Emma was walking back from a check-up at the infirmary. They told Emma to slow down; if she continued to work at her current pace, she would restrict her healing process. The body can get exhausted quickly and needs time to heal, the doctor kept saying. Which sucked because it was one of the few things she could do to get rid of uncomfortable thoughts. They even wanted her to meet with a psychiatrist, Emma refused.

She walked back to her cell, followed by a guard like always, but she was nervous this time. When she returned to her room, Emma would meet her new roommate. It would only last for two weeks, and then Emma would be a free woman. But she knew that having a guest would be helpful for her mental health. A roommate didn't seem as nerve-wracking as a therapist.

Emma noticed the girl from the back, long brown hair, and a similar height. But when the guard opened the cell door, the girl turned around. She looked just as shocked as Emma was. Lilith Page, her former best friend, was in the exact same prison as Emma.

The guard shoved Emma back into her cell and closed the door. Emma went straight to her bed and laid down; she would deal with this after a nap. It wasn't smart to get angry when tired. Emma stayed up all night feeling anxious for the many worries, and meeting Lily again wasn't helping.

Lily stopped setting up her few items, she just looked at Emma, "Twist of fate. I'm really not surprised anymore." She smirked, "You look different. Older and put on some pounds."

"Thanks for the compliment." Emma snapped, "Now, can you let me take a nap like a decent human being?"

"I'm glad you're here with me, Emma, it means I didn't screw things over because of your parents. It means we both did what we had to do." Lily laid down on her bed as well, so she could have eye contact with Emma.

"My parents? Are you listening to yourself, Lily? I have absolutely no idea who they are, but you obviously know that already." Emma rolled her eyes; she knew that Sky was lying, at least partially, but she couldn't exactly tell where. Emma wouldn't get to sleep after all.

"You don't know who they are, but I have some idea. Plus, I was told who my mother is, my birth mother." Lily told Emma, playing with a bright red rubber ball throwing it up and catching it.

"Who are they?" Emma asked, wanting to know more, ignoring the need to take a nap. How did the prison even allow in a bouncy ball? Emma wasn't allowed to bring a harmless MP3 player.

"They are bad people, Emma, con people. They make everyone think they are the nicest people, but really they don't care for anyone, not even two babies, one of them is you."

"I have a sibling who they also abandoned?" Emma was beginning to realize this would mean that horrible decision making was most likely part of her genetic makeup. Oh no, what would her son be doing?

"Not a sibling. They stole a baby from someone else and then threw her away, the same way they threw you away. Me." Lily gestured to herself, "That's why we are so connected, Emma, and won't stop seeing each other. Our destinies are connected because of your parents."

Emma closed her eyes, trying to comprehend what Lily was saying. Her parents not only left Emma on the side of the road, but they also stole a different baby, Lily, and then disposed of her as well. "Now, I'm glad that I don't know them."

"You'll meet them, it'll take some years, but I'm sure you will." Lily had a wicked glint in her eye.

"Have you become a prophet? How did you even get put in jail here in Phoenix? Last time we saw each other, you were heading to Pittsburgh on a bus." Emma turned toward Lily. The jail was right up Lily's alley, staying in the exact same cell as Emma was extraordinary.

"On that bus, I met someone who told me about what your parents did to me and who my mother was. So once I got to Pittsburgh, I began to do some research trying to find her. The problem is she won't know who I am until you find her, and I have no idea where the entrance is to see my mother myself. So I began to search for you, Emma, and let's just say it took quite some time. But once I found out that you had been arrested, I knew that getting arrested would be the only way we could talk." Lily sounded like she was plotting a full story.

It surprised Emma that she couldn't detect any lies. Even if half of what LIly said sounded insane. It was strange, ever since she met Lily and Lily left her by that bus stop, Emma could tell when someone was lying. Emma assumed her body just build up a defense mechanism because she was lied to so often.

"So you found out my roommate was leaving and committed a crime to be stuck here with me." Emma yawned, "What a stupid plan because now you'll be here for longer than I will be."

"Maybe, but maybe I could also convince you to get to Storybrooke early. That's where your parents are, Emma, and where my mother is. It's a small town in Maine." Lily sat up quickly and began to toss her ball between her hands.

"I'm not heading to Maine. I actually have a family who is willingly taking me in, and I will not let you ruin that for me again." Emma's voice turned angry. "I don't care if my parents are inside this prison. If they are criminals, I shouldn't go searching for them. My life has been difficult as it is."

"You think your life is difficult?" Lily laughed maniacally. "Whatever happens to you, Emma, I get it worse. You stub your toe, and I have a refrigerator fall on me. So don't get all whiny about your hard, difficult life!" Lily yelled back

Emma got out of bed and punched Lily in the face. Lily's left eye began to swell and change colors instantly. "Don't you dare compare me to you, your life is hard, Lily because you don't have an ounce of morals. You come to prison to convince me to go on an adventure for you, do you not comprehend the idea that I might have a life? I had a boyfriend before I got locked up, and I made a friend here in prison who doesn't mind helping me find a stable life."

