Chapter 44

The map Pan had given Emma wasn't exactly detailed, but Killian and Neal knew Neverland well enough to direct them towards Pan's camp. Emma had snatched the map back from Regina the instant she and Killian caught up with others, deciding that, as Pan had given her the map, it was up to her to read it. However, with Killian permanently at her side, her hand still holding his, he'd been able to see the map over her shoulder and soon he was the one directing them through the jungle.

Neal kept close behind them, and although Emma was sure they'd only been in Neverland for about a day, hearing Killian and Neal bicker over the best route was starting to sound normal.

As much as she wanted to be the one leading them to Henry, she found Neverland too disorienting. To her, it all looked the same, trees and ferns and thorns always surrounding them. At least Killian always knew where they were.

If it had been anyone else, Emma might have protested that she could manage by herself. Except she knew that Killian believed that just as strongly as she did, and when she knew that, she found that she didn't care that he insisted on helping.

She wanted him to help because it meant she wasn't alone in this.

He'd all but promised she'd never be alone again.

It was something she'd always wanted to hear, and he'd said without any prompting. He'd looked her in the eyes and just said it, and although she'd kissed him in response, he hadn't even blinked when she returned the sentiment.

Maybe he didn't know what it meant for her to say it. She'd never said the words out loud before, but she'd thought them. She'd spent years thinking them, when she was in Tallahassee and still believed she'd find Neal again. Still believed Neal would find her.

Tallahassee had been lonely.

She tightened her grip on Killian's hand, a quick squeeze just to reassure herself that he was still right next to her, and then she glanced over her shoulder to see if the others were still close behind them.

Neal was nearest, and when her gaze glanced over him, he was already looking at her. He smiled, something Emma couldn't identify in his expression, and he didn't look away. She could feel him still staring even as she looked past him to the others, Regina only a few steps behind him, David and Mary-Margaret several feet away.

"How much further?" Regina asked. "We've been walking for hours."

"We're should be getting closer," Killian answered, not even bothering to look over his shoulder and direct his reply to her. "Neverland may be dangerous, but it isn't a big place. I've often traversed the width of the isle in only a day's walk."

"Okay, so where are we now?"

Emma turned back to look at the map, and her jaw dropped in disbelief. The cross that marked where Henry was had moved. They'd been so close, Killian occasionally using his hook to point to where they were, and maybe she couldn't have told them where they were on the island, but she remembered where the X had been.

"Son of a bitch!" she cursed, holding the map out towards Killian. "It's moved, right? Where is it now?"

He released her hand so he could take the map, and Emma automatically tucked her hand into the bend of his elbow. "We're here," he showed her, his hook pointing to a point a few centimetres north of the mark. "I suppose this is Pan's game."

"How is it now behind us?"

"What?" Mary-Margaret's voice rang out from behind them, and Emma looked around to see that she and David had finally caught up, although David seemed a bit winded. "How is that possible?"

"You got us lost," Regina spat. "No wonder it took you two hundred years to escape this place."

"No. Pan told us the map would show us where Henry is," Killian snapped, his vehemence clearly taking Regina aback. "That's all he promised. He's toying with us, keeping us away from him by sending us on a wild goose chase while he uses Henry for… whatever it is he wants from him."

"So this isn't going to help?" Emma clarified, exhaling shakily when Killian nodded. "This whole trek has been for nothing?"

"Swan, breathe," Killian muttered. He folded the map up and put it in his pocket, offering Emma his hand as soon it was free. "Pan played his hand too early. We know he's taunting us with the map, so we know not to use it. We have time to find another way."

"You think so?"

"I told you walking was idiotic," Regina stated. "I suggest using magic. We can materialize in the camp and grab Henry before Pan has time to move him."

"Pan will have shields against magic, I fear," Killian told her. "Such an attempt would end in your death and, more importantly, mine and Emma's. That's why we're walking."

"So what's your idea? How are we going to find it?"

"By using someone he trusts."

"Who?" David asked. "I mean, I'm guessing he doesn't trust you."

Killian chuckled weakly in agreement. "Not after the number of cakes my crew stole. But I wasn't talking about me. I was talking about a fairy."

Emma stared at him. He couldn't be talking about who she thought he was, although after the last few weeks, she doubted anything would surprise her.

"What, Tink?" Neal asked, and Emma shook her head in disbelief. She shouldn't have told herself otherwise, not when she should have known that, given the way things were going, she was bound to run into Tinkerbell at some point. "Yeah, I guess that might work. She was still here when I left and no one stays in Neverland long without either keeping out of Pan's way or making a deal."

