THE NEXT MORNING, Wilhelmina did something she had merely dreamed of until now — she woke up in Killian's strong arms, her body pulled tightly into his naked chest as the man was still in a deep sleep, but even in the slumber, he was holding onto Wilma tightly. She couldn't help but giddily bite her lip to hold back the happy smile, and even though she had planned to get up early, she just had to stay there and enjoy the warmth of Killian's large bed whilst admiring the man's incredibly flawless features. Even after he woke up, the two stayed amidst the rumpled sheets, cuddling and sharing kisses until they decided to get up together.

  Wilma was over the moon, really, even if there was a curse that needed to be broken, but at least she finally got to be with Killian. At least there wasn't a timer on their relationship, and they could just enjoy the love they had for each other, even in the middle of everything that was happening.

  Once Wilma had stopped by her room at Granny's to change into something more presentable, she finally mailed the letter for her father, and then headed to the diner where everyone was more or less celebrating the return of Emma, Henry and Wilma. She and Killian were the last ones to arrive, and it instantly caught Snow's attention, but before she could pull Wilhelmina aside and demand to know what had happened, Ruby intervened and wrapped her arms enthusiastically around Wilma and hugged her. It had been too long since they had seen each other and caught up, but at last, they were reunited. Furthermore, Ruby, out of old habits, offered Wilma a piece of chocolate cheesecake — and who was she to decline?

  Eventually, Wilma found herself seated in a booth with Snow, who was just radiating with enthusiasm and curiosity regarding Wilma's late arrival with Killian, and the brunette knew right away she was going to be bombarded with questions. However, she didn't mind — if there was someone she had always been open with about her feelings for Killian, it was Snow, who seemed too invested in their relationship to cut her off now.

  "So... where were you this morning?", Snow poked the subject gently, but the smile on her lips gave away the truth, which was that she probably already knew. But Wilma answered, nevertheless.

  "I was with Killian, actually. At The Jolly Roger", Wilma beamed, and it took Snow every ounce of her strength to not scream happily there and then, which made Wilma smile wider. The princess was quite adorable — and frankly, Wilma felt the same kind of excitement. She was trying to play it cool, but truthfully, she was freaking out. Things between her and Killian were finally escalating, and she was beyond happy that was the case. She didn't want to wait around any longer, or delay the happiness they were destined to share. Being forced to leave Storybrooke had only convinced Wilma that it was better to act than think, sometimes.

  "Oh my god, did you—", Snow gasped, and the blush that rose to Wilma's cheeks confirmed her thoughts. "David! It's finally happening!", Snow whispered, rather loudly, and when his husband stepped closer, she continued, "Wilma spent the night with Killian, at his ship", gushing as she grabbed David's hand and squeezed it tightly. With red cheeks, Wilma shook her head and dropped it between her arms to avoid further humiliation, but whereas Snow was somewhat finished, David was already getting started — he didn't seem as happy as his wife, though.

  "You what— he what?", his eyes widened, shock descending onto his features as he stared at Wilma with disbelief, and in that moment, Wilma felt like their third child, with Snow demanding to know everything about her crush and Charming evidently upset that she would break the innocence he affiliated her with by making out with Killian. It was kind of sweet, but Wilma was starting to sweat under their gazes, and the heat wouldn't vanish from her red cheeks.

  "Seriously, guys, I—", Wilma began, about to swear that she could take care of herself, that it wasn't such a big deal — even though she knew it totally was — but she wasn't given the opportunity to finish, when a loud crash earned their attention. Everyone turned to look what had happened, and Wilma's heart sank when she saw Regina staring at Henry, clearly shocked that the boy had returned — but even worse, he didn't remember her, and therefore, Henry was staring into strange eyes, whereas Regina clearly battled against the desire to rush over to hug her son. It broke Wilma's heart, and with that, she cut off her conversation with the Charmings and walked over to the queen.

