Chapter 8

Eleanore sat in a booth at Granny's, watching the snow fall outside. It was the third snow storm of the season, and by far the worst so far. The forecast called for at least eight inches of snow, but by the way it was coming down, they were in for much more. No one in Storybrooke was happy about it, especially Granny. The diner was completely deserted, leaving only Eleanore to cover the empty dining room and Louis in the kitchen. Granny left for the day, leaving them with strict instructions that they could leave if they felt the weather was too dangerous for them. Ana left once the roads were completely covered, knowing it would be hours before the only plow Storybrooke had would come through and clear the streets. Eleanore volunteered to stay with Louis a little longer, in case there were any stragglers, while keeping a close eye on the roads. That's where she found herself on the second night of the full moon, sitting in a booth in the deserted diner in the middle of a massive snow storm.

I hate the snow. Not just because it's cold or because it's dangerous to drive in. I hate it because if it's snowing, that means it's too cold to be in the water, and we both know that's the only time I'm ever truly happy. When I'm in or near the water. And winter means I can't do either. Those are the worst months of my life. And just when I finally met Gina. I wish I knew the last time I saw her would be the last before winter, I would have given her my number. Made arrangements to meet outside of the beach or something. Tonight would be our night to meet. All things considered, I would rather be on the beach eating grilled cheese with Gina than sitting here in a dead diner in the middle of a snow storm. Although, I would much rather be here than home with Killian. I would much rather be anywhere else in the world than home with him.

"Hey, Elle," Louis called from the counter in the kitchen.

"What's up?" Eleanore asked, pulling her attention from her journal.

"My wife just called. It's getting pretty nasty out. I think I'm going to jump ship and head home," he said, sounding a little nervous.

"Oh god yes, of course. Get out of here," Eleanore said, closing her journal and stuffing it back in her bag.

"I can stick around and help you close if you want. Give you a ride home too," Louis said, pulling off his apron.

"Nah, I'm good. As long as the kitchen is closed, I can handle the rest," she said, starting to put the chairs on top of the tables.

"You sure you don't want a ride? I'm sure Granny will understand if things are partially closed," Louis said.

"It's cool. I don't live far. Get going, I'll be out of here shortly. Just need to close the till and lift the chairs and I'll be on my way," Eleanore said, continuing her task.

"Okay, Kid. Get home safe," Louis said, zipping up his coat and heading out, turning the sign on the front door to indicate the diner was officially closed. Eleanore took her time, still not ready to go home just yet. She counted the till twice before locking the cash in the safe hidden in Granny's office. Eventually, she laced up her boots and bundled up for her walk home, pulling her gray beanie over her ears. She reluctantly left the diner, checking the door twice to make sure it was locked behind her. She took a deep breath, the cold air burning her lungs as she walked down the pathway that led to the sidewalk, turning to the right to begin her journey home.

The snow was already up to her ankles as she walked, and she knew Louis was right— it was bad out and leaving was a good idea. She walked slowly toward the house she shared with Killian, stopping instantly at the entrance to the beach. Her happy place. Something inside her pulled her toward the water, but she resisted. Every cell in her body was telling her to walk out onto the snowy beach, but she knew it was a bad idea. She knew it was too cold to be there. She knew the storm was too bad to be out in it longer than she needed to. She knew it wasn't going to be safe to walk home soon, and even if she didn't want to go there, she knew she needed to get home before the roads and sidewalks got worse. Everything inside her knew it was too bad out to step foot on the beach, and yet it still physically hurt to leave the ocean behind as she continued on toward the house.

"Hey," she said sadly when she walked into the house.

"Swan, seriously? You're tracking snow in. Take those damn boots off," Killian scolded.

"Oh please, don't worry about my safety or anything," she snapped, kicking off her boots, splashing more snow on the kitchen floor.

"You're fine. You didn't die. You didn't freeze. Don't be so damn dramatic," he scolded, taking the last swig of his beer, draining the bottle completely.

"Whatever, I'm going to go take a shower to warm up," she said, making her way to the bathroom.

"Yo! Get me another beer," he called from his seat on the couch. She huffed as she made her way to the kitchen, slamming the fridge door shut and practically throwing the bottle at him on her way to the bathroom.

"You could have opened it for me," Killian said. She held back her anger as she slammed the door behind her. She took a long hot shower until her skin was bright red. She took her time getting dressed and brushing out her long blonde hair before heading to the bedroom.

