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whimsicallyenchantedrose · 10 months

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The Girls’ Trip Fairy Tale Ending--Chapter 2 of 5

Summary: This is my combined birthday gift for Joni ( @jrob64 ), Marta ( @snowbellewells ) and Krystal ( @kmomof4 ). Happy birthday ladies! Four fandom friends are nearing the end of their annual girls’ trip when they’re suddenly visited by Isaac, the author before Henry. He gives them an each a gift--an opportunity to jump into any scene in the storybook they want and fix it. Large focus on CS, although other characters and relationships will be explored. A big shoutout to @hollyethecurious and @winterbaby89 for betaing!

Word Count: 2116

Other chapters: (1) (3) (4)

Can also be found on: (ao3) (ff.net)

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Chapter 2

Joni dropped to the ground with an “oof”. She rolled her eyes as she got to her feet and brushed herself off. She really shouldn’t be surprised that Isaac made stepping into the book this difficult, should she?

Looking around, she found herself in the giant’s outer courtyard. She couldn’t be entirely sure when in the story she’d landed, but she knew what she wanted to fix, so she could make a relatively educated guess. At any rate, the action was taking place inside, so that’s where she needed to be.

Joni made her way through the giant’s enormous front door and looked around. In one corner stood the giant pile of rubble under which she knew Hook was currently buried. As she began the rather long trek toward him, she saw Emma rush in and begin moving stones and then reaching for the man buried beneath.

It was a surreal feeling, Joni thought, as she continued forward. She was about to meet her favorite characters. Oh, she’d met Colin O’Donoghue at a con, of course, but Colin was not Hook. She knew, however, that this was not the time for fangirling. This was the time to make her plan about how she was going to fix this situation.

She had to get to them before Emma left Hook behind! If she didn’t make it in time, she could free him herself, of course, but it wouldn’t have the same effect. She needed Emma to realize she could trust him.

“Swan!”

Joni heard Hook’s furious shout just as Emma turned and fairly sprinted toward the castle door, and Joni knew this was her chance. She stopped Emma with a hand to her shoulder.

“Think about what you’re doing,” Joni said softly.

“I am!” Emma said with a growl. “I’m doing what I have to do to get back to my son!”

Joni shook her head. “No, you’re not, you’re running. I heard what you said, that you can’t take a chance that you’re wrong about him. You’re not.”

“How the hell would you know that?” Emma retorted angrily. “He’s a pirate, and we both just met him!”

“I know that because …” Joni thought fast, searching for some way to explain her knowledge of Hook’s character. Suddenly she smiled. “I know that because I know you. I know your superpower.”

“And?”

“And, look at what you said!” Joni replied. “You didn’t say you think he’s untrustworthy. You said you can’t take a chance that you’re wrong about him. If that’s the case, that means you know deep down that you can trust him. You’re just afraid.”

Emma crossed her arms and frowned. “Afraid of what?”

“Afraid of him becoming important to you.”

Emma glanced aside, making a skeptical sound.

“Look,” Joni said, “It’s not like I’m saying you need to fall in love with the guy, go through literal hell to save him, get married and have his baby or anything. I’m just saying, let’s be strategic about this. Even if you aren’t ready to fully trust him, think about it. He may be… squirrelly… but he’s proven himself to be resourceful, and he’s knowledgeable about both this land and about Cora’s plans. He can be a huge asset to us.”

That seemed to get through to her. For a moment, all that could be heard was Hook’s continued colorful invectives and shouts of her name. Finally Emma nodded. “I suppose you’re right.”

“I was a teacher, after all,” Joni said. “I know things.”

“Besides,” Emma said, “we’re probably better off keeping him with us than against us.”

“So let’s go free him and get off this beanstalk before Mulan cuts it down,” Joni said.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Joni opened her eyes, not even aware she’d closed them. Looking around, she realized she was no longer on the beanstalk. She was in a dank stone cave, behind a set of spiky bars.

Rumplestiltskin’s cell.

It was eerie how she randomly traveled from place to place, from time to time, within this story. It was more than a little disconcerting and disorienting.

Shaking her head, Joni decided to put aside her musings of how she got here for later and just focus on the situation at hand. She’d accomplished her objective at the top of the beanstalk, so she assumed the rest of her adventure–whatever that may consist of–must largely involve her observing what was going on around her, rather than affecting the outcome–although, make no mistake. If Isaac continued to make them do stupid things, she was getting involved.

That being the case, she looked around seeing Aurora in the far corner of the cell, bemoaning the fact that this was her fault, because she’d let Cora take her heart. Beside her, Mulan comforted her. Emma stood at the bars, hacking fruitlessly away at them with her sword, while Mary Margaret and Hook stood back and watched.

“That won’t work, love,” Hook said, stepping up to Emma and putting a hand on her shoulder. “Rumplestiltskin himself couldn’t break out of these bars.”

The fight drained from Emma, and she slowly slid down until she was seated on the stone floor against the wall, her head bowed, defeat written all over her face.

“It’s pointless anyway,” Emma said finally. “She’s got the dust; she’s got the compass. She’s probably in Storybrooke already and we’re still stuck here with no way out.”

“Emma, we’ll find a way!” Snow White said cheerfully, taking a seat beside her daughter and hugging her. “We will succeed.”

“Really?” Emma asked, turning jaded eyes her way. “How exactly will we do that? What the hell use are any of us against a witch as powerful as Cora?”

“Far be it from me to side with the heroes,” Hook said, taking a seat opposite Emma, “but I must agree with your mother here, Swan. Look at this. Look closely.”

