"

Considering that this is an AU everything that I haven't done yet that's from canon is pretty much up for grabs. But I'm not sure about that just yet.

HookedOnSwan asked: "Wait so is Belle going to loose her memories another way because Killian isn't here to shoot her or is she not going to loose them at all?"

Like I said, with it being AU, everything is something that I can use or not use.

flame81 asked: "But Anton is like head gardener of the EF. He should know healing herbs and stuff to help make Killian well again, right? Right?" and LokisKat13 asked: "So, I have a question: since Anton is/used to be a farmer (yeah, I know it was farming magic beans), would he know plants to help save our dear and most beloved Captain? And, if so, will he?"

Between him and Mulan, yeah they know a lot of healing plants, but even with those (which are not magical because of the stab wound as stated in the previous chapter) it will take a while for Hook to heal. He's borderline alive right now. HE WILL LIVE, but it's just like whenever anyone is suffering from a near fatal injury, at this point the characters don't know he'll live because they can't see the future (except Rumple but he doesn't care) so of course THEY don't know if he'll live.

But as the readers', you guys can rest easy. He will live.

ADVluv4life asked: "I wondering if Hook would be able to go the red room still, or if he'd avoid it or something, I wasn't sure."

Glad you asked. It will be kind of both. He'll avoid it then use it again. You guys will see.

"I realize they're trying to help, and that Emma is aware of that, but I still don't feel like they should lie to her, especially about Hook. Just let her know the whole truth, that way she's completely caught up. The lie Charming told was more sure than the truth and if Emma thinks the opposite of what he said she could lose hope faster than if they just told the honest truth. He has a long road to recovery has more truth to it and less of a misunderstanding than the opposite of 'He'll be fine'... But that's probably just me."

Thank you so much for catching that. I did that on purpose. See, only two people have ever really believed that Emma's superpower is a real thing: Henry and Hook. I do think David probably believes it too, but he's been so caught up in other matters since the curse broke so he may have just forgotten about it, especially since the one and only time he heard about it was back right after he woke up from his coma. As for the lying thing, that's what parents do. They lie to their children to protect them. Emma asked them to stay her friends and be her parents, but she asked them to slip into one role at a time depending on what she needed. The problem there that Emma is sort of aware of, is that David and Mary Margaret are jumping at the chance to be her parents even if that means lying to her, because they never had the chance to protect her before. Now they are going to do anything to ensure Emma's happy or as much as she can be without Killian. Emma, however, being Emma will lose hope because of the lie, yes. But I did that for a reason and with "The Doctor" episode coming up, you'll see why.

Maiqu20 asked: "Is Gold still going to threaten a Killian to get Emma to NY?"

Maybe

Starlight000 asked: "I wonder, will Henry find out the truth about Neal, before (if) they meet him in NY?"

No, Henry will still find out after.

Sarah asked: "I know you said Hook will stay in EF for a while, so we won't get CS. But please tell me we'll still have some Hook, even if in EF. I love the Hook character, and CS is just a bonus. I'd love some of his thoughts about Lake Nostos and whether he regrets not going with Emma and being in SB to protect her & Henry from Cora. And of course he misses Emma and Henry, but I'm sure some time alone to continue reconciling cursed Killian with Hook (plus Liam's Killian and Milah's Killian) would do him some good."

Maybe

"I'm also curious, is he staying in EF for a while to grow some beans with Anton, or to heal, or because he's hesitant to return to Emma (self-doubt/loathing)?"

Maybe

Please review!

Enjoy!

Chapter 35: Letting Go, Keeping Hope

Being back at the station without Killian there was a strange feeling for Emma. Killian was just so integral to her life; him not being here, the fact that he was in an entirely different realm dying, it killed her. She needed him. The damn bastard healed her heart and helped her open up to love again, and now here she was about to experience another heartbreak. Of course, she hoped that he would live, she needed him to live, but the fact of the matter was that she had seen the wound, she had seen the blood and the state that he was in, and she knew that, even here in Storybrooke with modern medicine, that the wound was more likely to be fatal than not.

