Emma puts her trust in a stranger, and Queenie discovers how evil was made.

***

Remus and Narcissa carefully watched Harry as he held his wand, the werewolf quickly moving to correct his stance. "If you're not careful with how you're standing when you cast this spell, it can easily knock you off your feet and throw you twenty feet through the air," Remus warned, lightly kicking Harry's feet apart a little wider to make sure that he wouldn't get hurt.

"I feel sturdy," Harry said, testing his stance by bouncing on the balls of his feet. When he didn't fall onto his face, he grinned up at Remus, who beamed in response.

Across from them, Narcissa placed a heavy wooden chest Transfigured from a piece of wood on the ground. "Cast the spell, Harry," she said, backing to stand by Draco and Hermione. When Harry glanced at his two closest friends, she huffed in light admonishment. "Harry James, focus," she told him.

Harry winced and quickly turned his attention back to the task at hand. Flicking his wand, he called "Alarte Ascendare!"

They all watched as Harry's spell threw Narcissa's chest several feet away and into the shield boundary she had set for that reason. Draco and Hermione gawked at the shattered wood, and Remus tilted his head. "Hmm, interesting," he muttered.

He abruptly looked up, his eyes flashing amber as he turned at the sound of people walking through the case. He sniffed the air then grinned as Newt, Ruby, and Victor all rounded the corner. Harry matched his grin a moment later. "Uncle Newt!" he called. "Look!"

He gestured in front of him to the shattered wood and Newt raised his eyebrows. "What happened here?" he asked, looking at the closest wizard.

Remus sighed and rubbed his head as Ruby and Victor walked to stand next to him. "Harry cast Alarte Ascendare," he said dryly.

Ruby blinked in confusion. "What's that?"

Newt smirked. "It throws an object several feet away. It can be very dangerous if the caster's stance is even slightly off." He gestured pointedly at the wood, and Harry grinned as Ruby looked up at Remus in shock.

"That can be dangerous, no?" Victor asked, warily eyeing the wooden shrapnel.

Hermione shrugged. "It can be, but it's mostly used for propelling something across water or making it so that nothing can touch you."

Victor nodded. "Makes sense," he said, smiling at Remus.

"Mum!"

Harry's sudden yell caused everyone to turn in time to watch Emma enter. "Hey, buddy," she smiled, pausing to mess up Harry's hair. "So, we need to plan a trip to Diagon soon. Second year will be here before you know it."

"And your birthday is coming up!" Draco added with a grin.

Harry nodded. "We'll need Aunt Queenie and Uncle Newt," he told Emma.

"We'll figure it out, buddy," she promised. "I have to get going again, but there's something I needed to talk to the adults about, so if you kiddos could go to the other pen, that would be appreciated." Harry frowned in concern, and Emma sighed and bent a little to make eye contact with her son. "There's nothing wrong, buddy, I promise. Everything's OK."

Harry finally nodded, and Emma smiled and kissed the top of his head. Harry turned and herded his friends towards another pen, and after a pleading glance from Emma, Narcissa trailed after them. Once they were out of earshot, Remus turned to Emma. "What's wrong?"

Emma sighed and rubbed her forehead. "We found out some . . . interesting news this morning."

Remus narrowed his eyes. "Define 'interesting.'"

Newt winced. "Well . . . we know who caused Kathryn's disappearance, we're certain now, but not through the law."

Ruby gasped, Victor narrowed his eyes, and Remus raised an eyebrow, his eyes quickly flashing amber. "Who was it?" Ruby asked, voice quiet.

Emma sighed. "Mr. Gold and Regina." Victor's grip on Ruby's hand tightened, and Remus snarled low in his throat. "Queenie was the one who found out. Her Legilimency allowed her to see the memory of Gold and Regina talking about it. Gold suggested it, and Regina executed the plan they made."

