The house was cold when Snow came in. The lights weren't on yet, Snow knew that because Rumpelstiltskin liked having the hall lights on so he didn't fall over something in the dark.

The living room had a fire going, but everything was dark.

"Ah!" Rumpelstiltskin greeted her, "Well, it's cold outside and so it'll be cold in here until the electricity kicks back on. The couch here folds out and I started a fire. If we put pillows between each other then it shouldn't be so weird."

Snow blinked, "What?"

"Well, if that makes you uncomfortable, I could ask Emma if she wants to share while you get the other couch but I'm not sure that will benefit me should I bring it up to her."

"Um…," Snow shook her head, "I'm…not sure Emma's coming home soon."

"Oh?" he grinned lecherously, "Someone strike it rich on Miner's Day?"

"Rumpelstiltskin!" she scolded angrily, "This isn't a joke! Emma took David in!"

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged, "Okay?"

"What if she accuses him? What if-."

"There is nothing that links Charming to Kathryn Nolan's disappearance."

"There will be if Regina makes sure there is. Everything hinges on her framing me."

"No it doesn't," Rumpelstiltskin lay down on the foldout couch and opened a newspaper, "The plan will still work if it's with Charming or if it's with you."

"Hey, we tell each other if the plan changed," Snow snapped, "You didn't even tell me that you'd apprehended Kathryn."

"Well, you were running all around town avoiding me and playing 'Happy Nun Helper'."

"I wasn't trying to avoid you!"

"Yes, you were trying to get your reputation back for all the fake townspeople."

"Is she okay?" Snow demanded.

"A little drugged, but was breathing the last time I checked on her."

Snow closed her eyes. The guilt washed over her and she felt like she was going to be sick. She hadn't slept when they agreed to do this. Snow was terrified that Kathryn was going to get hurt, but at the time she had been scared about Regina closing in on them and desperate to get her off the scent so they could have a little bit longer to work.

"Rumpelstiltskin? I think-."

"Snow, oh don't tell me you're not having second thoughts."

"This isn't right."

"I don't operate in a 'right' matter."

"She's innocent."

"Snow, she won't die," he sat on the edge of the bed, "Doing what's good and right and playing by fair rules isn't going to get Regina removed."

"Ruining a woman's life is?"

"Her life isn't going to be ruined, Snow. She'll have played a part in getting a dangerous woman removed from her throne."

"Because a dangerous man took her off it."

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged, "Well, our savior isn't exactly making waves."

"I thought you were cautious about interfering in weakening curses that Emma is supposed to weaken."

"Yes," Rumpelstiltskin smirked, "But I know what I'm doing. You do not. You want the curse weak so you can sneak under the bridge for a snog with your husband. I want it broken because-."

He stopped, Snow tilted her head, "Because what?"

"Oh dearie dear, if we play our cards right, then Regina will be in jail by the end of the week. It's perfect."

"It's wrong."

"Well, it's also too late to protest because Kathryn Nolan is safe in my hands."

"Safe," Snow spat.

"Do you know where we found her?" he asked, "She was headed to the town border. Her bags were packed. Yeah, I saved her life. You may thank me now."

"There could be a better way."

"She won't be horribly traumatized!" Rumpelstiltskin said in frustration.

"I'm not sure you have the authority to decide on what's horribly traumatizing or not," Snow pulled on her knit cap, "I'm going for a walk."

"So, I trust I'm getting the couch that does not fold out since we're fighting?"

Snow slammed the door behind her.

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The lights came on when Rumpelstiltskin was staring at the dark ceiling and it about blinded him. It was sort of disappointing. Pitch black with a warm fire lighting the room had an eerie peaceful feel that made him feel both exposed and boxed in at the same time.

Well, it was fun while it lasted, now he could look forward to going to sleep in his real bed and not have to worry about Emma and Snow whispering together like a couple of girls.

Those women were going to drive him up the wall.

He still couldn't believe that Emma microwaved her tea and had more coats and boots than she did shirts. How was that civilized?

And gods, she got up early to curl her hair. She took forever in there.

He was getting his things together when the door opened and Ruby walked in with Snow and Emma.

"Oh gods, what is this?" he asked in a panic.

Ruby tilted her head, "I didn't know you were polytheistic."

Snow walked forward, "This is Ruby…she's going to be staying with us for a few days."

Rumpelstiltskin was screaming in horror inside. But he covered it up with a vicious smirk, "I wasn't aware the pair of legs came with a name."

"Rump- ELIAS!" Snow scolded as Ruby blushed.

