Killian wants to understand his wife's true feelings for the former Evil Queen, and with Merlin's little device, he does. Snow gets to learn more about the wizard who's planning to operate on her. Granny speaks to her wayward granddaughter, and Robin gets a surprise at Regina's first ultrasound. Meanwhile, Henry's mind is distracted.
Swan House
"Killian, what the hell is that?"
Emma was totally distracted by the red, dragon-shaped stone sitting in front of him on the coffee table, which seemed to be pulsing some sort of bright light blue whenever she spoke?
"It's called the Verum Lapis, or 'truth stone'? It's an ancient relic, made by a goddess called Aletheia, at least according to Merlin. It's rather intriguing. It differentiates fact from fiction with stunning accuracy. Let me demonstrate?" Emma shrugged her shoulders. Where the hell was he going with this? "When we made love last night, did you or did you not call out Regina's name when you finally peaked?"
"WHAT?" She responded, without even thinking. "No, of course not! Why would you think-"
But the stone's light had instantly changed from blue to bright red!
"Seems you're lying, Swan?" He looked up, glaring at her. "Let's try again, shall we? And this time, the truth? Or would you rather just run away, again?"
"You're being serious?" The red light cut out, as though waiting for her to slip up.
"Very. So let's try again without all the usual bluster and deviation this time, shall we? Let's see now. Last night, you called out her name at a very inopportune moment, didn't you? It's a simple enough question. Did you, or didn't you?"
"Erm…" Her eyes never left the stone. Could this thing destroy their marriage more than she already had? "Yes, I did..." The light immediately changed back to blue... "But it wasn't intentional! Seriously Killian, I don't know why the hell it came out, like that? I love you, and I-" But he raised his hand to stop her.
"Enough Emma, you don't need to repeat everything you said yesterday, because I believe you. Yes, you love me, and you love Hope, and you want our family to stay together? I get that. I watched the dream catcher, remember?"
"DON'T JUST DISMISS IT LIKE THAT? I meant every damn word! I'm NOT in love with Regina!"
But her last six words made the light instantly flick from blue back to red again.
"I'M NOT!"
Again, the red light shone, but even brighter.
"Ah, it seems we might finally be getting somewhere?"
Exasperated, Emma couldn't believe what she was witnessing, dropping her face into her palms. Her future's being decided on a fucking stone?
"Killian, whatever it looks like, it isn't what you think! I'm not-" She looked again at the stone, trying to figure out how best not to incriminate herself. All she could do was tell him the truth, right? No matter how excruciatingly embarrassing. "Yes, I admit I care for Regina, and I know she really cares about me, too." That blue light had returned. "We share Henry, and yes, I guess we've become a hell of a lot closer since Robin got murdered, especially before he came back. But I'd just call it a very close friendship? I suppose you could call it love, of sorts? But it's definitely not the type I feel for my own husband. For you!" The stone didn't light this time, and she guessed it must've been because she was only giving an opinion. "As for what happened last night, I hadn't been fantasising about her, or anything like that, before we started having sex, I swear! She just 'appeared' in my head at the worst possible time." At least the blue light returned for the last bit.
"A reminder of your time in Miami, perhaps? I watched the dream catcher, remember?"
She didn't answer, her elbows now resting on her knees, hands cupping her face.
"After you two left the Crocodile's place, I continued watching, fast-forwarding through most, but not all, the parts where you two were being…intimate?" The blue light returned. "The first time was more than enough."
Silently dying inside, she wished she could be anywhere but here right now. She didn't know how to answer.
"Do you miss being with the Queen? Physically, I mean?"
"NO!"
"Perhaps you just missed the touch of another woman?"
"Of course not! I don't-" Although she said it firmly enough, the light's change to red took her by surprise. "No, it's not like that!"
But the red stayed. This was getting worse.
"You quite sure?"
She stayed silent, cupping her face again.
"Swan, I've known for quite some time you'd had a past with the fairer sex, as well as my own. Maybe the last weeks reminded you what it was like?"
She inhaled slowly, trying to control her breathing. "It doesn't compare to us!"
"Not really an answer, Emma. Barring what happened with Regina this month, have you ever been unfaithful to me, with either sex, since you accepted my hand?"
"Of course not!" Thankfully the blue light returned. "Not from the day we became serious about each other and started dating; not since the day you proposed, and I accepted. Leaving aside what happened recently, I'd never cheat on you!"
"What about before I proposed to you?"
"What's that got to do with anything? Do I ever ask you about your past?"
Clearly her walls were back up, so he decided to try a different tack.
"Perhaps you should? I'm a fairly open book Swan, and I've never hidden anything from you. Let me tell you something about me? Something we should've probably discussed before I even asked for your hand. Did I ever tell you that, over the centuries, I've had male lovers as well as female?"
The blue light was shining. He was telling the truth. "You and other men?"
"Aye. After I renounced the King's commission and took to a life of piracy. I must've had at least a dozen dalliances with other men over the years."
"But you never said anything?" She finally looked up at him, surprised.
"Why would I? We all have secrets and it's not something one boasted about, certainly not in those days. At least, not if you valued your life! Romantic entanglements between women were never discussed, and ones between men weren't just frowned on, they were illegal, and considered an abomination before god. In my days as a raw cadet, I even witnessed two young ensigns hanged for having been caught together in the same bunk. Neither lad could've been a day over nineteen."
"They killed them, just for that? That's barbaric!"
"Aye, but that's how it was. Very different times to now. I gather the young lads in question had some sort of ongoing romantic, albeit highly covert, relationship. They were charged and convicted of buggery, without any semblance of a proper trial I should add, and within an hour of getting caught! They were originally due for the lash, though the old bastard of a captain, Trencherwood, a religious fanatic, insisted they be given a greater punishment to deter others. Strung them from the mizzen mast, he did! In full view of the crew, and each other."
"That's horrible! How did he get away with it?"
