It was one of the rare days Ruby had time off from work. Since Ella had been born, she and Ashley had been working themselves to the bone trying to provide for her. In just a few months they'd have enough to make enough to get their own apartment and get Ella out of the tiny room Granny had let her and Ashley live in rent-free. Teddy had been godsend. He watched Ella several times a weeks and brought her back to the inn while he was coming into town for his shifts. Ella was with him so often, it sometimes felt like the three of them were co-parenting.

That morning before Ashley woke up, Ruby got up to get Ella ready for the day. It was still before dawn when the familiar sound of Teddy's old truck came up Main Street. Ruby reflexively smiled when she heard it. Teddy had unexpectedly become a big part of her life and she shouldn't have it any other way. She bundled Ella up in her little coat, the white one with little blue birdhouses printed on it, placed her in her car seat. Ruby stepped out into the cool morning air as the truck stopped in front of the diner.

"Morning." Teddy greeted cheerfully as he hopped out of the truck. He had washed his hands, but fresh grease and sea salt stained his clothes. Ruby had long since gotten used to the scent of fish and metal that clung to him, to the point that she barely noticed it anymore. The morning fog curled around their ankles as they met in front of the diner.

"Hey Teddy," Ruby greeted him with a smile.

He stooped over to greet Ella in her car seat, "Good morning Princess."

Ruby watched them affectionately. "You know you don't have to take her. It's my day off, and you just finished a long shift."

"Don't worry about Ruby," Teddy replied as he stood to his full height, "My mom and my aunt will be really upset if they have to go another day without seeing her."

Ella began squealing happily, as if she was excited to see Teddy's family too and wanted to let them know. Ruby and Teddy went over to his truck and strapped Ella's car seat into the backseat. She tossed the diaper bag into the next seat.

Without really thinking about it, Ruby noted, "You know, I don't think I've ever met your family in person. I mean, your mom has Ashley's number and texts her if there's anything wrong with Ella, but that's it."

Teddy looked surprised, "I don't realize that was important to you."

Ruby's face grew warm, "It's not, I mean it's not not important. I just meant, like, we're all involved in taking care of Ella. It would just kind of make sense. You don't have to introduce us, if you don't what to, I don't want you to feel obligated-"

"No it's fine," Teddy assured. "Um, yeah, I'll let them know when I get home and we can plan something."

"Sounds good," Ruby replied weakly. Teddy gave her casual salute as he hopped back into his drove and drove off with the little girl they both secretly thought of as their own.


Emma walked into the courthouse after another sleepless night. Today Flora would have a preliminary hearing, where the judge would decide whether there was enough evidence against her to take the case to trial. She caught up to David at the courthouse steps. If Emma felt tired, David look exhausted, but he still smiled at her as she approached.

"You ready?" she asked.

"Born ready," David replied. "Flora's got nothing to worry about."

They soon parted ways as David went to a private room to give Flora some last minute advice. Meanwhile, Emma took a seat in the courtroom near the front, waiting for the proceedings to begin. Time crept on. Eventually the prosecutor, Albert Spencer, walked in with his team, Regina walking behind them with a smug smile on her face.

"Good morning Miss Swan," Regina greeted cheerful. Too cheerful.

Emma felt suspicious, but she just smiled tightly and nodded. When she looked at the prosecution, what she saw made her stomach flip. She knew Dawn Thorne was Albert Spencer's paralegal. David had explained to her why they couldn't have her as a character witness - its was a massive conflict of interest. But knowing and seeing were different things. It wasn't like Dawn had much of a choice, Emma understood, but it felt incredibly ironic and unfair that Dawn's job demanded she try to get her own neighbor, the woman whose brother she had cared for, behind bars.

Graham entered a few minutes later, his face carrying a distant expression. He gave Emma clipped "Hello" as he took the seat next to her.

"You okay?" Emma asked.

"Just ready to get this over with," he groaned.

"Ah," Emma snorted. "Can't blame you."

Finally, David and Flora entered the courtroom. Someone had given a smart grey pantsuit to wear and she wore her hair in a severe bun. She had even put on a little makeup, but not enough to look like she trying to look flashy. Flora shot Emma a nervous smile as she walked to her seat.

Last to arrive was Priscilla, to Emma's surprise. She was growing stronger by the day and didn't rely on her cane nearly as often, but she leaned on someone - on Killian's arm. He had been leaning his head down to whisper in her ear as they walked in, but when he looked up, Emma knew at once it was face burned when she realized Priscilla had come with Killian of all people.

When they judge arrived, they all stood their feet.

Emma tried to pay attention to the proceedings, but it was really tedious and involved a lot of fancy legal terms she couldn't understood even if she tried. Her mind drifted to Henry, and what he said about his mother being evil. Even Graham had suspected that Regina might have had something to do with Priscilla's disappearance. Yes, Regina was an incredibly unpleasant person, a bully and a tyrant, but was she capable of true evil? Emma felt her skin break out in a cold sweat as the horrible possibility her like a train. Every bad that happened to Storybrooke seemed to trace back to Regina. Why not that?