"Everyone, calm down," Emma pulled off her jacket and didn't so much 'hang it' as she threw it on the coat rack. It made Rumpelstiltskin bristle, "It's been a long night, I'm going to bed."

Emma trudged up the stairs.

Snow grabbed Rumpelstiltskin and pulled him to the next room, "We found her standing at the bus stop being approached by Whale."

He shrugged.

"This could be the chance to weaken the curse some more."

"I'm sure the girl time you're looking forward to is going to radically alter the curse," he muttered. Gods, three women? Two were a handful!

"Well, I couldn't leave my best friend out there."

"You're right," he muttered and headed for his room, "I'm going to the Inn."

"Rumpelstiltskin!" Snow said through clenched teeth.

"Nope! One thing Elias and I agree on, it's that we like our tranquility. You're not so bad but Emma's a bull in a bloody china shop and Ruby doesn't look to be any better. So I'll stay away until you do whatever it is that the women in this world do when they're all together and she's gone…. but if you change around my house I will turn you all into toads, so help me gods."

Snow whispered his name again but he ignored her. He had a room to reserve.

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Snow didn't know how long she walked outside but when she went the route that Emma would come to get home she didn't find her.

Instead, she found her walking from the opposite way. Snow realized that Emma might've wondered around to clear her head…and she MIGHT want to be alone for some more 'Emma' time, but Snow needed to make sure her husband wasn't in trouble, "Is he okay? David?"

Emma looked a bit startled, but recovered quickly, "Oh, yeah. He's a little shaken up, but he's headed home. He's fine."

Snow shoved her hands in her pockets, "Any word from Kathryn?"

"Nothing new."

Snow felt that crushing guilt. She could come clean to Emma right now, but what would that get her? Kathryn would be saved and she and Rumpelstiltskin would be imprisoned and Regina would kill them, "D-Did you check with Boston again?"

Emma looked somewhere between apologetic and irritated, "She's not there, Mary Margaret."

Snow tried to be careful at the prying, but she had to know Emma's mindset, "So, we have no idea what happened to her?"

"All we know, is that she found out about you two, gave you a well-deserved slap, and then disappeared."

Snow cringed, "Well-deserved? Do you really believe that?"

Emma shook her head, "No. I'm just preparing you for what everyone else is going to think. You two are going to look bad until we figure the truth out."

Snow had to find out what if Emma suspected him, "You mean David? Th-That people are going to think in order to…, be free with me…"

"Some are. And, he's not doing himself any favors. So, if there's anything you could think of to pin down his whereabouts that night-."

Oh gods, she was suspecting him! Snow needed to cover for him but the lie would be dismantled in seconds when Emma looked into it. She had to tell the truth, "He wasn't with me. We really are through."

They both stopped talking as they approached Ruby talking with someone. Snow only had to see the back of his head to know who it was, "Dr. Whale?"

He turned quickly, "Mary Margaret. Emma. Hello there."

Snow watched them carefully. Whale was interested in Ruby? Since when? "Hey."

He looked at all three of them, "I was just having a talk with Ruby here. But, I should, um…"

"Yeah," Emma warned with one of those smiles that wasn't really a smile, "Yeah, you should."

"Yeah…," he scampered off

Snow checked her friend over, "Was he bothering you?"

"The day I can't handle a lech is the day I leave town," Ruby assured, "Which this is, I guess."

Emma looked worried, "You're leaving?"

Ruby shifted, "I had a fight with Granny. Quit my job."

Snow blinked and looked up at the sign above her and saw it was a bus sign, "You quit? Where you going?"

"I don't know," Ruby shrugged, "Away."

Emma gave her a gentle smile, "Yeah, well, buses out of town don't really happen. And, you might want a destination first."

Ruby's face fell and Snow was quick to step in. If Ruby was out there…anything could happen. But if she was with them, then she'd be safe and Emma could convince her to make it right with her grandmother. She needed to find the self confidence that she was lacking for 28 years, "Hey, if you need a place to figure things out, you could always come home with us."

Emma nearly fell over and gave a dubious look to Snow, "Yeah, uh. Yeah. Just for a little while."

The hopeful look on Ruby's face was just like it was in the old days and Snow felt excited. Her friend and Emma's godmother was going to be staying with them.

She put her arms around Ruby, "Come on."

"Mr. Gold isn't going to be happy about this," Emma whispered to where only Snow could hear.

"I don't care, it's my house too," Snow reminded her.

"Yeah, but we have to hear him."

"Three beautiful women in his house? He might like it."