"So what?" Emma checked. "She's an inside source? I mean, I don't know Neverland as well as either of you, and my memories of the Disney film are a little spotty, but I definitely remember Tink being pretty loyal to cartoon Pan."

"Come on, love, you have to know by now that the cartoon is hardly accurate. At the very least, she'll know about the camp," Killian promised. "Even if it's only so she can stay away. Hopefully, she'll be able to get us in. If we're really lucky, she might even have some pixie dust left."

"You mean, fairy dust?"

"No, pixie dust," David corrected, a hopeful smile written across his lips. "It's stronger. Like nuclear fairy dust."

"So what?" Emma asked. "Are we going to fly in?"

"No, but with enough pixie dust, we might be able to get the Jolly Roger off the ground and fly back to Storybrooke with Henry," Killian told her. "Getting home will be much more difficult otherwise."

"This is a bad idea," Regina interrupted. "Mark my words. This Tinkerbell is not going to save us."

Emma stared at Regina, narrowing her eyes. With Henry in danger, surely it was worth a try. After the realisation that the map was useless, it wasn't as though they had anything else they could do. She couldn't understand why Regina was being so negative.

It couldn't just be because they were still refusing to let her use magic.

She peered over at Killian, relieved to see he was shaking his head at Regina. She trusted him more than the mayor, and after a quick discussion over the best way to reach Tinkerbell's home, the group continued fighting their way through the leaves, deeper into the jungle.

"You disagree with Regina, right?" Emma asked quietly, once she and Killian had taken the lead once again. "You think she'll help?"

"I wish I could say I was certain, but I can't," Killian admitted. "She'll tell us where Pan is, but I don't know if we can expect anything more."

"It's better than nothing." They shared a comfortable silence for several minutes, until Emma was sick of it, and then she allowed a light, teasing smirk to cross her face. "So, you seem pretty familiar with the way to Tink's house."

He glanced at her, one eyebrow raised, and after she allowed her grin to widen, he shook his head and chuckled. "Why?" he asked. "Are you jealous?"

"What? No!"

His eyebrow went even higher, and then he released her hand and slung his arm around her shoulder, squeezing her against his side. "There's no need."

She peered at him. "Really?"

"I'm not going to lie, Swan," He told her, his voice thick with amusement. "I considered it."

"Oh, right," Emma said quietly, no longer joking. "Okay. So that whole jealousy thing-"

"I spent two hundred years on this island," Killian interrupted, brushing a quick kiss to the side of her head. Emma squirmed slightly, too aware that they were very clearly visible to the rest of the group. "I would have been tempted by any woman."

She rolled her eyes, and Killian responded with a handsome, boyish grin. She knew what he was doing, trying to make her smile despite everything, and even though she'd had a moment of envy, he was succeeding.

"So why was it only something you considered, then?"

He clearly hadn't expected the question, his grin fading into a much more somber grimace. "Because after so long in Neverland, I was tired of waiting for my revenge. All I wanted was to return back to the Enchanted Forest and finally end things. I didn't have time for dalliances."

The talk about his search for vengeance surprised her. After the curse had broken, he hadn't hidden that he'd spent years looking for vengeance, even if it wasn't something he often spoke about. But even though she'd known about it, had seen it, she'd never really understood just how long it had consumed him until that moment.

Killian didn't seem willing to meet her gaze after his admission, his cheeks and his nose tinged pink.

"I'm glad you have time now," she joked, keeping her expression light when Killian finally glanced at her. His attempt to cheer her up had only made him miserable, and she wanted to give his smile back. "I like dallying with you."

Her words worked, a sly grin spreading across his face. "Swan, I'd have always found time for you."

"If you're done with your flirting, Miss Swan," Regina snapped, surprising Emma with how close she was behind them. "Can I have a word?"

Emma raised her eyebrows expectantly, but after a few seconds silence, Regina rolled her eyes and gestured for Killian to keep moving. Clearly, Regina wasn't going to talk with Killian there, so Emma ducked out of his hold and sent him a reassuring smile.

Killian didn't keep walking until David caught up with them, and it was only when both men were several feet away that Regina finally began to speak. She didn't seem to care that Mary-Margaret and Neal were still nearby, only that Killian had walked away. "This plan isn't going to work."

"What?" Neal asked, he and Mary-Margaret joining the two women in a huddle. "What are you talking about?"

"There's another way."

Emma rolled her eyes, certain that she already knew what Regina was about to suggest. "Is there?"

