Earning Happy Endings

by BrainWithAMouth

All it took was one choice. Cora decided to allow Regina's curse to take her as well, though not without securing some protection of course. Now, more people from the Enchanted Forest lived a lie in Storybrooke for 28 years, and Emma will find herself in the midst of it all. With the help of her son, they'll find out who can be trusted, and who may want them gone. Canon divergence.

29. And the Clock Ticks

First things first: stay safe and healthy everyone.

In this chapter, Emma confronts the fact that the curse is real, but Regina isn't quite done yet.

We are back baby! Yes, I have broken from my hiatus and I have some chapters lined up for you on (on a weekly basis of course ;) )

So confession time: one of the reasons this took so long to get out - besides my general "eh-ness" for a while - is because, well, the rest of the Season One rewrite was supposed to go on for about five more chapters. However, because I - for all intents and purposes - switched streams somewhere in the last few chapters to where Emma believed in the curse earlier, I had to do some serious reworking so I could get all the stuff I wanted from four different planned chapters into about two, while also maintaining a good pace. Plus my motivation to write went up and down, up and down, and I think I was experiencing some burnout.

There's also the fact that I tried to get a beta, but that unfortunately didn't work out for awhile. Luckily my old beta, Cant-Stop-My-Fandoms, came back to help me out so Imma give them a shoutout.

But now that's done, and I'm going to try and keep up our regular weekly schedule.

Disclaimer: I own nothing from canon, much to our misfortune.

Thanks to XxSweetAngle84xX, darkcarola17, silblack, Trina Tiffany, BadWolfBitca, siriusbabe1988, Fred's Hermione, sabrinakaye, and jenjentheboscostick for following this story.

And thanks to XxSweetAngle84xX (again), Trina Tiffany (again), BadWolfBitca (again), Fred's Hermione (again), abbydobbie, 5427869, Katrina Granger, TheLovelyBallroomGreek, audreyjoyrao2, Heartwitch, and Anishine for favoriting this story.

Thanks to everyone for patiently waiting for this chapter. Let's not waste anymore time.

Enjoy!

---

And the Clock Ticks

---

February 29, 2012

"Now, just try and sleep," Killian said as he tucked the girls into bed, even Phoebe, who was simply too tired to protest.

"Ugh, we still have to go to school," Phoebe mumbled as she rubbed her eyes in a frustrated manner.

Killian looked at the time, and made a decision, stated matter-of-factly, "No, you don't. I'll call the school and tell them you came down with a bug."

"That's a fib," Mai muttered, struggling to keep a yawn hidden even as she burrowed under her bedding.

"They don't know that," Killian said lightly before gently pushing away some hair out of Phoebe's face. "Get some sleep, loves"

"Goodnight," Phoebe mumbled further before adding in a confused voice, "Good morning?"

Killian cracked a tired smile as he said, "Sleep well," He then went over to Mai, also brushing hair away from her face, and then he kissed her forehead. He felt bad about not doing the same with Phoebe, but he didn't know how she would feel about it.

Mai incoherently mumbled something before she promptly fell asleep, and soft snores followed soon after.

Phoebe, Killian suspected, was a heavy sleeper mainly because she'd fallen asleep quickly with no discernible reaction to the snoring.

Killian quietly walked out of the room with a tired Lady in tow, before he shut the door with as little noise as possible.

He quietly padded over to the couch and fell on it with a slump, slightly wincing at the sound of the thud. Tiredly turning his head, Killian saw Lady head to her bed, and soon even she fell asleep without so much as a yip.

Somehow they'd all managed to get back and no one was the wiser, save the kids who in all likelihood would demand answers as to why this had happened. Hell, he couldn't blame them. He'd actually been there and he still didn't understand why Jefferson had kidnapped Mary Margaret and Emma, or why Emma had wanted to speak to the man alone, or why she wouldn't say what it was about.

Frankly that last bit was his own fault, as Killian had been so relieved that she was safe and so bloody tired that he didn't think to ask too many questions.

Jefferson. Killian would be lying if he said he didn't hold some wariness of the man before, but that's because he didn't know him. He managed to keep some civility for Dada's sake, but given what happened perhaps he should've investigated further, and maybe this whole mess could've been avoided.

Thinking of that, Killian's eyes strayed to his phone, and he was struck with the sudden desire to call Emma, to make sure she was okay. And yet what stayed his hand was the fact that it was late, and she might be getting some well-earned rest. Who the hell was he to ruin that?

As sleep finally claimed him, Killian wondered if they'd ever truly get a handle of the madness all around them.

---

Emma's eyes burned as she reluctantly opened them, groaning lowly as she began to shift in her bed.

"Morning, Mom," Henry said, already dressed and standing a bit away from her bed, eating a banana.

In surprise, Emma sat up in bed, nearly groaning as the sudden movement caused a headache. Plus, though she couldn't be sure, the throbbing inside her ears and the lump in her throat might've signified an upcoming cold.

Just what I need, Emma thought as she got up. She remembered coughing a few days ago, if that, but she had hoped that it was simply the result of allergies, and that it would remain that way.

Looking around, Emma's bleary vision eventually cleared up enough to see Henry and Declan putting dishes in the counter. With a start, Emma checked the time on her phone, and realized that she'd overslept.

"Did I not set the alarm?" Emma asked as she frantically got out of bed. She was going to be late, and who knew if Graham would be able to stay awake any longer. God, she hoped she could at least take a quick shower before going to work.

"No, it went off." Henry said as he approached her. "You just slept through it."

"Why didn't you wake me?" Emma asked.

"You looked really tired." Henry replied. "We just wanted you to sleep."

Despite being touched by Henry's intentions, Emma couldn't help but feel ashamed by how out of it she was. Given what happened last night, who could blame her?

It was all real. She'd spent months denying it, believing it was just a figment of Henry's overactive imagination, spawned by a need to be loved. While it was unfortunately true that Henry did sorely need to be loved, it was also unfortunate that Emma could no longer deny a singular truth.

The curse was real, and she was meant to be the Savior.

It's a joke, Emma thought without humor. Even her inner voice sounded monotone. How can magic be real? How can I be a 'savior' to anyone?

Her phone beeped twice, and when she looked at it, she found that David and Freddie were checking in. On the way back to Storybrooke from Jefferson's house last night, Emma told the group (sans Mary Margaret) about Jefferson's claims that Regina would hurt Paige and Dada. Given what they'd learned, it wasn't too much of a leap, and David and Freddie volunteered to keep an eye on Paige and Dada for the night, just to make sure Regina wouldn't take up that threat.

"Thanks for letting me stay here." Declan said, his voice breaking into Emma's thoughts. "And, you know, for letting me eat your food."

"No problem." Emma said, her mind distant despite her best efforts to stay focused.

"Mom, are you okay?" Henry asked concernedly.

Hearing the worry in her kid's voice, Emma managed to compose herself enough to present an aura of calm, however shallow that was. "Yeah, I'm fine." Emma told him, and when he looked like he didn't quite believe her, Emma added, "Listen, I'll be at the station longer than usual, so I think it's a good idea for you two to hang out at the library today. Afterwards, I'll try and pick you up. If not, I'll call someone to look after you."

Henry looked at her once more before nodding, going over to hug her as he said his goodbyes.

Emma may or may not have squeezed him a little too hard before he and Declan hurried out of the door, wanting to stop by Declan's home to get his supplies before going to school.

As soon as the door closed, it took all of Emma's willpower to not slump back onto her bed, her body moving on automatic to take that quick shower of hers.

Emma didn't remember undressing, and she didn't quite register what she was doing until the water from the showerhead hit her face, a shiver running throughout her body that had nothing to do with the temperature.

As hard as it was to believe, as a small yet vocal part of her mind vainly tried to remain in denial, it all made too much sense.

Henry's claim that no one aged at all except for him.

The lack of recollection people had about key details, usually with vague answers, such as everyone claiming that Regina was mayor for 'as long as they could remember'.

The fact that everyone had this feeling that David was in a coma for a long time, but out of nowhere Kathryn suddenly remembers 'Hey, I have a husband and he's been missing for a while', and no one connected the dots except her and Killian.

The fucking hearts that glowed and were beating like they were still in someone's chest.

Killian and Graham agreed that it was pretty much useless denying it, and it brought Emma absolutely no comfort.

And with that thought, she began to wonder one very scary thought: who were they?

As she stepped out of the shower, she wondered about the real identities of her friends.

Immediately, Henry's claims that Mary Margaret and David were Snow White and Prince Charming, her parents, came to mind.

Emma, who had been in the process of taking bowls out to pour cereal for the boys, shakily placed them against the counter with a clatter.

