Mal, Emma, Lily, Ruby and Dot all materialised in the centre of the Swan-Mills suite of rooms, startling the people sitting around the fire waiting for them, even though they were expected.

Once they had all greeted each other, another sofa was conjured so the three from Oz had somewhere comfortable to sit. It was really late, but there was an excitable buzz in the air.

Regina looked curiously between the three women, "I can't put my finger on it, but you all look different. Oz must have been good for you," she smiled, "I'm sorry we had to drag you away from your realm, but it's really good to see you all."

"Puppies! Cute little dragon puppies!" Emma squeaked out, unable to contain her excitement, drawing an amused snort from Mal.

David looked at his daughter, chuckling, "puppies? Really, Emma?"

Emma just nodded exuberantly, grinning widely, "gonna be a godmother," she told them proudly.

"Way to steal our thunder, Emma," Ruby snickered, "we have an announcement!"

"This sounds exciting," Kathryn smiled encouragingly, "what is it?"

"We're having babies!" Dot announced to the room.

"Congratulations!" Regina told her, turning to Ruby, "how far along are you, dear?"

"Nope, not Ruby," Emma cut in laughing, pointing to Lily, "her!"

"Lily is pregnant?" Belle checked, "and you are?" she asked Dot and Ruby.

"Um, well, so the thing is…" Ruby started, before Emma cut in again.

"They're all banging" Emma told the room, giggling uncontrollably.

"Emma," Regina chided playfully, "maybe let them tell us their news?"

"There's nothing left to say now," Dot grinned, "Emma has a way with words, but it's true. We are all together."

"Well, I think I speak for all of us, when I say congratulations on both the relationship and the babies. We are expecting our own, so hopefully they will all grow up good friends," David said hopefully.

"Thank you, David, and I'm sure that that would be nice for them all," Lily said in a reserved but polite tone. She still had reservations about what he had done to her when she was a baby, but found him much easier to be around now that Snow was no longer in the picture. Secretly she was rather pleased to know that Snow was locked up in a cell, or she thought she was.

"Where are we going to stay?" Ruby asked, "we can't let Granny know that we're here, can we? And what has been going on? Your letter was so brief."

"We have a lot to explain, and we will get to that in a minute," Regina told her, "as for where you are staying, I was talking with Belle before you got here and we have a suggestion."

"Ok, we'll be happy wherever you put us," Dot told her agreeably.

"Well, this castle is divided up into wings. Most of the residents chose to stay in the wings that have individual rooms and then use the communal areas like the dining hall and library to spend time," Regina explained, "however, this wing has two suites of rooms, one very large which is this one, where we have eight bedrooms, a living area, a kitchen and study and several bathrooms. There is also a smaller suite down the corridor with four bedrooms, a kitchen, living area and two bathrooms. It is literally the last set of rooms at the end of the corridor and is furthest away from the main castle"

"It sounds perfect, Regina, thank you," Ruby told her gratefully.

"Hang on," Emma looked confused, "do you mean Mal and Belle's suite of rooms?"

"We thought, well, agreed actually, that since Mal and I practically live in this suite with you, then it would make sense for us to move in here, and for us to let these three take our suite, so they are out of the way and safe," Belle advised, looking to Mal hoping she would be ok with this.

Mal and Emma turned to each other and grinned, "I think I could tolerate living here," Mal drawled, with a smirk.

Emma bumped her shoulder into hers playfully, "I guess we could make room for a big bad scary dragon," with a matching smirk.

Lily looked at the scene and the easy playfulness between her mother and her friend with confusion.

Regina caught her looking, and laughed, "don't mind them, they will probably drive us all crazy with their pranks, but truthfully they will love being closer, even if they don't admit it."

"So you two are close?" Lily asked.

"NO!" they both denied loudly, with matching dramatic gasps of horror, before collapsing into fits of giggles next to each other on the sofa.

"Maybe," admitted Emma.

