Disclaimer: As I've stated before, I do not own Doctor Who or Once Upon a Time. They belong to BBC and ABC.

Chapter Two: The Strange Town

Ugh! My arms are so sore!...Is that the sound of birds chirping?... Why are there birds in the TARDIS?

Rory's eyes snapped open. The first thing he saw was a bright blue sky with fizzled-out clouds. He felt gravel under his fingertips. He sat up to see a bed of rocks spread out before him. He sat next to a creek and trees were spread out far and wide around him. Much like the Doctor, his memory was coming back slowly...

"Amy!" he shouted remembering how they flew out of the TARDIS together.

"What...?" came the familiar just-waking-up groan right beside him.

He twisted over to see Amy stirring from her sleep. She flipped back a curtain of red hair from her face and looked up at her husband with squinty eyes. "Rory?" she asked drowsily.

"...Yeah?" he asked thanking God or whoever was watching them that his wife was okay.

"... Why are we laying on rocks?"

He let out an amused sigh. "We fell out of the TARDIS while it was crashing, remember?"

"Crashing-" Amy stopped herself. Her eyes snapped open all the way and she sat straight up so she was level with Rory. "Where's the Doctor!" she demanded.

"I... I don't know," he stuttered. "I just woke up myself."

Amy sighed and buried her face in her hands. After a moment, she slowly stood up and slowly spun around to get a glimpse of the scenery. "I think we're on Earth."

"Possibly," he agreed rising to stand. "But we've been here before."

"Of course," Amy replied sarcastically.

"No, I mean," he paused. "Before the doors flew open, he said that we were headed somewhere that was supposed to be blocked off. We traveled through Earth billions of times without running into any kind of invisible wall."

Amy was silent. She began walking towards a steep hill that led to a bridge above them. Rory followed. "I guess we'll just have to find out for ourselves."

She grabbed a hold of a tree branch sticking out of the ground and pulled herself up higher on the hill. "Maybe we're in a parallel universe," Rory suggested. "The Doctor said he had been to one before."

"We could be," Amy agreed letting go of the branch and grabbing the pole of the sign while trying to keep balance. "If we're lucky, the Doctor might be looking for us right now."

"Do you think he landed in the same place as us?" Rory asked as Amy helped him to the top of the hill.

"We were all headed for the same place," Amy shrugged. "He can't be that far."

Once they were settled at the top, they made their way across the long bridge where, from a distance, they could see a dirt-covered metal sign that said "TOLL BRIDGE"; someone had spray-painted an "R" in the middle to make it look like the sign said "TROLL BRIDGE".

"At least the people here have a sense of humor," Rory commented.

...

It was early afternoon. Henry Mills had just got back from school and made his usual stop at Granny's Diner. He sat in his usual bar stool sipping hot cocoa. It had been awhile since he was able to leave the school on his own to hang out at Granny's before walking home to go to his appointments with Archie Hopper.

Ever since Emma Swan (his real mother) came to town, Madame Mayor had been strict about letting the two of them see each other; to the point where they weren't allowed to have any contact ever. After Emma became sheriff and some time had passed, Regina gave him a longer leesh, so to speak. The mother and son were only allowed a certain amount of contact per week and Henry had to be home at certain times depending on where he went.

It wasn't much, but it would have to do until his mother could finally break the curse. He knew she didn't believe yet, but he could feel that she was getting close. He had felt victorious after Emma asked to borrow his book so she could read about the Mad Hatter, and now that Kathryn was back, it was only a matter of time...

The bell on the door rang as it swung open. Henry turned to see two people he didn't recognize walk in. The first one was a man with disheveled, sandy brown hair and he wore dark blue jeans and a Beatles t-shirt under a plaid shirt. The second was a woman with long, red hair. She wore a short leather jacket with a maroon top, a denim skirt, and cowboy boots. The pair looked tired with patches of dirt stains on their clothes. They must've come out of the forest, he thought.

They sat down at the bar a couple of seats away from Henry. The man rested his elbows on the counter and buried his face in his hands; the woman settled with resting her head on the table. It wasn't odd for the young boy to see people he didn't know; it was a big town after all. Henry studied them, trying to figure out which fairytale characters they were.