"Had a boyfriend." Lily held one hand up to her eye, "Maybe people keep lying to you and leaving you, Emma, because you don't give them a choice. If they don't fit into your bubble of what you think a future should look like, they get tossed away. We were best friends, Emma Swan, and look where we are now." Lily used her free hand to gesture to the room around them, "Stuck in prison with you wanting to beat me bloody."

Emma punched Lily in the gut. "Do you want me to have you lying on the floor in a pool of your own blood Lily? Then stop it." Emma didn't know what was with her; she felt like she wanted to tear Lily apart limb from limb. Lily was pointing out some of her inmost flaws, and having them come to the surface wasn't the way she thought her day would go.

"It's really not that hard to get your fists flying. What was it? You used to have so much more self-control than I had." Lily hunched over, looking down at the floor.

Emma dropped her fists and went back into her bed and laid down, "People change."

Lily went over to the cell door and had the guard take her to the infirmary. Emma fell asleep and dreamed of Lily and Neal adopting her baby and then leaving him on the streets. It didn't take long for Emma to wake up drowning in guilt and anger.

~~~

Neal knocked on the bright blue door in front of him. He quickly checked and made sure he was at the right address. Neal removed some non-existent wrinkles in his T-shirt while he waited.

A young woman opened the door. Her face was covered in bright colored makeup, "You must be Neal, definitely more attractive than I imagined. I still hate you."

Neal cleared his throat, "Excuse me?"

"Sorry, I've just spent so much time with Emma that meeting you without her here is awkward. Come on it." The woman opened the door and led Neal to a couch in a messy living room.

"Had no time to clean, I've been job searching. I'm sure you know how it is." She gave him a smile.

"Why did you call me here, Sky? The last time you called me was six weeks ago telling me I suck, and then yesterday, you called telling me Emma was in trouble." Neal ran a hand through his already messy hair, "She's being let out in two weeks; why have me come now?"

"Because Neal Cassidy, I'm worried Emma is going to get extra time." Sky crosses her arms, "and by that look on your face, it's easy to see that you still care for her"

Neal slightly blushed, "she wouldn't do anything to risk extra time. I'm surprised you don't know that. Emma depends on feeling free and loved..." He sighed, wanting to kick himself, he made her feel the exact opposite. "Why did you call last time? It was bothering me for days. Emma isn't the type to get you to prank call."

"It wasn't a prank call...I think she just needed to hear your voice. She wasn't having a good day, too much overthinking. I think Emma thought hearing your voice would help." Sky explained, "It helped for a bit until she began to think about how you said you were busy with another woman." She gave Neal a glare.

"I had a business meeting, you called at a bad time. I wasn't cheating on Emma, but it wouldn't even have been cheating, I broke up with her weeks ago." Neal realized his mistake, "She thought I'd moved on from her so quickly."

Sky nodded, "Emma was in a sensitive place, over her jail time, her emotions have been a bit haywire. I called you here because I heard she was in a fistfight with her new roommate."

"A fistfight? She wouldn't even kill a spider before." Neal was shocked, singing in the shower Emma Swan punched someone she just met.

"It gets worse. Emma started the fight and laid all the blows, the roommate did nothing except getting a black eye and some other bruises." Sky informed him, "It's the big news around the prison; Emma was even welcomed to sit at the table with all the long-lasting inmates. I'm worried she's going to continue making rash decisions."

"She must have had a reason to punch the new girl, do we know anything about her?" Neal got up and began to pace. It wasn't even about Emma getting more prison time. Things like this were the reason that August wanted Neal to leave Emma. If he left Emma and went to Canada, this wouldn't have ever happened; Emma would have never met this new inmate. He delayed her prison time.

"Her name is Lilith Page, was adopted from a young age and kept running away. She was arrested quite a few times, but usually, her parents paid her way out. Until three years ago, where Lily was kicked out." Sky shrugged, "At least that's what the rumor mill says."

"Emma knows her. They met twice, and both times Lily messed with Emma's life betraying her trust. Crap. No wonder Emma's already beating her up. We have to get them away from each other." Neal remembered when Emma told him about a girl with a star birthmark who faked being a runaway and stole money from Emma's foster parents.

"How do you suppose we do that, criminal mastermind? We can't step foot in that jail, or else we will both be put in prison. Can we wait out the two weeks?" Sky asked, "Emma's not currently in the best physical and emotional state; she needs the doctors at the prison."

"Still has that stomach bug, or was it a fake food allergy?" Neal commented sarcastically. "It's better she gets out now before she ends up staying in there for longer...I have an idea, but it's not a good one."

"If your idea isn't good, we might as well have her stay. We just have to figure out a way to lessen the fighting." Sky couldn't come up with anything, "any ideas?"

"Well...can the infirmary people to keep an eye on her, keep her there a few days?  They would keep her away from Lily." Neal continued his pacing. The jail wasn't the problem, Lily was.

"You mean I find someone to get Emma hurt and stuck in the infirmary? Wow, Neal, that's a stupid plan. Didn't you hear what I said? She is already recovering from some other medical stuff right now." Sky rolled her heavily painted eyes.

