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KAELYN DREADED returning to Storybrooke as they docked from the sky. She dreaded the applause and the heroes being praised, she dreaded being perceived, the stories that would be told about her. She knew, as she stepped off the Jolly Roger and back onto solid ground, that none of the applause or celebration was for her.

She only watched as the reunions happened. Henry was widely embraced by everyone in town, and hugs went around friends. Belle and Rumple reunited, and Kaelyn could only wallow in her bitterness of how on earth he had been the one out of the three of them to get even a remnant of a happy ending.

Regina, Kaelyn noted, also remained alone, standing awkwardly by the ship as everyone embraced. Kaelyn decided she didn't like such a fate, and instead slipped between the crowds of people – which was easy given how people naturally moved away from her out of fear.

The streets of Storybrooke felt like a lifetime away, too mundane, too dull. She hated it, she hated the way everyone stared at her, covered in dirt and blood, hair frizzy and dry, eyes sunken. She hated the way she felt heavy again, trapped in the tiny town, surrounded by people she mutually disliked.

As Kaelyn entered the diner, Ruby shot her a small smile, but the shorter brunette couldn't manage to return anything except a defeated look, as she climbed the stairs to her room. It hadn't changed, of course it hadn't. So why did she want it to have changed?

Such questions played on her mind as she showered, properly, for the first time in however long she'd been gone. She wasn't sure, and she hadn't asked anyone in town, but it had felt like months on the island. Blood and dirt stained the floor of the shower, draining in colours of rust and anguish.

The hot water fogged her senses, throat tightening as she felt frustratingly mundane. God, she hated it here. Her reflection stared back at her, looking as bitter and twisted as it always did, but for a second she wished it didn't.

Her bed felt like a cloud as she sunk into it, weary and alone. The only pop of colour in her vision was the new bunch of flowers in a cup of water on her chest of drawers. It was quiet. Some voices came from outside, and she faintly heard the diner begin to fill up, but for the most part she napped in relative peace.

Until there was a knock on her door. Kaelyn slammed her head under her pillow, refusing to be acknowledged, but the knocking became more incessant, until she hissed out something akin to 'fuck' and got up.

Her oversized shirt just covered her modesty as she opened the door a crack to see if the person dragging her out of bed was worth her attention or deserved to have it slammed in their face. Considering it was the person who offered her a home, the latter wasn't an option.

Kaelyn sighed and opened the door properly to come face-to-face with Granny, who was looking at her in the stern way she always did. Kaelyn had to hand it to her, she'd always seemed one of the people in Storybrooke least afraid of her.

"Can you work a shift tonight?" she asked, abruptly.

"Straight away?" Kaelyn said, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, without you we've been understaffed," Granny said, only sounding like she was half-teasing. "And everyone wants to celebrate tonight."

"Fine," Kaelyn said, tightly.

"Start in twenty?" Granny said.

"Of course."

The pit of dread in Kaelyn's stomach only grew as she shut her door again.

Being back to dressing in white and red, serving customers and taking orders, it felt almost too normal. Too mundane. Kaelyn couldn't stop thinking about the forests of Neverland, how close she had gotten to her past, the way Peter had looked at her before everything had gone wrong.

And the way that everything had just kept going. People were celebrating, she was back to work, no one particularly acknowledged her return or survival or part in rescuing Henry. It was like nothing had happened or changed, when all Kaelyn could think about was how much everything had changed during her time back in Neverland.

It made her angry. That everyone could simply just celebrate and pretend like nothing had happened, while she had to stifle her grief and her inner conflict, that they expected her to wait on them and serve them as they celebrated their return.

The diner was alive and bustling, faces Kaelyn had hardly taken the time to recognise surrounding her as she took orders, served drinks, and brought food out to tables. Henry was the star of the show, being showered with affection and attention, while the heroes were all being approached and congratulated.

Kaelyn ignored the fact no one acknowledged her part in it. She was used to it.

"Hi," Kaelyn greeted when she finally got a moment to Henry by herself, sitting across from him at the table. She blinked at the fairytale book on the table, opened up to a page Kaelyn recognised as a brief moment of her and Peter's time in Neverland. Her heart stung as she tried to ignore it, resting her elbows on the table and looking at the kid, fondly.

"Hi," Henry returned. "Do you miss him?"

The question was so abrupt, so out of the blue, that Kaelyn couldn't help her face from falling, before she furrowed her brows, confused. Henry just looked at her, and she felt like the scrutinising look was familiar, but not on Henry. But that was crazy.

