Regina finally comes face to face with the man she cheated on, and hurt so badly. Emma sees her mother at her lowest point ever. And Belle and Ruby start to get used to life outside Storybrooke. Meanwhile, a powerful magical visitor and his daughter appear in Portland.

The Sherwood Arms

Regina sat in the passenger seat of Henry's car, looking out over the pebbled track a few hundred yards from The Sherwood Arms. The forest pub that had never even existed three years ago. Not until Robin came back. When he and his band of men and women built from it scratch, together with an entire hamlet of some fifty dwellings, to house the poor and needy.

It was typical of Robin that, when the men had insisted the inn be called The Locksley, after his noble family whose lands had been confiscated by an avaricious king, he'd refused. Instead he named it after the forest they sheltered in. Robin was like that. Intelligent, learned, yet humble in nature. A born leader, yet self-effacing. The grandson of an earl, a man who'd once rubbed shoulders with English nobility. Yet he preferred to live among the people he called his own. Loved by the poor and destitute, and hated by the aristocracy, from whom he used to steal their ill-gotten gains to feed and clothe them. He was a living contradiction. And he was the man Regina loved more than any other, bar Henry. The man who she'd hurt so badly only three weeks ago, possibly destroying their relationship forever. The father of the baby growing within her once-thought barren womb.

Although it was a bright, sunny day, she shivered as she stepped out of the car, more in fear of his reaction than anything else. Having crossed the town line only thirty minutes ago, Emma had taken her car to go to the hospital to check on Snow, before no doubt being arrested. Regina had instead transferred into Henry's car, to head straight for the hamlet, to face the inevitable. As she sat looking up at the front of the inn, she could hear loud noises coming from within. That was unusual, being only four in the afternoon? There were clearly plenty of people inside, and she was reminded this wasn't the first time she'd been too frightened to go into an inn to meet him. Many years ago Tinker Bell had used pixie dust to help her find her supposed true love, her soulmate. And she'd been too cowardly to go inside then. But this time, she had to face him. no matter the consequences. The child inside her would insist.

Henry had asked her to wait until he came back out. But that was fifteen minutes ago? Fifteen minutes that felt like fifteen hours. She couldn't wait any longer and the suspense was killing her. So, leaving the car, she walked nervously up the gravel drive and over the lawn to the wide oak entrance to her husband's pub, looking up at the sign, steeling herself for what was about to happen.

~oOo~

Although there was a boisterous hubbub, the sound of friends and revellers died the moment she stepped inside. One or two even gasped, making others turn to see what had caused such a reaction. Regina was used to being the centre of attention. But this time, she'd never felt smaller.

"YOU!"

Worse still, as he stood behind the bar, Alan-a-Dale scowled right back at her, before reaching down behind the counter to grab something unseen, no doubt ready to fight. Robin had once told her Alan could flick a knife and kill an enemy from thirty foot away. And had done so. And now, without her magic, she stood no chance!

"ALAN, WAIT?" She yelped. "PLEASE?" She put her hands up. "I'm not here to cause trouble, I swear! I just need to see Robin?"

"Robin? I hardly think he wants you in-"

"STOP!" Sheriff Hank Morgan came moved between her and the barman, partly shielding her. "DROP THE KNIFE, DALE! NOW!"

But the barman still held it by his shoulder, lined up, ready to throw. "Not a chance! You didn't see her threaten to kill Rob, after the blonde bitch thumped Roland!"

"ALAN!" A third, new, calmer voice came from his side, but more authoritative. Robin had entered from the back room when he heard yelling, Henry coming up behind him. "There's no need for that! Alan, lower your weapon. Please?"

Reluctantly, Alan did as asked by his leader, lowering the blade slowly, before tucking it just under the counter, his eyes never leaving Regina's, as she turned to face the man she'd come for.

"Robin."

Storybrooke Hospital

"STOP!"

Emma yelled from across the room, as her mother lay in her bed, looking up at her, shocked. "FOR GOD'S SAKE MUM, NO!"

Having waited until the nurses had left after their last check-in, Snow had pulled out the small bottle she'd carefully secreted in her knickers to avoid anyone detecting it when they changed the sheets. She wouldn't make the same mistake as last time. This time, she would take sips of water and swallow them one at a time, to finish the entire bottle before her stomach started reacting.

But as she tipped the first batch of tablets, sufficient for one swallow, into her shaking palm, she hesitated. And in that moment, as she lay in the hospital bed, lit only by the reading light, the door suddenly opened to a new arrival.

Emma was mortified. Henry had already told her that her mother was in a bad way. And seeing the little plastic bottle and hand full of pills, it was pretty clear what she was about to do!

"Emma?"

Her daughter was by the side in a heartbeat. "Don't do that mum? Please?" She put her hand over the pills in her mother's now-trembling palm as the tears came. "How many?" But Snow just looked down, unable to face her. "How many have you taken?"

"None." Her voice sounded almost pitiful. "Not yet."

