It was William and Stefan who ran to her aid, each grabbing an arm to help her down the stairs. Though the action was so aggressive on Stefan's part, WIlliam worried that he might very well rip her thin arm from its socket.

"Alright dope, guess we are doing this first."

Hope managed as a mild pain flashed across her face, no doubt from Stefan's grab of her arm. Her eyes bounced between the two men on her either side, though her feelings for the two men were extremely different, she had no desire to hurt anyone.

But this wasn't a problem she could run from.

Much to everyone's surprise, she pulled her arm from William's grasp and turned to face Stefan.

"Stef, I-"

As Hope began to speak, William's eyebrows jumped at the use of a nickname, but forced himself to remember just how long Hope and Stefan had been together before he knew her.

It was at this point, for the first time in months, William's faith faltered. He couldn't possibly believe that the woman who gave up her own beating heart for him no longer loved him, but that did not explain her actions towards Stefan. Perhaps in facing certain death, her true feelings had made themselves clear. Will could feel his own heart lose all luster, almost as if it had been ripped out.

However, Hope was rather abruptly interrupted by Stefan.

"Is what this man says true?"

The prince's face was devoid of all emotion as he stared at Hope, more of a stone statue than a person.

"Well that depends on what he said,"

Hope's eyes flicked to William, now standing amongst her family while Stefan held her at the foot of the stairs. But the camaraderie of William's time in Storybrooke had vanished. Everyone was watching her expectantly, with Hope back to tell the truth, William was apparently deemed guilty and she was his only hope of innocence.

"He said he was your true love,"

Hope's face remained neutral, but she could not hide the truth, an unconscious blush appeared on her cheeks. Before she even said anything, William's shoulders had relaxed.

"You said that?"

A touch of disbelief had made its way into Hope's usually brash tone of voice, William only shrugged with a smirk.

"I may have said something to that effect,"

Hope's blush persisted as she turned back to Stefan mildly flustered.

"Well in that case, yes, um, yes that is, uh, true"

Stefan released her arm, his face still bearing no emotion, William may not have liked the man, or more accurately he may not have liked William, but he would not wish heartbreak on anyone. Even Stefan did not deserve it, but life is rarely so kind as to only give us what we deserve.

"I didn't mean to, in fact you can ask him, I actively tried not to fall in love. But I was never coming back to you Stef. I know you think I was, but I do not love you."

The finality in Hope's voice was evident, but Stefan flinched for the first time in the conversation.

"You do not mean that, Hopie don't you remember-"

"Yes Stefan, I remember every lovely thing about us but that isn't the point. I've told you before, we would be miserable together, I do not love you, not the way I should and I think deep down you know that you don't love me."

By this point she held tightly to his hands, whether from desperation or instability was unclear, she was practically begging him to let their relationship finally be buried. William looked to Hope's parents, Killian looked more than ready to pull his daughter from the grasp of her ex-fiance, but Emma gripped his arm. Even as she was, Hope was strong enough to fight her own battles.

Still stony faced, Stefan stared into Hope's pleading eyes, a deep blue like the sea after a storm. He fled the room, Hope tried to go after him but winced as she tried to put her full weight on her frail legs once again.

This time William alone rushed to help her.

As he reached her, he was hit with a distinct sense of fear and awe. They had their brief reunion on the docks, but this was the first time she was fully conscious. His Hope had returned after all this time and he could barely fathom what to say. He reached a tentative hand for her cheek, he had touched her countless times before, but this time was different. He was almost afraid he'd break her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" was what he ended up saying, much to the surprise of a partially lovestruck Hope and a distinctly quiet room.

"With ME?"

She pulled away from his gentle touch, her eyes going wide with anger. William's old catlike grin threatened to appear with full force.

"I haven't had the chance to be properly angry about you literally giving up your heart, which was, regardless of your flattering reasons, unequivocally stupid,"

None of Hope's many family members dared laugh or speak as Hope looked at her apparent true love with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. She was familiar with his taunting, she wouldn't admit it, she may have even missed it.

"I wouldn't have had to give up my heart if you hadn't gotten yourself caught, which I have not had the chance to be properly angry about."

Hope swatted his chest with a bony hand. Her knuckles were red and her nails were broken, fine white scars went up and down the back of her hands, it seemed like there was no part of Hope that Rowena had not scarred.

"Well what was I to do against someone with magic? That would be a terribly unfair fight."

"Bad form" Hope mumbled, her eyes darted from William to her father. Hope had barely had time to process her return to Storybrooke, she had yet to feel the love from her family that she had so desperately clung to in Rowena's clutches.

William chuckled softly, still unwilling to look at anything but her.

"Bad form indeed, but it seems like she was even worse to you."

