"Dad?"
She was standing in front of him outside the gates of a high school in Boston. It was all so surreal. Jefferson had been waiting for her school to finish.
"Grace," he said. His voice was weak. Some cynical part of his mind had thought that the information Bo Peep gave him wasn't going to be true. After all, if the police hadn't managed to dig up anything on Grace's whereabouts, Jefferson wondered how Peep would. And yet, there she was. Grace was a teenager now, looking a little older than the last time he had seen her. For what seemed like the longest time, Jefferson and Grace simply stood there, alone now as the other students had gone home with their own parents. Then, she dropped her schoolbag and ran towards him, and Jefferson pulled his daughter in for a hug, tears welling in his eyes.
"Dad," she said once again. "I'm so sorry. I never knew... that woman, she took me away and gave me to another couple. They told me that they were my parents now, but... part of me always remembered. Dad..."
They hugged once again, before Jefferson pulled out a small photo from his jacket pocket and showed it to her.
"This woman?" he asked her. Grace looked at the photo, which showed Cora Mills looking stern, as she always did. When Grace nodded, Jefferson did the same and tucked the photo away. "She's gone now. She'll never be able to keep us apart ever again."
"Where's Mom?" Grace wanted to know.
"After you disappeared, your mother and I... we grew apart," Jefferson explained. "But now that I've found you, I think we should go and find her again. What about you?"
Grace nodded, smiling for the first time since they'd reunited. "I've missed her."
"Me too," said Jefferson, returning the smile. "And I'd say she's missed you too."
After all this time, Jefferson thought to himself, all I had to do was tell 'Bo Peep' that Zelena was still in Storybrooke.

When Zelena entered Mr. Spencer's office, she saw that he wasn't alone. There was a policeman sitting across from him.
"Ah, Zelena," said Mr. Spencer. "I see you got my note. Come in."
Zelena did so, and shut the door behind her. As she took a seat, Zelena found herself recognizing the cop as one of those who had spoken to her following the death of Mrs. Mills, as well as Mr. Nolan's little trip down the stairs.
"Is this about Mr. Nolan?" she asked, making sure she looked concerned but not guilty.
"No," Mr. Spencer replied. "Sergeant Ryce here would like to discuss someone with you. A young man named Chad Gardener."
"You see, Miss Green, we recently brought him down to the police station to talk to him about the night that Mrs. Mills was murdered," said Sergeant Ryce. "Her daughter, Regina Mills, recently told police that she found out Mr. Gardener had been in contact with her on the night she was shot, but Chad refused to answer any of our questions. All he said was that he wanted to talk to you."
Bloody hell. Zelena cleared her throat, glancing from Mr. Spencer to Sergeant Ryce before she spoke.
"Well, I'm sorry," she said. "I don't want to talk to him. We... we broke up, recently."
"You are aware that he was taken to hospital the night Mrs. Mills died?" said Sergeant Ryce. "He was stabbed by someone, but refused to say who or why. According to nurses, he was accompanied by a girl who claimed to be his girlfriend. Neither of them reported anything to police."
Zelena shrugged. "The guy wore a mask. It was a dodgy place. Nothing more to say."
Sergeant Ryce scoffed. "So, Chad gets stabbed on the night of Mrs. Mills' death, and now her daughter says Chad interacted with Mrs. Mills on that same night?"
"Sergeant," Mr. Spencer chimed in. "Are you accusing my student of something? If so, then you'll have to take this matter off the school grounds and down to the station... after school hours. Otherwise, Miss Green needs to be going back to class."
"Of course," said Sergeant Ryce, a small smile on his face struggling to stay hidden. "Thank you for your time, Zelena."
Zelena nodded and said goodbye to them both before leaving the office. She didn't go back to class, though. When Zelena was outside and out of sight, she hurried over to the gates and walked straight out, leaving the school grounds behind. She never even noticed the woman watching her intently.

Ruby found it surprisingly easy to enter the Mills household through one of the back windows. From there, it was simply a matter of finding the bedroom that had once been used by Regina's mom. Wearing her red hoodie and a wolf mask that covered her head, as well as a gun strapped to her waist with a belt just in case, Ruby silently made her way across the spacious living room and through the kitchen, where she saw the stairs that went up. Ruby quietly went upstairs and found herself at the end of a hallway lined with doors.
Damn, she thought. Any of these could be the room.
She would never forgive Robin for ditching her at the peak of their success, thereby forcing her to do the dirty work herself. If she got caught, it would be a police matter and Granny's business would be tarnished. Still, Ruby wanted that money. She wanted to provide for herself and Dorothy, so they could have a future together. Just as Ruby was making her way down the hallway towards the other end, a voice startled her.
"Who the hell are you?!"
Ruby spun around and, without thinking, withdrew the gun and pulled the trigger. There was a loud bang, and one of the walls became splattered with red. Somewhere in the Mills household, a baby started crying loudly.

