Collaboration between Ghost Shadow as Henry Carlyle, Mason, and Mark Dufresne, YoshiSkittlez as Red and Granny, and I as Dr. Faye Stevenson

*~*~*

The lines at the dunk tank seemed to thin out as time progressed as people either were running out of spending money, or had their fill dunking the not-so-newcomer. Henry slowly climbed out of the booth for what was (hopefully) the last time. To say he was soaked would be an understatement, as water seemed to *constantly* be dripping off him. His crisp white shirt, unfortunately, couldn't handle the ordeal, and had shrunk almost to a ridiculous point.

"Have your laugh while you will, doctor." Henry warned Faye, "I'm changing as soon as possible." He said through chittering teeth.

Faye was holding back her laughter by covering her mouth with a hand, but a few chuckles got out as Henry warned. She soon calmed down enough to answer Henry, "I would say 'I told you so', but at this point, it would be redundant,"

Granny, who had been quite jovial watching Henry's unofficial punishment, piped up from her own bakery stand: "You look drenched, dear. Might be safer just to take your shirt off here."

Henry could only give the old woman a look that practically shouted "Really?" followed by Ruby jabbing the older woman in the ribs...again. Faye also looked at Granny, but with a look mixed between 'Really?' and a hesitant, awkward look.

"Dr. Stevenson, would you kindly help me...waddle back to my car?" Henry asked, looking down at his rather-tight clothing that gave him an awkward gait. "I've got some spare clothes in my suitcase..." He added, pushing a bit of hair out of his face.

Faye nodded and chuckled "Yeah, I'll help," She held onto Henry's arm, in order to make sure that he didn't fall over from the awkward gait, and she led him to his car. As she led him to the car, she asked "Well...that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Nah, not terribly bad." Henry agreed, undoing the first few buttons of his shirt to give him more mobility as he began searching through his suitcase. "Ah, here we are!" He exclaimed after a few moments, drawing a few pieces of clothing from the case with a gleeful smile on his face.

"Where do I..." he stopped mid-sentence, looking around him with slight concern. "Where do I change?" He asked Faye, somewhat awkwardly; scratching the back of his head. He had no qualms changing in front of her, and might have even suggested it - but he was on the sidewalk, and with his luck, both Regina and Robert would spot him.

Faye blushed as she looked around and as she did, she answered, "Um...you could use the bathroom in the convenient store over there,"

Henry looked over at the direction of the convenience store, nodding subtly at her suggestion. "Yes, that would work excellently! Thank you!" He commended, gathering the dry, clean clothes in his arms. "You can just wait out here...I shouldn't be long." He said with a small smile, his eyes seeming to study her intently.

Faye nodded and said "Alright. I'll wait here," When he seemed to just stand there, she asked in a joking tone, "Well, what are you waiting for? An invitation?"

"Oh! Sorry!" He exclaimed before rather hurriedly fast-walking to the store. A silence seemed to fall on the street for about six minutes until he emerged once again in his smart looking longcoat and suit.

"Ah, good! Much better than my other outfit, don't you think?" He asked with a grin, letting his hands go to his coat pockets by habit.

Faye answered as she looked at him, "Yeah, it is. You look very dapper,"

Henry's smile only widened, obviously pleased by her compliment. "No time to waste then, we best be heading back to the town square; I think I've had enough water to last me the day." He quipped with a small smirk, resisting the urge to offer his hand for her to take - a visible look of conflict on his face for a split-second before turning jovial once again.

The doctor noticed the brief look of conflict on his face, but she ignored it as she answered "OK. Let's go then," She led the way to the town square as she joked, "I'm sure Granny would say otherwise though,"

"Ah, well, I can't blame her." He said in a tone that was both serious and amused at the same time. "I..." He abruptly stopped, clearing his throat as he expected her to do the same. "I enjoyed working with you--" 'Heather' he thought, "--Faye." He said warmly, a sincere smile on his lips.

She stopped when he did and she turned to look at him. When he made his comment, she smiled and answered in kind, "So did I, Henry," She looked around at the people around her and she said "And I think...the rest of Storybrooke enjoyed our work," She easily noticed that the cruel words were gone along with the cold shoulders.

"Yes, I agree!" He said cheerily, though his eyes didn't leave her to look around. "I don't think I ever told you -- thank you...for believing in me when no one else did." He said sincerly, if not somewhat uncomfortably; not at the words, but the subject matter.

Faye looked back to him when he thanked her and she couldn't help but remember her questions about why she trusted him. Her smile faded a bit at the thoughts, but they were replaced by a smile as she pushed those thought at the back of her mind, and she said to him "Oh, it's really no trouble at all,"

Henry nodded, smiling slightly in return before turning to walk again; looking back over his shoulder to see if Faye was keeping up. The two of them eventually made it back to the stand; Henry forced to deal with the sour looks that Granny kept on giving him, seeming to be pestering Ruby about something who made a point to ignore her granddmother by going out of her way to bring in people to buying their cookies.

Henry smirked at the both of them, reaching into his pocket for his gloves when he felt someone clip his shoulder while walking past.

Both Henry, and the person who bumped into him turned around at once, revealing a rather-agitated looking Mark who was rubbing his shoulder and staring daggers into Henry; as thought the latter had personally attacked him.

"Oh! Sorry, mate." Henry bid with a forgiving smile, his blue eyes looking from the shorter man to Mason, who's smaller hand was clinging on tightly to Mark's own.

Faye looked at Mark and Mason after the large fireman bumped into Henry. She looked around to see if Regina was nearby. But she knew that was unlikely because everyone saw her storm off earlier.

"Mason?" Henry started, confused. "Where's Regina at?" He asked, perplexed.

Before Mason could answer, however, Mark butted in: "We don't know, so we're trying to find her - now if you would excuse us." Without another word, Mark had already turned to leave, the young boy in tow.

"Wait just a second." Henry objected, successfully resulting in Mark stopping to look back at him.

"You were the one working the candle stall, weren't you?" Henry asked with an almost-mischievous smile crossing his lips.

"Yes, what of it?" Mark returned, sounding quite impatient.

"Well, I noticed things weren't going so well for you there - so I'm offering you my services!" Henry offered, pointing to himself with a single gloved hand.

"No." Mark responded bluntly before turning to leave again.

"You're making a mistake, friend--" Henry began, letting both hands go to his pockets. "Think about it: you now have an extra hand selling those candles, and an extra set of eyes to find the boy's..." he stopped for a moment, as if trying to figure out how Mason and Regina referred to each other these days.

"Mom." Mason finally finished, looking quite confused as it seemed his teacher didn't know what a mother was.

"Oh! Yes, quite right. Sorry! Got tongue-tied for a moment, it seems. Thank you, Mason." Heny commended, clasping the boy's shoulder with an approving nod.

Mark, too, seemed to think over Henry's offer with a conflicted look on his face. "Alright, fine, if you think you can sell those candles then I'll take all the help I can get." He finally agreed, though his tone still remained unfriendly and distant.

"Good show! I knew you had brains in you, Tin Man." Henry joked with a cheeky grin.

"My name is Mark." Mark replied curtly, obviously finding no amusement in the nickname that seemed to be spreading no thanks to Leroy and his fellow firemen.

"Come now, lighten up! You're not going to sell candles looking like your dog just died." Henry said, trying to goad Mark into a more pleasant expression.

"Don't joke about that." Mark warned before turning to leave once more, but this time looking back on occasion to see if Henry was following.

Faye listened to the conversation, and before he could leave, she called to him politely, "Mr. Dufresne. Would you mind if I helped out as well?"

Mark stopped once more as another voice called his name. He was about to turn and sternly silence the person speaking when he saw it was Faye Stevenson. "Oh...Doctor, good afternoon." He greeted politely, (earning a strange look from Henry at the man's sudden courtesy).

Faye nodded and she greeted in kind, "Good afternoon, Mr. Dufresne," She held back a laugh at Henry's comically strange look directed at Mark.

"Yes, I could most certainly use your help...we need to sell one thousand candles by tonight...I'm not going to lie, it's going to be an extremely difficult task. But if you could take a few dozen to the hospital and see if anyone's interested, I'd be much obliged. I'll take the creep and go local" He said, motioning to Henry as he said the word 'creep'.

The doctor was shocked to hear that they needed to sell a thousand candles by tonight. It seemed as though 'dificult' would be an understatement. She answered his request to take the candles to the hospital, she aswered, "I'll do that,"

"Oi! I'm trying to help you! No need to call me names, Tin Man." Henry objected with a slight sneer, earning another glare from Mark.

When the two started fighting, she broke up the fight, using her tone that she would normally use when giving directions in the hospital, "Henry, Mark. This is no time to be fighting," She then looked to Mark and she asked, her tone slowly going back to normal. "Now, how many candles have you sold thus far?"

Henry and Mark shared one last glare after Faye reprimanded them, acting more like young children than adults. But Mark quickly switched gears back to the matter at hand, still keeping a tight hold onto the growingly-impatient Mason, who was not in the mood to be standing around.

"Um...none." He finally confessed sheepishly, looking back at the candle stall with the giant stack of boxes.

Faye nodded at his answer, biting at her bottom lip in thought, and remained silent for a few seconds before she said with an optimistic tone, "Alright. Then what are we standing here for? Let's get to work,"

Mark nodded sharply before taking Mason to the stall where the seemingly-impenetrable wall of boxes cast an almost intimidating light.

"Mr. Carlyle, you and I will take a few boxes and go door-to-door locally. Dr. Stevenson will take a few more to the hospital to see if anyone's interested. Then when we've run out...hopefully...we'll meet back here to get more--"

"What about my mom?" Mason objected in a somewhat agitated tone.

"And to find Regina." Mark added in an almost hopeful tone. "Now then, let's move out, shall we?" He asked.

Without waiting for an answer, he headed over to the box wall and began pulling a few boxes down onto the ground for easier access.

The doctor nodded in response to Mark's question as she headed over and picked up a box full of candles. The box felt heavy in her arms, but she was able to lift it without complaint.

Mark wordlessly stacked two boxes atop another, lifting the small stack up with relative ease; wincing as his shoulder cried in protest...he hadn't taken his medication in a few hours and was suffering because of it.

Henry lifted one, himself, looking slightly struggled - he was never one for heavy lifting, himself. Mark had Mason carry the metal money box as the boy wanted to be of some use to the small party (which Mark was more than happy to oblige).

"We'll be seeing you back here," Mark began to Faye. "Good luck, doctor!" He said confidentally before turning to walk towards the more residential part of Storybrooke, Henry and Mason following closely at his heels.

Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez and Ghost Shadow
--
The candle plight seemed to go from utterly impossible to now relatively hopeless. They had't sold any so far, but Henry's skill with words and persuasion definitely helped in more ways than one - not to mention Mason's youthful appearance and disposition being a helpful leverage.

As the trio continued to walk past the town square, nearing the end of the most swollen part of the hub, both Mark and Henry noticed David Nolan browsing between the different stalls nonchalantly.

"Afternoon, David." Mark greeted simply, though his tone became slighty more conversational as he spoke. "Want to buy a candle?" He asked in a...halfhearted manner (earning yet *another* outlandish look from Henry, who was surprised the fireman knew how to sound even remotely lighthearted.)

David turned at hearing his name being called and grinned at seeing the three of them before him.

"Mark, Henry...Mason!" He put his hand into a fist and playfully jabbed Mason in the jaw, causing the kid to laugh in response. David then returned his fist to a relaxed hand position and stuffed it into the pocket of his worn blue jeans. "A candle huh? You mean the ones the nuns sell every year?" He asked, eying the box in Mark's posession.

"Indeed. Mr. Gold's doubled the rent on the nuns - only way they can afford to stay open is by selling all the candles." Mark replied in an almost bitter tone, though more directed at the pawnbroker than anything else.

"Of course he did..." David couldn't help but to roll his eyes at the heartlessness of the town Pawnbroker.

"If we can't sell a thousand by tonight, there's no way that Gold will let the nunnery stay open." Mark said, grinding his teeth slightly.

"Want to make it nine-hundred-ninety-nine?" Henry asked David cheerily, a wide grin on his face.

David couldn't help but to let out an airy, awkward laugh, and then having his eyes scan around the area while he scratched the back of his head wondering if the subject matter was even appropriate to laugh about. Regardless, he reached into his back pocket and pulled his leather wallet out and procured three different five-dollar bills.

"Make that nine-hundred and ninety-seven." He said handing the money over to Mark. "When you're a bachelor like me, you'll do whatever it takes to cut down on your electric bill." He mused with a smile. "I'm also not a man above charity." He added on, making sure to look down at Mason now with his cheeky smile.

Mark took the money with a genuinely warm smile from his friend, handing it to Mason; who promptly and eagerly stuffed the bills into the money box.

"You're a good man, David." Mark commended approvingly while handing the three candles over to David.

Henry, on the other hand, smiled - but it was hollow. He didn't see the veterinary assistant before him, but Prince Charming. The very Prince Charming who would be hopelessly in love with Snow White, his Snow White. Henry remembered promising her all those years ago that he would never leave her, never part ways from her. And now...to set her free he would have to do just that.

It was all he could not to simply just look at the man with disgust, but Henry knew how to keep a poker face - and looked as cheery as usual.

David returned the leather wallet to his back pocket and took the three candles (if a bit awkwardly from their sheer size) into his hands.

"I'd better get these home. I'm starting to realize why women carry around purses. I'll see you guys later, and hey...good luck." He gave mainly Mark a nod of encouragement before heading off down the street, whether he was headed to the vetrinary booth just down the ways or the pet shelter in itself was unclear, but neither Mark nor Henry would have much time to think on it.

"Charming." A voice from behind them came, close enough that he needn't shout. Mr. Gold leaned heavily on his cane with his right hand, looking at the three with what almost looked like an amused expression on his face, having whitnessed the entire thing.

Both Mark and Henry turned quite suddenly as the undeniable voice of Mr. Gold caught their attention. Both men gave the pawnbroker a nasty expression, though for different reasons: Mark's over doubling the rent, and Henry's over Gold's little jape with the word "Charming".

"What do you want?" Mark asked not-so-politely, his tone cold and direct.

Mr. Gold made a quiet noise from his throat, a mixture of a laugh and being hurt at Mark's cold tone with him.

"It's just...I noticed the nuns were getting a bit more help this year than normal." He replied to Mark with his tone even throughout, as if he had no idea as to what the nuns were really going through. He instead then turned his attention to Henry, the corner of his lip twitching into a half-smile. "Remarkable women, the nuns. Have you met them all during your stay here Mr. Carlyle? One in particular reminds me of you, actually; if you weren't just a visitor, one might think the two of you were...related..."

He let the final word hang in the air as his smirk only grew. Mr. Gold knew something that Henry didn't, that much was clear.

Mark remained silent at Mr. Gold's little observation about the influx of volunteers, but gave the man a venemous look.

Henry on the other hand, seemed to shift through a large number of emotions in a split second: impatience, confusion, formulation, and then finally...shock. His mouth was quite literally agape, unable to pick up the pieces of his usually so obedient expressions to show indifference. "Wh--" Henry stopped to swallow, "What?" He asked shakily, unable to say or think anything else.

Both Mark and Mason looked at Henry with disarray, unsure what to make of his sudden discombobulation.

"Mr. Carlyle, what's wrong?" Mason asked Henry innocently, having to look straight-up to meet his teacher's gaze.