"Then you come up with something because I have no clue about the layout of the prison or the activities she does all day. Or this medical condition you keep mentioning, did she catch something while in jail?" Neal had to know more before he could plan. He began to worry more about Emma's health, she never got colds, and now she had a team of doctors taking care of her.

"I can't give you any of her medical information, that's for her to talk to you about. But for what it's worth when you were still together, I told her to tell you about it." Sky looked at him with sympathy before braiding together her smaller braids; she needed something to do as this wasn't going anywhere.

"Then I guess we'll both just have to hope that Emma has enough self-control to last us these next two weeks..." Neal began to walk to the door when Sky stopped him, "I have an idea."

"What is it?" Neal asked, turning around to face Sky. While he might have seemed flippant, Neal knew the importance of helping out Emma.

Sky took out her cell phone and called the prison, "I need to talk to Lilith Page...yes. Cell 23D, that's where she is...uh, huh."

Neal sat back down on the rough blue couch and watched as Sky got through the annoying security questions.

"Is this Lily?" Sky asked, "I need to talk to you. This is Emma's old roommate."

Neal couldn't hear the full conversation, but it sounded like the girl on the other side of the phone was angry.

"Why didn't you punch Emma back? What's your game plan?" Sky attempted to sound threatening, but her bubbly personality made it come across as if she was acting.

"I know she didn't punch you because you just annoyed her. You must have hit a nerve. She is fragile, don't break her." Sky sounded concerned. Emma tried to make herself seem like stone, but it wasn't hard to see the cracks.

"How do you...fine, I'll give the phone to him." Sky sighed and handed the phone to Neal.

Neal picked up the phone, "You wanted to speak to me?" How did Lily know about him?

"Neal Cassidy, I did some research on you when I was searching for Emma. You've been to Storybrooke." Lily's voice sounded skeptical, "How did you find the entrance?"

"How does a runaway fake foster kid know about that? What are you doing to Emma?" Neal had trouble sounding confident when this random girl knew about these things. It reminded him of August and his typewriter.

"I'm from the same place as you and Emma. I'm not here to hurt her; I'm here to give her a nudge to break the curse. A bit earlier than planned. Which is why I needed to speak to you." Lily smirked.

"Making Emma harm you won't help you get my help. It's not the right time." Neal informed her, "I know that for a fact. Storybrooke isn't ready."

"I've only pissed her off because I needed your attention. I need you to help Emma believe once she gets out of here, take her to Storybrooke, and then kiss her to break the curse." Lily gave him explicit instructions. "My revenge won't be as good if the people I need are still asleep."

Oh great, another person was waiting for revenge. "It won't break, she hates me for leaving her, and it's way too early. You really need to do some more research, Lily. You are playing with more than just Emma's life." Neal raised his voice. "If she shows up too early, you don't know what you'll set off."

"Emma's parents made me like this. They put all of Emma's potential for darkness in me. I'm just sharing the love." Lily retorted, her voice sounding like poison.

Neal walked into a separate room of the house, so Sky wouldn't overhear. "You aren't very dark, Lily, I know true darkness. Lily, I'm going to tell you what to do, and you will do it. I want you to request a separate cell and leave Emma alone. When you get out of jail, you are going to stay out of Emma's life. When Emma breaks the curse in about 10 years, I will make sure you receive a message about it. I will not interfere in anything you have planned, as long as Emma will not be hurt." Neal said strictly. "If you don't, I will make sure to have whatever family members you have in Storybrooke are taken care of before Emma even breaks the curse. Do we understand each other?"

"I'm not surprised Emma ended up with someone so ruthless." Lily paused, "we have a deal."

Neal hung up the phone and headed back into the main room. He handed it back to Sky, "It's taken care of, Lily won't be near Emma anymore."

Sky smiled with relief before looking at Neal, cautiously, "What did you do?"

"I threatened her with the death of her family. Let me be clear, I never would kill anyone at all. It's just when you have a certain reputation, it's easier for people to comply with your demands when you make a big threat." Neal clarifies, "Emma won't be harmed by her, Lily just had some bad experiences with Emma's parents and took it out on Emma."

"Then why doesn't Emma know her parents?" Sky was getting a bit confused.

"Because Lily doesn't really know Emma's parents either, it happened when Lily was a baby. The same way, Emma was a baby. Neither were aware at the time." Neal handed Sky a wad of cash, "It isn't much, but its what I've made from my new jobs. Give it to her, make sure she gets all that she needs once her time is up. Tell her not to steal anything, make sure Emma doesn't. The combination of the money I sent to the prison should get her through enough time to get a job. A princess deserves that."

"Why did you leave her? You obviously care about her well-being and are trying to be on the right path. Neal, you are making me hate you less than I should." Sky took the money from him and gave him a kind smile.

"I had someone after me, worse than the police. Emma would have been in trouble when she got out. It was also my fault that Emma landed in jail." Neal sighed, "I cleared up the issues now, but it's not like Emma would invite me back in her life. I'm sure she kept you updated about her past."

Sky nodded, "Well, I hope you visit us when she is back." She led Neal to the door.

"I plan on it." Neal gave her a small smile and left. At least now, he had an invitation to see Emma. It wouldn't be crashing.