'Before You Start' Notes:

1. 'Finding Father' is the SEQUEL to the first story I wrote entitled 'Mum of the Year'. If you haven't read the first story yet, this sequel will include spoilers so you might want to read the stories in order.

2. Both stories are Future Fic since they take place after Emma and Hook get married which has not yet happened in the show.

3. Both stories are also now AU (Alternate Universe) since I am doing traditional Ursula here rather than the Ursula of OUAT's Season 4. I admired Merrin Dungey's performance and the beautiful story A&E gave her Ursula. But, my story works better with a middle aged, plump, overly dramatic Ursula as depicted in the 'Little Mermaid' animated film.

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Chapter 1: OPERATION GDS

Setting: Gold's Pawn Shop, Storybrooke

Time: 18 months after Leia Jones' Birth

"Henry! What are ya' doin' with ma' scrying mirror!"

Henry Mills jumped backwards and dropped his smartphone. The phone hit the floor skittering to a halt at Mr. Gold's feet.

"Ummm...sorry, Grandpa... I-uh-was trying to make my Instagram app interface with the mirror."

"What for?!" Gold retrieved the phone and handed it back to his grandson.

"Well, I thought if I could kind of - you know- connect the two with magic -uh- we could send pictures back to the the Enchanted Forest so - you know- people here could keep their loved ones back there updated on what they are doing."

"Oh, really?" Gold wrote on an index card as he spoke. "Are you sure this doesn't have something to do with Operation GDS?"

Henry's eyes went wide. "You KNOW about that?"

"Yes. Since I doubt "Operation Grandfather Devil Spawn" refers to David Nolan, I find this code name insulting! Who came up with it? Hook?"

"No, it was me. Killian couldn't say the whole code name without cracking up so we shortened it to GDS."

Gold frowned. "Henry what is this about? Are you planning to help that pirate rob my shop?"

"No, Grandpa! I would never do that!" Henry lifted his chin. "It's just that they think you are helping her send the photos. The operation is just me trying to prove your innocence."

The bell jingled signaling someone entering the shop. Gold ignored it.

"Boy, WHO am I supposed to be helping do WHAT?"

"I promised not to tell-"

"It's okay, Henry." Emma Swan-Jones put her hand on her son's shoulder. "I'm here to talk to Gold about it anyway."

Gold shifted his gaze from Emma to the man standing behind her. "Mrs. Jones, does your husband know that you and your brother-in-law are here to spill the big secret?"

"No, we thought it best to tell Killian after the fact." Liam Jones leaned in toward Gold. "Look, Mr. Gold, I apologize for this subterfuge but the situation is serious. Mother has taken little Leia without permission."

"Ursula kidnapped the baby? I assure you I had nothing to do with this!"

"We know you're not involved, Gold," Emma said. "At least, Liam and I know...but we thought you could help us locate them."

Gold turned his back and began straightening a shelf. "My assistance doesn't come free, dearie."

"GRANDPA! She's my little sister...PLEASE!"

Gold turned slowly and smiled at Henry. "You know, you grow more like your father each day... Okay, for Henry's sake I'll wave my usual consulting fee. So, when did the child disappear?"

"Three days ago...we found a note in her empty crib that said "Off to tour the realms with Grandmama."

"How do you know it was Ursula?"

"Because the witch keeps posting Instagrams of them together!" Emma pulled out her phone and tapped the screen. "Here. This was the first one."

Gold looked down to see a lovely selfie of Ursula and Leia at the gates of a stunning paradise. The caption read 'Welcome to Shangri-la! Watch Where You Step!'

"Then there was this one." Emma scrolled down to an image of Ursula and Leia peering over a wall into a miniature town. The child seemed positively mesmerized by the ant-sized people below. 'Hello from Lilliput! An Education in Miniature!' headed this photo.

"Yesterday we got two. This one here-" Emma pointed to an image of the pair in front of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry captioned 'Never Too Early to Look for Good Schools or Magical Creatures'.

"And this one!" Emma thumbed over to a photo showing laughing Leia riding on the back of a baby narwhal. The caption read 'Wheee!... Next I Wanna Build a Snowman!'

"That octopus is crazy, Gold! My baby is going to get hurt!"

"Now, Emma, I'm sure Mother means no harm. In fact, Leia looks like she's having a wonderful time!"

"Liam! This isn't a vacation at Grandma's house! SHE KIDNAPPED THE BABY!"

"Mom, calm down... maybe Ursula wanted quality grandma time with Leia and was afraid to ask?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "That conniving old seawitch hardly deserves to be called a mother let alone a grandmother! She's going to be sushi when I catch up to her!"

"Mrs. Jones, please... I agree with Mr. Liam and the boy. Your daughter is being well treated. But, Ursula is using these images to do more than chronicle fun with Grandma."

"Yeah, she's taunting us!"

"She's also manipulating you. In the first photo, you need to take care where you step. That leads to the second photo with tiny Lilliputians whom you wouldn't want to step on. From Lilliput, she mentions education which takes you to the Hogwarts Academy with its magical creatures. Then the narwhal...can you see the pattern?"

"Yes, it's almost like she wants us to follow her...but why?"

"I don't know but I would be willing to bet it involves her never ending battle with Triton."

"Okay, Gold, so her next clue is about a snowman? Does she want us to go to the North Pole?"

"No, the real North Pole doesn't have snowmen. There is really only one realm where you can make a snowman at this time of year and that is only due to its queen's magic."

"Arendal!"

"Precisely."

"Wait...Portals are hard to find when you need one. How does the seawitch get to all these places so quickly?"

"Well, the land portal system is as you describe. But, the mer kingdom prides itself on the stability and accessibility of their underwater portals. Triton maintains the system carefully."

"Too bad humans can't use them."

"Well, dearie, I don't think the Code of Poseidon forbids it but it's not practical for oxygen breathing species to travel underwater."

"Not practical," Liam said, "but possible with the right vessel."

" Do you think Ursula is using a vessel to transport Leia through the underwater portals?"

"She must be-"

The front door quickly jingled and slammed shut.

"CROCODILE! SHOW YOURSELF!"

"We're right here! Stop shouting and flailing about before you break something!"

"Liam! Emma! What are - well no matter! I take it we are all here for the same thing...ALL RIGHT, CROCODILE, WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?!"

"Easy, Killian!" Henry grasped his stepfather's arm firmly. "Grandpa isn't helping Ursula but he thinks she is enroute to Arendal. We were just trying to figure out what kind of a vessel she is using to-"

"I KNOW WHAT VESSEL, LAD!"

Killian slammed his 'talking phone' down on the table and pointed to the screen. An image of Blackbeard holding little Leia over the wheel of the Jolly Roger beamed back. Leia wears the pirate's tricorne on her head as she grasps the top rungs of the wheel. The caption reads 'Uncle Eddie is teaching me to sail!'

"This INTOLERABLE instant painting just now appeared!" Killian's blue eyes raged black. "That bilge rat Edward Teach is teaching MY daughter how to sail MY ship! Uncle Eddie indeed! We leave for Arendal IMMEDIATELY!"

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Author's Notes: Thanks for reading! I expect the finished story to be around 8 chapters. If you have time to leave a review, I would be grateful.