But no matter what she tried, she couldn't fall asleep. The pull of the beach was too strong that night, it was unbearable. She tossed and turned until Killian came to bed, passing out as soon as his head hit the pillow, snoring loudly in her ear. Eventually, she got up and started pacing the living room, the full moon reflecting off the heavy snow that still fell outside. Several times, she found herself lacing up her boots, preparing to hike in the snow to get to the beach, but each time she forced herself out of them, knowing it was far too dangerous at this point to go out in the storm. She eventually fell asleep on the couch after sunrise when the pull to the ocean subsided suddenly.


The following month was just as tough; each day Eleanore walked past the entrance to the beach, knowing she couldn't go in. She picked up more shifts as a distraction, which was where she found herself once again, sitting in a booth at Granny's on another slow evening.

"Hey, why don't you get going," Ana said, sliding in the booth across from Eleanore. "It's probably going to be slow for the rest of the night. You know how things slow down in the snow."

"It's okay, I can stay. If it's bad you should get going though," Eleanore answered, knowing if she left she would need to go home to Killian.

"It's okay. I took Kristoff's Jeep today. Louis and I are going to close up when things start to get dicey. Now get going." Ana chuckled, kicking Eleanore in the shins slightly.

She chuckled, kicking her back. "Okay, fine." She laced up her boots and bundled up before stepping out into the snow storm. This one wasn't as bad as the one a few weeks ago, and the snow that fell from the sky looked like glitter against the light of the full moon. She walked slowly through the snow-covered sidewalks, stopping short at the entrance of the beach as always. She felt the unbelievably strong pull of the ocean once more, her heart wishing to be near the water.

This time, she didn't resist.

She knew she couldn't go swimming, but she could at least be close to the water as long as she could tolerate the cold. She stepped onto the frozen and snow-covered sand, an intense wave of peace washing over her. She smiled as she walked toward the water when something moving off to the side caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Before her brain could even fully comprehend what she was seeing, she was running toward the figure sitting in the snow.

"GINA?!" she yelled as she ran toward the woman. Gina struggled to stand, her body too cold to move properly. "Gina? What are you doing here?" she asked once she reached the freezing woman.

"I…I…came here…to…see…" Gina tried to say, her body shivering too much to talk. It was then that she noticed that Gina was dressed in only her usual ripped shorts and tank top, no shoes on her feet. And she was soaking wet.

"Gina. You're freezing," Eleanore said, pulling off her coat and wrapping it around her. "You shouldn't have come here. It's too cold." She rubbed Gina's arms to try and warm the woman up.

"I…I…" Gina tried to say, the violent shivering prevented her from speaking.

"Okay, come on. We need to get you out of the snow. There's a little cave a few yards away. It's not warm, but at least it'll protect us from the elements. Do you know where it is?" Eleanore asked, causing Gina to nod quickly. "Do you think you can make it there?" Eleanore received another quick nod for Gina. Elenore smiled and urged Gina to start moving.

They quickly ran toward the cave, ducking inside as soon as they reached its opening. As Eleanore predicted, it wasn't warm, but it was mostly dry. Gina collapsed onto the ground as soon as they entered the cave, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping Eleanore's coat around her legs and chest in an attempt to stay warm.

"I should try to build a fire or something. We need to warm you up before you freeze to death," Eleanore said, searching the small cave for spare wood or anything to build a fire with. She disappeared out into the snow, only to return a few minutes later empty handed.

"All the wood out there is too wet to light, I'm sorry."

"It's…okay…" Gina managed to say while shivering. Eleanore sat down in front of her, rubbing her arms to help generate more heat. Gina's teeth chattered as she shivered, and Eleanore noticed that her full lips were already turning blue.

"Gina, you're freezing. We need to warm you up before you get hypothermia," Eleanore said, trying to pull Gina to her feet to move her around, attempting to get Gina's blood moving.

"Too…cold…to stand…" Gina said, shivering.

"Okay…okay, let me think…" Eleanore said, beginning to panic. "Your clothes are soaking wet. What were you thinking? You shouldn't have been in the water. It's too cold." She remembered her own mistake of trying to swim in the winter. "Okay, don't take this the wrong way, but we need to get you out of these wet clothes." If Gina's blood had been circulating correctly, her face would have turned bright red. "I'll turn around, don't worry." Eleanore smiled, sensing Gina's hesitation. Gina smiled back, her eyes speaking her silent thanks. Eleanore turned around and faced the wall of the cave while she heard Gina peel off her half frozen clothes, dropping them onto the ground with a wet plop.

