Hey, guys! So not quite a 4 year break this time but still a while since I last updated. University is getting really busy now since exam season is around the corner so I guess this is more procrastination. Bit of a filler chapter but with a couple points to drive the story to its next phase. Hope you enjoy! ~WG

Chapter 30: Back to normal

If anyone was to glance over the northernmost corner of the Enchanted Forest, they would see two women on horseback, trailing two prisoners behind them, bound at the wrists with thick cords of rope. Emma was exhausted. She had lost feeling in her arms a while ago, and the only reason she was still dragging her feet was because she knew the road rash from the rocky ground wouldn't be pleasant to deal with. That, and she thought it would give Mary Margaret a heart attack.

The disparity of the view ahead was startling. The sky above the steely ocean was brilliant blue, with light wisps of cloud that reminded her of cotton candy. The small stones of the beach that crunched beneath her feet reflected dazzling sunlight back at her, and the wind seemed to whisper to her as it whipped her hair. It was as if Emma was looking at a page in… well, a storybook.

They trudged across the sandbank to a small island. Through the clearing, Emma could see smoke coming from makeshift shelters. People were milling about; some were watching some kind of animal being roasted on a spit, others were mending clothes and dishing out rations. There was even a blacksmith there.

"What is this place?" Mary Margaret asked, looking around, bewildered.

"Our home," the Asian woman answered bluntly.

Emma raised her eyebrows at this. She'd been in some tight spots over the years, none of them she would have referred to as home. This probably wouldn't have been one of them either. "It's like they're refugees," she remarked, more to herself than anyone else.

"We're survivors," the warrior shot back venomously.

Emma pulled an exasperated face and looked at Mary Margaret whose eyes seemed to glint with determination. Before Emma could shoot her an inquisitive look, Mary Margaret turned and kneed the woman in the lilac dress in the stomach. Emma was already sprinting after her before she could tell her to run. Unfortunately, they didn't make it. Someone tripped Mary Margaret up and she fell to the ground and went limp.

Emma felt her stomach drop. "Mary Margaret!" she screamed, sliding onto the ground beside her. "Mary Margaret! What did you do?!"

The Asian woman looked down at Emma, her face impassive. "Take them to the pit."

Before she could ask what the pit was, Emma was being hoisted up by men in armour and dragged towards a hole in the ground. They tossed her in, and she just managed to get to her feet before Mary Margaret was thrown in after her.

"Be careful!" Emma shouted back at them, but the guards were already moving away from the edge of the pit. Turning back to her companion, Emma sunk down to her knees once more. "Come on… Wake up! Can you hear me?"

"Do you need help?"

Emma started. She hadn't realised anyone else was there with them. "Who are you?"

A woman wearing a royal blue dress and red lipstick stepped out of the shadows. Her hair was pinned up in an elaborate updo. Not the typical image of a prisoner, Emma thought.

"A friend," the woman responded. "My name's Cora."

The next couple of days in Storybrooke were spent getting the town back to some semblance of normality. David went out to find Jynx and make sure she was alright – Killian knew that during the curse Jynx was a secretive person by nature, and David said she could probably use a friend. When he came back, he told Killian that Jynx was shaken, but she'd be fine. She had decided to open the shelter back up and was enlisting Paige's help to keep them both busy. Killian, David and the dwarves had been helping to fix up the parts of the town that were damaged by the wraith, and today was Henry's first day back at school. So, things were getting back to normal… if Killian and David didn't think too much about Emma and Mary Margaret. They'd agreed that once the town was repaired, the dwarves would begin mining for fairy dust so they could use Jefferson's hat to open another portal.

Killian was attaching his hook as he walked down the stairs to meet Henry and David for breakfast. It was odd how quickly he'd stepped back into a routine with his hook, but he'd supposed he had many lifetimes with it and shouldn't be surprised that it was second nature to him. What did surprise him though was how accepting Henry and David were of it. It wasn't like they pretended it wasn't there and never spoke about it; they obviously knew that he didn't have a hand anymore. But they seemed to adjust to it overnight, as if the hook had always been there.