An animalistic snarl ripped from Remus's throat, and this time his eyes remained amber. "I knew it couldn't have been Mary Margaret," he growled lowly, taking a deep breath and reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he attempted to calm himself. Ruby squeezed his arm comfortingly, and Remus gave her a grateful smile. "She's too nice to cut someone's heart out."

"But Regina?" Victor asked, shaking his head. "She's ruthless and cruel . . . but I didn't think she could be this heartless."

Ruby made eye contact with Emma. "But it makes sense. For as long as I can remember, Regina and Mary Margaret have hated each other's guts for seemingly no reason."

Emma and Newt shared a look but didn't say anything. How could they tell Ruby that Regina hated Mary Margaret because she was actually the Evil Queen with a hatred of Snow White? Emma cleared her throat and checked her watch. "I actually have to run, but I'll meet up with all of you later," she said. "Tell Harry that we're doing family dinner tonight at 7 at the diner. All of you also need to be there." She waited for everyone to nod in agreement, then she walked back to the ladder that would take her back to Granny's.

***

Emma later sat by the waterfront and leafed through Henry's storybook. Her eyes always wandered back to her parents' wedding, and she pressed her lips tightly together. Watching the Evil Queen promise to take their happy ending away from them was gut-wrenching because that is exactly what had happened: Regina had taken Emma from her family right after she was born. She had been minutes old, for Merlin's sake! She made sure Emma grew up without a family and made her mother and father forget each other and her.

She was so caught up in the pages that she didn't even notice that August had walked up near her. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Emma jumped in surprise but closed the story book and looked up at him. "Grasping at straws."

August nodded and handed Emma a newspaper with Mary Margaret's face plastered all over the front page. "Still trying' to find a way to prove your friend's been framed?" he asked.

Emma sighed as she stared at the headline. "Every time I go down a path I think leads somewhere, it ends up being a dead end," she said. "I used to think I had these great instincts." She looked up at him. "Superpower." She looked back down at the newspaper in her hands. "Now, I don't know."

August sat next to her. "It sounds like you've got a case of writer's block," he told her. "Only without the whole writing part."

Emma snorted quietly. "Maybe."

August watched for a few seconds, then he leaned back against the bench, eyes on Emma. "You know, when I get struck by a block, I usually reread what I've done. Rather than plow ahead blindly, sometimes I find there'll be a little nugget of inspiration left behind."

Emma frowned. "You mean start over?"

"I mean when I start writing, I usually have one idea," August explained. "And then in the middle? I may get another idea, and things are different."

Emma nodded slowly, understanding where August was leading her. "So your perspective changes."

"Exactly," August smiled. "When you started this investigation, what was it about?"

"A missing person."

"Then it became a murder, and then a cover-up," August nodded. "If you knew that then, maybe you would have approached things differently." Emma nodded in agreement and determinedly stood. "Where are you going?" August blinked.

"Scene of the crime!" Emma replied, tossing the newspaper aside.

August quickly scrambled after her. "I'll drive!"

"No," Emma shook her head, frowning at August. "I'm fine."

August scowled at her. "No, you're not," he denied as he bypassed her. "You haven't slept in days. And let's be honest." He looked back at her. "It was my idea."

Emma rolled her eyes but conceded, following August to his motorcycle.

***

Emma couldn't help but snort when she noticed an R had been added to the toll bridge sign, thus deeming it the Troll Bridge. She missed August's smirk as they passed it, then he parked where Emma pointed. "Ruby found the box to the heart right over here," she said, removing her helmet and leading August down towards the river. "Just by the shore." A grunt of pain made her pause, and she looked behind her to see August's face twist as he rubbed his leg. "What's wrong?"

August walked past her, wincing in pain as he did. "Nothing."

Emma watched him limp over to the caution tape. "Doesn't seem like nothing," she said, walking towards him. "Hey, let me look."

August immediately veered away from her, shaking his head. "No, it's okay. Just a shin splint. Let me walk it off." Emma frowned but nodded, backing away from August to examine where Ruby had found the buried heart. August slowly paced nearby, never taking his eyes off her. "Sorry," he told her. "I know this must be hard on you."

