After the excitement of yesterday, Robert was relieved to have another quiet patrol. He stopped by the local courthouse to pick up a warrant for Henry’s hotel room, the local judiciary had a very friendly relationship with Regina and the Sheriff’s office. He had been killing time driving up and down the main street until the evening, when he got Regina’s message, and knew what he had to do.

Robert pulled up his car in Granny’s parking lot, and gathered up his tools. He had picked up the investigation kit at the start of his shift, just so that he’d be ready if he had to search the room before he had time to make it back to the station. After opening the kit, Robert picked out the items he would need the most, primarily the gloves, the camera, and the fingerprint kit.

He gave the door two hard knocks, and said “This is the Storybrooke Police Department, we have a warrant to search your room. If you do not respond or open the door immediately, we will open it for you.” Robert gave the warning even though he knew Henry was out, it was important to follow procedure, and there was always the possibility that there was someone else inside the room. He gave it about ten seconds before he unlocked the door himself, if there was someone there, they could be attempting to destroy evidence.

The inside of the room was unremarkable, the only things that stood out were an empty suitcase next to the bed, and a thick hardback book on the nightstand. He took the time to photograph everything as it was before moving it at all, even small details might be important. After a cursory search, it became obvious that there was no smoking gun hidden with the room, nothing to implicate Henry in another crime. The clothes were all neatly hung up in the closet, and the bathroom held only toiletries. The drawer of the nightstand had a few personal items like a cell phone charger, but nothing else.

The only item that Robert bothered examine closer was the book on the table, a thick leather-bound volume that was definitely not new. The cover said “Once upon a time”, indicating that it was a book of fables. Robert flipped through it a bit, opening it on the page that was marked bookmark that came from Mr. Gold's. It told the story of the Cheshire Cat, and he read a few words before deciding that it was best to hurry up. He photographed that page, and turned to another page that was particularly dog-earred. This one told about a man named Rumpelstiltskin, who was the sort of person who tricked people into crooked bargains. Robert thought to himself. Today, they call people who exploit optimism to ruin lives army recruiters. Or possibly pawnbrokers

After taking a few more photos, lifting some prints off of one of the plastic cups, and making sure everything was the way it was before, Robert walked back to his car. He sat in the parking lot writing the report for the search, while he reminisced about the past. Between the time his girlfriend left him and arriving in Storybrooke, not much had gone well for him. Storybrooke didn’t solve all of his problems, some issues, like his PTSD and his loneliness had stayed, but at least he had a home and a job now.
Although he like to protect the town and all of its citizens, there were only two people here he had ever felt particularly close to. One was Regina, who he owed a great debt to for helping rebuild his life, and the other was Steve Morris, the former sheriff. Robert had never met a man with more integrity than Steve, and he was honored to take his position when Steve moved out. Shortly after that, Robert received news that Steve had died, gunned down trying to stop a man running from the cops. Oddly enough, that had been the only sad news that Robert remembered hearing his whole time in Storybrooke. Stranger even, that he never even left town to go to the funeral.

Just as Robert finished the report, he heard Graham calling for assistance over the radio. While Graham was out, the mysterious lady had gotten free, and the station didn’t even have a camera to see how. Graham tried to defuse the situation by mentioning that the envelope was still safe in the evidence locker, but Robert was still in a very bad mood. He sent a digital copy of the report and photos to Regina before heading to the station, where he’d investigate and give Graham a stern reprimand.

Ruby did what she could to keep herself occupied in the unfamiliar house. At first she just spent some time sitting on the couch with her hands folded in her lap, afraid to touch anything really but looked around at the decor. It was then that she realized that she could really use a shower; especially from her events last night both at the bar and at the bartenders apartment.

Making up her mind (although she really didn't want to) Ruby left Knox's house, locking it up with the key he had given her and made a the short walk to Granny's. She hoped to God that she wouldn't run into the old woman as she gathered her belongings, most importantly her showering supplies. When it came time to pick out some clothes that would last her a few days, she hesitated.

Knox's voice seemed to fill her head, remembering his comment about her clothes. It wasn't there in his words exactly, but it was implied. The way she dressed made him...what was the word? Uncomfortable? Well, something...and she couldn't do that to him anymore, not when he opened up his home to her for the time being. Ruby pushed towards the back of her closet and found some older clothes that didn't reveal so much and packed them up before leaving Granny's and then went back to Knox's place.

She got the shower she wanted, dressed in a normal pair of blue jeans and an burgundy sweater that only showed the skin of her shoulder that the neck didn't cover up (as it was the style to expose one shoulder). She found herself in the kitchen, looking up at the clock to check the time and had to wonder when Knox would be coming back...if he came back at all. He worked nights after all, but then again, he hadn't slept since Granny's this morning...

Reaching a gloved hand over to a particularly small cobblestone, Knox pulled it up and plucked the spare key hidden underneath. Not a spare key anymore, not if someone was using either, not really. Rubbing some dirt off of it, in the darkness, he stared down at the grimy mini rubber chicken attached to the key ring.

“…”

More than his surprise at his sense of sight, getting better at seeing through into the darkness (though, admittedly, the eye sensitivity happened to also become a problem during the day), he was surprised that he’d finally have to put this set of spare keys to use again. Taking step after step up onto his porch, the wood creaking under him, Knox unlocked the front door and stepped inside.

Almost immediately falling into routine mode, he kicked off his shoes and popped the top buttons of his uniform shirt open, going to the kitchen then the fridge…the security guard stopped short of grabbing his bottle of beer, when…grabbing hold of two bottle necks with one hand, Knox slowly turned to look at Ruby suspiciously, “What…tell me, what happened?”

Ruby stood there in the kitchen feeling even more awkward about being there than when she had first arrived at his house, alone. She fidgeted with her nails a bit, trying to hold his gaze but didn't find it to be all that easy. it didn't help matters either that he had automatically assumed that something was up.

"Nothing!" She said honestly, shifting her weight to her opposite hip, realizing she was picking at her nails and then shoved her hands into her jeans pockets. "Well, I mean I went to Granny's to get a few things of mine, and uh, I took a shower here - oh God, was I not supposed to do that? I could shower someplace else -"

There was something off about her; it couldn’t just be her off choice of clothing, could it? It did indicate that she returned to her home at some point to pick up a change of clothing. With a bottle now in each hand, using the cap of one bottle against the other bottle, Knox popped both the tops off and caught them in his hand. Then, he offered Ruby one of the cold beers, though the look on his face said that he definitely needed a brief report of what she did since he had left her alone.

Ruby took the beer from him, but didn't seem all that interested in it. Her hangover was still nagging at her at the back of her head, and she didn't think that alcohol for her would be the best choice since her drunken actions were...unpredictable. She set the bottle of beer down on the table, looking away from him with a deep blush on her cheeks. God what he must think of her...pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

Seeing Ruby become uncomfortable under his questioning and gaze, Knox rubbed the back of his neck, setting his own bottle on the counter before getting back to the fridge, “I don’t mean to unsettle you with an interrogative tone…just…I admit, your change in outfit threw me for a bit.” Trying to reassure as honestly as he could, he hefted two bags from fridge…hesitating momentarily before pulling the zucchini, then another kind of squash from the first bag. The man didn’t look happy about these, but Knox did make a small ‘happy’ sound as he pulled out two plastic wrapped raw and seasoned steaks from the other bag.

"I um...I didn't have a whole lot of clean clothes at home." Ruby lied, unsure if the change in clothes was what he wanted...or not.

Not a fan of the whole squash garden fruit-vegetable series, but the health benefits were superb…Knox wasn’t allowed to just let that go. A single cough, “Can you help me and prepare the vegetables?”

Ruby stood there, dumbly, trying to register his words and put the missing pieces together as if she had just realized that he had been pulling food out of the fridge.

"Uh, oh yeah! Sure!" She exclaimed happily and rushed over to him, finding a knife in a holder that had been on the counter. She quickly ran the knife under some hot water, a quick clean, and then began to wash the vegetables in the sink.

"I um...I wanted to thank you again...for uh, helping me out." Ruby said into the silence, not sure if it was the silence that was bothering her or the way that he seemed to not really...notice her the way other guys did. "I'll um, do the dishes, and clean, like I promised before..." She glanced over at Knox. "But...you gotta give me permission to touch stuff first." She added on as a bit of a tease, a pathetic effort to lighten the mood and clear the air.

Raising a brow at the girl’s teasing as he got out the grilling pan, Know nudged her gently as not to jostle her as she cut the vegetables, and then leaned in when he was sure Ruby wasn’t going to chop off a finger, “You’re free to touch anything you want,” Moving back, he set the pan on the stove and set the heat High, for now. Paying attention to the stove carefully, he finished what he was saying offhandedly, “So long as you swear not to break a thing, intentionally or no.”

"I break it, I buy it?" Ruby asked with a white smile having to crane her neck to look up at him. She finished chopping up the freshly washed vegetables and took the initiative to go to the fridge to find some butter and put a couple scoops into the frying pan, waiting until the butter had melted into it before adding the vegetables. Okay, this was getting easier. Not much...but a little. "You work tonight?" She asked, remembering that he did have the previous night off, and wondered if that was all he got.

“You break it, you buy it? No, no…you break it, and I won’t be trusting you again.” Despite how it was phrased, his tone was lighter than normal. Taking it easy with the pan, Knox greased and lowered the heat, flicking his eyes over at Ruby’s own work. Sure, her cuts of the vegetable weren’t the neatest, as was plainly evident…but somehow, her cooking looked more appetizing then when he usually prepared…somehow.

Getting the steaks on the hot pan, “I’ve taken the rest of the night off, which isn’t much. I’ll be returning to the hospital early enough in the morning, anyhow.” With the short answer, he fell silent in thought. The raw steaks sizzled pleasantly, the smell were a treat to the nose, “How cooked would you want yours?”

Ruby looked from her sizzling vegetables in her pan to the steaks cooking over by Knox, an audible growl coming from her stomach. Oh God, steak! When was the last time she had a steak?

"I like it pink, but not bloody." She answered it truthfully. She enjoyed the added flavor of rare cooked meat; for as long as she could remember. She remembered once getting upset with Granny because Granny didn't want Ruby making 'special' orders for her hamburgers, wanting them a little more raw than not. The memory made her laugh out, just a bit, but she quickly covered up her smile and added salt and pepper to the vegetables.
She didn't know what she was doing; not really. Granny and the cooks in the diner had always done the cooking, she had just been the waitress, but she felt that she had watched them cook enough to get a brief idea of what needed to be done.

"Tomorrow morning, you'll be coming with me to the hospital."

Ruby shot Knox a sideways look, her brown eyebrows raised in question.

"Look, I got your unspoken message, I don't really think I need to go and see your dad again." Ruby replied, of course assuming that she already knew what this was about. "I'll...I don't know what I'll do but before I leave to Boston I'll...talk...to her at least...maybe say goodbye..."

Taking a plate and setting it down on the counter beside the stove, quite loudly, a medium cook steak was dropped onto the plate rather unceremoniously, “And how, exactly, do you plan to pay for your trip to Boston? Your stay in Boston, till you find a job?” Saying this rather pointedly, Knox gave Ruby a sharp look as he continued to cook his own steak, “I’m setting you up with a temporary job at the hospital’s cafeteria.”

"I-oh..." Ruby brought in her lower lip, wishing that was all she had to do to suck her words back, wishing she had never said them. Again, he was helping her...far more than she ever thought he would. So it wasn't about his father, it was helping her to leave for Boston, like she wanted.

Ruby sighed, taking the vegetables off the burner and separated them evenly between their two dinner plates before taking the pan to the sink and ran hot water over it. She would rather it be cleaned up now while it was still hot rather than letting it sit on the counter while they ate. She might not have known how to cook, but dishes, dishes she did often.

"Why...are you helping me?" Ruby asked, keeping her eyes on the pan. The conversation he had, explicitly stated that he would be her friend (though she knew it to be more of an acquaintance) and nothing more than just the guy she brought cheese fries to everyday.

Knox set his well done steak onto his plate, “’I don't really think I need to go and see your dad again’, wasn’t it? It’s been a long time since I could even consider the idea of leaving this town, especially now, since he’s…” It had been a long time since Knox had accepted the fact he could never just leave, even if his father didn’t want him to stay, even if he couldn’t do anything for the old man. “Everyone should have the right to make their own choices, to make their own mistakes…”

Taking his bottle of beer, he downed it in one go, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and turning the stove off with the other, “You should leave this town while you still can, Ruby.”

"I tried once." Ruby said trying not to stare at Knox when he downed the whole beer. "I got to the boundary line when I got a phone call..." Her voice lowered almost in a whisper, looking back down at her soapy hands in the sink. "...she had a heart-attack."

Knox leaned very slightly against the counter, having a hard time finally looking at Ruby again, his eyes sympathetic, “I’m sorry that you both went through that.” Lowering his gaze again, he caught sight of her near untouched beer…in a rare act fueled purely by impulse, Knox took it and downed it quicker than the last, “And even so, you still want to just go?”

Ruby turned from the sink, wiping her soapy hands on the towel before resting her palms on the counter behind her.

"Yes?" She asked, more questioning herself. When he put it that way..."No...?" She sighed and threw her hands up in the air with a quiet, "I don't know..."

Pausing for a moment, almost stuck on what to say, “If you leave, I’ll take care of your grandmother for you.” What was another person to take care of, to watch over…? Equal parts honest, bitter, and tired...

"I-" Her words caught in her throat again, now unable to look away from Knox, contradictory to not being able to look at him just moments ago. "Look I don't know what I want right now, I quit because I was angry. She's trying to make me like her and I'm...I'm not ready for that!" And there it was, the truth, something even Ruby didn't know until the words tumbled from her mouth. She looked surprised and clamped a hand over her mouth, repeating the words she had just said over in her head. She was scared, scared of what her future held, scared of having to take over Granny's position if something...if something were to happen...

Blinking in surprise, clarity of the situation… “And truth of the matter has come to light now, I see.” This was an odd situation, Ruby was afraid of becoming like her grandmother. In actuality, Knox was sure that they had very similar personalities; they were both quite stubborn if the fight was anything to go by. Neither yielding to the other, like two stags tangling horns.

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes at the mere thought, and she quickly turned back around to look at the sink, nearly feeling like she just might hurl into it.

With Ruby in tears and turning away to the sink, Knox had the obvious choices. Of course, he didn’t have time to list and think on them, and instead, he clasped Ruby’s hand in his. Pulling her close, slowly reaching his free hand up, he rubbed circles carefully into her back, “Shhh…Ruby, Ruby…”
This situation…just…it was getting harder and harder to deal with. Only managing to murmur the girl’s name back at her, he couldn’t help but be struck by how exactly he ended up here, and how worried he felt now. It seems like all Knox could do was meet new people, then worry about them and their problems, “No need to cry. Everyone is okay, everything is okay…”

Ruby felt herself being turned and with her mind clouded with everything and nothing at the same time (as well as her eyes being blinded by the un-shed tears) Ruby had little choice but to hold onto what was feeling like an embrace of comfort and let her head rest on his chest, Knox being too tall for it to fall on his shoulder.

She nodded blindly at his comforts, holding onto the only thing that felt solid anymore, the only thing that felt real and right. Him. Before she could make a fool out of herself though, Ruby found the willpower to pull away from him and quickly wipe away the one tear that slipped down her cheek.
"I um...didn't have much of a chance to look around. Is there a particular room you want me to sleep in? The couch is fine, really...I'm just...really tired right now."

Knox stared at Ruby’s eyes long and hard…before crossing, uncrossing, and crossing his arms again in a rather peeved manner. His mouth was set in a firm line, “What are you—running from your own feelings, even?”

Ruby felt her jaw drop. What? Where had he come up with that? Sure he was right if she really wanted to give him that credit, but actually calling her out on it...? The tears immediately left her eyes and she felt a sort of fire ignite in her chest, burning down the short fuse that had grown only shorter throughout the day.

"I'm not running from anything!" She practically shouted back, her pride obviously hurt from being called out on. "It's just...been a long day, and I didn't get much sleep last night." She explained. Well, at least that last part was true, but given her...reputation, she knew immediately that was exactly the wrong thing to say.

"I meant...I'm just...just...just stop caring about me okay? You're making this really difficult!"

There was an angry noise that came from his mouth, and with it, Knox stood over her in an instant. Hand out tilting the girl’s chin up and forcing a rather angry, deep kiss upon her, he growled into her lips one final word, “Fine.” With this, Knox turned and left the kitchen, then the house entirely—the door slamming loudly behind him.

Ruby didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She watched Knox storm out of the room, and then hearing the front door slam shut, the sound seeming to jostle what she was really feeling aside from what she thought she was feeling. She swallowed hard, refusing to touch her fingers to her lips where she could still feel his kiss lingering. It was different than kissing any other guy in Storybrooke, she just didn't know how. She shook her head and took it upon herself to put away the untouched food into plastic containers.

She only spent a short amount of time cleaning up the kitchen before grabbing a red knit scarf from her packed bag and a matching red knit beret. She needed air. A lot of it. She adjusted the beret and then went out the back door, not wanting to risk bumping into Knox on her way out and headed to the Toll Bridge where she would just sit and think. Not just about him, but what was becoming of her, what she really wanted to do with her life, and how she was going to fix things with Granny.

Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez and Ghost Shadow
--
Bracing a hand against the wall, Regina reached behind her to zip up the small black dress that hug onto her skin so tightly, it was like a second skin. In all actuallity, the design of the zipper would have required someone else to have done it up for her, but with a closet full of dresses of the like, she had managed a way to do it on her own.

Fluffing her hair in the mirror in her bedroom, she looked past her own face to see Henry finally rolling over, waking up. She smiled smartly to herself, and continued to splay her black hair out making sure the part to the side was perfect.

"If you want any coffee before you leave I suggest you get up now." Regina said puckering up her lips in the mirror, double checking the crispness of the lipstick she had applied earlier. "I brought your clothes up from downstairs, just there." Regina pulled herself from the mirror and gestured lightly to the pile of neatly folded clothes on the end of the bed before she disappeared into the bathroom to apply any last-minute touch-ups to her makeup.

Henry's tired eyes slowly opened, his vision blurred as he adjusted to the morning light. It took him a few moments to realize where he was.

'Wait, why am I still here?' He thought to himself, trying to recall the memories of the night before.

'Did we...? Wait, am I naked?' He mentally asked himself, lifting up the comforter slightly to see himself fully.

'Welp, I've done it now.' He thought, exasperated before slowly rolling towards the edge of the bed.

Rubbing his eyes, he stood up completely, his now fully-adjusted eyes just catching Regina as she walked into the bathroom. Wordless, he got himself dressed quickly; not forgetting his glasses in the process.

"Coffee sounds good, thanks," He said quickly, if not slightly uncomfortably as he hastily went down the stairs to the first floor, running both his hands through his hair while whispering, "Oh no, no, no, no, no" to himself.

Regina met with Henry just a few moments later downstairs, clipping on her earings as she walked into her kitchen and filled up two coffee mugs, one for herself and the other for her guest and brought it over to him. She brought the coffee to her lips, her eyes looking over Henry's shoulder at the digital clock on the stove and tilted her head slightly, looking back at Henry.

"You're going to be late." Regina said seemingly out of the blue.