"The navy may have been a hard taskmaster to the crews, but they always turned a blind eye to the shortcomings of their senior officers. Trencherwood was one of the worst. A total bastard. He hanged many a man for any minor misdemeanour, without any sort of trial and just to enforce discipline. But five years on, I saw to it personally that he got his comeuppance."
"Dare I ask how?"
"His ship, the rather appropriately named Retribution, hunted us down and tried to spring a nasty little surprise as we sailed out of Tortuga. Without boring you with all the details, we knew they were coming and turned the tables, destroying her sails before boarding her. We convinced half the crew to join us, dumping the others on a nearby atoll rather than kill them, as they were only young lads obeying orders. But remembering that old bastard, I kept Trencherwood back for his own little taste of 'retribution'." Emma sat listening, fascinated, now ignoring the continual blue light. "I told him to his face why I was doing it and had him keelhauled. I take it you know what that is?" She nodded. "Afterwards, we hung his bloated corpse from his own mizzen mast. Oddly enough, there were more cheers coming from his former crew than ours! Though it was wrong at the time, I must've gained twenty men to our company that day."
Emma shook her head, amazed by the astonishing brutality of the times he'd lived through. "So why'd you take such a big risk? Being with other men?"
"It was long after I broke with the navy. It was often due to loneliness I guess, but not always. While at sea for weeks, sometimes months on end, it was also comfort, or companionship. But once or twice, it became a little more."
This was a part of him which she knew nothing about. "So, there was nobody you were more serious about? Of the guys, I mean?"
"Perhaps one. Guillaume, the owner of an inn that used to fence our booty, who I knew over several years. Clever bugger, he was! He was killed during a raid by our own navy. But the vast majority of my closer intimacies over the centuries have been with women."
"Yeah, I bet!" She rolled her eyes. "What's that they say about sailors and pirates? A girl in every port?"
"There's been a few, admittedly, but unlike many a sailor in a foreign port, I always shied away from the working girls' personal services, even if I often frequented their bordellos for food and drink. I can honestly say in all my years, I've never paid for that sort of comfort! In fact, when it comes to anything resembling true romance and the hope of something more permanent, in nearly three centuries I've only really had two real relationships, both women. You, obviously. And Milah. You met her in the Underworld?"
"Yeah," she gave him a sad smile. "I didn't get to spend too long with her. Gold was the one who introduced us. I'll never forget the gleam in his eye and the look on her face, when he told her that I'd not only had a kid by her son, but I was in a relationship with you!"
"Aye I'll bet that was a picture!" He sniggered silently, the first time she'd seen the hint of a smile on his face for ages. "Sadly, I never got to see her myself when I was down in that godforsaken place."
"We talked while we went on a little boat, right into Hades' dungeon, to try and rescue you. About Neal mostly, but she asked after you, and told me she really loved and missed you. So, no other past relationships with anyone else I might know? Or anyone I've met since?" It was just a relief not having to talk about herself. "I'd always suspected you and Tinker Bell might've have had a hidden past. Even now, I see the way she looks at you sometimes, when she thinks no one's watching? Or Ariel?
"The mermaid? Ha! No, she was already infatuated with Eric before I first met her. Though it's perfectly true Tink and I did share several brief…liaisons? But of course, that was when we were trapped on Neverland the first time; long before your mother was even a twinkle in her father's eye. As for others you may have met, none spring to mind. Apart from Maleficent of course, back in the Moors? And the Sea Witch? And the Queen of course, as you discovered yesterday."
"Don't remind me! I was surprised neither of you thought to tell me before the wedding? It might've been nice to know my husband-to-be and my best friend, my Matron of Honour, had once done the dirty, even if it was before I knew you?"
"Would it really, Swan? No, much like the dragon, it was purely gratification. As you've frequently reminded me, your best friend isn't the Evil Queen anymore. Much as I like to think I'm not the pirate and killer for hire I used to be? No, being villains, I believe we were all incapable of having genuine feelings for another human being at the time; and when given an opportunity, any of us would've used another for comfort. But when it comes to Regina, to my bitter regret she also seduced me into killing my own father, for reward. And no, to answer your question, no one else now in Storybrooke who you'd know."
An awkward silence followed. She wanted to come back at him but thought better of it. After all, she'd married a man she knew full well hadn't lived like a monk.
"Now, I think I've been more than open about my past, Swan? Perhaps you'd show the same courtesy and tell me about your own previous liaisons since you first arrived in Storybrooke but before me?"
"Alright. I guess it's only fair."
"Ruby Lucas. You slept with her, didn't you?"
"What?" Her head jerked up, her eyes wide. Where in the hell did that come from? "How the earth...?"
"I'll take that as a yes?" He looked back at the stone once again, but Emma's open mouth only confirmed it instead. "I may not have your superpower for lie detection, but when you've lived as long as me, you get a pretty good understanding of fleeting looks, longing and body language? You don't need to deny or justify yourself to me Emma, or anyone else. You were single, after all."
"Ruby. It only happened the once…" As the blue light shone again, Emma realised there was no point in avoiding it any longer. Not if there was a chance of saving her marriage. "It was a few weeks after Henry first brought me here. I was lonely, and she was…well, you know...comforting?" His unsurprised expression made her realise it was something he'd probably long suspected, even if he'd never said anything to her. "We were fairly drunk at the time. Why? Did she say something?"
"Not a word. But as I said, body language? Though that one tends to flirt with just about everyone, men and women, I could always tell Lucas was more than keen on you. She reminded me of a child, having enjoyed that first slice, now wanting more of the pie? Strange things, werewolves. Extremely rare. Werewolf-human hybrids rarer still. They're like wolves in so many ways, but a wolf tends towards monogamy. One partner for life? Whereas your werewolf is quite the opposite! I was surprised that true love kiss she gave the Oz lass even worked. Even more surprised they went on to get wed. I mean, it's one thing to fall in love, but I could never see her staying faithful to anyone for long, true love be damned!" He leant over and collected the red stone from the table, holding it in his palm, all the while Emma watching. He was right, he deserved complete honesty. And the truth.
