Needing to keep busy as they waited for Emma and Regina as well as David and Killian to each do their parts before they could go and rescue everyone from the slowly destructing town, Odette found herself standing behind the counter at Granny's as she prepared two cups of hot cocoa, trying to work without constantly bumping her arm into the hilt of her sword. If they were going home, she sure as hell wasn't leaving it behind.
"It's all gonna turn out okay, kid. You'll see." She tried to cheer up Henry who sat on one of the stools with a face so sad it made Odette willing to do anything to cheer him up. He was always the one who looked at everything with optimism, she couldn't understand why this time was any different. "Nobody's gonna let you be left alone, okay?"
"It's not that, it's about..." Henry started to explain, looking up at Odette and noticing the curious look in her eyes as she gently nodded for him to go on. Only then did Henry realize she didn't actually know what else could be bothering him. "Odette, something else happened." He said, making her brows furrow in confusion. No one had mentioned anything else.
But before Henry could either, the small bell above Granny's door rang out, and all eyes turned to watch David and Killian rush inside, Emma shortly behind them as David announced he got the bean. It was enough to get everyone to stir and stand to their feet. All were ready to get out of here before it's too late.
"Wh—where's my mom?" Henry asked, being the first to notice Regina's absence as he stepped towards Emma with a worried look on his face. The question made others start wondering the same thing.
Somewhat hesitant, Emma placed her hands on her son's shoulders as she started to explain. "Regina can hold off the self-destruct device long enough for us to escape, but..." She trailed off, unsure of how to tell him what would ultimately happen in the end.
"But what?"
"She won't survive."
"No. No." Henry violently shook his head, ready to protest the idea with everything he had but Emma put a stop to it before he could even start.
"Henry, I'm sorry. I promised her I'd get you to safety." Emma pleaded with her son. She knew from the start it would be hard to convince him to do it like this, but in her mind, there was no other choice.
"But we can't do this! She's family! We don't leave family behind!" Henry continued to put up a fight. And this time, he had someone joining him in it.
"I'm with the kid," Odette spoke up, making Emma turn around so she could look at her too. Despite the anger she may have felt towards Regina, Odette wasn't about to let this just happen. It wasn't right. "We can't just save ourselves at the expense of Regina's life."
"This is what she wants. We have a way out. We have to take it." Emma tried again.
"We saved her from being killed by the Wraith. How is this any different?" Henry questioned, and while there was an argument to be made about all the ways in which it really was a different situation, mention of the Wraith still had an idea coming up in Odette's mind.
"It's not!" She finally said in a proud voice that made everyone turn to her with questioning looks.
"What?" Emma questioned, confused by what Odette was on about.
"We do the same thing as we did then. We don't use the bean for us, we use it to send the self-destruct through a portal instead." Odette suggested, looking around the room and hoping someone would be willing to back her up. She knew it was an outrageous idea, but based on all that she knew about portals, there was a good chance it would work.
"It's a good idea." Luckily, Mary Margaret was the first to speak up, David nodding his head in agreement from beside her. They seemed to easily get on board with it.
Unlike Emma. "No, it's not. Because we don't know if it's gonna work." The blonde pointed out stubbornly. But the problem was, she got her stubbornness from her mother.
"It could." Snow continued to insist.
"It's too risky. No one will go along with it." Emma pointed out.
"Yes, we will." Archie stepped forward from the crowd surrounding the debating family. "Because it's the right thing to do." He pointed out to Emma before addressing the rest of the people gathered in the diner. "Look, Snow White and the Prince have always led us before, Odette too, and we've always won. So, who's willing to let them lead us again?"
His words were met with a chorus of agreement, everyone coming to support the idea openly as Mary Margaret and Odette both thanked the man. "This is what we should do." Snow nodded her head at Emma, her voice hopeful and full of belief that the plan would work.
"And will do." David added on, he himself entirely convinced by now.
