Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot and any unrecognizable characters and dialogue.

I hope you all had lovely holidays and a happy new year! Thank you all for the continued support - and to those waiting for the final chapter of No one Escapes, it should be out by this week!

She hurried to keep up, nearly tripping over the heavy silk of her skirts. Jacquimo tightened his grip on her arm, tugging her through the forest as the vines continued to creep behind them. Her chest ached horribly, the pain steadily spreading to the rest of her battered and bruised body.

Almost as if he sensed her fatigue, Jacquimo suddenly swept her into his arms. Despite being more exhausted than her, her friend managed to make it to the edge of a small cliff before setting her down.

"What are you doing?" She fretted, fingers twisting with the dirtied fabric of her dress. "We'll be caught!"

However, her friend shook his head. "No, we won't." He held up a small, silver object and looked down the small cliff face. A pool of water sat at the base of the cliff, one suited for their purposes. Their pursuers were gaining, so he wasted no time explaining before he threw the bean down to the water.

A glance back told them the vines had reached them, though Katerina was unprepared for Jacquimo to grab hold of her. She was even more unprepared for him to send them both over the cliff moments before Cornelius himself burst through the woods.

She gripped her friend tightly, closing her eyes as she waited for death. However, she didn't see the swirling vortex in the once still water, nor did she see the relieved smile of Jacquimo's face. What she did hear, however, was her captor's scream of the name he'd 'gifted' her.

"Maia!"

Gold watched Lillian curl up in front of the blazing fire, despite it being the middle of the morning. His dark haired ward had relocated from the Inn, choosing instead to stay at her previously unused room here in his manor. While he had no problems with her staying in the home he'd 'raised' her in, her reasoning for staying here unsettled him.

He knew of her nightmares. And not just because of the fake memories Regina had given them. Even back before the Curse had been cast, Lilith had awoken, screaming in terror. While this had waned after she'd lost her humanity, it had gotten even worse after she'd returned to the Enchanted Forest. Though that had been because of the return of the memories he'd taken away from her.

Whoever had returned them, as she had remained tight-lipped about that, clearly hadn't been well versed in rock troll magic. The botched job had wreaked havoc on Lilith's mental state, leaving her prone to night terrors that effected her even in the waking world. He, of course, had fixed the damage before she'd gone off to help Snow White win back her kingdom. However, whatever had happened to her the other day when she'd collapsed, it had seemed to send her into a relapse that he was unable to fix given the lack of magic.

He made his way to her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "Lillian?"

She said nothing, merely curling tighter within herself. Though she made no move to dislodge his hand. His touch comforted her, grounding her when the dreams seeped into her daylight. Which they had been doing all too often, as she'd once again woken screaming, only to see Peter standing at the foot of her bed.

He'd disappeared almost as quickly as he'd come, leaving her gasping and near hysterical as Gold tried everything to calm her. While she had been nearly giddy with relief that Peter was out there, the cons were beginning to outweigh the pros.

"I feel like I'm going mad."

Katerina registered the ache in her head and the taste of metal in her mouth. What she did not notice, was the ache within her chest that had been caused by the Curse given to her by her captor. She felt Jacquimo gently tug at her arms, trying to get her to stand. Both of them stiffened when a dark, vibrating aura began to press against them.

"Are you two lost?" A thin, brown-haired boy was leaning against a nearby tree. One eyebrow was raised as he eyed them, taking in their dirt streaked appearances. "You look lost to me."

"A-are you... is this Neverland?" Jacquimo whispered as Katerina jerked her head to stare at him in shock.

The boy before them nodded, a smirk forming on his lips. He stepped from the tree, calmly stalking towards them as Katerina plastered herself to Jacquimo's side.

"It is." He agreed easily, watching them both curiously. "Now, how did you get onto my island?"

"Your island?" Katerina repeated dubiously, ignoring her friend's attempts to quiet her. "What do you mean your island?"