"No," Kaelyn lied. "Why?"

Henry looked taken aback by the answer, swallowing thickly. "In all these stories it just seems–"

"Yeah, and I already told you the real story wasn't like that one," Kaelyn said, firmly, remembering their first few moments on Neverland. "You only get the happy moments in your book."

Henry nodded once. "It's good to be home."

Kaelyn sighed out her nose. Henry was too young to properly understand where she stood in the town, too positive towards her. But she didn't want him to know that reality yet, so she agreed. "Yeah, it is," she murmured.

Henry looked at her oddly, in a way that set off alarm bells in her head, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.

"Kaelyn, we need you back on the floor!" Granny yelled, and Kaelyn scowled as she left the booth Henry was sat at. He perked up as she moved, looking wistful at her leaving.

"I'll see around, kid," Kaelyn said softly, and then she was off, back to taking orders and mingling bitterly.

At some point, Tinkerbell had joined them, but Kaelyn cared little for the fairy that had taken residence on Neverland all that time ago. She had never really been involved with the brunette, instead answering to Peter. Some of the lost boys had also shown up, being accepted surprisingly easily, as they began to act like real kids and not ageless warriors and minions.

Some of them looked at her, in that achingly familiar way, but Kaelyn didn't have the stomach for that tonight, as she flitted about, balancing drinks and plates, stomping out any thoughts of Neverland, or Peter, or how things were supposed to go.

By the time Kaelyn was given her fifteen minute break, she was pouring herself a drink at the bar, listlessly sipping at it as her eyes dully scanned everyone around her, laughing and smiling, exchanging pleasantries.

"Why the long face?"

Kaelyn slowly turned her eyes to the one-handed pirate, who was wearing that smug look he always did, as he placed an empty jug on the bar counter in front of her. Kaelyn sighed, not saying anything, as she automatically went to refill it.

"Ease up, love," Hook said as Kaelyn placed the refill in front of him. "The boy's safe now," he added at her annoyed look.

"You're not stupid, Captain," Kaelyn sneered, grabbing her own drink.

"Aye," Hook agreed, raising his glass. Kaelyn ignored the gesture and put her glass to her lips. Hook frowned. "Was odd to be back, ain't it?"

"No fucking shit," Kaelyn drawled.

"Y'hear the tall lad's in prison?" Hook asked her, but it came across as more of a statement than anything. "Assuming no one else woulda told you."

"Felix?" Kaelyn clarified. Hook nodded, taking a heart swig of his drink. "Lovely," she deadpanned.

"I am curious," Hook started, and Kaelyn could already sense an unwanted conversation coming. "What does happen to Neverland now?"

"It dies," she said, simply.

"Just like that?"

Kaelyn couldn't meet his eyes. "Like a flower without water."

"And Pan?"

Kaelyn gripped her glass tighter. "A parasite without a host," she said, harshly.

"Well, everyone is surprised you didn't just about blow the ship out of the sky when you woke up," Hook mused, as he began to get comfortable in one of the barstools.

"What do you want?" Kaelyn asked, abruptly. Hook looked at her in confusion, forcing her to elaborate, "We're not old friends. You used to be Peter's bitch and kidnapped kids for me to take care of."

Hook paused for a moment, before grinning. "Can't a drunk have a conversation with the bartender?"

"I'm on my break," she said.

"We're more alike than you think, love," Hook continued as if he hadn't heard anything.

"You wish," Kaelyn scoffed, refusing to be roped into more Emma-type conversations.

"I can see why Swan is so infuriated by you."

Speak of the devil and she will be mentioned.

"Oh, I infuriate her? I'm flattered," Kaelyn mused, leaning back.

"It's almost exhausting to keep listening to, if I'm honest," Hook admitted, seeing he had cracked the code at having a semi-calm conversation with the immortal teenager.

"Well, get used to it if you're gonna start fucking her," Kaelyn said.

Hook didn't miss a beat. "I appreciate the faith, but I'm backing down."

"Tragic," Kaelyn said in mock sympathy. Either Hook was drunk or he really didn't care about the fact. "It would be ironic– the saviour princess with the deadbeat alcoholic pirate," Kaelyn added.

Hook cleared his throat. "Well, villains don't get happy endings, do they?"

Touché.

"The ones who hide behind their counter sure seem to," Kaelyn said, giving Hook a bitter look that the pirate returned.