Mr. Gold seemed to be the only one that didn't react to Henry's reaction, nothing more than an audible smirk coming from his throat. His brown eyes then happened upon Mason, a sense of knowing coming over his face if but for a brief moment before looking back up to Mark, and then back to Henry. If anything, the man looked like a vulture sizing up it's free meal.

"But of course that would be ridiculous, wouldn't it?" He answered Henry at last. His attention then seemed to be pulled to the overhanging lights that the town square had been decorated with. They weren't on now, but one could only imagine the light they would put off once the sun had begun to set.

"I do hope you stick around long enough for the sun to go down." Mr. Gold then said to Henry, ignoring the man's look of stupor on his face and continued to look at the unlit lights. "They say these lights make the evening that much more...magical." He finally lowered his gaze to look upon the three boys and gave them each a polite nod as he gripped his cane, ready to walk off. "Best of luck. You'll need it." He added on, now looking at the boxes of candles in their posession.

Neither Mark nor Henry said anything back to Mr. Gold, either unable or unwilling to vocalize as the older man walked away from them.

"Close your trap, you'll catch flies." Mark told Henry curtly, blissfully unaware of what the not-so-newcomer had heard - its significance.

"Uh..yeah." Henry said quietly, shuddering slightly as he could feel the start of tears sting the corner of his eyes. In a lapse of willpower, a single one trailed down his cheek, his eyes had a clear visible sheen of moisture over them - but he said nothing on the matter, and kept his composure.

"I think we best try door-to-door now." Mark informed Henry, looking at his leather banded wrist watch.

"Sure, that's fine." Henry replied, sounding distant...sad.

Without saying another word, the three of them moved across the town until the first house came into view.

"Alright, Newcomer, go give them the spiel." Mark ordered Henry, motioning to the front door with a crane of his neck.

Henry nodded wordlessly, doing a quick fix-up of his person to make himself look as presentable as possible as he stepped up to the front door and rapping sharply on the wooden surface.

As Henry dealt with most-likely another "No", Mark figured now would be the best time to talk to Mason...specifically about the mines.

"Hey there, Bud." Mark began, squatting down once again and ruffling the boy's hair after first putting the boxes he was carrying on the ground.

"Hi, Mister Doo-, umm...Dofrezz--" Mason began, trying in vain to pronounce Mark's last name.

"Let's just stick with Mark." The fireman responded with a small chuckle. "I'm sorry we're taking this long to find your mom. We're trying to juggle a lot of other things, too. But don't worry...I haven't forgotten." Mark reassured sincerely, earning a small nod from Mason, who was currently rocking himself forward and back on his feet.

"But, I did want to ask you a few things...about the mines. Is that okay?" Mark asked politely.

Mason replied with a simple, "Mhm!" As he was becoming slowly distracted by the fallen leaves that blew this way and that in the wind.

"Alright, great. I wanted to ask you...did you see anything down there? Any treasure?" Mark asked, trying to make the question slightly more enticing with the word "treasure".

Mason shook his head quickly, finally looking at Mark straight-on.

"Oh, alright, wasn't sure..." Mark said finally, sounding as if he was thinking over something - only half-paying attention. As soon as he saw Regina and Henry make their way to the mine collapse, he saw her pick something...small and shiny off the ground, yet couldn't get a good enough look at it.

Then, he remembered seeing her drop something in one of the fault lines when he left with Knox, Ruby, and Mason...then suddenly order the mine sealed up immediately. Could the mayor possibly be hiding something? Mark made a mental note to investigate this further if necessary.

"What the hell are you doing?" Regina stormed over to the small group on the porch of Mrs. Shoemaker, eliciting such a startled reaction from the older woman that she slammed the door shut on Henry, clearly no longer interested in buying candles. The mayor's eyes weren't on the old widow, however, but on Mark. She didn't stop her hurried gate, not at all hindered by the high-heels she wore, until she reached Mason and took him by the wrist gently, pulling her over to him where she put her hands on his shoulders protectively as she spun Mason around to face her, her hands then wandering all over his dirty face attempting to wipe it away and make sure he was okay.

"I thought I told you to stay put while I took care of some things?" Regina said licking her thumb to better her chances of getting the dirt off of his nose, though her tone to him was levels below the practically screamed obsenities directed towards Mark.

Mark turned to give a hard look at Regina as she approached, lacking any visible sign of fear or submission that nearly all the other citizens did.

He rose to his feet slowly, dusting off his shoulders in the process. "The boy was scared and alone at a large town gathering, we were trying to find you." He informed, the first part of his sentence sounding almost like an accusation - but his expression was hard as stone.

Henry, in the meanwhile, could only look at the door with a dumbfounded expression, saying the word "What" about three or four times as he had to come to speed with what just happened before him.

Regina's eyes inflamed as Mark's answer as she looked over to him, a heavy scoff coming from her throat.

"Looking for me...really...at Mrs. Shoemaker's place? Yes, there's nowhere I'd rather be." If Mason wasn't around, she would have added onto her bitter sarcasm with a rude gesture, but her hands stayed planted firmly on the boy's shoulders. "Look, next time you're just 'trying to help'...don't. My son wasn't scared, were you Mason?" She asked, looking down at the boy.

"I-"

"See? He was fine." Regina made a point of turning Mason back around so that she could dust off his shirt, mumbling under her breath about how boys got so dirty.

"Yes, I can see that." Mark said dryly, eyes cold and determined. "Just so you know: the next time I find him alone and he doesn't know where you are - I'm taking him to Sheriff Leland." Mark stated firmly, no question in his voice that he wouldn't go through with it.

Regina's already straight posture seemed to grow in size, her pupils dialating and her nostrils flared.

"How dare you..." She replied in a chillingly neutral tone, however she stepped in front of Mason to get closer to Mark, only stopping until they were just a foot or so apart. "How DARE you threaten me, in front of my son. You have NO right." She kept her calm as she spoke, only raising her voice at certain words, but her eyes locked on his spoke volumes. Loathing, disgust, absolute distaste...

"If I find you anywhere near my son again..." She began to threaten, but her anger was boiling up too hot inside of her for Regina to even come up with an end to that sentence.

"You'll...what?" Mark spat back, eyes narrowed to match hers. "You may be mayor of this town...but you can't go around threatening people the way you do...others might take it - but not me." He finished defiantly, his voice keeping neutral in tone, quite an amazing feat for words so rebellious.

"Your son--" Mark began, using the word "son" loosely, "was left behind and wanted his mother. I think a simple thank-you would suffice." Mark finished, hardly aware of the words he was saying right now. Under normal circumstances, he'd have brushed Regina's threats aside as he usually did...but for some reason...when it came to Mason, he felt himself grow...protective, angry.

During this whole altercation, Henry could only stand back, hoping not to get burnt by the fiery argument.

Regina dared to take a step closer, shortening the gap so much that their chests were practically touching and the need for Regina to crane her neck up to keep her eyes glued to his.

"You'll do well to remember that I am Mayor of this town, and being Mayor, I have the power to get you fired. Then how will you pay for those painkillers you've become so addicted to?" She looked intently into his eyes, the infuriated flames smoldering down to that of confidence once again as she then turned to face Mason and extended her arm out to him to lead him away.

Mason oblidged, giving a quick look over to Mark and Henry, braving a small wave goodbye before Regina turned him around and the two made their way back into the heart of town to see what was left of Miners Day.

Mark watched the two leave with a piercing look not dissimilar to a falcon before finally sighing, rubbing his temple with both hands.

"Well....that was interesting." Henry piped from Ms. Shoemaker's yard before joining Mark's side. "Good on you, Mate - standing up to the Mayor!" He commended, patting the older man on the back.

"Need I remind you that you're the one who decided to sleep with her?" Mark stated bluntly as he looked at Henry with an almost disgusted look.

Henry looked slightly surprised for a moment, but went along with it. "You're telling me you haven't gotten a look at those assets of hers?" He said cheekily, slightly emphasizing the 'ass' part of the word with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"No." Mark replied coldly before moving to pick up the candle boxes that he had placed down moments before Regina showed up. "Mr. Carlyle, I learned a valuable lesson at a young age, and that was the phrase 'right time, right place'." Mark began as he hoisted the boxes up.

"I'm not your 'pal', your 'mate', or your 'friend', I do not spend my spare time staring at the Mayor's curves or kissing coma patients. We have a job to do and I would like to get it done. Now get moving to the next house." He ordered, slightly harsher than he intended.

Did his confrontation with Regina rile him up that badly? Mark shook his head to clear the thought before following the suddenly-silenced Henry.

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

*~*~*

Faye entered the hospital entrance, carrying the box of candles with her. She figured that the other doctors would be celebrating their fundraising success in the breakroom. However, she decided to set the heavy box down and catch her breath for a moment. She set the box down on the floor gently and took a moment to breathe.

Knox had been at the end of the hall, when he noticed Faye carrying a rather hefty (for the woman’s size) looking box. Pausing out of surprise for only a moment, he did a slight jog on over, “Do you need help with that?”

Gesturing a hand to the box, and giving the doctor a querying look, brow slightly raised…the security guard anticipated the situation going either way, but he wasn't going to take no for an answer on this “Just let me know if the contents are fragile or sensitive materials, I can carry them at a more careful pace.”

Faye looked to Knox when he jogged over and she said "Oh! Mr. Kowalski. Thank you for the offer, but you don't have to if you're too busy,"
When he mentioned the contents, she answered "I don't think candles would be that fragile,"

His brow furrowed in confusion, before speaking to her in a rather stern tone, “There is a proper explanation for this, I assume? Candles are a fire hazard in this high oxygen ventilated hospital environment, and we also have a policy against anything scented…”

Faye slumped her shoulders at his reminder. She reassured him, "I'm not going to make or allow people to light candles in the hospital, and these are not scented," She explained, "I volunteered to help the nuns sell candles. They have to sell a thousand of them by tonight, and so far, they haven't sold any," She then grumbled bitterly "I wouldn't doubt it if Mr. Gold had something to do with why they have to sell so many candles,"

Hearing of Mr Gold, Knox could only just nod. One of the few people who didn’t owe Mr Gold in some way, the security guard did well to avoid the man entirely...till over one week ago, and that report sent in…something nagged at him that either the report was put on the back burner, or had gotten lost. He would just have to make a duplicate to send in, again.

Staring down at the box—he had a brand new LED flashlight, candles would be a hell of a step down. Letting out a long sigh, there was little hesitation--doubt in his mind, “How much for this box?”

Faye blinked rapidly at his question and she did a double take in surprise. She answered in slight shock, "The-The entire box? That would be a hundred and eighty dollars. Five dollars per candle, and there are thirty six in there..."

Not taking his time in this transaction, the security guard pulled out his wallet and started pulling out a number of twenties and ones. Holding the cash securely in his hand, Knox looked at Dr Stevenson and responded to her apparent surprise with a rather wry expression, finally speaking up after a moment with a rather dry tone, “Why the astonishment, Dr Stevenson?”

Dr. Stevenson answered, her astonishment was being replaced by happiness, "I'm just pleasantly surprised, Mr. Kowalski. This is very generous of you. Thank you! I'm sure the nuns would be very happy,"

His stiff exterior relaxed to a more relieved one. Ah, might as well. Pulling yet another two twenties out, handing over the new sum of cash, “The additional forty is for your fundraising.” And now…now Knox had a full box of candles to manage. As much as this creeping, impulsive and less caring part of him wanted to just stick the box under his security office desk to use as a foot stool, there was still the proposed fire hazard that he himself had brought up.

Easily hefting up the box of candles, the security guard gave a less stiff nod to Dr Stevenson, after she mentioned the gratitude of the nuns, “No problem, this is for a good cause.” This was going to be something interesting to bring home (and shove into the garage, maybe leave one out).

Dr. Stevenson nodded and said to him gratefully, accepting the extra forty for her fundraising, "Thank you again, Mr. Kowalski. I'll see you later," She then walked out of the hospital, heading for the nunnery to pick up more candles to sell. As she walked there, she pulled out her phone and texted Henry.

"Sold 36 candles! Heading to nunnery to pick up more to sell. -Faye"

She sent the text and kept on walking as she put her phone back into her purse.

"This is hopeless." Henry exclaimed after about an hour and a half of constantly going to house-after-house, giving them the same old spiel and not selling a dime's worth of candles. Everyone either wished they could, had to get gas in the car, had to pick up groceries, or some other pathetically poor excuse for not just forking over five dollars and being done with it. Before he could say anything else, however, Henry felt his phone buzz in his pants pocket. Pulling it out, he flipped it open, a flashing envelope on the screen signaling a text message. "It's Faye...she sold...36 candles! Impressive!" Henry commended with a cheery smile.

"It isn't enough." Mark replied bluntly, not sharing in the excitement.

"What do you suggest we do then?" Henry asked the fireman inquisitively, placing his hands in his coat pockets.

"We tell the nuns we failed. There's no way we can sell the rest of these in time. The best we can do now is let the Sisters hear the news from a friendlier face than Mr. Gold's." He finished, sounding....sad, disappointed.

'Right, because you're *so* much friendlier...' Henry thought to himself with a small smirk twitching at the edge of his lips. Fortunately for him, though, Mark didn't seem to notice as he turned back in the direction of the nunnery.

Henry followed quietly, a feeling of dread seemed to loom over the both of them like a cloud. Henry wasn't even sure if he'd be able to break the news to the nuns...that they were now, for all intents and purposes, finished.

The front view of the nunnery came into Henry's sight far sooner than he would have liked. Mark scratched the top of his head for a moment as the both of them simply stood there, as if daring who would take the first step.

The both of them finally began the painfully short trek up the stairs after a few moments of waiting, Mark pulling open the door and holding it for Henry before walking in themselves.

"Um, excuse me...?" Mark called out to one of the passing nuns, Sister Astrid as she walked past. "Y-yes? How can I help you, Mr. Dufresne?" The nun asked politely, stammering ever-so-slightly.

"Who do we talk to about selling the candles?" Mark inquired in a neutral tone, not even willing to fake a smile right now.

"Oh! You'll want to talk to Sister Charlotte, she's just down that hall - first room to your left." Sister Astrid informed with a sweet smile, prompting Mark and Henry to do the same - though theirs seemed heavy, burdened.

"Thank you, Sister." Mark said warmly before following her direction down the hall and to the left, Henry closely in tow.

The two of them entered a small, modest room of the nunnery; large windows beamed in the afternoon sunlight, a few bookshelves placed about the room itself - filled with religious allegories and documents. A small folding table was placed at the front of the room where a lithe, petite young woman; no older than 20 was looking through a few papers and folders, her face hidden as she was looking downwards.

"Are you Sister Charlotte?" Mark asked politely, though quietly, afraid of disturbing any possible business she was working on.

The young woman looked up from her current occupation, a small smile crossing her lips as she saw the two men - and in that very moment, Henry's face paled to the color of white paper.

"Yes, how can I help you?" The nun asked in a voice that was nothing less than sweet; soft and lovely.

Henry's breath caught in his throat, and he stumbled backwards slightly; as if he was seeing a ghost. The dark brown hair that was currently kept in a tight bun, those lively gray eyes that emanated sympathy and kindness, the voice.