Henry came out of his reverie just moments before Regina joined him downstairs. He accepted the coffee with a small nod, taking a small drink. He turned to look at her as she spoke, taking off his glasses (for some reason) in the process. "Sorry...late?" He asked, obviously confused.

"For school." Regina said raising her eyebrows, wondering why this wasn't obvious to him. "You have a job to do Henry, a responsibility. It wouldn't look good to...well...me if you were late on your first official day as their teacher."

"So...I've got the job," he began, though phrased it as more of a statement than a question. "That's fantastic." He said, a wide grin forming. "Absolutely fanTAStic!" He repeated, looking sincerely excited.

Regina shrugged her shoulders, not sharing his enthusiasm as she quietly sipped at her coffee again.

"Well you said it last night, who else around here is qualified enough?"

The word 'enough' hadn't even a pause once it left Regina's lips as suddenly the lights in the entire mansion began to flicker and a loud, rumbling roar resonated from all sides. Regina suddenly lurched, the ground beneath her feet becoming unstable as what would appear to be an earthquake split through not just Regina's home; but all of Storybrooke.

Henry's eyes widened in a split moment and he instantly sought cover, diving underneath the dining table to wait out the ordeal.

Attempting to walk through the shaking, Regina made it over to a large glass window that looked out on the streets of Storybrooke, watching as telephone poles began to split and powerlines began to snap, of course causing the power in her home to go out completely. The glass in which she was standing in front of shattered, not enough to send the pieces flying but enough to startle Regina to take a few steps away from the window.

And then, it was done. The entire ordeal hadn't lasted longer than ten seconds, and Regina tentatively walked back to the now broken window to watch as citizens of Storybrooke began to walk outside to survey the damage of what had just happened.

Henry slowly crawled out from the table, surveying the surroundings as he stood back up on his feet; dusting off his coat. "Well...looks like school's canceled for today." He said dryly, putting his glasses back on.

"Have you any idea where that came from?" He asked, turning to look at Regina.

"No." Regina answered instantly and with heavy bitterness. She hadn't even looked at Henry, only outside of the window, watching people starting to gather and talk amongst themselves about the commotion. If she had turned to look at him, however, he would have seen her eyes filled with fear, not of the damage that Storybrooke had taken, but the reasoning behind why it had happened.

Surely it was coincidence. Giving Henry a job here in Storybrooke was hardly anything that would cause such a drastic chain of events to start unfolding. But then she realized, the chain of events had already been in motion. The Clock Tower, it had started working the very day that Henry first arrived in Storybrooke. She didn't want to believe Mr. Gold's unspoken words, that Henry would be the one to break the curse. And yet...

Regina quickly set her coffee mug down on the counter, feeling like if she drank anymore she would vomit. Without saying (or even looking) at Henry, Regina hurried to the front door and left the mansion to see what the people of Storybrooke were talking about.

Henry could barely say another word until Regina seemed to rush out the door. "Well...off again, I suppose." He said to himself with a quick shrug before quickly following her out the door towards the mass of people that had started to form, overlapping each other with random questions and frightened or angry statements. It was going to be a long day.

Regina did her best to try to quiet the startled crowds. Other than a few telephone poles and power lines, the city seemed to be safe, nothing that a few days of work couldn't help fix (most importantly, in Regina's opinion, her kitchen window). She had managed to convince most of the people to start working and stop talking when Leroy, the town drunk, ran into the thrall of things shouting that the old mines had collapsed down the way.

Of course this only sent the people that Regina had just calmed down into a wide panic, and Regina could do nothing to stop the crowd from following Leroy to the mines. The knot in Regina's stomach only tightened more, keeping her from being able to breathe for a few moments. Just how much of the mines had collapsed? Feeling her hands starting to shake, and no jacket pockets to shove them into, she took a deep breath and followed the crowd to the area.

Henry had remained silent during the entire ordeal, but hadn't moved from Regina's side until the entire group began towards the now-collapsed mines.

"Oh yeah, town explodes, let's go to the source; brilliant." He said in an exasperated tone, hands in his coat pockets as he began to follow.

Collaboration between Yoshiskittlez, Ursa, Ghost Shadow, and Tanderbolt

While it wasn't as busy as the fire station or the hospital, things were far from relaxed at the sheriff's office. Robert had already gotten the safety cones and caution tape set up for some of the downed power lines on his way into work, and now he began to survey the scene downtown. People were restless and asking a lot of questions, but it seemed like everyone was ok.

Robert grabbed a megaphone from the back of a patrol car and said "Remain calm. There was a minor earthquake related to a collapse in the mine. Personnel from the fire department and the hospital are on the scene to investigate and aid those who were injured. If you need medical attention, the hospital will be able to help as soon as possible. If you require further assistance, please call the emergency number or speak with an emergency responder in person."
The ambulances were sent out as soon as the call was made, and after checking up on his own father in his hospital room, Knox left with them. The paramedics let him sit in the back, this wasn’t usually allowed for a mere hospital security guard, but he had to see what was going on in town…felt compelled to.

Regina, seeming to have completely forgotten about Henry at her heels, ducked underneath the yellow caution tape to approach Robert, her dark red lips pressed into a firm line that could only be interpreted as her being upset about something. "What happened?" Regina asked Robert specifically, pushing his arm down that held the megaphone so that her voice wouldn't carry. Even though he had already said what had happened to the crowd, Regina didn't want to accept that answer. Something else happened here, it just couldn't be coincidence.

Robert lowered the microphone, turned to Regina, and said "Something happened in the mine, I thought everything there had been closed down long ago."
Regina shot Robert a glaring look, obviously annoyed with his obvious observation. "Everyone's fine, Leroy's just making trouble, I can deal with him in a moment."
"How about you do your job Robert? And deal with him now?" Regina snapped harshly at Robert and then just shook her head, walking past him to check out the damage the mines had undergone themselves.

She stopped about ten feet from the mouth of the entrance, a glittering object catching her eye. She gave a quick look around her, ensuring no one was looking and squatted down to pick the object up, holding it securely in her hand where it would be hidden from other eyes. Turning quickly, Regina addressed the crowd using the power of her voice rather than the megaphone that Robert had been using earlier. "Alright everyone, everything is okay. Sheriff Leland, see to it that this entire place is cemented over. This area has become a high-priority danger zone, no one goes near it without my permission."

"WAIT!" Came a shout from the crowd as Mark pushed through. He seemed to tense up slightly as he felt everyone's eyes on him, but he pushed aside his fear for the sake of safety. "We can't cement over it - there's a boy and dog down there." He said, this time somewhat quieter - directed solely at Regina. Without waiting for her reaction, he continued: "I was on my way to work when I saw this boy chasing Pongo down the street. I thought little of it until I saw them run into the mines...I was going to go in there and get them out when the mines collapsed." He finished, absent-mindedly clutching his shoulder, as if in pain. Watching the sights zoom past, taking note of a few damages here and there of many a building, they arrive on the scene quickly. From the amount of people helping around, guiding the ambulance to some stable ground to park and the caution tape being arranged, boundaries being set…the mine collapse must’ve affected a good amount of previously stable land. With the ambulance driver parking and the paramedics getting out and rushing over, Knox stepped out and surveyed the immediate area.

Regina looked from Mark to the blaring ambulance that had just arrived, a growing headache from all the noise and confusion only putting her on edge even more. Well...at least Mr. Gold wasn't around to really push her over. She did a quick look around the crowd just in case, not sure if she could stand his smug face looking back at her, knowing. Mark's words finally seemed to register in Regina, as her rigid face relaxed and in place of her scowl...worry lines. "A boy? Did you say a boy?"
“If there is a child down there, time is of the essence, what further preparations need to be made? Conditions be met?” With his eyebrows knitted in between confusion and frustration, Knox glanced back over at the mine’s entrance, “Time is of the essence.”

Robert said "It's a good idea to wait, we need to make sure everyone is safe before we do anything to seal it off. Besides, it'd take a while for the trucks to arrive." After speaking, he looked at Leroy, and saw that he had calmed down a bit, perhaps because he did not want to get arrested for being drunk in public yet again and seemed to sulk himself into the crowd to avoid any more attention.
"Yes, a boy. I don't know him by name, uh...short, hazel eyes, curly brown hair--"
Henry interrupted before Mark could finish speaking, "That's Mason! One of my students!"
Mark turned sharply to look at the newcomer, cocking his head back to look at Regina. "Someone needs to go down there." He began in a solemn tone, "And I volunteer." He finished, his face set in a solid neutral expression; divulging no emotion.
Ruby pushed herself from the middle of the crowd and ducked underneath the caution tape, ignoring the pressing look she was getting from Regina as she joined in with the small group that had gathered behind the lines and walked past Knox towards Mark.
"Excuse me? What do-" Regina tried but Ruby ignored her and spoke directly to Mark.
"If you're going then so am I." She said fiercely, not about to take 'no' for an answer. "I found M-uh,-" Her eyes slowly drifted to Knox wondering if he had told anyone about Mr. Gold, but then looked back to Mark. "-someone in the streets the other night that needed to be taken to the hospital. Panic attack. I could...hear him. I can't explain it, but...I think I can help."

Stepping towards Ruby, the security guard secured a hand on her shoulder, staring her down, "I don't think so. Let the firefighter do his job." Pausing for a moment, fixing Mark with a firm gaze, "Actually, I may be a better choice to send down for the rescue..." But somehow, Knox couldn't find a voice to mention the increased sensativity of his eyes...how he could practically see in the dark perfectly now.Ruby turned, forcing Knox's hand off of her shoulder and tilted her chin up to look at him, her eyes determined but narrowed. "You don't think I can do anything on my own do you?" She asked with a raised voice. "Stop helping me, and let me do things on my own! I don't need you protecting me all the time Knox, just...stop."

"I don't believe you have the qualifications, the training necessary to undertake such an important rescue. If you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem." A pause as the security guard crossed his arms, "We'll be depending on you to keep u--no, this is for the firefighter to decide."
Mark's eyes narrowed as Ruby and Knox went from volunteering to arguing over something completely pointless. "I'm going alone." He said curtly, no friendliness whatsoever in his tone. "If you two can't focus on the task at hand, then you're not worth my time." Regina looked between Ruby and Knox, raising an eyebrow in boredom and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Sheriff Leland, will you kindly escort Mr. Dufresne to the entrance? If he's volunteering on county time then I can not stop him." She looked to Knox and Ruby. "You two on the other hand, back behind the line or I'll have you arrested for tresspassing." Hearing the final decision, Knox flicked his eyes to Ruby, "You've heard the final decision. Let's step back behind that caution tape, then." Mark then looked towards Robert, his expression shifting from annoyance back to neutrality as he nodded at the officer. "Lead the way, Sheriff." He said simply, his tone that of formal courtesy - lacking warmth.

"If you've got everything you need, come right this way. Remember that the radio signal might be spotty underground." Robert walked with Mark to the nearest entrance, making sure to keep an eye on Knox and Ruby, just in case they tried to follow.
Ruby's face went firm, and for a moment looked like she was going to walk back behind the line with Knox but she then quickly turned around and ran past Regina before words could even form on the Mayor's mouth. She ran past Mark and Robert and slipped her small frame into the small hole that led into the mines. She knew she could help, to hell with the others.

Regina's mouth was left agape, looking on at Ruby disappearing into the mines and then to Robert. She used her hands to gesture what her words failed her, as if to say, 'you're not doing your job!' Knox had just about turned when Ruby began walking behind hi—and she took off. It seems he just about missed grabbing her wrist, stumbling on the most random piece of stone, and watching as she sped forth and slipped into the mine. For once, the usually calm and collected man couldn’t hold back his anger, and his seething expression was quite evident as he turned to glare the sheriff, “Do your fucking job!”

With the speed of his trained legs, past morning jogs channelled into an incredible sprint, and he took off towards the mine in seconds…kicking dust behind him. Though Knox may have been tall, larger than Ruby, he tore a rock out of the entrance’s debris, one by one at an alarming pace with his gloved hands, and inside...Knox soon was.
Robert frowned, he had glanced away when Ruby and Knox made their run. It was definitely unsafe to have two untrained civilians inside the mine, but he realized that he also lacked the training to be safe down there. He paused at the entrance, and asked Mark "We need to get them out of there, what do you think is the best way to do it? Do you need me or anyone else to help you?" This week had been full of police mistakes, and he knew Regina wasn't at all happy.

Mark had little time to react before both Knox and Ruby ran into the mines, his face quickly contorting to one of absolute anger. "What I need, Sheriff - is obedient civilians." He said shortly, his voice, though remaining normal in volume, was filled with venom.
He procured a small flashlight from his pants pocket and crawled through the small hole, just barely managing to restrain a grunt of pain as his shoulder bumped into one of the narrow walls. And just like that, he was gone like the rest of them.

Regina sighed as she walked back over to Robert and peered into the dark hole where the three had just disappeared into and then looked back to Robert, a blatent expression on her face and shook her head in disappointment. "Get back to the line sheriff, no one else crosses do you hear me?" Before Regina had even finished speaking, Robert began his walk back to the caution tape. He rubbed his forehead a little bit, looking forward to when he could get a drink after this all was over.

“What the HELL were you thinking?!” Knox was just going off on Ruby with harsh whispers, as soon as he caught up to her…ducking and weaving to keep up in the cramped spaces. Fucking mine. Why had he come to the scene of the accident again?

"I was able to find Mr. Gold when you couldn't even hear him." Ruby harshly whispered back so that Mark wouldn't be able to overhear them. "I can help, but no one wants to give me a chance. I'm making my own chance."

"I don't care if you won't listen to me." Hopping over a large stone, Knox glance through the darkness...more rock walls, low rock ceiling, Ruby's back as she kept her steady pace, "But you heard the verdict, the firefighter had this situation. It's not too late to-"

There was a low rumbling sound and the walls of the mine shook a little, making tiny little pebbles and a large amount of rock dust fall from the ceiling and onto the three of them. Ruby covered her hand over her mouth and coughed a few times, but was otherwise okay.

Mark entered through the mine last, his facial expression seemingly frozen in that displeased frown. "What the hell were *both* of you thinking?!" He spat, looking between both Knox and Ruby. "I would have expected this behavior from you," he began, directing his words at Ruby. "But from a trained security guard? Not only have you endangered yourselves, but now we've wasted precious times finding that boy. So both of you shut up!" He finished, sounding like a drill sergeant reprimanding two recruits. Without waiting for a response, he clicked on his pocket flashlight before walking straight down the path, moving the light from side to side.

With his disturbingly sharp and night perceptive eyes, Knox continued to scan the dark areas with ease, actively looking for the boy, "You have my apologies, I should have caught Ruby before she took off." Maybe grabbed her arm and personally guided her behind barriers. Damn it. More rock, dust, and debris.

Ruby stubbornly rolled her eyes at the both of them and continued on at her own pace, taking the lead since it was much easier to navigate the small shaft with her thin frame.

"Mason?" Ruby called out and immediately regretted it. The vibrations of her voice carrying through the tunnels caused the walls to creak and groan, threatening to break the rotted wood frames that were intended to keep the walls from closing in. But it wasn't all in vain.

There was a sound, far off but Ruby could identify as a dog bark and Ruby hurried forward until the mine tunnels split off into four different directions. Ruby didn't hesitate though, she already knew the way and went down the one that was the second to the right.

Hearing the dog bark as well, Knox recalled the mention of the animal being with the boy...now, if only the boy would return his own call, ever so quietly...seeing Ruby speed through, he caught up as best he could. More ducking, weaving, and pushing through some debris slowly or lightly, here or there. “Careful.” In a harsh whisper, it wasn't enough to deter Ruby. Knox watched her enter into a particular tunnel, and just about ripped his shirt on a piece of wood to follow the girl over there.

Mark, deciding to take a gamble on Ruby's 'ability', followed her wordlessly down the second path to the right, keeping his eyes alert for any sign of boy or dog in the mines. He pulled the front of his shirt up over his nose and mouth in case anything less than-savory were in the air. He, too, had to weave and turn sharply at various debris, but experienced far less trouble than Knox, given his shorter stature.

He caught up to Ruby rather hastily, whispering, "Keep your voice down." As a warning. His narrow eyes looked at each wooden beam, paying close attention to the especially deteriorated ones.

Ruby turned the corner, following the sound of the dog barking and then hastened her pace when she heard the noise of quiet sniffing. Nearly banging her head on the low ceiling in her haste, Ruby rushed forward, greeted almost immediately by the large dalmatian with his pink tongue lolling out in between licking her face and his front two paws on her chest.

Following closely behind them, Knox smacked the top of his head against the low ceiling, hissing in pain for a few seconds before refocusing on the task at hand.

"Pongo! I should have known you were the one causing problems here." Ruby said scratching the dog behind the ears, making a point to ignore Knox and allow Mark to tend to the boy while she checked the dog over for any injuries.

Rubbing his head, Knox's eyes flickered between staring at the rescue mission at hand...the boy...and Ruby's little friend, the dalmatian Pongo. Eventually, after a moment of internal deliberation, his professional side won out. The security guard spotted the boy, curled up, shaking in the corner.
Slowly, going over, Knox crouched (as best he could, in the confined space), "Hello. You're Mason, right?" Speaking calmly, and carefully, he didn't seem to notice the blood dripping from his mild head injury...as he continued. Holding a hand out to for the boy to shake, "My name is Knox, and all three of us came to--"

Mark looked perplexed as the boy seemed to only become more fearful, shrinking back as much as he possibly could. Mark took this as a sign to try himself, and placed a firm hand on Knox's shoulder before approaching the boy himself.

"Hey..." He began, his voice turning...soft and warm as he squatted down to get on an eye-to-eye level. "My name's Mark, I'm a fireman here...my friends Ruby ,Knox," at this he motioned to his two companions respectively, "and I are here to take you back home." He finished, offering a small, but warm smile as he held out his own hand for the boy to take.

Knox let Mark take over for him, and went to wipe what he thought was sweat...but on his glove, he could plainly see the red of blood. Muttering a curse under his breath, Knox turned away and tentatively touched the cut on the top of his head, a blank expression on his face. Getting into this mine was a big mistake on his part.

Mason stayed still, but his expression turned from outright fear to wary hesitation.

"Don't be afraid." Mark said simply, his voice just barely above a whisper. Finally, the boy stood up and slowly approached, taking Mark's hand with a small smile, sniffing and wiping at his eyes.

"Let's get you home now, shall we? I'm sure your parents are very worried about you." Mark added, still keeping to his soft tone as he stood up fully, nodding to Ruby and Knox that it was time to go.

Ruby smiled at both Mark and Mason, giving Pongo another quick scratch behind the ears as she eased his front paws off of her and walked ahead of the group, Pongo only more than eager to get out of the small, dark spaces. There was a faint, new kind of smell that tickled at her nose, something that made her suddenly realize she was hungry, but she pushed it to the back of her mind and followed the dog back out.
Holding his injury, Knox winced at the small amount of pain...and nodded at Mark through the darkness. Following the group out, albeit slowly due to his limiting height, Knox was more than happy to get out of this mine situation.

Mark was silent as he followed Ruby, flashlight in one hand, and Mason's hand in the other. He had to duck occasionally through the debris, but encountered little trouble - while Mason, being as small as he was, experienced no issue at all.

