Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf or Once Upon a Time.


Chapter 8: Wolf at the Door

In the Enchanted Forest…

Frost and Snow continued their trek through the forest. It had been several weeks since their encounter with that bizarre creature. They hadn't seen it, or any soldiers, since, but Frost was still worried.

The snow crunched under their boots as they continued walking through the moonlit forest, huddling close together for warmth.

"I thought you said there was a town in this area," Frost hissed.

"There is!" Snow replied in frustration. "I don't understand; we should be there by now!"

Abruptly, a sound echoed through the trees. Frost turned, his eyes wide.

The sound was the howl of a wolf.

"Oh, no," he muttered.

Snow grabbed his arm, fear in her eyes. "We have to move," she whispered. "That sound was coming from somewhere nearby."

"Which means it's close," Frost concluded.

Another howl rang out, this one louder. Frost glanced around warily, hefting his staff. "Should we run?" he asked.

As he spoke, a third howl reached their ears, this one even louder.

"Yes," Snow decided, backing away from the direction of the noise. "Yes, we should run."

With that, they took off, dashing through the forest in an increasingly frantic search for shelter.

As they ran, something caught Frost's attention; a brief glimpse out of the corner of his eye. He skidded to a halt, grabbing Snow's hand. "Wait!" he gasped, looking off to their left. Sure enough, he spotted it again; a faint light, about a hundred yards away.

"That's a house," Snow realized.

"Yes, it is," Frost agreed. "So let's go!"

Immediately, they were at it again, racing through the dark woods. More howls reached their ears, seeming to come from everywhere at once.

Before they could reach the house, Frost realized that it was pointless; all of the doors and windows were boarded up with wooden shutters. Clearly, whoever lived here had taken precautions.

The howls were growing louder by the second; the wolf was getting closer.

Frost and Snow huddled against a tree in an attempt to remain hidden, glancing around frantically in an attempt to see if the creature was anywhere near them.

"What do we do?" Frost whispered into Snow's ear.

Snow didn't reply. She was shivering heavily, and he could hear her teeth chattering.

That was when Frost noticed another building; a smaller one, with no lights emanating from within, a few yards away from the house. "Come on!" he hissed, pushing away from the tree and sprinting towards the shed. Snow followed close behind.

They reached the door within seconds. After a brief struggle, Snow managed to unfasten the latch, and swung it open. They ducked into the building, just as another howl filled the air outside.

The interior of the shed was dark, but much warmer than the forest outside. From the soft sound of clucking and rustling, Frost could tell that they were in a chicken coop.

"We have to hide," he decided, feeling his way along the shelves towards the back of the shed. Snow followed, holding his staff with one hand so they wouldn't lose sight of each other.

Crouching down, Frost felt about on the floor until he found a pile of hay that covered the floor behind one of the stacks.

"Here," he informed Snow. "We can rest here; it'll help us keep warm."

The pair lay down in the hay, pulling some of it over themselves to serve as an improvised blanket, and huddled close together to share warmth.

"I've slept in worse places than this," Snow murmured, the back of her head resting against Frost's chest.

"Agreed." Frost grinned. "I'm pretty sure this is actually the most hospitable shelter I've slept in since I met you, now that I think about it."

"Oh, shut up."

Gazing up at the ceiling, Frost smiled to himself, closed his eyes, and sank into a surprisingly deep sleep.


Granny's Diner

Storybrooke, Maine

Jackson was walking quickly down the street, looking around for any sign of Ruby. He'd showed up at the diner at his usual time for dinner, only to be informed by Granny that Ruby had quit her job. His first reaction, obviously, had been to go looking for her. Fortunately, he was much better suited for the job than anyone else was.

He inhaled deeply, searching for Ruby's scent. It wasn't difficult to track her; after spending so much time with her recently, he'd become attuned to her scent.

After walking for a few minutes, he rounded a corner just in time to see Ruby standing at a bus stop about a block away. A man with blonde hair was standing next to her. It seemed as if the guy was trying to start a conversation, but Ruby was leaning away from him, making it obvious that she wasn't interested.

Jackson frowned, walking forward towards them and straining his ears to pick up what they were saying. As he caught the conversation and realized what they were talking about, however, a surge of irritation rushed through him. His eyes narrowed, his hands clenched into fists, and an angered growl rumbled in his throat.

"…Sorry, no, I don't need a ride," Ruby was saying in an irritated tone.

"It's awfully cold out here," the man pointed out.

"I'm fine, really."

"I can carry your bag," he offered. "Where are you headed?"

Before Jackson could reach them – and, most likely, do something he would regret later – another female voice called, "Dr. Whale?"

Ruby and the other man turned in surprise, as Mary Margaret and Emma walked up to them.

"Mary Margaret," the blonde guy – Dr. Whale, apparently – said, surprise and embarrassment mingling in his voice. "Emma. Hello there."

"Hey," Mary Margaret replied in a guarded tone.

"I was just having a talk with Ruby here," Whale explained, the embarrassment in his demeanor increasing. "But I think I should… ah…"

"Yeah," Jackson spoke up with a note of anger in his voice as he stopped behind Whale and Ruby. "Yeah, you should."

Whale turned, staggering back a step in surprise. He'd clearly had no idea that Jackson had been standing there; judging by their reactions, neither had Ruby, Emma, or Mary Margaret.

"Right," Whale agreed. "Well, I'll just… be going, then." He nodded to them and hurried off down the street, straightening his jacket.

"Was he bothering you?" Mary Margaret inquired after a moment.

Ruby chuckled. "The day I can't handle a lech is the day I leave town." Her amusement faded somewhat, and she frowned. "Which this is, I guess."

"You're leaving?" Jackson and Emma spoke up simultaneously.

Ruby shrugged, averting her eyes. "I had a fight with Granny. Quit my job."

"You quit?" Mary Margaret's eyes were wide with sympathy. "Where are you going?"

"I don't know. Away."

"You were just going to leave without telling anyone?" Jackson asked, staring at her in disbelief. "Without telling me?"

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry," Ruby replied immediately, a saddened look in her eyes. "I just… I had to get out of there, and I couldn't stop to think about anything else."

"Well, you scared the hell out of me!" Jackson protested. "I just spent an hour looking all over town for you to make sure you were okay!"

Ruby's eyes widened. "Really?" she asked softly. "You did that for me?"