"Thank god!" She forcefully pulled the bottle from her, turning her hand over to take the rest in hers. "This isn't the way mum, believe me!"

~oOo~

Two minutes later, having taken the remaining tablets and put them back into the bottle, Emma moved it further way for safety, as Snow started to break down. She climbed onto the hospital bed to lie next to her, taking her head and resting it against her chest. Having never seen her own mother so broken just brought on her own tears; and for the next few minutes mother and daughter clung together tightly, overcome with everything that had happened.

"It's okay mum, it's really not your fault. And it's not mine, either. It's that fucking poison from the cottage. I just hope Henry's right, and that witch suffered when she died! I just hope I can make Killian see I wasn't in control. I'd never willingly do anything like that to him."

"I hope so, for your own sake Emma, and Hope's. Killian's a good husband and a wonderful father. But unfortunately, for your father and me, it's too late."

"What do you mean? Why would you say that? Henry told me dad watched the dream catcher, so surely he'll see you couldn't help yourself?"

"Yes. He's seen it all, and we've talked. But he's still bitterly upset about something else I did. Or more importantly, didn't do, before we were even married. Namely, tell the truth."

"Like what? What could be as bad as this?"

"I lied about a previous relationship. About never having had one before."

Emma frowned. "Is that all? What, because you weren't a virgin when you went up the aisle? Jeez mum, the vast majority of us aren't virgin brides these days! I'd never thought dad was so small minded? Hell, Killian's lived for centuries, and I know for a fact he's had loads of-"

"It's not the same thing Emma; you don't understand..." Snow cut her off. "I was the heir to the throne of Misthaven. I was destined to become Queen. He said he wouldn't have cared about my past, but I blatantly lied to him all the time we were courting. And, to a man like David…"

"So that's it? You told him a white lie about being a virgin? Hell, this isn't the Middle Ages! Were you ever unfaithful after you married him? Well, apart from Ruby, recently?"

"Never. Not from the moment he proposed."

"So there you go! You've had a few lovers before you met him? Big deal! So what?"

"I mislead him, not to keep him, but to make sure I became queen. A female heir to the throne with a previous lover? And a female one at that? A bisexual queen with a past? No, the Court and all the knights would've kicked me out in a heartbeat! They would've banished me quicker than the Evil Queen ever could. I lied to his face at the time, Emma. And it finally came back to bite me."

"So how'd he find out after all this time? Henry said the dreamcatcher only covered the last few weeks."

"I threw it all back in his face when he caught us together." Snow looked away, ashamed.

"Caught you?" Ouch. Emma just could imagine how that must have hurt. "Where? Please don't say at home. Not in his own bed, surely?"

But Snow wasn't listening. "I taunted him with my past. Even with all the reasons why I didn't tell him before. I lost my temper, and it all came spilling out. I was desperate to hurt him."

"So what did you say? That she was the better lover? That what you felt for him wasn't real? That you married him, just to make sure you'd still inherit the throne?" Snow put a hand on her brow, closing her eyes, but nodding. "Was any of it real? Or did you just...use him?"

"Of course I didn't! I loved him from the first moment I saw him. What we had was real, Emma! He's my soulmate. Or at least, he was. That's why you've got magic. And Neal has it now too, it seems."

"So, this previous lover of yours?" She remembered what Henry told her. "I'm guessing we're talking Ruby again? You knew her before you knew dad, didn't you?"

Snow didn't want to say any more but knew it would probably come out, anyway. "We were in a relationship for about a year and a half, though we both deliberately kept it very secret because of my position. We lived in a very different realm, and very different attitudes to same-sex relationships than here. Hostile attitudes."

"How did it start? With Ruby?"

She gave her a sad smile, her mind going back. "We met after I fled Misthaven in fear for my life. She was hiding from hunters seeking to skin the werewolf who'd killed a few of their people. Ruby saved my life quite a few times, as I did hers. We became closer as we hid in the forest and foraged together, and it developed from there."

"So you loved her?"

"I did. And in a way I think I probably always will. But I was never in love with her like I am with your father, Emma! And she felt the same about me, and being what she is, half-werewolf. For us it was real, but I always knew she could never be truly be in love with only person. That's why she accepted my engagement to your father so easily. She could see we were good for each other! And in time, Ruby and your father even became close friends themselves. Your father even saved her life several times, too."

"You know what Henry told me? He said that the potion we sniffed in that old cottage was designed for me and Elsa. It was supposed to give us some sort of 'sisterly' love for Ingrid; enough to help persuade us to leave Storybrooke and go off with her? But she screwed up the ingredients, apparently. She realised the mistake, and left it, unfinished, in the cottage just before she died. Gold even has the book she used, and told Henry it'd never have worked so well if the victims hadn't had genuine feelings for one another. Ruby, in your case. Ingrid's potion just sort of, exaggerated everything?"

"I guess that would explain what happened to you and Regina? You two have become very close since Hope was born, haven't you? Your father noticed, too."

Emma definitely didn't want to open that particular can of worms! So she ignored it. "So dad's got to understand, surely? He just needs time."

