(Hmmmmm. I can't really think of anything to say. Uh… hm. *slaps face* Come on! Moment of genius, moment of genius! …. Nope. Still nothing. Okay. Well, I can really say is that this s the chapter a lot of you have been waiting for. Please enjoy!)

Chapter Seven

Collecting What's Mine

"A, uh, a… sea turtle? No?" Ruby guessed.

Morgan shook her head and added another detail to the picture she was drawing on her whiteboard.

She and Ruby were waiting outside Mr. Clark's convenient store while Florence bought a comic book inside. It was her day off from work and Morgan didn't want to go in… Mr. Clark might have asked if she could come in and work for the day.

The two friends were playing a game that consisted of Morgan drawing something and either Ruby or Florence had to guess what it was and then who the drawing was supposed to be linked to.

Like one time, Morgan had drawn a falling star and Florence guessed Sister Astrid.

"A…" Ruby tilted her head to the side as if the new angle would help her figure out the answer. "A seal?"

Another shake of the head, another detail added.

"A dolphin?"

"Nope." Morgan once again shook her head and was about to draw another line when Ruby interrupted her.

"Oh, oh, oh! I know! It's a shark! Right?"

Morgan smiled smugly and shook her head.

"Well dang," Ruby said as she eyed the unfinished drawing, moodily crossing her legs and folding her arms over her chest.

The young waitress stared at the drawing as Morgan added a new line here, a dot there, continuing a line and turning it into a curve. Ruby stared so hard that at any moment she was convinced it would combust into flames.

"Agh!" Ruby squeaked once she figured out the drawing. "It's a whale! Dr. Whale!"

Morgan pretended to applaud.

"Alright guys, I'm back," Florence announced as he walked out of the store, proudly holding his newest addition to his collection of comic books.

Morgan rolled her eyes.

Comic books. She didn't get them. Actually, she didn't really like them.

What was so cool about men in tight-fitted costumes with muscles that looked like they were about to explode? And don't get her started on the women in the comic books! Over-sized breasts that no bra could ever contain and skin exposed for the world to see. And what kind of self-respected women even fought crime in lingerie? There was no arguing the fact that that was exactly what the female heroines' were wearing, the only thing that separated it from officially being called under wear was the fact that they wore masks.

Morgan shook her head to rid herself of the mental rant that had been going on inside her mind.

"Took you long enough," Ruby said, voicing Morgan's thoughts as well. The thought about Florence, not the rant.

Florence's cheeks turned a bit pink. "I got… uh… caught up."

Ruby and Morgan both looked at each other and then at Florence. "Are you blushing?" Ruby asked.

"N,no." Florence ducked his head to avoid their gazes. Busying himself with looking at the comic book in his hands.

Ruby and Morgan jumped to their feet in unison and got closer to Florence, peering at hm like a scientist peers at a rare specimen.

"Oh yes you are!"

"Am not!"

"What did you see in there; huh? Did you accidently peek at a naughty magazine?" Ruby teased.

The red deepened its shade along Florence's cheeks and ears.

"Absolutely not! I-!" He caught himself and sucked in his lips.

"Oh come on, tell us!" Ruby begged, slightly bouncing on the balls of her feet and shaking Florence by his upper arm.

"Mh-hm," he mumbled.

Ruby and Morgan exchanged exasperated looks.

"Kill-joy," Ruby said, moodily.

The door to the convenient store opened and a girl about Florence and Morgan's age walked out. She had long brown hair and brown eyes and pink lips. She caught sight of the group and smiled.

"Bye Florence," she called out, sweetly and waved at him.

Florence had suddenly turned into a stupefied fool as he limply waved back at her.

Ruby zeroed in on Florence the moment the girl was gone. "Who was that?"

"Nobody."

"Aaaaah, I know why you were caught up." Ruby turned to Morgan. "Morgan, who is she?"

Morgan was already writing on her board. She held it up for Ruby to see.

"Cassy; Florence's crush."

Ruby's grin turned into an even wider grin. Morgan had always wondered how it was possible to smile so big.

Ruby casually placed a hand on Florence's shoulder, examining the nails on her other hand. "Sooo, what did you two talk about?" she asked.

Morgan was glad Ruby was there. It was times like this where she and Ruby seemed to connect brain waves and be thinking of the same things to say. It was much easier than having to wait for Morgan to write out her thoughts.