Her parents lying hadn't helped either. Emma knew that she had asked them to keep her hopes up and be supportive, but she didn't need them lying about that. She understood why though; lying to protect their child. If it were Henry, she'd have done the same, she had done the same when Henry had asked about his father. So yeah, protecting your kid was something she could relate to. But her parents forgot that she had a "superpower", that she could see through the lie, which meant that them lying hurt more than it should have. She should've just told them that she needed them to be her friends. The only reason she asked them to be her parents too, was because she knew that eventually she would have to accept the fact that they were indeed her parents, that none of them could just be friends anymore. That dynamic went out the window with Regina's curse.

It didn't help that her past couple of nights back in Storybrooke weren't the most restful. When she had tried to go to sleep, she'd lie awake for hours, thinking of him, wishing that she was back in the Enchanted Forest, feeling guilty for not being with him, feeling guilty that she'd rather be with him than here with Henry and her parents, crying due to the fear that she might never see him again, pained over the thought that she very well might spend the rest of her life alone. The thoughts kept her awake, eating at her. And when she did finally fall asleep, her dreams were nightmares of him in her arms, bleeding out, the life going out of his eyes.

Emma sighed heavily, gripping tightly at her hair.

"It'll be okay." Jefferson said.

Emma jumped slightly, startled. "Hey, I didn't hear you come in."

"Yeah, I, uh, just dropped Grace off to school." Jefferson said, moving to sit at his desk, the one next to Emma's and closest to the doorway.

"How's that going?" Emma asked.

"Um, good." Jefferson shrugged, "It's a bit of an awkward situation with her cursed parents. But, we're all trying to work it out. I'm sure you can understand."

"Yeah, that." Emma nodded. "I haven't actually spoken to Regina about that for a long while, what with Henry living with me before the curse broke, then the curse breaking, and, you know, me not being here."

"Which brings us back to you nearly tearing your hair out." Jefferson quirked a brow. "You want to talk about it?"

"No."

"You're going to talk anyway."

Emma snorted, "How do you know?"

"Because you need to." Jefferson told her. "Because I've...I lost Grace's mother..."

"How...?" Emma asked, unsure if she actually had the right to know.

"She fell ill, when Grace was little." Jefferson swallowed. "There was nothing that I could do." Even after all these years, he felt the ache in his chest when he remembered his wife. It pained him to remember how his loving, vibrant, amazing wife had deteriorated to weak and sickly person near the end, and despite all of that, she had remained optimistic and strong for him. He had been so angry at her loss, wallowing in grief, but Grace, god did Grace keep him sane. If it hadn't been for her, he would've lost himself. She had quite appropriately become his literal saving grace.

"I'm sorry." Emma said, though she knew those words weren't ever enough.

"It's fine." Jefferson gave her a strained smile. "It's been over thirty years."

"Doesn't take away the pain."

"No, but it does get better." Jefferson said. "I know that that sounds cliched but it's true. I still love her, I always will, and it still hurts to think about her, but at least I have Grace." Jefferson smiled wistfully. "She looks just like her."

Emma swallowed. Everything that he said reminded her more of her past with Neal than her current situation with Killian. She knew that a part of her still loved Neal, but his betrayal had held her back for over a decade. Like Jefferson, Emma couldn't think about Neal without feeling pain, couldn't look at Henry without seeing the man who broke her, but unlike Jefferson, her pain wasn't so much the loss of love, but of the loss of what little innocence that she had had left, the loss of her ability to trust and to love.

That was another difference between her past with Neal and her present with Killian. With Killian, if he died, then she would be in Jefferson's situation. Except it was worse. Jefferson had Grace to remember his love. Emma had nothing. Sure, all of his belongings were still at his house and his personal items were still in his desk, but those were just objects. She didn't know what really had sentimental value for him; the compass she gave him and his leather jacket were all she would've wanted of his, but they were with him, back in the Enchanted Forest.