When Mrs. Gardener opened the front door and saw Zelena standing there, she sighed.
"Oh, hey Zelena," she said. "Sorry, Chad's not here at the moment. He's probably at–"
"The police station," Zelena interrupted. "They're questioning him about Cora's death! Did you tell them?"
"What? No!" Mrs. Gardener replied defensively. "I still remember the promise we made at the hospital that night..."
They had both decided to keep a secret from the authorities after Chad was stabbed by Cora Mills, for the sake of convenience as well as Chad's safety.
"Then this has to be my fault," replied Zelena, walking past Mrs. Gardener into the house. "I... I told Regina that Chad and I saw Mrs. Mills on the night of her murder."
Mrs. Gardener's nostrils flared. "You broke the promise?!"
"I didn't!" Zelena snapped. "We said we wouldn't tell the police, but I never–"
She was interrupted when the front door opened and Chad entered the house. Both Zelena and Mrs. Gardener stared at him.
"Zelena? Mom?" he looked at them both.
"Chad," said Zelena, eyes wide. "They... let you go free?"
"Of course," replied Chad. "They have no evidence, other than Regina's word. You told her, didn't you?"
Zelena looked away from him. "I was trying to explain to Regina what her mom had said to me... it was bugging me, alright?"
"Dammit, Zelena," Chad sighed. "What are we going to do now? It's only a matter of time before–"
The phone rang. Mrs. Gardener walked over it, looking nervous, and answered.
"Hello? What's going on?" Then, her face went pale. "Oh god. No. That's horrible! Okay... bye."
Mrs. Gardener put the phone down, before staggering into the kitchen, looking terrified.
"Mom," said Chad, following after her. "Who was it? What's happened?"
She turned to face him, before looking over at Zelena. "That was Tom Clark... he lives next door to the Mills family. Apparently, Regina Mills has been found dead in her home. She was shot. The police suspect it was a botched burglary."
"Oh my god," Chad muttered, also looking at Zelena. "That... that's why they let me go. They were all heading out. Police sirens were going and everything."
Zelena found herself unable to make sense of Chad's words, though. She felt strangely numb. Zelena sat down on a chair and stared down at her shoes.

Regina is dead. Regina. Dead.

"Fucking hell," she muttered, after five minutes of hearing Chad and Mrs. Gardener frantically argue.
"Zelena, listen to me," Chad said, kneeling in front of her so she could see his face. "This is going to look really bad. We need to get the hell out of here, okay?"
"Where?" Zelena asked, her voice quite calm. "Where will we go?"
"I - I don't know," replied Chad.
"You can't just leave!" Mrs. Gardener protested. "You can't leave me on my own, Chad!"
"Shut up!" Chad snapped. "You're not the one in danger here!"
There was a knock on the door.

Oh, shit.

Chad moved to the nearest window and looked outside.
"Is it the police?" Zelena wanted to know.
"I don't think so," said Chad. He approached the front door cautiously, and then opened it.
"Hello Hades," a woman spoke, standing outside. She was middle-aged, with dark hair and an accent similar to Zelena's.
"Who are you?" Chad asked.
"I'm Bo Peep."
Stunned, Chad stepped aside, and the woman walked into the house. As soon as Zelena saw her, she recognized her from photos that lined the mantelpiece at the place she once called home.
"Kelly..." Zelena muttered. "You're... not my mom, are you? Cora said she was."
The woman nodded. "I figured Cora would tell you the truth before she died. That's why I'm here, darling. I saw it in the newspapers that she was dead. I'm so sorry we left you with that alcoholic, Zelena, but Cora didn't want you and I needed Jonathan to be kept busy after I left him."
"What do you want?" asked Zelena, her eyes scanning around for an item she could use as a weapon.
"I owe you a debt that can never be repaid," said Kelly, "but I want to help you now. For years, my job has been to find people. In that business, you also learn how to make sure you're never found. I can give you and Chad new identities, if you want. You can leave Storybrooke today as completely new people."
Zelena frowned, looking at Kelly. "How can you do that?"
"Trust me," Kelly replied, fishing into her bag and pulling out a laptop. "We can do it right now. What's your favorite color?"
"Kelly green," Zelena said instantly. Kelly looked at her.
"Really?"
"It... it has nothing to do with you. It's just my favorite color. Why do you ask?"
Kelly began typing on the laptop. "And... your favorite animal?"
Zelena's thoughts went to the swans at the toll bridge. "Swan."
"Excellent," said Kelly. When she finished typing, she said, "Kelly Swan. And you?"
She looked over at Chad, who was looking bewildered. "Err... can't I stay Chad?"
"Fine," Kelly muttered. "You can be Chad and Kelly Swan, young newlyweds living in Boston."
"Boston?" Zelena said. "What's in Boston?"
"Your way out," replied Kelly. "I need to go and print your new IDs. In the meantime, I suggest you both pack your things and prepare to leave Storybrooke."
After Kelly was out of sight, Zelena picked up her schoolbag and headed towards the front door.
"Where are you going?" Chad demanded.
"There's someone I need to see," said Zelena. "Someone I need to apologize to."