"Yeah." Jackson grinned. "When I came in for dinner, Granny told me what happened, so I came looking for you."

Mary Margaret smiled in amusement, watching the two of them.

"Uh, you know, Ruby, buses out of town don't really happen," Emma pointed out. "And you might want a destination first."

"Hey," Mary Margaret said, placing a comforting hand on Ruby's shoulder. "If you need a place to figure things out, you could always come home with us."

Emma seemed to be taken aback by that proposition for a moment, but she shook her head, refocusing on the conversation. "Yeah, uh… yeah, just for a while."

Smiling, Mary Margaret linked one arm through Ruby's. "Come on."

Jackson took Ruby's other arm, and the four of them walked off down the street.


In the Enchanted Forest…

Frost snapped awake. The morning light filtering through the gaps in the wooden wall informed him that the sun was up.

"Snow?" he asked quietly, noticing that she wasn't sleeping beside him.

"Right here," she replied, drawing his attention over to the row of chicken nests beside them. Snow was crouched next to one of them, running her hands gently through the hay.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting us some breakfast," she replied. "There should be some eggs in here somewhere… there we go!" She removed two brown eggs from the nest and held them up proudly.

Frost sighed. "We're stealing food now?"

"Well, there are plenty of eggs in here, and it's either that or go hungry," Snow reasoned.

After contemplating that for a moment, Frost nodded. "Fair enough. All the same, we should probably get out of here before–"

Abruptly, the sounds of footsteps crunching on snow from outside the shed reached their ears.

"Before whoever lives in that house comes out to collect eggs," he finished.

The pair immediately ducked down behind the farthest row of nest boxes from the door, just before someone opened the door and walked in.

Frost exchanged a glance with Snow and gripped his staff, ready to defend himself if necessary.

For a couple of minutes, the person, whoever it was, continued to collect eggs. Eventually, they stopped, and the footsteps began to leave the shed… right up until Snow abruptly sneezed.

Frost almost cursed, but managed to remain silent.

The footsteps immediately stopped, then walked back into the shed, coming slowly towards them. They stopped again, and there was a long silence.

Abruptly, Snow lost her resolve to remain hidden; she stood up hurriedly, mumbling, "I'm sorry, we can go," and started towards the door, but stopped in her tracks after a couple of steps.

"Are you… stealing our eggs?" a girl's voice asked hesitantly.

Frost stood up reluctantly, reasoning that there was no point in hiding any longer.

The girl was standing a few feet away. She was tall, with long, curly black hair, pale skin, and blue eyes, and she was wearing a long red cloak and hood.

"No… not a lot," Snow murmured, still holding the two eggs she'd taken. She held them out to the girl.

"Hey, hey," the girl replied in a gentle, soothing tone. "It's… it's all right."

Snow sighed. "Thank you. It's just that, um, last night…"

"There was something out there," Frost continued. "Some kind of wolf, I think. It was howling, and it sounded like it was getting closer, so we decided to hide in here."

The girl smiled. "Hey, it's okay. I understand. Come on, come with me." She extended a hand in greeting. "Everyone calls me Red."

"I'm Sn–" Snow cut off abruptly. "Frosty."

Frost actually snorted with amusement.

Red raised an eyebrow. "Frosty? Really?"

"No," Snow admitted. "It's just that someone's looking for me, so…"

"You don't know or trust me yet." Red nodded understandingly. "Hey, I get it. I just need something to call you."

"Uh… Margaret." Snow shook her head, looking vaguely disgusted. "No, no… Mary."

"Mary." Red smiled. "That works." She glanced over to Frost. "How about you?"

He grinned, shaking her hand. "I'm Frost. And before you ask, no, that's not my real name, but at the moment I can't actually remember my real name."

"He's lost his memories," Snow explained. "I'm trying to help him get them back."

"Oh!" Red smiled. "I understand." She started towards the door, beckoning for them to follow her. "Well, then, Mary and Frost, come on."

Frost walked out of the shed after her, with Snow following close behind.


"I just have to bring in some water before we go in," Red informed them as she led the way along a snowy path through the trees. "It'll just take a second."

"What was all that howling?" Snow asked curiously.

Red shrugged. "It's Wolfstime. Killer wolf out there. It's as big as a pony, but a lot more bloodthirsty. It's been stalking the area pretty regularly; it kills cattle and…" She paused as they reached the well, reaching up and grasping the rope connected to the bucket. "Hang on."

Pulling on the rope, she handed the end of it to Snow. "It sticks sometimes. Could you just…"

"Sure," Snow agreed, taking ahold of the rope.

Frost nodded, stepping up and grabbing the rope next to Red. The three of them all began pulling, lifting the heavy bucket out of the well.

"There we go," Frost announced in satisfaction as the bucket appeared at the top. He held the rope firmly as Red leaned forward to grab the bucket, but was surprised when she stopped abruptly, staring fixedly at the bucket.

"Uh… Red? Are you all right?"

"Look," she said, indicating the bucket. "Look at that."

Frost frowned, confused. "What?"

Red glanced back at him. "Look at the water."

Maintaining his grip on the rope, Frost managed to lean forward far enough to get a good look at the contents of the bucket. His eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement.

The water in the bucket was red.

"What the hell?" he breathed.

"Mary?" Red asked, glancing back. "Mary, come look at this!"

Snow didn't answer; she was turned away from them, staring at something on the other side of a large snowdrift.

"What's wrong?" Frost called, but she did not reply.

Releasing her grip on the bucket, Red turned, walking over to where Snow was standing – and then recoiled with a cry of horror.

Dropping the rope and letting the bucket splash back into the well, Frost whirled, hurrying over to them. He skidded to a halt beside Snow, his eyes wide in shock and alarm.

The source of the red water in the well had now been explained. Strewn about the clearing were the bodies of half a dozen men. They had been torn apart; blood was splattered everywhere.

"What did this?" Frost managed, trying not to throw up.

Red stared in mute horror at the corpses for a long moment. "The wolf," she finally whispered.


Later that afternoon, the entire population of the town had gathered together at the local tavern to discuss the situation. Frost and Snow arrived along with Red and her grandmother, who she'd introduced as Granny. In Frost's opinion, the woman seemed somewhat harsh, but considering what he'd seen since arriving here, she had good reason. Fortunately, she'd been more than willing to offer them food and shelter until the Wolfstime had passed and they could resume their journey. Snow was concealing the lower half of her face with a scarf, in an effort to keep her identity secret.

