Chapter 35: In the Name of the Brother

January 1, 2012

Gold held an injured and confused Belle as Hook lay unconscious at the side of the road. In the distance he could hear sirens approaching.

"Who are you?" Belle asked. "What's going on?"

"Shh… Let me… Let me. Let me," Gold said as he magically healed Belle's injuries. "All better. Good."

"How did you do that?" Belle asked in clear surprise.

Gold smiled at his girlfriend. "It's nothing to be afraid of."

"Get away," she told him.

"Shh. Belle, please," he begged.

"What are you?!" Belle asked.

Buffy pulled the squad car up on the side of the road. She, Emma, David and Mary Margaret all got out of the car and rushed toward Belle and Gold.

"Snow, Charming," Buffy said looking at her sister and brother-in-law. "Please stay back." She turned to Emma. "Call for an ambulance and then check on the driver of that car."

Emma nodded as she radioed for assistance. "Sheriff White and I are at the town line. Two people down, maybe three. There's a car – pretty banged up with Pennsylvania plates."

Buffy turned to Belle and Gold. "Are you both okay?"

"She crossed over the line, Your Highness," Gold answered. "She doesn't remember."

Emma checked on Hook and found him alert.

"Hey, beautiful," Hook said looking at Emma. "Here, I didn't think you'd notice."

Emma leaned down and pushed on his ribs causing him to yell out in pain. "Your ribs are broken," she told him.

"Oh, that must be why it hurts when I laugh," Hook joked. "Did you see his face? His one true love, gone in an instant! Just like Milah, crocodile! When you took her from me…"

"Hook," Buffy said as she spun on the pirate. "Be lucky you need to see a doctor otherwise you would be seeing the inside of a prison cell."

"You took her first," Gold said as he lunged at Hook, digging his cane into his neck.

"Gold, are you insane?!" Buffy snarled.

"Yes, I am!" he replied.

"You can't do that!" David called from where he stood next to his wife.

Buffy pried Gold off Hook. "I can if your sister-in-law would let me go," Gold retorted.

"You don't want her to see that," Emma said motioning toward Belle.

"I'm a stranger to her," Gold reminded them.

"Murder is a bad first impression," Buffy said as an ambulance arrived. "What would Belle want you to do?"

"Over here!" Emma called out to the paramedics.

The paramedics head toward Hook first, but Emma directed their attention to the driver of the car instead. "No! Him! Take care of him. He can wait."

"What?" Mary Margaret said looking at her daughter.

"There is very likely someone behind the wheel, Snow," Buffy told her sister. "They could be in more serious need of attention than Hook.

They watched as the paramedics look over the unconscious driver of the car.

"Do you know this guy?" Emma asked looking at her parents.

"I've never seen him before," Mary Margaret answered.

"That's because he drove into town," David said looking at the license plate.

"From the outside?" Mary Margaret asked shocked.

"It was always possible that someone could have stumbled into Storybrooke," Buffy said. She crossed the town line and then frowned. "The town is no longer cloaked. Which means…"

"The world just came to Storybrooke," Emma finished for her aunt.

Earth 7

Beach, San Francisco

"You okay?" Buffy asked as she walked up next to Faith, who sat on some rocks.

"No," Faith said. "I don't …" she didn't get to answer when a shadow appeared beside her and solidified into the Angel of Death.

"Contemplating the tides?" Death asked. "Can't control them any more than me."

"Okay, I get that you're not evil but what I don't get is why I wasn't supposed to fight the demons," Faith said.

"Well, you were alone and outnumbered," Death said.

"She still could've fought," Buffy said.

"But she would have lost, Buffy," Death said.

"How do you know her name?" Faith wondered.

"You two are on my list quite often," Death explained. "In fact, you two would have been the next ones after Reece Davidson."

"You were coming for me," Faith said.

"If you hadn't have stopped fighting me, yes," Death said.

"And you would have come after me because I would have come here to avenge her," Buffy said.

"Yes," Death replied. "That's why you both can see me. It's why you have been able to see me, Faith, since before Angela died. It's the bigger picture. Focusing all your anger against me leaves you vulnerable to the real evils of this world. You do well to remember that in the future." He noticed that Faith was giving him a look. "What?"

"I don't know, you know," Faith said, "I've been mad at you since Diana died. I don't know how else to be."

"You grieve and then you move on," Death said as he disappeared.

Faith looked down and for the first time in her life she started crying. Buffy sat down next to her and held her close, comforting her.

Earth 11

ISC Storybrooke Facility

Faith, who had been taking a nap after the party shot up in bed. She looked around confused. "What was that?"

Storybrooke Hospital

Hook and the driver of the car were wheeled into the hospital on stretchers by the paramedics as Emma, Buffy, Mary Margaret, David and Belle followed behind them.

"I don't know what's going on," Belle said as she was led away.

"Car versus pedestrian," a paramedic said. "Chest trauma from the wheel. Pedestrian's got contusions, broken ribs."

"Go to X-ray," the nurse said. "Pedestrian first."

"Hide him," Buffy and Emma said in unison as the motioned toward the driver.

"What?" the nurse asked.

"He's from out of town," Buffy told the nurse. "With the exception of Emma, myself and my sisters. This is the first person from out of town. Do you know what that could mean?"

The nurse nodded in understanding. "If people found out there could be problems," she said. "We'll get him a private room, no visitors unless authorized by you and Deputy Swan, Your Highness."

Gold walked through the doors as he joined the group. "Belle," he said. "What's going on?"

"Get him out of here." David snarled.

"Charming," Buffy said with a glare at her brother-in-law. "This is a police matter. And Rumpelstiltskin is a witness."

"Well, what's happening?" Gold asked as Leroy walked through the front doors. "Belle!"

"I'd like to know that myself," Leroy said looking at the group.

"Grumpy," Buffy said. "This is a police matter."

"Belle!" Gold called out. "Belle!"

Dr. Whale approached them looking at the group. "Everybody, calm down!" he said. "Mr. Gold. Everything will be fine. She's in good hands here. I promise."

Earth 14

Summers Home

"Hi, Mrs. Summers," Faith said. "Can I come in. I want to talk to you."

Joyce glared at Faith and shook her head. "I don't think so. Not after what you did."

"I deserve that and more," Faith said. "And it will take time to earn yours, Paige's and Dawn's trust back. I came by to apologize to you. Something I really don't have a lot of experience doing."

"Apologize?" Joyce asked.

Faith nodded. "For everything you know about and some things I'm sure you don't. You see I was jealous of Buffy. Not because she has the life, I have given everything to have. But because she had the love I didn't. Well not till now, anyways."

"Does this have to do with the movie you and Buffy saw last night?" Joyce asked.

