Disclaimer: Some lines were taken from episode 3x18 Bleeding Through from the transcription site Forever Dreaming
Author's Note: Thanks to my beta Esther-Channah. Also, to certain writers/readers, yes, I had you in mind when writing certain scenes; you know who you are. Enjoy!
Chapter 6: The Past Comes Back To Haunt You
It wasn't a hospital. That was what Daddy said. It was a place people went to be comfortable, before they went back to God. Except Daddy didn't believe in God. Andrea knew that. Whenever they went to visit Grandma and Grandpa and they tried to get them to come to church, Daddy would talk about Darwin and the monkeys and how he wanted his kids to be brighter than that.
And Andrea was bright. She was bright enough to know that this was a hospital, or something like it. Hospice sounded enough like hospital, and the people were sick, and Mommy was here. And Mommy was dying.
Daddy hadn't wanted her to come with him. He'd said Mommy was different and it would be hard, but she'd needed to see for herself. She'd needed to say goodbye. She'd needed to see Mommy one last time. She'd needed Mommy to hold her and rock her and sing some Broadway hit off-key and for Daddy to laugh and tell her to keep her day job. She'd needed Mommy to tell her it would all be okay.
Except Mommy had been asleep, or at least, she'd looked like she was asleep. Except Andrea had slept in bed with Mommy before, and she knew how Mommy tossed and turned when she slept. Mommy wasn't tossing and turning now. She wasn't moving. Andrea didn't think she was breathing.
She put her hand on Mommy's, and wondered at how cold it felt. It was like touching a doll. And Mommy didn't stir.
"Jason should be here," she said.
"Jason is too little," Daddy said. "He's better with Grandma and Grandpa."
Andrea shook her head. "But won't he want to say goodbye? Won't Mommy want him to?" Her father didn't say anything. "WE should wake her up, right? she's sleeping, and we're here to visit, and we should wake her."
Her father brushed her hair behind her ear. "Oh, sweetheart. I'm so sorry. Mommy … Mommy isn't going to wake up."
"But we were going to say goodbye. That's why we came here! Isn't that why we came?"
Her father nodded. "It is. We are. But we're … we're saying goodbye for us. Because sometimes, you need to say goodbye just so you know you said it. And wherever she is, Mommy will hear us."
"But she's right there. We just have to wake her up!"
"Sweetheart –"
"No!"
"Andrea – "
"NO! NO! NO! NO! I don't … she can't … she can't be-"
Her father grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a fierce hug. As he spoke, shushing her, she noted how strange he sounded. His breathing was so heavy and thick swallows punctuated his words. She realized he was trying not to cry. "Sweetheart, your mother … she loved you so much. So, so very much. And I love you. And Jason. You two mean the world to me. And Mommy's love is so strong that … that it will live on forever, just like mine. But Mommy … Mommy is gone."
She wanted to cry. Everything felt fake and wrong, and Daddy was crying now and she'd never seen Daddy cry before. And now he was. He was crying, and Mommy was gone. Mommy was dead.
Dead. She thought the word that she hadn't let herself think until this moment, and it felt like an anchor falling in her brain. She could hear it as it fell, all final, like everything was just over. She looked over at what was left of Mommy. Mommy's body. It was just a body now. Mommy was gone, and she would never see her again.
"Mom? It couldn't be. That couldn't be her mother, standing before her, smiling at her like she had so many times over the years. It was an illusion, a trick. Magic.
Magic was real. Andrea had always believed people couldn't come back from the dead, but she'd also believed The Wizard of Oz was just a book and that flying monkeys didn't exist. She'd seen magic. It was real. And now …
She broke into a run, her arms flying out, and her mother wrapped her own around her. She was soft and squishy, just as Andrea remembered her being. Her mother held her head with one hand, stroking her hair and making shushing sounds.
"You've gotten so big."
Andrea laughed. "I grew two inches after eighth grade."
Her mother released her, stepping back and taking a look. She took her daughter's hands, marveling at the length of her arms, twirling her around, before grabbing her face in her hands.
"You're beautiful. You're nearly a woman."
"Well, I've always been mature for my age. Now I'm just the right height for my brain."
"I hate to cut this reunion short," the Wizard of Oz said. "But time is of the essence. She can't be here long."
"What? Why not?"
"Because bringing someone back from the other side is very complicated magic, not to mention dangerous. If I don't send her back –"
"Send her? No!" Andrea stepped in between her mother and the Wizard, "You're not sending her anywhere. I don't care what kind of balloon you have, you're not taking her."
"Balloon? Oh, yes. Well, don't believe everything you read. It was actually – "
"Oz?" her mother said. "I'm feeling … unwell." She started to sway.
"Mom!"
The wizard caught her mother, laying her down gently. "I told you, she can't be here long. Not quite. Not yet."
"Yet?"
"There is a way for her to stay longer, but right now, we need to focus on the wicked witch."
"Screw the wicked witch! You can't bring my mom back just to take her away. That's worse than never bringing her back at all."
"I brought her back because I need your help, and if you help me, I'll help you."
"You're saying … that if I help you, you'll make sure my mom can stay here. For real? For good?
The Wizard nodded, "I swear on my honor."
"You have no honor."
"And you have quite the mouth on you. I'm helping you. I'm trying to help everyone. I'm offering to (help you?) defeat the witch, bring back your mother, and you haven't even said thank you. What would your father say?"
"He'd say that this is messed up."
"My bringing you the thing you want most is messed up?"
"No! It's … Just promise me that she'll be back. She'll be alive. She'll be here."
"I promise. If you help me, you will be with your mother permanently."
Andrea squared her shoulders and took a deep breath, "Okay. What do you need me to do?"
How could she have been so stupid! Letting Zelena just talk at her while her heart was in jeopardy? She should have seen right through it. She was supposed to be smarter than this. She should be able to predict Zelena's moves. After all, she had been a villain, hadn't she? She'd been the Evil Queen. And wouldn't she have done the exact same thing?
At least Roland and Robin were okay. And she was still alive. Now she just needed answers, which was what had led her to Gold's shop. Rumpelstiltskin had trained her sister, not to mention their mother. If there were any clues about Zelena's weak spots, wouldn't they be here?
She was sure there was some form of system to everything; Rumple was nothing if not meticulous. But she didn't know his system, and she couldn't find anything!
"This is all useless crap!" she said in frustration.
"Hey! Hey, hey! Stop! Stop it! What—what are you looking for?"
"I need to destroy my sister. She has my heart." Belle's eyes widened and she shrank back a little, causing Regina to roll her eyes." Oh, relax. She can't control me with it. I protected it from that. The problem is, I don't know what she's planning on using it for, which is why I need to take her out! That's why I need your help."
"I've been trying, in case you haven't noticed," Belle said stiffly.
"Well, since our sleeping curse went up in smoke – "
"We came up with another one, Tink, Bae, Killian, and I."
"What?"
"Yes, and you'd know that, had you bothered to check in. but you couldn't even be bothered to tell me why the original plan didn't work. Tink had to do that."
"Well, I'm sorry that I've been busy. In case you didn't notice, my sister is trying to ruin my life."
"All our lives! This isn't just about you, Your Majesty."
"I know that! Look, why don't you tell me what it is you and the pirate came up with?"
Belle shook her head, "No."
"No?"
"You said Zelena knows you, and she's certainly watching you. The fewer people who know, the better. Why don't you just sit tight while we handle this?"
"You're benching me? Like some child? You expect me to just wait around and tap my shoes – "
"I expect you to be a team player. You have a role to play, and your time will come, but right now, we need to work behind the scenes, and you are in the center of everything. So you're going to have to trust me."
"You've given me little reason. You hate me, and you've made that perfectly clear."
"Perhaps … perhaps I do. But I still have a lot on the line, and I'm hardly going to throw someone under the bus just because I don't like them. So, trust me. Trust that I want your sister defeated and I want Rumple back. And trust Tink and Hook. They're your friends, aren't they?"
"'Friends' is an exaggeration. We simply have … history."
"You and Hook were allies, weren't you?"
