YoshiSkittlez

Once Upon a Time...

Sitting at her home office, Regina had just finished signing a waiver for a small business transaction regarding new playground equipment for the park when she decided to pull herself away from her desk to take a quick break. Walking over to Mason who was busy with his homework on the floor, Regina put a hand on his shoulder and bent down to kiss the top of his head. The news that she was now legally his mother had been celebrated as soon as she picked him up from school, consisting of taking him out for ice cream and enjoying it at the harbor docks, letting their bare feet dip into the cool ocean water. Afterwards, it was a bath for Mason and then on to homework while Regina took care of some Mayor business.

“Finish up your homework and I’ll make us spaghetti for dinner.” Regina promised, ruffling up Mason’s hair a bit. Mason craned his neck to look up at Regina with a screwed up face, causing Regina to ask, “What? I thought you liked my spaghetti?”

“That was before you were really my mom. I’d say anything to keep from having to go back to the barn.”

Regina chuckled and gently pushed him away from her playfully and Mason giggled in response, trying to push her back.

“I know my cooking isn’t the best-“

“Which is why we should get pizza.” Mason interrupted confidentially, causing Regina to grin.

“Alright, pizza it is, but you still need to finish your homework. Why don’t you pack up here and finish up in the living room?”

Mason did as he was told and gathered up his books and papers, stuffing them into his backpack before getting up.

“Hey!” Regina called to him before he could turn to leave and poked at her cheek a few times. Mason grinned and went to Regina, throwing his arms around her neck and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before hoisting up his backpack and exited Regina’s home office.

Standing back up straight, Regina took in a deep, relaxing breath as she made her way over to the window to take a quick peek outside. There was something about looking out at her apple tree that brought her a sense of comfort, and that narrow victory with Snow White coming out of her coma; well that was something worthy of needing to relax.

Something was off, however, causing Regina to press her face to the glass to get a better look at her tree. It looked…sick…dying even. Panic shot through her as she quickly left her home office and hurried outside through the back door to get a closer look at her tree. Upon further examination, the apples on the tree looked to be halfway to rotting, no longer providing the red, crisp apples it had been known to give for years upon years.

Tentatively, Regina plucked one of the rotted apples from the tree and held it gingerly in her hand, her mouth slightly agape in disbelief. This wasn’t good, and only one man held the answers she needed; only one man could guarantee what she wanted.

Regina quickly retreated inside, rotted apple still in hand and called to Mason, telling him she was going out to pick up some pizza and to stay inside before grabbing a scarf and headed out to Mr. Gold’s Pawn Shop.

---

Many, many years ago…

Those seagulls were going to give him a headache…

Rumpelstiltskin followed behind Killian and Milah aboard the Jolly Roger, the crew who had noticed the apprehensive look on their Captain’s face making them bustle about to make preparations. Milah was forced to help Killian walk given his weakened state of nearly having his heart ripped out, and with The Dark One following them as casually as if nothing were wrong really put the crew into a panic. He made a point to ignore them, however, passing up the opportunity to scare them out of their wits for a bit of entertainment. There was only one thing on his mind right now, and that was getting answers.

“Milah, what happened?” One of the crewmates asked as the three of them stepped onto the deck of the ship.

“Fetch some water. Get me that prisoner from below deck along with the loot he carried. NOW!”

Rumpelstiltskin stood by to watch as the shipmate hurried off to the command, and felt his blood starting to boil once again.

“Well, well…it seems you’ve finally found a family you could never have with me.” He stated, jovial at first but then slipping into dangerous anger towards the end. He continued walking however, exploring what bit of the ship he could. It looked a bit different now, but perhaps that was because he was standing and walking with authority and not down on his knees with a sword pointed at his throat.

There was a slight commotion and a small group of pirates hoisted out a rather chubby fellow with his arms bound and a cloth wedged into his mouth; the prisoner no doubt Milah had been talking about. The crewmember who Milah had spoken with previously handed her a tiny satchel which she snatched immediately and dumped the contents out into her hand, briskly walking over to Rumpelstiltskin at the ships railing. Her urgency caught his attention, and so he turned to look at her seeing what looked like a clear bean in her hand, glinting mysteriously as the light caught its edges.

Rumpelstiltskin reached out to grab it, however Milah tossed it aside where Killian then caught it in his own hand, the two of them exchanging smug looks at the other at their very quick game of ‘Monkey in the Middle’ with The Dark One.

“You asked to see it and now you have.” Killian said making a fist with his hand where the bean lay hidden.

“Do we have a deal?” Milah asked, finishing Killian’s thought. “Can we go our separate ways?”

“Do you mean, do I forgive you?” Rumpelstiltskin asked instead and began to circle around Milah. “Can I…move on? Perhaps…perhaps…I can see you are…twoooly in love.” He stopped and turned to face Milah, now with Hook by her side, protecting her.

“Thank you.” Milah gave a slight nod and made a movement to turn to Killian.

“JUST one moment…” Rumpelstiltskin said, stopping Milah, a dejected sigh coming from her as she faced her husband once more.

“What do you want to know?” She asked.

“How could you leave Bae?”

A tiny amount of color in Milah’s face began to drain; she had really hoped that he would be past this by now. When she told him that she and Killian had lost her while traveling in a land without magic, she assumed that would be the end; he would go looking for her and leave her and Killian be. Evidently, that wasn’t the case. The ropes binding the main sail down seemed to suddenly spring to life, as if someone had cut the taught rope but Milah, Killian and the crew knew it well enough to be magic; magic from The Dark One.

“Do you know what it’s like, having your entire world come crashing down on you?” He asked, more ropes snapping to life.

“Rumpel-“ Milah tried.

“Thinking for four years that you had been stolen from me-“

“Please-“

“-only to be told that you and Bae were DEAD!”

“I was wrong to have Killian lie to you. I should have told you the moment we got home. I was a coward, I-“

“YOU LEFT HER! YOU ABANDONED HER!”

“And there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t feel sorry for that!”

“SORRY ISN’T ENOUGH!” Rumpelstiltskin shouted as loud as he could, waving his hand in an Italian flourish before dropping his voice and closing the distance between himself at Milah. “You let her go.”

“I let my misery cloud my judgment.”

“Why were you so miserable?” Rumpelstiltskin asked, sizing her up with his eyes. He had given her everything she could have ever wanted. A good home, a family… Milah bent forward, putting her face into his and grit her teeth, summoning up all the courage she had in her. Right now he wasn’t The Dark One, right now, he was simply Rumpelstiltskin; the coward she had left behind.

“Because I never loved you.”

Rumpelstiltskin studied Milah’s face, unsure what it was that he was looking for. Perhaps a flicker of doubt, for her to suddenly say that she was only joking, but it never came. Nothing ever came. Before Rumpelstiltskin even knew what he was doing, his hand had shot forward and embedded into Milah’s chest.

“NO!” Killian cried and attempted to rush towards The Dark One but Rumpelstiltskin raised his opposite hand, an electric purple haze surrounding his hand as suddenly Killian was thrown backwards into the mast, the ropes there pulsing to life and entrapping him there.

With a slight tug, Rumpelstiltskin pulled Milah’s heart from her chest, cradling it in his hand and watching the pain he inflicted on her face.

“NO!” Killian cried again, and tried to fight the magic that bound him, ripping a steel hook that otherwise kept the ropes bound neatly from the wood and clawed his way out, dropping the hook in his haste to reach Milah in time to save her. Milah fell back, too weak to even comprehend the pain she was experiencing but Killian caught her just before she hit the deck and held her closely in his arms, looking down at Milah with such adoration in his eyes, it made Rumpelstiltskin sick.

Milah gingerly reached up to touch Killian’s face, soft whimpers of pain coming from her but she otherwise remained strong.

“I love you.” She breathed out, refusing to move her eyes away from Killian’s.

Rumpelstiltskin crushed the heart in his hand, savoring every feeble pulse he felt on his skin as her heart tried to fight back, every writhing, uncomfortable, squirming motion it made before the heart reduced to nothing but ash and let it trickle out of the cracks in his fist as Milah’s body went completely dead. Killian rested Milah’s head on the deck gently, his hand running over Milah’s face delicately.

“You may be more powerful now demon, but your no less a coward!” Killian shouted as he staggered to his feet to face Rumpelstiltskin.

“I’ll have what I came for now.” Rumpelstiltskin remarked, his lips twitching into a smile. Somehow, there was a satisfaction that overcame him by killing Milah, like ridding himself of a poison that had been slowly killing him for years upon years.

“You’ll have to kill me first!”

“AH-AH! I’m afraid that’s not in the cards for you sonny-boy!” Rumpelstiltskin unsheathed Killian’s sword from his own hip (having not given it back since their duel) and with the flick of the wrist, the sword came down on Killian’s enclosed hand, the hand with the bean inside of it, slicing through the skin, muscle and bone as if it were wet paper and the hand ‘thudded’ to the floor that was otherwise unheard as the air was filled with Killian’s screams of pain.

Rumpelstiltskin bent down and collected the bloodied hand and placed it into a pocket on the inside of his cloak, then pressed the flat blade of the sword onto Killian’s shoulder.

“I want you alive…because I want you to suffer…like I did…” With a quiet giggle, Rumpelstiltskin retreated the sword and put it back into the sheath at his hip, turning his back to Killian to leave the boat. Killian, on the other hand, wasn’t finished. He grabbed the dropped steel hook into his good hand and lunged after Rumpelstiltskin, catching him off guard and plunged the hook into his chest. Rumpelstiltskin didn’t cry out in pain, however, and instead…giggled…increasingly…

“Killing me is going to take a lot more than that dearie!” He chided, pointing at the hook still embedded into his chest.

“Even demons can be killed!” Killan replied, his face only growing more and more angry with each passing moment. “I WILL FIND A WAY!”

“Well good luck living long enough…” And with the wind, Rumpelstiltskin vanished into a puff of red smoke, the metal hook that was once in his chest clattering to the deck without a single drop of blood on it. Killian went to collect the hook, looking at it first, then Milah’s dead body, and then back to the hook, a new found emotion boiling up inside of him; vengeance.

Rumpelstiltskin materialized back into the comfort of his quaint little home and pulled the still fisted hand of Killian Jones from his cloak and set it on a wooden desk. Carefully, he pried each finger open, but when three of the five fingers were open and the bean wasn’t to be found, he hastened his pace until the hand was extended palm-up, and no bean.

With a cry of rage, Rumpelstiltskin flipped the desk and all its contents on the floor. His one hope at finding Baelfire, gone with that bastard pirate. Someway, somehow, he had tricked him, and now it would take years to find another way.

---

Presently…

Mr. Gold watched as Regina’s silhouette walked angrily by the frosted glass window before the woman pushed open the door so hard that Mr. Gold winced, fearing for the safety of the little bell connected at the top. He was currently behind the counter with a book opened up to a specific page, however the book was long forgotten once he made eye contact with The Queen.

“Your Majesty! To what do I owe the pleasure?” Mr. Gold asked with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he reached for a bookmark to mark his place in his book, and then gently set the closed book aside. Regina hastily approached the desk and held up the rotted apple for Mr. Gold to see.

