[center]Storybrooke: Chapter 1 The Curse
Day 10 Character Summary[/center]
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[hider=Robert Leland]
During Miner's Day, Robert provided security, and pondered some of the mysterious events that had happened last week. He encountered Regina hassling Marco for lower prices, and confronted her about her behavior and her refusal to answer his questions. He made it clear that she needs to turn Mason over to the proper authorities, and let her know that he wouldn't tolerate any delays. Tomorrow, Robert plans to pick Mason up from Regina's himself if she refuses to cooperate.[/hider]

[hider=Dr. Faye Stevenson]
During the entire week, Faye's alternate persona didn't take over, and because of this Faye became a little more extroverted. She worked not only on the hospital, but also on the hospital's fundraiser for Miners' Day. She had planned to have a dunk tank for their fundraiser, however nobody wanted to volunteer to be the 'victim'. 

With a brilliant idea on her part, Faye headed to Granny's to ask Henry. When he comes up to her and talks to her, he asked her for shelter since he had been evicted. She agreed and she asked him to be the guinea pig for her fundraiser in return. 

They reach the Town Square at the Hospital's booth, which was next to Granny's. However, nobody was interested in dunking Henry, until Ruby and Regina took part. Thanks to Ruby and Regina, the hospital reached the quota for the funds needed for the fundraiser. After that, Faye volunteered to help the nuns sell candles alongside Henry. 

She went to the hospital and met up with Knox, and after speaking with him, he bought all thirty six candles that she carried. She quickly headed back to the nunnery to pick up more candles, but she soon found that Henry mentally broke down after seeing a nun and she went to try and coax him out. She managed to draw him out of the bathroom, only to learn that he wanted to talk to Mr. Gold. 

When the both of them left the nunnery, Henry suddenly acted out and broke the circuit breaker and caused a black out. Faye was initially not pleased because if she hadn't had the back up generators set up at the hospital, Henry would've endangered the patients in the hospital. But that anger went away at the sight of the candles being sold and from Henry's kiss. 

She went with Henry to Mr. Gold's shop and waited outside for him, before they continued on to talk to Mark. After Henry asked Mark to talk to David, and gave the book to David, Faye led Henry back to her home.

After she tended to Henry's wound, he kissed her again, but Faye quickly left. After some minutes, Henry was lured out to the living room, and the mysterious woman attacked Henry. While they spoke to each other, the woman learned that Henry had his memories and that he knew that she was none other than Hyde. 

Henry managed to prevent Hyde from killing him, long enough for the lights and cameras to regain power and come back on. Hyde settled for something else other than murdering someone and gave Henry the satisfaction of 'wanting' him back.[/hider]

[hider=Ruby]
Ruby was busy helping Granny pack up the goodies they had spent all week cooking in the kitchen to sell at Miners Day and Ruby took the packaged boxes and drove them in her car to set up a booth. She and Knox hadn't been able to spend much time with one another because of how busy the both of them had been with work, and that their working schedules were complete opposites. As she set up the booth for Granny, Ruby couldn't help but to feel just a bit jealous as she watched the couples of Storybrooke walking around hand-in-hand as they looked over what Miners Day had to offer. Unfortunately, even on today, Knox was working.

As Ruby was setting up the stall, she noticed that she was set up next to Dr. Stevenson's booth for her fundraiser for ALS, and then noticed that Henry had somehow got suckered into volunteering. Ruby wasn't ever one to shun Henry away because of what The Daily Mirror said, if anything it made Ruby like him even more because she knew too what it was like to be the talk of the town.

Faye offered for Ruby to be the first one to dunk Henry, but Ruby knew it would take more than that to get other's in on it for Dr. Stevenson to raise enough money for the charity, and so Ruby grabbed a ball threw it at the target, missing but shouting at Henry loud enough for other's to hear, giving them the idea that by throwing balls and dunking the town creep seemed like a good idea. Ruby was on her third try when the ball slipped from her hand and rolled down the street a ways, stopping under Regina's foot. The entire area went silent as Regina picked it up and considered what to do with it. She was obviously in a foul mood given the expression on her face, but Ruby was surprised when the Mayor threw the ball and knocked Henry down into the tank.