"Alice..." Henry managed to say, just above a whisper, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Alice? Who's that?" Sister Charlotte asked, looking quite confused. "Are you feeling alright, sir?" She questioned with a look of concern in her eyes...those eyes. She approached him slowly to try and defuse the situation.

"Stay away!" Henry exclaimed sharply, jolting back as if hit by an electrical shock, hugging onto the door-frame like it was a lifeline. Tears now actively streamed down his face as he tried so hard to look away from the ghost's face...his sister's face.

Mark turned to look at Henry, his eyes narrowed in a mixture of confusion and concern. "Henry....calm down. What's the problem?" He asked seriously, but in a reasoning tone.

Without saying another word, Henry rushed out of the room in an instant. He needed to be alone - needed to hide...

He blindly pushed through the doors to the restroom, which was, fortunately single-person only. He slammed and locked the door behind him, letting his anguish out as he sobbed uncontrollably into the sink, tears falling like raindrops from his reddened face, his shoulders racking and his legs feeling as though they'd give out at any moment.

Emotion overcame him, and in a blind fury - both at himself and....someone, anyone else - he turned and slammed his fist into the tile wall with as much force as he could possibly muster. The blow was enough to rattle the mirror that hung just above the sink, the pain finally being the tipping point in Henry falling down to the ground entirely.

He curled up into a tight ball, ignoring the resounding pain that resonated from his cut and bleeding hand, choosing to run, to hide, to cower. Just as he did all those years ago: when she died...
--
Both Mark and Sister Charlotte were dumbfounded when Henry ran away in a slight panic. "Let him go...he needs to deal with something." Mark said somberly as Sister Charlotte made a move to go after him.

The young nun nodded slowly in understanding, looking quite worried herself. "I do hope he's okay..." She said, concern practically dripping off her voice.

"He will be..." Mark replied, though there wasn't much confidence in his voice. "We, uh...*I* came to tell you that...we can't sell all the candles." He confessed quietly, hanging his head like a hound about to be scolded harshly.

"Oh...oh my..." Sister Charlotte said quietly, placing a single hand over her mouth in shock - the full realization, that the nunnery would become bankrupt hit her, but the pain...the sadness would come later.

"We tried everything we could...but we only managed one box and three individual candles." Mark added sadly, rubbing his hands over his face slowly. "I'm sorry." He said, sounding quite miserable.

"No...no, don't be. You did what you could." Sister Charlotte reassured quietly, her eyes beginning to mist. "That's all anyone could have asked from you, Mr. Dufresne - it just wasn't....meant to be. I know the Lord has bigger, wider paths for us." She finished, hopefully, trying to brighten the situation in the slightest.

Mark, deciding to do something he hadn't in a very long time, pulled the young nun into a tight hug, both for her sake and his. It was over - Gold had won.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It’s something I need.”

“Well that may not be the same thing…”

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

“I’ll get you the child-“

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Then what?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Who is he?”

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

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

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

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

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

Collaboration between Guardian Angel Haruki and Ghost Shadow
--
Faye reached the nunnery, and she was directed to meet with Sister Charlotte. She walked up to Mark and Sister Charlotte and she started, getting the duo's attention, "Mr. Dufresne, Sister..." She was about to ask if they were going to continue selling candles, but she noticed that Henry was missing, and she asked instead "...Where's Mr. Carlyle?"

Both Mark and Sister Charlotte looked up suddenly at the new voice that entered the conversation.

"Dr. Stevenson." Mark greeted simply, though not impolitely.

"A pleasure to see you, doctor." Sister Charlotte greeted in kind, though her head was cocked down, looking at her hands, which seemed to fidget somewhat nervously.

"The man had a nervous breakdown, God knows why, and ran into the bathroom. We heard a slam from inside but nothing else." Mark answered her question neutrally, scratching the back of his head. "Might do best if you spoke to him." He suggested to Faye.

"He was so upset..." Sister Charlotte added sympathetically, appearing quite downtrodden. "He just...looked at me and ran." She finished sadly.

Worry appeared on Faye's face as she listened carefully to the answers Mark and Sister Charlotte. Was it possible that Sister Charlotte reminded Henry of someone or something...?After Mark made his suggestion, Faye answered "I see. I'll try and speak with him. Please, excuse me,"

Both Mark and Sister Charlotte nodded at Faye, though didn't stay put for long; following closely behind Faye to see if she could get through to Henry.

She then turned and headed for the bathroom where Henry may have locked himself in. She knocked on the door and called "Henry?"

There was silence for a few moments, but a bit of shuffling from inside signaled Henry was indeed there.

"Let me be..." He said sorrowfully from inside, not knowing or caring who was out there at the moment. The key around his neck became that much heavier from the realization that Alice was alive: it was his burden, his weight, and he chose to carry it alone.

Faye heard him clearly and she tried to speak with him again, despite his sorrowful request, "Henry, it's me, Faye. What's wrong? What happened?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you..." Henry said quietly, making no move to unlock the door. "It's..." He stopped, shuddering reflexively as he tried desperately to regain his composure. "It's my past, come to haunt me; no matter how far I run from it." He finished before turning silent once again.

"What on earth's he talking about?" Mark asked, obviously confused. Sister Charlotte said nothing, simply standing there guiltily.

Faye listened to what Henry said about his past coming back to haunt him. She looked to Mark, giving him a look that said she had a good idea what he was talking about, but she would have to tell him later.

She then looked back to the door, and placed her hand on it, as though the door could be an extension of Henry's hand.

She said to him "Henry...Running away from the past isn't going to make anything better,"

"It's all I've ever done." Henry replied somberly from the bathroom. And he was right - even in the Enchanted Forest, all he did was run: it was his nature.

Mark sighed deeply at the conversation, putting his hands in his coat pockets. He gave Sister Charlotte a look that seemed to say, "I'm sorry about this...". The nun, however, seemed to feel too responsible to notice, shifting her eyes to avoid making contact with the fireman.

Faye ignored Mark and Charlotte as she retorted "That doesn't mean that you have to keep running away. You can still confront whatever is haunting you from your past,"

"Not if the past is dead." Henry said cryptically. How else could he say it? That the nun who was standing just behind Faye was his sister who was beheaded in Wonderland by the Queen of Hearts for his insolence? Oh how he wished to share with her...but she wouldn't believe - she couldn't.

Faye answered "It doesn't matter if the past is dead or not if it's still haunting you like this," She then said "You don't have to confront it alone, Henry. I'd help you in any way I can. But I can't if you keep shutting me out like this,"

There was only silence, then a bit more shuffling from inside. A small click came from the door handle. The door opened slowly with a long creeeaak. Henry stepped out of the bathroom slowly, his face still reddened from his breakdown; his injured hand perhaps even redder, blood slowly seeping from the open wounds on his knuckles.

He kept his eyes locked on Faye, afraid that even looking at Alice would incur another bout of tears.

Faye blinked when she heard the small click, she took her hand off of the door, and stepped back, allowing Henry to come out of the bathroom. She made eye contact with him, and she saw the sadness and fear within his eyes. She then saw his injured hand that was still bleeding. She lifted the injured hand, gently so as to not hurt Henry. She mumbled sadly "Oh Henry..."

She then said to him gently and with care, "Come on. Let's get that hand treated, alright?" She started to lead him away from Sister Charlotte, figuring that he may cry again if he looked at her.

"No...no time for that. I have to...I have to talk to Mr. Gold - now." Henry objected calmly, seeming to ignore his hand for the time being.

Mark, on the other hand, decided now would be the best time to leave the two of them alone and took Sister Charlotte by the hand gently, leading her away from them.

Faye stopped trying to lead Henry away, thanks to the fact that Mr. Dufresne and Sister Charlotte left the room. She asked Henry with confusion evident in her voice, "Mr. Gold? Why would you want to talk to him?"

"My past." Henry replied bluntly, though not unkindly. "He knows...things...things I so do wish I could tell you, Faye. All I can tell you, though, is that I need to talk to him - soon." Henry finished, placing both hands firmly on her shoulders.

Faye raised her eyebrows at his answer and she asked him as her objection, "But Henry, this is your first time in Storybrooke. How would Mr. Gold even know about your past?"

Henry sighed, thinking of how to go about this. "Remember when I told you to trust me?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "I'm not exactly a....newcomer. More of a latecomer. Mr. Gold and I have...spoken before, made a few deals. I was supposed to come here five years ago - but I waited..half to circumstance, half to not *wishing* to come here. He knows things about me and I know things about him. You just have to trust me...do you trust me, Faye?" He asked her seriously, looking her dead in the eyes.

Faye listened to Henry's explanation. Her gut feeling told her that he was telling the truth, despite the fact that what he was saying made no sense whatsoever. She looked at him in the eyes and when he finished speaking, she answered seriously "Yes, I trust you,"

She then said "However, I still think that going to see Mr. Gold tonight, is a bad idea! A very, very bad idea,"

"Faye...I have to. I wish I didn't, but...we have 'business' to discuss." Henry replied, saying the word "business" with disgust in his voice.

"But...we can both go home after that. I promise." He said reassuringly with a small smile, finally noticing his hands hadn't left her shoulders the entire time. He quickly moved them back to his sides with an embarassed look on his face, trying to mask it with an awkward grin.

Faye sighed through her nose, and she answered "OK. Fine. But the moment things start to look bad, I'm intervening,"

"Ok....deal." Henry compromised, placing his uninjured hand into his coat pocket, his wounded one seeming to scream with pain at every movement.

"Shall we go, then?" He asked her - his voice seemingly returning to normal.

Faye nodded and said "Let's go," She then added sternly "And we're tending to that hand, like it or not!"

"All in due time." Henry replied halfheartedly before heading towards the front doors of the nunnery, his maimed hand sticking out like a sore thumb. He stopped at the threshold of the door, turning back to see if Faye was following or not.

Faye followed him to the front doors of the nunnery and she led the way out of the nunnery, walking past Henry when he stopped, and she walked past the circuit breaker.

Henry followed behind quietly before abruptly stopping in his tracks, eyes wandering up to the power transformer that stuck out quite obviously on one of the nearby rooftops. "Wait..." He said, remembering Mr. Gold's words from just earlier that afternoon.

"I do hope you stick around long enough for the sun to go down. They say these lights make the evening that much more...magical."

"That's it!" Henry exclaimed, quickly rushing to the ladder that escaladed up to the roof.

Faye stopped when he said to wait and she looked to him, watching as he seemed to stare at the circuit breaker. She raised an eyebrow and she asked Henry in response to his outburst "What's it?"

"Keep me covered! We're gonna sell those candles!" Henry said to Faye with confidence as he began climbing up the ladder, wincing every time his injured hand gripped the rungs.

"Wait, what!? Henry!" She watched as he went up the ladder and she groaned "Oh no..." What was Henry up to?! She really hoped that he wasn't doing something incredibly reckless.

He climbed his way to the top, scurrying until he managed to get on his feet.

He scanned the rooftop for something, anything he could use; his eyes landing on a crowbar that was strewn absentmindedly onto the ground.

Henry used his good hand to grab it, hoisting it up and getting a good grip with both hands. He stared menacingly at the fuse box for a moment before swinging the crowbar at it with great force, embedding the crowbar into the box.

The power flickered furiously but remained on, causing Henry to growl as he yanked the crowbar out and swung at it once more, this time causing a blanket of darkness to come over the entire town.

He did. He really did do something reckless! Dr. Stevenson swore under her breath as she stood in the darkness. Her eyes adjusted quickly as she looked around. She was glad she had a back up source for electricity in the hospital, just in case a blackout had occurred. If she hadn't, then many patients' lives would've been at risk! She made sure to have a word about this to Henry ASAP.

"Yes!" Henry exclaimed quietly as he moved to climb down the ladder, the crowd of people becoming somewhat frantic as they suddenly found themselves in complete darkness.

Mark rushed out of the nunnery, followed closely behind by Sister Charlotte - both of them looking absolutely dumbfounded: if one could see their expressions.

"What the hell...?" Mark swore, looking about blindly. Henry, (taking a few moments to let his eyes adjust to the dark), ran up to Mark with an almost manic grin. "Mark, I've done it! Get the candles! The nuns are going to make it!" He exclaimed frantically, clasping the older man on both shoulders and shaking him back and forth in excitement.

Mark seemed to finally catch on to the idea, a wide grin crossing his face. Henry took this as a sign, and raised his voice substantially whilst calling out, "Everyone! We've got candles! Only five dollars apiece! Enough for everyone!"

The crowds surprise and fear seemed to turn to elation as they hurried over to the nunnery, practically throwing their money at the nuns for candles.

Faye found her way to Henry and she watched as people hurried over to buy the candles. Well, she had to admit Henry's method did work, but it still was a risky move, considering the hospital she was in charge of.

Mark and Sister Charlotte both helped oversee the sale of candles. It was magnificent: whether a freak accident, a not-so-lawful but well-meaning citizen, or an act of God; loss of electricity suddenly made everyone *that* much more interested in purchasing candles.

"We...we did it!" Sister Charlotte exclaimed excitedly, looking absolutely stupefied. "I have to, I have to go find Mother Superior. Oh, Mr. Dufresne: thank you for everything!" She said happily, pulling him into yet-another hug before bounding off to find the head nun.

Henry bounded over to Faye, wearing that same ecstatic grin on his face. He made a snap-decision in his head, and, without a moment's warning; grabbed her firmly by the shoulders and planted his lips on hers, eyes closing as he hoped this wouldn't result with him pepper-sprayed on the ground.

Faye was about to speak to Henry when he suddenly grabbed her shoulders and kissed her. She widened her eyes in shock at first, but she didn't move to hit him, or push him away. She instead melted into the kiss, returning Henry's sentiment.

Henry kept his lips on hers for as long as he possibly could (earning a slighly disgusted look from Mark in return) before slowly pulling away, his mouth forming a small smile as he looked at her. "I've wanted to do that for so long." He said sincerely

The doctor had to admit that she enjoyed the kiss, but she had covered her mouth and was blushing. She cleared her throat after Henry had made his sincere comment...what was she supposed to say after two people kissed?! She had no idea!
She stuttered awkwardly "Uh...I-uh..." She ended up saying "We'll talk about the whole circuit breaker thing when we get back..."
She silently shouted at herself after she said that, "YOU IDIOT, FAYE!"

"Sure, we'll talk about it." Henry responded, his tone hinting that he intending on doing anything but talking.

"But now--" He began, sounding almost disappointed. "I have to go talk to Mr. Gold...But I want to get home as soon as possible. I'll try and keep it short and--" He stopped before saying 'sweet' afterwards, taking a moment to think of a filler word. "Short and productive!" He settled on, kissing her on the forehead before turning to half-run, half-walk towards the pawn shop.

Faye's blush reddened even more at Henry's response, but it quickly went away when he mentioned Mr. Gold. She had hoped he would've forgotten, but apparently he didn't. She raised an eyebrow when he replaced the word 'sweet' with 'productive'. She hurried after him, ignoring the kiss on the forehead because of the worry of what may happen at Mr. Gold's occupied her mind now.

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

Ruby drummed her red painted nails on the table of the booth, her other hand holding her head upright as she watched the people of Storybrooke walk around on the streets as the lights began to illuminate the dark sky. More particularly, she found, her attention had been on the couples of Storybrooke, watching their hands intertwined with one another, stealing a quick peck on the cheek before hurrying over to meet up with some friends...it all made Ruby feel kind of...jealous.

