Back with another chapter already! Also, I'll try to write these chapters in advance and try, emphasis on try, to update every week. If I don't, it'll because of school or personal reasons. I'll update the Facebook and Tumblr pages if that's the case. If you still haven't been to the pages, both links are on my profile. Now, back to Forgotten Flower.

Neal and Rose went about the day running errands. They went grocery shopping, picked up a few more things for Rose, and stopped by the local police station. They were still working on tracking Rose's family. They've gone every weekend to check up and make sure they were doing their jobs. Every week was the same. There was no sign of her family anywhere in the city, or in the state for that matter. This confirmed Neal's theory that Rose probably wasn't from New York. That still raised the question of where she really was from.

After leaving the station, they stopped for lunch. They stopped at a pizza place and pick up a pizza. They then went to the park to eat it. Rose may not have remembered much about herself, but she knew she loved being outside. She loved nature. They had been to the state park a few times since she's been with him. He loved the way she would light up and enjoy her surroundings. What made this kid leave her home?, he thought. She seemed happy enough, though that could be for the memory loss. When he took her to the hospital, she didn't have any bruises or broken bones so she wasn't physically abused. Why did she...

"Neal?" He was brought from his thoughts by her voice.

"Yeah? What's up?"

"How come you don't talk about your mommy and daddy? You don't have any pictures of them either." Neal froze. He never liked to talk about his parents, especially his father.

"Well, for one thing, you never asked."

"Oh, okay. I'm asking now." He couldn't help but chuckle. Of course she'd be curious to learn more about the man taking care of her. He never talked about his past. He only ever told her about the current things in his life like his job and girlfriend. Rose didn't like her very much, but that's a story for another time.

"Okay. Well, I don't remember too much about my mom since she died when I was really young. Probably just a little older than you." She frowned.

"Aww. That's really sad. I'm sorry." He rubbed her hair playfully.

"That's alright, kid. It was a long time ago."

"What about your daddy?" Neal hesitated. His father was a touchy subject for him and wasn't his favorite thing to talk about.

"Well, my father...he...uh...He was a good man. I remember growing up, he did everything for me. He did everything he could to make sure I was safe and had what I needed. He loved me and I loved him. He and my mom never got along all that much, but that didn't change how he felt about me. After my mom died, he became more protective of me. He didn't want to lose me. Like I said, he was a good man. Was." Rose tilted her head in confusion.

"What happened?" He swallowed remembering the past.

"One day, he changed. He became dark and cruel to others. He...uh...He hurt people, claiming to protect me. He claimed that everything he did was for me, but he was selfish. He soon only cared about being stronger than others and intimidating people. After that, he wasn't my father anymore. He was nothing but a coward." Rose looked at him with wide, curious eyes. He had spoken so fondly of his father at first, then it changed. What did his father do? Neal saw this and smiled. "Hey, that's enough about my father. Just know that he's not in the picture anymore, okay?"

"Oh, o-okay, but what if he really was hurting people for you? Maybe he hurt them first so they wouldn't hurt you. Maybe he didn't know what else to do, so he did bad stuff because he thought it would work. I think if people want to protect someone they loved, they would do things that they wouldn't normally do. They want to do something that works." Neal chuckled again.

"You know, you're pretty insightful for a kid with no memory." She giggled.

"Just 'cause I do remember stuff doesn't mean I don't know stuff." He ruffled her hair again.

"That's exactly what it means, you little smart-alack." They laughed, forgetting about Neal's father for the moment. They finished up the pizza and continued with their errands. When they finished up, they returned to Neal's apartment. "So, kid... I mean Rose, it's been about a month now and I've been doing some thinking."

"About what?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe you should start going to school." She tilted her head in confusion.

"School? Like with teachers and other kids and stuff?"

"Yeah. I mean, you're about five, so you should have at least started pre-k or kindergarten by now. And besides, you can't stay in the apartment all day doing nothing while I'm working. I really shouldn't be leaving you alone anyway. So, since I have Monday off, we'll go down to the elementary school and get you registered." Rose didn't know how to feel. Since she didn't have any memory, she didn't know if she liked school or not. Was she already enrolled before she left? Was school the reason she left? She was anxious, but she didn't seem to have much of a choice. Neal might have made her go either way.

"O-okay. I guess that's okay. I don't know if I'll like school, but I'll try it." Neal smiled at her.

"Don't worry, kid. You'll be fine. And I'm sure you'll make some friends too." The idea of making friends sounded nice to her. She loved to meet people. Why not be friends with someone her own age.

"Okay! I'll go to school!"


Storybrooke

Mr. Gold was in his shop tending to some of the antiques. Lacey was resting at home per his requests. She was only four months, but he didn't want anything to happen while he wasn't around. She could get into too much while she was at home. He was happily waiting for his expecting child. Before the curse, he hadn't know that Belle was pregnant. Waking up that day twenty-eight years ago to a pregnant fiancee was the biggest surprise of his life. Why hadn't Belle told him? Perhaps she didn't know before he was locked away. He was still excited, though he'd never admit it to anyone other than Belle, or rather Lacey.