"Sometimes. When we could stand to be, and it benefitted us both."
"And you and Tink-?"
"You don't need to know everything about my past."
"Well, can you trust them? Can you trust the four of us to get Rumple out from under her control?"
Regina sighed. "You know, even without him, she is pretty powerful."
"Well, the odds for us will improve by a large margin, and besides, Rumple doesn't deserve to be her slave. But she needs him for a reason, doesn't she?"
"Supposedly. The question is, what is it?"
"Feel free to look into that. Just leave the shop intact."
Emma hated being awakened from a good dream, which is why she was grateful that she'd had a dreamless sleep. She woke up to reality, and reality right now felt like the best possible dream. For the first time since Killian had shown up in New York, Emma woke up with the biggest smile on her face.
Yes, a wicked witch was still threatening the people she loved.
Yes, she still might have to deal with Henry learning the truth about his upbringing. Yes that still scared her.
But Aaron … they were going to make it work. They were going to try. He wanted to try. And she wanted to be happy with him. And she was.
She checked that Henry was asleep. Like any preteen, he was still out cold, snoring and drooling in a way that she found both cute and a little gross. The joys of motherhood.
As quietly as possible, Emma grabbed her to-go hot cocoa from yesterday out of the mini-fridge and popped it in the microwave for a minute. True, Granny's was right downstairs, but she didn't want to have to get dressed or put on make-up, or deal with the world. There was only one person she wanted to talk to.
Cocoa in hand, Emma put on the complimentary slippers and tiptoed next door. She tapped on Aaron's door and sipped her cocoa while she and waited for him to answer. It didn't take long. He met her with a smile.
"The kids are still asleep," he said by way of greeting.
"I know. Henry's out too. I feel sort of like a teenager sneaking around to see my boyfriend, except for the part where I never did that as a teenager."
Aaron nodded. "Is it okay that we're out here? They won't get attacked?"
"Regina did a protection spell on the rooms last night. If she hadn't, we never would have brought them back here."
"Right. Spells, magic. It's all still …"
"I know."
"But I am happy to see you first thing in the morning," he said, giving her a smile.
"Yeah? How happy?" Aaron leaned down and kissed her and it warmed her down to her toes, "Well, that had more of an effect than the caffeine."
"I've never been big on caffeine," Aaron said.
"Big surprise," Emma replied, rolling her eyes fondly.
"I do, however, like how you often taste like cinnamon."
That made her blush. Putting her cup down beside them, she grabbed him and continued the kiss for a minute or two. She hadn't been lying before. Stealing kisses like this made her feel like some love-struck teenager, which she was surprised to find she didn't mind. She felt giddy. When was the last time that had happened?
"Hey?" she asked between pecks. "Can we talk for a sec?"
Aaron leaned back to give her space. "What's up?"
"Well, yesterday, we were talking about why I don't fight with magic as well as I could, and Henry was saying how I should get someone to teach me, remember?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I was thinking maybe I could do something about that. Take lessons, I mean. If you're … if you're okay with it?"
"Since when do you ask my permission for stuff you want to do?"
"It's not really something I want to do. It's more something that I … probably should do. Like it or not, we're fighting a witch, and if I'm going to beat her …"
"You need to start going double, double, toil and trouble?"
Emma nodded. "Yeah. I mean, not that exactly, I don't think, but - "
"I get it. Emma, I don't want you to … to hold back from doing what you would do, or think you should do, because you're scared I might leave."
"I know you don't. I just … I just wish it was less complicated. And if we're trying to make this work, we need to make these decisions together, right?"
"Well, if you need to become a super-powerful witch, I think that could be a good thing, so long as you're a good witch. Or a sandwich."
Emma snorted. "That's such a corny dad-joke."
"I'm a corny dad."
Emma heard her ringtone coming from her room. "That's probably my mom. She and Dad are supposed to meet us that diner for breakfast and a strategy session."
"You want me to keep the kids busy up here?"
"I wish, but if I cut Henry out, he'll find some way to be heroic and stupid. Strategizing is mostly harmless, and who knows? The kids might be able to contribute; we have some pretty smart ones."
Aaron pecked her lips quickly. "I'll go wake up my kids, you go get the phone. Meet you downstairs as soon as we can?"
"Sounds like a plan."
"I brought breakfast," Neal said, as he came into his dad's shop. After placing the bag of pastries and what Granny called bagels on the counter, he took a huge swallow of coffee.
He was still a little tired; he and Killian had been up late talking. It had been nice, talking about his mom and getting to know her. He had a feeling Killian was editing some of the stories a bit, maybe to make Milah come off better, or to spare Neal having to hear about their sex life. If it was the latter, he was grateful, but the former wasn't necessary. He planned to tell Killian that today, but Belle had left him a message to meet her at the shop, and Killian was clearly sleeping the day away. He'd left a note, though.
In any case, his mom might be dead, but his probably future step-mom was alive and well, smiling at him. He was glad. She'd been through a lot. Smiling was probably not something she had done very much of lately.
"That's very sweet, Neal, but you didn't have to. I can feed myself," Belle said. Still, she reached into the bag, took out a bagel and a tub of cream cheese, and set about making herself a sandwich. "I usually get burgers, but these aren't bad."
"They're crap. Once this whole Wicked Witch ordeal is over, you and Pop are coming to stay with me in the city, and I'll show you what a real bagel tastes like." Belle stopped chewing. He felt her scrutinizing him and it made him uncomfortable, "I, um, I'm sorry it wasn't burgers. I should have asked."
"No that's fine," Belle said, "You're planning on going back to New York then? To live?"
Oh. That was what that look was. "I hadn't really thought about it, to be honest. I mean, I had a life there, a job, a few friends." He took a sip of coffee, trying to think. "Then again, I haven't been to work in over a year, so I'm probably fired, and who knows what happened to my apartment?
"Henry's here, and Pop. When I first came here, I was with Tamara, and I figured we would go back to our lives once we knew how to make everything work with Henry, but she wasn't who I thought she was, and she isn't in the picture anymore. Between Henry getting kidnapped, my father dying, the curse, my dying, and everything that's happened, I haven't really had time to think about it."
Belle nodded. "Well, you'd be welcome here. That is, not here, but at Rumple's. You could live with him; he'd love that."
"Maybe. I don't know. Aren't I a little old to mooch off my dad?"
"You were separated for so long, I would think of it more as making up for lost time."
Neal nodded. "Well, I guess it's something to think about, but that's not why you called me here."
"No, it isn't. Zelena has spies everywhere, so it's only a matter of time before she discovers what we're planning. We need to work quickly and put the plan into action."
"Right. Well, did you call Tink?"
Belle shook her head. "I don't have her number."
"Well, I guess one of us can swing by the convent later. We need her, both for the poppies, and for the magic side of this."
"Before we do that, here's my question. How do we get close enough to Zelena and Rumple to do what we planned?"
"Well, you know where she keeps my dad, right? That farmhouse? If we go there and ink him – "
"We need to get to her first. If I go to Rumple, she'll come up behind me. Actually, the best thing would be to get her alone, but I don't see how we could draw her out without him. Maybe … maybe we could draw her out with him though? I'm just not sure how."
"Well, she's after Regina, right? Why don't we offer Regina up to her?"
"Even if she believed us, she can get to Regina on her own. She has a plan, and that plan involves … I could offer to help her. I could say I want to make a trade, Rumple for Snow's baby."
"But the baby isn't born yet."
"Well, I can offer to be a spy, play the midwife like she was."
"You think she'll believe you?"
"Believe that I'd do anything to get Rumple back? Yes, I think she might. Now we just need to get a message to her."
Rumple's shop had been no help. Then again, Regina might have let her temper get the better of her earlier. It wasn't just her sister who was pissing her off, though as green as Zelena apparently had been in their world, in Storybrooke, she had Regina seeing red.
It wasn't just the fact that she'd lost her heart or the fact that Robin's son had been in danger.
Those things made her furious, of course, but now the bookworm had added flames to the fire and Regina was near ready to explode.
