The last few days had been wonderful, hot sunny weather, perfect for going for long walks or swims or a general lazy day out. Unfortunately, those kind of days had to come to an end eventually. And it was just Killian's luck that the nice days came to an end just as he decided to go for a long walk to meet his daughters love's mother. In fact it was one of the worst days they had in a long while, rain coming down in buckets at a time and dark clouds that swirled overhead, threatening a nasty storm at any moment, along with a strong wind that repeatedly tried to knock him off his feet every time he took a step forward.

Part of him considered just turning back around, doing this whole trip another day instead, but a bigger part of him was too stubborn to call it quits after he had already come so far. In fact he was much closer to Zelena's house than he was camp at this point anyway. It'd just make his journey even longer if he turned back now. No, he knew he might as well keep going, even if his feet were sinking deeper and deeper into the mud as it grew constantly softer under the rains endless wash, leaving thick brown and green stained puddles every three steps he took. It was beginning to feel as sticky and soft as quick sand. It made walking twice as hard and he struggled to drag himself forward, ripping his boots out of the earth and charging ahead a little faster in hopes of getting out of the wet weather as quickly as he could.

When he approached the gates of Zelena's farm, he was surprised to find a woman waiting for him just on the other side. He hadn't told anyone he was coming, in fact he had gone out of his way to get the location of her home in secret so that this would be a private moment between the two of them. Yet it seemed that was all for nought as the woman that could only be Zelena stood on the other side of the gate, umbrella hanging overhead, watching and waiting for him patiently like it was an arranged meeting they had planned in advance.

Killian approached slightly quicker now, putting on a friendly smile that he hoped didn't look too pathetic on his dampened, water dripping face. He reached up, pushing the hair stuck to his skin out of the way of his forehead, knowing it did little to help fix up his appearance, before coming to a stop a decent way away from her and the gate, allowing her some space. He didn't want to frighten her by just charging into her home like it was his own.

"Zelena Mills?" Killian asked, holding out a hand and moving slightly closer. "My name's-"

"I know who you are." Zelena interrupted calmly. "I've met your other self. And Regina told me you were coming."

"How did Regina know?" Killian blinked, taken aback.

"She had a feeling you'd want to talk and after you disappeared today, she took an educated guess." Zelena explained. "She's annoyingly intuitive like that sometimes."

"I see." Killian chuckled, then waved his hooked hand slightly. "May I come in? Out of the rain, I mean."

Zelena hesitated for a second, though it was impossible for Killian to tell what she was thinking. In fact she had an almost expert poker face as she looked him up and down in a way that made him feel like he was in an interview where she was deciding whether or not to give him a chance and he had no idea which way she was going to go. When a long few seconds had passed, she reached down, unlocking and pulling the gate open, silently waving a hand for him to enter. After he stepped passed she quickly locked the gate back up behind him and began to lead Killian towards her small home not far off.

She must have placed a layer of magic over the fields around her home, as the ground underneath him was hit with as much rain as anywhere else, yet the dirt and mud remained solid under his feet. Neither of them sank with each step, almost like they walked along a bridge of concrete. When he glanced around he saw much of the area was the same, not necessarily rock hard but definitely firm. And even the animal pens seemed to be mostly protected from everything but the slightest spit down of rain, refreshing them without freezing them when they ventured outside of their shelters. It was impressive.

As they came closer to the house, Killian found himself more interested in Zelena than he was her home. She wasn't what he had expected. Regina had told him a little of her, and Robin had spoke of her as well, but neither had included detailed descriptions. For some reason he had expected a taller, older version of Robin. A woman who could easily have been mistaken for her twin except maybe with darker hair like her actual sister. Instead there were similarities, but also many obvious differences. One of which being as simple as the way she held herself. Robin moved like that of a huntress. Stealthy and quietly, keeping her head down and blending in with the world around it. Zelena walked very much like Regina did. Like a queen. She had her head held high and strode like the rest of the world would fold out of her way naturally. It wasn't egotistical either. Just... Proud was probably the best word for it.

Once inside, she lowered her umbrella and tucked it out of the way in the corner by the door, moving silently into the far room on the right while Killian was left to hover in the doorway, unsure if he should be removing his mucky boots before walking any further into her home. But on the other hand, the walk here hadn't been easy and needless to say his feet had grown increasingly hot during the travel and it might be more rude to take them off.

In the end he kicked and scraped as much of the dirt off as he could on the door frame outside and pulled off his dripping coat, hanging it away from the others on one of the hangers by the wall. When Zelena didn't make a reappearance, he followed her through into the same room which turned out to be the kitchen.

