Disclaimer: Still not mine.

A/N: This chapter is all about 5x18: Ruby Slippers. (Note: I'm still slightly miffed that this fic isn't a series of drabbles. Someday I will figure out how to write damned drabbles! That and fluff. Can't seem to write either.)

5x18: Ruby Slippers

She knows she's foolish, but Hades courtship is making her question her resolve. The elegant notecard with the script of her name dangles idly from her fingers. I can't deny it – it's terribly romantic, what he's done for me. Is it really so wrong? Memories from the past hover and mingle with those from her present. Recalling the anguish of handing over her child to Robin wipes away the frivolity of romance in an instant.

Zelena scowls in self-recrimination at her lack of focus. She cannot allow herself to get caught up in these kinds of emotions – her top priority is her daughter.

The distinct whoosh of teleportation startles her from her thoughts and she is instinctively drawn into the cold steel of his gaze. A part of her thrills at the sight of him; the teasing tone in her words giving away her interest. Yet his message to her wipes all playfulness away and leaves cold, choking fear in its wake.

They mustn't know what I did to Dorothy. They'll never trust me with my daughter if they think I'm a cold, heartless monster.

Zelena's mind quickly resolves the problem – she must leave. She'll use the silver slippers to return to Storybrooke and either wait for Robin and Regina to return with her daughter, or return to the Underworld when she's better prepared to take her baby back from them. Staying down in this hellhole only presents more opportunities for her to lose favor with those bloody heroes.

Hades yet again makes a plea for her to stay with him, to trust him. It is lunacy. Her rejection darkens his eyes to cobalt. Why must he continue to ask, to force her to choose? This time when he disappears in his icy fire, her heart splinters under the weight of fear and loss. There is so much at stake here – too much in fact. It is all too much and it is beginning to break her. She needs to leave – now.

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When Regina's magic freezes her feet, Zelena's patience snaps. Why can't they understand I'm trying to do what is right for once?

With a sense of pride, she uses her now-functional magic to produce a mirror into Oz and shows them the prone image of Dorothy. It was rather clever of her to put that wretched girl under a sleeping curse – the love of the people is not True Love and she'll be stuck asleep forever. Zelena's emotions calm into the cool and confident resolve that she wears so well. I am quite good, aren't I?

However, her self-confidence fades moments later as Regina's clear and pointed words echo within the barren kitchen. She can do what is right, and perhaps someday, somehow, this act of kindness will allow her time with her daughter. There is little hint of patronization in her sister's tone, but it is there all the same. Fine. Here. Take the bloody things.

Zelena's mood sours with each passing second. Those slippers were her ticket home. She doesn't hesitate in grasping the bottle and pouring herself a large, stiff drink. If she's going to be trapped in this abysmal place, she might as well enjoy what it offers. After Regina leaves with her smugness and holier-than-thou air, Zelena stares blankly into the empty fireplace. Her reality is as bitter as the liquor she tosses down her throat. She's stuck here, quite permanently it seems. Alone again - left with only her wits to help her.

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The knock on the door isn't all that startling – but the cause tweaks a nerve in Zelena. The poor helpless bookworm needs advice, mother to mother. Really? And this after you deemed me unfit to care for my child?

Her opinion of Belle falls further when she dares to insinuate that Zelena's reason for not joining the Lord of Death in idealistic romantic bliss is based on fear. Her, afraid of Hades? Certainly he is powerful and intimidating, but is she not as well? She is intelligent and cunning too – perhaps even more than him in some ways. No, her reasons are that he is too much like her – and she knows herself well. She would do or say anything to get what she needed, and there is no doubt in her mind that Hades is doing the same.

She was honest with the ditzy bookworm – she knows her Happy Ending isn't going to happen. And she has tried – repeatedly. Each time ends in failure. Honestly, why even bother any more?

Something within her stirs at Belle's plight. Maybe there is an unspoken bond between mothers. A sisterhood of sorts. It's ironically fitting that the solution to ridding herself of Dorothy is the same used to help Belle.

After the girl is happily on her way to explain her new plan to the Dark One, Zelena returns to her vigil at the battered wooden table. She knows Rumplestiltskin won't be pleased when his prized wife places herself under a sleeping curse. But it will protect her unborn baby from Hades, and isn't that what really matters?

The idea is unsettling. Would Hades truly hurt their child? Most likely he wouldn't unless he had to – he's using it as leverage to get the Dark One to do his bidding. Like forcing him to create a portal to bring her baby here. Why did he do that? If he plans on using Belle's child for the spell, why bring mine here?

Zelena has a rational mind and the logic on this is simple – he did it for her. If she chooses to believe what he's been telling her all this time, then everything he's done has been for her. Simply because he loves her. Belle's comments start to sink in – it isn't Hades strength that she fears, it's her own vulnerability if she lets him into her heart. If she trusts him, and he betrays her trust, it will break her.

But will it? She's survived quite a bit in her day – even evaded death. She's always found a way to land on her feet and get what she wants. Isn't she also strong enough to try her hand at what actually might be True Love?

The thought sends a spike of terror into her heart. So much she's feared lately – but the idea of failing at love seems to pour ice into her veins. Perhaps because she craves happiness so badly, and isn't True Love part of that? To make a play for it, and lose…

Zelena growls at the thought. She does not like to lose. She did not spend decades perfecting her magic to lose at anything. What she wants, more than anything, is happiness. When she held her daughter in her arms and fed her from the tiny bottle, she was happy. When she and Hades rode that bizarre bicycle, she was happy. When she opened that silver serving platter and saw the flower there, she felt happiness yet again.

Perhaps she's been foolish for not partnering with Hades. He is powerful. He can help her get what she wants. He's already offered to get her baby back from Regina and Robin. He claims to love her – and even if he doesn't, he can still help her. She has no allies within the lot of heroes – they've made that clear. At a minimum, she can have an ally in Hades. Isn't that what he offered, ever so long ago? To be an ally?

She never gave him a chance. Now's as good a time as any. What do I have to lose?

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Zelena's resolve waivers as she stands at the archway that leads into Hades' domain. Her heart pounds harder in her ears with each step she takes. This is more than agreeing to an alliance. This is a chance at True Love. What will he say to her when he sees her here? Will he turn her away? Self-awareness pierces through her with crystal clarity.

I am afraid. But I have to try…

And then, he's there before her. Somehow her feet took her through the labyrinth of corridors to him. He turns to meet her, the joy of surprise reflecting in his eyes, and she knows what she's doing is right. A small thrill runs through her at the possibility of finally getting what she's always wanted – a Happy Ending.