A villain. Because that was what she was, wasn't she? Ever since she had fled Neverland and stopped attempting to be different from what had been expected of her growing up. Ever since she had claimed her own agency, bunkered down behind a hard and violent outer shell for protection.

Her words from the Echo Caves rung true. She'd had no choice unless she wanted the cycle repeating. And so she had become desensitised, used to the violence, the cruelty, the inability to care, the sort of qualities of villains. People feared her more than the Evil Queen, and they'd sooner ask Rumpelstiltskin for help than her.

She had become a villain and of course she was suffering the consequences. As true as all magic has a price, villains don't get happy endings.

Henry's book of fairytales had gotten it wrong. It always had with her, painting her as an unsung hero, either falsely, or simply not finishing her story. Henry had never known about Peter's betrayal, he had never known about how infamous she was in the Enchanted Forest, he had only known her life on Neverland before it had fallen apart.

It was probably why he had never been afraid of her. He had never truly seen her, only heard through everyone else's warnings. He was too young to grasp the horrors, the violence, the way she barely flinched at it. He couldn't even start to imagine what she'd done, the sort of person she was, and so he blindly trusted her and cared for her.

And she had let him.

"Ah," Hook said, awkwardly, as Neal appeared beside him, forcing Kaelyn out of her thoughts. "G'night, love," Hook said, as he headed off, leaving the pair to themselves.

"Hey, kid," Neal greeted once the pirate had gone. Kaelyn ignored him, showing no reaction or acknowledgement to his presence, busying herself with wiping down glasses and the space behind the bar. Neal sighed at the cold shoulder. "Kaelyn." She looked at him immediately.

"Did you want something?" she asked, innocently, as if he had only just appeared. Neal looked like he was going to say something confrontational, address how she had been treating him since he had blown up at her and humiliated her in front of the heroes, doubted her. But he didn't.

"Just a beer," he said, instead.

Kaelyn just nodded and got it out from the fridge under the counter. "Eight dollars," she said, simply as she slid the bottle across the counter. Neal looked at her, but she was unwavering, before he got out his wallet.

Kaelyn noted that it looked like he had news, something important to tell her, or something he simply just wanted to tell her. But, again, he didn't. Kaelyn took his money in exchange for the drink, and that was that.

He didn't try to stick around, he didn't keep up small talk, he accepted their interaction and left, Kaelyn not even watching him go.

As it began to darken outside, the party in the diner quietened down. People began to head home or grow sleepy, and Kaelyn was throwing dishes upon dishes together as they began to clear out. It was, by no means, over, but Kaelyn had been waiting for a sign to head upstairs ever since she had got on the floor.

Kaelyn saw Emma get up with Henry out of the corner of her eye, and they began to leave, and the brunette sighed as she set down a tray of dirty dishes in front of Ruby. Henry had been off since he had gotten back, admittedly. Sure, he had been almost killed and manipulated, but Kaelyn was so used to the kid positively bouncing back no matter what, it felt odd.

He felt years older, colder. Truthfully, it might have been because Kaelyn had wanted him to recognise her efforts to protect him more, but after how she had been on the island, could she really blame him for seeing her differently?

"Can Kaelyn come?"

The question was so abrupt Kaelyn just barely heard it, turning to see Henry standing with Regina's arm around him and Emma looking down at him, perplexed.

"What?" Emma said.

Kaelyn pulled away from the counter, cautiously heading over to the small group. She had no clue why Henry appeared to be going with Regina for the night, as the boy had stopped doing that as soon as the curse was broken and Kaelyn no longer babysat him regularly.

"I want her to stay over like before, when she babysat me all the time," Henry explained. "I'd feel safe," he added, timidly.

Kaelyn narrowed her eyes at him, but Emma just looked unsure. "I... okay," she stammered, before swallowing thickly. "Of course."

The blonde looked at Kaelyn, giving her a subtle warning look, that the immortal teenager only returned with a smirk. She wasn't about to say no to the kid she had put so much effort and blood, sweat and tears into, but she also just liked the look on Emma's face at Henry choosing the two villains to take care of him instead of her.

Henry let out something akin to a 'yay', as Kaelyn quickly went upstairs to collect her stuff for the night. Now this felt normal, she thought, as she paraded down the stairs with her night bag to head home with Henry and Regina.

