A/N: Last chapter! Thank you all for sticking out until the end.

"She's waking up!"

I blinked my eyes open to see a wooden ceiling illuminated by faint candlelight. My vision was hazy as I tilted my head towards the source of the voice. I could make out a blonde bun and realized that it had been Tink. I smiled slightly but then grimaced as I began to register the pain in my abdomen. "Where am I?" I croaked, my throat in need of hydration. Tink understood this and put a cup towards my mouth. Grunting, I propped myself up to drink from the cup and settled back down once I was done. "We're back on the ship, aren't we?" Tink nodded, putting the cup on the nightstand. "Did everyone-"

"Everyone's fine, Violet," she reassured.

"What happened? All I remember was stepping in front of the Dark One, and the rest was a daze."

"Pan had stabbed you."

"I figured as much, if the pain is much indication," I said with a chuckle.

"He was pretty distraught by it."

"Who? Killian? I vaguely heard him-"

"No, not Killian. Pan."

"What? Why would he-"

"I don't know Violet. Once he stabbed you, he looked as if his heart broke. Killain ran towards you, and Pan stepped back. He didn't even try to hurt the Dark One after you were down. He had every opportunity to. Nonetheless, he backed off, and the Dark One used his remaining energy to teleport us onto the Jolly Roger. Speaking of," she got up from the cot, "he wanted to speak to you. He's leaving with Baelfire once he has a chat with you."

Hearing this, I sat up with some discomfort before nodding. "Send him in." I couldn't imagine what Rumple had to say to me. I didn't think he was the grateful type, but what else could he possibly want? Rubbing my face of the remaining sleep, I stared at the entrance. Soon, I heard footsteps coming down the rickety cabin stairs. The Dark One came to stand at the entrance of the room with an unreadable expression on his face. "Please sit," I offered, indicating the main desk chair. He said nothing but obliged, sitting down and facing me. "Tink said you wanted to-"

"Why did you step in front of me?" he asked with none of the vocal fluctuations I had come to associate him with.

"It was the right thing to do," I replied, looking into his eyes.

"You took a risk for me where there were slim chances for recovery-"

"I didn't care. I couldn't let-" Pan kill you. "Pan absorb your powers."

The Dark One nodded before continuing, "You had said that Pan wanted for you to become the Dark One. It's hard to see someone like him give up attaining my power to someone else."

"...I had died once. Long before you were the Dark One." Long before Malcolm abandoned you. "He knew me then and regretted my death. In my second life, he wanted me to join him in an immortal life."

"My father was close to no one. At least, no one I knew. Who were you to him?" the Dark One finally inquired. I debated whether to tell him because as much as it would help me explain all of the details of interacting with Pan, I couldn't predict how he would receive the news. Knowing from his current position in life, extreme decisions weren't foreign to him. But, the words I had spoken earlier rang in my head. It's the right thing to do.

"There's no easy way for me to tell you this, and I implore you to keep a level mind. I knew Malcolm a long time ago. We had met when he was still a blacksmith apprentice. Of course, I had then come to the knowledge that he was enslaved by the blacksmith. Even though I hailed from a wealthy family, I chatted with Malcolm often. He would say that our conversations were the only things that kept him sane. Of course that and him visiting Neverland in his dreams. But, we eventually grew up, and he had become a merchant of sorts, selling whatever items people lost on the road. It was lucrative, and my family was impressed," I paused because what came next would surely start to indicate to Rumple who I was. "Malcolm and I were wedded for a time. We were quite happy, in fact. With the money he had saved, we moved into a nice cottage in a rather quiet village. Soon enough, I was expecting a child. We were so excited, but life really has a way to put obstacles in our route to happiness. There were complications to the pregnancy and in childbirth, I died." I tried reading Rumple's expression, but it was cryptic. "I didn't know what had happened to Malcolm after that-"

"He became a scoundrel of a father and in every other aspect of his life," Rumple gritted out before getting up from the chair. He paced for a minute before locking eyes with mine. "You had time on the island to tell me," he stated. "Why didn't you?" His faint voice made my heart sink to my stomach.

"There was no easy way for me to tell you. What difference would it have made? If I had died from that knife wound, you would still be alive, and that's all that matter. I didn't want a single thing to come in the way of you surviving," I said passionately. "I was never a mother to you nor can I be now, but I am making amends for your negligence. You deserve a chance at happiness with your child. Your abhorrent father's actions cannot come in the way of that. Now, the only person who stands in the way of your happiness is you. When Baelfire left you, you felt a loss. No amount of power can fill that void. Once your son came to that island, you knew. You had to come because you felt where your source of happiness was. Remember this: you can't change who you are right now, but Baelfire wants you to compromise. He'll stay if you do."

"...Your words won't go unheeded," which was the Dark One's version of a thank you, and I nodded before he went out the door.

Once the ship had set sail, I had fallen asleep once more. Once I had awoken, it was broad daylight, a welcome change from the eternal night that blanketed Neverland. Squinting at the harsh light coming from the window, I swung my legs over the bed slowly, mindful of the wound before gently standing up. Clutching my abdomen, I made my way to the deck to see Killian at the helm. It was an odd sight to see no crew members as I walked up to the captain. I stared at him for awhile while also periodically looking at the sea.

"They're gone," Killian finally said. "Left once the Dark One came back on deck. Baelfire wanted to say goodbye, but I told him that it was better to let you rest. He'll miss you deeply, I can tell."

"His life is going to be better. I made sure of it."

"A few words are not going to change a man-"

"A few words will change my son. He wants to better for Bae, so he will try. I wouldn't have put myself in front of the dagger if I didn't know that."

"You foolish girl," Killian exasperated. "You could've died."

"And, I was fully expecting to, but I got lucky. It was right thing to do and the only way to stop Pan." Killian didn't stay on the topic beyond that, seeing as my opinion about my decision wouldn't change. From a distance, I noticed Tink waving her hands about and seeing the sails and mast get manipulated. "I thought her magic was limited," I inquired, leaning against the rail.

"The Blue Fairy visited her while we were sleeping. Didn't give her her wings back, but allowed her to hone all of magical potential."

"So, Tink's a witch now?"

"Yes."

"Who you're using to serve as your dead crew members."

"Who needs thirty incompetent men when you have one talented witch?" he quipped, chuckling loudly. I smiled at the action and let out a deep exhale, as if all my worry had dissipated with that one breath. "So, sailor, where do we go from here?"

"Wherever pleases you, Captain Jones."

THE END

A/N: When I began writing this fic, I had no real goal in mind. I was obsessed with OUAT at the time and wanted to write an OCxPan fic since was my favorite character from the show. Upon revisiting the fic after letting it glare at me while I was working on other works, I compared my writing style in 2014 to how it is now (currently 2020), which is also pretty evident in the final chapters. I liked seeing this growth in my writing abilities. I am definitely not at my best, but I am happy in the progress I have made not just in writing but being able to convey the plot better. Hopefully, this felt as an accurate ending. I left the fic very open ended to the possibility of canon actually occurring. Baelfire could still leave Rumplestiltskin if he doesn't change his ways, and Neal will still get together with Emma. Moreover, I didn't kill Pan in this fic, so after failing to become the Dark One, he'll continue on his pursuit for the heart of the truest believer. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the fic and happy reading to all!