I had trouble writing this chapter. Writers block kicked in. Let me know what you think.
Chapter 15: It's Over
Later the Night
Snow and David were eating dinner when Emma and Neal walked in.
"If we just turned left at that fallen tree like I said, we would've gotten home a lot quicker than your way!" Emma argued.
"I know, I know. You were right! Can you just let it go?!" Neal whined.
"Where have you two been?" Snow asked.
"You've been gone for a while. What happened?" David added.
"Cora. That's what happened." Emma tiredly said. "She broke the barrier and transported us to the middle of the woods."
"We've been trying to find our way back since." Neal sighed.
"What happened since we left?" Emma questioned, curious as to how the scene played out.
"What didn't happen?" Snow said rolling her eyes.
"Well to sum it up. Snow cursed Cora's heart, manipulated Regina to put it back in her, she did, Cora died, Rumple survived. Cora came back to life. Mandy revealed Gold wanted her to kill Henry and if she didn't, he would kill Regina." David said taking In a deep breath. Emma and Neal stared at Snow and David with open mouths.
"Did I miss anything?" David asked Snow. She shook her head no, still feeling guilty about trying to kill Cora.
"What?!" Emma shrieked.
"My father wanted my son dead?" Neal asked shocked.
"It appears that way, yes." Snow said.
"He's unbelievable!" Neal yelled, throwing his hands in the air.
"Where's Henry now?" Emma asked worried.
"Upstairs. We haven't told him much, only that no one is dead." David said.
"Neal, I don't want Henry around your father." Emma admitted.
"I don't blame you. Neither do I." Neal said walking towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Emma asked.
"To pay my father an unpleasant visit." He responded shutting the door behind him.
"I don't want Henry left alone either." Emma said to Snow and David.
"We'll make sure someone is with him at all times." David said. Emma nodded in approval.
Neal barged through the front door of Gold's shop and walked right up to the counter Gold was standing behind.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Neal screamed.
"I take it you found out about my plan…" Gold said uninterested.
"Killing my son, your grandson? You thought that would bring us closer together?" Neal yelled in Gold's face.
"Hear me out Bae!" Gold pleaded.
"No, I'm so tired of listening to your pathetic excuses…and getting a little girl, one of Henry's friends to kill him is low, even for you." Neal screamed before walking towards the door.
"Bae, listen to me!" Gold commanded.
"I'm done with you. I don't want you near Henry, understand? Stay away from us!" He yelled before storming out of the shop, leaving Gold sad that he lost his son yet again, but also angry at the situation. His plan would've worked if Cora and Regina didn't get involved. He was determined to find someone to kill Henry.
Mandy was lying in bed, facing the window when she heard the knock at the door. "Go away!" She yelled, not wanting to deal with anyone. The door opened anyway and in walked Regina with a tray of food.
"I brought you dinner. I know you may not want to talk but you have to eat something." She said placing the tray of food at the bottom of the bed.
"I'm not hungry." She mumbled as she rolled around to face Regina.
"Well, I'll just leave it here in case you change your mind." Regina responded, knowing she would eventually become hungry. She headed towards the door when Mandy stopped her from leaving.
"Regina, wait!" Mandy said quickly.
"What is it, dear?" She asked, turning, her voice in a low whisper.
Mandy took a deep breath before continuing. "When I talk to Peter tomorrow, what should I say? I don't even know where to begin." She admitted.
Regina sat on the edge of the bed and put her hand on Mandy's side before answering. "Start with the truth. Tell him your side of the story."
"But what if he won't listen to me?" She asked worriedly.
"Then he's not worth your time" Regina replied simply.
"I love him though." She admitted in a whisper.
Regina sighed and began rubbing Mandy's back to try to comfort her. "You might love him but he might not feel the same way."
"I was afraid of that." Mandy said disappointingly.
"Don't give up just yet, dear! See how it goes tomorrow." Regina said trying to give her encouragement.
"And what if he still wants nothing to do with me?" Mandy asked sadly.
"Then that's his loss. You're a beautiful, terrific and lovely young woman and if he can't see that, then he's not the right guy for you." Regina responded truthfully.
Mandy wiped away a tear that had fallen and smiled. "Thanks mom."
Regina was ecstatic, this was the first time Mandy has ever called her 'mom'. She was beaming with happiness.
"Anytime, darling." Regina leaned down and kissed the top of Mandy's head. "I love you." She whispered pushing Mandy's hair out of her face.
"I love you too." Mandy whispered back.
Regina put her hand on Mandy's arm pulling her in an upright position. "Now, please eat something. I don't want you to have a poor diet all because of some boy." She said getting the plate of food and offering it to her.