"O…k…" Gina said once Eleanore's jacket was wrapped around her body again. Eleanore grabbed her wet clothes and spread them out on a rock, noticing that her clothes were tattered and torn and completely threadbare. Her mind started racing for a second, the sound of Gina's teeth chattering pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Not…working…" Gina said, her lips a deeper shade of blue.

"Okay. Let's get your wet hair off your back too." She smiled, trying to keep Gina calm. She stood in front of Gina, reaching behind the woman to collect her wet brown hair, wrapping it into a bun, securing it with a spare elastic. Once Gina's hair was secure, she pulled her beanie off her head and placed it onto Gina's, tugging it down to make sure it covered her cold and exposed ears.

"Th…th…thanks…" Gina said, her body still shivering.

"It's not working!" Eleanore exclaimed, starting to panic. She stared at Gina for a few minutes, her mind trying to remember anything she could about treating hypothermia. "Ok, I saw this in a movie once." Eleanore pulled her thermal shirt off, leaving her standing there in just her bra.

"What…what are you…doing…?" Gina asked, shock in her deep brown eyes. She was clearly trying to avert her eyes away from Eleanore's nearly bare chest.

"Don't be scared. I'm going to use my body heat to warm you up, okay?" Eleanore said, not breaking eye contact with a confused Gina. She led her over toward the wall of the cave, sitting down with her shirt between the cold cave wall and the exposed skin of her back.

"Sit on my lap with your chest against mine. I won't look, I promise." Eleanore smiled, holding her arms open for Gina. Gina hesitated for a second before taking a small step toward Eleanore. Eleanore closed her eyes as she approached, giving the brunette the privacy she promised.

Her heart skipped a beat when she felt Gina slowly lower herself down onto her lap and her naked breasts press against her chest, only the thin cotton material of Eleanore's bra separating their bare skin. Eleanore immediately wrapped her arms around the frozen woman, while Gina wrapped her jacket around them both. Her legs wrapped around Eleanore's waist and her arms curled up under her chin to keep them close to her body. It took her a few minutes, but she finally relaxed when she laid her head on Eleanore's shoulder.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Eleanore rubbing the slightly damp skin on Gina's back to warm her up. Gina slowly stopped shivering as her skin began to warm up against Eleanore's body.

"Better?" Eleanore asked once Gina stopped shaking.

"Much. Thank you," Gina answered, her speech returning to normal.

"What were you thinking?" Eleanore asked, her warm hands still running up and down Gina's back.

"I came to see you," Gina responded.

"You shouldn't have come. It's too cold."

"I come every month, no matter what the weather is." Gina paused and shifted slightly. "You didn't come last month," Gina said sadly, looking up at Eleanore.

"I know. It was snowing really bad last month. We got almost a foot of snow," Eleanore explained.

"Oh. That was the only reason you didn't come?" she asked.

"Yeah. It was really bad out…" Eleanore said, when a lightbulb suddenly went off in her head. "Did you…did you think I didn't come because I didn't want to see you?"

"Umm…yeah…I did actually." Gina shifted her gaze down. "It's just that…you ran away so quickly after I…after we…" Gina said, feeling very embarrassed.

"After we kissed? You thought I didn't come back because you kissed me?" Eleanore asked, surprised.

"Well…yeah…" Gina said, her face finally turning bright red.

"Oh god, NO! I didn't come because of the massive snow storm." Eleanore chuckled. "The kiss was the reason I was contemplating frostbite."

"Really?" Gina asked, perking up.

"Definitely," Eleanore said with a smile.

"Then…why did you run away last time?" Gina asked.

"To be honest, I was very confused. I don't handle things well sometimes. I tend to run away when things get tough," Eleanore explained.

"Our kiss…confused you?" Gina asked, confused herself.

"Yeah…" Eleanore started to say, pausing to collect her thoughts. "When you kissed me…I felt something…something I have never felt before. It was like…like something woke up inside me. I felt more in those few seconds I was kissing you than I felt in the entire time I can remember being with Killian. All those feelings I thought I should be feeling for Killian, I felt for you…and then some. I felt things I didn't think I was capable of feeling…and it scared me a little."