The onlookers immediately rushed to get into line. Not only dunking the town creep was a good idea, but now their own Mayor was in on it. Ruby didn't think that's what Regina had initially intended, but it got the fundraiser going with a bang and Ruby continued to do whatever she could to help manage both her booth and Dr. Stevenson's. Granny arrived shortly after, noticing the act that Ruby had gotten started and complimented her granddaughter, and then getting her own idea and slapping up a sign to get their picture taken with Henry for only five dollars. It seemed a bit outrageous, to Ruby at least, but the jokes Granny put out there about wanting a picture with him herself made Ruby smile, realizing she wasn't the only one that didn't give into the town theme of hating Henry.

Granny had "somehow" gotten the indication that Ruby was missing Knox as the day went on, and out of the goodness of the old woman's heart she sent Ruby off with a basket of goodies to 'give to the poor men at the hospital who had to work all day.' Ruby saw right through that though, it was Granny's way of allowing Ruby to go and see Knox, and she went with eager haste. She found Knox in the security room looking over recorded tapes so Ruby took it upon herself to pause the tapes and make him take a break.

It didn't take too long before Ruby and Knox had taken advantage of the situation that they were both alone and hadn't been alone for almost a week. It wasn't until the power suddenly went out that Knox and Ruby were pulled from one another (literally) and Knox had to do his job and had to go and check on the patients and make sure the backup generators were working, and Ruby volunteered to help, a little dejected that their activity hadn't gone as far as she would have liked, but she understood that there were more pressing matters at hand. She spent the remainder of the night patrolling the upstairs, bored, but knowing that she was doing good by helping at least.[/hider]

[hider=Mr. Gold]
In a flashback, the duel between Killian Jones and Rumpelstiltskin commenced at dawn, just as Rumpelstiltskin had said. The fight was very one-sided, as Rumpelstiltskin had his magic to keep the sword from causing any harm and even disappearing when Killian thought he might have tricked The Dark One. Rumpelstiltskin kicked the pirate down to his knees, conveying how it felt to have his family stolen, and to show Killian just how much pain he was in, Rumpelstiltskin reached his hand into the pirate's chest, ready to rip out his heart when he heard a female voice calling out for him to stop. Turning his head, Rumpelstiltskin nearly fell back as he realized it was Milah, dressed appropriately for a pirate life and realized right then and there that Milah and Baelfire had not been kidnapped...Milah had taken Baelfire and left him.

Mr. Gold found himself in front of the church, speaking with Mother Superior about the rent. He informed her that since they were a few minutes late in last months rent, that he was doubling it this month. Both of them knew that the [i]only[/i] way the nuns could get that much money to save their church, they would have to sell every single candle at Miners Day, a feat that Mother Superior knew to be impossible, but Mr. Gold knew better. He'd just have to do some work Henry first.

He found Henry talking with Mark Dufresne and David Nolan, also noting that Regina's little boy Mason was in the mix. He caught the tail end of their conversation, hearing that Henry was offering to help sell candles with Mark for the nuns, and Mr. Gold couldn't help but to smile. As David left, Mr. Gold made himself known, commenting on how [i]charming[/i] it was that Henry was offering to help out, but he and Henry both knew what he really meant. There was more that Mr. Gold needed to do, however. Even with Henry volunteering to help, not all the candles would be sold, and so Mr. Gold dropped two bits of information to Henry, one being that he needed to return to the nuns and see if he found anyone...familiar...the other being the lights that would come up along the square once the sun went down.

Mr. Gold knew the bit about the lights didn't register too much with Henry, he seemed to know right away what Mr. Gold was speaking of when it came to the nuns bit and became distracted, but Mr. Gold knew that all he needed to do was plant the thought, and the rest would follow as the day progressed. With his 'seeds' planted into Henry's mind, Mr. Gold no longer had business with the group and bid his farewell, walking away leaving Henry confused.

He returned to his shop later that evening, not at all surprised that Regina had finally found him and started making demands that he get the necissary paperwork to make Mason hers legally. He couldn't say no, however, since Regina posessed something he still needed, and they made the trade; a magical item brought over from The Enchanted Forest for Regina's motherhood. That he had expected, what he didn't expect was when Regina flat-out stated that she didn't abandon children, unlike he. That struck a raw nerve in Mr. Gold, so much that Regina left the shop with an amused smirk. He managed to keep his composure until the woman was gone, but once she left he broke down, unable to hold onto what strength he had any longer.