When Zelena arrived at the Nolan residence, the front door was already open. She could hear a baby crying. Zelena slowly approached the front door and peered inside.
"Hello?" she said. There was music playing from somewhere. Zelena cautiously entered the house and looked around. It was then that she saw Mrs. Nolan on the couch, passed out. The carpet beneath the couch was all but covered in empty beer and wine bottles. Zelena was used to this sight, but seeing Mrs. Nolan in such a pathetic state almost brought tears to her eyes. She walked through the house, following the sound of the baby crying. Eventually, she found the room where a baby girl was crying in her crib, wrapped in a blanket with the name 'Emma' stitched onto it.
"Shh..." Zelena whispered, picking up and cradling the baby in her arms. "It's alright, Emma... it's alright..."
"What are you doing?"
Zelena turned to see Mrs. Nolan standing there, swaying in the doorway.
"How could you leave her like this?" said Zelena, holding the baby protectively. "How can you get drunk and pass out with the door wide open while your daughter screams?"
She could see tears rolling down Mrs. Nolan's face. "You don't understand... I can't handle it. With David in hospital... I can't handle it!"
"You need to handle it," Zelena scolded. "For Emma. Or people will take her away."
Mrs. Nolan sniffed. "Take her. Please, take her! I don't deserve her... I can't be a mother right now. Take her!"
"I will," said Zelena. "I'll do it, if you don't agree right here and right now to start taking care of her."
"Take her!" Mrs. Nolan shouted. "Please! I can't be her mom! I can't do this!"
Her sobbing was interrupted when she threw up on the floor. Repulsed, Zelena wrapped the baby in her blanket.
"Alright," she murmured. "I'll take care of her. You take care of yourself, Mary Margaret."
Carrying the baby, Zelena walked past Mrs. Nolan and left the house.

When she returned to the Gardener household, Chad had packed their bags, and Kelly was waiting with fresh pairs of passports, driver's licenses, and birth certificates.
"Holy shit," Zelena said.
"Holy shit," Chad echoed. "Whose baby is that?"
"She's ours," replied Zelena. "Or, she will be. Can I ask one last favor of you, Kelly?"
Kelly sighed, looking at the baby in Zelena's arms. "Let me guess. It involves this little cutie?"
It took another hour for Kelly to forge another birth certificate, but she did it. That night, as Zelena thanked Kelly and hugged her goodbye, and Chad did the same with her weeping mom, they left Storybrooke behind in Chad's car, taking their new baby Emma with them. As they drove past the green sign that read 'Leaving Storybrooke', Zelena looked into the back seat, where baby Emma slept peacefully.
Zelena Green and Chad Gardener are dead now, she told herself. Now, Chad and Kelly Swan's lives can begin.
"I love you," she said to Chad as they traversed the winding road towards Boston, beneath the moonlight. From the corner of her eye, she saw Chad smile.
"I love you too."

SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER

Emma Swan, seventeen years old, had always been told that she shouldn't answer the front door when her parents weren't at home, but she hadn't been in the habit of listening to either of them ever since she entered her teenage years. Emma opened the front door, and was mildly surprised to see a boy standing there. He was a few years younger than her, but looked vaguely familiar.
"Can I... help you?" she said, brushing a strand of blonde hair over one ear.
"Are you Emma Swan?" the boy asked.
"Yeah," replied Emma. "Who are you?"
The boy smiled. "My name's Neal. I'm your brother."