Chapter 2: Ingrid, Joanna, and Killian in a Bloody Affair

Ingrid runs her hand over her stomach, which pushes the air out from under the loose shirt to show the bump. What am I going to do? she asks herself over and over again.

"Ingrid?" Joanna's worried voice pulls the redhead out of her reverie. "Sweetheart we need to talk about your decision."

"I told you," she replies, "I'm keeping the baby."

Joanna sits down at the dining room table with a sigh and pulls Ingrid down to join her. "Ingrid, you cannot keep a mandragora's baby. I know how difficult this must be for you, but this won't be a child. This baby is dangerous, and it will probably kill you before it's even born." Feeling too harsh, but knowing what must be done, she reaches for her daughter's pale hand. "You are four months pregnant, Ingrid, we have to do this now before it is too late!"

Ingrid turns her head and mumbles something Joanna can't hear.

"What is it?" You know you can tell me anything."

"I said," Ingrid breathes turning to face her mother, "what if the baby might not be the mandragora's?"

She watches the brunettes face go from serious to girly and curious. "How did I not know there was a guy? Come on then – who is he?" she asks scooting closer.

Ingrid wants nothing more than to keep the light expression on her mother's face, but knows the time for secrets in gone. "Is Freya here?"

"No, she's at the bar... why?" she asks skeptically.

"Because... because I might be having Dash's baby." Ingrid nervously bites her lip waiting for her mother's response, but for a long time it doesn't come. She can see she's lost in thought, but eventually she can't take it anymore. "Mom? Mom what are you thinking?"

"Oh Ingrid I'm sorry I just -" she goes quiet for another agonizing minute as she figures out the rest of her solution. "- I know how we can find out who or what the father is, but we need blood from Dash." Joanna jumps up and Ingrid follows suit to meet her eyes.

"Mom-"

Joanna stops with her jacket already half on, "what is it?"

"Thank you." The stress of the past year pushed Ingrid into her mother's waiting arms, and as Joanna holds her sobbing daughter a tear of her own escapes down her tired face.

"Anything for you, Ingrid. Besides I need a goal again. Without Wendy I just – I don't -" she gives into a violent bout of tears before stepping back and slowly pulling her jacket on the rest of the way as she pulls herself back together. "Let's go see what the future holds, and then we will deal with it together."

Ingrid dries her own tears and holds Joanna's hand as they step out into the crisp, Autumn air.

Killian sits looking at his hands – Dash's hands. Punching the brick wall of his cell he bleeds Dash's blood. He punches the wall again and again before falling onto the bare-bones bed. In the distance a door slams, and he jumps to his feet. He has no idea who would ever want to visit Dash, but he especially doesn't expect to see Joanna and Ingrid coming down the tiled hallway towards him. He scans behind them hopefully for Freya, but when she doesn't follow he turns to the two witches now standing in front of him.

"Dash we need your blood – just a drop." Ingrid trails off seeing his bloodied hands.

"I-" Killian clears Dash's rough throat desperately "you can have whatever you need, but first I need you to listen to me." His eyes frantically shift between them while he talks.

Joanna steps protectively in front of her daughter, "you have one minute and then we are taking what we came for. I would suggest you start."

He takes a deep breath before delving into the fastest account of Dash's switch that he can manage. "I am Killian," he rasps in conclusion, "and it is the Dash out there that you should be worried about."

Joanna doesn't stop to think before muttering an incantation and wiping the resulting blood off of his cheek through the bars. She puts three drops into a vial that she passes to Ingrid, and keeps a single drop on her finger. "Revelo," she whispers and the blood instantly flares red.

"Damn it!" she curses, "he's telling the truth. Damn it!"

"Do you think he's with Freya now?" Ingrid asks quietly, as if it might not be true if she doesn't say it out loud.

Killian and Joanna both turn to her in horror. "We will come back for you, Killian, but for now..."

"I know – go and make sure she's safe. Please make sure she's safe." He watches them run back down the hall with a growing sense of dread in his gut. Please don't let him hurt Freya. Shuddering with anxiety and uselessness he returns to the bed and to staring at the hands that do not belong to him.