Regina gave Kaelyn an unsure smile as they left the diner, the unlikely group of three turning heads, but ignoring it, each member enjoying themselves too much. If there was any way for Kaelyn to try and distract herself from Peter's inevitable fate, it would be telling dumb bedtime stories and making dinosaur chicken nuggets with Henry Mills.

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THE MANSION was not unfamiliar, Kaelyn had spent many days and nights in it with Henry growing up, almost living out of it as a second home sometimes, free-of-rent and permanently entertained. To this day, she had wondered how Regina had let her get so close to Henry, even with her memory wiped, but she didn't really care enough to press for answers.

The spare room was as untouched as the day the curse was lifted, as Kaelyn dumped her bags at the foot of the bed and kicked off her shoes, running a hand through her hair. Regina was busy putting Henry to bed, having what sounded like a hushed, private conversation, so she stuck to herself.

The room was massive, illuminated by warm, dim lamps as she turned them all on, but covered in dust from disuse over the last few months. The years and months and days she had spent babysitting Henry through everything felt a lifetime away– before Emma, before Kaelyn had remembered anything outside a life of mundane naivety.

A knock on the door alerted Kaelyn to Regina's presence, head poked through the door.

"Yeah?" Kaelyn asked, simply.

"Henry asked if you could... read him a bedtime story?" she said, sounding unfamiliar with the idea. Kaelyn blinked at her, the practice having been normal for them, but she figured Regina had never known what they were doing. Plus, nowadays she was asking some bloodthirsty sorcerer instead of a clueless school girl.

"Oh, sure," Kaelyn shrugged, happily obliging, having expected it anyway.

Regina cautiously retreated to her room as Kaelyn got up and headed down the hall to Henry's room, ignoring how the Evil Queen still looked at her as if she would try to do anything to her son.

Kaelyn merely turned her nose up at her as she knocked on Henry's door, before heading in. Henry was nestled under his blankets with his nightlight on, the one Kaelyn had cut-out and handmade for him that scattered star-shapes across the ceiling. He replaced the globe every few months, as it was incredibly faulty, but he loved it.

"Hey, buddy," Kaelyn greeted, warmly, closing the door and moving to sit at the end of Henry's bed that was far too massive for one ten-year-old boy.

"Can you tell me a story?" Henry asked, eagerly and straight to the point.

Kaelyn tilted her head. "Let me think... something about a fountain of youth?" she said, lightly and thoughtfully.

"Neverland," he said.

Kaelyn blinked at him cutting her story off, then at the topic he wanted a story about.

"What?" she said, dumbly.

"The real story," Henry continued.

Kaelyn's face hardened. "I don't think Regina would appreciate me telling you that," she told him.

"She doesn't have to know. Please, I want to know," Henry pleaded. Kaelyn ground her teeth.

"Well, I don't want you to know," she said, trying not to snap. "It's not a good bedtime story, trust me. I'm doing you a favour," she added, trying to sound softer. Henry still looked put out and Kaelyn had to turn away to stop from feeling guilty. "Why do you want to know so badly?"

"I'm... scared of Pan," Henry admitted

"Peter's in a box. He can't get to you. And you're the safest you can be here with me and the Evil Queen," Kaelyn reassured him. "You said it yourself at the diner."

"But Peter Pan never fails," Henry continued.

Kaelyn didn't like the tone he said that in, but dismissed it. "But he did. Both of us are proof of that."

"Are you?"

Kaelyn paused, eyes widening a bit, before it rolled over her in waves. Dread, relief, fear, anger. Confusion. She whipped her head up to stare at the kid she babysat– or, at least, the body of the kid she babysat.

For the way he was looking at her, the words that had just left his mouth, it couldn't be Henry.

She recognised that look.

"What the fuck, Peter?" Kaelyn snarled, leaping off the bed and onto her feet, staring at him like she'd seen a ghost.

"I had to do it to preserve myself," Henry–no, Peter, definitely Peter– confirmed her suspicions.

"Shut up," Kaelyn snapped, before looking away from him, unable to comprehend what she was seeing for a moment. "Oh my god you switched," she realised, before pointing an accusing finger at him. "Where is Henry now?"

"They really don't tell you anything, do they?" Peter scoffed. God, it was weird to hear Henry's voice say his words and leave Henry's mouth with Henry's face. And such cruel words as well.

Ignoring his insult, Kaelyn snapped. "What were you thinking? Violating the terms of the bargain. I had it all together but no, you just had to try and carve Henry's heart out even without magic."