"In part," Faith said. "You see I am in love with your daughter. I've never felt like this with anyone. And believe me I've been with a lot of people. It surprises me I haven't caught a few diseases along the way. Maybe that's because of the Slayer, I don't know. But I want to do right by Buffy, and by extension yourself, Dawn and Paige as well as Willow, Xander and even Giles."

"Let me ask you something, Faith," Joyce said. "Will you hurt my daughter. Is this some passing thing for you? Will the next pretty face…"

"No," Faith said. "God, no. Buffy is the one for me. Deep down I know that. Buffy and I understand each other. Our lives are similar while being different at the same time. I look at Buffy and I see what I could have been if I had a mother like you. No, I won't hurt Buffy."

Joyce sighed. She could see the sincerity of Faith's words and for the most part was swayed by them. Still this was Faith. "Okay. Here is the deal. You and Buffy do not patrol alone. If you go out on a date, Paige or Dawn will be there also. Now I will allow that they don't have to sit with you. But they will be close by. Once they tell me they approve. Then I will give my approval and forgive you."

"Fair enough," Faith said. "Thank you for the chance to make things right."

"You're welcome," Joyce said. "And Faith, don't screw this up. While I haven't forgiven you. I am rooting for you none the less."

"Thanks Mrs. S," Faith said as she turned and left.

Earth 11

ISC Storybrooke Facility

"What in the heck?" Faith said as she shot up in bed.

"What is it, Faith?" Joyce asked as she walked into her daughter's bedroom.

"Just a dream where I apologized to you for how things went down in Sunnydale," Faith said. She didn't want to mention the fact that in the dream she was supposedly in love with Buffy.

"It's okay, Faith," Joyce said. "You have nothing to apologize for."

Storybrooke Hospital

Gold watched Belle as she slept. He leaned over and kissed her waking her. There was a moment he was sure she recognized him and then she started screaming. "No, no, no, no, no. I… I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Several nurses rushed into the room as he began to back out the door. "I'm sorry."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy and Emma stood next to Hook, interrogating him.

"Where's Cora?" Buffy asked.

"What?" Hook said as he tried to move his hand and found it handcuffed to the bed. He looked at Buffy. "You take after your sister, don't you? Damn, that hurts."

"Told you – cracked a few ribs," Emma said.

"Where's Cora?" Buffy repeated.

"You look good, I must say," Hook said. "All 'where's Cora?' in a commanding voice. Chills."

"You have all sorts of sore places. I can make you hurt," Buffy said as she pushed her hand into his ribs, causing him to wince in pain.

Hook shrugged. "I have no idea where Cora is," he admitted. "She has her own agenda. Let's talk about something I am interested in—my hook. May I have it back?"

"No, you may not have it back," Buffy snarled at the man.

"You're awfully chipper for a guy who just failed to kill his enemy, then got hit by a car," Emma added.

"Well, my ribs may be broken, but…Everything else is still intact," he told them. "Which is more than can be said for other bad days I've had. Plus, I did some quality damage to my foe."

"You hurt Belle," Emma reminded the pirate.

"I hurt his heart," Hook retorted. "Belle's just where he keeps it. He killed my love. I know the feeling."

"Keep smiling, buddy," Buffy told him. "You're chained down, he's on his feet…"

"Immortal," Emma added.

"Has magic, and you hurt his girl," Buffy continued. "If I were to pick dead guy of the year? I'd pick you."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"We are trying to hack into the guy's phone," Leroy explained as Buffy and Emma walked up to the group that included him, Mary Margaret, David, Ruby and Willow.

"We don't have much to go on since we know nothing about him," Mary Margaret sighed.

"You told them, Snow?" Buffy told them.

"Only them, Lizzie," Mary Margaret replied.

"Anyways we do know something. There was stuff in his car–rental agreement, maps, receipts. His name is Greg Mendell," Emma corrected trying to bring some hope.

"Here let me try?" Willow said as she held her hand out for the phone.

"Go ahead," Buffy said as she nodded toward her elder sister.

Mary Margaret nodded as she handed the redheaded werewolf slash witch the phone. It took Willow no longer than 3 seconds to have the phone unlocked passing it to Emma.

"How did you—" Mary Margaret began to ask in disbelief.

"Willow's the best hacker there is," Buffy explained as she looked at her best friend with pride. "She actually hacked into the FBI when we were still in high school."

"Plus, his password was 1, 2, 3, 4 not exactly rocket science," Willow added.

Emma began to search through the phone. "Pictures of him alone at a bunch of Eastern Seaboard tourist locations, a LinkedIn account, and he tweets pictures of his food," she told them. "I'll keep looking, but I think what we have here is a well-documented, real-life ordinary Joe. Or Greg." She saw that brought no comfort to the anxious town.

"So, whatever's kept random people from stumbling into Storybrooke for the last twenty-eight years—" Ruby began panic, her voice rising with each word.

"Is gone," Mary Margaret finished for her friend, the whole town looking pale.

"Mom," Willow said as she wrapped an arm around the elder werewolf. "It's going to be okay."

"Anyone could drive in. Why are my instincts telling me that's a bad thing?" David sighed.

"Because you've seen E.T., or Splash, or any other movie where they find something magical and study it to death. Think what'd they do to a werewolf," Leroy erupted.

Willow sighed. "Already know," she said looking at her mother. "Think about the story I told you about my only boyfriend, Oz." She looked back at Leroy. "But that's worst-case scenario. Most people dismiss what doesn't fall in their world view."

"Believe me, Willow and I have seen it," Buffy added. "That said we do have something we need to worry about. His friends and family. They're going to come looking for him soon."

"Aunt Lizzie," Emma said looking at her aunt. "Let's try not to overreact."

"I'm not," Buffy said. "Regardless if the outside world would believe that everyone in this town are people from fairy tales or not. His friends and family will report him missing and eventually they will come looking. That's a guarantee."

"Leroy's right." David said as his jaw clenched. "We don't need outsiders here."

"Hook says he doesn't know where Cora is, and God knows what she's going to do. With other people coming here, that's not going to be good for anyone," Emma said.

Buffy sighed as she felt the situation getting out of control and there was nothing, she could do to stop it. "We need to find Regina. I personally want to tell my mother I was wrong and that I'm sorry."

"Willow and I've been tracking her. No luck. She's gone underground," Ruby explained with a sad look.

"But what if Cora finds her first? I don't want to think about the damage those two would do together. This could not have come at a worse time," Mary Margaret rambled before her eyes landed on Buffy. "Lizzie, do you think that you, Dawn or Faith could track her?"

"You mean because of the magic side of us or the Slayer side of us?" Buffy asked as Mary Margaret shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think so. If Willow and Ruby can't. I'm not sure we could either."