However, she shrunk back against Jacquimo's side when the boy suddenly smirked. The expression was anything but welcoming. It sent shivers down her spine, the feeling making her take a step back.

"Well, I built this place in my dreams so, yes." His head tilted to the side like a cat. "It is my island." He suddenly appeared in front of them, his green eyes glinting. "Now, I ask again, why are you here?"

Jacquimo looked down at his friend, nodding his head when she looked up at him. He'd told her they were going somewhere safe, and he'd not failed her yet. With a sigh, she reached down and tugged at the arm of her dress. As she pulled it upwards, she heard Jacquimo gasp in shock at the sight of the black, diseased veins bulging from her pale skin.

She herself gasped when the boy was suddenly there, holding her arm as he eyed the sickly looking veins. A thin, pale finger gently ran along the black lines and both intruders watched in shock when he jerked away with a hiss.

"That's very dark magic," green eyes seared into her own aqua. "I wonder where it came from?" Suddenly he was snarling, face inches from her own. "Was it the Dark One?"

Too stunned to even pull away, she rapidly shook her head as her heart jumped into her throat. Thankfully, the boy pulled away after eying her dubiously for several heartbeats. He drew away from her, looking between both of them as Katerina fought to catch her breath.

Jacquimo drew her into his embrace, attempting to quiet her trembling. Though he was almost as afraid, he managed to hold himself together as the boy continued to stare at them.

"Well, you're in luck." The boy said finally, arms crossed against his green-clad chest. "Here on Neverland, one stays remarkably fresh. The sickness won't spread so long as you remain on this island."

"And we are allowed to remain?" Jacquimo asked curiously, eying the sheath that decorated the boy's hip.

"First time we've had a girl here but," that snarl-like smirk reappeared. "I'm sure we can work something out."

"Ruby?" Lily called, cautiously knocking on the thick, wooden door. She'd finally emerged from her self-imposed exile at Gold's, only to find that her best friend had quit her job in a huff. Granny had rolled her eyes during the short explanation, calmly pointing towards the Inn when Lily weakly asked where Ruby had stormed off to. "Come on, I know you're in there."

When she received no answer, she calmly slipped a bobby pin from her hair. A frown crossed her face when her messy curls fell across her face and impatiently pushed them aside before she knelt in front of the door. It took her seconds to pick the lock and open the door, though she was forced to duck out of the way when a shoe was pelted towards her head.

"Hey!"

Ruby winced, catching sight of the furious aqua eyes that didn't belong to her grandmother. "Sorry," she apologized in a weak voice. "I thought you were Granny."

"I can tell." Lily shot back flatly, reaching down to grasp the shoe before shutting the door behind her. "So, you quit for real this time?"

Ruby was nodding rapidly, periodically stuffing articles of clothing into her suitcase. "Yep!" She ducked back into the small closet. "Granny's being a drag, so," she reemerged. "Time to move on." She ignored Lillian's amused stare, stuffing more clothes into her bags.

Lily rolled her eyes, stepping further into the room before she began to help Ruby pack her bags. Her friend said nothing, though she saw the grateful expression on the older girl's face. They silently packed, lounging about in the room when they'd finished. The moment darkness fell, Ruby yanked on her coat and hat before grabbing at her bags. Lily followed suit, helping her friend get the suitcases down the stairs before they tramped to the bus stop.

After waiting for twenty minutes, both turned at the sound of footsteps and sneered identically at the approaching man. Doctor Whale smiled at them, clearly trying to be reassuring.

"Hey girls," he eyed Ruby far more than Lillian, too afraid of Gold and the law to mentally undress the teen. "Need a ride, Ruby?"

"Sorry." Ruby spat out softly, leaning against the pole beside her. "No, don't need a ride."

"It's awfully cold out here." Whale tried, stepping closer to the older woman. Lillian, while rather pretty, was underage and therefore off limits.

Ruby and Lily shared an unamused look. "I'm fine – really."