"You really believe they would have let you return to help me?" Peter inquired.

"Better chance if you hadn't tried to assassinate Henry, honestly," Kaelyn snipped.

"I have everything under control," he said, firmly, which didn't sound very intimidating. That meant that Peter had been in Henry's body since he'd been transported into the box on the ship. In a last ditch effort he must have switched, which meant Kaelyn had only interacted with Peter since they'd left Neverland.

"You're still on about that?" Kaelyn asked in exasperation. "You lost. Peter Pan failed." She almost laughed at the way Peter looked offended in Henry's body. "You had an out, you just had to rely on me, but apparently that was too hard," Kaelyn added, frustration seeping into her voice.

Peter sneered. "You removed the heart–"

"I was trying to save you!" Kaelyn shouted suddenly, cutting off anything he had planned to say as Peter went still. "Don't you fucking get that? Everything I did in those last few minutes was to save the only two people I give a shit about!"

Peter blinked at her, but he was even harder to read in Henry's body, as Kaelyn slumped her shoulders and ran a hand through her hair, before there was a knock on the door. Kaelyn whipped around, trying not to look flustered, as Regina poked her head in, eyebrows furrowed.

"Is... everything okay?" Regina asked, sounding unsure.

"Yeah, sorry, just a really dramatic story," Kaelyn said, lightly, waving a hand to dismiss Regina. Not a single part of her felt the need to tell Regina the truth about the boy in the room with them.

The woman seemed so shocked by the dismissive gesture however, she hardly noticed anything was off, as she sent Kaelyn a light glare and closed the door again.

Once a few minutes of silence passed, Kaelyn set her gleaming eyes back on Henry– or Peter, as she was struggling to envision.

"Relax. I can switch back whenever I want to," he reassured her, calmly. "And at some point they'll find out anyway and release my body. Everyone goes to extreme measures for this one boy, apparently."

"Speaking from experience?" Kaelyn jeered.

"Cute," Peter scoffed.

"Don't say that while you look like that," the brunette mused, pointing at Peter in an exaggerated manner.

"You don't find this amusing at all?" Peter snorted.

Kaelyn laughed at his attempt at being self-aware. "Oh I think it's hilarious how you've failed and gone to such desperate measures."

Peter's jaw clenched. "I haven't failed yet," he said, stiffly.

"It's also hilarious seeing you try to get mad when your voice hasn't even broken yet," Kaelyn added salt to the wound.

"It's not hilarious," Peter retorted.

"Look at you! You're so little," Kaelyn exclaimed and cooed, grinning widely.

"I thought you'd be happier to see me," Peter continued, voice still tight from Kaelyn's mocking.

"Oh, but I'm not really seeing you," Kaelyn said, frowning.

"I'm still alive," Peter persisted.

"I am not giving you the satisfaction," Kaelyn sneered. "Give up."

"It's not ideal, but it's best for now," Peter admitted, eyes darkening at Kaelyn's stubbornness.

"You have a plan, right? Something Regina has that you need," Kaelyn theorised casually.

"As if I'd tell you," Peter chuckled.

"As if you have any magic after that body switch," Kaelyn mocked back, pointedly looking him up and down.

Peter raised his eyebrows. "Was that a threat?"

"Only if it needs to be," Kaelyn said, with a shrug. Her tone shifted. "What're you going to do, Peter?"

"I can't tell you that," Peter said, solemnly.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because you'll try to stop me," he said, simply.

Kaelyn looked at the floor. "If you touch Henry–"

Peter cut her off. "I'm done with him. I don't need his heart anymore. And I can't get it either."

She ground her teeth in frustration. "I told you I could find a way to keep you alive," she hissed at him.

"And I don't need you to," Peter retorted. "I've got it under control," he added, coolly.

"The fuck you do," Kaelyn scoffed.

"They'll kill me if you tell anyone," Peter snapped.

"You don't need to blackmail me," she laughed, bitterly, lifting her hands up in a 'what do you want from me?' motion. "What am I supposed to do except wait it out, right? Like always?"

Peter inhaled sharply, before clearing his throat. "Nothing will happen to you or Henry. I promise," he said, softly.

Kaelyn's face hardened at his tone. "Prove it."

"I will," he said. "Everything will work out."

Kaelyn didn't feel reassured. "Sure."

She knew the turmoil that Peter's plans brought, and his empty promises no longer comforted her, not yet. He had a long way in proving before she could so easily believe him at face value again. And he knew that. So she could only hope he was true to his word.

