Belle heaved a sigh, leaning back in her desk chair and shutting her eyes. She'd just seen the fourth candidate for the nanny position and not one of them had been remotely right for the job.

She was interviewing candidates in her office at the library while Lucy took her afternoon nap. Her daughter was a heavy sleeper, and she liked having her there with her, snoring lightly in her pack and play wedged into the corner.

Perhaps she was too particular, too stringent in her demands. But Lucy was her only child. She wouldn't leave her to the care of just anyone.

On top of that, Lucy was the daughter of Rumplestiltskin. She couldn't begin to imagine the number of people in town who might want revenge on her husband, and would seek to exact it through her child. After the ordeal with Hades, and then with Hyde, she thought she'd earned the right to be a bit overprotective.

On the other hand, Lucy being the daughter of Rumplestiltskin unnerved some people. One of the applicants had straight out asked Belle, in a hushed whisper, if Lucy were "like him, y'know evil", the fear evident on her face. Belle had abruptly shown her the door.

Belle groaned, laying her head down against her desk. It was entirely possible she would never find anyone suitable to watch Lucy. Her daughter was beautiful and sweet and loving, but all anyone saw when they looked at her was either a bargaining chip or someone to be feared. No one would ever see her for who she was, just Lucy Gold a perfectly normal little girl. They would judge her on her parentage before they even knew her.

Maybe she was being too hard on Rumple. Perhaps she should just let him take Lucy in the afternoons. She knew Lucy adored her father and she knew they deserved to spend more time together. But her trust in Rumple was so shattered. If she was ever going to learn to trust him again, to be with him fully and committed again, she needed this time apart. And as long as she had issues trusting Rumple, she wasn't comfortable sharing custody.

And to be completely honest, she didn't relish the idea of sharing custody at all. She was terrified to leave her daughter for more than a couple of hours ever since her kidnapping. The idea of leaving her for days or weeks, even with Rumple, had her feeling sick to her stomach. Hyde had taken her baby, kept her away from her for weeks when she was still so small and helpless. She knew it wasn't strictly Rumple's fault, but if he hadn't been the Dark One, if he hadn't had so much power, Hyde never would have wanted leverage over him. If he'd just been an ordinary man, they wouldn't have half the problems they did.

So part of her ignored the possibility of joint custody, hoping that one day they would be together and raise their child together with no need for such an arrangement. Unfortunately, Rumple didn't seem to care about making any forward progress. It was as if he'd given up, happy to keep his power and lose his family.

"Excuse me?" came a polite voice from her office doorway. "I've come to see about the job posting."

Belle raised her head to see a tall woman with black hair in a smart blue skirt suit glancing in to her office tentatively.

"Oh, yes!" she exclaimed, jumping up from her desk chair. "Please come in. Have a seat."

The woman walked into the room, an umbrella with a parrot head handle clutched in one hand.

"I'm Belle Gold," she introduced herself, reaching her hand out to shake the woman's umbrella-less hand. "And this is Lucy," she added, motioning to where her daughter was sleeping.

"She's a beautiful child," the woman said, smiling serenely down at Lucy.

"Thank you," Belle replied genuinely. She was the first applicant all day not to look at Lucy like she might suddenly sprout an extra head or throw a fireball.

The woman turned back toward the desk, taking a seat at the rickety wooden library chair across from Belle.

"My name is Mary Poppins," she said, holding a résumé out for Belle to take.

Belle felt her eyes bulge. "Mary Poppins?" she exclaimed, taking the paper with numb fingers. "Like the book character?"

"Belle like the Disney princess?" Mary retorted.

"Touché," Belle said with the shrug of a shoulder. "I don't remember seeing you around town before. Did you come from the Land of Untold Stories?"

"I did," Mary agreed. "Odious place if you must know. I'm much happier here in Storybrooke. There seems to be no lack of need for childcare either. This place has had quite the baby boom lately."

Mary glanced over to where Lucy was still asleep, her face softening at the sight of the baby girl. Belle watched her closely. It was a good sign if the nanny was already taken with her daughter.

"I hadn't really thought about it, but I suppose you're right," Belle said. Lucy, Neal, Philip, Alexandra and baby Robin were all under the age of three. She supposed the population of Storybrooke had been busy. But it was only natural for a baby boom after being frozen in time for twenty-eight long years.

"Now, what exactly are you needing in terms of my services?" Mary asked, taking charge of the interview. Belle sat back in her seat.