Ruby straightened up a bit. Jealous? Since when did she start feeling jealous about anything. She could literally have any guy in Storybrooke, hell she could call over David Nolan right now and-

Ruby put her head back down on the desk, flicking an invisible speck of dust with her fingers and sighed. She missed Knox, there was no way around it. Granny heard an audible sigh coming from Ruby that she didn't even know she let out, and the older woman peered over at her granddaughter over the top of her glasses.

"You know...we sold a lot today..." Granny started, making Ruby look up at her granny lazily without even so much as moving her head. "-but, those poor men at the hospital that had to work all day, they never got a chance to-"

Ruby bounded up, nearly tripping over her own two lanky legs.

"I'll do it! I'll run them over some stuff." She eagerly volunteered, practically bouncing up and down on her heels. Granny smiled with a firm hold on her lips; really the only person that could really tell was a smile was Ruby. Granny then handed over a basket, already filled with a few boxes of Granny's famous chocolate chip cookies, some wrapped taffy, a small box of peanut brittle and then a box of a strawberry rhubarb pie. Ruby snatched up the basket and practically ran all the way to the hospital, not even noticing the point where the square lights no longer illuminated her path.

Ruby had been in the hospital enough lately that she knew the very room Knox would be in. She honestly didn't know how he did it, sitting at a desk for hours upon hours watching recorded footage where ninety-nine percent of the time, nothing happened. She quietly slipped into the surveillance room, spotting Knox immediately given his tall frame and set the basket of goodies down on the ground before sneaking up on him and putting her fingers over his eyes.

"You sir...need a break!"

Stiffening in his chair, Knox frowned in confusion, before raising a gloved hand and coughing into it. For a moment, the security guard was going to lecture her on the proper procedure—going to the front desk and calling him down to meet her—but he decided against it, since Ruby wouldn’t likely follow it either way. And, though he didn't want to admit it, the job recently started to feel…empty? It seemed dull, and the relief of the spontaneous, beautiful girl’s presence was what Knox couldn't outright admit to himself that he craved.

Now…now Know had her soft hands touching his face, covering his eyes. What to say? How to respond…? “………yes………” Saying the one word slowly, carefully, tasting the admitted defeat of boredom…he wondered what sort of expression she had on her face, from his answer. Lifting his hands up, Knox held onto Ruby's hands with his, which were still covering his eyes, “I’m not going to ask why…” Though he couldn't find a voice to say it, he was just glad to have her company.

Ruby breathed out a light chuckle as she bent forward and kissed his stubbly cheek before dropping her hands from his eyes. She then made a point of reaching over his shoulder, finding the pause button on the computer and halted the tape.

"You hungry?" She asked briefly pulling herself away from him, letting her once extended arm run up his chest and through his hair until it was forced to go away entirely with the rest of her body as she walked over to the basket she had set onto the floor. "We had some left-overs from Miners Day." She thought a moment about adding on that Granny had sent them over, but felt like Knox might find the taste of Granny's infamous chocolate chip cookies to taste just a bit...differently after that, and so she remained silent.

The security guard shivered lightly as the girl’s touch, that she felt cheeky enough to just up and do what she wanted. That was the sum of her character, a girl who knew what she wanted and went for it…frustrating, and brilliant. Almost forgetting that Ruby had just mentioned her reason for being here, the leftover baked goods from Miner’s day…Miner’s day. Knox cleared his throat and nodded quickly to Ruby…keeping his focused eyes on her face, “And how was your Miner’s day?”

Ruby shrugged, thumbing through the boxes; taking some cookies out of one to put some taffy and brittle into it instead and then carried the box back over to him, setting it on the desk in front of him.

"Same as every year, although Granny did try to set me up with a very wet Henry Carlyle a few times." She blinked, realizing that Knox had no idea what she was talking about. "He volunteered for Dr. Stevenson's dunk tank thing, really gave people a reason to want to spend their money...dunking the town creep." She quickly explained. She looked around the small room without much interest, though seeing no other chair available, Ruby promptly sat down on his lap and let her arms wrap around his neck loosely as if they had done it hundreds of times before.

"She thinks you're broody and doesn't like that you never smile, so naturally Henry was the next choice." She added on with a roll in her eyes.

With the box of sweets set before him, Knox’s eyes almost went as big as saucers…then Ruby sat on his lap. Wrapping arms around his neck, the security guard hastily set a hand on her waist, to bring what he felt was more balance to their sitting position. “Ruby.” Somehow managing a stern tone, “I’m not a chair. I can take these,” Rapping the side of the box with the knuckle of his gloved hand, “But what am I going to do with you?” The man was just about to lean down to Ruby, a little bit closer…when he finally caught what she had said about Henry.

Letting out a groan and sitting up a little better, leaning the side of his body against the desk, he reached over to turn the security television back on, mood considerably soured in the past few seconds. Knox knew exactly how he felt about Granny willing to pass him up for the newcomer and ‘town creep’, as a particular newspaper he didn't care much for had aptly put it…why? Her logic escaped him as to why she chose now of all times to have an opinion on whom Ruby spent time with…? Still, the louder nagging voice was telling him that the old woman was indeed right.

Ruby pressed her lips into a thin line and knitted her eyebrows together, removing one loose hand around his neck to push the pause button on the computer once more, slightly irritated that he had even turned it back on to begin with and then sternly shook her head no at him, as if scolding a child for playing with things he shouldn't be.

Reaching his free hand up, Knox rubbed the back of his neck, “Your grandmother has a point…I…am the brooding sort, aren’t I?” Letting out a self-deprecating chuckle…with a tight lipped smile, “You never did tell me…why do you like me?” Neither one of them said it, or claimed it...but they pretty much straddled the line between 'friend', and that much more.

"That's because I didn't say." Ruby responded, her face letting up a little from its once stern hold and let her hand move back to its loose position of being wrapped around him, letting her thumb find a bundle of tight nerves and stiff muscles and slowly started to rub it out of his neck.

With his work in surveillance during the day, his neck met with Ruby’s deep massaging was like a magical switch had been flicked on. His stiff disposition once again loosened up as he made a particularly happy sound, his eyes closing in a very relieved expression, “…forget I asked. Just…continue that, please…” His voice was not more than a quiet purr…

Ruby couldn't help but to let out a light chuckle as she hopped off of Knox's lap, grabbing a cookie from the box she had put out in front of him and stuck it into his mouth while she circled around him and let her hands fall on his shoulders again. Now behind him, she could really start digging her thumbs into the knots he had been building up in his neck for who knows how long. She did bend over at the waist slightly; just enough to let her chin rest on his shoulder as she continued to work her fingers on his tight muscles and just relaxed herself against him. She would take this over poor conversation over cheesy fries and coffee any day.

"You helped me discover who I really am." Ruby then said, cutting the silence after a while in answering his previous question.

The delicious cookie in his mouth did well to stifle a pleased groan that came with the massaging, but it was a strange thing eating something good while getting a particularly pleasing massage. Stimulation of the senses, indeed. Sitting in his chair, his eyes slowly opening (one at a time)…turning his face to stare at Ruby, her chin resting on his shoulder, “I see, so this wasn't a ploy to get into my pants?” His voice had a surprisingly playful tone to it, as he teased her.

"That depends, did it work?" Ruby asked with a quick wink.

There was only a short moment of silence, before the security guard reached over to the box on the table, pulling another cookie out and sticking it into his mouth. Setting his other free hand on the girl’s shoulder, Knox brought Ruby better levelled to him, and pushed the cookie passed her lips with his.

Ruby laughed as her teeth accepted the cookie offering from his mouth. The display had to have been very strange to anyone that might have popped into the security room right then, but she didn't care. He was playing, and so she would play back. She chewed up her portion of the cookie as best as she could, playfully let her teeth nip at his ear since they were so close.

"Sorry..." She apologized without much sincerity as she chewed up the rest of the cookie. "I thought you were the cookie." She grinned and let her body move back around so she was sitting back on his lap, her hands holding onto his shoulders once more. "Man what I would do for some whipped cream right now." She said looking down at Knox, awaiting his reaction before she went on, "Granny put a pie in the basket too, can't have pie without whipped cream."

Narrowing his eyes at the girl, though the corner of his mouth twitched up ever so slowly… “Whipped cream? Hmmm…” With no more attention on his neck, Knox rolled it back and forth, before settling and peering up into Ruby’s face, “…too bad. I would have bent the rules and allowed for a messy food product here or there, the surveillance room has been in dire need of a good cleaning either way.”

A white smile flashed across her thin face, her brow quirked as mischievous thoughts entered her mind, enough to make her cheeks flush a pleasant shade of pink as she bent down to let her teeth graze over his neck, then using her tongue to slide up and catching what crumbs might have been left-over from their cookie exchange.

“Mmmm…good girl.” Making another happy sound, and growling a little bit soon after, he didn’t like the idea of Ruby taking all of the control. With both hands on her shoulder, Knox pulled her off of him after a moment…reaching a hand out blindly, the security guard messily stab his fingers into one half of the pie...before going and smearing the sticky strawberry rhubarb pie filler along Ruby’s neck, and almost touching them to her lips in a teasing manner.

Instead, the man sucked the sweet substance off of his fingers, smacking his lips once his digits were clean, “The baker has my compliments, I’m much obliged.” With a rather devious smile, Knox leaned down to lick at Ruby’s sweet, sweetened neck…licking, sucking, and making nips of his own at her throat; up her chin…he was practically outside of himself in this situation. The greater part of him was confused as to why he’d do this, and in a hospital of all places, though the smaller part of him won out in asking a simple single question: why not?

Ruby let out a small gasp of surprise, but shut her mouth instantly when she felt Knox's lips on her neck as the tide had turned in the blink of an eye. Her own eyes rolled back a bit as she closed them, bracing her hands on his chest to keep her weakening knees from collapsing her body to the floor. A couple of growl sounds came from her throat in relation to the electrical shocks he was sending through her body, her hands moving to his shoulders to hold onto him tighter still, breathing out a quiet,

"Knox..."

Pulling away momentarily, Knox shared with the girl what he could only describe as a meaningful gaze, before planting a quick peck at the side of her mouth…then a proper kiss to her mouth. Then a deeper one…

Returning the kiss with a new-found sense of passion, Ruby almost didn't notice the lights flickering in the small room until the sound of all the computers in the room suddenly powering off caught her attention enough to open her eyes and pull her lips from Knox's for just a brief moment, though keeping her lips just mere centimeters from his own as she looked around at the now completely black room.

"I swear I didn't do it!" She felt the need to say, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness and found that she could find Knox's silhouette rather easily, even being able to make out his facial expressions, just a bit. Was that...normal?

The security guard didn't realise that the lights had flickered out till Ruby pulled away, and he had realised that nothing was putting anymore strain on his eyes. The previously dominant part of him, the part that told him to just continue with the waitress girl, was squashed in a near instant, “It’s a blackout, and the generators have probably kicked in already…” Knox couldn’t help it, and his thoughts were dragged to his father, then…

Giving the girl a worried look, seeing the confused look on her face was plain as day…but in the dark, “What sharp eyes you have…I need to do a quick sweep, there aren't many security staff today. Are you coming with me?”

Feeling somewhat deflated that the one moment they had together after a week-long of doing nothing but working left a bitter feeling in her stomach, but Ruby nodded, more than willing to help wherever she could.

"I'll go check the upstairs." She volunteered, pulling herself away from Knox but not before planting a gentle kiss on his cheek and headed to the door, second nature to her really despite the room being pitch black.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I prefer the word rescued..."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Collaboration between Guardian Angel Haruki and Ghost Shadow
--
Faye stood outside, waiting for Henry to finish speaking with Mr. Gold. She could see Mr. Gold suffer from the effects of lung cancer outside of the window, but she didn't rush in, seeing that Henry had it under control. She shook her head, knowing that Mr. Gold was just hurting himself even more by continuing his addictions. She reminded herself that she couldn't help him as a doctor since he didn't want help and was stubborn about it.

Soon enough Henry came out of the shop and she asked him, the grave look still on her face, "Got what you needed from Mr. Gold?"

"Yes....I did." Henry answered, though it was quite obvious there was more to it. "We need to go find Mark...there's an errand I need him to run for me." Henry told her next, trying to smile gently to reassure her it wouldn't take long. But his smile faltered.

"Believe me, Faye, I want to get home just as much as you do. But things keep getting in the way." He said with a heavy sigh, wishing to share this burden that weighed him down so.

Faye answered him, "How long it takes for you to finish your business is the least of my worries," She asked him, "What kind of errand did you want Mark to do for you?"

"Oh, I just need him to talk to David Nolan for me - the two of them are close, well...close by Mark's standard from what I saw. I feel that Mark could speak to him better than I. Nothing you need worry about." He said, now smiling genuinely, placing a single hand on her cheek reassuringly.

Dr. Stevenson wasn't persuaded by his smile and his hand on her cheek. She said seriously, "Henry. At least answer my questions. Why do you need Mark to talk to David Nolan?" Prove that I can trust you! Faye didn't say this out loud, but she didn't like having no answers, or having to assume what's going on in his mind. Having no information or knowledge of a situation or topic means being left in powerless state.

Henry sighed once again before speaking, "I need David to read to the Jane Doe patient..and I need Mark's influence to persuade him." He confessed, dreading the fact that the inquisitive doctor would most likely ask why.

Faye was glad that he answered her, and she continued, true to Henry's dread, "I see. But why David Nolan out of everyone in Storybrooke?" She can understand why he would send someone to read to Jane Doe. But why he chose David, she didn't understand.

"Because..." Henry began, a hint of a smile on his face again, "My gut tells me to." He finished, placing both hands in his coat pockets. "I've got a hunch...besides, what's the worst thing that David will do?" Henry asked her with a chuckle.

Faye had a gut wrenching feeling that he was lying to her, but she didn't comment on it as she answered, "Good point, I guess," She then started walking and said "Well, let's go and find Mr. Dufresne then. He may still be with the nuns,"

"Very good, let's be off!" Henry proclaimed excitedly as he, on his own impulse, took Faye's hand in his own; beginning the short walk that led from the pawnshop to the nunnery.

Though it was growing later, a moderate amount of people still filled the town square - chatting and catching up with one another. A strangely jovial Mark was making conversation with Marco, separate from the main crowd.

Henry led Faye through the people until he caught up to Mark, who was in a riveting discussion with Marco about how to fix a power drill.

Mark seemed to notice Henry and Faye approach, and wished Marco a good night before turning to look at the duo.

"Well, there you are - the nuns have been looking all over for you, Mr. Carlyle." Mark greeted with a small smile. "I didn't think you'd have it in you, Newcomer...but you pulled through." Mark complimented with a firm clasp on his shoulder. "If you ever need anything from me: just ask." Mark offered seriously, seeming to look at Henry with newfound respect.

"And don't think I've forgotten you either, Dr. Stevenson. You accounted for thirty-six candles alone: that's impressive. Good on you." Mark complimented her with a firm nod of his head, looking like a proud father overseeing the accomplishments of his children.

Faye smiled at Mark and she said to him politely, "Thank you, Mr. Dufresne. Really, I'm just happy that I was able to help,"

Henry had a wide grin on his face as he spoke next, "You're most kind, Mark...I think I'll want to cash that favor in now, actually."

Mark raised a single eyebrow but didn't say a word, allowing Henry to continue.