"Look, I know we haven't had a lot of chances to be parents but give us this one. Let us do the right thing. It's not too late." Snow pleaded with her daughter all the while Emma pulled Henry into a tight embrace, all of this obviously making her worries about what may happen to him grow.
"I just don't want him to be alone. I don't want him to grow up the way I did." She revealed her main reason for resisting the idea, making David and Snow give their daughter a sympathetic look.
But before they could say anything, a loud booming noise echoed around them, and the ground started to shake beneath their feet. Stronger than any of the times it had done so before. Odette grabbed on to the counter in an attempt to hold herself steady until it passed. At which point, Emma stepped back, speaking up once again. "This plan could fail. If we use that bean now, we can get away for sure. We will survive."
"But it's wrong. Emma, I killed her mother." Snow pointed out, that reason alone being why they should do this for Regina. She owed it to her to give Odette's plan a chance.
"You did that to Cora because you had to." Emma tried to reason.
"I did it because it was easy. It was a mistake. There were other paths, harder paths, and I wish I had taken them." Snow said, and she was the one who knew best when talking of Cora. "So please, Emma, honey, let's take the hard path. Because if we don't we will be building a future on Regina's blood."
Emma hesitated for a few more long moments before everything her parents were saying started to sink in. And then she agreed. "Okay." She breathed out, and with a proud smile David tossed the pouch holding the bean towards his daughter. But before Emma could grab hold of it, it was Hook instead who caught it.
"You're all mad. I can live with myself." He said in a firm tone, evading Emma and David who tried to reach for the pouch again. But it was Odette who stood closest to him since he had to reach around her to catch it in the first place. And while she didn't manage to grab the pouch, she did take a hold of his forearm, pulling him back and forcing the pirate to turn around and look at her.
"Give it back." She said in a voice that held a tinge of warning.
"If she wants to die for us, I say let her." Killian protested.
"I get it, I understand what you're doing. Look out for yourself, and you'll never get hurt, right?" Odette questioned him, knowing that was his way. And that too was the easy way. But it came with a cost.
"Worked quite well for me." He answered coldly.
"It's a lonely path. And let me tell you something about loneliness, Killian. It's a curse. Sooner or later, you're going to look around and realize you have no one. Not really." She said, her voice sounding like she had a good understanding of it.
For a few moments, she let a silence hang in the air, giving him a chance for her words to sink in before she continued. "Your chance to stop that from happening is right here and right now. Because we're doing this. So... you can join us and be a part of something, or you can do what you do best and be alone."
A few more moments passed, Odette and everyone else standing close behind her, all waiting to see what the pirate would do. And then letting out relieved breaths as he handed it to her. "Quite passionate, love." Killian commented, watching as Odette quickly passed the pouch to Emma. However, before she could walk away, Killian leaned closer as he posed a question. "Why are you really doing this?"
If there was anyone he'd been expecting to stand against this plan, it would have been her. After all, it was less than an hour ago that she was still cold and distant with the Queen, unforgiving for what she'd done before.
"Because she's family." Odette said simply, eyes going to Emma as she stepped up beside her, adding more to the reasons why they had to take this path.
"The kid just lost his father today. I'm not letting him lose a mother too." Emma's words had Odette's eyes widening as she now entirely let go of Killian in her surprise.
"What?" She breathed out in shock, a sad look coming over her face that made Killian's brows furrow. He didn't even know Henry's father was in town, much less that he'd mattered to the group.
"His father? Who's Henry's father?" He questioned.
"Neal." Emma said.
"Baelfire?" Hook now let his own surprise show.
"Yeah." Emma nodded her head, giving herself a moment to gather her thoughts and clear them of Neal again before she turned to Odette. "Come on, we don't have much time left." She said, starting to head for the door expecting the blonde to follow.
And she did, but not before sparing Killian one last glance. "Thank you." She said quietly before finally walking away, leaving the pirate standing alone in the diner as he began to ponder his next move.
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I just want to let everyone know that the next chapter is the last chapter of season two.
Meaning in no time, we'll be getting to season three aka the best season. And I cannot wait!!