Florence's blush had now spread to the back of his neck.

"We...uh… we were both looking at the comic books."

"Aw! How sweet!" Ruby squealed. "A boy comic book nerd and a girl comic book nerd meeting together at a comic book rack." Ruby clasped her hands together and pretended to be starry-eyed. "It's fate."

Morgan sucked in her lips to contain her laughter. Not that it mattered whether it would be heard or not, but it was still something she did by instinct. Almost as if she'd had a voice before.

"It's like True Love," Ruby continued.

"What's like True Love?"

The trio turned as one to see Mayor Regina Mills standing behind them.

Her black hair was perfectly in place despite the slight breeze, her clothes were neat, her shoes spotless, and her manicured nails clean.

"Hello Madame Mayor," Ruby greeted.

Mayor Regina smiled at the teenagers. It was a tight, patient smile. One that gracefully curled her purple lips.

"What was that I heard about True Love?" she asked, throwing an inconspicuous glance at Morgan.

Ruby squeezed Florence's shoulders. "Lover boy here has met his match with a fellow comic book reader."

Morgan curiously watched the smile on Regina's face lose its tightness and relax into one of relief.

"Oh, a crush." Regina laughed. Another glance was tossed at Morgan, a relieved one. And this time Morgan had seen it.

Morgan scrunched her face with slight confusion as to the glance Regina had directed at her.

"I was wondering if any of you have seen Henry?" Regina asked, trying to divert the teens' attention from her other question.

Ruby and Morgan shook their heads.

"He's in Mr. Clarks store reading some comic books," Florence answered.

Regina tsked disapprovingly. "I told Henry I didn't like for him to read that garbage."

Florence slowly maneuvered his own comic book behind his back, out of Regina's sight.

"They're not th, that bad."

Regina smiled at him. Not exactly a smile, but more like a smile that said, "Deep down you know I'm right and your opinion does not matter."

"Thank you. I wish you luck on your little romance, Florence."

And with that, Regina Mills gracefully walked away, her black heels clicking on the pavement as she headed towards the store.

"Snitch," Ruby hissed at Florence.

But he wasn't paying attention. His gaze had been caught by familiar limping figure making its way down the side walk .

"Gold Alert!" Florence hissed at Morgan. Morgan winced and the two hid behind skinny Ruby.

They waited until Gold was out of sight, disappearing inside a spare parts store one street away. Morgan and Florence sighed with relief as they came out from hiding behind Ruby.

"You know, I thought you two were crazy for hiding from that guy, but I just remembered something Granny told me about Mr. Gold a week ago."

Florence and Morgan listened intently.

"Sheriff Swan arrested Mr. Gold on Valentine's Day for assault charges."

"What?" Florence yelped.

"Yep. He kidnapped Mr. French and took him to that cabin he owns in the forest and was beating hm with his cane! And all because Mr. French had stolen some of his things as revenge for Mr. Gold taking his work van from him because he was behind in paying Gold off."

Morgan started to fiddle with her hair, twisting some strands around her fingers.

She was remembering that her dad had told her that he had taken a loan from Mr. Gold. How he was worried he might not have the full amount on the due date to pay the pawn broker back. But Morgan was sure that her father wouldn't steal to get the money…

So what would Mr. Gold take if her father couldn't pay him back?

….

Later That Night

Inside his pawnshop, Mr. Gold stared at the golden sea shell that was placed on top of the glass counter. Ever since he'd found it inside Ariel's –Morgan's little hide out, Gold hadn't stopped thinking about it.

How did Morgan get her hands on it?

Gold carefully picked up the shell and ran his fingers over its sleek surface.

It was faint, unnoticeable to those not familiar with magic, but Gold could feel the weak pulse of the power thrumming inside the shell. Ariel's voice.

A tingling sensation traveled from the tips of Gold's fingers and spread throughout his body. To be in possession of a trace of magic made his pulse quicken. An old and familiar gleam lit up his eyes as he coaxed a feeble glow from the shell.

The chimes of an antique clock interrupted Gold's concentration and he turned to look at the timepiece. The faint glow ebbed away from the shell and returned to its normal appearance.

Mr. Gold read the time; seven o'clock. He gingerly put the shell in his suit's pocket and limped from behind the counter to his back office. There were some papers that needed to be made ready for the following morning; a business transaction with Mr. Waters.

