Author's note: Hi everybody! This chapter is really the second half of the previous one, so it is a little short, but I think it does a great job of hinting at some things to come. I really hope you enjoy reading it!
~..~..~..~..
Blue was making her final rounds around the convent before heading to bed, when she found Tamara standing before her, suitcase in hand.
"Tamara," Blue greeted in surprise.
"Can I stay here?" Tamara asked reluctantly.
Blue smiled. "Of course you can, Tamara. You're one of us. I'll show you to a room."
Tamara picked up her suitcase and made her way inside.
"Neal and I broke up," she admitted. "He knows I'm a fairy, now. They all do."
"That's a relief," Blue told her. "Now you can put your charade to rest and be who you're meant to be."
Tamara clenched her jaw as Blue led the way through the halls, but didn't say anything.
"Here you are," Blue gestured to a doorway. "This room has a spare bed for you." Stepping forward, Blue clasped Tamara's hands in her own.
"Welcome home ," she said warmly, before taking her leave.
Tamara stayed put until Blue had gone around a corner.
"This isn't my home," she muttered, before reaching for the door handle.
Upon opening the door, Tamara realised that she would be sharing this room, as another fairy was seated on one of the two single beds, reading a book.
"Hello," the woman greeted warmly. "I remember you. You're Tamara, right? You brought our wands back."
"Yes, that's right," Tamara smiled as she brought her suitcase to rest beside her new bed.
"I'm Astrid," her new roommate introduced herself. "We all owe you a debt of gratitude for bringing us our magic back."
Tamara sat heavily onto her bed and didn't reply.
"Why don't fairies get married?" Tamara asked suddenly.
Astrid appeared shocked at the question.
"What?" She whispered.
"Why are fairies not allowed to get married?" Tamara repeated.
Astrid swallowed nervously.
"The Blue Fairy says that fairies are supposed to bring joy to the world through our magic." She began.
"But at what cost to ourselves?" Tamara put forward. "I became engaged in order to ensure that I could come here and deliver the wands, and tonight, when my true identity came to light, I lost the man I was going to marry."
Astrid looked sympathetic.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered.
"Fairies aren't supposed to fall in love, or we lose our wings," Tamara recited. "But if love is the most powerful magic in the world, why can't we have it?"
Astrid shrugged.
"I've often asked myself the same question," she admitted.
Tamara looked curiously at her new roommate.
"Has the Blue fairy kept you from love?"
Astrid nodded.
"I fell in love with a dwarf named Dreamy." Astrid explained. "And we had plans to run away together. But," she continued sadly, "the Blue Fairy got to him first. She told him that our love wasn't real, that it was just a dream."
Tamara nodded in understanding.
"The man I was going to marry?" She began quietly. "When he was a boy, the Blue Fairy promised him that she could take him and his father to a land without magic, but then sent him on purpose to Neverland, where she gave me the job of getting information out of him to pass to her."
Astrid's eyes widened with shock.
"She lied to a little boy?" she gasped.
Tamara nodded.
"And when I told her that he and I had broken up, she said that it was a good thing," she finished numbly. "But if it was a good thing, wouldn't I feel relieved right now?"
"Well, how do you feel?" Astrid asked her.
Tamara shook her head.
"I don't know," she admitted. "I don't feel happy, or relieved." She took a slow breath. "I feel…determined, I think."
"Determined?" Astrid thought that this was something strange to feel after losing someone. "What do you mean?"
"I feel determined…to rectify the situation." Tamara said slowly. "To deal with the problem."
~..~..~..~
"Mother Superior."
Blue didn't even have time to reach for her wand before she found herself pinned to her bedroom wall, gasping for breath.
The Dark One carefully stepped forward and retrieved the fairy leader's wand from a pocket.
"I think it's time we finished our little conversation from earlier," his voice was like velvet over steel, "about that bean you gave to my son."
"You can't kill me, Dark One," the Blue fairy gasped. "I'm immortal, like you."
"Oh, but you can still feel pain," Rumplestiltskin's voice was almost silky as he stepped closer to his victim.
"I can make you wish you could die."
Blue glared at the man before her.
"Your son is your salvation," she told him, her voice rasping as she struggled for air. "Are you going to push him further away now that you finally have him back?"
"Oh, and whose fault is it that I lost him in the first place?" Rumple asked her, the light tone of his voice not matching the fire in his eyes. "Tamara told me about you sending Bae to Neverland on purpose. You wanted me gone from your realm," he hissed. "And Bae was your ticket."
Rumple released his hold slightly to allow the fairy enough breath to speak easily, but kept his magical hold to ensure she couldn't move.