"Magic."

Emma rolled her eyes, a loud sigh of frustration falling from her lips. "We just went through this. Killian said there were probably going to be shields. I don't know about you, but I don't want to explode anytime soon."

"We won't… Look, I'm not talking about my magic," Regina snapped. "I'm talking about ours."

"Ours?" Neal repeated. "Emma has…? Nevermind. We don't use magic. I thought we'd agreed on that. It always comes with a price and just because you're the ones casting it, it doesn't mean you'll be the ones to pay it. I've seen it enough to know that."

"Sometimes not using it comes with a price too," Regina protested. "I bet you and I combined are strong enough to overpower Pan."

"What if we're not?" Emma pointed out. "I'm not taking a chance on that. We're talking about Henry's life."

"I'm aware of that."

"Look, I know you don't like this plan," Emma stated, sharing an exasperated look with Neal. "Let's just see it through. At least, we can see if we find Tinkerbell."

Regina grimaced, glancing around at the others as though one of them might suddenly agree with her. "Do you think it's the best plan because your boyfriend came up with it?"

"Right," Emma muttered, her bitter chuckle causing Regina to scowl angrily, her lips drawn into a thin line. "So that's why you didn't want him here? Do you honestly think I wouldn't have said something before if I disagreed with him? We're looking for Henry. I'm not going to let us waste time just to make Killian happy. My boyfriend is one of two people here who knows what the hell they're doing on this island. So yeah, I think it's the best plan."

"Emma's right," Neal said suddenly. Emma gaped at him, surprised by his support. "If Hook's plan had no chance of working, one of us would have said something. He's my son too, Regina."

She felt strangely satisfied when Regina paled and looked away, her arms folded across her chest. "Fine." The mayor grumbled. "But when Tinkerbell refuses to help, I'm going to say I told you so."

Emma didn't bother to reply to that, because if anything was going to waste their time, it would be her and Regina arguing. Instead, she just strode off into the jungle, hearing the others follow after her.

Killian and David hadn't gone too far, only a couple of minutes away. They stopped talking as soon as they noticed her, the smile on Killian's face so innocent that Emma couldn't help the suspicion that their conversation hadn't been a simple chat.

"Everything okay?" she asked warily, once she'd caught up to them.

"Fine," David answered quickly. Killian said nothing. "We were just wondering what Regina wanted to talk about."

"Nothing important."

And although Killian took her hand and continued through the forest like nothing was wrong, Emma could see the tension in his face, his mouth stuck in a solemn grimace. Whatever they were talking about, Killian hadn't liked it.

"Everything's okay, right?"

He didn't answer.


It felt like they had barely travelled any deeper into the jungle when David requested another break. The only reason Emma didn't protest was that he really did look exhausted. His face was pink and sweaty, his breathing heavy and uneven and he was clutching at his side.

"Five minutes," Killian promised, his gaze not leaving David as the other man leant back against a tree and took several long, deep breaths. "It's not much further."

"David, are you alright?" Emma asked. He didn't answer for a moment, too busy waving Mary-Margaret away and insisting he just needed a minute. "If you want, you and Mary-Margaret could stay here and we'll go find Tink?"

"No," David insisted. "I'm fine. It's just hot here and I'm not good with heat. Don't worry. I'm not going to let you do this alone."

She glanced quickly at Killian, wondering if he thought David's behaviour was as worrying as she did. Other than a clenched jaw, his face was blank, and when she managed to catch his eye, he immediately looked away.

Neal took advantage of their short break to rummage through the top of his backpack for leftover snacks, and it was only when he offered everyone a handful of nuts and raisins that Emma noticed Regina wasn't with them.

"Does anyone know where Regina is?" she asked, grimacing at how everyone shook their heads in response. "Great. I guess I'll go find her then."

She pulled her hand out of Killian's and strode back the way they'd arrived, ignoring the protests from the others. They didn't need to worry. Emma wasn't foolish enough to wander Neverland alone. If she couldn't find Regina within a few hundred metres, she'd come back and they could all figure something out.

Despite their complaints, it didn't seem like anyone was following her anyway.

Regina wasn't too far away from where they'd stopped. She seemed to just be standing there, wringing her hands together and glancing around the jungle.

"Hey," Emma said warily, wondering why Regina hadn't followed them. "You're falling behind. Killian says it's not much further."

"We don't even know if she's still here," Regina told her. "You go waste your time searching. I'll wait."

Emma frowned at her. She'd been suspicious before, but Regina's reluctance to help confirmed it. "What did you do to her?"