"You…have feelings for me?" Gina asked, hopefully.

"Yes. Very much so!" Eleanore said, subconsciously tightening her hold on the brunette in her lap.

"What do we do now?" Gina asked, looking up at Eleanore again.

Eleanore laughed. "I don't know. But I wouldn't mind trying that whole kissing thing again."

"Well, who am I to deny you that?" Gina smiled, shifting to sit up taller, her face level with Eleanore's, allowing their eyes to lock once again. It was Eleanore who initiated their second kiss, pulling the brunette closer as she did. Their kiss deepened when Gina slipped her tongue past Eleanore's lips, allowing their tongues to swirl together as their kiss continued.

It was as if they were the only two people on the planet as they held onto each other, kissing each other deeply in their secret cave as the snow continued to fall a few feet away. They kissed until neither one could breathe, pulling away as they gasped for breath, only to dive back into each other's lips when their lungs were full once again. They had both warmed up significantly by the time they were done, their skin sticking together by the small layer of sweat that developed between them.

"I should get going," Eleanore said. She didn't know what time it was, but she knew it was late.

"Okay…" Gina said sadly.

"But, if you're still feeling cold, it would be best if I stayed a little while longer. Just to make sure you're okay," Eleanore said, smirking.

"I'm freezing," Gina said, not missing a beat, leaning up to capture Eleanore's lips once again. They both dozed off a little while later as the night grew later and later.

Eleanore woke up just after sunrise when she realized that Gina's body was no longer pressed against hers in her lap. "Gina?" she asked, looking around. Her beanie was placed gently on her lap under the jacket that was now securely tucked around her body. She sat up a little and looked around again, noticing that Gina's clothes were missing from their rock in the corner. She quickly looked out of the cave, hoping to catch Gina before she left, finding that the snow had stopped falling, leaving a fresh blanket of snow, glistening in the early morning sun. She turned her attention outside just in time to see Gina run down the beach completely naked, her feet kicking up snow as she ran, leaving footprints in the pristine white powder, her clothes neatly tucked under her arm. She didn't pause when she reached the water, just kept running until the water was deep enough to swim, diving under the next wave, a similar eagerness as Eleanore has when she enters the water.

Eleanore watched in horror when she didn't see Gina surface right away. She was prepared to get up and go in after her when she saw the top of Gina's head breach the water. Relieved, she leaned back against the wall and watched, swearing she could see Gina turn back and look at her in the cave. Eleanore laid perfectly still, pretending to still be asleep as she watched Gina in the water. A few moments later, Gina turned back around and dove under the water once again, but this time something strange caught Eleanore's eye. If she wasn't completely sure she was awake, she would have thought she was dreaming when she saw what looked like a purple tail pop out of the water a few seconds after Gina disappeared under the surface, the light of the newly risen sun glistening off what looked like scales. This time when Gina didn't surface, she didn't panic. She started to understand things a little better.

The sound of her phone beeping pulled her away from her thoughts. "Shit!" she exclaimed out loud, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She hadn't planned on falling asleep, and she knew it was Killian texting her to find out where she was. Sure enough, there were a few texts already waiting for her, each one more angry than the last. She jumped to her feet and pulled herself back together while she dialed Killian's number.

"Swan! Where the FUCK are you?" Killian screamed when he answered the phone, causing her to pull the phone away from her ear.

"Hey, sorry. Ruby, Ana, and I were having some drinks after work and we passed out in Ruby's living room," she lied, pulling on her jacket. "I'm leaving now, I'll be home soon."

"You better be here in twenty minutes, or there will be hell to pay!" Killian screamed once again, hanging up on her.

He screamed at her for a solid twenty minutes when she got home, but she didn't hear a single word he said. Her mind was too busy thinking about Gina and the mysterious purple tail she saw before Gina disappeared under the water.


The next day, she made her way to the library, telling Killian she wanted to start reading again, since it was winter and she needed something to occupy her mind when she wasn't working. But her real motivation for visiting Storybrooke's small library was to use the computer, somewhere that Killian couldn't look over her shoulder or check her search history.

"Hey, Elle. Fancy seeing you here. What brings you to my little library?" Belle asked when Eleanore walked through the doors.