Killian went to the breakfast bar, ruffling Henry's hair as he sat next to him. As he reached for his coffee, he heard a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Henry said, sliding off the bar stool and rushing to the door.

Killian and David exchanged a look. They'd discussed the eventuality of Regina getting impatient and coming to take Henry back again, so they were extra wary when Henry answered it. Though admittedly, it was unlikely that Regina would have knocked if she were here for Henry.

"Oh, hi, Paige," the boy said brightly.

"It's actually Grace now," the girl on the other side of the door said with a shy smile.

"Right, of course," Henry replied sheepishly. After a brief pause he opened the door wider for her, motioning for her to step in. "What can we do for you?"

"Actually, I came here to speak to the sheriff," she said, looking over to Killian. "I know you're leading the search for missing persons, and I have someone I need to find." She walked over to Killian and handed over a crudely drawn poster. "Plus, your house is on the way to my bus stop so I figured we could walk to school together afterwards," Grace continued, turning to look at Henry.

The boy blinked a couple of times before his face broke out into a grin. "Okay, cool, I'll just run and grab my bag," he said, taking off just in time that he didn't see David smirk into his coffee.

After Henry left, a sombre mood settled back over the loft.

Killian looked at the paper in his hands and frowned. "His name is Jefferson," Grace said. "He's my Papa. He's been missing for a really long time, I'm not even sure if he came over to Storybrooke with the curse, but he's the only family I have."

Killian locked eyes with David. They'd spoken about Jefferson the night David had gotten Henry back from Regina, about how idiotic he was being about his daughter. They had both texted him and tried to get him to see reason, but the man was terrified of rejection. Short of hooking him by the collar and dragging him to the school, there wasn't much else Killian felt he was able to do.

However, seeing the girl in front of him so defeated and missing her father, he vowed they wouldn't be separated for much longer. Kneeling down, he folded up the hand-drawn poster and tucked it into the inside pocket of his leather jacket. "Listen to me, Grace. I'm going to do everything in my power to reunite you with your father, just leave it to us, okay?" he said reassuringly. He was vividly reminded of a time before the curse was broken when he had cringed at Emma making a similar promise to the twins, one that he wasn't sure she'd be able to keep.

"Okay, you ready, Grace?" Henry asked as he bounded back into the room with his bag slung over his back.

Killian stood up and smiled at them both. "Go on, you'll both be late if you don't go now."

Grace smiled and walked over to Henry who was standing by the open door. "Thank you, Sheriff."

"Bye, Dad. Bye, Gramps," Henry said quickly, shutting the door as he followed Grace down the stairs.

Killian sighed as he sat down opposite David, giving him a silent nod of thanks as the other man placed a cup of coffee in front of him.

"I could absolutely throttle him, Dave," the sheriff said after a gulp of liquid caffeine.

David nodded. "I know, Kil."

"I just wish he could see what this is doing to her. I mean, if I, of all people, can be accepted as a father then why wouldn't he think he can? And to top it all off, he was actually lecturing me about not giving up Henry and Emma after the curse broke and I got my hook back! And now he has the bloody cheek to not follow his own advice!" he said exasperatedly. "It's not fair to either of them and honestly, I think he just needs some sense smacked into him. Preferably by someone who will be able to tell him exactly how that little girl is feeling."

David's eyes suddenly lit up. "Killian, you've just given me a brilliant idea," he said, racing for his phone on the sofa.

Killian raised an eyebrow. "I have?" he said.

David held the phone up to his ear. "Jefferson, I need you to meet me at the sheriff station in one hour, I'll explain everything there," he said quickly, hanging up before Jefferson could give him a chance to respond.

Killian frowned. "I thought we just agreed that talking to him wasn't working?"

David smiled mischievously. "Oh, we're not gonna be the ones talking to him," he replied, once again holding the phone to his ear. "Hey, you, how's things? Listen, Jynx, I need a favour…"

Jefferson dashed up the stairs to the sheriff station, throwing the door open. "David!" he called out. "What's this about? Is everything…" he trailed off as he rounded the corner.

