We're All Mad Here

by ScarlettSoldier03

Summary:

Running through the woods, Serena Mills, sister of Regina Mills, meets a thief named Jefferson. He strikes a deal with her that takes the two of them to Wonderland. After, they go on more adventures and even fall in love.

After many ups and downs, they'll face their biggest challenge yet. A curse that separates them, leaving Serena with no memory of him while he's cursed to remember everything.

Chapter 1

The Enchanted Forest

Serena ran through the woods, trying to get away from the guards she pissed off. You're probably wondering how? Simple; it was the night of Regina's annual ball and Serena didn't want to go.

She escaped before they could put her in a dress. She had escaped through the gardens, where no one was going to be. Unfortunately, Regina knew her escape route and had guards placed at every exit from the garden.

Serena had to climb a wall just to get out. Grass stains covered dark pants from landing on the ground. Of course, the guards noticed her and The Huntsman was called.

(Flashback)

"Really, Serena." He sighed, walking over to where she was. "Regina won't be happy if you don't make it to the party."

"This." She gestured around her. "Is better than being in a sparkly dress in a room full of people I don't know or care about." She wasn't wrong. The dress Regina had picked out was pure white with sparkles everywhere and she didn't care about any of the kings or lords.

"You're really going to do this?"

"Yep." She answered before taking off in the opposite direction. She knew they would catch up with her, they always did. But she had to try and get away. The party was going to be boring and she didn't want to be there.

(End of flashback)

Now, the guards, including the man she saw as an older brother, The Huntsman, were trying to get her back to the castle before the ball started and before Regina got really mad. She ducked behind a log in an attempt to rest a bit. She was out of breath but knew if she stopped in front of them, they would catch her and bring her back.

She held her breath, hoping they didn't see her. She knew most of them wouldn't find her, they were all idiots. The Huntsman, however, knew exactly how to find her. That's why he was there. Regina knew he would always find her. Especially with his hunting skills.

Fortunately, the others passed by without a second glance. The Huntsman stopped for a moment, examining the surrounding forest for any sign of the missing princess. Since Regina was constantly after Snow White, Serena ended up being Regina's heir.

After a moment, The Huntsman followed the others, leaving Serena. She then leaned against the tree, sliding down to the ground. She sighed, thinking of how long it was going to be before the guards actually found her.

Once Regina found out, she was going to be pissed. Serena didn't know why. It wasn't like anyone talked to her at parties anyway. All the kings were too busy trying to wed Regina than take interest in her little sister and the women were gossiping about the kings.

None of them ever took interest in Serena. The only time she spoke to any of them were greetings. Other than that, she sat next to Regina while they spoke to her. Regina tried to set her up with people, but they only did it so they wouldn't get their hearts taken.

"What am I going to do?" Serena asked herself. She had time to kill. She just needed to get away from the castle until the ball was over. She leaned her head against the rough bark, closing her eyes.

"I might have an idea." A voice said. Serena's eyes snapped open as she turned to face the man. She was on her feet in an instant to move away from him. He had steel blue eyes and disheveled dark brown hair that was covered by a top hat.

"Who are you?" She asked, grabbing a stick that she could use as a weapon. He held his hands up to show he wasn't going to hurt her. She kept the stick up, ready to swing it at his head. Her gaze swept over him, checking for any weapons.

"The name's Jefferson." He said, holding his hand out for her to shake. "You can put down the stick, I won't hurt you." She didn't take it, eyeing his hand instead. He chuckled slightly, knowing she wasn't going to drop the stick.

"Serena."

"I know, princess."

"It's your highness." She scoffed slightly, throwing the stick to the ground. "Now, what did you mean when you said you might have an idea?" She didn't trust him and wanted to call for The Huntsman but she knew he was long gone by then.

"What I meant was, I might need your help with something." He answered, bringing his hand back to his side. "It won't take too long and I can bring you back as soon as we're done. What do you say?"

"How do I know I can trust you?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Why not take a chance? Have some fun?" She nodded, causing him to grin and take his hat off, throwing it to the ground. He spun it a few times as she moved to his side. He moved back, grabbing his hand in hers. "Hold on!"

"Have you found her?" Regina asked as The Huntsman entered her chambers. He sighed and shook his head, knowing she was going to be upset. "You've found her before, what's the issue now?"

"She escaped. Got past the gardens. We chased her into the forest but she got away." He answered. "I have four guards searching for her as we speak." Regina stomped forward, stopping just before him.

"No." She snapped. "You need to find her now. I don't want you to return until you do. Am I understood?" He nodded as she moved away. At that point, it wasn't anger that drove her to find her sister. It was worry.

Serena was all she had left. Her father was in Wonderland. So was her mother. Serena was the only one who didn't see her as a monster. She couldn't lose her.

"I promise, I'll find her." The Huntsman said, sensing her worry. Her head snapped up to look at him, quickly putting on 'The Evil Queen' look again.

"Then go!" She ordered. Once he was gone, she magically changed into a dress to get ready for the ball. Kings and Queens were coming from all over to talk about business and she had to be there.

She walked over to her balcony and gripped the rails, watching as the carriages started to come in and people started to come in. A servant came in and knocked on the door to get her attention.

"What?"

"It's almost time for you to start the ball."

"Don't you think I know that?" Regina snapped, turning around to face her. She rolled her eyes and sent the servant away before going to her vanity. The genie's face appeared in the mirror as she walked over.

"That was a bit harsh."

"I'm not in the mood."

"For her or for me?"

"Both of you."

"What are you going to do about Serena?"

"Nothing that concerns you." Regina said, pacing in front of the mirror. "It's not your business how I find my sister."

"It does since I devoted my life to you." The genie responded. She sighed and stopped in front of him. "How can I help?"

"I'll find her myself. Since the guards are too incompetent to find her, I will." She answered. "Now, I have a ball to get to. If The Huntsman doesn't find her, I'll start my search in the morning."

And with that, she teleported out of the room.

 

-Storybrooke-

 

Another day in Storybrooke, another day Jefferson had to watch her with no memory of him. He was sitting in a booth in Granny's diner, watching Ruby and Serena talk. He knew what they were talking about; they had the same conversation everyday.

Serena wore a beige blouse and jeans, a stark difference from the white under shirt and navy blue vest she was wearing when she first met Jefferson. He thought about that day often in Storybrooke.

It was all he had left of her.

She didn't know who he was while he was cursed with the memories of everything they had been through. Everyday his regrets haunted him but the only thing he would never regret was meeting her.

She just needed to remember him. And then everything would be okay.

 

Enchanted Forest

 

"So, where are we going?" Serena asked Jefferson as they walked through Wonderland. He had told her it was Wonderland but she didn't think twice about it. Apparently, she didn't know the status of her mother in Wonderland.

He stopped walking and turned to her. "You'll see." Was all he said before turning back around and continuing down the road. She marveled at the area around her, the giant blades of grass that surrounded them getting taller the further away they got from the looking glass.

They had passed a blue caterpillar on their way, although Jefferson wasn't too pleased when he took a sudden interest in Serena.

(Flashback)

"Who are you?" The caterpillar asked as Jefferson and Serena walked out of the portal. Jefferson urged her behind him, hoping not to have any issues. "I've never seen your pretty face before." He gestured to Serena.

"Don't take the bait, he's a con-artist." Jefferson turned his head to look at Serena. "He'll do anything to take your money and anything else you might have." Serena placed a hand over her necklace, knowing its value.

"How rude, Hatter." The caterpillar responded before turning his attention back to her. "Welcome to Wonderland, my dear. If he abandons you, let me know." Jefferson wrapped an arm protectively around her and started walking away.

(End of flashback)

The skies were light blue, a color she had never seen in The Enchanted Forest. The fluffy white clouds started to fade as they went to a darker part of Wonderland. A dark feeling crept up on Serena the longer she walked, sending shivers up her spine.

She kept close to Jefferson as he was the only thing slightly familiar. He felt her behind him, smirking to himself as he turned down a different path.

"Are we almost there?" She asked. He rolled his eyes and kept walking, ignoring her question. "And what are we doing exactly? You didn't tell me what you needed my help with." He groaned and stopped, turning around to face her.

"I'm starting to regret my decision to bring you along." He sighed. "If I hear one more question, I'm going to leave you here." He was about to turn around to start walking again when her voice stopped him.

"Fine."

"Fine?"

"Fine."

He chuckled dryly and turned around, seeing her with her arms crossed over her chest. "Listen here, princess. You wouldn't survive two days in Wonderland by yourself. If you want to come out of this alive, I suggest you come with me. Then, you can go back to your life as a princess and never worry about anything ever again."

"I can take care of myself."

"I'm sure your servants would disagree." He started to turn back to the road before he realized she wasn't going to follow him. "This woman's going to be the death of me." He muttered with a sigh. "If you want to prove you can take care of yourself, here." He gestured to the road in front of him.

She let out a soft humph and walked towards him, passing him and continuing down the road. He watched as she walked away, shaking his head. A moment later, he followed after her with a quiet laugh.

"So, do you know where we're going?"

"No, but I'll figure it out." She answered, barely glancing at him. "Did you know where we're going?" He smiled and nodded as he stopped in front of her.

"Of course. In fact, it's right here." He said, moving branches out of the way to reveal a clearing. "The Cheshire Cat is very helpful." She scoffed and rolled her eyes, walking into the clearing. "Just be careful, I don't know what kind of traps this place might have."

"Who does it belong to?"

"The March Hare." He answered quietly, following her into the clearing. She stared at him in confusion, not sure who The March Hare was. "Anyway, I need you to help me find a pocket watch."

"A pocket watch?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"My business." He responded as they snuck further into the clearing. She soon realized the clearing was a garden with flowers and trees of all shapes and colors. stopped and turned to him with a confused look on her face.

"Are we stealing this watch?"

"Maybe."

"Are you serious?" She whisper-shouted as she spun around to face him. He clamped one hand over her mouth while the other made a shushing gesture.

"Yes. He's been after me for years. If he has this watch, he would be able to track me down wherever I try to escape too. Besides, it's time for a little payback, I've been running from him for years. Soon, I'll have the upper hand."

"How?"

"The clock is magic. It can go forwards or backwards in time. You set it five hours ahead; it takes you five hours ahead. The other way around as well. Set it five hours back; it takes you five hours back."

"Then why did you get me involved?"

"Because I needed back-up and you were the closest person I could find." He lied. If anything went wrong, he was going to leave her for The March Hare. He didn't care if she was the princess, he would be long gone before Regina could get her hands on him.

She nodded and he let her go before walking around her. He led her into The March Hare's library, where he kept all his magical belongings. They went to different sides of the room, searching for the pocket watch.

"Any sign of Serena?" Regina asked The Huntsman as she entered her chambers. He shook his head, knowing every second wasted was testing her patience. "This is getting ridiculous." Regina began to pace around the room, a million different scenarios playing through her head.

"I'm doing everything I can."

"Well, it's not enough!" She countered. "If it was, Serena would be here where I can keep an eye on her! Not running around The Enchanted Forest. It's too dangerous."

"She knows how to take care of herself until we can find her."

"How do you know?"

"Last week she took out three guards, including me, because they tried to take a hound she snuck into her room." He answered. He remembered that day well since she hit him with a rock when he tried to bring it back to the royal hunters.

Regina sighed and continued to pace around the room. She remembered hearing about that. She didn't pay much attention to it, Serena always found some way to get on the guards' bad sides. They wouldn't do anything about it since Regina was the queen and would never get on her bad side.

"Try to find her, please." She said, trying not to let the desperation get to her voice. He nodded and walked out, leaving her alone.

"What an unfortunate turn of events." An all too familiar voice said from behind her. She spun around, hoping that she was just hearing things. Much to her dismay, Rumpelstiltskin was standing in front of her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, your sister's gone missing."

"What did you do to her?" She questioned, a fire ball appearing in her open palm. He shrugged with a giggle and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She groaned and threw the fireball at the wall where he had just been. "Damn you, Rumpelstiltskin."

 

-Storybrooke-

 

Serena, now named Sam, walked around Storybrooke, still trying to find her nephew that had been missing all day. It was getting dark and she knew Regina wouldn't be happy if she didn't come home either. She had enough things to worry about and her sister coming home late didn't need to be one of them.

Sam thought about anything Henry might've said that could tell where he would be. She was so lost in thought, she didn't notice a yellow bug stopped on the side of the road and her nephew and a blonde woman talking.

"Aunt Sammie?" Henry said, noticing Sam walking towards him. Her attention turned to the boy as her face dropped. Without another thought, she ran towards him, gathering him in her arms.

"Oh my god, Henry! Your mom's going to kill you for running off." She sighed before turning to the blonde woman. "Who's this?"

"Just someone trying to give him a ride home. I'm Emma."

"Sam, Sam Mills."

"She's my mom." Henry said with a proud smile. Sam faked a smile before turning back to Emma.

"Do you know where he lives?"

"Mifflin street, right where I was going before I saw you." The brunette answered. "He lives in the mayor's house."

"You're the mayor's kid?"

"Maybe." Henry responded. Sam sighed and ruffled his hair before speaking.

"Did you tell her anything about yourself?"

"Maybe."

"And why did you lie about where you were going?"

"I said I was going on a field trip." Henry defended. Sam gave him the side eye before turning back to Emma. The feeling of being watched was quickly creeping up on Sam.

"Well, I should be getting him home." Emma said, bringing the brunette out of her thoughts. "I can give you a ride if you'd like." Sam nodded and the three of them got in Emma's yellow bug.

"Please don't take me back there." Henry pleaded as he, Emma, and Sam walked towards Regina's house.

"I have to. I'm sure your mother is worried sick about you." Emma sighed. Sam barely glanced at the boy, keeping her eye on the door.

"My mom's evil."

"Henry!" Sam scolded, turning to look at him. He muttered an apology as Emma stopped.

"Evil? That's a bit extreme, isn't it?"

"She is. She doesn't love me. She only pretends to." He pouted. Sam sighed, thinking of his voice as a way to guilt trip Emma.

"Henry," Sam sighed as the door opened and Regina stepped out, followed closely by Graham. Regina paused, seeing Henry. Her hair was disheveled, like she had been running her hands through it. Tears stained her red face, showing she had been crying.

"Henry!" She exclaimed as she ran over and pulled Henry into a hug. "Oh, are you okay? Where have you been? What happened?"

"I found my real mom." Henry said before running into the house. Regina turned to Sam, ignoring the blonde woman.

"Where did you find him?"

"He was out on main street with her." Sam sighed, gesturing to Emma. It was then Regina realized what Henry had said as she turned to Emma.

"You're Henry's birth mother?"

"Hi."

"Sam, can you go check on Henry? Make sure he's okay." Regina asked. "Take Sheriff Graham with you." Sam nodded and went into the house, Graham following soon after. Sam went up to Henry's room and told Graham to stay outside while she checked on him.

She knocked on the door, opening it and stepping inside. "Hey, kiddo." She smiled softly as she walked forward and sat on the edge of his bed. He was curled into a ball with his knees to his chest.

"Go away."

"Rude, you could at least tell me about the adventure you had." She faked a scoff. He laughed a little but kept his face hidden. "So, you wanna tell me about it?" He shook his head, pulling his knees closer to his chest. "Any closer and your knees are going to be inside of you."

This time, he let out a real laugh, wiping away his tears. She laughed as well, happy she got a smile out of him.

"Get some sleep, kid, alright?" She said, standing up from the bed and walking over to turn his nightlight on. He nodded and said his goodnights before Sam went back downstairs with Graham. She told him Henry was fine as she went to meet with Regina.

"Madame Mayor, you can relax." Graham said, following Sam downstairs. "Other than being a tired little boy, he's fine."

"Thank you." Regina said. "Both of you." Sam nodded as Graham left. Regina handed her a glass of apple cider before turning back to Emma. "I'm sorry he dragged you out of your life. I really don't know what's gotten into him."

"Kid's having a rough time. It happens." Emma responded, following Regina into her study. Sam followed as well, listening to the conversation.

"You have to understand, ever since I became mayor, balancing things has been tricky." Regina said with a sigh. "You have a job, I assume?" Sam sat down next to Emma as she spoke.

"I keep busy. Yeah."

"Imagine having another one on top of it." Regina said. "That's being a single mom. So I push for order. Am I strict? I suppose. But I do it for his own good. I want Henry to excel in life. Fortunately, I have Sam to help me. I don't think that makes me evil. Do you?"

"I'm sure he's just saying that because of the whole fairy tale thing."

"What fairy tale thing?"

"You know, his book. How he thinks everyone's a cartoon character from it." Emma answered. "Like his shrink is Jiminy Cricket."

"I'm sorry, I really have no idea what you're talking about." Regina said. Sam sighed, she had heard the stories before. Henry believed Regina was The Evil Queen and Sam was The Evil Queen's sister.

"You know what, it's none of my business." Emma shook her head, bringing Sam out of her thoughts. "He's your kid. And I really should be heading back."

"Of course." Regina responded, standing from her seat. She opened the door, gesturing for Emma to leave. She did and both Sam and Regina followed her to the front door. Sam walked Emma to her car, noticing Henry sitting at his bedroom window.

Emma offered to drive her back to her apartment before leaving. Sam accepted, grateful she didn't have to walk all the way back to her home.

"Thank you, Emma." She said after she got out of the yellow bug. The blonde nodded in acknowledgement before driving off. Sam watched her leave, the feeling of her being watched creeping up on her again. She shook it off and went inside, sure it was just her nerves getting the best of her.

Chapter 2: Chapter Two

-The Enchanted Forest-

"Have you found anything?" Jefferson asked after a bit of searching. Serena sighed, having found nothing that even looks like a clock. They had been searching for almost thirty minutes and The March Hare was going to be returning any time now.

"What do you think?" She countered, turning her head to wherever he was. He rolled his eyes and continued searching, pocketing any gold he found as well. "Do you have any idea what this watch looks like?"

"I don't pay attention to what it looks like, I just find stuff and bring it to whoever pays the most." He shrugged, grabbing a random object. Rumpel would have a field day with all this. He chuckled to himself, thinking of how much Rumpel would be able to accomplish with this stuff.

"So, you just go to random places and steal, having no clue what the thing you're searching for looks like?" She questioned, throwing something past her shoulder. It made a clink sound as it hit the floor, joining the pile of random stuff she had thrown.

"Pretty much." He answered. "Now hurry up, we don't have much time. And stop making a mess." He grabbed another piece of gold and stuffed it in his stash. She rolled her eyes and turned around, noticing an odd looking spinning wheel.

"What's this?" She wondered aloud. She looked closer, feeling like something was pulling her towards it. She noticed words engraved on the wheel and bent down to read it. "Those who steal from the owner of this wheel, shall pay the ultimate price." She read it as Jefferson came up behind her.

"It's probably nothing." He said to get her attention. She nodded and stood, moving away from the wheel towards him. "C'mon, we need to go. The March Hare will be coming back from hunting soon."

"Okay." Was all she said as she followed him to the door. Before they could reach it, the doors burst open and a man with red hair and a hat with rabbit ears came in. Several guards came in behind him as well. "I thought you said we weren't going to be running from guards."

"I did, I thought he was still going to be out hunting." Jefferson countered, grabbing Serena's arm and turning around to run in the other direction. "Besides, is this really the time for sarcasm?"

"You tell me!" She yelled, trying to keep up with him. "I doubt you haven't ever been sarcastic to guards." From what she had heard the whole way there, he had been sarcastic for every question and encounter with anyone.

"Please, tell me this isn't the first time you've run from guards."

"Do you remember how you met me?" She questioned, following him into a random hallway. "I was literally trying to get away from my sister's guards. I think that counts as running from guards."

"Guards that weren't trying to kill you."

"With how I annoy them, I'm surprised they didn't have arrows." She responded, thinking back to all the times she got on The Huntsman's nerves. He was always like a big brother to her so he would usually tolerate her childish nature.

"Get them! He stole my gold!" The March Hare yelled. Serena glared at Jefferson, grabbing him and taking him down a different hall. He smiled innocently, knowing he didn't tell her about the gold.

"You did what? You said you were going to grab the watch and go."

"Again, not the time." Jefferson ducked as an arrow passed his head. He glanced back as the guards chased them, The Hare following close behind. "Great, now they're shooting arrows at us." More arrows flew past them, missing horribly.

"I kinda figured, one just flew past my head." She quipped, pushing open a door and running into it. They were back in the library. "We're going in circles!" The March Hare continued to yell orders to the guards while Jefferson and Serena ran in different directions.

Fortunately, The Hare didn't see her duck behind the spinning wheel, hiding in a pile of objects. Jefferson hid behind a giant statue out of the guards' views. Serena held her breath, hoping she wouldn't be caught.

"Find them!" The March Hare said as they all left the room. Serena let out a sigh of relief and stepped out, catching her sleeve on the spindle of the spinning wheel in the process. She hissed and checked the cut, noticing a small strip of blood where the fabric had torn.

She wiped it away and met Jefferson in the middle of the room. "Are you ready to go?" She asked as he took off his hat. He nodded and threw it to the ground, spinning it as he did. The two watched as purple smoke filled the room.

"Stop them!" The March Hare yelled, pushing the door open. The guards shot arrows at the two in an attempt to stop them. Jefferson barely glanced at him before grabbing Serena's arm, jumping into the portal and leaving Wonderland and The March Hare behind.

-Storybrooke-

"Sam, what are you doing here?" Graham asked as she walked into the police station. She smiled and set down a box of donuts, knowing he and Marco loved the donuts from down the road.

"Just coming to visit my favorite sheriff."

"I'm the only sheriff."

"Exactly." She responded, making him laugh. "Anyway, there hasn't been much business today, so I thought I would come by." She owned a toy shop named "Wonderland Toys" but any customers were at work so she didn't have much business.

"Well, thank you. But our town new-comer has gotten into trouble."

"Emma Swan?" She asked. He nodded as a response and headed for the door. "What happened?" She followed him out of the room towards the holding cells.

"I'm not sure. When we found her, it looked like she crashed into the welcome sign." He said and entered the room, where Leroy was talking to Marco being sarcastic, as usual. "Leroy, if I'm gonna let you out, you need to behave."

He walked over to the cells and opened the door to Leroy's cell. "Put on a smile and stay out of trouble." Emma was standing in the cell next to his, noticing as Sam followed Graham. Leroy stepped out of the cell, giving Graham a fake smile before leaving.

Emma stuck her face between the bars to get Graham's attention. "Seriously?" Sam snorted a laugh as Graham turned to the blonde.

"Regina's drinks, a little stronger than we thought."

"I wasn't drunk." Emma defended as Sam sat down at Graham's desk. "There was a wolf standing in the middle of the road."

"A wolf. Right." Graham said before they all heard Regina calling for him.

"Graham? Henry's run away again and I can't get a hold of Sam." She ran in, seeing Sam sitting at Graham's desk and Graham talking to Emma. "What is she doing here? Do either of you know where he is?" She glanced at Sam before turning to Emma.

"Lady, I don't know about her," She gestured in Sam's direction. " But I haven't seen him since I dropped him at your house. And I have a pretty good alibi."

"He wasn't in his room this morning." Regina said. Sam kicked her legs onto the desk, earning a glare from Graham. She smiled mischievously, throwing one leg over the other.

"Did you try his friends?" Emma asked, bringing their attention back to the conversation. Graham sighed and shook his head at Sam's childish behavior as she spoke.

"He doesn't really have any." She answered, getting Emma's attention. "He's kind of a loner."

"Every kid had friends." The blonde said, seemingly staring off into space. "Did you check his computer? If he's close to someone, he'd be emailing them."

"And you know this how?" Regina questioned.

"Finding people's what I do." Emma responded. "Here's an idea. How about you guys let me out, and I'll help you find him?" Regina turned to Sam with a questioning look. Sam shrugged, knowing it was probably the best way to find him.

"Smart kid. Cleared his inbox." Emma said after they all went back to Regina's house. Graham sat next to her as Regina paced around Henry's room. "I'm smart, too. A little hard disk recovery utility I like to use."

"I'm a bit more old-fashioned in my techniques." Graham said as Sam picked up a globe that Regina had gotten Henry for his birthday. "Pounding the pavement, knocking on doors, that sort of thing."

"You're on salary. I get paid for delivery." Emma responded, looking up Henry's search history. "Pounding the pavement is not a luxury that I get. Huh, there's a receipt for a website. Who's your momma .org." She turned to Regina. "It's expensive. He has a credit card?"

"He's ten."

"Well, he used one. Let's pull up a transaction record." The blonde told her. "Mary-Margaret Blanchard. Who's Mary-Margaret Blanchard?"

"Henry's teacher." Sam finally spoke up. Later, she followed as Regina stormed through the school, maneuvering through crowds of children. Regina never liked Mary-Margaret, so Sam hoped she wouldn't be harsh.

"Miss Mills? What are you doing here?" The school teacher asked as Regina entered the classroom.

"Where is my son?"

"Here we go." Sam muttered as Emma walked in. She stood near Sam in the back of the room, letting Regina handle most of it.

"Henry? I assumed he was home sick with you." Mary-Margaret answered. Her eyes flicked between Emma and Sam, giving the blonde a confused glance.

"You think I'd be here if he was?" Regina pressed. "Did you give him your credit card so he can find her?" She gestured to Emma.

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I'm his... I'm his-"

"The woman who gave him up for adoption." Regina answered for her. Mary-Margaret nodded and grabbed her purse, searching through it for a moment.

"You don't know anything about this, do you?" Sam asked her as Emma folded her arms over her chest.

"No, unfortunately not." Mary-Margaret held up her empty wallet. "Clever boy. I should never have given him that book."

"What in the hell is this book I keep hearing about?" Regina snapped. Sam let out a quiet laugh at Regina's temper.

"Just some old stories I gave him." Mary-Margaret answered. "As you well know, Henry is a special boy. So smart. So creative. And, as you might be aware, lonely. He needed it."

"What he needs is a dose of reality." Regina said. "This is a waste of time. Have a nice trip back to Boston." Regina knocked a stack of books off a desk as she passed Emma to get to the door. Sam sighed and shook her head, moving to pick up the books.

Emma and Mary-Margaret followed and started setting the books back on the table. "Sorry to bother you." Emma apologized to the teacher.

"No, it's- it's okay. I fear this is partially my fault."

"How's the book supposed to help?"

"What do you think stories are for?" Mary-Margaret asked as she stood up. "These stories, the classics, there's a reason we all know them. They're a way for us to deal with the real world. A world that doesn't always make sense. Henry hasn't had the easiest life."

"Yeah, she's kind of a hard-ass." Emma said. Sam snickered as she followed the two out of the classroom.

