Nadri sat with Nimue and her tribe of royal elves in Granny's diner the next morning, still feeling like her mind was a steel trap of muddy water. Her thoughts and feelings were all over the place, she hadn't taken time to adjust and now Regina had brought all of the new arrivals together for a town meeting, wanting them to feel welcomed in their new environment and she had to be a part of it for Nimue.

She wanted to be there for her friend, knowing that Nimue's back was fully guarded along with the others, they were already distrusting towards humans and now they had been thrown into a void of unknown when it came to Storybrooke. But she couldn't help but feel like she wasn't mentally present.

The news had come as a big enough shock, but she still wasn't sure how she felt about everything that was happening to her. Her body had been through enough, was it so wrong just to want to enjoy feeling free before putting her body through more stress? She had no idea what was going to happen, she had never experienced what she was going through.

Nadri was a dragon for goodness sake. Of course she wouldn't know what she was about to go through. She had to keep reminding herself that this life was going to be so far between what she started out in her realm like.

"Are you well, little dragon?" Nimue brought a hand in front of her face, waving to get her attention. Nimue snapped up to look at her and shook her head with a small laugh.

"I'm sorry, I was away in another land." Nimue smiled at Nadri, knowing that the old soul was putting on a hard front for the others.

"How was your healer visit?" Nimue asked her nonchalantly, with her people sitting among the tables next to her. Nadri shushed her in a hiss, narrowing her purple orbs at the elf.

"Keep your voice down." Nadri muttered under her breath, exhaling a sigh before grabbing the mug of warm tea sitting opposite her and sipped from it. "I'm…fine."

"The muunkin?" Nimue raised an eyebrow, her features filling with concern.

Nadri replied, her voice monotone at the subject, "Is fine."

"You're not fine, Nadriah. I have known you for many years."

"In my defence if I was not human you wouldn't be able to see it on my face." Nadri shot back and Nimue tittered to herself, amused at Nadri trying to convey sarcasm with her. "I wonder if this will bring me happiness, or if it'll just bring Killian happiness."

"You have only just found out, Nadri. The shock will wear off and you can prepare yourself for what happens next. This realm's healers are advanced. If you don't want to do this, I am sure-"

"What if this is the only chance I'll ever have? My body is-" Nadri cut her off as she put her mug down, looking up to give Snow and David a sweet smile as they walked past her table, waving to her. "It'll break his heart, if I decided now wasn't the right time and we couldn't…try again. I don't even know how I'll feel about it, I don't know how I feel about it now. It's a baby, a human child. Would you trust me with your child? I don't know how to do anything!"

Nimue exhaled, trying to be delicate with Nadri's situation as best as she could be when to her the answer would be so obvious, "Has your healer said such a thing?" Nadri shook her head. "Then there is always the future."

"How did you feel? When you had Taerel?" Nimue proudly, yet still with solace, smiled to herself, recalling the memories of her children that were no longer with her.

"I remember when I told lif Keron, I had never seen the blood run so fast from an already pale face." Nimue smirked to herself, making Nadri chuckle. "I was frightened, the moment you realise the battle may or may not be won. I remember the first battle whilst carrying her to my chest, the fear but also the strength of cutting down anyone who attempted to harm me. It was…it was almost like I had this power sourcing my strength. I killed anyone who would threaten her life. She gave me immense pain and overwhelming happiness. And I did it again eight more times. My only regret is that I spent more time in war as their Hweal than their mother." Nimue told her seriously, Nadri looking back at her thoughtfully as she digested her words. Nadri knew that she would be the same, she would protect anyone that meant anything to her. She had been so back and forth the last 24 hours she didn't know where her mind was at anymore.

Maybe Nimue was right, once the shock would wear off she might feel differently.

Maybe she would have to take Archie up on his offer just to talk to someone unbiased.

All these maybes.

"Bloody queue is mad."

Nadri and Nimue looked up and saw Killian heading towards their table, still holding the ridiculous smile on his face from the previous night. Nadri raised an eyebrow when she noticed him carrying a plate full of fluffy pancakes and several handfuls of fruit laying on the top of it with what also looked like syrup.

"Ooh!" Nadri drooled as Killian placed the plate in front of her, Nimue tensely shuffling up so Killian could sit next to his partner. "This looks incredible!"

"You're carrying precious cargo, need to keep your strength up, love."

Nadri hushed desperately, "Killy!" looking around to the groups of people inside of the diner waiting on Regina with eyes full of panic. The last thing she wanted was the whole of Storybrooke knowing their secret.