"It's possible," conceded Mal, before they both started giggling again.

Belle rolled her eyes, "before you ask, yes! It's always like this, with them. You'll get used to it."

Lily still looked confused, but she could see how close they were, and it was kind of heartwarming to watch. All in all, as they all sat there on various sofas and armchairs, there was a lot of love in the room, and it made everybody feel a soft glow of warmth.

"So, is that settled, then?" Regina asked, looking around.

"Sounds perfect," Dot answered, "thank you so much."

"Anyone want to explain what the hell has happened since we've been gone? Why did Blue take Granny's heart? How did you all end up in the Enchanted Forest?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, do we have a story for you," Emma confided, "now, ladies, are you sitting comfortably? Good, then I shall begin," she told them as if she was starting story time for children.

Just over half an hour later and they had managed to fill in the three new arrivals, and catch them up on the current situation.

"Wow… that's.. that's…" Ruby stuttered.

"A lot?" Emma helpfully provided.

"Yeah, you could say that," a very shell-shocked Ruby, sat trying to process everything she had been told.

Lily was visibly tired, eyes half closed, leaning back against the sofa, in the comfortable warmth next to the fire. Just as she was dropping off to sleep, her tummy let out a loud rumble, jerking her awake and pinking her cheeks in embarrassment.

"Can we get some food?" Dot requested, looking fondly at Lily, "carrying little dragon wolf pups is very draining for Lily."

"Yes of course, we have a selection of things you may like here in our own kitchen to save us having to go to the main castle kitchens," Regina got up from her chair, "let me see what I can find you."

"So what will you have?" Emma asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Babies," Ruby told her with an eye roll, before grinning.

Emma huffed, "but what kind? Will they be dragons? Or wolves? Or a mixture of both? Or a hybrid? What powers will they have? Will you have an egg or little wolflets?!"

"We don't know, we can only guess," Lily took pity on Emma's rambling questions, "Ruby can smell both wolf and dragon, in equal parts so we think that they will be a hybrid of both. It could turn out though that they're a mix, some of them wolves and some of them dragons."

"You can smell the babies, Ruby? That's so awesome!" Emma looked genuinely excited by the idea, "you keep saying babies, how many are you having?"

"We think there are three," Dot told her, "judging by the growth rate. One could also be human, not a dragon or a wolf, we just don't know."

"How would that be possible?" Belle asked.

"All three of us share true love, with each other in pairs but also as the three of us. The babies are the result of true love, so we just don't know," Ruby explained trying to keep a straight face as she noticed Emma blushing.

"Emma?" she asked.

"Um, nothing!" she squeaked, looking anywhere but at Ruby.

"You thought she had a penis didn't you?" Lily laughed, "we read far too many Omegaverse books growing up, didn't we? But no, she may be an Alpha Wolf, but she's not packing," Lily confided to Emma.

"Everything else we read about as kids is real, so you can't blame me for wondering if that was a thing!" Emma tried to defend herself, feeling embarrassed.

Regina walked back into the room, noticing immediately that her wife was bright red and looking uncomfortable, and made a mental note to ask her about it later.

"Here you go, tuck in," she told them, putting a platter down on the table in front of them, "eat as much as you like, and then we can get you settled in your suite for the night."

"Shall I do the honours?" Mal asked.

"You may as well," Regina replied.

Mal waved an elegant hand, but nothing seemed to happen.

"What did you do?" asked Emma, not able to see anything different.

"I brought mine and Belle's things over," Mal explained, "and put them in the room furthest away from yours," she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, as Emma tried to swallow her laughter, "I also changed the sheets and put out fresh towels."

"That's so handy," Lily said, amazed, "will you teach me how to control my magic, now I'm here?" she asked Mal shyly.

"Of course, darling," Mal said eagerly, "maybe you and Emma can train together?" she suggested, noticing Lily had seemed uncomfortable as soon as she had asked Mal this question.