“My tree is dying.” She stated, setting the apple down onto the counter abruptly. “Why?”

Mr. Gold took a good look at the apple before looking back up to Regina.

“Perhaps it’s your fertilizer?” He suggested with a mock grin.

“You think this is funny? Well I’ll tell you what I think…I think it’s a sign of the curse weakening; because of Henry. But do you care? No! You’re content to just sit back and do-“ Regina gestured vaguely around the shop. “-whatever it is you’re doing…while all my hard work burns!”

Mr. Gold looked upon Regina thoughtfully, his smirk never leaving his lips.

“That’s not all is it?” He asked knowingly. “C’mon, might as well get everything off your chest.” He said and began walking (cane in hand) from out behind the counter to the main floor of the antique shop, walking first to one of the side glass cases that held the more fragile items inside.

Regina scoffed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She insisted, arms falling to her sides.

“Snow. She’s awake, and was looking for Charming.” Mr. Gold said in an irritated voice. If he had to drag the information out of Regina then so be it, he wasn’t about to waste time now playing their little guessing games; he had important work to do.

“They’ll be together over my dead body.” Regina glowered, stuffing her hands into her suit jacket pockets with a huff.

“The curse was meant to take away Snow White and Prince Charming’s happiness, perhaps you giving up your power as Mayor is the price to keep the curse…unbroken…” Mr. Gold suggested, crossing past Regina to the glass encasing where another book had been opened up with a pen in between the pages rested.

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, don’t tell me I’m the only one to realize your authority has been undermined as of late. The people are starting to doubt you. Your pet sheriff, for example; he tried to take Mason away.”

“Yes but you saw to it that didn’t happen.” Regina reminded him, talking to Mr. Gold’s back as he seemed occupied with the open book on top of the glass case.

“And what of Henry? It seems each time you try to do something for yourself; whether it was Mason or Snow, Henry takes another step to breaking the curse. You can’t have both dearie, you can try…but you will fail.”

“I think I just want to get rid of him.” Regina stated, obviously talking about Henry. He did seem to be the bigger threat at the moment, everything else could come later once he was gone.

Mr. Gold scoffed and walked back to behind the counter after grabbing the pen that sat in between the book pages and faced Regina properly.

“Well, well…you’re gonna have to be quite creative…we both know the repercussions of killing Mr. Carlyle-”

“-The curse would be broken.” The two said at the same time, and Regina nodded her head with a subtle eye roll.

“That’s because you designed it that way.” Regina said approaching the counter once again, letting her palms rest heavily on the counter. “Undo it!” She said, as if it were as simple as breathing in air.

Mr. Gold chuckled and once again walked out from behind the counter, pen still in hand and cane in the other, and stopped next to Regina’s side.

“You know, even if I wanted to, I couldn’t.” He said before heading to the opposite side of the room. “Magic…well, it’s in short supply around here…dwindling by the minute.” He stated while jotting down a few things in the open book with the pen he held in his hand.

“You never told me…why do you want the curse broken?” Regina almost hissed.

“That’s not something I care to discuss.” Mr. Gold replied heatedly.

“Don’t bother, you can shove your reasons.” Regina said crossing back over to him and got into his face with a soft smile. “I want to strike a new deal.”

Mr. Gold set down the pen back onto the book and turned to face Regina fully, letting his arm rest on top of the glass case.

“One where I can get rid of Henry without shattering the curse.”

“Unfortunately for you-“ Mr. Gold said pausing to lick his lips. “-that negotiation requires two interested parties; and…I’m already planning a trip.” He gave Regina a quick smile and then headed back to the counter where he took the book that he had bookmarked earlier and pulled it open.

“I’ll give you anything.” Regina said, and Mr. Gold could hear the utter desperation in her voice.

“Ohhhh….” He sighed out, formulating the decision to a very tough choice in his head although he already knew what the answer was, it was like turning down free money. “You no longer have anything I want...dearie” He pointed out, turning to face her slightly. “But I will give you a piece of advice, free of charge. I’d plan a trip of your own. Because once people have woken up, and remember who you are, and what you did to them…” He paused to laugh and turned his back to her again, setting down the pen on the book before turning his attention to a world globe and spun it around a few times. “…they are going to be looking for blood.”

When Regina said nothing, Mr. Gold gave an audible smirk, knowing that he had finally reached her in her stubborn little mind.

“I’ll be having what I want now. Go to your vault tonight, and bring me the apple by morning...please…”

He heard the sound of heels clicking on the floor and then the creak of his front door combined with the tiny jingle of the bell and then the door shut, leaving the pawnbroker alone in his shop once more. Once he was sure that Regina wasn’t coming back, he let lose the cough that had been tickling the back of his throat ever since Regina had entered his pawnshop. He was sure that it was just the one cough, but it was immediately followed by more violent ones, causing his body to tremble and feel as if his thin ribs would collapse under the pressure.

He quickly walked back behind the counter and pulled out a glass bottle of brandy and tossed off the lid. Not even bothering with a crystal glass this time, he raised the bottle to his lips and downed the entirety of the bottle, the liquid rushing down his throat seeming to subdue the coughing…some. His hands were trembling, however, and he had lost his grip on the bottle and it crashed to the floor in a thousand tiny pieces. He seemed not to care, however as he let his back rest up against the wall and pulled a handkerchief from his suit pocket, dabbing the accumulating sweat away from his forehead and neck and trying to regain his breath.

Streets on Fire

Guys I'm sorry but I have to pull. Between working from 6 am - 8 pm 5 days a week and taking 2 college classes online, I really have no time for a second RP (my first RP being Once Upon A Time that I am GMing. That one takes A LOT out of me, really what ever spare time I have. And on a side-note spots are available for canon characters if interested). I feel bad for keeping you guys from progressing, this was a great RP for me I just don't have the time anymore and it makes me sad :( I kept telling myself that I could get in a post but in all actuality I just keep dragging this whole thing on and on. Again, very sorry :(

Once Upon a Time...

With the search party out for Mary Margaret (at the time still Jane Doe) Regina had left the hospital to get Mason ready for school. Before leaving, however, Robert had given Regina a copy of the legal papers, binding Mason to her as her son and she his mother. In high spirits, after dropping Mason off at school, Regina returned to the hospital for the inevitable return of Jane Doe and watched as her handiwork fell into place like an easy jigsaw puzzle.

She watched just outside the glass room, keeping an eye on David Nolan and Jane Doe until Dr. Stevenson finally escorted the security guard inside.

"Mary Margaret, that's your name."

Regina's upper lip twitched into a light snarl. Mary Margaret? Well that certainly was a name, not one she would have picked out personally; perhaps that name somehow related back to The Enchanted Forest. Still, her snarl melted back into a smile as she watched first Dr. Stevenson excuse herself and was quickly followed by David Nolan, leaving the false husband to care for his false wife. Satisfied, and with better things to now do, Regina turned to make her leave.

Dr. Stevenson ignored David Nolan for now as she headed towards Regina, calling out seriously and in a way that showed that she wouldn't take no for an answer, "Madam Mayor,"

Regina frowned in-step, but turned to face Faye with a perfected, fake smile.

"Yes, Dr. Stevenson?"

The doctor stopped after she caught up to the mayor, and she asked seriously, "Why didn't you speak up about this earlier?"

"About what?" Regina folded her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side just slightly, her voice remaining plesant despite the annoyance she was feeling inside.

Faye clarified "About Mr. and...Mrs. Kowalski," Addressing Mary Margaret as that was so strange, that it didn't feel right to the doctor.

She continued, "Isn't it strange how nobody knew about this until now?"

"I found out the same way you did, Doctor." Regina reassured her.

Skepticism was still clear on Faye's face as she pointed out, "But Mr. Kowalski regaining his memories right after Mary Margaret wakes up....that just seems too convenient,"

"Well what else would make sense to you?" Regina challenged with a casual shrug. "Why would Mr. Kowalski lie? Oh, what, you think I cast a spell on him?" Regina couldn't help but to chuckle.

Faye raised an eyebrow at Regina's last question, as she continued "I just think that something isn't right here. Especially considering that you've been her emergency contact for the past five years, if not longer. You had to have known at least one thing from the very beginning,"

Regina tilted her head thoughtfully in the opposite direction, adjusting her arms across her chest.

"I told you already, Doctor, I learned about this whole thing the same time you did. Mr. Kowalski's recollection is timely, yes. And here I thought that you and Mr. Nolan would be pleased. True love won out. So bask in the moment my dear, were it not for Mr. Nolan's rescue party they very well could have lived the rest of their lives alone." Regina's smile brightened, as if taking a moment to think over the joyful reunion.

"That's why I'm willing to forgive your incessant rudeness, because all of this has reminded me of something just as important; how grateful I am to have Mason. Because not having someone...well, that's the worst curse imaginable."

Faye raised an eyebrow at Regina's response and how she smiled brightly at that. She once again had the familiar gut feeling that told her that Regina was lying, but she didn't speak up about it. She looked somewhat offended when Regina said she would forgive her 'rudeness', but it quickly went away and she remained composed.

Faye could only reply with a cold and stoic "I see," in response. Her pager went off, indicating that another patient needed her, and she looked at Regina, bidding her "Have a good day then, Mayor," before she turned and headed off.

There was no way she was going to get any answers from Regina, Faye knew that now. But what could she do...? Something wasn't right and she wanted to find out what.

Once Upon a Time...

"Where is she?"

Dr. Whale fumbled with his words, stuttering a great while before the color in his face drained even more. Talking to Regina personally was a scary act in itself, talking with a very angry Regina was even worse. He looked down at his clipboard for what felt like the thousandth time, hoping that the status of Jane Doe would have changed to 'dismissed,' at least that way he would have an answer for Regina, that she simply went home, but it wasn't that simple.

Annoyed, Regina shook her head and dug her hand into her pocket, pulling out her cellphone and speed-dialing Robert. Hopefully by now, whatever had crawled up his ass yesterday had dissolved. Gods knew she needed him right now.

Robert picked up the phone, even though he could see it was Regina. He wondered if she was calling to remind him about Mason's papers at the station, it certainly wouldn't be out of character for her to rub it in his face. He wasn't looking forward to this conversation, but it was his duty to answer calls from any Storybrooke resident. "Hello, Storybrooke sheriff's office, how can I help you?"

"Robert..." Regina started without any sort of filter to keep out the anxiousness in her voice. "I need you down here at the hospital as soon as possible. The coma patient has gone missing. Don't draw any attention though, the last thing we need is any panic from our residents if they were to find out. The less people that know about this, the better."

"Understood. I will be there as soon as I can." He got into his patrol car and drove to the hospital, making sure not to use the siren. This was a very serious situation, Storybrooke's first recorded missing person. He didn't understand the need for secrecy, but now was not the time to get sidetracked with an argument.

Regina pocketed the phone and looked back to Dr. Whale who seemed to be talking with one of the nurses who had just arrived for her morning shift. Regina didn't know what kind of information she would be able to give, but let the doctor do his work. Robert was coming, and that would be...something.

Dr. Whale dismissed the nurse after jotting a few things down on his clipboard before pulling his own cellphone from his pocket and gave Dr. Stevenson a very early (but very necessary) phone call.