"I didn't actually have a bean that could take you to the Land Without Magic," the Blue Fairy confessed. "But I knew that Neverland had access to more magic bean plants, so I thought sending you there would give you the opportunity to find them."
"Don't lie to me," Rumple growled. "You wanted to get rid of me. And as you didn't know how to kill me, you tried to send me away, using my boy as bait. When that failed, you sent Tinkerbell to gain Bae's trust so he'd tell her everything."
"It's my job to protect my realm, and grant the wishes of those with true hearts," Blue told him. "Your son has a true heart."
"Oh, I know he does," Rumple nodded. "And just like Tamara, you took advantage of it."
Clenching his fist, Rumple cut off Blue's air supply.
"The Blue Fairy, using a child's love against them," Rumple shook his head as the woman gasped desperately for breath. "That's a little dark for you, isn't it?"
Flicking his fingers, he released the choke hold.
"I was- trying-to help- your son- save you," Blue insisted as she gulped down oxygen.
"You keep telling yourself that Dearie," Rumple whispered. "And someday, you may actually believe it."
"What do you want, Dark One?" Blue demanded. "You can't kill me, so why are you here?"
"Oh, I just wanted a chat," Rumple answered lightly. "And this," he held up the Blue Fairy's wand.
He smiled at the anxiety spreading across the fairy leader's face.
"Tamara was right about something else," Rumple whispered. "You love your power. That's why you arranged for your wands to be returned to you. After all, why would you need your wands in The Land Without Magic?" He put forward.
"You can't take that," The Blue Fairy stated.
"Oh yes I can," Rumple replied, tucking the Blue Fairy's wand into his jacket. "Just as you took my son. You took the thing I love. You, who claim to bring 'love and joy to the world'," he quoted mockingly, his voice sounding eerily like the Dark One's playful tone.
Rumple clenched his fingers slowly, choking Blue once more.
"I may not be able to kill you," Rumple whispered to the fairy as she fought for air. "But I can do the same thing you did to me: take away the thing you love. You'll be powerless to protect all those you claim to care about so much, that you're willing to take away the Loves of others to do so."
He smiled into Blue's face as she continued to gasp for air.
"Now," he finished with a casual smirk, "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to go."
As he disappeared, the chokehold on the Blue Fairy broke, and she fell to the floor, coughing and gasping for breath.
As Blue slowly regained her breathing, she had to work hard to fight down the panic rising on her chest.
She had lost her wand.
She was powerless.
~..~..~..~..
Rumple appeared in his living room in a swirl of smoke, his mind full of what he'd just learned.
Tamara was a fairy who had taken advantage of his son, just to find her kin.
His son's desperate pleas to spare Tamara from any harm or magical attack still rang in his ears.
"Promise me!" Bae's pleas had reminded him so much of Belle as she pleaded for Regina's life...
"I was wondering when you would come home."
Turning, Rumple found Lacey lying on the couch behind him, and all the thoughts in his head melted away...
Lacey had dispensed with her usual short skirts and revealing tops, and instead wore a knee length ivory dress that clung to her figure in a way that was both elegant and sexy.
Some of her dark hair was tied back from her face, allowing him an unobstructed view of her sapphire-blue eyes as they met his own gaze alluringly. And with the rest of her hair trailing over her bare shoulders, Lacey appeared the very image of seduction.
"Wow..." Rumple breathed.
"Now that," Lacey smiled, "was exactly the reaction I was hoping for."
"Mission accomplished, then," Rumple placed both his hands atop his cane to stop them shaking.
He was in trouble...
"Uh," he stammered, "new dress?"
Lacey nodded as she moved gracefully to her feet.
"Well," she smiled, grabbing hold of his tie with one hand. "I thought this would be more your taste."
"I hope you're not just 'doing your job'," Rumple told her, trying to keep his voice steady.
Lacey shook her head.
"No, I like this dress," she told him. "Makes me feel more like a Lady and less like a Tramp."
"You look stunning," Rumple told her sincerely.
Lacey's eye sparkled as she smiled up at him.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Rumple closed his eyes as he cleared his throat, trying to stay focussed.
"May I inquire as to the occasion?" He asked the woman before him.
"I just wanted to say thank you," Lacey whispered as her fingers slowly trailed across Rumple's shoulders, down his arms, across his chest... "No man has ever done as much for me as you have, without wanting something in return."
Hope began building in Rumple's chest and he had to take a deep breath to stay focused. He couldn't rush this. He had to be sure...
"All I want," he told Lacey softly, "is for you to be happy with me, Lacey."
Smiling, Lacey leaned closer.
Hope was building in Rumple's chest as he leaned in to meet her. Could she really be opening her heart to him now? Could he have his true love back?
Their lips were millimetres apart...