How dared she? This was her fight, and if there was a plan to defeat Zelena, she damned well deserved to know what it was!
The three of them had probably set it up between them: Belle, who acted so innocent, Tink who claimed Regina could be happy, and the pirate, who just like to rile her up. But Regina was getting answers.
She could have ripped out Belle's heart and made her tell, but that stank of Evil Queen, and Regina really was trying to be better. She couldn't solve this with dark magic. So she had brewed up something a little subtler.
Killian already looked hung-over when he came to the door. This was going to be easier than she thought.
"Can I help you with something, love?"
Regina proffered the bottle. "My sister was giving me a headache, and so I decided to experiment with my apple cider recipe. Have you ever tried it with spiced rum?"
Killian smiled, "Well that, your majesty, is the password. Would you like to come in?"
It didn't take long for Emma to get dressed. She tried to wake Henry, but like the preteen he was, he kept asking for five more minutes and pulling up the covers. She left a note and headed to the diner, where she found her mother waiting for her in one of the booths.
"Where's Dad?"
"He had to use the bathroom. We tried a new recipe last night that didn't agree with him."
"Okay, one, aren't you supposed to be the one with the sensitive stomach right now? And two, that is way too much information."
"Where's Henry?"
"Sleeping in. And I figure Aaron's kids doing the same. They might want to be included, but waking up early when it isn't a school day? That would take magic. Speaking of, is Regina on her way, at least?"
"I tried calling, but it went to voicemail."
"Well. I need to talk to her, so …"
Ruby came over then, bringing a hot cocoa with cinnamon for Emma. "You guys ready to order?"
Emma nodded, "Grilled cheese for me, and onion rings."
"Snow?"
"I'll have the same."
"Coming up."
Ruby headed back to the kitchen to put their order in. "It's interesting that she's still a waitress. I haven't taught at the school since the curse broke."
"Well, we've been kind of busy. Oh, that reminds me! I wanted to ask you the other day, you said something about the huntsman, and that you would tell me later?"
Snow's face fell. "Right. That was … Graham."
"What?" Emma asked, her hand going to the shoestring bracelet on her wrist.
"The huntsman who spared me, he was Graham. But we didn't believe in the curse when he was around, so it never came up."
"Wow. Graham. I haven't thought about him in … We've been so busy. Is it wrong that I haven't thought about him?"
"No, of course not. We've had a lot going on. I'm not sure Regina has spared him much thought either."
"Right. She lost him too," Emma said. "They were a weird couple, for sure."
"Well, I don't know if couple was the right word."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Regina had his heart, so I'd bet he wasn't with her willingly. And when he ended it … Well, we all know that didn't end very well for him."
Emma's eyes widened. Suddenly, memories came at her like a kaleidoscope, Graham telling her he didn't have his heart, that Regina did. Henry saying that Regina killed Graham because he was good, everything she knew now about the magic of taking someone's heart, about what could happen …
Her eyes widened as a blind rage swept through her. "She killed him?" she said, a little louder than she probably should have. Snow looked at her with wide eyes, but didn't say anything. "She killed him! Regina killed Graham! That's … I can't believe …"
"Emma, keep your voice down," Snow said hurriedly.
"What, is it a big secret? Am I the only idiot who didn't put the pieces together?"
"No, it's not a secret, but Emma, the last thing we need right now is for everybody to turn on Regina."
"Why? She's a murderer."
"Yes, she is. She murdered thousands back in our land, which everyone here is aware of, especially me. Or have you forgotten it was me she was trying to punish when all this started? But that was a long time ago – "
"You're right, that all happened decades ago, before I was even born. But Graham? I knew him. I cared about him! And she just – "
"Is everything okay?" she heard Henry ask at her shoulder. Turning, she saw that he, Andrea, Jason, and Aaron had all gotten dressed and come over to their booth, ready to slide in and start breakfast.
"I … No, it isn't. But – "
"But we don't have to focus on it right now," her mother interrupted. "What we need to focus on is breakfast. And, of course, what we're going to do about Zelena."
"Good morning," David said as he approached them. "What did I miss?"
Before anyone could answer him, Ruby came and took their orders, telling Emma that the fryer was being finicky, so their food might take a few more minutes.
"We were just talking about what we're going to do about Zelena," Snow said.
Emma sighed. "Yeah. We do need to get into that, I guess."
"You guess?" David asked.
"We talked about it a little this morning," Aaron said.
"When did you two see each other this morning?" Henry asked.
Emma blushed. "What we talked about was me learning magic, like Henry suggested."
"Great," David said. "So, you'll go to Regina –"
"No," Emma said quickly.
"What?"
"I'm not going to Regina. Not now. If I saw her right now, I just might kill her."
"Okay, so I definitely missed something," David said.
"Mom's right. It isn't the time to talk about it. We need to plan."
"But if the plan is you learning magic – "
"Then I need to find someone to teach me. Someone other than Regina."
"Regina's the only one we know who could. She's taught you before, and she had some success. She's the only one who taught you," David said.
"That's not true. Gold taught me some, remember?"
"Who is Gold?" Aaron asked.
"Rumpelstiltskin," Snow replied.
Jason let out a gasp. "You mean the guy who steals babies? You learned from him? Did you learn how to kidnap kids and stuff?"
"Jason," Aaron chastised.
"He's my grandfather," Henry said.
Emma turned her eyes on him. "How do you know that?"
Henry rolled his eyes. "Because you told me, remember?"
"Oh. Right. Sorry. It's hard to keep it all straight."
"Rumpelstiltskin isn't an option," Snow said. "We can't get to him right now."
"Why not?" Henry asked.
"Well, the wicked witch has him enslaved, which aside from being dangerous is rather inconvenient," Snow replied.
"I'm not sure if I'd call someone being enslaved inconvenient," Aaron said.
"But, I mean, he's a bad guy," Jason said. "Like, the wicked witch is trying to destroy the evil queen, and she enslaved the baby-napper. For someone who is supposed to be a villain, it seems like all of the people she's going after are pretty bad too. Are you sure she's as bad as you guys think?"
Emma sighed. "She is. She's trying to take their unborn child," she motioned toward her parents. "And Mr. … I mean, Rumpelstiltskin isn't exactly a bad guy. He sacrificed himself to save everyone."
"And Regina is trying," Snow added, causing Emma to snort. "Well, if you're willing to cut Rumpelstiltskin some slack – "
"I am not having this conversation right now, Mom. I'm not going to learn magic from her."
"And if you have no choice?"
"Isn't there anyone not evil you can learn from? Like Glinda the Good?" Andrea asked.
"We already tried that yesterday. Getting to Oz is a no-go," Emma said.
"Thanks for telling me," Andrea said. "But there must be someone. Everyone here is a fairy tale character. Are you telling me the only people with magic are three villains? Who do you go to for good magic? What good magic users do you know?"
"Well, there is Blue," David said.
"The fairies?" Snow asked, turning to him.
"It's worth a try. I mean, if Emma won't learn from Regina – "
"I won't," Emma said. "At least, not right now. I can't deal with her right now."
"She really has changed," Snow said.
"Tell that to Graham," Emma retorted.
"I think a minute ago, you guys were talking about actual fairies. Why don't we go back to that?" Andrea said.
Emma nodded. "I don't know Blue well, but you guys trust her, right?" Her parents nodded, and Emma continued. "And maybe Andrea's right. My magic, it's light, or good, or whatever the proper term is. Regina's isn't. Regardless of how I feel about her right now, do we really think she's the best one to be teaching me?"
"She has a point," her father said.
"David!"
"Snow, I know Regina is changing, but her magic is still dark. And Emma isn't like that. Do we want her to be? Our daughter is a hero. She should learn from someone who knows light magic."
"Not that this is the point of any of it," Andrea started, "but what are the fairies like? Do we get to meet them? Have we heard of any of them?"
"You probably met some of them already," David said, "when everyone was hiding at the convent. The curse made all the fairies nuns."
"Nuns?" Andrea said.
"Seriously? Fairies and nuns?" Jason said, "Isn't one bad enough?"