Henry cleared his throat for a moment, absentmindedly squeezing Faye's hand in his to show he hadn't forgotten her. "I need you to ask David Nolan to read to the Jane Doe patient in the hospital..."

Mark looked somewhat perplexed at Henry's request, his hands finding their way into his jacket pockets. "Bit of a strange request, Mr. Carlyle." He observed, reaching out of his pocket to scratch the back of his head.

"Yes, yes, I know. But it's very important to me...there's a storybook I keep in my car. I need you to ensure that David reads her the story of Snow White from that book." Henry detailed, his voice entirely serious.

"I won't question your reasons, Mr. Carlyle, but I can't promise that David will do it..." Mark replied, sounding somewhat skeptical.

"All I need you to do is ask." Henry reiterated with a sincere smile.

Mark remained silent for a few moments before exhaling deeply. "To hell with it, fine, I'll talk to David about it." Mark finally agreed, holding out his right hand for Henry to shake.

Henry was about to do so as well, but a sharp stinging sensation stopped him, and he winced painfully. So much to do, he had forgotten to let Faye get a good look at his injury.

Faye noticed Henry's wince and she shook her head at him and she said to him sternly "Henry. Your hand," Her tone clearly stated that she wanted to treat his wound now. She was worried that his wound may be infected by now.

"Yes, yes, I know." Henry replied, looking back at Faye for a moment as he spoke.

Mark took this as his turn to leave. "I'll see if the pet shelter's still open..if so, I'll talk to David about this book of yours. Have a good night." He bid farewell before turning in the direction of the shelter.

Henry released his own hand from Faye's to rub at his injured one, trying to dull the throbbing that seemed to rhythmically pulse from it. "We should...we should probably get home now, eh?" He asked her, trying to be lighthearted.

Faye bid farewell to Mark as well, before she looked Henry while he rubbed at his injured hand. She nodded and answered "Yes. We should. I can treat the wound there,"

"Yes, of course...but I should get the book from my car first - so I can be ready to hand it over." Henry said in an even-mannered tone, beginning the (very) short trek to his vehicle.

He sifted through his belongings before procuring the large, ornate-looking storybook. "Ah, here we are..." Henry announced with a smile, holding up the book for Faye to see.

"Just need to hand this over to Mr. Nolan and we're all set!" Henry finished excitedly, but winced once again as his hand throbbed sorely.

Faye followed him to the car and she watched him bring out the storybook. After he made his comments, she responded with a "Great,". She then asked out of curiosity as she looked at the book, "Which fairy tales are included in that book, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Almost all of them. It's quite the extensive collection." Henry replied with a smile, tucking the book under his arm. "Maybe you can look through it once David's read to the Jane Doe." Henry offered. "But anyways, I'm due in to relax a bit...it's been a long day." He said, sounding slightly tired. But there was a bit of resolve to his tone, something that hinted that his promise of more romantic gestures was to still be honored.

As the two made their way down the street, leaving the heart of town where the lit candles those who stayed out this late were still holding no longer lit their path, a pair of shoes slapping against the pavement below them in a fast jog sounded behind them.

"Henry! Hey Henry!" David called out.

Henry stopped in his tracks as he heard a familiar voice call out to him. Turning around, he noticed David Nolan rushing up to him. "Yes, David? Can I help you?" Henry asked, masking his impatience with polite inquisitiveness.

David stopped as soon as he reached the two of them, resting his hands on his knees as he cought his breath. He then gestured with his thumb behind him, even twisting his torso to look back a bit before looking back to Henry.

"I...Mark...Mark said you needed me to do something?" He asked panting just a bit, and his voice now confused since Henry seemed to not have any clue as to why he was there.

"Ah, yes! The fireman moves fast - I didn't expect to see you so soon. There's a certain comotose patient in the hospital that I'd like you to read to...I was given this book by an anonymous doner. I only read to the Jane Doe twice, but I could feel just a little more activity when I read Snow White." Henry detailed, lying quite well as he explained the purpose.

He grabbed the book from under his arm and handed it to David. "If you'll do this for me, I'd be much obliged." Henry added with a friendly smile.

David stood up tall once more as the book was handed over to him, though his confusion never really left his face.

"Read?" He repeated, looking over the title of the leather-bound book. "You mean like, volunteer?" David then looked from the book to Faye, as if she would better answer his questions. "What, is this some sort of new treatment?" He asked. He wasn't at all being sarcastic, just a bit lost as to what was going on.

Faye answered David, actually putting in effort to not use medical jargon that she is used to using when it came to talking about patients,

"Oh no, it's nothing new. You see, even if Jane Doe is in a coma, she can still hear. As long as communication is maintained, Jane Doe comes closer and closer to getting out of the coma. If someone isn't reading to her, we play some nice, comforting music for her, but it's not quite like having someone talking to her,"

David nodded slowly, like an ADHD child really making an effort to understand something that was really beyond their mental fortitude. He got the gist of it though, nodding more confidentally once she had finished talking.

"You know, my mother used to read to me when I was sick as a kid..." He said, attempting to relate the situation somehow, even if he was miles off. "You said she likes Snow White?" He then asked looking back to Henry.

Henry nodded sharply, "I noticed the most responses from that story...that and I find it quite similar to her current situation. You should be an absolutely wonderful volunteer." Henry added with a warm smile, wincing yet again as his wounded hand was making it quite apparant that it wanted attention.

David nodded again and pointed a finger at Henry.

"Right, because you can't voulenteer anymore..." He said, not in a way of offending Henry, only by vocalizing outloud that he was beginning to put the pieces together. "Sure, I can do that, I'll go tonight, provided the hospital is still open?" He asked, once again turning his attention back to Dr. Stevenson.

Faye answered "Of course. It should still be open for doctors and volunteers. You count as a volunteer,"

David's neck was getting sore from all the nodding, but he did it once more and tucked the book underneath his arm.

"Great, I'll uh...just head on down there then. You two have a...nice evening..." He couldn't help but to quirk a brow as he realized, for the first time since showing up there that the two of them seemed to be heading back to Dr. Stevenson's home. He then just shrugged, as if to say 'not any of my business' and then turned back around to head to the hospital. Reading outloud to Jane Doe during the middle of the night seemed less...embarassing somehow.

Henry sighed as the rather ditzy young man wandered off towards the hospital. "Now...I believe it's time we get a look at this hand." Henry said, looking at his wounded hand, the wounds not looking well at all.

"Lead the way, doctor." Henry motioned with his good hand, smiling.

Collaboration between Ghost Shadow and I

*~*~*

Faye led Henry from the town square, past Regina's mansion, and right to her own large house. She said to Henry as she walked up to her own front door, "Well. Here it is," She brought out her own keys and unlocked the front door, letting herself and Henry in.

Henry had to adjust his eyes once more to the nearly pitch-darkness of the house (due to the power being out all across town), but stepped through the front door. "I can hardly see....but it smells nice!" He complimented, slightly awkwardly.

Faye blinked and she answered his compliment just as awkwardly, "Er...Thank you," She stepped into the dark house, and reached to her side, where she knew was a decorative table. On top of that table, right where she placed her hand was a flashlight. She turned on the flashlight and pointed the light all around the house just in case.

Had the power not gone out, her house would've been a lovely sight. It was clean and neatly decorated, except for the alcohol on the small table beside the large chair that sat in front of the empty fireplace in the living room.

However, in the darkness, it looked like a perfect place for a monster to lurk about....

She led the way inside, and said "Right. I'll direct you to the guest room, and give some ground rules along the way,"

"Sounds lovely!" Henry replied, seething through grit teeth as his hand kept on flaring up. "Lovely place, very...mysterious, I like it." He complimented in his usual tone, managing to sneak a healthy glance of the doctor here or there as she walked in front of him.

She heard his hiss and remembered to get antiseptics and bandages for Henry's wound. She led him down the halls (grabbing the antiseptics and bandages along the way), and when they past a set of stairs that went down towards a heavy metal door, she said to him "Henry. Never go downstairs, under any circumstances,"

For some reason, the darkness seemed to make Faye somber, grave, and even more wary than normal. It was as though she was scared of the possible monster that lurked in the shadows.

Soon they reached the guest bedroom and she said "Here's the guest bedroom. Once you're in here at night, stay here until morning. Lock your bedroom door,"

She then said "Let's tend to that wound," She then got out a handkerchief, poured a bit of the antiseptic on the cloth, and she warned Henry "This will sting," before she placed the cloth on the wound,

"Goddamnit!" He swore with a hiss as the antiseptic felt like someone was literally putting salt in the open wound. He closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the sharp pain to pass.

Faye looked carefully at the wound, watching as the Hydrogen Peroxide bubbled on his wound, killing any bacteria that may cause infection. She continued treating his wound with the chemical until no bubbles rose from his wound.

She said to him as she put away the cloth and chemical "There we go. The disinfecting's done," She then got to bandaging the wound.

"Good...good." Henry replied as he felt the pain slowly begin to linger away. "Because then I couldn't do this." He said before leaning in to kiss her once more.

Faye blinked when he kissed her, and at first she started to kiss back. But then she felt a familiar stab of pain in her heart, and for a brief moment, black flooded into Faye's blue eyes.

Knowing what the pain meant, Faye gasped quietly "No!" and pulled back away from Henry.

Realizing she may have accidentally sent the wrong message to Henry, she said "I'm-I'm sorry about that, Henry. I'm-I'm quite tired...I'll...I'll see you in the morning," She then hurried out of the room while reminding him with a hidden tone of fear "Remember the rules I told you. Please"

She closed the door behind her and her footsteps could be heard, and it seemed that she was running.

Henry could do little but sit there, dumbfounded, at what had just occurred. "Too soon, Chesh." He told himself, standing up to get undressed. "Too soon." He repeated bitterly, tossing his clothes to the ground until he was wearing only his suit.

Soon enough, Henry would be able to hear footsteps moving about in the house, and soon enough, the sound of music coming from the large living room he had seen earlier,

"I see the bad moon arising.
I see trouble on the way.
I see earthquakes and lightnin'.
I see those bad times today.

Don't go around tonight,
Well it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise."

Henry stared at the closed door as he picked up the sound of music from the living room. "Just...ignore it, Cat." He told himself as he tried to look back at his own Walkman player that was strewn on the bed. Though try as he might, he couldn't stop hearing that music continue on in his ears.

The music continued, seeming to grow louder, loud enough to entice the cat's curiosity,

"I hear hurricanes a blowing.
I know the end is coming soon.
I fear rivers over flowing.
I hear the voice of rage and ruin.

Well don't go around tonight,
Well it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise."

Henry couldn't take it anymore, standing to his feet; he slowly and cautiously stepped towards the door of the room. He took in a deep breath and turned the handle, swinging the door wide open. He had a hunch who it might be on the other side...

He walked through the threshold, down the halls until the living room came into view.

"Hope you got your things together.
Hope you are quite prepared to die.
Looks like we're in for nasty weather.
One eye is taken for an eye."

The living room was lit only by the fire that was now burning with great passion in the fireplace. The large, green, cushioned chair that faced towards the fireplace, was now occupied by someone. On the table, the small glass and glass container of scotch, was replaced by two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine. In the living room, Henry would also notice large bookshelves filled with many different books, along with a grand piano. The source of the music however, was coming from an IPod connected to a platform with speakers.

"Well don't go around tonight,
Well it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise."

The occupant of the chair spoke up, the figure never standing up to show herself, but her voice was all too familiar, "Why, Henry. How good of you to join me,"

"Well...hello, Sweetie." Henry greeted in a flirty manner as he made his way to the large fireplace. "Been awhile, hasn't it?" He asked nonchalantly, hands in his trouser pockets, by habit.

The woman's voice answered, "Hmm...Yes, it has. I see that the good Doctor has been quite...generous to offer you a place to stay,"

"Yes...and I'm very grateful. Oh, but you already know that, don't you? Because our good Dr. Stevenson is sitting in that chair." He said nonchalantly, moving towards the small table to fill a wine glass for both of them.

As he would grab the wine bottle, Henry would be able to see that the person sitting in the chair...was nothing more than a mannequin. And in that mannequin's lap, was a small voice recorder, replaying a message in eerie clarity,

"And yet...it appears you've been quite horrible...you chronic liar..."

Before he knew, the woman was behind him, and she grappled him, pinning his arms behind him, and with her hand on his throat, not squeezing air out, but threatening to rip his vocal cords out with her nails. She said to him with malicious glee, "Gotcha. Now...what is it that you know?"

Henry could only look at the mannequin with a slight sense of dread before the Woman was upon him in a flash. "What a reunion, eh? You should have told me you were gonna play hard-to-get." Henry joked, managing a small grin.

"And I can see you're still as beautiful as ever...my, my, my, how the time flies." He added, seeming to regress back into his "Cat" persona.

The woman seemed to smirk and she chuckled darkly "Hmhmhm, how cute. But you should know very well, that one of the morals to fairy tales..." At this point, she nuzzled the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent, "Is to never trust flatterers,"

She then pushed him down to the carpeted floor, and got over him, her knees pinning themselves harshly against Henry's ribs. She was wearing a beautiful and seductive red dress that truly made her look as though she could be the Ruler of Hell herself. With a scalpal in hand she warned him, "Now then. We can do this the easy way...or the hard way. It's all your choice,"

She then asked seriously "Who do you think I am?"

"That's a lovely dress, Ms. Hyde..." Henry began with a smirk across his lips, "Only thing lovelier would be to see you out of it." He added, seemingly not paying any attention to the surgical instrument in her hand - he had answered her question without resistance...

The woman looked serious before a smirk crossed her lips again, and she retorted "I see the cat is out of the bag,"
She sighed airily "Such a shame...! It looks like I have to kill you," She then smirked wickedly and continued "And it's such a shame that you set yourself up for your own death. You really shouldn't have messed with that circuit breaker!"

"I can see that now." Henry responded, masking his fear with airy confidence. "But I so missed seeing you, why, I had to do something. So...how's about you kindly let me move, we'll both go to the bedroom...and by the time we're done, you'll be ready to forgive me, eh?" He offered with a cheeky grin, surprised at how he could feel so much fear and enticement towards the same woman.

Her hands slammed against the floor, in a sudden quick movement, landing on either side of Henry's head. She gazed into Henry's eyes with her black soulless eyes, and she asked "Now, why would I be interested in someone who runs? You admitted it yourself that you've been running from your past, all your life,"

She licked her lips and she asked, not giving Henry time to answer the question, "You know what runs, Mr. Carlyle? Prey runs," The word prey came out as an animalistic growl, and her lips curled into a snarl.

"I'm a cat...it's my nature." He responded almost cryptically. "But you'll find that those who run, oftentimes simply wait for the best moment to strike." With this, he tried to lean his head in as best he could, given the circumstances.

"I want you." He growled at her, eyes narrowing coolly. "And something tells me...you share the sentiment." He added, licking his lips slower-than-necessary.

Hyde inhaled through her nostrils and she commented "You reek of fear. Not desire," She then added bitterly "I know where your loyalties lie...with that Mayor,"

"Sleeping with someone and being loyal to them are two different things, my dear. I'm *loyal* to Dr. Stevenson...both parts of her." Henry reassured seriously, occasionally shifting his eyes down to glimpse at her chest before looking back up again. "And I can assure you...there is desire." He said in an almost seductive manner, keeping his composure.