Emma snorted, brushing aside a few rocks. "That's an understatement," she muttered. Her own mother was going to trial for murder, and August called it hard?

August stayed where he was, letting her search. "I don't know you that well, but . . . seems to me that you've got a whole lot of family backing you up. I believe that she's innocent, Emma, I do."

Emma absently brushed through the dirt in the hole, then her glove hit something that was definitely not dirt. She quickly snatched her hand away from the hole, her eyes wide. "August? Look."

August immediately walked to join her, watching as Emma plucked something out of the ground. "What is it?" he asked, holding out his hand.

Emma carefully dropped the metal fragment into his hand, watching as August brushed sand from it. "It's a shard," she said. "From a shovel. Must've broken off when it hit a rock." She looked down at where it was found, eyes widening. "If we can find the shovel that it broke off of, we can prove that Mary Margaret didn't bury the heart. We can prove she's innocent!"

August looked at her with a knowing smirk. "And I'm guessing you know exactly whose shovel it is."

Emma smirked in agreement.

***

Thankfully, Emma had all of the dinner at Granny's to plot her next move. After sending her family upstairs, she left to meet August, the man patiently waiting to join her. Together, they headed for the mayor's house, and Emma crouched in the shadows of the trees, watching attentively. A few moments passed, then her radio crackled. "The eagle is in the nest, and the package is secure," Henry announced.

Emma sighed and shook her head. "Henry, I left the code book at home."

Henry huffed in annoyance. "She's getting in the shower, and the keys are under the mat."

Emma nodded in satisfaction and led August along the path to the garage. She double checked her gloves then lifted the mat, finding the gold key underneath. She quickly unlocked the door then gave August a pointed look. "Don't touch a thing," she warned.

August nodded in agreement and held up his hands, both still covered in his leather riding gloves. Emma nodded and opened the door, clicking on her flashlight to see in the dark. August's flashlight beam joined hers a moment later, and the pair split up to peruse the supplies in the garage. Emma's brow furrowed, and she quietly snorted as she walked down the pristine rows. Why in Merlin's name was Regina's garage so . . . neat?

Her light bounced off a shovel at the end of the row, and her eyes widened when she saw the chip in it. "Hey!" she whispered, and August poked his head out from the aisle he had been searching. As Emma walked towards the shovel, he hurried to join her, holding up his flashlight as Emma opened up the evidence bag she had brought. She fished out the metal shard and gingerly held it up next to the shovel. It slotted perfectly into place, and she grinned victoriously. "We got her!"

***

When Emma returned to her room that night, she walked through the door to find her son and his two friends laughing as the nifflers sorted through a pile of Muggle change, causing her to snort in laughter as she took off her jacket. "Hey, kids," she said, toeing off her boots. "Why do the nifflers have Muggle money?"

Harry giggled sheepishly. "Hermione left her wallet out and, well . . . " He gestured to the nifflers chittering to each other, showing each other what they had.

"Oooh," Emma smirked, walking over to them. She quickly ran at Harry, who squealed in laughter as his mother tackled him, subsequently tackling Draco as well since the two were basically on top of each other.

Hermione laughed and leapt away from the group as Harry and Draco both let out loud laughs, his mother tickling them. "Mum!" Harry yelled amidst his laughter. "Stop! I give! I give!" He wiggled, trying to get out from under her, but to no avail.

Draco managed to get out from under the two, and having spotted Hermione giggling like a madwoman, ran at her, grabbing her sides and tickling her as well. "Gotcha!" Emma said, pulling Harry back to her as he tried to reach out to Hermione, who was busy with trying to get away from Draco.

Without any of them noticing, Queenie, Newt, David, Remus, Lucius and Narcissa were all standing at the door, watching the laughing group. "Dad!" Draco yelled, and with that, all of them stopped in their tracks, looking at the people gathered outside the door.