"Well, I'm in the process of doing some extra work here at the library," Belle said. "Lucy is here with me most of the day, but with the extra hours I need someone to take her back to the apartment, feed her, bathe her, and get her ready for bed. My friend Granny has been watching her, but I feel bad taking advantage of her hospitality. She has her own business to run and it's not fair of me to saddle her with Lucy all the time. So I figured I could use some professional help."

"Yes, it certainly seems you could use my help," Mary said smartly. "Since you know of my name, I'm certain you're familiar with my work with the Banks children."

Belle nodded. She'd been reading one of the Mary Poppins books for fun just a few months ago, but she wasn't sure what she'd done with the book. It was possible it was still at Rumple's house and she wasn't inclined to go looking for it.

"Complete poppycock of course," Mary continued. "All that nonsense about magic and carpet bags and whatever else. But I did take care of those children and made them the better for it. I've never met a challenge too great. I am strict, but fair. I think a child is never too young to learn. And I will certainly have Lucy in bed by 8:00 every night."

She finished with a firm little nod, placing her hands on the handle of her umbrella in a way that was eerily familiar.

Belle shook her head, ignoring it.

She was about to consult the questions she had prepared when a cry came from the corner. Lucy had apparently awoken from her nap.

"I apologize," she began, standing up to go to her daughter. But Mary interrupted.

"May I?" she asked, motioning toward Lucy.

"Please," Belle agreed, sinking back down into her chair.

She watched as Mary scooped up Lucy, somehow knowing exactly how to hold her against her shoulder to soothe the baby girl. A few sniffles later, Lucy had broken into a wide smile cooing happily as she reached up to grab Mary's nose.

"That's amazing," Belle exclaimed. "She can be pretty particular about who she wants holding her."

"I do have some experience with children," Mary offered, kissing Lucy's forehead before placing her back in her cot.

"Well, you're practically perfect in every way," Belle said with a giggle that came out more as a snort. Mary looked like she was trying not to laugh herself. There was something about the way her eyebrows quirked, her mouth twisted to hold in the laugh, that was familiar as well.

"I'm sorry, but is it possible we've met before?" Belle asked before she could even think the question through.

"No," Mary said with a shake of her head. "I can't imagine where we would have crossed paths."

Belle stared at her a moment longer, trying to place what exactly it was that was so familiar. But it was like clutching water in her hand. The harder she tried to focus, the quicker it slipped away like remembering a dream after waking.

She gave a little shake of her head.

"I'm sure you're right," she said, standing from behind her desk. "Well, Mary, I can't think of a single reason why I shouldn't hire you on the spot, but unfortunately I do need to consult with Lucy's father on this."

"Your husband?" Mary asked politely.

Belle paused, her mouth hanging open like a fish out of water.

"My – something like that. I'm not really sure at the moment."

Mary blinked.

"We're currently living separately," she clarified. "You'll only be answering to me if you take the position, but my…Rumple did want veto power on whomever I hired for the job."

"Perfectly understandable," Mary replied with a nod of her head.

That's when a horrible thought struck Belle, one that could change everything.

"I suppose you know who Lucy's father is," Belle stated, her heart sinking at the thought that Mary didn't know and would change her mind about the position the moment she found out.

"Mr. Gold, I presume," she answered, motioning out the office window where the pawnshop was visible across the street.

"Yes," Belle agreed. "But he was known in our world as Rumplestiltskin."

She waited for the flinch, the nasty look, the excuses, but none of it came. Mary still stood there serenely.

"Is that a problem?" Belle continued.

"No, why should it be?" Mary asked.

Belle was at a loss. "It seems to have been a point of interest to all the other applicants for the position."

"I'm a firm believer in taking people at their own merits. I certainly don't judge a child for who her parents are."

Belle breathed a sigh of relief. "That's a wonderful outlook."

"I think so," Mary agreed.

"I'll be in touch by the end of the day," Belle continued. "I do want to find a solution as soon as possible."

"Wonderful," Mary said with a smile, picking up her umbrella before bending over the pack and play to coo at Lucy. Her daughter giggled, grabbing at the other woman's hand and giving her a gummy smile.

"You've certainly earned Lucy's approval."

Mary stood back up, her eyes looking strangely misty. "I do hope I'll get to see her again. Goodbye, Mrs. Gold."

And with that, Mary Poppins left.