Hyde laughed bitterly "That's what they all said...The men who tried long before you. They swore they were loyal to us, but they were liars! They got their end. I'm not about to risk our identities being exposed to the mayor,"

Henry thought quickly, knowing that Hyde would soon lose her patience and decide to kill him. "Think about it this way, then...I know who you are...and you know who *I* am...how's about we both keep each other's secrets from the mayor, eh? Everyone's happy..." He offered, looking slightly tense.

Hyde narrowed her gaze at him and she let out a growl like "Hmmm..." in thought. She then looked up at the ceiling, and she seemed to give a huff of annoyance. She backed away from him, and stood up with her scalpal in hand. She placed the scalpal on the table, and right after she did, the overhead lights came on.

She said to Henry "Congratulations," He had survived his encounter with Ms. Hyde.

Henry looked up as the lights suddenly flashed back on. He grinned as he centered his head on Hyde again. "Gratefully accepted." He said with a small glint in his eyes.

"Now...maybe we could move on to that desire part I was talking about?" He practically purred, amazing himself with how quickly he could switch emotions.

Hyde smirked and she answered "Well...I suppose the survivor should get a prize..."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jane Doe had gone missing.

"Where is she?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Ruby mentioned going upstairs...?"

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

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

Henry stepped through the entrance of Granny's, loosening his scarf in the temperature-controlled environment. A sincere smile came to his face as he was given a much warmer greeting from the citizens of Storybrooke than the day before when he was still an outcast.

Even Mark, still alone and unsocial looked up at Henry, offering a small nod in greeting with a smile of his own. Taking this as an invitation, Henry walked over to the fireman's table; taking off his coat and hanging it on the back of the chair opposite Mark's as he took a seat.

"Good morning, Mr. Carlyle." Mark greeted in a tone that was especially friendly for him, taking a drink from his coffee.

"And good morning to you, Mr. Dufresne. Bit chilly out, isn't it?" Henry asked, trying to make conversation.

"Yes, so it is. All the more incentive to drink coffee." Mark added neutrally, taking another drink as he looked out the window.

"Oh, I don't like coffee much - far too bitter." Henry said, sounding somewhat distracted as his mind wandered back to the dream he had last night. He didn't want to remember it, he hated remembering it. He must have winced visibly, for Mark's voice seemed to echo towards him, "Are you alright, Henry?"

"Oh....oh....yes, I'm fine. Just remembering a bad dream I had last night." He answered simply, sounding almost as though it caused him pain to speak of it.

"I see..." Mark replied simply, though his tone suggested he wanted to say more. "Anything you want to share?" He added on sincerely, green eyes staring straight at the teacher.

Henry hesitated for a moment, debating whether to disclose the full details of the dream to Mark - for even dreams had power, and Henry wasn't sure how much power mentioning the Dark One would hold. "I...I can hardly remember. I was here, in Storybrooke, except the town was dead...gray. All I remember seeing is Mr. Gold on the ground....he was...stabbed and I was...holding a dagger in my hand. It was black, long, and jagged, as though it was wrought in shadow -- and there was a name written on the blade....."

"What was the name?" Mark asked curiously, not letting his eyes leave Henry for a moment.

"Rumpelstiltskin." Henry answered bluntly.

"Rumpelstiltskin? Like the fairy tale?" Mark repeated. His words implied sarcasm or amusement, but his tone was serious.

"Yes, like the fairy tale...strange, isn't it?" Henry asked, trying to deviate from the main topic.

"Yes...strange, indeed. Dreams are unusual occurrences, Mr. Carlyle. Don't dwell on them, if you want my advice; you'll end up driving yourself mad trying to apply order to disorder." Mark advised before asking for a to-go cup from the waitress.

"Yeah, suppose you're right." Henry replied, trying to sound genial once more; though it was difficult. He couldn't disclose everything he saw or experienced to Mark. That he had killed Rumpelstiltskin - and became the Dark One, himself. The raw power, the fear, the feeling of helplessness as the cumulative knowledge and power of millennia past permeated his very being...and it was amazing.

This only caused Henry to shudder more as he pushed the dangerous thoughts out of his mind. "Let dreams stay dreams, Mr. Carlyle...People need to leave their Wonderlands - the real world is not so wonderful." Mark advised lastly before standing up to leave, coffee in hand.

"It was good speaking with you, Mr. Carlyle. Have a pleasant day." Mark bid goodbye before heading to the door.

"If only you knew, Tin Man." Henry added after the fireman left the building, staying seated at the table to think....to ponder...to wonder.

Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez and Tanderbolt

Ruby had quickly been brought up to speed with everything that was going on and was brought downstairs to join up with Robert where the three of them exited the hospital through the same back door the Jane Doe had left, putting them directly into the forest.

"This place is massive! How are we supposed to find one person?" Ruby asked.

"Hey shhh, we might be able to hear her." David answered in a hushed voice, but Ruby wasn't buying it.

David had told her back at the hospital that they needed her because she had managed to find Mason in the mines where they could have easily gotten lost, but in Ruby's opinion, it was luck, not any sort of special skill she posessed. She tried vocalizing her opinion back at the hospital, but David was adament about having her come along. It might have been his charming face, or big puppy-dog eyes, but Ruby eventually agreed, though she doubted she'd be much help.

"It's massive!" Ruby said again, as if the first time she said it had gone unheard.

While they were talking, Robert scanned the ground for any signs that someone had been there recently. He notice a few faint foot shaped impressions in the dirt, obviously belonging to someone who wasn't wearing shoes. There was a good chance these were Jane Doe's, someone who just woke up from a coma and wandered out wouldn't have shoes on hand. Robert cleared his throat loudly, and pointed towards the tracks on the ground.

David followed Robert's gaze and noticed the footprints and then gestured out to them for Ruby to see.

"See? We follow the path with the foot prints, we find Jane Doe." David said putting a hand on her shoulder and gently urged her forward down the narrow, sloped trail.

"I shouldn't be here, I'm just going to screw everything up-"
Ruby stopped suddenly, so suddenly that David didn't even have time to react and collided right behind her with an "oof."

"Wait...I hear her..." Ruby said, unmoving. Her eyes were wide and darting around, looking for the source of the noise she was hearing. It was like finding Mr. Gold all over again, and Mason. Sounds she could hear that no one else could, sounds that she didn't fully comprehend but knew they were there...just out of reach.

"Really?" David asked, looking back to Robert silently asking him if he heard anything.
Robert tried to listen, but couldn't notice anything. "What did you hear?" he asked.

Ruby continued to look around her surroundings, trying to pinpoint the exact location of the noises she was hearing.
"I don't know...I just hear her...or...something" The thought hadn't crossed her mind that she might have been hearing a wild animal until now, thus causing her to doubt herself but only for a second before looking back at Robert, the noises only becoming more and more clear to her. It was definitely human, and definitely female. Without another word, Ruby started off again, veering off of the muddy trail and ducked into the thick foilage of the forest.

Robert scratched his head for a moment, but he was happy to have some sort of lead. He followed behind Ruby, keeping his distance and walking slowly. He'd stop her if she went to deep into the forest, but a little walk couldn't hurt.

"Hey guys!" Ruby called out, and David hurried after Robert into the foilage. Ruby hadn't gone far, but she was bent down on a knee looking at what looked like a hospital arm band stuck in one of the bushes. It read:
Jane Doe
DOB: Unknown
67140404

But that wasn't what had caught David's eye, instead it was the tiny little splash of crimson coloring on the name tag.

"Is that-?" David tried, hearing his voice croak.

"Blood." Ruby confirmed, biting her lip and looking up at the two men.

"Could be from the IV that was in her arm. I hope it's that and not anything else." Robert looked around, trying to see if there was anything else that would help find Jane Doe.
Ruby got back up, clearing her throat to shake away the anxiousness that was now building up inside her.

"I think she's heading to the Toll Bridge."

This snapped David's attention.
"The what?" He asked, thinking she had said 'Troll Bridge;' he would have to blame that on the late night reading he did to Jane Doe, the last chapter he had read to her was about Snow White and Prince Charming's love being created on the Troll Bridge after Snow White had saved Prince Charming's life with a bit of Dark Fairy dust.
"Toll Bridge. It's a little ways into the forest. Not a whole lot of people know about it, that's why it's my place to go when I need to be alone and think." Ruby explained and led the way once more.

"Where is she? Can you see her?" David called out to Ruby, as she was much farther ahead than he was. David eventually cleared the foilage and found a small river that cut through the forest with twenty or so feet of rocks, sand and dirt keeping the trees from growing around it. True to Ruby's word, there was an old iron bridge suspended over the river, a white sign labled 'Toll Bridge' in black and someone wrote in a red 'r' after the 'T' in 'Toll' as a joke who knows how long ago. With his eyes fixated on the coinsidental name of the location, he didn't even see the woman lying halfway into the river, unconsious.
"There!" Ruby called out, making David snap out of it and return his attention to the Jane Doe.

Both relief and horror flooded David as he found his feet rushing towards the woman, hoisting her up and out of the water as gently and quickly as he could, completely tuning our Ruby's repeated 'Oh my god!'

Robert was startled by what he saw, but he had enough presence of mind to call 911. While David attended to the woman, he told the situation to the operator on the phone.
David set Jane Doe back down onto the ground where there was a clearing of just soft dirt and sand, his hands cupping either side of the woman's face searching for any sign of life.

"No, no no no! We found you!" He said softly to her, though Jane Doe was far from responding. It was very likely she could have drowned given the position they had found her in.

"Is she okay? Is she going to be okay?" Ruby called from a good distance away. She wanted to help, but she doubted her stomach would allow her to do so. If Jane Doe was dead...

David put his ear up against Jane Doe's chest, listening for a heartbeat but it was nearly impossible with all the commotion going around and the ringing in his own ears.
"Come back to us!" David called out, then in a hushed whisper before he even knew what he was saying, "Come back to me..."

Removing his head from her chest, he took over by putting his hands together on the center of her torso. He had never performed CPR on a human in his life, but at the vetrinary clinic he had plenty of experience with animals...how much different could it be? He pressed his hands down onto her chest six times, with each push his face eagerly looking on at the still unconcious Jane Doe. He could feel tears pulling at the corners of his eyes as after the sixth one did nothing still.

Throwing caution to the wind, David removed his hands from her chest and opened up her mouth and shut her nose, putting his mouth into hers and filling her with all the air he could spare before being forced back to breath for himself. He kept his head low, his lips merely centimeters still from her's and still the Jane Doe did nothing. The tears began to fall from his eyes, splashing down onto his cheeks and hers until suddenly, Jane Doe coughed up a large amount of water, splashing David's face in the process and gasping for breath. David held her head in his hands, looking down at her with a wide grin on his face as their eyes met.

Jane Doe woke up with a jolt, stunned by the sudden rush of senses. She saw a man staring at her, and noticed that she was cold and wet from the water. It was all very confusing, and the only thing she could recall was being asleep for a very long time. She recoiled away from the man slighlty, and said "W-what happened?" in a trembling voice, too startled to say anything else.

David refused to let her recoil away from him too much, afraid that if he let go, she would somehow slip back into unconsiousness. When she began speaking, however, he eased his hands away, feeling his heart jumping up into his throat. He never really noticed it before, but she was absolutely beautiful; stunning in fact, and her voice, though weak and frightened, sang to him like a sweet lullaby.

"You've been in a coma, but it's okay, you're okay now. We've got you, and we're going to help you." He reassured her. "Can you walk?" He then asked, extending his hand out to her for her to help herself up with. He doubted that the ambulence that Robert had called for would be able to reach them directly.
She recognized the man's voice, although she could not recall ever hearing his name. It sounded friendly, and inviting, and she believed his words. Slowly, she rose to her feet, they felt uninjured but she was still in a haze after waking from her coma. She said "Where am I?" the first of a long list of questions she had.
"The outskirts of Town, Storybrooke." David said putting his hand in hers with his opposite hand on her shoulder, stabalizing her in case she wasn't able to support her full weight yet. "There will be plenty of time for questions later, we need to get you back to the hospital and make sure everything is okay." David looked over to Robert and Ruby, nodding indicating for them to lead the way to where the ambulance was to meet them.

Jane walked with them into the ambulance, hoping to find out something about what had happened. She was glad that these three had helped her, and didn't want to think about what could've happened if they weren't there.

Collaboration between Tanderbolt and I (with Yoshi as an NPC)

*~*~*

Once back at the hospital, Jane Doe had been filled in on almost everything that needed to be discussed with her about her time spent in the hospital. It was to the entire staff at the hospital's disappointment (and to David and the other's) that Jane Doe couldn't tell them a thing about herself. She didn't know her name, where she came from, what had happened; her only recollection was sleeping and for a very, very long time. There were little snippits she could share, like being able to recognize David's voice from when he read to her, but nothing substantantially important as to what her real identity was.

After Jane Doe was comfortable and settled back into the hospital bed where the doctors could now run full tests on her, Ruby decided to call it a day. She and Knox had spent the entire night patroling the hospital and she was overdue for some good, solid sleep however she found that during their search Knox had gone home, no doubt to catch some sleep as well. The keyring in her pocket suddenly grew heavy as she realized she still had a key to his place; the least she could do is pop over there real quick and tell him that they had found Jane Doe at least, and so Ruby left the hospital to head over to Knox's place, knowing Granny would understand if she took the day off. She did manage to save a life after all.

David sat on the edge of Jane Doe's bed, keeping her company while the doctors poked and prodded her. She was even brought a very light meal consisting of Jell-o and water, not wanting to send her into immediate sickness with having solid food in her stomach for the first time in...well, as long as anyone could remember. David didn't leave her side though, taking it upon himself to entertain her and make her smile and laugh to help pass the time. Due to the apparent memory loss, she would be staying at the hospital for a bit longer until the doctors felt that she was ready to go out on her own or if her memories came back, a silent prayer going through the hospital that it would be the latter.

"What do you think you'll do, you know, once you get released?" David asked bending at his waist slightly to circle a word he had just found in the wordsearch the two of them had been working on for quite some time.

"I'll have to find a place to live, and a job. It'll be hard, I don't really remember anything I could put on a resume. What do you think of this town, anyway? Is it a good place to live?" Jane Doe said, trying to get some basic information about where she was.

"Storybrooke is the perfect place to live when you're not really sure what you can do or what you are capable of." David answered honestly, and circled another word. "I work down at the pet shelter, we're a little short on staff if animals is your kind of thing."

"I'd love to work with animals, I'll be sure to stop by once I get out of here."

David beamed. It wasn't really anything to grin at the way he did, but it was almost impossible for David to hide his happiness.

"Did the doctors know anything about what happened to me? I can't rememeber anything since waking up." Jane Doe said, still frustrated by her amnesia.

"The only thing I've ever heard is that Mayor Mills found you on the side of the road a while back, in a crashed car." David shrugged. "It must have been pretty bad for you to lose your memory so bad though." Almost sensing her frustration, David extended his arm out and put his hand loosely on top of hers, meeting her eyes in a sincere gaze. "Don't worry, I'll help you remember, whatever it takes."

"Thank you, you've been so kind. If the mayor is the one who saved me from the car wreck, I'd like to meet her and thank her in person. If it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't be alive right now."