"As i said, Ruby was a one-off. We'd just lost Graham, the Sheriff before me? He died unexpectedly. I was worried. Lonely. And she helped pick me up at a bad time."
"Must have been a real bugger when you found out she'd also had quite a romantic past with your own mother?"
"Don't remind me!" She snapped back. "Is this your way of getting back at me? By humiliating me? Because if it is, it's working!"
"Perish the thought. And for the record, two days after I first arrived here to take my revenge on the Crocodile, Lucas also made a blatant play for me, though she's hardly my type? But once she found out Cora was my travelling companion, she scarpered soon enough!" He grinned, despite himself. "Though I'm also pretty certain Lucas has also enjoyed the delights of Regina in her own past, as well as you. Though that would've been well before Locksley's time. Not to mention our local dragon, Maleficent, more recently? Plus Belle French of course; then there's that that tall blonde working down the town hall? What's her name now - Julie? And several more of the fairer sex I could mention. It might help explain why your monthly girls' nights at the Rabbit Hole was always so well attended? That place is starting to get a reputation as a Mecca for unhappy married women looking for a little action on the other side of the coin."
"What the hell are you implying? I'd never do something like that! Where's this all this shit coming from, anyway?"
"Do you seriously imagine it's only women around here who tattle and notice things? There's Robin's lot, the dwarves, Guy, the owner of that nightclub? Oh, and by the way, Lucas has also enjoyed his favours too! Even my own crew aren't averse to gossiping like fishwives at what they see and hear. Who's going off with who after drinks, who didn't get home? Hidden kisses in the corner when they think no one's watching? Who-"
"Well whether it's true or not, or who did what to who, I had no idea! And I've never played any part in any bloody lesbian hook-up group, okay?" She was getting irritated again. "You wanna know all about my past? Fine, you got it! I never had any relationships, or anything, when I was a kid other than making out with handsy guys in the back stalls at the movies. I was a loner! Then I stole a car and met Neal by accident. And he was it for me and I was genuinely happy for the first time in my life, right up till I went to jail in Phoenix for stealing watches. I didn't even know I was pregnant, and had to give birth to Henry behind bars! It was literally-"
"The worst moment of your life?" He interrupted her. "Aye, you told me on several occasions. You put him up for adoption to give him a better life."
"Doing it broke me! I'd lost everything, including my freedom! Thankfully, a girl my age called Sarah saved me and helped me adjust. You wanna talk about being lonely on board a ship? Well try it in jail? Sarah was an inmate, long-term, and we shared the same cell. She took care of me and yes, I admit, after a while we became close. And before you ask, she became my first time with a woman. And like you with men, it was more for comfort than anything else."
"Understandable. I guess being incarcerated and on long voyages have their similarities."
"After that I was first let out on parole. There was a year or two when I thought I was probably gay. But then after a few dates and hook-ups, good and bad but mostly bad, with both guys and girls, I realised I was probably bi, but preferred guys more? By the time Henry found me and brought me here, I wasn't with anyone in that way, right up till that night I spent with Ruby, a few weeks after. There was a guy I met here, the then Sheriff, Graham. But it didn't go anywhere. And that was it, right up until you came on the scene. So after Ruby, I didn't have sex with anyone, right up until you came along."
The light had stayed glowing blue right up until her last few words, when it suddenly switched to red at the last sentence.
"You sure about that? This Graham fellow? I heard he died...mysteriously?"
"He only kissed me the once, and that was it! And straight after that, he started acting really weird? It seems I triggered something in his memories and he passed away soon after, virtually in my arms. So yeah, quite sure!"
"Anyone else? The Arendelle queen perhaps? That week she was here?"
"Elsa?" Where the hell did that some from? "What on earth makes you say that?"
"You may recall when I broke into the Sorcerer's mansion?" He started chuckling as he remembered the looks on their faces. "The moment you spotted me come in, you suddenly pulled away from each other like scalded cats! I knew you briefly clung to one another when getting to grips with your respective magic. I'd always assumed I'd interrupted something."
"I…I…you…" Again, that damn stone was waiting. "We were only making out. But yes, before you burst in, we came close to…something, I suppose?" Technically, Killian had already taken her on their first date when it happened. "But there's been nobody since. Not so much as a kiss. Until you came along." Thankfully, the light had now gone back to blue. "Then no one after that, only you, until…well, you know?"
"Regina. Yes, and thanks for finally being open and truthful with me? Emma, I really don't give a damn about your past; be they men or women. Whoever gave you comfort, right? You were single, after all. But now, we're wed. Married, with a precious daughter. So the reason for all this questioning is I need clarity? And certainty, about things between you and the queen. She's...different."
"Look, I admit it, yes, I'm attracted to her, okay? And yes, there were times in the past, before you came on the scene, when I used to imagine what it'd be like for the two of us if we really were together? There was a time, when we were in the dwarf mines and had just pooled our magic to stop yet another damn curse, when I seriously considered asking her out on a date. But I never plucked up the courage. A couple of weeks ago she admitted to me she'd also thought about asking me out, too! But we missed our chance, then you came along, and Hood, and everything changed."
Killian slowly nodded, not needing to look at the stone, knowing he was finally getting the answers to what he'd long suspected.
"But that bloody potion exaggerated everything! Killian, it's over now. We both know Regina as good as worships Robin, while I love you every bit as much! Why did I call out her name out last night? I've got no idea. But I also have no idea what you want me to do about it? Vow never to go anywhere near her ever again? Fine, I can do that. But she's still Henry's other mother. Leave Storybrooke for good, and we go live somewhere else? I can do that, too, if you want? But I want my family back. As in you, me, Hope and Henry. My family. What do I have to do to make you believe me?"
Mount Sinai Medical Centre, New York
"I don't understand? You told me it'd be weeks or even months before they found me a match? And now you've got both, the day after I get here?
