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Astrid was sitting in a booth beside Hook as Emma sat across from them.

Zephyr was sitting in between the pirate and his mother as he ate a cupcake, white frosting on his cheek.

Henry entered inside of the diner and now sat down beside Emma, "Just finished signing in the last of the newcomers. I had everyone write down who they were traveling with, so we can add up who's still out there."

"Huh." Emma nodded, impressed, as Hook also agreed, "Clever boy."

"Emma, hi!" Ashley (Cinderella) suddenly spoke up as she held her five year old daughter, Alexandra's hand in her as she walked closely beside her.

"Ashley, hi!" Emma smiled, glancing over at the light curly haired girl, "Hey, Alexandra, how are you? You guys want to sit down and join us?"

Zephyr glanced over at the girl his age as Alexandra also looked over at him, the two becoming shy and hiding behind their mothers.

Ashley shook her head, saying, "Oh, no, thank you. Thomas is just getting us some food to go. And I don't want to take up your time. I know you're busy, but with all these new people, I just... I thought that I should help somehow."

Ashley added, "And since I'm running the daycare, I figured why not offer them free babysitting. Anyway, I was hoping to maybe get a look at that list just to see who brought kids."

Hook turned the book around to face her, saying, "Well, if you can understand these scribbles, then be our guest."

Ashley smiled and began to look through the pages of different names.

Henry noticed a woman in almost a nun-like outfit but not quite and stood up, "Someone new. Mom, Astrid, want to come help?"

"That's what we do, buddy." Astrid smiled at her nephew and then glanced down at her son, "We'll be right back. Stay here with Grandpa Hook, okay?"

Zephyr nodded and watched his mother, aunt, and cousin step over to the counter where the woman was at.

Alexandra moved and sat down next to the five year old boy and smiled at him, extending her hand towards him, "Hi, I'm Alexandra."

Zephyr smiled back at her, shaking her hand in his, "Zephyr."

Hook grinned down at the two kids next to him and got their attention by putting whip cream on the tip of his nose, which made them giggle.

At that, both Astrid and Emma glanced behind them and at the three, which made the two fondly smile.

Astrid glanced at Emma who then turned her attention back on the new guest.

Hook remarked towards Ashley, "Quite a little charmer you got here."

"Thanks to Emma." Ashley replied, "If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have any of this. What about the two of you, anyway? Any chance of a fairytale ending?"

Hook glance back at the two five year olds laughing and talking between one another as he admitted, "Uh, we're taking things slow. Quite slow, actually. I'm still sleeping on a cot on a pirate ship near a pregnant woman who likes to snore."

"I have a good feeling about you and Emma," Ashley grinned, "Believe me, if I can get a happy ending, anyone can."

Alexandra moved her thumb lightly across Zephyr's cheek and wiped off the frosting as he smiled gratefully.

Astrid walked back over to their table, saying, "You ready, Kid? We've gotta meet up with Regina and your other grandparents."

Zephyr nodded and glanced back at his new friend, "You and me."

Alexandra nodded and agreed, "Me and you."

Zephyr then crawled underneath the table and and stood out of the booth, now taking his mother's hand in his.

"See you later, guys," Astrid called over to her family as Zephyr added, "Bye, Alex!"

Alexandra waved at the boy as she watched the two of them leave out of the diner.

***

"So, your little science experiment can really tell us why the Evil a Queen is still alive and how to destroy her?" Regina questioned Jekyll as he began to set up some ingredients out in the woods.

"It's a possibility, if I can re-create the serum that split you," Jekyll explained as he added something to a blue liquid to see it bubble but not turn red.

He sighed, "Sorry. I need my lab, my equipment. It's a world away."

"Well, in this world, we don't give up so easily," David spoke up in between his wife and Astrid.

"Come on, there's got to be something else inside we can use," Astrid added and led her father and Jekyll inside of the crashed blimp behind them.

Zephyr stood beside Snow as they faced Regina who remarked, "He's as useless as his other half."

"Regina, he's trying to help," Snow began.

"I know. I'm just... I'm sick of being one step behind her." Regina replied.

Zephyr looked up at the raven haired woman thoughtfully, speaking up, "So, get a step ahead. She thinks like you. Try thinking like her."

Snow looked down at her youngest grandson and remarked, "You know, you're so much like your mother, Zep."

Zephyr grinned at that as Regina commented, "Fine. I used to be good at this. When you want to tear families apart, you... you look for the cracks that are already there. Like Zelena and me. I have to talk to my sister."

Regina then walked away just as Astrid and David carried a box in each of their hands and set it on the table.

David noticed his wife's look on her face and moved his hands on her arms, "Hey. We will find a way to defeat the Evil Queen. We always do."

"Is this our life now?" Snow started, "Just defeat and repeat?" She sighed, "I just want things to be normal someday."

"What does normal even look like?" Astrid remarked in amusement.

Snow laughed, "Well, it might sound crazy, but for twenty-eight years, things were normal."

Simultaneously, both David and Astrid commented curiously, "When we were cursed?" "When you guys were cursed?"

"There was a downside." Snow laughed some, adding, "I liked teaching."

"That was Mary Margaret," David reminded her as his wife inquired, "And why can't a princess be a teacher? What's more noble than that? I'd like to teach again. Is that crazy?"

David smiled, nudging his daughter some, and assured his wife, "That... is the most normal thing I've heard in a long time."

