Storybrooke

Regina looked around the remaining search volunteers, noticed a few particular ones missing, and frowned.

Graham caught her concerned look. "What's wrong?"

"Our local 'expert' and teacher seemed to have forgotten to check in."

"They were further out than most of the group."

"Perhaps or it's just past their bed times." She quipped; she still couldn't believe that Graham would've recruited Miss Kyle to help out with the investigation. She was practically a child. Still, the two should have been back by now. While Regina hated seeing her former stepdaughter's cheerful face anywhere near her, it bothered the mayor to not know where the chirpy woman was.

Just as quickly as the concern came, it left when the mayor heard Mary Margaret's voice.

"Graham!" The pixed brunette and Fiona were running towards him. As soon as the elementary teacher saw Regina standing behind him she slowed down and became a bit more formal. "Sheriff, I think we found Chelsea's bag in the woods."

"Let me see."

Handing over the gently used red book bag to him, Graham brought it over to the table with a camping lamp so he could get a closer look on the contents and the condition of the bag.

Regina stepped up besides him, not so subtly blocking the two other women. "Sheriff, what is it?"

Graham exhaled. "Everything is here - her books, notepads, pens, even her snacks." He shook the bag lightly. "I don't see her wandering off without this."

Jumping in, Fiona speculated, "So someone must have abducted her." She immediately regretted not checking the area around there for more clues instead of rushing back with the bag.

Mayor Mills shot the young woman a scathing look. "Thank you Ms. Kyle for your 'insight'. If you don't mind though, I'd rather hear from a professional. Why don't you and Ms. Blanchard scurry off and get some coffee while the grown-ups talk?"

Fiona opened her mouth to say something, but the conciliatory teacher pulled her new friend to the coffee station.

Satisfied that the other women were gone, Regina turned her attention back on the sheriff, who was seriously considering Fiona's theory.


The Enchanted Forest

Fiona woke up bright and early the next day. Looking for Snow, the girl cracked the door open, but saw that the house was empty. Hearing someone working outside, she ventured outside.

Fiona saw the widow trying to lead her small flock of sheep to the far side of the pasture to graze. Fascinated by the sight, the girl went to an apple tree to watch from a far.

There was something peaceful seeing the animals obediently respond to the woman. Fiona had always loved being around animals, she found their presence calming.

Her stomach grumbled. She was hungry, but she didn't want to interrupt the widow from her duties. Looking up she saw the solution to her problem - red, crisp apples were hanging above her.

She shimmied up and plucked a big juicy one. Biting into it, she couldn't help but smile. The juices dripped from her mouth so she wiped them on her sleeve.

It was unladylike, but she didn't care. Her aunt wasn't here to scold her. Fiona could do as she pleased and what she wanted to do was enjoy the view.

She glanced back to watch the widow, but she had moved a bit further. Feeling compelled to get a better look, Fiona climb up the tree. Her right knee throbbed, but she pressed on. Finding a sturdy branch, she made herself comfortable. She couldn't see the sheep or the widow, but she found that being in the tree was relaxing all on its own.

She felt free - no worries, no responsibilities. She closed her eyes and within a few minutes, she was beginning to doze off. She sat there for some time when she heard someone yelling.

"Fiona!"

Hearing her name, the girl opened her eyes to search for the one calling.

"Fiona!" It was Snow, who sounded panicked. "Where are you?"

"I'm here!" She called out from her perch.

Shocked, Snow yelled, "What are you doing? Get down here now!"

"Coming." Obediently the girl climbed down. Once she was on the ground, she brushed off the debris from her clothes.

Snapping at her, Snow reprimanded. "Don't ever do that! You scared me."

Not understanding why she was so angry, Fiona told her, "I just was hungry and no one was in the house."

"So you climbed a tree? You need to give your knee time to heal." The former princess threw her hands up in the air. "You could've fell and broke something or worse. What were you thinking?"

"I was just watching-"

Not wanting to hear the excuse, Snow waved her hand. "I don't care. You could've hurt yourself or worse. You need to think before you act."