"No. After he caught us together, I ridiculed him badly. Can you imagine that? I actually taunted him after he...well, at the worst possible time. He lost his temper, in a way I'd never seen before, and he was so angry, he came very close to killing Ruby. When I saw him yesterday, I tried to apologise. For everything. I asked him if he could ever forgive me, and he said he could forgive, but never forget the original lies. No, I've hurt him too much this time, Emma."

They fell silent, Emma still holding her against her chest. And as she did, Snow's mind drifted back to her best friend, and David's gun rammed under her chin, ready to fire.

"Have you seen her? Ruby? I haven't since I was in the loft, and that was that was five days ago. I woke up to find myself in here."

"Regina and I only got back over the town line just over half an hour ago. But yeah, I saw her and Belle in Portland. They stayed at the same hotel as us last night."

"What's she doing in Portland?"

"It's a long story. Before you and Ruby got together a few weeks ago, it seems she was already cheating on Dorothy, with Belle of all people? And worse still, it had nothing to do with Ingrid's potion, and it'd been going on for years! Gold found out, and he almost killed her. But he threw them both over the town line instead. Henry said the state he was in it's as though The Dark One has taken over Gold even more, if that's even possible."

"Belle too?" Snow was mortified. She knew about some of Ruby's past indiscretions, even during her marriage to Dorothy. She knew her instincts all too well, but overlooked them and stayed silent, for the sake of their friendship. "Good god, what a dreadful mess!"

"Yeah, you don't know the half of it!"

The Sherwood Arms

As Robin stared at her from the other side of the counter, she felt herself starting to shake. As though she was freezing? Trying hard to hide her emotions, she walked closer, before slowly dropping onto one knee in the middle of the room, then both knees, as she looked up at him, her eyes red and tired with dark lines under them, like he'd never seen before. Then she lowered her head to face the floor.

"What on earth are you doing?"

"Submitting to you. When a monarch loses their throne in battle, or has wronged another and is forced to yield, we show public humiliation to the victor's side. I've wronged you, so now I'm-"

"No, there's no need for that. Get up."

"No Robin, I need to publicly abase-"

But he wouldn't hear it. "No! No wife of mine ever bows before me! We're equals, or we're nothing. Get up, Regina!" It sounded more like a command than a request.

The other drinkers, some thirty or so, all watched in disbelief as their former Evil Queen, now a very different, broken woman to the one they had feared for so long, slowly got back up off her knees, having humiliated herself before them. And she stayed looking down. Even though Robin didn't like it, they all understood the significance of what she'd done. She was showing obeisance and surrendering to him for judgment, or even punishment, even if he couldn't see it himself. But he still didn't move towards her, merely pointing to a side door.

"We can't talk out here. Let's go in the back room? Henry, if you wouldn't mind, your mother and I need to be alone?"

~oOo~

As he sat down on the sofa, Regina remained standing opposite, still clearly nervous.

"Regina, please sit down?"

But she didn't. She'd been rehearsing the words she wanted to say ever since she'd left Portland, and she had to get them out, while she still could.

"I'd rather stand, thank you?" She twitched, wringing her hands, still avoiding his gaze. "Henry told me you saw everything that happened, on a dream catcher?"

"Everything..." He nodded. "Not just what you did, but what you said to each other. Before and after. And during." He stayed impassive, his eyes revealing nothing, just staring straight back at her while she tried to avoid the judgmental look, despite the occasional nervous glance up at him.

"First, you need to know that everything I did, and everything you heard me say, from the moment I inhaled that wretched potion, wasn't me! I realise my actions have hurt you deeply. And Roland. But I swear to you Robin, on my life, and even Henry's life, that I wasn't in control of my own mind. I was bewitched in ways even now I can't explain. It was the same for Emma. And Henry told me that Snow and Ruby were affected in much the same way." She paused, waiting for him to at least say something? Anything? But he just kept staring. She took a breath. "I really can't explain it other than that. Only to say that I'm so very sorry for everything I've put you through, with my detestable behaviour. I love you as much as I ever have, and I can only hope that one day you'll believe me enough to forgive me."

He carried on looking at her in silence, weighing up what he'd heard, until finally:

"What were your feelings for Emma before you went into that cottage?"

"We started as enemies. Bitter enemies, when she first arrived in Storybrooke. I had her arrested on false charges, and tried to force her out and poison her. I even tried to use a sleeping curse on her. But gradually, over the years, as we fought battles together and even saved each other's lives several times, I came to realize that we had a lot in common, besides Henry. As we slowly came to trust one another, we stopped fighting over him, accepted each other in his life, and gradually became much closer. After your murder, she helped me through my grieving. She's the closest, probably the only real female friend I've ever had. But we were never romantically involved before this happened, I swear."

"So when you told her, after that first time you fucked her in that cottage..." he tried, but failed to hide the bitterness as he used the, unusually for him, coarse language. "...that you wished you'd known sooner she had feelings for you, as you already had them for her, you were lying? You had no feelings for her before the potion?"