"Hey, if you guys don't want to come to magic class, you're welcome to go back to the loft with my parents."
"We want to come," Henry said. "It'll be like Hogwarts, sort of, right?"
"Not exactly. But you will get to meet Tinkerbell."
"Let's go!" Andrea said, getting a laugh out of Emma.
"Yeah. Let's go. After breakfast," she agreed.
As if on cue, Ruby came over with their plates.
"Squid ink? You think that will work?" Robin asked, his eyebrow raised.
Neal nodded. "Yeah. The stuff makes magic a non-option. Now, we just need you to shoot an arrow out of that magic bow of yours and – "
"I'm not so sure about that bow," Robin said, shaking his head. He turned back towards his camp.
Neal and Belle followed after him. "But it's enchanted. I saw you use it on Rumple. An arrow fired from it can't miss its target."
"But someone with magic can change the target, or so I learned this morning, when your father nearly killed my son."
Neal's eyes widened and they all stopped walking. Belle put her hand on Robin's arm. "I'm sorry. That must have been terrifying."
"There's nothing scarier than someone targeting your kid," Neal said. "Is Roland okay?"
Robin nodded. "He's frightened, but physically, he's fine. And before you get defensive, yes. I know the Dark One is not responsible for his actions right now, but that doesn't make him any less dangerous. What's to stop him or Zelena from using magic to redirect the arrow at one of us?"
"She wouldn't know it was coming until it hit her. We'd place you in a tree, out of sight."
"It's not that I don't want to help, but this plan has so many ways it can go wrong." Robin took a seat on a rock. "And as for the magic, suffice it to say, I'm out of my depth."
"I'm not overly comfortable with magic either," Neal said. "And yeah, this plan has a few holes. I don't like Belle baiting the witch on her own, but we can't just do nothing. We have to try and get my dad back."
Belle nodded. "We keep talking ourselves out of plans, but the more time passes, the worse things get for him. And … and a good plan executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week."
Robin shook his head. "What idiot taught you that? Don't tell me it was the Dark One."
"Patton," Belle said.
"You know Patton?" Neal asked.
"Who is Patton?" Robin asked.
"He's a general of this world –" Belle began.
"He was a psycho," Neal said. "We're not taking tips from a crazy war general."
"This is a war, isn't it?" Belle retorted. "Aren't we at war with Zelena?" "Perhaps there is an easier way to get the ink on the witch," Robin interrupted. "One that doesn't put any of us at as much risk."
"We're listening," Neal said.
"Well, what if we just leave it on something we know she'll touch?"
"But how will we know -?" Belle began to ask.
"We'll watch her," Neal said, picking up Robin's plan. It wasn't unlike cons he'd run. It seemed that he and the king of thieves had a few things in common. "In shifts. Or rather, we'll watch outside the storm cellar where she keeps Papa's cage. It's a big clearing, right? But there must be some foliage, or some way to hide our appearance. We'll watch when she comes and when she goes, and then we'll put some squid ink on … on the handle, or latch, or lock, or whatever that she uses to open the storm cellar."
"And if she sees that coming? If she sees us?" Belle asked.
"We'll be smart. Come on, Belle. Robin's right. This is a better plan. It should have been our first thought. I like it a hell of a lot better than you being alone with the witch for even a second."
"How long will it take, do you think? To learn her routine?" Belle asked.
"Two or three days, I'd wager," Robin said. "I'll take the first shift. I need to do something to stop this witch, instead of sitting and whittling. Besides which, staking out some place to rob falls under my skill set."
"Mine too," Neal put in. "Though I imagine my heists were a bit different than yours, tech-wise." Robin looked at him in confusion and he smiled. "Never mind. I'll tap in when you're done. It's not like I'm doing anything else, and I hid from Pan for centuries in a jungle. Finding a hiding place in a clearing can't be much harder than that."
"Why don't we see if Tink can make us invisible, just in case?" Belle asked. "Or maybe if she'll take a shift? Hiding as a fairy will be easier, if she goes small."
"Well, we have to stop by the convent and get the poppies from her anyway," Neal said.
"You're going to leave Roland with Much and the others?" Belle asked.
Robin hesitated. "Actually, I was wondering if you could recommend somewhere safer. Normally, I trust the forest, but he was attacked there earlier. The witch knows where I camp. Perhaps she's been watching me as well."
"Or she was watching Regina and saw her visiting you, or she used a locator spell, or she made a lucky guess. There's no use blaming yourself, Robin. What's important is that Roland is safe."
"What's important is that he remains safe. I trust my men, but they don't know this world, or magic, any better than I do. Could one of you, perhaps, take him somewhere and keep an eye on him?"
Neal shrugged. "It's not like I've gotten to hang out with my own kid. What do you think? Pop's shop?" he asked, turning to Belle.
Belle bit her lip. "I don't know that I'd call the pawnshop child-friendly."
"So where?" he asked.
Belle's eyes lit up. "Robin, does Roland like books?"
"You want us to teach you magic?" Blue asked as she eyed Emma, the Charmings, and the Davidsons.
"Light magic," Snow said. "Isn't that what she should be learning?"
"Ideally, yes. But our magic works quite differently from yours. We use wands and fairy dust."
Emma looked Blue up and down. She didn't know how fairies looked in the Enchanted Forest, but here, they were nuns, and that was something she never wanted to be. "I think I'd look a little silly using a wand. And I'm not trying to be a fairy. But I'm a … magical person, and I need to learn how to use what I have to fight Zelena. It's the only way we're going to defeat her."
Blue pursed her lips. "We can certainly help you get a grasp on the theory of magic. Fairies have books going back centuries on the subject."
"I'm … not really the book-learning type."
"Mastering the basics is essential. Why don't you sit down and I'll go get some books for you."
"Actually?" Andrea said, "I was hoping to meet Tinker Bell."
Blue's eyebrows went up, and then she took Snow aside to speak with her. Emma could only guess what they were discussing. She didn't know Blue well, but the disapproval on the fairy's face was pretty plain.
When they'd first entered the convent, she hadn't seemed pleased to see the out-of-towners, though she was, of course, gracious to Snow.
"I think you made her mad," Jason said unhelpfully.
"Shut up."
Blue and Snow came back over. "I'll ask Green—that is, Tinkerbell—to sit with you while I educate the Savior. You'll be safe within the convent's walls. Periwinkle?"
A passing nun stopped and turned to Blue. "Yes, Blue?"
"Could you lead these guests to the nursery while I take the Savior and Snow White to the library?"
"The nursery? Where the babies go?" Jason asked. Andrea kicked him. "Ow. Hey."
"Of course, Blue."
"Then could you please find Green and have her sit with them?"
Periwinkle shrugged. "Sure. But I could sit with them too."
"They've requested Green. These children are from the outside world. They've read the stories and – "
"I understand," Periwinkle said, her shoulders sagging. "They want the famous fairy. I'll take them."
"Very good."
She turned and headed off in another direction.
Emma looked after her. "I guess I'm supposed to follow her. And, Mom?"
"I asked to sit in, to support you, if you need it."
"Well, it can't hurt," she said, turning to Aaron. "Will you be okay?"
"Yeah. I'll be with your dad, the kids, Tinker Bell... I'll be fine."
Emma nodded. "I'll come find you when I'm done, okay?"
"Yeah. You go. Do what you have to."
She and Snow headed off after Blue, while David, Aaron, and the kids followed Periwinkle to the nursery.
Regina had been at Killian's for hours now. She wanted to get to the point of her visit, but sadly, getting the pirate drunk was no easy feat. He was well-practiced at holding his liquor.
He'd also encouraged her to partake, and she couldn't very well refuse.
"Well-brewed, your Majesty," Killian said, toasting her. "This'll get me good and drunk if I let it.
So let it, she thought. Out loud, she said, "I'm hardly that here."
"Hardly what?"
Regina rolled her eyes. He had the attention span of a gnat. "A majesty. This land doesn't recognize anyone from our land by that title. I'm the mayor here. Or I was during the first curse. I'm not sure what I am now."