Gold was still puzzled by something. Rose was last with him before the curse hit. Where was she? She wasn't anywhere in town. She couldn't have disappeared. She had to have come over with the curse. Why wasn't she with him? What did Regina do to her? Since Rose still had the locket, Regina couldn't kill her. She had to have locked her up somewhere like she did Maleficent. If that was the case, Regina would need to watch her back once the curse was broken.

Her son, Henry seemed to know something. He had been on about something with his book of the stories of the Enchanted Forest. No one believe him, of course, but Rumple and Regina both knew it was true. Henry kept mentioning something about Rumple's daughter, but it didn't make sense. She was never in the town. How did he know about her? He was brought from his thoughts by the bell over his front door ringing. He didn't need to get up to know who it was. "Gold? You in here?"

"Well, it is my shop." Just who he was waiting for. Emma Swan, who was now the town deputy, entered the back where he was working. She was surprised and overwhelmed by a horrible smell.

"Woah. What is that?"

"Oh. This is Lanolin. Used for water-proofing."

"Smells like live stock." He gave a small chuckle.

"It is the reason why sheep's wool repels water."

"It stinks. How does your fiancee put up with that?"

"I tend to keep her away from the stuff. Sensitive nose and all." The look of disgust on her face was amusing to the older man. He had come accustomed to such bad smells that they don't phase him. He placed the brush back inside of the can and wiped his hands.

"If there was a reason you called the sheriff's department, if you talk about that quickly or outside." He stood up from his desk and walked around it over to her.

"I just wanted to...express my condolences, really. The sheriff was a good man." Sheriff Graham had been the sheriff since the curse was enacted. Nothing really happened to much for him to do anything worthwhile before Emma's arrival. Even then, he was good at his job and was actually helpful. He had "mysteriously" died a while back. Gold knew Regina had something to do with it, but didn't care enough to figure out what. Gold looked down to Emma's waist and noticed something. "You're still wearing the deputy's badge. Well, he's been gone two weeks now. And believe after two weeks of acting as sheriff, the job becomes yours. You'll have to wear the real badge."

"Yeah, I guess. I'm just not in a hurry. So, um, thank you for the kind words." After a brief moment of silence, she turned and left. Gold wasn't quite done with his business with her just yet. As he left the office, he followed her out front.

"I have his things." She turned around.

"What?" He walked over to a cardboard box sitting on the counter.

"The sheriff. He rented an apartment I owned. Another reason for my call, really. I wanted to know if I could offer you a keepsake." She was hesitant, but answered quickly.

"I don't need anything." He smirked a bit.

"As you wish. I'll give them to Mayor Mills. Seems like she was the closest thing he had to family." He had gotten her attention as she walked back to the counter.

"I'm not sure about that." He opened the box.

"No love lost there. Look, I fear that all of this stuff is headed directly for the trash bin. You really should take something." He shuffled a little before pulling out a black leather jacket. "Look, his jacket?"

"No." He put it back into the box and looked for something else.

"Oh. Well, look." He pulled out two black walkie talkies. "Your boy might likes these, don't you think? You could play together."

"I don't..." He cut her off.

"No, please. They...They grow up so fast." He tried to keep his emotions in check, but sadness was seen on his face. He wished he had more time with his own children before they disappeared. Emma took the walkies.

"Thanks."

"You enjoy these with your boy. Your time together is precious you know? That's the thing about children. Before you know it...you lose them." Emma stared at him for a moment before turning to leave. Gold wished for nothing more than to get back those years with Baelfire. He wished he hadn't been such a coward and let him fall through that portal. If only he had been a better father. If only he had made better decisions for his boy. He would've been able to keep him with him forever. Then he would've met Rose and they could've been a happy family with Belle. The four, eventually five, of them could've been happy together.

"Rob? Rob?" He was brought from his thoughts by a voice. He then saw that Belle, or rather Lacey, was next to him. She had a look of worry on her face.

"Oh, Lacey, darling? When did you arrive?"

"I just came in through the back. Are you alright? You look upset." He gave her a reassuring smile and kissed her forehead.

"I'm fine, sweetheart. Just...lost in thought. What brings you by?" If she suspected something or didn't believe him, she didn't say. She smiled as she held up a tote bag.

"I thought I'd surprise you with lunch." He chuckled and held her close.

"You are an amazing woman, my dear." He placed his hand on her swollen belly. He still marveled his unborn child, hoping that he or she wouldn't want to leave him like his other children. He hope that he could finally do something right for him/her.


Back in New York, Rose suddenly felt a wave of sadness hit her. She didn't know what it was or what it meant. Was someone sad? Did she know who it was? Was she sad? She didn't feel sad or have a reason to at the moment. What did it mean? As soon as the wave hit her, it was gone and replaced with something else. It wasn't sadness, but it still felt sad. Worry? Fear? Anxiety? It was something sad. Once again, the feeling left her again. She didn't understand why she was feeling the things she was. What did it mean?

"Hey, Rose. Come here for a sec." She forgot about the odd waves and went to see what Neal needed.