Sitting in what was normally Emma's chair, was Jynx, arms folded with her Dr Martin clad feet up on the empty desk. She didn't look surprised to see him – in fact, the only indication that she was aware of his presence was the slight raise of a slender eyebrow. Jefferson noticed that she had died her eyebrows the same pine green that her hair was today.

"Um, I was just looking for – "

"David. Yeah, I figured," Jynx replied steadily. She took her feet down from the desk and pointed to the chair on her right. "Sit."

Jefferson frowned at her, but did as he was told. He eyed the strange woman as she fished out a folded piece of paper from the top pocket of her purple flannel. She unfolded it and started looking intently between Jefferson and the paper.

"Well, the likeness is certainly uncanny," she said after a minute or two.

"Are you just gonna sit there trying to be all mysterious to seem interesting, or do you want to tell me why you're here?" Jefferson snapped at her.

Jynx didn't say anything as she handed him the paper. Upon looking at it, his stomach dropped. It was a drawing of a man with a top hat, holding the hand of a young girl with blonde pigtails. He knew instantly who had drawn it. Clenching his fist around the drawing, he looked up at Jynx with fury in his eyes.

"Oh, look at that, he does care," she said spitefully, sitting back in her chair. Anyone else might have thought she was relaxed, but Jefferson had been watching people for 28 years now. He knew when people were putting on an act. Especially Jynx, since she'd spent so much time with Grace.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jefferson spat.

"David gave me that 30 minutes ago. Apparently, Paige went round to the loft before school so she could ask Killian to add you to the missing persons list," she said, rage tainting her voice.

"Grace," Jefferson said.

"What?"

"Her name is Grace."

Jynx stood up and stalked over to him, placing her hands on the arms of his chair, trapping him. "Listen here, Hatter," she seethed. "I don't care what you call her. I only care that you are avoiding her. If you're under the impression that she thinks you abandoned her after seeing this poster then you're even crazier than I've heard." She pointedly ignored the protests Jefferson made at that. "She's not angry with you; she misses you! She doesn't think you abandoned her; she thinks something terrible happened to you! But if you don't find her now, and she finds out later that you're here, and you never tried to contact her, then she will think you abandoned her. And that would break her heart."

Jynx pushed herself back up, nearly knocking Jefferson's chair back in the process. All the Hatter could do was stare blankly at the floor in front of him. It had never occurred to him that Grace would miss him – he'd been so sure for all these years that Grace would be angry with him, hate him even. But to know that she was looking for him, that she missed him…

"I didn't know," he said quietly.

Jynx shrugged, now sat back in Emma's chair. "How could you? You've been avoiding her like the plague."

Jefferson looked up at her scathingly. "You know, David and Killian are a lot more sympathetic than you are."

"I think that's why they called me. You don't need to be coddled; you need a dose of reality. That girl worships the ground you walk on. I understand you're afraid, but you should be more afraid of me."

Jynx's tone held none of her usual sarcasm. Jefferson studied her with open curiosity. She had always been a tough nut to crack; he'd never been able to piece together who she really was. Now seemed like the perfect time to needle her…

"Oh, why would that be?" he asked lazily.

"Don't presume to think you know everything after having watched from behind a telescope for 28 years. My life before the curse was hardly a bunch of roses. I was infamous enough to have a bounty put out on me by the Queen herself," Jynx shot at him, and Jefferson could have sworn her eyes flashed purple.

The Hatter simply rolled him eyes. "Don't be so dramatic, Regina had a bounty out for half the kingdoms heads," he pointed out.

Jynx smirked at him. "Oh, I didn't say it was Regina." Jefferson's blood ran cold, and he sat up in his chair. Sensing that she had his attention now, Jynx got up from her chair again. "You weren't the only one who was pulled from Wonderland, Jefferson," she said, extending her hand out to him.

The Hatter placed his hand in her, noting how his larger hand dwarfed hers. "Who are you?"

