"Father!" the boy got up to run toward Rumpelstiltskin, but the chains around his ankles stopped him after only a few yards, tripping him. Emma watched as Rumpelstiltskin ran over to pick him up and then wrapped his arms tight around his thin shoulders.

"Please tell me that's not what I think it is," David muttered. They had been working on the assumption that the anchor was an inanimate object that they could destroy. the revelation that the anchor was a living person, a teenager at that, plunged their mission into uncertain moral territory. Ava's life depended on the breaking of the curse, but that didn't mean it was okay for them to kill this boy. but they had yet to find another possible lead it to save her and end all the misery that Regina had been causing says she ripped out her father's heart and sent them all to another realm.

"He did say he had a son," Emma replied weakly. she glanced over at Killian, who stood as still at an ice sculpture at the sight of his estranged father hugging who could only be his half-brother. "Killian, are you okay?"

"No," he admitted in a tight voice. "let's not focus on that now."

Emma made a wordless noise of distress, "He's a kid, he looks like he should be in high school. We have to save Ava but… I can't kill a kid."

"Do you think this was intentional on Regina's part," David wondered aloud. "That she knew we wouldn't hurt another person to break the curse, much less a child?"

"If it was, that was pretty damn smart of her," Emma agreed. "Where is Regina by the way?"

Killian waved for the flashlight around, "Probably in one of those tunnels. Let's not worry too much about her right now. She will have to come up eventually. And if she doesn't, well, hopefully she can stay down here and rot."

Ahead of them, Rumpelstiltskin and his son knelt on the ground hugging tightly, whispering to each other in voices too low for the others to hear. Emma, David, and Killian let them have the moment, in part because they felt very awkward about interjecting. But knowing that time was of the essence, Emma finally spoke up, "I hate to break up this family reunion, but we have to do something about the curse."

Rumpelstiltskin jumped to his feet as if the ground beneath him had just been set on fire. He stood between them and Baelfire, with his back straight and a protective paternal instinct shining from his eyes. Killian felt vaguely sick. "I know you do anything for your daughter-"

"I'm not gonna kill your son," Emma interjected, knowing exactly where Rumpelstiltskin head was at. "I am not the kind of person who does that."

"Am I supposed to take you at your word?"

Emma was taken aback by his accusation, "You know me. I know you're worried about your son, but you know I don't hurt people. After all, by the looks of things, you've been watching me carefully ever since I got to this town. So just calm down and work with us to find a solution."

The boy caught up slowly as well, "Father, who are these people? what are they talking about?"

"Baelfire, they are on our side. For now, at least. Can you tell me what has happened to you since you went missing?"

Baelfire looked down, looking chastened. "I tried to get back to the castle when I realized my mistake, but before I even got close, I found myself here. I was in chains and this woman said I had to stay there and that she couldn't free me. She brought me food, sometimes books. I don't know her name though."

"I know who you're talking about, son," Rumpelstiltskin nodded. "Mark my words, she will pay for what she has done. These people, she has hurt them as well."

David cut in, "Her name is Regina, she is my wife's mother, but we don't exactly consider her part of the family. She's done a lot of awful things and it would take too long to explain it all, but right now what you need to know is that she brought us all to a new realm with a curse. That curse is tied to you, Baelfire."

"Right now we need to break it as soon as possible," Emma added, "Because my daughter is under a sleeping curse. Our only hope of breaking it is to break the curse that brought us here."

Baelfire nodded slowly, then turned to Killian, "What about you? What did she do to you?"

Killian stiffened, clearly uncomfortable by his half-brother's attention. It was so strange to think that Baelfire was technically his older brother, even though he had not seemed to have aged a day past sixteen. "Don't worry about me," he said curtly. Baelfire frowned, then back to their father. Christ, he didn't know they had the same father, Killian though, once more feeling sick. He hated everything about this situation.

"I only know a little about magic," Baelfire admitted, "but I'll do whatever I can to help."

Rumpelstiltskin smiled at tightly, "This isn't your responsibility, Bae. we are the adults, we can handle it."

"What were you planning to do before you found me?" Baelfire asked.

The four adults all stiffened.

"That's not… I told you, you don't need to worry about it," Rumpelstiltskin reiterated.

"He should know the truth," David stated.

"He doesn't need the truth," Rumpelstiltskin hissed. "It is bad enough that he got mixed into this by Regina, we should not be dragging him further in."

"If he is in this, there's no getting out," Emma noted. "Baelfire, you're the anchor of the curse that but tons of people from the Enchanted Forest to the Land Without Magic, meaning part of the curse is radical energy is physically connected to you."

"Is that why that woman imprisoned me? Why she wouldn't let me go?

"Exactly," Emma nodded. "The curse might be broken if-,"

"Tread carefully Miss Swan," Rumpelstiltskin warned.