"Hey, I've not told anyone. Don't worry about it, love." Killian smirked, kissing her cheek. "You rushed out before eating this morning. You need to keep your strength up, you heard the doctor."

Nadri didn't reply, just stabbing the fork into the pancakes as if they had committed an offence against her. Killian looked towards Nimue suspiciously, eyebrows raised at her.

"Did I miss something?"

Regina cleared her throat from her position in the middle of the diner, putting their conversation on pause, "As mayor, I would like to officially welcome you to Storybrooke. You fled to the Land of Untold Stories because you were afraid that whatever was in this book is going to play out. But now that you're here, I'm sure you're scared it will. But what you don't realise is... I'm just like you. I'm also getting a fresh start, and I don't know what the future holds either. But I do know one thing. We don't have to be afraid of anything, because whatever comes next, we're going to face it... together." Regina finished with a breathless smile, Nadri seeing that the nerves were making her shake as they took over.

Everyone clapped for her, praising her turned chapter. Nadri took a deep breath, putting the fork down and her hand rested on the table unsteadily. She felt a sudden rush of dread run through her body, her anxiety peaking to a high and a wave of sickness washed over her.

"I can see why she is your leader." Nimue commented, impressed as she watched Regina go over to speak with Snow and David. "Captivating. I am mesmerised- Nadriah?" Nadri couldn't get up out of the booth fast enough, almost falling straight into the elf as she got up and storming out of the diner door.

Killian knitted his eyebrows together in confusion and ran out of the front door, looked around the corner of the diner and saw Nadri bent over, vomiting beside one of the flowerbeds lined next to the brickwall of Granny's diner. Killian rushed over to her, "Nadri?"

"What?"

Nadri coughed from the corner of the building, before heaving again. Killian grimaced, looking away as she finished. She pushed her hair back over her shoulder as she let out a shuddery breath. Killian walked up to her, putting his hand on her back comfortingly.

"Are you alright love-"

"I'm fine!" She snapped, huffing as she caught her breath. She held her hand on her head, taking a deep breath before looking back at him with an apologetic face. "I'm not a caged baby dragon anymore." Nadri whispered, Killian withdrawing his hand.

"I never said you were, love. I'm worried about you. You've not been right all morning."

Nadri scoffed, "Probably because I have to be here, doing all this and be all this and I'm still getting my head around…this!" Nadri gestured to her midriff , talking about the pregnancy. She didn't want to go into with him now of all times, not in the middle of the street. Of course Nadri knew that Killian cared for her and was just worried about her and the baby's wellbeing, but sometimes she wanted to just go into the forest by herself and scream all of angsty thoughts out.

"I thought we were smooth sailing on this, love."

"You're not the human incubator and this is more human than what I'm used to right now!"

"Who's a human incubator?"

Nadri tensed her jaw as she slowly moved her eyes to the sudden voice that came into their conversation. She forced the smile towards David who was standing behind Killian. Her eyes flickered back to the pirate, a soul-shattering stare that could have buried him back in the ground.

David stared at them with a confused expression yet holding a dopey grin, the complete personality of a golden retriever.

"Er-"

"The thing is Charming-"

"Oh my god…When!?" David's smile couldn't get any wider, walking up to Killian and giving him a hug, slapping him on the back.

"We found out yesterday. It was a surprise to us too."

"I bet! How are you feeling Nadri?" David grinned at Nadri who was still pale, forcing a smile on her lips towards the prince as he came over to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"I haven't been feeling right today."

"Ah ginger will sort that out! Snow was eating ginger biscuits everyday to keep sickness away." David suggested, noticing an odd presence about Nadri. Killian was grinning ear to ear but his lover looked like a caged animal that wanted to escape right now. "You know what would be a great distraction? I could really do with some help down the station just finishing up some paperwork if you don't have work yourself."

The first thing that had made her genuinely smile all morning.

"Yeah I'd like that." Nadri appreciated him thinking of her. "I'll message you later, Raaviir." She told him before walking away with David, leaving Killian there confused without even a kiss goodbye, just watching her stroll down the street with David.

David put his hands in his jacket pockets as they walked in the direction of the sheriff station, looking down to the woman he'd been growing incredibly close to, "So, you're gonna tell me what's going on between you two? I thought you'd both be over the moon."