And she certainly didn't have a child to remember Killian. She had nothing. And that killed her. She had tried, more than anything else, not to think about the future that was lost to her if Killian died. She pushed away the picture of a seaside wedding, of making his home their home, of the little girl with her looks but Killian's bright smile and adorable pout, of the little boy that was every inch his father with the most mischievous and bright blue eyes but a complete and total momma's boy to his core, of the possibility of getting a dog for Henry, or maybe a fluffy little kitten, of family picnics on the beach, or a day spent sailing, of building a life together and growing old together.

Emma didn't realize she was crying until Jefferson had knelt down in front of her and wiped away her tears.

"Do you know the stories of Captain Hook?" Jefferson asked. "The ones from the Enchanted Forest?"

Emma shook her head slightly, lips trembling.

"Well, the stories that I grew up with, told of a ruthless, heartless, villainous pirate." Jefferson began. "A man with a black heart and a cruel streak an ocean wide. Those traits, those are just the legend. But you know what? There was some truth in them. The stories said that Captain Hook was a fighter, a man who would not rest until he got what he wanted, a man who had an aptitude for surviving even the worst of injuries and fought more enemies than a king's army could in a war. Emma, the man has survived and lived on for over three hundred years. No matter how bad that wound he has now is, he will survive it. That's just what he does. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Emma whispered, but she didn't know if she believed it.

"Emma, you have to trust him." Jefferson said. "Trust that he will fight to get back to you. Can you do that?"

She swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, I think I can."

Jefferson gave her a gentle smile. "Good."

Regina entered her father's mausoleum, a gnawing feeling in her gut. Last night, she had convinced herself that she had just been seeing things, but when she woke up this morning, she wasn't entirely sure.

The only way for to be absolutely positive that that wasn't Daniel that she saw last night was for her to check his coffin.

She made her way through her vault, pausing in front of the entrance to the room where she kept him. Closing her eyes, Regina braced herself, not entirely certain that she could be ready for what she might find.

Entering the room, she froze.

The glass coffin where she had magically preserved Daniel's body was empty.

Daniel was gone.

"Okay, what's with that look?" Ruby asked, sitting across from Snow at the diner. She had a fifteen minute break, and Snow looked like she was keeping some terrible secret or something.

"What look?" Mary Margaret asked.

Ruby gave her a "you're not fooling me at all" look.

Mary Margaret sighed. "David and I lied to Emma."

"About what?"

"Killian." Mary Margaret said.

Ruby arched a brow. "What about Killian?"

"Well, I told you about the Red Room, right?" Snow began. "I went there, the night that Emma came back, hoping that Killian was there, but he wasn't. Aurora was, and she said that he was pretty badly off. The wound he suffered...they don't know if he'll make it. She promised that they wouldn't give up on him, but..."

"But they're not sure." Ruby finished, though she had no idea who this "they" were, but obviously they must've been allies if they were caring for Killian.

"I couldn't tell Emma that." Snow sighed. "When she was in the hospital, she asked me and David to be supportive and to keep her hopes up. We told her that he was fine, that he was recovering."

"And now you feel guilty." Ruby finished. "Emma's hopes are probably up now, but if Killian doesn't make it, it will destroy her."

"Exactly." Snow nodded. "I just wanted to protect her, but the more that I think about it, I think that David and I messed up. I think lying to her will end up only hurting her more."

"Then you and David need to talk to Emma." Ruby said, "Tell her the truth, and be there for her. That's all that you can do."

"You think so?"

"I think that going ahead and doing that now, before it's too late, will be best for all three of you in the long run." Ruby told her. "Honesty is the best form when it comes to relationships, believe me. Hell, haven't you and Charming learned that with each other?"

Mary Margaret sighed again. Ruby was right. She and Charming had learned that, and the hard way to boot. If they truly were going to have a proper, or at least healthy, relationship with Emma, it had to start with honesty and then build up to trust.

"Yeah, okay." Mary Margaret said. "I'll talk to David, and we'll do just that. It's what Emma deserves after everything she's been through."

"Hey, you know that's not your fault." Ruby stated. "Regina cast the curse, and Gold was the one who made sure that Emma had to be the one to break it. And it's not your fault that you went into labor earlier than expected, you were already nine months along. I'm sure that Emma doesn't blame you guys, and it doesn't do any good for you to blame yourself."