"Welcome to my world." She responded. Regina was always a bit harsh. Sometimes she acted more as a controlling mother figure than an older sister.

"It's more than her." Mary-Margaret glanced back at Sam before looking at Emma. "He's like any adopted child. He wrestles with the most basic question they all inevitably face. 'Why would anyone give me away?" Emma paused, a look of slight horror crossing her face. "I am so sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean in any way to judge you."

"It's okay."

"Look, I gave the book to him because I wanted Henry to have the most important thing anyone can have. Hope. Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing."

"You know where he is, don't you?" Sam asked the unspoken question. Emma glanced at her before turning back to Mary-Margaret.

"You might want to check his castle." She answered. The two nodded in appreciation and she walked away.

"You wanna handle this?" Sam asked. Emma nodded and the two left; Emma got in her yellow bug and left to the docks while Sam watched her leave. She felt a shiver down her spine and the feeling of being watched getting stronger.

She spun around, hoping to catch whoever was staring at her. Her eyes scanned the area until she saw a man looking at her. He quickly looked away, moving into the alley he was standing in front of.

She brought her attention back to her purse to grab her keys. She opened her car door and got in, driving to Regina's house. When she got out, Regina opened her front door and ran over to her.

"Have you found him?"

"He'll be here soon."

"How do you know?"

"Emma's bringing him over."

"Are you serious?" Regina questioned as Sam went for the front door. "She cannot be around him."

"She's just bringing him home. Once she's done, she'll leave and go back to Boston." Sam defended, opening the door and going to Regina's study. "You have any more of that cider?" She glanced at Regina before finding the bottle of cider. "Never mind, I found it."

"You're lucky you're my sister." Regina sighed as Sam handed her a glass of cider. She then walked over to the window, waiting for Emma to bring back her son. Sam sat down on the sofa, she could practically see the thoughts going through Regina's head.

"She's going to be here. Just wait." Sam said. Regina rolled her eyes slightly and continued to look out the window. "Why exactly don't you like Emma?"

"I don't trust her."

"Right." Sam responded, drawing out the word. Regina glared at her before leaving the room. "I didn't think I was that bad." A moment later, she sees Henry run past the study to the stairs. She sighed and got up, leaving the cider on the table.

She went upstairs as he slammed his bedroom door, clearly upset that he was home. She stopped at his door and knocked softly.

"Go away!" She heard him from the other side of the door. "I don't want to talk." She knocked again, hoping he would give a different response.

"It's me, Aunt Sammie." She said, leaning against the door. He didn't respond and she sighed, going back to the stairs. Regina passed her as she went down, the look on her face clearly unpleased. "He doesn't want to see anyone right now." Regina ignored her and continued towards Henry's room. "This isn't going to end well."

-The Enchanted Forest-

Serena groaned as she landed on her stomach outside the portal, in a clearing back in The Enchanted Forest. "I hate portal jumping."

"Can you get off me?" Jefferson asked as she realized she was laying on top of him. Neither of them knew how they ended up in that position, their memories of the actual going in between realms was a little fuzzy.

"Actually, I'm quite comfortable right here." She joked, resting her chin on the heel of her hand. He let out an annoyed sigh, regretting saving her from The Hare.

"I'm serious. Get off me." He groaned, pushing her away from him. "Something's poking me." He brought his hand to the back of his shoulder and grabbed the stick that was in his back. He hissed as he pulled out the stick, realizing it was an arrow that one of the guards fired.

"Wow. I guess they can aim." She teased as he glared at her. She then stood up and held her hand out to help him. He tossed the arrow to the ground and gave her his good hand, letting her pull him up. "Now, turn around."

"What?"

"Turn around."

"Why?"

"So I can help you clean up the wound." She gestured to his shoulder. "And make sure they weren't using magic arrows." He groaned and sat down on a nearby log as she followed and sat behind him.

"Do you even know how to stitch up a wound?" He asked as she tore away the fabric of his shirt. She used the ripped fabric to apply pressure and slow the bleeding. She then grabbed a needle and spool of thread from her vest, threading the needle.

"Of course, I do." She answered, handing him the spool of thread. "Here, hold this. I don't think it's infected but I don't want to take any chances." He took the spool and examined it, scrunching his eyebrows in confusion.

"Where did you get this?"

"I brought it from the palace."

"You carry a needle and thread with you?"

"I sneak out a lot." She shrugged. "Anyway, the thread is magic; It can heal wounds caused by magic. A precaution from Regina. Oh, and this is going to hurt a lot." She began to sew up the wound, trying to be as gentle as possible.

He hissed as she stuck the needle into his skin, flinching slightly as it went into the flesh. She muttered a quiet sorry as she finished stitching his shoulder. A wave of exhaustion fell over her but she kept her eyes open, thinking it was just because she had been running from guards.

She dabbed the cloth on his shoulder to get rid of any excess blood that was left. Jefferson realized she hadn't spoken most of the time, but ignored it, figuring she was probably focusing on the stitches.

"That should do it." She said, drowsiness lacing her voice. She tried to hide it but he noticed and turned to face her.

"Are you okay?" He asked. She nodded as a response and took the spool of thread out of his hand. She stuck the needle in it before putting it back in her vest pocket and standing. She stumbled a bit, but shook it off. "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, let's go." She started to walk away but realized he wasn't following. She turned around with a confused look to see him grabbing sticks.

"We need to wait till morning." He said, keeping his eyes in front of him. "It's too dangerous to walk through the forest at night." She opened her mouth to argue but closed it, knowing he was right.

It was getting dark, so the animals would be out soon.

As if he knew she was going to protest, he continued speaking. "You've never been out after dark, and if you have, it was under the protection of the royal guard. There are no inns around here so we'll have to make camp."

"Okay." She nodded and stepped forward, taking the sticks from him. He looked up at her with an eyebrow raised. "Your shoulder is still injured, I'm not going to make you do all the work. I got this."

His eyes narrowed as if he were debating whether to let her do it or not, but his shoulder was still hurting and he didn't mind watching her make the fire. Or at least, watch her try, then do it himself.

"Alright, here." He handed her the rest of the sticks and sat down on the log. She sat down in a small clearing and got to work, ignoring his snarky comments. "You're doing it wrong." She chuckled quietly and shook her head as a response.

She then grabbed a rock and struck it hard against the stick, watching the small pile of wood ignite into a small flame. She looked up at Jefferson, watching as her accomplishment wiped the smirk off his face.

"How did you…" He started to question as he sat up straight. Somewhere in the middle of her making the fire, he had leaned back against the log, resting his hands behind his head.

"The Huntsman taught me." She shrugged, trying to act as innocent as possible. She knew he would be shocked when he found out she wasn't just some bratty princess. She had dignity. "He was raised by wolves, remember?" He grumbled like a child but nodded and turned his head away.

"Alright, princess." he sighed a moment later. "Did he teach you anything else?" She thought for a moment, trying to remember everything he had taught her. Most of it was self-defense, although Regina assured- or threatened that no harm would come to her.

She wasn't going to pin Jefferson to the ground to show him what The Huntsman had taught her. That's just cruel. She continued to think over it, glancing up every once in a while to see Jefferson had his eyes on her the whole time.

"Yes," She said simply. She didn't know if he wanted her to prove it but if he did, she would have to come up with something.

"Yes?"

"Yes." She repeated with more certainty. "He taught me how to map out an area, and how to identify different things that could tell me where I am."

"And why would you need to know that?"

"Like I said, I sneak out a lot." She smiled and grabbed an apple out of her bag. She had brought a bag from the castle since she had planned on staying out until Regina's party was over. She grabbed another apple and tossed it to Jefferson, getting a quick thank you in return.

They ate in silence, Serena tending to the fire and adding more sticks every once in a while. She stared at the fire, avoiding eye contact with the man who had almost gotten them both killed. She didn't know what else to say; there wasn't much.

"When will we be going back to the castle?" She asked out of nowhere. He barely glanced at her as he made himself comfortable.

"First thing in the morning." He sighed, turning away from her. She nodded and added a few more sticks to the fire before laying down, looking up at the stars. Her raven hair was laid out over the grass, like it was trying to get away from her.

Soon, her eyes grew heavy and she started to fall asleep. Closing her eyes, she felt her mind drift off as the exhaustion started to kick in. Something felt different about the tiredness though, something about it felt like it had been influenced by magic. Dark magic.

 

"Set up a meeting with Rumpelstiltskin." Regina ordered as she entered her throne room. The Huntsman stood in the center of the room, standing next to two other guards in the room. He hoped they kept their mouths shut while Regina started her rant.

But he knew better and one of them was going to slip up. He just hoped he would be able to calm her down before she actually killed them.

"Your majesty-"

"No. He's done something to Serena."

"How do you know?"

"He has!" She argued, spinning around to face him. "I don't trust him. Why do you think we haven't been able to find Serena? She always comes back after sneaking out."

"Maybe she wanted a different life." One of the guards suggested. Before he could say another word, Regina snapped his neck and watched as his body fell lifeless to the ground.

"Anyone else?" She threatened. Each of them shook their heads and she dismissed them. With a flick of the wrist, Regina sent the body away. She didn't care where it went, her sister's life was more important.

"Your majesty?" The Huntsman's voice caught her attention.

"What?" She sneered. She wasn't in the mood to deal with him. "I don't have time for your morals trying to get in my way."

"Are you sure you want to speak with him?"

"I don't care for his tricks." She responded with a harsh tone. "I won't let him hurt my sister. No matter what the cost is."

-Storybrooke-

Jefferson watched Sam walk towards her shop in town square, a small smile on his face. He always made sure she got there safely, even though she didn't know who he was. He saw a smile light up her face when she saw the flowers he had left out front for her.

She never knew who sent them; or how they knew how much she loved blue and purple orchids, but they were the highlight of her day. She bent down to pick them up before turning on the open sign, watching the blue illuminate.

Jefferson's smile quickly faded as he remembered the reasoning for her shop; she didn't think she could have children of her own. She ran a toy shop called 'Wonderland Toys', a sick joke from Regina.

Serena owned a toy shop since she still wanted to bring joy to children, even though the curse prevented her from having any. She believed she wasn't able to have children, a twisted lie from Regina.

His heart broke every time he thought about how much it pained her that she couldn't have children. Even in The Enchanted Forest she always longed for a family that wasn't Regina. She loved to hear the laughter of children running through the house and the feeling that came with it.

Jefferson sighed as he watched Sam set up the shop, even though it hadn't changed since she clocked out that morning. She didn't usually get much business in the morning, so he would go in and have a look around.

After she went behind the register, waiting for any customers, he started towards the shop. She never remembered him, even when he would go in every day. He wondered if that was a part of the curse too.

The bell rang as he walked in, alerting Sam that someone had entered the shop. She had been hunched over the counter when he walked in, but she was upright in an instant. She had a smile on her face, hiding the exhaustion from whatever drama Regina had conjured.

She overworked herself enough, without Regina bringing in her problems with her kid and the woman he brought.

Jefferson knew about the woman who had come to Storybrooke, the woman who was the birth mother of Sam's nephew. And he knew Regina was less than happy about her arrival, because that meant the curse was weakening.

And he would love to watch the smug smile wiped off her face when it happened.

Sam gave Jefferson a smile as he walked, to which he returned with a simple nod. He looked around the store, trying to keep his attention on anything but her. It would be creepy if he stared at her the whole time.

After a few moments of browsing through the toys, the bell from the front door rang again and he heard a little girl's giggle. He tried to hold back tears as he heard the girl talk to Sam. Neither of them knew. He did.

While Sam was busy, he slipped out of the store without buying anything. He crossed the street, trying to get as far away from his whole world as possible. He closed his eyes, the unbearable weight he carried getting heavier with each step.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. One day. One day they would be together again. One day everything would be okay again. And Regina would regret the day she ever messed with his family.

Night had begun to fall and Sam had just clocked out of work. She walked down the street, letting the stress from the day slip away into the night. She stopped in front of the old library, admiring it. She had forgotten when it shut down, it was so long ago.

After a moment, the hands on the clock started moving, a miracle coming true. The clock hadn't moved for years; since even before the library had been shut down. A small smile creeped up her face, although she didn't know why.

She felt happy that it had started working again, like she had been given some wiggle room while she was stuck in a trap. Like she was close to getting out of the life she had been living for so long. It wasn't much, but it was enough for her.

Chapter 3: Chapter Three

Notes:

Slight trigger warning. Mentions of infertility.

-The Enchanted Forest-

 

The morning came quickly and soon enough, the sun was rising. Serena woke up to the sound of arguing, but kept her eyes closed. She soon heard Jefferson trying to talk his way out of it and sighed. She groaned quietly, but as she was about to sit up, she heard one of the people Jefferson was arguing with acknowledge her.

"Who's the pretty girl?" A male voice asked, getting closer to her. She shut her eyes tightly, hoping whoever they were would leave her alone.

"No one." She heard Jefferson snap. She had heard his sarcastic comments whenever he had gotten annoyed with her, but this was completely serious. "Ignore her." And then she heard a fist connecting with someone's face. Her head snapped up at the sound, knowing Jefferson wouldn't stand much chance in a fist fight with an injured shoulder.

She was on her feet in an instant as she watched Jefferson getting beat up by the three men. Two had brown hair and the third had blond hair. The taller of the brunet's had Jefferson by his collar and was about to throw another punch.

"Hey!" She yelled, getting the attention of the men. "Leave him alone!" Her voice never wavered, slightly impressing Jefferson. Although, he had no idea why she was trying to save him. She could just leave, go back to her castle and carry on life as a princess.

"And what are you going to do if we don't?" The blond man questioned. That she hadn't thought of. "I'd stay out of this if I were you, sweetie. Ain't no place for a pretty girl like yourself." Her eyes narrowed as she started to kneel closer to the ground.

"Alright, you win." She said, softly. She kept her eyes on the men as her hand felt around the ground. Jefferson gave her a confused and slightly shocked look as he was able to turn to her.

"That's what I thought." The man chuckled and stepped towards her in an attempt to appear intimidating. She shuddered at the thought, knowing exactly what he intended to do. "What you're even doing with a man like that is a mystery. I can give you a much better time."

He continued to come closer as her hand grabbed something hard on the ground. Once he was close enough, he reached for her chin but she stopped him with her free hand. Jefferson's blood boiled at how he was treating her but he couldn't do anything.

"I think I'll pass." She responded to the man and grabbed the rock that was under hand. Without a second wasted, she swung her arm up, hitting his face. He stumbled backwards as she stood, getting a firm grip on the rock.

Jefferson kicked out the legs of the man closest to him and ducked before the third man could make a move. Serena ran forwards, tackling the blond man to the ground. She hit him in the head repeatedly until he stopped moving.

She then looked up to see Jefferson struggling to fight off the other men as one of them had him in a choke hold. He tried to kick the other man that had acquired a knife and went for Jefferson's throat.

She sighed and grabbed the rock, moving to knock him out. Jefferson still couldn't get out of the other man's grasp as he clawed at his arm. While the man was distracted with Jefferson, Serena went up behind him and hit him in the back of the head.

"You okay?" She asked Jefferson as she watched both men fall to the ground. He nodded, taking a moment before standing.

"Did you learn that from The Huntsman?" He asked, eyeing the three unconscious men. He turned to her as she answered.

"Pretty much." She let out a breath and held up the rock. "Although, he never taught me how to use any weapons." She turned to him and noticed him wince as he tried to stretch. "Are you okay?"

He turned around so she could see the stitches and make sure they were still intact. They weren't, of course, and the wound had opened again. With a sigh, she sat him down and pulled out the needle and thread.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked, remembering how tired she looked when she had finished stitching him up the night before.

"Fine." She lied, knowing he didn't really care about how she was feeling. He just wanted her to leave him alone so he could move on and continue stealing things. She knew that. He just wanted her out of his life forever.

Jefferson turned to her with a skeptical look on his face. She told him to turn around but he stayed facing her, ignoring her protests. "You're not fine."

"Yes, I am." She faked a smile. She hadn't slept that well but she figured it was probably from sleeping on the ground. She had woken up several times, trying to make sure she didn't wake him. "Just turn around so I can finish stitching your shoulder."

His eyes narrowed as he studied hers, searching for any truth. Of course, he could see the exhaustion in her eyes that she tried to hide. After a moment, he shook his head with a sigh and turned around so she could continue fixing his stitches.

"All done." She said as she finished. Without another word, she stood and started to head to the forest. He followed after her, lingering behind a bit. "How long until we get there?"

"A few days." He responded with a lie. He hadn't planned on taking her back to the castle. He and Rumpelstiltskin had made a deal that he would bring Serena to his castle instead of bringing her back to her home.

He intended to get The Clock of Evermore to sell in return but since it was still with The March Hare, he was sure Rumpel would come up with a different payment. He wasn't sure why Rumpel needed Serena, probably as leverage against The Evil Queen, but he didn't care.

He wasn't getting paid to care.

He was just getting paid to bring her to Rumpelstiltskin. Regina would never find out that he brought Serena straight to Rumpelstiltskin. Even if she did, he would be long gone by then.

"Jefferson?" Serena's voice brought him out of his thoughts. He realized she was next to him as they continued to walk.

"What?"

"Where do you think you'll go after this?" She asked, turning her head back to the forest ahead. "I mean, like where do you think you're going to go?"

"I don't know." He let out a sigh, keeping up pace with her. "Probably wherever the next job takes me." He shrugged and turned his head away from her.

"What do you think the next job will be?"

"Aren't you a nosy one?"

"I'm just curious." She shrugged as he looked back over to her. "I'm not allowed out of the castle and when I sneak out I don't usually meet people in case they think Regina will give them a reward for returning me, so I don't meet new and interesting people."

"You think I'm interesting?" He asked with a smirk. She rolled her eyes and turned her head away.

"That's not what I meant." She responded, glaring at him. "I just meant that I don't get to meet people who've been to different realms, like you have. Or people who have interesting jobs."

"Okay, don't you travel the land when your sister does business?"

"Not really. Most of the time she leaves me at the castle while she does business. I couldn't go even if I asked."

"That's why you sneak out?"

"Yeah, pretty much." She shrugged as they walked into a village. He told her to stay in the forest while he brought her a cloak. "Why do I need this?"

"Like you said, you don't want people to bring you to Regina for a reward." He said and handed her the cloak. She put it on before turning to him.

"Did you steal this?"

"Maybe,"

"Jefferson!"

"Do you want to be recognized?" She shook her head as he sighed. "That's what I thought. Now follow me and stay close."

 

"Where is she?" Regina demanded as she entered The Dark Castle. Rumpelstiltskin was sitting at his spinning wheel, spinning straw into gold.

"How would I know?"

"Well, you seem to know everything so you tell me?"

"I don't know where she is." He replied, keeping his eyes on the straw. "It's not my fault your darling little sister is missing." Regina's blood boiled at his words. He was taunting her and it was working. He knew how to get under her skin.

"I'll only ask you this one more time; where is she?"

"And I'll only answer this one more time; I don't know." She knew she was testing him, but he deserved it. "Now, I suggest you leave before you won't be alive to find your sister." She huffed but left, teleporting out of the castle, back to hers.

 

-Storybrooke-

 

Sam woke up early to start making more toys for her shop as she did every morning. She put together a few dolls as she sat by her window, occasionally looking out the window to watch the clock move for the first time in years.

Once she was finished with the dolls, she started to head to town, watching as everyone started to set up for their day. She stopped at Granny's to greet Ruby and get some breakfast, realizing she had forgotten before she left.

"Morning Ruby." Sam smiled as she walked into Granny's diner. Ruby gave her a quick greeting before running to clean a table before Granny got back. "Do you need any help?"

"Really?" Ruby asked, hope filling her voice. Sam nodded and set down her bag before grabbing a dish rag and wiping down the tables. "Thank you. Granny's going to kill me if I don't get this done before she gets back."

"Of course." Sam responded. "Anything for a friend." Ruby smiled and the two finished cleaning the tables quickly.

"Thanks again." Ruby said, grabbing a muffin and a coffee. "I don't know what I would've done if I didn't finish before Granny came back." Sam thanked her and took the coffee before heading to town square.

Regina stopped in front of the library, watching as the clock moved. Sam noticed her and joined her, standing next to her and admiring the clock.

"Guess those rusty innards finally straightened themselves out, huh?" Sam said, getting her sister's attention.

"Yes, I suppose they have." Regina turned around, glancing behind her at Emma's car before turning back to Sam. She noticed Jefferson standing in the alley behind Emma's car and her face dropped.

"Well, I best be going." Sam smiled. "Tell Henry I say hi." Regina nodded and Sam walked away, leaving Regina to have a stare down with Jefferson. Sam went to her shop, smiling at the flowers that she received every day from the unknown stranger.

"Well, well, well." Jefferson taunted, walking over to Regina but kept his eyes on the clock. "Looks like someone finally fixed that old thing."

"Stay away from my sister, Hatter." Regina ordered, keeping her gaze locked on the library, like she couldn't look away from it if she tried.

"I'll keep my distance." He responded before finally turning to her. "For now. But, the second the curse breaks, I will get her back. And I'll be damned if I let you try to stop me." Without another word, he walked away, leaving her to herself.

Her jaw clenched at his words, but she was determined to make sure the curse wouldn't break. She wasn't going to lose her sister to him again. She stormed off to Granny's Inn to make sure Emma was gone before the curse could weaken any further.

 

Sam set up by placing the dolls she had been working on in displays and dusting the shelves, even though they never seemed to collect dust. She got to work until her phone ringing caught her attention. She picked it up and answered it, putting the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Regina. I need you to meet me at Henry's school."

"Why?"

"Because Miss Swan got arrested and you know he listens to you more than me."

"Alright, I'll see you there." With that, Regina hung up the phone and Sam left the shop, flipping on the closed sign before meeting Regina outside Henry's school. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's perfect." Regina smiled as she walked through the school yard. Sam noticed the class was outside and a small girl she knew was sitting by herself. The girl, Paige smiled at the sight of her and gave her a wave. Sam waved back before Regina's voice brought her attention back. "May I speak with my son?"

"We're in the middle of a lesson. Is it important?" Mary-Margaret asked. Sam gestured for her not to push it, but Mary-Margaret kept her eyes on Regina.

"Do you think I'd be here if it wasn't?" Regina snapped and walked over to Henry. Sam muttered a quiet apology before following after her sister, making sure Regina wasn't going to explode. "Henry. Sweetie, we have some bad news." She turned to Sam so she could continue.

"Emma's been arrested." Sam sighed. Regina gave her a slight glare before turning back to Henry.

"She broke into Dr. Hopper's office and stole his files." That part Sam hadn't heard. Henry's eyes traveled to her with a questioning look on his face. She looked away, unable to see her nephew upset. "She's a con woman." Regina continued. "She's trying to learn about us in order to take advantage of us. That's why she's sticking around. I'm sorry."

From afar, Jefferson watched the interaction with a scowl on his face. He knew Regina was trying everything she could to keep the curse alive, to keep him from Serena. The real Serena. He watched the guilt-ridden look on Sam's face, more pressure added to her life. All thanks to Regina.

"No, you're not." Henry snapped. Sam sighed, knowing how many problems this was going to cause. The feeling of being watched creeped up on her again, but she ignored it and focused on the situation.

"I know you think otherwise, but all I'm doing is trying to protect you." Regina said with a fake smile. "This is going to be good for us. You'll see. Things will be better. For all of us." She glanced over at Sam before the school bell rang.

"I gotta get back to class." Henry responded and ran off, leaving Sam and Regina alone in the school yard. Regina stood, catching the eyes of Jefferson. A small smile made its way onto her face. Regina left and Henry called Sam over.

"Henry-"

"We need to bail Emma out of jail."

"What?" Sam asked, forgetting the whole apology speech she had planned inside her head. "We need to do what now?"

"We need to bail Emma out of jail." He repeated. Both Sam and Mary-Margaret gave him a confused look before he continued. "Miss Blanchard will help." Before anyone could protest, he ran off, the two women following close behind.

 

"Hey!" Henry exclaimed as he ran into the police station. Sam and Mary-Margaret weren't far behind, still confused with his vague explanation.

"Henry? What are you doing here?" Graham asked. Sam saw Emma was in front of the camera, so they must've been doing her mugshots.

"Graham, taking mugshots without me? How rude." She faked a pout, causing him to chuckle a bit. "Anyway, Regina told him what happened."

"Of course she did." Emma glared at Graham before walking over to Henry. "Henry, I don't know what she said-"

"You're a genius." Henry interrupted.

"What?"

"I know what you were up to." Henry smiled, even though none of them knew what he was talking about. "You were gathering intel. For Operation Cobra." From what Sam had heard from Regina, she would've never come to that conclusion. Although, Regina did have a tendency to bend the truth.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit lost." Graham said, turning to Sam.

"Oh, you're not the only one." She responded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's a need to know, Sherriff." Henry added. Sam placed a hand over her chest with pride since she knew he had learned the sarcasm from her. "And all you need to know is that Miss Blanchard is going to bail her out."

"You are?" Emma questioned. "Why?" Sam turned to Mary-Margaret, who looked like she didn't even know why she was there.

"I, uh, trust you." She answered. Henry turned to Graham with a proud look on his face, knowing he had gotten his way. Emma had an impressed look on her face as she turned to Graham.

"Well, if you could uncuff me, I have something to do." She held her arms out so Graham could take off the cuffs. Sam turned to Henry and gave him a small thumbs up while Graham was distracted.

"I best be going, I have a business to run." Sam said before turning to Henry. "Mary-Margaret will take you back to school, is that okay?" He nodded and she left the police station, heading back to her shop.

When she got there, she noticed a take-out bag from Granny's sitting next to the door with a note. 'Sorry about earlier. A gift from Regina.' She looked inside and saw a cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate pie. She brought her attention back to the note, she knew it was probably Ruby who wrote it and Regina asked her to, but it was the thought that counted.

She walked inside her shop, leaving the sign off so she could eat before opening up. She grabbed the burger out and took a bite, kicking her feet onto the counter before Graham walked through the door.

"So, that closed sign was a waste of money." She sighed as she put the burger down. He smiled at her, although it didn't quite reach his eyes, there was a tiredness in them.

"Sorry, but I have a question."

"Oh, are you looking to swoon Miss Swan with a teddy bear?"

"No." He answered with a harsh tone. He stuttered for a bit before he got his act together and spoke. "No, I was wondering why Regina called me. She sounded like she wanted to kill someone."

"She usually does." Sam said, sitting up straight and handing him a fry. "But she hasn't said anything to me, so I'm going to guess Emma did something to piss her off." He nodded, thanked her and left.

The day went by slowly, the only customers being the usual boyfriends getting teddy bears for their girlfriends or parents coming in with kids. She always loved watching the kids' faces light up because of her creation.