He didn't have his storybook (Emma was suppose to bring it with her that afternoon) so it was a bit difficult. From what he could remember, there was a character that had red hair like the woman... Maybe she was Ariel. The man's nose made Henry think of Pinocchio, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Pinocchio was a child when the curse began, and this man was obviously in his late-twenties at least.

Come to think of it, he didn't where the wooden puppet was...

"Wow, you two look rough," Ruby, the waitress, blatantly told the couple as she walked behind the bar with a notepad.

The couple looked up to see the girl standing in front of them. "Thanks for your brilliant observation," the woman told Ruby sarcastically. Henry noted that her accent sounded similar to Mr. Gold's.

Ruby ignored her comment. "Is there anything I can get you both?"

"Two waters please," answered the man. He accent wasn't the same as the woman's. It was English.

"Coming right up," the waitress smiled closing her notebook and heading to the other side of the bar.

The woman let out a sigh and turned in her stool to observe the rest of the restaurant. It was mostly empty minus Leroy who sat in a booth closer to the laundry room, trying to avoid human contact except when Ruby came back to refill his mug. Dr. Whale was also on break from the hospital having a late lunch. He was busy working once Kathryn reappeared, helping her to remember where she was for the past few weeks while everyone thought she was dead. Mary Margaret was wrongfully accused of killing her, and Henry knew it was all a ploy made by his adoptive mother just so she could get rid of his teacher/grandmother.

"He could be anywhere in this town," the woman whispered to her friend, turning back in her seat. Henry had to lean a little bit to hear.

"Are we even sure he's here?" he asked her in the same hushed tone. "We fell out of the TARDIS before he did. For all we know, he traveled miles away and fell out sometime then."

Henry's eyes squinted a little bit. Obviously they were looking for a he. But what did he mean by falling out of a TARDIS? The word was familiar to him, but he couldn't remember where he heard it-

"Oi, kid!" the woman's voice rose up and made Henry jump. He looked to see the woman staring right at him, looking annoyed. "Didn't anyone tell ya it wasn't polite to eavesdrop?"

"I'm s-sorry," the boy stuttered. "It's just... I've never seen you two before."

"Same here," Ruby concurred, returning with a tray carrying two glasses of water and two plates of cherry pie. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"Oh no," the woman replied with a shake of her head. "We're just passing through."

"Really?" Ruby's smile brightened. "We don't usually get many visitors here." She then turned towards Henry. "Emma must be some kind of tourist magnet," she joked.

"Emma's my mom," Henry told the couple who looked at them confused. "She's the new sheriff of Storybrooke."

"And why does that make her a tourist magnet?" asked the man.

"Because before she came, we never had any new visitors come here for..." Ruby paused to think. "Well, a long time."

"So now lots of people stop here?" asked the red head.

"Well, not lots," the waitress admitted. "Only her and this writer guy, August." She grabbed the two cups of water and placed them in front of the couple along with the two plates of cherry pie.

"Um," the man gestured to the desserts, "we didn't order these."

"On the house," Ruby grinned. "Anyone new to town gets a free slice of Granny's special cherry pie."

The couple nodded their thanks as Ruby left the bar to serve Leroy another glass of beer.

"My name's Henry," he introduced himself.

"Rory," the man greeted. "This is my wife, Amy."

The boy shook hands with the couple. "Sorry again for eavesdropping."

"Don't worry about it," Amy waved it off. "Actually," she paused a moment, "Maybe you could help us." She got up from her stool and went to go sit next to Henry. Rory remained where he was and took small bites of his pie. "We're looking for someone. He's called the Doctor." Amy asked him in a hushed voice.

Henry scrunched his nose and jabbed a thumb over at a nearby table. "Dr. Whale is over there. He knows more about doctors than I do."

Amy turned to see Dr. Whale who was cutting his ham into little tiny pieces. "Oh, no," she shook her head. "He's not an actual doctor. Everyone just calls him the Doctor."

"Everyone?" he asked.

Amy nodded.

"Not even a last name?"

She shook her head. "None." She then added, "He has brown hair, tan, tweed jacket, and wears a bow-tie." She rolled her eyes. "He thinks their 'cool'."