Faye groaned and opened her eyes to see her alarm clock blink 5:59 AM in red numbers. She turned in her bed to see...Henry? She remained still in shock for a moment, before she looked under the covers, and after she did, her face turned red and she felt a scream start to well in her voice box.

Thankfully, she managed to keep silent as she got out carefully, trying not to wake Henry, and sneak out of her room after she put on some clothes. Once she was out of her room and closed the door, she sighed in relief, until the her cell phone rang.

She fished her cell phone out and she greeted "Hello?"

"Dr. Stevenson." Dr. Whale greeted, though his voice far from jovial. "I understand it's early, but we have a bit of a situation down here at the hospital. Did you, uh, by any chance sign any release papers for Jane Doe?"

The cell phone ringing was enough to stir Henry awake from a rather disturbing dream. Disturbing enough that he was layered in a thin sheen of sweat, his breath slightly panicked.

Holding his head to try and recall where and what he was, Henry slowly climbed out of bed. He stooped down to collect his strewn clothes on the ground, getting himself dressed and feeling as though he really wanted a drink.

"So...is it Faye or Hyde at the moment?" Henry called out, though not in an unkind or unfriendly manner - simply wanting an honest answer as he tried to adjust his glasses onto his face.

Faye finished her conversation with Dr. Whale, when she heard Henry call out. She paled at his question. He knew about her other persona?! No. That wasn't important right now! Right now her patient had disappeared, and she needed to help everyone find her.

She ignored Henry's question as she darted back into her room and started gathering what she needed before she started hurrying towards the door.

"Leaving so soon?" Henry asked nonchalantly, leaning against the wall; blissfully unaware that the Jane Doe patient was missing. 'Least Regina offered me coffee afterwards...' He thought bitterly to himself.

"Why don't you stay for a bit, Faye. I'm sure Dr. Whale can handle anything that comes up." Henry said, stating the other doctor's name with disgust; as though it nauseated him to say it.

Faye answered Henry, never stopping to chat with him, "Sorry, Mr. Carlyle, but this is an emergency! Jane Doe is missing, and I need to help find her,"

"Wh-what?" Was all Henry could say, flabbergasted. Snow White was missing? That meant....that meant that it worked - she was awake!

"We...we have to find her!" Henry cried out, perhaps sounding a tad bit excited: an emotion he couldn't help to mask given the circumstances.

Faye raised an eyebrow at Henry and she stopped and turned to face him for a moment, and she said to him, "Henry, I think it would be wise if you stayed here," The last time he had met up with Jane Doe, he was accused for being a creep. After she said that, she turned and headed out again so she could join in the search, and as she did she stated "If you happen to see Jane Doe, call me!"

"Al...alright." Henry said quietly, placing both hands in his coat pockets. "Faye..." He began seriously, "Make sure she's safe." He told her, showing a sense of almost caring, even though he still said he had no idea who the patient was.

Faye nodded in respone to his statement right before she left her house. She hurried to the hospital where a search party may gather first. Along the way, she kept an eye out for Jane Doe.

Robert walked into the hospital, and found Regina arguing with Dr. Whale. While the security guard may know more about the situation, Regina would be mad if he waited any longer. "Ok, a coma patient just disappeared. Did anyone see her, do we know roughly when this happened?" he said loudly, trying to interrupt the other conversation.

Both Dr. Whale and Regina immediately halted their bickering to look at Robert with scowls on their faces as if he had interrupted something important.

"Make youself useful Doctor and go check the security tapes." Regina said, dismissing Dr. Whale with a slight flourish of her hand. Dr. Whale cleared his throat irritably but did as he was told, leaving the hospital room to find Knox. Once he was gone, Regina let out an audible sigh and rubbed her temples before approaching Robert.

"Dr. Whale! I don't think-"

David Nolan stopped as he entered the room, finding only Regina and Robert there. At first David thought that he had entered the wrong room, but upon looking around at his surroundings he knew he was in the right place, despite the coma patient being missing everything else looked to be the same.

"Uh...is is everything alright? Where's Dr. Whale?"

Faye entered the hospital as well and she made her way to Jane Doe's room in hopes of finding a clue as to what happened or where she may have gone if she woke up and walked away on her own...

Instead she found Robert, Regina, and most importantly, David in the room instead. She didn't see any signs of a struggle in the patient's room, but there was no clue as to where she could've walked off to.

She looked to David and she asked "Mr. Nolan. Could I ask you a question?" She needed to know what the patient's condition was when she was last seen.

David looked exceptionally relieved when Dr. Stevenson came into the room. He wasn't sure what Regina and Dr. What would have done if she hadn't arrived just then.

"Of course doctor." David acknowledged with a nod, getting a narrowed look from Regina at the duo of new intrusions.

"There is a missing patient out there Doctor." Regina interjected towards Faye. "Save your questions for your own time." Regina turned to Robert then. "Sheriff Leland, if you can escort Mr. Nolan out of the hospital-"

"That is exactly the reason why I wish to speak with Mr. Nolan, Mayor. He volunteered to read to Jane Doe last night, and asked for my permission to do so. Therefore, he would know best about Jane Doe's recent condition," Faye interjected with a serious tone.

"You did what?" Regina interrupted, but got no reply as Dr. Stevenson continued on.

Faye then looked to Robert Leland, and she said to him in a kind and helpful tone, but assuming the role of leader, "Sheriff Leland, may I suggest that you check the hospital's security footage? I think the footage of last night may help,"

Robert nodded, and left the room without saying a word. He made his way to the security room, checking down the hallways just in case Jane Doe was still in the building. When he got to his destination, he knocked on the door, wondering if Knox was on duty, or if it was someone else.

Faye then asked Mr. Nolan, "Mr. Nolan, what was Jane Doe's condition when you read to her? Did she move or make any reaction at all?"
She kept in mind to check the monitor to figure out when exactly she disappeared.

David shifted uncomfortably from where he was. If Dr. Whale didn't believe him last night, why would Dr. Stevenson?

"I read the book Henry gave me last night, the story of Snow White-"

"What?" Regina huffed, more surprised than anything, but David continued on, braving ignoring The Mayor.

"-she grabbed my hand. I...I thought I was tired and imagining it, so I went home to get some sleep...it was nearly three..." David didn't particularly care for Dr. Whale, but mentioning that he had told Dr. Whale all of this beforehand would have probably gotten him into some sort of trouble and he wasn't about to start up any new sort of trouble; at least not until after they found Jane Doe...if they found Jane Doe...

Faye sighed at Mr. Nolan and shook her head at him, relieved that Jane Doe was unharmed from David's account, but a little annoyed that he ignored the indications that Jane Doe was waking up. She said to David, "Thank you, Mr. Nolan. But I do hope that you don't ignore something important like that again in the future,"

She then headed over to the heart rate monitor and checked to see when the monitor flat lined. She nodded and she reported out loud to nobody in particular, "She disappeared at 4 AM,"

"Where would she go?" David and Regina asked at the same time, illiciting a quick glance at the other. Regina sighed and shook her head, pulling away from the group in the room. She had to find out what was going on in that security room. She'd have to deal with David Nolan later.

Faye answered looking to David, "I don't know. But considering how long she's been in a coma, there's no doubt that she would be extremely confused. She could be anywhere in Storybrooke as of now," She said to David "We need to organize a search party and fast,"

David watched Regina walk out of the room and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He always felt as if somehow Regina sucked out all the oxygen in the air wherever she went.

"What do you need me to do?" He asked, a sense of heroism in the way he spoke.

Faye thought about it for a moment and she nodded to herself before she answered David, "Get a search party together, see if Sheriff Leland will help. Also, tell everyone to keep an eye out for Jane Doe, and make sure that if they see her, they'll call Sheriff Leland or the hospital. We're going to need everyone's help in this,"

Walking into the security room, Regina found both Dr. Whale and Robert in the room talking with Knox, though they all looked completely lost as to what they were looking for since they didn't have a particular time frame to look at.

"David Nolan left this morning at three." Regina informed the men in the room, crossing her arms over her chest. "Dr. Stevenson suggests she left the room around four..."

Knox blinked, warily eyeing those who joined him in the surveillance room, before turning back to the television screen. Rewinding to the footage...the security guard pointed to the main television,

"Jane Doe got up and left through the back entrance of the hospital. The time was approximate four o'clock, like Dr Stevenson previously mention--can we have less people crowding around, in the security room?!" With a rather tired disposition, he couldn't help but snap out loud, not quite caring who he was addressing.

Regina stiffened, and although it could be interpreted towards Knox' cold remark it was instead directed towards watching the video footage, seeing Snow White coming out of her coma and walking out the door as if it were second nature.

This isn't possible... Regina thought to herself as the color slowly began to drain from her face.

Rubbing his eyes in an irritated manner, Knox let out an exhausted sigh-yawn, "Sorry, my...I apologise. I have been patrolling since yesterday, didn't catch a chance for any shut-eye...then this happens, and I spend hours skimming through the security footage. I'll submit the appropriate reports with accompanying audio transcriptions and footage...."

Regina turned to Robert, still pale-faced and at a complete loss for words, expecting him for once to take up the mantle where she could not.

Robert frowned and said "It is unfortunate that no one caught this sooner, but that is matter for your employer to review later. Right now we need to find her, I'll leave as soon as I find out who is going to help me search for her. It'd be helpful if someone could find a way to spread word of this, get it on the local radio stations, so everyone knows."

Eyes narrowing at the sheriff's earlier comment, Knox blinked more sleep from his eyes in order to give the man a sharper look, before turning back to the television. The Jane Doe...just up and left, during his patrol of the other side of the facility. They were greatly short handed on this day, and no one could really be blamed, though the security guard couldn't help but feel maybe he could have done something. Letting out a sigh, which turned into an outright yawn...they probably wouldn't need him, once the usual number of security staff came in.

"No!" Regina scolded, somehow finding her voice in her otherwise stunned disposition. "We can't cause any unnecessary alarm to the people of Storybrooke! A small search party, but that's it."

"You can count on me. I'll help you out Sheriff." David said walking into the room. Since Regina had left the door open upon her entry, David had overheard everything and answering Robert for volunteers."

Robert looked at Regina and said "I'll give it a few hours before I file the missing person report, but no more. The longer we wait, the harder it gets to find her, and the more likely she is to get hurt. David, follow me, we'll start searching the immediate area now."

"I actually want someone to join us before we head out." David said, unmoving and looking over towards Knox. "Where's Ruby at? She's found people before, I bet she could do it again..."

Knox raised a brow at David's inquiry about Ruby, giving him a funny look. Unless Ruby had magically been given a blood hound's sense of scent tracking...there was strange sense of deja vu, his mind suddenly remembering that moment of the black out, where he and Ruby stared at each other in the darkness of the security room,

"Ruby mentioned going upstairs...?"

David nodded and gave Robert a quick pat on the shoulder to signal that he would be right back before disappearing out of the security toom and bounded upstairs to find his favorite brunette in Storybrooke.

Regina could only watch and shake her head, giving an audable sigh of irritation as she watched Robert then walk outside of the room to wait for David and Ruby. Her keen eyes glanced over at Knox, her brows softening a bit. Perhaps there was still a way...