After a fertility test, she found out she was infertile. It felt like a knife being stuck in her chest when she found out, she wouldn't leave Regina's guest room for weeks. The only thing that helped was Henry, he was just a baby but he saved her life.

Now, she wanted to make children happy. She tried adoption, but her applications were always rejected. "It wasn't meant to be." She kept telling herself. But every time she thought about it, it hurt even more.

She brought herself out of her thoughts and started to pack up, getting ready to leave for dinner with Regina and Henry, like she did every Thursday. She was supposed to meet them at Granny's where they would get dinner.

The bell from the front door rang, alerting Sam that someone had come in. She turned around to tell the person that the shop was closed before she saw Henry run in crying.

"Henry? What's wrong?" She bent down and cupped his face, wiping the tears away from his cheeks.

"Do you think I'm crazy?"

"No, why would you think that?"

"I overheard Emma talking and she said Operation Cobra was crazy." He sniffled, using his sleeve to wipe his face. Sam sighed and thought for a moment before turning back to him.

"Henry, who was she talking to when she said that?"

"My mom." He responded. Sam engulfed him in a hug, letting him cry into her blouse. She gently rubbed his back before the door opened again and Regina walked in. She stood up straight, keeping Henry close to her.

"Regina, I don't think now is a good time-"

"I was thinking the same thing." Regina responded coldly. Henry stayed tucked into Sam's side, ignoring his mother's presence. "I was hoping you would take him for dinner, then go with him to therapy."

"What do you think, Henry?" Sam asked, bending down to look at him. He nodded and hugged her again as Regina left. "How about we get ice cream after dinner?" He nodded again and followed her outside.

She turned on the closed sign and walked to her car, making sure he got in before getting in the driver's seat. The drive to Granny's was mostly silent, the only noise being sniffles from Henry. Sam pulled into Granny's parking lot and turned off the car, getting out and going inside.

"I can't believe Emma thinks I'm crazy." Henry grumbled after they ordered. "Why would she stay if she thought I was crazy."

"I don't know." She sighed as Ruby brought over the food. Sam thanked her and turned back to Henry.

"I think I'm going to stop with Operation Cobra."

"Why?"

"No one believes me. How can I change something if no one believes me?"

"Listen," Sam sighed, sticking a fry in her mouth. "not everyone is going to believe you. If you believe in the curse, then it doesn't matter if no one else believes in it because you do, that's what matters. And I will always be by your side to talk about it. I may not understand it, but I will listen."

"Thanks, Sam." He smiled and took a sip of his hot coco, a special treat from Sam. She smiled and nodded, taking a bite out of her burger. They continued to eat and talk, finishing just in time for Henry's therapy session.

Once they finished, they headed out to Dr. Hopper's office. Sam greeted Dr. Hopper as they walked in, letting Henry get settled. Sam and Dr. Hopper talked for a bit before Henry called for Sam.

"Aunt Sam?"

"What's up?"

"Can we be alone? It's no that I don't-"

"I understand, kiddo." Sam chuckled. "I'll be in the car if you need anything." He nodded and she walked out, going straight to her car. She sat inside, waiting for the therapy session to finish. About half way through, Emma's car pulled up next to hers and she got out.

"Sam?" Emma said, knocking on Sam's window. She rolled down her window as the blonde asked if Henry was with Archie.

"Yeah, but I don't think he wants to talk." Sam answered. "He's really upset with you." Emma sighed and glanced at the door before turning back to the brunette.

"I know and I need to make up for it." Sam nodded and watched Emma go inside. A few moments later, Emma and Henry walked out with smiles on their faces. He approached Sam's car as she got out with a confused look.

"Emma does believe!" He exclaimed. Sam turned to Emma, who simply shrugged in return. "She just needed to trick The Evil Queen into thinking she didn't." He pulled her into a hug, which she gladly returned.

"That's great, Henry." She smiled as her arms wrapped around him even tighter. She smiled at Emma, silently thanking her for keeping his imagination alive. He pulled away after a moment and looked up at her with a smile.

"Is it okay if I go home with Emma?" He asked, to which she nodded. He cheered and ran over to Emma, waving goodbye as Sam got in her car and drove off. Once she got home, Sam went straight to her room, and stripped her clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor.

She got in the shower and turned the heat on, letting the stress from the day wash away with the water. She took her time in the shower before getting out and changing into her most comfortable pajamas.

She then went downstairs to work on more dolls for the morning, even though there were more than enough in the back of the store. She finished one doll before her eyes grew heavy so she went upstairs to her room and got in bed, making herself comfortable in the cotton duvet.

Chapter 4: Chapter Four

Notes:

By the way, more chapters of this story are on Wattpad. It's under the same name and the profile is Lightfurysoldier.

Jefferson and Serena walked through the town, ignoring any people they came across. They found a marketplace and wandered around, looking for food. Fortunately, Serena brought money from the palace so she could buy food.

The sky was turning gray, so they knew they didn't have long to get food. They also knew they had to find shelter when the storm actually did come. Getting stuck outside in the rain wasn't something either of them wanted.

"Y'know, I had a better idea for getting food." Jefferson scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Serena rolled her eyes as she walked back over to him, after buying a few apples. She threw one to him and he put it in his bag as she spoke.

"Stealing apples is not a better idea of getting food." She countered, glaring at him. He shrugged and the two continued down the road. The sound of horses coming towards them made the two turn around to see Regina's guards entering the village.

"C'mon." Jefferson said, grabbing Serena's arm and ducking behind a cart. She eyed him in confusion as he covered her mouth. After the guards passed and left the village, Jefferson let go of her and she pushed him to the ground.

"What was that?" She questioned as he struggled back to his feet. "Why didn't you let me go with them? I could've gotten a ride home and you would never have to see me again." He had to come up with a lie quickly.

"Those guards," He gestured to the direction they had gone. "Are doing rounds. They don't stop at the palace. And believe me, they wouldn't have stopped there for you." He wasn't entirely wrong. They were only there to keep the villages in check. They were the lower level guards that didn't care about the royal family.

Ones that didn't care about Serena's well being.

"And? I'm the princess." Serena countered, still very angry at him. "They take orders from me." She emphasized the words 'they' and 'me' as she gestured to herself. He scoffed, shaking his head as he turned away from her in disbelief.

"You think they care?" He questioned, knowing just how horrible guards can be. He had encountered enough guards to know how horrible they were. "As long as they don't know who you are, they won't care. Even if you try to tell them."

"And what about you, huh?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I know you don't care." She accused as his face dropped. "I know you only care about going on with your life so you never have to see me again." She huffed as she felt droplets of water falling on her skin, telling them both that the rain was starting.

"Let's go." He sighed, gently reaching for her arm and guiding her to a nearby inn while the rain got harder, soaking them both. They went inside where a woman was sitting at a desk, looking out the window. "Excuse me, do you have any rooms available? Two beds, if possible." He asked, trying to be as polite as possible.

The woman nodded with a bored expression as she gave them a room key. Serena took out a few gold coins and handed it to her, thanking her as she and Jefferson walked towards their room. He unlocked the door without a word and went inside.

The room was small, two small beds leaned against the wall, a couch on the other side of the room, a dresser tucked in the corner and a fireplace opposite of the couch. The walls were dark wood and the wooden floor boards were old and creaky.

Serena sighed as she followed Jefferson inside. She closed the door behind her and went over to one of the beds, sitting down facing the wall. She heard his footsteps behind her as he walked over to the other bed and kicked off his shoes.

He let out a breath as he ran his hand through his newly wet hair and stared out the window as the rain got harder. She slipped her shoes off, wrapping her arms around herself to keep warm as the cold air brushed against her skin.

"Go sit by the fireplace. I'll start a fire" He broke the silence, glancing over his shoulder. She looked over at him, but stayed silent, once again feeling exhaustion wave over her. This time, it felt much worse. It felt like if she closed her eyes, she would never be able to open them.

She took a few moments, staring at the wall as she zoned out. He called her name as he realized she hadn't moved. He called her again, hoping she would actually move to the fireplace so she could get warm.

"Serena? I know you're mad, but I don't want you to freeze." He sighed, turning to face her. Her back was still turned to him as he stood and walked over to her. He gently shook her shoulder, causing her head to snap in his direction. "Are you okay?"

With a shaky nod, she stood and walked over to the empty fireplace. She sat down on the floor as he sighed and joined her by the fire. Fortunately, it already had logs with it. He picked up the logs and placed them in the fireplace before finding something to start a fire.

He started the fire and grabbed a blanket, wrapping it around Serena's shoulders before sitting down next to her. She let out a breath as leaned her head against his shoulder and stared blankly into the fire.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked, tilting his head so he was looking at her. She didn't answer as her eyes closed. "Serena? Are you okay?"

"I'm just tired." She finally answered. Her eyes stayed closed and her voice was weak as he wrapped her arms tighter around her. Something was off. And he knew magic was involved. He wasn't sure if it was a warning from Rumpel, or if it was something she picked up in Wonderland.

Either way, he didn't like whatever it was.

-Storybrooke-

Sam ran around Storybrooke, hoping to get some work done with how hectic everything was. Since she was her own boss, she was able to give herself a day off without a schedule keeping her to the shop.

Her phone rang while she was grocery shopping. With a can of food in one hand, she picked up her phone and answered it, seeing Henry's name pop up on the caller ID.

"Hey kiddo." She greeted as she walked over to the self-check-out. She quickly checked out everything and went to her car as she continued to talk. "What's up?"

"Can you meet me at my castle? The one by the shore. It's important Operation Cobra business."

"Of course, I'll be there soon." Sam hung up the phone and got in her car, setting her phone down so she could drive. She drove to the shore to see Henry and Emma sitting at his castle, waiting for Sam.

Henry noticed her car pull up and waved her over, bringing Emma's attention to the dark blue car that had stopped. Sam got out of the car and smiled at Henry, walking over to them. She greeted the two and joined them in the wooden castle that was probably too old to still be standing.

"What's going on?" Emma asked Henry as he pulled out his book. He must've called her as well since she had no idea why he had called them both. She assumed it had something to do with Operation Cobra.

"Well, I found your father." The boy smiled, looking up at Emma. Sam turned to her, confusion written all over her face. Henry set down the book, showing the two women a picture of a man. "Prince Charming."

"Henry..." Emma stopped before she was able to say anything, not sure how to respond. Sam was just as confused, but she sensed there was something else that didn't sit right with the blonde.

"He's in the hospital in a coma." Henry continued before pointing to a certain spot on the picture of Prince Charming. "See this scar? He has one, too."

"So? Lots of people have scars." Sam shrugged, making Henry sigh. Emma agreed with Sam, brushing off his theory.

"In the same place." He added. "Don't you see what this means? The curse is keeping them apart with the coma. Now they're stuck without each other. We have to tell Miss Blanchard that we found her Prince Charming."

Emma glanced over at Sam, who motioned for her to speak. "Okay, kid. Telling someone their... soulmate is in a coma is probably not helpful. Not having a happy ending is painful enough, but giving someone unrealistic hope is far worse."

"But what if I'm right?" Henry asked, glancing between Sam and Emma. When no one said anything, he continued. "We know who they are, now they have to know."

"And how do you intend to make that happen?" Sam asked, leaning against a wooden plank. She crossed her arms over her chest with a sigh as he answered.

"By reminding him." Emma looked over at Sam, who was now invested in what the boy was saying. She had nothing else to do that day, so why not have some fun with it? "We have to get her to read their story to John Doe. Then maybe he'll remember who he is."

Emma leaned closer to him as if she was about to argue, but she stopped and thought for a moment before responding. "Okay." Sam turned her head, confused at how chill Emma was being.

"Okay?" She and Henry asked Emma, snapping their attention to the blonde. Sam knew Emma didn't believe in the curse, any sane person wouldn't. But Emma refused to even think about the possibility that the curse existed.

"Yeah. We'll do it, but we'll do it my way." She said, "Let me ask her." Henry nodded and Sam offered to take Henry home with her, since Regina was busy with running the town. Emma agreed and Henry left with Sam.

"So," Sam started as Henry looked through his book. He looked up at her curiously as she continued down the road. "Who do you think I am?" His face lit up at the question and he started flipping through the pages.

"You're The Evil Queen's sister." He said, showing her a picture of someone who looked like Regina with a younger girl who slightly resembled herself.

"Alright, anything else?"

"Yep." He answered, flipping the pages of the book again. He turned to a page with a picture of a man with brown hair and blue eyes cuddled up by a fire with the girl from the previous page curled into his side and showed it to Sam. "You know The Mad Hatter."

"How exactly? Last time I checked, he lived in Wonderland."

"I'm not sure. I haven't gotten to that part of the story yet." He sighed and closed the book, stuffing it under his seat. "But he seemed important to you."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because you mentioned him before the curse was cast." He answered. "I would show you, but Emma burned those pages." Sam glanced at him, slightly concerned while urging him to continue. "So The Evil Queen wouldn't find them." She nodded and turned her attention to the road.

When they got to her house, she called Regina to tell her that Henry was going to be staying at her house for the night. Once Sam was done with the phone, she walked over to Henry where he was sitting at her table and looking through the book.

"Here." He showed her a better picture of The Mad Hatter from the book. She took it and examined the picture, noting the major height difference between The Mad Hatter and the woman Henry said was her.

"He wasn't that tall." She internally scoffed and rolled her eyes before she caught herself, remembering she didn't know The Mad Hatter and that he was a fictional character. Henry noticed of course, and a grin appeared on his face.

"Something wrong?" He asked as she glanced up at him. She playfully glared at him and passed the book back to him.

"No." She shrugged before changing the subject. "Anyway, what do you want for dinner?" She got up and went to the kitchen as he followed close behind.

"How about pizza?"

"Pizza, it is." She smiled and grabbed the phone, knowing she didn't have the ingredients to make a pizza, and Regina didn't trust her enough to cook. "You go pick a movie and I'll order the pizza." He nodded and ran to the living room while she ordered the pizza.

Once she was done, she walked back over to see Henry with the movie Alice in Wonderland in his hands. She rolled her eyes playfully as he smiled, knowing he wanted her to remember anything from before the curse.

She plopped down on the couch while he turned on the movie before sitting down next to her. A knock on the door brought Sam's attention away from the movie and she got up to get the pizza. She walked over to the door and opened it, paying the delivery guy before taking the pizza inside.

Emma came later for Henry's book to bring to Mary-Margaret. She and Sam talked for a bit about her plan to gently prove to Henry that the stories weren't real and the town wasn't cursed. Sam agreed, but she still had a nagging feeling that there was some truth to what Henry was saying.

Ignoring her thoughts, she joined Henry on the couch. She set the pizza box in between them as he pressed play on the movie. Every once in a while during The Mad Hatter scenes, Henry would glance over at Sam to see if she remembered anything.

She knew, of course. She saw every time he looked at her. He may have gotten sarcasm from her, but he still didn't know how to lie. The movie ended and Henry had fallen asleep on the couch. She smiled at his sleeping form, and draped a blanket over him.

He made a little noise as she stood up, walking over to the kitchen table. She sat down in a chair as the feeling from earlier returned. She knew the whole curse thing was ridiculous, but she still felt that there was more to the town than she had thought.

-The Enchanted Forest-

The next morning, Jefferson woke up to Serena still curled into his side. He decided to let her sleep, he had noticed she hadn't slept well after they got back from Wonderland. He planned on letting her sleep the day before, but then the three men that he had pissed off in the past found them.

Why did he care? Why should he care if she didn't get any sleep? Once he left her with Rumpelstiltskin, she would be his problem. Jefferson would leave and continue his life by himself.

Although, he had to admit, it was nice to have someone to keep him company. Even if she did everything to get on his nerves. She had proven several times that she was more than capable of taking care of herself.

She had surprised him on multiple occasions, proving that she may have been raised in a castle, but she didn't need someone keeping an eye on her. If he didn't work alone, she would've made a good partner.

What? No. He wouldn't think of bringing her with him. He had a job to do and he wasn't going to go against The Dark One. Besides, living the way he did wasn't the best way to make partnerships.

He tried having a long-term partner before, but it ended in betrayal and heartbreak. He wasn't going through that again. He spent enough time, making sure he wouldn't have to work with anyone. Serena was no exception.

Serena was a princess and a job, nothing more. He couldn't get attached to her; he wouldn't get attached to her. Besides, she wouldn't be able to handle his lifestyle. She may be able to stay a few days in the woods, but she wouldn't be able to be on the run her whole life because of him.

Jefferson stayed there on the floor for a while, trying to stay as still as possible so she could sleep. After a few failed attempts at going back to sleep himself, he carefully picked her up and set her down on the bed.

He then went to the window to see that the storm had cleared. He stayed at the window, observing people as they passed, going on with their daily lives. He stood there for a while before going to wake up Serena.

"Serena?" He gently shook her shoulder in an attempt to wake her. "Serena, you need to wake up." He said a little louder. He continued to shake her shoulder, each time a little harder than the last. When she didn't wake up, he knew something was wrong and she wasn't going to wake up.

He wasn't sure what was happening, but he knew magic was involved. Rumpelstiltskin would be furious if Serena had picked up some magical virus from Wonderland. Jefferson wasn't sure how. If she had gotten a virus, how did he not?

Was it because he was so used to being in different realms? Maybe it didn't affect him because he was used to it. He wasn't sure. He only knew he had to help her before something bad happened.

He quickly put their stuff together and slung the bag over his shoulder before gently bringing her into his arms. He then walked over to the door, opening it and slipping out into the hallway before sneaking out of the building.

He found an unattended horse and looked down at Serena, knowing she would be really mad if he stole a horse. He shook it off and went over to the horse, untying its lead before lifting Serena up. He sat behind her, holding her up as he took off with the horse.

"I know you're going to kill me, but I'm doing this to save your life." He told Serena as they left the village. He hoped Rumpelstiltskin would at least help her and fix whatever was wrong. He let out a sigh as he continued down the road, slightly missing the sound of Serena's sarcastic comments.

"What happened?" The Huntsman asked as Regina appeared in her room. "Did he tell you anything?" At that point, even he was worried about Serena. She always came back after she escaped, he assumed this time would be no different.

"No. Instead, he decided to play games, insisting that he didn't know where she was." Regina groaned as she began to pace around the room. His eyes followed her as she walked around the room.

"Does he?"

"I don't know." She sighed in defeat as she stopped walking. "But I will find her. And I will make sure no one will take her again."

-Storybrooke-

The next morning, Sam met up with Emma at Granny's diner. Sam brought Emma a shirt since she hadn't expected to stay that long. While Emma was changing, Sam ordered a hot cocoa for the three of them.

"Thanks for the shirt." Emma said, adjusting the shirt as she walked over. It was a silk navy blue blouse that Sam hadn't worn in years, so she gave it to Emma.

"Of course."

"Where does Regina think you two are?"

"She hasn't asked. She knows I can take care of Henry, so as long as I don't get him killed or lose him, she doesn't care." Sam shrugged and took a sip of her coco. "Besides, I told her yesterday I was taking him to the arcade today."

"And she bought that?"

"She wants to believe it, so she does." Henry copied Sam with a shrug. Emma nodded and took a sip of her own coco before taking out the book and handing it to Sam.

"I can clearly see who Henry got most of his quirks from." Emma said, eyeing the two in front of her. The brunette smiled as the doorbell chimed and Mary-Margaret walked in.

"She's here!" Henry exclaimed as Mary-Margaret looked around the room. Emma glanced in the direction of the door before bringing her attention back to Henry.

"Hey, don't get your hopes up. We're just getting started, okay?" Mary-Margaret came over in a rush and sat down next to Emma. Emma and Sam looked at her, expecting her to break the bad news.

"He woke up."

"What?" Emma and the brunette questioned in unison. Henry's face lifted as Emma's confusion painted her features.

"I knew it."

"I mean, he didn't wake up-wake up." The teacher paused as she tried to find the right words. "But he grabbed my hand."

"He's remembering."

"What did the doctor say?" Sam asked, interrupting Henry. She wasn't sure why she was relieved that something happened, or why she felt a slight hope that the stories weren't just fairytales. Although, she never would have thought Regina would be The Evil Queen.

"That I imagined it. But I'm not crazy, I know it happened." Mary-Margaret answered, bringing Sam out of her thoughts.

"We have to go back." Henry suggested. "You have to read to him again." Mary-Margaret thought for a moment, contemplating whether or not she should before nodding.

She was half out of the booth when she told him. "Let's go." Henry followed after her, leaving Emma and Sam in confusion. They shared confused glances before shooting out of their seats.

"Wait. Wait, what?" Emma questioned, stopping the two before they got any further. Mary-Margaret stopped, her face dropping slightly.

"If I got through to him, if we made a connection."

"You don't believe-"

"That he's Prince Charming? Of course not." Mary-Margaret finished for Emma. "Somehow, someway, I touched him." Was all she said before she ran out the door with Henry following. Sam's mouth gaped before she and Emma ran after them.

"You're right!" Henry exclaimed as he ran into the hospital. "He's waking up." He ran towards John Doe's hospital room, getting Graham's attention.

"Henry, you should stay back." He said, blocking the boy from getting to the hospital room. Emma, Sam and Mary-Margaret joined the two, confusion written all over their faces.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, being more serious than he had ever seen her. "Is it John Doe? Is he okay?" Graham sighed, looking between the three women.

"He's missing." He stepped aside, revealing Regina standing near John Doe's empty bed. Regina noticed the small group and said something to Doctor Whale before leaving the room and walking over to them.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She questioned, directing the question at Emma. She walked over to Henry, grabbing his wrists rather harshly. "And you. I thought you were at the arcade." She then turned to Sam. "Now you two are lying to me?"

Sam turned away, feeling like a child that had been scolded by their teacher or parents. Regina sighed and turned back to Henry, who also had a guilty look on his face.

"What happened to John Doe? Did someone take him?" Mary-Margaret asked, bringing the conversation back to the situation. Regina stood up straight, glaring at Emma.

"We don't know yet." Graham sighed as Henry scooted closer to Sam. She wrapped an arm protectively around him to keep Regina from getting any more angry. "His IVs were ripped out, but there's no sign for sure there was a struggle."

"Well, he was in a coma." Sam pointed out the obvious. Regina wasn't in the mood for her jokes and sent a glare in her direction. Henry stepped away from Sam, standing up to Regina.

"What did you do?"

"You think I had something to do with this?" Regina faked being hurt as she turned her attention back to him.

"It is curious that the mayor is here." Emma stated as she crossed her arms over her chest. Regina snapped her head up as everyone's attention turned to the blonde.

"I'm here because I'm his emergency contact." She retorted with a smirk. Sam gave her a questioning look as Mary-Margaret spoke.

"You know him?"

"I found him on the side of the road years ago with no ID. I brought him here."

"Mayor Mills saved his life." Doctor Whale added as he joined the conversation. Mary-Margaret turned to him with a hopeful look on her face.

"Will he be okay?"

"Okay? The man's been on feeding tubes for years, under constant supervision." Whale answered. "He needs to get back here right away or, quite honestly, "okay" might be a pipe dream." Sam glared at him, clearly not liking how he was talking to them.

"Well then let's quit yappin' and start looking." Emma said as she started to walk away. No one followed as Regina stopped her.

"That's what we're doing." Emma stopped and turned to face her as she continued. "Just stay out of this, dear. And since I clearly can't keep you away from my son, I guess I'm just going to have to keep my son away from you."

Sam sighed as Regina grabbed Henry and started walking towards the blonde. She knew when Regina meant "son" she was also referring to Sam. She followed after her sister, standing behind her as she stopped next to Emma.

"Enjoy my sister's shirt, because that's all you're getting." Regina then turned to Graham. "Sheriff, find John Doe. You heard Dr. Whale, time is precious." She then turned back to the door and walked away, expecting Sam to follow.

"I'm sorry." She muttered to Emma before turning her attention to Regina. "I think I'm going to stay and help." Regina paused, her jaw clenching at her sister's words. Her shoulders rose and fell back down again as she tense, clearly upset.

"Fine." She sighed, glancing over her shoulder. "If you want to, I can't stop." She then walked away as Henry tried to hold back a laugh. Sam smiled and turned back to the group, most of them had awkward looks on their faces.

"Let's get to work." She let out a breath. She still had Henry's book in her bag, so she would have to give it back to him later. Graham nodded and took a deep breath, bringing his attention to Doctor Whale.

"Doctor, how long between your rounds since you last saw him?"

"Twelve hours or so."

"Then that's what we need to account for." Graham said and Doctor Whale led them to the security room. "You two were the only employees on the floor last night. And you saw nothing?" Walter sighed as he and Leroy shook their heads.

"Not a thing."

"Did anyone walk by?" Emma asked, since they were all still confused about the whole situation. Leroy shook his head before answering.

"I didn't see nothing." Unlike usual, he didn't seem like he was lying. Graham sighed before turning to Mary-Margaret.

"Miss Blanchard, was there anything unusual you saw during your trip with your class?" He asked while Emma got a closer look at the security cameras.

"I don't think so." Mary-Margaret thought back to the day before, but shook her head. Emma walked over to the computer, earning confused looks from everyone in the room.

"We're looking at the wrong tape." She gestured to the screen. "This is the ward where Henry's class put up decorations. If this was really the tape from last night, we'd see the banners the kids hung." She plopped down in the seat next to Walter.

"You fell asleep again." Leroy scoffed, pointing at Walter. Sam looked between the two men as Walter snapped his head in Leroy's direction.

"You selling me out?"

"I ain't getting fired for this."

"At least I don't drink on the job."

"Gentlemen, enough!" Graham broke the two up, bringing them back to the topic. "Where's the real tape?" Walter switched the tapes, showing John Doe walking out by himself.

"He walked out alone. He's okay." Mary-Margaret sighed. Sam began chewing on her lip, more worried than ever. Emma pointed at the screen, not bothering to look away.

"Four hours ago. Where does this door lead?"

"The woods." Leroy answered as everyone shared concerned looks. Emma turned her head to the group before speaking.

"Let's go." She said, walking out of the room. Graham watched as she left while Sam smiled from beside him.

"Someone's got a crush." She teased, watching as his face turned a deep red. She laughed and followed Emma as everyone else went with her. They walked through the woods, looking for any sign of John Doe.

"What is it?" Mary-Margaret asked as Graham stopped and bent down to the ground. He looked up, looking around the area.

"The trail runs out here."

"We were following a trail?" Sam asked as Emma and Graham gave her a look that meant "really?" She shrugged as Emma spoke, turning her attention back to Graham.

"I thought tracking was one of your skills."

"Just give me a second. This is my world. I got it"

"Okay, hunter boy." Sam joked as he glared at her. "Fine, fine. I'll cool it with the jokes." He shook his head and turned back to the woods ahead.