Jynx pulled him up to his full height, surprisingly strong for her small frame. She flashed him the first real smile he'd seen from her. "People used to call me Chesh," she said, and this time her eyes definitely flashed purple.

Jefferson's eyes widened. Oh, he'd heard that name before. "As in, the Cheshire – "

"I wasn't always quite so… feline," she said, cutting him off swiftly. "Actually, that was due to a run in with Cora."

Jefferson stared at her with a mixture of awe and disbelief. He had heard of the rumours of the Cheshire Cat, the leader of the rebellion in Wonderland. During his lucid periods he'd overheard gossip from the guards, of how much trouble she was causing the Queen. He'd built up a sort of admiration of her from afar. It seemed like a funny twist of fate, that the person he had always been curious to meet was the woman who had spent the past 28 years looking out for his daughter.

Jynx cleared her throat awkwardly and Jefferson saw he was still holding onto her hand. He dropped it quickly, moving his hand to tweak his hat before he realised he wasn't wearing it so he settled for smoothing out his hair.

"So, are you going to find Grace or what?"

The Hatter sighed. "I want to. You've no idea how much I want to. I just… don't know what to say to her," he said, defeated.

In an uncharacteristically gentle move, Jynx placed a comforting hand on his arm. "You'll know when you see her."

Jefferson looked up to see her smiling, and he couldn't help but smile back.

"C'mon, let's go grab a coffee and bitch about how not wonderful Wonderland was. We have a good few hours 'til Grace gets out of school, and I've found it can be quite cathartic," Jynx said, taking Jefferson's arm and dragging him out of the station.

David and Killian spent their morning at the crisis centre. Henry had been a huge help to them – he had given them a list of everyone he'd matched up to a character from his book, so Killian had already managed to reunite a number of families. Every time he watched a husband and wife, or a pair of siblings, embrace after 28 years, he felt a mixture of contentment and bitter resentment. His heart ached for he, Emma and Henry to be a proper family, so it always stung to see others get what he so desperately desired. Still, he was throwing all his efforts into putting the town back together so he could focus on getting Emma and Mary Margaret back, and that included finding missing persons. And finding people is what Emma was really good at – it made him feel close to her, in a way, to be doing this.

David was consulting the dwarfs about how to fix up the mine while Killian was pouring over his list of people still missing. He was just ticking off the last family he'd reunited when he noticed someone blocking his light and he glanced up.

"Ah Marco, what can I do for you?" the sheriff said, standing up to greet him. Marco was ringing his hat in his hands anxiously. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, but that was the case for most of the town.

"Sheriff, I was wondering if you could help me. My son… I'm trying to find him," Marco explained.

Killian regarded him carefully. Yes, Marco seemed worried about his son, but he also seemed… nervous.

"I'd take it that this is no ordinary missing persons case, or you would have added his name to the list in the square," Killian said steadily.

Marco nodded. "My boy… he did not come over here with the curse. In fact, I have no idea if he's here. And I wanted to talk to you because I'm too ashamed to speak to David," the older man replied, his head bowed.

Killian frowned. Marco was always willing to help anyone. No one ever had a bad word to say about him. Killian found it hard to believe that he would do something he was ashamed of, at least not without good reason.

"Marco, whatever it is, I promise you I will do whatever I can to find your son," he said, placing a hand on Marco's shoulder.

Marco sighed as he pulled up a chair next to Killian's. "Before the curse, back in the Enchanted Forest, the Blue Fairy came to me first about carving the magic wardrobe. She told me that there was enough magic for two people to travel through it, the King and the pregnant Queen. But my boy, he was not a normal child. I was worried about what would become of him if he were brought to this land with the rest of us. So, I made the Blue Fairy lie," Marco explained, his eyes downcast. "She told the King and Queen that the wardrobe could only take one, so that my Pinocchio could have the other space."

"Pinocchio?" Killian said, his mind racing.

"Si, my son."

Killian sighed. On one hand, he knew that Marco was part of the reason why Emma grew up alone, and on the other he knew he would have done the same thing for Henry. He also knew that he'd heard that name before.