Merlin, operating under one of his doppelgänger identities in the world without magic, Professor Sir Merlin Sage, had just explained the procedure once his colleagues had left the room and he'd doublechecked the door was secure, so no one could eavesdrop.
"It's true, I did say that Snow. And I'm sorry for the deception, but it was necessary, I assure you. As the last thing we want is for people out there to know magic's real, we've had to be a bit economical with the truth, as far as the staff were concerned? Obviously, they don't know who you really are, other than the fact you're a very important person, probably royal, who's about to undergo revolutionary surgery to try and cure you. They believe the team I've brought in especially, are doing something so advanced, using untried techniques and wonder drugs under trial, that everything is being deliberately kept hush-hush." He could see the look of disbelief on her face. "But the reality's very different. Usually, a patient would have to wait a very long time for a donor organ match. And sometimes there isn't one. But we'll be making the full transplants here, using donor liver and kidneys, then taking you somewhere with magic, by private ambulance, as soon as possible. Once there, I can apply my own magic to deal with crossmatch issues, before your body starts to reject the new organs. At least, that's the plan."
"I'm not sure I understood all that? Are you saying I'm going to survive?"
"It's more likely than not, provided we don't encounter any complications."
"So you're saying there's still a good chance I could die? Or not wake up again?"
"I'll be brutally honest with you Snow, there's a thirty percent risk you won't survive the procedure. But under normal circumstances, your odds are a hell of a lot better than having you wait for a full donor match, or fade under continued dialysis."
The princess slowly shook her head in sheer disbelief.
"Merlin, who the hell are you? REALLY? One minute, you're a trapped wizard in a tree in Camelot. The next, Emma breaks your curse and you come back. Then we all thought Killian killed you when the darkness took him over. But you come back to life again, several years later, apparently not dead? Even though Emma swore she'd buried you? Then you bring Robin Hood back to life, in a way no one seems to understand; you disappear, and come back three years later when all hell's breaking loose in Storybrooke? It all seems a bit…co-incidental? Plus, you seem to know everything about all of us, me included, and how to fix it? Emma told me you were a seer, and the greatest wizard who ever lived, and can see into the future. And now I'm supposed to believe you're also some sort of surgeon? I want answers Merlin, and I'm not having any operation by you or anyone else till I get them, even if I do die as a result!"
The Sorcerer sighed, giving her a sympathetic smile, nodding his head. "I'll admit, it can be very confusing. Quite simply, I'm a man, and also a sorcerer, who has lived close to two and a half thousand years. My powers originally came by drinking from The Holy Grail, a vessel created by Zeus himself. I suppose you can think of me now as an instrument, rather than a messenger, of the gods? Someone sent to right wrongs, where I can? Yes, I've been killed from time to time, but Zeus has regularly brought me back. In return, he's asked me to perform occasional tasks, such as remediating Hades' direct crimes on Earth. Meanwhile, I'm allowed to live a normal life."
"So, you also have family? Children?"
"Living? Yes, I have two wives, one in England, and another in Brazil, and six children between them. Imagine being able to split yourself into multiple identical copies, doppelgängers, yourself? Imagine there were four doppelgänger Snow Whites? And that all these Snow Whites can communicate with each other, and share information, while living completely separate lives? There's currently four 'doppelgänger Merlin's' alive today around the globe. You may know me as Merlin from Camelot. But to others, I'm Professor Sir Merlyn Sage, Royal Surgeon, based in London." He gave a tiny bow. "Over the centuries I've had forty-six wives and partners, plus several hundred children. Thanks to the gods, I also have the ability to speak to all my loved ones who have passed? That's even harder to explain, and frankly, you'll probably only understand once you've passed, yourself."
"So you're saying you can speak to the dead?"
"Yes, if they're willing to speak to me."
"And you can also see into the future? My future, if I have one? And my families?"
"In some ways, yes I can. But not when I've become directly involved, usually at Zeus's request. It's…complicated? Oddly enough, your grandson was asking me something similar. So sorry, I can't predict the outcome of your transplant, because I'm directly involved. Only that it's better for you to have it, than not."
"Can you delay until after my family get here? If the worst comes to the worst, it could be the last time I get to see them."
"Briefly. I've already spoken to David. He's on his way this evening, one day earlier than planned, and he's bringing your son along with him. They should be here first thing tomorrow morning. He's also been trying to reach Emma. She's due in court tomorrow morning, along with Regina. All being well, and if the judge agrees to release them, she can come here straight after that."
"In that case, I'm sorry, but I won't consent to having any procedure until I've had a chance to speak to Emma, too."
"I thought you might say that, and I can give you two days maximum, Snow. Otherwise, we lose the donor liver to someone else who needs it just as much as you. We may have a long wait until the next chance."
"I don't care! I need to see my family before you put me under."
Atlantic City
It had been a long, tearful call with her grandmother. After apologies on both sides, the redoubtable owner of the diner, Eugenia Lucas, had spent the last half hour telling her granddaughter about everything that'd happened in the town since she was ejected. The old wolf already knew about the faulty potion, but filled her in on the latest goings on.
"If Gold's not coming back, and Merlin says he isn't, there's no point in you staying away now, is there? You'll be safe again. I already spoke to Charming this morning, and he's agreed to lift the Lycaon vow he made you take. So, enough talk about gallivanting around the world. Come home."
"Yeah, it's not just that, Granny. I can't face going back, even if The Dark One's not there. I'm sorry. And it's not just about me and Belle, though I don't think I could face Dot again, not after what I've done to her. Everyone in the whole town knows now, and not just about Snow and Belle. So sorry but, I'm staying away for good. Besides, now I'm away from all that magic crap, I feel lighter, you know? It's like the wolf's left me? There was even a full moon here last night, and it didn't affect me one bit! Not even a tingle? I was staring right back at it, and I didn't feel anything! Nothing!"