He was about two hours into drinking when Henry finally found his way into Mr. Gold's shop. The power had gone out an hour ago leaving Mr. Gold and Henry to converse by candlelight, the same candles that the nuns had sold but no one would ever recall selling Mr. Gold any. Despite being drunk, however, Mr. Gold managed to keep the conversation when Henry asked him why his sister was here, and Mr. Gold then deflected the answer to what Cora, The Queen of Hearts had told him during his time in Wonderland where he had sent Henry back at Regina's castle.

Mr. Gold tried to continue smoking his cigerette but a coughing fit overtook him, and Henry wasn't able to get much any more out of Mr. Gold after that other than breaking the curse was more important now than ever. He was dying, for one, and for another his sister needed her memories back, a motive that Mr. Gold played against Henry in order for him to break the curse even quicker. Henry also learned that it was all because of Mr. Gold. Henry had sold all the candles, and because he saved the nun's from Mr. Gold's eviction, he was now a 'hero' in Storybrooke, and no longer the creep The Daily Mirror had made him out to be.

Not much more could be said as Mr. Gold was succumbing more and more into his sickness, and Henry was forced to leave him but at least Mr. Gold now had the satisfaction of knowing that only a few steps were needed now before the curse was broken, and then he could go find Baelfire at last.[/hider]

[hider=Knox Kowalski]
Due to Miner’s day, Knox is working to cover for the general lack for security. Monitoring the surveillance room, the guy is met with a pleasant surprise in the form of a certain waitress, who has gotten his attentions this week only during their mornings together. Ruby brought treats, and also sticks to him like glue…his first instinct is to reject, being happy then moody about small things she mentions…but some neck massaging softens him up, and Knox is putty in her hands.

Getting dangerously intimate, with food products in between, here and there…a blackout comes in like a wrecking ball, and Knox is back in business mode. Time to do security guard stuffs, since the power is out.[/hider]

[hider=Henry Carlyle]
Having become more hole up and quiet due to his brief jail stint and a bawdy, over-exaggerated newspaper article about him, Henry Carlyle was an outcast of Storyrooke. Though the charges against him were quite easily dropped (thanks to the law expertise of Mr. Gold), Regina’s influence on the citizens was enough to make him nothing short of completely shunned. Things went from bad to worse when Regina called to “remind” Granny of a ‘No-felons’ clause in the city ordinance, forcing the old woman to evict Henry from his own residence.

Alone, hated, and homeless – Henry decided he would at least stay at the diner for a bit as a deterrent from the cold weather that Storybrooke was experiencing. The townsfolk weren’t happy to see him, and either whispered venomous things under their breath, or even outright left the diner.

Henry noticed Dr. Faye Stevenson at a booth with a fellow colleague. Though he felt compelled to speak to her, fear of rejection held him back – and he merely watched for a time.

Swallowing his fear for the sake of gambling on Faye’s generosity, Henry approached her, quite simply getting to the point that he needed a place to stay.

As if luck would have it, Faye (being the head doctor) was responsible for a fundraiser the hospital held every year at Miner’s Day that involved a dunk tank; with no volunteers to be the victim.

Faye made him an offer: were he to volunteer at the dunk tank, she would let him stay at her house until he could find a new residence. Henry, with no other option, and no fear of being humiliated more than he already was, accepted.

Henry then proceeded to load his suitcase and spare clothes into the back of his car, dressed now only in a dress shirt and trousers – to Faye’s objection, who felt he should wear more water-friendly clothes. Henry countered with his own personal wish to look well-dressed for the occasion; earning a somewhat amused acceptance from Faye.

The duo entered the town square where the festival was taking place, Henry’s “throne” not far off from the main hubbub of the festival. As they approached, Dr. Whale voiced his objections at Henry’s participation but was promptly silenced by Faye; making Henry quite amused. The newcomer wasted no time stepped into the tank, preparing for the first (of many) punishment dunks he would be issued today.

At first, people too little-to-no interest in the tank, giving Henry mixed feelings of both hopelessness and empathy at Faye’s plight in trying to raise money. However, as if the fates were being kind, Ruby and Granny set up their own stall *right* by the dunk tank.

Ruby took it upon herself to be the first contestant, trying (miserably) to hit the target. Nevertheless, it sparked interest, even causing Mayor Mills to be the first person to dunk Henry into the water! This was enough to cause most of the townsfolk to give it a shot, with Granny helping even more-so by advertising pictures with the (very wet) town creep for five dollars – business boomed.

After some time, Henry was allowed a break to dry off and stay above-water longer than five minutes. Moving behind another stall for a bit of privacy, Henry got to work on his soaking wet clothes that stuck to him like glue.