Once Upon a Time...

Storybrooke: Chapter 1 The Curse
Day 10 Character Summary

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.

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.

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.

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 only 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 charming 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.

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.

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…

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.

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….

Once Upon a Time...

It was spooky really, being in the hospital in the dead of night while the power was out. Still though, David pushed forward until he reached the hospital room that held the Jane Doe, and had held the Jane Doe for as long as he could remember. David stood in the doorway, hesitating breaking through the threshold as if he would disturb the comatose woman if he took another step closer.

As he stood there, fidgetting, he remembered the first time he had come to visit the woman; Mayor Mills had visited him at work and asked him to follow her to the hospital, putting him in front of Jane Doe and asked if he knew her. Of course he didn't know her, no one in Storybrooke did, there was a reason everyone called her Jane Doe...

Raising his fist to his mouth, he purposfully cleared his throat, as if to make his appearance known to the woman, holding the book tight under his other arm. He finally took the step into the room and pulled over an old, brown chair reserved for those who came to visit and sat down. He couldn't help but to look upon her face, so fair in complexion, such was the face of innocence.

"I uh..." David cleared his throat again and wiped his sweaty palms on the knees of his jeans. "I was asked to come and read you a story, so uh, just keep in mind that I'm doing this for a friend..." David shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he opened up the book, flipping through the pages to find the story of Snow White, using the back light of the heart moniter as his light source. He was grateful that at least the hospital had backup generators to keep it going, who knew what would happen to a coma patient if these machines were turned off too?

Finally finding the chapter, David flipped through a few more pages, wondering where to start. Henry didn't exactly say where he had left off last time he read to her, and as he flipped through the pages the story of Snow White seemed to be pretty long.

"I guess I'll just start from the beginning..." David said outloud and flipped back to the first page of the chapter, finding a picture that took up the entirety of the first page with a picture of what he could assume was a very young Snow White putting on a tiara in front of a mirror. David cleared his throat again, and began...

"Once upon a time there lived a young girl named Snow White. Having been born on the coldest winter day of the year, her mother, Queen Eva, named her appropriately so..."

David paused, listening to the heart-rate moniter's steady beeping sounds and looked upon the woman's face again, though this time with a slight smile before he continued on.

The minutes turned into hours, and before David knew it, it was breaching nearly three in the morning. The only time he had stopped before now was when the security guard, Knox, had come to check and make sure that the backup generators were working; that and about two hours ago the power had returned, allowing David to read further without having to squint his eyes so much.

The spine of the book was resting against Jane Doe's hospital bed, his hands on either side of the large book. After checking the time, he promised to read one more chapter before calling it a night.

"...they didn't need words to express what they felt in their hearts. It was here, in the shadow of the Troll Bridge that their love was born, for they knew, no matter how they were seperated that they would-"

David jumped as he felt a cool hand grab onto his. With wide, startled eyes, he looked down to his hand to see that it was Jane Doe's hand that had grabbed his, holding onto his hand ever so softly, reaching out for comfort. As soon as the startled adrenaline faded away, David blinked, realizing what this meant. She was waking up!

David quickly got up from the chair, setting the book down and rushed out of the room calling for Dr. Whale.

"I'm sure she's waking up!" David said hurridly as Dr. Whale followed behind him back into Jane Doe's hospital room. "She...she grabbed my hand..." David knew it was crazy sounding, but he was never a really good liar and everyone in the town knew that. Dr. Whale had to believe him.

When they finally arrived at Jane Doe's hospital bed, she looked the same as ever, but to David, she looked just a bit more...alive. Perhaps it was the color of her skin that seemed to glow just a bit healthier, but he was sure that she was waking up.

Dr. Whale checked the IV in her arm and looked up to the computer moniter, studying the numbers carefully in silence causing David to start grinding his teeth in anticipation. Dr. Whale looked away from the computer moniter and checked Jane Doe's pulse, and then looked back to the moniter shaking his head no.

"Everything looks steady." He said to David. "It's the same that it's always been...what were you doing in here?"

David shook his head a few times, unsure of what to say, what to do.

"I was just reading her...a...a story..." He said truthfully.

"Ah, well...perhaps you uh...dosed off?" Dr. Whale tried, stuffing his hands into his lab coat pockets. "It is rather late, perhaps you imagined it."

"No, I didn't imagine anything." David affirmed immediately.

"Mr. Nolan I can only confirm what I see..." Dr. Whale gestured towards the computer moniter. "...which is...nothing. Sometimes there are minor fluctuations and readings; perhaps you heard the machine register something and misunderstood?"

David looked down at the floor, racking his brain. Was it really possible that he had imagined it? Her hand on his, it felt so real...so alive...

"Mr. Nolan, go home, get some rest. If anything changes I'll call you okay?"

David nodded with a dejected sigh, grabbing the book from the chair he had spent the last four hours reading in. Maybe he was just tired, it had been a long day afterall. He nodded a quick goodbye to Dr. Whale and then took his leave. Only when Dr. Whale was sure that David was gone did he reach into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. He hit speed dial number four, and waited.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Regina snapped on the other end of the line.

"It's Doctor Whale. You told me to call you if there was any change in the Jane Doe..." Dr. Whale began, ignoring the venemous and obviously pissed off greeting from the Mayor. "Something's happened."

Regina immediately hung up her phone and sprung out of her bed, no longer did the tiredness pull her eyelids shut as they had just moments before and rushed to get ready for the day, a perminent frown on her face as she did. It didn't take too long before Regina reached the hospital, and after speaking with a few key officials, headed to the room where Jane Doe was kept, only to find it completely empty.

Jane Doe had gone missing.

Once Upon a Time...

Henry hurried down the street towards Mr. Gold's shop, not even looking behind to see if Faye was following. Either not noticing, or not caring about the 'closed' sign on the front door, he pushed it open quickly - causing the small bell to ring, announcing his presence.

The shop, like every other building in Storybrooke, had completely lost power however (unknown to anyone as to 'how') the shop had at least a dozen different candles lighting up the front room. The amount of wax dripping down the sides indicated that they had been lit for at least an hour; well before Henry had knocked the power out.

The owner of the Pawnshop was nowhere to be seen, however, but the sound of glass clinking together was barely audible from behind the curtain where Mr. Gold's office and extra items were stored for later use. Aside from the usual musty smell that the pawnshop gave off (due to most of the items being extremely old and dusty) there was another odor in the air, one that no one had ever expected inside Mr. Gold's shop; smoke.

Henry looked about the seemingly-empty shop peculiarly, wrinkling his nose at the scent of smoke that wafted through the shop. Deciding to investigate, he stepped behind the counter, slowly pulling aside the curtains to find the source.

It wasn't too hard to spot Mr. Gold once the curtains had been drawn back. He was standing over a rather large, oak desk with his right palm keeping him steady as opposed to his cane, which laid in the middle of the floor between Henry and himself, forgotten. On the desk were a variety of glass bottles, each half-filled with either a clear or murky brown liquid. Also on the desk, seemingly very out of place, a very old, worn blanket folded up to perfection with the red embroidery sitting face up.

Mr. Gold didn't bother to raise his eyes from the name stitched onto the blanket after hearing Henry come in, the only movement the older man made was to lift his right hand from the desk, pull out a half-smoked cigarette and then used his left hand to bring a shot glass of what could be Brandy to his lips, exhaling the smoke out of his nose as he downed the drink. Only when he had set the empty glass back down onto the desk did Mr. Gold bother to look over at Henry, his usual perfectly kempt hair splayed out in random tangles, as if the man had spent a while tugging and pulling at it.

"You've done it then." Mr. Gold acknowledged Henry with a low, tired voice, his eyelids matching the worn look the rest of his appearance displayed.

"Good." He returned the cigarette to his lips and took a rather large inhale.

"I destroyed a fuse box - if that's what you're talking about." Henry replied, somewhat absentmindedly as he looked about what was *behind* the shop. He didn't get a good look at it whilst breaking in just about a week ago.

Henry inhaled sharply, his injured hand stinging painfully as he now had all the time in the world to focus on it. "Alice..." He began soberly, "She's here - in Storybrooke. How...why?" Henry asked, his tone not angry or demanding; simply inquisitive, and...hurt.

Mr. Gold tried to laugh, but it was immediately interrupted by a few hard coughs, forcing his hand to pull the cigarette out and cover his mouth. He shook his head at himself before running his hand over his mouth, pulling at the skin a bit before turning to face Henry directly.

"That depends-" he was forced to stop as another cough came over him, but he continued on just after, "-on what Cora told you."

Henry merely stared on as Mr. Gold began coughing violently. He masked a small smirk that threatened to cross his lips, 'The mighty Rumpelstiltskin, reduced to coughs and sputters.' Henry felt like saying, but held his tongue - Gold had helped him out more than once...and was definitely not a man to be insulted, as Henry had found out when he was staring at his own heart in the Imp's hand.

"She told me that you told her to kill Alice...so that I'd have nothing to lose." Henry answered bitterly, staring daggers at the older man before softening his gaze slightly. There was no point in getting mad right now. Alice was alive: in a false identity, yes. But alive nonetheless.

Getting screams of protest from his right leg from trying to hold his full weight for only a few moments, Mr. Gold was forced to brace his right hand back onto the desk, although he let out a bit of a chuckle at Henry's reply.

"So she is capable of telling the truth..." He mumbled to himself, though loud enough for Henry to hear before tossing his head a bit to look upon Henry directly once more. "It did work though, didn't it? Pulling you from Wonderland, away from your home and family, you're right, you didn't have anything to lose. Such as what I needed in a savior. I counted on you running from her execution, and you did...too much of a coward to stay and watch before I plucked her from the fate you bestowed upon her." He answered, using his thumb and forefinger to mimic 'plucking' as the word fell from his lips.

"You...you stole her?" Henry asked, his tone that of utter disbelief.

"I prefer the word rescued..."

"All these years I thought she was dead, and you took her for your own selfish reasons."

Mr. Gold scoffed and shook his head, looking down at nothing in particular before looking back to Henry.

"Would you have done it?" He asked, and without waiting for Henry to ask him what he was talking about, he continued, "would you have been pushed to such an extreme to make the power go out in Storybrooke in a last-stitch effort to save your sister from eviction?"

Henry stammered, genuinely unsure of how to answer. "I...I had to. That life-" He began, pointing towards the front door, signifying all of Storybrooke, "Is all she knows."

"What did the nuns say when you handed them over the money?" Mr. Gold asked, although the tone he used indicated that he already knew. "You don't know do you? Because as soon as you had the money, you came straight here. But I'll tell you what the nuns will say, they will spread word of your 'heroic display' of raising the money to keep 'nasty Mr. Gold' from evicting such kind-hearted people. Your name will be cleared, all charges will be dropped and you will be trusted because you managed to beat me." His lips curved into a thin smile, indicating that they both knew better, what really happened.

"I needed a savior to break this curse, but I had to create him first." Mr. Gold finished and snuffed out the still burning cigarette onto the oak desk.