  She knew it was probably surprising, but Wilma couldn't help it, she was a hugger — that was what she told herself when she threw her arms around Regina and pulled the woman into a hug, attempting to radiate with comfort and care, and most of all, gratitude. After all, she had given her a new life in New York, and even though it wasn't a life that Wilma wanted to live, it had been better than being alone, swallowed by darkness and depression. Regina had made Wilma a part of Emma and Henry's lives, and more than before, she felt now connected to the two — she was Henry's godmother, still. And for that, she was utterly thankful.

  "Thank you", Wilma whispered, and once Regina recovered from the fact that her son was there, not even recognizing her, she slowly wrapped her arms around Wilma to answer to the hug. Sighing, Regina eased into the hold Wilma had on her, and nodding softly, she acknowledged the woman's gratitude.

  "Well, I didn't want you to be alone. You deserve better", Regina cleared her throat once she let go of Wilma, and she truly wanted to say the same to her, but didn't. "Welcome back, Wilma", the queen added with a smile, making her do the same.

  Indeed, it was good to be back. Maybe, this time, it would last a little longer.

———

  THE BLISSFUL PEACE was interrupted when David and Emma were informed that another person had gone missing, and since Killian was joining the two at the town line to observe the situation closer, Wilma wanted to go along, too. Killian refused to ride with her though, so the man joined David in his truck, and realized that he had made the right decision as they arrived the border, and Wilma showed up with Iron Maiden, blasting Metallica, as per usual.

  "Christ, Wilma, what are you listening to?", David frowned as the radio yelled I'm a dirty, dirty whore rather loudly, and with red cheeks, Wilma lowered the volume and parked her car, before pushing her keys in her pocket and giving a look to her best friend.

  "I'll have you know, that song is called Prince Charming", she pointed out, and in an instant, David grew visibly uncomfortable, but didn't say anything when Wilma had already continued. "Wait, is that— are you Robin Hood?", she blurted out at the sight of some new people standing in their presence. She had heard some chatter about the legendary outlaw and his Merry Men camping in the town's forest, but now that he was there, Wilma was quite taken aback, and her inner fangirl was rising up to the surface.

  Smiling, the man Wilma was curiously eyeing stepped out. "Indeed. And who might you be?", he asked, his accent so darn adorable Wilma feared she was going to swoon. How was it possible for the men of Storybrooke to be so utterly charming, even though only one had actually acquired the official title?

  "I'm Wilma. So—so nice to meet you", the woman stuttered out, all starstruck, and everyone could clearly see it — whereas Robin was rather flattered by her enthusiasm, Killian was quite unhappy with the excitement shining in her eyes, perhaps even jealous. He couldn't help it, the rage building up inside him when he saw the look Wilma was admiring the outlaw with, but the spark of jealousy knocking at his heart ended up breaking into full-on flames, when Robin took the woman's hand and pressed a soft kiss on the back of it — Wilma thought she was going to faint, though.

  "The pleasure is all mine, m'lady", Robin smiled a wide smile, one that made Wilma blush, but before neither of them could say anything, Killian had stepped, letting his jealousy get the best of him. He pushed Robin away with a light nudge, nothing too aggressive, but enough to make him realize who Wilma was there with, who she was there for. And it made her smile, seeing the passion behind Killian's blue eyes as he found a spot next to Wilma, his incomplete arm snaking around her waist and pulling her closer as he gave Robin one last look to confirm that his charm wasn't needed or wanted here. Robin was a good man, though, not one to rob a lady from someone else's arm, although he was a talent when it came to stealing, but nonetheless, he nodded silently as if to reassure Killian that he understood.

  Wilma didn't comment — although she did quite enjoy the jealousy that Killian was never going to admit, she knew that he'd only shrug it off and make some lame excuse to defend himself, but she saw it in his fiery eyes, felt it in his firm hold, sensed it in his rigid posture. And it made her grin, as it also made her feel a lot more special than she was used to, since she was worth this gorgeous, overly-confident man's envy.

  Robin told them that Little John was their missing person, and miraculously, Wilma managed to not fangirl and explode with feels all over the place, at least visibly. She did that inside, because it was actually quite horrible, how the man had been taken and was yet to be found, but things only got worse — even though Wilma hadn't thought Robin could be capable of that, but indeed, once he pointed out that Little John had been taken by some manner of beast with wings, Wilhelmina couldn't help but sigh. And it seemed Emma had realized the same thing as her.