"What does he mean "his world?" I thought finding people was your thing, too?" Mary-Margaret asked Emma as they followed after Graham.

"Sure. Just, people I find usually run to places like Vegas." The blonde answered as Mary-Margaret let out a small 'oh'. "Not a lot hit the woods."

"It's an interesting job, finding people." Mary-Margaret said. "How'd you fall into it?"

"Looking for people is just what I've done for as long as I can remember." She responded with a sigh. Sam glanced over her shoulder at the two, listening to the conversation.

"What made you start?" Mary-Margaret asked. Emma took a moment before Mary-Margaret continued. "Your parents? Henry told me that you're... That you were from a similar situation to his own. Did you ever find them?"

"Depends on who you ask." Emma sighed. A twig snapped behind them causing the three women to turn around. From the trees, came Henry as he ran towards them.

"Henry!" Sam gasped as she went over to him. He stopped in front of her, giving her a side hug before turning his attention to the other two.

"Did you find him yet?"

"No, not yet." Emma answered. "You shouldn't be here." Sam agreed with Emma, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I can help." Henry reasoned, earning confused looks from the three women. "I know where he's going."

"And where's that?" Sam's eyebrows raised as she questioned him. Sam knew as soon as He turned to Mary-Margaret that he would bring up the story book.

"He's looking for you."

"Henry-"

"What's going on?" Graham asked before he noticed Henry. "Henry? What are you doing here?" Henry simply smiled and walked over to him.

"I'm here to help." He then walked past Graham, further into the woods. Graham eyed the three women, who shrugged and walked over to him. The five walked together through the woods, Henry walking with Mary-Margaret. "You're the one who woke him up. You're the one he last saw. He wants to find you!"

"Henry, it's not about me." She sighed, stopping in her tracks. "I just, I think he's lost and confused. He's been in a coma a long time."

"But he loves you!" Henry countered. "You need to stop chasing him and let him find you."

"Kid, you need to go home!" Emma snapped, clearly upset with him. "Where's your mom? She's going to kill me. And then you and your aunt. Then me again."

"She dropped me at the house then went right out."

"You really need to stop sneaking out." Sam sighed, massaging her temples. "We need to get you back immediately."

"No!"

"Guys?" Graham called, getting everyone's attention. They ran after him, finding him bent down next to John Doe's hospital band covered in blood.

"Is that?" Mary-Margaret trailed off her sentence, hoping that wasn't what she had thought it was.

"Blood." Emma finished for her as the horror started to set in. Sam pulled Henry closer behind her, wishing he had just stayed home. She didn't want him to see anything that would traumatize him.

"Oh, God." Mary-Margaret let out a breath as they arrived at Toll Bridge, following the trail of blood. "Where is he? Can you see him?"

"The trail dies at the water line." Graham answered, using his flashlight to look past the water. Mary-Margaret paused as she saw a body sticking out of the water. Sam's gaze followed and soon she too saw the body.

"Oh, my God!" Mary-Margaret repeated as the two ran over to John Doe. "Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" Graham ran over as well, taking out his radio to call for an ambulance. Henry stayed back, watching the adults pull John Doe out of the water.

"No, no, no, no, no, I found you!" Mary-Margaret exclaimed as Sam stood in front of Henry. "It's gonna be okay."

"Help's coming." Graham said as Sam blocked Henry's view. Henry tried to move past, asking if he was okay.

"Henry, don't look, okay? Don't look." Sam turned him around and stood in front of him, trying to calm him down. She pulled him to her, hugging him to make sure he couldn't see. "It's gonna be okay." He nodded, hugging her tighter.

"Come back to us." Mary-Margaret said before leaning down and whispering. "Come back to me." She moved up and started doing CPR, trying to keep him alive. Sam kept Henry close, blocking him from seeing the scene. Mary-Margaret continued to try, eventually doing mouth-to-mouth.

After a moment, water sputtered out of John Doe's mouth, his eyes opening moments later. He gasped as Sam looked up, realizing he was okay. Emma looked over at her, confusion written on both of their features. Sam slowly let go of Henry, still hesitant about it.

"You saved me." John Doe said, making Mary-Margaret smile.

"She did it. She did it. She woke him up." Henry smiled as Sam's mouth gaped. Still keeping her eyes on John Doe, Emma nodded.

"Yeah, kid, she did." She said, dumbfounded. John Doe thanked Mary-Margaret before she asked who he was.

"I don't know." He answered as she assured him everything was going to be okay. Soon, the ambulance arrived and took him to the hospital. Sam took Henry with her since he insisted that he wanted to be there with Emma.

They all watched the doctors make sure John Doe was okay from the waiting room. A few moments passed and a blonde woman ran in, bursting through the doors to his room.

"David, is that you?"

"Excuse me, ma'am-" Doctor Whale tried to get her to leave as she walked over. "Ma'am, you can't be in here. Please, you can't be here right now." She stayed put as Doctor Whale tried to gently get her away.

"Who is that?" Mary-Margaret asked, turning to the others. They all shrugged until Regina's voice got their attention.

"His wife." Everyone turned to see her with a smug smile on her face. Sam shook her head, knowing she had something to do with that. "His name is David Nolan. And that's his wife, Kathryn. And the joy on her face? Well, it's put me in quite the forgiving mood. We'll talk about your insubordination later. Do you know what insubordination means?" Henry shook his head. "It means you're grounded."

He huffed and slumped in his chair as Regina turned to Sam. Sam smiled innocently, knowing Regina was also going to have a talk with her as well.

"And we're going to have a talk about putting him in dangerous situations." Regina said, gesturing to Henry. Kathryn stepped out of David's room and thanked everyone for finding him.

"Thank you for finding my David."

"Um, I don't understand." Mary-Margaret said, shuffling on her feet. "You didn't- you didn't know that he was here in a coma?"

"A few years ago, David and I were not getting along." She started. "It was my fault. I know that now. I was difficult and unsupportive. I told him if he didn't like things, he could leave. And he did. And I didn't stop him. It was the worst mistake I ever made."

"You didn't go look for him?" Emma questioned, leaning forward in her chair. Kathryn turned her attention to the blonde as Sam crossed her arms over her chest.

"I assumed he left town all this time." Kathryn shrugged. "Now I know why I never heard from him. Now I get to do what I've wanted to do forever. Say I'm sorry. Now we get a second chance." Emma faked a smile, still not convinced.

"That's wonderful." Mary-Margaret smiled. Regina smiled as Doctor Whale stepped out of David's room.

"Well, it's something of a miracle." He sighed, closing the door behind him. Kathryn turned to him with a hopeful look on her face.

"He's okay?"

"Physically, he's on the mend." Whale answered. "His memory is another issue. It may take time, if at all."

"What brought him back?" Mary-Margaret asked.

"That's the thing, there's no explanation. Something just clicked in him."

"He just got up and decided to go for a stroll?" Sam questioned. Whale turned to her, ready with a smart-ass explanation.

"He woke up and he was delirious." Whale responded with a sigh. "And his first instinct was to find something, I guess."

"Someone." Henry corrected, still sitting in his chair. Regina glanced at him before turning her attention back to the conversation.

"Can I see him?" Kathryn asked. Whale nodded and opened the door for her. She thanked him and went inside, going straight to David. As soon as the door closed, Regina turned to Henry and Sam.

"You two, let's go." She then walked over to the door as Henry and Sam followed. She crossed her arms over her chest, huffing like a child who had gotten in trouble.

"Wait, my backpack." Henry stopped and turned around to grab his bag. He then stopped next to Mary-Margaret as Regina stopped. He whispered to Mary-Margaret. "Don't believe them. You're the one he was looking for."

"Henry..."

"He was going to the Troll Bridge. It's like the end of your story."

"Henry, he was going there because it's the last thing I read to him."

"No, it's because you belong together."

"Henry." Regina called, getting his attention. He sighed and ran over, hugging Sam. She wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer.

"Do you still have the book?" He asked, looking up at Sam. She nodded and the three left the building, none of them saying a word. As they walked out the door, Emma called after them.

"Madam Mayor?"

"Wait by the car." Regina told Henry. He nodded and did as he was told before Regina turned to Sam. "You, go home. You have work in the morning." Sam reluctantly nodded and walked over to Henry, bending down to look him in the eyes.

"I'm going home. Can I take the book with me for now?" She asked, gesturing to the book that's still in her bag. He nodded and she smiled before standing up and walking over to her car. She got in and sighed, watching Regina and Emma's interaction before driving off and going home.

As soon as she got home, she changed into her pajamas then went to the kitchen. She turned on the light and sat down at the table, pulling the story book out of her bag. She flipped through the book, finding the pages with The Mad Hatter.

Chapter 5: Chapter Five

-The Enchanted Forest-

"Rumpelstiltskin?" Jefferson searched for The Dark One as he carried Serena through the castle. He turned down a hallway, finding a set of doors. The doors to the library flew open as he rushed in, looking around frantically before his eyes landed on The Dark One himself.

"You're here earlier than expected." He said, not bothering to look up from the straw he was spinning into gold. "You said you would be here within the next few days."

"That's not important." Jefferson responded as Rumpel finally turned to him. He gave the hatter a confused look as he stepped forward.

"When I said "bring her to me," I didn't mean unconscious." He said as Jefferson sighed. "May I ask what happened?"

"Something in Wonderland." The brunet practically growled as he held Serena closer to him. He took a deep breath before continuing. "Something in Wonderland made her sick." Rumpel nodded and motioned for him to bring her over.

Jefferson hesitated, unsure what Rumpel was going to do. Rumpel rolled his eyes with a scoff and with a flick of his wrist, Serena disappeared from Jefferson's arms. He looked up at The Dark One in confusion, making Rumpel groan.

"You had a job, bring her to me." He reminded Jefferson. "You held up your end of the deal. I'm going to assume you failed to retrieve the Clock of Evermore. Instead, help yourself to as much gold as you deem appropriate."

"What about Serena?" Jefferson asked as Rumpel turned back to his spinning wheel. Rumpelstiltskin continued to look at the straw, not bothering to turn back to him. A small smirk appeared on his face at Jefferson's question.

"What about her?"

"You're not going to let her die, are you?"

"If I can't find her true love, yes."

"What do you mean?"

"She's no use to me if she's dead." Rumpel answered. "And she won't survive without true loves kiss." He faked a gag after the words 'true loves kiss.'

"Is there any way to find her true love?" Jefferson asked as Rumpel sighed. "There has to be something right?"

"How is this your business?" He responded, sending a glare in the hatter's direction. "What happens to her is of no importance to you." Jefferson bit the inside of his cheek, holding back the argument he wanted to start.

An argument he knew he wouldn't win.

"Is there any other way to help her?" He pressed, knowing if he continued to ask, Rumpel would eventually give him some other answer. "There can't be just one cure. Not in all the realms, at least."

"There's no known cure in any realm." Rumpel sighed, pressing his hands to his lap. He was getting annoyed, but he knew Jefferson wasn't going to give up. And he was counting on that. "If there was, it wouldn't be a very powerful curse."

"What about Victor? He might know how to help her." Jefferson suggested as he took a step forward. "You said it yourself, she's no use to you if she's dead."

"Alright, I'll make you a deal." Rumpel turned to him with a smirk. "If you find a way to wake her, she's free to go, but you give me a strand of your hair and hers."

"And if I fail?"

"Then I send her dead body to her sister's doorstep."

-Storybrooke-

"These last few days have been exhausting." Sam groaned as she walked with Emma and Henry to the bus stop. She had stayed up most of the night reading Henry's story book. She hadn't even realized how late it was until she fell asleep.

"Tell me about it." Emma sighed, tying her hair back. Sam had woken up in an uncomfortable position since she had fallen asleep reading the story book. Emma had called a few minutes after, so Sam had to dress quickly.

Exactly why she looked like a complete mess.

"Has your sister always been a hard-ass?"

"You don't even know the half of it." Sam laughed as Henry looked around. It wasn't like he hadn't seen the place a million times. She always walked him to the bus stop. They had always taken this route.

"Are you sure we can be here out in the open?" Henry asked, turning the conversation serious. Sam wasn't sure why Regina would be upset, probably because Emma was anywhere near Henry.

"Enough sneaking around." Emma answered, turning to Henry. "If your mom has a problem with me walking you to a school bus, I am more than happy to have that chat."

"You're brave. We'll need that for Operation Cobra." He said with a nod. "Speaking of, do you think we need code names?"

"Isn't "Cobra" our code name?"

"That's the mission. I mean us." Henry thought for a moment. "I need something to call you." Emma paused, unsure how to respond.

"Oh, um. You could just call me Emma for now." The blonde answered as they approached the school bus.

"Okay. Well, then, I'll see you later, Emma." Henry stopped in front of the doors and was about to get on the bus before Sam called him.

"What about me?" She asked and he smiled, running over to her and giving her a hug. "You be good, okay?" He nodded and ran off, giving them one last wave as he got on the bus. Sam then noticed Paige running over with her parents.

"Hi Sam." She greeted as she ran to the bus. Sam waved at her as Emma started walking away, only to be stopped by Graham. The brunette sighed and followed Emma, stopping next to her.

"What's with the siren?" Sam asked, making Graham chuckle. He walked towards the two women, closing the door to his car behind him.

"You don't listen." He gestured in Sam's direction. "It's so hard to get your attention." He groaned, now making Sam laugh. Emma looked between the two, wondering what their relationship was.

"Well you got it." Sam answered with a smile.

"Are you arresting me again?" Emma asked, breaking herself out of her thoughts. He stopped in front of the two with a sigh.

"I'm thanking you. For your help finding that coma patient. We all owe you a debt of gratitude."

"Well, what do I get? A commendation? A key to the city?"

"How about a job?" Graham suggested. "I could use a deputy."

"And what do I get? A pat on the back?" Sam asked, glaring at him. He rolled his eyes and turned back to Emma, who was ready with a response.

"Thank you, but I have a job."

"As a bail bondsperson? There's not much of that going on here."

"I don't see a lot of sheriffing going on around here either."

"Well, here's your chance to see it up close." He responded. "There's dental." Emma let out a quiet laugh before he handed her his car. "Why don't you think about it? And stay a while." They stared at each other for a while, making Sam feel awkward.

"Speaking of sheriffing," She cleared her throat. "I think you have a job to get back to. Right Miss Swan?" Emma nodded and the three of them said their goodbyes before Emma and Sam left for Granny's.

"So, what's the deal with you and the sheriff?" Emma asked as Ruby brought the two girls hot cocoa. Sam looked over at the blonde in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, what's going on with the two of you?" Emma continued, taking a fingerful of whipped cream and stuffing it in her mouth. "You two in a relationship or something?"

"Oh! No, no, no, no." Sam realized what she was talking about and started laughing. "No, Graham's like a brother. Me and him? Never. That would be weird. You, on the other hand, I think he likes you."

"Why?"

"He asked you to be his deputy so he could spend more time with you." Sam giggled like a middle school girl sharing gossip. "I know him better than anyone. Believe me, he likes you." Before Emma could respond, Regina walked in over to the table.

"How was your walk with Henry?" She asked, forgetting the usual greeting. She sat down as she continued. "That's right, I know everything."

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom." Sam said, excusing herself from the table. Regina nodded and turned her attention back to Emma. Sam stayed in the bathroom until Regina left, waiting for the uncomfortable conversation to be over. "Sorry."

"It's alright." Emma responded, going to stand, but spilling her cocoa all over herself. "Really?" She groaned as Ruby came over. She brought over a towel and handed it to the blonde. "Do you have a laundry room I can use?"

"Mmm-hmm." Ruby smiled sweetly and led her to the laundry room, Sam following close behind. Emma slammed the clothes into the washer, ignoring the other person in the room. Sam recognized her as Ashley, one of Ruby's close friends and a victim of her step-mother.

"No, no, no, no." She cried as she pulled her clothes out of the dryer. Emma turned to her, annoyed enough from the day's events. She pulled on a shirt as she tried to be nice.

"You okay?"

"The sheets, they're pink."

"Have you tried bleach?" Emma paused as Ashley threw down the sheet in her hand, seeing the girl's growing belly. "Oh."

"Last night, I felt contractions and the doctor said that the baby could come any day now." Ashley sniffled, rubbing her stomach. Emma continued to wring out her clothes as Sam stood near the door.

"That's great." Sam smiled, happy for the girl. The look in her eyes told her something wasn't right about the baby coming. Sam placed a hand over her stomach, a weird feeling settling inside of her.

"It's just that when the baby comes, no one thinks I can do this." Ashley said as tears threatened to spill. Emma paused, a wave of sympathy falling over her. "No one thinks I can do anything. Maybe they're right."

Emma turned around, crossing her arms over her chest. "Screw them." Ashley questioned what she meant and Emma repeated. "Screw them. How old are you?" Ashley paused before answering Emma's question.

"Nineteen."

"I was eighteen."

"When you had a kid?"

"Yeah, I know what it's like." Emma said as Sam stayed silent. "Everyone loves to tell you what you can and can't do, especially with a kid. But ultimately, whatever you're considering doing, or giving up, the choice is yours."

"It's not exactly what you might think it is."

"It never is." Emma responded. "People are gonna tell you who you are your whole life. You just gotta punch back and say "no, this is who I am." You want people to look at you differently? Make them. You want to change things? You're gonna have to go out there and change them yourself because there are no fairy godmothers in this world."

"Thank you." Ashley said before leaving the laundry and running off. Sam watched as she left, a feeling of nausea forming in her throat. It was gone as soon as it came, confusing the brunette by its sudden presence.

"We should get going." Emma suggested. Sam nodded, ignoring the feeling that had taken residence inside her. The two waited for Emma's clothes to finish in the dryer before Sam left for her shop.

She smiled as she saw the flowers in front of her shop, happiness spreading throughout her body. With a content sigh, she started her routine, cleaning the shelves and setting up the displays. After she finished, Ashley came in with a smile.

"Hi."

"Hey, Ash. Are you looking for toys for the baby?" Sam asked, moving away from the counter to help her. She nodded and Sam showed her around, taking her to the baby section first. The baby aisle was usually empty, not many people had babies in Storybrooke, so it wasn't usually necessary.

In the middle of explaining something to Ashley, the doorbell chimed, telling Sam that someone had come in. She excused herself and walked over to the front, seeing a man with brown hair and blue eyes walk in.

His eyes landed on hers as he paused, like someone had pressed the pause button on a movie. The breath caught in his throat, the sight of her enough to make him faint.

She stopped as well, images of Henry's story book flashing across her mind. She shook her head and smiled, remembering it was probably a stupid coincidence that the man that had walked into her shop looked like The Mad Hatter from a book.

"How can I help you?" She asked as he snapped out of his trance. He smiled sweetly, although it didn't reach his eyes. Like seeing Sam brought back something horrible for him.

"Um, do you have any stuffed rabbits?" He asked, struggling to get the words out. "Maybe?" He quickly added. She smiled and nodded before leading him to an aisle with the stuffed animals.

Jefferson watched as she moved through the aisles, feeling stupid for barely being able to talk to her without stuttering. She stopped and showed him the rabbit toys, a certain bunny catching his attention.

He gulped down the lump in throat, keeping his eyes on the toy as she continued to talk about something else. She noticed he wasn't listening, turning her attention to the toy he was looking at.

"What about this one?" He asked, shyly as she grabbed the toy off the shelf. She chuckled quietly as she played with the ears, keeping her attention on the rabbit. The rabbit had stitched patches on its jacket and parts of its face, two different button eyes and crooked mouth.

"Not many people choose this one." Sam said, breaking herself from her thoughts. She looked up, seeing the emotion in the man's eyes as he stared at her. "Usually people just think I put it out there by accident."

"Well, I think it's cute." He responded, his confidence building a bit. She smiled at his response before Ashley came over with a few toys. His confidence disappeared as quickly as it came, the hope of being alone with Serena feeling like it was just out of reach.

"Hey, I'm finished shopping." Ashley stated as Sam handed the bunny to Jefferson. She nodded and excused herself to help Ashley. He sighed as she left, running his fingers over the stitched patterns.

He waited until Ashley left to walk over to the counter to pay for the bunny. He watched as she wrapped up the bunny, assuming he was giving it to someone as a gift. She glanced up at him every once in a while, noticing he had kept his eyes on her.

"I'm Sam." She smiled as she handed him the wrapped up toy. He held back a grimace at the name, wishing she remembered. 'No, you're not.' He sighed to himself as he faked a smile, paying for the toy.

"Jefferson." He responded simply as he turned around and walked over to the door. He paused halfway, noticing the purple and blue orchids on the windowsill. He smiled softly to himself before walking to the door, pushing it open and walking down the road.

Regret filled his stomach, knowing he shouldn't have left it like that. He should've said more than that, but he didn't know what to say. He tried to shake away the guilt, knowing that he was probably doing the right thing by keeping his distance, but it still felt horrible.

He knew she was trying to make conversation and he wanted to spend more time with her, he could've listened to her for hours about different toys and different topics, but it was still too soon.

He couldn't listen to her talk about her life without the voice in the back of his head telling him everything she was saying was a lie. Just the curse's way of telling him how much he lost. And telling him how it was his fault.

He sighed and went home, sitting down on his couch as he unwrapped the toy. He smiled sadly as he traced the stitches, remembering when he had stressed over making it perfect. The toy was more special to him than anyone knew.

After a few moments, he stood up and placed the bunny on the table before going upstairs. He went up to his craft room, flipping on the light to see all the failed hats he had made. He sat down and started working, hoping this hat would be the one to work.

The one that would bring his family home.

-The Enchanted Forest-

Jefferson followed Rumpelstiltskin upstairs to Serena's room, hoping to start the deal as soon as possible. He didn't know why he felt the need to save Serena, he had been telling himself that she was a spoiled brat since they met. Now, he felt different about her.

He needed to save her life. He didn't care about her, but she didn't deserve to die. She wasn't evil like her sister, she was kind and sweet. She cared more about people than she did about power.

Rumpelstiltskin stopped at a wooden door, gesturing for Jefferson to go in. Jefferson went in and saw Serena lying on a tiny wood cot. He glanced back at Rumpel before going over to the cot and gathering her in his arms.

"Now, will you tell me what happened?" Jefferson asked, turning to Rumpel. He hadn't explained what had cursed her, only that she was cursed. He probably should've known, it was very obvious. But his thoughts were going faster than his common sense.

"It's a sleeping curse." Rumpel answered. "Very popular, but the only way to cure it is through true love's kiss. Now remember," He continued as Jefferson grabbed his hat off his head and held it in his hand. "If you can't find a cure, you bring her body to me."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it." Jefferson hurried to throw his hat to the ground, waiting for it to start spinning. The portal opened and Jefferson jumped in, holding Serena closer to himself. Rumpel watched as the portal closed, a small smirk playing on his features.

"One day he'll thank me for this."

As soon as he was in the portal, Jefferson ran straight to the door leading to the Land Without Color. He went inside, the familiar feeling of falling sending hope through him. He wouldn't let Serena die, he couldn't.

Even if it meant spending the rest of his life searching for her true love.

He landed on his feet, a rare occurrence since meeting Serena. When arriving in Wonderland, she had landed on top of him. He thought since it was her first time portal jumping, she didn't know how to land. Then she did it again. Even he knew how to land after the first time.

He sighed and ran through the nearest village, getting concerned looks from people passing by. He knew where Victor lived, so it wouldn't be hard to find. Rain started to pour down on him, making the journey even worse.

He pulled Serena closer to his chest to protect her from the rain and ran up to Victor's house. If anyone knew how to help, it would be him. Right? He was a doctor. He had to know some way to wake her.

Holding his breath, Jefferson knocked on the door and waited for Victor or Igor to answer. After a few moments the wooden door opened to reveal Igor.

"Is Victor home?" Jefferson asked, hope filling his voice. Igor nodded and led him to Victor's study, telling him to wait while he went to get Victor. Jefferson sat down in a chair by the gray fire, pulling Serena's body closer.

She was soaked and freezing, taking shallow breaths as the cold started to get to her. Her hair was dripping water onto Jefferson's shoulder. He tried to think about anything else, but he couldn't stand her shivering.

Not being able to take it anymore, he stood up, gently placing her in the chair before shrugging off his coat and wrapping it around her. He then sighed as he picked her up again, hoping his body heat would keep her warm.

"When Igor said you were here, I didn't think you brought a friend." Victor joked, getting Jefferson's attention. "I wasn't expecting a visit from you."

"I need your help." Jefferson said, walking over to him. "She's under a sleeping curse. I need your help finding a cure."

"I thought-"

"True loves kiss? I know." Jefferson interrupted him. "There has to be some other cure. If the sleeping curse isn't broken, she'll starve. Or freeze with that damn rain outside." Victor nodded and led him upstairs to his lab.

"I can't guarantee she'll survive, but I can try to help." Jefferson set her down on the table as Victor spoke. Jefferson knew he probably sounded like an idiot for trying to save her without true love's kiss, it was impossible. At that point, he didn't care.

All he knew was that Serena didn't deserve to die. He hadn't known her for long, but he could read people. He knew she was the complete opposite of her sister. Then, he asked himself when he started to care.

A few days ago, he wouldn't have cared if she lived or died. He just needed her to help get the Clock of Evermore before taking her to Rumpelstiltskin. Now, he wanted to make sure she lived, but he knew it was unlikely.

"I know." Jefferson sighed in response to Victor. Victor stayed silent for a moment, realizing just how worried his friend was for the girl.

"Why don't you go take a hot bath?" He suggested as Jefferson turned to face him. "You're going to get sick if you don't warm up. I'll have Igor bring you some warm clothes while I see what I can do for your friend."

"Serena, her name is Serena." Jefferson said and Victor nodded. Victor repeated the name before turning to Serena. Jefferson lingered for a bit before leaving the room and following Igor to the guest bathroom. "Thank you." He waited for Igor to leave so he could finally take a bath.

Stripping his wet clothes, he sighed and thought over what had happened. He had been so worked up, he didn't have time to process what was happening. He sat in the tub, letting the water warm his body.

He leaned his head back against the edge of the tub, his eyes closing as his muscles relaxed a bit. Unlike his body, his mind refused to relax as it brought up all the things that could happen. He groaned a bit, trying to get his thoughts to calm down.

Unable to take anymore of his brain, he splashed the water in anger, the water spilling over the edge of the tub. He then let out a breath, wishing his mind would shut up. She is going to be fine. He assured himself, but his brain still didn't believe it.

And neither did he.

-Storybrooke-

"I know you two think otherwise," Regina said as she put on another layer of lipstick, even after Sam had told her she looked fine. "but I don't enjoy these Saturday city council meetings. Sometimes they're just unavoidable. Now, you know the rules?"