Belle scooped Lucy up, giving her daughter a little kiss.

"Mama," Lucy babbled.

"Yes, baby, Mama is here."

"Papa," Lucy said, pointing toward the open doorway.

Belle looked down at her daughter. "Yes, lets go see Papa."

She wanted to snatch up Mary before anyone else in need of a nanny found her. All she needed to do was convince Rumple.

Everything had gone so according to plan that Rumple was almost wary of his success. Belle had jumped at the chance to secure Mary Poppins herself as Lucy's nanny. She'd marched over to the pawnshop to discuss the matter with him only moments after he'd arrived himself.

Rumple had relished sitting there, holding his daughter while Belle extolled the virtues of the new nanny. He'd had to play it cool, asking questions about Mary and seeming reluctant before finally agreeing that Belle should hire her. Belle had been so happy she'd briefly hugged him, taking him completely by surprise.

That twisting feeling of guilt was present in his gut, that one he got anytime he kept Belle in the dark about something. But he pushed it to the side when Belle took Lucy from him and headed back across the street to the library. The employment was only for a week, two tops, Belle had said. He would come clean to her at the end of it and she would see that Lucy was perfectly safe with him. Then perhaps she'd be open to a more equal custody arrangement.

At least that's what he told himself.

Belle called "Mary" shortly after she left the shop and Rumple gladly accepted her offer of employment. He was to begin that very night, picking up Lucy at the library at 5:00 and taking her to the apartment for the evening.

He was just right upstairs from Belle should anything go wrong, a fact she'd assured him of as soon as he'd arrived at the prescribed time. Belle handed Lucy off to him with a worried look on her face. He knew Belle was wary of letting their daughter out of her sight. She'd nearly been taken by the God of the Underworld before she was even born. She was kidnapped by a madman when she was only a few weeks old. In their daughter's one year of life, she'd been under threat more than most people experience in a lifetime. It was only natural for Belle to have some separation anxiety. He'd told himself that over and over when he had supervised visitation with his own daughter. He needed to give Belle space and time and hope she came around. Letting Lucy be watched by someone else was a big first step.

Nevertheless, Belle called up to the apartment no less than three times in three hours to make sure everything was all right.

For her part, Lucy was perfectly happy to go along with Mary Poppins. She had clapped her hands together and reached for him when Rumple took her from Belle and had clung to him happily once they reached the apartment. She'd been good as gold as he fed her ground up chicken and mashed sweet potato that she'd proceeded to get all over her face. She'd laughed happily and played with her rubber duck as he bathed her. She'd smiled up at him sleepily as he read her a bedtime story and fallen asleep on his chest before he carried her to her crib.

He couldn't have imagined a better first night alone with his daughter. Once he'd gotten Lucy down to sleep, he'd gone to the kitchen and whipped Belle up a meal of spaghetti Bolognese and put it in the oven to keep warm for when she arrived home.

When Belle trudged up the steps a half hour later, Mary was reclining on the sofa with a book in hand.

"What's that delicious smell?" She asked, shutting the door behind her and kicking off her 4-inch heels.

"Dinner," Rumple replied, setting his book on the coffee table and standing up.

"You cooked?" Belle padded into the kitchen, bending over to look through the oven door. "Is that spaghetti Bolognese? That's one of my favorites. How did you know?"

Rumple smiled serenely, channeling Mary Poppins. "Practically perfect, remember? I simply know these things."

Belle chuckled, looking around the apartment. "Did you clean too?"

Rumple smiled, "I figured you would be tired after a long day."

Belle shook her head. "I can't believe it. I hired you to watch Lucy and I get dinner and a clean apartment on top of it. Thank you."

"It's no matter," Rumple said, picking up Mary's ubiquitous umbrella and heading toward the door. "I'll just be getting out of your hair, then."

"Oh, wait!" Belle called after him. "I can't possibly eat all this by myself and you went to so much trouble. Would you like to stay for dinner?"

Rumple turned, looking at his wife standing barefoot in her home and asking him to stay. His heart thudded a little harder in his chest. He'd like nothing more than to join her for dinner, to pretend they were happy once again. But she wasn't asking to have dinner with Rumple. She was asking to have dinner with Mary.

Besides, this was the longest he'd ever worn women's undergarments and he was highly uncomfortable. Women were saints for dealing with bras and he imagined a corset was infinitely worse.

He shook his head. "I really must be getting home. Enjoy your evening Mrs. Gold."