David seemed to hesitate at first. Regina wasn't exactly known for her kind words lately, however his thought process was completely detoured as Dr. Stevenson approached the two of them apprehensively, looking as if she might be afraid to interrupt them.

Faye didn't want to interrupt the two, but she did need to do her job and give Jane Doe the results of her diagnostic tests. She walked up to the two of them, and greeted the two of them politely, "Hello. I'm sorry for interrupting, but I'd like to give Ms. Doe her results,"

David nodded and started to get up from the edge of Jane Doe's bed. He didn't need to be around to hear the results, it was personal information intended only for Dr. Stevenson and herself.

"I'll go grab us some lunch. I doubt that Jell-o tied you over much."

Jane looked in David's direction, and waved at him "I'd imagine I've worked up quite an appetite after a few years of sleep." She then turned to look at Dr. Faye, and said "Thank you, doctor. Anything I should know about up front?"

Faye watched David leave and as he did she warned him "Just to be safe, don't get her solid foods,"
She then looked to Jane Doe with a kind expression and she answered as she gave Jane Doe her results, "Well, you seem to be in good health. There really isn't any other major problems,"

Jane smiled, and said. "Good to hear. Thank you for taking care of me, I feel pretty good even after what's happened. What did you say your name was?"

Faye smiled and nodded to Jane in response to her thanks and she answered "It's really no problem,". She answered Jane, "I am Dr. Faye Stevenson, nice to meet you,"
She then added, "I'm sure you'll be able to make some new memories here in Storybrooke,"

She stretched out her hand to offer a hand shake, and said "Nice to meet you, I hope my new memories are good ones."

Faye shook Jane's hand and after they shook hands, Faye's pager beeped, and she said to Jane, "Oh, Duty calls! Have a good day, Ms. Doe,"
After she said that, Faye left Jane Doe alone and hurried to take care of another patient.

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

Ruby paused on the porch connected to the front door of Knox's place. She couldn't help but to shift her weight awkwardly as she stared down the doorknob, debating whether or not she should actually be there. On one hand, Ruby hadn't ever really been invited over since he had offered her a place to stay during her fight with Granny, on the other hand, he had never asked for his key back. He could also be sleeping, and then what would she do?

Stop thinking and just go! She tried telling herself and slipped the key into the hole, turning it and then allowing herself in.

"Knox?" She called, not sure if she would prefer if he answered or not.

Knox almost didn’t catch Ruby calling out to him, as he stood in the steaming hot shower with his head down, letting (hoping) the water drown out the migraine raging though his head…as well as rinsing out the soap. Raising his head slowly, and blinking a little bit in exhaustion, he shut off the water and stepped to the steamy air.

Grabbing a white fluffy towel and drying himself off, Knox got his black boxer briefs and uniform pants (loosely) on. As he dried his hair, he stepped out into the hall to finally return the waitress’s call, “Ruby, are you still there?”

Ruby poked her head from around the wall that lead into the kitchen, nibbling on a vanilla wafer. She had heard the shower running during her search for Knox, and figured she'd raid his kitchen a little bit while she waited. What she didn't count on, however, was a shirtless Knox looking for her.

"Hey..." She said with a slight blush hinting at her cheeks, unable to take her eyes off of his exposed body for a few moments. "We found her, Jane Doe. She's going to be fine though she's suffering a pretty severe case of amnesia."

Nodding at the mention of Jane Doe, there was a tiny voice in the back of his head nagging something about the woman, but he largely ignored it. And then there was this migraine. Peering over at Ruby, who was returning with an interesting look to hi--"Hey, are those my vanilla wafers?"

"Relax; I'll replace the box later today. I haven't eaten since..." Ruby's mind wandered back to the security room where she was practically force-fed a cookie, the blush on her cheeks only getting darker. Did that count as eating?

Trying to recall the last time Knox personally saw the waitress eat something, he remembered the cookie from last night a well, and let out a few chuckles, "Replace them, and maybe we could eat an actual meal together." That last part came out off-handily, and the memory of steaks going cold came to mind.

"More importantly, neither of us have proper sleep...I'm sorry to have gotten you caught up in patrolling the hospital, since the blackout." Pausing for a moment to think, "You did well, and then you went above and beyond with finding that missing Jane Doe."

Ruby shook her head, popping what was left of the vanilla wafer into her mouth before closing the awkward distance between the two of them, letting her arms wrap around his waist loosely and put her forehead onto his chest tiredly. She got a good whiff of his soap and shampoo before she answered; making her voice even sound like it was smiling.

"You didn't force me to stay, I wanted to." She responded, deciding to hold back the facts about her finding Jane Doe at the Toll Bridge by hearing things no one else could hear...again.

Blinking when Ruby rested her head on his chest, Knox smiled tiredly, and patted her on the back, “Don’t stand too close, or I’m going to get you wet.” Realising that the statement sounded funny, he quickly added, “I still have some towel drying to do.” Still, he let the towel hang loosely around his shoulders.

Ruby made a point of nuzzling her head into his still damp chest, wordlessly telling him that she didn't care.

“It’s quite evident you’ve been working harder, longer, and to better effect than I have, recently. You really should catch some much deserved sleep.” Doing his best to convince the waitress to get some rest, he thought for a long moment, before gesturing to the living room, “I would suggest the bedroom, but I’m afraid if we both go, neither of us would be getting the rest we need.”

It was then that Ruby pulled back just enough to tilt her chin up and look at his face, a playful smirk on her lips.

"You're over-confident. What makes you think I'd be interested?" She inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Shaking his head, Knox leaned his face close into Ruby’s, so close that his wet hair was grazing the side of her cheeks. A faint smile played on his lips, but from this close, his exhaustion was that much more evident…as was the waitress’s, “That train of thought is rather unimportant, at the moment…I fully intend for you to get some sleep.”

"You're no fun." Ruby frowned, but didn't seem too bothered by it evident by the playful shove she gave him on his chest.

Raising his face, Knox kissed into the girl’s hair, before fully drawing away…he let out that tired sigh, running a hand through his hair and quirking an eyebrow at Ruby, “Am I the only one getting a headache from lack of sleep?”

Ruby put her hand to his head, running her fingers through his hair delicately as if that would ease the pain he was experiencing. She couldn't say that she had a headache exactly. She was tired and her eyes hurt a bit, but that was as far as it went.

"Go get some sleep you big meanie. I'll talk to Granny about making up another pie for later."

Giving Ruby a glare, Knox towel dried his hair for a moment…then tossed the fluffy towel aside, going over to pull her to him, holding her face to his chest, “Come on, time to sleep.” Sighing through his nose, he pulled the waitress along to the couch with him.

Soon he was laid out on the couch on his back, with Ruby pulled on top of him, her head still rested on his chest. “You should,” A pause for a short yawn, “Did you call your grandmother last night, after the blackout…I’m sure she’s worried?”

Ruby nodded into his chest, letting her eyelids flutter closed after letting out a quiet yawn.

"Called her as soon as the power came back on. She wasn't too happy with me waking her up in the middle of the night but whatever. And she's just going to have to get over me taking today off, there's no way in hell I would have been able to do the morning shift today...at least...not with my neck still smelling like strawberry rhubarb pie..."

“…when you see your grandmother, later, give her my thanks for the pie.” With the memory of the sweet, sweet strawberry rhubarb pie filling, and now at present the soft skin of Ruby’s face resting on his bare chest…Knox squeezed his eyes shut, and thought about anything but the girl pressed more than just close to him. The man needed to get over this headache, the man needed his sleep. Ruby really did smell like strawberry rhubarb.

"Okay, but I chose to not tell her what we did with it." Ruby smirked in between two yawns and nuzzled her face into his chest even further before drifting off to sleep.

---

“They’re cute, aren’t they?”

Recoiling from the glass display case at the sound of this melodic voice breaking through the otherwise hypnotic rhythmic pitter-patter of the rain, Knox turned to come face to face with a young woman. Her skin was pale as bone, lips as red as blood, hair as dark as the deepest waters. Eyes darting between the display case with the rabbits, and the girl his age, he furrowed his eyebrows and tried to play it off with a nonchalant tone, “Just rabbits...”

Her giggle caught his ear, smile was brilliant, eyes glittered with mirth, and “Your cheek was pressed against the glass!”

With his eyes widening a fraction, in the corner of his vision, Knox caught sight of the smudge on glass…and realised one cheek did in fact feel a temperature colder than the other, but yet again, the man tried to play it off. This time, he hastily put together his excuse, quite obviously, “I, ah...was just waiting inside for the rain to stop.” The store owner turned to give him cut-eye, but he paid no mind to this.

With a tilt of her head, her hair fell a certain way along her shoulders, “A big strong man like you, afraid of a little rain? If anything…there is a bar right next door, wouldn’t you have had a drink or two while waiting for the rain to let up?”

With a frown and narrowed eyes, Knox thumbed to the direction of the bar, “Yes, I was just about to head ther—”

“Good! I planned on going myself, but a girl like me needs a big strong man to keep her company!" With this cheery exclamation, the young woman linked arms with him and...Off they went. Shanghaied into spending the afternoon in a bar with...Mary Margaret, and from what he remembered feeling, he didn't particularly mind.

-----

Laying in the shade, Knox felt the comfortable warmth of the sun beaming onto his pant leg. There was a light sensation, touching along his chest, up his neck. His first inclination was Mary Margaret, but...it started chirping, hopping onto his chin. With a hand reaching up, trying to swipe the bird off, he missed just a few inches and the bird flew off and up onto a high tree branch.

Blinking some sleep from his eyes, fingers of light poked through the leafy trees, gently touching his body with its warmth. Sitting up on the picnic blanket, and looking up blankly at the bird that had just narrowly escaped his grasp, Knox finally noticed another little bird hopping up and down. Mary, hopping up and down trying to reach for a balloon stuck among the leaves of the tree, an unfamiliar child crying beside her.

Getting up from where he sat, brushing out some grass that had mysteriously found its way into his hair, Knox tried to make sense of an already pretty obvious scene. The helium filled balloon was pretty high up in the tree, the child was making grabby hands at it, and Mary was trying to catch a string far out of reach...and from his estimation, just out of his own reach.

Thinking, smirking, and going over to Mary and--with careful strength, much to her surprise, Knox pulled her up and onto his shoulder. Adding his height onto hers, and supporting her on his shoulder, the balloon itself was just an arm's length away from her. The string was practically resting against her shirt. Quickly grasping the sudden situation, Mary Margaret grabbed onto the balloon string, and Knox was relieved that he could finally let her down.

Rolling his shoulder as Mary tied the balloon string onto the child's wrist, she still didn't face him, even as Knox wrapped his arms around her from behind, "We make a good team." His comment, met with her silence. Planting a kiss into her short cut hair, speaking quietly, "Are you still upset that I asked you to--"

"You're asking me to uproot my life, forget about my friends, and move away with you to some town I haven't heard of...I can understand your father wanting to return to his childhood home, but why do we--"

---

Eyes blinking, Knox didn't know the exact moment when he awoken in his living room, how long he stared up at the ceiling. For a moment, he tried to remember what he had dreamt...but there was a sinking feeling in his stomach, and the shadows of the now darker room seemed to flicker alive. The sinking feeling that, despite the happiness or whatever he felt for a moment in his dream, he was losing something more important...but the security guard brushed it off, though a restlessness stayed with him.

Still without a shirt and Ruby warm, resting her head against his chest--Knox raised himself on his arms, and gently shook the unconscious girl, "Come on, I need to get up..." Peering over her, his eyes caught her soft lips. Licking his own, he leaned uncomfortably down to give her the barest peck just beside her mouth...when his entire dream, his memories came flooding in.

Trying to push away from the girl in a panic, the man landed on the cold hard floor, scrambling back and hitting the coffee table while Ruby flopped onto her side on the couch. Blinking, suddenly breaking into cold sweat...with his memories back, this whole living space, even Ruby seemed different.

"Shit, shit, shit...I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry..." Muttering this, cursing under his breath, feeling sweat dripping down the side of his face...Knox patted down the side of his pants like they too were unfamiliar, before fishing out his cellphone and calling the hospital, ".........hello, yes. Can you get Dr Stevenson on the line?"

Ruby couldn't wipe the surprise off of her face. One minute she had been sleeping (quite comfortably), woken with a sweet kiss and the next thing she knew Knox was freaking out.

"Knox! What's wrong? Is everything okay?" Ruby pushed herself off of the couch and rested her hand on his arm as he waited for Dr. Stevenson to pick up the phone. She had never seen him like this; Knox was always so...neutral; even in the face of an emergency (such as last night's power outage) he remained perfectly vigil.

Knox's breath hitched in his throat as Ruby touched him, eyes widening as he scooted away and spoke into the phone in an even more panicked manner, "Get Dr Stevenson on the line........." Gritting his teeth, eyes shaking as he breathed harshly...closing his eyes and shaking his head, he continued, "I'm not having a panic attack, I'm fin--GET Dr Stevenson on the DAMNED line! I know who our Jane Doe is!"

Collaboration between Major Ursa and Tanderbolt

Surprised was an understatement when Faye heard Knox admit that he was Mary Margaret's, Jane Doe's, husband. After Faye spoke with Knox on the phone, she went to check the records for confirmation, to find that Knox was telling the truth! She then headed for Jane Doe's room. She needed to tell her about what she learned.

Just outside of the hospital, Knox hastily parked into his usual spot and hurried inside. The shirt he wore wasn't properly buttoned, but he didn't even spare a thought on how his hands shook buttoning them as he went over to the car...thoughts of Mary Margaret, HIS Mary filling his mind.

His migraine was gone, that was the only other thing that he thought of, and he trudged through the halls in a hurry...like reward for remembering that which was important. Now, only a small part of him thought of the waitress who he felt all too comfortable with, Knox mentally clawed and scraped as much of that out of his head. This was Mary he had to focus on...Mary, the second person he had almost lost.

The voice at the back of his head shamed him. Told Knox he still lost somebody. Told him he had lost Ruby.

Shaking his head, the security guard almost felt physically ill as he made his way to the former Jane Doe's room...just about nearly bumping into Dr Stevenson. Blinking, Knox crossed his arms uneasily, staring down at the doctor with a worn expression.

"Have you...have you told her yet?"

Dr. Stevenson stopped herself when she almost bumped into Knox, and when she saw who it was, she fell silent before she could utter an apology. When he asked, she shook her head and said "I was just on my way to tell her, Mr. Kowalski,"

She continued walking, leading Knox to Mary Margaret's room. She said to him as she kept on walking, "I'm glad to see your memory has come back to you, Mr. Kowalski,"

Knox kept his head down as he followed behind the doctor, seeming much smaller than his frame would indicate, “I wasn't there for her, this whole time..." Falling silent as he trudged behind her, 'I've hurt Ruby, too...' "I...really let everyone down. If I remembered all this earlier, I could have spare a lot of people this...headache."

Dr. Stevenson told him, "Don't beat yourself up over this Mr. Kowalski. It's not your fault,"

"Don't...just don't, Dr Stevenson. We all know whose to blame for this." As if her reassurances went into one of Knox's ears, and out the other...

Dr. Stevenson interjected seriously, knowing that he wasn't listening, "I'm serious, Mr. Kowalski. I wouldn't be telling you this if I was lying. You had amnesia, nobody could help that,"

There was in visible indication that Knox heard anything the doctor had said, his eyes were dull, like he wasn't all there...or, like he was in an indescribable amount pain. After a moment, the security guard spoke with much conviction in his voice, "It doesn't matter...all that matters is that I stay by her side, as she recovers. I have to be here for her, now, when she needs me most. I will get her to remember me."