Henry paced about the room, trying to come to terms with what he was just told. "If you had Alice this whole time." He started, not touching anymore on the 'savior' business. "Where did you keep her in the Enchanted Forest? The dungeon?" He asked, a slight bit of venom entering his tone.

Mr. Gold just smiled, giving Henry his answer before the man went into another coughing fit. A searing pain pierced down his back, causing the man's lean frame to arch away instinctively as he let out a low hiss of protest between his coughing. Coming out of his fit, he took a few steps towards Henry, stumbling whether because he had been drinking too much or because of his bad leg was unknown, but he stopped before his cane on the floor and scooped it up stiffly, relieved to have put his weight back on the stick rather than his bad leg.

"Rest assured, Mr. Carlyle, Alice was well taken care of. As you plainly saw earlier this afternoon, she bodes well. All she's missing, is her memories. Memories that you can bring back to her."

"I see..." Henry said, almost reverently. He already knew he had to break the Curse - but now...now the stakes were higher.

"One more question." Henry started, clearing his throat. "The quill...why did she ask for a quill?" He asked, finally hoping that the question that was racking his brain for days now, would be answered.

Unfortunately, Henry wouldn't get his answer. Mr. Gold rose his fist to his mouth once more, coughing into it with enough force that he was forced to close his eyes into a squint in an attempt to bear the pain that followed. Whether it was from the alcohol running through his blood or whatever sickness ailed the man, sweat began to form on his forehead causing strands of his hair to cling to him. All strength that Mr. Gold held was gone in an instant, drained immediately and the man began to sway on his feet until he began to collapse on himself in front of Henry.

Henry's eyes widened, but he made no move to grab the falling Mr. Gold until he clattered with an audible thud on the ground, his cane rolling useless across the floor.

Henry knelt down by the pawnbroker, eyes narrowing. "You son of a bitch." He hissed through grit teeth. "Why is it that I'm supposed to be the savior and no one tells me a goddamn thing?!" He practically shouted in the old man's face.

Without saying another word, Henry tried to lift Mr. Gold; but found the man too heavy but with whatever willpower Mr. Gold had left in him, the two of them together managed to get the Pawnbroker back onto his feet, though leaving Mr. Gold leaning heavily on Henry in support.

"You're not...dying on my watch, Imp - I need answers first." Henry said to Mr. Gold, huffing slightly as he tried to match his pace with the weak stumbles of the older man.

Henry helped support/carry him towards a rather austere looking reclaimer placed just-so-conveniently near the back wall - trying to ease Mr. Gold into the seat with...less grace than a doctor.

It didn't take much convincing on Henry's part for Mr. Gold to finally relax into the furniture. He let his head drop back, resting at an awkward angle against the wall with his hand resting on his chest as he attempted to regain his breath, but it wasn't coming easily. He could hear Henry speaking to him, but the dull buzzing noises in his ears kept him from being able to understand what he was saying, only able to just keep his eyes closed and concentrate on holding on...just a little longer...

"You have...to break...this curse..." Mr. Gold managed in between staggered breaths, each word sounding like it could very well be his last.

Henry looked Mr. Gold up and down, unsure exactly what to do or say. "Will you tell me what the hell is going on?! I need answers, Rumpelstiltskin...the first of them being what the hell's wrong with you." Henry said, sounding quite unsympathetic to the Dark One's plight.
Something that sounded like a laugh came from Mr. Gold's throat, followed immediately by another coughing fit, but the smile remained on his face all the while keeping his eyes closed.

"All magic...comes with a price..." He answered hoarsely. "What used to be in The...Enchanted Forest...is now here. The Dark One is not here, but my curse still remains...inside me...as the curse weakens, my own curse aims to kill me, but you must...break it..."

Henry cocked his head to the side as Mr. Gold explained his sudden ailment. "So you're saying...if I break the Curse, I save you?" Henry asked, pacing from side to side calmly.

"I'm not doing it for you..." Henry finally said after some time. "If Alice and Snow weren't involved...I'd be just as happy watching you die slowly - painfully. But you're once again...necessary...I need Prince Charming to read to Snow White - and I think I might know how." Henry finished, turning to leave.

Mr. Gold said nothing, nor did he move in protest as he heard Henry getting up to leave. He only breathed, a small sense of calming coming over him at Henry's words and this time, this time the old Pawnbroker believed him.

Once Upon a Time...

Miner’s day had initially come to an end, save for what Regina would refer to as ‘leftover Christmas lights’ illuminating the town square as the sun was on its way to setting. Most of the stalls had closed by now, being out of product to sell and yet a great number of Storybrooke had stayed out, mingling with one another as if they hadn’t seen each other in years and this was their only hope at a good, lengthy conversation. In Regina’s opinion, that was highly ridiculous; what else did these people do on a day-to-day basis other than stand around and talk to one another? There never was enough going on in Storybrooke that would ever hinder that.

Had Regina not been so high-strung at that particular moment she would have stopped to enjoy the pinks and oranges of the sunset, as was everyone else, but Robert no doubt would be good on his word and come by early the next morning to pick up Mason. The thought alone put knots in Regina’s stomach, so bad that she had wondered how she had made it through the duration of the day without vomiting. She was stressed, she knew that, and she also knew she would do anything to keep Mason, to keep her son.

Mr. Gold had made a fine point of avoiding her all day, almost like he knew that she was looking for him to strike a deal. Countless times she had walked by his pawn shop, only to see the ‘Closed’ sign in the door and the pawnbroker nowhere inside. If he wasn’t hiding in his own pawnshop, then where was he hiding? She had thought that she had caught a glimpse of his hair once or twice from across the street throughout the day, or hearing the familiar clanking of his cane from behind her, but each time she made pause to focus in on either of these things, he was nowhere in sight.

Finally though, as the sun had finally succumbed to the horizon and twilight had been brought upon Storybrooke, she saw the man limping heavily back towards his shop, and Regina was in hot pursuit after allowing Mason to go and play with the other children. She entered the pawnshop only moments after he did, the sign in the door remaining in its ‘Closed’ position but Mr. Gold didn’t bother locking up the door once he had entered his shop; again as if he were waiting for her. It was unnerving, at some points the way Mr. Gold went about things. He always seemed to know everything, and not only that but he always seemed prepared for whatever it was that happened. She expected such behavior from Rumpelstiltskin, but without magic in Storybrooke, she was only left to wonder ‘how’ when it came to the methods of Mr. Gold.

The tiny bell attached to the door rang, and Regina walked into the shop, absentmindedly running her fingers over her black hair to ensure that it was still looking good. She approached the older man at the counter, and let her elbows rest on its hard surface.

“I need a child Gold, and I need your help.” Regina said, amazed with her own self-will to not sound as if she were about to burst into tears like she had felt all day. Mr. Gold breathed out an airy laugh and shook his head no.

“Well I’m flattered, but uninterested.” Came his cheeky reply, this time making Regina shake her head no with a twisted face of ‘why the hell can’t you be serious for once?’

“Not like that!” She snapped, feeling her eyes roll a bit. “I’m talking about Mason. Sheriff Leland has made a point to try and take him from me to a boy’s home in Boston by morning. We both know what happens to people when people try and leave Storybrooke…” Regina paused to clear her throat. “But you, Gold, you know how to cut through red tape, and if anyone can work the system and let me keep Mason it’s you.”

Mr. Gold didn’t say anything at first, just looking down on Regina with such a stone-faced expression that Regina feared that her flattery hadn’t helped her at all.

“You wish to adopt?” He said at last, though in more of a statement than a question.

“Well don’t look so surprised!” Regina replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Oh I’m not.” He assured her. “I’m sure you’ll make a-“ His words hung in the air as he seemed to chew over in his mind the correct words to finish that sentence. “-well, a mother of some sort.”

“Can you help me?” Regina asked, her tone no more pleasant and in the works of flattery. With just that one question Mr. Gold could tell that she was already losing her patience.

“Of course I can, but a word of caution. Ask yourself, is this something you’re ready for?”

“It’s something I need.”

“Well that may not be the same thing…”

Regina’s face fell to the honesty of the pawnbroker’s words, bur Mr. Gold continued on.

“I’ll get you the child-“

Regina didn’t need to hear anymore after that, and turned to leave, but Mr. Gold kept speaking.

“-but whether or not that’s helping you-“

Regina stopped walking and turned to look at Mr. Gold.

“-remains to be seen. When you become a parent…you must put your child first…” Mr. Gold’s eyes fell from Regina’s, seeming to be deep in thought over a more, personal matter. “…no matter what.”

“I can’t help but to notice that you haven’t asked for a favor in return.” Regina answered. She wasn’t completely disregarding everything he had to say, more just…putting it into the back of her head to think on later. “There’s always something with you, what do you want?”

Whatever sort of deep thought Mr. Gold had put himself in, he had snapped right back out, returning a somewhat cheeky smirk back to Regina.
“What makes you think I want something dear? What more do you have to give me?”

This time, Regina’s face fell. He was right, she didn’t have anything for him, not this time. This was a deal she was unprepared to make, she had been so worried about keeping Mason that she walked into the pawnshop blindly, willing to pay any price he asked. Her face steadily grew pale as she realized that there was one thing…one thing that could set everything straight and keep her off of Gold’s radar for quite some time; she just didn’t think she would have had to pull that card so soon. She opened her mouth to speak, but Mr. Gold had beaten her to it.

“Magic.” He replied, so curtly, that it made Regina pause to close her mouth again.

“Magic?” She asked, quirking a curious brow. She hadn’t been expecting that.

“Your vault. I know you brought it here. I also know you couldn’t help yourself by bringing along a few trinkets along from our world.”

Regina found her thumb and index finger fidgeting with the golden ring around her left pointer finger, twisting it round and round as she felt her throat go dry.

“No dearie, not your ring. You can keep your precious memento for your revenge on The Charmings.”

“Then what?”

Mr. Gold smirked, adjusting the weight that he put onto his good leg.

“Let’s just say I’ve been having a bit of trouble with…falling asleep…”

The color to Regina’s face came back, but not by much.

“Why on earth would you need that?” Regina asked.

“Well if you’re going to just stand there asking questions, then perhaps I might just-“ He used his right hand in a small flourish. “-forget to make a few phone calls for your boy.” Regina took in a deep breath and sighed out through her nose.

“Fine, it’s yours. I’ll bring it by tomorrow after I see Mason’s paperwork.” Regina agreed.

“Who is he?”

The question caught Regina off-guard, so much that Mr. Gold even saw that he would have to be more specific with his question.

“The boy. Who is he? Surely he has parents somewhere, if not here then back where we came from…”

“Before you start throwing accusations, Gold, I had nothing to do with the disappearance of his parents. If Mason came here without them then that means he had been separated from them before I inflicted the curse. All the more reason for me to adopt him. Unlike you Gold, I don’t abandon children.”

Her sentence struck a raw nerve in the older man’s face so hard, Regina was sure that he would either begin to shout, or possibly even cry. He did neither though, holding his composure just long enough for Regina to smirk and walk out of his shop.

