Emma's Resolve, Bae and Morraine's Companionship

Gold had just finished wiping his counter off when Emma stormed into the shop. "She's missing," she said. "Somehow slipped out of her cell when I wasn't looking."

"Like magic?" he offered.

"You know what? Yeah." Gold looked at her in earnest. "What? You think I'm gonna pass out or something?"

"I've been expecting it for some time, but that's beside the point. When did you notice anything unusual?"

"When I finally got to eating my lunch. Twelve hours after I was supposed to."

"You didn't...feel anything?"

"Feel anything?"

"You know, magic?"

She knit her brow and shook her head. "...No." Gold nodded. "Wait, you think I might be like your kid."

He smirked and glanced at the floor. "An astute young woman," he said, looking back at Emma. "I can't say how many times I've met someone your age who still thought they were invincible, never once cared for the consequences of their actions and always believed they would live forever, no matter what mistakes they made."

Emma merely nodded briefly. "Yeah, well, just figured you'd want to know about Regina, considering your vendetta against her."

"I already know, Miss Swan. She attacked my son."

"She just can't stop, can she?"

"I think she's out to get me."

"Maybe she is." She turned toward the front door, then looked over her shoulder. "Regina Mills is now at large, armed with magic, and very dangerous. If you see her, anywhere at all, let me know."

"I will," he said with a curt nod. "I wish you the best, Emma."

"Thanks."

Emma turned and walked out of the shop, something swirling about in her mind, just beneath her consciousness. Just as she tried to push it back to where it belonged, she understood it. Jailing this woman wasn't going to work.

OUAT

Bae and Morraine met in her room, where they talked about everything that had happened thus far. For Bae, it had the benefit of letting a lot of it off his chest, and for Morraine, it was a learning and strategizing experience.

Finally, after several hours, Bae sank back on the bed, his arms spread out and his throat raw from talking for so long. "Our lives are a mess," he whispered.

Morraine smirked at him. "You've a rather nice habit of saying that," she replied.

"You think so?"

"Yes."

"Uh...thanks."

Morraine chuckled and lay beside him, shifting so that her neck rested on his arm. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, careful about the placement of his fingertips. "Bae, you do realize that a lot of what we just talked about isn't even our problem, right?"

"Yes. It's Emma's job to break the curse, her being the Savior, as I've been told. But that doesn't mean we can't just hide from the world and wait for her to actually get around to doing her job. We have things to do, too, you know."

"I know."

"But you are still troubled."

"This is a different kind of fight. This isn't a fight to keep our lives and remove the threat. It's less a fight for survival as it is a battle between good and evil."

"What side is your father on?"

"Whatever side Regina isn't. Good and evil are fluid concepts, and a lot of politics have come into play. Of course, I won't bother with that unless I had a reason to."

"But if you were forced to choose, where would your loyalties lie?"

"Against the woman who attacked me multiple times."

"Then what is this fight for you? Is it like it was with the prince in Sherwood, where all you wanted was to stay alive?"

Bae closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath. Why was he fighting still, even after Prince John was killed in a basement by his father? The answer, he soon saw, was deceptively simple. He opened his eyes and whispered, "I want to go home."

Morraine tilted her head toward his shoulder. He squeezed her shoulders gently. "Home," she whispered. "As good a reason as any."

"What's this fight for you?"

"I've been at this for years to your months, Bae. I'm just tired of the fight. I want it to end, but to be honest, I want it to end well."

"Well as in, we win?"

"What better way to end a fight?"

Bae nodded. "It's almost over. We're close to the Enchanted Forest, and the two sources of magic will have to find a way to coexist."

"Do you think it can be done?"

"If not, they will stay in their separate worlds, one here, one in the Enchanted Forest. Either way, when this is over, it's all up in the air as far as magic goes."

"Do you think everything will be back to normal?"

"As close to normal as it gets, and I really hope so."

"It seems like you and your father are getting on well. He's not trying to kill us for whatever reasons he dreams up to do so."

"That's good."

"Any word from your new friend? August, is it?"

"Yes, that's his name. No on the news department, but being a wooden puppet that walks and talks by itself doesn't exactly do wonders for one's social life." Morraine chuckled, and Bae couldn't help but blush.

"Of course, having the Dark One as your father puts you in the same position, come to think of it."

Bae cracked a smile and shortly after burst into a fit of laughter. "I told you our lives were a mess," he said. "Look at us. Lovers in the middle of a war we're only in for ourselves, telling lame jokes to each other." He chuckled. "I can't wait till this is over and our lives go back to normal."

"Will our lives ever be normal again?"

"I hope so, but I doubt it."