"The one thing I know," one of the local men was saying loudly as they entered the tavern, "is that last night was the very last massacre!"

Cheers rang through the air.

"You know," the man continued, "if I had stayed with that party for another ten minutes, I too would be among the dead. And when I think, if I'd only doubled back, maybe I could've caught it in the act." He clenched one hand into a fist. "Maybe I would've been able to slay the creature."

"You would not," Granny said flatly, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

"Widow Lucas," the man acknowledged coolly.

Granny stepped forwards and looked around the room, meeting the eyes of some of the villagers. "This creature is more powerful than you can imagine," she warned. "You wouldn't have a chance. Stay inside, hide your children. Forget your livestock."

"You've said all this before," the man replied.

"But I haven't said how I know," Granny countered. Her eyes narrowed. "Nearly threescore years ago, I was a child with six older brothers. Big as oak trees, all of them, veterans of the Second Ogres' War. And my father, the biggest of them all. Come one Wolfstime, he decided to go out and take on the wolf. A different wolf back then, of course, but just as fearsome. They went out there to protect me."

Her voice became softer, but no less forceful. "I was supposed to be asleep, but I crawled out onto the roof to watch and lay down in the thatch. They had the beast surrounded, the seven of them, with spears all pointed in at it." She paused. "And that's when it started. It was lunging – not at the men, at the spears. Grabbing with its teeth, breaking the shafts. They stabbed it with the splintered ends, but it didn't matter. It tore their throats so fast, that not a one of them got a chance to scream, or pray…" Her voice cracked. "Or say goodbye."

Frost felt a chill of fear run up his spine. He exchanged a glance with Snow and Red, who both looked equally frightened.

"When my father died," Granny continued, "I tumbled from the roof, and I landed in the blood in front of the wolf. I felt its breath on my face." She began rolling up the sleeve of her blouse. "And then, it clamped its hot jaw on my arm, and I rolled away."

With that, she pulled up the sleeve, revealing half a dozen huge, parallel scars running around her arm.

Murmurs echoed through the room.

"Then it looked at me with eyes so black, they weren't even there. And then… it walked away." Granny rolled her sleeve back down. "You ever seen a wild animal just turn its back and walk away like you don't matter?" she challenged, looking around again, a blazing intensity in her eyes. "If this wolf is like that one, there is no defeating it. It's already won, just by existing in our world. You can't kill it." She looked back at the man who had spoken up. "You just have to hide."


"So, your Granny's kind of intense," Snow commented. She, Red and Frost were sitting by the fireplace in Granny's cottage.

"Yeah, a bit," Red agreed. She leaned forward, lowering her voice. "I feel like a rat in a trap."

Snow appeared to be considering something. "Is this trap keeping you from… being with someone?" she speculated.

Red's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

"Well, I saw some looks exchanged back there," Snow replied with a grin, "and I hate to break it to you, but it wasn't subtle."

The other girl laughed. "Yes," she admitted. "Peter. We've been friends forever, but now things are… well, changing."

"That must be nice." Snow smiled wistfully.

"Do you have someone?" Red asked curiously. She glanced back and forth between Snow and Frost. "I mean, are you two…"

Frost and Snow glanced at each other in shock, and then burst out laughing.

"Hardly," Frost replied. "We're friends, but that's it. When I lost my memories, I woke up in a lake, with no idea who I was or where I was from. I found her, and she's been helping me ever since." He smiled at Snow. "I still can't thank you enough for that."

"Well, you have saved my life at least twice by now," Snow replied in amusement, before turning her attention back to Red. "But, no, I don't have anyone like that. I'm not sure that's in my future. You're lucky, Red."

"I know," Red agreed enthusiastically. "And we're talking about going away together." Her delight faded somewhat. "But I don't even get any time with him. Granny's too afraid of the wolf to let me out alone. You saw what the wolf did." She sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if she's right."

"Well, she's definitely right about the wolf, at least," Frost replied.

Snow nodded. "But she's wrong to use it to keep you from love."

Red seemed taken aback. "You think that's what she's doing?"

Frost nodded. "Seems like it."

Red sat quietly for a few seconds, contemplating something. After a while, a faint smile flickered across her face, and she turned back to face them.

Her words, when they came, were not what Frost had been expecting.

"Let's kill the wolf."

Frost stared at her, dumbfounded. "What?"

"Hang on…" Snow replied simultaneously, her eyes wide in alarm.

"We'd be heroes," Red pressed.

"Red, teams of trained hunters have been killed!" Snow protested.

"But they go at night, when it's got the advantage," Red reasoned. "If we went now, we could find it slumbering in its den and kill it in its sleep." She stood, securing her cloak and heading for the door. "Come on!"

"Red, I don't know…" Snow was clearly still uncertain.

Red's eyes narrowed. "Well, I'm going – with or without you. You're right; I can't let her keep me trapped forever."

The three of them stood motionless for a long moment. Finally, Snow nodded. "All right, fine, but we're coming with you."

"I'm in too," Frost added. "Someone needs to keep you two out of trouble."

A few minutes later, armed with their chosen weapons – Frost's staff, Snow's bow and arrows, and two hunting knives for Red – the unlikely trio of hunters headed off into the forest.

"I like her style," Frost muttered to Snow as they followed Red out of the house.

"You would," Snow replied with a grin.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Snow laughed.


Storybrooke, Maine

Jackson found himself sitting in a chair at the police station. Fortunately, he was only there because he'd chosen to go there – Emma and her son Henry were trying to help Ruby find a new job, so Jackson had chosen to tag along.

"Want to be a bike messenger?" Henry offered, clicking through several websites.

Ruby frowned. "Bike messenger?"

"Basically taking things to people in a little basket."

"Nope." Ruby grinned. "Yeah, see, I'm not so great at bike riding."

"How about taking things on foot to people in a little basket?"

"I'm not sure that's a real job."

Jackson chuckled under his breath.

As Henry continued his search, the phone on Emma's desk rang again. The ringing was abruptly cut off, and a light lit up on the phone.

"Why do the phones keep doing that?" Ruby inquired.

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

The phone rang again; this time, however, Ruby snatched it off the receiver. "Sheriff's station, how can I help you?" she asked in a pleasant tone. "Uh-huh. I'll get her to return. Thank you, you too." Hanging up, she answered the next one. "Sheriff's station. Hey, Miss Ginger."