"I was wondering if there were public computers that I could use," she said, looking around.

"Yeah. We have a few in the back corner. No one uses them much these days. Most people have their own computers, or their phones." Belle laughed. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Will do. Thanks." Eleanore smiled, making her way through the library toward the row of three computers in the corner, sitting at the farthest cubical. She pulled out her journal and turned to a fresh page while she waited for the computer to boot up. A few minutes later, she opened a Google page, typing in one single word. "Mermaid". Suddenly, the page came to life, showing over three hundred million hits. She chuckled as she began to scroll through the plethora of websites. "This is going to take forever."

She spent the next few hours sifting through pages and pages of information, taking notes in her journal of any important information. The more information she found, the more she was convinced of one thing. Gina was a Mermaid. She wasn't even sure she believed in Mermaids, but she was convinced that if they were, in fact real, Gina was one of them.

Belle came over to check on her after a few hours, and it was only then that she realized that her back was killing her and her butt was completely numb. She did one final search in the library database to see if she could find any more literature, finding three books that contained legends of Mermaids. She jotted down their titles and authors before turning off the computer, disappearing into the stacks in search of the books, finding all three of them exactly where they were supposed to be.

"Mermaids, huh?" Belle giggled when Eleanore checked out the books.

"I…uh…I saw something on TV about fantasy legends and became intrigued by them," Eleanore lied. "I'm thinking of writing a book or something."

"That's so cool. If you ever do, let me know. I'd love to read it!" Belle said as she checked the books out in the computer, handing them back to Eleanore, who stuffed them into her bag for safe keeping.

"Did you make the books? What the hell took you so long?" Killian complained as soon as she walked into the house.

"I was…talking to Belle for a little."

"The bookworm? What did you talk about? Reading? How fun." Killian laughed.

"She's actually a really sweet person if you get to know her."

"Yeah, whatever. She's stuck up," Killian said, dismissing the conversation. She took her bag into the bedroom, closing the door behind her to ensure a little privacy. She pulled out the notes from her research at the library and read over the pages she wrote, all the time the gears in her head turning.


"Hey, can I ask you a strange question?" Eleanore asked a few days later. She was sitting at a table at Granny's with Ruby, sharing a plate of fries during the lull between the lunch and dinner rush.

"Absolutely," Ruby said, dunking her fry in a puddle of ketchup.

"Do you believe in…supernatural…things…?" Eleanore asked, feeling really stupid about her question.

"Supernatural things like aliens and ghosts and shit like that?" Ruby asked.

"No. I mean, yeah those too. But I was thinking more like…" Eleanore said, trying to find the right words.

"Like werewolves and mermaids and vampires and stuff?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah…sorry that sounds really stupid. Just forget it."

"No, you're not stupid at all! And yeah, I totally believe in all that stuff!"

"Really? Eleanore asked, perking up.

"Yeah! I mean, think about it. Ever notice that you always hear wolves howling during the three nights of the full moon, but never hear them any other time?" Ruby asked, snagging another fry from the plate.

"Yeah…now that you mention it, I do only hear them during the full moon."

"There's an old wives tale that, back in the day, there used to be a pack of shapeshifting wolves living in Storybrooke. Some people think they still live here," Ruby explained. Eleanore's eyes lit up some more. "And remember that fire in the forest a couple years ago?" Eleanore nodded. "Rumor has it, a Vampire couple was living in the cabin and someone set the fire to kill them." Ruby said.

"Really?" Eleanore asked, completely in shock of what Ruby was telling her. "What about like Mermaids? Do you think they're real too?"

"Oh totally! Sailors used to talk about seeing Mermaids in the waters off the coast of Storybrooke. Legends of Mermaids around here go back hundreds of years. I wish someone had written those stories down. I would love to read them." Ruby smiled, eating more fries. Their conversation was cut short when the door opened, indicating a new customer. "I'll take this one," Ruby said, shoving one last fry in her mouth. Eleanore smiled as she processed their short conversation. Maybe there was something to this Mermaid theory after all.

A/N: Wait a second, Shapeshifting Wolves in Storybrooke? Rumors of a fire in the forest that killed a Vampire couple? If you've ready my stories "The Last Alpha" and "Only You" these might sound a little familiar to you ;) If you haven't, you should check them out to find out the story of the Shapeshifting Wolves in Storybrooke and the Vampires living in the forest!