A month and a half. It had been a month and a half.

The only reason Henry did not jump into his sister's arms and hug her tightly was because their mother kept a hand on his shoulder. He almost couldn't believe it. Lynn gave him a small smile and waved at him as best she could. She sighed. She had only been able to try walking longer distances than to be wheeled to shower or use the bathroom for a week, and it felt great, for the most part. Her legs had gone through four rounds of stitches, and, while the right had mostly healed, her left was much weaker. It might never fully recover. She tried not to think about that. Instead, she waved Henry over to sit next to her by the window. He grinned and just about skipped over to her the second Regina let go of him. He only briefly paused to look back at their mother with wide eyes. When she lightly nodded, he hopped up onto the chair across from his sister. He started to babble in both excitement and relief, and Lynn, not entirely sure how focused she was, just tried to enjoy being with her family again. He only stopped when some of the doctors came to take a look at Lynn's vitals again. Regina lingered, her hands tightening, briefly, around the strap of her purse. When the doctors left, again, she joined the two of them, standing just behind her youngest.

"Are you doing alright?"

Lynn nodded. "I've started physical therapy for thirty minutes every other day. I'm able to walk better now, for the most part."

Henry looked down at her legs, both of which were bandaged, and one of which was in a brace.

"You're going to be able to go home soon, right?" Henry looked back up at his sister. "If you can walk okay, then you can go home, right?"

"I guess soon," Lynn said, tugging her hair out of its long braid. "But they said it's going to be another month."

Henry's face fell. "Oh…"

"It's okay," Lynn said, wincing a bit when her fingers caught in her hair. "I'm more worried about school."

"You don't have to worry about that," Regina gently told her. "They know you're in hospital, they're not going to hold that against you for your marks."

Lynn let her hands drop, mostly having freed her hair from its braid.

"I just hate all of this."

"I know," Her mother came over to her, and hugged her the best she could. "It's going to be okay. And we'll make sure that the girls who did this to you will have to face what they've done."

"How?" Henry stared at them in confusion. "They aren't anywhere near here."

"They aren't," Regina sighed, turning around and looking between both of her kids. "But we know who they are, and that's why we're going to be able to hold them accountable."

"Okay," Henry paused in thought. "They aren't going to be anywhere near town, right?"

"Of course not," Regina almost snapped. She softened her voice when Henry winced. "No, Henry, neither of you will have to worry about that. They won't be coming near town."

There's more than one reason for that. Leah and Stefan already think they know the truth. They cannot get any other opportunity to ruin things for all of us.

"We had a perfect life…" Lynn mumbled.

"Hey," Henry just about ran over to his sister. "Mom's right that life is still going to be fine! We're alright, aren't we?"

"Yes," Regina said without hesitation. "Please don't worry too much, either of you."

Henry took that in and then tightly hugged his mother. Regina held onto him, and Lynn took her mother's free hand. Just like when her mother had first come into the hospital to see her, she held onto her mother, terrified that she and Henry would disappear if she didn't.

Why? Why did they have to do this? We were friends…

"Netta?" Henry stared at his sister, his brow furrowing in worry when he saw she was starting to cry. "You get to come home next month! It'll be okay!"

"I won't let them get away with this," Regina gently brushed a hand through her daughter's hair. "They can't."

I hope this won't be another promise I can't keep…

"I can't go to prison! I -"

"Calm down, Aria," Stefan cut in, sharing a knowing look with his wife. "You are not going to prison."

"Absolutely," Leah said, her heels clicking against the floor as she started to pace their daughter's room. "I can assure you of that."

Aria rubbed her eyes, puffy and red.

"How are you so sure?" She whispered. "Regina will do anything to get her way."

Leah and Stefan both paused.

"She has little power in this world," Leah said shortly. "She gave up her power when she used that curse."

"The dark curse," Stefan added. "Though how she managed it, I am not quite sure."

Leah snorted. "That's not a mystery. She's the evil queen. If anyone were capable of finding and managing to use magic that dark for her own ends, then it would be her."

"So she can get me!" Aria tightened her arms around the pillow in her arms. "That's what I'm scared of! She's going to -"

"She's going to do anything," Stefan said with finality. That's simply not how things work. Your mother is right, she gave that up with her curse. She didn't think it through. That has always been her biggest flaw. She is incredibly emotional and impulsive. Those two things have not worked in her favour."

"And they won't start working in her favour," Leah said, crossing her arms. "She's taken so much from us. Years of our lives, everything we had! She even tried to take you!"

"Leah," Stefan said pointedly. "You and Aria are completely secure, as am I. We have nothing to worry about, and certainly not from Regina of all people."

Leah pursed her lips, her eyes falling between him and their daughter.

"Aria, for all of our sakes, I need you to answer a simple question," She said, her voice softening. "Is the princess dead?"

Silence.

"Yes," Aria mumbled. "She was bleeding like crazy when we left her, and she was just…out in the open."

Stefan breathed a sigh of relief. Leah eventually did too.

"Were you able to contact that bounty hunter again?" Leah turned to her husband. "We need to know everything for our legal defence."

"She gave us a burner number, I was never able to find her main. She's very private," Stefan shook his head, handing his wife his mobile. "This was the last message I received."

Leah's eyes narrowed and she let out a short sound of indignation when she read the message:

There's nothing in the world you can offer me that will persuade me to try, even in the slightest, to help someone get away with murder.