Ding!... Ding!... Ding!
The sound of a timer going off brought Rumple's dazed mind back to the moment.
"What's that?" He asked, referring to the noise, clenching his jaw in disappointment at the interruption.
"I made dinner," Lacey announced, taking Rumple's free hand and leading him into the dining room, where the table was set for two. "I remember cooking for you when I worked as your housemaid before," she explained, "so I made you your favourite."
Rumple looked over the table setting as Lacey left to attend to the oven.
"I hope you're hungry."
Rumple was touched that Lacey had gone to such an effort for him.
His mind ticked over...
His son had had his heart broken tonight, but with Emma promising to heal him, he was sure Bae would find his happiness again, given time.
He had acquired the Blue Fairy's wand, rendering her powerless without fairy dust.
That only left Tamara, for the moment. And as Rumple had promised his son he wouldn't hurt her or use magic on her, he knew he'd need time to think of something creative for the one who broke his son's heart.
And here, Lacey was finally opening herself up to him, even going to the effort of making him dinner.
"I'm famished," he smiled. "Thank you very much, Lacey."
~..~..~..~..
Neal looked glumly into the bottom of his glass. This was his third drink of the night and he had no intention of stopping anytime soon.
Emma was still cradling her first, however. She at least had the sense to pace herself.
Neal just wanted his pain to go away.
He'd loved Tamara. She was the only thing in his life that was normal, untouched by magic or his past...or so he'd thought.
He took another gulp, draining the glass and signalling the bar tender for another.
"You should have this be your last one," Emma suggested as his glass was refilled.
"Why?" Neal asked as he handed over the money. "I don't wanna stop till my heart stops hurting."
"Then you're gonna end up an alcoholic," Emma told him, "'cause the pain won't go away."
Tracing the lip of his glass, Neal glanced hesitantly at Emma.
"Is this how you felt," he asked, "when you got arrested?"
Slowly, Emma nodded.
Cringing, Neal took a swig of his drink. Karma sucked, but he deserved it.
"I'm so sorry, Emma," he whispered. "I swear, I was just trying to get you home."
"It doesn't matter now, though, does it?" Emma asked him, taking a sip of her drink. "I came to Storybrooke, the curse is broken...what's done is done."
"You know," Neal began. "I wanted to go to Tallahassee with you, Emma. That was my dream." He sighed. "Then magic got in the way, as usual."
Emma smiled sadly.
"It was my dream too." She said softly. Then she frowned.
"Why did August want me to go to prison?" She wanted to know. "Why couldn't we have gone to Tallahassee? We could've raised Henry together, I wouldn't have had to put him up for adoption, and-"
"And then what reason would you have had to come to Storybrooke?" Neal asked her plainly.
Emma swallowed.
"I only came here because Henry brought me here," she admitted. Neal nodded.
"That's why August felt you had to go to prison." Neal told her. "He needed you to be free, without any ties to anyone or anything, so that when the time came, you'd be able to come straight to this place to 'be the Saviour'." Laughing humourlessly, Neal took another sip.
"It wasn't fair," Emma whispered.
"Nope," Neal agreed. "But if there's one thing I do know about magic: it comes with a price." He turned back to Emma. "Losing our time together, losing our time with our son...that was the price we paid for being part of all this."
He took another sip.
"Tamara was another price," he added ruefully. "I was really stupid, wasn't I? To think I could actually get away from all that crap."
"No, you weren't," Emma told him. "But, as much as I hate to say it: I think you're father may have had a point."
"What?"
"Think about it," Emma told him. "You said yourself that you believe things happen for a reason."
Neal smiled. "I thought you didn't believe in fate."
"Well, my being the Saviour was prophesised," Emma began, "and what were the odds that the father of my son would turn out to be the son of Rumplestiltskin?"
"What are you saying?" Neal asked.
"I'm saying that, as much as both of us want our lives to be ordinary, the fact is: they're not and they never will be." Emma said plainly. "Magic is a part of who we are. I'm the Saviour: the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming-"
"And I'm the son of The Dark One," Neal finished sullenly, taking another sip.
"And there's nothing we can do to change that," Emma told him. "We just have to do the best with what we have. And what we have right now, Neal," Emma continued, "is our families here in Storybrooke, and a son who wants to love his father."
Neal paused in bringing his glass to his lips.
"Something that I've learned, Neal," Emma said gently, "is that it's not the things you need to forget, but the things you need to remember, that help you move on with your life."
Neal's face was pensive as he downed the remainder of his drink. Placing the glass deliberately on the bar, his gaze shifted to Emma.
And while Neal's eyes appeared foggy from pain and drink, Emma could see light beginning to shine behind his gaze.
"I think I've had enough to drink," Neal whispered.