That surprised the old wolf. Ruby had managed to supress her lunar cycle urges over the last few years, but there was still a strong pull to morph into wolf-form, which she controlled by staying indoors and using her old magical cloak when there was even a hint of a full moon.
"So, you're serious? You're not coming home?"
"I'm sorry Granny, but it's for the best. For everyone."
"I see. You said you'll settle in Portland? Is Gold's wife going to be living there with you?"
As it was a mobile call on speaker, not a web call, she wouldn't have seen her granddaughter look over at the former librarian, who was silently listening in. Belle nodded for her to tell her.
"Ex-wife! And probably. But I guess that depends on what Gold does about settling outside Storybrooke? If she needs to go somewhere else to be nearer to Gideon, like New York, she needs to be closer. So I might go with her to wherever."
"Is it serious between you two? Four years is a hell of a long time to be carrying on behind the Dark One's back, my girl! Does she also know about all the others you've been cheating on Dorothy with, over the last few years? Have you told her yet?"
Wow, that was blunt! "Sorry, what do you mean?"
"I may be old, my girl, but I'm still a wolf! I can smell 'em on you for days after! You think I can't recognise a few cheap scents and colognes and body sweat? I could smell French, the Dragon and the Fisher women on you the moment you walked in of a morning! So, if you're thinking of making any sort of life with her, that girl deserves to know the truth! I don't want you repeating what you did to Dorothy."
"Erm…" Seeing the surprised look on Belle's face, she changed the subject. "How is she? Dorothy?"
"She's only been in twice since you left. Both times with the Dragon's girl? They've been locked at the hip these past few days, but I hear they're often in Locksley's pub together of an evening. They're also both living on the prince's farm and helping out. Can't say what's going on for sure. But she seems…better, given the circumstances."
"She's with someone else already?" To Belle, Ruby now looked even more anxious. "Is it serious?"
"I can't say. But she seems happy enough. Considering."
She didn't know why, but Ruby felt bad hearing the news. Dorothy had every right to move on, and she deserved better. But now she had? Already? "Erm…good for her, I guess."
"And you heard about poor Snow? Her transplant's tomorrow, in New York, last I heard. Charming's taken his boy already as there's no guarantee she'll pull through. If old Judge Roberts doesn't throw Emma in the slammer tomorrow, she'll probably go down and join them."
"The operation's tomorrow? Already? I thought it'd be weeks before they even found a match?"
"I'm just telling you what Merlin told me. Did I tell you he also happens to be the dragon girl's father? Seems him and old Maleficent had a past!"
But Ruby wasn't listening now. Her best friend and former lover was having major surgery to try and save her life? This was Snow for god's sake. Her Snow! She had to be there!
"Which hospital's she in, Granny?"
~oOo~
Ten minutes later, once the call finished, Ruby promising she'd get back in touch, she put the phone down to see the former librarian staring back at her.
"Belle, look I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to quit on you all for the next bit of the trip? Personally, I'd love nothing more than to sail down to Cuba. I've loved the last few days, but I need to- "
"I guessed…" The former librarian gave her a sad smile. "Snow's been your best friend for a long time. You need to be with her. I understand."
"I'll come back as soon as I can, I swear! Thank God Merlin's got me that credit card? I guess I need to go find out how the hell I get up to New York from here."
"Already ahead of you, Rubs. You can take an early train in the morning. Goes up to New York and there's a few changes, then you take a cab. I'll write everything out for you. I also just texted Merlin? She's staying in the Mount Sinai hospital under an assumed name. We'll sort it all out, and book it tonight. We'll just tell Jer and Livvy that someone close to you is very ill and you need to get there. They'll understand."
"Thanks babe, I don't know what I'd do without you? Are you going to come with me?"
"No, I'll stay on the boat with Livvy and Jerard. Best if I don't come, under the circumstances? But if you do manage to see them before the operation, please give them my best?"
"I will. Don't worry, I'll be seeing you again soon enough. I'm going to miss you Belle!" She moved around the bed to hug her. "We've barely been apart since we got kicked over the town line, have we?" As she saw the resigned smile on her friend's face, she remembered her reaction at what she'd heard her grandmother say on the call. "Belle, about what Granny said? About other people I've...well, you know?"
"It's okay Rubes, you don't need to explain anything. I get it! I kinda always knew there were others; and let's face it, it's not as though we were ever in love, were we? What we started was sex, and what we had...well, what we still have...is great. And you kinda introduced me to another world entirely. I get what you told me about the werewolf side of you? I know we can never be together like that, with only the two of us. And I'm okay with it."
"You know, you're starting to sound a bit like Snow? She never seemed to mind."
"I guessed. Maybe I'm starting to think like you? Maybe monogamy's not for me any more, either?"
"I'm sure Olivia and Jerard would be delighted to hear that."
Storybrooke Court – The following morning
It had been well over two decades since Emma last stood in the dock as a defendant. The last time, she'd been jailed for three years for petty theft! Fortunately, getting out on parole after only one.
And she'd forgotten just how terrifying that was!
Admittedly, this time she wasn't in the dock, or standing. Instead she found herself sitting at a long table directly in front of the judge's bench, for a hearing to decide whether she was going to be going for a full trial for Aggravated Assault very shortly, or have the case dismissed. She was still as nervous as hell.
When it came to justice, Storybrooke Court was different to anything outside. For a start, the town was hidden from the outside world. Second, the cases were decided not by a jury but by up to three 'Magistrate Judges'. One in this case. The thinking behind it was, how could you have a fair and impartial jury, when everyone knew everyone else in such a small place? Third, the man in front of her was a tricky nut to crack. Judge Jeffery Roberts had seen it all. Now well into his late seventies, he'd sentenced and acquitted many defendants over the years, and he was generally considered fair and impartial. He'd always refused to sit on any council committee or lobby group, political or otherwise, for fear of being seen to take a bias; and at the beginning of the first curse, Mayor Regina Mills had installed him as the local justice, along with two more judges from Misthaven, as they were seen to be somehow acting totally independently of her. Emma had put plenty of defendants before Roberts over the years, usually for petty crimes like drunkenness or theft. But each time he'd made her, and her deputies, work to get any conviction, drilling them hard on the facts surrounding every case. So, even she considered him upright, proper and diligent.