"That would be great, we'll have so much fun, Lil's," Emma leaned forwards excitedly, "maybe between us we can beat the old lady!"

"Here we go with the trash talk," David laughed, "these two do nothing but bicker all day long."

"That's because the Saviour doesn't know when to shut up," Mal explained with a mock glare at Emma who just smiled serenely back at her.

"What have I got myself into?" Lily half mumbled to herself, a small smile tugging at her lips.

She was home.

xxxxxxxxxx

Blue lay in bed, sore in all the best ways, feeling smug, as a very naked Snow walked back into the room with her head down, carrying a breakfast tray. She placed it in front of Blue without raising her eyes.

"Come," Blue pulled back the covers, in invitation, and Snow got straight in, without saying a word.

'I could get used to her submission,' Blue thought gleefully, "you may serve me now, Snow," she waved dismissively at the tray, and accepted the plate of fruits that was presented to her by Snow.

"What are your plans today, Blue?" Snow asked, voice flat and devoid of any emotion.

"We are nearly ready to make the device. All we need now is the cloak, which will be arriving next week. Today will be spent preparing the other ingredients so we are ready when the time comes."

"What can I help you with?" asked Snow.

"I need help in the potions room, we have much to do," Blue told her, "I suppose you are not completely worthless."

"What will you do, once you have absorbed their magic?" Snow wondered, "what will it do to you? You're still unstable from the magic you took from Storybrooke."

"You don't need to worry about that, Snow, you just need to help me," Blue snuck her hand down the side of the bed where she was storing Snow's heart. Holding it gently, she commanded, "you will forget all about the device to absorb magic, and if anyone asks, you will tell them we want peace."

"Yes, Blue," Snow agreed docility, "I will do anything you want."

"Yes, you will, won't you" Blue cackled gleefully, another sign that the magic was taking over her body. One would believe she was the new Dark One if they saw her. Glittery skin, jet black eyes, and a high pitched cackle that escaped her from time to time.

Snow briefly wondered why this no longer bothered her. For weeks she had been actively avoiding being in the bed with the woman while the fairy had been awake, as she found herself more and more repulsed by her physical changes. Yet last night, they had pleasured each other until dawn and she had been strangely unaffected by the woman's strange new appearance.

Blue revelled in the blank look in Snow's eyes. She could feel that the woman sensed something was wrong, but Snow would never jump to the conclusion that her heart had been taken on her own, and Blue had specifically commanded her to forget when it had happened. Blue no longer needed an ally, or a friend, she just needed a willing body to serve her, in every way imaginable.

Blue had always been cold to the plight of others, but since absorbing the magic from Storybrooke, she had lost any sense of ethical or moral boundaries. Keeping Snow as her personal slave didn't make her feel uncomfortable in the slightest, she only basked in the feeling of absolute power it gave her.

Snow dutifully got up and removed the tray of empty dishes from the room, taking it to the kitchenette attached to their suite. Coming back, she silently crawled up onto the bed, on her knees, "what do you want from me now?" she asked, eyes down and head held low in submission.

Slowly pushing the covers down, Blue opened her legs and raised her knees, "come now, pet," she instructed, "it's time for desert."

xxxxxxxxxx

That morning, the Swan-Mills suite was even busier than it had been the night before. They had slept in late, apart from Emma who had taken the task of feeding and changing Izzy when needed, so that her wife could rest. In the morning though, the 'pack' as Emma called them in her head, of Lily, Ruby and Dot had come stumbling into the suite in search of food and coffee.

"Hey, everyone," Emma called out quietly, with a proud smile on her face, "meet Baby Swan-Mills," she raised Izzy above her head like the cub in the lion king, making Lily laugh as the only one who was really familiar with the film.

"If you start singing 'The Circle of Life', I'm outta here," she teased.

Emma poked her tongue out blowing a soft raspberry at Lily, and to her amazement, Izzy giggled. Staring down at her baby in wonder, "did you hear that?" Emma checked with Lily, not quite believing her ears.