My parents, she thought. They abandoned me on the side of the road- no. If Henry's right- he is right...they gave me away, but to protect me? No. No it can't-

It is, a voice in her mind told her, calm in its reassurance without any warmth.

Emma tried to take in some calming breaths as she dressed for the day, as her mind being in this much of a jumble just wasn't good for her sanity.

There was a small bark by her feet, but it surprised Emma enough that she actually jumped and shouted in surprise.

"Copper." Emma hissed out, a hand hovering over her heart before she forced it back down, unable to stop herself from glaring at the puppy by her feet. "You scared the shit out of me."

Copper whimpered, lowering his head.

Emma felt the sudden irritation in her body flood out instantly. Emma sighed, "Sorry boy, it's...been a hell of a night."

Parts of the night came flooding back into her mind, including Jefferson's claims of Regina threatening Paige - or rather, Grace - and Dada's safety.

"Shit." Emma said as she got Copper's stuff ready to take him to the station, so that hopefully one of her friends - whoever they were - would take care of him. Well, she'd call them first, obviously, and it- fuck her brain is scattered.

"Okay." Emma said aloud as she put on her shoes and her jacket, grabbed her keys and wallet before putting Copper's leash on, the two of them leaving the apartment in a hurry.

It didn't take long to get to the station, and there she saw an exhausted Graham barely keeping his head up. In the cells were Mary Margaret, who from her seat on her prison cot seemed happy to see them but on edge, and Jefferson, who was continuously pacing his cell.

That was, until, he saw Emma.

"Where's my daughter? Where's Dada?" He asked, coming up to the bars of the cell to look at her intently. "Are they safe?"

"It's being handled." Emma replied before she turned to address Graham, who stood up on somewhat shaky legs.

"Changing of the guard I-" Graham started to joke, but a yawn broke him off. "God I want to sleep."

"Go ahead." Emma said as she unhooked Copper's leash, letting the puppy loose so that he could go up to Mary Margaret's cell and squeeze through the bars, happily allowing his owner pick him up. "Declan and Henry are probably at school by now."

"Probably?" Graham asked.

Emma replied, "They went to stop by your place first."

Graham nodded. "Just as well. I'm too-" Another yawn. "I'm too tired to really be of much use for awhile."

As Graham grabbed his jacket, Emma then asked, "Did Regina come by?"

Graham shook his head. "Which is odd considering she's done it about, what, three days in a row?"

"She's onto us." Jefferson said from his cell, and Emma saw her roommate wince at being reminded of his presence.

"You don't know that." Emma said before adding, "Even if she is, she can't do anything for now."

"Emma, can we talk?" Mary Margaret asked as Graham finally left. She waved Emma over to the farthest side of the cell she could get away from Jefferson. She then whispered, "What are you going to do about him?"

Emma glanced at Jefferson, who anxiously looked at her before turning his eyes away to the rest of the room. Addressing Mary Margaret once more, "For now, we're keeping him here."

"With what charges?" Mary Margaret asked. "You said it last night that no one can know he held us hostage."

"We'll think of something." Emma said before wincing. "Okay, I know how that sounds, but right now I honestly think the safest place for him is here."

"Because of Regina?" Mary Margaret asked as she held Copper closer. At Emma's surprised look, she added, "He couldn't stop talking about it, last night or this morning. He's convinced that Henry's stories are real, and...and when Graham heard him talking, he didn't stop him." Mary Margaret then gave Emma an apprehensive look. "And neither have you."

Emma awkwardly said, "Maybe I'm keeping an open mind."

"You believe him?" Mary Margaret whispered in a shocked voice.

"I don't-" Emma stopped herself, feeling her mind begin to fizzle out over the revelations that recently unfolded. "Look, I'll explain everything when I can make sense of it, but...lately, I've learned a few unbelievable things, and right now it feels like my head is going to explode. I don't know what to do. I...I honestly don't."

Emma hadn't meant to let her voice sound that shaky, and she didn't realize she averted her eyes from Mary Margaret's until the latter reached through the bars, and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Emma," Mary Margaret said softly, "whatever is going on, you can tell me, or at least tell someone else. If you're in trouble, we can help."

Oh, we're all in trouble, Emma thought. Still, Emma felt comforted by her words, even if a part of her mind marveled at the irony that this comforting gesture might be coming from her mother of all people. There was another bit of irony that Emma couldn't ignore. "How is it you're in jail for a murder, and you're comforting me?"

Mary Margaret, despite the little anxious frown that briefly came over her face, gave her best carefree shrug. "It's a gift." Mary Margaret then drew her hand back and look intently at Emma. "Whatever it is, I know you can do it."

Yeah, Emma thought worriedly. If I'm meant to be a Savior, then we are all screwed.

---

Regina felt something cold sink into her stomach as she received word that not only was Mary Margaret in her cell, but so was a man matching Jefferson's description.

What made that cold feeling worse, similar to iron nails now, was the news that two more of her informants delivered that they couldn't move on Paige Schafer or Dada Meyer, because David Nolan and his friend were guarding each of them. They could at least try, but Regina knew that doing so would risk capture. And if they were captured it could lead back to her.

She knew that David didn't have a direct link to Paige, and only a slightly less tenuous connection to Dada. From what her people told her, both David and his friend - Freddie Leander, she recalled - were there almost all night. By the time they left, the window of opportunity closed.

And Regina knew that it was no accident.

She also knew that she was running out of time.

"Think, think." She told herself as she paced in her office, her mind consistently hitting roadblocks that could lead to her success. Or, at the very least, avoid her head being forcibly separated from her body.

Regina knew Mary Margaret hadn't seen her when she drugged and kidnapped her, but Jefferson was compromised. If he hadn't told Emma and Graham what happened by now, he would soon. Thankfully, perhaps the one saving grace she had was that Emma's skepticism would render her in a state of disbelief about the curse.

However, even that had its limits. If Jefferson pointed the finger at her, she could deny it, come up with information proving a history of erratic behavior with symptoms of psychosis. Who would question a crazed man who kidnapped a woman?

And yet something in the pit of her stomach, throughout every fiber of her being, told Regina that she was running out of time, and she needed to remove the blonde threat that was trying to take her son and break her curse out. Soon.

"Alright, breathe." Regina told herself as she finally stopped pacing, attempting to clear her mind. She could try to kill Emma, but some time ago she realized that doing so would undo the curse automatically. Driving Emma out of town was out of the question - not only was the damn women stubborn, but she might take Regina's son away as well. Threats and intimidation hadn't worked in the past, so Emma would have to be neutralized in such a way that she could neither break the curse nor keep Henry.

Perhaps brain damage or permanent body paralysis? Either option, which would see Emma a helpless being for the rest of her days, was tempting, but the matter to do them in what may be a very short amount of time was unknown. Regina only had a little magic left in this world, and as much as she'd like to use it on Emma's damn mother-

"Wait." Regina breathed out as a plan began forming in her mind. She raced to the attic of her house, where old things of Henry's growing up and other important items resided. Her search didn't take long, and she opened up an innocuous looking Hat box to retrieve the item she sought.

Regina didn't know who made the Hat or how. She had once asked Jefferson if he had created it, but he claimed that it was simply given to him by Rumplestiltskin. She attempted to ask the imp about it, but the Dark One just loved being as annoying vague as possible.

In the end, it didn't really matter who made it, but that Regina knew how to use it. For the most part. She knew that the Hat could ask as a transport between worlds, but for her purposes she needed to get a very specific item with very little magic.

She would need to find a way to get Jefferson to talk.

---

It was a dark and oppressive atmosphere that she was choking on, as each breath felt more labored than the last, and yet her mind remained in the headspace of 'Maybe I'll make it'.

She looked around in the darkness, distantly hearing muffled voices that felt familiar. Yet no matter how badly she wanted to go towards them, to not feel alone and scared, her body would not move.

A hand landed on her shoulder with a firm, uncompromising grip. Looking down, she found a scaly hand with long, blackened nails refusing to let her go.

"You can't go, dearie." The demented voice taunted. "Not until you pay your end of the deal."

She opened her mouth to protest, but no mouth came out.

A voice called out to her, and she tried to move towards them, away from the hand, but she was stuck in place.

She tried to scream-

Phoebe nearly shot up in bed, feeling something clawing at her throat until the pressure suddenly released, and she realized it wasn't a hand pressing against her windpipe, but her blankets wrapped uncomfortably around her. Anxiously pushing them away, she sat up in bed, feeling some beads of sweat cool and dry uncomfortably against the back of her neck, and it was only after a moment or two that she realized Mai wasn't in bed with her.

