Killian jolts awake on the hard floor of the bar with Ingrid looking into his eyes with an expression of hope that quickly flickers out. "What – what happened to me? What about the cell and Dash?" When he brings up his brother a tear slips out of Ingrid's already too wet eyes, and he pulls the traumatized girl into an awkward hug. Wrapping his arms around her he does a double-take to see his own hands and pulls back from the red head smiling. "Ingrid what did you do to get me out of there?"
He watches her excitedly, but when her face stays grim his morphs to match. "I – I had to – I killed your brother. Dash is dead." His arms go limp, and he shakes his dark head to clear the fuzzy, surreal feeling from behind his eyes. "I am so sorry, Killian. He was going to hurt Freya. I think he did -"
The mention of the dark haired witch pulls him back to his senses, and he crawls over to Joanna and Freya with Ingrid in his wake.
"Is she okay? Joanna? What did he do?!" Taking Freya's head in his lap, because her mother is already holding her body, he feels familiar anger at his brother writhing in his chest. "I swear if he hurt her I'll kill -" he trails off realizing what he was about to say. Leaning his head onto Freya's he breaks into harsh, choking sobs, and he hears Joanna and Ingrid join him. Joanna mumbles fruitless words in latin and every incantation in the grimoire plus some, but Freya just gets colder.
"I think -" Joanna stumbles on the words "-I think we are too late. Ingrid I'm so sorry – the baby."
Ingrid clutches her stomach realizing what Freya's death would mean for her and the baby – maybe the last part of Dash. "There must be something we can do?" she begs, "anything? A potion? Anything!"
Joanna goes to answer, but a Freya takes a shaky breath – and her chest goes still.
"No!" Joanna's painful shriek makes time go still, and she looks so small draping herself over her daughter's body once again.
Killian keeps shaking her like she might wake up, and Ingrid just goes still. She refuses to believe that within the next twenty-four hours her and her baby will be dead.
"Mom?" she quietly asks, "will you do the spell with me? I need to know before we -" Joanna looks up at her dying, but healthy daughter and gives a hollow nod before getting to her feet like she weighs nothing at all – as if the loss has left her as a negative in space.
The remnants of Dash's blood sizzle as they drop them into the pan on the bar's kitchen stove, and Ingrid and Joanna join hands and recite the incantation of the bubbling blood. When it sings in a clear, crystal voice they both know that the blood is a match with the baby, but when the blood bubbles and turns black they drop their hands in horror. It morphs from a blob in to a solid shape before settling lightly in the pan as a feather – half red, and half black.
"What does it mean?" Ingrid asks knowing in the end it won't matter.
"It means," Joanna answers softly, "that it is probably a good thing for the East End that – that..."
Her daughter finishes for her and gets her nod of approval to tell her she is all too right, "it means that it is a good thing I won't get to have this baby."
Freya's funeral is too empty for grief. Joanna hasn't been more than physically present since she died, and Ingrid woke up coughing blood and now is barely conscious. Killian couldn't bring himself to come. The coffin is simple, and no one gave it much thought since it is one of many. Freya looks disturbingly beautiful though. Her white dress drapes over the creases in the red silk-lining in the coffin, and her black hair is a sharp contrast with her pale face. Joanna steps up to the coffin and lowers it into the ground, but when she is only half way she stops to look at Wendy's worn headstone. "I wish you were here, Wendy. I don't think I can do it again, and without you who will find me in the bath?"
"If you slit your wrists one more time I will turn you into a cat – it's really a pretty decent existence when you aren't dealing with the devil, but I am serious about the threat!"
Joanna turns just in time to see Wendy throw herself into her arms. It's Wendy, but she is the worst Joanna has ever seen her, and that's saying something. "Wendy? Oh my god! How -"
Wendy pulls back and looks into her sisters agonized, black eyes. "I saw Helena and I -" she cuts herself off looking into the coffin.
"Oh my god! What happened?!"
"She – Dash..." Joanna trails off lacking the will to go on.
"Dash killed her, and I killed Dash even though I am pregnant with his cursed child, and now I am going to die." Ingrid's voice is pitifully weak, and she concludes her blatant statement with a cough of blood, which reminds Wendy -
When she sees her younger sister curl over and heave blood Joanna falls to her knees and digs her fingers into the dirt. "You can't be sick too – just kill me if you're all going to die on me again."
"Don't be so melodramatic, Joanna – just get me a vial."
Quizzically, she does as she's told, and Wendy heaves until the devil's blood is entirely out of her system except for one drop. "I found a cure for our curses, dear sister. Have you ever tried devil's blood?"
"I – you mean I drink it and they'll be okay?"
"Honestly, I don't know. Now that Freya's already dead they might have to be reborn one more time, but after that it's regular immortality for all of us. It's your only choice, Joanna. We have to try and break the cycle.
Silently, Joanna reaches for the bottle. With a final look at her daughters she drains her drop and waits.