As she continued talking, Emma entered the office. She glanced at Ruby on the phone and then looked over to Jackson questioningly.

Jackson shrugged, not bothering to respond.

"Uh, no, that's not a prowler," Ruby said, drawing his attention back to the ongoing phone conversation. "That's Archie's dog, Pongo. Throw him a vanilla wafer, he'll quiet down. Uh… did you still want to talk to Emma?" She paused, surprised. "Great. Glad I could help." With a smile, she hung up, placing the phone back on the receiver.

"How's it going, you three?" Emma asked with a grin.

"Great," Ruby replied. "Except I can't do anything."

"Well, I'm sure that's not true. I just saw you on the phone; that was good."

"That?" Ruby chuckled. "That's nothing."

"No, no, it isn't," Emma insisted. "I actually have some money in the budget, if you want to help out around here."

Ruby stared at her in shock for a moment, before her expression melted into a delighted smile. "Yes, thank you! Um, I could answer phones and help out. Is there anything else that you need done? Organizing files, cleaning up? Please, I want to be useful."

Emma sighed. "Well, 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 said promptly. She glanced over to Henry and Jackson. "You guys want anything?"

"Uh, two chocolate chip cookies, an apple pie, and a hot dog," Henry listed.

"He ate at school," Emma cut him off with an amused grin.

"Grilled cheese works for me too, if you don't mind," Jackson spoke up.

Ruby grinned. "Right, then. I'll be back in a few."

As Ruby turned to leave, Mary Margaret entered the room. She seemed oddly nervous.

"Hey!" Ruby greeted her. "Lunch, Mary Margaret? I'm getting for everyone."

"Uh, no, thanks," Mary Margaret replied. "I'm not hungry."

Shrugging, Ruby exited, heading out towards the parking lot where she'd left her car.

Once she was gone, Mary Margaret walked over to Emma. "David's in the woods," she said, her voice becoming nervous. "There's something wrong with him. He looked right through me. It's like…" She paused. "It's like he was a different person."

Jackson frowned. What the hell is she talking about?


In the Enchanted Forest…

Frost, Snow and Red walked through the forest, searching for any sign of the wolf's tracks.

After a few minutes, Snow pointed to a set of tracks in the snow. "What about that?" she asked.

Red glanced down and smiled in amusement. "That's a dog." She crouched down, examining the tracks. "See how small that is? Don't look where the snow's drifted – it covers tracks."

"You're good at this," Frost observed.

"I've been doing this sort of thing for a long time," Red replied.

They carried on, spreading out in an attempt to cover as much ground as possible.

A few seconds later, Snow called again. "Hey, over here."

Walking over to investigate, Red laughed. "That… is a rabbit." She looked back and forth between the two of them, her gaze earnest. "What we're looking for will be huge. Like a dog print, but much bigger."

Frost frowned. "How big are we talking about?"

"Like… eight inches across, with big, long claws."

Snow had walked a few paces away, and was staring at the ground fixedly. "Like these?" she asked softly, her voice wavering.

Frost and Red hurried over to join her, freezing in place as they looked down at the ground. Clearly visible, pressed deep into the snow, were a set of massive paw prints.

Frost dropped to one knee, placing his hand over one of the prints with his fingers splayed out. The print was as wide as his entire hand.

"Yes," Red said softly. She looked around, searching the area, until her eyes fell on something else. She pointed. "And those."

Frost looked up, to see another set of tracks about twenty feet away.

"Oh, my gods," Red whispered. "How big is this thing?"

"This was one stride? From here…" Snow indicated the other tracks. "To there?"

"Come on," Red urged, hurrying in the direction that the tracks followed and pointing to another set farther along. "Over there. Through the brush, and off towards the hill."

"You're good at this," Frost commented.

Red smiled. "When there's something I want, I'm good at tracking it down."


"Here's another one," Snow said, pointing to another print.

They'd been tracking the wolf through the forest for the past hour, and Frost's legs were starting to hurt. Using his staff to keep his balance in the snow, he was constantly glancing about to make sure that the creature couldn't ambush them.

"Right," Red agreed. "And then here's…" Her words trailed off, and she came to a stop, looking down.

"What?" Snow asked.

Frost turned and looked down, to see that Red was staring fixedly at one of the tracks. Something about the print she was looking at seemed different. Once he looked at it closely, it was obvious.

Instead of a typical paw print, the heel of the foot was now much narrower and rounded. The marks of the claws were still there at the front, but the rest of the print no longer looked like a paw. If anything, it looked more like…

"This print… it looks like it's half-wolf and half-boot." Red looked up at them. "See?"

"Wolves don't wear boots," Snow said slowly.

"No." Red shook her head. "No, they don't."

"And then it just continues…" Snow paused, looking ahead.

Frost turned, to see that, after a few steps, all traces of the paws had vanished, and the prints now looked like the tracks of human feet, continuing on the same path.

"It's like it was a man," Frost realized.

"Like it was a man… and a wolf." Red's voice quivered.

Snow's eyes widened in horror. "Red, what kind of monster is this?"


"So…" Red began as they continued hiking through the forests, following the now-human footprints.

"Yeah?" Snow asked.

"Wolfstime is once a month, on the full moon." Red considered for a moment. "There's a story I heard once, about a creature–"

"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt, but…" Frost looked around. "Aren't we awfully close to your house?"

Looking through the trees, they saw that he was right. The tracks led straight towards Red's cottage, which was barely visible through the trees.

Hurrying forward, they emerged into the clearing around the cottage, to see that the tracks ended outside one of the windows.

"That's my bedroom window," Red whispered.

For a long moment, they all remained standing motionless, gazing at the cottage.

"Who's gone to your window, Red?" Snow asked, breaking the silence.

Red was still staring, horrified, at the cottage. She shivered, and a tear ran down her cheek.

After a moment, Frost's eyes widened in realization. So did Snow's.

"Is it Peter?" Snow murmured. "Red, has he been at your window?"

After a few seconds, Red nodded slowly. "Last night," she whispered, her voice cracking. "Before the killings. And… and he never joined the guys to hunt the wolf."

"But I'm sure he wouldn't have killed them," Snow protested.

Red shook her head. "He wouldn't," she replied. "But when the wolf takes over…" She trailed off, her meaning clear.

"Didn't they say that they were sending out another hunting party tonight?" Frost inquired, feeling an ominous sense of foreboding.

