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"Would you like some food?" Justin asked Isabel the moment they were inside the dance. He eyed the table full of candy.
"Absolutely," Isabel agreed with a gleam in her eye. Her mother did not often allow her to have candy, except as a bribe, though the amount of bribery her mother resorted to increased with each additional child.
Fortified with Twizzlers and Sour Patch Kids, Justin and Isabel found their friends.
"You look beautiful, Isabel," her best girlfriend, Monica, adopted daughter of Mulan and Aurora, said upon seeing her.
"You too," Isabel enthusiastically replied as she hugged her friend.
It was not long before the children, loaded with sugar, migrated towards the dance floor. The music was loud but not so loud as to render conversation impossible.
Justin tugged lightly on Isabel's hand. "Dance with me," he said in her ear as a slow song began.
"Okay," Isabel said nervously. She'd had dancing lessons, it was impossible for her not to have had them given her family, but even so she was still afraid of messing up and embarrassing herself in front of everyone.
When Justin only placed both of his hands around her waist, Isabel felt relief flood her body. It was only going to be the swaying type of dancing, not the movement kind that could lead to her potentially embarrassing herself by accidentally stepping on his foot. When Justin's touch was barely there, and as Isabel swallowed nervously and rested her hands on his shoulders, she realized he was a bit nervous as well, that made her feel far more confident.
"This is kind of weird," Isabel said boldly breaking the silence. And it was weird. She was unsure if they should be doing something other than awkwardly shifting from side to side, and they felt so close, yet were not touching, but if she moved back half a step to put a more normal distance between them, their arms would end up being oddly outstretched.
"Kind of, yeah," Justin agreed with a wry smile. "Sorry . . . I don't really know how to dance."
Isabel smiled wickedly, and Justin already knew he was going to agree with what she was about to propose.
"Fine," Justin relented with more reluctance in his tone than he actually felt.
And then she was grabbing his hand in hers. She started leading them in a simple waltz and Justin followed admirably though his attempt was far from coordinated.
"Ouch," Isabel whined when he inadvertently stepped on her foot. "Watch it."
"Sorry," Justin apologized sheepishly.
Isabel maneuvered them again when Justin was struck by inspiration. He let go of her waist and proceeded to spin her. At least, he attempted to. Half way through her turn, he realized her arm could no longer twist so he let go of her hand as she finished the turn.
"Hey!" Isabel laughed and pushed on his shoulders. "I thought I was leading."
"I was struck by inspiration," Justin defended himself, and as he said that, he certainly did not think that a pouting Isabel was cute. Girls weren't cute.
"I want more candy," Isabel abruptly changed the subject upon noticing stares beginning to be thrown their way. Grabbing Justin's hand, she fled the room.
Once away from the noisy dance floor, Isabel heard her phone ringing. It stopped after she ignored it, because she was having fun at the dance and did not want to be interrupted. It rang again, and again, and the third time she finally answered.
"Iz," she heard Jessica's panicked voice over the phone. "Iz, you need to come home now," the younger girl demanded. She sounded hysterical.
"Calm down, Jess, and tell me what's wrong." Isabel tried to soothe her sister, but to no avail. She wouldn't wake up.
"Sam's hurt. She won't wake up. Come home, Iz," Jessica pleaded even as she hyperventilated.
Isabel froze. "I'll be there soon," she said and hung up the phone.
Justin listened to the one sided conversation and he became concerned as Isabel visibly paled at what she was hearing.
"What happened?" Justin asked his best friend.
Isabel, rather than answering, ran over to the side of the room to gather her purse.
"What is it, Isabel?" Justin asked again.
"I have to go home," Isabel explained even as she made her way to the exit, only to be stopped by one of the teachers.
"Let me out," Isabel demanded as she glared at the teacher blocking her exit.
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you leave early unless someone is here to pick you up."
"My sister is hurt. I have to go home now," Isabel argued her heart racing. Each minute she had to stand there arguing was more time until she could see her sister again. Unbeknownst to her, Justin slipped away, back into the crowded dance floor, and she only noticed he had gone when he returned with Mary Margaret in tow.
"What's going on?" the older woman asked.
"Sam's been hurt. I need to go home." By that point, Isabel was working hard to contain her tears of frustration. Why did no one understand that she needed to be with her injured sister? But crying would only hinder her argument.
Mary Margaret saw the distress on her great-granddaughter's face and addressed the other teacher. "I'll be taking them," she said, and with no further argument, the teacher stepped aside to let them pass.
"Where am I going?" Mary Margaret asked Isabel once the three were piled into her car.
"Home," Isabel said softly, no longer able to contain the tears. Sam; her sister; her responsibility; hurt because she was too busy having fun elsewhere to protect her sister like she was supposed to. It was all her fault.
The car was not yet at a full stop when Isabel threw herself out of the still moving vehicle, Justin and Mary Margaret not far behind.
"What happened?" Isabel demanded as she barged into the room Sam and Ally shared. She observed Ally, Charlie, and Jessica huddled together on Ally's small bed, watching Sam lay lifelessly on her own bed. Henry, Regina, Emma, and Killian were also there, both Regina and Emma standing over the girl, hands outstretched to perform magic, while their husbands hung back.
"Dark magic," Regina explained hastily, casting another diagnostic spell over Sam. Her brow furrowed in confusion when there was nothing.
"Well? What's wrong?" It was Emma who spoke that time.
"Nothing magical," Regina said at last. If it was magic causing Sam's unconsciousness, she would know. But there was nothing. No explanation. Regina did not want to admit that her help was not enough, but she had no choice. "She needs to see a doctor."
Her voice broke a bit at the end and Henry automatically hugged her. Regina responded for a moment and then pulled away. Henry looked straight into her eyes and saw the uncertainty, the guilt. "There's nothing more you could have done," Henry said, for he knew she had a tendency to place the blame on herself, whether it was her fault or not.
"I should be able to do more," Regina responded quietly.
"He's right," Emma and Mary Margaret both tried to reassure her.
"There's nothing else we can do," Emma said firmly.
Mary Margaret stared straight at Regina. "I'll watch the children," Mary Margaret addressed both Henry and Regina, and not for the first time Regina was amazed by how her former nemesis was now the one to come to her rescue.
Henry carried Sam to the car, more aware than ever of how small she was. His daughter, whom he had only just met yet loved more that he thought possible to love.
AN: Thanks to my beta, LMPsisterhood, the rest of the story is now edited. Look out for the ending soon.