Seeing how upset Snow was with her, Fiona's voice cracked. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause you alarm."

Snow could tell the apology was sincere. She sighed; she could see that the girl was glassy eyed. "Apology accepted." The heroic bandit pulled the girl closer to her. "Just don't do that again."

"I promise."


Storybrooke

During the walk, Fiona rehashed what she had said and realized her misstatement. While she didn't appreciate how Mayor Mills handled it, but she had to admit that the woman was right.

After she watched the teacher leave the area, Fiona then went back to see if there was anything else she could do. Screwing up with Chelsea's parents motivated her to stay a few more hours. Her conscience was bothering her and she wanted to fix her mistake.

Graham saw her come back and waved her to come over. Before he said anything, Fiona apologized. "I'm so sorry Graham for messing up earlier with the parents. I wasn't thinking straight. I should've kept my mouth shut and let you do your job. Could I give them my apologies?" She was scanning around, but didn't see them anywhere.

"No need. Regina is sending them home for tonight and smoothing things over." The Sheriff was glad that Regina taking care of the awkward situation. He had no idea what to say and a part of him was happy to see a more sensitive side of Regina. "We're going to send everyone back to where you two were and focus on the areas around it."

"Okay, I'd like to stay for a bit more. Perhaps I can find something else." She hoped that her assistance would be welcomed.

He smiled warmly at her attempt to right her wrong. "We could certainly use your help."

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks; I'll get some coffee and I'll be good to go." She went to the snack and drink table and filled up her cup with the last of the coffee.

As Regina approached the group again, Graham started giving assignments to the few pairs that were left. "If you don't mind Mayor Mills, could you please work with Miss Kyle for a bit? Since I'm going to stay here overnight, I'd like to grab a cat nap." It wasn't the best idea, but he was just too drained to swap out pairs.

Regina scowled at the suggestion. "I think I would be more effective by working with someone else. Perhaps someone with more expertise." It was loud enough for everyone in the area to hear. Tossing a fake apology towards Fiona she said "No offense."

She didn't have time for this. Taking a sip from her cup, Fiona went ahead and started walking to her assigned area. "Apology not accepted." She saw the shocked faces from the handful of volunteers that she passed and hoped Regina had the same expression. She could search the whole woods herself. Picking up the pace, she got to her spot and began checking around. It was happily peaceful for about 10 minutes.

Hearing footsteps behind, Fiona thought Graham was going to either give her a pep talk or lecture her. Instead she heard the Mayor's voice. "What is your problem Miss Kyle?"

This woman is a piece of work. Looking directly into Mayor Mills' eyes Fiona asked, "Your attitude is my problem, Madam Mayor."

This child is a piece of work. Regina thought as she tried to get a read of the young lady's face, which was almost impossible. "Excuse me, Miss Kyle?"

Fiona couldn't hide her annoyance."You heard me the first time." Maybe it was the exhaustion from the search, maybe it was the fact that she was tired of being treated as an inferior, but Fiona lost her fear of the mayor.

The cup of coffee had yet to kick in, so her irritation was at an all time high. Her mouth had gotten her trouble growing up and her family tried to get her to learn to hold her tongue. It was to no avail. She inanely learned to hold back a bit when she came into Storybrooke, as she couldn't slip up and let others know that she was as affected by the curse.

Now she was not only letting her mouth move without thinking, she was doing so with the one woman who had real power in this town, over everyone.

Regina for her part was a bit stunned. "Who do you think you are?!" She couldn't believe that this child would be upset even though she was the one who spoke thoughtlessly to the missing girl's parents. Regina had to calm them down and reassure them that there was hope and that she would do everything in her power to get their daughter back.

This girl has to learn to keep her mouth shut. She tried to intimidate her, this time though Fiona's hazel eyes matched intensity with Regina's. "I could ask you the same. What gives you the right to belittle me and my skill? I was the one who found the bag and I took care of the maps, so the area could get searched. What have you done?"

Stepping up to her face, Regina spoke through her clenched teeth. "You stupid little girl. You have no idea of what you're talking about! Chelsea's parents were already assuming the worst and you just adding fuel to their fear. Do you have any idea of what it is like to lose a child?!"