"I hate to say it, Aunt Lizzie, but you, Aunt Faith or Aunt Dawn might be our best shot," Emma said. "You're her daughters and that gives you guys some kind of bond," She hated the words as they left her mouth but she knew it was there best chance at gaining back the Mayor.

Buffy stood in silence thinking for a moment. "Dawn would be our best bet. I'll call her." She headed out of the hospital to call her sister.

"Any word?" Emma said as Dr. Whale approached them. "Is he going to be on his way home by morning?"

"No," the doctor replied. "He's bleeding into his chest cavity. It's not a full flood, you know. But, pretty soon, he'll be drowning in his own blood."

"So, make it stop," Emma told him. "Aren't you a doctor?"

Dr. Whale noticed that Gold was walking down the stairs. "Gold," he said as he walked toward the man. "You fixed me. Now fix him. It will take you seconds and cost you nothing."

"No," Gold objected.

"No?" Whale said surprised. "Just… No?"

"I owe you nothing, Whale," Gold replied as he glared at them. "I owe none of you anything. And some of you, owe me. So, yeah, just…No. Oh, and point of interest—the driver? He saw me throwing some magic. So, instead of trying to get him out of here, you better be hoping he dies. Because if he doesn't, he's going to be driving tour buses up and down main street. So glad I don't give a damn." He headed out away from the group.

"Look…Letting him die is easy," Whale reluctantly admitted. "I can do that, if that's what you decide."

"Let's take this somewhere private," Emma suggested.

They walked into a small examination room.

"It's not really murder if we let him succumb to his injuries," Dr. Whale told them.

Emma shook her head as she looked at everyone. "I'm pretty sure it is."

"Of course, we save him," Mary Margaret said as Buffy walked into the room.

"Dawn's going to see if she can find Regina magically," Buffy said. "Now what are we discussing?"

"The driver," Emma said as she quickly brought her aunt up to speed.

"We got to think it through," Leroy said. "If we save him and kill the whole town, is that really better?"

"So, we have to choose between our lives and his?" Ruby asked.

"Of course not, Mom," Willow said looking at her adopted mother.

"We can worry about the town later," David told the group.

"Which doesn't mean we should abandon him," Buffy added.

"Lizzie is right," Mary Margaret agreed.

"I know, but let's worry about Storybrooke after we save a life," David agreed. "Dr. Whale, prep for surgery."

The doctor nodded as he left the room.

"Anyone else notice he's drunk off his ass?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Yes," Buffy replied. "If he wasn't pretty much the only doctor in Storybrooke I would have him in the drunk tank till he sobers up."

Just then Greg's phone began to ring in Emma's hand. She looked down at it. "Someone's looking for Greg. How long before they come here?" she asked.

Earth 94

Deep Space Nine

Faith stood on the upper level of the promenade looking out the windows of the space station that orbited the dark side of the moon. She didn't notice the presence of the woman next to her till she spoke.

"So, it's true."

Faith turned looked at her doppelganger and nodded. "Yeah it is. And a lot of things have changed apparently."

"Quite a bit I would say," answered the other Faith. "So, you're happy in your universe?"

"I am," Faith smiled. "I'm married to Dawn…"

"To Dawn," the other Faith said in surprise. "Wow. I didn't know I was a pedo."

Faith frowned. "Dawn's almost nineteen," she told her counterpart in confusion.

"Not here she's not," the other Faith answered. "She's about sixteen here. Besides she's dating someone else. So, you and your Dawn, hunh?"

"Yep," Faith said as she smiled. "In fact, Dawn's pregnant. We're expecting a baby girl."

"Congratulations," the other Faith said as she smiled at her counterpart. "I never pictured myself as being able to be a mother."

"I didn't either, at first," Faith admitted. "That's thanks in part to our birth father and the Lehanes."

"Ronan," the other Faith spat.

"I take it your powers are still bound?" Faith asked as her counterpart nodded. "In my universe I've faced him and vanquished him."

"I'm happy for you, Faith," the other Faith said. "You have a life I would have given anything to have."

"You can have that life too, you know," Faith told her counterpart.

Earth 11

ISC Storybrooke Facility

"Who's Ronan?" Faith said as she woke from her nap. "Mom!"

Joyce came running into the room followed by Dawn.

"Do you know someone named Ronan?" Faith asked.

"Name doesn't ring any bells," Joyce admitted as she and Dawn sat on the bed next to Faith. "I take it, another dream?"

"Yeah," Faith said as she looked at her baby sister. "And there is something I haven't mentioned."

"What is it, Faith?" Dawn asked lying her hand on her sister's leg in comfort.

"Two of the dreams I've had while I was trying to take a nap have been weird. In one, I was in love with Buffy," Faith told her adopted mother and her sister. "In this one, I was in love with you."

"Eww," Dawn said as she scrunched her nose. She looked at Joyce. "Why would Faith be having those kinds of dreams?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Joyce admitted. "It's possible somehow, Faith, that your dreams are breaching the barrier between universes. We are not always the same in each universe. This Ronan could be someone your counterpart may know in another universe where Dawn may not be your sister. The same with the dream where you said you apologized to me."

"Why would Faith be dreaming of other universes though?" Dawn asked.

"Of that I have no idea," Joyce admitted.

Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop

Gold sat reminiscing with Belle's chipped cup. Suddenly, the bell to the front door rang. He looked up and saw no one there. Out of curiosity he moved to the door to investigate, finding no one outside he turned around and was about to head back to his chair when he saw a box had been left on the counter.

"Hello, Rumpel," Cora said as she appeared next to the door.

Gold looked at the woman with a frown. "Well, I expected this was just a matter of time," he said. "Had hoped you were dead, but hey–disappointment's just part of life. I'm sure we can agree on that."

Cora chuckled. "Aw, the crocodile snaps at the little bird. And after I brought you a gift."

"Yeah, did you bring the antidote, too?" he asked, not believing her.

"Oh, Rumpel. It's a peace offering," she admitted.

"And what do you want for this, uh… This peace offering?" Gold asked, knowing that nothing was ever free.

"My daughter and granddaughters," Cora answered. "You were so clever to send my granddaughters to this world and then to get Regina to lay the curse that would reunite her with them and would also bring you here. You don't need Regina, Elizabeth, Faith or Dawn anymore. Let me try to get them back and let us live."

"And what do I get for my troubles?" Gold asked.

"Your son," she answered as she nodded toward the box. Gold pulled off the lid, revealing a white 'globe' inside. "You know what that is, of course."

Gold nodded; he did know. "It'll find him… If this one truly is it."

Cora smiled. "Oh, darling, I have no reason to cheat you."

"Anymore," he said.

Cora nodded. "I want you to find the one person in this universe who might still love you. After all, I'm doing the same thing."

"Do you have any spells to return memories?" he asked.

Cora shook her head. "I only know what you taught me… Master. So, will you accept my offer of a truce?"