Just as soon as the door was shut, he let the silent tears stream down from his face and splash down onto the hard surface of the counter top. He placed his palms together, lacing his fingers between one another and stretched his arms out on top of the counter, bending at the waist to let his forehead rest against his combined fists where he audibly began to sob out into the emptiness of his shop.

Once Upon a Time...

Storybrooke: Chapter 1 The Curse
Day 3 Character Summary

Knox Kowalski

With the earth-a-quaken’, Knox feels a compulsion to leave the hospital to investigate the scene of the emergency, and goes along with one of the ambulances. Portions of the town, here or there, were damaged…but the ambulance brings him to the heart of the problem, the mine. Becoming concerned about the new piece of information, there being a young boy in the mine, the security guard brings up time being of the essence.

As luck would have it, an uncooperative Ruby steps in and offers to go in and save the boy, though Knox is strongly against that notion…and instead offers to go inside in her place. Both of them are dismissed, and though he’d have liked to follow, Ruby runs on in when people are distracted. Knox got more upset than he’d like to admit, bitches at the authorities, and rushes on in to follow the waitress.

The cave is cramped with low ceilings. Knox is a tall man. Bad idea. Ruby has little to no problem coordinating herself, Mark has little to no problems finding his way with his flashlight (who had followed after the two of them). Knox bangs his head on a low ceiling, minor bruising and bleeding all ‘round. The blood scares Mason once they found the boy, and Ruby went to the dog that the boy had chased down into the mines in the first place.

Eventually, they get out. At this point, Knox looks like a serial killer who had little problem with his latest victim, but Ruby pays this no mind and directs him to the nearest ambulance for some treatment. Getting his head checked, cleaned, and bandaged…he rests for almost a whole minute, before Ruby jumps at the opportunity to speak to him alone. Well, he’s glad that she’s thinking about him, and is worried for his health…at least.

Knox braces himself for awkwardness, yelling, something bad…? He’s not met with any of that, and is pleasantly surprised that she is apologizing…? It’s a pleasant surprise that she’s admitting that she has some issues of her own, having had time to think and grow. Ruby doesn’t plan on running from her feels anymore…and Knox shares the same sentiment?! (Though, he still has worse issues managing his feels than she does.) Ruby is happy, Knox is ___...and can feel himself grow more impulsive with actions like this. He finds himself kissing her once again, only for it to be reciprocated. He then tells Ruby to head back to the diner, and she understands what she has to do and reluctantly leaves him to go and apologize now to Granny.

After returning home for a quick shower and change of clothing, Knox returned to the hospital just in time for his head to start bleeding. Checking in with Dr Stevenson, a little bit of small talk here, a little bit of awkward ‘I can’t disclose certain information yet’ there…and the doctor noticed his eye squint-strain. After excusing it as side effect of lack of sleep, Knox was good to go back to work.

A few or so hours later, Knox is prolly eating a granola bar and patrolling, when he’s informed via the walkie talkie about some suspicious as hell activity. Going to the surveillance room, the only other person on surveillance duty saw some d!ck making out with the Jane Doe, and a call from the nurse followed. Watching the footage, Knox just can’t seem to figure out what sort of sicko would make out with a helpless patient?!

Looking about the hospital for Dr Faye Stevenson, as she is the head doctor and the one in charge of the Jane Doe, he finds her and brings her along to the hospital room. On their way, Knox asks her what she wants to do about Mr Gold, who she hadn’t so much lodged even the smallest complaint about for the way that he acted, from the other night’s footage. Both come to the conclusion that it’s best to stick to their guns, and file the complete report.

Getting into Jane Doe’s hospital room, Knox shows Dr Stevenson inside, handcuffs Henry, and plays the taped footage. Feeling Henry suspicious as hell, and possibly sick in the mind…he let the doctor make up her mind about this one…still, there is suspicion in his mind, planted when she asked him to leave the hospital room for the apparent mundane ‘you need help’ condescending speech that wasn’t quite right. But, Knox left it in her hands…fuck, prolly a stupid idea in a long, probably going to lose his job.

Dr. Faye Stevenson

Faye was in the hospital when the earthquake hit. As much as she wanted to go and investigate what caused the earthquake, she knew that she would be needed in the hospital, in case anyone got injured. Thankfully, not many people were injured. She heard about what had occurred at the mines through word of mouth. Knox came to her and she tended to his wounds. While she did so, she noticed that he was squinting, but he merely passed it off as nothing too serious.

After she finished tending to Knox's wounds, she ran into Henry who invited her to lunch at Granny's. As soon as she could, she went and met up with Henry. They made small talk with each other, until it Faye felt like she was about to black out again. Thankfully, before she could fully black out, Ruby came and interrupted the both of them. Right after Ruby checked on the both of them, Faye noticed that it was almost time for her appointment with Dr. Hopper. She quickly excused herself from the table, and headed for the psychiatrist's office.

Once she was in Dr. Hopper's office, she immediately noticed that he didn't have her psychological files. She asked him right away, but he lied and said that he misplaced the files. It wasn't until they finished with her session that she pressed Dr. Hopper for the truth. She knew that someone took her files, and she realized from what Dr. Hopper said, that it was Regina who took the files, and that she threatened him for those files. While they were talking, Dr. Hopper realized that the patient who had lung cancer was none other than Mr. Gold.

After the appointment, Dr. Stevenson headed back for the hospital to continue her work, only to learn from Knox that Henry had done something to the coma patient. As he lead her to the coma patient's room, he talked to her about the fact that security caught the moment Mr. Gold hit Dr. Stevenson, and Knox asked her if he could send the report to the sheriff. She allowed him to do so.

When they reached the room, Knox showed Faye the footage of Henry leaning over the coma patient. After Henry and Faye spoke with each other, Sheriff Leland dragged him out of the hospital, and to prison.

Hours later, Dr. Stevenson headed home, and on her way there, she spoke with Regina. She asked Regina why she took the psychological profiles without a warrant, and to return them to Dr. Hopper. However, the mayor denied having the files in the first place. Seeing that there was no point in continuing the discussion, she bid the mayor farewell, with something sinister hidden in her kind smile. After that, she headed home.

Regina

Regina had already been awake for a few hours by the time Henry decided to wake up from her bed. She was finishing up getting ready for the day and informed him she had to leave pretty soon and that he should get some coffee as well as telling Henry where his clothes had ended up from the night before. While Henry then got dressed, she went downstairs to get them both a cup of fresh coffee. When Henry finally joined her downstairs, Regina informed him that he was going to be late. Confused, Henry asked what for and Regina informed him that he got the teaching position at the school, earning a cheeky grin from the visitor.

Suddenly the ground began to shake as an earthquake began, lasting the duration of only ten seconds but it was enough to really throw Regina off-guard. She went to her window to see the rest of Storybrooke going outside to survey the damage (broken power lines, shattered glass, etc) and her paranoia only increased when she heard that the mines had collapsed when she had just managed to calm the crowds down after she had joined them on the streets. Regina could only watch in horror as the group then followed Leroy to the mines to further investigate the earthquake that came out of nowhere. Well, out of nowhere to them. Regina knew exactly where it had come from.

When Regina finally arrived at the mines, she found that Robert had already blocked the area off to keep anyone unauthorized from entering. She quickly approached the sheriff, demanding to know what happened but he, like everyone else deemed it as just being a collapse in the mines causing the earth to quake. Regina didn't like his answer, and went to survey the area herself. She noticed a small, glittering object on the ground and quickly stooped to pick it up, making sure no one was looking. She then informed the gathered crowd that the area was to be cemented off immediately, and that this area had become a high-level danger zone. She was just barking the command to get Robert on cementing the area when suddenly, Mark showed up out of nowhere claiming he saw a child run after a dog into the mines, and hadn't yet come out.

Henry was able to identify the boy as Mason, one of his students after Mark gave a quick description, and thus Regina had no choice but to issue a rescue party to retrieve the boy from the mines. Mark volunteered himself, but then all of a sudden the tramp waitress Ruby was demanding to be allowed to help as well, and then the broody paramedic Knox. Regina shooed Knox and Ruby away and allowed Mark to go in, but just as Regina was sure she had everything under control, the tramp Ruby darted towards the mouth of the cave and headed inside, obviously taking it upon herself to do what she wanted leaving Regina very angry and took it out on Robert, since he wasn't doing his job and could only watch when the broody paramedic followed after the tramp waitress.

It took a few moments, but Mason was finally brought back to the surface as well as the dog and the three who had entered the mines. Regina didn't even bother with 'thank you's' and approached Mason who was getting checked over by the other paramedics. She greeted him politely, and offered to take him out for ice cream. Regina didn't know who his parents were, or why they hadn't come forward yet, and so Regina asked Robert to look into it. Before Robert could even try though, David Nolan came forward and explained to Regina that the boy didn't have any. David had been watching the boy for some time now, giving anonymous donations to the school to ensure that he got something to eat and had clean clothes.

Now that the mines were clear, Regina once again ordered the mines to be paved over and walked away with Mason, pausing for just a split second before a tear in the earth where Regina let go the glittering object she had picked up earlier, now lost into the depths of the mines and made her leave with Mason at her side.

Regina spent the rest of the day with Mason, earning his trust by showering him with gifts. Ice cream, new toys, and now playing at the park. It was here that she informed Robert to meet her, while she waited swinging on the swing set with Mason. She offered Mason that he stay at her place, getting a heightened yes from the boy and a smile from Regina. Robert finally arrived, and Regina let Mason play on his own as they talked.

The order to cement the mines was issued, but Regina was no longer interested in that. She wanted information on Henry Carlyle, but Robert had none to give about his search in Henry's bedroom the night before. He did, however, inform Regina that Henry had been arrested for kissing the comatose Jane Doe. Regina found this amusing, no longer feeling the stress of Henry Carlyle running the streets and ruining everything. It might not have been by her own hand, but she finally had him behind bars. Regina then asked Robert what he knew about the woman without a name that had been in the cells earlier informing Robert that she knew there was some sort of tie between the woman and Dr. Stevenson.

Pleased, Regina patted Robert's chest and informed Mason it was time to leave so they could go home for dinner. Robert then called out to Regina, informing her that he would be stopping by later that evening for...wine...

When Regina returned home with Mason, Dr. Faye Stevenson approached Regina. Knowing that the conversation wouldn't be pleasant, Regina sent Mason inside to go and take a bath. Sure enough, Faye wanted to confront Regina about the stolen psychological files taken from Dr. Hopper's office, but Regina, knowing that she had no proof, lied her way out of it and instilled a few threats of her own to keep Faye away. Regina knew it wouldn't last long, knowing the doctor she would have to read those files tonight and get them back to Dr. Hopper before Faye went to Robert and got a search warrant.

Regina spent the remainder of her evening with Mason, eating pizza and watching a movie together followed by baking cookies. Regina didn't want the night to end, but Mason was overcome by exhaustion and fell asleep on the couch. Regina walked the sleepy boy upstairs into the room she would be giving him and tucked him in with a motherly kiss, and he in turn squoze her hand back before drifting back to sleep. Now that Mason was asleep, she could return downstairs and read over Dr. Faye's files, and put an end to this mystery of the mystery woman.

