"I don't think he is dead," Emma solemnly recited those final words that the fairy had given her.

Her eyes were shut; she envisioned being back in the Quarters, looking down over his body as if he was in an open casket. She remembered how Tinkerbell suspiciously flew off immediately without another word, as if she had some inkling on how she could help. How the hell was she supposed to help? The fairy seemed so aroused by the possibility of Hook's survival but she didn't bother to spare Emma any explanation.

"When she left, I checked his pulse again. I didn't find anything…" Emma trailed off uncomfortably. She finally opened her eyes and looked across the therapist office at Archie, who was sitting cross-legged in his chair with a notebook on his lap. "I don't think he is dead. That's all she told me."

"And what happened after that?"

"We spent most of the last day in Neverland anchored in the bay. Since Tamara and Greg had the beans, we didn't have any reason to go back onto the island. We didn't want to stick around; once Snow checked the ship like twenty times, we were on our way. Regina and I stayed inside a bunker down below with Henry. I don't really know how it went with them. Henry was still wound up in his own head, so Regina and I thought it would be best to distance him from the excitement on deck."

Archie nodded and continued to take notes. "It must have been hard without the Captain there to navigate the ship."

Emma shrugged, trying to come across as apathetic as possible, "David had steered enough times to move the ship where it needed to go. The bean did all of the work. We had… a compass… sort of thing that helped with the in-between."

"The in-between?"

"Yeah like when we were going through the green-spiraling-vortex-thing. I guess Gold helped David with that part; he kept the wheel aligned with where the arrow was pointing. It led us back up into Storybrook's harbor."

"Now this was Hook's compass, I take it."

"No, it was mine. I just didn't really know how to use it. That was more of…his, you know…"

"Navigation was Hook's thing."

"Yeah... so that's it. That's how we got back. That's the whole story." She looked out the window overlooking the main intersection of Storybrook. It was so peaceful; there were barely any cars parked along the side of the road today. Of course, it was a Sunday. Archie politely cleared his throat and commanded her attention back to where it needed to be; her therapy session. One of many...

"Well that's your take on it, yes. It's been almost two weeks since you've returned. I know that Henry is still struggling a bit; that'll take time and patience. Your relationship with your parents is still good I take it?"

"Yeah it's been alright. Before all this happened Snow was looking for a bigger place for her and David. I'm not really sure where they're at with that… they'll probably stay in the loft until things settle down again."

"Have you made any progress on the things that we agreed to work on since I last saw you on Thursday?"

"You mean with Neal?"

"I mean with everyone, but sure, we can start with Neal. Have you tried to talk to him?"

"I mean, yeah, he's around almost every day. He's been taking Henry to the stables with David. He's not that great on horseback so they're learning together."

"Is that something you'd like to get involved with?"

"No I… I don't really do horses. The station's been crazy since we got back, so my hands are kind of full. It's good for them though; Henry gets to spend some quality time with his Dad and granddad."

"Has there been any opportunity for you and Neal to spend time together?"

"No," she mumbled uncomfortably. "Things are still kind of tense between us since that talk last week."

"You mean since you told him what had happened in Neverland with Hook?"

"Yeah, he's been okay around me but I can't stand being near him for too long. It's not like my feelings for Neal changed in any way. I still love him… It's just now things are complicated and messy. I don't think he wants to deal with all that on top of what he went through in the Enchanted Forest and now the drama with his Dad."

"He went through a rough time too," Archie agreed and continued to scribble words down on his notepad. "I know that Henry has been able to confide in him for support. Have you tried to talk to Neal about what you're going through? It can't be easy to handle all of those feelings on your own."

"I don't know…" Emma crossed her arms and shrugged her shoulders, retreating back into a defensive posture. "Me and Neal… we aren't really there right now. I am really happy that he's been so supportive and encouraging to Henry, it's just that I don't want him to think I'm ready to try anything…"

Archie put down his pen and pushed his glasses back into place. "Speaking off the record as your friend and not your therapist, I don't believe he expects anything of you right now. He knows that you're struggling right now, Emma. Everyone does."

Emma chuckled uneasily and looked back out the window. Orange leaves blew through the streets and crunched into mass piles by the sewage drains. The pedestrians that walked by the window down the sidewalks were appropriately dressed in layers of coats, jackets, knit sweaters and scarves. Autumn had come to Maine in their absence.

"Emma," Archie pulled her attention back into the room. "Now that you've seen The Enchanted Forest and you've traveled to Neverland, do you think that it might be overwhelming you a bit? The people and relationships that you've established, I mean?"