Newt was smirking, arms crossed, Queenie was giggling into her hand, David was snickering in amusement, Lucius and Narcissa wore matching smiles, and Remus was shaking his head. "What's all this, then?" Remus asked.

Emma huffed, sitting back, tugging Harry to her by the arm gently, and smiled. "Trying to lighten the mood," she replied. "I feel like we need that now more than ever."

"We absolutely do," Narcissa smiled in agreement.

While she and the others walked inside, Newt smirked and ran to tackle his sister and nephew, starting a new chorus of raucous laughter. It's good to just be, Emma mused in her head as she wrestled with her brother, Newt grinning maniacally.

***

The next morning, Newt stood next to Emma as she knocked on the mayor's door. "Are you absolutely sure?" he asked.

"As sure as I can be," Emma nodded.

Newt nodded in return, stepping back to give Emma the floor as Regina opened the door. "Can I help you, Sheriff Swan?" she asked.

"Yes," Emma nodded. "I need you to unlock the garage for me."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "And why would I do that?"

Newt held up the paper he held. "Because we have a search warrant that says that you have to."

He held out the warrant to Regina, who read it and scoffed. "On what grounds?"

Emma held up the evidence bag from her pocket, the metal shard lying innocently inside. "I found this near where the heart was buried. Figured whoever buried it might've left something behind. Then we got an anonymous call from someone who said they saw you digging near the toll bridge the day the heart was found."

Regina frowned. "An anonymous call," she repeated.

Emma shrugged, her smile implying butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. "Yeah, well . . . I can't control the fact they didn't leave a name. Guess they didn't want to risk pissing you off." Regina narrowed her eyes dubiously, and Emma's nonchalance vanished. "Now open the garage or we'll find a way to do it ourselves."

For a few seconds, Newt thought they might actually have to go that route based on Regina's expression. Finally, the mayor plastered a smile on her face and closed her door to lead Emma and Newt to the garage. She slotted her key into the lock and opened the door, gesturing the pair in ahead of her.

Emma beelined for the spot where she'd found the shovel the night before, but she stopped and stared in shock when she didn't find a chipped shovel. Instead, the shovel leaning against the table was fully intact, no blemish in sight. "Where is it?" she demanded, spinning around to face Emma.

Regina tilted her head, an expression of perfect innocence on her face. "Where is what, Sheriff?"

Emma's face drained of color, and she swallowed hard. "You knew I was coming," she realized.

"How on Earth would I know that?" Regina asked, voice betraying her confidence.

Emma walked closer to Regina, her hand twitching to grab her wand, and Newt quickly grabbed her upper arm to stop her from doing it. "Mary Margaret is a good person," he said, speaking for Emma when he saw her angrily grit her teeth. "She doesn't deserve this."

Regina didn't take the bait and instead looked at them with contempt in her gaze. "Miss Blanchard is a liar and a murderer. No matter what accusations you throw my way, that won't change. She is going to pay for what she's done. That woman has destroyed the last life she is ever going to destroy."

***

When they returned to the diner, Emma sent Newt upstairs to check on the children and see their progress on their homework. Newt didn't argue with her and veered off from her course to Emma's room while she marched up to and banged on August's door. It only took him a few seconds to open the door, and he blinked in surprise when he saw her. "Hey," he began.

"How could you do this?" Emma interrupted, and August reeled at the venom in her voice., "How could you do this to me? To Mary Margaret?"

August blinked rapidly, trying to keep up with her words. "Whoa, slow down," he frowned. "Do what?"

Emma swallowed hard, attempting to control her breathing. "The shovel was gone when I got there," she told him. "Regina knew I was coming for it."

Realization flickered in August's eyes, and he looked at Emma in disbelief. "You . . . you think that I told her?"

"You were the only other person who knew about it," Emma pointed out.

August's eyes narrowed, and he took a deep breath.. "I would hope that you would have enough faith to know that I would never betray you," he said quietly.