It was at his time when he was approached by a rather strange woman who offered him a towel. (Unbeknownst to Henry, this was Sherry Attar, the editor of the newspaper that ostracized him)

Henry was initially wary of the strange woman, as since the hospital fiasco, no one in the entire town went out of their way to speak to him. Because of this, he came across as cold and unfriendly to her.

The discomfort only continued as the woman compared his current appearance to a “wet cat”, causing the memory-ridden not-so-newcomer to bristle up and ask what she meant; though she said it was (seemingly) a fun little joke.

The two of them became somewhat more friendly in their interaction until Henry asked for her name, during which the woman called herself “Very, very sorry” before promptly walking off into the town square, leaving a very confused Henry behind.

He returned to the dunk tank moments after his talk with the bookish woman, remaining there for a few more hours until the crowds had died down and he was given leave to dry off and change. The hospital not only reached their quota, but then more-so; making this Miner’s Day, so far, a great success.

Henry, avoiding the rather-obvious flirts from Granny, asked Faye to walk him to his car where he could change back into dryer, more comfortable clothes. The two of them spoke briefly by his car before Henry went into the convenience store to change, emerging and showing off a bit for Faye to examine – the former apparently enjoying his new fashion style.

Without further ado, the two of them went back to the town square, where they bumped into Mark and Mason; who were selling candles for the nuns while trying to find Regina.

Having nothing better to do, Henry and Faye both offered their services to the fireman to help sell candles. Mark, having no luck on his own, begrudgingly accepted the offer. Faye took a box to the hospital while Mark and Henry took a few more (with Mason holding the money box) as they began to go around the town square selling candles. Though they still experienced no luck, Henry’s expertise with people, coupled with Mason’s own boyish cuteness was enough to turn their situation somewhat hopeful.

The three of them ran into David Nolan, one of Mark’s ‘friends’ (‘associates’ to the introverted fireman) and a veterinary assistant who was helping with one of the stalls for Miner’s Day.

Feeling somewhat generous, David purchased three candles himself, much to the pleasure of the Mark and Mason while Henry gave a hollow smile at the man; hating him simply for being who he really was – Prince Charming.

As if the trio weren’t famous enough already, Mr. Gold ‘ran into’ them, making a subtle hint about Charming to simply irritate Henry. Mark, who was already quite angered due to Mr. Gold doubling the nun’s rent, demanded what the pawnbroker wanted; for Mr. Gold approached very few people unless he was collecting rent or turning in a favor.

The pawnbroker laughed off Mark’s words and mockingly feigned ignorance at their financial plight, earning a sharp glare from Mark but no words.

Mr. Gold turned his attention towards Henry now, making another observation about how a nun in Storybrooke looked very similar to him, but passed it off as Henry was still a “newcomer”. This prompted Henry to shed a single tear, for even after all these years, the thought of his sister’s death was fresh and open in his mind.

Mr. Gold then switched subjects, making a very subtle hint about the lights of Miner’s Day before (thankfully) leaving the three of them be to work on business.

Mark then suggested they try going door-to-door with the candles, receiving a somewhat distracted affirmation from Henry before the three of them went off into the neighborhoods.

Before Henry could even finish trying to sell at the first house, Regina stormed over out of nowhere to confront Mark over “taking” Mason.

This erupted into a full-scale, heated argument between the two; with Mark displaying no fear whatsoever towards the mayor and even threatening to send Mason to Sheriff Leland should she leave him alone again. Henry stayed in the background at this time, hoping to *not* get involved.

The argument left with Regina taking Mason promptly back to Town Square and Henry rebuffed sharply as he tried to compliment Mark on a job well-done.

The day was growing late and the duo was finding themselves running out of time. As if on cue, Henry received a text message from Faye saying she had sold all 36 of her candles.

Though quite pleased with her accomplishment, Mark assured Henry that they wouldn’t have enough time and would have to return to the nunnery to confess their failure.

Henry bitterly agreed to this, and the two of them journeyed back; the trip far too short for either of them. They were directed by Sister Astrid to meet up with Sister Charlotte, who was organizing the fundraiser.

It was at this time that it is revealed that Sister Charlotte was none other than Henry’s thought-deceased sister, Alice, still alive and well in Storybrooke – without her memories.