How pathetic. Harbouring a villain that had tried to murder Henry instead of turning him in, preparing to lie to the group of heroes who already hated her so much, simply to preserve Peter to let him fulfill his promise. Pathetic.

Nothing had changed. Not in years. Not really. Peter stayed in control, and Kaelyn continued to let things happen around her. And despite that, she still knew she'd keep quiet, keep Peter out of danger until Henry was in a position to be freed, because it was eternity versus immortality.

Henry was alive, and he would be fine, relatively speaking, until he was released. Pandora's Box could hold him for eternity and he was perfectly safe. Truthfully, probably the safest he could be from Peter if he actually wanted to go after him.

On the other hand, Peter was running out of time with every minute that passed. Kaelyn had promised to find a way to keep him alive, and she stuck by that. She would. Even if she had to step in to whatever plan he had concocted, she would find a way. She always did.

"Your faith in me is astounding," Peter said in mock hurt.

Kaelyn merely glanced at him. "My faith in you is nonexistent."

And with that, she left Henry's room, with Peter in its shell, wondering how the fuck she had landed herself in such a situation.

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KAELYN HAD BEEN woken up by many strange and abrupt things in her lifetime, but somehow the former Evil Queen running into a room she was staying at in a mansion, in an indigo nightgown and hair sticking in four different directions, took the cake.

"Get up," Regina snapped.

"No," Kaelyn retorted.

"You choose the worst times to act like a real teenager," Regina snorted. "I'm getting Henry. If you're not up by the time I get back–"

"Stop your empty threats I'm up," Kaelyn sneered as she untangled herself from the covers. Regina just lifted her chin up, before disappearing down the hall, Kaelyn watching her warily.

As she got dressed, she did not doubt that Peter had done something overnight. Regina had been frantic – however well she had hidden it – so something bad must have happened. Kaelyn hissed to herself, grabbing her coat of the hook as she hurried downstairs before Regina simply left without her.

As they left the house, Regina took a hold of 'Henry's' hand, leading him down the front stairs, Kaelyn feeling like an imposter simply for knowing. Peter wouldn't even look at her, as Kaelyn kept looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

The autumn air was chilly, and Kaelyn was glad for her coat as they journeyed into town, Kaelyn hopelessly wondering what had happened that was so bad it demanded her involvement.

The key faces were gathered at the convent when the unlikely trio arrived, Kaelyn trailing slightly behind as they made their way up the path. From the distance, she could see Emma and David covering someone up– a body.

"What the hell happened?" Regina demanded, speeding up her pace as she arrived.

"The Shadow, it killed her," David said, solemnly. Kaelyn's eyes bore into the back of Henry's head.

"Pan's shadow? I trapped it on the sail," Regina said, shakily.

"Yeah, well, it got free," Emma said.

"Did you do something?" Regina accused, immediately rounding on Kaelyn.

"Are you fucking kidding?" the immortal teenager said in exasperation. No one looked like they were kidding. "No. I don't even know where you're keeping the box and Peter's shadow would sooner kill me than help me. Plus after the shit I went through to protect your son why would I even think of putting him in danger again?"

Neal sighed, stepping between the two. "Let's just go back to the ship and get the candle," he suggested, eyes going to Tinkerbell and Hook. "If it strikes again, we need to be able to capture it." The man barely even glanced at Kaelyn as he left, the fairy and the pirate going with him.

"Pan's behind this, I know it," Emma said, getting to her feet.

"You believe her?" Regina asked, in disbelief, Kaelyn scowling at the doubt.

"No. I believe she'd never do anything to hurt Henry," Emma told her, firmly. Regina's face hardened, as Kaelyn looked at her, as if she hadn't been welcomed into her home the night before.

"Well, how could Pan be behind this? He's trapped in a box under the floor of Gold's shop," Regina scoffed, Kaelyn blinking at the new information.

"Who else could control the Shadow?" Emma reasoned.

"So, Pan could still hurt me?" Peter asked, stepping up to the others. Now that Kaelyn knew, she wondered how she hadn't immediately figured it out.

"We don't know that," Regina reassured.

"But we have to assume he's still a threat," Mary Margaret told her 'grandson' softly.

"And that he's after Henry," Emma said, more fiercely than her mother.

"Then what am I doing here?" Peter asked, frantically, Kaelyn narrowing her eyes at him.

"He's right, he's not safe out in the open," David agreed.