"They're going to kill him," Red realized. "Or… he's going to kill them."

"It doesn't have to be that way," Snow said with determination.

Red turned to face her. "What can we do?"

"Tell him." Snow's expression and voice were firm. "If he doesn't know, tell him. Stop him. If he'll listen to anyone, if he'll believe anyone, it's you."

Red blinked. "You think I can save him?"

Frost grinned. "Yeah."

"I think you can save everyone," Snow added.

Red looked around. "It's going to be dark soon," she worried. "Granny will be out of her mind with worry if we're not home. She'll go out there." She shivered. "This is so bad."

Frost placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, focusing her attention on him. "Then let's do something about it," he said.

After a moment, she nodded. "You're right." She glanced over to Snow, then back to Frost. "You're both right." Her eyes narrowed in conviction. "I have to."


Storybrooke, Maine

Jackson chuckled, leaning back in his chair, as Henry placed the large book he'd been reading on Emma's desk and began looking through the drawers. "What're you up to?" he asked.

"Finding a safe place to hide this," Henry explained. "I lost it a while ago, but Emma found it again a couple of days ago. So I decided to make sure it's in a safe place from now on, where no one can steal it."

Jackson snorted in amusement. "Must be a pretty important book."

"You have no idea." Henry grinned. "This is the book I mentioned when we talked a couple of days ago at the diner. It tells the stories of everyone in town, what their lives were really like before the curse brought them all here and made them all forget who they were."

"Interesting." Jackson considered. "Mind if I take a look at it sometime?"

Henry nodded. "Sure." He opened one of the desk drawers and, upon finding that it was empty, grinned. "Perfect."

"Okay, kid," Emma called as she exited the office. "Don't mean to kick you out, but I have to go see if David's in some kind of trouble out there."

"It's okay," Henry replied. "I'm supposed to meet my mom." He placed his book into the drawer, closed it securely, and then locked it with a key he'd found on the desk. Placing the key into a mug filled with pens, he turned back to Emma.

She grinned. "Nice."

"You know," Henry said as he picked up his backpack, "you can let Ruby do more. She's Little Red Riding Hood."

"With the little basket?" Emma raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, she seems like a badass."

"She is," Henry insisted. "She just doesn't remember how cool she is, or what she's capable of. But it's true."

As Henry headed for the door, Ruby entered, carrying a brown paper bag under her arm.

"Hey, Ruby," Henry greeted her as he passed her and left the room.

"Hey, Henry," Ruby replied with a grin. She set down the bag on the desk. "Got your grilled cheese." Now that Jackson was actually focused on her, he noticed that she seemed downcast.

"Thank you," Emma said with a smile, picking up the bag.

"Are you okay?" Jackson asked, standing up and walking over to Ruby.

Ruby looked over at him and smiled faintly. "I guess. I mean, this is something I know how to do." She indicated the bag. "So, yay."

Emma sighed. "Okay, let's pack these back up…" She closed the bag and picked it up. "…and we can eat in the car. I need to do a little wilderness search, and I need your help."

"I'm pretty sure I'm just going to screw it up," Ruby replied. "I mean, I'll screw it up with flair, but…" She lowered her head.

"No, you won't," Emma insisted. "Come on, you can do this." She glanced at Jackson. "You can come too; you might as well make yourself useful."

Jackson shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

After a moment, Ruby nodded and followed her out of the room. Jackson was close behind.


"This place is massive," Ruby complained, looking around at the forest. "How are we supposed to find one guy?"

"Hey, shhh," Emma interrupted. "We might be able to hear him."

Ruby frowned. "It's massive."

"Yeah, but it's a lot easier to hear stuff out here than it would be in town," Jackson pointed out, remembering the lessons on tracking people that he'd gotten from Derek before leaving Beacon Hills. "If he's anywhere near here, we should be able to hear him if he's yelling, talking, or anything like that."

"And we're following the path because there are boot prints," Emma explained, "so just stay close."

"I shouldn't even be here," Ruby muttered. "I'm just going to screw everything up…" Abruptly, she stopped dead in her tracks. Jackson almost bumped into her.

Emma frowned. "Ruby?" she asked.

Ruby didn't reply; she was looking around the area, her eyes wide.

"I hear him," she announced after a few seconds.

Jackson's eyes widened. He couldn't even hear anything, and his hearing was a lot better than a normal human's. How could Ruby hear something he couldn't?

Emma had a similar reaction. "Really?"

"Yeah, really," Ruby answered. "I hear him or… something. I…" Her eyes narrowed. "I know where he is," she said in realization. "Don't you?"

"Uh, no, but…" Before Jackson could finish speaking, Ruby had taken off at a jog through the trees. He hurried after her.

"What are you doing?" Emma called to Ruby as she rushed through the trees.

"He's over here!" was Ruby's only reply.

Jackson inhaled a deep breath of air as he started running after her. That was when an oddly familiar scent, definitely human, reached his nose.

There is someone over here, he realized.

After about thirty seconds, Jackson skidded to a halt. The scent was stronger here, and he followed it around a large tree, to where Ruby was standing motionless, looking at something on the ground with a shocked expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" Jackson asked, hurrying over to her. He stopped at the sight of a man, who he recognized as David Nolan, lying motionless on the ground. David appeared to be unconscious.

"Emma!" Jackson yelled. "Get over here!"

"Jackson?" Emma called back as she rounded the same tree. "Ruby? What–" Upon seeing David, she froze in shock. "David? Oh, god." She immediately rushed over to him and crouched down, taking him by the shoulders and trying to shake him awake. "Come on! David, come on! Wake up! David, wake up!"

Finally, David's eyelids flickered. With a gasp, he opened his eyes and looked around, breathing heavily. "Emma?" he breathed. "What…" He glanced over, his eyes falling on Ruby and Jackson. "Ruby?"

Emma looked closely at him, touching a visible cut on the side of his head. "Do you remember where you are?" she asked.

David shook his head. "No, I…" He sat up, looking around in astonishment. "What the hell?" he whispered. "I was… I was in your office." He looked back to Emma. "Did you bring me here?"

Emma's eyes were wide in surprise. "You don't remember anything since you were in my office? Last night?"

David stared at her wide-eyed for a moment, and then shook his head. "No, I don't."

Jackson had focused on the man's heartbeat, in an attempt to tell if he was lying. To his surprise, David's heartbeat was steady. He was telling the truth.