This drove Henry into an emotional and mental breakdown, quickly fleeing to the bathroom to release his anger and anguish out in privacy, injuring his hand in the process. It was severe enough that it required soothing words and persuasion from Faye to draw him back out, during which he made it clear that he would have to speak to Mr. Gold as soon as possible.

As they both headed out of the nunnery, Henry noticed the lights of Miner’s Day lit up very prettily, just as Mr. Gold said. The Scotsman’s words seemed to ring out in Henry’s mind, and, with a sudden idea; left to climb atop one of the nearby buildings that housed a fuse box.

Finding a crowbar on the roof, Henry proceeded to knock the power out across town – forcing everyone to buy a candle from the nunnery, effectively selling them all in one night.

Henry was frantically excited as he clambered down the ladder and over to Faye; giving her a sudden kiss on the lips in his own happiness.

Not letting this sudden victory cloud his judgement, however, Henry knew he still had to speak to Mr. Gold. So both he and Faye left the town square in a slight rush, Henry choosing to enter the seemingly-closed pawnshop alone.

Henry found Mr. Gold in the back, savoring both a glass of alcohol and a cigarette at the same time – quite the unhealthy mix.

Uncaring that the pawnbroker was obviously trying to retain his privacy, Henry began to bombard him with questions about Alice: why she was here and how?

Mr. Gold then revealed that he planned on Henry’s cowardice in running away from Alice’s execution, where Rumpelstiltskin managed to get in and rescue the young girl from Cora’s clutches in the attempts to make Henry feel as though he had lost everything – becoming the savior that the Dark One needed.

Henry was stupefied at the fact his entire life, his struggles were all carefully planned and coordinated by Rumpelstiltskin without his knowing. What else was a falsehood? His friendship with Snow? His life in Wonderland?

It was at this time that Henry once again asked about the quill that Alice made a previous deal with Rumpelstiltskin over, but the old pawnbroker collapsed on the ground, barely conscious before he could give Henry an answer (or insult) in response.

Henry shouted in Mr. Gold’s face, furious in the fact that, even though he was a savior, he found himself receiving less answers and more questions. Regardless, he helped the pawnbroker up to his feet and onto a couch where he could rest. Mr. Gold revealed that he was dying from a disease, the Curse of the Dark One attacking him from the inside instead of affecting him on the outside. Mr. Gold then said that he would only be cured once Henry broke the Curse, a promise that Henry swore to keep – not for Rumpelstiltskin’s sake, but for Alice’s.

Henry then left without another word, leaving the Scotsman to slowly die away.

He made his way back to Faye and took her to the town square once again; arranging for Mark to ask David to read to Snow White in the hospital as a volunteer. Just as Henry was grabbing the storybook from his car to give to David, the veterinary assistant approached the two of them; somewhat doltishly asking questions about what exactly he had to do.

Henry and Faye explained the situation to him and David accepted, taking the storybook and promptly heading to the hospital.

Finally feeling it was time to get his hand fixed and get some rest, Henry let Faye lead him to her rather lovely home, where he was promptly treated for infection before being given a set of strange ground rules from Faye regarding his actions around the house.

Henry was just about to go to bed for the night when he heard music coming from downstairs. Letting his curiosity overtake him (as cat’s normally do), Henry made his way out of the guest bedroom to the living room, where the Mysterious Woman began speaking to him for the first time in over a week.

The conversation soon turned deadly as the Mysterious Woman attacked Henry, sending him to the ground without word or warning. The two began to speak, with the Woman (identified as none other than Evelyn Hyde) and Henry asking questions and evading answers; with Henry being quite enticed by the Woman’s appearance.

He managed to cleverly talk his way out of murder and then proceeded to enjoy the spoils of his victory in the bedroom…[/hider]

[hider=Regina]
Regina and Mason had knitted a very close bond with one another, both unsure how they had been able to survive without the comfort and love of the other. Regina thought of him as a son, and he his mother. Regina finished up a quick phone call to Granny's, reminding the old woman that she couldn't house felons, and that included Henry. She then took Mason to Miners Day, a day she would have liked to skip altogether and just have a movie and dinner night with Mason, but Mason was looking forward to all the neat things Miner's Day had to offer, and so they went together.

Mason had found Marco's toy stall and took a particular interest in a glass wire-hair terrier figurine, but Regina wasn't at all happy with the prices and tried talking Marco down. Marco explained that twenty-five percent of the proceedings went to the childrens hospital, but Regina didn't care and made it clear she was setting her own price. As she looked through her purse for some dollar bills, Robert approached them and immediately called Regina out on her interaction with Marco.