"Yes on homework, no on TV, and don't leave the house without Sam." He answered, even though Sam had left after Regina kept adding more lipstick. Regina smiled and walked over to him.

"Good boy." She said, tilting his chin to look at her. "Under no circumstance do you leave this house without Sam. And since she's not here, that means no leaving the house at all."

"You mean don't see my mom."

"She's not your mother. She's just a woman passing through." Regina snapped a bit as she stood up straight. "Now, do as I say or there will be consequences. I'll be back at 5:00 sharp." She started to walk to the door, leaving Henry alone.

As soon as she was gone, he smiled and grabbed his bag, running out the back door. It would have probably been better to call Sam, but she told him she was busy and couldn't pick him up. It would be fine, he had been around town hundreds of times.

"So glad my stuff is here." Emma said as she unpacked the last box. Sam sat at Mary-Margaret's kitchen counter, stuffing her face with bacon and eggs. Mary-Margaret brought over a plate to Emma, which she gladly accepted. "Oh, thanks."

"So that's all your stuff?" Sam asked, noticing there were like three boxes all together. Emma turned to look at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Is the rest in storage?" Mary-Margaret asked, trying to be as polite as possible. The confusion only grew on Emma's face as she turned to Mary-Margaret.

"No, this is all of it. I'm not sentimental."

"Well, it must make things easier when you have to move." Mary-Margaret said and walked over to the table before a knock at the door caught her attention. She opened it to see Mr. Gold standing there.

"Miss Blanchard? Is Miss Swan here?" He asked as both Emma and Sam walked over. "Hi, my name is Mr. Gold. We met briefly on your arrival." He held his hand out for Emma to shake. She took it, shaking it quickly before pulling away.

"I remember."

"Good. I have a proposition for you, Miss Swan." Gold said, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. "I need your help. I'm looking for someone." Sam's face turned cold, a stark difference from the playful demeanor she usually wore.

"Really? Um." Emma turned to Mary-Margaret, hoping she would come up with an answer. Mr. Gold gave her a different look that meant he wanted some privacy.

"You know what, I'm going to go jump in the bath." She announced before leaving the room. Emma turned back to Gold as he pulled something out of his pocket.

"I have a photo." He handed the picture to Emma as Sam peered over her shoulder to see it. The picture showed Ashley in Gold's shop. "Her name is Ashley Boyd, and she's taken something quite valuable of mine."

"So why don't you just go to the police?" Sam asked as Gold stepped inside. Emma closed the door and walked over to the table.

"Because..." Gold paused, trying to find the right words. "She's a confused young woman, she's pregnant, alone, scared. I don't want to ruin this young girl's life, but I just want my property returned."

"What is it?" Emma asked. He stopped for a moment, thinking over his answer. Sam's eyes narrowed as he took his time coming up with words.

"Well, one of the advantages of you not being the police is discretion." He answered, making Sam even more on edge. She didn't trust it. It would be easier to go to the police. Ashley had either stolen something that he wasn't supposed to have or worse. "Let's just say it's a precious object and leave it at that."

"When did you see her last?"

"Last night." His response was quicker than the last, clearly he hadn't bent the truth with this answer. He pushed his hair aside, revealing a scar as he continued. "That's how I got this. It's so unlike her. She was quite wound up, rambling on and on about changing her life. I have no idea what got into her. Miss Swan, please help me find her. My only other choice is the police, and I don't think anyone wants to see that baby born in jail, now do they?"

"No, of course not." Emma answered quickly. Sam shook her head, still suspicious about the whole situation.

"So, will you both help me then?"

"I will help her." Sam responded, not trusting Gold enough to agree to help him. He smiled as Emma nodded, agreeing more with Sam than she was him.

"Grand." He said before the door opened and Henry came in. The two women turned to him as he stopped.

"Hey, Emma, I was thinking we-" Henry paused mid-sentence upon seeing Mr. Gold.

"Hey, Henry. How're you?" Gold asked, making Sam's jaw clench. She didn't like Gold being anywhere near Henry, let alone talking with him.

"Okay." Henry faked a smile and walked over to Sam while Gold went over to the door. Sam stared down Gold as he walked.

"Good. Give my regards to your mother." He stopped at the door, turning to Emma and Sam. "And good luck to you both." He gave Henry one more nod before walking out the door, closing it behind him. Sam let out a sigh of relief as he left, walking over to the kitchen table.

"Do you know who that is?" Henry asked as he followed Emma over to the boxes of her stuff. She paused, turning to him.

"Yeah, of course I do."

"Who? 'Cause I'm still trying to figure it out."

"Oh, I meant in reality."

"Is that all you brought?"

"Henry, what're you doing here?" Sam asked before Emma could. "I thought your mom said you weren't allowed to leave the house without me."

"Exactly. Here you are." He smiled as she grumbled, regretting teaching him how to find loopholes in rules. Especially with Regina. "Anyway, I thought we could hang out."

"Kid, I wish I could, but there's something we gotta do." Emma said, gesturing to Sam, who was grabbing her jacket. She picked up the picture of Ashley and left the apartment, Henry following close behind.

"Please let me help." He begged after Emma explained the situation. Sam sighed as they continued down the street, knowing he wasn't going to give up.

"No, it could be dangerous." Emma said.

"The pregnant maid is dangerous?"

"She assaulted Mr. Gold!"

"Cool."

"This isn't a game. She's desperate." Emma said as they approached her yellow bug.

"How do you know?"

"Because I know."

"Well, then let's find her."

"Oh, no, no, no, no. There is now "let's." You cannot come with us." Emma told him as he stopped by the passengers' side door.

"Then I'll look for her myself."

"Then we'll find you and bring you back." Sam countered, playfully glaring at him. He turned to her with a smug smile.

"Then you wouldn't be helping the maid."

"Then I'd let Emma find her and bring you back myself."

"Then I'd tell mom you put me in a dangerous situation."

"We're just trying to be responsible here!" Emma said as Henry turned around to face her.

"And I'm just trying to spend time with you." He then got in the back seat of the car, leaving the two women with their jaws dropped.

"Oh, that is really not fair." Emma went over to the drivers side and got in as Sam got in the passengers side.

"So, the maid, what's her story?" Henry asked as Emma put on her seatbelt. She sighed and explained everything else as they drove to Granny's diner. They stopped, finding Ruby outside cleaning tables.

"Hey Sam." She smiled as the three approached her. She noticed the look on both Sam and Emma's face and her smile dropped. "What's wrong?"

"What do you know about Ashley Boyd?" Sam asked. Ruby sighed and nodded before setting down the rag in her hand. She explained the situation, avoiding certain questions from Emma. She knew something.

"So, this boyfriend of hers, you don't think he was involved in her disappearance?" Emma asked. Ruby continued to clean, getting slightly irritated with the blonde.

"Uh, that would mean he was involved with her at all, which he isn't." Ruby snapped before walking over to another table. "He left her in the lurch right after they found out they were expecting. Hasn't spoken to her since."

"That's awful." Sam grimaced as bile rose in her throat. She never had a boyfriend for too long, it had been a long time and she was more focused with helping Regina raise Henry than meeting guys. Even after Ruby forced her to go out and have fun.

"Like I said, he's a-" Ruby continued before a noise behind them caught their attention. They turned around to see the car tow dropping Ruby's car. "Hey, hey, hey, Billy! Be careful. You almost shattered my wolf thing, Billy. It's good luck."

"I'm sorry, Ruby, but look, it's fine." He responded while Emma rolled her eyes. She stepped forward to get the girl's attention.

"Ruby, what about her family?"

"Oh! Um. She's got a step mom and two stepsisters that she doesn't talk to." Ruby answered, slightly distracted. Henry stepped forward, pushing past Emma.

"Wait, stepmom, stepsisters, and she's a maid?"

"Henry, not now." Sam interrupted, pulling him closer. Ruby glanced at him before turning back to Emma.

"Look, I don't know what you've heard, but it's wrong." She sighed as Emma's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Everyone thinks she's not ready to have this kid, but she's trying. Taking night classes, trying to better herself, trying to get her life together. Can either of you understand that?"

"I think so." Emma answered with a knowing smile.

"Then maybe you should just stay out of it." Ruby responded. "She's been through enough already."

"I've been through it, too, Ruby and I can help her."

"Then try her ex."

"Where can we find him?"

"He lives with his dad." Ruby answered before telling her the address. Sam thanked her before following Emma back to her car.

Emma knocked on the door and waited for Sean to answer. A moment later, a boy around Ashley's age stepped out. Henry stayed in the car while Sam and Emma both went to the door. "Sean Herman?" A car pulled into the driveway as Sean answered.

"Yeah, who are you?"

"I'm Emma Swan. This is my friend, Sam." She introduced. "I'm looking for Ashley Boyd. She's in trouble. I just thought maybe she came to see you." An older looking man got out of the car, joining the conversation.

"My son doesn't have anything to do with that girl anymore." He said as he walked up to them. "So whatever trouble she's in, I'm sorry for, but there's nothing we can do to help you."

"You're the reason he broke up with her."

"Absolutely. I'm not gonna let my son throw away his entire life over a mistake." He said as Emma's jaw clenched.

"So you just told him to leave her?" She questioned, not understanding how someone couldn't care less about a child, let alone his grandchild.

"What are they going to do?" He countered. "Raise a child in the backseat of a car?"

"Some people only have the backseat of a car."

"Well, they're to be pitied. I'm not letting that happen to my son." He moved past Sean to get inside. Sean stayed, only turning slightly to look at him.

"Dad, maybe we should help her look."

"It's a waste, Sean."

"Sean, if you wanna come, come." Sam whispered, moving closer to him. She looked between his eyes, seeing how much he wanted to help.

"Stop letting other people make decisions for you." Emma added. "If Ashley runs away with this baby, she's gonna be in some serious trouble."

"She's running away with the baby?"

"Yes."

"Sean." Sean's father said. "Inside. Now." He did as he was told, leaving the two women to deal with his father. "Look, believe me, if I knew where she was, I would tell you. I went through a lot of trouble to get her that deal."

"Deal?" Sam crossed her arms over her chest as Emma added.

"What're you talking about?"

"You don't know? Ashley agreed to give up the child, and she's being paid very well to do so."

"She sold the baby?"

"You make it sound so crass." He defended. "I found someone who's going to find that child a good and proper home."

"And who are you to judge whether Ashley is capable of providing that?" Sam questioned. Emma nodded in agreement as Henry watched from the car.

"Look at her. She's a teenager." He started as the two women's eyes narrowed. "She's never shown any evidence of being responsible. How could she possibly know how to be a mother?"

"Maybe she's changing her life." Emma suggested. He looked at her as if she was an innocent child that didn't understand something, a look of pity.

"Everybody says that. Now look. I found someone who's going to pay Ashley extremely well, someone who's going to see to it that everybody's happy."

"Mr. Gold."

"Isn't that why you were hired? To bring him the baby?"

Chapter 6: Chapter Six

-The Land Without Color-

"How is she? Did you find anything?" Jefferson asked, barging into Victor's lab. Victor jumped a bit, startled by his sudden appearance. "Please, tell me you found something." They had been trying for almost a month to help Serena and break the curse, but nothing was working.

Victor thought Jefferson would have lost hope after the first few days, but every morning he came in, asking if he had found a cure. It was sweet that his friend cared so much about someone other than himself, but it was still a nightmare when he had glass in his hand.

"Nothing we haven't already found." Victor sighed, taking off his glasses. He wanted to put his next words in a way that would make it easy for Jefferson. He had never seen Jefferson get so attached to someone, but Victor knew that when he loved someone, he would do anything for them. "I don't think there's much else we can do."

"What do you mean?"

"Jefferson, I think it's time we give up." Jefferson took his time processing Victor's words, his thoughts running faster than they ever had before. "Jefferson?" Jefferson nodded simply as Victor left the room.

Tears formed in his eyes as he went over to where Serena was lying on the table. He wanted to save her, to go back and refuse the deal with Rumpelstiltskin, so she would still be living her life as a princess and never would have been brought into his.

"I'm sorry, princess." He said, his voice breaking as he held in tears. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have taken you away from your life, I shouldn't have-" His words cut short as he choked out a sob, wishing he could've done something to help her.

Guilt settled in his stomach the longer he looked at her. He could practically see how pale she would be if there was color in the world. She was normally pale from being in a castle for so long, but he knew she would've looked like a ghost.

He tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear as he hovered above her face. A tear fell, landing on her cheek, which he gently wiped away. "I'm sorry." He whispered before he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. He stood up and moved away, about to leave to grab his hat from his room. He reached out to grab the handle, pausing when he heard shuffling behind him.

"Jefferson?" Serena's soft voice made a lump form in his throat. He turned around to see her as she sat up, looking around the room. "Jefferson, where are we?" He didn't answer, only staring at her in disbelief.

"You're awake?" He asked, still shocked. She continued to look around, noticing the world was in black and white. He walked over to her as she finally brought her gaze to look at him. "How is this possible?"

"What do you mean? What's going on?" Her eyes held curiosity and confusion. He paused, not sure if he should tell her about the sleeping curse or tell her it had been some virus she picked up in Wonderland.

"You got sick in Wonderland, I brought you to my friend Victor to see if he could help you." He answered, choosing to go with the lie. He didn't want her to think he was her true love. If she knew how curses work, she would figure out that he saved her from the sleeping curse.

"Jefferson-" Victor came into the room, pausing when he saw Serena awake. The girl looked over at him, breaking eye contact with Jefferson. "I think I'll leave you to talk." Jefferson nodded and Victor left, closing the door behind him.

"One question: why is everything in black and white?" She asked, getting his attention. He turned his head to look at her, breaking into a smile. "Seriously, I'm confused."

"I'll explain everything." He said, helping her off the table. "Right now, you need to rest." He guided her to the door, keeping a firm grip on her arm. She opened her mouth to protest, but decided against it, knowing this was probably the only time he was going to be nice.

-Storybrooke-

"You can't make her double-cross Gold. No one's ever broken a deal with him before." Henry said as Emma drove towards Granny's diner.

"Happy to be the first." Emma responded. "If Ashley wants to have this baby, she should have it. Anyone who wants to be a mother should damn well be allowed to be one." He smiled from the backseat as Sam shrunk down a bit.

"Not everyone." She sighed quietly as Emma glanced over at her. They stopped at Granny's, going inside and looking for Ruby.

"Why didn't you tell us she sold the baby?"

"Because I didn't think it was important."

"Really? Considering that's why she's running away?"

"Seems pretty important to me." Sam groaned as Ruby moved away from the counter. Emma, Henry and Sam followed after her.

"Look, Ashley's my friend. I don't like the idea of people judging her." She continued with a sigh. Emma noticed her wolf crystal on the counter and picked it up, turning to face her.

"Ruby, where's your car?" Emma paused and sighed before continuing. "You didn't send us to Sean to find her. You sent us there to give her a head start."

"Look, I'm only trying to help her."

"Yeah, so are we." Emma countered. "Ashley's in more trouble than you know, Ruby. Where is she? Don't make her deal with Gold without me." Ruby stopped, glancing between Henry and Emma.

"I can't talk in front of him. He's the mayor's kid." She finally spoke. "I know Sam. She wouldn't say a word to the mayor."

"I'm on your side." Said Henry as Sam smiled. Ruby narrowed her eyes at him before Emma finally turned to Henry.

"Henry, I need to find this woman." She bent down to look at him. "And in order to do that, I need you to go home, okay? So please listen to me. Seriously. She's not going to tell us anything if you're around."

"Okay."

"Thank you." Emma whispered with a smile as he turned and left. She then turned to Ruby, who sighed.

"She left town." Ruby told her. "She said she was going to try Boston, thought she could disappear there."

"How long ago did she leave?"

"About a half an hour." Emma nodded and left, Sam following close behind. The two got in Emma's car, driving off.

"What are we going to do?" Sam asked, keeping her gaze out the window. Emma glanced at her as she rolled down her window.

"Find her before Gold does."

"What'd she tell you?" Henry asked, popping his head into the front seat. Both Emma and Sam jumped, turning around to see him.

"Henry! What the hell?" Emma gasped, looking in the rearview mirror. "We're going to Boston. You can't come with us."

"You can't go to Boston! Neither Sam or the maid can leave." Henry explained. "Bad things happen to anyone that does!"

"I don't have time to argue with you over the curse." Emma said. "I gotta get you home."

"We have to stop her before she gets hurt." He continued. "We're wasting time. If you drop me off, you'll never catch up to her."

"Henry..."

"Then Mr. Gold will call the police, and he'll have her sent to jail."

"Buckle up." Emma sighed. He smiled, then put his seatbelt on. "Ashley what did you get yourself into?" They drove towards the edge of town, looking for the missing girl.

"I told you." Henry said, pointing to Ruby's car. It was on the side of the road, halfway in a ditch. "It's her car." They were getting close to the edge of town and Sam was starting to feel a growing pain in her stomach. She ignored it, focusing on finding Ashley.

Jefferson was sitting at his craft table, working on another hat. He kept muttering "Get it to work" as he worked, Serena being his motivation to continue. He felt a blinding pain inside him, striking right in his heart.

He gasped as he clutched his chest, wondering what was happening. He knew it wasn't his health, that wasn't physically possible. Then it hit him; Serena.

Something happened to her. She was either hurt, or she was getting too close to the border of town. He didn't care which one; he needed to find her before it got worse.

He ran out of the house, ignoring the pain as it got stronger. Running towards the town line, he searched frantically for her until he got too close to the town line. The pain stopped, disappearing as if it were never there.

Sam, Emma and Henry search around Ruby's car until they heard Ashley crying in pain. They turned to see her on the ground, clutching her stomach.

"My baby. It's coming." She panted as they ran over to her. Carefully, they helped her into Emma's car, sitting her in the backseat with Sam. Henry crawled into the passenger's seat as Emma got in the driver's side.

"Is the baby really coming?" Henry asked as Ashley continued to cry. Sam quickly called a tow truck for Ruby's car before turning her attention to the girl.

"Oh, yeah." She told Henry, glancing up at him. "Don't worry, the hospital isn't that far." Ashley cried harder, pulling away from Sam.

"No! No, no, no! Take me to Boston. I can't go back there."

"No, we don't have four hours. Trust me, I know." Emma said with a dry laugh.

"I can't go back there, please. He's gonna take my baby."

"I won't let that happen." Emma assured. "But do you know what you're asking for if you keep this child? Are you really ready?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure? Because I wasn't."

"You weren't?"

"Nope. If you want to give this kid its best chance, it's gonna be with someone who is ready, so know what that means. Your whole life is gonna change, and once you decide that it's yours, this running away can't happen. You have to grow up, and you can't ever leave. Understand?"

"Yes. I want my baby." Ashley answered. Emma's words seemed to calm her a bit, helping Sam make sure she wasn't going to be giving birth in the backseat of Emma's bug. They drove to the hospital room, getting Ashley into a room so she could have her baby.

Jefferson slipped into the hospital, hoping that he wouldn't see Serena in one of the rooms. He frantically looked around the emergency room, holding his breath until he saw Serena sitting with Emma and Henry in the waiting room.

He smiled softly as he saw that she was okay, taking a moment to watch her before leaving. He went back home, letting out a sigh of relief. He then went back up to his craft room, it was more of a torture chamber to him, but he didn't care.

He sat down and got to work, continuing the hat that he had dropped before he left. He took in a deep breath as he thought about Serena, knowing he would be with her soon enough. It was only a matter of time.

"Y'know, Emma, you're different." Henry said as Emma paced around the room. She paused and gave him a puzzled look. Sam was sitting in the chair next to him, thinking about the pain from earlier.

"What's that?"

"You're the only one who can do it." Henry continued as Sam zoned out of the conversation. Emma glanced at him once again before continuing.

"Break the curse? Yes, I know. You keep telling me that."

"No. Leave. You're the only one who can leave Storybrooke."

"You left and came and found me in Boston."

"But I came back. I'm ten. I had no choice." He responded. "But if anyone else tried to go, bad things would happen." Sam perked up a bit, thinking about how close they had been to the edge of town when she got the pain in her stomach.

She brushed it off, thinking the idea of a curse being placed over the town by her sister was ridiculous.

"Anyone except me?" Emma asked, playing along with Henry's fantasy.

"You're the savior. You can do whatever you want." He shrugged as Emma bent down in front of him. "You can go." Before she could say anything, the nurse came over calling for her. Sam sat up straight, bringing her attention to the nurse.

"Miss Swan, the baby is a healthy six-pound girl." The nurse said. "And the mother is doing fine." Emma thanked her before she walked away and Gold announced his presence.

"What lovely news. Excellent work, Miss Swan." He stepped towards the group. "Miss Mills, always a pleasure. Thank you both for bringing me my merchandise. I'll be getting a coffee if anyone wants one." He walked away as Emma and Sam turned their attention to the other.

"I'll handle it." Emma said before walking over to him. They talked for a bit, Sam only catching bits of their conversation. After a few minutes, Emma walked back over to her.

"Well?"

"I made a deal with him, Ashley's keeping the baby." Emma said and the nurse came over to tell them that they could see Ashley. Emma thanked her as she followed Henry into Ashley's room. "Hey. What's her name?"

"Alexandra." Ashley smiled proudly. Henry sat on the edge of the bed, trying to get a good look at the baby. Sam felt a weird feeling in her stomach, an emptiness of some sort.

"It's pretty." She smiled.

"Thank you for getting me here." Ashley sighed, keeping her eyes on the little girl. She then looked up, her eyes flicking between Emma and Sam.

"Mr. Gold was outside." Emma said. "I took care of it. She's yours."

"She is?" The girl asked. Emma nodded before Ashley continued. "What did you do?"

"Made a deal with him." The blonde shrugged it off like it was nothing. Ashley thanked her before Emma turned to the clock. "Oh. Hey, kid, it's almost five o'clock. We gotta get you home. Sam, you want me to take you to Regina's house?"

"Yeah." Sam agreed and rushed Henry out of the room. They all ran to Emma's bug, scrambling to get inside before Regina got home.

"Pumpkin." Emma said randomly after a while of driving.

"Apple." Sam continued. Emma eyed her curiously before she explained. "I thought we were naming random crap." The blonde rolled her eyes before glancing at Henry.

"I meant as my code name. I was thinking in honor of Cinderella, pumpkin." She shrugged as she smiled, proud of herself. Henry shook his head as a response. "You got a better one in mind?"

"Yup."

"Well?"

"I'm not sure you're ready yet." Before she could say anything, Regina's house came into view and she stopped. Sam urged him out of the car, hurrying towards the house. "Henry? About what you said at the hospital about me being able to leave?"

"Yeah?"

She paused and shrugged it off. "I'll see you tomorrow." He nodded and ran into the house. She stopped for a moment before driving off as Regina's car pulled up.

"Go, go, go!" Sam hurried him up the stairs. He tripped, dropping one of his shoes on the stairs as he went up. Before she could grab it, Regina came into the house. She was about to call for Henry, when she saw Sam. "Hey, Gina."

"What have I told you about calling me that?" Regina scolded as she walked further into the house. "Where's Henry?"

"In his room." Sam answered as her sister walked past her towards the stairs. She noticed the shoe on the step as she went up, followed closely by Sam.

"Henry? What did I tell you?" She asked as she grabbed the shoe and opened Henry's bedroom door. Thinking they were caught, Sam followed as she tried to stop her. "Do not leave your shoe lying around on the stairs. Someone could get hurt." Henry nodded as she tossed his shoe on the bed and walked past Sam, leaving the two.

Sam let out a sigh of relief, giving him a thumbs up before following Regina. He sighed as well, dropping the book that he had picked up. Regina went to the kitchen to make dinner, noticing Sam joined her.

"How was the council meeting?" Sam asked, pulling herself onto the kitchen counter.

"As boring as usual." Regina huffed and pulled out the things to make dinner. Sam nodded and looked away, the weird thoughts still stuck in her mind. Regina noticed her change in behavior and turned to her. "Is everything okay? Did something happen?"

"No, no, no." Sam shook her head and faked a smile. "It's just nice to help out with raising Henry." Regina paused, knowing her sister's cursed self longed for a child. She knew Sam was always happy to help raise Henry, but it wasn't the same as having a child of her own.

That was the only part of the curse that she hated, her sister's inability to have children.

Instead of bringing up the actual problem, Regina simply nodded and grabbed out stuff for dinner. "Can you help with dinner? I know Henry's been wanting to spend time with you lately, and I thought it would be a little less awkward with everything that's been going on."

"Of course." Sam smiled as if her change in demeanor was just a glitch. "What are we making?"

"Well, I was going to make pasta, but it seems we're out of noodles and sauce."

"I can run to the store if you want."

"Would you?" Regina asked. Sam nodded and left to the store. Standing in the pasta aisle, she sorted through the different types of pasta, knowing which one Regina would kill her if she got.

Jefferson watched her from a distance, doing his shopping as well. He knew he probably looked like a creep, but he wanted to make sure she was okay. After earlier, he had gotten paranoid about leaving her alone.

Breaking his gaze on her, he turned to grab a random can off the shelf. He didn't really know what it was, but he needed to keep himself distracted. Sensing that someone was now standing next to him, he glanced over to see Sam looking at pasta sauce.

His breath caught in his throat as he looked back to the can, reading the label even though he still had no idea what it was. Sam recognized him as the man that was in her shop the other day, but didn't say anything.

She glanced over at him, noticing his confused expression. "Ravioli." She said, He turned to her, even more confused. "The pasta, it's ravioli."

"Oh? Uh, thanks." He smiled softly and put the can back on the shelf. He may have been looking at it, but he had no intention of buying whatever it was. Sam looked at the shelf, looking for pasta sauce.

She found it next to him, moving towards him to grab it. He tensed up at the closeness, but stayed quiet.

"Here let me." He said as she continued to inch closer. He grabbed it and handed it to her, giving her a small smile as he did.

"Thank you." She smiled and set the can of sauce in the basket. "You were in my shop the other day, right? The man who bought the rabbit toy?"

"Yeah, I'm a big fan of Alice in Wonderland." He nodded and grabbed a random object off the shelf. "You're Sam, right? I'm Jefferson." He knew she didn't remember his name, she never did when he came into her shop, and he doubted she would remember it after this.

"Well, it's nice to see you again." She said before her phone went off. She picked it up and answered the call, putting the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Are you almost here?" Regina asked over the phone.

"Yeah, I'll be there soon." Sam answered before Regina hung up the phone. Sam then turned her attention back to Jefferson. "Well, I have to go. I hope I'll see you soon." He nodded and she left, buying the pasta stuff before going back to Regina's house.

