────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟓
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒

────── ★★★ ──────

After trying and failing multiple times to heal the wound in the Wish Realm Killian's side, Everly helped her world's Killian move his injured doppelganger against a nearby barrel. The two pirates continued to talk amongst each other in an attempt to keep the injured one awake while the blonde woman once again attempted to fix his side. When she failed for the umpteenth time, she fell backward into a sitting position on the stone path. Frustration flowed through the girl's veins as she placed her head in her hands and tried to think of another solution to save the man.

"Hey, you need to stay awake till either Everly figures out her magic problem or Emma gets here," the raven-haired man said when his lookalike's head fell to one side, "tell me about your daughter."

That simple statement made Everly peek through her fingers to watch the identical pirates. Even though she knew that in his world her relationship with the raven-haired man was nothing close to what she had with Killian, she was curious about what this version of Captain Hook's daughter was like. What her replacement in this other world was like.

"A vengeful witch trapped her in a prison. Every day, I'd sneak in to play chess with her. But I was discovered...and punished," he explained through his labored breaths while a wave of confusion washed over Everly as she continued to listen to the tale that sounded much more like the story based on her life than her own.

"My heart was poisoned...cursed. So I can never...save her. I knew...I knew that true love was the cure. So I roamed the realms seeking it, but it was futile. Then I thought maybe Emma..." He hesitated for a moment before pulling out a small black chess piece from his coat pocket and placing it in Killian's hand, "it's her rook. She has my knight. Find her. Give that to her."

The pirate captain clenched his hand around the chess piece while staring at his injured double. Once another moment of sitting in pure silence passed, Killian grabbed Everly's wrist and pulled her away from the injured man so that the two of them could have a private conversation. Just by the look on the man's face, the Purest Heart knew exactly what he was asking of her. After letting out a sigh and rubbing her hands down the sides of her face, her blue eyes met his one last time before Everly finally opened her mouth to speak. "I tried, Killian. I really did. But my magic doesn't work the way I want it to in this realm."

"You and I both know that if it were me, you'd find a way. Find the part in him, the part that's me," he retaliated as he watched his daughter with determination in his eyes before placing his hand on her shoulder, "I know you can do it, Evie."

As soon as she let another long breath pass over her lips, she sent the raven-haired man a small nod. It wasn't long after that when she pushed past him and made her way toward his injured lookalike. Everly just stood in front of him for a short moment before squatting down to be at eye-level with the man. When he didn't meet her gaze right away, the blonde-haired woman grabbed his chin and forced his blue eyes to meet hers.

"Hey...Hook," Everly said while the man continued to stare back at her with mixed emotions in his eyes, "I know the me you know isn't the most...pleasant person, but I'm not her. In my world, we're closer than two people who met in an alleyway should be."

The Purest Heart hesitated for a moment at the sight of a single tear streaming down the man's cheek before she cleared her throat and found the courage within her to keep talking. "I need you to trust me the way my version of you does. Because what's the point of living without trusting those who care about you?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Hook sent her a small smile that she gladly returned before Everly looked down at the wound on his side once again. All the doubt she felt moments ago evaporated into thin air as she waved her hand over the cut, causing it to shimmer a bright gold before it began to heal itself. Despite his painful grunts, the Purest Heart kept going until the injury was gone.

"Thank you," Hook whispered, drawing Everly's attention away from his side to meet his eyes once again.

She simply responded to the man with a small smile before offering her hand and helping him to his feet. Once Hook was able to steady himself, the three pirates began their journey back into the forest and toward where their allies waited for them.

────── ★★★ ──────

The next morning, everyone was gathered in the clearing outside the small cabin they slept in and enjoying the weather gifted to them by that realm. While Sam and Katherine sat on a log hand-in-hand next to Austin and Roland, Everly and Felix were leaning against a nearby tree, the latter's arm wrapped around the woman's shoulders. Smiles appeared on all six of their faces as they watched the three toddlers they brought with them run around in the grass without a care in the world.

On the other side of the small field, Emma and Henry were having a private conversation while the Hook doppelgangers were talking amongst themselves. When the two pirates made their way over to her sister and nephew, Everly looked over in their direction just in time to see Killian hand the chess piece over to Hook before she leaned closer to Felix's side.

"Are both of these pirates gonna be on my back now?" the former Lost Boy asked while Cassie ran over to her parents and planted herself in Everly's lap, "because one was bad enough."

"You don't need to worry about Hook. The Wish Realm didn't make us...close," the blonde woman responded while starting to braid her daughter's hair.

"Hook?"

"Well, I'm not calling him 'Killian.' That would just be confusing."

When she looked back over at the group on the other side of the clearing, Everly caught Hook and Henry shaking hands as if making some sort of deal. Confusion filled every inch of the woman's body at the sight before Emma, Killian, and Hook made their way toward the small cabin while Henry walked over to them.

"It really was great seeing all of you again," the Mills man said with a smile before Marci and Will sprinted toward him. The grin on his face did nothing but grow as he picked up the twins then his eyes landed on the small girl sitting in his aunt's lap. "And it was nice meeting the three of you."