Suddenly the room seemed to hot, it became to hot to breath. Emma glanced in Regina's direction. She looked nonchalant, even a little smug. Emma's stomach hurt.

"Excuse me," she whispered to Graham as she stood up and raced out of the courtroom. Someone called out "Miss Swan!" behind her, but Emma barely heard it. Outside, she had to get outside. She ran down the corridor feeling incredibly dizzy, like the floor had somehow tilted. When she burst out the front door the cool, sweet spring air flooded into her lungs. Emma took several heavy, gasping breathes. What was wrong with her? A sharp pain seized her gut. Then, before she had time to think about it, a flood of vomit burst from her mouth.

She somehow ended up on her hands and knees on the courthouse steps as some vile orange-red fluid erupted from her throat. The stench only made her want to throw up more. What the hell was that? God, was she vomiting blood? No, blood wasn't that shade of red and the smell was all wrong. She'd had waffles for breakfast. What the hell had been inside her?

After what felt for ages, Emma's stomach settled. She spat the remains of the fluid out of her mouth and into the oozing mess in front of her. She was lucky she hadn't gotten any on her clothes or shoes.

"Jesus Christ," Killian whistled behind her.

Emma didn't look back, embarrassed. "What are you doing here?"

"You left in such a rush, I came to check on you," Killian answered came around to face her, careful not to step in the mess she'd made. He pulled out a handkerchief for her. "What happen?"

"Fuck if I know," Emma admitted. "I don't think anyone would mind if I went home early today."

Killian looked concerned, "Are you sure you shouldn't go to the hospital? That doesn't look normal. Doesn't smell normal either."

"I feel fine, Killian," Emma insisted, feeling even more embarrassed having to talk about her freaking vomit with him, of all people. "Whatever came over me has passed." He didn't seem convinced, but he didn't argue with her. Emma folded over his handkerchief so that the vomit stain was hidden. "Thanks," she said as she gave it back to him."

"It's nothing. I'll let everyone know that you're not feeling well. Hope you get better," Killian replied. He gave her a short nod before returning inside.

Emma forced herself not to turn around and watch him retreat back to the courtroom. She felt deeply embarrassed by what just happened, not to mention her feelings for Killian were all over the place. Still...it was rather sweet of him to come out to check up on her. She missed their friendship. Why had she started avoided him some silly theory about fairy tales. They could still hang out.

Unless he was busy spending time with Priscilla, Emma thought darkly. Then she rebuked herself for being so upset. Priscilla was a sweet girl who'd been through a lot already. It wasn't her fault Emma had blown her chance with Killian. Sure, Emma could stay friends with Killian and Priscilla, even if they were dating. It would be awkward, but she could make it work.

As Emma walked to her car, careful to avoid her mess, she laughed internally at the absurdity of her situation. She'd never tried to particularly hard to keep friends, at least not since she parted ways with Lily Page when she was a teen. Sometimes she didn't recognized herself; she's changed to much since coming to Storybrooke. And she owed it all to Henry.

Oh, Henry. Emma could picture his face when he had come to her door all those months ago, confident and wide-eyed and hopeful. From her car, she glanced once more at the courthouse. If Regina was inside busy with the case and they all expected her to go home...

Before she could talk herself out of it, Emma hit the gas and drove down through Storybrooke. The streets were mostly empty by now. Emma parked her car in its usual spot by the apartment she shared with Mary, but instead of going home, she walked back into town. Heart fluttering in her throat, she walked up to the Mayor's Mansion and knocked on the front door. She looked over her shoulder, feeling very much little girl afraid to get caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Hello?" Henry seemed confused for a minute, then his face lit up when he realized it was her. "Emma!"

She pulled him into deep hug, then went in a shut the door.

"What are you doing here?" he asked excitedly. "I thought you suppose to be at the trial."

"I-I don't know. I was supposed to be, but I felt like I was suppose to be here instead." Emma couldn't keep the smile off her face as she looked at Henry. She had missed him so much, it was like a gaping hole in her chest had just been filled. "Well, your mom is at the courthouse and I knew we'd have a little time together with her getting in the way, so I just came here. I've missed you."

Henry put his arms around her midsection, "I missed you too. I was starting to worry you didn't like me anymore."

"What?" Emma frowned, looking down at him. "Why would you think that? You know you're mother's been keeping us apart."

"I know," Henry admitted sheepishly, "But you just seemed so much happier with Ava and Nicky."

His comment sent a knife into Emma's throat. Henry was jealous of the twins? "Henry, you know what I have with the twins is special, but so is what I have with you. You're the one who brought me to Storybrooke. Thanks to you I have a home and a family. I'm a different person in all the best ways. Thank you for bringing me here."

Henry's smile seemed too wide for his face. He wiped his eyes with the back of the hand as he croaked, "Thank you for coming."