Hook produced the scroll on which Rumple had written Emma’s name over and over and over again, presenting it to her.

Emma scoffed.

“I’m quite serious, love,” Hook continued. “My old demon may be a right bastard, but he could see the future, and he knew you would be extraordinary.”

“Is that what you think this parchment is about?” Emma asked, tossing it back at him. “I’m not extraordinary. I’m not a savior. I’m only what he made me. All that’s special about me is due to the fact that Rumple-freaking-stiltskin needed someone to break his curse so he could… well I have no idea what his big plan is, but that’s neither here nor there.”

Hook shook his head. “The Dark One may be able to manipulate circumstances to achieve his ends, but he doesn’t have the power to make someone something that they’re not. You’re not special because the Dark One wrote your name on this parchment in squid ink. The Dark One wrote your name on this parchment in squid ink because you’re special.”

Suddenly Hook got to his feet, excitement in his eyes. “The squid ink! I know how we can get out of here and stop Cora!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Joni blinked, and suddenly she found herself on the banks of Lake Nostos.

Interesting.

She couldn’t wait to see how this scene played out given the changes she’d made.

All around her was chaos. Cora tossed magic and fireballs in every direction, while the princess squad and Hook fought her off, looking for an opening, any way to separate her from the compass. Next to them, the lake swirled and bubbled.

A fireball whizzed past Joni’s head, and she had to lean back in order to avoid it. She wondered about the rules of this situation Isaac had put her into. What would happen to a person from the real world if they got killed within the storybook? Would they stay dead?

She decided she didn’t want to find out. Taking several steps back, she separated herself from the action.

All around her, the scene played out much as it had in canon. Snow managed to shoot the compass from Cora’s hand. Mulan deflected her magic with her sword. Emma ran off in search of the now liberated compass, and Hook saved Aurora’s heart with his cheeky line about women losing their hearts over them.

Suddenly, Emma spotted the compass in the sand, and turned to reach for it just as Cora sent a bolt of magic her way.

“Look out, Swan!” Hook shouted, seeing the danger approaching. He launched himself into her, knocking her flat on her back, and landing atop her. He quickly levered himself up so as not to crush her, but Joni could see the flirtatious look in his eyes when he realized their compromising position.

“Normally, I prefer to do other more enjoyable activities with a woman on her back,” he said cheekily. “With our lives on the line, though, you’ve left me with no choice.”

Emma rolled her eyes, and pushed him aside. “What, you gonna be all pirate-y and jab me with your sword?”

Hook got to his feet and offered her a hand up as he chuckled,then leaned in and winked at her. His grin turned wicked while his voice got low and intimate. “When I jab you with my sword, you’ll feel it.”

For a moment, Emma seemed lost in those flirtatious eyes (and Joni wondered how anyone could blame her), but then she shook her head, and reached down for the compass.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Joni felt herself being pulled away, and she could tell something was different as scenes began to flash past her. It was as though previously she’d been a part of the action, and now she was watching a montage of the rest of season 2.

Much of the action played out the same as it had in canon.

There were some differences, of course. Without Hook and the desiccated bean he’d kept, Cora was never able to get to Storybrooke. Consequently, she was never able to turn Regina fully to her side, nor was Archie ever believed to be dead, nor did the Mills women kill Johanna.

Joni had hoped her intervention would have been enough to keep Hook on team hero, but it proved to be too big an ask. He was intrigued by Emma already, of course, but it wasn’t enough to turn him from his life’s purpose. He’d slunk off as soon as he’d emerged from the wishing well, looking for an opportunity to properly skin his crocodile. He’d indeed followed Emma and Rumple to New York and stabbed him. He’d indeed made the (incredibly stupid) choice to throw in his lot with Greg and Tamara.

And in the end, he’d indeed returned to team hero at the last minute with the bean needed to get them to Neverland to rescue Henry.

All in all, Joni’s actions had created little more than a ripple in the initial story, but as the story moved forward, that ripple grew and spread. Emma was quicker to trust him, their bond stronger from the first. Opening her heart to the possibilities Hook represented made it far easier for him to climb inside and heal the broken pieces within.

Isaac may have made dire predictions about the problems meddling with his precious storyline would cause, but Joni knew the truth: She’d made a difference for the good.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Joni blinked once more, and suddenly she was back in the living room of the rental cabin, her friends and Isaac looking at her with eager eyes.

“So?” Krystal asked. “What happened? How was it?”

“Ah, ah, ah!” Isaac said. “No discussion until everyone’s had their turn! Who’s next?”

“I’ll go!” Marta said, setting her laptop aside and getting to her feet.

“Where to?” Isaac asked.

“I know just the scene,” Marta said.

Suddenly the pages of the book began to flutter again, and it opened to a page with the drawing of a large wolf and the Mills family mausoleum.

Notes:

–Happy birthday Joni! I hope your day is filled with happiness and pirates! (At least the hot fictional ones in black leather)

–When I asked what scene each person would want to go to to fix, Joni’s answer was the beanstalk. She wanted to tell Emma that she could trust that she was right about Hook, and so voila! Here is how I imagine that scene playing out–and the subsequent changes to season 2!

–Up next, on August 15, we have Marta’s birthday. To what is, I’m sure, absolutely NO ONE’S surprise, Marta requested a Graham scene. What would have happened if someone (Marta) convinced Emma that Graham was right about his heart and she was able to stop Regina before she crushed it?

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#ouat fanfiction #girls' trip fanfiction #captain swan fanfiction #fandom friends' birthday fics #2x06 Tallahassee fanfiction #my fanfiction

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