"Truce," he agreed as he extended his hand, which Cora took. They shook their hands signifying their agreement and sealing the deal. "There is one thing, first. I will need Elizabeth. She owes me a favor."

"I will give you that one boon," Cora told him. "But when she returns, I will want her by my side with her sisters and mother."

"Agreed." Gold said.

Cora smiled. "Let's seal it like we used to," she told him as she leaned and kissed him.

Streets of Storybrooke

Dawn didn't know where to start as she walked the streets after Buffy's call. She tried her best to focus on Regina hoping she had learned enough from Joyce to somehow guide her to her biological mother but she was seeming to have no luck. "Guess we will have to do this the old-fashioned way," she sighed.

Buffy had suggested to her that Regina could be underground but she made her way to her mother's house anyway hoping there might be some kind of clue to tell her Regina's whereabouts.

Storybrooke Hospital

Buffy and David found Dr. Whale staring at Greg's watch. "What's that?" David asked.

"Oh. It's just the guy's personal effects," the doctor answered. "I get the best watches this way. Joking. As far as you know."

"You better be," Buffy said.

"Anyways it's too bad it's cracked," he finished.

"We thought you'd be scrubbing in by now," David suggested.

Dr. Whale nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm going to do that."

"Arm okay?" David asked.

Dr. Whale glanced at Buffy. "I have excellent hearing, dear. I'm not drunk."

"Okay," Buffy said. "Let's save this guy, alright? I don't care what he saw. We don't let go of people."

Dr. Whale nodded. "Right. Of course not."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Later Ruby, Willow, Buffy, Emma, Mary Margaret and David waited in the lobby of the hospital. Greg's phone, now on silent, began to vibrate. Emma looked down at the caller ID that read: Her.

"Same person," Emma said looking her aunt. "It just says, her. Cute."

"Probably a girlfriend," David suggested.

"We could answer it – just let her know he's okay." Mary Margaret added.

"Maybe not to let her know if he's okay," Buffy said. "At least to give her an update, let her know what happened."

"You know that wouldn't work, Buffy," David said. "The police wherever she is could trace it back. And now that the town is uncloaked…"

"Dad," Emma said looking at her father. "She can activate the find your phone thing without us picking it up at all. So could the police for that matter," she said as the phone stopped ringing.

"Oh, my nerves can't take this," Mary Margaret said as she looked at the clock. "Is the surgery almost over?"

"I… I think it takes…" Emma started when a man entered the building and scanned the lobby.

The man turned to leave as Buffy stopped him. "Wait. Any news?"

"No, Your Highness," he answered. "I was just looking for the doctor."

"He's not in the OR?" Ruby asked.

The man shook his head. "He never came in."

"Then page him," Buffy and Emma said in unison.

"He was not looking so good earlier," David said as he looked at Buffy.

"I know," Buffy said. "I didn't buy for a second he wasn't drunk. But what was I going to do. If I put him in the drunk tank, then Greg could die. If I don't, Greg could die from a botched surgery. It's a no-win situation. At least with Dr. Whale here, there was a chance."

The man made a call and they heard the sound of beeping coming from nearby. "He's here," Mary Margaret said as they began to search for the beeping.

They followed the sound of beeping to a laundry basket of dirty scrubs. Buffy looked through it and found the pager, along with Dr. Whale's lab coat. "No, but his pager is. He's gone."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Ruby and Willow sniffed Dr. Whale's lab coat to pick up the scent.

"Got the scent?" Buffy asked.

"Boozy," Ruby replied.

"Got it, Buffy," Willow added.

"Okay, Emma, you stay here with Snow and Charming and keep watch on Hook.

"We also figure out options if Whale doesn't come back," Emma added.

"I'm with you two," Buffy said looking at Ruby and Willow.

"Maybe Doc can do it," Mary Margaret suggested. "Maybe he didn't even run. Maybe Cora grabbed him for some reason."

David shook his head. "I don't think so. He's been in a rough place since he brought Regina's fiancé back to life."

"Daniel?" Mary Margaret said in clear surprise.

Buffy sighed and nodded. "Dawn told me. It was during the time we were gone, Snow. She and Regina had to break the spell on Daniel. Apparently, Dr. Whale is really Dr. Frankenstein." She looked at Willow and Ruby. "Come on, we need to find him." She led Ruby and Willow out of the hospital.

"We're going to send this guy back home with bolts in his neck," Emma said.

"I know Ruby and if she has trained Willow to be even half as good as she is in tracking, then they'll find him," Mary Margaret said.

"Yeah, but what kind of state is he going to be in?" Emma wondered.

Mills Mansion

As Dawn reached the door, she thought about knocking but soon decided against the idea heading round to the side of the house to climb the tree leading into Henry's room. It didn't take her long to get inside brushing herself off. "Mom," she called into the darkness but didn't hear a reply. "Are you here?" she tried again but still there was nothing.

Dawn slowly made her way around the house but found no trace of her missing mother choosing to search somewhere else. Little did she know someone in the shadows had been watching her the whole time.

January 2, 2012

Mills Family Mausoleum

Sometime in the middle of the night Regina sat in a hidden room in her vault feeling more lost than she ever had. Just as she was starting to gain all of her children back it was once again ripped away from her and this time it wasn't even her fault. "Mom? Hello? Hello? Hello? Mom?" Regina quickly made her way over to the mirror at the sound of Dawn's voice seeing Dawn appear. Dawn moved her gaze to the mirror, "You in there? Can I come in? Mom?"

Regina quickly opened the door pulling Dawn into a tight embrace. "Dawn, I'm so glad you're here. I missed you so much and your sisters and Henry when…" she pulled Dawn back to look her in the eye. "I have to let you know, I had nothing to do with Archie."

"I know. I always knew," Dawn smiled.

Regina looked at Dawn for a moment. "What do you mean you always knew? After all you sided with your sisters." And that was when realization hit her. "You're not Dawn."

"No, I'm not," Dawn gave one last smile before she vanished leaving Cora in her place. "Because I did it."

"Mother…" Regina breathed taking a quick step back. "You… I thought we stopped you. How did you get through?"

"Determination. I had to see you. I needed to tell you, that I know why you sent me through the looking glass. And I know why you tried to have me killed. And it's… it's alright," Cora gave a watery smile.

"I think it's not alright," Regina growled remembering all of the pain her mother put her through.

"I love you," Cora said. "And I love your daughters as well. I just… I've always shown it in all the wrong ways. And I never should have made you marry the King."

"If you hadn't," Regina replied. "I wouldn't have had the three most daughters I have had the privilege of knowing. The only thing I wish differently is that Rumpelstiltskin hadn't sent them away."

"I'm so sorry," Cora said. "When you cried over my coffin, it… it all changed."