"Okay, okay." She said taking the plate from her. She picked up the fork and shoved a small piece of lasagna into her mouth. "I'm eating, see?" Mandy said still chewing.
"I'm glad, but don't talk with your mouthful dear. It's unbecoming." Regina responded. Mandy rolled her eyes.
After she finished chewing she continued to talk." This is really good!" She said before shoving in another piece.
"I knew you were hungry!" Regina laughed as she kept Mandy company while she ate.
The Next Day
Peter was stuck in the house, yet again. He hated living with the Charmings. They were nice people and tried to include him in their family activities but he just wanted to be alone. He sat on the couch watching TV, like he did most of the time, not wanting to be bothered. He was watching baseball, the Boston Red Sox against the New York Mets. Emma saw that the game was on and sat down next to him on the couch.
"I love baseball. Who's winning?" Emma asked, her eyes glued to the television.
"Boston." He replied apathetically.
"Great! I hate the Mets. We better win!" She said getting into the game. Peter didn't say anything.
When a commercial came on, Emma tried to strike up a conversation with Peter. "Who's your favorite team?
Peter shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I just like watching." Emma nodded. She didn't know what else to ask to keep the conversation going.
"So…what's Mandy like?" She finally asked.
"What? That's so random." He said caught off guard by the question.
"My first impression of her wasn't great and she's been hanging out with Henry lately. I wanted to know if she's a good influence." Emma confessed. Peter didn't really want to talk about Mandy. He wanted to forget about her.
"She likes Henry and treats him like she does the Lost Boys." He said truthfully.
"So she treats him nicely?" Peter nodded. "Hard to believe that. She was going to kill him just yesterday."
This drew Peter's attention. He sat up straight, eyes wide. "She tried to kill him?"
Emma nodded. "Apparently it was for a favor she owed Gold."
"I'm actually not surprised. She changed ever since she met him, and not for the better." Peter confessed.
"That's not hard to believe with Gold involved. How did she change exactly?" Emma asked.
"She was kind at heart and wouldn't hurt a fly before but after she met him, it didn't matter to her who she killed. She wasn't the same." He said.
"She killed people?!" Emma asked shocked.
"She was jealous of Wendy and tried to kill her."
"But she didn't?" Emma questioned.
"No. I don't know what she did when she returned to Gold."
"You're girlfriend seems a little unpredictable." Emma observed.
"She's not my girlfriend. I don't want to talk to her anymore." Peter hissed.
Emma was surprised to hear this. "Okay. I won't bring it up again."
"Thanks. I actually have a question for you." He said.
"Shoot."
"How did Gold cross the town line without losing his memory?" Peter questioned.
"Why do you want to know that?" Emma asked, her detective instinct showing.
"I just thought it couldn't be done." He lied.
She didn't see the harm in answering his question. "He had some kind of potion. He put it on a scarf that he wore at all times. At least, that's how I think he did it."
Before he could ask another question, Henry came down the stairs.
"Do we have anything to eat? Like a snack or something?" He asked stopping at the bottom of the stairs
"I don't know kid, check it out." As soon as Emma finished her sentence, there was a knock at the door.
Henry was closest so he answered the door. "Hey Mandy! What's up?"
Panic showed on Emma's face as she looked at Peter whose face showed anger.
"I'm here to talk to Peter." She said as she walked into the apartment. Henry pointed to Peter sitting on the couch. Mandy walked over.
"We'll leave you two alone. Come on Henry." Emma said as she got up from the couch and walked over to Henry.
Peter stood up. "No, stay. Whatever she has to say, she can say in front of you two."
Emma and Henry froze, not knowing whether they should stay or go. Mandy knew that if she wanted to talk to Peter then she would have to do it under his terms.
"I know you and the Lost Boys didn't remember Wendy as soon as you regained your memories from the curse but I had nothing to do with that." Mandy explained.
"You expect me to believe that?!" Peter shouted.
"It's the truth, Peter. I want to tell you my side of the story." Mandy said calmly, trying to control her temper.
"I don't want to hear it." Peter yelled.
"Awe, hear her out Peter!" Henry chimed in, earning him a pissed off look from Peter. Emma covered his mouth with her hand.
"Why did you change?" He asked Mandy.
"When I came back from Rumple I was the same person. He taught me a few spells that was it." She said calmly. Snow and David came through the door with groceries in their hands. They were about to say something when they saw what was going on.
"You were jealous of Wendy!" Peter shouted.