"All right," Emma nodded, draining her glass. "Let's go."
She reached for her jacket, but Neal had already picked it up and was holding it out for her.
"Seriously?" Emma asked as she shrugged into her jacket with his help.
"Well you stopped me from breaking my neck from running through the woods in the dark," he told her. "Not to mention finding out I was engaged to someone I didn't actually know. The least I can do is try to be a gentleman about it," he shrugged, trying to sound casual.
Neal was clearly feeling better, but Emma could see he was still hurting though.
"Come on," she told him, picking up her keys. "I'll take you back to the hotel. Tamara's probably with the other fairies at the Convent."
Neal swallowed, nodding. If Tamara was still at the hotel, he'd get another room. On the other side of the building. Or the other side of town...
"Are you sure you're okay to drive?" Neal asked Emma as they made their way out of the bar.
"I only had one drink, and it was nowhere near as strong as yours," Emma told him confidently as she unlocked the bug. "I'll be fine."
"Emma?"
She looked up to see Neal smiling softly.
"Thank you," he whispered.
Emma nodded, feeling self conscious under those dark eyes.
"You're welcome."
~..~..~..~..
Down at the marina, a man was walking along the docks.
Hook breathed in the salty sea air, relishing the feeling.
He once again played the memory in his mind. Pinning the Dark One against the door of the building, and stabbing him with his hook.
The look on his face had been priceless.
Finally, he had his revenge for Milah's death, and the loss of his hand.
Now, the question remained, would he stay here in Storybrooke, or would he try to find a way to return home? Would he return to Neverland, or The Enchanted forest?
'Perhaps I should stay awhile' he mused. After all, Emma Swan was still in this world...
"Hello Hook."
Looking around, Hook noticed Regina making her way towards him.
"You're Majesty," he greeted with a bow. "What brings you here on this beautiful night? Are you here to welcome me back?"
"Actually, I'm here to give you a warning, and an offer," Regina smiled at the pirate.
"My foe is dead, and I can deal with Cora, so what's to warn me about?" Hook asked arrogantly. "As for your offer," he smiled. "I'm curious to know what that is."
"My my, have you missed a hell of a lot," Regina's voice was flat, and her tone caught the pirate's attention.
"What have I missed?"
Regina stepped closer.
"Rumplestiltskin is still alive," Regina hissed. "And Snow White has killed my mother."
"What?" Hook was furious. He'd seen the Dark One's wound, it had been fatal. "How?"
"That was the warning," Regina told him, taking another step closer.
Hook took a moment to regain his composure.
"And the offer?" He queried.
"To join me," Regina smiled.
"And why would I do that?" Hook asked. "I remember what happened last time."
"Yes, my mother knocked you out," Regina reminded him, "and then you failed to kill your enemy. I think you might need some help this time round. And we can help each other."
Hook reluctantly conceded the point. "How?" he asked.
"The giant that you brought here, also brought a cutting from a bean stalk," Regina began, gaining Hook's attention. "And I've recently learned that the first magic beans have begun to grow."
"That," Hook breathed, "could be useful."
"Indeed," Regina granted. "But we still have Rumplestiltskin to contend with. And I've recently activated the perfect way to keep him distracted long enough for us to get to the beans first." Regina smiled knowingly. "Knowing you, I'm sure you could actually help with that. It could be another way for you to damage the Dark One."
Hook frowned.
"How?" Hook asked, curious.
Regina smiled.
"Belle's cursed self," The Evil Queen explained. "Lacey."
~..~..~..~..
Author's note: So, what do you think?
As the two final episodes are titled: 'Second star on the right' and 'And straight on till morning', I am clearly aiming for our first crop of magic beans to take us to Neverland!
I'm also looking forward to writing a big Rumple/Hook/Baelfire encounter, and I'd love to see how Neal reacts to Hook's blatant flirting with Emma.
I also know that, upon finding Rumple still alive, Hook would again want to try to get his revenge once more, and like last time, I'm willing to bet he'll start by going after Belle, or, in this case, Lacey.
Not quite sure how I'm going to write that scene, just yet...maybe I'll have that be the lead in to the Rumple/Hook/Bae confrontation: have Bae and Rumple rescue Lacey from Hook, then Hook tell Bae about how his mother died...
I also want to have Charming confront Rumple or Neal at some point with the 'protective dad' act- I want to see more of that side of him, to be honest.
And, as Henry is the epicentre of most of this, he'll have to feature prominantly, maybe finding out that Regina's going after the beans, and so goes to stop her while his parents go to the ship, or something along those lines...
As for Tamara: Who can guess what the 'problem' is that she wants to get rid of?
Please review! I love feedback.
Celino.