Phoebe let out a rough sigh. The voice connected to the clawed hand sounded too familiar. Even in my dreams I can't get away from him.

As she sat up, she looked at the clock on the bedside table. She was grateful when she remembered that Killian said he would let her and Mai skip school today. She knew that this was probably the most sleep she'd gotten in a few days...which honestly wasn't saying much.

An uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach soon formed into an ugly churning, as Phoebe remembered the reason for that.

The dream- no, the nightmare she'd just awoken from had been one where a man was trying to make a deal, trying to take something she loved, and reached out a grotesque, scaly hand to strangle her when she tried to say no.

It wouldn't take a genius to figure out who that monster was supposed to be, but unlike the dream, there was no simple solution to escape Mr. Gold.

It wasn't just the threat of retaliation against Killian and Mai hanging over Phoebe's head that made her lose so. It was the fact that she was betraying people who trusted her, who - dare she say - even loved and cared about her that made her feel worthless. And all for a man who any day now could just follow through on his threat, whether or not Phoebe did as he said.

She didn't necessarily think she would, as he seemed too fond of his reputation for following through on deals, however horrible they were, but the threat still loomed.

Phoebe noticed a clenched feeling in her throat, and when she tried to dismiss it as part of waking up or even an illness, it was soon accompanied by a quivering lip and a stinging sensation in her eyes.

Quick question - are you okay with my dad dating your mom?

The conversation with Henry from the night before (or was it earlier in the day) came to mind, and it made something in her chest twist painfully. It was such an innocuous question, but it reminded her of what she was doing all the same. No matter how much Gold would like to convince her that there was no harm in it - more likely to convince her to go along with it than any worries that this was immoral - she knew it was a massive breach of trust. And this was Gold she was dealing with, and who knows what he could do to hurt Killian and Emma with that information.

The information she gave him.

The thought nearly made her sob.

"Phoebe?" Killian's voice asked concernedly, and it was only then that she realized that he was standing at the door, dressed for the day with a worried look on his face. "What's the matter?"

Phoebe tried to lie, she really did, but whether it was the sleep or the guilt, she was exhausted. She'd tried avoiding the subject, she'd tried putting Killian on the defensive, and with the latter it had blown up in her face when she threw Killian's kindness back in her face. Not trusting herself to keep her voice steady, Phoebe just shook her head, her hands clenching the blankets that still covered her.

"Hey, hey." Killian said softly as he came over to sit on the edge of the bed next to her, clasping one of her hands in his. "What is it?"

"Nothing." Phoebe tried to say, but cursed herself when her voice came out as little more than a wobbly whisper.

"It's not-" Killian started before pausing. He then wait a couple of seconds before saying, "Phoebe, you know I care about you right?"

And that's the problem, Phoebe thought self-deprecating as she nodded. You care about me, and I have to use that against you.

"Right." Killian said a bit quietly. "And you know that I would never let anyone hurt you."

But he could hurt you, she thought. And he can hurt Mai.

She wanted so badly to believe him, but…

You can't leave dearie. Not until you pay your end of the deal.

I can't get away from him, Phoebe thought fearfully. If I try, he'll hurt-

"Phoebe." Killian said her name gently.

Phoebe tried to subtly even her breath, and yet any attempt at subtly ended in failure.

You don't deserve to have someone be this nice to you, Phoebe thought, and just like that, the dam began to fracture.

"Hey, hey." Killian said softly as he stood up only to sit back down, this time changing his position so that they were seated shoulder to shoulder, so that he could wrap an arm around her now shaking frame. "Whatever it is, I promise I'll help you, but I can't unless you tell me."

"It's-" The attempt to lie once again fell silent, and Phoebe felt more of herself fracture until the attempt to play it off became overwhelming.

She didn't know what it was that caused it. Whether it was her and Henry's talk, the guilt she felt, Killian's comforting and protective presence, or perhaps a combination of it all, but Phoebe had had enough. Damn Gold, she couldn't take this anymore.

"I'm sorry." Phoebe said in a wobbly tone, feeling tears welling in her eyes that threatened to spill over. "Please, I'm sorry, just...I know y-you're gonna be mad at me, but p-please don't hate me."

"Hate you?" Killian questioned softly before hugging her a little tighter. "It's not possible."

We'll see, Phoebe thought hatefully, though that emotion was directed solely towards herself.

Phoebe took in a couple of steadying breaths, which only lessened the waver in her voice, as she said, "I...I did something bad." Taking in another breath in an attempt to steel herself, to prepare for Killian's rejection, she continued, "Remember that guy I was trading stuff to, from people's garbage? I...I'm still talking to him."

She couldn't bring herself to look Killian in the eye, but in anticipation of some sharp reaction, whatever it may be, she hurriedly added, "I didn't want to, but he said he'd help with the nuns' rent if I did. And…" The guilt from her spying on Killian and Emma made her throat close up.

"It's alright." Killian told her comfortingly, and the softness of his tone just made her feel worse. "You can tell me."

Phoebe couldn't stop her mouth from turning into a deep frown, and she only wiped away a few of the tears that fell from her eyes as she tried and failed to look Killian in the eyes. "He...he wanted me to-" She cleared her throat when the words began to die there. No turning back now. "He wanted me to s-spy on you, and Emma, and tell him everything that happened. He said that if I didn't, then h-he'd send me and Mai into foster care. A-And he'd hurt you somehow, and he can, and...I swear I didn't want to do it. I tried to get out so many times, and I tried not to say anything important, but he kept making threats and offering things and I was so scared a-and-"

It was then that Killian drew her fully into his arms, and when he held onto her tightly it was then Phoebe realized she had been rambling and crying.

Up to this point, Phoebe had been fractured, but now she had broken, causing her to return the hug full force and give muffled sobs into Killian's chest.

"It's alright now." Killian told her, and she could've been wrong, but she thought she'd heard a waver in his voice. As she cried, feeling the guilt slowly give way to a strange sort of relief, she distantly realized that he was rubbing her back. "Thank you for telling me, sweetheart."

"I'm sorry." Phoebe sobbed, blinking her eyes as they began to sting from the tears. She eventually calmed down enough to pull back, wiping at her tears with the back of her hand. Sniffling, she once again said, "I'm sorry, Killian."

"I know, sweetheart." Killian told her, brushing back hair that had fallen in her face, clinging to her face due to tears. After another moment passed, allowing Phoebe to taking in steadier breaths, he continued, "Phoebe, look at me, this is very important. Who is the man?"

Phoebe finally looked up at him, and was stunned to find that his eyes were a touch red, in the way they would be if someone was about to cry themselves. Feeling his hand clasp hers once again, she gripped his tightly.

Now or never, she thought determinedly, willing herself to remain strong.

"It's…" Phoebe started, "...it's Mr. Gold."

Instantly, Killian's face went from worried and sad to cold furious, and then back to worry again. After a few seconds, Killian gently squeezed her hand back and said, "Alright. I'll go talk to him."

"No." Phoebe insisted worriedly. "If he knows you know-"

"Then I'll handle it." Killian told her firmly, and it was said with such confidence that Phoebe began to believe him.

Phoebe said once more, because she couldn't say enough, "I'm sorry. For that, and for saying that you weren't my real dad. I didn't mean it." Little warm tears went down her cheeks. "You are, you know. You're the only dad I've ever had."

Killian visibly swallowed a lump in his throat, and his eyes glistened before he once again kissed her on the forehead, a gesture Phoebe greatly appreciated. "And I'm proud to have you as a daughter," he told her.

Phoebe, to put it mildly, was confused. "But...I lied to you. I've been spying on you."

"As the result of a grown man threatening you and your sister, and it only started because you were trying to help the people you love." Killian told her, and that heavy feeling she'd been carrying for so long suddenly started to lift. " Just know that from now on, you'll never do this again."

"I promise." Phoebe said firmly.

"I mean it." Killian said. "You'll have nothing to do with Gold like this ever again."

Phoebe said more hesitantly, "But what if Gold...what if he tries coming after us?"

"Then he'll have me to deal with." Killian asserted, and from the quiet fury in his eyes, Phoebe knew that he meant it. He then put on a soft, genuine smile as he gently and briefly pressed a kiss on her forehead. "And in case you were wondering, I forgive you. Utterly and completely."

Phoebe gave another soft sob, and he hugged her gently once again.

"Come now, dry those tears." Killian told her. "You won't have to worry about him again."

"You sure?" Phoebe asked as she pulled back.

"Absolutely." He reaffirmed. He then began to pull them up. "Come. You've got to eat, and after that you can stay downstairs with Mai, Lady, and Dada."