"Nothing's going to happen to you. None of us would hurt you," Emma amended. "But, we have reason to think that if...if something did happened to you, the curse would break." Baelfire stilled. Emma, sensing his concern, reassured him, "Like I said, we're not gonna hurt you. We didn't know you were the anchor before we got here."

"For now, let's get these chains off you," David suggested.


Back at the hospital, Mary sat by Ava's bedside as she continued to lay unresponsive. Nicky had fallen asleep in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs on the other side. the nurses were only allowing two people inside at a time, so Mary decided to get up and let one of the other kids stay with Ava. when she went into the hallway, she saw Henry and Connor sitting on a bench, both silent and red eyed.

"Would one of you like to stay with Ava for a while?" Mary asked softly.

"You can go," Henry told Connor. "I want to talk to Mary for a little bit."

Mary got out of Connor's way as he went into the hospital room, then went over to sit in his vacant seat next to Henry. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Do you think all of this is my fault?" Henry asked, his voice full of grief and barely above a whisper.

Mary almost thought she had misheard. "What? of course not Henry. why on earth would you assume that?"

"I've just been thinking that maybe," he wiped away a few tears that had collected at his eyes, "Maybe if I hadn't brought Emma here, none of this would have happened. it's not as though bringing her here broke the curse, and at least people would be safer if Regina wasn't angry. if I hadn't been so obsessed with breaking the curse, no one would be in danger. Ava wouldn't be under the sleeping curse right now."

"Henry Mills do not ever speak like that again," Mary told him firmly. "I don't know if I believe in a sleeping curse, but I know that you are not responsible for other people's wrongdoings. whatever Regina did to hurt people is her fault, not yours. She is the adult, and she should know better. You're just a kid. You should not have the weight of the world on your shoulders."

"But-"

"Not 'buts', young man. You should not ever feel guilty for trying to do the right thing. You have done so much good for this town and for the people you love. When you brought Emma to Storybrooke, you brought her home. She has friends and a family that she loves. Thanks to you, Ava and Nicky stopped being homeless. They had a roof over their heads, warm clothes, and plenty of food. They had me and Emma to take care of them, and that was thanks to you." Mary ruffled his hair and kissed him on the forehead. "I know you're worried but have a little faith that Ava will be alright."

Henry nodded, then leaned his head against Mary's shoulder. "I'll try."

"Henry! Sweetheart!" Regina's voice ring down the hallway, followed by with clicking of her high heels against the linoleum floors. "Where are you? Henry!?"

"Speak of the devil," Mary muttered. "Do you want to hide?"

Henry shook his head, "I'm gonna have to face her sooner or later."

Mary squeezed his hand, "I'll be right here with you."

"There you are!" Regina exclaimed when she finally turned the corner and saw Henry sitting there. "What are you still doing here? never mind we have to get going."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Henry stated defiantly. "It's your fault that Ava is in a coma. You poisoned her!"

"I do not have time for this right now Henry," Regina grabbed his wrist, but Henry pulled back. Mary wrapped her arms around Henry to keep him from getting hauled away by Regina.

"He said he doesn't want to go with you," Mary stated firmly.

"I don't care what he wants," Regina shrieked, "I am his mother, not you, and what I say goes."

Mary got hit with a bolt of inspiration. Without pausing to think about it, she blurted out, "And how well did that go the last time around, Mother? The last time I checked, Red, Alexander, and I all thought you were a terrible mother."

Regina went slack and pale, her lips trembling and her dark brown eyes bulging out in horror. "No, no, no, this can't be happening."

Henry looked at Mary in amazement. She continued, "You're on the losing side, you've always been on the losing side. When we were at war and now here in the Land Without Magic. Emma will find a way to break this curse and save Ava."

Regina just shook her head, to stunned to say anything.

"We all know the curse is real," Henry added. "And she's gonna stop you."

"Why would you do this to me, Henry?" Regina began to weep, "I love you."

"Well, I…" Henry hesitated for a second, but then hardened his face and said, "I don't love you. and I wouldn't go anywhere with you if you were the last person on earth."

Regina looked at him, then to Mary. She pointed a finger accusingly at Mary and screamed, "I should have drowned you at birth!" she began to fire off obscenities, when a security guard came to escort her out of the hospital for causing a scene. When she refused to leave, he added another security guard physically hauled her out of the building.

The whole ordeal was emotionally draining for both Henry and Mary.

Henry looked at Mary and asked hopefully, "Do you really remember? Do you remember being Snow White?

Mary gave him a guilty smile, "No, I don't. I just said that because I suspected that it would set her off. but based on her reaction, I guess I can't deny that you were right."

Henry leaned against her shoulder once more, "That's a start."