Kronk ran through the woods to the edge of town, mindful to remain out of sight. The area was strange to him, the road made of hard rock he's never seen before and there were strange trees with no branches but long wires running between them. He considered climbing one such strange tree to get a better idea of the surrounding area, but the idea of a tree with no branches made him uneasy.

Instead, he snaked his way through the woods as he quietly reminded himself of his mission. "Find the blonde woman in a red leather jacket, kidnap her when no one is looking, bring her back Yzma, and go home. I can do that. No problem. All I have to do is sneak into town, borrow some clothes, and then…"

He stopped at the edge of the opening leading into the town. As far as the eye could see were the strange roads and even stranger looking buildings. He shoulders dropped. She could be anywhere. This town was a lot bigger than Yzma's little bowl led him to believe. Where was he going to find anyone?

Looking around, he frowned even more deeply as despair began to fill him. Where was anyone? There was not a soul to be found anywhere. "Man, Yzam is not going to like it if I don't bring back that blonde lady in the red leather jacket." He glanced around, and, after deciding there was no one in the town, strolled right in and headed for the shop that had clothing in the window. "Well, first thing's first," he reached for the door and found it locked.

Glancing around with a look of guilt and uncertainty, the big man stepped back and kicked the locked door, which swung open on creaky old hinges. "Right, I can fix that." He stepped inside the shop, and, to his delight, it was exactly what he was looking for. Quickly closing the door as best he could, he hurried around the tiny store, grabbing various shirts and pants to try on.

About half an hour later, he was outfitted in a pair of jeans, a not-too-tight t-shirt, which, if he had to say so himself, gave him an excellent profile, and a pair of enclosed sandals that felt odd on his feet, though he appreciated the extra coverage. Running through the forest in open sandals hadn't been kind to his feet.

As he headed out the door, he paused by the register counter and considered a few things, like the giant stack of clothes he'd gone through, the broken door, and the clothes he was borrowing, and decided he should probably leaving something as payment and apology, so he left one of his gold bracers. "That should do it," he said with a firm nod in the positive. "Okay, off to find the light haired woman in the red leather jacket."

"Sheriff Swan?" Maura waved as she crossed the street toward Granny's diner.

Emma gave her best smile, though the stomach drop she felt. She and Killian had just finished dinner and were waiting on Henry to join them before heading out to meet up with the rest to continue talks on their current situation, and, of course, that situation had found her before she had a solid plan. "Maura, hey. How was the tour?" Crap. Was she supposed to know about…

"How did you know about the tour?" Jane narrowed her eyes as she and her friend came to a stop in front of the diner.

Nope, she wasn't. "Regina mentioned she'd suggested it when I saw her today. Since the library was closed for the most of the day, I just assumed Belle was out with you." That sounded believable, right?

He brunette snorted. Her friend gave her a knowing and somewhat judgmental look. "We had a lovely time," Maura responded cordially. "Belle is very sweet."

"She knows a lot about books," Jane dryly added, thinking on the long, drawn out conversations Belle and Maura had during their time today that ranged from classic literature to contemporary.

"Yeah, she's our resident bookworm," Emma said with a forced chuckle. Where was Henry?

"Are the two of you lovely ladies headed in for the night?" Killian nodded backwards toward the bed and breakfast.

The detective did a double take. "Do you have a hook for hand?"

Holding up said hook, Killian gave a dashing smile. "Aye. Had a little run in with a crocodile once. No matter, though. I think it's rather fetching," he glanced to his companion, "Don't you, love?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "It definitely gives you character, I'll give you that."

"You know," Maura's eyes gleamed with the thoughts rolling around in her mind, "I've read some very interesting studies on new prosthetics that work by utilizing muscle movement and, sometimes, readings from nerve endings left in the appendage in order to move and give functionality to the prosthetic as the actual hand and arm would." In her excitement to share, she stepped a bit closer to Killian. "It's all very fascinating, and the research and products that are coming out on the market look to be very sound. If you're interested, I could…"

Jane reached up and placed a hand on Maura, both silencing her and pulling her a step back out of the man's personal space. "You'll have to excuse her. She tends to get really excited about science-y things."