Eventually, the small beam of light that came from the less-than-optimal entrance shone off the walls, Mark clicking off his flashlight and returning it to his pocket as they approached.

Stopping just before the hole, Mark squatted down once more. "Alright, pal, you're gonna climb through this hole, alright? I'm gonna give you a boost on the count of '3', you ready?" The boy nodded hastily in response, the smile that seemed plastered on his face almost obscuring the fact he was trapped in the dark mine shaft just minutes before.

The mine walls began to creak and groan again, a sudden rumbling sound coming before the ground began to shake unsteadily beneath their feet.
"Here we go: one, two, three!" With a slight grunt (due to the pain in his shoulder), Mark managed to boost the boy up until he could catch onto the opening and crawl out.

Mark turned to look back at Ruby and Knox, "You two next." He said simply, his tone once again turning blunt and emotionless.

Blinking his eye, then wiping away the blood that threatened to drip down into it, "Ruby, come on, you next." Removing his over gloved hand from his still bleeding head injury, wiping the glove on the side of his shirt, "Come on, let the fireman help you."

Ruby watched as Pongo, on his own accord, bounded up to the ledge, eager to get into the light. She couldn't help but to smile, somehow able to relate the feeling of finally being free. She rested her hand on Mark's shoulder and allowed him to lift her up where she was able to exit the mines with ease, however once she stepped foot outside, the walls and floor began to shake violently once more.

To avoid a rock or two from falling on his head or shoulders, Knox moved closer to the mine's wall. There was a tug, and the security guard knew one of his sleeves was torn. "Just get on with it. Leave ahead of me, fireman, I've got--" With a sigh, he tried to unlatch the piece of fabric from a piece of wood.

Mark gave Knox one more passing glance; noting the steadily-decreasing condition of the mines. Though he felt the instinctive need to help the man, he also knew not to argue, and with a simple nod, climbed out of the mines.

Wiping off as much sweat and blood from his face as he could, wiping his gloves on his trousers now...Knox pushed himself up over some rock and dirt, and stepped out into the sunlight once again. Blinding light, especially since his eyes had already adjusted to the lack of it, the security guard blinked then shut his eyes altogether.

Letting out a single groan of discomfort, he noticed the crowd of people gaping their way. It was peculiar, their expressions, but the shock was not entirely unfounded. Knox was sure he had a little blood on him, and...more importantly, was sure they were surprised that Mason was relatively unharmed. Heck, the security guard knew he looked a little more roughed up and injured than the boy they had actually went in to rescue.
Still, rescue mission accomplished...Ruby really was capable of taking care of herself...probably did better than either of the men...

Collaboration between Yoshiskittlez and Tanderbolt

Two firemen were stationed just outside the mouth of the cave, helping out first Mason (who was immediately rushed to a stretcher where he could be given some oxygen for good measure), the dog, Ruby, Mark and then finally Knox. As soon as the boy made it from the mines though, Regina quickly followed and observed him getting checked over by the paramedics.

She could tell from her own standpoint that the boy was going to be okay, just a little shaken up and scared. She approached the boy and got down onto her knees on his level, giving him a warm white smile.

"Mason, is it?" Regina asked quietly. The boy nodded once, using the palm of his hand to wipe away the dirt-streaking tears from his cheeks.
"It's alright Mason, you're safe now." Regina picked up her head to look around at the crowd that had gathered to watch, wondering when the boy's parents would finally step up to claim their child. She knew that if she were a mother, she would be tearing through that yellow caution tape if her child had just been pulled from the mines...and yet, no one came.

"Who are your parents Mason? I can give you a ride home." Regina offered, looking back to the boy but he made no sound, no utterance of a name or even a slight gesture towards any direction of where he might have lived. Regina sighed, she didn't know if this boy was just naturally stubborn, or if he was still trying to get over whatever it was that he was going through.

"I'll tell you what, why don't we get out of here, and get you some ice cream?" Regina asked the boy, finally earning a wide ear-to-ear grin. Regina smiled and stood up tall once again, extending her arm out for him to grab and waved off the paramedics with her other arm, allowing the boy to come to her. She wrapped her arm around his thin shoulders and hugged him to her in a protective manner as she walked past the group of people she didn't even bother to look at, only stopping when she got to Robert.
"Henry said his name is Mason, I need you to find out who his parents are and then what kind of parents they are. If my kid were missing I'd be going nuts by now." Regina said to Robert, almost like it was his fault that the boy's parents weren't there.

If it hadn't been for the earthquake, school would be in session, and Mason would presumably have been sitting in class. Robert figured that his parents were at work, and didn't know that their son had been in the mine. He nodded, and looked at Mason. He said "Hi, I'm glad your safe. Would you mind telling me your last name, son?" trying to keep his tone of voice friendly and engaging, but interacting with people wasn't exactly his strong suit.
Mason only seemed to cling to Regina even more and buried his shy face into her hip. Regina let out a tired sigh and gave the boy a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder, albeit glaring daggers at Robert for not making any progress.

"We're not getting anywhere sheriff, perhaps if you put your training skills to the test and do what I pay you for-" She cut herself off, closing her eyes in an attempt to not lose her temper, only caring now since the boy seemed to be taking a small shine to her. "Do a bit of detective work, find his parents and-"
"He doesn't have any." A voice from the slowly dissipating crowd came. David Nolan pushed his way through the crowd and crossed the yellow lines, again causing Regina to hold the same shocked face she held when Ruby had crossed the boundaries, but it was clear that David didn't care and didn't stop until he was with Robert, Mason and Regina. "He doesn't have any." David repeated, looking mainly at Regina before looking down at the boy.

"I've been watching him for a while now. Everyday after school he comes to the pet shelter, where I work and plays with the dogs. At first I didn't mind but he started staying later and later. One day I followed him home, it was dark and started to rain. Took me right to a small barn just inside the forest. I've been donating a fraction of my income to the school to make sure he got something to eat and nice clean clothes, but I've never seen any parents." David went on to explain. Regina's eyes narrowed at David, the vein in her forehead becoming prominent in her anger.
"And you didn't think to report this?" She asked him coldly, seeming to hug the boy to her even closer. David shook his head no, looking down at the dirt beneath his feet in shame.

"I didn't know what else to do, I thought that if I did, you might...you might-"
Regina shook her head and held up her hand, dismissing David altogether.
"Robert, escort David back to the animal shelter...where he belongs." Regina said to Robert without even so much as looking at him and shooting an icy gaze towards David. "We're done here, and see to it that this place is completely cemented over immediately!"

Regina then moved with Mason to head away from the mines, stopping at what looked like an actual split in the earth created from the earthquake. Regina looked to her hand that wasn't around Mason and opened up her palm, looking at the crystalized glass shard that she had picked up earlier and dropped it into the narrow chasm where it fell down deep into the mines, landing deep below at last on the remains of a shattered, glass coffin.

Robert motioned for David to come with him, and they walked back to his patrol car. On the way he said "I'll give the school principal a call and have him check out Mason's paperwork, I want to get to the bottom of this." David put a strong hand on Robert's shoulder and looked upon him with sincerity.
"Thank you." He said and walked away from the scene, sparing Robert the trouble of having to give him a ride. With that finished, he got out his phone to make some calls, mostly to the school and to the local cement company.

(Collaboration Featuring Major Ursa's Knox Kowalski and YoshiSkittlez's Ruby)

Ruby gave Pongo a quick pat on the rear and watched the Dalmatian run off towards Dr. Hopper, happy to be reunited with his master once again. Unable to hide her smile, Ruby couldn't help but to feel just a bit proud of what she had managed to accomplish today despite running on only a couple hours of sleep.

After she had left Knox's place last night, she had gone to the Toll Bridge on the outskirts of Storybrooke; a place she often went to whenever she and Granny would get into the really large fights. She spent hours there, and last night was no different except, this time, she didn't have a place to go back to.

What Knox did last night...before they had parted ways...there was no going about it, he had kissed her; angry or not it was still a kiss and she could still feel it tingling at the tips of her lips. She hadn't planned on seeing Knox at all today, but with the unfolding of events for the morning, there was just no way around it. She did what she could to push everything aside, for the boy and the dog, but now...now what else was there?

Ruby turned, adjusting her red-knit beret and spotted Knox climbing out of the mines, her bright smile turning to a soft one of relief. He looked pretty damn bad for wear, but he was alright. Stupid. But alright. She closed her eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply. She knew what she had to do.

She quietly made her way over to Knox and put a gentle hand on his arm.

"You look like hell." She observed out loud.

The security guard gave Ruby a sharp look as a line of blood dripped down his face, "I feel fine," Pausing, Knox looked down at his shirt and noticed the contrast of the original robin egg blue and the crimson of his blood...but instead decided to focus on the damages, "My shirt's been torn in two place, but it's easily replaceable...quite unlike life, which is especially precious."

His eyes flicked over to the saved young Mason, who he remembered drew away from him in horror...this seemed to just remind him of the minor pain, and Knox winced slightly, "That bad?"

Ruby breathed a quiet laugh out of her nose, looking over her shoulder to see Regina taking Mason away from the paramedics.

"C'mon, a spot's just opened up. Let's get you checked out."

Unlike Knox, Ruby was completely unscathed. Aside from being covered in a bit of mine-dust, she looked the exact same as she did before she had gone in.

Opening his mouth as if to protest, Knox thought better of it. Instead, the man fell silent, wordlessly making his way directly to the paramedics. Even though he had been the only one (minorly) injured, and Ruby had proved him wrong quite noticeably with her lack of injury...he was strangely satisfied. Everyone was safe, and that was good enough for him...in the mine, in the cramped space, he may thought he did...but Knox really didn't regret his decision to go on in as a safeguard. More blood poured forth from his head injury.

The paramedic didn't look so shocked, more peeved by the mess his small head injury was creating, they knew the wound wasn't a big deal to fuss about. Their eyes narrowed as they began cleaning the wound, but otherwise, Knox was just sitting and letting them do the work. Removing his gloves as his head wound was being bandaged; Knox could feel them heavy and a little damp with his blood absorbed into the material. Letting out a sigh, he continued to lean back a little for the paramedic, tossing the gloves to the side. When the attending paramedic was done, he scooted back into the back of ambulance, lay back, and closed his eyes.

Ruby stuck close by, but opted to not watch. Something about the bloody mess on Knox...it was just unsettling and made her stomach churn, reminding her why she never liked watching horror movies.

After he was cleaned up, Ruby moved herself so that she was standing in front of him while he was still lying in the back of the ambulance, not having quite been given the word that he could go yet. She cleared her throat loudly, attempting to draw his attention to her.

Eyes fluttering open, Knox let out a groan as he sat up again, rubbing his bandaged head lightly with the back of his hand, "What is it...?" It was Ruby.........their eyes met, and everything that happened last night returned to him, but he ignored the urge to cringe at the memory. He'd meet all that head on, and then cringe when she finally gave him a piece of her mind. Couldn't very well blame being drunk yesterday, because he really wasn't.

Looking into his eyes and feeling her throat go dry, Ruby refused back down now. Words had to be said, and she didn't think that putting it off would be at all very good.

"I wanted to apologize." She said, somehow managing to keep her chin held high and not break their eye contact. "You were right, I was running away; from my problems, from my feelings...everything." She continued to stare at him, feeling her heart hammering in her throat so hard that it made her ears ring. Only half a second passed after those words, but it felt like an eternity to her. "Please say something." She almost whined in a slight pout.

That apology...blinking a few times as he stared over at Ruby, he was sure this wasn't a hallucination. This would make things much more difficult, not anticipating an apology. Shaking his head, and making himself a little dizzy, he leaned forward to stare closer into Ruby's eyes, "Don't apologise, I'm much worse with my feelings than you are." Reaching to cup her chin, Knox pulled her into yet another kiss.

As if Ruby's heart could beat any harder. But this time, this time she kissed back, letting her eyelids flutter closed and the increased ringing in her reddening ears blocked out all the other unwanted noise. She felt her arms raise and drape loosely around his neck and rested them there as she slowly pulled away, not because she wanted to but because she needed to breathe.

It was different. So different than kissing anyone else she had ever kissed before. No one else made her ears ring and turn red, no one else made her heart threaten to jump out of her throat and no one else made her feel...appreciated. She wouldn't call it loved, because she didn't know what being loved felt like, but if she got her way and picked out what it should feel like, this was it.

Continuing to sit up, Knox let out a small laugh when he saw how red her ears had gotten…what a predicament he had dove straight into, but a rare smile curled on his lips, “Go home, Ruby.” Saying this simply, the security guard glanced back at his gloves, rubbed the back of his hand of a leftover smear of blood as his smile slowly faded, “I’m sure news of the rescue has spread like wildfire, your grandmother will need to see that you are unharmed…in person.”

Ruby nodded, but only just, her head swimming in what felt like fuzz but his words got across to her easy enough. She had planned on poking around Granny's sometime today, preferably when it wasn't so busy but with everything that had just happened...

Giving her expectant look, again Knox raised Ruby's chin and stared into her eyes…”This week is going to be hectic, but I will see you at the diner in the mornings…right?” It was almost a stern tone he was speaking in, when he asked her this.

"If Granny will have me back." Ruby answered him, letting her arms untangle from their light hold around his neck and let her hand rest softly on his as he held her chin to look at her. "Thank you." She added and stretched her neck out to kiss the side of his head that wasn't bandaged up before (regretfully) pulling away from him and disappeared into the crowd of onlookers who were still quite curious about the mines.

Watching her disappear into the crowd of people, and staring into space long after she was gone...Knox let out yet another long sigh. The man didn't know what sort of expression he had on his face right this moment, but shaking his head and slowly dropping his head into his hands...

Why...what did he just do...?

Mark sat in the corner booth at Granny's, crouched over his steaming cup of coffee - as if he was trying to make himself invisible. He could tell enough from the small-talk that roamed the diner that Knox, Ruby, and himself were considered 'town heroes'; and Mark couldn't hate it more.

He was never one for being in the spotlight, for as long as he could remember. He had simply been doing his job - and it shocked people to a point of reverence. At this, Mark couldn't help but sneer; who wouldn't have gone after Mason in the mines? He was simply the best one trained for the job.

As he lifted his mug to take another drink, he couldn't help but ponder on the boy's name - Mason...it sounded so familiar to him: yet he never knew anyone of personal significance named Mason. So then, why would this one boy give him an almost painful sense of nostalgia and dysphoria?

He would have continued this thoughtful reverie, when suddenly, Leroy plopped down on the other side of the booth, holding his own mug of coffee in hand. "You look down, Tin Man. Why aren't you celebrating with everyone else?" The janitor asked with a hint of sincerity to his voice.

"No need to." Mark replied simply. Suddenly, his eyes shot up to lock onto Leroy's. "Tin Man? That what they're calling me now?" He asked, his tone holding a mixture of both amusement and melancholy at the same time.

At this, Leroy held both hands in the air, as if warding off suspicion. "Hey, it wasn't me who started it; talk to your pals at the fire station." He answered innocently enough, though Mark was more than certain that Leroy had something to do with the naming.

Mark decided to drop the subject, and switch back over to the earthquake. "Why is everyone celebrating? We just rescued a boy that was trapped; anyone would have volunteered."

"Yeah, but you did. Along with the town skank and Captain Dismal. You saved a kid, whether it was your job or not. So quit being an asshole, and suck it up for the rest of the town." Leroy admonished, but with more sternness to his tone instead of outright anger.

Leroy clapped Mark's shoulder firmly with a sharp nod before getting up from the booth, standing by the table for a few moments after. "Oh, hey, I'd be careful around the newcomer..."

"And why is that?" Mark asked, sounding somewhat tired.

"Rumor has it he's Regina's new pet," the short man began with an almost dark smile hidden behind his bushy beard before continuing, "I saw him come out of her house this morning, but never go in. Which means he's either sleeping with her, or--"

"--Came in through the back door? The Mayor hates newcomers." Mark interrupted impatiently, apparently trying to blast holes through his friend's theory.

Leroy seemed to fumble for a response, his eyebrows furrowing at Mark. "Well, yeah, but..." he exhaled deeply. "Just keep an eye out, alright? Be seein' ya Tin Man." And with that, the janitor left the diner, leaving a very confused Mark at the booth.

Collaboration between Major Ursa as Knox Kowalski and I as Dr. Faye Stevenson

*~*~*

Faye had heard everything about the earthquake and the small rescue mission that took place. When the earthquake struck and everyone had gone out to see what was happening, she remained in the hospital, in case anyone was injured and needed medical attention. Now, Knox was in the hospital, and after seeing his condition, a nurse rushed him to a hospital room. Now, Dr. Stevenson was heading for that room, to check on Knox.

She knocked on the door before she entered the room and she greeted politely and respectfully, "Mr. Kowalski," She looked over his wounds, and she asked him, "How do you feel?"

“Dr Stevenson.” Giving the doctor a respective nod, Knox raised a hand in greeting as she stepped into the room, before lowering it again after a few seconds. In all honesty, he had already become tired of people rushing around and/or asking after seeing him bleed.

Hearing Faye’s question, the security guard shook his head dismissively and held the bloody towel back to his head, tighter to this wound, “I have been fine for a while now…” Well…Knox was bleeding again, if that was anything to go by, but he felt alright. On the completely positive side to this, his shirt hadn’t gotten blood on it…yet.

Faye noticed the bleeding, and after he gave his answer, she rolled her eyes a bit, and she commented as she got out the supplies needed to treat the wound effectively, "Last time I checked, bleeding is not the same as being fine,"

“I must have rewrapped the wound incorrectly, after cleaning up. Still, I believe a sec—third opinion would be good.” Both the Knox and the attending paramedic had concluded that it was what it was; a bump and a bit of a deep cut...but one could never be too careful in these respects.

Faye smiled a bit after he after Knox made his comment. She joked good naturedly as she walked over to him, "Good thing you came here then,"
She tended to his wound, and as she did, she tried to make small talk, "I heard about your rescue mission. I'm glad to hear that everyone's safe,"

The tall security guard had to lean down quite a bit for the doctor to see and attend to his wound properly, but Dr Stevenson’s touch was gentler than the paramedic’s, and for this he was grateful. His mouth pressed into a firm line once she mentioned the rescue, “The mission was a complete success. The boy Mason was frightened, but otherwise, unharmed. Ruby and the fireman left with little to no injury…” Trailing off towards the end, Knox almost groaned to himself, being injured like he did. “Tall men are not built for confined spaces.”

Dr. Stevenson smiled, hiding a chuckle at how professional Knox sounded, even though he wasn't working as of now. She retorted to his last comment still joking in a good nature, "Oh? Then what are tall men built for? Climbing up trees?" She then shook her head and said "Still, Mason's family must be incredibly relieved,"

“Hmmm…tall men were made for hitting the tops of their head on doorways and low ceilings, apparently,” Knox answered rather dryly, reaching up to having a slight feel of the injury. The security guard let out a hiss of pain, since his touch was blind and much too hard, before letting his hand drop to his side again. Pausing and thinking, adding… “And wearing big clown shoes.” His tone was deadpan serious, but his expression was more at ease.

The next inquiry, Knox didn’t have the right to just throw around that sort of information to anyone, Dr Stevenson wasn’t Mason’s doctor…raising his gaze, his eyes met hers. “The boy is with the proper authorities at this present time.” Holding her gaze as he spoke carefully, he eventually let it drop, closed his eyes entirely and let out his signature tired sigh.