"What?" Regina asked quickly. "Why would you assume I did something?"

"You've met her before, right?" Emma stated. "In the Enchanted Forest. What did you do? Kill her brother? Steal her halo?"

"She's not an angel," Regina scoffed, but her exasperation quickly faded away into what looked like shame. "Okay, we have a complicated history. You don't need to know all the details. Just that, if she sees me, she won't help. It's already my fault Henry's here. If Hook really thinks this plan will work, then I can't get in the way."

"Your fault?" Emma repeated, narrowing her eyes at the other woman as she tried to figure out what she meant. "How did you reach that conclusion?"

"Owen would never have kept searching for Storybrooke if I hadn't-"

"Owen?"

"Greg," Regina corrected. "He came back for me, because of what I did. Now my son is the one in trouble and we can't get help because I... Greg and Tamara wouldn't have come to Storybrooke if it wasn't for me. If they hadn't come, Pan's shadow wouldn't have come for Henry and we wouldn't be here. Henry would be safe."

"Okay, I don't know what happened with you and Tinkerbell," Emma replied carefully. "And yeah, maybe Greg wouldn't have come to Storybrooke if you hadn't done what you did. But it doesn't mean it's your fault. We don't even know why Tamara was involved. For all we know, this would have happened with or without Greg. Tamara might have always found Storybrooke, or Pan might have always found a way to get Henry. I'm not saying that a lot of what happened wasn't to do with you, because some of it probably was, but what happened to Henry wasn't. You can't blame yourself for that."

Regina shook her head, a bitter chuckle escaping her lips. Whatever conversation Emma had expected to have when she went to search for Regina, it hadn't been this. Only a couple of days before, Regina had been willing to kill the entire town instead of dealing with the consequences of what she'd done, so the guilt was unexpected.

"It doesn't matter if it's my fault or not," Regina admitted quietly. "We need to save Henry, and if Tinkerbell is the way to do that, I can't get in the way. That's what's best for Operation Henry."

"Operation Henry?"

Regina looked away from her. "That's what I've been calling it in my head because-"

"That's what Henry would call it."

"He'd have a better name," Regina muttered. "But, it's the best I can do."

Emma smiled kindly, the first smile she'd ever shared with Regina. "We'll go get her and then I'll come get you."

"No, don't bother," Regina ordered. "I said I can't get in the way. It's better if we never see one another. And if you don't find her, keep going. Just get Henry. Don't waste time coming back for me."

"Regina, we said we were doing this together," Emma pointed out. "We need you in this. We're not leaving you behind. We could meet somewhere. If Neal stays with you and Killian comes with us, then we'll both be with someone who knows the island."

"I can't risk it. What if you do find her and then we meet up and she refuses to help?"

"What the hell did you do to her?"

Regina sighed and shook her head. "What I always do."

It didn't look like Regina was going to change her mind, so Emma nodded and left her behind. The others had barely moved when she returned to them. Neal and Mary-Margaret were talking, but Killian was in exactly the same place as he'd been when she left them, his arms folded and his gaze locked on David.

"You didn't find her?" Mary-Margaret asked. "Do you think Pan's got her?"

"No, I did," Emma reassured her. "It just turns out that we might have a slight problem. Regina's not coming with us. We're going to keep going without her."

"We can't leave her behind."

"It's what she wants," Emma insisted. "We're sticking to the plan. We find Tink and then we keep going."

"Okay," Mary-Margaret agreed. "I just wanted to check you knew what you were doing. If you'd rather change plans, we're behind you. No matter what."

"We really should have made sure our plan included what to do when we run into someone Regina's upset," David mumbled. "They aren't exactly hard to find."

"She's trying to do the right thing, David," Emma told him, ignoring his raised eyebrows. "I doubt Regina wants to be waiting around, by herself, in Neverland. Whatever she did to Tinkerbell, at least she's owning up to it and making sure she doesn't jeopardise our attempt to save our son."

She didn't wait for David to reply. She strode past him, past Neal and Mary-Margaret, taking Killian's hook in her hand and tugging him after her as she continued deeper into the Dark Jungle.


Killian hadn't been wrong about them being near Tinkerbell's home. Time was difficult to gauge without the sun, but it didn't feel like they'd been walking for too long when they reached the small treehouse.

"It's a bit less… sparkly than I was expecting," Emma muttered, smiling slightly at Neal's chuckle. "I was imagining something leafy. Maybe with a few flowers and some glitter."