"You framed me – for the cricket," Regina slowly put the pieces together.

"Temporarily. So, you could see what these people really think of you," the older woman explained like it was no big deal at all.

"You made an airtight case. Anyone would believe it," the Mayor knew what her mother was doing and she refused to let her win.

"I didn't want you to reject me. Not again," Cora took a step forward but Regina took two steps back.

"You wanted me broken," Regina pointed a finger at her mother rage building inside her.

"Receptive," Cora corrected.

"You are the most manipulative… no. I won't even argue," Regina headed for the exit. "Come with me. We're going to town."

"It's the middle of the night," Cora laughed causing Regina to spin back around in rage.

"I don't care. We'll wake them up – Emma, Elizabeth, Faith, Dawn, Henry and the two idiots – and you can tell them how you lied. You owe me that," Regina's voice showed her mother she had no choice.

"And then you'll let us start over?" Cora said with hope.

Before Regina could answer another voice joined them in the vault. "Mom?" Dawn called as she made her way down the steps. She turned to see a door open leading into a room she had never seen before. "Mom?" When she reached the open doorway, she spotted the two women.

Cora smiled. "And this must be Dawn."

"Cora," Dawn said, her Slayer senses suddenly on high alert.

"So, you've heard of me." The evil smile remained on Cora's face. "No surprise really there. I am sure you sisters had nothing but good things to say."

"You're working with her?" Dawn turned her gaze to Regina whose eyes widened in panic.

"No, this is not what it looks like," Regina took a step forward.

Dawn knew she was faced with two sorceresses, and she was only just now getting a handle on her witchy powers let alone her Slayer powers. "I thought you were innocent, Regina," she said.

Regina didn't miss the fact that Dawn stopped calling her mom. "Dawn, honey…"

"I think, it would be best if I find Buffy and Faith. One Slayer against the two of you, I'm not liking the odds," Dawn said. She turned and headed out of the vault.

"Dawn! Wait!" Regina called after her youngest daughter but it was too late. Her gaze snapped back to her mother. "Car! Now!" she growled.

Storybrooke Docks

Dr. Whale stood at the edge of the dock staring at Greg's watch as he looked into the water below.

"Dr. Whale?" Buffy said as she, Ruby and Willow walked up to him.

"Don't come near me!" he told them as he tossed the watch into the water, then he went to jump off the dock.

Willow reacted instantly. "Kali, Hera, Kronos, Thonic," she chanted. "Air like nectar, thick as onyx. Cassiel, by your second star, Hold mine victim as in tar."

Buffy walked up the to the doctor. "Let's have a nice conversation, Doc."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"I wanted my name to stand for life," Dr. Whale told Buffy, who sat next to him on a bench. Willow and Ruby stood opposite them listening. "But everybody just thinks it's the name of a monster."

"That's because in this world your story has been perverted," Buffy said. "You were trying to save lives."

"But Rumpelstiltskin says that magic has a price," the doctor continued. "But, from where I'm sitting, seems that science does, too. Every time I try to save a life, someone else dies."

"Hey," Ruby said. "Yeah. Look, you're Frankenstein. And I'm a werewolf. I ate my boyfriend. Turned my adopted daughter, who also happens to be a powerful witch. Regina thought she was punishing us by erasing who we were, but I think she underestimated how much crap we wanted to forget."

"Red has a point there," Buffy agreed. "We all have stuff we would love to forget. I wouldn't mind forgetting some of my former boyfriends."

"But… We can't let it stop us," Willow said. "Buffy's birth mom, gave us all a chance. Even Buffy and me. If not for her curse, I wouldn't now have a wonderful woman as my mom now. And Buffy…"

"I wouldn't have my adopted mom back," Buffy added. "I think you should take this chance to start over. Be who you want to be. Not who the stories say you are."

Dr. Whale looked at the three women and nodded. "I wasn't such a bad guy, you know. I wanted to bring life back. But he never got over our mother. If I could've just brought her back—"

"The driver from the accident–someone keeps calling for him," Buffy said. "Maybe a wife…a mother…a sister. Maybe, there's still some stuff you can fix."

Streets of Storybrooke

Regina and Cora sat in the car in silence racing through the deserted town. "Nervous?" Regina finally asked unable to bare the silence any longer.

"Not about owning up to what I've done. It's just… these carriages are strange. And something's irritating me…" Cora pulled out a picture of Buffy, Dawn and Faith with Regina taken the very day Buffy and Faith had returned from the Enchanted Forest. "Lovely girls," she said.

"When were you in my house?" Regina snapped quickly grabbing the picture from her mother's grasp.

"I haven't had the pleasure," Cora played dumb but she was fooling nobody.

"This was in my house. Think I don't know where this was? It's one of my most treasured possessions." It still amazed Regina that even after all this time her mother took her for a fool. "This is the only picture I have of the four of us together. And I almost didn't have this, thanks to you." The bitterness was clear in her voice.

"Well, let's be honest. Taking me to be pilloried by the town might gain you some points, but, as long as Joyce is here; Elizabeth, Faith and Dawn are not really yours. And as long as Emma and her parents are here, your son is not really yours either. You've been too bad for too long, and now they see you as a…a snake. You don't want their love at all. What do you want?" Cora kept her eyes straight ahead the whole time knowing she was wearing Regina down.

"My children back," Regina answered without missing a beat. Finding her emotions getting the better of her Regina quickly stopped the car.

"And I want my daughter back. I meant everything I said earlier. I am so sorry. I can do better. I won't push you away again. Let me into your heart. Together, we can get them back again."

Regina felt her walls come down as she leaned over into her mother's embrace. "How?" she answered her voice a soft whisper.

"Oh, I have a few thoughts." Cora's evil smile returned to her lips once more.

Storybrooke Hospital

Buffy led Ruby, Willow and Dr. Whale through the doors.

"You're back," Mary Margaret said happily.

"Finally," Emma added,

"I don't know why everyone's so worried," Dr, Whale said with a glance at his three companions. "I was just stretching my legs. Now I'm going to go do this thing."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Several hours later Dr. Whale met Willow in the hallway. "Where are they?" he asked.

"Getting coffee from the machine," Willow answered. "So how's he doing?"

"He'll live," the doctor answered.

"I'm glad," Willow said as she smiled at the doctor. "I think you just showed that Dr. Frankenstein isn't what the stories made him out to be."

"Thank you," he said as they walked out into the lobby.

"He's going to make it?" David asked Dr. Whale and Willow walked up to him, Buffy, Mary Margaret, Ruby and Emma.

"He's got some recuperating ahead of him–a few weeks, maybe–but yes," Whale explained. "He's going to live."

Mary Margaret smiled. "Thank goodness."

"Or me," the doctor joked.

"When can we talk to him?" Buffy asked.

"He's waking up now," the doctor answered.