This wasn't going the way she intended. "I…I don't believe I ever said that."

"I'm a good listener, Regina, and you did! You said your feelings for her grew when you were in Neverland. Something about the 'mixing of your streams'?"

She vaguely recalled the incident. "I was only referring to streams of magic, nothing more. We combined them to move clouds covering the moon, to break one of Pan's protective barriers, I discovered our magic was even more powerful when we worked together, than separately. There was nothing romantic about it, despite what I might have said subsequently."

"Interesting..." He stroked his beard. "You see, Gold told me Ingrid's potion wouldn't have worked anywhere near as powerfully as it did had the victims not held very deep and genuine feelings for one another. Because all the potion did was exaggerate those feelings. So once again, I ask you-"

"I'm not in love with her Robin, I swear! And Emma's certainly not in love with me."

"Still, you told her things about the two of us. Very intimate things. You even compared us in bed! I heard everything, and you-"

"That was the potion talking!" Regina interrupted him again, finally looked up, trying hard to hold back tears. "Robin, please believe me? The only way I can explain it, is that once I came under its effects, all that mattered to me from then on was Emma! Nothing else, only Emma. Not you, not Roland, not Henry. Only Emma! I'd have done anything, killed anyone, for her. Do you know what I did to Henry when he came after me, livid after I'd kicked you out of our home? I stole his voice! I actually used magic to mute my own son? Can you seriously imagine me normally doing something like that to Henry?" Whatever he was thinking, there was a small change in Robin's expression. Was it sympathy? "And Emma was under the very same influence. So much so, she tried to choke her pirate to death, just for calling me a bitch! Even though it was true. She tried to kill him in front of her own daughter! You know what that woman's normally like around Guyliner? She'd never hurt him in a million years, or Hope! You've seen her with that girl many times, Robin. Do you ever seriously imagine she'd do something like that, if she was in control of her own mind?"

"I'll admit, it was a side of you both I never imagined I'd ever see."

"If there was any way I could undo the last three weeks, I would. You have to believe me?"

"What hurt me the most, wasn't the fact I saw you having sex with her. And oh my, there was a lot of sex, wasn't there? And it wasn't the vile things you said about me before and after; about our own sex life, and my...shortcomings?" Regina visibly recoiled, having a vague idea of what he's heard. "It was the way you broke Roland! I found that so unbelievably cruel. Especially the look on your face when Emma hit him? And do you know who I saw when you threatened me? The last time I saw your face in the diner? I saw the Evil Queen, Regina! Many people have told me all about her. But it's the first time I ever saw her for myself."

She knew this was going to be difficult. She knew she'd have to apologise many times over, not just to him but to everyone she'd hurt over the last few weeks. But hearing the man she loved refer to the monster she'd tried so hard to bury in her dark past, hurt her more than expected. Even if it was fully deserved.

"I tried to leave that woman behind a very long time ago! Again, I'm sorry. Robin, I love Roland like he's my own son, you know that? And there was absolutely nothing wrong with our love life, nothing whatsoever! I've always been very happy with that side of our marriage, and before! But that damn potion made me see the world differently. But it's now worn off, leaving me to deal with the aftermath of everything I've done while I was under it. Dammit, Snow was so disgusted with herself when she finally realised what she'd done to Charming, she even tried to kill herself!"

"I know. Sleeping pills, I gather? I saw her in the hospital when I went to visit Mulan this morning. She's a rather pathetic mess."

"Exactly! And that woman was the very symbol of all hope around here! That potion may have just destroyed the strongest marriage in all the realms, bar ours. And for what? Do you seriously think that nauseatingly-sugary princess would ever deliberately do anything to hurt David?"

Robin nodded slowly. But his face still remained stony.

"I accept you make a good point. But then there's the little matter of Sydney Glass? You've held that man under some sort of 'enslavement charm', as Gold called it. Even after all this time and throughout our marriage? After you renounced the Evil Queen and signed the Villains Amnesty? You recently made Glass spread false bile about us, so we'd be evicted from the forest and our homes. A false rumour that Much had been touching a fifteen-year-old girl inappropriately? That I'd been beating Roland? That this place was infested with rats and should be closed down? Made-up thefts in Storybrooke, caused by my men? Why did you get so personal in your attacks on all of us? On me. How could you do that?"

"I know, it was vil. I just wanted revenge for what you did to Emma. I-"

"WHAT I DID TO HER?" Robin never raised his voice to her, but this time he was up, on his feet, and in her face in seconds. "THE CUNT HURT MY SON!"

"I know..." She stayed looking at the floor, desperately trying to remain calm in the heat of his anger. She's certainly never heard him use the 'c' word before, either! "And now the potion's left her body, she's just as devastated by what she did as I am. And just so you know, she also thinks she deserved the punch you gave her after she struck Roland. You broke her jaw, Robin! But at the time, in her confused state she thought she was acting to protect me. And I sought revenge on you in any way I could think of at the time, for putting her in hospital. Again, it was the potion talking, not us."