"Aye, I know the feeling. To a queen without a kingdom and a pirate without a ship," he toasted her again. "So tell me, your Mayorjesty, what is it you truly want to ask me?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"Don't insult me."
"I enjoy insulting you," she said with a devilish smile.
"And I, you. But we both know you came here for a reason, and it wasn't to drink and flirt with yours truly. So, what is it?"
Regina huffed, "You're in on the plan to get Zelena, the one the bookworm and the fairy cooked up?"
"Aye. And Baelfire. What of it?"
"Tell me what it is."
"That's it? That's all you want?"
"That's all." Maybe this would be easier than she'd thought.
"Why not ask the bookworm or the fairy then?"
"Because … they've chosen to be difficult. Neither of them like me very much."
Killian laughed. "And you thought, what? You'd come here, get me drunk, and I'd divulge all secrets?"
"I don't see how it hurts you to tell me."
"No, it doesn't. But it's hilarious that your lack of popularity has you coming to me in desperation. Oh, and now you're pouting. Come, your Majesty; since when do you let the dislike of others stop you?"
"Since I stopped being a majesty. I've changed. Turned over a new leaf."
"Whatever you need to tell yourself."
"And what about you? Aren't you changing for Emma? Isn't that the whole reason you're in this town in the first place? The whole reason you got her from New York?"
Killian seemed to sober at that. "Aye."
"So be a changed man and help me defeat the wicked witch, instead of laughing at me like the bastard you are."
"You aren't helping your case, you know."
"And you aren't helping me either. This was a waste of time." Regina stood up, placing her glass on the nearest appliance. "As if you could ever be of use to anyone. Moping and pining after Emma as though a hero loving you could unstain your dark soul."
A deep guttural sound came out of Killian's throat, and he stood as well, "I think you're projecting, your Majesty."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Killian began to circle her. "The hoodlum in the forest? A thief, to be sure, but one who steals from the rich and gives to the poor, as I hear it. And that's nothing on the tale Tink told me."
"Excuse me?"
"A poor, innocent young lass, not yet evil, who turned away from love, and now she thinks she can turn back the clock. You can't stop being who you are any more than I can. You can't undo what you've done." He leaned into Regina's personal space and she could smell the rage coming off him as plain as the alcohol on his breath. "You will always be the Evil Queen, the woman who hired me to kill her own mother, bade me kill my own father, and cursed countless innocents for her petty revenge."
"As opposed to you, a ruthless pirate who killed countless innocents in the name of a woman he forgot the second he met a blonde with the good sense to say no?"
Killian struck out with his Hook, but Regina caught his arm. "Don't even think it, Captain. I'd flay you where you stand. You're lucky I let you in my town, given what you helped Greg and Tamara do to me."
"Your town? I thought you were nothing but a former mayor playing house in the forest."
"And you're nothing but a piece of shit."
"Such language. You've a mouth more worthy of a sailor than royalty."
"As if you care. You'd rather I was the Evil Queen, wouldn't you? Then you wouldn't be all alone here, drinking because Emma doesn't want you, and stuck in this town oscillating between villainy and heroism."
"I've hardly given up on Emma."
Regina crossed her arms, "Well she's given up on you. I've seen her with her boyfriend. They're nauseatingly adorable."
"As I'm sure you are with your thief, and as I'm sure Henry is when Emma tucks him in at night, the only mother he's ever known or cared for."
Regina slapped him. "You bastard."
"There's that language again. You should have been a pirate, majesty. A glorious pirate queen looting and pillaging and taking vengeance on all who dared wrong her."
"You're confusing us. I'm nothing like you, Hook. You're simply jealous and bitter because Robin sees good in me, and Emma never saw good in you."
"Of course he sees good. You haven't shown him who you truly are. Try meeting when you're trying to trick or harm him, he won't be all smiles. Just you wait, Majesty. There's a reckoning coming. Someday he'll wake up and see what I see in you."
"And what is that? An evil pirate queen to roam the seven seas with?"
"I was hardly saying I wanted –"
"Well, what were you saying, Captain? Because I think you're too drunk to even know."
Once again, Regina had invaded Killian's personal space. His nostrils flared, and for a moment, she expected him to strike out with his hook. The appendage did move, but only to pull her to him, and before she could think another thought about it, his mouth was on hers. If a pirate had dared kiss her when she was the Evil Queen, she would have crushed his heart. But she wasn't the Evil Queen. She didn't know who or what she was, except for being drunk, angry, and a little bit lonely. Or that was what she told herself when she didn't push him away and let the taste of his lips burn hers.
Roland, as it turned out, had no opinion of books. He'd never seen one. Oh, Belle knew that at four years old, he likely couldn't read yet, but she thought he might enjoy picture books, or having his father read to him. She was sure he would. But back in their land, books had been rather expensive, and his father had been a thief and an outlaw. Books had not been a priority.
Now, however, they lived in Storybrooke, which had a lending library, and Belle just so happened to be the librarian.
She hadn't opened the library back up since the new curse had been cast, so preoccupied had she been with running the pawnshop. But it was wonderful to be back in the library. Robin had brought Roland, and she had given him a tour.
Neal hung around for a bit before taking off to speak with Tinker Bell. He liked Roland well enough, but once Belle had decided she was going to show Roland the magic of books, suffice to say it was her domain, and Neal knew it.
Belle read a few children's books to Roland before her throat started to bother her, at which point, he was content to flip through the picture books she helped him pick out.
Roland was a good kid, as far as Belle could tell. She didn't have much experience with children, beyond running story hour during the brief periods in Storybrooke when there wasn't a crisis, but she figured she thought she liked children. She liked Roland at any rate, and she liked the children who had come to story hour—particularly Pinocchio who had a passion for books that rivaled her own.
It was just as she was thinking this that Geppetto and his son entered the library.
"Hello, Pinocchio. Gepetto. What can I do for you?"
"My boy, he wants new books to read," Gepetto said.
"I want to know what happens next to the kids at Wayside School."
"What's Wayside School?" A small voice piped up from behind them. Roland.
"It's a school that's backwards, upside down, right side up, and sideways," Pinocchio said. "Who are you?"
"Pinocchio, this is Roland. He's new to Storybrooke. Roland, this is Pinocchio."
"Nice to meet you," Roland said, smiling shyly.
"You too," Pinocchio said. "What stories do you like?"
"I like the story of how my momma and daddy met, and I like the story of how Miss Belle saved my daddy, and I like the stories about how my daddy made the sheriff of NotHam look silly and cry."
"Do you only know stories about your daddy?"
"Those are the stories daddy tells me."
"But they're all true. The best stories are made up. Haven't you ever made up a really good story?" Roland shook his head, and Pinocchio smiled. "I'll teach you. Everyone should know how to tell a good story."
Pinocchio grabbed Roland's hand and led him over to the play area, the Wayside School books forgotten.
Tinker Bell had never read Peter Pan. She'd never seen the movie. She'd never seen any movie, actually.
All these facts seemed to floor the kids, though, and Tink wasn't sure what to think of that.
"Everyone else here seems to know about pop culture," the girl named Andrea said.
"Well, they all came over with the first curse. I was still in Neverland."
"Well, you're here now. Don't you want to watch movies?" the boy named Jason said.
"Baelfire explained them to me when I first arrived. Moving picture stories? We have something like that as well, but it's magic. And after years of not having my powers, I think I'd prefer the real thing."
With that, Tinker Bell raised her wand. The lights went out in the room, and shadows started to dance on the walls. Soon the shadows formed into the shape of a fairy. It was Tinker Bell herself, staring back at them. She was tiny and bright as a spot of light, but if you looked closely, she was identical to the full-grown fairy standing before them. Shadows formed around her to form another fairy—the Blue Fairy—who was dressed quite differently than she was now in her nun outfit. Tink had made her look as she had in the Enchanted Forest.
"Once upon a time, there was a novice fairy who went by the name of Tinker Bell," she began when there was a knock on the door. The lights came back on and the children groaned.
"I'll be right back," Tink said, going to the door.
"There's a guy here for you," Periwinkle said. "Specifically you. Because everyone is requesting you today, apparently."