But now she was herself a defendant, no longer Sheriff, and worried. Because the man on the bench could easily take away their liberty, possibly for a very long time. And without magic, there was no way she could stop him. Regina also sat alongside her, their counsel either side, equally nervous. Although one of the most formidable women she'd ever met, even without her magic, the former queen's hands were now visibly shaking. So much so, she wanted to reach out and hold one, or her, to give some sort of comfort. But seeing Killian sitting in the front row of the public gallery watching them, she decided against. Especially after everything that'd been admitted yesterday.
But in the end, to her relief, it was all very low key and turned out to be almost an anti-climax.
For having listened to all sides, Judge Roberts decided to just set aside the threat of an imminent trial, leaving it pending, and subject to independent psychiatric assessments on both of them, separately, by Doctor Hopper. It wasn't an acquittal, which is what they'd both hoped for, but it was a good start. Roberts' logic was that, while it was understood their actions may have been the result of their minds being poisoned and influenced by a potion, they did nonetheless still commit the offences for which they were charged. Fortunately for Regina, Sidney had refused to return and testify, which helped. When it came to deciding whether they could be released in the meantime, and for Emma to leave Storybrooke to travel to New York, Roberts had turned to Henry, sitting in the lower public gallery, to ask whether he would personally agree to something very specific.
"Mr. Mills, if you're prepared to personally vouch for, and sign a written commitment, to keep these so-called 'magic-blocking' cuffs or bracelets on both of your mothers until at least the next hearing, then the Court will be willing to let them leave, free to come and go at will pending the hearing . Do I have your agreement?"
Jefferson's Mansion. An hour later...
Henry agreed without hesitation, and the session was adjourned. As his mothers left court, he stayed behind while the agreement was being drafted for his signature, and they never saw him after that. Having his mothers' freedom, albeit temporarily secured, he now had other things on his mind. And he needed to talk to the only one locally who could help.
"Henry, I can sympathise, I really can! But I won't help you go back in time, no matter how often you ask me? Time travel uses very dark magic, and the harm that can come from it, even the tiniest slip, would be catastrophic."
"But you can do it?"
"Yes I can, but I won't. Don't ask!"
"But- "
"Think what you're asking me? In the world without magic, in this realm, imagine I went back to a time when Hitler hadn't been born, and I did something to stop it happening? Logically there'd be no huge world war; no holocausts; and millions of lives saved. Sounds great, doesn't it? But then, because everyone would be in a different place, in a different time, millions upon millions of people currently living, and their parents and children, would never have been born either, would they? Including you! Maybe a completely different, more competent dictator would rise in his place? Because your own father, Baelfire, fell into this world, at a particular time and place, it eventually resulted in him meeting one Emma Swan. Different day, different hour, different minute, and everything changes? He wouldn't have met your mum at exactly the right time, and as a result you wouldn't be here. The chances of you being born were trillions upon trillions to one against! But you were."
"Yeah, I get all that…" He knew the man was only speaking the truth. "But after what Merlin told me, about my dad being alive in Tallahassee? He said him and Emma were-"
He cut him off. "Henry, I'd love nothing more than to see my Priscilla, Grace's mother again!" He cut him off. "I'd love to go back to Wonderland and stop the arrow that killed her. But if I did that, it's incredibly complicated, very old dark magic, and time would unravel. As a result, you and your mum probably wouldn't be alive now if I succeeded, and Grace wouldn't be born. Think about it? Emma bringing back from the past the woman they thought was Marian Locksley, resulted in Zelena getting back here, and your own dad's death! It's stupidly complicated."
"Merlin said he's seen four versions of me, all in different timelines. But they're not in the past. They're alive, now!"
"Different timelines, yes! That's just basic realm-jumping; very different from time-jumping. Do you see?"
"Yeah, I get it. So, it's a bit like what Killian did with those magic beans to get to and from Neverland?"
"Pretty much. Although beans only work when you're travelling between realms that have magic. Outside, you need either a hat tied to the owner with the magic, like me, or a particularly powerful wand. My hats aren't so reliable these days, not since…well, never mind."
"And who has the wands? Is there some sort of Ollivander's, like in Harry Potter?"
That seems to make the Hatter chuckle. "Ha! Grace made me watch it, too! A nice idea, but sadly, no. Not quite sure where they come from originally, but I've only ever seen two of them myself. I know Merlin used to have one."
"And the other?"
"It used to belong to someone thoroughly evil. Now dead, thank goodness! It's probably best you talk to the man who killed her. He still has it, I think. I couldn't see him giving that away."
"Who killed her?"
"Your grandfather. The Black Fairy, Fiona, was his mother, and Rumple killed her with her own wand."
"Yeah, I read about her particular reign of terror in one of the story books? I don't know whether you're know, but Grandpa Gold isn't planning to come back here, so he can keep The Dark One away for good?"
"Yes, he told me last week, when he rang me from London. Personally, I think he's doing the right thing."
"I keep forgetting you two are mates!" He smiled, grateful his grandfather still had at least one friend he could trust. "So back to this wand? What does it look like?"
"Henry, you really should speak to Rumple first. Or failing that, Merlin? Magic wands aren't to be dabbled with."
"I know that, and I will..." He saw the look of doubt in his eyes. "Honestly, I will! In fact, I'm heading to New York today, to see Grandma Snow in hospital once I get packed. Merlin's there, at the hospital. So I could ask him."
"Good idea, but you'll need to find it first. It's no use to him now, so he'll either keep it locked up at the shop, or at home. So best speak to him first.