"Already?" Ruby said surprised.

Dr. Whale: I waited a couple of hours to tell you in case he, you know, keeled over. But so far, so good."

Mary Margaret smiled. "Alright, then."

"Well, let's talk to him," David said.

"I'm sorry, Charming, Snow," Buffy said. "Only Emma and I are going in."

"But we've been doing this together, Lizzie," Mary Margaret countered.

"We're trying to convince this guy this place is normal," Emma said, siding with her aunt. "In a normal town, the Sheriff and maybe a Deputy goes in and asks a few questions. The Sheriff doesn't bring her sister and brother-in-law in with her. And the Deputy doesn't bring her parents in with her."

"That's probably true," David agreed.

"We'll be right here, then," Mary Margaret said watching as Buffy and Emma walked down the corridor.

Streets of Storybrooke

Dawn headed back home with a million thoughts flooding her mind. How could Regina accept Cora back so easily after everything that happened? It didn't make sense to her how Regina could ever look at Cora after everything Cora had done to Regina.

Storybrooke Hospital

In Belle's room, Gold handed Belle her chipped cup. "I know you don't remember, but just…Indulge me. Please. Be careful with it."

Belle took the proffered cup. "It's a… It's a cup. It's… It's damaged."

Gold nodded. "Just…look at it. Focus. It's your talisman."

"It's a cup," Belle corrected.

"You dropped it…" he explained trying to remind her of who she was. "In my castle. You were afraid that you had angered me."

"Okay, here. You… You need to go and take your cup, okay?" Belle said as she tried to hand him back the cup, but he refused to take it.

"No, no, no, no," Gold said. "I… I charmed it. If you focus, it will work. It's magic."

"Okay, just go away. S-stop talking about magic, and take your cup," Belle said as she tried to give the cup back to Gold.

"Just look at it," he pleaded.

Frustrated, Belle took the cup and threw it against the wall, shattering it. "Just go. Just go away."

Gold sighed. "I'm sorry…" He turned and left the room, glancing at the broken cup on the way out.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Nurse?" Greg said as Buffy and Emma stepped into his room.

"I'm Sheriff White," Buffy said. "And this is Deputy Swan."

"I'm thirsty," he replied as Emma handed him a glass of water with a straw.

Buffy set a bag of his belongings next to the bed. "Here, we have your personal effects. I'm just going to put them here, okay? So, Mr. Mendell, we wanted to talk to you about the accident.

"Did I hit somebody?" Greg asked and then he remembered he had hit someone. "Oh, my God, I hit someone. Is he okay?"

"Don't worry about him," Emma said. "I mean, the… The damage was pretty minor."

Greg let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God."

"We need you to state what happened in your own words," Buffy said. "What you did, what you saw."

"Well, I… I didn't see anything. I—" Greg told them.

"Well, you were driving," Emma corrected him.

"Yeah, I mean… I saw the road, of course," he replied.

"So you saw noting at all," Buffy questioned. "It might put our minds at ease if we had some kind of explanation if you saw…"

"I was texting," Greg told them.

Emma and Buffy glanced at each other. "Oh," they said.

"I looked down, just for a second," Greg continued. "And when I looked back up, he was… He was right there. And he was too close to avoid, but I… I know that it's not legal in Maine."

"It's okay," Buffy said. We're just glad that you… We're honest with us."

"So, no charges?" Greg asked hopeful.

Buffy smiled. "No. No charges. I will let you go with a warning this time."

Greg let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you. So when… When can I head home?"

"As soon as the doctor clears you," Buffy answered.

"We don't want to keep you," Emma added as she and Buffy left the room. They found the others waiting in the lobby.

"He didn't see nothing?" Mary Margaret asked.

Emma smiled. "Free and clear."

Mary Margaret let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good."

"Now maybe, things can calm down for ten minutes and we can catch our breath," David suggested.

Gold's Pawn Shop

Gold took out the white 'globe' that Cora gave him and pricked his finger on the point at the top, and dropped a drop of his blood onto the globe. The globe began to glow and rotate. A red map of the world started to appear, with one point in particular standing out from the map. "Bae," he said.

ISC Storybrooke Facility

Buffy, Emma, Mary Margaret and David arrived back just as Henry, Joyce, Dawn and Faith were sitting down to breakfast.

"You were out all night," Henry said as the quartet joined them. "Where were you?"

"Cereal okay?" David asked looking at his wife, sister-in-law and daughter.

"Yeah," Emma agreed.

"Dawn, did you find Regina?" Buffy asked looking at her baby sister.

"No," Dawn lied. As much as she wanted Regina back, she didn't think it would be a good idea to tarnish their mother by mentioning that Regina was working with Cora. Especially not after helping Buffy and Faith to return home safe and sound.

"Rumpelstiltskin and Captain Hook had a fight and someone got hurt," Mary Margaret finally answered her grandson knowing he was about to burst with curiosity.

"We weren't sure if Dr. Frankenstein could fix him, but he did," Emma continued for her mom.

"Doctor? Oh… that's who Whale is," Henry said from next to his mother.

"Yeah, but without the neck bolts," Emma earned a look from her son.

"The monster had the bolts, not the doctor," Henry corrected.

"Right, but either way, some of us having known him… it's weird," Emma said as she and Buffy looked at Mary Margaret who blushed.

"It's not weird. We're past it. We were cursed," a flustered Mary Margaret rambled.

"What are you talking about?" Henry asked trying to catch up.

"Nothing," David gave Buffy, Faith, Dawn and Emma a look before passing them all some cereal.

"Wait," Henry spoke up again leaving the counter to get his story book. "Frankenstein isn't in here. It's not even a fairy tale. That means it comes from another land with different stories," the boy eagerly explained putting the book on the counter.

"That makes sense," Dawn said. "After all the Frankenstein story is used for horror movies not fairy tales."

"Eat. I really want to go to bed," Emma moaned putting the bowl closer to her son.

"If the curse went to places with other stories, then who knows who else is in this town?" Henry said.

"So, Aunt Joyce, tell me about my sisters when they were younger," Mary Margaret said deciding to change the subject.

"Well that might be a little hard considering only Buffy and Dawn were together after Faith was kidnapped about year after they arrive," Joyce told her niece. "But I'll try." She looked at Buffy and Faith. "You two wanted to watch the Disney movies at a friend's house." She looked at Mary Margaret. "This wasn't about five months after they had forgotten about the Enchanted Forest. She looked back at Buffy and Faith. "If I remember right her name was Chrissy Palmer. Of course, I was against it since the Disney movies were colored interpretations of people we know. Such as the Disney movie about Snow. Even though by that time you didn't remember Snow, I didn't want you thinking Disney's exaggerated fairy tales were actually what happened to Snow, Aurora, Cinderella, Peter Pan, etc. And would one of you tell Snow what you did anyways."

