AN: This chapter is a bit longer than I intended, but felt it was important to set the stage and provide a bit of background for Meg and her relationship with Hercules. For those of you who are looking for her to be strictly like the Meg from the Disney movie, you may be disappointed. My plan is to borrow a bit from both the Disney film, as well as what's known about her from the mythology, and of course my own little spin on things. One of the great things about this character is that there is not much known about her and thus it gives me a nice canvas to work with. I do hope people enjoy the story and as always, reviews are much appreciated.

The Past: Fairytale Land, Kingdom of Thebes

Princess Meg flung open the window, smiling as she took in a breath of morning fresh air. Rumor had swept through the kingdom that the war was now over, the Minyans having been defeated, and peace had been restored to Thebes. Despite this glorious news, Meg had more pressing things on her mind. She was to meet Adonis today in the garden. He had been courting her for some time and she felt sure today would be the day he asked for her hand in marriage. Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice from the doorway.

"Princess Meg," Agyafa, her chamber maid spoke softly, giving a small curtsey, "the King has requested your presence in the Great Hall."

Meg turned, giving the young woman a smile and a nod, "Thank you Agyafa, that will be all."

"Yes ma'am," she replied, giving another curtsey and disappearing from the doorway.

Meg entered the great hall to find her father, King Creon, discussing the details with his court of what sounded like a grand dinner, more than likely to celebrate the end of the war.

"Father," she announced her presence with a bow.

King Creon turned, a bright smile upon his face as he reached for his daughter's hand. "Ah, there you are my dear. I am sure you've heard the glorious news that the Minyans have been defeated."

"Yes, father. I had heard the rumors."

With a wave of his hand, the King gestured for his servants and royal court to leave he and his daughter in privacy. Once they were alone, he took Meg by the arm and began to walk through the room. "Megara, my oldest daughter," he smiled.

Meg smiled back, suddenly feeling as if he had more news for her than just the end of the terror that had once ripped through their kingdom.

"It is never an easy task for a father to discuss such matters with his daughter," The King started.

"Father?"

Reaching up to stroke his beard, the King pondered how to approach what he was about to say. "I am sure you have heard of the many great warriors that fought so valiantly in the battle for our kingdom…"

"I have," Meg replied, her voice edged with a bit of suspicion.

"We lost many men," King Creon continued. "That is until a great warrior by the name of Hercules joined our fight."

"Yes, father," Meg nodded.

King Creon paused in their walking, turning to face his Meg. He looked into her eyes and suddenly felt the pang of loss. It was in times like these that he wished his wife was still alive. While he could talk battle and war and drink ale with his sons, his wife was much better when it came to helping him through matters dealing with his daughters. "You do so look like your mother," he said softly, clasping Meg's hand between his. "I suppose what I am trying to say is that tonight there will be a great feast, not only to celebrate the end of the war…but to celebrate your engagement."

Suddenly Meg felt like her heart was in her throat. She swallowed hard, willing herself not to vomit all over the floor.

"For all of his feats in defending our kingdom, I have promised your hand in marriage to young Hercules," King Creon continued. "He will make a fine husband, and it is time that you were married and began thinking of producing an heir of your own."

She wanted to scream, she wanted to run. What would she tell Adonis?

"What say you, my child?" King Creon asked with a gentle smile.

Her mind raced. No, never!

"Yes, father," was all she managed to get out. "I am sure he will make a fine husband."

For some other woman but me!

"Good, I am glad to hear you approve," King Creon replied, placing a kiss to his daughter's forehead. "Now, my dear, find Agyafa and begin readying for tonight."

Meg curtsied and turned to leave the hall as King Creon resumed his preparations for the evening. As soon as she was out of his sight, Meg did the only thing she could do: she ran. She needed to find Adonis, quickly, in hopes that they could make plans to flee the kingdom together. When she finally reached the garden, what she saw stopped her dead in her tracks. Adonis was there but he was not alone. In the very spot he had told her to meet him, he was tucked away with a busty blonde woman who giggled every time he nuzzled her cheek with his nose, and for the first time in her life, Meg felt her heart break into pieces.

Storybrooke: The Present

Killian and Emma were huddled together near the nurse's station, talking quietly amongst themselves when Meg came through the automatic doors.

"Is it true?" she asked cooly.