-Dream world-

The room was dark around Serena, the only light coming from the flames that were surrounding her. The flames flicked at her skin, leaving burn marks when she tried to get away.

Moving back made it worse as the fire only pushed her to the wall behind her. She used her arms to shield herself from the blaze, but it wasn't much help. She barely dodged as the flames passed her head.

"Jefferson?" She called out, hoping it would somehow get her out of there. The longer she stayed there, the harder it was to breathe. She bent down, curling in on herself as she cried. This had happened before.

She wasn't sure when; her mind was fuzzy, but she still knew that she had been there before. This room, surrounded by fire with no way out. She wasn't sure how long she would be there, it usually lasted a long time unless Jefferson woke her up.

She wished he would wake her up.

"Jefferson!" She called out again. She hoped he would hear her, but she knew it was unlikely. The flames got worse as she yelled for Jefferson as if the fire knew she was trying to escape. The room got hotter as the burns on her arms got worse. The room felt like it started to shrink, her breathing picking up pace the longer she stayed there. Everything started to spin, the flames circling her as panic rose inside of her.

She jolted upright, the now familiar black and white room coming into view. Forcing herself to calm down, she turned her arm to reveal the burns that always appeared after she woke up. She then ran her fingers across the marks, trying to soothe the pain. She felt the bed move beside her and a hand resting on her shoulder. She turned to see Jefferson sitting next to her, his hair messy from sleep.

"You okay?" He asked, rubbing his face with his other hand. She nodded, trying to hide her arm from him. He noticed and gently reached out, taking her arm with his hand. "It happened again?"

"Yeah." She answered quietly. He sighed and let go of her arm, standing from the bed that they had been sharing. Victor had another room for her, but after the first night, they thought it would be better if she stayed with Jefferson as comfort for the nightmares.

"I'll go ask Victor if he has any ointment." He told Serena. She nodded, but kept quiet, which didn't go unnoticed by him. "Is something else wrong?"

"No. I'm just wondering why this keeps happening."

"I know someone who might be able to tell me how to stop this, okay? I need to talk to him anyway, so I'll ask him while I'm there." He said. He hated that she was scared to go to sleep because she didn't want to wake up with burns. She nodded and looked away as he left.

Jefferson went downstairs to see Victor sitting in the living room with a glass in his hand. He noticed Jefferson walk in and turned to him.

"Is everything alright?"

"Uh yeah. Do you have any ointment? Serena woke up with burns again." Jefferson answered, rubbing the back of his neck. Victor nodded and stood up, asking Igor to bring the ointment for him. He then walked over to the bar and grabbed another glass.

"Do you want one?" He asked Jefferson. The brunet nodded and joined him at the bar. "How is she?"

"Fine, I told her I would talk to Rumpelstiltskin about helping with the nightmares." He answered as Victor handed him a glass. Victor eyed him curiously, debating whether he should bring up the kiss with Serena.

"Alright, have you told her?"

"No, and I don't plan to."

"Why not? She deserves to know."

"Victor, she's a princess. I'm a portal jumper." Jefferson sighed. "She almost died because I brought her to Wonderland. What would've happened if I hadn't been able to save her? I can't risk that."

"So you're just never going to tell her?" Victor questioned as he watched his friend down the alcohol in his hand.

"No. I'll bring her back to The Enchanted Forest, give Rumpel what I promised, then be on my way." He responded, setting down the glass as Igor came back down stairs. Igor handed him the vial before leaving the room. "I'm going to take this to her."

Victor nodded and he left back to Serena. He knocked on the door before pushing it open and going inside. Serena watched him walk over to her, turning her arm so he could put the medicine on the burn.

"Thank you." She said quietly as he rubbed his hand over the burns. He smiled and continued to lather on medicine. She watched him intently, her eyes following his movements. "So this person who's able to help you, who is he?"

Jefferson paused, trying to come up with a lie. "Uh, just a wizard. Magic is his thing. If anyone can help, it'll be him."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, you need to get some rest. I won't be too long." He shook his head and brought his attention back to her arm. She nodded, watching as he finished. As soon as he was done, he moved away, grabbing a towel from the bathroom.

He walked back over to her, wiping the ointment off his hands before sitting down next to her. She snuggled herself into his side, a habit she picked up after nightmares. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her as close as possible.

"Thank you, Jefferson." Her voice was quiet as he rubbed shapes on her arm, trying to comfort her as much as he could. "For everything." He nodded and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, knowing he probably shouldn't.

"Get some sleep, okay?" He whispered, moving so he was lying down with Serena on his chest. She whined, not trusting herself enough to sleep. "If you start having a nightmare, I'll wake you up. I promise."

She was hesitant at first, but eventually nodded and closed her eyes. He continued rubbing shapes across her arm, keeping himself awake to make sure he kept his promise to be there if she had a nightmare.

-Storybrooke-

A few days later, Sam sat in her shop, waiting for any customers. Henry was at his therapy session, Regina was working and Emma was busy. It was getting late, but she still had about an hour before closing time.

Turning her attention to anything else, she looked over at the flowers that were sitting on her windowsill. Regina had been in there earlier, asking about the flowers, but Sam gave her the simple answer.

"What is that?" Regina asked, noticing the multicolored orchids sitting on the windowsill. Sam turned her head, shrugging as an answer. "Who sent those?"

"I don't know. Someone sends them to me every day."

"You've never wondered who?"

"Not really. Although, it is nice. Brightens up the place, don't you think?" Sam asked, noticing the silent anger inside Regina. Regina simply nodded, glaring at the flowers before leaving.

Before she could get up to close early, Jefferson walked in, looking around the room. She smiled, sitting up straight in her chair.

"Hi." She said as his eyes landed on her. He smiled, glancing over at the orchids before walking towards her.

"Hey." He let out a breathy laugh, stopping in front of the counter. "I honestly thought this place would be closed by now."

"Nah, I can't close for about thirty minutes." She answered with a giggle. "Besides, my sister wants me to pick up her son after I'm finished." She shrugged and moved away from the counter, putting away some things before closing time.

"That's too bad, I was going to ask if you wanted to go out sometime." He said, gaining some courage to actually ask her out. Before she could answer, the ground shook, almost knocking both of them over.

He moved to steady her, hearing people outside shouting and dogs barking. She pulled away from him as it stopped. She quickly grabbed her stuff as he stood there, still shocked at what had happened.

"I have to go." She grabbed her phone and ran to the door. He nodded and followed after her, seeing people outside running towards the old mines. Sam got in her car, quickly running to pick up Henry before heading to the mines.

"What was that?" He asked as she tried to calm herself. He glanced between her and the road, waiting for her to answer.

"We're going to find out." She sighed as she stopped, seeing people gathered around a giant hole in the ground. Dr. Hopper had followed them, parking right next to her. She got out of the car, Henry following close behind. "Henry, stay with Dr. Hopper. I'll talk to Regina."

He nodded and she ran off, searching for her sister in the crowd. She saw Regina running towards Graham and Emma, telling him something. Sam ran over, stopping as she approached them.

"Sheriff, set up a police perimeter. Marco, why don't you help the fire department." Regina said, glancing at her sister before turning to Emma. "Miss Swan, this is now official town business. You're free to go."

"Well, actually, I work for the town now." Emma said, showing off the badge on her belt. Sam smiled, glad she wanted to settle down here.

"It suits you." She complimented, earning a smile from the blonde. Regina glared at both of them before turning to Graham.

"She's my new deputy."

"They say the Mayor's always the last to know." Regina responded coldly. Sam rolled her eyes as she eyed Graham.

"It's in my budget."

"Indeed." Regina then turned to Emma. "Deputy, why don't you make yourself useful and help with crowd control. Sam, where's Henry?"

"He's with Dr. Hopper." Regina nodded before walking away to deal with the people. "I don't even get a thank you." Graham chuckled quietly at her before joining Regina.

"People of Storybrooke, don't be alarmed." She announced, getting everyone's attention. "We've always known this area was honeycombed with old mining tunnels. But fear not, I'm going to undertake a project to make this area safe, to rehabilitate it into city use. We will bulldoze it, collapse it, pave it."

"Pave it?" Henry repeated, pushing through the crowd. Sam ran over to grab him before Regina got mad. "What if there's something down there?"

"Henry, enough." Regina whispered, stepping forward and bending down to his level. Sam stepped back, knowing Regina needed to talk to her son.

"What's down there?"

"Nothing. Now go sit with your aunt." Regina answered. She gently nudged him towards Sam. She then stood up, turning to the crowd. "Everyone, please, please, step back. Thank you." She noticed a piece of glass on the ground and bent down, picking it up and putting it in her pocket.

"What was that?" Henry asked Sam, watching Regina pocket it.

"What was what?" Sam asked as Regina stormed over.

"Henry, enough." She pulled the two aside, bending down to look at Henry. "Listen, this is a safety issue. Wait in the car, Sam and I will be there in a minute." She pushed him towards the car before turning to where Emma was waiting. "Deputy Swan, Sheriff, cordon off the area."

Emma rolled her eyes, but did as she was told, Graham and Sam soon following. Making sure Regina wasn't watching, Henry snuck out of the car and called Archie over. Sam noticed him run behind a police car and sighed, joining him.

"Henry? What are you doing? This isn't safe." She said, crouching down next to him. He nodded, but kept his attention on Archie. Emma walked over as well, confusion painting her features.

"This requires all of Operation Cobra. All of you." He whispered, still nor sure if Regina was lurking somewhere.

"I didn't realize I was in Operation Cobra." Said Archie.

"Of course you are. You know everything." Henry responded before turning to Emma and Sam. "We can't let her do this. What if there's something down there?"

"They're just some old tunnels." Sam shrugged, feeling watched again. She looked around as Henry turned to Emma.

"That just happened to collapse right after you get here?" He questioned as Sam brought her attention back to the conversation. "Emma's changing things. She's weakening the curse."

"That's not what's happening." Emma told him.

"Yes, it is." Henry countered. "Did you do anything different today? Because something made this happen." Emma's hand went down to the badge sitting on her belt, her face turning pale as she did.

"Henry, I told you to wait in the car." Regina reminded as she walked over. Henry ran off, back to the car. "Sam, you were supposed to make sure he stayed there. Deputy, do your job. Dr. Hopper, a word, please." She said before he could leave.

Sam huffed and joined Henry in the car, feeling like a child who got put in time-out. She sat in the passenger's side, watching Regina and Archie talk. She heard some of the conversation, hearing Regina yell at the man for letting Henry continue to try to break the curse.

"Henry?" Sam said softly, getting his attention. She was about to ask about the curse, but decided against it. "How was your session with Dr. Hopper?"

"He asked me why I think the curse is real."

"And what'd you say?"

"I told him I wasn't sure." Henry shrugged, turning his head to look out the window. "What were you doing when the mines collapsed?"

"Oh." She remembered everything that happened before, especially the light feeling she got when Jefferson walked in. "I was just closing up shop." Regina soon joined them in the car, getting in with a sigh.

"Sam, I'll drop you off at your shop, if you'd like?" She offered, acting more happy than she actually was. Sam nodded, not bothering to say anything. Regina didn't say anything else, turning on the car and driving into town.

She stopped at Sam's shop, letting her sister out of the car before noticing Jefferson was lingering in a nearby alley. "Hey! Be careful, alright?" She called out to Sam. Sam nodded and watched as Regina drove off, taking Henry with her.

"You're the mayor's sister?" Jefferson asked as soon as Regina was out of sight. He knew who she was, of course, but she didn't know that. Sam jumped a bit, turning to face him.

"Uh, yeah." She answered with a laugh. "She may be a little insufferable sometimes, but she's still my sister, and she would do anything for me." Jefferson tensed up a bit, knowing just how much of a lie that was.

"Yeah, I get that." He shuffled on his feet a bit, looking down at the ground. "About earlier, when I asked you to dinner-"

"If you don't want to because of Regina, I understand." Sam interrupted. "She's hard to get along with, and she doesn't approve of any of the guys I go out with."

"That wasn't what I was going to say." He said as she stopped talking. "I was actually wondering if we could next Thursday?"

"Really?"

"Yeah." He shrugged, a smile spreading across his face. "You're nice, and I really don't care as long as your sister doesn't rip my heart out, or something." He joked. She laughed, not understanding the joke, but going along with it. "How 'bout I walk you home?"

"Okay." A blush spread across her face. He held his hand out, chuckling at how embarrassed she was. She took his hand and told him where she lived, walking with him to her house. They got there quickly, saying goodbye before she walked into her house.

The blush never left her cheeks as she giggled, locking the door behind her and running upstairs to change into her pajamas. She took a quick shower before changing and settling into bed. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, thinking of everything that happened.

Chapter 7: Chapter Seven

-The Land Without Magic-

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Serena asked Jefferson as he was getting ready to leave. He turned to her, a small smile playing on his face.

"I'll be fine." He chuckled, noticing how she was nervously wringing her hands. "I'll be back in a few days. Time works differently in different realms, so I might be gone for a day over there, but a month over here."

"A month?"

"Yes." He laughed as he grabbed his coat. "I promise I'll try to get back as soon as possible. Don't worry, you'll have Victor and Igor to keep you company." She nodded, bringing her gaze to the ground. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah. Just be careful, I still need you to take me home." She joked, making him laugh. "And I can't go back if you get stuck somewhere."

"I promise I won't do anything stupid." He held his hands up in defense. "I'll come back as soon as I'm done, make sure you don't have any more nightmares, then bring you back to your castle."

"Thank you, Jefferson."

"Anytime, princess." He smiled before Victor came into the room. He asked if Jefferson was ready, earning a nod from the portal jumper. The three went down stairs, where Igor was waiting for them.

Jefferson and Victor said their goodbyes, knowing they would see each other soon. Serena stood back, watching the two friends interact as she waited. After their goodbyes and a joke, Victor stepped aside as Jefferson turned to her.

"You be safe, okay?" She wanted to make sure he promised, even though he already had. He nodded, stepping forward and holding her arms. "And come back soon."

"I will, I promise." He kept his eyes on her, his blues locking with her browns. "Stay out of trouble. I don't want to come back and find the whole town after you." She chuckled, breaking eye contact.

Victor subtly rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "Igor, why don't you take Serena to get food. I'm sure she's very hungry." Igor nodded and stepped forward as Serena glanced back at him.

She turned back to Jefferson. "Be careful." She softly kissed his cheek before following Igor to the kitchen. Jefferson watched as she left, the feeling of her kiss lingering on his skin.

"Are you going to tell her when you get back?" Victor asked, making sure Serena was out of the room. Jefferson glared at him, remembering that Victor had seen the whole interaction.

"No, I'm not going to tell her at all." He answered with a sigh. "When I get back, I'll take her back to her sister, and she'll never have to see me again."

"You think that's what she wants?" Victor scoffed, knowing he wasn't going to win this argument, but he was going to try to get through Jefferson's thick head. "Have you been paying attention, at all? She wants to be with you."

"That's the last thing on her mind, Victor."

"You don't listen-"

"Enough." Jefferson snapped. Victor sighed, shaking his head as he held his hands up in surrender. "I have to go." Was all he said before he walked out the door.

-Storybrooke-

Sam checked over herself in the mirror, making sure she looked okay for her date. Thursday came quicker than expected, and now, she was trying to look as nice as possible. She fluffed her hair a bit before applying another layer of lipstick, now understanding why Regina needed so much.

"I think I did okay." She complimented, smiling as she checked her reflection. It may have sounded crazy since she was alone in the room, but she honestly didn't care. She was too giddy to care if she sounded crazy.

She had canceled her dinner plans with Regina and Henry, telling them she had to work late, but she was still going to drop him off at her office. Regina may have been her sister, but Sam wasn't stupid.

She knew how Regina would react if she found out, and that wasn't something Sam wanted to deal with. She was happy. It was her first date in years, and it felt nice to have dinner with someone that wasn't related to her.

A knock on the door brought her attention away from the mirror. She ran to open it, checking to make sure it's Jefferson before opening it. He dressed as he had the last three times she saw him, a nice dress shirt, a scarf, a vest and an overcoat covering it.

"Hi." She smiled as his jaw dropped. She wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but she found it cute how face completely changed. He stared at her, shock preventing any words from coming out.

She wore a simple light blue sundress with puffy sleeves that slid down her shoulder and a flowy skirt that was the same color. Her hair was pinned back, half up-half down with a bow in the back.

"You look..." He struggled to find the words. "Wow." She chuckled at his answer, shaking her head as she grabbed her house keys. He smiled, handing her a bouquet of blue orchids. "I saw you had some in your shop, so I thought you might like them.

"Thank you." She took them from him, admiring the flowers. "They're beautiful." She quickly ran inside to put them in water before coming back out and closing the door behind her.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah, but I have to be back early. I have to pick up my nephew from his therapy session." She told him as she locked the door. He nodded and held out his hand for her, which she accepted. "So where are we going?"

"You'll see." He smiled as led her to his car. He opened the door for her, watching her get in. He followed soon after, getting in the driver's seat. He drove in silence, glancing over at her from time to time. "So a toy shop? That's gotta make a lot of money."

"Not really." She laughed, wringing her hands. The urge to take her hand in his was tempting, but he decided against it. "Just enough to pay the bills, y'know." He nodded, even though he never really had to worry about that.

Regina made sure that when they got to Storybrooke, he would be rich. So he had everything and nothing at the same time. She really took every opportunity to make as many cruel jokes as possible.

"What do you do for work?" Sam asked him. He paused, unsure how to respond. He didn't work either. He was much too busy for that, but he had to come up with a lie.

"I, uh, I'm a hat maker."

"A hat maker?"

"Yeah."

"So you just stay inside all day, and make hats?" She asked, making him laugh. He nodded as he drove towards the park near the edge of town.

"Pretty much." He answered as he stopped near the park. "I don't really go out a lot." She nodded and looked outside, not sure where they were.

"Where are we?"

"A park. Not many people know about this place, so I come here a lot." He shrugged, turning off the engine and taking off his seatbelt. Sam followed, getting out of the car after him. "I thought it would be a quiet place for a date."

"I like it." She smiled, glancing over at him as she followed him to a nearby bench. "It's nice." A smile crossed his face as he found the picnic basket and cooler he left on the bench was still there.

"I hoped you would." He said, opening the basket and grabbing out two sandwiches. "I wasn't sure if you'd like going to the park." He let out a sigh of relief, happy that even with the curse, she still liked picnics.

"It's great." She told him, sitting down on the other side of the basket. He handed her a sandwich, which she accepted gratefully. "I haven't been on a lot of dates, but the ones I have been on didn't end well. Usually, we would go to Granny's so he could stare at Ruby while she worked."

"Yikes."

"Then I would walk out the door, wait for Ruby to tell them to leave, then come back in and sit at the bar wondering how I ended up on that date." She continued with a shrug. "It's really not important."

"It is. You're a nice person, who doesn't deserve that." He began, making sure what he was saying was actually staying in her mind. She was stubborn in The Enchanted Forest; he had a feeling she was the same way here. "Those guys are just idiots."

"You don't have to say that."

"I do, because you don't deserve to go on a date, and watch them stare at someone else the whole night."

"Honestly, that's one of the main reasons I stopped going on dates. That, and my sister, is an absolute nightmare." Sam joked, taking a bite of the sandwich. "Ruby's always the center of attention, even when she's working. I'm just a background character."

Jefferson's jaw clenched at her words, pissed that she would think that about herself. In The Enchanted Forest, Serena would tell him about all the times she went to parties with Regina and everyone would ignore her, instead forming alliances with The Evil Queen.

"No, you're not." He tried not to let his emotions get the best of him. She looked up at him, her eyes full of confusion. "Never believe that. You're a hell of a lot more amazing than she is. Those idiots don't know what they were ignoring."

She smiled, blush creeping onto her face. "I-" She struggled to find the words, still trying to process what he said. Instead of speaking, she chuckled and shook her head, running her hand through her hair. "You are really something, y'know that?"

A genuine laugh escaped his throat, the first time he had laughed in a long time. It came out happier than he thought was possible, he hadn't laughed in over thirty years.

"I did not." He said as Sam finished her sandwich. He hadn't even touched his, more focused on spending time with her than eating. Neither of them saw the person near the edge of the park, watching them.

The man grabbed his phone, opening it to call Regina. He quickly dialed her number, knowing she would pick up. After a few rings, she finally did.

"What is it, Sidney?"

"Your sister's on a date. Thought you might want to know."

"What! With whom?"

"I haven't figured that out."

"Then, what do I keep you around for?"

"I just need time-"

"No! What does he look like?"

"Brown hair, blue eyes. Odd taste in fashion."

"Jefferson..." Regina breathed, her phone slipping out of her hand. She cursed under her breath before bringing the phone back to her ear. "I'll handle it. Just make sure they don't kiss."

"Yes, Ma'am." Sidney said before hanging up the phone. He continued to watch Sam and Jefferson's date, making sure they didn't kiss. He didn't know why Regina would be upset if they did, but he wasn't there to ask.

He was only there to serve her.

"Hatter, you piece of shit." Regina sighed as she paced around her office. Jefferson was getting close to Sam. If she falls in love with him, their love could weaken or even break the curse. She had to stop it before it started.

-The Enchanted Forest-

"Rumpelstiltskin?" Jefferson called as he walked through the dark castle with his hand clutching his hat. "Rumpelstiltskin, I know you're here!"

"That, I am." Rumpel announced from behind him. Jefferson spun around, seeing the imp standing there as if he had been there the whole time. "I was waiting for you to arrive with your end of the deal."

Jefferson stepped forward, bringing out the glass bottle with his and Serena's hair inside. "You knew she would live? You knew she was my true love?"

"Honestly, I was waiting for you to realize it yourself." Rumpel sighed dramatically as he took the bottle from him. "Tell me, what took you so long? Finally gave up on the idea that curses can be broken without true love? Or did you realize she was far more important to you than you thought?"

"It doesn't matter." Jefferson knew Rumpel was trying to get a reaction out of him, he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. "If you knew the whole time, why didn't you tell me she was going to live?"

"You had to find out for yourself." The Dark One giggled, holding the bottle with the two hairs up to his face. He watched the two hairs intertwine, light radiating off the magic that was happening.

"What's that?" Jefferson asked, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was. Rumpelstiltskin looked up at him, a knowing look on his face.

"It's the exact reason your princess is still alive."

"She's not my princess." Jefferson shook his head with a dry laugh. "I promised her I would get her back to her sister."

"Didn't know you were the type to make empty promises."

"It's not an empty promise."

"We'll see about that."

Jefferson groaned. "Now's not the time. Serena's been getting nightmares since she woke up, and now she can barely sleep without waking up with burns on her arms."

"Ah, I was expecting that." Rumpel sighed. "It's a side effect. Since her soul was in the Netherworld during the curse, she still travels there when she sleeps. Although I can't stop it completely, I have something that can help with it."

"What is it?" Jefferson asked, eager to help Serena. With a flick of his wrist, a pendent appeared in Rumpelstiltskin's hand. Rumpel held the pendent up, hanging it off one finger. Jefferson went to grab it before Rumpel pulled it away.

"You know how this works. I give you this, what do I get out of it?"

"I gave you the hair."

"Which was part of our other deal. This is different."

"Fine, what do you want?"

"Hmm?" Rumpel thought for a moment, knowing the longer he took, the more annoyed Jefferson would get. "I'm not sure. When the time comes, you'll owe me a favor."

"Fine." Jefferson responded before Rumpel tossed the pendent to him. He caught it, taking a moment to look at it before putting it into his bag.

"It was nice to do business with you." Jefferson simply nodded before grabbing his hat and tossing it on the ground, waiting for it to spin. Rumpel giggled as Jefferson jumped into the portal.

 

"Here you go." Victor said as he handed Serena a glass of whiskey. "Be careful, it's strong." She nodded, hesitant to try it. She told Victor that she had never tried any alcohol other than wine, which she was only allowed to have during parties, and he brought out some for her to try.

"Okay." She responded, taking a small sip of the golden liquid. A burning sensation followed the drink as it slid down her throat. She winced at the taste, wondering how people could drink it on the daily. "Oh, my god. That's disgusting. Why does it taste like that?"

"That's just how it was made." Victor shrugged as he downed his own glass. She cringed, making him laugh. "I'm used to the taste by now. Anyway, how are things with you and Jefferson?" She looked up at him, confusion painting her features.

"What do you mean?"

"You two obviously have a connection."

"I never thought of it that way." She looked down at her cup, playing with the rim of the glass. "I mean, yeah, he's nice, but I don't think he's ever seen me as anything but annoying." She let out a nervous laugh, talking as if she was walking on eggshells.

"And what about you? How do you see him?"

"I don't- I don't know. He was the first person who didn't care if I was a princess or not." With a shrug, she answered. "He doesn't baby me. He treats me like I'm a person who has opinions and not a child who has to listen to the queen. He treats me like I'm somebody."

"And do you feel anything for him?" Victor pressed, hoping she would admit the feelings that Jefferson tried to hide.

"Like love? No, never." She laughed as he shook his head, disappointed with her not taking the question seriously. "We live two very different lives, that couldn't be possible."

"You'd be surprised." He muttered with a sigh. "Anyway, I have to get some work done. You could come watch if you'd like."

"Okay." She nodded as he grabbed her glass and handed it to Igor. Igor quickly poured out the remaining liquid and put away the glasses as Victor led Serena to his lab. Igor quickly followed after them, knowing Victor would need him while he worked.

-Storybrooke-

"Thank you for today." Sam smiled as she and Jefferson walked towards her house. "I had a great time."

"Me too." He responded, the nerves he felt from being so close to her having dissipated. "You're the first person I've been on a date with in years."

"Really? It doesn't seem like it."

"What does that mean?"

"What I mean is you seem like you know exactly what you're doing." She laughed, hoping he didn't take it the wrong way. The first guy she actually likes, and she almost ruined it because she was awkward.

To her surprise, he chuckled, the light in his eyes holding so much emotion that went deeper than she knew. "That's- That's probably the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." The smile he wore faded as he saw her house come into view, not wanting the date to end.

"Like I said, thanks. I had a great time." She said as she grabbed her keys out of her purse. "We should do this again sometime."

"I'd like that." He thought for a moment, trying to find a way to spend even a few more seconds with her. Grabbing his phone out of his pocket, it came to him. "Maybe I could get your number?"

He didn't really understand how phones worked, or why it was important to have someone's number, but he would do it for Sam if it meant he would be able to talk to her whenever he wanted.

"Yeah." She answered as he handed her the phone so she could put her number in. She did the same with hers, smiling at the thought of them talking over the phone. Before she could put her phone away, her screen lit up, showing Mary-Margaret was calling. "I'm sorry. I have to take this."