Dr. Stevenson admonished Knox for touching his wound after she cleaned it and disinfected it, "Don't touch that Knox," She then started bandaging his wound, as he told her about Mason being with the authorities. She sighed through her nose, knowing what his response meant. She commented in response, "Right. It's none of my business,"

She asked after he made his sigh, joking slightly, "Thinking about someone again?" She wondered if he was thinking about his father, a patient of hers.

Besides the feelings of sympathy towards the boy without parents, Knox did think on his own father, and the small (yet selfish) fortune that the man was still alive today. And, on the other side of things...he did hold a certain waitress in his thoughts, as well as his growing impulsiveness…the kissing.

Almost just holding his head in his hands, Knox instead settled with avoiding her eyes now, squinting (at what he perceived to be) the bright ceiling light, “What is the verdict? How is my injury, from a professional standpoint?”

Dr. Stevenson finished bandaging his head when he asked, and she answered him "Your injury is going to heal, and you're not going to develop any infections any time soon. The rest of your cranium appears to be fine as well,"

She then asked as she put away the supplies she used to treat Knox's wounds, "However, you seem to be squinting a lot lately. How is your vision?"

Knox stiffened at her observation, but it was clear she didn’t know the half of it. In careful measure; he knew denying it now would raise suspicion, so…running a hand through the unbandaged portion of his hair, he gave her a look, before moving his hand down to rub the back of his neck, “Yes, my squinting. I have been having trouble sleeping for some time, and so, my eyes seem to have become a little sensitive.”

Speaking calmly about this, nonchalant even, not much of a lie if at all…‘Little’, undermining the heavy and consistence light sensitivity he was suffering, “Do you need to examine them? Or…do you have an appropriate form of medication you can prescribe, instead?”

Dr. Stevenson answered him, "I would have to examine your eyes, but it's not quite necessary, unless it's impeding on your life. For now, I can only suggest get proper rest and sleep when you can,"

“If that is all…” Getting back onto his feet, no longer stuck in an uncomfortable leaning position, Knox let out an internal sigh of relief (and the smallest internal cheer). "I'll be heading back to work."

Heading out the door, the security guard stood at the doorway for a few moments, before finally turning back to the doctor and giving her another curt nod, “Thank you for your time and expertise, Dr Stevenson. You have been doing nothing but excellent work, and as usual...call the security office if anything comes up.”

Dr. Stevenson watched Knox walk to the doorway and after he complimented her, she nodded back and answered, "Thank you, Mr. Kowalski. I'll be sure to call if anything does come up," After Knox had gone, she left the room to tend to the other patients, briefly looking at her watch to make sure that she had time to do so. She had an appointment with Dr. Hopper this afternoon.

The tiny bell of Granny's diner gave a small jingle and the older woman found herself looking up from behind the counter to find her granddaughter walking through the door. The first thing Granny noticed was the drastic change of clothes, and the humbled smile Ruby gave the woman as she approached the counter tentatively.

"You look good." Granny grumbled to Ruby, hard to understand and under her breath but Ruby heard her clear as day.

"Thanks." Ruby approached the counter and let her hands rest on it's edges, looking away from Granny and clicking her tongue a bit to gather up the courage to say something else.

"Did you want something for the Mayor? I heard about what happened at the mines."

"Nope." Ruby let the word slip from her mouth and she winced slightly, wishing it might have come out a bit softer. Granny slammed the cashier box closed and grimaced, exhaling a sharp noise of pain as her hand shot to her arm and rubbed just below her elbow. The old woman's sleeves were rolled up today, four long, deep scars running around her left forearm causing Ruby to remember the incident Granny had told her about getting into when Granny was a small girl.

"How's your arm?" Ruby tried.

"Same as it always is every full moon." Granny replied, rubbing at the skin a bit more before busying herself with wiping down the counter. "What are  you doing here Ruby?" Granny then asked inquisitively. "Come here to tell me that you're finally moving to Boston?"

Ruby opened her mouth, offended at first but then eased her mouth back shut. She couldn't blame Granny, not really. Not with how things had ended between them yesterday.

"I...wanna come back." She said instead, offering a tentative (if not awkward) smile. Granny glanced up from wiping the counter down, her grey eyebrows rising above her glasses.

"Why? You were pretty mad..." Granny said and began to scrub down the counter again.

"I wasn't mad." Ruby said keeping her voice calm.

"Looked like mad from here." Granny grumbled.

"Yeah;  here's the thing..." Ruby paused to tuck a strand of her brown hair  behind her ear. "...you were talking about having me do all this stuff  and I wasn't sure - I said that, you wanted me to turn into you but, what I meant was...I don't know how to be you."

Granny looked back up at Ruby, her face ungiving to any sort of expression that would allow Ruby to know what she might have been thinking.

"You're a tough act to follow." Ruby added on with a soft smile.

"Oh." Granny seemed to sigh, just a bit, and look back down at the counter, but Ruby kept going.

"And then you wanted me to take on all this...extra responsibilty and I...guess I just...got...scared..."

"Don't  be. You shouldn't be." Granny pulled a small folder from behind the counter and set it on the top, only once it had been set down did she look back up at her granddaughter.

"Well  I am..." Ruby replied honestly. "...but, it's okay. I...can do it anyway." Ruby nodded, not sure if she was towards herself now, or Granny. "I...sort of found someone within myself that was more than I expected."

"What about adventure? What about your night life?" Granny asked, not in a scolding tone, but of genuine curiosity.

"The mines...that was my adventure. Did that, found out that I could do that and also that...I don't want to. I don't want a job just anywhere, where I might not be happy. I want to something that makes me happy, somewhere I love."

Granny looked upon Ruby in a way that Ruby almost thought was thoughtful.

"Look, just so you know, I wanted you to do the books and everything so that you could take over when I retire; own the whole place."

Ruby's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and repeated Granny's words.

"Own it?"

"Sure! I mean, who else would I give it to than someone who loves me back?"

Ruby felt hot tears coming to her eyes and her lower lip quivered just a bit. She couldn't stop herself from walking around the counter quickly and throwing her arms around Granny in a tight hug, nearly breaking down again when she felt the old woman's arms hugging her back in return.When they parted, Granny looked upon Ruby in a way that Ruby had never seen Granny look at her before.

"I'm proud of you." Granny said moving away from Ruby to busy her hands with something else behind the counter.

"What was that?" Ruby asked, feeling a light laugh tickle at her throat.

"You heard me."

Ruby just smiled and looked about the diner. It wasn't too busy now, but that didn't mean it wouldn't get busy later. She grabbed an apron from behind the counter and tied it on and went to go check on the customers who were there.

Collaboration between Grim327 and Ghost Shadow
--
Kinda surprised she forgot her phone, figured a girl like that would have her phone beside her 24/7. Jake thought to himself as he pulled up into Granny's. He was met with the sight of a rather busy, lunch-rush establishment, "And I picked a good time to bring it back," he said with a sigh. People were continously walking in and out of the restaruant as he reached the door. With a couple of "excuse me's" he made it in. Might as well grab a bite to eat.

Jake looked for an open seat, but his search came to no avail. He did however, see a man sitting in a booth by himself. "What the hell?" he mumbled to know one in particular. Jake made his way to the booth and slunk into the side opposite the man. "Hey, sorry buddy. Hope you don't mind, there weren't any open seats. Jake quickly looked over his booth-mate, a rather short fellow and broad-shouldered. Well-toned and tanned. He looked familiar, "Mark, right?"

Mark looked up to see the bartender, Jake Frosburn sit down across from him. "Yes, nice to meet you." He replied, though he sounded anything *but* pleased to meet the man across from him.

"Place is crowded - too crowded." He observed in an almost sullen manner, veiling it with indifference. He reached into the interior pocket of his jacket, removing a pill bottle from it. Without even bothering to look again at Jake, he opened the bottle and dabbled out two round pills into his hand; promptly downing them with a sip of his iced tea, clearing his throat as he closed and put the bottle back in his coat, eyes landing again on Jake. "Something catch your eye?" He asked in an almost suspicious manner.

"Nah, not really. Though the waitress is rather cute," he said, hinting towards Ruby. "And you're right, this place is too crowded. I bet they're breaking fire code." A waitress besides Ruby came up, and took his order for drink, a simple coke. "So what are you having for lunch, friend?" He asked while grabbing the menu, "I'm not too sure what I'm in the mood for."

"She's not worth it." Mark replied bluntly to Jake's observation at Ruby's attractiveness, the former obviously not enticed by her appearance. "Fire code is nothing to make jokes about, Mr. Frostburn-" Mark began seriously, though his tone was almost conversational and informative. "-Have you ever had an entire building full of people trying to get out, only to have them clamber over each other in a panic and burn alive? I'm having the hamburger, by the way." He added, as if he hadn't even mentioned infernal burning.

Jake knew Mark was being very serious with that commment, but he wasn't about to let Mark bring him down. "No I haven't, and I hope I don't have to. And I'm sorry if you ever did. However, neither of us are working right now, and can try to forget about all the stuff that keeps us awake at night. You said the burger? Hmm, sounds good enough to me. Guess I'll have the same." The waitress returned with Jake's drink and grabbed their orders, "Excuse me miss, if you can, tell Ruby that I've got something of hers. The name's Jake by the way." The waitress gave a quick nod and set about her business. "So Mark, how are you doing on this fine-feathered day?":

"Fine. Had to rescue a...boy from the mines." Mark said, his tone almost going soft at the mention of Mason.

"The child was unharmed - just frightened. He...needed someone." Mark added in an almost confused tone, scratching the back of his head. "I think the mayor has him now..."

"Hmm, not sure if that's a blessing or curse. . . the mayor having him I mean." He added. "Yeah, I heard about the mine's. Some tough shit, man. Glad you and the kid made it. I guess now you don't have to worry about him. . . I think. But enough about work. Like I said, we're at lunch, one of the only times we don't have to wrry about it. There anything else going on? Catch the game last weekend, played the next shooter. . . get laid?"

"Hmm." Mark noised thoughtfully, his tone almost becoming affable as he spoke, almost. "I had to take Grip to the veterinarian to get his check-up and shots, then I had to pick up a few groceries from the store - including a new prescription of OxyContin, then..." He stopped suddenly, as if thinking deeply for a moment before continuing, "I saw Mr. Gold in the forests on my way back from a camping trip." He added, his tone turning irritable once again.

"Hmm, interesting, "Jake said, though he was lying, " Mr. Gold huh? I wonder what that guy would want out in the middle of nowhere." Jake took a sip from his drink before continuing, "So what kind of dog do you have? Jesus Ruby, where the hell are you? Save me from this tortous bordom

Mark took a moment to take another drink from his iced tea. "Grip's a German Shepherd...had him as long as I can remember. Probably my best friend." He added with what could be deciphered as a smile, but on Mark looked...quite frightening. "Tell me, Mr. Frostburn? Do you like dogs?" He asked, his tone almost interrogative and accusational.

"Sure, though to be honest, I can't remember the last time I had one. I think my parents said it was too much responsibilty or something like that. I guess I could always get one, but I just don't have the time to take care of him. And you can call me Jake by the way, I'm not that old."

Ruby quickly arrived at the table with a refill for Mark’s iced tea that he hadn’t even asked for. One could say that she must have been observant, but one look at her would say otherwise. Chest heaving just slightly underneath her new wardrobe of clothes that didn’t sell her out; the lack of lipstick and heavy eyeliner and short shorts, an apron actually doing its job rather than being put on as a fashion statement…Ruby looked like a real waitress, her hair in tangled knots in various places to prove to the fact that today had indeed been very busy.

“Here you go Mark, no charge. It’s gonna be a bit on those burgers boys, sorry.” She said, shooing the both of them an apologetic look before looking to Jake specifically.

“Ashley said you had something for me?” She asked, blinking a few times to keep her tired eyelids open. She couldn’t even remember the fact that he still had her cellphone.

Jake gave Ruby a "Thank Christ, you're here" look, "Hey Ruby, and yes I do." Jake quickly pulled out her phone from his pocket and placed it on the table, "You left this in my car when I dropped you off. Figured it would be a good idea if I returned it. Don't worry, I didn't go looking through it or anything. All your little secrets are still safe. And it's alright about those burgers, Mark and I are having a lavishing conversation, aint that right, buddy?"

Mark looked up as Ruby attended the table, a look of genuine shock on his face at her radical change of appearance and disposition. "Oh, why, thank you." He said sincerely, if not gratefully; his surprised expression turning to one of impressed acceptance.

However, his light expression dropped as Jake called him 'buddy'. "I wouldn't call it lavishing." He remarked bluntly, but not rudely - simply stating it how it was as he took another drink of his tea, wincing sharply as he felt a sudden pain in his shoulder, forced to take one more pill from his coat pocket before looking somewhat normal again.

Ruby beamed, taking the phone from Jake with a very quick 'thank you' and pocketed it into her jean pants. Usually, she would have opted to stick around and chat, pretending to be a third person to their lunch-date rather than a waitress but the bell from the front door chimed again, and Ruby watched as four more people squoze their way in.

"Sorry, I'll be right back with those burgers." She said, putting her hand on Jake's shoulder and giving him a small, reassuring squeeze before hustling over to clean off a small table, hoping she could squeeze four people there.

"Thanks, Ruby." Jake said as she walked away. "And nonsense, my good fellow. Talks of canines, pills, and old men in the woods is quite rivetting!" Jake replied to Mark with unscrupulous amount of sarcasm. Jake turned serious, however, soon after, "Look man, I'll be honest, you're drier than a nun's vag in the desert. Whatever made you that way, I'm sorry, but you gotta do something about it. Tell you what, the next time you have a night off, hit me up. You need a good night of fun."

Mark exhaled deeply and began to chuckle, not a friendly, amused chuckle - but one that almost bade a warning. "And I'm going to be honest with you--" he leaned in slowly, "I. Don't. Like. People. Especially jumped-up punks like you who think you can change me because I'm "uncool", or, as you so put, "dry". I came here to grab lunch and leave, not converse. Are we clear?" He finished, his eyes narrowed coldly.

"And I came here to drop off a phone. Not even grab lunch! But fate decided different. If I insulted you, I'm sorry, but somebody had to tell you the truth. You're also a firemen for christ's sake. If you didn't like people, you would be shut in your house all day playing video games and eating chips. Not very many people have the balls, courage, and intestinal fortitude to do your job on a daily basis. All I'm saying is that you need to balance your life out a little. Have a little bit of fun, meet folks. . . have a LIFE. Don't just wake up and do the same routine day-in and day-out." Jake took a deep breath before finishing, "However, whatever I say doesn't mean you have to do it, or are even gonna do it. You're a grown-ass man that knows himself. I'm just trying to help a fellow out is all."

Mark sighed again, seeming to calm down slightly. "For as long as I can remember, I've been alone - and I'm alright with that. I don't need anything else. So thank you for your offer - but no." He repeated, this time sounding more level-headed and neutral.

"I apologize for my behavior, Mr. Frostburn." He started again suddenly, ignoring Jake's plea to use his first name. "My...shoulder's been bothering me especially more today, it grants negative implications on my behavior." He finished in a tone that was sincere, if not collected and barely emotional.

Jake sighed himself, "If that's your stance then so be it, I won't try to push the envelope, just remember the offer will always stand." Jake looked at his watch, before returning his gaze to Mark, "Look can you apologize to the waitress for me? I gotta run and won't be able to eat lunch." Jake stood up from the booth, pulled out a twenty dollar bill and placed it on the bill, "Consider your lunch paid. See it as an apology for my behavior." He took a couple of steps before turning around, "Oh, again, it's just Jake." With that, he pivoted back towards the exit and returned to his vehicle.

Collaboration between Ghost Shadow as Henry, and I as Dr. Faye Stevenson

*~*~*

Henry stepped through the glass doors of the hospital, letting the same sterile air hit him; permeating all his senses. Oh how he hated hospitals. Nothing but pestilence and death to be found.

Henry let his music player continue to blare in his ears as he entered the waiting room, unable to help his feet do a bit of rhythmic tapping. However, upon feeling the eyes of perplexed citizens on him, he muttered a quick apology and stopped his music.

He let his eyes wander to the receptionist's desk, noting the same crusty old woman who was there last time. "Why hasn't she died yet?" Henry muttered under his breath, exasperated. He knew the woman (at least he thought she was a woman), wouldn't let him in past the waiting room - and he wasn't in the mood to sit through her yelling. So he decided to wait - until she left her area at the desk, then he slunk through the double-doors like a shadow, grinning maniacally while doing so.

Making sure the coast was clear, he walked at a normal pace, trying desperately to find Dr. Stevenson.

Dr. Stevenson walked quickly around a corner in the hospital's halls, only to end up bumping into a familiar figure. She backed away after bumping into the person and she apologized, "Ah! I'm so sorry, are you alright?" She then took a good look at who exactly she bumped into and realized the person was none other than Henry Carlyle. She greeted hesitantly and slightly embarrassed, "Oh, Mr. Carlyle! Hello,"

"Ello." Henry greeted with a wide grin, this glint in his eyes. "You're just who I've been looking for, doctor." He said in an almost giddy manner. "You know, wanted to chat and whatnot. Didn't see you at the mines this morning, poor shame. You missed the fireman chew out Ruby and Knox before they all went in." He said with a small chuckle.

Dr. Stevenson raised her eyebrows at his comment and she sighed through her nose a bit. Well, she had to admit, it was sweet of him to come by just to chat, but then she was in the middle of working.
She answered his comment about what she missed, and she answered, "Oh, I've heard all about it though. Word travels fast here, Mr. Carlyle. I even treated Mr. Kowalski's injuries that he got from that rescue mission,"

"Hmm...yes, he didn't look his best when emerging - quite the contrary." Henry added on, scratching his chin.

"Listen, I've got about five minutes before security realizes I'm not supposed to be in here and escorts me out of here, with or without a tazer in the process. So, I'll tell ya what: lunch at Granny's, you and me, I'll buy. Sound good?" He offered with an obviously flirty grin.

Dr. Stevenson smiled at the offer, and she answered as she checked her watch again, to see if she had the time to accept his offer (thankfully, she did), "That sounds lovely. I'll see you at Granny's at 1 then?"
She then looked at him and after he answered, she ushered "Now, hurry out of here, before Mr. Kowalski comes and drags you out of the hospital,"

"Fantastic, it's a date! No - wait...not a date. A luncheon, yes, I like that word better." He stumbled before turning on his heel and hastily walking out the door, putting on his headphones in the process.

Dr. Stevenson chuckled as she watched him leave before she went back to work. An hour later, she left the hospital and headed for Granny's diner, where she figured that Henry would be waiting for her. She never really came to the diner very often, despite that it was a popular restaurant in Storybrooke.

She entered the diner and looked around to see if Henry was there, or if she was early.

As if on cue, Henry walked in only a few moments after her; taking off his headphones. "There you are! Glad we can be meeting under more...relaxed circumstances. I hope I didn't cause any ruckus in the hospital." He said with a sheepish smile.