….

When Morgan walked through the front door of her home that night and entered the living room, she was stunned to see her father sitting on the sofa, hunched over with his head in his hands. He didn't lift his head as she stood there; he hadn't heard her come in.

"Tomorrow," he kept whispering.

Morgan hurried over and placed a hand on Tyron's shoulder. Tyron gave a violent start and snapped his head out of his hands' grasp to see his daughter worrying over him.

Tyron replaced his distressed expression with a passible smile. "Hi, honey. How was your day?" he asked.

Morgan kept staring at him with that concerned look in her eyes. His smile didn't fool her.

"I'm fine, honey. I'm just tired. Why don't you write out what you, Ruby, and Florence were up to and I can read it while we have dinner?"

Morgan's brow wrinkled as she frowned and she folded her arms over her chest. Her dad wasn't going to get out of this that easily.

Tyron ran a hand over his face and sighed. "Morgan, baby, I can't tell you about it. Okay? It's nothing-," he winced at a sudden pain in his chest- "it's nothing that you can help with."

Morgan's eyes drifted to her father's chest as he started to press a palm over the area that hurt. She looked back up at Tyron's face and sighed.

"I'm fine," he insisted. "Now are you hungry?"

…

Sunday

It was the following day; Sunday. The day the money was due.

Tyron couldn't even think straight. But one thing kept desperately repeating itself in his brain.

"Get Morgan out of the house. Get Morgan out of the house. Get Morgan out of the house."

"Honey, we're running kind of low on some groceries. Could you go and pick up some things from the store?"

Morgan nodded. It was a nod that said she could sense something was off, but couldn't tell what it was.

Besides the fact that today was the day Mr. Gold would come to collect his payment. Tyron obviously didn't want Morgan around while the pawnbroker was in the house.

Tyron dug out a twenty from his jeans pocket and frowned at it. "Um…" He went to his wallet and looked inside. He chewed his bottom lip before turning back to Morgan and handing her the twenty dollar bill.

"Let's just see what all you can get off the list with this, okay?"

Morgan slowly nodded as she took the money and the list from her dad. She slung on her messenger bag and headed for the kitchen door that let out to the side porch.

She opened the door and turned to face Tyron. When she was sure he was watching, she smiled and made the heart gesture at him.

"I love you, daddy."

Tyron mirrored the gesture, attempting to give his daughter a carefree smile and failing miserably at it.

"I love you, Morgan."

Morgan didn't want to leave, not when her dad was obviously so distressed, but it was clear that Tyron did not want her in the house. So, like a good daughter, she obeyed and left the house; walking to town.

Tyron's pitiful smile dropped the moment the kitchen door closed behind his child and he slumped.

Mr. Gold would be there in half an hour.

Tyron spent the entire time pacing in the living room. He kept nervously glancing at the clock, counting the minutes, running ideas through his head, alternatives, back up plans, etc.

His heart was pounding inside his chest, threatening to burst. Severe trembling had overtaken his hands.

The unthinkable was about to happen. A price he never thought he'd never have to pay was due.

On the dot, the moment the clock stroke twelve in the afternoon, there was a ring at the door.

Tyron's breath hitched in his throat and he eyed the front door in horror.

Was this how those men in folk-lore felt when they made a deal with the Devil and the time came for them to pay up?

But it wasn't his soul he'd sold. No. This… this was something else not quite so severe and yet Tyron felt it was even worse than trading his own soul.

Tyron shuffled to the door and placed his left hand on the knob. A sharp pain began to spread in his left arm and he stared at it until the aching subsided. He opened the door and nearly lost any since of self-restraint when he saw the smug smirk on Mr. Gold's face.

"Mr. Waters, good afternoon."

Tyron silently opened the door wider and stepped aside to let Gold in.

"Thank you," the pawn broker replied, pleasantly. His tone made Tyron's grip on the knob tighten.

He nearly slammed the door shut once Gold was inside the house. The man was glazing about him, as if inspecting the house. Only when Tyron walked in front of the pawnbroker did Gold finally look at him.

"Well Mr. Waters, how are we this afternoon?"

He knew. He knew Tyron didn't have the money to pay him back. He could tell by the smile and the tone of the man's voice.