Caught off guard by Regina's point and realizing the full extent of her mistake, Fiona backed down and was going to apologize, but it was already too late. Regina was set off and was about to rip into her. "Do yourself and others a favor by being silent unless spoken to. Learn to mind your own business or so help me, I'll-"

Graham got there just in time, he heard the escalating argument and ran to break it up. "Ladies, why don't we switch up partners? I'll work with Regina and Fiona can -"

Regina interrupted him. "Miss Kyle, you are obviously tired. Thank you for your help, but we no longer need your assistance. Go home." The girl doesn't realize how lucky she is to reside in a land without magic.

The sheriff tried to pull the Mayor to the side to calm her down, but she wasn't going to listen to him this time. "We can't both be here Graham. Send her home."

With that she was gone.

Graham walked to Fiona and whispered, "I think it's best if you call it a night. I'll let you know when we find her."


The Enchanted Forest

Feeling bad about scaring Snow earlier, Fiona remained in her room for the rest of the day. As instructed she rested her knee, only getting up to read the small collection of books.

When it was starting to get closer to their departure, Snow helped her with cleaning up. "How can you dirty up a room so quickly?" She asked as she finished putting the books on the small cupboard.

"I don't know. It just happened."

Snow rolled her eyes. "Be glad my stepmother isn't here." She muttered. Had this girl grown up in her family, Regina would've chastised her constantly for being so untidied. Tired, she took a seat on the foot of the small bed. "You have to learn to be neater."

"But what would the maids do?"

Snow was about to reply when the girl held up her hands. "It was a joke. Yes, I've heard numerous lectures from my aunt the importance of cleanliness. I guess I actually need to apply the lesson."

"That would be nice."

Just then the widow came in the room. "The miller is outside ma'am." She looked at the two of them sitting on the bed together. "You two look like you could be sisters." Hearing that, Snow's face fell while Fiona beamed. That was the first time the younger girl ever heard that she resembled someone.

Remembering her manners, Fiona got up to express her gratitude. "Thank you for your hospitality ma'am." Her leg ached for sure, but she wanted to make the effort. After all this woman was a stranger and yet she was kind enough to let her stay.

Snow stood next to Fiona and allowed her to put her weight on her so the child could take the pressure off her knee. She too thanked the widow. "Thank Riley. For everything. I hope all goes well for your family. "

The two made it downstairs and Snow got Fiona into the wagon outside. After hugging the widow one last time the bandit joined the girl on the wagon and the miller began their journey.

Storybrooke

Fiona managed to sleep for only a few hours. Her mixed feelings about the whole situation made it impossible to get rest. Finally fed up, she got up and dressed, grabbed her flashlight, and went outside to take her motorcycle to the last place they searched.

Dawn hadn't came yet so the roads were almost pitch black, causing Fiona to ride slower than she would've wanted. She parked her back at the side of the road and began to work right away. She zipped her brown jacket up a bit more as it was still very chilly. The woods looked much more menacing this early in the day.

Pushing down her fears, she ventured further into the forest. She saw that the area where she and Mary Margaret had found the bag now had now been trampled, no doubt by everyone re-examining it to see if any new clues would come. She hoped that they did find something, but until Graham was at the station, she couldn't call him to get an update. It wasn't like she had his home number.

Besides I'm sure no one really wants to talk to me after last night. She was angry with herself for letting her mouth get ahead of her mind. But she was determined not to wallow in self-pity. She wanted to help this girl get back to her family.

She continued searching along the path and after about an hour she saw something that gave her some hope. Clearing out some leaves on the ground, she noticed footprints, child size. The sun was starting to come up, but it was still too dark to see with just her eyes, so Fiona used her flashlight to get a better look.

"Did you find something?"

The voice caused Fiona to yelp and jumped up. She didn't hear anybody come up so she got into a defensive stance. Only then did she realized who it was. Graham was there in his uniform, smirking at her.

She hated surprises and here was an example of why. "Graham; are you trying to scare me to death?" She yelled.