He was keenly aware that he was supporting a fair amount of her weight, for she couldn't do it alone. The adrenaline and hope that had coursed through her veins escaping Rowena had carried her to Derek and back home, but it was long gone. Though healed, her weakness and pain was undeniable

"Nothing I couldn't survive,"

Hope's old smile invaded her face, though WIlliam's heart pulled at her statement. If he had it his way, Hope Jones would never feel pain. But even he knew that she could never live entirely safely.

"Sorry to interrupt you here, but I physically can't not see my sister for any longer."

In the midst of their reunion, Hugo had pushed through the crowd of people, past his parents, and placed himself behind his sister, facing William. Much to the delight of both men, Hope whipped around at the sound of his voice. Pulling herself from William's grasp, pain and weakness be damned, and practically throwing herself into the arms of His Royal Highness Prince Hugo Liam Swan Jones.

"Oh my God,"

"I missed you so much,"

"You gave up your heart, you fucking dumbass,"

"I know, I know, I'm the worst,"

"Never do that again,"

"I won't, I won't, I won't,"

"You're okay, you're okay,"

"Oh my God, why is your hair normal?"

The exchange between siblings went faster than lightning, words overlapping, tears flowing from both sets of dark blue eyes. Hugo held tightly to his sister, a mangled and tight embrace of bony limbs. Hope pulled away, but only enough to get a better view of her brother's hair, and its usual yet peculiar bright blonde. Hugo's tattooed and nail polished hand left Hope to run through his hair, almost as if he had forgotten it was there. He smiled as he stepped back, still keeping an arm locked on Hope's for her to lean on.

"Now that you're here you can change it back."

He said with a grin William had never quite seen on Hugo. He had seen poor attempts at it throughout his time in Storybrooke. But the real, joyous grin that now graced Hugo Jones' face was unparalleled.

Hope smiled too, but it quickly dropped as her eyes flicked to the leather cuff still binding her left wrist.

"Allow me Miss Jones,"

It was perhaps odd that Rumplestiltskin got to address Hope before even her parents did, but somehow it made sense. The old man offered his former student a small and sly smile as he approached, an unexpected softness in his eyes. Without separating her from her brother, he gingerly placed his hand on the cuff and removed it easily. Hope's shoulders fell, she hadn't even realized she had been holding them up. She could feel the magic rushing back through her body, from the top of her head through the fingertips of her artificial hand. She turned back to Hugo with a smile,

"What color?" Hope wiggled her fingers, much like she did when reattaching her hand. William supposed her magic's reactivation must feel much the same way. A part of herself reattaching to the rest of her.

"Pink, in your honor," he said with a princely bow, the pirate in Hugo briefly taking a backseat. Hope nodded, and despite it being a simple spell, she closed her eyes in focus, took a breath to center herself, and let what she wanted happen. After all, that is all magic is.

Wanting something and having it. She could hear Rumplestiltskin say in her head.

The light pink that usually accompanied Hope's magic began to seep down into Hugo's hair from its roots. The blonde he shared with his mother melted away. Hope's fingers flexed, the seam between her fake hand and her wrist was extremely prominent among the rest of her scars. Once Hugo's head was entirely pink, her fingers relaxed and her eyes opened once again, she smiled at her handiwork, almost looking surprised she succeeded.

Hugo ran a hand through his hair, his smile refusing to leave his face. It was as if with the return of his sister, some switch had been flipped inside him. The light within him was brighter than ever before. William guessed that even before he had brought news of Hope's capture, Hugo hadn't quite been all himself. He remembered the twin swords tattooed on Hope's torso, the two were inseparable, seeing them together was like watching a circuit reconnect.

Hugo's eyes flicked almost imperceptibly to the side, with the most princely of maneuvers, he placed his sister's arm in his own, and turned them toward their parents but still not looking at them.

"I don't think it's very fair to keep you from them for any longer,"

He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead, having to lean down a bit to do so given his height, before leading her towards Killian and Emma who had watched the reunion of their children in quiet awe.

Emma reached her first, taking Hope from the arm of Hugo and holding her like she'd never let go. Her hand held the back of Hope's head, almost like you would hold an infant. William recalled the photograph on Hope's wall, her parents holding her as the tiniest of babies. He could only imagine how their reunion felt.

Emma pulled back to look clearly at her daughter, cradling her face in her hands, brushing loose dark curls away from her face. She moved as if to say something, but the words got stuck, she was effectively speechless. Hope however, was not.

"I'm okay. Really truly. I'm okay,"

Everyone in the room knew that while Hope was most definitely going to live, she was still in immense pain and decidedly not okay. But she would say she was until she died if it made her mother feel better.