He nodded, saying "goodbye" before leaving. She watched as he left, answering the phone. Since she wasn't paying attention, Mary-Margaret's panicked voice shocked her, almost making her drop the phone.

"What's going on?"

"I need someone to talk to."

"Isn't Emma at your apartment?"

"Yes, but I don't think she'd understand."

"And I would?"

"No, but- Can you please come?"

"Yeah, of course. I'll be there soon." Sam hung up the phone, checking the time to see that Henry had just gotten to his therapy session. She sighed and went inside to change before heading to Mary-Margaret's apartment.

"I'm the worst person in the world." Mary-Margaret said after explaining the situation to Emma and Sam. She tried to make s'mores to distract herself, but it wasn't much help.

"Really? In the whole world?" Emma questioned, knowing there were worse people that existed. Sam agreed, saying it was a bit dramatic. She agreed to listen if she got a s'more too. It was a good deal.

"If Kathryn was horrible, it would be easier." Mary-Margaret whined. "But she's so nice."

"And what exactly would be easier?" Sam asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned onto the counter.

"Nothing."

"Nothing's a good idea." Emma added, nodding as she glanced at Sam, who agreed. "You're smart, you know not to get involved with a married guy. It's not worth the heartache. Trust me."

Mary-Margaret paused before turning to Sam. "You had a date, right? I didn't ruin anything, did I?"

"No, he had just walked me home."

"How was it?"

"The best date I've been on in years."

"The only date you've been on in years." Mary-Margaret corrected before a knock on the door caught their attention.

"I'll get it." Emma said, pushing herself out of her seat to answer it. She opened it to see Henry standing outside with tears running down his face. "Kid, what happened?" Sam turned, seeing the boy at the door.

She shot out of her seat, the parental instincts she got from raising him taking over. "Are you okay?" When he didn't say anything, she urged him inside and pulled him into a hug. He told them what happened, pissing Emma off. "Archie said what?"

"He said it was delusional that I believed the fairytales were real." Henry cried as Sam gently rubbed his back. She and Emma looked at each other, the same thought going through their head; what had Regina done now?

"We'll talk to him. Right now, you need to get home to your mom." Emma told him with a sigh. Henry nodded and followed the two out of the apartment. They dropped him off before going back to Mary-Margaret's apartment.

They all talked for a while, giving Emma time to steam off before actually confronting Archie. Sam hadn't known her for very long, but she knew Emma had a fiery spirit that would kill Archie for upsetting Henry.

"Archie." Emma pounded on the door as Sam realized she probably lied when said she had calmed down. "Archie!" Emma realized the door was unlocked and shoved it open. They found him with a glass of scotch in his hand, and his dog, Pongo at his side.

"What did you do?" Sam asked, hoping Emma would calm down. "You told us not to take the fantasy away." She remembered a conversation with him when Henry first brought up the story book.

"You told me it would devastate him." Emma added, the steam practically showing in a cartoonish way.

"When a course of therapy stops working, just adjust it."

"Is it Regina? Did she threaten you?" Sam questioned. He looked away, guilt painting his face. "What could be strong enough to drown out your own conscience?"

"I do not need to defend my professional decisions to either of you, okay?" He retorted, pushing himself out of his seat. Before either woman could respond, Emma's phone rang, showing Regina's contact.

"Hello, Madame Mayor. Nice work."

"Are they with you?"

"Yes, I'm with Sam and Dr. Hopper, and guess what, you left your fingerprints all over him-"

"Put Sam on the phone, please."

Emma sighed and handed the phone to Sam. She took it and put it up to her ear with a confused "hello?"

"This is about Henry. Is he with you?"

"We dropped Henry at your office an hour ago."

"Well, he's not here."

"I don't know where he is." Sam said as Emma's face dropped. Archie looked away, knowing exactly where Henry was. Sam hung up the phone and handed it back to Emma, keeping her eyes on Archie.

"Oh, I do."

 

"Henry!" The three of them called out, hoping the boy would answer. They searched the outside of the collapsed mines, even bringing Pongo to help look for him. He ran to the entrance of the mine, Sam and Archie following soon after.

"What is it, Pongo?" She asked as he pawed a random object on the ground.

"I don't think he's here." Emma called as Sam picked up one of his chocolate bars. She turned to Archie, showing him the candy before turning to Emma.

"I think he is." She held up the candy bar before bringing her attention back to the mine. "It's his favorite candy bar."

"He had those with him." Archie added. "I think he went inside." Sam sighed, knowing he was right. What had he gotten himself into?

"I'll go after him."

"It's too dangerous." Emma protested, even though she knew Sam wasn't going to listen. "You'll get hurt."

"So will Henry if someone doesn't get him out of there." She countered then turned to Archie. "I have to. He's my nephew."

"I'll go with you." Archie added. Sam nodded and told Emma to stay outside in case anything happened. Archie grabbed a match as the ground started to shake, a sign that it was about to collapse again.

Before Archie realized what was happening, Sam grabbed her flashlight and jumped in, ignoring Emma and Archie's protests. The wood planks collapsed as Sam called out for Henry, leaving both Emma and Archie outside.

"Sam! Henry!" She heard Emma's voice from outside as she coughed away the dust that was getting to her lungs. She hit the flashlight a couple times, hoping it would turn on so she wouldn't be stuck in darkness.

Fortunately, it did.

She realized Archie dropped his umbrella as she jumped in, bringing it on her side instead of with him. She picked it up in case she needed it and started to walk further into the mine. "Henry?"

A flash of light ran around the corner, slightly blinding Sam. She winced, the light being too much for the dark cave.

"Sam, you're here to help me." She realized the light was a flashlight held by Henry as he spoke. Before he could say anything else, she ran towards him, gathering him in her arms for a hug.

"What were you thinking?" She asked, trying to make him realize the situation they were in. "We gotta get out of here, okay?"

"So you're against me?"

"Henry, now is not the time for this! This is dangerous." She tried to get through to him, but she knew he wasn't listening. "We are stuck in a mine that could completely collapse at any moment. We need to get out of here."

"I have to prove it to them!"

"No, you don't. This is insane, this whole idea's insane. These fantasies are just stories, they're not real."

"You don't believe me? You'll see." He said, running away from her. "You'll see!" She called after him as he rounded a corner, going further into the mine.

"Henry! Henry, come back!" She yelled before chasing after him. "This kid's gonna be the death of me." She muttered as she ran after him. "Henry!"

"Sam! I found something." He exclaimed as she stopped running, trying to catch her breath. She found him crouched down near a hole, shining the light down it. "There's something shiny down there."

"Henry, this is seriously dangerous. We have to get out of here."

"It could be something."

"Henry, look at me. Look at me! I'm scared for you and me."

"Because you think I'm crazy?"

"No, because we are trapped underground in an abandoned mine, and there is no way out." Sam told him. He finally realized how bad the situation was as his face dropped. She noticed how scared he looked, and called him over for a hug. "It's gonna be okay. We're gonna get out."

"What if we don't?"

"We have to believe that we will, can you do that?" She asked, and he paused. "Just like you believe in your stories, okay? We have to believe that someone will come save us." He nodded, moving as close to her as possible.

 

"I believe in Sam. She'll keep Henry safe until we can get to them." Emma told Graham as she noticed the worried look on his face. The ground shook again as construction workers moved rocks away from the entrance.

"Stop! Stop!" Regina yelled as she ran over to the men. She knew something was wrong the minute Sam hung up the phone on her. When Emma called her, she immediately called Graham, and drove over as fast as she could. "You're making it worse."

"I am trying to save them." Emma responded, storming over to her, "Y'know why Henry went down there in the first place, don't you? Because you made him feel like he had something to prove."

"And why does he think he has anything to prove? Who's encouraging him?"

"Do not put this on me."

"Oh, please, lecture me until their oxygen runs out!" Regina yelled before she walked away from Emma.

After a while, Emma walked over to Regina, hoping to end or at least pause the feud that was going on. "We have to stop this. Arguing won't accomplish anything." Regina turned to her, trying to hold back tears.

"No, it won't" She hated to admit it, but Emma was right.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Help me."

 

Sam and Henry carefully moved through the mines, trying to step as lightly as possible. After the second earthquake, she told him to be careful. Soon, she heard the sound of a dog barking far away. "Henry, do you hear that?"

"It's Pongo!"

"Follow the noise." She sighed of relief, thankful for the dog, and his noisy habits. She followed Henry as he ran towards the sound, excited with the hope that was filling her.

 

"It's loudest over here." Sam told Henry as she paused in front of an old elevator shaft. Henry followed her, stopping right behind her.

"What's that?" He asked as she pushed away the warning signs.

"It looks like an old elevator." She looked over the machine, hoping it would still work. Or at least give them a way to signal for help.

 

"We need to find some way to punch through the ground." Regina gave her ideas to Emma. "We need something big."

"Like what?"

"Explosives." Marco answered, getting the attention of both women. Regina stared at him, wondering if it was a good idea.

 

"It's to get miners in and out." Sam explained to Henry as she looked up the elevator shaft. "It goes all the way to the top. That's why we could hear Pongo."

"Can we make it work?" Henry asked, getting Sam's attention. She knew it probably wasn't going to work, but she had to get Henry out of there. Even if it meant risking her own.

"Let's give it a shot."

 

Everyone scattered from the mine as explosives were placed around the entrance, in hopes that it would open. Emma told them they were clear as the last person moved away, giving them the okay.

"Blow it." Regina instructed as she bent down behind a truck. Pongo whimpered Ruby put him in the firetruck to keep him from getting hurt.

Emma ran towards the scene as the smoke cleared, hoping the mine opened. Regina stood back, watching the blonde carefully as she checked the mine. After a few moments, Emma returned with an unreadable look on her face.

"Did it work?" Regina asked. Everyone stood in anticipation, hoping there was good news. Emma stopped in front of the mayor, a concerned look on her face.

"It didn't open."

"Then what did it do?" Graham asked. He turned to Regina, hoping for an answer, but Regina continued to look ahead. Jefferson stood back, watching as they tried to get his wife out of the mines. He silently hoped they would get her out; the only time he trusted anyone else to save her.

 

As Henry and Sam were finally getting the elevator to move upwards, the ground shook, knocking them both down. Sam moved to grab him, holding him close so he wouldn't get hurt. When it stopped, she felt blood trickling down her forehead.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked as the rocks stopped falling, and the ground stopped shaking. Henry didn't answer, too scared to move. "Henry?"

"I'm okay." He answered, looking up at her. He noticed the blood running down her forehead from a rock that hit her. "Are you?" She looked up, wiping a bit of blood away. After a moment, she nodded and checked over him for any injuries.

She winced at the blood trickling down her forehead, ignoring the headache that was starting to form. It hurt, but her focus was on Henry and getting him out safely.

 

"What was that?" Regina asked as stormed towards the workers. "What the hell was that? You said you could do this."

"Madame Mayor." Emma pulled her aside to keep her from killing someone.

"They could've killed my son and my sister!"

"I know. But this isn't helping." The blonde told her. Regina leaned against the truck, her anger fading and revealing the fear underneath.

"If we knew exactly where they were, we could drill down to them." Marco suggested as Pongo started barking again. Emma looked over at him, remembering how he was able to find where Henry went. "Maybe rig something to bring them back up."

"But drill where?" Graham asked, not noticing Emma letting Pongo out of the truck. He ran out, sniffing the ground to find something.

"It's Archie's dog." She said as Graham, Marco, and Regina turned to the dog. He stopped at a certain spot, digging around the ground. "He's found something. Look, this is where they must be. Good boy."

Emma pulled him out of the way as they found a grate. Graham and Marco lifted the grate, revealing the elevator shaft that Sam and Henry were in. Emma asked. "What is that?" Graham stared at it before answering.

"It's an air shaft."

 

Henry pointed the flashlight at the ceiling, hoping to find anything but darkness. Sam sat down across from him, trying to wipe away the blood. Dust and small rocks fell, hitting the two in the face.

"I'm really, really, really sorry." He apologized as he sat down.

"It's alright."

"I just wanted to find proof."

"It's okay, Henry. Really." She paused, thinking of what else to say. "I don't think you're crazy. Your mother she- she knows what path she wants you to be on and when you step off that she gets scared. She barely let me move out, because she was scared of me being on my own. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't be free, because you should. I'm sorry I said the stories weren't real."

"Why did you?"

"I snapped, I'm really sorry." She apologized again. "I was scared, and I wasn't thinking of how you were feeling. It's my fault." The ground shook again, and Henry crawled over to her, huddling close to her. As it stopped, Sam turned back to him. "Why do you think Archie's Jiminy Cricket?"

"Because he is. He's a conscience, and he's a good person."

"Wasn't Jiminy Cricket, well, a cricket?"

"Yeah, but before that, he was a guy who took a long time to figure out the right thing to do."

"That's really sweet, Henry."

"And you're The Evil Queen's sister. You're the only one who was able to stop her."

"But now that's Emma?"

"She's the one who has to defeat The Evil Queen, you're the one who was able to stop her before the curse. She trusts you more than anyone, and she would do anything to protect you." Henry answered Sam as he shrugged. The ground shook again and he cuddled closer, closing his eyes.

 

"You need to lower someone straight down, or the line will collapse the sides of the shaft." Marco explained the plan. He suggested someone be lowered down to bring Henry and Sam to the surface. It was crazy, but it might work.

Graham walked over, holding up a harness. "I've got the harness."

"Lower me down." Regina instructed, moving to grab the harness before Emma got in the way. She hated how bold Emma was. If she could produce magic, she would have a fireball ready by now.

"Oh, no way. I'm going."

"They're my family."

"Henry's my son, too." Emma told her, even though she knew how Regina felt about it. "You've been sitting behind a desk for ten years. I can do this." Regina paused before moving closer to her.

"Just bring them to me." Regina said. Emma took a moment before nodding and walking over to Graham for the harness.

 

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Sam gently asked as Henry looked through his bag. He had finally gotten the courage to scoot away from her, only moving a few inches.

"Ask what?"

"Why do you think it's so important that your fairytale theory is true?"

"I don't know."

"Give it a shot." She suggested as he handed her a candy bar. She quietly thanked him while he thought over his answer.

"Because this can't be all there is." He told her, meeting her gaze. She nodded, letting out a quiet chuckle in understanding. "I thought if I found proof... But I didn't find anything."

"That's not true. I was lost and you found me, right?" She said, looking up at him.

"You mean, you remember?"

"No, I don't remember." She responded, slightly disappointing him. "But your book showed me that I might be able to have a family of my own. When your mom first adopted you, I was so upset that I couldn't have a child of my own, but you gave me hope. You just being there gave me hope."

Henry nodded as more rocks fell, this time more than the last. Henry stood up, seeing light coming through the grate. "What's that?"

"I think it's a rescue." She stood up as well and saw Emma coming down to get them. "Emma!"

"Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're okay."

"Hang on, Henry." Emma told the boy, hoping to calm him down a bit as she noticed how close he was to Sam. With one hand, she grabbed her radio to tell them to stop moving her down. Then, she picked up the grate and moved it out of the way so Sam could lift Henry out of there.

"C'mon Henry." He grabbed on to Emma's hand. "You got him? Is he safe?" The elevator started to shake as Sam reached out to grab onto something, coming up empty. "It's gonna fall!"

"I'm sorry." Emma said as Sam stopped trying to grab anything.

"It's okay, just get Henry out of here." The elevator fell as Sam grabbed Archie's umbrella. As the elevator dropped to the ground, Sam hooked the umbrella on Emma's harness, holding herself up. Emma and Henry smiled down at her, the boy giving her a thumbs up.

Marco and another construction worker pulled the rope to bring the three of them out. As Emma came up first, Graham reached out to grab her as she helped Henry out of the mine. Regina paused, holding her breath since she didn't see Sam come out with them.

Sam pulled herself out as Regina let out a breath of relief. She smiled as she hugged her sister and her son, glad they were okay. Sam moved away as Regina focused on Henry, letting the two have their moment.

Graham led her to an ambulance to get her checked out, noticing the cut on her forehead. He grabbed a gauze and wet towel so he could clean it up. She thanked him as she watched Regina push Emma away from Henry.

"Are you okay?" Archie asked, bringing her attention away from her sister. Jefferson watched from the distance; thankful Sam made it out with only a scratch. He stayed for a while, silently watching over her.

"Yeah, your umbrella really came in handy." She smiled, handing the umbrella to him. He laughed as he took it with thanks. "You should've heard what Henry said about you. He really believes in you." He looked away as Graham came back with the supplies and he walked towards Regina.

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah." He paused, realizing how much his words affected Henry. "Listen, I have something to say. I'm gonna continue to treat Henry. And I'm going to do it my own way."

"My relief at his safety hasn't changed a thing, Dr. Hopper." Regina turned back to her cold nature, the gratitude she felt fading away. "You will do as I say or..."

"Or what? You'll ruin my life? You'll do your worst?" Archie questioned, shaking his head. "Because I will always do my best."

"Don't test me."

"I don't need to. Because you're going to leave me alone and let me do my work in peace."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Because someday, Madame Mayor, you may find yourself in a custody battle." Archie told her, hitting a nerve. "And do you know how the court determines who is a fit parent? They consult an expert. Particularly one who has treated the child. So I suggest that you think about that and you allow me to do my work. And let me do it the way my conscience tells me to."

He walked away, leaving her dumbfounded. Sam watched their interaction, smiling at Archie finally standing up to her. She thanked Graham as he finished bandaging her cut before walking over to Regina.

"Everything okay?" She asked, hiding the smile that she wanted to let out. Regina simply nodded and walked away, barking orders at workers to get the area cleared off.

 

Later, Emma, Henry and Sam sat together as they watched Archie and Marco interact. Emma tilted her head, one question running through her mind.

"Is that Archie's father?"

"No. They're just old friends." Henry answered. Emma smiled at him and grabbed his hand to hold it.

"You really scared me. I'm sure your aunt was just as scared."

"I'm sorry." He apologized then turned to Sam. "And I'm sorry I got you stuck in there with me." She laughed, telling him it was okay.

"C'mon, your mom wants me to stay with you guys for the night." Sam said as she stood up. Henry paused, hearing the sound of crickets for the first time. Everyone stopped, listening to the crickets. Archie smiled as he heard it.

"Hey! Listen."

"Crickets."

"They're back. Things are changing." Henry smiled as Sam and Emma stood up. They said their goodnights and left with Regina while Emma went back to her and Mary-Margaret's apartment.

 

Later, Regina watched Sam as she slept on the couch, the stress from the day having melted away. Regina sighed as she looked at the box in her hand, knowing Sam would never forgive her if she found out what she was about to do.

But Regina couldn't let her break the curse. Without her heart, she couldn't feel any emotions, including love. So, if Jefferson kissed her, their loved wouldn't be able to break the spell.

She stepped forward, checking to make sure she had the memory potion in case Sam woke up. She put down the box and sat next to Sam before plunging her hand into her sister's chest. Sam winced, but didn't wake up as Regina pulled out her heart.

"I'm sorry, Serena." She apologized as she put the heart in the box. "I can't let you and Jefferson break the curse. I'm doing this for us. I promise I'll give it back to you soon, but not now." With a sigh, she stood up and walked out of the house.

She headed to the cemetery and opened up her vault. She had a special place set aside for Sam's heart; she never wanted to use it, but since Jefferson was trying to get back to Serena, she had no choice.

Chapter 8: Chapter Eight

Notes:

Trigger warning: mentions of miscarriage and infertility. As well as smut at the end of the chapter

-The Land Without Color-

 

Jefferson jumped into the portal, making a quick stop before returning to The Land Without Color. He searched through the portals, deciding to grab something from Agrabah. He's had his eye on a certain jewel from there for a while, and he wanted to give it to Serena before bringing her back to Regina.

Without a second thought, he stepped through the door. The heat instantly hit him as he landed in the sand. He hated Agrabah. Although it was a great place to steal jewels, the heat was almost unbearable. How people lived there? He had no idea.

He slipped through the crowded market streets, pocketing anything that caught his eye. He knew how Serena would react if she found out he stole something. Scratch that; a lot of things. His bag was almost entirely full by the time he got to the right stand.

"What are you doing here, Hatter?" The shop owner questioned him. "I don't want whatever you've stolen."

"Woah! I'm not here to sell you anything." He held his hands up in defense as he grabbed out a bag of coins. He instantly spotted the jewel he wanted, the thought of it around Serena's neck making him smile. "I was wondering how much that necklace is?"

"Unlike you. Why?"

"Let's just say there's someone I want to gift it to."

"They must be really special if you're not going to steal it." She said as she grabbed the necklace and started wrapping it up. She was an older woman, who had been working with jewels for a very long time and knew Jefferson by then. "Who's the girl?"

"What? What girl?"

"The one that was able to bend your morals enough that you wouldn't steal this jewel." She answered. "Don't think I haven't noticed how you've been eyeing it for the past few weeks."

He blushed a bit while handing her the money. "I have been looking at the jewel, but if you must know, the girl is a princess and I'm just taking her home."

"Mmm-hmm. I'll believe that when you actually take her home." She said as she handed the necklace to him. "Just don't hurt the poor girl. I know how you are with women, and I don't trust your sudden change of mind because of her."

"Don't worry, I'm not even interested in her. I'm just dropping her off, then I'll never have to see her again." He responded as he took the bag. "Thanks for this. I have to go, I'll see you soon."

"Please don't." She said as he backed away from the stand, accidently bumping into someone. Stolen jewels fell out of his pocket, including the pendent Rumpel had given him.

"Shit." He muttered as he scrambled to grab the pendent. He didn't care about the other jewels, he would leave those, but the guards were coming fast and he needed to get away. He pushed through the crowds to get away, knowing his reputation in Agrabah wasn't good.

He finally reached the portal, barely jumping in as an arrow flew past his head. He let out a sigh of relief as he stood up, grabbing his bag to make sure the pendent was still in there. Fortunately, it was and so was the necklace for Serena.

A knock on the wooden door of Serena's room abruptly woke her up. She groaned as she sat up, rubbing her eyes before there was another knock.

"One second!" She quickly dressed and opened the door to find Victor holding a tray of food. "Hey, sorry it took me a while. I just woke up when you knocked."

"It's okay. I would've sent Igor, but I sent him to town." He said with a nod. She nodded as he handed her the tray. "Jefferson should be back soon."

"Thank you, Victor." She told him before he left. With a sigh, she closed the door and walked over the bed. She sat down, setting the tray on the bed. She looked over the food, seeing a bowl of porridge, an apple, and some other stuff she really didn't care about.

She finished the bowl slowly, stalling a bit since she didn't have much to do in The Land Without Color. After she finished the food, she set the tray on the nightstand, knowing Igor would come to get it.

A few minutes later, someone knocked on the door. She assumed it was Igor, so she just told him the door was unlocked. When he knocked again, she sighed and stood up, grabbing the tray as she went to answer it.

"Here's the tray-" She paused, dropping the tray as she saw who was at the door. It had been almost a month since she had last seen him so at first, she thought he was a figment of her imagination.

But here stood Jefferson, an awkward smile displayed on his face.

"Hi." He said, she paused a moment before throwing her arms around his neck for a hug. He was a little taken aback but eventually wrapped his arms around her waist. "Sorry I took longer than I expected. I had to make a quick stop somewhere."

"It's fine. I'm just glad you're back." She sighed into his shirt. He squeezed her tighter, hugging her as close as possible. "Did he tell you why it was happening?" She pulled away but held onto his arms.

"Yeah. Not in a lot of detail, but yeah."

"Well?"

"When you got sick in Wonderland, it activated a curse that sends you to the Netherworld." He lied, still unable to tell her the truth that she had been under a sleeping curse. "It's a realm that not even I can access. Although I can't stop you from going there, he gave me a pendant that can control it, so you don't get burns on your arms."

He pulled out the pendent and showed it to her, letting her see it before turning her around. He pushed her hair out of the way so he could put the pendent on her.

"Thank you." She smiled as she placed her hand on the pendent. He nodded and she turned to him as he pulled the jewel necklace out of his bag. "What's that?"

"A gift."

"Is it stolen?"

"Of course not." He smiled as he showed her the blue sapphire necklace. "I actually bought it for you. I thought it would be a nice gift." She giggled as he handed in to her, watching intently as she admired it.

"Thank you."

 

-Storybrooke-

 

The next day, Sam was sitting with Emma and Henry as Kathryn reintroduced David to everyone. David had just gotten out of the hospital, and they were throwing a welcome home party for him.

"You know why he doesn't remember?" Henry asked Emma. "The curse isn't working on him yet."

"Henry, David has amnesia." Sam told him, watching everyone interact with each other. She wanted to tell him gently, but the whole day she felt numb. Like a switch was flipped inside her. Emma kept her eyes on Henry, confused by whatever he was talking about.

"Which is preventing the curse from replacing his fairytale story with fake memories." He said as if it should've been obvious.

"Right." Emma nodded. "Because everyone here has fake stories that prevent them from remembering who they really are."

"You cracked the case, Sherlock." Sam responded, sarcasm dripping from her voice. Emma turned to her, even more confused.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." Sam faked a smile as she stood up and walked over to the kitchen. She met up with Regina, who looked upset at her presence. "Wow. Am I that bad?"

Regina let out a dry laugh as she shook her head. "No, you're not. How are you feeling? You've been acting weird all day."

"I'm good, just not feeling like myself." Sam answered and shrugged. Regina nodded as Kathryn walked in, setting out some food. Everyone was quiet until Regina stepped over to Kathryn.

"You should go out there." Regina told her. When Kathryn didn't respond, she continued. "There's plenty of food. Go. Be with your husband."

Kathryn stopped with a sigh. "I lost him once. Now I have him back." She sniffled. "But it's like I still don't have him back." Sam paused, she thought she would've felt some type of sympathy, but she felt empty.

She thought about what she should do, deciding that it was probably best to make an appointment with Dr. Hopper. If anyone could help her, it was him. She also thought about Jefferson, but knew it wasn't fair to ask him for anything because she was upset.

"You have no idea what that feels like." Kathryn shook her head as she continued. Regina paused, a flash of sadness crossing her face.

"Actually, I do." Regina said after a moment. "I lost someone once, too."

"Really?"

"Yes." Regina nodded as Sam remembered the boy that her sister had been head-over-heels in love with before he died. They were engaged before he was killed, only Regina knew how he died. "But the love I lost, there's no bringing him back. You have a chance here. Go to him."

"You're right." Kathryn agreed as she set down the tub of food. "And, Regina, thank you. Thank you for being such a good friend. It's been so lonely, I'm not used to having one."

"Neither am I." Regina said before turning her head to Sam. "She's the closest thing I've had to one."