As if that weren't enough, Robert then went on to remind Regina that she could no longer legally keep Mason, that he needed to be taken to a foster home in Boston since his parents hadn't claimed him still. Outraged, Regina argued with him after sending Mason home so he wouldn't see her angry. But when threats and bribes wouldn't work on Robert (what the hell had gotten into him lately?) she tried pleading, begging him to allow her to keep her son. Robert didn't budge, however, and informed Regina that he would be picking Mason up in the morning.

Regina couldn't let this stand, and knew that there was only one person in this town that could help her keep Mason. No matter how much she hated going to Mr. Gold for help, she would have to now. She just had to find him first. In her search, Regina walked by what looked like a dunk tank booth and suddenly a ball was rolling towards her. Regina stood on it to keep it from rolling and got her first real look at the booth. Ruby had been the one throwing balls, and then she realized that it was Henry sitting atop the booth, waiting to get dunked.

Anger flared up in Regina, she was sure that by evicting him from Granny's he'd be on his way home by now, and yet here he was. Before she could even think of the consequences, Regina threw the ball and sunk Henry down into the water. She was pleased with herself at first, but then realized how quickly the other patrons of Miners Day wanted to contribute, so Regina hurried along in her attempt to find Mr. Gold.

Instead of finding Mr. Gold, however, she spotted Mason leaving with Mark and Henry. A bit outraged, Regina followed only to hear Mark asking Mason about the mines. She hurried over as quickly as she could and tore Mason from Mark, no longer having her hatred pressed directly at Henry who she ignored as he watched Regina and Mark fighting. Mark didn't stand down, and instead told Regina directly that the boy was lost, and he was just trying to help him find Regina. Regina didn't believe a word of it, and let her emotions get the better of her getting the same reaction from Mark, and threatened to take Mason directly to Robert if it happened again.

Regina would have punched him right then and there if Mason wasn't watching, and so she illicited a threat before leaving once more, this time with Mason bound to her as tight as if he were her shadow. It took practically the rest of the day, but Regina finally spotted Mr. Gold heading back to his shop as the sun was beginning to set. She allowed Mason to go out and play with his friends while she talked with Mr. Gold about something.

She followed Mr. Gold into his shop and got right to the point. She told him that she wanted to keep Mason, and knew that he would be able to help her do it. After some subtly thrown insults, Mr. Gold agreed so long as Regina handed over something he wanted. Regina had no clue what Mr. Gold would want of an enchanted apple, but she wasn't in the position to be bartering with him, she had only one other thing he could possibly want, but needed to save that for another time. And, to add in her own bit of insult as they departed, she reminded Mr. Gold that she didn't abandon children, like he did. With his facial expression giving her all the satisfaction she needed, Regina left his shop with a wide smile on her face. She was going to be able to keep her son after all.

Regina woke up at nearly three-thirty in the morning from her phone going off in an emergecny ringtone. Emergency or not, Regina didn't take too well to being woken up in the middle of the night and answered the phone hostily, realizing that it was Dr. Whale calling her about Jane Doe.

David Nolan had somehow thought it a good idea to come and read to Jane Doe, and while alone David claimed that she had grabbed his hand. Dr. Whale continued to inform her that when he checked Jane Doe out, he lied to David, making him believe that he was just tired and imagining things. Regina was up and ready within hours, heading to the hospital as quickly as she possibly could and when she got to the room Jane Doe was being held in, she was gone, and the bed empty.[/hider]

[hider=Mark Dufresne]
Mark was walking his German Shepherd, Grip down the street as he normally did every moment, quite thoughtful at the prospect of all that would be going on: Miner’s Day was today and Mark would no doubt be volunteering at the nunnery as he had done every year for as long as he could remember. He was somewhat of a favorite there and found it was a safe haven for him to show any shred of true emotion.

However things were less-than-optimal as Mr. Gold kept raising rent on the nuns, doing little but adding pressure for them to raise money to pay him. Mark sneered visibly at the thought of a man taking enjoyment in making nuns squirm. But he let these thoughts slide as he headed into Granny’s for his morning coffee, taking note of a rather grim-looking Henry Carlyle leaving the bed & breakfast portion of the building, suitcase in hand.

Mark wondered if the newcomer had found himself evicted, showing a small sense of sympathy before heading in to grab his drink and continue on.