"I don't know anything of these stories, Peri," Tink said.
"Whatever. It's cool that you're the resident celebrity or whatever. I don't care if all the children and cute guys come asking for you."
Tink rolled her eyes. "This person who is here to see me, did he say what he wanted?"
"He said he was an old friend and he wanted to chat."
"Old friend?" That could be Hook or Baelfire, for all she knew.
"Yeah. He said he knew you in Neverland. I asked him if you two ever got hot and heavy and his ears went pink and he said no. It was adorable."
"Did he flirt with you?" Tink asked.
Periwinkle shook her head, looking disappointed. "He did not."
Balefire, then. Hook would have flirted with the fairy at least a little, even if he was stuck on Emma now. "Would you mind staying with the kids while I go talk to him?"
Periwinkle's eyes lit up. "I'd love to," she said, and then she blew past Tink into the room behind her.
Tink headed to the front of the convent where Bae was standing awkwardly. Tink greeted him with a hug.
"I hope Periwinkle didn't give you too hard a time," Tink said.
"Who? Oh, the other fairy. Yeah, she's a real flirt, which considering she's dressed like a nun is a little disconcerting."
"She's feeling a tad territorial right now. Blue is training Emma in how to use magic, so I'm supposed to entertain the kids, who of course want to know all about being a fairy, and apparently, I'm famous in this land, so they wanted me. Tell me, these stories about me, are they accurate?"
Bae shook his head. "Not really. Wait, the kids. Does that … I mean, is Henry in there?"
"Of course. Emma doesn't want him to be in danger, so while she's learning – "
"Does he have his memories back?"
"What? Bae I … I don't think so, no."
"But … but you said … you said he knows about magic. So that means …"
"I'm not quite sure how that happened. But he certainly doesn't know me, or have any memories of having met me before."
Bae's shoulder's slumped. "Oh."
The word alone broke Tink's heart. She put her hand on his shoulder, "Bae, I'm so sorry."
"It's just … he's my kid. And I missed so much of his life, and before I got to make up for it he was taken away, and then we were separated, and now he's finally right here again in the same town as me and I can't do anything!"
"You should talk to Emma."
"She's got enough on her plate."
"You have a right to be in your son's life."
"Do I? I abandoned him. I mean, yeah, I didn't know Emma was pregnant, but that doesn't make it okay. And after everything I went through in Neverland, waiting for my dad, realizing he wasn't coming for me, knowing that I put my own kid through that, it just … It kills me."
Not knowing what else to do, Tink took him in a hug. He might be all grown up, but deep down, Bae was still just a lost boy who wanted to be loved.
"So," he said, "I came here for a reason. The poppies."
"Right. I'll go get them. You can come with me."
"Am I allowed? I mean, isn't bringing a man into a convent kind of frowned upon?"
"I'm hardly one for following rules. Now come on." Tink grabbed his hand and the two of them went off to retrieve the poppies.
Blue brought another book and placed it in front of Emma, eliciting a sigh from the Savior. "Another book on magic theory?"
"The principles are important to master, Savior."
"I can barely read this, my eyes are starting to blur from staring at these pages, and I'm not actually learning anything. I need to do something!"
"Do what?"
"Magic! How can I learn magic if I don't do it? It's like I'm a fifth-year student studying for my O.W.L.S. and you just have me sitting here with books and won't let me raise my wand."
Blue gasped. "We do not give humans wands, regardless of who they are," she said sternly.
"That's not … I was talking about … I don't care about wands, but how can I learn anything if I'm not allowed to practice or try."
"I told you what we could offer you; you decided to proceed."
"I know – "
"Blue," Snow said. "Maybe I could talk to my daughter for a minute?"
Blue nodded. "As you like. I'll wait here. You may go into the hallway."
Snow nodded as she led a reluctant Emma away from the room. When they reached the hallway, Emma folded her arms across her chest. "What's this about?"
"Emma, listen to me. I know you are upset with Regina. But you know this isn't working. Remember in Neverland, when we were all fighting? You told us that as much as some of us hated each other, and had tried to kill each other in the past, we needed to come together and use our skills to reach our common goal?"
"That was about saving Henry."
"And this is about saving all of us, including Henry, and you, and your father and me, not to mention your brother, who she wants to kidnap and use for gods know what!"
"I know! It's just … she was my friend. I trusted her. I stood up for her. And Graham was my … he didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve any of it."
Snow put her hand on Emma's shoulder. "Oh, Emma. I know. Graham was a good man. And I, of all people, know what he meant to you. I remember the conversation we had about it. I remember how devastated you were when he died. I remember all of it."
"Except that wasn't really you, was it?" Emma said.
"It was and it wasn't. Mary Margaret was me, and she cared about you, loved you, as much as I do. It killed her to see you hurting, and to lose Graham, who was my friend and hers."
"I just can't believe Regina would do that to him. Why would she do that?"
"I don't know. When I met Regina, she was a good person. She had a good heart. She saved my life and I trusted her. Then, things changed. She changed. She became angry and bitter, and I couldn't even see how much she hated me until it was too late."
"How did you forgive her? How were you able to get past it?"
"Because deep down, I always wanted her to move on from what happened with Daniel and to be that woman who saved me again."
"She can't be. She can't undo what she's done."
"Maybe not. But she has changed. She is trying so hard. She loves Henry, just like you do, and she would do anything to protect him. And she's trying to help us defeat her sister and save our unborn child, when once she would have laughed at our pain and reveled in our fear. And Emma, you two may be friends, but you weren't always either. It wasn't so long ago that you were trying to get Henry away from her because you thought she was evil, but you decided to give her a chance. Do you remember why that was?"
"Because … because I know what it's like to have people write you off, to have them think you can't change, that you aren't good enough, and … I could see she was trying."
"Well, there you go then,"
"But she never even told me what she did to Graham. She never owned up to it, or apologized."
"At the time, she couldn't. You didn't believe in magic. And by the time you believed, and she was trying, so much had happened, I don't know that any of us thought about it."
"That's what kills me. Graham was a good man. He didn't deserve to be forgotten like that."
"Do you think it would help you to talk to Regina about this?" Snow asked hesitantly.
"Maybe. But I need to talk to someone else first."
"I'm not lying!" Belle heard Pinocchio yell vehemently.
Oh, dear. She rushed over with Gepetto behind her. "What's going on here?"
"He said I made the story up, but I didn't. It happened, I swear!" Pinocchio said, his eyes slightly teary.
"But she's dead," Roland said.
"Who is dead?" Belle asked.
"I never said she wasn't dead. Just that I saw her once is all," Pinocchio said. "Why can't I have seen her before she was dead? I'm older than you, aren't I?"
"My boy," Geppetto said, getting to Pinocchio's eye level and putting his arms on his son's shoulders, "If you say you are not lying, I believe you. Why don't you tell us what happened?"
"I was trying to show him how to come up with stories. All the stories he knows are about his mommy and daddy. He showed me a picture of his mommy, and I recognized her."
"Can we see the picture?" Belle asked.
Roland handed over an expertly drawn image on parchment of a woman with long hair and a fierce look in her eye.
"Ah, yes. Her. Poor woman," Gepetto said.
Belle looked at him, surprised. "You knew Marian?"
Gepetto nodded, and Pinocchio said, "I told you!"
"How did you know Marian?" Belle asked Gepetto.
"I didn't know her well. I didn't know her name. It was a long time ago, back in the Enchanted Forest. After Snow White had stayed with us. The Evil Queen knew someone in the village had been hiding her. She didn't know it was us, but after Snow left, the Queen came and rounded us up. She wanted to know where Snow White was. This woman," he pointed at the picture, "She stood up to the Queen. Brave woman. The Queen took her to be executed."
"And was she? Executed, I mean?"
"Yes. Nobody in the village knew her, so we were unable to tell her family, but I remember the day the Evil Queen had her hanged. Such a cruel fate for a brave young woman."
"I didn't see her hang, Papa," Pinocchio said.