"Science IS exciting, Jane," Maura pouted. Pulling out of the light grasp she found herself in, she turned back to the sheriff's companion. "If you'd like, I'd be happy to forward you some information, Mister…?"

"Jones." The pirate gave his best dashing smile. "Killian Jones, though many around here call me Hook." He held his hook up again and winked.

"Let me guess, you're the captain of a ship, too?" Jane rolled her eyes.

"Nay, though I once was, which was, in part, how I ran into the crocodile." He gave an overly dramatic sigh and waved it all away with a flourish of his hook. "But that was long ago, and I'd rather let the past stay in the past." He glanced around the deserted street. "Love, where do you suppose Henry is? The boy was supposed to be here by now."

"Yeah, that's a good question." Emma reached into her back pocket for her cell. "I should probably give the kid a call. He's normally not his late." As she started to put the phone to her ear, they heard the distinctive sound of footsteps fast approaching.

Jane reached behind her, hand going for her concealed weapon, though making sure not to pull it out. Oddly, she noted, the sheriff seemed to plant her feet firmly, as if for a fist fight, instead of reaching for a weapon.

In a few seconds, a shaggy headed teenage boy came barreling down the street with a drink in one hand and cell in the other.

"I'm right here, Mom," he yelled as he kept running. "I'm sorry," he puffed out, getting closer, "I'm late, but the movie," he said between gasps while trying to slow himself down to a stop, "didn't start on time, and I didn't realize it until after it was over and my phone is," he tried to stop his forward motion but managed to find the only crack in the sidewalk, which propelled him forward.

He stumbled, lost control of his hands, and all watched helplessly as his phone flew one direction and his drink the other. Emma lunged forward to catch her son before he hit the ground. Hook went for the cell. Maura didn't move fast enough to avoid the drink. It hit her squarely in the chest and splashed across her body covering her in ice and soda.

"I am so sorry," Henry took the help from his mom to stand, but he was already looking at the drenched woman in front of him. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Maura wiped at her chest, wincing as ice dropped in loud sounding chunks to the ground. "But you should be more careful."

"We'll pay to have that cleaned," The sheriff assured, side eyeing her son. "Won't we, Henry?"

"Yeah, of course." He looked away from Maura, blushing slightly and trying not to go back to staring. "I can pick it up tomorrow and get your shirt cleaned." He glanced up to make sure that was okay, his blush deepened, and he glanced back down.

Jane couldn't stop her chuckle. "Maura, you're going to scar the boy. Cover yourself up, woman."

"What?" Maura looked down to find her light colored shirt was now translucent. "Oh! I didn't realize." She tried to cross her arms, but the cold and the sticky made it awkward.

Emma glanced to Hook, who only smiled a little wider, and, after slapping him in the arm, she pulled off her jacket and handed it to the doctor. "Here. Henry can pick it up when he gets your shirt," she turned back to look at him, "tonight."

"Tonight, but, Mom, after…"

"Tonight. We have to meet with your Mom, but, right after, you're coming back here to get Maura's shirt and my jacket." Emma watched the other woman put her jacket on to cover herself. "It'll be about an hour."

"Thank you, but he really doesn't have to." Maura gave a grateful smile. "It was an accident."

"No, Mom's right." Henry finally looked back from the sidewalk where he'd been staring a hole. "I should've been more careful. It's no big deal, and I know Ashley can get your shirt cleaned first thing tomorrow."

"Alright, if you insist." Maura nodded. "Jane and I are heading in for the night, so we'll be in our rooms. You can find me there."

With a few additional apologies and some goodbyes, the groups parted ways, and Jane and Maura headed inside, through the diner. "Jane, I want to stop for a cup of tea to go. His drink was more ice than soda, and I want something to warm up while I'm taking my bath."

"Couldn't the bath just warm you up?" The dark haired brunette held the door open and waited as the other woman strolled in before entering herself.

Her friend gave her a patient smile. "It's not the same, and it'll only take a minute."

"Okay, fine, but I'm not going up until you do." Jane leaned against the counter and waited as Maura placed her order. "In fact, I'm not leaving you alone in this town because I really believe something is off around here."

Maura shifted the red leather jacket, trying to cover herself while keeping the jacket clean. "Whatever you say, Jane."

I know it's been a while. I'll try to do better on posting.