"And Sidney Glass? Even you can't blame the potion for keeping that pathetic bastard a prisoner all these years? Letting him out for a couple of hours a day to do your bidding? Like a slave?"

"You're right. Sidney was kept back as my last failsafe, if ever I needed him. I couldn't give him up, even though I should have long ago. He was once under an enslavement charm, but Ingrid broke it and released him years ago. I found him and re-enslaved him again, to my eternal shame. Quite frankly, I don't know the spell needed to remove it? He still believes himself to be madly in love with me to the point of obsession. I have no excuse, and I know it violates the Absolution of Former Villains charter that we passed while you were dead. It's one of the reasons why, when I leave here I'll be surrendering myself to Sheriff Morgan, who'll no doubt charge me, and this time I have no power to stop him. It's more than likely I'll be spending quite some time in prison. And I richly deserve it."

"What a bloody mess..." He shook his head, wearily. "Frankly Regina, I'm not sure what to think any more." He went silent again and she finally sat down on the little armchair opposite. He studied her, realising he'd never seen her looking so careworn? Almost...haggard? Then he noticed something else. "What's that on your left wrist? Some sort of tattoo?"

"It's the magic-blocking cuff Henry placed on me in the diner." She pulled back her sleeve, so he could see more clearly. "Emma's is identical. They changed into these the moment we crossed over the town line last week, and never changed back. Only Henry can remove them, though we did try."

"I gather you went to Miami?"

"The Town Council met and suspended us both. We knew we were now vulnerable to anything and anyone without our magic, so we drove to New York, thinking there was someone who could help us. There's a Chinese mystic there called the Dragon. You remember I told you about him? When we were both trapped behind mirrors by my split Evil Queen? Well he couldn't help. He just confirmed what Gold said; that only Henry can release them."

"So then you went from New York to a five-star hotel in Miami Beach? Henry showed me the pictures. Looks nice..." The sarcasm in his voice was obvious. "Clearly, you weren't worried about the mess you left behind? Why'd you come back, if you knew you'd be arrested?"

"We nearly didn't. It sounds ludicrous now, but with the potion still working and only each other to consider, we imagined ourselves starting a new life down there. Just the two of us. We even talked about getting married. Perhaps raising another child together. Ridiculous I know, but that's how bizarre things had become. Nothing else mattered but her. Then a day or so after we arrived in Miami, it began to wear off. Emma first, then me a day later. The awful realisation of what we'd done, what we'd left behind, was devastating. We first reached out to Henry, to apologize and beg his forgiveness. It's then he told us about about Ingrid's potion, and you both seeing the dream catcher. That was bad enough, but when he told us Snow had tried to take her own life, well that just broke Emma. We finally realized we had to come back and face the music. Even if we were never forgiven by those we love."

Robin sat back down, cupping his face in his hands, trying to figure out what he should do. It was another interminable silence for Regina.

"For Emma, it's bad enough she almost lost her mother. But to lose her husband and her daughter, possibly for good? Henry doesn't even know where Guyliner's taken Hope. Another realm? That bloody man-"

"That 'bloody man' sailed away to stop her taking his daughter by force!" Robin cut in. "Or worse, leaving her fatherless. At least have the decency to finally refer to Killian by his proper bloody name, instead of that stupid fucking moniker? He does it for you, and he's as 'reformed' as you are!"

"I'm sorry..." She felt like she'd just reverted to childhood, being berated by her father for bad behaviour. This was a very different Robin to the one she knew and loved. But she also deserved everything he'd throw at her. "I'm just saying that she can't even find him to begin to apologise, to either of them? And without magic, she has no way of finding him. If he's even in this realm."

"He is. I know where he's gone with Hope." Robin stood, walking over to the small drinks tray, picking up a glass. "I can get a message to him."

"I'll let her know they're safe, or at least tell Henry? She'll be grateful. Thank you."

"Scotch?" Although unsmiling, he lifted up a whisky tantalus. "If you're about to be arrested, it might be your last for a while."

"I'd love one." The mere fact he was at least willing to be in the same room, and offer her a drink after everything that'd happened between them, wasn't lost on her The way she felt right now, she could have easily drained the entire decanter. But reminding herself of her condition, she had to decline. Should she tell him now? "But I can't drink. Thank you, anyway."

She watched him turn to pour himself a large measure, knowing this could be her last chance to salvage at least something from their marriage. Didn't the child within her deserve that, at least?

"Robin, I know I keep repeating myself, but everything I did was down to Ingrid's potion. I love you, I'm in love with you, and no one else. I will do anything, anything you ask of me, even if it's just to stay away from you if you wish. But I need to know whether there's going to be the slightest chance you'll forgive me one day? If only for the sake of our children? Despite the fact you must hate me."