Dr. Stevenson turned to look at him, at first startled by his sudden appearance and ready to punch him, but she calmed down after a few seconds, and she answered him with a brief and quiet sigh of relief, "Ms. Lezowski was quite upset that someone snuck past her, but other than that, there wasn't much of a ruckus,"

"Well good, grumpy old windbag deserved it." He said cheekily, a mischievous glint in his eye. "But anyways, enough bantering about your less-than-savory coworkers. Let's grab a table, shall we?" He offered cheerily.

Dr. Stevenson nodded and said in response to his offer, hiding a laugh at the mischief in his eyes, "Of course," She picked a seat by the window, and she sat in the booth, greeting Ruby politely on her way in. She looked to him before she looked at the menu for a brief moment, unsure of what she should order in this restaurant.

She started the small talk asking Henry, "So, other than the recent earthquake, how do you like Storybrooke so far?"

"Oh, it's a nice enough little town. It's quaint, quiet peaceful - despite today's events. I quite like it." He leaned in to lower his voice, "People are a bit unfriendly it seems, though." He said with a small smirk, but his eyes were serious.

Dr. Stevenson raised an eyebrow when he mentioned that people seemed a bit unfriendly, noting that his eyes were serious, despite the smirk. She sighed and said at a normal volume, "That's unfortunate. I guess the people here really aren't used to having guests,"
She then commented, "Though, from what I've heard, Madam Mayor seems to like you a lot. Maybe the rest of Storybrooke will come to like you,"

Henry seemed to shift uncomfortably in his seat at the mention of Regina, a sense of....guilt almost welling in him as he looked at her - not Dr. Stevenson, but Dr Jekyll. He cleared his mind quickly in order to reply as quickly as possible.

"The Mayor's an...interesting woman. I wouldn't say we're 'friends'...but she hasn't tried to evict me yet." He said with a hollow smile, hoping Faye would let the topic go.

Faye understood the meaning under his hollow smile and she answered "I see," She then sighed through her nose and she said "Still...be careful. The mayor is much more clever than she appears to be,"

She then left the topic alone and she said "So then, what do you do for a living?"

"Oh believe me, I know." Henry said with a chuckle at Faye's mention of the mayor's intelligence. "Well, I was officially given the job of substitute English teacher at the elementary school. Mason - the boy in the mines, is in my class." He added cheerily, "It's a shame they don't know who his parents are..." he finished almost sadly.

Faye blinked at his job. She had expected that he would have a job online or something like that. When he mentioned that Mason was a student and nobody knew who his parents were, she thought about it, before she suggested, "Maybe I could have a DNA test done in order to find his parents...but that would require Mason's guardians' permission,"

"Well, that'll certainly be interesting." Henry said in an amused manner, "David Nolan was, illegally, I believe, taking care of him while the school gave him food and clothes. Now Regina has him...a DNA test might be in order, if we can *find* a guardian." He added with a small laugh.

Faye sighed and said "If Regina has him, then it means I would need Regina's permission," She dreaded the thought of asking the mayor. She figured that the answer may be a resounding no. She looked at the menu and switched topics again, saying, "So...Henry, what do you suggest? I've never really dined here before,"

"Well, that's a good question!" He began with a happy grin, looking at his own menu. "I like to be spontaneous, try something new *every* time, and note: the lasagna here's quite overrated." He said, lowering his voice at that last sentence in order to avoid Granny's wrath. "I just order what I'm in the mood for, you'll never make a mistake here - well, unless you try and mix Coke with sweet tea...I tried that once; quite heinous indeed." He added absent-mindedly, eyes still locked onto his menu.

Faye smiled at his comment about the lasagna, and she chuckled. She answered in a low tone as well, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind,"
After deciding on what to order silently, she asked Henry, "What are your hobbies? Your interests?"

"Well, I like playing the piano - pretty bloody good at it, too, if I may say so. I like to read...and talk to people, and also..." he leaned in once again. "I'm a pretty good singer." He finished in an obviously flirtatious tone, offering a small wink to add emphasis.

Faye blushed a bit noticing the flirtatious tone and wink. She said to Henry, "Well, if that's the case, I'd be happy to hear you sing at least one time. Me, I'm not so good when it comes to music," She wasn't used to flirting, and she felt so awkward when she responded. She looked subtly to see if a waitress was coming to take their order.

"Well, maybe you'll get the chance one day. I don't wear these headphones for show, you know." He said in a jokingly taunting manner. Deciding to have a bit of fun, he aded, "You're so adorable when you're nervous. This...funny little look in your eyes, I love it." He grinned wider-than-usual, twiddling his thumbs.

Faye blushed even redder when he started complimenting her on her blush and how she had a funny look in her eyes. She tried to answer him, "Oh-Er-Th-Thank you," How was she supposed to respond to that? Was saying thank you the right way to answer that? She cleared her throat, realizing that her co-workers were right when they said that she needed to get out more, and karma was now striking her back for her workaholic tendencies.

She suddenly couldn't help but hear a persistant ringing in her ears, and her mind started to cloud. No...Not here!

Suddenly, an arm seemed to come out of nowhere and placed a plate of onion rings between Henry and Faye, Ruby giving them both an apologetic smile.

"Lunch rush." She said tucking her hair behind her ears, as if that would explain everything. "Onion rings are on me for not getting to you guys quicker. So...what can I get you? Before you say though, we're out of-" Ruby stopped to count on her fingers. "Ice cream, avacado's, cheese, bread and milk..." She gave them a sideways smile, understanding herself that practically meant everything Granny's had to offer. "We have sausages...and...onion rings...sorry..."

Faye gasped, startled by Ruby's sudden appearance as though Faye just woke up from the sound of a loud door slam. She breathed a sigh of relief as Ruby spoke. Thank God for Ruby! If she hadn't come, who knows what kind of disaster her counterpart would've brought upon herself and the others? She swallowed thickly and she answered Ruby politely, "It's alright. I'll have the sausages. Thank you," She thought to herself about how Ruby had absolutely no idea how grateful Faye was for Ruby's sudden appearance.

"Those are very specific restrictions!" Henry objected, his tone sounding more whiny than actually angry. "Oh, but very well. I'll just have...more onion rings, I guess, thank you. And your finest carbonated cola beverage!" He added in his usual friendly voice, taking off his glasses and rubbing the lens against his sleeve to clean them.

Ruby nodded once, committing the overly-simple orders to memory and then left the two to resume their conversation before she had interrupted.

He noted Faye's sudden disposition change, almost as though she was overcome with a terrible feeling or illness.

"Are you alright, Faye?" He asked in concern, using her first name. He had to strongly resist the urge to put his hand atop hers.

'She doesn't know you, Chesh. Doesn't know, doesn't know.' He repeated inwardly to himself, a small frown (an indeed rare expression) curving at his lips.

Faye heard Henry's voice clearly, and she nodded answering "Yes. Yes, I'm alright. I just had a dizzy spell, that is all," She took in a deep breath and drank from her water bottle. She looked at her watch and she asked in surprise "What? Is that the time already?" She then started gathering her things and she said "I'm terribly sorry Henry. But I have an appointment set, and I can't skip out on it,"

She then said to him, "I enjoyed hanging out with you, and I hope we can meet up again. Thank you, A-Henry..."
She then hurried out of Granny's, trying to make it seem like she was heading to the hospital, and not to a certain psychiatrist's office. As she walked she thought to herself,
"What was that? I must've suttered...A simple slip of the tonge,"

Henry forced a fond smile as she bade him farewell, "I enjoyed this too, doctor. Be seein' ya." He said warmly, waiting until she was well out of sight before letting his expression fall to one that could only be described as loneliness.

He slowly reached for the headphones wrapped around his neck, securing them over his ears before pressing 'Play'.

He stayed just like that for a few minutes, not paying attention to anyone until a new objective entered his mind: he had to talk to Gold.

Paying the "lunch" bill, he quickly left the diner, and hastily made his way towards the pawn shop.

Many, many years ago…

Pacing back and forth, The Dark One kicked up a pile of crunchy autumn leaves that littered the openness of a dead-end street, as if impatiently waiting for something…or someone. He had spent only just a few weeks with the new title, trying to understand what being The Dark One really meant, and how he was to control all this new, frightening power.

One thing was certain, however. His wardrobe of the filthy rags and patches barely afforded by being the village spinner were now long and gone, and in its wake a new sense of style that Rumpelstiltskin found to make him feel more threatening, more imposing; not at all the look of the village coward he had branded himself with since returning from the Ogre Wars.

He wore a reddish/gold silk shirt, on top of that a tight-fitting black, dragon-hide leather vest that extended into black leather sleeves. Even more tight-fitting were the brown leather pants he wore, and then the black boots to tie the outfit all-together. That was all hidden though, a blood red cloak covering his entire body with the wide hood draped so far over him that the shadows of the night couldn’t even do their job as to hide his face.
Certainly anything would be an upgrade from those rags he previously wore, but there was still something a little bit more satisfactory about the fact that he had procured these new clothes by magic himself, and it made everyone in the village see him differently, like a wolf ready to pounce and tear their throats out. The look of The Dark One.

It wasn’t a wild assumption since his anger was on that very verge every day since Milah and Baelfire had been stolen from him. He was almost always angry, except for the times when grief overcame him whole-heartedly and locked himself away in his home, crying into the corners of the empty house. But those days were long gone; not a single tear dropped since he plunged the dagger into the chest of The Dark One. Now all that was left was anger and a father’s determination to find his wife and daughter, wanting nothing more than to bring them back home and split the pirate in two that had taken them from him.

He was there for one reason and one reason only. A pirate’s ship had made port at the docks not an hour ago, and Rumpelstiltskin was waiting. Finally, after what seemed like hours, there was a loud uproar of drunken laughter, and Rumpelstiltskin knew he had his man.

As the pirates paraded down the slick cobblestone streets, Rumpelstiltskin made a point to hunch himself over, with the added look of the dark red cloak, he could have easily been mistaken as a beggar. He clumsily walked past Killian Jones, the pirate captain that had called him a coward and refused to give back his family and bumped into him.

Rumpelstiltskin could practically taste the blood of this man on his cracked lips in his eagerness.

“You!” Killian shouted at the man he proposed was a beggar. “Stop!”

Rumpelstiltskin obliged, stopping in his tracks with his hunched over back facing the pirate, the need to grin tugging at his cheeks.

“Even gutter-rats have more manners than what you just displayed.”

Rumpelstiltskin took his time in turning so that he was profile to the pirate band, the side of his green and gold-flecked skin catching the light of a nearby lamp post.

“I-I-I’m so sorry sir.” Rumpelstiltskin purposefully stammered.

Killian snickered, taking in the small amount of appearance of the man in front of him to be strange, ugly, and in need of poking fun at.

“Ah, I was wrong…” Killian started, taking a few steps towards the beggar. “…not a rat at all. More…more…more like a crocodile!” He exclaimed, turning to his crew to see that they were all in agreement with their drunken laughter. Killian then took one step further and swatted his hand at the beggar, causing the tin cup of coins in his hand to clatter to the ground in a tinkering mess.

Rumpelstiltskin immediately hunched himself over onto his hands in knees, acting as a beggar would if his tin cup of money had been swatted to the ground. He had no need for this money of course, it was all an act to fulfill his revenge.

“What’s your name-” Killian asked, putting the bottom of his boot on Rumpelstiltskin’s back and kicked him over harshly. “-crocodile?”

Rumpelstiltskin fell over, acting the part of a feeble old man as he clamored to get himself back up but was unable to suppress a high-pitched giggle by the time he got back onto his feet. He heard the pirates’ laughter diminishing, no doubt confused of the laugh that just came from the old beggar, and Rumpelstiltskin pushed the hood of his cloak back so that it was resting back on his thin shoulders, revealing his face to the band of pirates.
Killian kept his smile and raised a finger, pointing to Rumpelstiltskin.

“You…I remember you…”

“Always nice to make an impression.” Rumpelstiltskin replied, flipping one of the coins he had managed to grab from the floor onto Killian’s chest in a slight taunt. Killian looked to the coin with dark eyes, and then looked back to Rumpelstiltskin who had just put his hand over his heart.

“Where are my manners? We haven’t been properly introduced.” Rumpelstiltskin removed his hand from his heart and extended both arms out wide, almost looking like he were expecting a hug if it hadn’t been that he lowered his torso and bent his legs into a deep bow.

“R-r-r-r-rumpelstiltskin!” He said, letting the ;r' roll off of his tongue while still keeping his head down in the low bow but then he looked up, keeping his body bent and looking up at the pirate with the tops of his eyes and his brows stitched together in a glare. “Or as others know me…The Dark One…”

This seemed to get a reaction from the pirates, no matter how drunk the ones behind Killian were. Each took a few steps backwards, looking between themselves in horror as if silently trying to confirm with the other what they had just heard. Killian, however, didn’t move, but Rumpelstiltskin could see a bit of color drain from his face. Rumpelstiltskin took it a step further, coming out of his bow and stepping to Killian’s side, making a sort of ‘boo’ sound at the pirates that were behind him and smiled in amusement as they scattered like rats.

“I see my reputation precedes me.” Rumpelstiltskin went on, now walking behind Killian directly, not exactly surprised that the pirate captain didn’t turn to face him.

“It does.” Killian replied, all hints of the amusement he had held pushing the old beggar around now completely gone.

“Good!” Rumpelstiltskin squeaked. “That’s going to save us time during the-“ He paused to change the quip in his voice, sounding now like an immature child. “-question and answer portion of our game!” He was still behind Killian now, facing the pirate captain’s back. He was so close, that Rumpelstiltskin could easily reach out and touch him, but he refrained, wanting his close encounter with the pirate to make his skin crawl instead.

Killian dared to crane his neck to look over at his shoulder at The Dark One, finding the ill-skinned man smiling broadly back at him with his two pointer fingers pointing up to the air.

“What is it you want to know?” Killian asked, slowly finding himself to turn to face the crocodile.

“How’s Milah, and Baelfire, of course?” His tone had changed again, that to what could almost be considered a normal tone for a male, however coming from The Dark One, it dripped of darkness and anger.

Killian bit at his lower lip, in thought for a moment before shaking his head no slightly a few times.

“Who?” He asked, and then couldn’t help but to flash his white smile at the man. Rumpelstiltskin mockingly giggled at Killian, and started to circle him again.

“Only too happy to uh, dig out the memory-“ He said, gesturing with his thumb like it were a spade in a garden. “-but, it gets reeeeealy messy.” He turned to face Killian again, having come full circle and now able to see the crew hiding (at a great distance) behind their captain.
Killian looked down, not because he was afraid to look back at The Dark One, but because something perplexed him.

“They’re dead.” He said suddenly, and Rumpelstiltskin immediately felt his heart jump into his throat and catch on fire at the same time. “Died a long time ago. Baelfire fell overboard during a storm, and Milah went in after her.”

Rumpelstiltskin’s face matched the sorrow that Killian had on his own, and there was a slight silence between the two of them before Killian spoke once more.

“What is it that you want?” He asked calmly and quietly, still giving respect to the spoken departed.

Rumpelstiltskin took a moment to answer, but when he did, his voice sounded very normal, not like The Dark One, but of Rumpelstiltskin, the spinner.

“We never got a chance to finish our duel.” He reminded the pirate. The duel of course that Killian challenged him to when Rumpelstiltskin had heard that Milah and Baelfire had been taken aboard his ship, the duel that would have released them from his holds, but also the duel that would surely end his life with his inexperience of fighting pirates.

Killian’s hand immediately shot to his hip where he kept his sword, and Rumpelstiltskin could hear the grinding of metal on sheaths from the rest of the pirate band behind him. He simply held up a hand, signaling them to stop with a quick “Ah!” from his throat.

“Not now…” He explained, and the sadness that had taken over him physically washed away as Rumpelstiltskin put on a showy display with his arms, an Italian flourish. "...tomorrow at dawn!" His left arm bend at the elbow and extending up at the sky while his right arm lay horizontal beneath it, the elbow of his left arm inches above his right hand. This gesture easily melted into placing his left hand over his heart and his right holding his stomach. “…I am not a cruel man, get your affairs in order.” He went on.

“Also-“ Rumpelstiltskin returned his right arm to his side and took a step forward, pushing his left hand finger into Killian’s chest. “-you can spend tonight knowing…” He paused to let his eyes widen, like a child discovering a delicious secret. “-it’ll be your last!” Rumpelstiltskin giggled again, like a child.

“Maybe I am cruel.” He said softly, more to himself than to Killian. “And don’t think of trying to escape-” He added on, taking his other step so that he and Killian were practically chest to chest, however with Rumpelstiltskin’s shorter stature, his chin only came to the pirate’s shoulder. “-because I will find you, and I will gut your entire crew - like-ah dee-fy-sh!”

The threat caused Killian’s eyes to darken, and then recede into something Rumpelstiltskin could recognize at once as sheer terror, despite the masculine front he attempted to put up, and Rumpelstiltskin couldn’t help but to smile in the pirate’s face that wasn’t more than four inches away from him.

---

The sound of the bell tinkling into the air pulled Mr. Gold from his thoughts, causing him to set down the far from new, poorly stitched together teddy bear back on it's place on one of the back shelves behind the counter. With his long hair framing the side of his face, he was forced to turn his head to see Henry walking into his shop with something of purpose. Had it been anyone else in Storybrooke that had come in at that time, it would have warranted them a quick threat to get out, but as it was Henry, Mr. Gold couldn't help but to press his thin lips into a sort of smile.

"They say curiosity killed the cat, and yet here you are." Mr. Gold stated blatantly, eying Henry from across the room with just the one eye visible since his hair had a habit of curtaining the other. This he fixed though with a gentle toss of his head, having his hair rest naturally at the sides of his face once more.

Henry was silent as he strode up to the counter, nearly stopping dead in his tracks at Gold's comment. 'What does he mean by that? Curiosity killed the cat...that can't be coincidence - or is it?' He thought to himself worriedly, though he let his expression remain calm. "'S'cuse me? I don't quite know what you mean." He said aloud, sounding quite innocent in tone.

Mr. Gold put his relaxed hand out, palm up with his shoulder shrugging ever so lightly.

"Why, your new-found relationship with the Mayor of course..." Mr. Gold replied as if it were obvious what he was referring to in the first place, however that same, knowing smile lingered on his lips.

"It's not a relationship." Henry countered coldly, not bothering to ask the pawnbroker how he came across such knowledge - with Henry's luck, half the town probably knew by now; maybe even more.

"But that's beside the point. I came to talk to you about Sn--the Jane Doe." He added, nearly slipping the name of Snow White but catching himself at the last second.

"Oh?" Mr. Gold quirked a curious eyebrow, letting both his hands now rest on the edge of the counter. "Did she ask you to read another book?"

"Oh...you're quite funny. I'm surprised you didn't pursue a career in stand-up." Henry replied dryly before returning to the topic at hand.

"Nothing's *happening*. I read to her and get nothing, no movement, no reaction whatsoever." He said tiredly, running both hands through his hair.
Mr. Gold kept his one eyebrow raised and managed a sort of snort/laugh through his nose.

"Yes, I do believe that's what coma patients do Mr. Carlyle. Or do they do things differently in New York?" He shook his head 'no' lightly and turned his attention to a mummified dragonfly in a glass case that had been sitting on top of the counter.

"You gave me this damnable book for a reason, Gold. And you told me *what* to do with it and what the requirements were. Now what are you keeping from me?" He hissed, tapping his foot impatiently.