As Emma helped David to his feet, Jackson couldn't help thinking about what had happened. He was a werewolf with superhuman senses, so how the hell had Ruby been able to find David before he had?

And then, oddly, Jackson caught another scent. There was only a trace of it, drifting on the breeze. But he recognized it within seconds; it was the same strange scent that he'd picked up in Granny's Diner at one point. The scent that was similar to a werewolf, but not a werewolf.

Jackson's eyes narrowed, flickering blue for a moment. He turned away, looking around through the trees, but no one was there.

Okay, seriously, he thought, what the hell is going on around here?


Later that evening, Jackson was back in his room at the inn, when his cell phone abruptly rang. He answered it promptly. "Hello?"

"Hey, Jackson, it's Ruby."

He smiled. "Oh, hey! What's up?"

"Well, I'm at the station, and Emma just called. She wants me to go out to the old toll bridge and see if David was there earlier." Ruby paused. "And, well… to be perfectly honest, I was wondering if you'd be up for going out there with me. I'd rather not go all the way out there by myself, since it's going to be dark soon."

"Right." Jackson nodded thoughtfully. "Sure, I'll go. I'm at the inn; can you pick me up?"

"Okay, sounds good. I'll be there in five minutes. See you then." With that, Ruby hung up the phone.

Jackson smiled. Not what I was expecting for a date, he mused, but I'll take what I can get.

Ruby was waiting at the curb when he walked out of the inn's front door. To his surprise, she was driving Emma's yellow Volkswagen Bug.

"She let you borrow her car?" Jackson inquired.

"Yep," she replied with a mischievous grin. "Now get in the car, and let's go."

"Gladly." Jackson winked, opening the passenger door and climbing inside.


"Creepy," Jackson muttered, hopping out of the car. It had taken them about twenty minutes to drive out to the old toll bridge that Ruby had mentioned.

Ruby climbed out of the other side, holding her phone up to her ear as she called Emma back. "Hey, Emma, I'm at the toll bridge. So, what do you want me to do? I mean, what am I even looking for?"

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

Ruby looked around, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, there was a new focus in them. She started walking down towards where the river flowed under the bridge; Jackson followed, glancing around warily.

"And… if I find something?" she said into the phone.

"Just follow your instincts," Emma instructed.

Ruby walked along the edge of the water, leaving footprints in the damp sand. Jackson followed right behind her, all of his senses on full alert.

Abruptly, a faint scent reached his nose. Jackson looked up, following the scent, and his gaze fell on what what looked like a wooden board near the water. He glanced over at Ruby, to find that she was looking at it too.

Jackson indicated the board with one hand. Ruby nodded and started walking over to it. Bending down next to the board, she flipped it over, revealing a perfectly ordinary patch of wet sand underneath it.

Jackson's senses, however, were still on alert, indicating the spot where the board had been. Although he couldn't explain how Ruby knew about it, his sense of smell didn't lie; there was something down there.

Picking up a stick, Ruby poked it into the sand tentatively. Shrugging, she put her cell phone on speaker and handed it to Jackson. Crouching down on one knee, she began digging with the stick, scooping away sand.

At first, there was nothing but sand. After a few seconds, however, the tip of the stick hit something with a dull clunk.

Ruby looked up at Jackson with a startled expression on her face. Reaching down, she brushed away the sand, revealing a small wooden box, only about a foot across.

"You… can't give me a clue what I'm looking for?" she asked.

"Anything of Kathryn's," Emma replied.

Ruby gingerly picked up the box, turning it over in her hands.

"Looks like some kind of jewelry box," Jackson murmured.

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, but… who would bury a jewelry box out here?"

"Ruby?" Emma spoke up again. "What's going on? Did you find something?"

"You could say that, yeah," Jackson answered, raising the phone to his ear.

"Jackson?" Emma asked in surprise. "Why are you on Ruby's phone?"

"She asked me to hold it; she was… digging. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is, we found something."

"Okay… so what is it?"

"Some kind of jewelry box," Jackson explained. "We haven't…" He trailed off as he looked over at Ruby, just as she carefully opened the box.

And then immediately dropped it, recoiling with a horrified scream.

"What was that?" Emma demanded. "Ruby? Ruby?!"

Jackson didn't bother replying; instead, he rushed over to Ruby's side, setting down the phone on a rock. Holding Ruby carefully around the shoulders with one arm, he picked up the box with his free hand and cautiously looked into it.

When he saw what was inside, his face turned white, and he felt nauseous for a moment. But he'd seen worse than this before, so he was able to overcome his instinctive horror.

He inhaled deeply, activating his enhanced sense of smell. To his surprise, the smell of blood emanating from the box's interior was much fainter than he'd expected.

"Guys, what the hell is going on?!" Emma's voice shouted over the phone.

Jackson gently released Ruby, who was shivering uncontrollably, and picked up her phone again. "We're okay," he said, barely holding in a shiver of his own. "But we may have a serious problem."


Distracted by what they had found, Jackson and Ruby never saw the pair of glowing red eyes that were watching them from the opposite side of the creek, concealed among the trees.

As the pair walked back up towards the car they'd arrived here in, Jackson carrying the jewelry box in one hand as he spoke to Emma on the phone, the red eyes vanished silently back into the dark forest.


In the Enchanted Forest…

Frost sat on a comfortable armchair in front of the fireplace in Red's bedroom, enjoying the warmth given off by the coals. His eyes were half-closed, and his breathing was slow and even.

Snow was lying in Red's bed, covered by the red cloak and hood. Their plan had been simple: Snow and Frost would remain behind in the cottage so that Granny would think Red was still asleep in her room, while Red would chain up Peter in the woods to keep him from hurting anyone when he transformed into the wolf. Frost had wanted to go with Red, but she had insisted that, while Snow could cover for her, there was no way Granny wouldn't notice that he had left.

Suddenly, the bedroom door opened, and Granny entered. She noticed Frost sitting by the fire, but he had already closed his eyes and appeared to be asleep.

"Where's Mary?" Granny asked, looking around for any signs of Snow. Of course, none presented themselves.

Frost cursed inwardly, but managed to continue feigning sleep.

"Come on, girl, wake up," Granny said, grasping Snow by one shoulder and shaking her gently. "We best bar the door. If Mary's not back by now, she'll have to take her chances."