"No not really… I mean I guess… obviously there's going to be some shock. It's just that I'm not used to having people always there: constantly caring about what I'm doing or how I'm feeling. I never really had a family growing up and here the family tree seemingly gets more complicated every day. When you add fairytales on top of that, it can get to be a little much."

Archie nodded encouragingly, "Yeah I bet. From what I've gathered so far, Neverland didn't seem like the sort of place that made it any easier for you."

"No," Emma pursed her lips together and swallowed down her next arising thought.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing," she mumbled uncomfortably and fluttered her eyes.

Archie sighed, "See Emma, this is what I'm talking about. You can't let your reservations about trust get in the way of figuring through your emotions." Trust. She winced and felt the sting from the word. "This office is a safe place for you."

She sighed, "I don't know what you want me to say… a lot happened there."

"Do you think that maybe the reason you're having trouble communicating with Neal is because you haven't quite come to terms with what happened with Hook?"

Emma shook her head discouragingly. "Neal told me that he still loves me. I love him too, but it doesn't feel the same. I don't feel right when I'm around him. I feel… guilty I guess. I'm not like my Mom and Dad. We don't have that perfect relationship. Neal and I have a lot of history and there's definitely still something there, but that spark, just isn't there anymore. There is other stuff going on… other people."

"We are all imperfect human beings, Emma. Your parents have made mistakes. Even me, the uh, the conscience, right?"

Emma chuckled lightly. "You weren't really a cricket, were you?"

"Top hat and all," he grinned bashfully. "I did go by Jiminy Cricket at one point, yes. Though as Archie Hopper, I am aware of the movies, Disney in particular, and the stories that you saw growing up. You got a two-dimensional glimpse of us. The truth is that we're not all that different from you. We may be fairy tale characters, or what have you, but we're also flawed people just like you. There is such a thing as a flawed relationship in our world too."

"I know that I should want to try to make things work with him again. God knows Henry wants me to. I think even my parents want me to open up a bit. I just can't do it; he doesn't feel right anymore. It's not just about him."

"Alright well you've made everyone else's intentions clear, but what about you? What do you want?"

"It doesn't really matter what I want anymore." Her eyes dropped uncomfortably to the floor. "Despite everything that I've been told, who I want still won't wake up. It's not enough that for some bizarre reason he didn't blow up. He's still not here."

"You remember that Dr. Whale promised he'd keep him on life support. There's still a chance that he will…"

"No there isn't," her eyes hardened. It was as if any flicker of hope would burn rather than warm her. She couldn't deal with that empty crap anymore. "They're treating him as if he is in some sort of coma but that's not what's going on. It's something else."

Archie shifted his weight awkwardly and swallowed a gulp down. "Have you tried to wake him up?"

"The first night I did," she nodded numbly, "until my lips went sore. If he were in any coma, my behaving like that sure as hell would have woken Killian Jones up." Pongo stood up and walked over to where Emma sat. He lied back down and complacently rested his weary head over her feet. "People keep telling me to have faith, but…" Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket, interrupting her train of thought. This was the third time her phone went off in this session. The other two times had been David. She didn't have much of a problem ignoring his calls. Emma gave Archie an apologetic look before reading the caller I.D.

Storybrook Medical Center

"I'm sorry, Archie. It's the hospital so I really should take this… Hello?"

"Mom?" Henry's voice was unsettled. "Where are you?"

"I'm with Archie right now. Why are you calling me from the hospital? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that… well… you should probably come down here and see for yourself."

"Why, what's going on?"

"I'm not really sure. Oh, hey, here's Snow…" He trailed off and said something away from the microphone. Emma called out his name several times before Snow picked up the line.

"Emma?"

"Mom, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry to bother you during your session with Archie but I think it would be best if you came to the hospital. Don't worry; David and I are with Henry. We called Regina at her office and she's on her way."

"Um sure, if you guys need me. I'm on my way." Emma hung up the phone and looked at Archie with an even more remorse. "Archie I'm so sorry but something is happening at the hospital right now and I guess I'm needed. Henry's involved."

He sighed, "Alright well maybe we can find another time this week to continue this. Please remind David that he's scheduled with me tomorrow morning."

"Yeah sure," Emma nodded with her jacket in hand, already halfway out the door. Thankfully Archie's office was around the corner of the hospital, making it a short run just across the street.

The hospital was quiet enough to maneuver through the halls without difficulty. It was three o' clock in the afternoon which meant Whale was back on duty. Emma kept her eyes out for him and anyone else that would be able to direct her to where her son was. Fortunately, just as she rounded the corner she caught sight of him. He stood close by her parents; David's hand rested on his shoulder. If everything was alright, then why the hell did David look like he was in "protective parent" mode?