"No. I had sent you off to school by then, in case the Queen came back. And you, well, you had your own adventures."
Pinocchio nodded, a faraway look in his eyes. Then a little hand made its way into his. "You didn't lie. I'm sorry."
"That's okay," Pinocchio said, smiling and squeezing Roland's hand.
Gepetto stayed with the boys, who seemed to have made their peace, but Belle was reeling. Regina had killed Robin's wife, and now, Robin was romancing her. Did he deserve to know? Was it her place to tell him? Right now, she wished that she was still ignorant of this new information.
Robin would be by soon to pick up Roland, but she needed time to think. After all, the focus right now had to be on saving Rumple. She was taking over watching Zelena soon. They had to make the plan work. And when she had her boyfriend back, maybe he could advise her on what to do. She didn't want to take away Robin's happiness, but would it truly be better if his new chance at romance was built on falsehood?
They were both sitting on opposite sides of the bed, well away from each other. Regina had her arms crossed over her chest as she stared straight ahead. Killian was looking in every direction but hers, his head snapping this way and that.
Sighing, Regina slipped on her heels and began to stand. When she reached the door, she paused. "This never happened," she said, trying to sound as unaffected as possible.
"Agreed," she heard Hook respond. "We'll, uh, blame it on the rum, shall we?"
She nodded, still not looking at him as she left his hotel room.
Dear lord. What was that? What had just happened?
Nothing. Nothing had happened. Hadn't they both just agreed on that? They'd blame it on the rum.
Meanwhile, Regina needed to see Robin. She would feel better if she did. He always made her feel better. He made her feel like she was better.
But would someone who was better have done what she just did to Robin?
Well, what had she done, really? She and Robin hadn't discussed what they were to one another. She didn't owe him anything. One moment of passion with the pirate was no great sin against him. She could tell Robin what she'd done. He might even laugh. He had a great laugh, and a great sense of humor. And then he'd show her why it was him she should be kissing.
She was headed to the forest to find him, but she really didn't need to go that far. He was heading for the library.
She went up to him, all nervous smiles and butterflies. Yes. This is what it's supposed to be like, she thought. "Where are you coming from?" she asked.
He smiled at her, then motioned with his head. "The clearing by the witch's farmhouse."
Her heart stopped. She reached out for his arm, checking him over, "Are you okay? Is it safe for you to be there?"
"Not quite, but I promised Belle I would help with a touch of reconnaissance."
Belle. Right. he and the bookworm were friends. And they were working together against Zelena again? He was in on the plan? "I could have just come to you," she said under her breath. It would have saved her so much trouble, had she known. "You know Belle's plan to stop Zelena?"
"Yes. Or to slow her down, at least."
"I wish I'd known. So, what is it?"
Robin was quiet for a minute. "I think it's best you don't know."
Regina deflated at that. "I see. You don't trust me either."
She turned to go, and Robin reached out and caught her arm, drawing her to him. He pushed her hair back and caressed her cheek. "Of course I trust you. But it's clear that Zelena is watching you. Keeping her in the dark requires keeping you in the dark."
Regina nodded. "I understand. I don't like it, but I understand. Robin I ... I need to tell you something."
"Yes?"
He was looking at her with wide, trusting eyes, like he believed in her. He believed in the evil Queen. He believed in Regina. He believed she could be good, and that she was worth something. They could be each other's second chance. She couldn't tell him what had happened with Hook.
"I … it's just, you shouldn't trust me. I'm not just bold and audacious. I am the Evil Queen."
"Perhaps you were, but that's the past."
"It's not a skin so easily shed. And you didn't know me then. If you did, you wouldn't look at me the way you do now."
"I can't imagine looking at you any other way."
He kissed her, and all was right with the world.
Emma hadn't been to Storybrooke's cemetery since everyone had thought Archie died. That had been before New York, before Neverland, before reconnecting with Neal, before becoming friends with Regina and learning to use her magic. In short, it had been a long time.
At Archie's funeral, she hadn't visited any of the other graves. She told herself that it was because Henry had needed her, but maybe she'd simply been too caught up to remember that she had someone else to say hi to.
"You deserved better," she said, and she sat down at Graham's headstone. There were no flowers. There was no sign anyone had been her in … well, a while. "I know I'm supposed to say hi, and catch you up on what you missed, but I've never been the small talk type. Plus, catching you up on what you missed could take literal years. Mostly because it's been literal years and … and I should have come long before now."
Tears pricked at her eyes, "I broke the curse. I don't know if … you understand, or remember or anything. Except you were starting to ... wake up, before you died. You tried to tell me, to get me to believe. Maybe if I had listened, you'd still be here." Emma blinked a couple of times, trying to keep herself from crying.
She hated crying. Then again, maybe Graham deserved some tears.
"I wear this," she said, lifting up her arm as if he could see it, "It's a shoelace. I've worn it around my wrist ever since … ever since. It was supposed to remind me of you. It didn't work though. I forgot. And I'd like to blame the curse, because there was another curse, and I did forget a lot, but I still wore this, so I guess a part of me remembered. Not enough of me though. Not enough."
She swatted at her cheeks. "It's funny. I don't know who you really were. I mean, I know. My mom told me you were the huntsman who spared her, but I don't know what the huntsman was like. I don't know if the way you were—sweet, and caring, and awkward and just … Graham, I don't know if that's how you would have been, if you weren't cursed. You could have been a completely different person than Graham. But Graham, he was, you were a good man. You were my friend. You could have been more, maybe, if we'd had more time."
Again, Emma swatted at her cheeks. They were getting very wet. "I'm with someone now. He's a good guy. He's … a bit like you, actually. That is, he's someone who gets that I'm strong, and likes it, likes me, but he also wants to protect me. You were like that too. You wanted to take care of me. And I always thought that would piss me off, because I don't need anyone to take care of me, but with him, and with you, I started to realize that it's okay to accept help sometimes, and it's okay to need someone."
"But I didn't come here to talk about him. I came here to tell you that … that I made friends with Regina. I didn't know what she did to you. I should have, but … the thing is, my mom is right. She is trying. And I get what it's like when you're trying to be better and people keep holding your past against you. We never talked much about my past, so let's just say, you weren't the first cop to arrest me. And I want to give Regina a chance. Plus, we need her. We're fighting … well, that doesn't matter. Some villain of the week. Who it is isn't important. I need to learn magic from her, and I need to be able to work with her. But I want you to know, I won't forget again. I won't forget what she did to you, because it wasn't okay. You deserved so much better, and her trying now doesn't change what she did back then. It doesn't change the fact that she hurt you. I want to make it right for you, somehow, if you could show me or … I don't know. I just. I just … I just want to make it right. I'm going to try to make it right, or as right as it can be. You being dead will never be okay. You deserved so much better."
"Anyway, that's what I came to say. That and, I think I'll come again. Maybe I'll introduce you to Aaron sometime. And I'll bring flowers, because you deserve some damned flowers."
Emma stood and brushed herself off. Her hand lingered on Graham's headstone, her fingers tracing the letters. Then, off in the distance, she heard what sounded like a wolf howling. She chuckled through her tears. Only in Storybrooke.
She needed to go talk to Regina now. She knew that. But first, she needed to walk around for a bit, feel the air, think of Graham, and work up her nerve.
So Emma walked. She thought about Graham and everything he'd gone through, and everything he'd meant to her. She wasn't even watching where she was going, so she didn't realize that she had passed Granny's. She didn't hear Killian calling after her at first.
"Swan!" She turned, startled. There was Killian, looking disheveled and desperate.
"What's wrong? What happened? Is Henry-?"
He put his hand up. "Your lad is fine. I've simply come to talk to you. To apologize."
"Apologize? For what?" She took in the state he was in, and the smell of the alcohol on his breath, and her heart sped up a little. "What did you do?"
He took a deep breath as if he was gathering the courage for a big confession, and Emma braced herself. "I kissed Regina."
She couldn't help it. She burst out laughing. She had been expecting so much worse. "Is that all?"
"No! I mean, yes. But it's not … all. Swan, I'm serious."
"About what? I don't see how this has anything to do with me."