"Tea?" Zelena asked, not looking up as she made herself a drink by the window.

"Water, if I may?" Killian asked. "Never quite got a taste for tea, to be honest."

Zelena smirked, glancing over to him. "The Killian I know would have asked for rum."

"Well we're not the same person." Killian said, a little stiffly now. He knew it must be weird for them, but he was still getting a little tired of repeating himself. "I haven't had a drink of rum for years now and I don't plan on starting up again any time soon."

"Fair enough," Zelena said, filling a glass with cold water and holding it out to him. "So what brings you to my home, Not-Killian."

"Just Killian would be fine." Killian said pointedly. "And I thought that it was time we met. Considering our daughters are... Together."

Zelena turned around, holding her tea in between her hands close to her lips and raised an eyebrow at him. "Disappointed?"

Killian scowled, unsure how to take that. "No. Why would I be?" He demanded.

She shrugged. "You'd be surprised how some people would react to finding out their daughter was dating someone related to the Wicked Witch."

"The Wicked Witch?" Killian blinked. "Can't say I've ever heard of you before so there's no reason to be disappointed."

Zelena looked suddenly offended. "So what? I'm just not in your world? You've got to be kidding me. I'm infamous in the Land of Oz."

"Well, sorry, but I've never heard of that place either. And I've travelled a lot in my time." Killian explained.

"Why am I not surprised." Zelena grumbled, pushing away from the counter tops. "Anyway. I'm sure you didn't just come here in the pouring rain for a simple introduction."

Killian wondered what had happened in this woman's life to make her so sceptical of people. She seemed like she was just expecting the outright worse from him. Maybe it had something to do with his Other Self, but Regina hadn't told him much about her sister. Nothing to imply that they had any kind of a relationship, negative or otherwise in that other world.

"Well," Killian said slowly. "While we're on the subject, maybe we should get the obvious out of the way. I'm not here to threaten you or your child, but Robin being a girl won't stop me from protecting Alice if she ever hurts her."

Zelena snorted loudly. "Oh, I see. So you've come to play the role of protective pappy." She sneered. "Well you can just reel it in there, Pirate. Not only would Robin never hurt anyone, least of all the girl she's seeing romantically, but I'm pretty sure Alice could take care of herself if anything did happen between them."

"You don't know Alice." Killian said sharply. "She puts on a strong front but she's been through hell. She's lived her whole life trapped in a tower, and then we had the curse put on us so we couldn't even be together, and still can't. I was forced to abandon her in that tower so that she had to find a way to escape all on her own, and even after she escaped, she was still alone, having to travel by herself with no idea what the outside world was really like. She's not as tough as she likes people to think. She's a sweet girl inside, one who is spooked by little things and alone more than anyone else even when she's with people." He came to a stop and took a slow breath, feeling embarrassed by his outburst. "Sorry. I just don't want you to overestimate her and get the wrong idea."

"Maybe you should stop underestimating her." Zelena said calmly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Killian frowned.

"It means that she's stronger than you give her credit for." Zelena explained. "I know about her past. I got Robin to tell me everything right after I met her and if you ask me, her past just goes to prove how strong she really is. Because despite all that, she's still smiling. She still laughs. And she still goes on all these adventures. She may have suffered but she hasn't let that suffering get to her. And trust me, I know what I'm talking about." She paused, walking around to lean against the wall closer to him. "Regina may not have told you much about me, but I suffered as a child. My birth mother abandoned me and my adopted father hated me. I let that define me. When I saw what Regina had, I became so jealous that I let myself be consumed by darkness, much like Regina did after her true love was murdered." She paused and smirked. "Much like you."

"Do you have a point?" Killian asked sharply, not liking when he was reminded of his darker past.

"Yes. You, Regina and myself suffered. We had bad childhoods, rough lives growing up, and we allowed ourselves to fall into evil and despair. Meanwhile, Alice has suffered with a bad childhood and a rough life growing up, yet she hasn't even once considered the darker side of life. She's still seeing the good in people, she's still finding love and happiness. She's still fighting for what she wants without hurting anyone else in the process." Zelena shrugged, raising an eyebrow as she took a sip of her tea. "She's a lot stronger than you give credit for. You're a father, so you're going to worry. I'm just saying maybe you don't need to, at least not so much."

Killian found himself temporarily speechless. When he finally found his voice, he looked down shamefully. "I suppose I didn't think of it like that."

"On top of that," Zelena added. "She's travelled all over and faced plenty of adventures. So she clearly can take care of herself physically as well."

Chuckling, Killian nodded. "That is true."