Lily glanced over the overeager doctor's shoulder, holding back a smirk at the sight of Emma and Mary Margaret approaching. "I can carry your bag. Where are you headed?"

"Dr. Whale?" The teacher asked, looking between him and the two women in dawning realization.

"Mary Margaret. Emma." He greeted flatly, losing his steam. "Hello there."

Mary Margaret's eyed narrowed while Emma shifted her jacket, revealing the Sheriff's badge on her belt. "Hey." The dark-haired woman shot back.

"I was just having a talk with Ruby and Lillian here. But, I should, um…" He trailed off at the sight of the hard, unforgiving expression on Emma's face.

"Yeah." She nodded. "Yeah, you should."

He looked around at the four women, visibly deflating. "Yeah…" With that, he stalked away.

Both older women immediately converged on Lily and Ruby. "Was he bothering you?"

"The day I can't handle a lech is the day I leave town." Ruby drawled with a smirk that fell quickly. "Which this is, I guess."

"You're leaving?"

She nodded at Emma. "I had a fight with Granny. Quit my job."

"You quit? Where you going?" Mary Margaret asked, concern dripping from her words.

Ruby shrugged. "I don't know. Away."

Lily rolled her eyes, finally saying what had been on her mind all evening. "Buses out of town don't really happen, Rubes."

"And, you might want a destination first." Emma added.

"Hey, if you need a place to figure things out, you could always come home with us." Mary Margaret offered, sending Emma a dirty look when the blonde began to sputter.

"Yeah, uh. Yeah." She agreed weakly. "Just for a little while."

"Come on."

Katerina winced every time the knife made contact with the stump. After taking them to his camp, the boy from before had left them in the care of a blond boy he called Felix. Said blond was currently flipping a stick between his hands as a group of boys to the left threw daggers into a make-shift target. She flicnehd again, huddling against him when Jacquimo tightened his grip on her shoulders.

"When will... " Jacquimo cleared his throat when blank, steely eyes flashed at him. "When will the boy from before be back?"

Felix eyed them critically, quickly analyzing that they were no threat. "He'll be back when he's back." With a flick of his wrist, the stick he'd been toying with made its way into the fire. He turned his attention to the girl, looking at the black veins on her arm. "Probably wants to figure out what to do about that."

Her hand automatically clasped over the offending veins as she looked away. Felix smirked, the stick in his mouth moving with the quirk of his lips.

Jacquimo cleared his throat, "What do you mean?"

Felix sent one last amused smirk at the girl before looking to the boy. "Well, Pan wouldn't let you stay here unless it suited him."

"Pan? Who is that?"

Felix rolled his eyes at the naivety the girl showed. He glanced over their shoulders, the corner of his lips twitching at the sight of Peter entering the camp. He jerked his chin towards him, making Katerina and Jacquimo turned, both stiffening at the sight of the boy from earlier.

"I'm Peter. Peter Pan."

"Want to be a bike messenger?" Henry asked Ruby, once again ignoring Lillian's warning glare.

Ruby raised a brow, glancing at the phone while it continued to ring off the hook. "Bike messenger?"

"That's about taking things to people in a little basket."

Her nose wrinkled at Henry's explanation. "Nope. Yeah, see, I'm not so great at bike riding."

"How about taking things on foot, to people, in a little basket?" Henry tried again, hoping he could trigger Ruby's real memories.

"I'm not so sure that's a real job." Lily drawled dryly from her position in the seat next to Henry. She ignored Henry's glare, too focused on swinging her legs over the arm.

Ruby turned to stare at the phone when it once again began to ring obnoxiously. "Why do the phones keep doing that?"

"Oh, the non-emergency calls go to a machine when Emma's busy." Henry explained dismissively.