He held his hands up, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you. I just woke up and wanted to get a head start on the search and noticed that your Ducati was parked on the road." He changed to a more comfortable, less professional tone. "You know, if you want people to treat you as adult, then maybe having a motorcycle isn't the best idea." He offered like a big brother to his younger sister.

"You sound like my aunt.' She crossed her arm, giving him a smile. "And like I tell her, my motorcycle is completely paid for, cheap to maintain, and it's a fun ride. I don't really care what other people think anyways."

He walked over to her. "Yes, you do. That's why you're so sensitive to anything that you think is a criticism." When she rolled her eyes at his assessment, he was reminded of Regina. She too hated criticism, even warranted ones. Nevertheless, he went back to the reason he was there. "What is that?"

"I think Chelsea was here." He looked the print and started expanding the search for there in a couple of minutes he another footprint, much bigger than the girl's. The bigger prints started where hers ended and the second set was in the direction of a nearby road. "I think you were right Fi - I don't think she was alone." The pair walked over to the road, but they didn't see way indication of which way the girl was taken.

Thinking for a minute, he came up with a plan. "I'm going back in town to get some help. I need you to notify the park rangers and have them limit access to the roads." The two started running back to their vehicles.

Once they got there, a question came up in Fiona's mind. "Wait, shouldn't you go talk to the rangers? Why would they listen to me?" She wondered. She wasn't exactly an authority figure in town.

Opening the door, Graham told her, "They'll listen. I explained to them yesterday that you were my assistant." Shutting his door, Graham pushed down the pedal to rush back in town.

True to his word, in about an hour, there were several cars carrying volunteers back at the park, all ready to locate Chelsea. The park rangers were in position blocking entries and exits. As Mary Margaret was back in class and Graham was giving instructions to the last couple of unassigned rangers, Fiona sat by herself towards the back of the focused crowd.

She wished she had asked Graham to grab a coffee. No one brought up any this morning and she was really dragging. She then noticed Regina walking by her, scowl still intact from last night. The Mayor, as usual, looked sharp in a gray pant suit, but her face indicated that she hardly slept last night as well. She too was alone as the Sheriff was occupied and everyone was avoiding her.

Part of Fiona felt vindicated about what she said last night, Regina was a bully who enjoyed putting down others. However she also remember that Mayor Mills had a point as well. Whether intentional or not, Fiona had hurt the lost girl's parents.

Bothered by her conscience, Fiona walked up to the Mayor, doing her best to ignore the older woman's glare. "Madam Mayor, I'm sorry about last night." Those words were harder to say than she thought. "You were absolutely right. I spoke out of turn and even though I had no intention of hurting Chelsea's parents, I did. Graham said that you talked to them to calm them down. Thank you for that."

The Mayor looked her up and down as if inspecting her and said nothing. Feeling ridiculous, Fiona awkwardly finished the conversation. "Ok, well, that's it. I'll let you get back to managing the search." She nervously tapped her hands by her side. Assuming that Mayor Mills wanted nothing else to do with her, the hazel-eyed brunette left and went back to her lonely spot in the back, waiting for the next assignment.

As Miss Kyle walked away Regina was still trying to figure out what just happened. When the disheveled woman came up, Regina thought it was going to be another verbal fight so she mentally braced herself. As she hadn't gotten any sleep last night, she was too exhausted to really care about trading barbs.

Regina never figured she'd get an apology. Ever. Just hearing that had Regina trying to think about when that last happened. It hadn't in the last decade since they came to this land. It felt strange that it happened now.

Graham was addressing the small crowd, telling them they were changing tactics and having some pairs to be on foot and some to be driving around the area. With that, the crowd dispersed to quickly and Regina went to the Sheriff. "Is everything okay? I thought you already had an assignment." He asked.

"I was just about to get in my car." She felt a bit nervous, but she told Graham. "I wanted to let you know I was going to have someone join me." Pairs were lining up behind her.

The fair haired sheriff was surprised; Regina was a not a team player by any stretch of the imagination. "Who's your partner?"

"Miss Kyle."