He sounded sincere, and Emma wanted to believe him. At the same time . . . this was her mother on the line. Her faith was in people who proved themselves to her. Her family had earned that faith. August, on the other hand . . . "Why should I?" she asked, almost regretting her words when she saw August recoil. "How do I know you're not lying about this? About everything?"

August pressed his lips firmly together. "I am not a liar," he said fiercely.

Emma shook her head sadly. That wasn't good enough. "That is exactly what a liar would say."

She turned and walked away, and she heard the faint sound of August shutting the door behind her. She paused at the end of the hallway and took a deep breath, then she looked up when she felt steel grey eyes on her. When she met Lucius's gaze, she knew he was thinking the exact same thing as her.

August hadn't been lying at all.

***

Queenie had grown used to delivering food to Emma, David, and Newt at the station when they were working, so it was no trouble at all for her to take Mary Margaret meals as well. The poor woman already had her life flipped upside down. Queenie wasn't going to let her starve.

When she arrived at the station in the evening to drop off her dinner, however, she stopped in her tracks and narrowed her eyes when she noticed Regina's car outside. What could the mayor possibly be doing here?

She hurried inside, quickly quieting her footsteps when she heard Regina's heels ahead of her. She pulled her wand, quickly cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself, and hurried slipped into the bullpen, where Regina was smirking at a sobbing Mary Margaret. "Having a bad day?" she drawled.

Mary Margaret's head shot up, shock filling her features as she looked at Regina. "What are you doing here?" she asked

Regina walked closer to the cell, hands clasped in front of her. "I wanted to see you while I can."

Her voice was smooth, but underneath was boiling emotion, one that made Queenie reach up to rub her forehead. This was the same anger she had felt during Mary Margaret's interrogation . . . only much stronger. "What does that mean?" Mary Margaret asked warily.

"Simply that the trial starts tomorrow, and it won't be a long one," Regina replied with a smirk. "Then you'll be sent out of Storybrooke for good, and I will never have to see you again." Mary Margaret stared at Regina with a mixture of horror and fear, and Regina chuckled, a menacing sound that made Queenie wince. "Ohh, I want to enjoy this while I still can."

"Enjoy what?" Mary Margaret whispered.

Regina had barely let her finish before she spoke. "Justice."

"Snow?" Queenie's head whipped up, but Regina's mouth hadn't moved. "Did—did you--tell her? About me and Daniel?" Disbelief and anger followed.

A young Snow White voice was next. "Yes!"

Regina's voice, firm and unyielding. "But I told you, very specifically, not to."

Anger filled Regina's veins in a rush of energy, roaring in her ears, making it difficult to hear Snow White's innocent explanation. "I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to lose your mother. Like I've lost mine." Anger surged, hot as wildfire, almost losing a meek question. "Are you mad?"

Regina took a breath. "No." Lies, Queenie thought, swallowing hard as Regina's bitterness swept over her. "I'm not mad at all. You were just trying to help me. However, I'm not marrying Daniel. This dress is for your father."

Snow White's voice held confusion, and intense sadness filled Regina. "But . . . I thought you were in love."

Regina's voice was cold, distant. "So did I, but I was wrong. Daniel has run away. What I had with Daniel wasn't real, it was an infatuation. See, that's the thing about love. It can come in the most unexpected places. Your father and I had something even more special because it's not just about the two of us. It's about all of us. We're going to be a family."

Snow White's voice sounded so innocent, so full of hope. "We are?"

Regina's voice held thinly veiled anger, but she used that veil to speak honeyed words into the young princess's ear, saying everything she wanted to hear. "That's right. I'm going to be your stepmother, and I couldn't be happier."

Snow White's genuine excitement and joy filled her voice as Regina lured her into her trap. "Me, too."

Queenie forced her eyes open, staring at Regina with an open mouth. This . . . this was why the Evil Queen despised Snow White so much? To the point she wanted to steal her happy ending? All because a child had tried to make everyone happy?