"Well, it doesn't necessarily have to be 'goodbye,'" Sam told him, causing the smile on Henry's face to drop as he stared back at us with a confused look on his face.

"We were thinking about staying and maybe helping you out a bit," Katherine elaborated while looking around at the greenery that surrounded us, "we all missed this."

"What about Cassie and the twins?"

"I think we all know that no one in this group is the poster parent for parenthood," Roland scoffed before getting his feet and hopping over Everly's legs to stand next to Henry, "they did bring me back to Storybrooke when the Black Fairy was there after all."

"In our defense, we wanted to send you back to the Merry Men's camp. You chose to come back with us," Everly retaliated while failing to hold back the smile forming on her face.

"We didn't necessarily stop him from coming back with us though," Austin added before their laughter cut through the forest before Henry left to go talk to Regina.

After telling Killian and Emma their plans to stay with Henry to help him on his quest, the Savior was thankful that her son had more people with him to keep him safe while her pirate husband was a little less sure. Even though there was another version of himself keeping his family safe, Killian wasn't happy with his children and grandchildren staying behind, but he wasn't going to stop them either.

When Henry and Regina finally joined them in the clearing, the former Evil Queen shared the news of her staying as well before everyone began saying their goodbyes. A bittersweet feeling swept through Everly as she and Killian shared a long hug. She knew she was making the right choice due to her life in Storybrooke not being exactly what she wanted. But she was also never prepared to say her goodbyes to the pirate who took her in when no one else would. No matter how many times she had to before this very moment.

"Stay safe, alright?" the pirate captain whispered while Emma and Henry were having a private conversation a few feet away from them, "and make sure Henry, Roland, Sam, and Felix don't do anything foolish."

"Shouldn't you be telling Sam that about me?" Everly responded as a small smile made its way onto her lips.

"I already did. He's watching out for you, Austin, and Katherine. And you all better keep those kids safe."

"Of course we will. And make sure you tell Snow, David, and Neal that I'll be back soon."

After receiving a nod from the pirate in response, Everly gave him one last hug then he took Emma's into his. Everyone watched as the couple walked to the other side of the clearing before Killian threw a magic bean on the ground in front of him. While a portal formed in the air behind them, the pirate and the Savior looked back at us one last time before turning around and jumping into the portal, taking them back to Storybrooke.

────── ★★★ ──────

After dropping Cassie off at her friend's house for a sleepover, Everly and Roland picked up a pizza from Ablaze before making their way back to their apartment. The blonde woman grabbed a couple of plates from the cabinet and set them on the table in the center of the room while the brunette boy grabbed a few drinks from the fridge for them. Once everything was set, the Purest Heart turned on the TV for some background noise before the two of them began eating.

Silence surrounded the two of them as they went through the food faster than either of them thought possible. When the stillness became too much to bear, Everly set her slice of pizza on the plate in front of her before glancing up at Roland, only to find him staring back at her with a hint of purpose in his eyes.

"Penny for your thoughts?" the blonde woman asked him the question she always asked her daughter when she had something on her mind.

"Why were you so determined to help that guy back at the recital?" the son of Robin Hood asked while keeping his eyes glued to the woman across from him.

"Well, I wasn't gonna let him get pushed around by someone like Weaver."

"You acted like the detective was attacking a member of your family or something."

"If I explained what was going through my head, it would just make everything that much more confusing, Roland," Everly responded before watching the boy's eyebrows furrow together in confusion at the same time she realized her mistake.

When she got up to clear the table and escape the awkward situation she created, one of the glasses slipped out of her hands and shattered on the floor, causing both of them to jump at the sudden sound but neither of them moved to clean it up. Silence surrounded them once again as they just stared at each other before Everly snapped out of her daze and got to her feet to find a broom dustpan to clean up her mess.

When she returned to the dining room, she found Roland on the floor cleaning up the glass with nothing but his hands. Just as she was about to tell him to use the broom, Roland shouted in pain before falling back into a sitting position on the ground while cradling his hand. Without thinking twice, Everly raced forward and grabbed his wrist to inspect the wound, only for Roland's entire body to stiffen and his movements to still.

Confusion flowed through the Purest Heart's head as she looked up to meet the boy's eyes, only to find him staring blankly at the wall in front of him as if watching a movie that wasn't there. When he finally snapped out of his daze, his attention quickly fell on the woman in front of him before a single tear rolled down his cheek.

"Everly?" Every muscle in her body tensed and her blood ran cold at the sound of her real name which she hadn't heard in a year while Roland stared back at her with somewhat of a relieved expression on his face.

Before either of them had a chance to respond, the sound of their phones going off cut through the silence. Neither of them looked away from the other for a long moment before Everly finally reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone to see a message from Regina.

REGINA:
Rogers, Henry, and I are
planning on taking down
Belfrey. You guys in?

Everly didn't even have to look up at her adoptive son to know what he was thinking before she typed a response for the both of them.

EVERLY:
Of course we're in.

────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────