"Last night…It really caught me off guard." Nadri started as they walked close together. "I told Killian how scared I was, how much it terrified me. He understood in ways but…"

"Have you told Hook?"

"Yes, but you know what he's like." David looked at her sympathetically, putting his arm around her shoulders as they went into the sheriff station.

They went down the hallway towards David's office, opening it for Nadri and offering the woman to sit down on the sofa. She sighed heavily as David sat down next to her, rubbing her back before he started, "Nadri, if you don't want to do this you don't have to. You have a choice."

"What do you mean? I couldn't abandon a child, by the moons I know what that is like." Nadri told him in a disbelieving tone, shaking her head. "I have heard Emma's own story, I'm sure if you had the choice that wouldn't have happened either."

"That's right Nadri but…you do have a choice not to go through the pregnancy at all," Nadri raised an eyebrow, looking at him unsure what exactly he meant, "I don't want you to think I'm interfering or telling you what to do but maybe go back to the hospital and talk to the doctors, get some more information so you know everything. The baby isn't the be all or end all between you. You will always have a choice, Nadri."

"He wants to be a father…so much. I think it'd destroy him." She whispered out, biting her lip. "I can't do that to him." Nadri knew what it'd do to Killian, yes it might even make him despite her for even thinking about it.

"And you can't be unhappy, Nadri. Don't force yourself into this on maybes." David gave her a small charming smile. "There's always the future, you have that to look forward to now. Maybe you should sit down with Archie, he's really more of an expert over talking about things than I am."

"You're right. I just need to process all of this. Will…will you come with me, David?" Nadri looked up at him with her swirling purple orbs, already glazing over with fear and upset. "I just really need a friend right now." David nodded reassuringly, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it.

"Of course. I can get Emma to come here, I'll come with you."

David promised Nadri that he would take her to the hospital at the end of the day, making an appointment for her as she sat at his desk and began helping him with his paperwork just so she could have something to take her mind off everything that had been constantly hanging over her. David could see how much it was impacting Nadri, half of the time it was like she was off wandering with the fairies and then she'd snap back into reality again. David even watched her looking at her phone whilst Killian would ring, just staring at the picture at the front until it completely rang out.

She was confused and hurting, David wanted to help her.

"You need to answer him at some point. He'll just come to the station." David announced from behind the computer, hearing the vibrating phone on Nadri's desk again. He didn't have to be looking at Nadri's face to know she rolled her eyes as she went to pick the phone up.

"Hey, love."

"I'm busy, Killy."

"I know, I er, I just wanted to call you and tell you that I'm sorry about how I've been about this. And I'm sorry that David found out, I know you wanted to keep it to just us. Just…I love you, darling, okay? I'm worried about you. I promise when you come home I'll be here with open ears. I promise."

"Okay." Nadri whispered. "I'll be home tonight, we can talk. I've got something I need to do today. See you tonight." Nadri hung up the phone, putting it back on the desk before she swivelled around in her chair to look at David. "Have you got somewhere where I can scream?" Nadri asked him straight, completely serious in her words. "I just want to scream. I want to throw everything off this desk right now."

"Yeah." David laughed quietly, nodding, having felt the exact same many times. "I have."

"You've got about an hour before your appointment, so go crazy." David and Nadri walked through the forest of Storybrooke, the afternoon sun streaming through the hundreds of tree branches and onto the forest floor. Nadri turned around to him, stopping in her tracks and she took a moment to take a deep, shaky breath.

Nadri began tittering to herself, shaking her head as she laughed quietly, "I don't know if I need to now." David couldn't help but start chuckling with her as she put her head in her hand. "I can just scream? No one is going to call you and say someone is being murdered in the forest?"

"I'll just tell them it's foxes."

Nadri rolled her eyes before looking around. She took a massive breath before just wailing out into the air. It was ear aching, desperate, like she was trying to scream further out into the world as if she was trying to push all of the stress out of her body. David almost jumped as she screamed out, just screaming into the forest until her cheeks turned red.

She stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath to catch it, bending over. Nadri suddenly began crying, weeping as she fell to her knees. David looked down at her worried as he came to her side as she choked on her sobs, tears streaming down her face.

"Nadri-"

"No!" Nadri sobbed, pushing David's hands away from her when she reached out.

She sobbed harder, gasping through her tears as she curled up into a ball. David knelt down with her, despite being pushed away and just wrapped his arms around her tightly. Nadri continued to cry into his chest, physically shaking from her emotional breakdown and he softly shushed her as he held on.