"I don't hate you, Regina." He downed the large measure in a single slug. "I've never hated you, despite everything. I fell in love and trusted you. That's what makes it all so painful. But I need time to think. My priority has to be Roland now. And there's now a risk, as far as you and Emma are concerned." Her eyes rose at that, and she suddenly felt that harsh tingling sensation coming from her stomach. "What if this weird potion you inhaled is still inside you somehow? Maybe lying dormant while your magic's suppressed? Once you two get those cuffs off and your magic's back, you'll have the ability to kill any of us in a heartbeat, won't you? How do I know we'll all be safe? How do I-"

"Robin, I'm pregnant!"

She'd blurted it out, as though a force within compelled her to do so. Taken by surprise, his eyes widened, as he was left temporarily speechless.

"The Dragon told me, and I had it confirmed in Miami. I'm between six and seven weeks pregnant. I'm carrying your child."

Portland, Maine - Several hours later

It was just before seven in the evening as the warm summer sun bathed the port and harbour front, and the assorted bars and cafes lining it. It was their fourth evening in Maine's largest city. And Belle and Ruby, having spent their morning taking their minds off their current difficulties by shopping for essentials and Ruby's wardrobe, now sat at a table by the seafront facing the port inlet, as various ships of all sizes came in on the evening high tide. Belle wore a large-brimmed floppy straw hat to protect her bare shoulders, while Ruby merely wore the white bikini she'd bought earlier, and sunglasses.

"I tell you Belle, some of the guys on these boats..." They watched as a sloop drifted by, a suntanned, shirtless, and extremely handsome young dark-haired man, possibly not even thirty, at the helm. "...are bloody gorgeous! I mean, take a look at him?"

Belle sniggered, slurping on the last of her iced coffee, looking up from her phone. "He is. And that's the third guy you waved at, in the space of ten minutes? So, what were you saying about your call from Henry? Before we were...interrupted?"

"He said he'll be here in the morning, and bringing Merlin with him. He also said he'll try to bring Gideon along, after he talks to Gold tonight."

"I can't see Rumple letting him do that, much as I'd love it if he did." The former librarian looked glum. "He'll be too scared I'd run off with him."

"Well he said he'll try. But it was only a short call. Apparently when they got there earlier, Emma went in to check up on Snow, who's still in hospital, though he's heard nothing back. Oh, and apparently there's some friend of his who owns a farm somewhere near here? There's a bed and breakfast with it and they need someone to look after the place, so they can go on holiday. He thought I might want to stay there, and maybe earn some cash? There may be some more permanent work too. Let's face it, I could do with the money!"

"I might be joining you, if I can't get back to Storybrooke anytime soon. Why's Merlin coming?"

"To help me with an identity, papers, that sort of thing? I even thought I might try to find some temp work on the boats out here."

"So that's why you've been flirting with every sailor that went past?"

"Well, yeah...though you have to admit, some of these guys are pretty hot? And those things aren't cheap, so if they've got money, even better!"

Belle shook her head. It would have felt wrong to remind her that she was technically still married. She'd destroyed her marriage to her supposed true love, as much as she'd wrecked her own. By infidelity. Seeing the way she easily flirted with everyone she encountered, male or female, she had to remind herself that Ruby Lucas was a werewolf-hybrid. And she'd learnt that, unlike wolves, they definitely weren't monogamous. Over the last few evenings, as they slowly began to accept their fates outside the magical town, Belle had grown to realise that they were very different!

As an even larger boat, a schooner, edged slowly past them nearer to where they were mooring, Belle noticed this one had a very attractive, tall chestnut-haired woman at the wheel. She was nicely tanned and wore sunglasses. While at the bow end, a tall, even more tanned blonde-haired man stood ready to jump off, rope in hand, to tie the boat up. Ruby was the first to spot him.

"Now that one is bloody stunning!" As she spoke, she noticed the woman at the wheel turn to smile at Belle, giving her a little wave. "And the girl he's with, is pretty hot too! I'll invite them over to join us. Which one do you fancy tonight then?"

"Join us?" Belle signalled for the waiter to order another iced coffee. "What are you talking about?"

"Inviting them over for a drink? Belle, if we wanna get work while we're here, we need to make some friends. That's one expensive boat, so one, or both of them, probably have money and may even have some part-time work going? If not, then we've made a couple of new friends anyway. What do you say? She definitely seems interested in you, and I can tell you like her too. Besides, I'd be happy to take care of him tonight." She gave her a lascivious grin. "More than happy!"

"What do you mean, she's interested in me?" Belle took her shades off, hardly believing what she was hearing. "And what on earth makes you think I'd be interested in another woman, anyway?"

"Oh, some off it!" Ruby drawled sarcastically, tapping the side of her nose with her finger. "I may not be able to shapeshift here, but I can still smell the interest on you. Wolf senses, remember?"

"That's impossible," she hated to admit it, but Ruby was onto something. The woman on the boat had piqued her interest. She lowered her voice. "What makes you so sure I want to swing that way again?"