"Justice?!" Mary Margaret's voice rose in pitch, and she gawked at Regina in disbelief. "Watching an innocent suffer?"

Regina's head tilted as she considered Mary Margaret. "You've always seen yourself that way, haven't you?" she asked. "Innocent."

She sneered the word as if it was poison, and Mary Margaret rushed the bars. "I am innocent!" she cried. "I don't know what this is about, I don't know what I ever did to you, but whatever it was, Regina, I'm sorry! I truly am!"

Satisfaction flickered in Regina's eyes as she smirked. "Apology not accepted."

"Please!" Mary Margaret sobbed, clinging to the bars of her cell. "Don't do this to me! I don't deserve this! I did not kill Kathryn."

"Oh," Regina clicked her tongue as she reached out and caressed Mary Margaret's cheek. "I know." Mary Margaret's face froze, and Regina's blood red lips curled in a cruel smile as she gripped Mary Margaret's chin, making the teacher gasp. "But you do deserve this."

She shoved Mary Margaret away from her, and the school teacher stared after Regina with her mouth open and tears in her eyes. Queenie barely remembered to step out of Regina's way as the mayor headed for the door to the station, and she quickly followed so she could cancel her charm.

Before she could, however, she froze and pressed against the wall as Regina's voice hammered once more through her skull. "You knew the king was traveling through our land, didn't you? That steed with Snow on it didn't go wild on its own, did it?"

A new voice followed Regina's, clearly lying through her teeth while trying to sound innocent. "I have no idea what you're saying."

Regina's voice, once full of warmth and love, now only pulsing with ice and hate. "I should have let her die on that horse."

Queenie was glad she had leaned against the wall because when she snapped out of the onslaught of memories, she found herself crouched on the ground and leaning heavily against the bricks behind her. She let out her breath in a rush and canceled the Disillusionment Charm, burying her face in her hands afterwards. "Oh, Regina," she murmured. "Only love could be so cruel."

She took a few seconds to compose herself, then she took a deep breath and stood. She intentionally made her footsteps louder as she entered the bullpen, and she plastered a smile on her face as she approached a still stunned Mary Margaret. "Hey, hun," she said, extending the paper bag she held. "I brought you some pastries. I thought they might help you cheer up a bit with the trial tomorrow."

Mary Margaret wiped her face of tears and sighed as she took the offered bag. "Thank you." She peered into the bag, swallowing when she saw the blonde had included all of her favorites. "Queenie," she whispered with a hard swallow. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to prove you innocent," she said firmly, waiting for Mary Margaret to nod at her. "And then we're going to take Regina down."

***

Newt watched two police officers lead Mary Margaret out of the station in handcuffs, Emma supervising with a tight look on her face, and he turned to the man who had been silent most of the morning. "I seem to recall you saying you would be able to fix this," he said. "That you could make sure Regina didn't win."

Mr. Gold blinked at him. "Well, she hasn't yet."

"Really?" Newt raised an eyebrow, pointedly looking towards the door Mary Margaret was led out of. "Well, your window is closing, Gold. Not a lot of time for any magic tricks you want to pull."

Mr. Gold's eyes flashed, and Newt bit back a smirk. Got you, Rumplestiltskin. "Look, Mr. Scamander, I know this is emotional, but it's also not over," he said. "You must have faith. There's still time."

"Time for what?"

Emma's voice simmered with rage, and Mr. Gold turned towards her, barely pausing when he saw her red-rimmed eyes. "For me to conjure up a few magic tricks," he replied, following the police out the door.

White magic sparked off Emma's hands, and Newt waited until he heard the sound of cars driving away. "Go ahead."

Emma slid her wand into her hand and aimed at the most convenient target. "Reducto!"

Sidney's flower vase exploded into dust, and Newt coughed, waving away dirt and dust and flower petals as they fluttered in the air. "Feel better?"

"No," Emma groused, planting her hands on her desk. "But I can't do that to my computer, can I?"