… according to our friend Pinocchio. And no, that's not a joke, he actually told me he's Pinocchio.

That was what Emma had told him after she went out of town with August.

"Marco, I've seen your son. He goes by the name of August now," Killian said gently. "However," he said quickly, seeing Marco's face light up, "I haven't seen him since before the curse broke. The day after everyone got their memories back I went looking for him at Granny's where he was staying, but his room was completely cleared out. There was no trace of him."

Marco's face crumpled. Killian once again placed a hand on the older man's shoulder. "That doesn't mean he still can't be found, though. August was instrumental in helping to break the curse, and I owe him a great deal," Killian admitted, still with some reluctance. "I'm not going to give up until I find him, Marco."

"Thank you, sheriff," Marco said with a sniff. As he got up to leave, Killian stopped him.

"Marco," he began. "I think you should talk to David. I know that you must feel awful about what you did, but if anyone understands the lengths one would go to to save their child, it's him."

The old carpenter considered his words, before giving Killian a small smile and leaving to find David. Once he'd left, Killian ran a hand over his face. It's true, there had been no trace of August when he'd gone to check on him. But Killian couldn't help but feel this was because August didn't want to be found. The disappointment in his voice when he told Henry he'd failed was palpable – and Killian knew how difficult it was to stop yourself from thinking you didn't deserve something. Hell, look at him and Jefferson – they both had to get their heads pulled out of their arses by other people to see how their self-destruction was hurting others. If no one had gotten to August to do the same for him, then Killian feared he would be very difficult to find indeed.

Henry was sitting at lunch with Ava and Nicolas, the twins Emma had helped reunite with their dad, and Paige, who Henry had to remember was now going by Grace. The four of them were looking around at the other members of their class; they seemed to be the only kids in the school who weren't sure going back to 'normal' was the right way forward. What was the point in learning about photosynthesis in school when your uncle was the royal gardener, or learning about mathematics when your mom worked in the treasury?

Of course, Henry knew everyone was just trying to move on from the curse and make up for lost time, but it just didn't feel right for him to pretend like everything was normal when his mom and Mary Margaret were missing. He also didn't feel like pretending that the rest of the school were his friends when he had always been picked on for being a little different. Grace had always been kind to him, offering him small smiles as they crossed paths in the corridor and a place to sit at lunch times. Ava and Nick had become friends with him after they had been staying at Mary Margaret's for a couple of days when Emma found out they had no parents. They, too, thought it was a little premature to be going back to school. Killian and David both seemed to think it was a good idea to keep Henry occupied, but his class wasn't the same without Mary Margaret teaching it.

"This is so pointless!" Henry huffed. "I should be with my Dad and Grandpa to find a way to bring Emma and Mary Margaret back."

"How are you gonna do that?" Nick asked him.

"I don't know… but I have to try something," Henry replied.

Ava rolled her eyes. This wasn't the first time Henry and Nick had had this conversation. "Henry, I know you're worried, but your dad and David are doing everything they can right now. We're only kids, stuff like this is best left up to the adults."

"How can you say that? You two kept yourselves alive in the Dark Forest for weeks while you looked for your dad!" Henry shot back at them.

Ava looked down at the table sullenly.

Henry felt a twinge of guilt. "I'm sorry, guys. I know you're only trying to help."

As silence fell between the group, Henry noticed that Grace was unusually quiet today. She had told him on the way to school that she was looking for her dad, Jefferson, and that she was starting to get really worried about him. Henry had tried to reassure her, knowing that Killian would be able to find him, but he also knew that not worrying was a lot easier said than done.

He turned back to the sandwich David had made for him to take to school. "I think you're right, Henry," Grace said, stopping him mid bite.

"You do?"

She nodded at him. "After school I'm gonna ask Jynx if she'll help me look for my Papa. I don't know how much use it will be, but I have to try. I think it's normal that you should want to help, and its admirable of you to not give up."