"Peter's Shadow is as capable of magic as he is, we can't exactly run from it," Kaelyn interjected, ignoring the look Peter gave her.

"No, we just keep Henry away from it long enough for Neal to get the candle back," Emma explained.

"And what about Peter?" Kaelyn asked.

"I have an idea," Emma said, simply, the immortal teenager scoffing at the vague answer.

Peter turned to Regina. "You'll protect me, right?"

"Yes, of course," Regina said, softly, embracing him. Kaelyn watched the interaction, seeing the Evil Queen feed into the affection her 'son' was suddenly giving her.

"Go, we'll take care of the Shadow," Emma told the pair. Kaelyn made to go with them, automatically glued to Peter, but Emma stopped her. "No, come with us." Kaelyn stopped, giving her a defiant look, even Regina looking confused. "Pan listens to her," Emma justified.

"Well, that's ridiculous. She wants to return him to power, we should keep them apart," Regina reasoned, Kaelyn rolling her eyes at said reason, but staying quiet. She didn't want to leave Peter to his own devices, his plan was clearly in action and god knew what he was about to do in his quest to stay young and powerful.

"It's worth the risk," Emma sighed.

"It's almost like I'm right here," Kaelyn snapped, lips pursed.

"You're with us," Emma reaffirmed.

Frustration gripped her, knowing there was no feasible way to go with Peter without raising suspicion or ending up in the box herself if she continued to fight. She looked back to Peter, knowing this was exactly his plan. Regina had something he needed, and by threatening his own safety, she would take him right to it.

"Fuck," Kaelyn hissed as she followed the heroes away from the actual threat.

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KAELYN HAD NEVER been this close to the town line. She had heard plenty of town gossip about it in the diner, but never ventured this far. That and being squished into a car with Rumpelstiltskin made her want to sink into the floor, especially knowing what they were about to do.

While the real Peter was off getting exactly what he wanted, they were about to release Henry in an extremely cautious plan. Kaelyn wanted Henry out, but she knew as soon as the others realised the body switch, everything would go to hell.

The two cars the group had piled into stopped just before the town line, Kaelyn swallowing thickly as she got out. The "Welcome to Storybrooke" sign blinked in her peripheral vision as she moved forward, not feeling like she wasn't about to be thrown over the town line as well. She glanced at Rumple, who was holding the box in hand– the box that contained Henry.

"There's no magic beyond the town line. If we release Pan outside Storybrooke, he'll be powerless to fight back," Rumple explained to Belle, who had accompanied them. The sight of the pair still made Kaelyn bitter.

Emma stepped in front of Rumple as he neared the line. "Uh-uh. I'm doing this."

Kaelyn, unlike the others, had stayed a few steps away from the line, while everyone else stood scarily close.

"I can cross the line and retain my memory," Rumple retorted.

"It's not about that. There's no magic over there. All due respect, the real world is my expertise," Emma explained. Rumple sighed, as Emma took out her gun and stepped over the line. "You're gonna deal with Pan on my terms."

Rumple shook his head. "He's my old friend."

"He's my ex," Kaelyn spoke up, some heads turning to her. "Quit complaining."

"It's my hunch," Emma insisted. "If I fail, you're more than welcome to pick up the pieces." She was a few steps away now, gun already raised and ready.

"Emma, be careful," Mary Margaret said, softly.

Emma just licked her lips, before looking to Kaelyn, who was still the furthest from the town line. "Kaelyn, if it comes down to it, we'll need you. Remember, this is for Henry," she told the immortal teenager, who could only feel her stomach sinking as she knew what was coming.

Rumple moved a hand over the box, unsealing it as red glowed from it. Everyone tensed, watching as he placed it across the line, and Kaelyn watched as Peter's body materialised on the ground, dazed and disoriented. Emma immediately turned the safety off her gun, aiming it at him, and it took everything in Kaelyn not to say any sort of warning.

They could never know she knew or they'd never trust her again.

Emma didn't shoot immediately as Henry got to his feet, looking around in confusion, as Mary Margaret backed up and gripped David tightly. Kaelyn couldn't shake the unsettled feeling as Henry, in Peter's body, turned to look at them all, stunned. If she had thought Peter in Henry's body was weird then this was so much worse.

"Mum?" Henry asked, seeing Emma raising a gun to him.

"What?"

"What are you waiting for? Shoot him," Rumple growled.