Buffy looked at her big sister a little sheepishly. "When we were over at Chrissy's we watched them anyways with the exception of Peter Pan. We thought mom wouldn't find out, but I really wanted to see them, especially Snow White."

"I thought it was a bad idea though," Faith added.

"Anyways we were almost home free until I referenced a line from Snow White," Buffy finished.

"What was the line?" Mary Margaret wondered. "Do you remember?"

"Come on, perk up. Won't you smile for me?" Buffy answered.

"That was when I realized they had watched at least the Disney version of your story, Snow," Joyce told her niece. "And when I asked the girls who was responsible for going against my wishes…"

"I said I was," Faith admitted looking at her twin.

"So," Mary Margaret said as she smiled at her sister. "Faith, you chose to protect Lizzie."

"Yep," Faith replied as she returned Mary Margaret's smile. "I was sent up to our room for ten minutes until dinner was ready and then mom sent Buffy to get me."

"I have to ask, Faith," Buffy said looking at her twin. "Why did you take the punishment for me."

Faith smiled. "You were my sister, my twin. I love you too damn much, Buffy. Besides I've got your back no matter what."

Mary Margaret looked toward Joyce. "Where was Dawn during this?"

"I was giving my little pum'kin belly her bottle," Joyce replied with a chuckle. "Dawn was quite obstinate and she was refusing to eat her baby food."

"Mom," Dawn said obviously embarrassed by the story.

"Do you have any pictures of them I would love to see them," Mary Margaret wondered.

"Sadly, whatever spell the Watcher's Council used when they took Faith," Joyce replied with a sigh. "That erased Faith from Buffy and Dawn's mind also erased her from all the photos."

"But not your mind?" Mary Margaret asked.

Joyce shook her head. "I only remember because of this necklace," she said as she held up a necklace that hung around her neck.

"I remember that necklace," Mary Margaret said. "Father gave it to you not long before…"

"Before your father married Regina," Joyce finished for her niece. "That's right."

"If I remember, father had a protection spelled cast on it," Mary Margaret said. "Which means the necklace protected you from the spell."

"It did," Joyce replied. "It was one of the last bits of magic it protected me from. Without access to the Enchanted Forest, each bit of magic it protected me from used up its magical energy till there was none left. The protection magic didn't begin to recharge till I returned to the Enchanted Forest after my death."

Faith looked at her twin for a long moment. She decided now while they were talking about the past was time to bring this up. "Buffy, while I was in prison, the prison shrink told me I needed to talk about my problems. But I didn't do that back then. I think I need to do that now even if I inadvertently hurt you in the process."

"It's alright, Faith," Buffy said as she reached across and patted her twin's hand. "Whatever you say won't hurt. I know we weren't on the best of terms back then."

Faith nodded. "Okay," she said. "But please, no interrupting until I'm finished."

"Okay."

Faith took a long breath and then started, "When I came to SunnyHell all these years ago you were less than accepting." Buffy nodded as she listened. She knew Faith was right, she hadn't been very accepting of Faith back then. "You didn't treat me like a sister or a friend. In fact I thought you kind of treated me like a piece of shit stuck to your shoe. "I didn't want to compete with you at all. All I wanted was a sister, but you wouldn't even do that."

Buffy moved around the table and sat next to Faith. She wrapped an arm around her twin knowing that Faith needed to get this all out.

"You only had me over to your house twice; once for dinner, and then for Christmas. But after both times you pretty much banished me back to my motel room. Do you know what it was like for me living there?"

Buffy nodded; she had a fairly good idea. After all she had stayed in a hotel a time or two after becoming a Slayer.

"There was no protection from vampires," Faith continued. "The power would go out every other day. There wasn't enough food every night. I had to put bear traps in my room before I went to bed because if a vamp broke in they would trip and fall on a stake. I had to sleep with a crossbow every night for fear of a vamp getting past the traps. I had to beat up, knock out and undress vamps just so I had fresh clothes."

"Do you remember what I said just a little bit ago, about having your back?" Faith asked as Buffy nodded. "You didn't have mine. That night when I killed Finch. We have been slaying vamps, you had lost your stake because a vamp disarmed you. So, you threw them to me to stake. It wasn't till I staked him that you realized he wasn't a vamp, too late of course to stop me. But here is something you didn't know, I saw his coat flap open and inside, the inside coat pocket was a shiny piece of metal…a gun. So, I did the only thing I could, I protected my sister, I stopped him before he could use that gun. Then you came to my room and you said and I quote…'Faith, you killed a man,' not we killed a man and we all know what the Watcher's Council would have done, they would have taken me back to England."

"Giles said they would do that to rehabilitate you," Buffy said.

Faith sighed. "Wrong, what G-man told you was wrong. "I found out after we took over and reformed the Watcher's Council into the Slayer's Council what they truly wanted to do to me. According to the files that I found, they were going to put me through this thing called the Judgement. The Judgement was designed much like the Cruciamentum you went through."

"To kill a Slayer," Buffy realized. "The Cruciamentum was designed to make sure we didn't live past the age of eighteen when we could legally leave our Watcher's behind."

"The Judgement was much the same," Faith said. "It was designed to kill Slayers who were troublesome."

"Oh, my goddess!"

The assembled group turned and looked at the door and found Willow standing there.

"Buffy if the council had taken her to England," Willow said in obvious shock. "She would be dead now. That explains what Xander and I found while exploring the castle grounds. In the bowels of the castle we found out Travers had a King Arthur fetish and saw himself as Arthur reincarnated, down to the Round Table. There was also a pit, we found dozens of bodies."

Willow sat at the table and looked at each member of the White family. "Before Tara died. She taught me how to see auras. Buffy, when we found that pit, I did an aura read on the bones. They were all Slayers."

"Who likely did what Faith had done," Buffy said as Willow nodded.

"They probably gave them a fake trial and like the with the Salem Witch Trials, they found everyone guilty and burned them at the stake or some other harsh punishment. Buffy, we should have helped Faith, not let her go through this. But we had Wesley involved in our lives, telling us she was evil and…"

Faith noticed a tear that escaped Willow's eye. She reached across and wiped it away. "Thanks, Red…" she paused as she thought about her friend's nickname. Ruby was Willow's adopted mom now. And Mary Margaret called Ruby…Red. So, she corrected herself, "…Red Jr. With Snow calling your mom, Red…"

"That's because that is Red's name," Mary Margaret told her sister. "Red Lucas. But since she still goes by the name Ruby, just as I still go by the name Mary Margaret. Red pretty much just became a nickname."

"Well their both Red, so…" Faith said.

"Hence Red Jr," Willow said with a chuckle. "I like it, Faith, thanks."