Both he and Lily watched as Ruby reached over and plucked the phone from the cradle. "Sheriff's station." She greeted brightly, "How can I help you? Mmhmm. I'll get her to return. Thank you, too." She reached forward, pressing the blinking button to answer the next call. "Sheriff's station. Hey, Miss Ginger. Uh, no, that's not a prowler." She chuckled softly. "That's Archie's dog – Pongo. Throw him a vanilla wafer. He'll quiet down. Did you still want to talk to Emma? Great. Glad I could help."

Emma entered the station, blinking in surprise as she heard Ruby handling the phone. "How's it going, you three?" She asked, leaning on the desk Henry had commandeered.

"Great." Ruby exhaled, setting down the phone. "Except I can't do anything."

"I'm sure that's not true. I just saw you on the phone." Emma said, still rather surprised. "That was good."

"That?" Ruby asked glancing at the phone. "That's nothing."

Emma shook her head with a small smile. "No. No, it isn't." She paused, thinking it over in her head before she offered, "I actually have some money in the budget if you want to help out around here."

Lily watched as Ruby nearly shot out of her chair. "Yes! Thank you! Yes." She looked around, "Um, I could answer phones and help out. Um, is there anything else that you need done? Organize files, cleaning up? Please – I want to be useful."

Emma shrugged, raising her arms slightly. "I'm swamped with the Kathryn Nolan thing. If you maybe want to grab us lunch, I would never say no to a grilled cheese."

"Done." Ruby glanced down at Henry and Lillian. "You two want anything?"

"Um, two chocolate chip cookies, an apple pie, and a hot dog."

Lily and Emma shared a look before the former spoke, ruffling Henry's hair. "He ate at school."

Ruby turned to leave, nearly bowling over Mary Margaret in her haste. "Hey! Lunch, Mary Margaret? I'm getting for everyone."

"Uh, no." Mary Margaret shook her head, still shaken up from her encounter with David. "I'm not hungry." She watched Ruby leave before she headed to Emma, tugging her aside as Lily and Henry flipped through his book. "David's in the woods." She lowered her voice as Emma frowned. "There's something wrong with him. He looked right through me. It's like… It's like he was a different person."

"What is this place?" Katerina asked, hesitant to follow Pan anywhere. After he'd arrived back at camp, the boy had insisted on her, and only her, coming with him. Despite it being obvious that he didn't want her to go alone, Jacquimo had encouraged her to do so.

However, as Pan had rowed them to a skull shaped island, she had felt panic gripping her insides. The feeling, so familiar and hated, had clawed its way up her throat and refused to leave her alone.

Peter exited the boat, tying it to the small shore before he turned and offered the girl his hand. When she simply blinked at him owlishly, he held back a snarl. "You're supposed to take it."

Her pale cheeks rapidly flushed, making her face resemble an apple. She looked away, taking his hand before he helped her from the boat. He released her hand the moment her feet touched dry land, turning to face her.

"This is the center of the island's magic." He explained calmly, watching her face. "Here, a cure could be found for your..." He trailed off, his nose crinkling at the spreading black veins along her arm. "Condition."

He waited for her to nod hesitantly, turning and ascending the stairs when she did. Katerina paused before she followed him, her dirty skirts clenched between sweaty palms. As they entered the large, dimly lit cave, she couldn't hold back a gasp at the large hourglass in the center of the cave.

She could feel magic pulsing from the object, her brow creasing as she felt her own ability reacting. "What is that?"

"That," he stalked to the hourglass, pausing on the small set of stairs leading to it. He turned back to her, face set like stone. "Represents the magic fueling Neverland. When it runs out, both the island and I will die."

Her eyes widened, horror reflecting in the pale color. He went stiff at the sight as a different face with those same eyes stared up at him. As quickly as it had come, the vision disappeared, though the feeling it brought didn't. He held back the smirk threatening to overtake his face, though felt the corner of his lip twitch upwards.

"Neverland is home to a magical spring - it's what keeps the island and its inhabitants forever frozen." He saw her face brighten and held back a sneer. "However, the water will cure you, but you cannot leave the island once you drink the water."