Ruby sniggered, leaning closer not to be overheard, as another couple walked past. "Because let's face it babe, like most girls if you're honest, once you've had the experience of being with another woman, it's not something you want to give up for good now, is it? Besides, where's the harm? We're both free, and single. If they're not interested, or we don't get on, it's no problem. But if they are...well, you could even take him instead and I'll take her? Or we can swap? I've got a feeling in my bones about those two."

Belle didn't know whether to be shocked or offended. But sadly, she was right about being single. Maybe making wealthy new friends out here could help them?

"Okay, just invite them over for a drink. Nothing else, mind! You, Ruby Lucas, are incorrigible!"

"And that's why you love me."

~oOo~

Sure enough, Ruby had walked over to the young couple who'd arrived on the schooner, and Belle had watched from a distance while she struck up a conversation easily with them, pointing back in her direction. She waved back.

And a few minutes later, all three had joined her at their table. The couple, Jerard and Olivia, French and English respectively, had originally sailed all the way from the English Channel Islands three months earlier. Ruby made the introductions. Jerard was even more handsome than he'd looked from fifty yards away with his shirt off. His tan seemed to be deeper, and permanent, clearly the result of spending a lot of time out on the ocean, under the sun. The blonde hair seemed more golden. And his perfectly capped teeth, genuine smile and taught body under the cotton T, showed a man in the peak of good health. He clearly looked after himself.

"Enchantée, Madame Belle." His French accent did all sorts of things to her, even more so when he kissed the back of her hand in front of them.

"Tout le plaisir est pour moi, Jerard." She replied, remembering her French tutor from her childhood days.

"See, I told you she'd be bright as well as gorgeous, Jer!" Said the other woman, as her partner passed Belle's hand over to her as she watched. "Hello, Belle." Surprisingly, she also turned the hand over, kissing it lightly, but never taking her eyes off her. "I'm Olivia. Call me Livvy? And you don't have to speak French with me. Or him! It's lovely meeting you both. Ruby tells me you guys are looking for part-time work?"

Just as Jerard was very handsome, Olivia was stunning. She reminded her of Ariel. Her tan was also genuine, and deep, and her skin unflawed. And she still hadn't let go of her hand?

"You're beautiful..." The words left Belle's lips without her thinking, earning a beaming smile from the other woman in return as she pinked. From the corner of her eye, she could see Ruby grinning at her little faux-pas. "Sorry, I, erm..."

"Please don't apologize? I was thinking just the same about you. You're gorgeous. Now, there was something about a drink?"

~oOo~

Forty minutes later, as the waiter brought over a second bottle of wine, Band elle had finally relaxed as the alcohol started to take affect. The couple didn't have any real part-time work for them, only some light duties on board as they planned to move on in a few days. But Olivia invited them to join them in two days time, for a day cruise out in the bay. Ruby's legendary flirting skills were in full force, and keenly appreciated by Jerard, while Olivia merely smiled back at him, blowing him the occasional air-kiss, something Belle found more than curious.

"So, you and Jerard? Are you a couple? Married?"

That made them both chuckle, Olivia collecting his hand in hers as she poured more wine. "Couple? No. Lovers? Definitely." She leant across, kissing his cheek. "I suppose you could say we're...attached, but with no-strings attached? We're not exclusive. But this guy's still my rock."

"And Livvy's my rose!" He pecked her lips, tenderly. "I'd never survive on the ocean without her."

"Sounds like my sort of people!" Ruby exchanged a look with Belle. The former librarian knew exactly what she was thinking. But what she hadn't been expecting was what came out next. "You sound just like me and Belle. Occasional lovers. No strings attached."

Belle gulped, saying nothing and just staring back. Ruby was always direct when it came to talking about sex, but never had it involved her. Back in Storybrooke, even the slightest hint that she'd been unfaithful to Rumple could have got her, or anyone else, killed. But the other couple just seemed to be smiling back at her as Olivia took her hand again.

"I felt something when you smiled back at me earlier. That you might be into girls? I kinda sensed Ruby was, and I certainly am..." She squeezed her hand a little tighter. Her pupils now definitely seemed larger than earlier. "And boys. Tell me Belle, are you into boys too?"

"Erm..." She looked back at Ruby nervously, only to see her friend's hand was now resting on Jerard's thigh, her fingers decidedly close to other parts.

"Yeah, she is." Ruby answered for her, earning a silent glower from her friend. What the hell are you getting us into? "We both are, actually."

"Well that's good to know. Jerard's also bi like us, aren't you my love?" Olivia now turned back to her, moving her chair in a little closer, while Jerard, already putting an arm around Ruby's shoulder, grinned a devilish grin. "What say we all get a bite to eat somewhere around here? Then perhaps, back to the boat for a...nightcap?"

Olivia's green eyes burned into Belle's. "Yeah, though I'm not hungry just yet. Jer, what say we show these two where we've been living? We can have a drink down there first, maybe two, then we can head off for some food? What do you say, Belle?"

~oOo~

Ten minutes later, they found themselves inside the galley of the schooner, with a chilled bottle of wine in front of them, which he started to open. Ruby was standing next to him, putting the glasses down as Belle and Olivia sat at the little table.