Henry smiled at her. If Grace was going to look for her dad after school, then Henry couldn't see why he couldn't look for a way to help his mom. He had heard Killian and David talking about sealing up Regina's vault, so he knew that she had relics of magic in Storybrooke. Maybe there would be something in her vault that could help…

Okay, so a two-headed snake might not be exactly what he was looking for! Before he could even shout for help, someone was slamming the lid of the box down, silencing the hissing of the reptile. Looking up, Henry saw David towering over him, eyebrow raised in a way that said he was gonna be in so much trouble. Still, rather David than Killian. Then he would really be in trouble.

"Maybe we should have gone with viper," he said simply, in reference to a conversation he, Henry and Killian had a couple days ago about the code name for getting their family back. "You alright?"

Henry accepted the hand he offered him and was hauled to his feet. "Yeah," he replied, trying not to let on how shaken he was. "How'd you know I was down here?"

David crossed his arms over his chest. "Regina said you asked her to a late lunch, and when you stood her up, she checked her office. Saw her keys missing and she figured out the rest. She would have come herself but she didn't think you'd go with her." Henry's face twisted slightly. He did miss his mom, but he was glad she was giving him the space he'd asked for. Maybe she would really change this time. They started walking back up the stone steps to the cemetery above. "Henry, what were you thinking?" David said finally.

"I just want them back," Henry replied, and he almost felt David's anger melt away. "It wasn't supposed to be this way," he continued, "I should be over there with them! Riding horses, learning how to sword fight."

David sighed before he knelt in front of Henry. "I know. I know. It's okay, because we are gonna do this together. C'mon," he said, standing up and taking Henry's hand, "I gotta make sure no one else finds this place, and you have got to let your dad know that you're fine." David handed his phone out to Henry, already dialled and waiting for Killian to pick up.

Henry winced. "You told him?"

David raised an eyebrow at him. "You didn't think you'd be getting off that easily, did you?"

After several minutes of Killian making Henry promise not to do anything like that again without himself or David, they agreed that Henry would be allowed to help with Operation Scorpion/Viper at a safe distance.

"Perhaps there's some kind of clue in your book you can look for," Killian's voice said over the phone. "And actually, it would be helpful if you could take another look at August's story for me, Henry. I don't have the faintest idea where to start looking for him – maybe something in there might give you an idea of where he'd hide."

This seemed to placate Henry enough. For now, anyway.

"So, let me get this straight, you swapped the Caterpillar's usual weed stash out for one of the singing flowers… just because she annoyed you?"

Jefferson was sitting in the chair behind the counter, staring at Jynx who was sitting on top of it with half awe and half amusement.

Jynx rolled her eyes. "Well, when you say it like that it makes me sound like a maniac," she said, examining her nails.

Jefferson snorted. "Well, yeah, that's a maniacal thing to do!"

"Takes one to know one," she said simply, arching an eyebrow at him. He glared at her for that, but she knew he didn't mean it. They had spent most of the day together, talking about mutual friends they had, bitching about Cora, reminiscing about some of the more beautiful spots in Wonderland when it was still under control of the White Queen. Enough about their past that it felt good to talk about it with someone, but being very careful to avoid the darker subjects that came with that territory.

"Besides," Jynx continued, "that tulip was a complete liability for the rebellion. She didn't even need to betray information to the Queen's guards, she was just so loud!"

Jefferson laughed at her. Surprisingly, he'd also had fun talking about Wonderland with Jynx. She was still a total enigma to him, but it didn't frustrate him like it used to. In fact, he found the idea of getting to know her over time more and more appealing. After all, she was probably one of the few people who saw him as more than just the Mad Hatter.

The bell above the door twinkled, signalling the arrival of someone.

"Hey, Jynx," Grace said, slinging her school bag down onto the chair beside the door. Jynx felt Jefferson tense up in his seat as she swivelled round to face the young girl. "Can I ask you a favour?" she continued.

Jynx smiled, giddy with excitement knowing that Grace was finally going to be reunited with her dad. "Sure, kid. What's up?"

"After I feed the dogs, can we go and look for my dad? I can't just sit around anymore when he could be out there. I mean, I asked the sheriff to look for him this morning but I know he's also looking for a lot of other people and I'm just so worried about him-"

"Woah, c'mon, Grace, I guarantee you he's fine, okay?" Jynx replied.