Something about his words seemed strange to Phoebe, and so she asked, "What about you?"

Killian got that dangerous look in his eyes again, and Phoebe knew it wasn't meant for her. "I've got to talk with Gold."

---

"We need to talk." Emma said as she entered Graham's office at the station.

"Why good morning, Graham." Graham said in a heavily sarcastic tone, likely caused by the utter lack of sleep he'd had if the bloodshot eyes were anything to go by. "How are you? Would you like a coffee?"

"Why good morning, Graham." Emma replied wryly, and with a bit of a biting tone, as she held up one of the cups of coffee she had. "How are you? Would you like a coffee?"

Graham immediately blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry. I didn't even...God I'm tired."

Taking pity on him, Emma just handed him the cup, wincing a bit when he started drinking the thing in one go. "I'm pretty sure that's hot."

Graham himself winced, but he flatly replied, "I can't feel too much of anything anymore."

"Did you get any sleep last night?" Emma asked.

"Only some." Graham replied as he rubbed his eyes. "Before we left to find you and Mary Margaret, and about half an hour in total after we got back." Graham sighed. "How are Henry and Copper?"

"Henry's at school," Emma said, "and Copper's with Freddie-"

The phone on his desk rang.

"Hold on." Graham said as he picked up the phone. "Hello?"

After about a minute, Graham hung up the phone before his head fell against the desk with a thump. Before Emma could say a word, he got up with a swift yet deep inhalation through his nose, got up, and grabbed the keys to the jail cell.

"What's going on?" Emma asked.

"A clerk from the courthouse called." Graham said. "Apparently, there's a potential opening for Mary Margaret to receive bail. Ray's already been called and he's on his way there."

"I can drive her." Emma said. "You should go home."

"And I will after I drop her off." Graham said. "Besides, someone has to stay here and make sure Jefferson sticks around."

Emma hated to admit it, but he had a point. "At this rate, we might have to add on another deputy."

"If it's in the budget, I am all for it." Graham said.

Then, because the revelation was returning to the forefront of her mind, questions bubbled up in her mind. Looking at Graham, Emma wondered who he was. Did Henry have a guess? If he did, did he ever tell her, and if he did, did she simply put it out of mind thinking it was only part of his imagination?

Emma started, "Graham, listen-"

"Emma, I'd be happy to talk later, but I'm fairly certain I'm only going to stay awake long enough to get Mary Margaret to the courthouse, and then get home." Graham interrupted, and Emma could hardly fault him for it.

Emma nodded. "Yeah. Go ahead."

Graham soon took Mary Margaret out of her cell, put on handcuffs, and began to lead them out of the station.

"Good luck holding down the fort." Graham said as he and Mary Margaret left.

"Good luck getting home." Emma said, and soon the two of them were gone.

Graham and Mary Margaret, Emma thought, or was it Graham and Snow White, or whoever he's-

"Got a lot on your mind?" Jefferson's voice broke into her mind, reminding her of his presence.

"What gave it away?" Emma replied, giving him a hard stare.

Jefferson shrugged as he leaned against the bars of his cell. "Oh, the aloofness, the vacant stare, the growing sense that your entire reality is not what you think it is. You know, little signs like that."

"It would've been nice if someone clued us in sooner." Emma said accusingly.

"Would you have believed me?" Jefferson challenged.

Emma didn't answer. She didn't need to.

"So what now?" Jefferson asked, this time with a more fervent look in his face. "What's the plan to break this curse and get us all the hell out of here?"

"It's...a work in progress," Emma said.

"So you have nothing," Jefferson surmised with an undertone of impatience.

"Hey we're doing the best we can here," Emma retorted.

"Well it's not enough," Jefferson threw back snappily. "You know the curse is real, so what are you waiting for?"

"Maybe a direct way to actually break it?" Emma meant for that to sound like a terse reply, but it came out as more as question, because honestly, none of them could come up with an answer.

"How about the obvious?" Jefferson offered. When Emma didn't say anything he sighed, "True Love's Kiss."

Emma's skepticism reared its head, and it must've shown on her face because Jefferson rolled his eyes.

"Come on," he said in an exasperated tone. "If you believe in the curse then you must know-"

"That I'm the Product of True Love," Emma finished in a flat tone. "Yeah I know that's who I'm supposed to be, but…"

Emma couldn't finish her sentence. Her mind rebelled against the notion that she was this Savior, this magical person who was supposed to come in and solve everybody's problems. The evidence of the curse was irrefutable and yet-

"You can't seem to wrap your head around it," Jefferson surmised. At her surprised look he gently added, "Yeah, I know. I spent a long time in that house wondering if I really was insane. After all, a curse seemed far fetched at best, and yet...deep down I knew it was the truth."

Feeling this cut too deep, Emma couldn't help but say, "This coming from the guy who held me and my friend hostage earlier today."

Jefferson winced. "I know it was wrong, but I didn't have a choice."

"Because of your daughter," Emma said with some sympathy even if she was still a little on edge from that recent episode.

Jefferson nodded grimly. "Would you put it past Regina to hurt a child?"

Henry's sullen face after Regina kept him away sprang to mind. As did LJ's frantic face when he ran into the station to tell them that something went wrong at the Mill house. Declan desperately hugging Graham after he had been locked in her closet followed soon after.

And that wasn't even the half of it. If- Since the curse was real, and if Emma remembered bits and pieces of stories from Henry's book well enough, then Regina has done much, much worse to an incalculable number of children.

"Now," Jefferson said with a harder edge in his voice, "about breaking this curse…"

"I told you last night," Emma started as she tried to hold back her aggravation, as lack of sleep was not a helpful factor. "I don't know." Then, with a more sardonic tone, "But hey, let me guess, it's going True Love's Kiss or-"

"Glad to see we're on the same page," Jefferson replied tersely. "Now, if you manage to find someone you really love, I suggest you give them a big kiss."

"Well I've kissed-" Emma stopped herself as she began to imagine the number of times she and Killian kissed. It was...that was completely different. She cared about Killian, she did, but True Love? They hadn't been dating that long, and she didn't want to mess things up. Besides, if they were True Love, and that was an if, wouldn't the curse have already-

"Hey, Earth to Emma," Jefferson snapped.

"Hey, here's an idea," Emma retorted in the same tone. "If True Love's Kiss would break the curse, why the hell hasn't it worked on David and Mary Margaret? They're supposed to be True Love, aren't they, so why isn't the curse broken?"

Even as she said this, she heard the echoes of Henry's voice explaining this.

Jefferson was unwittingly well-prepared to agree.

"Don't you think I've thought about this?" Jefferson asked rhetorically. "It won't work on them because they can't actually remember their original lives. It doesn't work if there's this...cloud around their memories."

Emma felt that they were getting nowhere fast. "So, while we go around this issue over and over again, any suggestions on something useful we could be investigating."

A tense air stood between them, Emma and Jefferson staring each other down as both of their frustrations swelled.

After a long pause, Jefferson sighed. "One suggestion...check out the hospital. Regina has visited that place out least once a month every month since we all got here, at least from when I started keeping track of time."

"Any idea why she keeps going there?" Emma asked.

"Not really," Jefferson said. "At least nothing I can confirm just yet."

Before Emma could question it further, she spotted August through the window, walking by the police station. The look gave her lingered in too long for it to be accidental. He knew something, Emma could tell, and it was about time to figure out what that was.

He had wanted to take her out for a drink after all. Now he'd get his chance.

As August went past the window, Emma asked Jefferson, "What do you know about August?"

"Absolutely nothing," Jefferson answered before giving her a significant look. "Though I think I'm not the only one who finds his presence here...curious."

Emma felt something urge her to run after August, something that told her to dispense of the mystery already.

He had wanted to take her out for a drink after all. Now he'd get his chance.

She still had a prisoner to deal with.

"If Regina comes along, use this," Emma said, and against the protests of that voice in her head, she handed Jefferson one of the spare walkie talkies through the prison bars.

She left the station, and saw the man she was pursuing about to cross the street.

"Hey August." Emma called out.

At last, August turned to address her, greeting her with a smile as he came to a stop, and Emma thought he might have been limping. "Hey there, Deputy. I promise, I've done nothing wrong."

"Cut the crap, August," Emma said, and while she would later blame her frayed nerves and the foundation of her world collapsing from underneath her, at the moment she didn't care. "Why are you in town?"

Taken aback by her retort, August started, "Well to see the sights-"

"Of a town that shouldn't even exist?" Emma questioned.

August tried to stifle his look of realization, but Emma still caught it.

