"This is your fault." Liam's voice was no more than a whisper, but Hope heard her brother loud and clear.

"I'm sorry?" Her brother looked up at her with a snap of his head.

"It's all your fault. You never listen to mom and dad, and now, because of you, mom is dead. And that is your fault!" Liam's voice raised for every word he spoke, and before long, he was screaming at her. Hope felt tears pick her eyes, but refused to let any fall. She knew her brother spoke the truth.

The silence in the room was almost deafening. It was like everyone in the room held their breaths. For what Liam had said or what was to come, Hope didn't know, and could honestly care less. The adults had left all their kids in one room to take care of the most important, so it felt strange to feel so small around the people who wasn't that much older. But it was better to be alone, than having her father hear what was going on. He didn't deserve that.

The amount of times Hope had seen her father cry she could count on one hand, no pun intended. She remembered him crying once when she was a girl, and overhearing something about her parents talking about a little brother who was wronged by everyone he ever encountered, left orphaned by his own brother and in the end followed his father's and the older brother with his name to a world with a one way ticket. Her father had blamed himself, she remembered. Always blamed himself, never saw what everyone else saw. Her parents had never spoken about it again, and Hope never brought it up.

Another time had been when Hope was still in love with Philip Jr; and he'd convinced her to come on a camping trip with him and his friends. They had been 6 people going, forcing her to sit in Philips lap on the car-trip there. Not that she minded at the time. Not until she woke in a hospital bed with two broken ribs, a punctured lung, and two hysteric parents. She had been the only one without seatbelt, so when the car flipped, she'd been the one to give every surface in the car a touch, and get most injured in the process. Liam and Neal later told her she'd looked really fragile and small in that bed, and even though the doctors had assured them she'd be fine, it was hard for them to believe at the sight of her. So thats why he cried then, she figured. (Philip was totally banned from visits after that. A few months and a big revelation later, she didn't mind that one bit.)

So seeing her father so inconsolable holding her mother's body really set everything in perspective for her. If she hadn't realized the seriousness of the events as they unfolded, she undoubtedly did at that sight.

Her grandparents wasn't really any better in the matter, which forced Regina and Robin to step up and take charge. The sent Belle away to take care of Killian, Snow and David and give them some time to just grieve before they'd have to put on a brave face for their children. Even though Wilma also had tears in her eyes, she looked considerably collected. So with a kiss on her forehead by her father, Robin tasked her with getting all the younger ones out of the field and back to Julia and Ruthie. Regina took Henry to the hospital to get all patched up, and Robin called an ambulance to have Emma's body moved, as soon as he'd gotten her out of Killian's protective grasp.

The damage was palpable. A broken family, and all her fault. That hurt, especially hearing it from her beloved older brother. His words making her flinch harder thinking about Neal's streaming tears, Wilma's broken voice, Roland's shaking hands and Daniel's muteness; realizing it all was her doing.

Her head snapped up when the silence broke and her uncle spoke.

"Liam, enough. I know you are hurting, we all are, and that is okay. But this wasn't Hope's fault. She was worried and scared and did what she thought was right. We all lost someone we love tonight. I lost my sister, my parents lost their daughter. Roland, Wilma, and Daniel lost an aunt. Julia and Ruthie, they lost a grandmother. Your father, he lost his, well true love doesn't even seem like a big enough word, but that's what it is. And you two and Henry have suffered the loss of your mom. You lost your mom. Its okay to grieve, but don't take it out on each other. You need each other now."

"I lost my mom," Liam whispered, ignoring the rest of Neal's words and looking as if he only in that moment really realized the truth. Her brother's rage settled and turned into grief and sorrow, and the sight of it hurt even more than his words had, and when Liam's first tear fell a waterfall welled from her own eyes.

Her sobs sounded loud. Liam stared blankly at her and she stared right back. She couldn't read him. He looked betrayed, but there were something more hiding there. A gasp escaped when she figured it out.

"You wish it'd been me, don't you." Liam blinked but didn't say anything, and her heart fell.

"Liam, stop," Daniel warned, finally speaking up, but her brother didn't say anything, didn't change his mind.

Hope gave a small nod. She really couldn't blame him; she felt the same after all.

"I'm going to fix this." A plan had already started to form in her head.

"You can't. Dead is dead. The underworld is closed for us, only a one way ticket down. The next time we'll see mom is the day we die. The only thing you can do is live with this until that day comes." Liam finally spoke up, his voice hollow. The rejection lay thick in the air but Hope only shook her head.