"How do you know that though? You know, that's all John and Taylor have told me, too. That they're sure my dad is fine, and he'll turn up eventually. And I know that I can stay with them as long as I want, or even you if I needed to, but they're just my neighbours, really. I want my dad…" Grace trailed off, heaving herself into the chair beside her bag.

Jynx looked behind her at Jefferson, as if to say I told you so. He couldn't stand to not see her any longer, not now that he could hear how much she missed him with her own voice.

"You know, you are always welcome at mine, Grace," Jynx said sincerely. "But I don't think that's gonna be needed."

As if on cue, Jefferson stood up from Jynx's seat behind the counter and locked eyes with Grace. She really hadn't changed since he went to Wonderland – she was still his Grace.

Grace stood up from her chair, not fully believing what she was seeing. "Papa?"

Jefferson walked from behind the counter. "Hey, darling," he said, his heart threatening to burst from his chest, but he didn't want to spook her. So it surprised him when she was barrelling into his arms not even a second later. Finally, finally, he felt like everything was right again. "Oh, Grace, I'm so sorry, baby," he cried, holding her as if he would never let her go.

"It's okay, Papa," she whispered back to him.

Jynx watched on with a wistful smile on her face. Wonderland had taken a lot from herself and Jefferson; at least he got his daughter back in the end. Bittersweet was the word that came to mind. After what seemed like forever, the pair drew apart.

"You don't need to stay for a shift tonight, Grace. Your dad and I already set the animals up for the night – he even fed the dogs for me," Jynx said, hopping down from the counter delicately. The way she moved now was definitely more like her old self.

"You found him for me," Grace said, more of a statement than a question.

"Of course, I did, silly," Jynx said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Grace then ran from Jefferson to Jynx and tackled her in a hug. "Thank you, Jynx," Grace said as Jynx automatically returned her hug.

"You're welcome, kid."

Jefferson looked over at the two girls hugging with a soft smile. He could never convey how grateful he was that Grace had Jynx over the years. Clearing his throat, Jynx and Grace broke their hug and looked at him.

"I was thinking we could grab some food at Granny's," Jefferson said. "Jynx and I already called John and Taylor so they know that you're with me."

"That sounds great, Papa," Grace said, beaming.

"Jynx?" Jefferson enquired. "You hungry?"

The green-haired woman blinked a couple of times. "I… um… well, I've got some paperwork to do…"

"Oh, now you just sound like David," Jefferson said playfully.

Jynx scoffed.

"Please, Jynx! If it wasn't for you, who knows when I would have found Papa," Grace implored.

Jefferson caught Jynx's eye. "She's right," he said with a knowing look. He hoped she could be persuaded to come with them. After all, she was an important figure in Grace's life and he didn't want to uproot her completely. At least, that's what he told himself.

A smile started to curl on Jynx's mouth. "Well, I suppose the animals are all sorted for the night. I'll grab my jacket."

When Killian got back to the loft, he walked in to see all of the furniture pushed back against the walls and David and Henry in the centre brandishing wooden swords.

"Oh, I see how it is," he exclaimed, placing the takeaway containers of Granny's lasagne on the counter. "I'm out all day, working hard to provide for everyone, and Dave's here having all the fun teaching you to use a sword. Incorrectly, I might add."

"What do you mean 'incorrectly'?!" David burst out, causing Henry to giggle.

"Well, for starters he's holding the sword in two hands and is facing square on," the pirate replied, plucking the toy sword out of David's hands. "No son of Captain Hook is going to learn to fight like a knight when it's a well known fact that sailors have far superior balance, speed and technique. Now, Henry, look here-"

"Woah, woah, woah, hang on there, pirate. I think I'm gonna have to witness this 'superiority' sailors have first-hand, before you start teaching my grandson bad habits," David retorted, winking at Henry.

"I think you guys should have a duel to really settle this," Henry said, quickly giving his sword to David and jumping up onto the counter to watch them, grabbing a fork and one of the lasagnes as he went.