"Well, like it or not, you have two now." Kathryn said before walking out of the room. Sam followed after, heading to find Archie in the crowd. She found him talking to Marco and tapped on his shoulder. He excused himself and walked away with Sam.

"What can I do for you, Miss Mills?"

"Is it okay if I set up an appointment with you tomorrow?" She asked, unsure if she should be bringing up his work while he was off. He was a little taken aback by the request but nodded regardless.

"Of course, but may I ask? Did something trigger you?" He leaned forward a bit, lowering his voice. "You haven't had an appointment in years."

"Oh, uh? No, nothing triggered it." Sam shook her head with a dry chuckle. "It's not about that. I just think I might need it."

"That's okay. We all need someone to talk to every now and then." He told her. She thanked him before he left. She quickly found Regina to tell her that she was leaving.

"Do you need a ride?"

"Uh, yeah. That'd be nice." Sam answered with a nod. Regina told her to wait there while she went to get Graham. Graham and Sam left together, getting in his car so he could take her home. "Thanks, Graham."

"Anytime." He noticed her blank expression and asked. "Is everything okay?" She nodded and faked a smile, but he wasn't convinced. "That's a lie, and you know it."

"Yes, it is." She looked down at her hands, fiddling with her fingers as she sighed. "I'm just not feeling well. I'm going to talk to Dr. Hopper tomorrow, so I can figure out what's wrong."

"You think it might have something to do with..." He trailed off his sentence, knowing it was a touchy subject. "The other reason you used to go to therapy?" There were few people who knew why she used to go to therapy, only Archie, Graham, and Regina.

They were the only ones who knew how horrible she felt when she found out she couldn't have children. At first, she refused to go to therapy. Then it started to eat her up inside. Regina was the one to finally convince her to go to therapy.

"No, no, no. Of course not." Sam quickly shook her head, feeling tears form in the brim of her eyes. She wiped her face as she saw that they were getting close to her house. "It's probably just a bad day. I'll be fine."

Graham stopped in her driveway, sighing as he turned to her. "Just don't do anything stupid. You're the closest thing I have to a sister, and I don't want to see you hurt." She nodded as he unlocked her door, letting her out.

"Night." She smiled as she got out of the car. He smiled at her, watching as she went inside before leaving. She sighed as she closed the door, running upstairs to go to bed.

 

-The Land Without Color-

 

A few days later, the pendant worked, and Serena hadn't woken up with burns on her arms. She still went to the Netherworld, but it was more manageable. She also still stayed in Jefferson's room, scared that something would happen if he wasn't there.

"You ready to go?" Jefferson asked her as she packed up the last of their things. She nodded, smiling over at him as she grabbed her bag.

"Yeah, it was nice of Victor to let us stay here."

"He owes me, so it wasn't much of a problem." Jefferson shrugged, hiding the smile as he saw Serena wearing the sapphire necklace. "Do you like your necklace?" She giggled as she held up the blue jewel, smiling at it.

"I do." She turned to him, seeing his lips twitch upward in a smile. A blush creeped up on his face as she moved towards him, stopping right in front of him. "Wow, Hatter! Are you blushing?"

"What? No, no, no." He shook his head, his face getting even more red. She smirked and kissed his cheek before walking back over to their bed, grabbing her bag. "Let's go." She laughed and walked out the door, meeting Victor at the bottom of the stairs.

"Thank you, Victor. For everything." Sam smiled as she gave Victor a hug.

"Anytime. You're always welcome. Jefferson? Not so much." He joked, making her laugh. Jefferson playfully rolled his eyes as she turned to him, causing her to laugh even harder. She then moved to Igor, letting Jefferson and Victor say their goodbyes.

"Thanks, Victor."

"Like I said, anytime." Making sure Serena wasn't listening, he leaned closer to Jefferson. "Please, tell her how you feel. I'm sure she feels the same way."

"It doesn't matter." Jefferson told him, shaking his head. He then turned to Serena, who was still talking to Igor. She turned around, realizing that Jefferson was watching her. She smiled and turned back to Igor, whispering something to him before walking over to Jefferson.

"Are you ready to leave?"

"Yeah." He nodded as he turned to leave. Igor opened the door for them, getting a "thank you" from Serena. "Come on, princess. Let's get you home." Jefferson threw down his hat, watching it spin and form a purple vortex.

The two jumped in, waving goodbye to Victor and Igor one last time. Of course, jumping in the portal, Serena landed on Jefferson. At that point, he was expecting it. He made sure that she would land where he wasn't going to get hurt.

"I'm sorry." She apologized as she sat up. Still, she landed on top of him, her face right next to his. She moved away from him, once again, admiring each door.

"It's fine." He said, pushing himself off the ground. He helped her up as she stared at each door in awe. "It's a shame that you won't get to see the other realms. You would love every one of them."

"Why don't we?"

"Why don't we do what?"

"Go see them. Before we leave." She suggested, hoping he would agree. "I rarely get out of the castle, and I want to see new things. Then, you can take me back and never see me again."

"I mean, I guess we could." He turned to her with a smile. "Why don't you pick one?" A smile graced her face as she ran over to the portals, carefully looking through each one. She recognized one as the portal to Wonderland; she did not want to go back there.

Then, she stopped at a door with a green curtain covering it. She turned to Jefferson, watching his smile grow at her excitement.

"Here we go, princess."

 

-Storybrooke-

 

The next morning before Sam's therapy appointment, she was sitting at Granny's with Mary-Margaret, a plate of pancakes and bacon placed in front of her. Mary-Margaret had her face stuck in the newspaper, trying to focus on anything but David.

"I'm a hell of a doctor, huh?" Doctor Whale asked, causing Mary-Margaret to jump. Sam's eyes drifted away from her plate, looking up at him. "No way he wakes up on someone else's watch." Sam rolled her eyes, two seconds of him talking and she was already annoyed.

"Hello, Dr. Whale." Mary-Margaret smiled, trying to be polite. Sam wished he would go away, back to the hospital or anywhere she wasn't.

"I heard that you resigned from the hospital." He said, ignoring Sam's presence. "I hope it wasn't because of me." Mary-Margaret looked up at him, confusion crossing her features.

"Why would it be because of you?"

"Well, our date." He answered. The sentence made Sam cringe, the thought of Mary-Margaret going out with someone like Whale was grossing her out. "I never called you after. Yeah. I know. I know, it's not classy and I'm sorry. But if you can find a way to get over it, you know where to find me."

"Dr. Whale, don't you have somewhere to be?" Sam asked, trying to be polite. He looked over at her, finally realizing she was there. "Like the hospital."

"Uh, yes. Have a good day." He nodded and walked out as Regina came in. She immediately saw her sister talking with Mary-Margaret and walked over.

"Sam, can you give Miss Blanchard and I some privacy?" She asked. Sam nodded and stood up, giving her empty plate to Ruby. She walked over to the door, but paused as reached out to grab the handle.

The feeling of being watched sent a shiver down her spine, but she shook it off and left anyway.

Jefferson watched her leave from the corner of the room, pissed off at Regina. He felt Regina take out Sam's heart. He also knew she did it because of him. Because their true love was stronger than most, their love would be able to affect the curse.

But they couldn't now since Regina took her heart.

Sam checked the time, seeing that it was just about time for her appointment with Dr. Hopper. She quickly ran to his office, barely making it in time for her appointment.

"Ah, Miss Mills. Nice to see you." Archie greeted as Sam stepped into his office. "How are you feeling today?"

"Better than I was yesterday." She sat down on the couch across from him. "Honestly, other than getting annoyed with Doctor Whale, I feel okay."

"What made you get annoyed with Doctor Whale?"

"I don't know." She sighed, tilting her head a bit in thought. "Just something about him... Maybe it's his ego, or something. I'm not sure."

"Alright. Aside from that, have you gotten upset with anyone today? Maybe your sister said something you didn't agree with?"

"No, she barely said anything to me today. Henry's been rather talkative. He keeps telling me I need to find The Mad Hatter, so I'll feel better."

"Why The Mad Hatter?"

"Henry told me that he was my soulmate. Or 'true love' as he called it." Sam said with a smile. Pongo perked his head up from where he was laying and walked over to sit with her. He jumped up on the couch and laid down, laying his head in her lap.

"Okay, when was the last time you went out? Like went to have fun for yourself?" Archie asked, ignoring the dog. "It's been a stressful few weeks, and you need to have time for yourself."

"Well, I did go on a date not too long ago." She answered with a smile. "It went really well. Just don't tell Regina. She would flip if she knew I went out with someone."

"Does she often get upset with your choices?"

"Not anymore. Or at least she doesn't tell me."

"Right, in our last appointment you said she was very controlling." Archie confirmed with a nod. "So she's loosened up a bit?"

"Yeah. She feels more like a sister than a mom." Sam let out a quiet chuckle. She paused, staring at Pongo before looking up at Archie. He was writing something down, not paying attention. "Thank you for this."

He looked up with an awkward smile. "Of course. It's my job." She nodded and looked down, stroking Pongo's fur. "Is there something on your mind?"

"I-" She paused, not sure what to say. "It just feels like something's missing, y'know? I don't know what it is. It's like a piece of me is missing."

"Perhaps it could be the old feelings coming back to you. You've been caught up in all the parental drama with Regina, Emma, and Henry. It might be because of that." He suggested as she shrugged.

"Maybe..." She looked away for a moment. "But I've helped Regina raise Henry since she adopted him, and I've never felt like this." Tears started to form, turning her eyes a bright red color.

"Do you think it could be because you feel lonely without a child of your own?" He asked, leaning forward in his chair. "Like I said, with everything going on that hole in your heart is starting to show again."

She paused, processing his words. "I just don't want to go through that again. I spent so long trying to feel better. I can't go through that again."

"That's understandable." He nodded. "It's better to stop it before it starts. It'll also be a lot easier to handle the feelings if they haven't rooted inside you." She nodded and continued petting Pongo. "Have you ever thought about adopting a dog? It's not the same as having a child, but they can really help."

"I never thought about that." She tilted her head a bit as Pongo looked up at her. He rolled onto his stomach and licked her hand, letting out a happy whine. She laughed and rubbed his belly, getting an adorable reaction from him.

"I can help you get in touch with the local animal shelter, if you'd like?" He offered. She nodded and continued playing with Pongo while they talked. Soon enough, the session ended and Sam had to leave.

"Thanks, Dr. Hopper."

"Of course. Anytime, Miss Mills." He said as she left. She got in her car with a sigh and drove to the police station to tell Graham how everything went. She didn't want to lie to him and she wanted him to know how everything went.

"Hey, Emma. Is Graham here?" She asked as entered the police station. Emma looked at her and shook her head.

"Not yet." She answered as Sam sat down next to her. "You can wait here until he gets here." Sam nodded and the two talked until she saw Graham walking in with a box of donuts. He waved to Sam with one hand before walking over to Emma and holding them open.

"Sometimes the clichés are true." He told her as Sam reached for a donut. He swatted her hand away, giving her a playful glare. "They're not for you." She grumbled and plopped down in the chair as Emma looked up at him.

"What do you want?"

"Remember when I said no night shifts?" He asked as she tilted her head. "I need you to work tonight. Just this once."

"Why?" She whined, leaning back in her chair. Graham handed Sam a donut with a sigh, knowing she was getting impatient.

"I volunteer at an animal shelter and the supervisor's sick and someone needs to feed the dogs."

"I didn't know you volunteered at the animal shelter." Sam said, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes.

"There's a lot of things you don't know." He told her, making her grumble in annoyance. He rolled his eyes and turned back to Emma. "So?"

"Very lucky you brought a bear claw." Emma griped, grabbing a bear claw out of the box. Before Graham could say anything, Mary-Margaret ran in, calling for Emma.

"I'll just go with Sam to talk for now." Graham said, taking Sam with him as he left the other two women alone. He sat down at his desk, Sam sitting opposite of him. "How was your therapy session?"

"Good, Dr. Hopper said that it might be because of everything going on with Regina and Emma. That the old feelings are coming back." She told him with a sigh. "He also suggested I get a dog. Said they're helpful with that kind of stuff."

He nodded, thinking for a moment before turning back to her. "Alright, if that'll help. I just want what's best for you."

"Thanks, big brother." She teased, making him laugh. "Alright, so where are you actually going tonight?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it's bullshit that you're volunteering at the animal shelter. Where are you actually going?"

"I don't have to tell you everything. I just need tonight off." Sam narrowed her eyes at him, suspicious of what he meant. "Just drop it, okay?"

"Fine." She huffed and leaned back in her chair. "As long as you're not trying to get away with murder."

"Wh-what? Why would I be trying to get away with murder?" He asked as she grabbed another donut. She shrugged, sticking the whole thing in her mouth. "You are the most confusing person I've ever met."

"Thank you." A playful smile crossed her face, glaze spread across her upper lip. He shook his head with a sigh as she kicked her feet up onto the desk. The ring of her phone brought her attention away from Graham. "One second." She told him, standing up and grabbing out her phone.

She checked the caller ID, seeing Jefferson's name pop up. She felt a small smile grace her face as she walked out of the room, pressing the answer button. "Missing me already, Jefferson?" She heard him laugh on the other end before he spoke.

"Actually, yes. I was hoping we could go out tonight?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. How about I pick you up at eight?"

"Of course."

"I'll see you then."

"Okay." She smiled to herself and hung up the phone, not noticing Graham behind her.

"Who was that?" He asked, causing her to jump. She spun around, seeing him leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest and a smug look on his face.

"No one."

"That's ridiculous. Not many people can make you smile like that." He pointed out. A blush crept up on her face as she looked away. "I won't tell Regina, promise."

"Fine, I went out with a guy and he just called to ask me on another date."

"So things are going well with him?"

"We've been on one date. One!" She told him, making him laugh. "But yes I like him. And I don't care if Regina won't approve, I feel happy with him."

"Well, I'm happy for you." He said, making her smile.

"Thank you. Well, I have to go get ready." She said, walking out of the room. She quickly got to her car and got in; a smile plastered on her face.

Jefferson watched her leave the police station, noticing the smile on her face. He smiled as well, glad to see her happy. He felt someone watching him and turned around to see Regina storming towards him.

"You said you would stay away from her!"

"And you said you wouldn't use magic on her."

"What are you talking about?"

"You took her heart. I can feel it." He told her, stepping closer to her. "And don't even try to lie. Because you know that Serena and I's love can screw up the curse and reunite our family. That was your only mistake when you cast the curse, your need to protect her made her the only other thing that could destroy you."

Regina's jaw clenched, her anger apparent on her face. A smirk spread across his face, knowing he was right. Her love for Serena was stronger than the curse, making it the only thing that could break it without the savior.

"If you'll excuse me, I have a date to get ready for." He said and walked away, leaving her alone with her anger.

 

Sam drove home and went inside, checking the time to see she had a few hours till eight. Deciding it was probably best to do something till then, she decided to check her email. She noticed that Dr. Hopper had sent her the address to the animal shelter, and decided to check it out.

She drove towards the edge of town where the email said it was, and found a small building with the words 'Animal Shelter' on a sign at the front. She parked and got out, heading into the building.

She wasn't expecting to get a dog at the moment, but she wanted to have a look around. She walked into the building and saw a blonde woman standing at the front desk, her head perking up as she heard the doorbell ring.

"Hi, I'm Sarah. How can I help you today?" She asked as Sam approached the front desk.

"I'm looking for a dog. Dr. Hopper said that it might be helpful."

"Of course, right this way." She led Sam to a room with a bunch of cages, dogs filling each one. The room was filled with the noise of barking, making it a little distracting. "We have a few dogs that I think would be a good fit, but we'll have to do a home-check and some paperwork before you'll get the dog, okay?"

"Of course." Sam nodded. Sarah led her further into the room, a quieter section of the building. She stopped in front of a certain cage where a gray Pitbull was sitting. "This is Axel. He's the sweetest dog in the world. Loves people and he would be a great therapy dog."

"Hi, sweetie." Sam said as Sarah brought Axel out. Sam bent down and held out her hand, letting him sniff it. He eventually started licking it, making her laugh.

"I think he likes you." Sarah smiled as Sam looked up at her. "Do you think he's the one?"

"I'm not sure... I think I need a few more minutes with him." Sarah nodded, telling her it was normal and that she would give them some privacy. As soon as she left, Axel moved forward and nuzzled against her. "You're such a sweetie."

Sarah came back after a few moments, with paperwork, already being able to see the connection between the two. She found Sam sat up against the wall, Axel asleep in her lap. "How is everything?"

Sam looked up at her and smiled. "I love this dog." Sarah laughed and showed her the paperwork, moving Axel so she could stand.

"I'll take you to my office so you can fill out the forms, is that okay?" She asked. Sam nodded and followed her out of the room to fill out the paperwork. As she finished, Sarah gave her all the details and her phone number in case anything changed.

 

As Sam left to go home, she had a smile on her face. She quickly checked the time as she drove to her house, seeing she had time to get changed before her date. Stopping the car at her house, she went inside and grabbed her phone and a simple black dress to change into.

She dialed Dr. Hopper's number into her phone, hoping he wasn't too busy to talk. He answered quickly, thinking something bad happened.

"Miss Mills? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I went to the animal shelter like you said." She informed him as she changed into her dress. "Met this adorable dog named Axel. He's such a sweetheart."

"That's great."

"I'm going on another date with the guy I told you about." She told him as she struggled to pull the dress up. She slipped on something, barely catching herself as she fell.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great. I just almost fell over." She laughed as she zipped herself up. She then moved to her vanity, grabbing the phone and taking it with her. "Sorry, I'm sure you're busy. I just wanted to tell you the good news."

"Of course. I'm glad you called, but I have to go now. Have fun on your date."

"Bye." She said as he hung up the phone. She looked at herself in the mirror, giggling like a child. Smiling at herself, she fixed her makeup. As soon as she finished, there was a knock at the door, making her smile even more.

She quickly ran downstairs to get it, looking through the peephole to make sure it was Jefferson. She then opened the door, trying to calm herself as she saw him.

"Hi," He smiled as he handed her a bouquet of orchids. She smiled and invited him in as she put them in water.

"Every time with the flowers?" She joked as she set them in a vase. He shrugged before looking around the apartment. "How has your day been?"

"Pretty good, actually." He answered as he stopped in front of a picture frame with Sam and Henry. "How was yours?"

"Better than I thought it would be."

"How so?"

"Honestly, I haven't been feeling great recently." She looked away, not noticing the sour expression on his face. "But today's been a good day. I went to the animal shelter and found a dog. It's been a good day."

"That's great." He smiled, happy that she was okay even without her heart. She walked over to him as he noticed the dress she was wearing. It was bolder than the one she wore last, a black spaghetti straps dress that stopped just above her knees with a pair of black heels to match.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked as she realized he was staring at her. He nodded and the two left, locking the door behind her. "Where are we going this time?"

He was about to answer when she started shivering a bit. He slipped off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders, watching her hug it closer to her.

"Thanks." She blushed a bit, turning away from him to hide it. He noticed, of course. He smiled as she moved closer to him, the same way she had when something scared her in another realm. She would never admit it, but she got scared easily with the weird stuff they saw.

"Now, I know we've only been on one date, but I was hoping we could have dinner at my house." He suggested, turning to look at her. She looked up at him, a bit hesitant, but eventually nodded.

"I'd like that." She smiled and the two walked away from her house. He suggested taking his car, knowing how long it would take to walk to his house. The drive was peaceful, nice conversation between the two.

As they approached his house, she noticed just how big his house was. Her jaw dropped as she saw it, thinking it was more of a mansion than a house.

"This is your house?" She asked him. He nodded as he parked the car, watching her reaction. "How have you been single this whole time?" He burst out laughing, her following shortly after.

"I guess I've just been waiting for the right person." He finally said, making her smile. She blushed and got out of the car with him. He opened the front door for her, seeing her wide eyes as she spun around the room. "Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it. This is amazing." She smiled as she ran over to him. "You're amazing." She suddenly kissed his cheek, taking him by surprise.

"Thank you." He smiled as he closed the door. "Come." He led her to the dining room, pulling out the chair for her, so she could sit down. "I'll be back with dinner." She nodded, asking him if he needed help. "I'm good. I have everything ready."

"So you expected me to agree to eat at your house?" She asked, impressed that he had planned that.

"Is that a problem?" He asked from the kitchen. He hoped it wasn't. He really wanted her to be happy. He had prepared an entire meal for her, and all he needed to do was heat it up when she got there.

"Not at all." She told him. "Honestly, I'm impressed. It's nice."

"I was hoping you'd like it." He smiled as he brought out two plates full of food. Her jaw dropped at the sight, a smile soon appearing. He set it down in front of her, happy with her reaction.

"You really are full of surprises."

"I'll take that as a compliment." He said, proudly. The night went by smoothly, and they ended up talking on the couch with a glass of wine. "You're amazing, you know that?" She laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"And you-" She paused as she saw the time. Eleven o'clock. "Shit, it's late." She quickly stood up, much to Jefferson's dismay. "I'm sorry, I should go."

"Wait! It's dark out." He told her, standing up and walking over to her, abandoning the half-empty glasses of wine. "Why don't you stay here?"

"I really shouldn't." She looked around, trying to avoid his steel blue gaze. He was in front of her now, tilting her chin to look at him.

"Stay." His voice was low as he moved closer. "For me?" Without thinking, she crashed her lips against his, pulling him closer. He moved forward until her back hit the wall, keeping her from moving.

He moved to her neck, pressing hard kisses to her delicate skin. She held the back of his neck, keeping him from moving away. His hands gripped her dress, telling her that he wanted it off. She moved forward a bit, letting him unzip her dress.

"Jefferson..." She whined as he struggled to get the zipper, instead ripping it off. He pulled away from her for a moment to apologize for the dress before moving back to her neck. He ripped off the rest of her dress, revealing the matching underwear and bra.

"Did you plan this? Or do you just like to be prepared?"

"A bit of both." She said, out of breath. He nodded and kissed her, his arms wrapping around her waist. She was glad he was holding her, otherwise she thought she would've melted. Her hands moved to the scarf he wore, realizing he hadn't taken it off.

He abruptly pulled away, pushing her hands away. She looked at him confused and slightly hurt, unsure why he would let her take it off. "You don't want to see what's under there." That only made her more confused and curious.

He trusted her completely with it, but he didn't want to scare her off.

Carefully, she reached forward, cupping her face in her hands. His hands moved to her waist, not sure what she was doing. Her hands moved down, carefully unraveling the scarf. It was like he was in a trance, too stunned to stop her.

As she finished, she saw the scar on his neck and her eyes went wide. At that point, he thought she would have run away, but instead she moved forehead, placing soft kisses along the mark. She then moved to his ear, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Did you do this?" She asked him in a quiet voice. He didn't say anything, shocked that she assumed he had done it, but he couldn't let her know the truth. "I won't judge. We've all had our dark moments. Just don't do it again, okay?"

He nodded as she pulled away, a sympathetic smile on her face. He thought she was going to leave, go home so she wouldn't be near him, but she stayed put.

"Now, where were we?" She asked, the sympathy turning into a mischievous smirk. He smiled and crashed his lips against hers again, loving her even more. Her hands moved to the buttons of his shirt, taking her time with each button.

She finally ripped off his shirt, tossing it to the side. He picked her up, letting her wrap her legs around him. Never breaking the kiss, he took her upstairs to his room and pushed the door open with one hand.

She finally broke the kiss as he set her down on the bed, waiting until she unwrapped her legs. He slowly took off his pants, knowing she would get impatient.

"Jefferson!" She whined, looking up at him.

"Patience, princess." He finally finished and stood over her. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you feel good." His hands slid up her thighs, hooking on her underwear. He then slowly slid them down her legs, never breaking eye contact.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, pressing kisses up her leg to her thigh. She moaned, wishing he would just get on with it. He then moved to her stomach, kissing up to the lining of her bra.

His hands moved to her back, carefully undoing her bra. It loosened on her skin, letting him pull away from her skin. Then he towered over her, using one hand to hold himself up while the other moved down.

He pushed two fingers inside her, making her let out a little gasp. She closed her eyes as he moved his fingers around to find her sweet spots. He knew where they were, of course, but it had been a while. Over thirty years, actually.

She held back a moan as he found one, trying not to be too loud. He knew what it was when the muscles in her thighs tightened around his hand. He kissed her neck, letting her enjoy the feeling.

"It's okay." He said softly. "Be as loud as you need. We're in the middle of the woods with no neighbors." She nodded as he pushed a little deeper, making her let out a loud moan. "That's better."

"J-Jefferson?" She turned to him as he looked at her. He moved his head to kiss her forehead before hovering above her.

"What do you need, baby?" He asked, slipping his fingers out and licking them clean. He noticed she was panting, so he laid down next to her. "Do you need to take a break?" She nodded with a whimper. He pulled her closer to him, kissing her forehead again.

"Sorry, it's been a while since I've done this." She apologized, finally finding her voice. She looked up at him with a sad look on her face.

"It's alright." He told her, kissing her cheek. "Take your time. I want you to be okay." She took a few deep breaths before telling him that she was ready. He smiled as she did, moving up so he could look her in the eye.

He pushed himself inside of her, letting her adjust before doing anything. She gripped his hair as he moved in and out of her in a fast motion. She let out a series of curses, feeling the fire burning in her stomach.

"C'mon, Sam. You're doing so good." He cooed as she got closer to her high. He caught himself before he could accidently call her Serena. She moaned his name as he held her in place, holding himself up as well.

She let out a short scream, tightening her legs around him as the fire turned into burning pain that spread through her stomach. He let his finish before slowly pulling out of her and laying down next to her.

"You alright, princess?" He asked, pulling her onto his chest. She nodded, snuggling into his chest. "You did amazing." He kissed her forehead and moved her a little so he could grab a towel to clean up the two of them.

"Thank you, Jefferson." She said softly as he wiped the wet towel over her legs. He looked up at her and smiled before leaving to the bathroom to get another wet towel. He quickly cleaned himself up, and walked over to his dresser to grab clothes for himself and her.

He grabbed out pajamas for himself and an oversized t-shirt for her, knowing he didn't have any shorts that would fit her. He also didn't have any shorts at all. "This is all I have. It's not much, but it should cover you for tonight."

She nodded and took the shirt with a "Thank you." She slipped it on, welcoming the warm feeling it had. He smiled, adoring the sight of her in his clothes.

"You look beautiful." He cooed, bringing her into his arms for a hug. She smiled as he picked her up, gently laying her on the bed before joining her. Gathering her in his arms, he brushed the hair out of her face. "Get some sleep."

He softly kissed her forehead as she fell asleep, perfectly content in his arms. He watched her for a while, tracing shapes across her bare skin as she slept. And for a moment, everything was perfect.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of The Once Upon a Time Series