"Come on. If you plan on staying then let's have a seat." Zelena said, leading him into the living room where she took a seat on the sofa, crossing her legs and watching him.

Killian hesitated, again very self conscious about how soaked through he was and what it would do to her furniture, but when Zelena didn't comment he settled down on the edge of one of the sofa seats, glass of water still untouched in his hand.

He felt almost foolish now. He looked at Alice through fatherly eyes, and found he saw her weaknesses more than he did her strengths. He wanted to keep her safe but, the truth was, she had lived a long time without him now thanks to their damn curse. So when it came down to it, maybe she didn't need him to keep her safe any more. Even less now that she had Robin.

Killian found himself saddened by the thought. Even if he didn't see her as much as he liked, he still wasn't ready to let go of being her protector.

"I apologise." Killian said finally. "I-"

"Don't worry about it." Zelena said with another half shrug. "Believe me I understand. But you don't need to worry. If either of us does, it's probably me."

"You? Worry about what?" Killian frowned.

"Robin, of course." Zelena insisted.

Killian shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm lost. What exactly do you have to worry about Robin for?"

"Alice has proven time and time again that she can take care of herself and handle the harsher aspects of life." Zelena explained. "Robin... Not so much. She grew up pretty sheltered in Storybrooke. I always wanted to protect her." She smiled sadly. "Accept I couldn't. Not always." She sighed, putting her tea on the table. "Robin was bullied a lot all through school, because of who I was... Let's just say I did some things I'm not proud of, including some things to Robin's father, though if it came down to it, I certainly wouldn't change a thing. But these kids at school would torment her with this information and pick on her constantly. I wanted to deal with them myself but Regina convinced me not to. She said it would only make things worse...

"In the end that was part of the reason we left. Robin thought it was because we were both unsatisfied with life but, to be honest, I was fine in Storybrooke. But I knew she wasn't. So I moved her here. And she was happier but... Because of the move, she's never had many real friends. After being bullied in school and coming here, she's been very isolated from other people her age." She looked at Killian. "Alice can handle rejection and the harsher bits of life because she's lived through it. Robin has never had to even think about those things. If Alice, or anyone else let's say, were to hurt her... I honestly don't know how she'd react." She shook her head sadly. "She may not have suffered as much as Alice but that doesn't mean her whole life has been easy."

Killian listened to Zelena talk, nodding slowly. He could somewhat understand what Zelena was trying to say. Being unprepared for heartache was almost as bad as suffering it constantly.

"You said I underestimate Alice..." Killian said slowly, wording his thoughts carefully in case he offended her. "Well. I think you underestimate Robin."

"Oh this ought to be good." Zelena sneered. "Tell me, pirate. How do I underestimate Robin? And do remember that, unlike you, I haven't missed any time with my child."

Killian gave her a cold look. One that told her she may have pushed it a bit far. She hadn't meant it in a mean spirited way, but instead simply factual. After all, it was true.

"You underestimate her," Killian said tensely. "Because you assume that she's unprepared. And maybe she is. But that doesn't mean she'll automatically be weak when it happens. Sometimes strength doesn't come from experience, sometimes it just comes from a secret place inside us that we didn't even know existed." He paused. "I... Made a mistake when Alice first told me about her and Robin." Killian said slowly.

"Oh yes, I heard all about that." Zelena sneered. "Smooth, by the way."

"I made a mistake." Killian said sharply. "And Alice was upset. And it was Robin who came after me. We didn't get much of a chance to talk. I was kicking myself for my mistake. But even in the short time we had, I saw Robin take charge. She didn't let anything phase her, even her own anger, which I could see she had even when she tried to hide it. She was furious, most likely at me for upsetting Alice in the way that I did, but she held it back like the smart and mature young woman that she is, handling it all with ease." He went on. "Maybe Robin isn't prepared, for the worst life has to offer but I don't think that'll be the end of her."

Zelena was quiet. Then shrugged. "Maybe you have a point. Guess we won't know until one of our girls breaks the others heart."

"I don't think that'll happen." Killian said quietly. "I saw the way they looked at each other. I think what they have is true."

"Yeah well, even the truest of loves can end badly." Zelena said quietly and she suddenly had a far away look in her eyes.

"Speaking from experience?" Killian asked.

"Yes." Zelena said unabashed.

"My condolences." Killian said, bowing his head.

"Don't worry about it." Zelena said, waving her hand. "It's in the past. I've moved on."

After that, the two fell into an stretched silence. Killian was unsure of what to say to follow that statement and Zelena didn't seem very interested in filling the conversation on her part. She picked up her drink and took another slow sip, not even looking at him. She might as well have been sitting in the room on her own. Killian wasn't sure if this was just who she was, or if she was caught up in old memories of lost loves.