And then she pulled on Snow's shoulder, rolling her over and revealing her face. Even in the darkened room, it was obvious that she wasn't Red.

"She's in no danger," Snow said quickly, before Granny could get any words out.

"What have you done?" she gasped in shock.

"No, it's okay," Snow insisted earnestly. "It's all right. It's fine."

"Where is she?" Granny snapped.

"She's…" Snow sighed. "Well, she's with Peter." As Granny's eyes widened, she continued, "And I know that you don't like him, but that's… really beside the point."

"You stupid, careless, ridiculous girl!" Granny exclaimed.

"No, you don't understand!" Snow protested. "Peter isn't…" She paused. "This is going to be difficult to accept; you just have to trust me."

Granny remained silent for a moment, staring at her questioningly.

Snow stared directly at her, her gaze intensely focused. "He's the wolf."

The older woman's eyes widened in astonishment. "You think Peter is the wolf?" she whispered.

"Yes," Frost spoke up, walking to Snow's side. "We went out yesterday, tracking the wolf, and we saw that its prints turned from paws into human feet. And those prints led straight to her bedroom window." He sighed. "And I'm sure you don't know this, but Peter's been coming by her bedroom window to see her."

"This terrible creature is also human," Snow finished. She smiled faintly. "It's okay, though. He won't hurt her; she's got him tied up."

Granny's head snapped around, staring at her in undisguised horror. "He's tied up?" she asked.

Snow nodded.

"Oh, that poor boy!" Granny whirled and rushed back into the other room, shouting, "Follow me, now! If we run, we might be able to save him!"

As Snow and Frost raced after her, the pieces finally fell into place in Frost's mind.

It all made sense. Red's unusual ability to track down anything she wanted, and how at home she had seemed in the forest. The wolf's paw prints turning into human footprints. And the fact that they led straight to her bedroom window.

"Frost, what is she talking about?" Snow asked as they burst out of the cabin after Granny.

"It's not him," Frost replied, his mind whirling in realization. "Peter isn't the wolf." He looked down at Snow. "It's Red. She's the wolf. She just doesn't know it."

Snow froze in place, her eyes wide in shock and horror. "And Peter's out there, tied up, and alone with her," she gasped.

Frost nodded grimly. "Yes, he is," he agreed. "Which is why we need to run."


"You knew she was the wolf the whole time?" Frost asked, as the three of them hurried through the darkened forest. Snow was still wearing Red's cloak.

"Of course I did," Granny shot back. "Her mother was one, too, before a hunting party killed her. I thought maybe Red didn't get it, but when she was thirteen, it started. I paid a wizard for that cloak – it keeps her from turning." She scowled. "But she doesn't wear it, and she's found some way out of the house."

"Why didn't you tell her?" Snow inquired.

"I didn't want her to have that burden," Granny explained. Her voice quivered. "It's a terrible burden."

"So, that story you told…" Frost reasoned.

Granny nodded. "That was her grandfather. He marked me that night. Then he came back, found me… turned me."

"Turned you?" Snow repeated in surprise. "You're…" She paused, realizing what that meant. "Granny? How are you tracking her?"

"By smell," Granny answered. "I still have that, even though the rest of it has faded away." She sighed. "Gods, I was a fool to think I could keep this from her. I am a fool, and I have cost so many lives."

"But you didn't mean to," Snow argued. "That's the main thing."

"Is it?" Without waiting for a response, Granny handed her lantern to Frost and removed a crossbow from where it had been strapped to her back. "A silver-tipped arrow will drop her."

Snow shivered.

"Shh!" Granny whispered. "Follow me. We're approaching from downwind, so we have a chance."

Slowly and carefully, they made their way down an incline, towards the light of a small fire that gleamed through the trees.

And then they saw it. The wolf.

It was massive, easily the size of a small horse. It was crouched near the fire, tearing at something on the ground, and didn't seem to have any idea that they were there.

As the group edged forward, Frost raised his staff defensively, ready to blast the creature with ice if it became necessary. Granny raised her crossbow, training the silver-tipped arrow squarely on the wolf…

And then Snow accidentally stepped on a branch, breaking it with a crack.

Instantly, the wolf turned, its glowing yellow eyes locking on its new targets. A vicious snarl cut through the air, and it leaped at them.

Granny didn't bother trying to run: she simply tilted the crossbow slightly upwards and pulled the trigger. The arrow thudded into the wolf's side. Letting out a yelp, the creature went limp in midair and hit the ground at their feet.

"Cloak!" Granny ordered.

Snow pulled off the cloak, and with one quick motion, she and Frost swept it over the fallen wolf, covering the creature. There was a brief flash of red light, and a gust of wind.

"It's too late," Snow whispered, looking over at the torn, bloody corpse lying in the snow a few feet away. "He's gone."

Frost felt his stomach turn, but a soft groan drew his attention away from the grisly sight and back to the cloaked figure on the ground. Slowly, a human hand reached out from under the cloak, pulling back the edge, and Red's face appeared. "Who's gone?" she whispered, her voice unsteady.

"Get up, girl," Granny instructed. "Get ready to run."

"What's going on?" Red murmured, staggering to her feet in a daze.

"Come on, Red," Snow put in, taking her arm to support her.

The sounds of men shouting reached Frost's ears, and he saw the flicker of torchlight through the trees.

"They're coming," he said. "The hunters."

"We have to go," Snow gasped, pulling at Red's arm.

"Go?" Red looked around, confused. "I don't understand."

"We'll explain later," Frost assured her. "Right now, though, we must hurry. We have to get away from here; the hunters are coming, and they must not find us here."

"What?" Red blinked, looking up at him. "I'm confused. What's happened? Where's Peter?"

Snow placed a comforting hand on the side of Red's face, turning the taller girl to face her. "He wasn't the wolf," she murmured sadly.

Red looked past Snow, to the bloody corpse that was partially visible behind a log. She paled, turning to Granny. "Granny?" she whispered brokenly.

"I was wrong to keep it from you," Granny admitted. "But right now, you have to go." She glanced warily up the hill they'd descended, as the shouts of the hunters became louder.

"It's me?" Red's eyes widened in absolute horror. "Oh, gods, it's… it's me?"

"Red, go!" Granny ordered.

"No, not like this…" Red sobbed.

"You have to." Granny's expression was firm, but surprisingly kind.

"No, no, no, no…" Tears flowed down Red's cheeks.