"As long as we don't have Whale staring in the window wondering where he went wrong."

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When Snow got up the next morning (after half the night being spent gleefully chatting with Ruby in the living room), she had one of Rumpelstiltskin's little minions keep an eye on David to make sure that Emma didn't take him in.

And then she got a call that David was headed out into the woods. She had to follow him to make sure that he wasn't going to do something stupid. If Emma thought he was going to the crime scene…

He wasn't supposed to be involved in this…at all.

She drove out into the wood, it was raining a little bit, she brought her umbrella to keep dry.

Gods, she must look a sight. Tramping through the woods in an outfit that wasn't woods attire in her little fancy umbrella.

She didn't go very far before she heard the rustling of a brush nearby. Snow tensed, Emma had told her that Graham and she had seen a wolf before he died. No one had seen it since.

Someone burst through the nearby brush. Snow jumped and then sighed with Relief when she saw that it was David, "David, I-it's you. You okay? You're looking for Kathryn, too?"

He didn't seem to be looking at her, more like he was looking THROUGH her, "I'm looking."

Snow tried to think of something to say, "She knows you didn't do anything. Emma, I mean. She can tell when people are lying, so… She knows. And I'll stand with you. I'll tell everyone this isn't possible. She's going to turn up somewhere. That's why we're out here, right?"

Nothing in his eyes changed, neither did anything in his expression and she felt herself tense, "I'm looking."

"David?"

He turned and stumbled back into the woods

"David? David!" She called but he didn't indicate that he heard her, "Oh gods, really?"

Snow didn't know how she didn't get into an accident in the race to the sheriff's office, but somehow she hit every green light and there wasn't a lot of traffic about.

She didn't WANT to do this, it would just make him look suspicious and Emma would arrest him…but something was wrong. She couldn't take him there by himself.

Ruby was leaving as she was coming in, "Hey! Lunch, Mary Margaret? I'm getting for everyone."

It took a second for Snow to process what she said, "Uh, no. I'm not hungry."

She waited for Ruby to leave before she rushed up to Emma, "David's in the woods. There's something wrong with him. He looked right through me. It's like… It's like he was a different person."

Emma blinked, "What?"

"I don't know how to explain it-, one minute he was there and the next, he- You should get a search party. I don't think he was in control."

"Yeah, I'll just make a few calls."

"Wait!" Snow grabbed her and tried to think fast, "No, too many people will ruin the trial and it's about to get dark, there won't be time. Take Ruby with you."

"Ta- what?"

"Yeah, her senses are…better than anyone I've seen, Emma. You have to trust me."

"Just one person."

"She'll find him," Snow promised, "Just…make sure he's safe. Something is wrong."

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When David called her to meet with him, Snow was reluctant at first. She wanted to make sure things were okay but she didn't want to be near him because of the feelings that she felt.

He told her when she arrived that it was some sort of side effect of the coma. He admitted to blackouts and Snow realized that this would make him look even more suspicious and the original plan was about to go sideways, "David, it's going to be okay."

"Really? How do you know that? Because, I honestly can't say anything about my actions anymore."

Snow searched for something to say, "Well, there has to be an explanation."

David clenched his hands so tightly that his knuckles were white. "You're right. But the problem is, I don't think it's a good one."

They both looked up as Emma walked through the door. David stood up quickly, "What is it? Did you find her?"

Emma looked at Snow and then at him, "We found a box."

"Wait… Wait… What does that mean?" David asked.

Emma looked down, "We think it… We think that she…"

"What?" David asked cautiously.

Emma paled, "There was a human heart inside it."

Snow had to sit down, "Oh, my god."

David collapsed in the chair. He put his hands over his mouth and broke down in tears, "No. No."

Emma swallowed, "We're going to send it out for some tests, but there aren't any other missing people."

Snow put her hands on David's shoulders, "Maybe you should go…until there's evidence to arrest him."

Emma didn't move, "There's more."

David looked up, "What?"

"There were fingerprints inside the lid of the box. I ran them through the records of everyone in town, and there was a match."

David stood, "Arrest me."

"No," Snow stood up. This couldn't happen; he couldn't be in trouble for a murder that wasn't even a murder. Emma would have him taken away and he'd be taken to the town border, "David!"

"Arrest me, Emma. Do it!"

Snow had to tell Emma the truth. She had to protect her husband.

"David, the fingerprints weren't yours," Emma told them.

"What?" David asked.

Emma refused to look at either one of them "They were Mary Margaret's."

Snow felt the air leave her lungs.

What had Rumpelstiltskin done?