"You're just on fire with the advice today, aren't you?"

"Eh, what can I say." Ruby smirked. "A girl has to have talent somewhere."

Mary Margaret laughed. "I love you, Red."

"Love you too, Snow."

Regina was furious and perhaps a bit frightened. Daniel being...resurrected was too much for her to process right now.

At first she thought that Cora had done something, that she had found Regina's vault and used magic to reanimate Daniel like one of her zombies or something. But then she remembered Whale barging into Archie's office, and his demands.

If anyone was dealing with stolen corpses and hearts, it would be Whale.

And she was going to get him for it.

The psych ward of Storybrooke General was seemingly abandoned. "Dr. Whale? Where are you?" She called out. She searched the ward, finding nothing, until she came to an autopsy room.

The door was ajar and the lights inside were flickering.

Regina approached the room cautiously. She peeked in the room and saw that it was completely trashed. A trolley was in the room and it had a bloody sheet over it. Warily, Regina lifted the sheet only to find a severed arm underneath.

A groan grabbed Regina's attention and she pushed the trolley aside to kneel next to Whale.

He was sprawled on the floor, his arm missing.

"Whale, I know you took Daniel's body and you took one of my hearts." Regina said, as the man opened his eyes, a pained grimace on his face. "Why? Why, did you bring him back?"

"I did it." Whale gasped, his breathing labored.

Regina swallowed, feeling a shock jolt through her. "He's alive?"

"Yes." Whale said. "I brought him back but...he's not Daniel."

"What?"

Whale took a deep breath, trying to focus on Regina instead of the pain. "He's...he's a monster."

Ruby had decided to take the afternoon off to have some girl time with Snow, and Granny had been surprisingly understanding, probably realizing that Ruby and Snow really hadn't been able to catch up or spend any time together since the curse broke, at least any time outside of Granny's and Ruby being framed for murder.

They spent their time having girl talk, keeping it light and fun after the more serious conversation at the diner, before they picked up Henry from school to take him to the stables.

"It's nice to see him so excited about something." Ruby said, as Henry hurried off to the stables. Ruby and Snow stayed behind, lingering by the car.

"Yeah, it is." Snow agreed. "I think that it helps him a lot too. You know the responsibility, and the distraction."

"I take it he hasn't asked about Killian?"

"Not since he and Emma talked at the hospital." Snow said. "I think that he doesn't want to upset Emma, and, well, he knows that there's not going to be any news until we know for sure."

"Do you think that Killian will make it?" Ruby asked.

"I hope so." Mary Margaret stated. "Emma and Henry need him. You know, Emma hasn't said anything, but the past couple of nights, Charming and I have heard her waking up. We agreed that we'd wait for her to com to us...but I think that if this continues, I'm switching from friend that's trying to give her some space mode to I'm her mother and I'm going to comfort her and coddle her whether she likes it or not."

Ruby snorted. "Mama Snow, huh?"

Snow shrugged, about to say something when she saw a figure heading towards the stables. She scrunched her eye brows together.

It was a man...something about him looked familiar.

"Who is that?"

Ruby turned to look at the man. "I don't know." A putrid scent reached her nose. "Whoever it is, he smells like...like death."

"Whoever he is, he's heading towards Henry." Snow said, slightly panicked.

The women hurried over to the stables following the man.

Meanwhile Henry was in the stall brushing his horse. "Gramps says that you'll tell me when I'm ready to ride you. So...anytime, soon?"

The horses around them began to whinny. Henry's horse shifted, a bit skittishly. The horse whined before knocking Henry back and running out of the open stall.

Henry pushed himself off the ground and turned to see a man staring at him.

Regina was outside of Dr. Whale's hospital room when Emma, David, and Jefferson arrived.

"What's going on?" Emma asked. "Whale was attacked?"

"You'll have to ask the doctors." Regina shrugged.

"We're asking you." David glared.

"I came here to speak with him and I found him hurt." Regina told them. At David and Jefferson's disbelieving look, she added. "It's the truth!"

"What did you come here to talk with him about?" Emma asked.

Regina hesitated.