"Anyways," Faith said getting back to the topic at hand. "I'm going to skip over whole mayor thing since that story has actually been told. I will go straight to the coma." She looked at her twin with a sigh. "Hospital records showed that mom and Dawn visited as often as they could, usually about every other day."

"That wasn't always the case," Dawn interrupted. "The first few times mom went by herself. I refused to go. As far as I was concerned you were bad, and you tried to kill Buffy. You didn't deserve my sympathy. But mom reminded me of something."

"What?" Faith wondered.

"That you were Dawn's friend," Joyce said. "You treated your baby sister not like a kid but like someone more your age. Even when Buffy was adamant that she wanted to keep Dawn out of your lives for her own protection. You on the other hand didn't treat her like kid. You took Dawn under your wing, remember?"

"I gave her some self defense lessons," Faith said as she nodded. "I remember."

"When mom reminded me of that friendship. I realized I didn't hate you, was I mad. Yes," Dawn said. "But I also remember feeling…I guess like you were my sister even then. And I guess that's how I saw you from that moment on till now."

Faith smiled as she pulled Dawn into her arms and held her. "Thank you, Dawnie," she whispered into her baby sister's ear. When she released her sister, she turned back to Buffy. "But you, the visitor log said you only visited once. Just after you survived the Mayor's failed ascension. I don't know why you only showed up once. Maybe it was to rub it in my face that you killed him. I don't really know."

"To rub it in your face, maybe not," Buffy said. "But I did feel you should know that he failed. That you had backed…Yeah now that you mention it and I have a chance to think about it. It was to rub it in your face. And I am sorry about that, Faith. But you have to remember what we had just gone through. You shot Angel. Even though he broke up with me around that time. I was just still in love with him. Or so I thought anyways."

"After Lady Di, the Mayor was the only one that seemed to care about me, Buffy," Faith informed her. "He saw me, like I was his little girl. He gave me what I desperately wanted from you." She sighed. "After the body swap, I left SunnyHell and ran to L.A. to try and take out Angel for Wolfram & Hart. I kidnapped & tortured Wes to get Angel pissed at me to end it all…to kill me.

Buffy's eyes went wide. "You wanted to die?"

Faith sighed as she patted her twin's hand. She knew that Buffy said she wouldn't be hurt by this story, but she could tell she was now hurting her sister. Since finding out that Buffy and Dawn were her sisters, she had never wanted to hurt them, not like this. But she had to get this out, it had been eating her up inside for so long.

"All the pain and the suffering," Faith explained. "It got to be too much for me. From what the Lehanes did, to watching Kakistos kill Lady Di, to you turning your back on me, to a man while yes evil who did love me and learning after waking up that he was dead. I just…I just wanted it all too end. But the thing is I wanted it to be on my terms. Maybe I wanted to make up for all that bad of my life, I don't. But I wanted to go out fighting a vamp. So, I fought Angel saying that I was bad and evil and begged him to kill me. But he didn't."

Faith took a breath of air, she realized she had been going on for at least a half an hour now, but it felt good to get this all out in the open. "Later Wolfram and Hart sent assassins after us and I killed one," she continued. "I got his blood on my hands and had a panic attack. I didn't see assassin, I saw Finch. Angel comforted me. Then you walked in and we fought. I turned myself in and went to prison, knowing what I had to do. I had to strive for redemption. But if you had come to me and said you needed me, I would have broken out of prison."

Faith sighed as she looked at her baby sister. "I would have helped with Glory," she said as she smiled sadly at Dawn. "I would have given my life for you." She looked at Willow and Buffy. "Not that anyone would have been sad about me dying."

"I would've, after all you are my twin," Buffy said.

Faith nodded. "We know that now. But back then, we didn't know that," she reminded her sister. She looked toward Willow. "And I am betting the spell you used for Buffy, back then you would never have used for me. Given you never once thought of even telling me that my sister was dead."

"Faith," Willow sighed. "I regret that. If I could do it all over again, I would tell you. I would show you the friendship you deserved."

"I know, Red Jr.," Faith said. "And I appreciate that." She stood up and began to pace. She was not sure if she really wanted the answer to the question she was about to ask. After a minute she finally looked at her twin. "So now my question for you, Buffy. Why couldn't you love me, didn't I deserve to be loved."

Buffy looked at her twin as the rest of her family moved to Faith and embraced her.

"You are right, Faith, my sister, my twin," Buffy added. "I should have treated you so much better than I did."

Joyce nodded. "And I should've done more to help you. Back then I just made excuses. I should've insisted you move in with us. Or even just moved your stuff without giving you a choice and just gave you a home. But I didn't."

"I'm sorry I had to do that I didn't mean to hurt anybody," Faith admitted looking at her family and friends. "But the prison shrink said I needed to do it."

"She was right," Mary Margaret told her sister. "You can't hold that in anymore. Not when you finally can feel the love. You had to let it out."

"Mary Margaret is right," Henry agreed.

"I know, Henry," Faith said as she looked at her eldest sister. "And thanks, Snow."

"Faith," Mary Margaret said as she looked at her sister. "I would really like to know about your life, in Boston. It could help you…"

Faith let out a sigh. "My life wasn't a happy one but if you would like to hear it…" she started as a knock came at the front door.

Buffy went to answer it as Gold let himself in. "Rumpelstiltskin," she spat. "We've all had a long night."

"You remember that favor you and Miss Swan owe me, Your Highness?" Gold told Buffy as everyone came and stood around Buffy.

"Yeah, so?" Emma said.

"I'm cashing it in," he told them.

"It's not… A good…" Buffy said as she glared at the man.

"Aunt Lizzie is right," Emma agreed.

"You both do honor your agreements, don't you?" he asked. "I need to find someone, so we're leaving today. Pack your bags."

"Leaving?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Where?" Dawn asked.

"Wait. Find someone?" Emma said. "Who?"

"My son," Gold told them. "It has to be today, because every minute I'm here, is a minute closer to me killing Hook. So, it's really best for all concerned if I leave, and you two are going to come with me."

"Here is a thing. Both Emma and I can't go. After all, as Sheriff and Deputy we have a duty to this town," Buffy told Gold.

"Buffy," Faith said. "Let me. And know I'm not suggesting this because of what was just said. Boston's on the way to wherever he wants to go. I could check on Diana's house and check the bank account to see how much I have."

Buffy nodded as she hugged her sister. "If you're sure."

"I am," Faith replied.

Buffy nodded as she looked at Gold. "Would it be okay with you if Faith honors my deal?"

Gold looked at the sisters for a moment and then nodded. "Very well. She will fulfill your deal for you. Oh, and, um, we have a long history. So, know this, and know it to be true. If any harm comes to Belle while I'm gone, I'm killing all of you." He then looked at Faith and Emma. "I'll see you both at noon."