Katerina deflated, all hope leaving her as she glanced down. The black, rotted veins stood out against her pale flesh, making her stomach churn violently.

"But, there is other magic at work here." Her head snapped up and she smothered a scream at the sight of a yellow-eyed shadow hovering behind Pan. "A deal can be struck, allowing you to leave here and stay alive."

She forced herself to swallow past her heart that had suddenly leapt up in her throat. She'd seen many things, but a sentient shadow was something she hadn't yet. "W-what do you mean?"

It lazily floated around the ceiling, coming ot hover before her. "You have magic yourself, do you not?" She forced herself to nod in response. "As does Peter Pan." It flew back to Peter, who was watching them quietly. It slipped through him, making his eyes fly wide open as a strangled gasp escaped his chest.

A dark haired girl with the same eyes as Katerina stared up at him, her face flashing between different ages and expressions. However, one vision he was stuck on was one of the girl in his arms, clinging tightly to him.

'Lily'

He was jerked back to the present when the Shadow left his body, the visions coming ot a screeching halt. Panting harshly, he forced himself to remain upright and turned to stare at the Shadow. It nodded once at his unspoken question before it turned to Katerina, who was watching with wide eyes.

"I will gift you with magic that will allow you to live." Peter began, his green eyes so bright that it frightened her. "However, you'll need to give something in return."

"But, I have nothing -"

"Not yet," his smile was positively feral. "But you will. The magic that will keep you alive will only do so until it passes onto a child." He locked eyes with her while her blood ran cold. "Your child."

"Okay, kid." Emma began as she left her office. "Don't mean to kick you out, but I got to go see if David's in some kind of trouble out there."

Lily and Henry looked at one another before he spoke with a shrug. "It's okay. I'm supposed to meet my mom." He grabbed his book while Lily opened a desk drawer. Emma watched in surprise as Henry placed his book in the drawer, Lily locking it shut. "There."

"Nice." Emma admitted.

"You know, you can let Ruby do more." Henry began as Lily handed him his book bag. "She's Little Red Riding Hood."

"With the little basket? Yeah, she seems like a badass."

Lily rolled her eyes at the sarcasm. "Oh, she is." She commented airily as Henry nodded beside her.

"She just doesn't remember how cool she is or what she's capable of. But it's true." Henry stood, Lily following suit, and both headed for the door. "Hey, Ruby." Henry greeted when the woman passed them.

"Hey, Henry." She greeted back, attention switching to Lillian. "You'll be back, Lils?" When her friend nodded before herding Henry away, Ruby turned to Emma. "Got your grilled cheese."

Emma took the offered bag. "Thank you. You all right?" She asked, sensing Ruby's overly cheerful smile.

"I guess." Ruby shrugged. "I mean, this is something I know how to do. So, yay."

"Okay, let's pack these back up, and we can eat it in the car." Emma offered, smiling at the dark-haired woman. "I need to do a little wilderness search, and I need your help." She looked up, "We'll wait for Lillian in the car."

"I'm pretty sure I'm just going to screw it up. I mean, I'll screw it up with flair, but…" Ruby trailed off, catching sight of Emma's determined expression.

"No, you won't. Come on – you can do this."

They left the station, waiting in Emma's bug for Lillian to return. Thankfully, the teen wandered up to them after less than ten minutes and immediately hopped into the back seat.

"So, where are we going?" Lily asked, fiddling with the charm around her neck.

"Well, Mary Margaret said David ran into the woods, so that's our best bet."

"This place is massive." Ruby commented as they wandered through the woods surrounding Storybrooke. "How are we supposed to find one guy?"

"Hey, shh." Emma whispered, looking around. "We might be able to hear him."

Ruby and Lily shared a look before the latter spoke flatly. "It's massive."

"I'm following the path because there are boot prints," Emma sighed, gesturing to the dirt beneath them. "So just stay close."