"Listen," Emma pushed on, "I have had about all I take of this, so let's lay out the facts one last time. No one except you, me, and Henry have entered this town in about twenty-eight years. I have my reasons, and so does Henry, so what's your excuse?"

The man before her looked to be calculating something in his mind. It was the same look some of her marks when she was a bail bondsperson got when they realized she was onto them. That look of 'do I go quietly or do I make a run for it'.

If August decided to run, he wouldn't even make it half a block.

August seemed to realize this too, and just let out a sigh. Whether it was of resignation or relief, Emma couldn't tell.

"I…" August started, "am here because I made a promise to my dad. About you. And also because I am in deep shit."

Emma crossed her arms over her chest with a glare.

"How much do you know?" August asked her.

Emma replied. "The curse, the hearts Regina stole, and the fact that she'll do anything to keep it that way."

August let out a low whistle. "So just about everything then."

"The only thing I don't know," Emma said. "Is who are you?"

"Pinocchio," he said at last.

Tamping down every instinct that told her to scoff, she merely raised an eyebrow.

"It's true," August said before grabbing his pant leg. "And I can prove it."

He gripped the fabric and tugged it up, and Emma could only stare as, instead of flesh, August's leg was nothing but wood.

"You couldn't spring for a plastic prosthetic?" The words came out of Emma's mouth before she could stop herself.

"Cute," August said in a bitter tone before he let the fabric drop back down, hiding the wood. "A few months ago, I was in Hong Kong, everything was going- well not great, but generally okay. Then I wake up one morning, and find that my leg is starting to get stiff. Lo and behold, it's wood. Now can you guess the exact day this started happening?"

"October 23?" Emma guessed.

"Bingo," August replied. "I realized that you must have gone to wherever Regina was keeping everyone, and I knew this was only going to get worse. I knew this was punishment for not keeping my promise."

"What promise?" Emma asked irritatedly. "And why did you come with me when no one else did? As far as I know, Henry's book never mentioned that."

August looked away.

"Wait," Emma said as something finally clicked. "Did you have something to do with his book getting lost?"

He paused before saying, "...Well, uh, I had every intention of returning it." At Emma's angry glare he hastily added, "And I did. Doesn't look like it mattered though. Looks like you didn't see the entry I put in."

"Okay," Emma said, feeling her temper start to boil over. "Forget about the book. How did you get here? I remember that story - the wardrobe only had room for one person."

August swallowed a lump in his throat. "It had room for two."

Emma's mind came screeching to a halt. "What?"

"Papa...you have to understand," August beseeched, though for the first time, it wasn't for himself. "He was scared, for me. He didn't know what would happen to me in this place. He didn't know if I would still remain a boy, or if I'd revert back to a puppet. He couldn't take that chance."

Anger. Disgust. Sympathy. All of these welled up in Emma as she said in a distant tone, "So he ruined any chance of one of my parents coming with me."

"I was supposed to look after you," August admitted, and try as he might to hide it, Emma saw the shame in his eyes. "I promised to look after you. I was seven, I thought I could handle it...but I didn't. Our first foster home, we were with a man who didn't even bother to get you a crib that was leveled correctly. And when I took his tools to fix it, he threatened me." August looked at Emma, and when she didn't respond, he kept talking. "One of our foster brothers - a guy named Greg - he stole enough money to get us a bus ticket out of there, but we couldn't take you."

"So you left," Emma said, feeling her heart clench and stomach coil up angrily. "You left me there, and never looked back."

"I was seven!" August tried defending himself. "I didn't know how to take care of a baby!"

"I was a newborn!" Emma shouted back. "How the hell was I supposed to defend myself? For years, I thought no one was there for me, that I was alone, but you knew. You knew the whole time, and you didn't even try to send a damn postcard?"

August started, "I've made mistakes, Emma-"

"Mistakes," Emma spat out the word, holding herself back from screaming at him. All those years, all that time...

"But I came back," August said.

"To save your own ass," Emma retorted harshly. "You couldn't even try to talk to me. Even if I didn't believe the fairy tale stuff, you couldn't have bothered to say, 'Hey Emma, I know this is awkward, but I knew you as a baby?' Was that too hard for you?"

He fell silent, and it looked like he would remain that way. Then, he did his best to maintain eye contact as he said, "Years ago, I-"

Emma's cellphone went on, and she rudely told him, "Hold on," as she answered it. "Hello?"

It was David, and he told her Killian was doing something.

"Wait," Emma said as she listened to David's report, knowing August was looking at her curiously. "He did what?"

---

Killian slammed the baseball against another glass display, first cracking it before the damn thing finally shattered. The whole time he was ignoring Gold's angered shouts.

"Have you lost your mind?!" Gold shouted, for the first time losing his composure as he kept his distance from Killian.

A part of Killian hoped that Gold would wander a little too close, to get in range of his baseball so that Killian could 'accidentally' whack him in the face.

Killian went to another display case, one where a pair of creepy looking puppets sat, and broke the glass of the case.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Killian said sarcastically as he broke the case further, nearly knocking the puppets to the floor. "Does this upset you?" He knocks off some items from a shelf. "Does it make you feel small?" Killian knocks the shelf over, watching it crash to the floor. "How did you think Phoebe felt?"

Gold started to deny it. "I don't know what you-"

"Don't lie!" Killian shouted in anger, his vision turning red as he pointed the bat at him, and he didn't notice how he had started approaching Gold. "She told me what you did! If you ever come near her-"

"Killian, stop!" David's voice shouted, startling Killian enough that he didn't fight his friend's hold until he felt David pulling him backwards, away from Gold.

"Let me go." Killian growled as he tried to get himself loose, watching nothing more than to knock Gold's teeth out, to leave him bleeding on the floor-

"What the hell is going on?" Emma's voice broke through his thoughts, and soon she appeared in front of him.

"Deputy, excellent," Gold said in a calmer voice, his hands folded on top of his cane. "I'd like to press charges."

Killian once again tried to wrestle himself away from David, only for Emma to wrench the bat out of his hands and help hold him back. "If you think that's going to stop me-"

"Killian, enough," Emma said warningly. "Now what is going on?"

"He threatened Phoebe," Killian said, not taking his eyes off Gold for one moment.

"What?" Emma asked in surprise.

"I've done nothing of the sort." Gold lied.

"Don't you fucking dare!" Killian shouted, in his rage only barely taking note of how Emma and David were now looking at Gold. "She told me you made her search through everyone's garbage. She told me that you told her to spy on me, Emma, and others, or else you would get her arrested, make sure she and Mai would go into foster care."

"You can't be taking any of this seriously," Gold said in a cool voice, but Killian didn't think for a second that he cared if Emma or David did, not so long as he could legally get away with it.

"Just because you feel like a man when you threaten a 14-year-old girl, it doesn't make you one," Killian spat at him, enjoying the little twitch in Gold's expression.

Emma looked like she wanted to take the bat to Gold herself, but she somehow managed to restrain herself enough to turn to Killian and say, "Go outside with David."

"But-"

"I get that you're pissed," Emma hissed warningly, "but if you don't calm down and get out of here right now, Gold might make good on his threat to press charges. Think about Phoebe and Mai. They can't lose you."

The reminder of his girls was enough to cause Killian to go still, and at once much of his anger drained out of him. Traces of it remained, and he knew that one wrong move would fire it up once more, but he had regained enough sense to see the truth in Emma's words, to listen to the whispered agreements David was telling him.

Killian nodded.

Emma nodded back, and soon she watched him go outside with David, who shifted his hold to keep an arm around his shoulders.

"That's not how I saw him exiting my damaged store," Gold said, and when Emma turned around she saw that he had regained most of his composure, but there was a fire in his eyes that seemed eerie to her. "I thought he would leave in handcuffs, though I suppose that'll be resolved soon enough."

"Don't think you're off the hook for this," Emma replied sharply, taking note of the crowd David was trying to disperse. She glared at the man before her, fully able to believe he was Rumplestiltskin, the kind of man who would make deals with desperate people. Desperate children.

"I'm not 'on the hook' for anything," Gold told her. "Mr. Jones claimed no evidence of my supposed bad deeds, while the current state of my shop shows-"

"I don't care," Emma said as she stepped closer to him. "And before you say that it's only Phoebe's word against yours, let me remind you of the fact that whatever standing you have is shaky. It's not enough everyone knows you're crooked, that you attacked Freddie, or that you tried to take Ashley's baby. Do you really think people are going to think twice about getting rid of you, especially since a 14-year-old is involved now?"

"Let them try," Gold replied. "Many have tried before, and I'm still here."