"Ladies, this comes from my family estate, in the heart of Alsace. It isn't one of our best, but well...I hope you like it? it's got some gooseberry high notes, like a good Sauvignon, but-"

"Jer, stop being pretentious and giving us a wine lecture, and just pour the damn thing?" Olivia cut in, still grinning, edging herself closer to the former librarian. "Belle's getting thirsty, and so am I!"

"Sorry, my darling. Belle, forgive me?" He smirked, filling the glasses. All four took them and took their first quaff, Belle more than the rest of them.

"That's lovely! Now Jer, why don't you hurry up and and kiss that gorgeous woman next to you? I can see Ruby's more than keen, aren't you, my dear?"

"No argument there..." Ruby, who seemed completely at ease with the unusual situation, smiled back as he turned to face her. She even wrapped her arms around his waist. "Come on then handsome, why don't you show me what you got?"

"Anything to oblige a beautiful lady..." Without any hesitation, he tilted his head as he slid a hand into her hair to support her, planting a soft kiss on her lips. Ruby instantly welcomed it, opening her mouth wider to receive him as tongues came into play, followed by a long, drawn out moan from both. And Olivia grinned as they watched them, like this was an everyday event.

"You know Belle, he really is a very good kisser! As I'm sure you'll find out for yourself. That is, if you don't mind sharing?"

"Sharing?" Belle's eyes were on stalks as she watched them. "You mean, you do this sort of thing all the time? Share each other?"

"Not very often, but yes, on occasion. As I mentioned, we're both bi. If we find someone we're into,and who's into us, why not? Mind you, I must admit I've never had a foursome before. Have you?"

"Erm..." She looked back up at Ruby, who seemed to be getting really into it, her left hand already sliding down to the front of his tshorts, giving a gentle squeeze to the hardening bulge that lay beneath. "No, I haven't. To be honest, I've only ever been with one man, and one woman. Separately."

"Oh! Well that's a surprise, for someone with your looks! Listen, if you're not comfortable, we can always leave them and well, go back up top? Or, maybe you could join me in the berth next door?"

But looking at the pair now aggressively making out in front of them, getting more heated by the second, was definitely turning her on! And the sheer excitement of doing something…debauched...that had made her turn to the wolf in the first place, was overwhelming. And now, with the other woman merely inches away, those intense pale-blue eyes staring back at her weren't helping?

"No, it's...it's okay, I'm just nervous, I guess."

"I fully understand," she felt a warm hand settle on her thigh, just above the knee. "Belle, may I kiss you?"

~oOo~

Two drinks later, all four of them lay on the surprisingly-large double bed in the bow of the schooner. Ruby was already stripped of her bikini, laying back and watching with a libidinous grin as, to her side, Belle was on her knees, pressed up against Olivia, both women oblivious as they engaged in a torrid kiss, while in the process of removing each other's bras.

"Fuck! You two look seriously hot together." Ruby gasped, seeing her friend looking so wanton and keen. "If the guys at the library could see you now Belle, they wouldn't recognise you!"

Olivia unsealed her mouth and tongue, from Belle's. "You work in a library?" She tilted her head down to seize a nipple between her lips. "I love books."

"Worked in...aah!" She hissed. "I left. I...ooh...that's worked in..." She couldn't string a sentence together, let along answer, as she felt a warm hand across her backside. Jerard?

"Don't tire Belle out too quickly, my darling?" His soft French accent sounded decidedly more heated as, having already removed his shorts, he pulled down his boxers, releasing a surprisingly thick and definitely erect cock, making Ruby gulp. It had been a couple of years since she'd last seen, let alone experienced one. "We're supposed to be sharing, remember?"

"Of course, my sweet." Olivia twisted her head, catching his lips with her own. But as she did so, one side of the boat went darker, as a larger vessel passed close by. "Though be a love and close the curtains? Someone on that ship might see in? And I'd hate to cause a collision?"

Despite being naked, Jerard moved to close each of the three small sliding curtains, to shield their modesty, though not before spotting a large, four-masted galleon draw slowly past. Being a sailing ship fanatic, he stopped to look over the vessel.

"Incroyable! That is one beautiful brig! She looks almost...authentique?"

"Jerard?" Ruby spoke up. "You're standing by that window, stark bollock naked, with a hard-on I can hang my washing on. While I'm here, equally naked, wanting you to use it! Now for god's sake, close that damn curtain, come over here and fuck me? Otherwise I'll just have to join the girls!"

"Pardon mademoiselle, where are my manners?" He sniggered, drawing the curtains.

Meanwhile, within forty feet of the moored schooner, a large brigantine edged slowly past, as the captain behind the wheel started to move closer to the part of the harbour reserved for the larger ships. While he was yelling instructions to his skeleton crew, a small blonde sat beside him on the top of the wheel housing.

"So daddy, we're really going to be seeing Henry?"

"That's what Robin told me, my love. We should see your big brother first thing in the morning."

~oOo~