"I shouldn't even be here." Ruby fretted as she clambered over a fallen tree limb. "I'm just going to screw everything up. Oh, wait." She stopped dead, making both Emma and Lily bump into her.

"Ruby?" Emma asked, ignoring the glare Lily directed towards her.

"I hear him."

That took her by surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah, really." Ruby said, nodding as she jerkily looked around. Lily said nothing, merely watching as Red Riding Hood came out. "I hear him or…something. I… I know where he is. Don't you?"

She took off, leaving a stunned Emma and a smug Lily in her wake. Without waiting, Lily took off after her, leaving Emma behind.

"No. What are you doing?" The blonde called, getting her bearings before she too ran after them.

"He's over here!" Ruby called, ducking around foliage and trees. Lily stuck by her, both ignoring Emma as she called their names.

"Ruby! Lillian! Ruby?" Emma's eyes widened as, when she caught up with them, they were standing over a bleeding and unconscious David. She knelt next to him, reaching out to shake his shoulder. "David? Oh, god. Come on! David, come on! Wake up! David, wake up!"

Her jerked awake, blue eyes wide. He looked around frantically, settling on the three familiar faces staring down at him. "Emma? What - Ruby, Lillian?"

"Do you remember where you are?" Emma asked as David began to sit up.

"No, I…" He looked around briefly, his eyes widening even more. "What the hell? I was… I was in your office. Did you bring me here?"

The blonde shook her head, worry gripping her. "You don't remember anything since you were in my office? Last night?"

"No, I don't."

"Katerina, what happened?" Jacquimo drew her to him the moment she and Pan returned to camp. Her blue eyes were glazed and distant while her skin was almost ashen in color. "What did he do?"

Numbly, she shook her head. Bile rose up in her throat as she thought of what she'd just promised, though she forced it down. "He... he has done nothing to me..."

Jaqcuimo caught on to her hesitance.

"What happened? Tell me, please." As he watched her, his agitation growing until he reached to grasp her shoulders. "Katie, please."

"Pan h-healed me." She blurted out, her eyes suddenly bright with tears. "But only... only until I-" She broke off, dissovling into soft yet heartbreking sobs as everything she'd just done crashed into her.

"Until when, Katie?" Jacquimo gently soothed his hand down her loose hair, calming her until she drew away.

Fisting her hands in his shirt, Katerina heaved a shaky sigh before she raised distraught aqua eyes to meet his.

"Until I have a child. I promised him my child."

"So, how long until Emma gets back?" Ruby asked, lazily spinning in the chair as Lillian leaned back on the desk she was perched on.

"No idea," she responded, fiddling once again with her necklace. Ruby caught sight of the silver charm, reaching up to grasp it from Lillian's fingers.

"This is pretty," she mused, missing the way Lily went stiff. "Where'd you get it? The shop?"

Unable to speak, Lily forced herself to nod. Ruby, thankfully, released the charm from her fingers and leaned back in her chair. She perked immediately when the phone began to ring and eagerly reached for it.

"Sheriff's station, thank you for calling. How may I direct your- "

"Hey, stop. It's me." Emma said, interrupting Ruby's greeting. "Here's the thing – the last time David went for a dream walk, he went to the Toll Bridge. You know the one?" Emma asked, turning to gaze at David, who was still in the hospital room. "It's a crazy hunch, but I want you two to take my bug and go and see if he was there."

Ruby began to shake her head. "No, I could get somebody else to-"

"Ruby," Emma interrupted again. "You were great out there, and Lillian knows her way around too. I still don't know how you found him. You can do this."

"I don't know."

Lillian winced at the sadness coating Ruby's voice. Regina's idea of revenge was to keep them all from their 'happy endings' - meaning Ruby didn't know her place in the world.

"It's going to be dark out soon. David's going to be let out." Emma began listing as Lily listened harder to the conversation. "If there is something there, we've got to get there first. We don't have time to argue. Can you do this?"

Lily held her phone open as Ruby drove. They'd taken Emma's car and were pulling up to the Toll Bridge with Emma still on the phone.