"We are so proud of you,"

For the first time since he'd known her, William heard Emma Swan's voice waver with tears. Her hands continued to push Hope's curls back off her face, a face so much like the man who stood beside them.

Captain Hook had been present since Hope's body had appeared on the docks. Anger and rage burned behind his eyes, the world would have hell to pay if his daughter died. But now, staring at Hope on her own two feet, with a beating heart in her chest, the gentle father from Hope's old photograph and memories appeared. The man who took his daughter's arm and walked her into a ball because she was afraid she'd fall down the stairs.

It was upon turning to her father that Hope herself felt tears begin to fall. As she fell into his embrace, his hook grazing her arm, she let her words be muffled by sobs and the leather of his jacket.

"I did everything you said daddy, I did everything you taught me,"

Killian Jones held his daughter at arms length, her false hand grasping her father's hook. It was an unfortunate shared feature, but given how close the pair had always been, it seemed only fair they were bonded in a way no one else got to be.

"I know my brave, darling lass, I would never expect anything less,"

He brushed Hope's tears away before pulling her back to him. William had moved himself back into the crowd, just off of Hook's shoulder, because of this, he was the only other person who heard him whisper through the curls of Hope's hair,

"You are my greatest creation my Hope,"

As he looked at the father and daughter, their resemblance had never been so clear. He had never seen them in person together until then. The dark curls of Hope's hair were the exact shade as her father's. You could claim her hair came from her grandmother, but it didn't. She was all Jones, no Swan. From her deep sea blue eyes to her one hand, she was the daughter of Captain Hook, and it had never been clearer.

Hope Jones was often called many different things. She was brilliant, she was brave, she was clever and cunning. Her beauty was apparent and her daring was clear. But her strength had never quite been on display. William knew her skill better than most, but the strength Hope no doubt needed to survive Rowena and escape, was inordinate. The details of her escape remained a mystery, but it was no miracle she lived. Hope Jones made her own luck and pried strength from every corner of her body when she needed it. Hope knew she was going to lose, so she changed the game.

Henry was next to approach his sister, tears already hovering in his eyes. Exhaustion still mamed Henry's gentle face, as it had for all of William's time in Storybrooke, but the despair in his weary eyes had evaporated. With Hope's return, his guilty conscience, whether it was warranted or not, was no doubt somewhat assuaged.

"Hey Hope," was all Henry managed to say as she sprang from Hook's arms to Henry's. In shock he paused for a moment before wrapping his arms tightly around Hope, disbelief marking the edges of his face. Perhaps he expected blame from Hope, even if such a thing couldn't have been more uncharacteristic.

"How's Ella and the baby?"

In all of the chaos of the past few weeks, William had almost forgotten about Henry's impending fatherhood. He hadn't spoken to his wife, Ella, she was of course one of the family, but much like him, was more on the outskirts than most. Still, she possessed what William had only barely begun to find, their respect.

Henry smiled at his sister like he would never let her go again, though that seemed to be the mindset of everyone in the room. From there, Hope was passed from relative to relative, being cradled and congratulated by everyone she had ever known.

Her grandparents held her tightly, her grandfather looked as if he was trying to shield her entirely, swallow her into the safety of his embrace.

Belle held her hands between them and told her she'd been pulling books for her since she left. Rumplestiltskin offered a wink while his son held her close.

Regina held a hand to the girl's face before telling her that she had performed brilliantly. She knew Hope's magic better than most, but more than anything she knew Hope's mind. The daring of her father with the cunning of her mother and an intelligence all entirely her own.

At one point while she was crushed into a hug by her uncle, she managed to ask where Robin was. William had been informed by Hugo and the photos on Hope's wall that one of her closest friends in Storybrooke had been Robin, who William had yet to meet.

"Zelena was visiting her in Thailand when we found out you were in trouble, they've been trying to get back here since then but Zelena's passport got flagged at customs, fake magic passports aren't always perfect, it's a whole thing, we think they should be able to get here soon, believe me, they wanted to be here to help,"

Neal informed her in a matter of fact sort of way, they really had tried. The second they learned of William's arrival in Storybrooke, Robin had insisted on rushing home, mostly so her mother could help save Hope, but also because she was desperate to meet Hope's alleged boyfriend.

Robin was much like Hope in that she sought adventure outside of Storybrooke, though her land of choice was just the land without magic that surrounded her. She and Hope were close, being the only girls around the same age in the family, not exactly best friends, Robin hadn't seen Hope's unhappiness with Stefan, but she had of course wanted to rush home to save her friend.

"Though it would seem, Young Hope, that you didn't need our help," Rumplestiltskin said from the corner where he stood with his family, "Would you mind enlightening us on how you escaped?"

With a sly smile, and the grace of queen, Hope placed herself on the sofa, and began her story.