"Glitter's surprisingly hard to get hold of in Neverland," Neal joked. "Wood's a bit easier to find."

Killian sighed, extricated his hook from her grip and then crossed the small clearing to the rope ladder. David followed him, and once Killian called down that there was no one home, Emma and the others climbed up after them.

When she reached the top of the ladder, Neal offered her his hand and helped her step up into the treehouse. She didn't really know what to do once she was standing there, so she glanced uncertainly around the small, sparse room. Neal looked equally unsure, his hands buried in his pockets, and after shuffling awkwardly from side to side, he seemed to decide that the best plan was to stare out the window.

Unlike Neal, Killian and David appeared unable to stay still. If Emma wasn't pretty sure that Tinkerbell wasn't fairy-sized, she'd have assumed they were checking under the furniture for her.

"What are you looking for?" she asked.

"Pixie dust, remember?" David told her. "Killian said she might have some."

She doubted that Tinkerbell kept her pixie dust under the cushions, but she stayed quiet. Instead, she joined Neal at the window, although instead of looking out at the jungle, she watched David and Killian ransack the treehouse.

"It's pretty bare," Emma commented, just as Mary-Margaret finally joined them. "It reminds me of somewhere. Oh yeah, where I used to live. That's it."

"Kind of like those motel rooms we used to sneak into?" Neal questioned. "With the empty walls and grey carpets?"

"It's just a place to sleep," Mary-Margaret muttered. "Decorations aren't important when you're not sure how long you can stay."

She hadn't expected Mary-Margaret to understand. Emma couldn't imagine that being raised in a palace allowed her to sympathise. "What would you know about that?"

"I didn't always have a canopy bed in a palace," Mary-Margaret told her. "I had a place like this, too."

"You did?"

"A tree stump. When I was running from the Queen," she continued. Emma raised her eyebrows. She'd never really considered what it must have been like for Snow White, and it didn't help that she'd only ever skimmed through Henry's storybook. Other than the Charles and Leia subplot, and the short story about the Mad Hatter, she'd never even tried to really read it. "Believe it or not, I understand this Tinkerbell."

This Mary-Margaret was someone Emma could talk to. She still wasn't the same woman Emma had originally befriended, but Emma was starting to accept that breaking the curse had taken her away. She hadn't realised they had something in common, and she liked that knowledge much more than she ever enjoyed talks of palaces and balls and fairytales.

"Me too," Emma murmured. "And that's not something I ever thought I'd say."

Mary-Margaret sighed, wringing her hands together and gazing around the wooden room. "I wish you never had to live like this," She admitted quietly. "I wish you could have had something better. I wish I could have… Never mind."

She hadn't mentioned a palace, but Emma was certain that if she'd continued, palaces would have come up. It didn't annoy her as much as she'd thought it would, not after their conversation a few hours earlier. Maybe Killian was right, maybe both of them were stubborn.

And maybe Emma could make Mary-Margaret feel a little bit better.

"The loft's nice," she whispered. "It's the nicest place I've ever lived in. I wouldn't have had that if it wasn't for you."

Mary-Margaret stared at her, clearly surprised. Emma didn't want to wait for a response, so she wandered away from her and Neal, joining Killian as he rifled through Tinkerbell's few belongings.

"Killian, I don't think there's any pixie dust here," she told him. He cursed, knocking a clay bowl off the shelf so that it shattered on the wooden floor. "Killian! What the hell is going on?"

"Why doesn't she have any?" Killian asked, ignoring the incredulous stares from the others. "She should have some. She always had some."

"It doesn't matter, right? You said it would make things easier," Emma murmured, catching hold of his hand before he could push over another of Tinkerbell's things. "I didn't think we needed it. It'll all be okay, Killian."

"No, Emma, it…" he trailed off, glancing past her and then shaking his head, taking in a deep breath. "I wanted things to be easy. I wanted to make sure everything would be alright."

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Guys, I've found something," David shouted, just as Killian seemed about to answer. "It's a handkerchief."

"That's Regina's," Mary-Margaret pointed out, hurrying over to take the fabric from David and then tracing her finger over the monogrammed 'R.M'. "How did it get here?"

"Crap," Emma muttered, snatching the muddied handkerchief from her mother's hand. "She's been tracking us. Watching Regina."

"But if she's been watching her-"

"We're in the wrong place." Killian stated. "We need to find Regina."

"It's Tinkerbell," Emma protested, although she was hurrying the others down the ladder. "Whatever Regina did to her, surely things can't get too bad."