"I will. You do know that both the house and his shop are now in mine and Gideon's names now?"
"So I gather. And you also own Granny's? Quite the fortune he's left you, my boy. Use it wisely."
Storybrooke Hospital
Having left the Court after the decision an hour earlier, Robin and Regina now sat in the reception of the clinic in the hospital, waiting to be called through for her first hastily scheduled ultrasound.
They'd barely exchanged a word since they'd left the Court, as Regina silently brooded over everything that'd happened over the last month and what felt like her ritual humiliation. She remembered how everyone in Storybrooke used to treat her, as their mayor, when she'd first cast the curse that created the town. How she used to be feared and respected, in equal measure, even without her magic then? That felt like a lifetime ago.
"He looked at me like and feel I was a common criminal!" She muttered under her breath, before realising she'd said it out loud. "Me, his former queen? He looked at me like I was...worthless."
"Uh?" Robin looked up from the car magazine he'd been reading, that'd been left on a nearby table. It was only then Regina realised he'd said barely a word to her since they'd left the court. "Sorry Gina, I wasn't paying attention. What did you say?"
"Roberts! Why wouldn't he just acquit us, and have done with it? Even though he was told all about Ingrid's potion, and the reason we behaved that way. You testified, and so did Guyliner. For god's sake, what more proof does he need? Snow felt so guilty she tried to kill herself afterwards, and almost succeeded!"
"Well, to be fair Regina, he did explain his reasoning? Despite all the reasons, Emma did still commit the assaults; and you did still trap Sidney Glass, when you-" He stopped when she suddenly dropped her face into her palms, huffing loudly. "I'm sorry."
"No, you're right. I should've have expected this. I guess it's no more than I deserve."
Rather than saying anything even in sympathy, as he would usually, he went back to reading the magazine.
"You've been very quiet since we left?" Was he was avoiding talking to her? "Unusual, for you? Is there something you want to say? Are you still angry with me?"
"Angry?" He shook his head. "No. I was just thinking about...things? About something Merlin said yesterday."
"Go on?"
"It's not important. I'm fine…" He turned a page, looking down again.
"Robin, please just come out and say it?" This was getting frustrating. "Something's clearly bothering you."
"It's nothing, I-"
"Please? We've been through so much this last month, and I promised to always tell you the truth from now on, just as you asked? Can't you just do the same for me?" It was his turn to look away now, clearing feeling awkward. "What did Merlin say to you that bothered you? Was it about me?"
But he stayed silent.
"How often do you want me to say 'please'?"
"It's not important, Regina. It's just…well, we were in the Locksley yesterday, with Killian, chatting about things in general before he left. And Merlin got talking about these other realms he'd visited? No, not realms exactly. Timelines? Timelines, yes, that was it! Apparently in these 'timelines', our own lives are being played out by others. Our lives are running elsewhere, differently, but in parallel with ours, apparently? I think I understood him."
"He said something about it to Henry and I two days ago." She wasn't sure she liked where this was heading. "What about it?"
"Well, it's not important, but from what I gather, in one of these timelines, that version of Regina winds up managing to escape Cora's clutches, and flee Misthaven with Daniel, before she could kill him? You went on to have children together and a happy life, apparently?" She nodded, remembering the Sorcerer's version. "As a result, you, or should I say she, never became The Evil Queen. And Marian was never killed the first time around? She and her Robin went on to have two more children, both girls. And they're all still out there, in this other timeline, apparently."
Regina nodded, slowly. "So it seems you and I both somehow managed to get our happy ever after, but with our first loves. Did he also tell you about another timeline, where Gold killed me for something I did to the bookworm?"
"Imprisoning Belle? Yep. And the one where you and Emma fell in love and got married?" He could tell by the red cheeks and embarrassed look that she'd heard about that one, too! "And they went on to have two children of their own? A boy and a girl, without any man being involved whatsoever?"
Regina was mortified, blanching as she remembered the look on Henry's face when the Sorcerer had told him two days ago, at Gold's house, while the pirate watched the dream catcher.
"Robin, whatever he may have told you, I refuse to believe it'd be possible for Emma and I to conceive a child together, let alone two of them? Whether they had true love magic or not, I don't believe it!" Then a horrible thought occurred as he saw the look on his face change. "Is that what this is about?" Her hands went to her lower stomach, almost protecting it. "Is this why you're being so quiet? You think this baby could be Emma's?"
"No! Well at least...I didn't." He looked down to where her hands were. "Till you mentioned it! I just assumed you, or they, had IVF or a donor, or something like that?"
"Robin, I-"
"Mrs. Locksley?" Said a voice from someone close by she hadn't noticed, till now, interrupting her. "Mrs. Regina Locksley? Sorry to take so long, but we're ready for you now. Come on through?"
An awkward twenty minutes followed.
Regina had lain on the stretcher for the best part of it, while the young female sonographer passed the probe over her gel-smeared tummy. But the serious look on the medic's face had them concerned.
"What is it, Doctor?" Robin spoke softly so not to alarm his wife. "Is something wrong?"
"No, Mr. Locksley, nothing as far as I can tell. Usually we run our first scans at around ten to twelve weeks, when we can pick things up properly? Mrs. Locksley said she's around seven weeks, but it's proving a little difficult to find the foetal sac tight now, so I suggest you come again in a few weeks? Or alternatively we can use the transvaginal, rather than the abdominal transducer."
"Can we have that in English, please?"
"Sorry, my bad, let me explain? This probe, or transducer, can pick things up a little later on in the pregnancy. But we also have a smaller probe, that goes inside the mother's vagina, and is more powerful, giving us a much clearer picture of the ovaries and uterus. We can use that of course, and it's still perfectly safe, though it's a lot more intimate and most women prefer to wait until-"
"Please?" Regina interrupted her. "I'd rather not leave without knowing the state of this baby!"
"Very well then, I'll go get things set up. Give me a few minutes?"