"Daniel." Jefferson said. "This is about Daniel." He glanced at the hospital room. "The son of a bitch actually did it."

"Whoa, hold on." Emma cut in. "Who's Daniel? What did Whale do?"

"Daniel was Regina's fiancé." David answered. He turned to Regina. "Snow told me the story, about how he died, how it was her fault."

Regina stiffened. "Yes, he did, but I believe that he's come back."

Emma felt a pang of sympathy. Regina lost her love too, and it didn't seem like Regina was over it.

"Well, then, how is Daniel back?" David asked.

"Victor, um, Whale." Jefferson began. "He's not from our land. Where he is from magic is science. Before the curse, Rumple wanted to manipulate it so that Regina would be darker. She was still holding on to Daniel, so he hired me to get Victor using my hat. Victor and I manipulated the situation so Regina would believe that Victor failed. That Daniel could never come back."

"That was all a lie." Regina hissed. "You son of a bitch. This is all your fault. The curse..."

"Don't!" Jefferson snapped, moving towards her angrily. "You chose to practice magic, you chose to learn from Rumplestiltskin, you were the one naive enough to be manipulated, and you played right into his hands. You and I both know that no matter what I've done, and no matter how much of a bastard I was, none of that compares to what you've done. I was never a good man, and i never proclaimed to be one, but I was never outright evil. You were. So don't blame me for this. I didn't bring Daniel's body or Victor here. That was all you. Start accepting that you are the one who's to blame for your mistakes."

David and Emma were stunned, having never seen Jefferson so angry. David pulled Jefferson back, keeping a firm grip on him in case he lashed out again.

"Okay, so Whale brought this Daniel back from the dead?" Emma began. "Wait, Victor...bringing people back from the dead...are you telling me that Dr. Whale, is Dr. Frankenstein?"

No one gave her an answer.

Sighing, Emma asked. "Any idea how?"

"He took one of my hearts." Regina said, still glaring at Jefferson. "That was all he needed."

"You have hearts here?" Emma quirked a brow, surprised and uncertain as to how to process that.

"Yes, they're from our land." Regina said. "I keep them in my vault."

David spoke up. "Whose heart did he take?"

"I have no idea." Regina told them. "I took so many, it was impossible to keep track. Look, I need to go. Daniel's out there and I have to help him."

"Look, what he did makes him dangerous." Emma said. "If you have an idea about where he is, you need to tell us."

"He won't hurt me." Regina argued. "I can make sure that he won't hurt anyone else, I promise."

"You know that we can't take that chance." Emma sighed. "You have two choices right now, tell us where he is, or jail."

"I think it's like when David awoke from his coma." Regina explained. "He's following his final thoughts to where he last met me: the stables."

"No." David paled. "Henry and Mary Margaret are at the stables."

Henry swallowed when he saw the man, the horses around them whining louder. "You, uh, you got to stop. You're scaring the horses." He stood watching the man warily. "A-are you hurt? Can I help you?" Henry extended his hand towards Daniel.

Daniel flinched back remembering Cora, remembering when his heart was ripped out.

"Let me help you." Henry said.

Daniel growled and grabbed Henry by his neck, lifting the boy off the ground.

"Let him go!" Mary Margaret snapped, but Ruby was already one step ahead of her, using her wolf strength to pry Daniel off of Henry, pushing the man into the wall of the stall.

Henry gasped for air as Mary Margaret pulled him into her arms and out of the stall. "Are you kay?"

Henry nodded. "Yeah."

Mary Margaret looked at the man, angry that someone would attack a child, let alone her grandson. But all that anger was soon replaced by shock. "Daniel."

"Daniel?" Ruby asked, still standing in between Daniel and the other two, ready to protect them from harm. "Regina's Daniel?"

"That's not possible." Mary Margaret whispered. "He's dead."

Regina, David, Jefferson, and Emma rounded the corner.

"Henry!" Emma rushed over to her son. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah." Henry said.

"Jefferson, Ruby, get Henry out of here." David ordered.

They complied quickly, surprised that Henry didn't protest.

Regina stared at Daniel. "It's true, you're really here."