"I wasn't even gone long and you already replaced me. I found you two kissing, so I think I have a right to be a little jealous and protective of my boyfriend." She said her voice rising and becoming more and more agitated and annoyed. Emma, Snow, Henry, and David shot concerning looks at one another.
"She kissed me. It meant nothing." Peter hissed.
"Then why did you take her side at the lagoon? You just met her!" She yelled, completely losing her calmness.
"Because jealousy was clouding your judgment. You would do anything to get rid of Wendy, even kill her!" He shouted back. Snow, Henry and David gasped.
"It wasn't me, it was the mermaids and that happened after she tried to kill me!" She argued.
"Oh don't start that again!" Peter yelled frustrated.
"Why don't you believe me?" She asked.
Peter walked closer, towering over Miranda. "Because Gold made you a liar and a killer." He hissed.
"You weren't around when I was with Gold. How would you know what he made me?" She shot back.
"I've seen it. But it doesn't matter now. I choose Wendy." He said firmly before brushing passed her on his way towards the door.
"But Peter…." She said as she grabbed his arm.
He pushed her away. "No, I got you outta that place because they were going to kill you. You were a little girl and wouldn't hurt a fly." He paused catching his breath. "But you tried killing Wendy and even Henry now!" Peter screamed.
Henry had a shocked look on his face. "You were going to kill me?!" He asked Mandy.
Mandy looked over at Henry. "I was never going to kill you Henry. It was all a part of Gold's plan."
"What plan?" Henry asked.
"Not now Henry." Mandy replied. She didn't have time to explain to Henry everything that has happened. She needed to focus on her situation with Peter.
"Oh no, go ahead." Peter said. "We're done here."
"Peter, I still want to talk to you." Mandy cried.
"I have better things to do." He replied walking between Snow and David and out the door. David put his groceries down and tried to catch up to Peter to talk to him. Mandy just stood there speechless. Snow out her groceries and walked over to her.
"Are you okay Mandy?" Snow asked placing her hands on Mandy's arms, as she looked into her eyes.
Mandy came back to reality. "Ugh…yea. I'll be fine." She didn't give a strong and believable response.
Snow certainly didn't buy it but she decided to change the subject to get Mandy's mind off Peter. "We should spend some time together. I would like to get to know my little sister." Snow smiled.
Mandy looked at Snow with a confused look on her face. "Sister?"
"Wait, she's my aunt?" Emma asked.
She nodded. "Well, half-sister since we both have the same father." Snow said.
"King Leopold?" Mandy questioned. Snow nodded.
"He's not my father…Daniel is." Mandy responded.
"Daniel?" Snow whispered his name. Mandy nodded in confirmation.
"She really loved him." She smiled, accepting that Daniel was Mandy's true father.
Mandy smiled back. "But we're still step-sisters, right?"
"That we are!" Snow confirmed happily.
"Cool…I would love to stay and hang out but I have a lot to do today." She said as she gave Snow a hug.
"Mandy, can I come with? I wanna talk to you." Henry chimed in.
"Ugh, Henry…I don't think that's a good idea." Emma said not wanting Henry hanging out with Mandy.
"Why not?" He asked.
"She doesn't trust me." Mandy said looking directly at Emma.
"Well with recent events, I think you should stay away for a while." She said, not trying to hurt Mandy's feelings but it was too late.
"She wasn't going to kill me, we're friends." Henry said trying to persuade Emma into letting him go.
"You're a little too trusting Henry." Emma said.
"Great!" Mandy said sarcastically. "I lost Peter and now I'm losing one of the few friends I have. What a banner day this turned out to be." She said walking towards the door.
"Wait!" Snow said to Mandy. "Emma, I don't believe she was going to kill Henry. And the deal is off anyway."
"What deal?" Henry asked.
"I would tell you on the way…that's if Emma will let you come with me." Mandy said annoyed that Emma didn't trust her. Emma thought about it for a few moments. She didn't want to let him go but Snow's face told her to change her mind.
"Fine. You can go." Henry and Mandy smiled. "On one condition." She added.
"And what's that?" Mandy asked taking a few steps closer to Emma.
Emma also took a few steps forward, only a few inches away from Mandy. "That you protect Henry from anyone and anything. Don't let him out of your sight." She said seriously.
"I can handle that. Come on Henry." She said before they both ran out the door.
"And be back by 10!" Emma screamed after them.
Snow couldn't help but laugh. "They don't really listen to the whole curfew thing. Trust me; I've tried multiple times to no avail."
Well I hope you liked this chapter, it was hard to write. I just wanna thank you for your reviews and to everyone who reads! You keep me going! Thanks! Don't forget to review!