Now only less than a foot away from him, Emma said in a low voice, her eyes glaring at him, "They're not the only ones you'll have to deal with. Go after either of those girls, and I swear, you'll wish I never found out about this town."

Gold only gave her a cold smile as she turned and walked away. And if Emma 'accidentally' tripped and made one of his items crash to the ground, well, her 'mistake'.

"Don't you guys have anything better to do?" Emma asked the crowd, which still hadn't dispersed. "Go home, the show's over."

Eventually people left, though from the muttering she heard, you'd think she was the one intruding.

She found David trying to talk to Killian, the bat now safely in David's hands as Killian looked like he was seconds away from storming back in.

"Well that was exciting," Emma snarked as she joined them.

"I should've taken the bat to his head," Killian said hatefully, a rage in his eyes Emma hadn't seen before. "Spared us all the trouble of dealing with him."

"At which point," David said, and in a tone that implied he'd said this before, "You'd be in jail for murder, not just busting up his shop."

"What else was I supposed to do?" Killian retorted. "Gold flouts the law, and thinks he's untouchable. It's about time someone clued him into the fact that his head's just as breakable as anyone else's."

"See, it's stuff like that that'll make you lose Phoebe and Mai," Emma said.

"Like you cutting a branch from Regina's tree?" Killian questioned her. "You didn't hesitate when she tried to frame you, tried to keep you from Henry."

He had a point.

"I know," Emma admitted. "but I also know that Gold is far more willing and able to legally take away the girls. Regina tried to use straight up lies. Gold's smarter than that."

"And if I were you, I'd call Ray just in case." David told Killian. "In fact, I'll give him a heads up right now."

David walked a little bit away to make the call, leaving Emma and Killian alone.

Killian's rage abated somewhat, and now he looked at her with some guilt. "Love-"

"I know," Emma said as she cupped his face, and brought him closer so that their foreheads were touching. "I know you love those girls, and I get why you did what you, but we're parents now. We have to be smarter. Especially now with...you know what."

Killian nodded as his right hand reached up to gently hold onto her left wrist. "I know."

Emma lowered her hands to rest on his chest while pulling back to look at him with a smile. "And, unofficially, that was pretty hot."

Just like that, a laugh burst out of Killian, and the mood was lightened. He even capped it off with a kiss.

Emma smiled into the kiss before pulling back. "Where are the girls?"

"With Dada," Killian said. "I'm going to have to apologize for the impromptu babysitting I put her through."

"Mhmm," Emma hummed. "I've got to head back to the station. Can't leave Jefferson alone for too long."

"He's there alone?" Killian asked. "Where's Graham?"

"He took Mary Margaret down to the courthouse," Emma answered. "A clerk called saying that there's an opening to get bail."

"Let's hope she gets it," Killian said. "Need me to come with you?"

"I'll be fine," Emma said as she waved goodbye to David, who waved back at her with a strange, almost warm look on his face, as if he wasn't aware he was making it. "Stick with David. And try not to destroy anymore shops."

"As you wish," Killian said before Emma made her way back to the station.

Everyone was stretched too thinly, and deep down, both Emma and Killian wondered when something would break.

---

Gold observed the ruins of his shop with an outwardly calm exterior. If anyone were to pass by, they'd see him almost serenely observe the destruction Hook had wrought.

Inwardly, he wanted to rip the man's throat out.

Hook had emerged today, whether the man realized it or not, by not only damaging his cases and shelves, but refusing to destroy anything that belonged to someone else. A salt in the wound he tried to deal Gold.

Gold knew he could press charges, and he likely would, but he could feel something in the air. He could taste something change. He knew that something was different in how not only Jones, but also Emma and David acted.

He would admit he was surprised the little fairy had spilled their secret. Though, he supposed, he shouldn't be terribly shocked. Fairies were inconvenient when they wanted to be. If he had the energy in the next few days, he'd make due on his threat to her. No need for anyone to think he'd gone soft.

As for Emma's threat...well...something about that seemed off too. Normally, when Emma decided to bluster her way into his affairs, try to either push him or even reach into whatever dregs of humanity were left, he didn't take it seriously. This time, however, there was something sharp, something raw about her threat, her warning to not touch the fairy girls.

Motherhood may be having a stronger effect on Emma lately, but he got the impression that she wouldn't simply bring the law down on him.

Whatever it was, he would have to deal with it later. He had a shop to clean up after all, and preparations for whatever it was that was about to come to pass.

"I'm an idiot," Henry bemoaned as he stared at a page in his book, a page that hadn't been there before.

"This ought to be good," Declan said as he and LJ walked on either side of Henry, kids around them bustling to get out of school and join their parents.

"This story wasn't here before," Henry said as he used one hand to prop up the book, and the other to point to a picture of a boy with his father.

"Pinocchio?" LJ asked before a dawning look of realization hit him. "You know who he is?"

"August," Henry answered.

"The creepy drifter?" Declan asked with a sour look.

"He's not creepy," Henry told him absentmindedly. "I've read this book a hundred times, and this is the first time I've actually seen this story. It only showed up after I got my book back, after August got here."

"If that's true, then how did August get here from outside of Storybrooke," LJ pondered as they walked off school grounds. "You think he managed to avoid the curse somehow? Through another spell?"

"If he did, why all the mystery?" Declan asked, intrigued. "Seems like kind of an asshole move."

"I don't know," Henry said. "Let's go ask him."

Neither of his friends looked pleased.

They knew he was staying at Granny's Inn, so they headed straight there, telling a curious Ava, Nick, and Paige that they'd meet them up later. The three of them entered, but no one was at the front desk.

"Any idea what room he's staying in?" LJ asked. "Maybe we can check- or we can do that."

Declan took the initiative to go behind the desk and start rifling around. "There's gotta be something here. Like a list or-"

"A ledger," LJ answered as he joined Declan, and found a big book that he soon flipped open. After scanning the pages, LJ said, "Got it. Here's the room."

"Is this a good idea?" Declan asked as they headed upstairs. "We're going up against a guy who for all we know is a weirdo."

"He's Pinocchio," Henry answered.

"So?" Declan retorted. "I read a version of his story. He did some fucked up shit to Jiminy."

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Henry," LJ said. At Declan's surprised look he said, "If we want this curse to be over, we can't really be subtle anymore. It's taking too long."

The three raced to August's door. Henry was the first to arrive, and knocked on the door.

"Hang on," August said before there was a thud, and a sharp cry of pain.

"You okay?" LJ called through the door as Henry and Declan shared concerned looks.

August opened the door, leaning heavily on the nearby wall, panting like he'd run a marathon.

"August...what's wrong?" Henry asked, his previous suspicions fleeing his mind as he watched the man struggle to stay standing up.

"I'm fine," August said. "I'm fine, I just- Ah!"

He fell to the floor, and the three boys rushed in to help.

"Dude, what is it?" Declan asked.

"My legs," August said. "My legs won't-"

"Oh my…" Henry trailed off as he stared at his left leg. The pant leg must've hiked up somehow in the fall, because there was nothing but wood there.

"Okay, Pinocchio, got it," Declan let out.

August looked at them all. "You...you know who I am?"

"Yep," Henry said as he and his friends grabbed August's arms, and began pulling him to the bed. Not an easy task, mind you, but eventually completed. "It took me way longer than it should've."

"No kidding," August replied.

"Hey, asshole," Declan retorted as he glared at him. "Maybe he would've figured it out sooner if you hadn't tried fucking off and doing whatever it was you were doing."

"Declan," Henry warned.

"No, he's right," August said as he laid down on the bed. "He swears like a sailor, but he's right. I didn't do what I was supposed to do. Your mom definitely left me have it earlier. I couldn't do much except crawl back here...wait a second. When did you three-"

"We can worry about that later," Henry interrupted impatiently. "Do you know how to break the curse?"

"True Love's Kiss," August said. "It's the best shot any of us have, but it has to come from Emma."

"But she and Killian have been making out for almost two months," Declan said. "Why hasn't it worked?"

August sighed. "I don't know. Maybe it's not enough that there's this curse in general, or that Killian didn't remember or realize why he was cursed. But," this time he looked at Henry, "if and when that curse breaks, you'll need to hold onto these two." He gestured to LJ and Declan. "These two...I have a feeling you'll be needing these two."

LJ looked at August concernedly. "You should go to the hospital. If there's something wrong with your legs, maybe they can help."

"I doubt it," August said, and for the first time, Henry realized August was in real trouble here.

Declan must've realized too, because immediately went over to the nightstand and picked up the phone.

"What are you doing?" August asked him as Declan dialed for help. "I already told you-"

"I almost died, man," Declan told him as he held the phone up to his ear. "I almost died because I didn't accept help, and I'm not about to let a grown ass man make a dumbass move."