Daniel lunged at her, but David pushed her out of the way, towards Emma and Mary Margaret.

Emma, reacting just as quickly, pushed the door to the stall closed and she and David locked it.

Daniel began to beat at the door, with enough force that it cracked in some places.

"It won't hold for long." David said. "Can you cast a spell to subdue him?"

"No, I won't use magic on him." Regina protested.

David and Emma drew their guns.

"What do you think you're doing?" Regina cried.

"He's a monster, Regina." Emma said. "He attacked Henry! He needs to be put down."

"Please!" Regina argued. "Just let me talk to him." Regina tried to pull both of them away from the stall.

Mary Margaret stayed back, still too shocked, unsure of whether or not she should side with her husband and daughter considering her role in Daniel's death. If she tried to stop Regina, who knows what Regina might do.

"It's too big of a risk." David snapped. "There's no telling what he'll do."

"You have to at least give me a chance!" Regina said, pushing herself between them and the stall.

"Out of the way, Regina!" Emma barked. "Now!"

"No, I won't let you hurt him!" Regina pushed David back. Emma stepped back, surprised to see tears gathering in Regina's eyes. "He'll listen to me! Please! Let me talk to my fiancé."

Hearing Regina's pleading tone, seeing how pained she was, all Emma could think about was Killian. About how he might be dead, how she might never see him again, about how he might be lost to her forever. Emma's gut clenched. Was this what Regina had gone through when she lost Daniel before? And now, after who knows how many years, she was seeing him again. The woman obviously needed closure. And Emma couldn't keep Regina from finally getting closure; not when Emma herself would never get it.

"Okay." Emma said.

"What?" David protested. "Emma..."

Emma held up her hand to silence him. "She needs to do this."

Regina nodded and turned to unlock the stall.

David and Emma raised their guns just in case.

Regina stepped inside, finding that Daniel had calmed down somewhat. He approached her slowly, bringing his hand up to her face. Regina relaxed, until he was choking her and slamming her into the wall.

Emma and David tensed, ready to shoot, but also waiting for Regina to reach him.

"Daniel, stop." Regina gasped. "It's me. I love you..."

Daniel tilted his head, something akin to recognition in his eyes before he let go of her. "Regina..."

"Daniel."

He pulled her into his arms.

"I can't believe it's really you." Regina whispered.

Daniel tensed, dropping to his knees in pain.

"Daniel?" Regina asked, confused, pulling him into her arms.

"Stop." Daniel pleaded. "Just stop the pain."

"How?"

"Let me go." Daniel told her.

"No." Regina shook her head. "No, I won't lose you again. Without you, I'm lost."

Emma couldn't take watching this anymore. While her parents were absorbed in watching the scene before them, David with a frown and Mary Margaret with tears in her eyes, Emma left, needing to get away, needing to breathe and collect herself.

Daniel hissed, pain etched all over his face. He ripped himself out of Regina's arms.

"Daniel." Regina begged. "Daniel, come back to me."

"Can't..." Daniel gasped.

"But I love you."

Daniel looked at her with pleading eyes. "Then love again." Something changed in Daniel's eyes again, turning back into the monster that he was. He lunged for Regina but she stopped her with magic.

She hesitated before making her decision. With a flick of her hand, Daniel turned to dust.

"Goodbye, Daniel."

It was too much to watch Regina and her love, to watch Regina get her closure, when Emma knew that she might never get that herself.

Emma bit her lip to contain her sobs as she leaned against the wall of the building. She was never going to get that. She was never going to see Killian again. Tears escaped her eyes as she let out a whimper. He was lost to her. Their future, all the could've beens, the little boy with blue eyes and the little girl with the lilting laugh, the wedding and the house and the family that Emma never wanted, never hoped for, until blue eyes met green one October night sparking the beginning of something great.

Something that would've been great.

And now all of that was gone, and god dammit, she wasted so much time with him. She pushed him away so many times, kept him at arms length, refused to let herself love him. She let fear of heartbreak, fear of him being another Neal, fear of losing herself in him hold her back.

Now all she was left with was another broken heart and regrets.