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head. He rapidly scooted his empty cup of cocoa aside and grabbed his backpack. Amy and Rory (who paused mid-bite) watched him curiously as he grabbed his walkie-talkie out of his backpack. "Henry to Emma!" he called into the device frantically. "Operation Cobra emergency! I repeat, Operation Cobra emergency! Where are you?"

"Relax, kid," called a familiar female voice through the walkie-talkie, "I'm about to walk into Granny's."

On cue, the door swung open again. Amy and Rory turned to see Henry's biological mother. Her curly blonde hair was in a pony tail and she wore her usual red jacket. She carried her walkie-talkie in one hand and her brown bag in the other.

"Did you bring my storybook?" Henry asked, excitement running through him.

"I said I would," Emma replied walking to stand next to Henry. She reached into her bag to pull out a thick storybook.

"Thanks," he rapidly took it from her, pushed his backpack aside, and slammed it on the table.

"Who are you guys?" Emma asked the married couple as Henry rapidly flipped through pages.

"I'm Amy," she replied, "and this is Rory." Rory gave a small wave. "You must be the sheriff."

"Sheriff Swan," the blonde confirmed.

"Got it!" Henry exclaimed once he found the story he was looking for. "Does he look anything like this?" he asked sliding the book in front of Amy. Rory leaned over to look at the book with her.

He saw their eyes widen in shock. I'll take that as a "yes".

...

Amy couldn't believe it. She should have known by now to expect the unexpected when travelling with a time lord, but she never expected to see the Doctor's face inside a child's storybook.

The picture Amy and Rory saw was a drawing of the Doctor. He was screaming as he was being dragged into a lake by a blue rope. Amy's current shock kept her laughing; even in a storybook he was still getting caught up in dangerous situations.

"That's him!" Amy confirmed with worry in her voice.

"What's happening to him?" Rory asked.

"He was about to be murdered by a siren because he drank from her lake water," Henry answered.

Her husband shrugged. "Sounds like him."

"Did he escape?" she asked the young boy.

"Rumpelstiltskin saved him," he told them reassuringly.

Amy looked at Rory with the same peculiar expression that he wore. "Rumpelstiltskin?"

"The imp who threatened to steal a woman's first born son?" Rory finished her question.

"Henry, don't do this now," Emma told her son in a tired voice.

"Don't do what?" Amy turned to Emma.

"Henry Mills," called a new voice; this one more harsh and strict.

Henry quickly grabbed Emma's bag and laid it on top of the open book as the other three turned to see a woman with short black hair. She wore a black business suit and a glare.

"Hi, mom," Henry grumbled.

"I thought I told you to be home at four o'clock," she scolded.

"I was waiting for Emma," he told her.

Rory leaned in to whisper to Amy. "I thought he said the sheriff was his mum."

"Same here," she whispered back.

"You know the rules, Henry," the woman was about to say more until she noticed the new faces in the diner. "Do I know you two?" she asked looking at Amy.

"Amy Pond," she greeted with a forced smile. "This is my husband, Rory."

"Hello..." Rory stood up from his seat. "We're just visitors passing through, Mrs..."

"Mayor," she corrected, "Regina Mills." She scrutinized the couple skeptically.

"Right," Rory simply said.

"Regina, I was running a little late today, and I had just got here," Emma told her.

Regina turned to glare at Emma. "Make excuses on your own time, sheriff, not mine."

"Excuse me," the blonde placed her hands on her hips, "I was busy working on Kathryn's case, which I'm assuming, you made my top priority."

"And have you found any leads?"

Emma averted her gaze. "Well, not-"

"You're wasting your time then," Regina interrupted. "Henry, go to the car. You don't want to be late for your meeting."

Henry sighed and grabbed his backpack. "It was nice meeting you," he told Amy and Rory.

"Enjoy you're stay in Storybrooke," Regina smiled, but Amy could tell she didn't mean it, "Mr. and Mrs. Pond." Then she and Henry walked out the door.

Once the door shut closed, Emma growled in her throat and sat down in the seat that Henry sat in before.

"Your usual hot chocolate with whip cream and cinnamon," Ruby smiled at her encouragingly as she placed a hot mug in front of her.

"Thanks, Ruby," Emma gave her a small smile and wrapped her hands around the warm mug.