Not too long after, Mark found himself at the nunnery near the town square, passing an almost…cheerful Mr. Gold who was whistling a tune to himself while proudly walking away. Knowing that this assuredly meant something bad had happened, Mark tied Grip’s leash to a lamppost before quickly heading on inside.

He found Mother Superior at the patio, looking quite despaired. Fearing the worst, Mark immediately jumped into action; asking if Mr. Gold had said/done something to hurt her. Mother Superior revealed that Mr. Gold had doubled the rent on them due to being late (by twenty-three minutes) last year. Because of this, the nuns would be forced to sell all one thousand of their candles in order to stay open this year.

Mark readily accepted the challenge (in a rare moment of kindness and good-naturedness) and reassured Mother Superior that he’d keep the nunnery open if he had to buy all the candles himself. He then set out on a mission; assuring himself he would complete it.

However, words are wind compared to action, and people weren’t buying any of the candles from the stand; only reacting in surprise/amusement at the introverted fireman advertising products from a stand.

It was at this time that Mark, fed-up and losing heart, decided to take a walk around the town-square to think up a solution to the candle problem.

During this walk, he ran into Mason who was standing alone and lost near one of the other stands. Overcome with a strange need to check on the boy, Mark knelt down by him and asked if he was lost. The boy confirmed that he was, indeed, looking for his “mother”, Regina. Mark decided that he would help the boy find her and took him by the hand as they began their search.

As they walked about the town square looking for the mayor, Mark accidentally bumped into none other than Henry Carlyle. At first irate and annoyed at the disruption, Mark was ready to get out of this conversation as quickly as possible. But things turned convenient as both Mark AND Dr. Faye Stevenson volunteered to help Mark sell candles for the nuns.

Unable and unwilling to say otherwise, Mark accepted their help, having Faye take a box to the hospital while he followed Henry about; using the newcomer’s charismatic abilities to sell.

Mark, though unwilling to admit, was impressed by Henry’s skill with people and began turning hopeful at their current plight, though not optimistically so.

Even so, they still had no luck at the town square aside from selling three candles to David Nolan, an associate of Mark’s. At this prospect, Mark suggested going door-to-door as a way to sell to the people.

Henry and Mason accepted, and the three of them journeyed off to the neighborhoods. Before they could even sell to the first house, however, Regina confronted Mark about “taking” Mason. Though normally Mark would have been indifferent towards Regina’s hot-headed demeanor; for some reason he felt a parental instinct and began hammering into the mayor, displaying no fear or intimidation at her presence.

The argument became especially heated, with Mark threatening to turn Mason in to Sheriff Leland if he found the boy alone again while Regina threatened to fire Mark; thus leaving him no way to afford the OxyContin he was so addicted to.

The conflict ended shortly with Regina taking Mason away, leaving Mark and Henry alone. Now disheartened and having run out of time, Mark decided that they should go back to the nuns and let them know that they couldn’t sell all the candles: figuring that it’d be easier for them to hear the news from a friend’s face as opposed to the greedy, cruel smile of Mr. Gold.

The two of them made their way back to the nunnery in silence, being directed to speak to Sister Charlotte, the nun organizing the candle fundraiser as they entered.

Upon seeing the young nun, Henry suffered from an emotional/mental breakdown and ran away into the bathrooms, leaving Mark alone to break the news to the young woman and, in a rare sign of emotion, hugged her tightly.

The two of them spoke until Faye entered the nunnery herself, asking to see Henry. This prompted Mark and Sister Charlotte to direct her to the bathroom, where she coaxed the teacher out of his hiding place.

Mark remained out of the way as Faye and Henry spoke, taking Sister Charlotte to the back as the conversation became more private. It was here he remained until there was a sudden power outage throughout town, causing them both to leave in a shock.

Immediately putting together what had happened, Mark couldn’t hide his happiness that the nunnery could stay open, now socializing openly with his friends like Marco, Leroy, and David.

He stayed at the town square for some time afterwards until Henry and Faye approached him once again, where he openly and gratefully thanked them, saying how he owed Henry a favor for his service to the nunnery and to Storybrooke. Henry decided to cash in his favor now for Mark to ask David to read to the comatose Jane Doe patient in the hospital.

Though somewhat skeptical, Mark nonetheless complied, and headed off to notify David of Henry’s request before heading home for a much-needed rest, for it had been a long day….[/hider]