The files didn't tell her much, between Archie's scribbles and vague reports there wasn't much to go on, but Regina knew one thing was certain. Dr. Stevenson, before she became Dr. Stevenson worked for Rumpelstiltskin, and as fate would have it the man still had his memories. She would make a point to ask him about the doctor later. She took a quick walk to Archie's place and returned the confiscated files before heading to the Sheriff's department to see Henry behind bars herself.

Regina decided that it was time to confront Henry about his real identity, but he wasn't giving out information very willingly. Before Regina had a chance to really dig into him though, Mr. Gold made himself known and informed Regina that he would be taking over Henry Carlyle's case as his attorney. Utterly dumbfounded, Regina had no other choice but to leave, sending a quick text to her chief editor for The Daily Mirror to set up a quick meeting where no one could overhear them or see them together.

Her editor for The Daily Mirror was ecstatic about all the buzz going around town because of Henry, eager to write up a good story but Regina wanted only one thing from her; sabotage. She would ruin Henry Carlyle's reputation no matter what the cost.

Mr. Gold

In another flashback, Rumpelstiltskin confronts the very pirate that took Milah and Baelfire from him. He had only just gotten the powers of The Dark One a short while ago, but he knew enough now to seek his revenge on the pirate. He confronted Killian, letting him and his crew know that he was now The Dark One, and wanted his family back. Killian informed Rumpelstiltskin that both Milah and Baelfire had died at sea, washed away by a storm.

Completely outraged, Rumpelstiltskin challenged Killian to a duel, both knowing that it would be the pirate's last. Rumpelstiltskin then gave him the satisfaction of having the night to himself, for they would not duel until dawn.

Henry came into Mr. Gold's shop, demanding answers. Why had he given him the book, and how did he know all these things? Mr. Gold turned it into a dance of words, not exactly answering Henry but leaving other things open that made Henry grow more and more suspicious, finally causing him to call Rumpelstiltskin out, that Mr. Gold had his memories the entire time.

Mr. Gold then dropped the act, since they both knew now but he kept his words careful as he started to explain things to Henry. Mr. Gold then brought Henry's attention back to Snow, and Henry came to the realization that true loves kiss would awaken her, and so he left on his own agenda, believing that it would be he to wake Snow up from her coma, leaving Mr. Gold to just sigh and shake his head. That boy still had so much to learn, and unfortunately it would have be done the hard way.

News spread quickly of the newcomer that was going around kissing comotose hospital patients. Mr. Gold gathered up what patience he had left for the boy and headed to the Sheriff's department where he knew Regina would be sniffing out Henry immediately. He walked in quietly, overhearing the tail end of Regina's conversation with Henry, finding that Regina too was loosing her patience with the hairless cat and decided to cut in, claiming to be representing Henry Carlyle's case as his attourney, causing Regina's mouth to hang open in shock. He could only smirk at her reaction, they both knew with Mr. Gold serving as Henry's attourney, Regina couldn't touch him, and so she left without another word.

Henry admitted his thanks to Mr. Gold, calling him by his proper name of Rumpelstiltskin or The Dark One. Henry then went on to apologize for getting himself into this mess, he knew what really needed to be done, but he was so overcome by jealousy he had to try. Mr. Gold made it clear that Henry needed to get his head screwed on straight in order for him to be able to break the curse, and Henry agreed to do what Mr. Gold wished so long as it lied in the best interest of everyone else.

As Mr. Gold turned to leave, Henry asked one simple question; why he couldn't remember his name from back in Wonderland. Mr. Gold, of course, knew the answer but didn't think Henry quite ready, and so he answered Henry by saying that he didn't wish to remember, and walked out quietly leaving Henry to think over Mr. Gold's words, only able to hold onto the promise that Mr. Gold would be getting him out of prison in a few days time.

Ruby

Ruby, like everyone else, was immediately alerted about the collapse at the mines and found herself following the crowd to go and investigate. When she got there, Mayor Mills was already speaking with Sheriff Leland, David Nolan, Knox and Mark. They all seemed to be arguing about something, and (beyond reasons known to her) Ruby was able to hear them from behind the caution tape. A boy had been trapped down in the mines, and they were deciding who was to go. Ruby felt her feet moving for her as she pushed past the security tape and approached Mark, who would be the leader of the rescue and informed him that she would be going, ignoring the glaring looks she was getting from Regina for crossing the boundry line.
Knox spoke up first, saying that she would do no such thing and with a little resentment built up in her from the previous night, told Knox to back off.

Regina, however had the final word and dismissed the both of them, but just as soon as Ruby knew neither were looking, she turned and ran into the mines. She knew she could find that boy, she found Mr. Gold when Knox couldn't even hear him, she could definitely do this. Knox ended up chasing after her, and giving her a right scolding once they were in the mines but Ruby kept going, then noticing that Mark had also followed them inside. There was no turning back now, and so Ruby led the two boys in the direction that she could hear Mason. She didn't know how it was possible, since neither Mark nor Knox could hear what she heard, but as they went down tunnel after tunnel, they finally found the boy and Pongo.

Mark went to check on the boy while Ruby checked Pongo over. The walls of the mines began to shake and they were quickly forced back to the mouth of the cave. Mason went first, and then Pongo followed by Ruby and then Mark. Being the last one out, Knox barely made it out of the mines before the entrance closed permanately. He was definitely the one worse for wear, with him being so tall and the mines being so short and narrow he was sporting quite a few injuries. Ruby went over to Knox as he was getting checked out by the paramedics, and apologized for her behavior the night before. She told him that he was right, that she was running from her problems and feelings, and she aimed to fix that.

Knox took it upon himself then to kiss her. Ruby didn't know why, but she wasn't about to ask and let herself kiss him back before he pulled away and urged her to go and make things right with Granny again, and so Ruby headed back to the diner where she would do just that.

At first it was a bit awkward, walking into Granny's after the elaborate scene the two of them had put on for the diner not too long ago, but Ruby swallowed the bitter pill and got it out that she didn't mean to upset Granny, she was just frightened about filling her shoes, and apologized full-heartedly. Granny then told Ruby the only reason she was pushing her so hard is because she wanted to give Ruby the Diner once she retired, earning quite a shocked expression from Ruby. The two made up, and Ruby immediately got to work, having just a bit more work-ethic in the way she did things now.

It wasn't too long after that, that Granny's got extremely busy. What with the earthquake and all, everyone seemed to want to merge to Granny's to talk it over. Ruby was so busy tending to customers, in fact, that she didn't even see Jake walk in, having forgotten about leaving her cell phone with him completely. It wasn't until Jake had Ashley get Ruby's attention that she finally stopped by, finding Jake and Mark having what she would assume a very awkward conversation, being forced to sit together since the place was so packed. She got her cellphone back from Jake and apologized for not being able to stay and chat, and got back to work.

Dr. Stevenson had made it in with Henry, and Ruby tended to them quickly, having to explain that they were practically out of everything. It was good seeing Dr. Stevenson out, she was such an introvert she would have had to do something about that herself if Henry hadn't beaten her to it.

Robert Leland

Robert was one of the first to respond to the earthquake, he maintained order and tried to calm the crowd down. While he was leading Mark to the entrance, he was failed to stop Knox and Ruby from entering the mine. Afterward, Robert met Mason, had a brief conversation with David, Mason's temporary guardian. He was unable to find any records of Mason's parents or legal guardian when he called the school, a fact which troubled him. The hospital called when they saw Henry kiss an unconscious Jane Doe, and Robert ejected him from the building. Later, he met with Regina, telling her what he knew about Mason, Henry, and the mysterious woman. Some of what she said disturbed him, especially the fact that she somehow obtained Dr. Hopper's private records.

Henry Carlyle

Henry woke up the next morning in a strange bed, taking a few moments to reclaim his mental faculties and figure out what had happened the night before. It only took a few moments before he realized that he was naked....in Regina's bed. Overcome by shock and guilt, Henry practically scrambled out of bed and got dressed – accepting a rather nonchalant Regina’s offer for coffee.

Henry made his way downstairs hurriedly, showing a mixture of fear and regret at the events that had just transpired the night before. He had little time to dwell on these thoughts, however, as Regina came down the stairs shortly after him; giving him a mug of coffee.

As Henry waited about the house with his beverage, Regina casually told the newcomer that he’d be late for work that morning. Slightly confused, Henry begged her pardon, causing the mayor to elaborate that he had indeed been given the job of school-teacher. Henry was ecstatic, practically bounding up and down in his excitement (though Regina didn’t return the sentiment).

Henry’s mini-celebration, however, was short-lived as a flash earthquake struck the town, immediately causing the schoolteacher to dive under a table for cover. He slowly climbed out as the shaking stopped, quite dumbfounded at the sudden disaster. Regina was no-sooner out the door without another word, Henry following quickly at the mayor’s heels.

A large crowd of townspeople formed near Regina’s house, all begging answer as to what caused the earthquake to strike the down. Henry remained silent as the town drunk, Leroy theorized that it was a collapse at the town mines that caused the quake: and without a moment’s notice, the crowd swarmed across to the mouth of the mines.

Henry stayed close to Regina at this time, keeping his mouth closed and eyes alert as he observed the goings on at the mines. According to one of the town firemen, Mark Dufresne, there was a young boy trapped down in the mines after having chased Dr. Hopper’s dog Pongo.

At this, Henry piped up: noting that the young boy was no other than his own student, Mason was the one trapped down there. He fell silent again as the crowd began deliberating what would happen, eventually deciding on sending the firefighter down in the mines – alone.

In true Storybrooke fashion, however, plans changed as Ruby and Knox both sprinted past Mark and Sheriff Leland, resulting in three unqualified people in the mines instead of just one.

Henry couldn’t help but think of the audacity of the situation as he awaited the rescuers to return from the mines – promptly leaving as soon as he could, heading back to his room to think – think on events that were unfolding…

It wasn’t until later that day that Henry walked into the hospital again with renewed vigor – sneaking past reception to speak to Dr. Faye Stevenson and invite her to an unofficial lunch “date”.

The good doctor accepted and Henry left just as quickly as he had entered, a flashy grin on his face nearly the entire time.

Less than an hour later, Henry met Dr. Stevenson at Granny’s Diner and engaged in small talk with her while ‘enjoying’ the meager ‘lunch’ that Granny’s provided: being out of most of their food items for some strange reason.

The doctor suffered some sort of ill effect and promptly left the restaurant – giving Henry time for a surprise meeting with Mr. Gold, during which the Newcomer interrogated the Scotsman about his reasoning for giving Henry the storybook in the first place – this confrontation revealing that Mr. Gold, or Rumpelstiltskin, did indeed retain his memories from the Enchanted Forest: promptly reprimanding Henry for tossing out the memory potion in his own wrath.

This led into a slightly heated discussion where it was revealed that Rumpelstiltskin made previous dealings with Henry, or, the Cat’s now-deceased sister Alice – prompting Henry to demand what he gave her and why; but the Imp wouldn’t budge.

Deciding to change the subject, Mr. Gold subtly hinted at the prospect of True Love’s Kiss being able to awaken the comatose Snow White from her sleeping curse, or coma. Henry, in his arrogance, believed that Snow (who had been his best and only true friend in the Enchanted Forest) loved him as well, sending him in a hasty rush to get back to the hospital and awaken her.