"There's more than that, scroll up," Stefan told her. "The conversation is worth taking a look at."

Swan: I don't know what happened, and I don't want to.

S. Watson: We are not asking for anything but you to do a short and concise investigation with the opportunity, still, to destroy something worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Swan: All to cover up a murder.

S. Watson: That is not what we are asking of you. But we are willing to pay you upwards of our original offer. What do you want?"

Swan: I would love to know about my birth family, but since it doesn't seem like I was born in this country, that's a lost cause.

S. Watson: You're right, we can't do that. Is there anything else you want alongside the money?"

Swan: There's nothing in the world you can offer me that will persuade me to try, even in the slightest, to help someone get away with murder.

"It's not a murder," Leah shoved her husband's mobile back to him. "It was self defence and nothing more."

Aria started crying again.

"You're going to be just fine," Stefan said, coming over to her. "You were defending yourself, that's our spin and we'll get it through if they try litigation for the death."

Aria sniffled. "What if Regina curses me again? She already did it once, what if -"

"That bitch has no power in this world," Leah bitterly assured her. "Again: she gave that up with her curse. And, thankfully, she will never get that power back."

Perhaps the least obvious but most cultivated talent of a Mister Abraxas Gold was that, if even the slightest thing was out of place in his shop, we would know simply by the way the air flowed differently.

Today was no different.

It was to little surprise of his, too. The scent of another person lingered quite clearly when he stepped in that morning. He knew where they were, too. It took only a few seconds to realise that. The back room. A prime location to hide. Lie in wait. He snorted. They were being almost too obvious. She wants to talk. Well, then so be it. He tapped his cane briefly against the floor in announcement of his presence. Then, he began to walk to the back. Pulled out his keys though he knew it would be unlocked. Just as he had left it the night before, the door to the back room was unlocked. She had known that. He had just about been inviting her in, to stop by, to pay him a visit. Their visits were never the most pleasant. They were, however, vastly preferable to any interaction with the queen. That had become especially true of the past two months. It was understandable, he reasoned, for her to be that way. She had become further short tempered and insufferable. He took a look around his shop. Everything was as it should be. He smirked a bit to himself. The queen had no idea how much he knew, and to keep her in the dark for as long as possible was very much desirable. He almost laughed. He walked into the room. Shut the door, and flicked on the lights.

"I know you're in here, dearie. You should know, too, that a…certain someone has no desire to be anywhere near here right now."

He looked almost bored when the woman finally stepped out from the shadows. He flicked on the overhead lights, and shut the door to the back of his store. Leaning on his cane a little, Gold waited for her to step all the way out.

"I don't have all day, dearie."

"Don't be like that," The woman said, brushing off her suit. "You and I go far back. Did you really think I would take any unnecessary risks?"

He snickered. "Perhaps I should have known."

She rolled her eyes and said nothing, tapping one foot against the floor.

"I was a bit surprised when I heard you were the one who gave some blood for Lynnetta's first blood transfusion," He remarked, sorting through some trinkets and baubles. "It was to my recollection that you absolutely despise everything to do with her."

"She's my granddaughter," The woman said coldly. "I don't like how she was brought into this world, but I'm not letting anyone take her out of it before her time."

"You always were a persnickety woman," Gold glanced towards her. "Cora."

She narrowed her eyes. "Rumple."

He snickered. "Does your daughter, per chance, know you're in town?"

"I'm not stupid," Cora replied. "Regina would probably kill me with her bare hands after everything I've supposedly done to ruin her life. Though she might hesitate if she knew I was partially responsible for saving her daughter's life."

"They would have fairly easily found someone else," Gold countered. "You are not as unique as you like to think, dearie."

"Maybe," She said. "But I saw the sheriff leave in a rush that morning, and he left town. Reasonably speaking, I assumed either something had happened to my daughter, or my grandchildren."

"Regina is not stupid enough to get herself into danger," Gold dropped a couple of pieces of old jewellry back into a vase. "The only member of that family stupid enough to so is your granddaugther. I am surprised that you didn't think of that first yourself."

"Given the things my daughter has done throughout the years," Cora said darkly. "Up to and including falling pregnant with my granddaughter with a stable boy of all people, I am more than able to see her doing any number of things that would -"

"You severely underestimate her, Cora," He dropped all pretence from his voice. "That has always been your weakness, especially with her."

Cora pursed her lips. "You're wrong."

"Regina was able to bring herself to cast the dark curse," He reminded her. "Killing your husband - the only person who ever gave her whatever she wanted - to do so. She is not someone to underestimate. Look at this entire town. She is incredibly powerful, even without magic. Though she would do well to remember her own weaknesses, because, if everyone in this town come to and remember who she is…they will be looking for blood."

Replies To Reviews:

jasouatfan: though she doesn't know it, Emma saw something that left an impact on her son. even though she's wrong in assuming it was an intentional car crash meant to kill, but she knew something very, very wrong happened, and, given her job, that did not sit well with her.

Coral Skipper: i'm glad you're feeling energised! this is a super interesting start to new phase and (since the fic is, as of the posting of the next chapter, one fourth of the way written; 50/200) definitely yet another turn in the (as of now twenty seven) years since the curse.

barrattajennifer: Cindy and Aria definitely should face punishment for what they did but, just like in the real world, sometimes justice does not come smoothly if at all.