He kissed Snow on the lips then before she glanced back at the stuff and realized something. "What?"

"I think I have a way to help Jekyll," Snow informed them and nodded a little.

***

David walked over to Gold's shop as Astrid and Zephyr walked close behind him.

She didn't want to leave her father alone to deal with the Dark One, so she came with him.

"Hello, Sheriff, Artemis," Gold spoke up while he finished setting up some glass chess pieces at the counter, "Thought you would be on patrol right now."

David placed his father's coin next to the man on the counter, "Where'd you get this? This was my father's coin. I need to know if his death was really an accident."

Astrid stepped over on Gold's other side while keeping a protective arm in front of her son, David adding, "So, what do you say we skip right to the part where you offer me a deal?"

"Oh, I do like candor," Gold replied, "Almost as much as I like deals." He sighed, "So, yes, the coin was mine for a time. And lucky for you, I'm a stickler for records."

Gold moved behind the other counter and opened a drawer, pulling out a slip of paper, "Now, here we are."

"Name your price," David replied.

"Now you're talking," Gold commented, glancing over at Astrid and back at David, "But I must warn you, the more desperate the man, the higher the price, and you seem quite desperate. So, I have to ask you, how badly do you want a deal?"

Astrid held up a hand to stop her father from saying anything and spoke up, "No. You'll do this because, like it or not, you're part of the family, my brother-in law, my son's uncle."

Gold looked over at her and sighed, "All right. Here. This one time." He handed her the card that had information on the coin.

Astrid gratefully nodded and handed the card over to her father who smiled some at her.

Before the three of them could leave, Gold stopped Astrid and sighed, "Just deliver this to Belle... Please."

Astrid took the cassette tape from him and nodded, "Okay."

***

David knocked on the open door as they smiled at Belle who was sitting at the table reading a pregnancy book, "Hey."

"David, Astrid, Zephyr, hi. Come in." Belle greeted and stood up, "Do you guys want to sit down?"

Zephyr began playing with the golden telescope behind them while Astrid politely said, "No, thanks. I'll stand."

"What, uh, what brings you here?" Belle inquired curiously.

"Nothing much," David replied and sighed, "We have something for you. From your husband."

Astrid pulled out the tape from the inside of her leather jacket and held it out to the woman, "We have no idea what it says. We're just the messenger."

"You? A messenger?" Belle began suspiciously towards David who nodded a little, "What did you need from him?"

"He has information about my father," David admitted, "About his death."

"And you had to make a deal to get it? Sounds like my husband." Belle murmured.

Astrid spoke up at that, "Actually... he did it this time because we're family."

Belle nodded before saying, "And I'm sorry. I'm sure it must not have been easy growing up without your father."

"It was," David replied, "Of course, it wasn't easy when he was there, either." He chuckled, "Drunk and sad."

Astrid placed a light hand on her dad's arm as he looked over at her and nodded a little.

"Hmm," Belle began, "I guess it's hard to say which is worse for some fathers."

David pauses some as he thought about that before finally saying, "Gone. It was worse having him gone."

"Fathers and sons. It's hard for you, I think." Belle commented, "Because no matter what the damage to the relationship, you need each other."

"Hmm," David nodded at that.

Astrid glanced over at her son looking out the window through the telescope and couldn't help but miss Peter all over again.

***

Astrid glanced down at her five year old asleep in her arms in their bedroom. It was currently one in the morning, and she couldn't sleep.

It had been six weeks since her husband had sacrificed his life for her, and the pain was still there.

But, oddly, it felt like Peter Pan wasn't really gone.

And she knew how crazy that sounded, being that he was literally wiped out of existence with that Olympian crystal.

Astrid moved a soft hand on the back of her son's curly head as her other hand moved to the pan flute pendant around her neck.

Oh, Peter, wherever you are, I hope you're safe and at peace, She thought sadly.

Astrid carefully and gently moved out of bed and headed over to the door, glancing back to find her son still sound asleep.

She moved downstairs and noticed her father sitting at the table before he stood up and started to head over to their bed.

David stopped and glanced over at the stairs to find his daughter now standing on the last step, "Astrid, what're you doing up?"

One hand of hers still gripped the pendant around her neck as tears filled her eyes.

Astrid shook her head somewhat quickly, trying not to cry as she sat down on the stairs, her knees to her chest.

David walked over to her and sat next to her, moving a fatherly arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

Astrid laid her head on his shoulder and started crying, "It hurts so bloody much... I just miss him, and- and he won't get to see Zep grow up, and-"

David kissed the side of her head and comforted her softly, "I know, I know. And I can't say anything that won't make it hurt any less, but he died knowing that because he did love you truly, A."

Astrid kept crying and found herself unable to stop, which she hated very much and pissed her off.

"I-I didn't even get to bloody say goodbye, and now it's... He's gone." Astrid wept, burying her face on his shoulder, "It's been six weeks, and he's still bloody gone. Why does it hurt so bad still?"

"Because you did- and still do- love him, A," David murmured, "And you always will, but you won't hurt forever and will be happy again. I promise."

Astrid sniffled and sat up somewhat as she stared in front of them at nothing in particular.

"All I know... I don't want my son to lose his mother, too." Astrid quietly began, "I don't want to lose anyone else."

"I know, kid," David slowly nodded and kissed the top of her head again in assurance, "I know."

The two of them sat there for a little bit longer before they went to bed for the night-- or just tried to with the different things going on in both of their minds.

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