"You know," Ruby rested her elbows on the counter and gave the sheriff a conspiratorial look, "I think it's high time you get a lawyer and fight her for custody of Henry."

"Heh, like that'll ever work," Emma mocked herself. "Every time I try to defy Regina, it always comes back and bites me in the ass."

"If you're his mother," Amy spoke up as Ruby walked back into the kitchen, "How come Henry lives with the mayor?"

Emma looked over at her. "It's a long story."

"We've got time," Rory encouraged.

Emma took a sip of her cocoa and turned in her seat to face them. "I gave Henry up for adoption when he was a born. Ten years later, the kid shows up on my doorstep at nine o'clock at night and I'm forced to drive him back home from Boston to here."

"Why did you give him up?" Amy asked then added, "If it's okay to ask."

"No big," Emma shook her head. "I was eighteen with no way of taking care of him. I wanted to give him his best chance, but now that I see where he lives..." Emma bit her lip trying to disguise her disgust for the Mayor.

"I'm sorry," Amy sympathized. "She does seem like a real wench."

Emma chuckled. "You don't know the half of it."

"Is it okay if I ask about his storybook?" Amy pushed the bag aside to reveal the page with the Doctor in it.

Emma paused a moment, not sure if she wanted to tell them about Henry's theory. Well, he was going to tell them anyway, she realized with a grimace. "Henry has this notion that... Everyone who lives in this town is a fairytale character." She paused to see their reaction.

"Fairytale characters?" Rory asked.

"Yeah," she continued. "Every character in that book is supposedly trapped in this town by a curse. They don't remember who they are, time is frozen so they don't age, and they're not allowed to leave or 'bad things' will happen."

"And people that live outside of town aren't allowed in?" Amy asked.

"Y-yeah," Emma answered taken aback by her statement.

"Wait, let me guess," Rory chimed in, "is the mayor the wicked stepmother from Cinderella?"

"Close," Emma laughed. "She's the Evil Queen from Snow White."

"What character does Henry think you are?" Amy inquired.

Again, Emma paused feeling embarrassed. "Promise you won't laugh," when they gave her their word, she continued, "the reason Henry came to find me a few months back was because... He thinks I'm Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter. Snow and Charming knew about the curse, and when I was born, they sent me to this world so that I would come back twenty-eight years later and break the curse. Apparently I'm the 'Chosen One'."

Amy and Rory looked at her thoughtfully.

"Crazy, right?" Emma filled the silence.

"It's not the craziest thing ever, trust us," Rory commented. "How are you suppose to break this curse?"

"Hell if I know," she admitted sipping her hot chocolate. "I don't even believe in this whole thing."

"And Henry thinks that you do," Amy stated.

"He thinks I'll believe soon," she told them. "Honestly, I think he's using the storybook as a way to escape from how bad his life with Regina is. She has him attending therapy sessions twice a week."

Amy nodded. That she could understand. "Um," she began, "is it alright if we borrow this storybook? We promise to give it back to you tomorrow."

Emma quirked an eyebrow at them. "So, I take it that you two are staying the night in town?"

Amy and Rory exchanged a quick look and nodded. "We're not in a big rush to leave."

"Great!" came Ruby's voice as she came out of the kitchen. "Granny also has a bed and breakfast right behind the diner."

"Ruby, were you listening to us the whole time?" Emma accused.

"No," she answered honestly. "I just heard that last bit."

Emma only shook her head and turned back to Amy. "Bring it by the station tomorrow afternoon." After requesting a to go cup for her cocoa and ordered a sandwich, Sheriff Swan the diner leaving the storybook with the Ponds.

"Very odd, don't you think?" Rory piped up.

"What?" Amy asked confused.

"A town full of cursed fairytale characters."

"Not as weird as a town of alien-possessed old people that can kill you by breathing on you."

Rory laughed awkwardly and went back to his pie. The couple finished their meal as they read the first few pages of the fairytale with the Doctor in it.

WEEEEEEE! That chapter was longer than I anticipated! Not that I'm complaining of course. At least we have a lot of information in this one. Next chapter will be Eleven and Rumpel (YAY!)

Thanks to Hiddenfilly for your kind review and to everyone else that has read this far.

Remember, reviews are appreciated; faming is not!