"First time I met her, she seemed rather comfortable with the idea of slitting my throat," Killian stated, and, mirroring their ascent into the treehouse, this time it was Killian offering his hand to her once she stopped climbing. "And she'd never met me. I'd loathe to think about what she might be willing to do to someone who potentially ruined her life."

"We don't know what Regina did."

"She's hiding away in the jungle, Emma," David reminded her. "It can't have been good."


"Finding Tinkerbell has to be our priority," Emma ordered, as they hurried back through the woods to where she'd left Regina. "She's after Regina, but if we find the fairy before she gets to Regina, we're done. She's who we need to find Henry."

She heard a few mumbled assents, Mary-Margaret's response a bit more reluctant than the others. Luckily, they hadn't been too far from Tinkerbell's treehouse when they took their last break so it didn't take too long for them to reach the spot where Emma had left Regina.

"So either Regina's decided to take a walk or Tink found her first," Neal muttered. "That's probably not good."

"It's definitely not good," Mary-Margaret corrected, pushing past Neal and crouching down to the ground. "But Tinkerbell isn't the only one who can track people through a forest."

"You?"

"You don't live in the woods by yourself for a few years without picking up a few things," Mary-Margaret explained. "There doesn't seem to be any footprints but if we looked for displaced dirt, overturned leaves or-"

"Twisted grass?" Neal finished. "I never got very good, but I lived in the woods for a very long time too."

"Yeah, that too," Mary-Margaret agreed, sharing an approving smile with Neal. "But it's always difficult. One broken twig or bent leaf doesn't mean that we can be certain Tinkerbell and Regina went that way, but it's better than nothing."

Neal and Mary-Margaret started carefully examining the ground, Emma and the others standing back as they searched for any signs of where Regina had gone. Emma kept watching them, captivated by the methodical way they were combing over the ground. It was something she could never have imagined Mary-Margaret doing, at least before the curse broke. Emma had spent several years learning how to track people, but she'd never learnt how to hunt down anything the way Mary-Margaret and Neal were.

"It looks like they might have gone this way," Mary-Margaret said eventually, as she ran her finger along a snapped twig lying on the ground. "The dirt looks like someone might have walked through it. Is there anything in that direction?"

Neal stood up, glancing slowly around them. Emma didn't know what he was looking for. To her, every direction looked exactly the same. "Yeah, there's a cave a couple hundred metres away."

"We should check there," Mary-Margaret commanded. "Neal, you know the way?"

"Yeah."

He led them through a dense thicket of ferns, ducking under a fallen tree and then jumping over a narrow stream before leading them up a steep hill and to the left. Wherever he'd led them seemed even darker than the rest of the jungle had been, but maybe that was just because a cliff face was looming over her.

"Here?" Emma asked. She didn't need an answer, because the moment Neal started towards the cave, a small woman walked out of it. "Tinkerbell?"

Emma raised her sword, hearing the others draw their own weapons behind her. The woman took a wary step back. "Who the hell are you?"

"A pissed off mother." Emma answered. "I've been looking for you. We need your help."

"Where's Regina?" Mary-Margaret demanded. "We know you were tracking her."

"I'm fine." Regina wandered out of the cave, stopping at Tinkerbell's side instead of crossing over to join them.

"Do you mind lowering those?" Tinkerbell asked, gesturing at their weapons. "You might stick me, but I'll take some of you down first."

"It's okay. She's not going to hurt us," Regina told her, speaking loudly over Killian's chuckles. "Just stand down."

"I know she won't hurt us," Killian stated, and Emma glanced over her shoulder to see that he was lowering his sword. "But is she going to help us?"

Tinkerbell looked Killian up and down, a smirk dancing on her lips. Emma stabbed her sword into the ground angrily, leaving it standing upright at her side, and then folded her arms across her chest, scowling at the fairy. "Well, look who the queen dragged in. Hello, Hook."

"Lady Bell."

"Hey, Tink," Neal muttered. "You probably don't recognise me, but, um, it's Baelfire."

Tinkerbell's annoyingly flirtatious smirk faded away and she gaped at Neal. "Bae?" she breathed. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

"I was kind of hoping you wouldn't, to be honest," Neal admitted. "I didn't exactly plan on ever coming back here. But Pan has my son, so-"

"I'm sorry," Tinkerbell said sincerely. "But-"

"She's not going to help us," Regina interrupted.

Emma grimaced, taking Tinkerbell's silence as confirmation that Regina was telling the truth. "Why not?"