"A mere suggestion is what I gave, for things to do in our little town since you had decided to come and visit. Nothing more." Mr. Gold retorted, raising his voice just a little bit higher in volume as to drive a point. He set the glass box back down, done examining the dragonfly and then finally looked back to Henry, taking a pause to lick his lips quickly before asking with a pointed finger, "What are you suggesting?"

"I'm suggesting--" Henry began, leaning in over the counter, "that you're not who you say you are...Dearie." He finished with an almost ferocious look in his eyes.

Mr. Gold's eyes were keenly trained on Henry's, his face firm and unforgiving, letting on that he had absolutely no idea what Henry was talking about. And then, a smile, followed by a breathy laugh.

"I figured a man of your...background...would have realized that the ink your dearly departed sister used with her quill...which she got from me by the way, wouldn't translate well over into this world...Cat."

Henry looked Gold -- no...Rumpelstiltskin up and down quickly, the corner of his mouth twitching as he tried to hide a shocked expression. "But how?! The memory potion-" He drifted off, his eyes filled with...nervousness.

"-which you cast away without a second thought!" Mr. Gold interrupted him, flicking his wrist with the phrase 'cast away.' His voice had risen again in volume, irritation creeping it's way into his dialect, only growing more and more as he continued on.

"And now, your job is only that much more difficult. The potion was to serve as means to break this curse. Not. For. Me! And now, since it is gone, thrown away in your selfishness of getting back at me, you are going to find another way to bring Snow White and her Prince Charming...back...together!"

"All in due time." Henry replied, letting his tone go calm again. "You may have all the power in the Enchanted Forest, but here...we're on equal footing. Now you're gonna tell me what you gave my sister. And don't presume to lie your way out of this, I talked to the Queen herself, and I have answers." He proclaimed in a growling voice, letting his emotions get the better of him.

Mr. Gold raised his cane a bit in his grip so that he was holding it in the center, the handle eye-level in which his own eyes were upon as he twisted the cane in small, slow circles, watching the handle turn. His mouth opened up in an 'o' shape, laughing all the while Henry spoke, clearly not buying into the fact that 'they were on equal footing.'

"The child asked for a quill, and so I gave her one." He dropped the cane, letting the pole slide down in his loosened grasp until the bottom clinked back down onto the floor. "But that matter is for another time," He said, looking back to Henry, keeping his wry smile. "Our little Jane Doe needs awakening and I'll tell you what, that little book I gave you...it holds the answer as to how."

Henry thought back to the storybook as he looked through the pages, whether in personal study or when reading it to Snow - a simple phrase, an action that kept popping up as the catalyst. The most powerful form of magic.

"True love's kiss..." Henry said in a tone that could only be described as a mixture of reverence and wonder at the same time. "True love's kiss can awaken her." He repeated, letting the thought sink in.

"And it's me." He said finally, staring intently at the Dark One, or, who was the Dark One.

"The only magic powerful enough to transcend realms and break any curse." A muscle in Mr. Gold's lip twitched and his eyes seemed to go hollow, looking past Henry for a moment, as if thinking of something, something he hadn't thought of in a very long time.

"And it's time..." Henry proclaimed before sharply turning on his heel, heading towards the front door of the shop. "Oh, and just in case you forget," he turned around one last time. "We're not done discussing what you did to Alice." He said before promptly leaving the store.

The ringing of the little bell at Henry's exit seemed to snap Mr. Gold out of whatever it was that he had been sunken into thinking about, only faintly hearing Henry's last words before he had left. The corner of his lip turned back into a firm smile and shook his head.

"Oh no, I expect not." He whispered out to himself, in reply to Henry's last words.

Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez as Dr. Archie Hopper, and I as Dr. Faye Stevenson

*~*~*

Faye reached the office without incident, much to her relief. She looked at the door with Dr. Hopper's name on it for a few moments, before raising her hand to knock. She hesitated as fear of what could happen crossed her mind. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts before she finally rapped on the door.

The door to his office opened moments after and Dr. Hopper gave Faye a reserved smile.

"Dr. Stevenson, please, come in." He held the door open for her, allowing her inside and then closed it after her. "Please have a seat." He said, gesturing to the small couch before heading over to the small file cabinet that held his patient files, however he only got halfway there before remembering he no longer had the files for Faye, and bit the inside of his cheek before turning back around and sitting across from Faye. He would have to do all from memory.

"So, how have things been for you since we last spoke...uh, a week ago was it? Yes, right. A week ago."

Faye nodded at his invitation, and she answered, "Thank you, Dr. Hopper," as she entered the office, and sat on the couch. She looked to him and she noticed that he wasn't looking through her file, like he did during their previous session. She nodded and said "It was a week ago," She then proceeded to ask, "Dr. Hopper, shouldn't you have my file?" She then felt a sinking feeling in her stomach and she asked politely, "I'm assuming that the doctor-patient confidentiality aspect of these meetings are still in effect, right?"

Dr. Hopper gave Faye a similar look to that of a deer-in-the-headlight before he began stammering, "What? Oh! Yes! Yes of course Dr. Stevenson!" He attempted to reassure her and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Your file? Uh, your file...well...with all that's happened with the earthquake and all...its been, uh misplaced-but tell me, how have you been doing? Any more...episodes?"

Faye gave Dr. Hopper a look that clearly showed that she knew that he was lying through his teeth. She answered his question, "Yes, there have been more episodes. Thankfully, nothing...unfortunate happened in the past week as far as I know,"

Archie felt his face getting red with the knowing look that Dr. Stevenson had given him, but felt himself able to breathe once again as she seemed to skip over the subject of her missing file.

"And the medication I've prescribed? How do you feel that's working for you?"

Dr. Stevenson shook her head at the mention of her perscription. She answered him, "It only works in bringing out my other persona sooner than she would normally appear,"

Dr. Hopper nodded in succession, steepling his hands together.

"A negative reaction then, good. This is good! This means we know just a bit more about your condition than we did last week." He said, now using his talent of positive thinking to keep the situation from looking bleak. Only then did he relax himself just a bit, his back reclining into the back of the couch.

"Dr. Stevenson, I need you to think back to your last...episode. What was going on in your head? What was happening in your mind? Any information you can give me may be useful and please, don't hold back."

Dr. Stevenson wasn't effected by Dr. Hopper's positive thinking. Every single medication she was prescribed in the past had the same effect. They were still at square 1. She thought back to her last episode...thankfully, she hadn't switched in Granny's, so that didn't count. The last time she had an episode was after diagnosing Mr. Gold...

She answered, "I was at the hospital, doing my job as I normally would. Then a certain patient came in..." She then added, "For the sake of Doctor-Patient Confidentiality, let's call this patient, Adrian Andrews," Her tone in that last statement had a discreet undertone that seemed to give the message "Unlike you," to Dr. Hopper.

She continued normally, "Adrian Andrews was escorted into the hospital by Ruby and Mr. Kowalski because of what they described as a panic attack. I managed to convince Adrian into getting checked, and having diagnostic tests done. When I delivered them the result, they said they knew all along, and they refused to get treatment. I tried to convince them to get treatment, not only for their sake, but for their loved ones' sake as well. But...they have stubbornly made their point clear. After the patient left, I felt...angry. Enough to actually want to throw something or hurt someone. So I immediately headed home after that, however, I blacked out on my way back. When I woke up again, I found myself in my home at 4 pm the next day,"

"Dealing with stubborn patients is a normal occurance in your field, Dr. Stevenson. What made this particular patients case cause you to get so angry?" Dr. Hopper asked, leaning forward a bit so that his elbows were now resting on his knees. "Anger is a very normal emotion, wanting to throw something or hurt someone while angry is not at all uncommon, and it all just depends on how you deal with it..." He added, silently asking if she might have done something once she had gotten home that she might have forgotten to mention.

Dr. Stevenson answered his question, "The patient...they don't have the common cold, or something minor like that. The patient has lung cancer. They are dying ever so slowly and painfully. The fact that I can't help them because they are stubborn...that's what made me angry," At least, that's what she thought made her angry.

She listened to his talk about anger. She answered his silent question, "Thankfully, from what I can tell, nothing unfortunate happened that night,"

Archie couldn't help but to run over in his mind just who might fit that particular description of a patient, only coming up with a handful of different names which didn't particularly help narrow it down. But that wasn't his job, his job was to help Faye.

"So, you had a lapse of...let's say eighteen hours where you remember nothing?" He asked, repeating what she had told him prior. He took a moment to rub his temples, attempting to erase the slight headache of trying to solve this jigsaw puzzle, not at all in any sort of irritation towards Faye, however.

"Last week, I brought up briefly of you carrying around a tape recorder, something that...your other persona and you might be able to communicate by. Have you looked into that at all?"

Faye nodded and answered his question, "That's right," When he asked about the tape recorder, she raised an eyebrow. She remembered clearly, thanks to her iedetic memory, that he had brought up the tape recorder five years ago. She told him, "You did bring that up...five years ago. I already have one. The other persona and I did communicate with each other, but that was only to set up an agreement. After that, I'm the only one who speaks to her. She hasn't left a message on the tape recorder ever since,"

Dr. Hopper rubbing his hand over his mouth, in deep thought.

"Anger seemed to be a trigger in your last episode, but it's not enough to go on to say that is what is causing these blackouts..." He said outloud, more to himself that to her. "I want to try something, an exersize of the mind." Dr. Hopper extendind his hand out towards the couch. "Would you mind lying down?"

Faye raised an eyebrow at Dr. Hopper's request, but she complied and lied down on the couch. She said to Dr. Hopper as she did so, "I sincerely hope you are not thinking of trying to communicate with my other counterpart,"

"Oh no, no no no no!" Dr. Hopper assured her, though he couldn't blame her, it did seem like that was what he was up to. "No, this is a small mind exersize to help me understand just a bit more about the anger that you went through the other night. Just close your eyes, and relax." He instructed, letting his voice become calm and soothing. "Just breathe, concentrate on your breath...good. Now I want you to begin to think...think, before your patient at the hospital, when the last time you got that angry was..."

Faye followed Dr. Hopper's instructions, closing her eyes and concentrating on her breathing. She thought back to a time when she got that angry, and she saw a memory of being in the hospital trying to save a child's life. She answered, "The last time I got that angry...It was after I tried to save a child's life. The child patient...died from an accident,"

"Good." Archie commended her, not on the memory's context, but at being able to remember. He continued instructing her, having Faye fall into a sort of hypnotic state where Dr. Hopper knew that he could start getting some angers. This...alternate persona of Dr. Stevenson's had been around for as long as she could remember, which meant that Archie had to dive into her childhood for some answers.

"Let's go farther back. When was the first time you became so angry that you wanted to hurt someone?" He asked, looking like he was talking to someone sleeping on his couch. He just hoped he hadn't put her under too far...the memory was there, he just had to guide her to it.

Faye thought, trying to remember, but she only saw flashes of strange sceneries and heard only one familiar voice speak. She mumbled as she felt a headache grow in pain, "My father...abandoned me..."

She then shouted in pain as both of her hands flew to her head, and she heard another familiar voice speak eerily in her mind, "Not yet,"

Her eyes flew open and the pain ceased. She looked at Hopper and she commented "That didn't work..."

Dr. Hopper looked upon Faye with an obvious look of worry on his face, glad that she had been able to wake herself up rather than him; it was more dangerous that way, risking damaging the memories.

"But we got something." He said softly, unsure whether or not to sound excited. "You mentioned your father, but to my recollection you were adopted at a very young age..." He paused, but went on to his point. "Your patient, the one that caused you to feel angry this last time, is he a younger man, or someone that has a fatherly sort of disposition?"

Faye thought about her answer, not sure if she should answer it at all, because the answer may allow Dr. Hopper to figure out who's the patient, and she would end up breaking her end of the small deal with Mr. Gold.

She answered cautiously "He does have an...elderly disposition,"

Dr. Hopper nodded at once, able to rule out all the others he thought might match the description of her patient.

"Mr. Gold." He confirmed, though his voice was barely above a whisper. He sucked in a deep breath at the new information, mostly about how Mr. Gold was dying of lung cancer and didn't wish to go through treatment. That was something Archie could understand to get so angry about, Mr. Gold was an infuriating man.

"Well, I think we've touched up on enough for today. Are there any questions you wish to ask me before we say goodbye?" He asked, his normal tone returning and becoming professional once more.

Faye winced as Dr. Hopper confirmed out loud, and she was about to say no, but instead, a different answer came out, "Yes...there is another question I'd like to ask before I leave,"

She then asked "Who has my psychological file now?"

It was now Dr. Hopper's turn to wince, though he couldn't blame her. She was a sharp woman, a sharp woman with an eidetic memory; he knew she wouldn't have forgotten.

"I didn't...give it to her..." He started, wanting to make sure that Faye understood at once that it wasn't his fault. "But...you can't just say no to-"

"To any threats she makes if you didn't hand the file over to her?" Faye finished in a cold tone. She now had a good idea as to took her files now. Dammit, what did her counterpart DO?! She then stated "Dr. Hopper, The mayor doesn't have the right to have my psychological files unless she had a warrant,"

"I-she-but-" There was no way that Dr. Hopper could finish any of those sentences, and instead found himself holding his head in his hands in embarassment. "Your right, but she would have gotten a warrent anyway..." He mumbled a bit, unable to look at Faye. "I'm sure it's nothing bad, she'll probably return them this afternoon..."

Faye crossed her arms and as he tried to start a sentence he could finish, only to hold his head in his hands and agree with her. When he made his last sentences, she retorted "Get a warrant for what? And I highly doubt that, this may be very bad news,"

She shook her head at Dr. Hopper, and said as she stood up, getting ready to leave, "Also. Could you please keep our meetings confidential. That means not even telling the mayor,"

"I-uh, of course, D-Dr. Stevenson. Today's session was not logged, no one will know." He assured her, attempting to get his professionalism back into his voice without much sucess. He continued to look at her, an almost pleading look in his already apologetic eyes. "I'm so, so sorry Dr. Stevenson, the mayor...she's a very powerful woman..."

Dr. Stevenson nodded at his apology, but she continued sternly "Quite frankly, I don't care how powerful the mayor is," She then stated, giving Hopper some advice of her own, "You're a doctor! You have some power yourself. Do what you think is right, not what the mayor says. She's a mayor, not a Queen,"

She then greeted politely and professionally, "I hope you have a nice day, Dr. Hopper. I'll see you next week," She then started heading out of the office.

Dr. Hopper had no reply, only shame continuing to rise at the truthfullness of the doctors words. He waved a pitiful goodbye, and watched her leave his office.

Collaboration between Tanderbolt and Ghost Shadow
--
Henry paced down the sidewalk faster-than-appropriate, a slight bounce to his step. He didn't focus on anyone or anything besides the music that streamed through his Walkman, everything horrible that had happened to him would finally be reconciled - and he would have...peace

He entered the hospital for what was the second time today, not bothering to take his headphones off as he signed in as a volunteer, receiving a dark glare from Ms. Lezowski - who, as Faye aptly put, didn't look too happy at being snuck past. Henry chose to ignore her glare, however, and pinned his nametag onto his coat before strolling through the double-doors and down the hall.

The amply spacious room that occupied Snow White was as it always was: dim and sterile, and yet, somewhat cozy.

Henry took off his headphones as he entered, that same warm smile on his face - hopeful, sincere.

As he stood there, almost afraid to move forward, the music continued to play through his player - the song almost ironic, given the situation...

Unforgettable
In every way,
And forever more
That's how you'll stay.

That's why, darling, it's incredible
That someone so unforgettable
Thinks that I am
Unforgettable, too.

"Oh!" Henry vocalized, reaching his hand down and pressing 'Stop' with a small flush on his cheeks. "You're not even awake yet and I'm already being awkward." He admitted with a chuckle as he finally stepped up to the side of the bed.

"I know you can't hear me yet Snow--" he began solemnly, eyes both sad and hopeful at the same time. "--But I've waited a long time to see you again. Heh...come to think of it, you've never seen me without a tail and four paws. Isn't that something? Bugger Prince Charming, he doesn't deserve you...no one does. But I'll try my best." He ended wistfully before leaning his head in over the bed and letting his lips just barely meet hers.

He stayed like this for just a second, pulling back in confusion. "Did I do something wrong?" He asked aloud, scratching the back of his head perplexedly.

He tried again, this time trying to muster more fervency into the kiss - again, nothing.

"Snow? Please wake up..." he plead, the once-bright, hopeful tone in his voice fading. He gently shook her by the arm, as if she just needed to be beckoned from her sleep.

As if thinking it would do anymore, he kissed her once more, almost roughly as fresh tears stung the edge of his eyes.

"Come on, wake up...*Wake up*!" He cried out despairingly, squeezing her bedpost with enough force to turn his knuckles white.

As if realizing the truth of the matter, the still-steady beeping of Snow's heart monitor reminding him constantly, he slowly sunk down to the floor, burying his head in his hands and sobbing quietly. It was all quite clear to him now: He was alone...
--
Many years ago....

The Cat strolled about his portion of the castle curiously. Though he'd already been staying there for a few days, there were still new things to find and discover. "Hm...Snow's late. Usually she's here by now." He said aloud to no-one-in-particular. It seemed like the young woman always made time for him, even with her busy schedule. "Might as well wait somewhere convenient." He added before disappearing in a bright orange flash, leaving a silhouette of his figure for just a moment before it faded.

Chesh landed in what would be considered his 'bedroom', the same room that they first met in when Snow had been fervently looking for her tiara, which, the Cat had learned, was a gift from her dearly-departed mother.

Snow walked into the room, looking for a moment of peace. Her head was hung low and a few tears could be seen streaming from her eyes, a fraction of those that she had cried that day. Lost in introspection, she didn't notice the cat in the room as she found a chair to sit down on.

The Cat walked slowly towards her, his own eyes empathetic - off-setting his grin. "I heard what happened, my dear." He began solemnly, letting his tail simply fall instead of swish as it usually did when he was speaking.

"Your father was much beloved throughout the castle. He will be missed..." The Cat wasn't sure what else he could say. Were he human, he could do more - say more. Hold her hand, hug her, do *something* other than sit there looking positively amused when he wanted to mourn with her. He only watched King Leopold from a distance, never speaking to the man; but he was just and fair, as any true ruler should be.

Snow took a moment befoe speaking, trying to collect her words. "This wasn't normal, this isn't how men are supposed to die. I remember my Mother's death, but that was expected, natural, almost like it was fated to happen. I can't see this the same way, he's gone, not because of natural phenomenon, but because of the choices that someone out there made." Maybe the cat would be able to help her deal with her sorrows, she thought to herself. If what he had said of life in Wonderland was true, this wasn't the first time he had witnessed an unnatural death.

"The reports I heard gave reference to a...venom from a bite of sorts - potent enough to kill and an Agrabah Viper was found in his sheets. The guards say they saw no stranger or assassin, and I, myself found nothing of note - but there are whispers though, that your father's advisor, being from Agrabah, is to blame. But, please, my friend, don't let such horrid thoughts remain in your head, precious one. Remember the king for who he was and what he meant to you and to the rest of the kingdom, relish in it - or be swallowed by the pain and self-loathing..." He said, his tone turning aloof and pained, as he knew internally that he was suffering the same fate he was warning her against.