Mr. Gold had arrived at the courthouse to see Miss Swan getting in her car and leaving despite the early hour. Surely Miss Xue's preliminary hearing couldn't have been that short? As he walked up the steps, a foul smell assaulted his nostrils. A splash of a putrid orange-red liquid stained the floor. A slow, satisfied smile crept onto his face and he looked up and saw Miss Swan's yellow bug turn a corner and disappear.

So, the manitcore venom had done its job after all.


They were sitting on Henry's bed, flipping through Henry's storybook. For the first time, Emma noticed that some of the illustrations looked like the people in town. The Evil Queen in the book was a dead-ringer for Regina, in both looks and mannerism, and she'd be lying if she said there was nothing similar about Mary and Snow White, Ruby and Rose Red, or David and Charming. It's no wonder Henry thought the characters had come to life. How had she not noticed this before?

"Hey, Henry," Emma paused on a rather graphic illustration of Snow and Charming finding their seven dwarve friends dead in a field, killed by one of the Evil Queen's spells. She knew later in the story that, with the help of the Blue Fairy, their souls were reformed into seven baby boys that Snow and Charming had been quick to adopt, but it was still disturbing. "You said Mary gave you this book? Did she tell you where she got it."

"She said she found while cleaning," Henry replied. He leaned in close to study the bloody picture, so Emma flipped through the pages. It landed on a different picture, Lady Cora, the Evil Queen's arguably more evil mother, handing her illegitimate grandson to a peasant couple against her daughter's wish. Something about that image made Emma's stomach twist and her mouth run dry. She'd already read all these before, so why was this book bothering her so much all of a sudden?

"Yeah, that's what she told me too," Emma nodded, "I'll have to ask her about it later."

"Why are you interested in the book now?" Henry asked.

Emma looked into his eyes, then replied honestly. "I feel like I'm missing something, like I wasn't paying enough attention last time."

Henry gave her a hopeful look that clearly said he wanted to admit magic might be real. Emma responded with a stern look that told him not to even suggest it.

He shrugged, "I think you should re-read the whole thing, just in case. You never know what you might find."

"I will," Emma sighed with mock annoyance. She then gave him a genuine smile. "It's been great spending time with you again Henry. I promise, I won't let Regina get between us again. We'll work something out, okay?"


"Mommy, I'm done!" Charlie called.

Snow looked up from where she was helping Tommy paint his birdhouse. She and Charming had spending so much time building up the castles defenses in case Regina attacked, they hadn't gotten to spend much time with their children. Snow smiled fondly at her youngest son. She had seven, all of them close in age: Leopold Jr, Thomas, Albert, William, John, and Charles.

Charlie's birdhouse was painted bright yellow and red and orange. The coat of paint was uneven in spots, but it was still lovely. Inside one of the summer palace's several large greenhouses, the royal family spent some time together. The sun shone brightly through the glass walls and roof; so bright and clear they might as well have been outside. Lush green plants surrounded them while flowers filled the air with sweetness. Snow, Charming, and the princes sat at long table in the middle of the greenhouse with half-finished birdhouses and arts supplies littered all over it. They were all dressed casually and barefoot; Snow wore her long, black hair in a loose, messy braid.

"It's beautiful sweetheart," Snow told him. He beamed at her praise, with a splash of orange paint splattered across his dimpled cheek. Beside him, Tommy was adding yellow polka dots to his purple birdhouse while Al and Willy painted theirs a riot of multicolored stripes. Charming sat at the other end of the table trying to resolve an argument between Leo and Johnny. Apparently Johnny had deliberately gotten purple paint in his brother's hair. Though he vehemently denied it, the mischievous smile on his face said otherwise. Leo was decidedly less amused.

It had been too long since they'd gotten to do something like this as a family. Sometimes, Snow decided, it was nice to stop being a queen and just be a mother.

Ella walked into the greenhouse, the sound of her footsteps muffled by the hard-packed dirt floor. When Snow noticed her, she instantly knew something was wrong. Despite the almost-convincing smile on her face - no doubt only in place for the children's sake - her eyes were filled with fear and panic. Her face was abnormally pale and she clutched a handkerchief so tightly her knuckles were almost white.

The children seemed to notice that something wasn't right because they grew quieter. Even Leo and Johnny had stopped fighting.

"Hello," Ella said in a strained voice. "Snow, there's someone inside who came to see you and Ruby. She's with him right now."

Worry struck Snow's heart. "Charming and I will be there in a second."

"Just you and Ruby," Ella added. "Those were his exact words. And it can't wait."


Emma woke up the next morning confused. Something felt off that entire morning, but she couldn't place it. As she got breakfast ready, Mary came out of her room, her short, blond hair ruffled from sleep.

"Hey, sleep well?" Emma greeted as she placed two slices of bread in the toaster.

"Like a baby," Mary replied. "Nightmares again?"

Emma froze. That was it! "No..." she whispered.

"No?" Mary looked as surprised as Emma felt.

"No. I slept perfectly fine last night," Emma gasped. "I didn't have a single nightmare."