Ruby was still fretting when she'd parked and they exited the vehicle. "I mean, what am I even looking for?" She asked as they stepped off the road.

"Anything out of the ordinary." Emma's voice came over the phone. "Something that doesn't belong there."

Ruby followed Lillian as they both carefully climbed down the small incline towards the shore. "And... if we find something?" Lily asked, holding her phone up higher as she tried not to slide down the loose mud.

"Just follow your instincts."

Both women shared a look before Lily lowered her phone and began to look around the shore. She caught sight of the wooden board, though it was Ruby that nudged her first.

"Look." The terrified whisper rose between them before Ruby reached out and pushed the board over with her boot.

At the sight of the patch of sand, Lily swallowed past her nerves and sank into a crouch. Her phone was placed on a nearby rock as Ruby shakily knelt beside her. She grabbed a stick and began to dig at the sand, Lily doing the same until a loud 'thunk' made them jump. Swallowing hard, Ruby threw away her stick and began to brush at the sand with her hand, slowly revealing a small jewelry box.

"You…can't give me a clue what I'm looking for?" Ruby asked shakily as Lily reached out for the box.

"Anything of Kathryn's." Was Emma's reply as Lily picked the box up. "Ruby? Lillian? What's going on? Did you find something?" Emma asked as Ruby reached out and began to open the lid of the box.

However, when the box had been opened, both Lily and Ruby screamed in horror. Lily dropped the box, scrambling to stand before she reached for Ruby as well. They both stared at the box, clutching each other tightly as Emma frantically called for them.

"Ruby? Lillian? Guys?!"

"So," Felix began quietly as the Shadow and its passengers disappeared over the horizon. Peter had seen them off, smugness nearly radiated off him. "Do I want to know?"

The shorter boy chuckled softly, the sound dark and eerie. Without turning to him, Peter calmly answered his second in command.

"Nothing much." He shrugged his shoulders, as if the matter was truly nothing. "She gets to live until she has a child."

Felix couldn't stop a note of incredulity from entering his voice. "All this just for a new recruit?"

"No." He finally turned to Felix, his eyes practically glowing with excitement. "For a Lost Girl."

"Is…" Ruby swallowed past the lump in her throat, pushing down the rising bile. "Is that what I think it is?"

It was Lillian who answered her, as Emma was pale faced and sick looking. "Yeah." The teen answered, her own face a queer shade of green. Despite having taken hearts in the past, it hadn't been bloody. Magic allowed the act without causing death. But what they had found...

Suddenly, Ruby was clutching at her, hiding her face in Lillian's shoulder. "I can't look." She whimpered as Lily wrapped an arm around her.

Emma shut the box, holding back a whimper of her own before she turned to the other two. "You okay?"

"I don't know what I am." Ruby whispered, pulling away from Lillian to look at Emma.

"It's going to be all right." The blonde soothed, resting a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "We can figure out what happened now. Ruby, you did good." She was unprepared for Ruby's reaction.

"This, is doing good?" The dark-haired woman demanded, her eyes wide with distress.

"Yeah. It's amazing." Emma admitted. "First, you found David, and now, this. I know you say you don't know what you are, but, whatever it is, I got to say, I'm impressed."

Ruby began to shake her head again. "Don't be. I'm… I'm scared out of my mind." She admitted shakily as Lily rubbed her arm.

"But you did it anyway." Emma pointed out.

"I need to get a car." Lily panted as she collapsed on Henry's bed. He'd once again convinced her to stay the night again, though she hated being so close to Regina.

"Is Ruby all right?" Henry asked quietly, keeping his voice down despite the fact that his mother was in the shower.

Lily nodded, having witnessed the reunion herself when she'd gone to pack an overnight bag. "Yeah, it's working." She felt a smile overtake her features as Henry began to grin in excitement.

"The Curse is weakening."

Thoughts? Comments? Questions?