Long Lost | Once Upon a Time (EDITING)

X. The New Neverland

Thunder rumbled throughout the air as the Jolly Roger broke through the barrier surrounding Storybrooke and prepared to land in the harbor below. It made a less than graceful landing in the ocean, causing water to splash up on all sides of the ship. Finally, being back in Storybrooke, or simply away from Neverland, relief washed over the group as they all stepped off the Jolly Roger the moment the accommodation ladder was extended to the docks. Only then did they see the large crowd of people waiting for them, ready to greet them all the moment they left the ship.

The cheers started with Henry walking out, the boy pausing as he looked down at them all with watchful eyes, but they didn't just stop with him. At each member stepping down to the docks below, the applauding citizens grew louder with their cheers. Grace was among the last few to join the crowd. Her green eyes flickered across the large group of people, hesitant to even subject herself to the celebratory gathering, seeing as how she hadn't known anyone there. Of course, her parents wouldn't allow this and merely pushed her to meet a vast majority of the people of Storybrooke. Though the girl didn't know any of them, they all seemed to recognize who she was, each person giving her a big hug every time. Many questioned how it was even possible that the family found each other, and every time, the teen answered with, "I guess fate's got a sense of humor."

Finally, after meeting most of the townspeople, Grace found herself standing with her family and chatting, her mother finding it hard to refrain from hugging the girl every other minute. She had given her daughter a lifetime of hugs within their short time away from Neverland, now that they were safely away from there.

"I have to admit, there was a minute there I didn't believe we were all going to make it out of that place." Emma commented, a single arm wrapped around Henry as she smiled down at the boy.

Grace chuckled at that. "It was, uh...more than a minute for me." She joked, earning a laugh from her sister. Snow and David merely smiled at the girl, seemingly still amazed that they had found her after all this time.

"Well, we did." David added while wrapping his arm around Snow.

The woman smiled up at him, taking in his words. It was then that Snow spotted Regina standing by herself near the ship, eyes downcast as the rest of the town celebrated Henry's safe return without ever glancing her way. Surprising everyone there, Snow brought attention to the woman by saying, "And we owe a lot of it to her. Regina helped save us all." Hearing this, the townspeople murmured to one another in astonishment, Regina appearing equally surprised by Snow's open praise. Grace's eyes softened at the sight, not realizing that the town wasn't ready to accept how much the woman's changed. Obviously, Grace had no idea what she's put these people through in the past, but the teen was willing to forgive her after seeing how determined she was to save Henry, and she hoped everyone else would as well.

After a while, the crowd around the docks began to dissipate, retreating to their homes or to Granny's Diner, where they would be celebrating the group's return later that day. Before the group left, they joined Mr. Gold and Belle beside the ship and asked about Pan's Shadow, to which Gold assured them all by saying it was trapped on the sail, just as it was in the candle, and that the only person that could free it was locked in Pandora's Box. It was then that Henry called them all over, drawing their attention back to Felix. Only then did they realize that they needed to do something with him. After all, he was still loyal to Pan, and even though Pan had been defeated, they didn't want to take their chances. While David mentioned taking him to one of the cells at the police station, Grace insisted on a coffin instead, earning many disapproving glances at her threat to kill the boy for a third time.

After David took care of Felix in a way that was disappointing to Grace, they all decided to go to Granny's. The diner was filled with people, all eating and drinking while praising the group for their safe return. Snow, David, and Emma seemed to want to catch up with many of the people there. However, Grace felt uncomfortable with the amount of socializing going on and found herself sticking by Hook at the counter. Ironically, Hook turned out to be the only one there she felt the most comfortable around. It was weird for her to admit, seeing as how she had her family now, but as far as she knew before meeting them all just a few short days ago, Hook was her family. Ironically, even after all the hard situations they'd been through together, she actually knows and trusts him a whole lot more than anyone else there.