Tyron's hands balled into white-knuckled fists.

"I'm fine," Tyron growled at the small man.

Mr. Gold's dark eyes glanced over Tyron's shoulder into the living room and met his eyes again.

"Where's Morgan?"

"Out."

Mr. Gold's brow wrinkled at the cold tone Tyron used.

"Out. Don't you think she should have been present for this? Or did you miraculously come up with the money to pay me back for the loan?" Gold asked with disguised sarcasm.

Tyron looked down at the ground. "I … I didn't get the money. I couldn't … I didn't know what to do so I just… I told her to go to the store."

Mr. Gold wet his lips and flicked his brown gaze to the wooden floor boards for a brief moment. "I see." He took to limping steps towards Tyron and waved a hand to the living room. "Shall we?"

Tyron followed Gold like a man condemned to his execution.

There was a small coffee table set in front of the sofa in the center of the room. On its surface was a folder. In it, was the deed to Tyron's fish shop.

Mr. Gold pulled out a manila envelope from inside his coat and opened the seal. He took a small stack of papers from it and placed them on the coffee table next to the folder as Tyron sat on the sofa.

Tyron stared at the papers Gold had placed before him like they were his death sentence.

"Mr. Gold, you have got to give me more time! Please!" he practically shouted. He was sweating profusely and his heart was beating so loud that it nearly drowned out any other sound.

"Mr. Waters," Gold said, calmly as he took a seat in a chair near the sofa. He sat straight in the chair, proper, his hands placed on the top of his cane. "We had an agreement and the terms of that agreement will be honored. The money is due today and you don't have it."

Tyron ran a hand through his greying hair and put his ball cap back on his head. "One week! Just one week, that's all I ask, and I'll have the remaining two thousand for you!"

Mr. Gold shook his head, chuckling softly. "You know there are no other options. I don't alter my deals. The deal has been struck."

Tyron slowly handed the deed of his shop to Mr. Gold and the pawn broker took it as if it were nothing important.

"I took care of all the legal matters," Mr. Gold told him, gesturing to the other papers on the table. "All you have to do…," he withdrew an ink pen from his coat pocket and held it out to Tyron, "is sign on the dotted line."

Tyron's breathing had become ragged as he took the pen and gazed at the papers. He leaned on forward towards the table, hand gripping the pen, hovering over the papers. He looked up at Gold with pleading eyes.

"Please, Gold. I just need a little more time."

Mr. Gold's face was blank, calm, unmoved.

"We had an agreement… now sign it."

Something broke inside the fisher man and the tears he'd tried to hide were now beginning to flow freely down his face. Tyron's head hung low and a sharp pain struck at his heart.

"She's my little girl," he choked.

For a moment, there was utter silence.

Tyron looked up at Mr. Gold, hoping to find some kind of emotion on the man's face. Hoping he had a change of heart.

But Mr. Gold was stone.

"I know," Gold said.

Tyron's hope was instantly trampled. He openly wept as he painfully signed his name at the bottom of the paper underneath Mr. Gold's signature.

"And it's done," Gold whispered. He swept up the papers and tucked them back into the envelope.

Tyron's heart broke.

It felt like a knife had run him through. The pain was unbearable and he could no longer breathe.

Tyron's grip on the pen became non-existent and it clattered onto the floor. His head felt dizzy and his left arm went numb.

The room was spinning and Tyron began to sway in his seat.

"Mr. Waters?" Gold said, slightly curious.

Tyron clutched at his heart and gave a strangled cry before slumping to the floor.

"Mr. Waters!"

Gold winced as he knelt down beside the man and flipped him face up. Tyron's eyes were closed and Gold could barely detect any breathing.

There was a phone in the entry hall.

Gold's leg protested as he lifted himself up and limped to the hall.

This wasn't supposed to have happened. This wasn't supposed to have happened.

Gold dialed the hospital and hurriedly conveyed the situation to the person on the other end.

"This is Mr. Gold, I need an ambulance right away, a man's suffering from a heart attack."

….

Morgan was half way out of town when an ambulance sped by her, sirens wailing, lights flashing. It had come from the direction of her house.

Of course, where she was at right now, the ambulance could have come from lots of other houses… but a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach made her quicken her pace. It was kinda hard to run when you were carrying four small bags of groceries.

….