"No," Kaelyn snapped, but Rumple gripped her tightly as she moved forward. She didn't care if it looked like she was trying to save Peter, she couldn't let Emma shoot her son. Nevermind the fact that if it was Peter then they had planned to kill him rather than interrogate him.

"Don't! Please! I'm Henry," he insisted. "Pan... he switched our bodies."

"You expect me to believe that?" Emma snapped.

"Don't listen to him. This is one of his tricks," Rumple snarled, still gripping Kaelyn's bicep tightly.

"No, it's not. He did it right before Mr. Gold captured me in the box, I swear," Henry said, desperately, before making the mistake of stepping forward.

"Don't come any closer!" Emma exclaimed.

"Shoot him!"

"Were you planning on killing him this whole time?" Kaelyn asked, horrified, wrestling her way out of Rumple's grip. "You said we'd talk."

"You don't talk to Pan, you can only stop him," Rumple sneered.

"Don't act like you know him better than I do," Kaelyn spat back.

"Maybe he's telling the truth. Maybe that's why I can't shake this feeling that something is off about Henry," Emma said uncertainly, and Kaelyn could only hope she kept going.

"Maybe that's what he wants you to believe. If he steps over this line, we're all dead," Rumple continued, and Kaelyn ground her teeth.

"Then let him prove it," Kaelyn insisted. "You want to let Emma shoot her own son after everything?" The harshness of the statement seemed to get the blonde woman's attention, as Henry merely watched the argument over his fate.

"You want to let Pan return to power after everything?" Rumple shot back.

"I know Peter and that's not fucking him!" Kaelyn shrilled, jabbing a finger at Henry. She looked to Emma, hoping she would recognise her son, trust a situation that seemed completely impossible. How much more could she argue before she became suspicious?

"All right, if you are really Henry, prove it. Tell me something only Henry would know," Emma reasoned, Kaelyn letting out a sigh of relief.

"I-I got trapped in the mines. I tried blowing up the well. I like hot cocoa with cinnamon," he said, quickly.

"This proves nothing," Rumple snapped.

"He's right, Emma. Henry could've told Pan all this in Neverland," Mary Margaret interjected. Emma looked to Kaelyn, who only shook her head, before the blonde turned back to Henry.

"Pan might know facts, but life is made up more than that– there are moments. He can't possibly know all of them. The first time you and I connected, you remember that? Not met, but connected," Emma told him.

Henry nodded. "Yeah."

"Where was it?"

"My castle. Right after you came to Storybrooke."

"And what did you tell me?"

"That I knew why you gave me up."

"Why?"

"Because you wanted to give me my best chance."

Emma lowered her gun, face shifting as she tucked it away. "Henry," she murmured. The pair hugged, Kaelyn sighing. "It is Henry." The pair pulled away, Emma looking to Rumple. "Promise you're not going to incinerate us when we step over the line."

Rumple shook his head. Emma gave Henry an encouraging look, before retrieving the box herself and stepping forward over the line. Henry hugged his grandparents first, as Emma gave the box back to Rumple.

Now that Kaelyn was over Henry (or Peter) being shot in front of her without her being able to do anything, the fact that he was in Henry's body and the sheer weirdness of it all properly sunk into her. Seeing Peter Pan hugging Prince Charming and Snow White was bad enough.

But Kaelyn's face at the kid she babysat for a decade hugging her in the body of her centuries-old ex must've been enough to convince them that she didn't know, as no one questioned her, Kaelyn returning the hug very awkwardly.

As they pulled away, Kaelyn had to avoid looking at his face, as Henry reached a hand out to her. "This was in his pocket," he said, quietly.

Kaelyn wanted to cry as she accepted the purple stone, which felt heavy in her palm, and she now had to accept that Peter was back. Another choice would make itself known as he once again tried to carry out his plan. Kaelyn knew that. And she hated him for it.

━━━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━━━

lmao hi sorry this chapter took so long, hated writing the mundane beginning part and then got stuck so have been chipping away at it like a hundred words a day

it's sort of fast paced but so much just happens in the episode i couldn't focus on too much for too long so it's pretty packed whoops (mainly @ peter in henry's body but tbh that is just too weird to keep writing)

am trying vv hard to get the next chapter out asap, but i work 10-7 tomorrow and then have a 7-4 shift the next day then 6-2 so who knows when the next one will be out whoops sorry for the impending cliffhanger besties

also this one was long i had to end it before the episode because it was approaching 8k words and ik that is a drag to read through