The pair turned around at the sound of her voice.

"You'll have to tell us," Emma replied. "He says he's Hercules and he's been asking for you."

Meg stood, frozen in her spot as she tried to quell the onslaught of emotions bubbling up inside. It was a mixture of sadness, rage and grief, and she would be damned if she let anyone see it spill out. "So he just…appeared in the woods?"

"I know this must be difficult, love," Killian spoke, looking to Emma for a moment. "But he took out two orderlies when they tried to tend to him. He's a bit out of sorts and we were hoping you might be able to…"

"Calm him down," Meg finished flatly. "Yeah, I get it."

It took another few moments before she finally looked up and asked where they were keeping him. Killian nodded to Emma, a silent confirmation that she should stay behind and wait for him. He led Meg down a small hallway where they stopped outside one of the rooms.

"Are you…alright?"

Meg looked up, her expression stone-faced. They could hear the commotion going on inside the room. "I should go in before he hurts someone."

Killian nodded, watching her disappear into the room.

She stood near the door in case she felt the need to make a quick escape. Hercules was in the bed, trying to fight off a nurse who had come to try and take blood for some test. As soon as he saw Meg, he stopped fussing and simply stared wide-eyed as if he was trying to decide whether or not she was really there. The nurse took the cue and decided it might be best to come back later and exited the room quickly. Once she was gone there was nothing but uncomfortable silence. Neither Hercules nor Meg knew what to say, or where to start.

"Megara," Hercules finally spoke.

The simple act of saying her name was almost enough to break her. She closed her eyes, fighting back against letting everything she'd been holding onto for so many years come out. If she gave in, she knew what the aftermath would be, and this was neither the time nor place for it. Once she felt like her emotions were somewhat in check she opened her eyes and looked up, finding Hercules, the husband she never expected to see again simply watching her, studying her.

"What are you doing here?" she finally asked.

"That's a very good question," he replied. "I have no idea. One minute I was with Hades-"

Meg's head snapped up, her eyes widening , "Hades? You got involved with Hades?"

"It's a long story, but after everything that happened I felt so much guilt that I thought maybe he could help me atone for…what I'd done."

"You're a fool, you know that?" Meg said coldly. "This town has enough trouble with monsters and evil sorcery. These are good people, and if you've brought him here…"

"I don't know that I've brought anyone here," Hercules spat back angrily. "I have no idea how I even got here. All I know is, he came to me and told me my services were no longer required. The next time I awoke I was in this institution being bloodletted. You might try letting me finish a thought before you cut me off."

"You have no right to expect anything from me after what you did," Meg fired back, her voice rising.

"I don't expect anything. I am well aware of the pain I caused you. But if you think for a moment I haven't spent every moment of every day of the last six years living with the pain and grief of what happened, you are sorely mistaken. It's not just about you and your suffering, Meg."

She needed to stop the exchange, take control over the situation and redirect it. "Look, I'll get you a room at the inn, I'll do my best to help you adjust to this realm, but I think it's probably best we keep our distance."

"Meg, that's not what-"

"I'll come back when they are ready to let you go," she interrupted and abruptly turned on her heel to leave the room.

Hercules watched her leave for the second time in his life, the only difference was this time it was her choice.

As promised, Meg had returned to the hospital a few hours later when Dr. Whale was satisfied his patient was healthy enough to leave. She handed him a stack of clothing, jeans and a button down shirt and an extra pair of boots, compliments of Killian, and turned away as he dressed.

"The clothing in this realm is a bit…constricting," he commented, fiddling with the buttons.

Satisfied that he was decent enough to be seen, Meg allowed herself to turn back around. She reached over and pushed his hands away, buttoning the shirt herself. "You'll get used to it."

After signing a few papers, they crammed into the back of Emma's yellow Bug and spent the five minute ride in uncomfortable silence. They pulled up in front of Granny's and climbed out, walking ahead as Killian and Emma hung behind to give them privacy. Meg explained a bit about the diner as they walked inside. She introduced him to Granny and then led him through the connecting hallway that led to the inn.

"Try the lasagna sometime," she told him, doing her best to limit eye contact.

Once they reached the room she unlocked the door and handed him the key then busied herself explaining how certain things worked. Not wanting to overwhelm him she stuck to the basics, like adjusting the knobs of the shower.