She wiped away some of her tears, showing a bit more composure. She looked into the cat's eyes, and said "I don't blame myself, but I wish I knew who could do something like this. I don't think I've ever met anyone who was evil enough to even think of this. In all your travels, have you ever seen someone who would want to kill a man as noble as my father?"

"I've met many cruel and vile people who would slaughter scores of men like your father without hesitation. They are men, and women without remorse or empathy. But they do exist...allow me to ask you this, Snow: can there be good, if there is no evil?" He asked wisely, yet his eyes were still sympathetic and kindly.

Snow stood up, and her tears had now stopped. She had a little more confidence in her voice when she said "Chesh, I know that there is evil out there, it just shocked me to witness it so suddenly and dramatically. Evil is distancing oneself from good, falling away from path of righteousness. Even allowing the slightest concession means leting evil into your heart. Everyone must choose their road, no one else can do it for you, and it is either one or the other. I hope you will remember this, and journey together with me through the hardships that life throws at both of us. "

Chesh seemed to hesitate before speaking. In truth, he was an enemy of law and order - preferring freedom and random chance, chaos. But he hadn't the heart to argue with her philosophy at this time, the wound of loss so fresh and open to infection. The wound would heal, but leave a mark - the scar tissue that would remain forever.

"I am, and always will be with you, Snow. No matter what..." He promised sincerely.

(Collaboration Post Featuring Guardian Angel Haruki's Dr Faye Stevenson, Ghost Shadow's Henry Carlyle, Tanderbolt's Robert Leland, and Major Ursa's Knox Kowalski)

Faye returned to the hospital immediately, glad that the appointment with Dr. Hopper was over, and ready to work. However, she was still worried about the fact that Regina had her files, and she knew that she would have to confront the mayor about it when she comes to check on the patient, but that wouldn't be for another four days.

She entered the sterile hospital, and headed down the halls to check on the patients.

Slamming the stairway door, Knox cursed lightly under his breath as he made his way down the hall…looking both surprised, relieved, and unsure when he caught sight of Dr Stevenson. Holding a hand up to catch her attention, “Dr Stevenson, I was just looking for you…something…something has happened to your coma patient…”

Something…! That something stirred certain anger in him, what sort of sick—a patient at a hospital! What sort of twisted pervert…the security guard couldn’t help it, but he was letting this stress him out more than he’d like, “Damn it, I wasn’t in surveillance at the time, but I just saw footage and picked up the tape…we—damn, we need to start screening the people we let in he—“

Faye looked to Knox when he waved to her, and she widened her eyes when he said that something happened to the coma patient. She listened as he spoke, he was clearly frazzled. She raised her hands up in a gesture that told him to try and calm him down, she said to him seriously and in a concerned tone, "Knox, please calm down. What happened?" She wasn't sure if he was able to tell her, and she was hesitant about asking him to show her the security footage.

Taking in a deep breath, ‘calming down’, cracking his knuckles in the moment of silence…Knox stared down at Dr Stevenson with a grim expression, “No time. I think you need to come with me to confront that damned newcomer.” With two gloved fingers, he beckoned her to follow him, making their way to Jane Doe’s hospital room.

Faye swallowed hard when he said that there was no time and that she needed to follow him. Newcomer...did he mean Henry? What did Henry do?! She nodded, and she said "Very well then," She followed him after he beckoned her with his fingers.

Travelling down the hall, passing room after room, calmer…Knox stared at Dr Stevenson over his shoulder, letting out a deep sigh, slowing down to fall into step rather than to lead her, speaking quietly so only she could properly hear him, “From the audio recording, you’ve made your call on what happened the other night…”

Faye soon caught up with him, and she walked beside him as he started talking to her about what happened. She knew right away that he was talking about Mr. Gold. She spoke in an equally low tone, "I can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped,"

“You say this, but you are helping him evade battery charges by keeping quiet.” Turning to look at her, Knox’s expression was just asking Dr Stevenson what she wanted to do…though he knew what protocol for this hospital would normally demand done. Mouth over turned into a deep frown, “After every tape of surveillance footage has been watched and reviewed, I submit a report as well as a relevant audio transcript, though I have fallen a little bit behind...give me a reason to lose this tape…”

Dr. Stevenson looked at him conflicted when he made his point. She knew what the right choice was, but she had to admit that she was a little scared that he may come after her, and that she may hurt the dying man in return. She sighed through her nose, and coming to a decision she answered in a low tone "Follow protocol. Do what you have to do,"

Eyes widening a fraction too much, the light glare of the overhead lights hurt them more than he’d like, “I ask you because I respect your decision in this…but, good. To be honest, I didn’t want to destroy the audio transcript I typed up…” The whole report would be submitted to the sheriff’s office as soon as possible, but now they had another situation to deal with…though he was glad to have that issue covered properly, it gave him time to calm down.

Going over to the door of the patient’s room, Knox turned and gave Dr Stevenson a careful nod, “We are going in to confront the…offending party, before Sheriff Leland comes in to make the arrest.” There was a pause as he gripped the doorknob, turning it slowly, “I did not know what to make of the newcomer...”

Dr. Stevenson commented, "You still haven't told me what Mr. Carlyle has done. Unless...you expect him to confess to whatever he's done?" She knew Knox wasn't one to falsely accuse someone. But how could she confront someone if she doesn't know what has happened?

Ignoring the doctor’s question, for the moment, Knox deemed it best to handcuff the man first. Another security guard came over with a tape, as Knox immediately took Mr Carlyle into his sights. The man was still huddled on the floor, crying the security guard went over and grabbed his arms—slapping the handcuffs on with little to no problems, Henry merely remained still - like a ragdoll, his expression devoid of all emotion, though tears still streamed down his face; he looked hollow, like a husk.

Grabbing the tape and dismissing the other guard, Knox crossed over to the television. Budget cuts. This television was one of old clunky ones, with a built in VCR…but that suited his needs just fine. Holding the tape up, looking over to the doctor, the grim expression from earlier returning, “This man was forcing himself on your patient.”

With one final cold glare and frown at the pitiable disposition of this...crook...Knox turned on the TV and pushed the tape into the VCR. Automatically, the weather channel switched to the black and white snow of the tape, before showing the copied footage of Henry first entering into the hospital room…

The doctor entered the room to see Henry in a broken state. She watched Knox as he entered the room and arrested the crying newcomer. She noticed how his expression was similar to Knox's father.

She watched as the video tape as it played from the very start, and she gasped at the sight of Henry leaning over Jane Doe repeatedly. She looked to Henry once again, this time with disbelief and slight disgust.

Henry didn't resist at the handcuffs, but his head looked between Faye and the television screen. "Heather, this isn't what it looks like." He said, his voice somewhat more composed. "I was trying to wake her..." He said cryptically, sounding as though he wanted to say more, but was holding back.

Faye crossed her arms; her facial expression still showed disgust, but her disbelief quickly became anger, scepticism, and disappointment. Who the hell was Heather? To her, it seemed Henry was suffering from a mental disturbance.

Narrowing his eyes coldly at Henry scrambling to explain himself, Knox leaned against the closest wall and crossed his arms, glancing at Dr Faye Stevenson, “Yes, Heather, I’m quite sure our friend here has a lucid enough explanation as to why he was kissing an unconscious coma patient…!” Sarcasm dripping from his words like the tasteless, yet painful venom of a snake.

"Listen to me!" Henry snapped before calming down again, "I would love to explain myself. But I can't. There are secrets that I can't tell you yet, all I ask Faye is that you trust me, *please*." He pleaded, locking his eyes with hers.

The security guard spared a short, almost apologetic glance to the Jane Doe…before breathing out a hot, angry sigh…“If you have problems with Dr Stevenson’s method of treating a patient, perhaps submit a suggestion into the front desk, instead of taking things into your own hands…?” Saying this rather dryly, Knox took a moment to pause…and scold himself for joking, making light of a serious situation.

Faye said seriously and sceptically, her tone had become cold like ice, "Oh, really, Mr. Carlyle?" She then said to him shaking her head at him, "Regardless of explanation or not, I cannot overlook this," She then said "In accordance to the rules, Mr. Carlyle, you will not be allowed back in the hospital. If you ever become a patient here, you will be restrained and supervised,"

She then looked to Knox and she spoke to him, "Mr. Kowalski, would you please call Dr. Hopper? I want him to speak with Mr. Carlyle...during his time in jail,"

Not batting an eyelash and still leaning against the wall, Knox uncrossed his arms to pull his walkie talkie from his belt, speaking briefly to another security guard before returning it back to his belt and crossing his arms again, “Will that be all, Dr Stevenson?” His voice and expression were blank, and expectant. It was quite evident he didn‘t plan on leaving anytime soon.

Dr. Stevenson answered, "Can you wait right outside of the door? I don't want anyone else to come in here, unless they're a security guard or Sheriff Leland. I'll keep an eye on him in here," There was no other exit for Henry to leave; there wasn't even a window for him to jump out of.

Knox raised a brow at her request, pushing off of the wall he leaned against moments ago, “I hope you have a good reason to go against—“ Pausing for a moment, the security guard sighed his long sigh and wordlessly left the room, but left the door open just a crack for a few moments, “Do not, under any circumstances, lock the door. Don't take more than ten.” With that, the door mad a small click as he pulled it closed.

She stopped Knox mid-sentence with a meaningful look that said that she could fight him off he tried anything. After he gave in and went to stand outside, she nodded at his warning, showing that she won't lock the door, and she would certainly stop Henry if he tried.

After he went outside, Dr. Stevenson looked to Henry and she said coldly, "Well? You have an explanation. Don't you?"

Henry's eyes followed Knox out the door, finally landing on Faye again. "My coming here wasn't a coincidence." He began carefully, shifting his weight to get more comfortable, especially given the circumstances.

"There's a dark secret surrounding this town, a secret that very few people know. And I've come here to save you, save the town. I know I sound crazy, and I know your first instinct is to shut me up and toss me in a cell, but please[i], Faye. Everything I've done here was planned and coordinated by forces that go beyond either of us." He finished, keeping his voice low and calm. He wanted to tell her of magic, tell her of the Dark Curse that surrounded the town, how the grouchy pawnbroker was in reality the most powerful being in all the realms...but he couldn't, she'd only think him crazier than he had already implied.

Faye's facial features were now no more than a mask, remaining the same as Henry spoke, never changing to show what the head doctor was really thinking. For a brief moment, there was a flicker of black among the blue irises, but it disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. She knew very well that Knox could record this. She said, making sure that her scepticism was shown loud and clear in her tone, "Fine, I'll play along. What are these 'forces' that you are talking about?"

Henry exhaled sharply, obviously struggling with what words to devise. "I...I wish I could tell you, Faye, I honestly do. You just need to trust me is all I can ask. Give me a few more days and I [i]promise with all my heart that it will be made clear to you." He finished almost meekly.

Faye was quiet. She mouthed a silent 'Fine,' to him, her eyes making contact with his but the mask never disappeared for a second. She then spoke out loud, keeping the cold sceptical look looking away from him, her tone still icy, "I think what you really need, Mr. Carlyle, is to speak with Dr. Hopper. You're clearly not feeling well,"

Henry kept his own face of despair and dismay, but his eyes - if only for a moment, lit up. "Why won't you listen to me? You know I'm not crazy, Faye!" He pleaded once again, his tone rising just slightly in volume; not enough to be inappropriate, but enough to add emphasis to his statement.

Faye remained distant and cold to Henry, as she responded just like any other doctor would, "I know you're not," Where was Sheriff Leland? What was taking him so long? Soon it had been ten minutes, and she said to Henry Carlyle, "Now, if you'll excuse me, Mr. Carlyle," She then headed out of the door, and closed it behind her to make sure he didn't leave, and she met up with Knox.

“Tell me why I needed to leave.” The security guard was standing just beside the door with his arms crossed, that expectant look about him.

Faye looked to him and she answered, "I didn't want anyone else who wanted to visit Jane Doe to endanger them by entering the same room as the newcomer, and I wanted to gauge how he was mentally, myself."

Looking up at a ceiling light vaguely, Knox’s eyes were soon shut…dumb idea, “You know by now that the front desk will inform visitors when some patients cannot be visited, that there would be more security guards stationed on this floor at this present time…that there should be one inside with you. So…why?”

Looking over at another guard turning down a different side of the hall, Knox leaned closer, “I respected your choices, and all I ask in return is that if your actions are unclear to me, that you give me some sort of explanation.” Holding still, though after a moment, the man started drumming his fingers on his crossed arm...looking flustered, “Do you trust him?”

Faye bit her bottom lip when he pointed out the flaw, and she nodded. When he told her that he just wanted to understand why in return for respecting her choices, her face turned red. She answered him in a low tone, "To be honest, I don't even know myself,"

When he asked if she trusted him, she answered in a low and quiet tone, "No. But it feels like there is at least a grain of truth in his madness. I still don't approve of his earlier behaviour shown on the security tape, you know,"

Leaning even closer, Knox softened his gaze for only a moment…“Then trust me when I say…don’t hold the guy to an unrealistic promise, don’t hold it against him when he can’t deliver.” His expression turned sterner, reminding himself that they weren’t even remotely talking about his own father, “Mr Carlyle isn’t in the right, mad or no…and you’re no Polonius.” Staying in place for only a moment, the security guard straightened out, blinking more light out of his eyes now that he had more space before him.

After a moment of silence, “Fine, I’ll let you see this through to the end…but, careful. If this takes a turn for the worse at this hospital due to Mr Carlyle, and it’s still up in the air at this point to decide if it will—it’d be easier to scrap a security guard, even the most trusted and dependable one, for a breach in security…you are taking my fate in your hands when you decide to trust him.”

Faye nodded at his warning, and she said to him, "I'll be careful. And I'll be sure not to give you a terrible fate," She then looked to Robert as he appeared and she watched as he arrested Henry. She didn't say anything as he did.

It was then that Robert had finally arrived at the hospital, and seeing both Dr. Stevenson and Knox standing outside a patient room, he gathered that Henry was still inside. Robert then entered the room to find Henry standing there. He gave him a stern look, and approached slowly and calmly. He said "Sir, I'm sorry but you're gonna have to leave the building and come with me." He made sure to keep his hands free, just in case he had to use a bit of force while removing Henry from the premises.

"Of course...Sheriff." Henry replied calmly, using Robert's title almost as if he was disgusted to use the man's proper name. "Please be gentle with my Walkman, would you?" He requested, bowing his head down to the music player at his belt.

Robert removed Henry's Walkman from his possession and took hold of Henry's wrists that were bound together by the cuffs and walked him out, stopping for a moment to nod towards Dr. Stevenson and Knox before walking again with Henry to leave the building to the patrol car that was waiting just outside, amber lights flashing.

Regina watched with a content smile as the eight-year-old boy played on the swing-set in Storybrooke's one and only park. It was a little out-of-the-way from the rest of the town, tucked snugly into a cleared out portion of the forest that closed the park off from the rest of the world, it seemed. Realistically, it would have only been a twenty minute walk from Any Given Sundae, but the ice cream was long-gone by now, smeared all over the child's face. Regina had to wonder if he even got any into his stomach. She opted to drive her Mercedes instead, it being the only car parked out in front of the park.

Her cellphone sat neatly in her lap, the back light still on from sending a recent text message to Robert, telling him where he could meet her. As she waited, she found herself only getting more and more anxious, which brought Regina to get up off of the bench and go to Mason and took the swing beside him.

"How would you feel about staying at my place tonight Mason? It's very large, and it could be your very own castle."

Mason, who was swinging about three times as high as Regina beamed at the mention of a castle. He must have really liked the idea because he started to make himself swing even higher before jumping out of the swing to see how far he could go, whooping and hollering as he fell.

"Mason!" Regina shot out of the swing and was by Mason's side in a heartbeat, but the boy was not injured; in fact, he landed on his own two feet like an agile cat. That didn't stop Regina from taking a knee and brushing off his pants and then holding onto his wrists while she looked up at him.

"Are you alright?" Regina asked, her brown eyes looking upon him with the same look of concern she held for him back at the mines.

"I'm fine Ms. Mayor, it was fun!" Mason beamed and then ran back to the swings to do it all over again. Regina stood up, dusting the bark and dirt from her knee and shin as she turned back to look at him and shook her head with a smile.
This...this was what she was missing in the same-shit-different-day-in-Storybrooke.

Some days, Robert felt more like an assistant than a sheriff. After the trouble at the mine's, he'd spent his day playing phone tag with the school officials and the local construction crew, even though there were still open cases. Regina had demanded that he meet her in the park as soon as possible, so he drove over there, making sure to bring the pile of papers she'd need to sign for the cement crew to proceed. He waited until Regina had finished with Mason before saying "Got the crew ready to go and seal up the mine, you just need to sign the invoices and permits. School had nothing about Mason, didn't even know who was paying for his lunches. I don't even know how they can have so little on him and still comply with state laws."

"Because someone isn't doing their job by reporting these things to me." Regina snapped bitterly as she signed the appropriate papers, and shoved them back into Robert's chest once she was done with them. She of course was talking about David Nolan...Prince James. Just the name alone made Regina's lip curl into a beastly snarl, grateful that Mason was too hard at play now on the monkey bars as she and the sheriff spoke. At least Regina could rest just a bit easier now, the mines would be paved over, and no one would find her secret.

"Henry Carlyle, please tell me you have something on him by now." Regina then said, changing the subject since the matter of the mines was no longer an issue.

Robert frowned and said "I arrested him in the hospital, caused a commotion by kissing Jane Doe or something, doctors wanted him out. No previous criminal record, and I'm not sure if we'll be able to build a solid case off of this, but it'll get him off the streets if that's what you're worried about."

Regina couldn't help but laugh, nothing fake or staged like she usually did, but a pure, genuine laugh of amusement. Henry, kissing Snow White? What, did he think in his little, delusional mind that it would be him to wake Snow from the sleeping curse? No...it wasn't, David Nolan was the only threat here, and his head was filled with so many lies that he didn't even know who Snow White was, and that would never change. Never.

It did perturb her a bit though, this was really the first, solid confirmation that Henry was here to break her curse, but with him now behind bars on a truly delicious case stacked up against him, she didn't have much to fret about.

"In his room, I didn't find much, random personal belongings and an old book of fables that came from Mr. Gold's. I couldn't match his prints with any of the ones on the envelope with the tax money, I just found the mysterious woman's and a set I presume is yours. Was he wearing gloves?" Robert was trying to get everything he knew out quickly, hoping that something would be promising.

Regina just waved her hand away, as if all that information was now pointless to her. Henry Carlyle was safe behind bars at long last, it didn't matter that it wasn't by her own hand, all that mattered was that he was right where she wanted him to be.

"I want to talk about something else." Regina said, her voice sounding, all-of-a-sudden more...jovial. "The woman you put into the cells, the one that escaped...what do we know about her?"

He sighed, and said "Basically nothing. No ID on her, refused to give a name, prints don't match anyone in the criminal database. All she had on her was the envelope and some cash, and I haven't seen her around since. Graham was out when she escaped, and there was no damage to the station or any equipment, either we're dealing with a master burglar or someone with keys. I've got her photo and prints, I could even put up wanted posters if you think it would help."