Dr. Stevenson advised him as they kept on walking, "Mr. Kowalski, just remember that memory will come back in time. She will remember you, you just have to be patient,"
Soon they reached the room and she stated "Here we are," She knocked on the door before she entered the room.

David looked up from his current position of sitting on the edge of the patient bed once more, this time instead of a crossword between the two of them, two styrofoam bowls of tomato soup from Granny's; lunch as he had promised Jane Doe and nothing solid as he promised Dr. Stevenson.

Faye was glad to see that David heeded her warning, but she didn't say anything on it, and she said to them, "Mr. Nolan, good to see you. Ms. Doe, I have good news! We found information on you," She then proceeded to tell Jane Doe and David Nolan everything they knew thus far. That included Jane Doe's real name and that she was married to Knox Kowalski, who had suffered from a minor case of amnesia as well a while back, explaining thusly how he didn't remember her until now.

Behind the doctor, Knox could only stand around sheepishly...and yet, eventually, he pushed his way inside. Barely keeping himself from launching at the amnesiac wife of his, the security guard managed to instead kneel by her bed, trying hard to keep a reassuring smile on his face...though, his insides twisted, not quite about to cry, but...

"At least you're safe, at least I can give you your name back...the first of many things I have to return to you, if I can..." Tentatively reaching over, he clasped the woman's bone white hand in his. "Mary Margaret, that's your name."

This all seemed too convenient and strange to the doctor, however she kept her mouth shut. These situations needed to be handled delicately, however as David and Mary Margaret exchanged glances, Faye couldn't help but to look outside the room and through the glass, spotting Mayor Mills looking upon the scene with a rather confident look. As Faye looked at the Mayor, she recalled the facts that the Mayor had always come in to check on Jane Doe, was the emergency contact in case anything happened to Mary Margaret, and yet she never bothered to point out who Jane Doe was, and that she was married to Knox Kowalski.

She politely excused herself as Knox spoke with Mary Margaret, and she left the room, and she
headed over to the Mayor, intent on speaking with the woman, and getting answers.

David Nolan cleared his throat awkwardly. Although he was relieved that the woman at least had a name, and someone to claim her, he couldn't submerge the nauseating feeling in his gut that something wasn't quite...right; though he pushed that feeling to the side as some sort of feeling of selfishness.

"Well, Mary Margaret..." David said getting up from the hospital bed. "...you two have a lot to catch up on. Enjoy the soup." He gave a curt nod to both her and Knox before following after Dr. Stevenson. He'd dwell on these feelings later...much, much later.

It had been a strange day, but Mary was happy that someone could give her some more details. By default, she trusted people, although she would like to see some other evidence for something this important. Knox's grip was gentle and warm, it felt pleasant to her. Before talking to knox, she said goodbye to David. After he left, she smiled a little and said "I don't remember much, but Mary Margaret is a much nicer name than Jane Doe. May I ask who you are?"

There was something vulnerable about his wife, it suddenly struck him...something scared him inside, like losing another family member. But Knox desperately kept a brave face on, forced his reassuring smile to stay on, "I...haven't been around, at all, since this situation. I promise, with no more excuses, I'll be right here with you for a full recovery."

Shaking his head, realising he was just going on a bit, he found he couldn't keep his eyes on
hers... "My name is Knox, Knox Kowalski...it may be quite a bit to take in, but I am your husband."

She thought for a moment about what to say, but could not remember anything that might help in this situation. She asked a few basic questions "So, Knox, do you live here? Is there anything that you remember that you think would be good to share sooner rather than later?"

Still unable to keep eye contact, letting out his usual sigh, "I live more than fifteen minutes from the hospital, on the other side of town..." For a moment, the type of person that Knox was demanded that he spoke up about Ruby, confess to getting very close to Ruby...and somehow, the small small part...patting Mary Margaret on the hand, a strange smile curled up on his lips, "If you can come up with any questions, come to me for answers...don't strain yourself."

Knox seemed nervous to her, but it was understandable. She tried to ask a some more simple questions, to ease him in to the conversation a bit "How was our married life? Do you remember how we met each other?"

"It was fine," Realising that a quick answer like that explained nothing, "I recall people alway saying that you made up for what I lacked. Outgoing, sunny disposition..." For a moment, Knox recalled some unbelieving that she'd choose a gloomy guy like him...maybe that's what attracted him to Ruby? The parallels were striking.

Almost, almost wanting to actually shake more of her from his mind, Knox instead tried to focus on Mary's face. Maybe the amnesia made him feel this way, but she seemed so much more different from his memory...once she recovered, he helped her recover...things would fall comfortably into place, right?

Focusing on the second question at hand, "Rabbits." Instantly, the security guard felt sheepish admitting his love of cute animals--not even, just mentioning the cute animal in question, but Knox continued to recall his first returned memory to Mary in as much detail as he could recall.

Mary could tell that Knox wasn't the most sociable person, and she respected him for trying his best. She listened to him for a while, believeing his words. It was hard to catched up on what seemed like years of memories in such a short time. When he had finished the story, she asked "So, Knox, what do we do for a living?"

Without missing a beat, "I work security and surveillance for this hospital facility," And yet hadn't even taken more than a glance at the 'Jane Doe's' room, till his memories returned...so close, and yet so far away. "You were a elementary school teacher. I remember coming to pick you up on your last working day, all the small children were crying for you not to leave. I...after that, we had our fight. You left a week early for Storybrooke, while I stayed to finalize a few more things of importance."

Glancing at her face, Knox could outright tell that none of it had clicked with her, not yet. Thinking back to his home--their home...the packed...the pictures! Turning to look at Mary directly in the eye, feeling a sense of unease at her lack of real recognition towards him, the security guard gently stroked her hand with his thumb, "I have pictures, of us. I can drive back to our place, and return with them as soon as I can."

Rising from where he knelt, this whole time, Knox brushed the dust of his pant legs and felt the minor soreness. Leaning over his wife, more tentatively then tenderly, he took her hands in his and planted a kiss on her brow, "Take care, I'll be back as quickly as I can, alright?" Firmly, "Wait for me." Letting go of her hands, the security guard took a few steps back and waited for her answer, before turning and leaving altogether.

She tilted her head sideways a bit, confused by how suddenly he had left. Mary waved at him as he left, eagerly awaiting the pictures. She hoped they would provide some more answers. It was very strange that he never noticed his wife in a coma when he worked here. While he was out, she'd go through the process of getting cleared to leave the hospital, she was more than ready for it.

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

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

"Mary Margaret, that's your name."

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

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

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

"Yes, Dr. Stevenson?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez and Ghost Shadow
--
With the side of her head resting atop of the bar, Ruby flicked what was left of the torn up straw wrapper onto the ground, joining the possible thirty other pieces that had been previously been ripped to shreds. Her face was flushed, her nose and eyes red from crying until there were no tears left, only the nauseous flip-flopping in her stomach remaining to remind her that she wasn't quite numb yet.

With a heavy sigh, Ruby raised her head to glare down at her perfectly full drink she had ordered almost an hour ago. Funny, the first time she legitimately could use a drink and it just didn't interest her...nothing did right now.

As Ruby wallowed in self-pity, she would have been able to hear the sound of footsteps approaching from behind, the floorboards creaking slightly with each step.

Giving no greeting or acknowledgement, Henry sat down beside her at the bar; taking a long drag from a cigarette he held between his index and middle finger. "Damn habits...keep coming back." He said nonchalantly, as if oblivious to Ruby's current emotional state.

Without waiting for her to respond, he signaled to the bartender; ordering himself a glass of red wine. "You look worse for wear." Henry observed aloud, finally turning to look at Ruby fully.

If Ruby had the energy, she would have scowled at Henry for that latter comment, but instead she kept her eyes forward looking at nothing in particular.

"I don't feel like talking." Came her almost snappy, bitter reply.

"And why's that, eh?" Henry asked in an almost snarky tone, but not unfriendly. "You're usually not like this." He observed, taking a drink from his wine as it was brought to him.

Ruby slowly turned her head to look at Henry, a single tear rolling down her cheek at the slight movement, though she either didn't notice or didn't care. She let out a quiet sigh and shook her head before returning to look straight back at the wall in front of her.

"You ever walk into a situation where you know exactly what's going to happen?" Ruby began, but kept going without waiting for an answer. "And then you go into it anyway, and then when what you're afraid of happens...you kick yourself because you should have known better...but that's just who you are, so you keep punishing yourself..." Another silent tear rolled down her cheek, but again Ruby made no move to wipe it away and just let it drip from her chin.

"Ha....all too well." Henry replied in an almost bitter manner, as if there were a bad taste in his mouth.

"I was a...street magician in New York for a time before I came here. Bloody terrible pay, but the connections were nice. I struggled in every way you did...and I let other people around me suffer because of it: when they had no choice or control in the matter." Henry finished in an almost wistful manner, taking another long drink from his glass preceding a drag of his cigarette.

"You end up hardening yourself, I find. Until there's nothing left inside of you...that way the pain just rolls away." He added on quietly, feeling tears sting at his own eyes. But in his own defiance he kept them held in, refusing to let old memories pain him now.

Ruby turned her head to look at him once again, though shook it side to side slowly. He really had no idea what she was talking about did she? Ruby reached over to her untouched drink, only to watch the ice as she swirled the straw around in small circles; it was better than looking at the wall anyway.

"Knox is married." She said simply, knowing that she wouldn't have to explain anything much further. The words hardly rolled out of her mouth though, nearly choking as the sentence seemed so...alien to her. Sure she had only really spent enough time with Knox to count as 'casual dating' over the last two weeks but still, imagining him as a married man...happy with another woman, it just didn't fit; although that was probably her selfish side talking to her, trying to rationalize that this was all just one big, horrible dream.

"Bastard. Who's the unlucky bride?" Henry asked curiously, twirling the cigarette between his fingers to pass the time.

Ruby stopped spinning the quickly melting ice and sighed once more, looking down at the tear splashes on the counter top.

"Mary Margaret Blanchard Kowalski." She stated matter-of-factly. "But you, and the rest of the town probably only know her as Jane Doe from the hospital." She then pushed away her drink and rested her chin on her hands, shutting her eyes tightly to keep the new wave of tears from formulating.

Henry's reaction was quiet, sombre, mostly through body language. His fingers stopped absentmindedly moving about, his posture became stiff and tall; his lips twitched. "What?" He practically demanded, almost as if the words didn't register or connect.

Suddenly realization hit him, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he rose from his seat at the bar; slamming a few bills on the countertop to pay for the drink.

"Regina...." He muttered under his breath before turning to head towards the door. "I need to see things for myself." He told Ruby at a normal volume. "Keep your head up." He said lastly before starting to walk towards the front door.

Too emotionally drained to even begin to question Henry's reaction to the news, Ruby just pitifully waved him off with her hand as a sort of 'goodbye' and stared down the drink that she had pushed away just moments ago.

*~*~*Collaboration between Ghost Shadow and I*~*~*

A small smile seemed to play at Henry's lips as he put his phone back in his trouser pockets. Mr. Gold called to inform him that the charges were officially dropped - any ban placed on the hospital and Granny's Bed and Breakfast was now lifted, giving Henry full access once again; precisely what he needed.

He hastily made his way down the sidewalk towards the hospital, hands kept in his coat pockets to preserve them from the cold.

Feeling somewhat empowered by the news he received, Henry stepped through the front sliding glass doors to the hospital with a wide grin on his face, waiting for someone to try in vain to tell him to leave.

Nobody tried to get Henry to leave when he entered the hospital. The receptionist hung up the phone when she caught sight of Henry, and just gave him a glare, before she just went back to work.

Faye in the meantime was still working, and she was clearing Mary Margaret, so she could leave the hospital and get back to her married life with Mr. Kowalski in a few days time.

Henry stepped up to the receptionist's area, seemingly oblivious to Ms. Lezowski's rather ominous glare. "A fine afternoon to you, madam!" He greeted warmly enough. "Your left mole.....one of them anyway, appears to be doing better!" He noticed cheerfully, feigning unawareness at the insult. "Could you call Dr. Stevenson down for me, please?" He asked; placing both hands in his coat pockets once again, rocking back and forth on his heels.

Ms. Lezowski narrowed her eyes at Henry menacingly at the mention of the moles. She didn't answer Henry as she paged Dr. Stevenson. After she paged the doctor, she told Henry in her grating voice, "She should be on her way,"

Faye finished clearing Mary Margaret by the time her pager called her to the front desk. She headed for the front desk, and once she was there she saw that it was Henry. She greeted him, "Ah, good afternoon, Henry,"

"And to you...Sweetie." Henry greeted with an almost mischievous smile, now choosing to ignore the monstrous receptionist as if she was no longer there.

"Tell me--" He began, leaning in closely so only she could hear. "Do you remember anything during your time as Hyde?" He asked, sounding somewhat curious. Though he did have a pressing matter to attend to, he might as well get the less-important questions out of hte way first.

Faye raised an eyebrow, and yet felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. She noticed that Ms. Lezowski was looking at them in curiosity. She asked Henry warily, "I'm...sorry. What are you talking about Mr. Carlyle?"

She really hoped that he didn't pursue this topic here. She didn't want people in the hospital to know that she had a mental disorder.

"Yeaah...bad time, bad place. But I'm curious..." He began,still keeping his voice low. "She was rather steamy." He added with a cheeky grin before letting his voice raise back to normal. "Anyway...I was wondering if I could see...Mary Margaret, is it? I've been rather worried all morning for her condition." He stated in a serious tone.

Faye clenched her teeth together at the mention of 'her'. Thankfully, he dropped the subject and asked her if he could see Mary Margaret. Faye took a moment to think about it, and it showed on her face. She soon answered Henry apologetically "Mr. Carlyle, I think it would be in Mary Margaret's best interest if we gave her some space. Let her get accustomed to Storybrooke again, alright? She's already confused as is. Not to mention the last time you saw her didn't end very well. I hope you understand, Henry,"

Regina was already suspicious. Henry...why would he care to see Mary Margaret? She asked him twice if he knew her, and twice he told her that he didn't, which were clearly lies.

Henry kept his expression unchanged, but his eyes seemed to shout betrayal. "I see...yes, that makes sense. Give Mrs. Kowalski my regards." He practically spat the word 'Mrs' before turning to leave the building.

Faye noticed how his eyes shouted betrayal, while her own showed regret. She nodded to his request, and she said "Of course," After he turned to leave, she added "Mr. Carlyle--"

"My name is Henry." He interrupted abruptly, though didn't turn to look back at her.

Faye swallowed at his interruption, and she continued, correcting herself, "Henry...I am sorry. But...this doesn't mean you can't ever see Mary Margaret. It just...won't be tonight, alright?"

"Right...sure." He replied in a tone that signaled he was done with the conversation before exiting the double doors quietly.

Faye watched him leave quietly, and after he was gone, she walked off to continue her work. She kept telling herself that she had done the right thing in not allowing Henry to see Mary Margaret. If he had gone to see her, Faye would not only be betraying Knox's trust, but she would probably also have endangered Henry into another problem, most likely something like the incident that made the town see him as the town creep.