"Don't you?" he asked. He was looking at her earnestly again, longing in his deep blue eyes.
"You can kiss who you like. You don't owe me anything."
"I owe you everything," he said. "You're not hearing me."
"My ears are just fine. And you're drunk, so why don't you go home?"
"I can't. I can't leave it like this. I need to make it right."
"There's nothing to make right." He was starting to annoy her. She opened her mouth to tell him off when he reached out and pulled her close, kissing her squarely on the lips.
It was different than Neverland. Back then, she had wanted it, or a part of her had. Now, all she could think of was Aaron. She pushed Killian off her, slapping him. "Seriously? Again?"
"I'm sorry. I just … I needed to - " He didn't seem to know what to say, how to excuse his behavior. And Emma was pissed. This wasn't like New York when he was trying to wake her up. She knew who she was and what she wanted, and it wasn't to be with him.
Again, she worked herself up to tell him off, but then she noticed where they were standing. They were just a few blocks past Granny's, in the middle of the street. And an attractive man with an accent, a person she considered a friend if nothing else, had reached out and kissed her because he felt something for her, because he'd been with Regina, because he was confused, and he was drunk, and he was reaching out to her to make it all right.
If only I'd made a different choice …
She reached out and took Killian's hand. "Come with me. I think the two of us need to talk."
She walked with him back to his room at Granny's, ignoring the look Granny gave her.
His room was full of empty bottles, one far fancier than the others. "Looks like it was a party."
"It's a long story," Killian said, dodging her eyes.
"Let's sit."
He sat on the bed. She sat on the chair, "So, you want to tell me what's going on?"
"I told you, I kissed - "
"Right, and because of that you had a pity party with a lot of rum?"
"I was already drunk."
"Which explains you kissing Regina."
"It was a mistake. Say what you will of me, Swan, but I've always been loyal."
"You don't owe me any loyalty, Killian. We aren't together. I'm with – "
"Yes. The man from the land without magic. Brilliant future, that."
"As opposed to the future you think we could have had? What did that look like, exactly?" she asked skeptically.
"Did you truly not see it, Swan? Did you truly never see anything with me? Did everything we went through in Neverland truly mean nothing?"
Emma sighed. She didn't want to have this conversation. But maybe he needed it. Maybe he needed closure. And he was her friend. She took a deep breath, "Okay. I'm only going to say this once, and then it never comes up again, all right? Our kiss in Neverland made me feel ... things, and the time we spent getting to know each other, your helping save Henry, it all meant something. I'm not really sure what, and things were confusing with Neal alive and with trying to save Henry, but if Pan hadn't tried to recast the curse, if I hadn't gone to New York and met Aaron, then something might have ... We might have gotten together. I mean, I can't say for sure but, there was something there, something I felt for you. We could have been… something." Killian smiled at her, and she offered him a small smile in return. "But ... I did go to New York. I did meet Aaron. And I love him."
"And it's a great love, is it? You'd both go to the end of the world for each other? Sacrifice anything?
"I don't know, but I mean, does it have to be?"
"Emma, of course, it does," Killian said, standing dramatically. "That's what love is. Look at your parents!"
Emma stood up as well, crossing her arms over her chest. "Okay, let's look at my parents. They went through hell to be together and then even when they were married with a baby on the way, they got separated for 28 years.
They didn't get to raise the baby, and when they reconnected, they didn't recognize each other, and there was cheating and lying and a murder trial, and then the curse broke, and they were separated again because my mom and I were stuck in the Enchanted Forest.
"And now they've lost a year and they're waiting for another kid to be kidnapped, and let's not forget Neverland where my father almost died and my mother almost gave up her life to stay in a hellish jungle for eternity.
"I don't want that! I don't want to keep fighting and going through hell, and never being together, or being together but having to sacrifice everything else, including time with my kid, to be with someone. I wouldn't sacrifice Henry for Aaron, and he wouldn't expect me to. And I would never ask him to walk away from his kids – "
"Which he won't. They can't live here, and he won't stay for you."
She wanted to slap him for that, but she was trying to be the bigger person here. If she could get him through this conversation, maybe they could both move forward. "Being with someone shouldn't mean being miserable and selfish just so that you can be with them!"
"I'm trying very hard not to be selfish, and look where it's gotten me. I kissed the bloody Evil Queen!"
"And why is that so upsetting to you?"
"Because ..." He cut himself off, avoiding her gaze.
She sat him back down on the bed, once again taking the seat across from him. "Killian, what is this really about?"
Killian sighed, and he seemed to deflate somehow. "Milah was fierce and fiery and vivacious, but she was also a woman who would abandon her son without a thought.
"I was abandoned by my father. I lost my brother. I know what it is to lose a family. And when Rumpelstiltskin came to my ship to beg for his family, I mocked him. I was a villain, and if a villain is the person I choose … if that's who I love, who I want in my deepest heart, what does that say about me?"
Emma didn't say anything for a long time. Killian had just unloaded a lot, and she couldn't help but wonder why she had to be the one to hear it. She wasn't his therapist. She had no clue how to help him. But something told her that he wouldn't talk about this stuff with anyone else. She took a minute to think about what he'd said, and then asked, "Why does your happy ending have to be a woman?
Killian raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't begrudge other men who are so inclined, but speaking for my own urges – "
Emma waved him off. "That's not what I meant. I meant, why does your happy ending have to be a person? Mine isn't."
"So you're saying that Aaron fellow -?"
"He isn't my happy ending. Henry is. And my parents. And yes, Aaron, and his kids, and Regina as my friend, and the community I've built here. Killian, I grew up in a world where happy endings didn't exist, or I thought they didn't. My parents … They helped me believe, but I'm still me. I'm still a girl of the twenty-first century, and I know that a happy ending can't be any one thing or any one person. I love Aaron; he's a good guy, but I can't hang all my hopes and dreams on him, and then if god forbid something happens to him and I fall apart, my life is over. That's not how I'm built. I'm not Severus Snape pining away for Lily all those years. I have to have a life. And I want it to be a good one. I have real magic in my life, because I have a family, and friends, and so many things to be grateful for. If you think you need me, or Milah, or Regina to be your happy ending, to be the difference between whether you're a villain or a hero, then I don't think you know what a happy ending is yet. Maybe you need to work on that." Emma stood up again. "I'm going to go. Um, so yeah. Good talk."
"Then she went off somewhere, and we've been hanging out in Snow White's loft. How weird is that to say? Anyway, that's what's been going on," Andrea finished her summary for the wizard.
"Interesting. So, the savior is trying to learn magic?"
"Yeah. Could you teach her, being the wizard and all? I mean, I would say 'big whoop', because, again, I read that book, but apparently you can bring people back from the dead, which seems like pretty big magic to me. Speaking of which, when -?"
"Patience is a virtue wasted on the young," the wizard said. "As for me teaching her, let's just say we have a complicated history. She might not be so happy to see me."
"She didn't tell us she knew you."
"Then maybe she isn't telling you everything. Still, I might be able to help her with her magic, perhaps provide her with something to help it along. You'd need to give it to her for me."
"Yeah, yeah. Don't act like I have a choice in the matter or anything." Andrea crossed her arms across her chest.
"You do. You can help me help everyone and get your mother back, or you can scorn my offer to help and always wonder what could have been."
Andrea huffed. "Whatever. Yeah, get me the thingamajig and I'll get it to her. I need to go back in now. It wasn't so easy to sneak off."
After she left, the Wizard sighed. "That child is annoying."
Zelena appeared in a cloud of smoke. "She'll serve her purpose. Pity she isn't young enough to sacrifice. I'd quite enjoy that."
"So, what trap are we laying, exactly?"
"Don't act like you have any brains. It's my trap, monkey, and it won't take long to prepare. I can do something deliciously wicked to the savior's magic. Just you wait." Before he could reply, the wizard was once again a monkey. "Now go watch the savior until I call for you again. You're lucky I still have use for you, or you'd be a stain on a New York street."
He took to the skies, and Zelena returned to her hideout. She had work to do.