Henry entered the hospital for regular volunteering hours with a certain hop to his step, barely able to contain his unseemly excitement as he entered the Jane Doe’s room; ready to be reunited with Snow (or at least Storybrooke’s version of Snow) for the first time in years.

He walked into her room, somewhat nervous over the prospect of kissing the comatose woman who he had lost for all these years. However, with slight one-sided banter, he overcame this nervousness and kissed her sincerely – to no effect.

Confused that Snow did not wake up, he tried once more, again with no effect. Growing desperate and emotionally unstable, Henry tried to kiss Snow one last time…again…nothing. This sent Henry into an emotional wreck; causing him to fall to the ground in tears as he realized that destiny had cursed him – for he would have to make David Nolan, or Prince Charming kiss her to break the Curse.

Henry had little time to compose himself when Knox Kowalski and Dr. Stevenson had him apprehended for “harassing” a coma patient; quickly having him handcuffed and calling Sheriff Leland. Henry remained almost strangely calm/composed during the entire ordeal; drained by the new information that had hit him.

The fates decided to give him a moment’s reprieve, however, as Knox left the room, giving time for Henry to explain himself to her. He rather hurriedly gave his defense, though it ended in more questions for Faye and less answers to her previous questions. However, she trusted him enough to believe that he would get her answers soon; keeping up the front, however, of the stern doctor.

It wasn’t long after that when Sheriff Leland arrived on the premises, escorting Henry out of the hospital and into a holding cell while he sorted out what exactly to do.

Henry stayed in the prison for the night, remaining almost deathly silent until Regina came to visit late in the night to confront him – making a dry remark about their rendezvous the night before.

Henry wasn’t in the mood for her games, however, and decided to instead reveal his position as the Savior to break the Curse.

Regina kept an intimidating stance, attempting to find out his “real” identity when Mr. Gold entered on the scene suddenly, citing himself as Henry’s lawyer in the pressing case against him. Henry did little but grin madly as the two powers of Storybrooke confronted each other; Mr. Gold holding the obvious upper hand in the discussion.

Regina left, barely able to contain her rage as her plans to expel Henry were extinguished once more. This gave Mr. Gold and Henry time to talk, where the jailed cat promptly apologized for the trouble he landed himself in; reassuring Gold that the Curse would be broken by his hand.

As Mr. Gold turned to leave, Henry decided to ask one more question: Why couldn’t he remember his name? His true name? At this the pawnbroker merely told Henry that he didn’t *want* to remember before leaving the sheriff’s office, leaving Henry to think over his answer…

Mark Dufresne

Mark was headed in to work as every other day went when he noticed a young boy chasing Dr. Hopper’s Dalmatian, Pongo through the streets. This did little to disrupt Mark until he saw the two of them run into the structurally unsound mines.

Jumping into action, Mark was just about to go in after the boy and dog when the mines collapsed; causing the entrance to cave in and a minor earthquake damaging a moderate portion of the town. This event caused the rest of Storybrooke to rile up into a small mob, disorderly and confused at the sudden disaster that occurred.

It wasn’t long before Sheriff Leland and Regina got involved, establishing a perimeter around the mines; preparing to seal it up. Before this could happen, however, Mark intervened – letting the town know that there was indeed a young child trapped in the mines.

This seemed to (strangely enough) grab the Mayor’s attention, and Mark personally volunteered to go down into the mines after the boy, who was identified as Mason by the newcomer, Henry Carlyle.

Before Mark could head in, however, both Ruby (the town whore) and Knox (the depressed security guard) demanded they help as well; citing their strange abilities of hearing and vision respectively.

Mark was prepared to accept their help when they both began to argue over Knox trying to guard Ruby who didn’t want it. Mark felt a strange sort of pressing urge to find Mason aside from the fact that he was lost (almost like he knew the boy ) and promptly silenced both Knox and Ruby: telling them he would be going in alone.

Before Sheriff Leland could escort him to a small space as entrance, Ruby took off into the mines herself, followed shortly by Knox. Mark was nothing less than furious, and hurried in after them – now having to watch after three people instead of just one.

As Mark entered the dark mine shaft, he immediately caught Knox and Ruby arguing *again*. No longer able or willing to hide his anger, Mark reprimanded both of them harshly; citing their disobedience and lack of maturity as reasons why the boy was still lost.

Mark seemed to finally drop the issue as he now walked down the dark shaft, flashlight in hand. It was true that both Ruby’s excellent hearing and Knox’s strange night vision came in handy, as they were only in the shafts a few minutes before finding the frightened boy and dog who were fortunately uninjured.

Knox attempted to calm the boy himself, but his bloodied appearance due to a head injury only frightened the boy that much more.

Mark felt a connection that he hadn’t before, and, moving Knox aside; spoke to the boy himself. Mason, too, seemed drawn to Mark and let himself be escorted out – the five of them (including Pongo) leaving the mines just as another collapse was about to start.

Knox and Mason received medical treatment and care, while Mark was given the rest of the day off as award for his good service. He took this time to head to Granny’s for a well-deserved break; deeply uncomfortable with his newfound label as “town hero” – he only wanted to be left alone.

It was at this time that Leroy came and sat down next to Mark, prompting the apathetic fireman to ask the janitor why the town was celebrating over Mark doing his job. Leroy, in a strangely wise fashion, told Mark that he had done what few others would have: volunteering without hesitation to rescue Mason from the mines

Mark rather bitterly acknowledged this, receiving a single warning about the newcomer being Regina’s ‘pet’ before Leroy left him in a somewhat more-confused state than before.

Around lunchtime, Granny’s was especially full, with the diner running out of free seats to take. This caused the local bartender, Jake Frostburn to sit at Mark’s table. The young man sought conversation with the grizzled firefighter, much to Mark’s ire. The conversation was at first awkward and clumsy – with Mark giving either short, blunt answers, or dampening the bright demeanor of Jake.

This eventually led to Mark losing his temper and sharply dismissing the boy: telling him that he didn’t like people at all. Though Mark apologized for his outburst, Jake left anyways, leaving Mark (finally) alone once again. …

Once Upon a Time...

During his patrols, Robert happened to see Regina and Mason walking around the town square, shopping at the various stalls. He thought that now might be a good a time to bring up his concerns with her. Maybe he could even make sure if Mason was ok, he was beginning to doubt whether Regina would be a good parent.

If this had just been any 'Miners Day,' Regina would have been found sticking her nose up at the little trinket booths and poorly put together fundraisers but this year, she had Mason. She couldn't deny the boy the way he looked with wide eyes and wonder at Marco's small toy stall, particularly fawning over a small, hand-blown glass figurine of a wire-haired terrier.

"These prices are a bit steep..." Regina said checking the paper tag on the dog, her voice not at all amused as she looked up at Marco with a slight glare.

"Twenty-five percent of the proceedings go to the children in the hospital." Marco said with a pleased smile, though faltering when Regina's expression didn't change.

"I'll give you seven dollars, and you can give twenty-five percent of that to your charity." Regina handed the small glass figure to Mason and began to dig through her purse.

He hated to interrupt Regina's moments with Mason, but he knew that the oppurtunity was fleeting. Robert walked closer to them, standing off to the side. He looked at the merchant and said "If you have any problems with a customer, let me know. I can sort it out, no matter who it is." He was trying to give a subtle hint that Regina really should have paid full price.

Regina lifted her head from digging through her purse and looked up at Robert with a cold glare.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She asked, straightening up her back. She was still shorter than Robert, but height alone had never been much to intimidate her.

"Just trying to help all of Storybrooke's residents. How've you two been, enjoying your time together? Mason's gonna have to meet with some people to find a more permanent home soon, I hope you guys have some fun today." Robert had read in books that he was supposed to "sugrarcoat" bad news, but that advice was intended for someone who actually had social skills.

Regina flinched, but her mouth remained shut until she turned around and got back onto her knee, looking at Mason and running her fingers through his wild brown hair.

"Mason, why don't you run home and put your little trinket into your bedroom?" She suggested, her voice eerily calm from what it had been just a few moments back. "And then on your way back, pick some apples from my tree, we can have a snack at the park later." She patted Mason and he was on his way.

Regina seemed to ignore the look on Marco's face when the boy had run off with one of his figurines without paying, but at Regina stood back up she slapped a twenty down onto the booth, however her eyes never left Robert's.

"What are you saying?" She asked, her eyes narrowing, daring him to suggest anything that might entail Mason having to leave her side.

"The law is clear, we need to take him to the regional office in Boston to get him in the system. I'm sure that when he's up for adoption, you'll be at the top of the list, but you do need to go through the proper channels." Roberts voice was as firm and unchanging as ever, he treated this like dealing with any other disobedient citizen.

"I am NOT taking him to Boston." Regina replied, feeling Marco wince at her raised voice. "We both know that's not how the system works, I'll never see him again and he'll be thrown into some house where he's just a meal ticket!" Regina could feel her eyes growing wet, but remained strong under the terms that no tear fell. She shook her head lightly to keep it so, and took a deep breath before she really lost it.

"Robert, I'm begging you. Overlook what the state says, no one here will blame you. Word won't get out, that I can promise. I need him. I need my son..."

"It doesn't matter who knows, what matters is that there are laws, put in place to determine the right decisions are made. As a mayor, surely you can understand that. Maybe in the past I would have let this slide, believed that you were the perfect parent for him, but recent events have made me less sure. This decision will shape the rest of his life, I cannot leave it solely up to us."

Regina bit down on her cheek a bit, her eyes wandering to anywhere really, anywhere but on Robert. She crossed her arms over her chest, letting her hands run up and down her arms as if trying to give herself some sort of comfort.

"What do you want Robert? A raise? Whatever the price I'll do it."

"I want you to tell me what time I can expect to pick up Mason tomorrow. While you're at it, I have a lot more questions that you've been avoiding. Why did you have dinner with a man who you saw steal your tax money, somehow without leaving a single fingerprint on the envelope? How did you obtain a psychiatrist's private files? When something happens in an abandoned mine that registers a six on the richter scale, why seal it off that very afternoon? What happened to the Regina I remember, the one who would would've been answering these questions without hesitation?"

Regina couldn't help but to look around, seeing if anyone...important might be around to hear this conversation. The last thing she needed was Sherry snooping around for a greasy story for tomorrow's paper.

"You're over the line Robert." Regina warned him in a low tone. "Now back off before you regret it."

"As long as I am sheriff, I will do what it takes to keep Storybrooke safe and ensure that everyone follows the law. Tell Mason I'll see him tomorrow." Robert had said what he wanted to, and walked off, continuing his patrol.

"I made you sheriff Robert!" Regina called after him, her voice cracking just a bit as the tears started coming back. "I can take that away you know!"

She breathed heavily out her nose as Robert continued to walk on, her cold eyes snapping over at Marco who had gone extremely pale-faced suddenly.

"Don't look at me as if you understand because you don't. You have no children Marco, and you never will."

It wasn't so much of a slam on Marco as it was to Gepetto, but it made her feel just a bit better as she stormed away from his stall in order to find the one man in Storybooke that could help her right now.