  "That sounds a lot like the monster that attacked me in New York", she thought out loud, and in an instant, Killian had looked up at her with a look to question if she was being serious with her chosen words.

  "You mean the monster you were gonna marry?", the pirate asked, saying what Emma had tried to avoid, and as expected, David looked over to his daughter with shock dawning on his face. Wilma saw the heartbreak in him — first he had to hear that his best friend had spent the night with Killian, and now he was smacked in the face with the fact that his daughter had almost gotten married, until of course, she found out that her future husband was a flying monkey. And even though Wilma kind of wanted to give David a sympathetic hug, she couldn't help but snicker in amusement as the prince spoke up, confused yet adorable as all hell.

  "You were gonna marry someone?", he questioned in shock, and snorting, Killian turned over to Charming with an incredulous look.

  "Did you just miss the part where I said monster?", Hook asked in disbelief, and once again, Wilma giggled. No matter how they would try to deny it, or no matter how everyone else would be unable to see it, Winnie knew there was a bond between them, something cute, something that Wilma had been supporting for the longest time, and would never cease to smile about — adorable dorks, really.

  The plan, which was eventually put together, was finding Little John, simple as that. Emma herself wasn't going to join them, as she had other matters to take part in, but Wilma promised to fill in for her — not that she was anything like the Savior, or even the Sheriff at that, but she was capable of babysitting in case the men were to bicker and dispute. She wasn't useless, though, because after all, Wilma did know how to use a gun or a sword, she was able to perform CPR, and on top of that, she could see the future. Therefore, she went along, confirming to the Merry Men and their leader that Wilhelmina was a part of the heroes of Storybrooke, part of their group, and it made her feel quite confident as she trekked through the woods with the bunch of men.

  "Team Badass, reunited and it feels so good", Wilma sighed out as she found herself between David and Killian — the pirate had insisted on walking with her and keeping an eye on her in the process, due to flying monkeys terrorizing their town, and since it was truthfully rather scary, Wilma didn't have it in her to insist she could protect herself. There was plenty she could do, but fighting a flying monkey by herself after being reckless and going off on her own, wasn't one of those things. But when Killian joined her, David had forced his company upon them as well, pointing out that he too wanted to protect Wilma, but even more he wanted to keep an eye on Killian. Clearly, Charming wasn't handling the idea of the two of them being together very well.

  It took them some time, but walking around the woods paid off, finally. Little John was found unconscious, bleeding to his death on the hard ground of the woods, and as Robin rushed to his friend, Wilma leaned against a nearby tree and looked from afar what kind of destruction had been created, what kind of horrors were hiding amidst their town. The sight she was staring at, it planted fear in her heart that started to race in her chest, and suddenly, being outside began to feel risky and unwise. Luckily they rushed indoors as soon as possible, because John needed to be gotten to a hospital, so that was where they took him. David put the bleeding man in his truck, and Robin went along — meanwhile, Killian went with Wilma, who promised to drive with rational speed and listen to less aggressive music.

  The things she did for him, wow.

  One Beastie Boys song later — the most known one — Wilma parked Iron Maiden on the side of the street, and she followed Killian's lead as the man rushed after David and the rest, who were taking Little John inside. Dr. Whale met them in the hallway, and the poor man was put on a bed, but before he could taken care of, he started to violenly convulse, his whole body trembling and causing the people present to grow visibly worried about his condition. But it was nothing compared to what was about to happen.

  Out of nowhere, a tail appeared and Wilma's eyes widened at the sight — that was the first warning sign, but she wasn't smart enough to move away, not until the wildly moving tail had smacked her down. Grunting, and unwilling to let him do that to her, Wilma stood up, ready to fight, but before she could lift her fists in the air and defend herself, Killian had reeled her back, and she didn't stop him from doing so. Before them stood an actual monkey, with wings, long sharp teeth and claws even more deadly, and when it shrieked in a domineering manner, Wilma flinched against Killian's chest.

  "Okay, I didn't see that coming."