"Probably not," Newt agreed, pulling out his wand with the intention of cleaning up the mess. He paused, however, when he spotted something amidst the dirt and dust. "Emma."

The sudden seriousness made Emma blink. "What?"

Newt reached into his pockets to slip on his dragonhide gloves, and he bent down to pick up something from the floor. When Emma rounded the desk to investigate, she froze in shock.

Newt stood from his crouch and held up a tiny device, the electronics still clicking. "I guess August wasn't the only one who knew."

***

When August stepped out of Granny's after breakfast, slipping on his motorcycle gloves, he found Emma standing in front of him with an apologetic smile on her face. "I'm sorry."

August frowned, walking down the steps to join her. "For what?"

"For doubting you," Emma replied. "I made a mistake."

She held up a plastic evidence bag, and August tilted his head to look at the device inside. "What's that?"

"Evidence," Emma answered, her frustration evident. "Evidence that proves I was a fool to let this bastard into my station again after all he's already done. I should've listened to you. This bug is from Sidney."

August furrowed his eyebrows. "The newspaper guy?" he asked in disbelief.

"The newspaper guy who's been on my 'do not trust without evidence' list since the sheriff's election," Emma grumbled. "I should've seen it."

"Oh, don't beat yourself up about it, Emma," August shook his head. Did he look proud? "Sometimes it's hard to see what's right in front of us. But I knew you would."

Emma let a small smile grace her face. "I'm trying."

A sharp scream pierced the air, causing both of them to jump. The door to the diner banged open, and Remus shot out with wide eyes. "That was Ruby!"

Emma bolted in the direction of the scream, her heart hammering in her chest. She heard August behind her along with two other pairs of feet. If one was Remus, the other was likely Victor. When she rounded the corner, Emma found a wide-eyed, pale-faced Ruby trembling where she stood, looking ready to faint at any moment. "Ruby?" Emma ran to support her godmother before she collapsed. "What's going on?"

"She - " Ruby gasped for breath, barely able to speak. "She's in the alley!"

"Who, Ruby?" Emma asked. "What happened?"

But Ruby could only shake her head, and as she stumbled backwards towards the diner wall, Remus leapt forward to grab her. "Ruby, hey, it's OK," he said, carefully guiding her to lean against the building. "Deep breaths, Ruby."

Satisfied that Ruby was in capable hands, Emma rounded the corner into the alley behind the diner, one hand hovering over her sidearm. She found someone feebly stirring in the parking area, and she gingerly walked over and crouched down. She barely registered the others joining her as she carefully rolled the figure over.

Wide blue-grey eyes stared up at her from a pale yet dirty face framed by stringy blonde hair, and Emma's own eyes widened in shock as exclamations sounded behind her. She couldn't blame them one bit.

Because it was a terrified and very much alive Kathryn Nolan that was staring up at Emma.

***

Hi everyone!

Soooo, this episode was a. . .pain in the butt. I struggled with this. BUT I got it done! Miss Moffat was super busy the last month and a half or so, so I did my best to get this out to you! It was good writing for this again. I've been working on this slowly since we posted the last chapter, I just haven't quite gotten around to finishing it till now.

We wanted to incorporate the flashbacks of this episode, so some of them are more fleshed out then you are probably used too, but I promise there's a reason!

Oh, look. Kathryn's alive! Haha. Anywho. How's we like this episode?

"The Return" is next so keep a lookout!

(Four more episodes to go with the inclusion of "The Return"!!!! Everyone hold on tight. We've got a LOT of new twists coming!)

As always, stay sane, stay safe, and stay reading! Xx

***

Man, I forgot what a doozy this episode was. So much of a doozy that we split it in two for you. How about that?

Big thanks to Miss Singer for writing it out! I did the editing, but the core work was all her, including organizing the flashbacks and whatnot. It's been a very busy month for me, and my writing groove is just starting to get back . . . just in time to barrel towards the end of the season!

"The Return" is coming soon!