"Tink, after all we've been through together," Killian muttered smoothly, and Emma rolled her eyes at the smolder he was sending towards the fairy. "A little assistance?"

"She doesn't have any magic," Regina informed them, not letting Tinkerbell reply. "Whatever you were expecting her to do, she can't do it."

"If the plan involved magic, we wouldn't have suggested Tinkerbell."

"You knew?" Regina muttered, glancing between Killian and Tinkerbell with a dawning understanding that Emma wanted to wipe off her face. "She doesn't even have her wings."

"How?" Emma asked. "Can that just happen?"

"I guess people stopped believing in me," Tinkerbell said bluntly. "And even if I could have helped you, Pan's too powerful."

"So, you don't even have any pixie dust?" David checked. "None?"

"No."

"Really?" Killian questioned, his voice strangely desperate. "Come on, Tink, you collect it for Pan."

"I used to," Tinkerbell told him. "Until it ran out. I had to give Pan every grain I had just to get him to leave me alone. I don't have any, and if I did, I wouldn't be giving it to you."

"Ran out?" Emma looked at Killian again, her frown deepening at the confusion on his face. "Tink, what's going on? There's no pixie dust. It's always night. What's happening here?"

"I don't know," she answered. "I just know to stay out of Pan's way."

"So you know where he is?" Mary-Margaret asked. "It's easier to avoid someone when you know where they are."

"Of course I do. But it won't do you a bit of good."

"Let us be the judge of that."

Tinkerbell seemed less certain of her answer, shifting her weight from side to side, and Emma took a step forward, ready to make one last push for her help. She felt Killian step up behind her, his hand resting at the small of her back, and even though she knew it wasn't the time, Emma felt slightly smug when Tinkerbell glanced quickly between the two of them.

"Can you just get us inside his camp and back out?" Emma asked. "That's all we need."

"Maybe," Tinkerbell replied. "But why should I help you?"

"Because we believe in you." Mary-Margaret said earnestly.

Tinkerbell swallowed and looked away, blinking down at the ground. "Just get us inside," Emma repeated. "We'll take care of things from there."

The fairy swallowed again and she seemed to come to a decision, meeting Emma's gaze once again. "And what's in it for me?" she demanded. "Other than a death sentence from Pan when you're gone with your boy?"

"You can come with us," Emma suggested impulsively, glancing quickly over at Killian to see if he agreed. He was smiling, so she assumed he agreed. "Wouldn't you want that?"

"Something bad is happening on this island, Tink. You know that," Killian reminded her. "If I were you, I'd take this deal. I'd get out of here."

"And you'll get a home," Mary-Margaret added. "That's what you want, isn't it?"

Tinkerbell inhaled deeply. "Okay. Listen closely," she told them. "I can get in. Pan will let me in. And maybe, just maybe, I'll leave a way open for you. But you only get one shot, so you better have a good plan. I'm not risking anything until I know you can get me out of here."


Tinkerbell accompanied them through the jungle until they reached another clearing. It didn't take them long to set up camp, and after Emma had unrolled her blanket beside Killian's, he immediately volunteered to go and fetch some coconuts. Before Emma could offer to go with him, he asked David to help and soon, the two of them had wandered away.

Emma knew that Killian and David had occasionally gotten drinks together before the curse broke, but after the week before, she had to admit that she would have preferred Killian to have chosen another time to start hanging out with David. She'd missed him so much when he'd lost his memories, and their few private conversations in Neverland weren't enough for her.

She wanted more time with only him, but Killian seemed to want otherwise.

Emma gripped Killian's coin tightly. Despite the closeness they'd shared since Emma revealed the map, Killian had been quiet for most of the day, and after she'd seen his temper at Tinkerbell's treehouse, she couldn't help but worry that something wasn't right.

"Hey, Ems?"

She glanced up at the nickname, her eyebrows creasing together when Neal crouched beside her. He'd finished lighting the fire, the small campfire blazing behind him. She didn't reply, but instead of walking away to try and talk to someone else, Neal remained at her side.

He was watching her, his fingers tapping irritatingly against his thigh, and after a few more minutes of his stare, Emma sighed loudly. "What is it? You keep looking at me."

"I've been wanting to talk to you," Neal admitted, and he suddenly seemed unable to meet her gaze. "Since we left Storybrooke, I've been thinking-"

"About me?"

"About Tamara," Neal corrected. "And you. I wanted to say sorry."

"Sorry?" she repeated, staring at him in surprise. "I didn't think I'd ever be hearing that from you."