"I will fix this," she stubbornly promised, and with a plan in mind, she departed.

They let her leave.


"So this is a suicide mission. Literally." Regina was the one to break the silence which had occurred after Liam revealed her plan. Hope shook her head.

"No. Not exactly." She just wanted everyone to understand, and looking around the room, no one of them seemed to be even close to understanding.

"But you don't plan on surviving?" Regina asked slowly, trying to make sense of the given information. She seemed to be the only one collected enough to ask questions. Hope rolled her eyes and turned to her aunt.

"I don't plan on ever have existed. You won't even remember me, or know there's ever been a me. So you wont grieve or anything. The other way around, you'll be happier, probably. I won't ever have lived. And if you have never lived you can never die." She could feel herself rambling, trying to make sense of everything, both for the others and herself. By the look of everyone, she didn't do well, rather they only looked more skeptical.

"And that's not a suicide mission how?" Her brother asked beside her. A wave of anger swept through her.

"Okay, maybe it is a suicide mission. But one will have to go, and rather me than her, right?" Hope snapped, her voice laced with anger and hurt and her hair flying around her as she abruptly turned to look her brother in the eye. His eyes softened and turned sad. His feet shuffling, and his hand twitching to scratch at his neck. She could see him trying to find words to explain himself, but a voice in front of them made them turn.

"You told your sister that?" Their father didn't even sound angry, only hurt. Hope sighed, she hadn't wanted them to find out, knowing both her parents would be more hurt than angry, and more hurt than she could ever be content when her brother got a lesson for his words. Liam seemed to have figured the same, but only looked ashamed and ready to explain his actions. They all waited for his words, everyones faces hardened a bit.

"I know it isn't an excuse, but I was hurt, and really just needed someone to blame. My mom died on me, and I never got to say goodbye."

"But she told me to tell you -"

"I know. But I really don't care. You got to hear her say it. I didn't. I know mom loves me. But she told you, not me. Her last words to me was 'Go to Henry, make sure he's okay.' That's not the same. And I needed someone to blame, and you were the easiest one. I didn't even think about the fact that you actually witnessed it, though. I don't have to live with that. And I don't think I'd want to either. I know how you felt when I said that now. Dad's furious at me back home. Losing you after just losing mom did not come as a good surprise. If anything happened to you he'd blame me. And I don't want that."

"So, you are here so dad won't blame you?" She'd almost felt some of the hurt from his words fade, but it returned at his words. Liam looked shocked, shacking his head and looking like he wanted to reach for her again.

"No. Hope, no. I'm here because when dad found that note and made me explain, I realized how wrong I was. You are my little sister. If anything happened to you I'd blame myself. I'm supposed to take care of you. I even remember promising mom and dad that when you were born, which may be one of my first memories. I realized how scared I got of the prospect of losing you. Parents are meant to protect, and mom did that. You are so important. I'm sorry I made you feel otherwise."

The hug Liam then gave her warmed her to her heart, and she sniffled a little against his chest.

"And off the record, Daniel would kill me on the spot if I let anything happen to his best friend," he chuckled into her ear, and she pushed away from him, giving him a mocking glare. She gazed at the, almost forgotten, people around them, who looked both confused and skeptical. Emma's hand rested on her stomach, obviously shocked by Liam telling her of her pregnancy with him.

"I need to do this. You need to let me fix this." Hope's voice was soft, but determined. "I've come to terms with this. You all just need to do the same."

Killian shook his head, not looking convinced at all, and Hope was surprised. Given the love Hope knew her parents shared she didn't think he'd be the first to protest.

"No. I'm sorry. No, you can't do this."

"But it's your wife, it's your Emma…" Hope's voice died when Killian walked over to where Emma stood, and gathered her in his arms, but he didn't say any more. Emma herself was the next to speak, her voice soft and her eyes even more gentle.

"I'm sorry, but no. I'll be happy to take that memory potion and live the future. I'll be happy to bring you two into the world and see you grow up, and no matter the reasons I'll be happy to die for you. I'd die for my child any time now, and I don't think that will change when I get two more. Twenty years of happiness before saving my child, that does sound pretty good to me. So, no, I will not make any promises. I'm sorry."

Hope was out the door before Liam's comforting hand reached her shoulder.


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