As the nurse left to go get the necessary equipment, Regina studied Robin, who seemed deep in thought. After what he'd been told about the 'other Regina' in the other timeline, she could only assume he thought the worst. That the life growing inside her, wasn't his? But surely it had to be? After all, didn't the clinic in Miami tell her she was between five and six weeks? That was over ten days ago, so surely it had to be his? How could it not be? But what if it was less under five weeks? Surely Emma couldn't possibly get her pregnant? How? And if she had, how the hell would she explain it to Robin? Or Henry? Or worse still. Emma herself? She decided not to say anything, until she had the facts.
Ten minutes late, Rebecca reappeared with a box and, unfortunately for her, birthing stirrups. In minutes the internal probe was inserted into her and before long, they had their answer.
"Ah good, that's more like it!" Rebecca announced triumphantly as the monitor screen came to life. "Now we're getting somewhere." She kept the wand-shaped probe in place inside Regina, on the edge of her uterus, as she clicked various buttons and wiped her free hand fingers over the touch screen. "Come on now little fella? Let's have a look at you?" She pressed another button, and the screen froze. "Gotcha! Right then, you see this big black blob at the top? Ignore that, it's only your bladder. We need to look at this little thing here…" She spread her fingers wider on the screen and the image expanded. "Now this here's what we call the Gestational Sac? Inside this, is a Yoke Sac…" she carried on zooming into the image. "And in that we have the…there we go! See here? That thick white shape? That's your baby! At this stage he'd only be about the size of a coffee bean? About seven millimetres or so, judging by the look of him."
"Him?" Robin drew closer to the screen as Regina's eyes bulged. "You can tell the sex already?"
"No, sorry, just a figure of speech. We'll only know whether it's a boy or girl on your ten-to-twelve-week scan. But you see this denser bit here?" She took a pen-shaped device and touched the screen again in two places to measure the image. "That's the baby's head. I can't detect any heartbeat yet, but that's not usual for this stage. Regina, that clinic you mentioned? Miami? They said you were five to six weeks?"
Regina's jaw was already hanging open, a single tier sliding down her cheek, as she stared in wonder at the image of the life now inside her. The baby she thought she'd never be able to carry.
"They did. But that was nearly two weeks ago. Why?"
"Well don't worry about it, as I can't see anything wrong at this early stage; but I just think he's maybe a bit small for six or seven weeks?"
"Small?" Robin looked back at Regina, who was already staring up at him, clearly alarmed. "So how far along do you think she is?"
Mr. Gold's Pawnbroker & Antiquities shop
After he'd left Jefferson's, Henry's curiosity was more aroused than ever. If jumping between realms into other parallel timelines was as straightforward as jefferson described it, it'd open up all sorts of possibilities. The biggest one being the chance of meeting his father. Or at least, a living version of him
He wasn't stupid. He understood what Merlin said last week, and Jefferson reemphasised that morning. That the Mills families in other timelines weren't his family. They led parallel lives, with their own version of Henry Mills. Or Henry Cassidy. But wouldn't it be brilliant to meet the Neal Cassidy and Emma Swan who'd married and never came to Storybrooke, and now lived in Tallahassee? And their son, his doppelganger, Alex Cassidy? Or meet his older mother, her husband Daniel and their two children? Or even the two mothers, who'd fallen in love with each other shortly after he brought Emma back from Boston, married, and produced two more kids of their own? They could even become the base for some stories in the future, once he'd graduated?
Having left Jefferson's, he'd returned to Mifflin Street, to pack for his long journey and two-night stay in New York. But before leaving town, he made a detour via his grandfather's old shop. Having picked up the keys from Gold's mansion, he let himself into the now closed, dark building that'd been locked for nearly two weeks. Having been left to him and Gideon equally, he'd planned to take his time and eventually empty the entire shop's contents and put the building up for rent. Or even sell it, if they could find a buyer. But first, there were an awful lot of mysterious things inside it to dispose of, after speaking to his grandfather in case there was anything of value he wanted to keep.
After putting all the lights on, it took him the best part of an hour to find what he was looking for, buried at the back of the large old green security vault in The Dark One's former office. Where he should have looked in the first place? Fortunately, his wily old grandfather had left the keys at his currently also empty mansion.
"This has got to be it?" He said to himself, as he spotted a long stick-like object at the back, a shiny silver and bone handle protruding from what looked like a thin black satin cover. He lifted it out. "Well, that was easier than I thought?"
Locking the safe, he turned with the object towards his grandfather's old walnut desk, sitting down to examine it more closely. "Now then, let's take a look at you?"
He was reminded of the Harry Potter movies, and Dumbledore's elder wand as he started to remove the cane-like object from its shroud. About fifteen inches long, with a silver and bone handle, the shaft wooden and covered in knots, it was simpler and a lot less shiny than the wand in the film. "You know Mr. Wand, I'm going to show you off to Merlin, and I'm gonna ask him how the hell I use you to travel around? No doubt he'll tell me off for taking it, and that I shouldn't do anything with it, or give it to him to look after? No chance."
As he brought it closer, he noticed tiny symbols written into what now appeared to be what was clearly ivory, not bone, which reminded him of Egyptian hieroglyphics. And there was more along the dark shaft. He imagined how someone with powerful magic, someone like Merlin, would use it. He also recalled how Regina once explained to him how she'd use her magic, to teleport herself:
"It's quite simple really, even though it doesn't sound like it. It requires a lot of concentration. I merely summon my magic by drawing down on a pleasant memory. I then put a picture in my mind, of where I want to be, or with whom, and then I just...focus? I picture myself travelling there invisibly, and landing? Better still, if I can imagine them both together, it works even more accurately. Then it just happens, and usually I'm where I intended?"
He pictured himself doing the same thing, as he held the wand by its handle.
"There's gotta be more to it, than that, surely? I could-?"
Before he'd even finished talking to himself, Henry disappeared, engulfed in a cloud of white mist!
~oOo~