That was when she caught sight of three more people, children actually, standing near the entrance to the coma ward. These weren't just any children. Though they were no longer dressed in hooded cloaks and didn't seem to be carrying any weapons, there was no mistaking their distinct appearances as anyone else. Lost Ones. The tallest of the three boys stood out immediately; he was one of the guards that held her as a prisoner. It was strange to see him now. Unlike before, he stood with a little pep in his step; his face was alit with a sort of enthusiasm that had been previously absent.

"La Dame blonde," the youngest and smallest of the boys looked up at the taller one. "Nous ne pouvons pas ouvrir le coffre si elle n'est pas ici."

"Hush up, Beau. These folks don't speak fancy French like you. Lemme do the talkin'."

Snow grimaced, "He spoke just fine when he tried to shoot me with an arrow."

"Sorry m'am. English 'aint his native tongue. We didn't have our shadows for a long time. We did what Pan wanted us to and talked how he wanted us to talk. When he died the boys were so eager to get talkin' and behavin' like themselves again, I don't think there's an English word left in 'em by now." The other boy raised an eyebrow silently, unwilling to say anything. Beau kept looking around nervously at all of the people in the medical ward. There were so many new faces, so many adults. "My name's John."

David crossed her arms, "So out of the three of you, you're the only one here that can actually speak English."

"Yes sir. Beau's a Frenchman. We 'aint sure where Lee's from; he don't talk. I was raised in Georgia. It was during the Fall, 1847 if I remember right, an' I was going on thirteen when Pan snatched me up. Beau and Lee are the strongest of the boys so I brought them along to carry that chest there." He pointed over to the antiquated chest sitting by the door that led into the coma ward. It was large and bulky, reminding Henry of something that would hold buried treasure. Even from John's mere mentioning of it, the chest wiggled and shook. Whatever was trapped clearly wanted to get out.

"We don't need anything else from Neverland," Snow snapped. "We've suffered enough."

"With all due respect ma'am, I think you're gonna want to see what's in it before you go off and dismiss it."

"Alright, well go on. Open it."

John crossed his arms stubbornly and shook his head. "Oh no, we can't open it until Miss Emma Swan gets here. We got orders from Tink to give it to her and no one else."

"Henry," Emma called out from a little ways down the hall. A few of the nurses had already pulled out their camera phones and started taking pictures of the three iconic visitors. (As if unwelcome guests weren't new to this town by now.) Emma hurriedly pushed through the crowd and took Henry's hand, pulling him as far as she could away from the three heathens. "What the hell are they doing here?"

"Emma Swan," John nodded respectfully. "We mean none of y'all any harm. We've come here on orders from Tink to deliver this here box. She said it was mighty important you don't open it in a room with open doors or windows."

"Why the hell would I accept anything from her?"

"You're gonna want to at least see it." John looked around and frowned at all of the cracked windows and emergency exits. "Maybe not here. What about in there?" He pointed to the Coma Ward."

"There's a window in there but I'm pretty sure that it closes," David answered tentatively.

"Well hell, c'mon then!" John grinned and motioned for the two other boys to help him drag the chest into the Coma Ward. Emma froze and stared nervously at the door they were now opening. She could already see the end of his bed; the indents in his sheets where his feet were.

"Mom?"

"Yeah, I'm… I'm coming. Just give me a sec." Snow and David paused when they noticed their daughter's pale face. This was the first time she was going to see him since they got back. With a silent gesture, Henry urged David and Snow to keep going into the other room. Give him a moment with her alone.

"Mom, are you okay?"

"Yeah Henry, I'm fine. It's just…"

"Hook's in there," Henry finished her thought. "I get it. I was there, you know. Well… kind of. I remember seeing all of it; when he saved you the first time… and then the second time… and then the third time." They both giggled as the mock came out in the little boy's voice. "You don't have to pretend that it doesn't bother you. I know True Love when I see it."

Emma stared down at him in awe. Is there anything this kid can't pick up on? "I don't know if anyone has told you this yet, but it is okay to have feelings for two guys at once… even if it is my Dad and Captain Hook."

"Really?" She bit down on her lip the second the word escaped her mouth. Seriously, Emma? Did you honestly just ask your eleven-year-old son permission?

He grinned innocently, "Yeah! The more, the merrier."

She smirked and grabbed his hand, "C'mon kid. If I'm really going in there, I'm going to need your help." They slowly made their way to the door until finally her hand was on the knob and it was too late to turn around.