"No...no I've got another matter I want your attention on. I went to visit this...mystery woman yesterday, and she kept mentioning Dr. Faye Stevenson. I've already...acquired the doctors files from Dr. Hopper and will be going over going over them tonight once Mason is asleep." Regina paused to look over at the boy, still playing on the monkey bars.

I'll let you know if I find anything." There wasn't much to add to the way she said it that wouldn't lead Robert to believe that the files were obtained illegally, but Regina didn't even bat an eyelash with revealing the information to him. Instead, she patted Robert on the chest a few times and smiled. "Good work Sheriff. I might keep you employed after all."

Robert nodded, and walked back to the car. Law enforcement was tricky business, and he was very skeptical about whether Regina had obtained Dr. Hopper's files legitimately. While that line of investigation may be off limits, he could still look into Dr. Stevenson. Things were making less sense, especially regarding the case of the envelope, but more investigation would always be helpful. Before he left, Robert turned and said "I'll get right on it. Oh, and if you still have that wine, I wouldn't mine trying a sip of it."

Regina followed him with her eyes as he walked to the car, and smiled at his remark.

"I'll see you tonight then Sheriff." She replied with a wink. Yes, tonight was looking to be a very good night for The Queen.

Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez as Regina Mills and I as Dr. Faye Stevenson

*~*~*

After the incident at the hospital, Dr. Faye Stevenson decided to head home. She didn't want to stick around and see if disappointment turned out to be another trigger for her other persona. She walked all the way from the hospital to the street, and she stopped and watched a bit as Regina got out of the car...with a little boy that she hadn't seen before.

Regina slammed her car door shut and watched as Mason bounded up the stairs to the patio, completely awe-struck at the sheer size of the place.

"This is your home?" Mason asked, his eyes wide as they were bright. Regina chuckled, not noticing Dr. Stevenson just a short ways behind her.

"Our home." Regina corrected him. "You'll be staying with me for a while...if that's alright."

Mason bounced off of the patio, down the stairs and back to Regina who hadn't even made it halfway up the driveway yet and Regina felt an odd, warm feeling in the place where her heart was when the child wrapped his arms around her torso in a tight hug. Regina found herself hugging him back (if a bit awkwardly from the height difference) and then patted him on the back as they parted, that warm feeling in her chest growing as she realized that he was smiling up at her with a wide, ice-cream-faced grin.

The doctor watched the scene in front of her. She knew that she had to talk to the mayor, but she felt a little guilty for interrupting the sweet moment. She sighed through her nose, steeling her nerves, and she made herself known, greeting the mayor civilly and politely, "Ah! Good Evening Madam Mayor,"

Regina turned her head to see Dr. Stevenson there, and the kindness she held in her eyes for Mason was all but gone.

"Evening..." She said, albiet skeptically. It wasn't often she got house calls, what did the doctor want?

Faye stayed on the sidewalk, and by technicalities, off of Regina's property. She then asked politely "I'm sorry to interrupt, but could I speak with you, Madam Mayor?"

Regina look a good look at Dr. Stevenson and then looked at the position of her feet, only for a moment before returning her cold gaze to the doctor's eyes once more, as if daring her to take another step forward. Before she answered Faye though, she turned back to Mason and bent her knees slightly to get on a more level height with him.

"Go on inside Mason, and get yourself a bath. I'll order us some pizza for dinner okay?" She instructed and the boy took off, blissfully unaware that something bad was about to traspire. Once Mason was safe inside her home, Regina turned back to Dr. Stevenson, crossing her arms over her chest.

"He was already checked out at the site doctor, he's fine." Regina snapped coldly, like a mother bear ready to rip anyone to shreds if anyone came between her and her cubs.

Faye answered Regina keeping her tone polite, civil, and socialable, never noticing that her wound that she received from Mr. Gold was visible for Regina to see, "So I've heard. I'm glad to see he's doing well," She then continued "But I'm not here to talk about Mason. I'm here about a different matter,"

"Any concerns you might have regarding the earthquake will be addressed at the town meeting on Tuesday." Regina interjected, her voice now sounding bored with a sentence that she had probably been using all day.

Faye shook her head and answered, "I'm not here about the Earthquake either," She then got to the point, staying civil and polite, "I received word that you took my psychological profile from Dr. Hopper, without a warrant. Why?"

Regina chuckled inwardly, making her arms rise from her chest a few times. She let them rest to her side once more, however, when Regina started taking a few steps towards Faye. "That's an awfully bold acusation, Dr. Stevenson." Regina said with the makings of a smirk on her lips. "What makes you think that I would do something like that?"

Faye shook her head at Regina, and asked (despite that her question implied that Regina was playing dumb) "Don't tell me you forgot?" She then answered, "You're the only one who can do something like that. Plus, you threatened me for patients' medical records before, on a total of four times over the past five years. Specifically on August 21 five years ago, December 16 four years, October 6 three years ago, and January 8 two years ago. Who's to say you didn't use the same method this time?"

Regina's face didn't faulter, clearly impressed by the memory of Dr. Stevenson but not at all put-off by the information.

"You've quite the memory doctor." Regina complimented. "It would serve you well to remember that on those four occasions, those medical records were in relation to Miss Jane Doe. A mayor can only see that things have been done right in terms of a coma patient." Her lips spread into a white smile, beautiful yet taunting.

Dr. Stevenson pointed out her tone becoming serious but remaining diplomatic, "My point, Madam Mayor, is that the fact that you threatened me for the medical records, means that you most likely did the same to Dr. Hopper for my medical records. I want to know why you want them and I would greatly appreciate it, if you returned them to Dr. Hopper,"

"I've no need of your records, doctor," Regina said with a bitter tone to the word. "you may flatter yourself as much as you like, but dear...you're not that interesting." Regina flashed one more smile before she turned to leave, making it back to the halfway point of her driveway before turning back around for a moment.

"Feel free to get a warrant and have Sheriff Leland come and search my house if you'd like, I've nothing to hide." Her smile changed, from taunting to just plain wicked. They both knew thats what it would take for Faye to get her records back without Regina's consent, and they both knew that Robert was wrapped around Regina's finger like a string puppet. Regina certainly wasn't making it easy on Dr. Stevenson, but then again, Regina never made it easy on anyone.

"Have a good evening." Regina ended sounding polite and still with a smile, and turned back to finish walking to her patio.

Dr. Stevenson knitted her eyebrows together at the wicked smile on Regina's face. But she didn't show her anger to Regina. She smiled at Regina cheerfully, and yet in a way that could unnerve a person (because there was something sinister in that smile that even Dr. Stevenson was unaware of), "Oh I will. Have a good evening, Madam Mayor,"

She then turned and started walking down the sidewalk, recalling a law in the town charter that may help her with this situation. For now, she was just going to head home.

Regina walked in just as Mason was getting out of the bath, and Regina had to curse herself for forgetting about the boy's clothes. Well, not like he would be wearing that garbage David Nolan was fronting for the boy anyway; they would just have to spend some time together tomorrow going shopping. True to her word, Regina ordered the both of them pizza and while they ate, watched a movie per Mason's request. Regina didn't understand a large majority of the Transformer's movie, but hearing Mason's child-like giggles filling up the room that would have otherwise been completely empty was enough for her to push through the entire thing.

It was nearly nine pm by the time the movie was over, but Regina didn't want the night to end. Sure Mason had school in the morning, and any responsible parent would have put him to bed shortly after...but Regina wasn't a parent. They ended up spending the next hour making cookies, and since Regina didn't have any 'fun-shaped' cookie cutters, Mason took it upon himself to shape the dough into different animals using just his fingers and a kitchen knife. Really it just looked like a bunch of uneven, misshaped blobs on a cookie sheet to Regina, but his smile kept reminding her that not everything always had to be so pristine and perfect.

It wasn't until Regina saw Mason passed out completely on the couch while they waited for the cookies to finish baking that Regina patted him awake and walked him up the spiral staircase and into a bedroom she never used. It was quite plain, the walls were a mute beige and save for a twin-sized bed and wooden desk in the corner it was completely empty. As she helped Mason climb underneath the covers, the once empty room seemed to fill as Regina imagined small toys littering the floor, a colorful rug on top of the hardwood floors, the walls painted bright colors and of course a pile of dirty laundry in the corner. These images soon melted away, back to the bare walls and boring structure as Mason grabbed Regina's hand and gave it a tired squeeze before he drifted off to sleep once more.

Instinct suddenly took over, and Regina bent at the waist to put a soft kiss on the boys forehead, squeezing his hand back and forced herself to leave him be in his bed and return downstairs. It was only then that the manila folder that Regina had plucked from Dr. Hopper's possession caught her attention, sitting out in the open on the coffee table in the living room, begging to be read. Regina picked up the folder as she sat down, holding it in her lap and began to read over the notes.

The first few pages were standard stuff, trying Regina's patience even then. Name, age, address, examiner information...Regina flipped through a couple more pages until she finally found the referral question, the reason why Faye Stevenson was even seeing Dr. Hopper in the first place.

"Dr. Stevenson has been complaining of some minor blackouts resulting in memory loss when she comes-to again. Patient describes worry, anxiety, stress and fear when succumbing to these episodes. Further analysis is required."

Regina pressed on, flipping through page after page of reports. Interviews, tests done, medications prescribed, but what Regina was looking for seemed to be hidden between the lines, if anything was there at all. Nothing stuck out to her that would explain the woman that had nearly choked her to death in the holding cells. That is, until she reached the last page, documenting the most recent interview from a week ago.

"Dr. Stevenson's blackouts continue and she keeps finding herself in places she doesn't ever recall going to. Through extensive research I have been able to pinpoint this condition as DID, Dissociative Identity Disorder. I believe that Dr. Stevenson thinks that she becomes another person during these blackouts, and this other person is blocking Dr. Stevenson from recalling any events that might take place during the episode. Further treatment is still required, medical dosage for treating anxiety and depression will be continued. Prolonged psychotherapy, hypnotherapy and adjudicative therapy will be tested."

Regina sat back into the couch, re-reading the passage at least a hundred times. What did that mean? Surely the woman in the cells wasn't Dr. Stevenson's 'alternate' self, they looked nothing alike! But still, it was the only thing that made sense. But on the other side, it made no sense at all! Who was this woman, who was she really? Regina tried thinking back...back before the curse to pinpoint who this woman was. She was only able to vaguely remember seeing her in one of her magic mirrors, it was just for a moment, and her attention had been too far put into getting Rumpelstiltskin to come to her castle...

Rumpelstiltskin...Dr. Stevenson, she was with him. A caretaker...and that meant Rumpelstiltskin knew exactly who she was. Regina quickly put the papers back in order and closed the envelope with a wry smile on her face, she knew now who held the information to the girl, and as luck would have it, he still had his memories.

But now wasn't the time to go and bother Mr. Gold, it was nearly eleven at night and the old, bitter man would shoot her the moment she stepped foot on his lawn. Ungrateful bastard, she gave him that lawn.

Instead, Regina grabbed her coat and locked up her house tight, manilla envelope tucked tightly underneath her arm and began her short walk to Archie's house. She didn't stay long, just long enough to slide the envelope underneath the cricket's welcome mat where Archie would very well know where to find it. She couldn't leave any chances open, although she was confident with herself in not getting caught with it, the way Dr. Stevenson had bid her goodnight was a bit...unnerving.

Shoving her hands into her coat pockets, she then began the short walk to the Sheriff's station where she knew Robert would still be, probably bored out of his mind with what little went on in Storybrooke. She had a prisoner to see, even if it was 'after hours.'

Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez and Ghost Shadow
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Regina rounded the corner to find Henry behind bars, just as Robert had said. She found her head swiveling to look over at Robert's desk, but found it empty.

Coffee run at Granny's Regina found herself thinking. Keeping her hands stuffed tightly into her coat pockets, Regina pushed forward and approached the cell, looking down at Henry.

The man in question sat on the metal frame that counted as a "bed", his back leaning against the wall. His coat had been strewn on the floor for some time now, leaving him in a simple dress-shirt and waistcoat. As he looked up to see Regina walk in, an almost devilish smile crept along his lips - almost as if he hadn't just been an emotional wreck a few hours ago.

"You know, if you were so intent on kissing someone, you could have always come back over." She jabbed at him a bit coldly.

"Well, I like to spice things up a bit, Your Majesty." He replied simply. His words sounded taunting, but his tone was nothing but conversational, friendly even.

"That's not to say--" he began, standing up, "--that you were anything less than enjoyable." He finished, planting his hands in his trouser pockets.

A muscle in Regina's lip twitched at the term 'your majesty.' She had only just gotten used to Mr. Gold using her correct title when they were alone, and it was just all the more...strange when someone she didn't even know the true identity of used it so freely.

"Who are you? How did you get here?" Regina found herself asking him.

"And why would I tell you that?" Henry asked, feigning shock that she would even dare ask such a thing. "To give you leverage? No...I think I'm fine. My name is Henry Carlyle, I took my car here from New York." He answered, pacing about the cell nonchalantly.

"He put you up to this didn't he? Somehow, the Imp got to you..." She observed outloud, her eyes narrowing at him between the bars. "I bet he told you to call yourself Henry too, in an effort to get close to me. Well it might have worked to begin with, but I'll tell you one thing right now Henry, is that you are looking at quite the sentence and you will be out of Storybrooke by morning...and I didn't even have to frame you to do it. Your own, stupid whims got you here, which makes this all the more satisfying."

Henry ignored her observation about Rumpelstiltskin, his face giving away no details as she spoke. "If you're so confident, then why feel the need to gloat to me?" He asked her, his face almost dark in expression. "You're scared." He added on in a voice that was nothing less than venomous, truly unlike his character.

"I just had one question." Regina said, her own expression mirroring his own but hers was more out of determination than anger. "Why her? Why that patient?"

"I do believe my client is done answering questions for the evening."

Regina jumped, turning around to find Mr. Gold not ten feet away from her and leaning heavily on his cane with a stone-faced expression. His dark brown eyes looked past Regina to Henry and he nodded once in a slight greeting.

"Henry! How are you holding up?" He asked, almost sounding...jovial.

Regina's jaw nearly dropped, did she just hear him right?

"Client?" She asked, shaking her head in an effort to clear whatever it was that was blocking her ears.

"That's right, I'm taking over Mr. Carlyle's case Mayor Mills." Mr. Gold said with an affirmative nod, drawing his attention from Henry and back to Regina. "Isn't that right, Henry?" He then called out just a bit louder towards Henry.

"Quite right, indeed." Henry affirmed, smiling widely - though this smile didn't emanate cheer or friendliness, but malice and spitefulness.

"Why?" Regina practically demanded. "Why on earth would you-" She cut herself off though, remembering their last conversation she had with him and her eyebrows furrowed, and Mr. Gold just smiled lightly. Regina stomped over to Mr. Gold, stopping only when they were just a breath's width away from one another. Her eyes glared intently into his, but neither said a word for a good, solid minute.

"Fine." Regina said at long last, as if finishing a thought that might have been a silent conversation between their minds. Mr. Gold then watched as Regina pushed past him, and called out behind her, "I won't make this easy for you Gold! You'd do well to remember who you're triffling with!" And then she was gone, leaving Mr. Gold and Henry alone in the quiet confines of the otherwise empty sheriff's department.

"What a charming woman." Mr. Gold said in the direction to where Regina had just stormed off, pleasantry still holding in his voice.

"Figured she'd be a bit more compromising after our interaction. Guess not." Henry replied nonchalantly, picking his coat up off the ground and moving it onto the bed. "Dare I say, Rumpelstiltskin - I'm quite pleased to see you." He said in a tone that hinted disbelief at his own words.

Mr. Gold looked back to Henry, palming both hands on the handle of his cane as he looked upon Henry with a slightly confused expression.

"Usually I just have that effect on women..." He replied without even so much as a hint to whether he was joking or not. He took the next moment to lift his cane and began walking towards Henry's cell so as to have a proper conversation. It was remarkable really, how easy it was for him to sneak into a room without the loud clanking of his cane hitting the floor as it now was doing.

"Don't let Regina scare you with her words. She's a powerful woman, yes, but you've got a powerful attourney. I heard about what happened, and offer my services if you'll have them."

"Gladly." Henry replied simply, completely confident. "The hospital incident was a...slip-up. I let my emotions cloud my judgement." He admitted guiltily. The pain of not having Snow White for himself caused him great distress, but the emotional torment now seemed to harden him; callous up as the real mission became more and more apparant. "I may not be her true love-"

Mr. Gold made a quiet scoff, mumbling under his breath "That much is clear..."

"-but I owe it to her nonetheless to break the Curse, and that's precisely what I'm going to do." He finished, ignoring Gold's sarcasm, pretending to have not heard it.

"Her? No my dear boy...you owe me." Mr. Gold responded, using his thumb to gesture towards his chest, his voice a growled snarl that would remind Henry that he was both Mr. Gold and Rumpelstiltskin. He then took in a deep breath, letting his eyes close for a moment to keep back the sudden anger that suddenly became evident in him, and clutched his cane a bit tighter.

At this outburst, Henry's face tightened severely, like a deer looking in the face of a wolf.

"I'll be leaving you here for a few days, but your case has already been resolved. Who's to press charges anyway? As her emergency contact, Mayor Mills is the only one within a position to do so, but I have yet to make a deal with that woman that she's been able to refuse." He stopped to smile, as if thinking back on something.

"If you think you can deter her, I'll let you work your magic." He said, then winced visibly at the unintentional pun he just made.

"The people of Storybrooke need time. No doubt Regina's ferret of a reporter will be filling the morning paper with your over-exaggerated and highly inappropriate actions at the hospital. You'd be safer behind bars then out in front of them. Once things have calmed down, I'll sign for your release."

"Sounds well and good. Last thing I need to do is run into that bloody security guard. That man can stare daggers." Henry said as a respectfully fearful compliment. Mr Gold then made a point to match the very expression that Henry was describing. "I can't believe I'm saying this, Dark One...but thank you." He said with a curt, but gracious nod.

"Here, it's just Mr. Gold." He corrected Henry. He wasn't The Dark One, not without magic; a painful reminder that he was still so far from reaching his ultimate goal. A thousand years of planning, and waiting, and to this day still so far. His body seemed to deflate, just slightly as Mr. Gold turned to leave the Sheriff's office, having no more business to discuss with Henry, though a particular file on the sheriff's desk caught his eye. He limped over to the desk, picked up the file and read it over. His face remained completely vigil, though he immediately crumpled up the paper and stuffed it into his suit jacket pocket before once more taking his leave.

"Mr. Gold?" Henry signaled, raising his voice just slightly as he saw the older man turn to leave. "I just have one question for you - my name..my real name. Why can't I remember it?"

Mr. Gold stopped abruptly, his back seeming to stiffen as he thought his answer over.

"Because you have no desire to remember anything of what has passed." He answered simply, a small tug of guilt coming down on him, glad to at least still have his back to Henry. He left it at that though, and Henry was then rewarded only by the sound of Mr. Gold's cane clinking down the hallway and eventually out of the building.

Henry could do little but watch as Mr. Gold left the Sheriff's office, the clang of the door closing only amplifying his solitary confinemnt.

"But I want to remember everything." He said to himself in a hushed whisper, as if saying it any louder would give away the words. And in that very moment, he could almost imagine his sister next to him, keeping him company.