"You don't have to do this," August told them.

"Tough shit," LJ said, and everyone stared at him before Declan answered whoever was on the other end.

Then, August let out a short laugh as he looked at Henry. "Yep, definitely hold onto these two."

---

Unbeknownst to almost everyone else in town, while all this was going on, Regina had entered the station the moment Emma took off to Gold's.

The moment Jefferson saw Regina, he picked up the walkie talkie, his finger a millisecond away from pressing the button.

Then Regina said, "Do you want to be with Grace?"

Predictably, Jefferson stilled, and Regina smiled.

However, he didn't seem to believe her. "Nice try."

"My offer still stands," Regina said as she stepped forward, trying not to let her panic show. She didn't know how long it would be before Emma came back, or before Graham realized that the courthouse clerk was 'mistaken' and there was no opening for bail. "Even though you failed to keep Mary Margaret at your place, I can still use your services."

"Hmm, tempting offer," he said in a sardonic tone, though the hope was still there. "I think I can just wait it out."

Regina narrowed her eyes, uncertain if he was bluffing. "Really? You're sitting in a cell right now, so I'm assuming they found you with Mary Margaret as a hostage. How confident are you that they'll just let you waltz out of that cell once all's said and done?"

Doubt. There was a hint of doubt in his eyes. She could work with that.

"Think about it, Jefferson," Regina added. "If you do this, you might end up staying in this cell for a very long time."

"I can always have you for company," he told her.

"You could," Regina said, swallowing a lump in her throat. "However, then you might not have Grace around. Her new parents, they were your former neighbors, correct? They might not be very happy with you after all that's happened. You left your daughter without a word as to where you were going-"

"Because of you!" Jefferson shouted, his eyes blazing with anger as he finger threatened to press the button of the walkie talkie. One wrong move, and he'd bring Emma or Graham or whoever else here.

Regina stepped closer, softening her voice as best she could. "Regardless, they might hold your past against you. If so, it's unlikely that they'll let Grace come visit you, especially if I'm in the room."

Uncertainly flickered over his face now. Regina didn't know much about Jefferson's life before they met, while she was still married to Leopold, but she guessed it couldn't have been stable. What stable man willingly aligned himself with Rumplestiltskin? What man from a steady life regularly conned people out of their money, their valuables, and took up with, as rumor had it, an equally criminal wife?

With that kind of breeding, what chance did the daughter have of not becoming like her parents. That daughter, however, is the one focal point she needed. That girl was the rock that Jefferson's life was based on, and he wasn't about to let her go.

"I only need one thing from you," Regina said in an almost gentle voice as she approached the bars, looking as Jefferson stood stock still in front of her. "Do this one, last thing for me, and you can have a life with Grace and your lover. One more thing, and I'll never bother you again."

Desperation. A need to want to believe Regina, to want to be able to have what he most desired. Jefferson may have been a smooth talker back in the day, but he could always be counted on to let selfishness leak through. Especially when no one was around to contradict him.

Jefferson lowered the walkie talkie, and Regina breathed a quiet sigh of relief as he finger moved away from the button.

The man warily asked her, "What do you want?"

Regina said, "I need you to follow me. I have an item waiting for you."

Getting Jefferson out of his cell was easy. Sneaking him out of the station and into the back of his car, making him lie down was a touch trickier. Every stop sign she halted at felt like someone was seconds away from blowing the whole thing. However, once they made it to the mausoleum, to the lair under the mausoleum, she could breathe a touch easier now.

"What is this place?" Jefferson asked warily as they took the steps down into her lair, his hand keeping a hold of the damn walkie talkie. Jefferson might be desperate, but he wasn't stupid. He flat out told her that he was keeping it as insurance, just in case she tried to backstab him.

Regina sighed as she waved away from cobwebs. "Where I've kept the last bit of my magic. The only magic in this world is in the things I've brought with me."

Jefferson looked around at the holds in the wall containing different vials of potions and items that were all but useless here. However, what really held his attention was the hatbox Regina held. When she pulled it out of her trunk, she thought his eyes would bulge out of his head.

Setting the box down, she undid the clasp and pulled the Hat out, walking over to hand it to him.

The former conman held it in his hands, watching it with a sort of mad gleam in his eye, a desire to hold onto it contradicting with some need to throw it in the nearest pyre.

Thankfully, there were no fires around them for him to use in case the need overtook him.

Jefferson sighed before gesturing for her to take a step back. He then placed the Hat on the ground, turning it over so that the top of the hat rested on the floor. After a few moments of nothing happening, Jefferson said, "It's not spinning. It's not working."

"It needs to absorb the magic that's here," Regina surmised as she went over to one of the holes in the wall, taking out a handcrafted metal box containing her magical items. "I have some things left, a few trinkets." She opened the box and dumped its contents into the Hat, hoping that would kick start it.

The Hat didn't so much as twitch.

Jefferson picked up the Hat and turned it over. None of the items had fallen out, meaning the Hat had absorbed it, but…

"It's not enough," Jefferson told her. "You need something that still works."

Something that still works, Regina thought with a pang in her chest, reaching into her pocket to take out Daniel's engagement ring, the one he'd so lovingly presented her when he asked her to marry him. The same ring that still showed his face, the only image she had of him outside her own mind. Staring at it now made her want to forget this whole thing.

"Who's that?" Jefferson asked suspiciously. From where he was standing, he couldn't quite see who it was, but he had a guess. Likely her fiance, the one she had asked him and Frankenstein to bring back, but he wasn't about to press her for details. The sooner this was over the better.

"Someone long gone," Regina said mournfully.

Stamping down any sympathy he might've had for her, Jefferson added, "Well, whatever or whoever it is, it still has magical properties."

Regina looked up at him, and for the first time in a long time, Jefferson thought he saw some shred of humanity that wasn't full of malice, smugness, or self-satisfaction. For once, he saw a glimpse of the young woman who wanted nothing more than her former love back from the dead.

"Give me that, and let me see what I can do with it," Jefferson said, knowing the magic in that ring could do the job. When she lowered her hand with a hesitant look, he reminded her, "You were the one who brought me down here. Either give me the ring, or put me back in the cell. Your call." He placed the Hat back on the floor.

Regina looked at the ring again, memorizing the face looking back at her one last time, trying to burn Daniel's visage in her memory. Then, she placed the ring into the Hat.

Daniel was gone. Henry is here. She couldn't lose her son.

The moment the ring touched the Hat, electricity crackled, and the air around it whooshed faster and faster until the Hat began to gently spin. However…

"What's wrong?" Regina asked him, remembering the last time the Hat spun before her, magic whirling around her and Jefferson as it opened a portal. Now though, the Hat barely conjured any energy. "Why isn't it opening a portal?"

She felt the item she'd tucked away under her shirt press against her skin, itching to be used.

Frustrated, Jefferson kneeled before it. "The magic. It's not enough. We can't go anywhere."

"Then you've failed," Regina whispered out, her hidden item now clawing at the chance to be taken out.

"Maybe not," he shot back. "There's enough magic to touch the other side, just not enough to get us there. There might be enough to...reach through and retrieve something."

"I can bring something back?" Regina asked as hope began to fill her, kneeling down next to the Hat.

"Is there an object that can help you?" Jefferson asked. "Perhaps I can open it enough to reach through and grab it. It would have to be small, something that you can take with your hand."

"Yes," Regina said with a smile. "Yes I believe there is."

"Then you need to direct me to the time and place where this object exists," Jefferson said, hating it when she smiled.

"How?" She asked.

"Think about it. Guide the Hat," Jefferson instructed.

Regina thought back to that day, when Snow White, thinking of little else but a heroically stupid need to save her 'love', willing to bite down on pure poison if she thought it would save him. Thinking that Regina would keep her promise.

Magic began to whirl around the Hat more strongly, causing it to spin once more.

They both stood up as Jefferson slowly said, "Excellent. It appears to be working. Now what is it we're after?"

"An apple," Regina said, keeping the image of Snow White biting into the red apple in mind, remembering the feeling of relation as she watched her hated enemy embrace her fate. Of how Snow tried to maintain some dignity as Regina smiled at what she thought would be Snow's defeat. Of her falling to the ground, the apple rolling away-

Something flew up from the Hat, and Regina gasped as Jefferson grabbed it. Upon closer inspection, Regina felt relieved. It was the same apple, with the same bite mark in it from when Snow-.

"Was this it?" Jefferson asked.