Neal swallowed. "If all this craziness hadn't happened, I don't know if I'd have… It's just that if I say sorry, then I did something wrong. I loved you, you know? I just wanted to believe that I'd done the right thing when I listened to August and I think that I convinced myself that if it was the right thing, you'd be okay."

"And you've suddenly had an epiphany?" she asked bitterly. "You realised that maybe sending me to prison might actually be worth an apology?"

"It's not so sudden," Neal mumbled. "I love Tamara… loved Tamara. She lied to me and she shot me and I think she really believed she was doing the right thing. That shooting me was worth it if it meant getting rid of magic. But knowing that doesn't matter. It still hurts. It makes it worse because I can't understand how she could think that."

"So?"

"That's what I did to you." Neal stared at the ground, fidgeting under Emma's shocked stare. "Why I did it doesn't matter. It was still a really crappy thing to do, and telling myself it was the right decision doesn't make it better. Not for you."

She didn't know what to say. She'd never expected to hear anything even close to an apology from Neal, and although she was grateful to hear him say sorry, she would have appreciated it more if it hadn't taken Tamara betraying him for him to realise it was needed.

"I don't know if being shot and instantly healed by your magic father is as bad as being left pregnant and in prison for eleven months, but thanks," Emma muttered. "It's good to hear an apology."

"I didn't know you were… right, yeah, sorry," Neal stammered. "I get that. I'm not expecting this to fix everything. I don't think an apology from Tamara would really make things better, but it would be nice to hear one. I figured I could at least give you that."

"Fix things?" Emma repeated. "We're not… You know we won't get back together, right?"

"Emma, I was engaged two days ago," he pointed out. "And I've seen you with Hook. I know that. But we have a son together and… I don't really remember my mother, but I remember her and Papa fighting. I remember what it was like with just my Papa, and I guess Henry already has two parents, but he deserves more than what I had. I just want us to be okay. For him."

She stared at him. Of all the things Neal could have said, he'd managed to find exactly the right thing to say. "Okay," she agreed. "I want the same. I just want Henry to be happy and having you around, that'll do it. I never really thought I'd say this, but I'm glad you're here. Without you and Killian, I don't know if we'd be able to get him back."

They shared a smile, and then Neal looked over her shoulder, his smile fading slightly. "Hook," he stated. "I'll, uh, leave you two alone."

He stood up, clapping Emma on the shoulder in farewell before retreating to the other side of the clearing.

Killian took the space Neal had just vacated, reclining back so that he was leaning against the nearest tree. Emma glanced over him, scowling at the blankness of his expression. She wondered if he was trying to stop her from knowing what he was thinking, although she didn't like that thought.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, something she felt like she'd already asked him several times that day. "You and David seem to be talking a lot."

"Why, Swan?" he answered, as he used his hook to tap a hole into the top of a coconut. "Scared your boyfriend and your father are getting along?"

"No," she stated, taking the offered fruit from him. "But I'm a bit annoyed that my boyfriend seems to be avoiding the question. Something isn't right."

Killian's jaw clenched, and for a quick second, he glanced away from her. "Everything's fine."

Emma doubted that she would have missed that lie even without the telltale twinge shocking through her. They'd never said as much out loud, but Emma had assumed that after everything they'd done to each other, after the curse, after leaving him up the beanstalk, they wouldn't lie. Not to each other.

"It's not," Emma hissed, wanting to keep their conversation unheard. "You know I know it's not. I can feel it."

"Emma…" he sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry, but this isn't something I can tell you yet."

"Yet?" she repeated. "So you will tell me one day? We're back to doing this again? I thought, after the curse broke, that we'd never have to-"

"It's not as though I'm enjoying this," he whispered. "I really am sorry."

There was a tremor in his voice and Emma stared at him. She'd been worried before, but he couldn't meet her gaze, couldn't stop fidgeting, and she was suddenly struck with the realisation that maybe it was something really bad he was refusing to tell her.

If it really was that bad, she desperately wanted to know.

She quickly glanced across the clearing to David, but there was nothing about him that suggested there was anything wrong. He was lying with Mary-Margaret, his arms around her, her head resting against his chest.

"You really can't tell me?" she checked, and at Killian's nod, she let out a loud huff. "Well, thanks for the coconut, I guess."

He put his arm around her but Emma didn't move closer. She didn't want to.


A chapter in under two weeks? What is this? I don't know if this slightly faster updating will be a regular thing or not, but either way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you so much for the reviews/favourites/story alerts, and a huge thank you to BlackDragon733 for editing this chapter!