"It's okay." Snow was crying too. "It's going to be okay…"

"Snow, there's no time!" Frost called. "We have to go, now! They'll be here any second!"

"He's right," Granny seconded.

"I know," Snow replied quickly. "We'll get her out of here."

Frost grasped Granny's hand firmly for a moment. "I swear on my life," he vowed, "I will keep her safe."

A smile flickered across Granny's face. "Thank you. Now go!" She returned her attention to the approaching torches.

Frost turned, seeing Snow and Red hurrying away. He followed after them, putting an arm around Red and helping Snow to support her.

Together, the three of them vanished into the woods, leaving the chaotic scene behind them.


Storybrooke, Maine

Jackson, Ruby and Emma all stared at the open jewelry box resting on the desk.

"Is that what I think it is?" Ruby asked.

Emma nodded. "Yeah."

"I can't look." Ruby turned away, placing a hand over her mouth and nose and hiding her face against Jackson's chest.

Jackson took a deep, slow breath, placing one arm around Ruby's shoulders to comfort her. This was a cover, of course; he was actually using his enhanced sense of smell to pick up the various scents around the box. There were the smells of mud and river water; an odd, subdued scent that he couldn't identify; and, finally, the faint smell of blood, which still seemed oddly faint considering what was in the box.

His brief examination was cut off abruptly as Emma closed the box and turned to face Ruby. "You okay?" she asked, her voice surprisingly gentle.

Ruby shook her head. "I don't know what I am."

"It's going to be all right. We can figure out what happened now." Emma smiled. "Ruby, you did good." Her gaze shifted to Jackson. "Both of you."

"This is doing good?" Ruby's voice quivered.

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

"Don't be." Ruby smiled, but her hands were shaking. "I'm… I'm scared out of my mind."

Jackson smiled, pulling her into a comforting hug. "But you did it anyway," he murmured, loud enough that both Ruby and Emma could hear it. "And that's what matters."

After a long moment, Ruby stopped shaking, and she looked up at Jackson with a faint smile. "Thanks, Jackson."

He grinned. "No problem."

"Hey, listen," Emma spoke up, "it's getting late; you should probably get home, Ruby."

Ruby nodded, chuckling. "Yeah, I should." She leaned up and kissed Jackson on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Jackson blushed despite himself and smiled. "Sounds good."

Ruby turned and walked out of the room, leaving Jackson alone with Emma.

"Well, I think I should probably be going too," he said after a couple of seconds, heading over to the coat rack where he had left his jacket.

"Hey, Jackson, just so you know; you did well too," Emma informed him. "Thanks for the help."

"Glad I could help out, Sheriff," Jackson replied, grinning. He started towards the door, and then stopped abruptly, turning around. "You know…"

Emma turned back to face him. "Yeah?"

"Well, I was wondering; you don't really have anyone else working in the sheriff's department, do you?"

She shrugged. "Not right now, no. I used to be a deputy for Sheriff Graham, but… he died a few weeks before you came to Storybrooke." There was a note of sadness in her voice.

"Right." Jackson contemplated that for a moment. "Well, if you need any help around here, I'd be glad to help out. Seems like you could use at least one deputy around here, and I've got some experience with law enforcement from my hometown in California." He smirked faintly at the thought of that. If that dumbass Stilinski could see me now.

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? You want a job here?"

Jackson shrugged. "Why not? I could use something to do; I'm going to go nuts if I keep doing the same thing every day like everyone else in this town."

For a few seconds, Emma appeared to be considering the idea. Then, finally, she nodded. "All right, I suppose we could try it for a while and see how it goes. You can come in tomorrow and we'll fill out the paperwork."

Jackson's lips curved in a smile. "Sounds perfect."


The next night, Emma's car pulled up outside the town's veterinary clinic, where David volunteered. According to Emma, both David and Mary Margaret were waiting inside to hear what Emma's investigation had found.

Jackson had mixed feelings regarding the day's events. On one hand, Ruby had decided to take her old job back at the diner and had patched things up with Granny. Also, he and Emma had just finished filling out the paperwork for his addition to the Storybrooke sheriff's department.

On the other hand, what the investigation had turned up the previous day was chilling, to say the least. Instead of a missing person's case, this was now a potential murder investigation.

Jackson followed Emma inside, to see David sitting on one of the waiting room chairs. Mary Margaret sat next to him, a caring expression on her face. They both turned when Emma entered the room.

"What is it?" David asked, standing up. "Did you find her?"

"We found a box," Emma replied.

David frowned in confusion. "Wait… what does that mean?"

"We think it…" Emma paused, clearly struggling to say it out loud. "We think that she…" She cleared her throat.

David took a step forward, his eyes wide. "What?"

Jackson placed a hand on Emma's shoulder. "We found a jewelry box, buried down by the toll bridge in the woods," he finished in a low voice. "And there was a human heart inside."

David staggered, looking as if he had just been punched in the gut. His eyes brimmed with tears.

"Oh, my god," Mary Margaret whispered.

"No," David sobbed, sitting down on one of the chairs and burying his face in his hands. "No…"

"We're going to send it out for some tests," Emma explained, "but... there aren't any other missing people in Storybrooke right now."

Mary Margaret placed a supportive hand on David's shoulder. "Maybe you should go," she said, glancing over at Emma and Jackson.

Emma paused briefly and then continued, "There's more."

David looked up. "What?"

"There were fingerprints inside the lid of the box. I ran them through the records of everyone in town, and there was a match." Emma remained silent, looking at David and Mary Margaret.

David was the first to react; he stood up, his expression firm. "Arrest me."

Mary Margaret's eyes widened. "No, David!"

"Arrest me, Emma," David repeated. "Do it!"

"David, the fingerprints weren't yours," Emma replied.

David froze, staring at Emma with a look of complete confusion on his face. "What?"

"Hang on," Jackson spoke up. "You didn't tell me about this part. If they weren't his, then whose were they?"

Emma shook her head slowly, and then shifted her gaze to Mary Margaret.

"They were Mary Margaret's."


A/N: And here we are again. Wow, this was a long chapter. XD Hope you guys enjoyed it!

Shoutout to RHatch89 for reviewing; you're awesome!

Next chapter, Jack, Red and Charming continue their quest to evade King George and reunite Charming with Snow White, and Jackson finds himself pitted against Regina as the investigation into Kathryn's disappearance continues… stay tuned!

See you all next time!