Regina folded her hands behind her back, or at least gave the impression that she was, looking at the apple in his hand. "Yes. Yes it is." She held out one hand, the other holding the item she'd hidden under her shirt.

Jefferson held out the apple. "Are we done here?"

Regina grabbed the apple, but made sure to keep a grip on Jefferson. "Yes," she said as she stepped forward, and plunged the knife in her own hand into his gut, "We are."

Jefferson gasped as she twisted the knife in, and tried to grab onto her, but she harshly pulled the knife out, and knocked the walkie talkie out of his hand, hearing it clatter to the ground. She kicked it away before she stabbed him twice more. She then stepped back, apple in one hand and knife in the other, vaguely wondering if she had anything in here or in her car to wash off the blood.

As the man curled up on the floor, looking hatefully at Regina, she told him, "I promised you a life with your daughter and lover. After I'm done with Emma, they can meet you in the afterlife."

Regina left Jefferson there, remembering to place her father's tomb over the entrance before leaving. She would need to wash off the blood later, but for now she had to get home quickly.

She had turnover to make.

---

"Oh, shit. I am so stupid," Emma whispered in panic as she saw Jefferson's cell empty, the door wide open. Looking around she shouted, "Jefferson! Jefferson!"

"Emma?" Someone asked before there was a gasp.

Turning around, Emma saw Mary Margaret and Graham enter the station. Both of them stared at the empty cell.

"Where the hell is Jefferson?" Graham asked.

"I don't know," Emma said. "I had to leave to- to chase down a lead." She lied a little on that part, as mentioning her conversation with August was a little too much to handle right now. She then answered more honestly, "Then I had to respond to a call at Gold's shop, and by the time I got back, he was gone."

"Did Regina do this?" Mary Margaret asked as Graham undid her cuffs, and she let herself back into the cell.

"I don't know," Emma said, her mind racing even though she could feel Regina behind this. She then looked sorrowfully at Mary Margaret. "They denied your bail?"

"We didn't even get that far," Mary Margaret said. "The clerk suddenly realized that, no, there was no opening, sorry for wasting so much of your time while I figured it out." She then realized something. "Do...do either of you think…?"

"I'm not sure," Graham said as he went on his computer, likely to check the security feed. "I'll check the security cameras before I call the others. We're going to need to find Jefferson before Regina does, and hope he doesn't try to skip down."

"I can help," Emma offered. "I can do a grid search-"

"Emma, no," Graham told her. "Go home."

She felt shame and embarrassment flood her mind. "I- If this is about Jefferson, I-"

"It's not that," Graham answered, looking very tired. "You're barely on your feet, you've been running around all day. You need to rest."

"But-"

"Emma," Mary Margaret interrupted gently. When Emma looked at her, it was like she could see her own eyes staring back at her, but Mary Margaret's eyes were somehow able to be both soft and firm. "Go get some rest. School should be over. Henry might be at the loft right now."

As much as she hated to admit it, she knew they were right. At least, she knew that they weren't about to change her mind. It was her screw up that cost their Jefferson.

She at last conceded, and promised to come back the minute she was rested to do her damn job.

Emma got in her car and drove over to where Freddie was, stationed not far from Paige's house, and picked up Copper. The puppy was glad to see her, and she'd be lying if she said that didn't pick up her mood just a little bit. She then made her way back to the loft, and pulled into the first parking place she could find, noticing a number of people walking around. They seemed distant to her. They weren't meant to be real, but they were here. All of them were stuck here, unless somehow she managed to help them.

Exiting her car and locking it up, she was running through the items in her fridge, thinking about what to feed her kid. She was so busy thinking about that, and putting Copper's leash on and placing him on the ground, she didn't realize that he was growling at someone behind her until she heard them clear their throat.

Turning around, Emma suppressed a flinch as she realized that she hadn't noticed Regina standing right behind her at all. Dammit, she really needed to sleep.

"Hello, Miss Swan," Regina greeted Emma, holding a container in her hand. In that container looked to be a turnover. "Having a good day?"

"What do you want?" Emma asked, absolutely wanting nothing to do with this.

"To make peace," Regina said calmly, though loudly enough that one passerby turned their head to look over at them.

"Really?" Emma asked disbelievingly.

"Of course," Regina told her as if it was obvious. "I know this trial between us has been...contentious, but all I want is for Henry to be happy."

"And for me to give you back custody," Emma surmised, wondering how she hadn't realized just how transparent, how selfish Regina was the night they first met. If only she knew just what this woman was capable of.

There were a few people talking nearby, though Emma could tell they were listening in.

"In an ideal world, yes," Regina replied. "However, I do understand that you may not want me in Henry's life, I do still love him, and I don't want him to have to worry about us going at war for the rest of his life." Regina lifted up the container. "Consider this a first step towards some peace."

As if Emma would ever put anything Regina made in her mouth.

Still, she just wanted to get back into the loft, and not only was Copper getting restless, she really didn't want to make a scene and deal with people talking about this. Especially since the people watching them were barely trying to hide the fact they were eavesdropping.

So, Emma accepted the damn turnover, and she went into her building.

The moment she went into the loft, she released Copper from his leash, and the puppy began racing around the loft. Emma had planned on letting the turnover fall into the trash, but her aim was off, and it landed onto the counter with a thump. Eh, she'd deal with it later. At least it smelled good.

Leaning on the counter, Emma placed her head in her hands, just trying to take a moment to collect her thoughts.

"Mom!" Henry called out as he suddenly raced into the loft, his face flushed and panting softly. He still found the energy to pet Copper when the dog raced to him for attention.

"Hey, kid," Emma said as she went over to hug him. "How's it going?"

"August is in trouble," Henry informed her anxiously. "He's hurt, and we had to get him to the hospital and-"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Emma told him. "Take a deep breath, and tell me what happened."

Henry tried to do as she said, but he was too impatient to do more than suck in a small breath and rushed out, "August is Pinocchio. His legs are turning to wood because the curse isn't broken. He was with you when you came over."

"I know," Emma said, suddenly feeling very tired. "He told me today."

"He did?" Henry asked before he remembered something. "Oh right, he mentioned that. Anyways, he couldn't walk so Declan called for an ambulance. I just came back from- what's that?"

Henry was staring at the turnover.

"A 'peace offering'," Emma answered. "From Regina."

"You can't eat it," Henry warned her.

"I wasn't planning on it," Emma said. "For all I know, it's poisoned.

Henry got a look on his face, as if something had just occurred to him. "Yeah...yeah it probably is." A couple of seconds later, he continued staring at the turnover as he said, "She's never going to stop, is she?"

The resigned tone in his voice made her heart clench.

Then he said, "I wonder if it's the same poison she used on Grandma."

"Whatever it is, I should just throw it away," Emma said as she began to move towards it.

"Wait," Henry said as he looked at her, and she didn't know if she liked the look in his eyes. "Have you figured out how to break the curse?"

Jefferson's suggestion came to mind, but she didn't know how much stock she could put into it. "Some idea. No way to test it out though."

"Maybe we don't need to test it out," Henry said before he suddenly grabbed the turnover.

"Henry, what are you doing?" Emma asked as panic spiked in her. She tried to grab the turnover but Henry stepped out of her reach. "Henry, give that to me."

"Everyone is trapped here," Henry said, his tone containing a frantic edge. "Not just the people under the curse, but you and me too. August is suffering, Grandma's in jail, Kathryn is still missing, maybe dead. Regina will just keep trying to hurt you again and again and again. We'll never be safe as long as Regina has power. We'll never be free."

"Henry, give it to me," Emma ordered, looking at the turnover with the same trepidation someone would look at a bomb.

"I know what I have to do," Henry said, preparing himself for what was to come. "I think you do too."

Henry then closed his eyes and took a bite of the turnover.

"Henry!" Emma shouted, and Copper whimpered as she wrestled the turnover out of Henry's hands to throw it on the counter. She then tried to get him to open his mouth. "Spit it out! Spit it out!"

Emma thought she saw Henry swallowed his bite. She turned him to look at her, saying his name, hoping that she was wrong, that it really was just food and nothing nefarious.

Then, to her horror, Henry's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he fell into her arms.

"Henry?" Emma asked, her arms encircling her boy as they fell to the ground, his weight collapsing onto her. "Henry? Baby, are you okay?"

He didn't respond. Her baby was limp, and Copper began howling.

---

YES! It's done! Oh my god this took too long.

Also poor Henry and poor Jeff, though both kind of had it coming. Henry, not advisable to eat something that's poisoned. And Jeff, super not advisable trusting a word out of Regina's mouth, though even show!Jefferson was guilty of this.

Thank you all so much for your patience. Let me know what you think down below.

See you next week!