Killian smirked at David before sinking into a melodramatic bow. "Your Majesty."

David repeated the gesture. "Captain."

And with that the two men became a whirl of clashing wood, dancing around each other as they raced around the space. Henry was completely enthralled by them, and though they would never admit it to one another, Killian and David both felt that they were decent competition for the other. No matter how well matched they were though, David had only held a sword for about two years of his life, whereas Killian was the infamous Captain Hook and had been for 300 years. With a final flourish to prove his point about balance, speed and technique, Killian flicked his sword under David's, wrenching the wood from his opponent's grip while advancing on him so he tripped over the sofa behind him.

Killian and Henry burst out laughing when David sat up on the other side of the sofa looking thoroughly disgruntled. The Captain held out a hand to the Prince, which he took as he started to laugh with them. Once they had set the furniture back to where it was, David and Killian put their lasagne in the microwave to heat up.

"I saw Jefferson at Granny's when I was picking those up," Killian said, leaning against the counter with his arms folded. "He was eating dinner with Jynx and his daughter."

"Grace found him?" Henry said, the smile on his face colouring his voice.

"It appears so, lad. They looked very happy," Killian replied.

Henry's smile began to fade. They all knew what he was thinking.

"Hey," David said. "Don't worry, Henry. We'll get them back. I don't know if you've noticed this, but Snow and I, we always find each other. And knowing Emma, wherever she is right now, she'll be fighting like hell to get back to you and your dad."

Killian watched as Henry's smile began to return a little, wishing he could have as much hope as that.

Emma stood beside her mother, watching the wardrobe that had been her only hope of getting back home go up in flames. Literally. Cora had been playing them all along, pretending to be Lancelot so she could learn their plans. She almost had them fooled too, if it wasn't for Mary Margaret's perception. Looking around the room, Emma gave a sigh.

"I'm sorry I torched our ride home," she began, staring into the flames. "I couldn't let her get to Henry. Or Killian. I just…"

"You had to put Henry first," Mary Margaret said.

Emma looked at the understanding reflected in her mother's face and felt tears sting behind her eyes. "I was angry at you for so long," she began, feeling her tears spill over. "Wondering how you could choose to let me grow up without you. But seeing all this," she said, gesturing to the once beautiful nursery around her, "you gave up everything for me. And you're still doing it." She stopped to furiously wipe her tears away. "I'm sorry – I'm not good at this. I guess I'm just still trying to get used to someone putting me first."

Mary Margaret put her arms around Emma and pulled her into a fierce hug. And for the first time since the curse broke, she accepted the affection from her mother rather than from her friend.

"You'll get used to it eventually," Mary Margaret told her, pulling back to place a hand on her cheek. "You have a lot of people who love you, Emma. Your father and I, Henry, Killian…"

Emma's heart clenched at the mention of Killian. She missed him so much. But she was also scared of losing him. The last time she saw him he was wrestling with the man he thought he should be and the man she knew he wanted to be. Without her there, would it be easier for him to forget about her and slip back into old habits? She knew they were True Love and she wanted to have faith, but after a lifetime of disappointment it was hard to break those expectations. She could only hope that Henry would be enough for Killian to hold onto a future with them, a future with her. Thinking of her son and how he'd inherited his stubborn nature from Killian, she found comfort in the fact that Henry wouldn't give Killian up without a fight. And that Killian could never say no to her son.

A throat cleared behind them. Mulan was standing a few paces behind them, with Aurora waiting in the doorway.

"I think I may know of another way to get you back home," Mulan said.

"Really?" Mary Margaret said, her eyes widening.

"It's only a rumour I've heard, but it's a starting point. Magic beans are difficult to come by nowadays, but they aren't totally gone. The difficult part is navigating the realms. I've heard whispers of a compass that can help direct a portal to a realm of your choosing."

"How far away is this compass?" Emma asked.

"About two days journey east of here," Mulan said.

Emma and Mary Margaret glanced at each other in silent agreement. "Sounds like a plan."