"There's some extra clothes in one of the drawers," she told him.

"Thank you Meg," he replied, giving her a small smile.

She turned away, refusing to look at him and trying to push away the weak feeling in her knees at the way it sounded when he said her name. "The diner closes at 9:00 pm," she continued, showing him the digital clock next to the bed. "Killian's room is right across the hall, and I'm two doors down from him. So…if you need anything…"

Hercules nodded, sitting down on the bed and running his hand over the comforter.

"I'm sure you're tired, so…you should probably rest," she said, making her way to the door.

"Meg," Hercules said softly, just as she was about to leave.

She turned to face him, waiting for him to speak.

"I am sorry," he continued. "For everything."

The only thing she could muster was a small nod of her head and she quickly closed the door behind her. She leaned against it and closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths before heading to her own room down the hall.

Killian rubbed his eyes tiredly, padding down the stairs and through the back hallway into the diner. It was late and the restaurant was closed, but he couldn't sleep for whatever reason. He knew Granny wouldn't mind if he snuck into the kitchen and made himself a sandwich.

"Fancy meeting you here," a voice called out.

He nearly jumped out of his skin with fright, turning to see Meg huddled up in one of the empty booths in the dark. "Bloody hell woman! You nearly scared me to death."

"Sorry," she chuckled, tucking her legs up to her chest and wrapping her robe a bit tighter around her.

"What are you doing down here this late?" he asked, slapping some lunch meat and various condiments between two slices of bread. He thought for a moment and put together another sandwich before making his way to the booth.

"Couldn't sleep," Meg replied. "Nice pants, by the way."

Killian felt the flush creep into his face as he looked down at the cotton pajama pants decorated with little ship anchors. Emma had gotten them for him, and although he had put up a fuss and claimed he would never wear them, they were quite comfortable. He slid onto the bench across from Meg and pushed the extra sandwich toward her.

He wasn't one to pry, but he felt in this instance maybe it might be a good idea to engage. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"Not much to say," Meg shrugged, picking a piece of chicken sticking out from the bread. "Long lost husband, who I've spent the last roughly six years wanting to punch in the face suddenly comes back, drama ensues."

"He has absolutely no idea how he ended up here?"

"Not a clue," Meg shook her head. "What concerns me most is that he was working with Hades."

"Hades? You mean the guardian of the Underworld?" Killian asked.

"The one and only. If he's involved in all of this, it's not going to be good."

"If I might ask, what exactly happened…between you two? You never divulged much on our voyage back to the Enchanted Forest."

Meg shifted uncomfortably in the seat. "It's a very long story, one I'm not quite sure I'm ready to talk about. We'll just say…a lot of history, a lot of pain, and a lot of unresolved grief and anger."

"I can understand that," Killian nodded. "Do you…think you might attempt to reconcile with him?"

"I honestly am doing my best to not think about that right now," Meg replied. "I'm more concerned with the why he is here and the who sent him."

"But you haven't discounted the possibility of taking him back?"

Meg raised an eyebrow, "Why are you so concerned over my love life..or..lack thereof?"

"I'm not," Killian coughed, squirming a bit. "I just know what it's like to spend your days seeking revenge, avoiding relationships, and pining from afar. It's an empty and hollow life."

"I've done the relationship thing, and it's never worked out. I think I'm past needing to have someone else to be content in my life. Also, I don't pine."

"I used to feel the same, but you shouldn't discount the possibility of finding love, be it with Hercules or someone else," Killian replied.

Picking at her sandwich she turned to face her late night dining companion. "Look, I'm really glad that things worked out for you and that you and Emma have this amazing thing between you, or whatever it is that you have. But I've come to the realization that it's just not in the cards for me, and I'm ok with that."

Sighing, Killian got up from the table to throw his napkin away and grab a glass of water. He wished there was something more he could say, but he knew the feeling of being tormented by love and loveloss. It would take more than a midnight pep talk from a 200-year-old pirate for Meg to change her mind.

"Thanks for the chat, Killian," Meg sighed, sliding out of the booth. "I appreciate it. But like I said, we probably have bigger things to worry about than whether or not I reconcile with my husband. If Hades is involved in any of this, we're in for trouble."

Killian watched her as she disappeared through the back of the diner and hoped that she was wrong about the threat of impending doom.

TBC