Emma let out a sob, unable to keep herself from crying, her knees buckling. "I'm sorry." She gasped. "God, Killian, I'm sorry."

She hadn't noticed Regina until the older woman sat beside her. Quickly, Emma wiped away her tears.

"You don't know if he's dead." Regina said quietly. "If I know one thing about heroes, it's that they always come back."

Emma shook her head. "I was there. I saw the wound. No one could survive something like that here. And my parents, they lied. They said he'd be okay, but I know they were lying, and I can't help but think that it's too late."

Regina scoffed. "Hero or villain, Hook's always been a survivor. If anyone can cheat death, it's him."

"How do you know?"

"Because, that's...what True Love is." Regina sighed. "Annoyingly enough."

Emma huffed, a ghost of a smile on her face, before another choked sob escaped. "I didn't even get to say goodbye."

"You didn't have to." Regina said. She caught sight of Charming and Snow, both freezing at seeing their daughter looking so distraught. "He'll find you." Regina gave Emma's hand a reassuring squeeze before she stood and headed over to the Charmings. "You're daughter needs the truth." That was all she said before she left.

Snow and Charming went to Emma's side immediately. Snow spoke first. "Aurora said that it's really bad, but she's not going to give up on him."

"Neither should you." Charming said.

"How can I?" Emma asked. "What if he does die? I never got to say goodbye, and now...it's too late."

"No it's not." Charming said. "Emma, he will come back."

"He will find you." Snow agreed. "You just have to have hope."

Emma sighed, allowing her parents to embrace her and comfort her.

She hoped more than anything that they were right.

As soon as she left the stables, Regina went to Archie. She wiped away the last of her tears before knocking on the office door.

Archie answered. "Regina, is everything all right?"

"I used magic."

Archie gave her a sympathetic look. "Why don't you come in and tell me what happened?"

Regina nodded and entered, unaware of eyes watching her.

Cora wondered if her daughter had noticed her at all. She was in an unfamiliar land, requested by Regina to stay at home and keep a low profile. Of course, Cora was not going to do that.

No, she was in a new town, a new realm. She was going to get information, and use whatever she found out to her advantage.

Watching the good doctor resurrect that pesky stable boy was interesting enough, but what really delighted Cora was that Regina still loved him, after all this time.

It was all the more better that Regina had to kill him herself this time.

Regina was breaking.

And soon enough, Cora would make it so that Regina was shattered.

Then Cora would get what she wanted.

Her daughter under her control, and power over these pathetic fools.

Whale entered Gold's Pawn Shop, a cooler in his hand, his bad arm cooling in the ice.

"When they say I charge an arm and a leg, that's meant as a figure of speech." Gold quipped.

Whale glared. "Put it back."

Gold arched a brow. "You want me to reattach your arm?"

"Can you do it?"

"Of course." Gold said. "But first, tell me why."

"Because I want to use it again." Whale said as if it were obvious.

"Obviously." Gold sighed. "I meant, why bring that stable boy back from the dead? Why now?"

"I thought..." Whale hesitated. "I thought that if I helped her, she would return me to my world. I want to see my brother...to try to bring him back again."

"Again?"

"The first time ended badly." Whale grimaced. "I need to return and try it once more."

"Well, it seems that's rather beyond her abilities." Gold shrugged. "My condolences."

Whale gave him another stormy look, placing the cooler on top of the glass counter top. "Now, my arm. You said you can do it."

"Oh, yes." Gold smirked. "But there's a difference between can, and will."

"Name your price." Whale growled.

"Say it."

"Say what?"

"You know what." Gold said. "You came here, not the hospital. So say it."

Whale huffed, before growling out. "I need magic."

Gold smirked. "That's all I needed to hear." Gold waved his hand causing the arm to magically reattach itself. "Always a pleasure doing business with you, Victor."

Whale shot him one final dirty look before leaving.

Gold simply chuckled, before going about his daily business.

Well, there's "The Stable Boy" for you guys. Hope it doesn't seem to rushed. Going with friends to see Capt. America tonight and I wanted to get this published before I left.

Yes, no Killian. Sorry, but he will be back eventually.

Until next time! :)