Looking for something to do, Killian grabbed his water and took a long sip of his own. When he had left the camp this morning with the intention of meeting Robin's mother, he hadn't thought what he would be saying to her when they did meet. Then again, he hadn't much thought about it at all. He'd been so focussed on finding his way, he hadn't given himself a chance to think about anything else, like what he would do after he got here.

"Where are the girls?" Killian asked, simply to fill the silence.

"Out probably." Zelena shrugged. "They're both pretty active. Don't really spend much time at home."

"Yes. Alice doesn't like sitting around for very long. Even back in the tower she loved to climb on the walls every second she wasn't sleeping." Killian chuckled softly.

Zelena smiled – a real smile, too. "Robin was very much the same. The second she learned to walk, she was running. I had to put her in a child harness whenever we went out or else I'd lose her or spend my day using magic to pull her out of the way of cars and other people all the time."

"Guess they are pretty perfect for each other." Killian noted softly.

"I suppose they are." Zelena said, still smiling.

Killian suddenly smirked at her. "You know, if they ever tied the knot, that would technically make us family."

Zelena physically cringed. "Ugh. Don't remind me."

"Is my other self really that bad?" Killian asked, feigning hurt.

"Let's just say that Regina's nickname for your other self was 'Guy-liner'." Zelena stated.

"Well that doesn't really tell me much." Killian shrugged. "She calls me that as well. And several other creative things that make me wonder about my other self."

Zelena allowed herself her first little laugh of the evening, finishing off her tea and placing the empty cup on the table in front of her before sitting back. "That's my baby sister for you."

"If you don't mind me asking, you're Regina's sister but I've never seen you before. Don't you visit her?" Killian asked slowly.

"I visit plenty." Zelena said. "I just don't stride through town on my own feet and make a show of things."

Killian frowned, not understanding. "Oh." He said finally. "You use magic."

With that she was back to her usual smirk. "It comes in handy."

Zelena was definitely an acquired taste and it wasn't one that Killian fancied having to deal with too often, but at the same time he had strangely enjoyed the short visit. But maybe it was best to keep it a short visit. Nodding his head with a small smile of his own, Killian downed the rest of his glass of water and stood up.

"I suppose I should head out. I've disturbed your peace long enough." Killian explained.

"Yes, you have." Zelena said, though she had a playful smile on her lips to show she wasn't completely serious. At least not completely.

Even if she had the occasional cold reception, Zelena still stood to formally show him to the door like any good host would. Killian instinctively moved to collect his glass for her but Zelena beat him to it with the wave of her fingers, making all the washing vanish in a small cloud of green smoke without even looking over her shoulder. In the end Killian trailed behind her, both impressed and a little sceptical. (Would it really have been that much of an effort to simply carry it to the room right across the hall?) Maybe it was just a witch thing, though he didn't think even Regina used her magic as much as Zelena seemed to.

At the open door, he could see the rain outside was still pouring heavily but not as heavily as when he had first arrived. At the very least maybe his feet wouldn't sink quite so much when he walked.

"You know," Zelena said just before he stepped outside into the cold. He turned to find her crossed arms and eyeing him with a tight lip like she tasted something foul. "I suppose you're not as bad as the Other Pirate was."

"Really?" Killian raised an eyebrow, unsure of whether or not to take that as a compliment. At least she was accepting him and the other version of him as two separate people.

"Yeah." Zelena nodded slowly, looking him up and down critically again, once again judging him in a way where he had no idea what she was thinking. "Being a father brings out the best in you."

Killian hadn't expected that. He smiled at her. "Thank you."

Zelena nodded, smiling back with another genuine smile. Then suddenly it vanished. "This doesn't make us friends or anything, by the way." She said sharply. "And I dread the day I ever have to introduce you to anyone I know as family."

Chuckling and not the slightest bit offended, Killian shrugged. "Alright then. For what's it's worth, you don't seem nearly as Wicked as your name would let on."

"Oh you don't know me very well at all," Zelena smirked.

With that Killian left for camp and Zelena shut the door behind him. After a moment, two girls appeared from behind one of the thicker trees surrounding the farm, one crouching slightly under the other, watching one of their parents depart while the other returned inside. Both had very confused and slightly worried expressions on their faces.

"What on earth is papa doing leaving your house?" Alice asked.

"I don't know," Robin said uneasily. "But knowing mum, it cannot be good." She looked down at her love. "I apologise in advance."

Alice glanced up at her, half shrugging and half smiling. "Same."