"I did! How old is she?" Lily asked, "they don't normally do that so young, do they?"

"She's only a few days old, but she's already amazing," Emma bragged, "on her first day she was hungry, and teleported straight to Belle trying to to get milk from the source."

Lily snorted, "clever girl! Is that weird for you?"

"Is what, weird?" Emma asked.

"You know, someone else carrying your baby and providing the milk for her now?"

"Nah, not at all, Belle is family," Emma told her sincerely, "that's why we called her Izzy, it's short for Isabelle, which was in honour of everything she has done for us."

"Isabelle?" Lily grinned, "so, you know, you could call her Baby Belle for short?!"

"Nope! Regina won't let us, though Henry insists on it, just to wind us up, and Willow does too because she just doesn't understand why it's so funny!"

"She's beautiful, Emma, really." Lily held out her hands, "may I?"

Emma carefully handed Lily the baby, all bundled up in her blankets, watching as her oldest friend practically melted as she cooed at the infant.

"Did you ever think we would be here?" Lily asked quietly, "all this family around us? I have a Mom and a cousin, and it's just so strange after how we grew up. Do you feel it?"

"All the time," Emma agreed, "but I know what it's like to be without, so I hold on tight and do anything I can to protect my family. You know, you have more family here than just your Mom and Willow," Emma advised her, "you three are the missing pieces of this amazing patchwork family we've got going on. If you have one of us, you have us all. We're all stronger together."

"I can really sense that, you know? I want to be a part of it, but it's difficult after so long on my own. I know Mom loves me, but she doesn't really know me, and I'm scared that if she does, I will disappoint her in some way. So I know I've been keeping her at a distance and I feel guilty," Lily confessed, looking at Emma with shame on her face.

"Your Mum is pretty much my best friend, whether she admits it or not. I've never known such a warm, intelligent, caring and protective person in my whole life, apart from my wife. She will never push you away, no matter what," Emma reassured her, "we've talked about you a lot, actually, and she is so desperate to get to know you. Please let her," Emma asked her.

"I want to, but it's hard. I know you understand, Emma, but no one else does," Lily told her.

"She understands more than you may think, Lil's, she's helped me a great deal with this whole strange and wonderful life I've been thrown into, and I don't know what I would have done without her. Just give her a chance, that's all I ask."

"I will," promised Lily, as the others started to come into the living area.

Dot and Ruby brought in sharing platters for breakfast from the kitchen, and Regina brought Henry and Willow in after helping them get up and ready for the day. Belle and Mal finally emerged from their new bedroom, looking sheepish that they were the last ones to arrive.

"Where are David, Kathryn, and Neal?" Ruby asked.

"They have rooms in the main castle, and like to eat in the dining hall with everyone else. It's only really us that eats together here every morning and that's only since Isabelle was born," Regina explained, "I'm sure we will start mixing with the masses again, but it's hard, because we have to keep so much a secret at the moment, to keep everyone safe."

"The council knows much of what is going on but not all," Mal informed them, "but even they don't know everything and we have to keep it that way to protect our people."

"What can we do to help Granny?" Ruby asked, worry sketched all over her face, "it's bad enough that she is being controlled, but Blue could easily kill her."

"Let's all have breakfast, and then we have much to discuss. We need to make a plan for when Granny goes to meet you at Lake Nostos, and we will do everything we can to keep her safe, I promise you Ruby," Regina looked her straight in the eye, trying to emphasise her sincerity, "the sleeping potions will be ready, so if we are prepared it would be the perfect time to capture them," Regina advised the room.

"I don't like it," Emma disagreed, "the space around the lake and the lake itself, is hidden from the countryside around it. We could be walking into a trap or an ambush."

"This is why we need to discuss it, Emma. We won't let any of you walk into a dangerous situation," Belle reassured her.

"Yeah, ok," she conceded, "food first though, yeah?" Emma asked, immediately brightening at the thought, making them all laugh.