Mr. Gold ran his thumb along the gold handle of his cane as he sat in the living room.

The ambulance had taken Tyron Waters away and Gold had stayed to explain the situation to Morgan when she came back home.

Only thing was; he had expected to tell her a different sort of news… now he had that and the news of her father's heart attack to tell her.

How do you tell a child that?

The sound of a door opening and closing made Gold sit up and look at the entry hall. He could hear her shoes thumping against the floor before he saw her.

Morgan hurried into the living room, arms full of grocery bags.

Gold slowly stood to his feet. "Morgan," he called softly, so as to not startle her.

Morgan snapped her head in his direction and a curious expression marked her face. Clearly she hadn't expected him to still be here.

Gold hesitated to continue, licking his lips and trying to think of what to do next. He always had a plan. He was always three steps ahead of everyone else, but this time… this time Gold had been thrown a curve ball. Tyron was not supposed to have gotten ill.

Morgan began to move to the kitchen and set the groceries down on the counter. She turned back and faced Gold, leaning against the entrance frame work. She folded her arms and nervously stared at him, waiting for an explanation and also glancing around for any signs of her father.

"Morgan," Gold began again. "You're aware that your father came to me for a loan, right?"

Morgan slowly nodded. She was eyeing his cane.

"Your father was unable to gather what he owed me and we signed a contract. I now own what he used for collateral in our deal."

Morgan's face went from nervous to sad. She flicked her eyes around once more, still searching for Tyron.

"He's not here, my dear."

Morgan slowly, inch by inch began to straighten from her leaning position. She gave him a questioning blink and tilt of the head.

"Once he finished signing over what is now mine, your father …," Gold moistened his lips once more, "collapsed."

Gold's eyes stayed on Morgan, watching her take in his news as he continued. "He had a heart attack, dear. The ambulance took him to the hospital. I stayed behind to deliver the news and to … take you to your new home."

Gold never had any difficulty looking anyone in the eyes. In fact, whoever he was making eye contact with always broke the connection first because his gaze unnerved them so. His eyes looked like the normal brown eyes of any other human in this world… but if someone made the mistake of looking into them too long… if they really looked into those brown eyes of his… they would suddenly realize that there was something not normal about those eyes at all. And they would avoid eye contact from then on.

Standing there in the Waters' living room, Mr. Gold was finding it difficult to meet Morgan's gaze. Her blue eyes were beginning to water but the flow was stopped when she finally processed the last sentence Gold had said.

"New home?" she mouthed.

Mr. Gold tilted his head to the side. "Your father never told you about our deal." It wasn't a question.

Morgan slowly shook her head, hardly daring to breathe.

Mr. Gold limped a few steps closer and Morgan slightly flinched away. Her body language was telling him that she was on her guard.

"The deal was that if your father did not come up with the money to pay me back, then he would have to sign over the deed to his fish store to me, along with being the legal guardian of you."

Mr. Gold let the words sink in. Morgan stared at him in disbeli-no. With horror.

"What?" Morgan mouthed; the tears were beginning to trickle down her cheeks.

"Your father has come close to losing the shop many times before and always managed to scrape by, but in the end," he pointed at Morgan, his brogue thickening as he spoke, "you were the one who suffered. Your own father couldn't take care of ya. If he can't take care of himself and a fish shop then he shouldn't be allowed to keep you as his child. You deserve to be properly taken care of and now you finally will be. You'll be living with me under my care."

Morgan's chest felt as if something heavy were pressing against it; she couldn't breathe!

"No! No! No!" her mind screamed.

Mr. Gold studied her face and his expression turned to a hint of worry. Morgan was swaying and she looked ill. He cautiously reached out to touch her arm.

"Morgan?"

Morgan threw her head back and gave a silent scream, hands balled into fists, and tears streaming down her face.

"Morgan?"

Gold's fingers ever so lightly brushed against her skin. It was like he'd pulled a trigger.

Morgan jolted and took off running out of the living room, down the hall, and out the front door.

"Morgan!" Gold called, hobbling after her as best he could. But he wasn't able to reach her in time before Morgan ran from the house.

Gold grabbed onto the porch column to support himself as he watched Morgan's figure disappear into the woods.

"Morgan!" he shouted.

He might as well have not even spoken.

Hey, dear Readers. How was the chapter, huh? I wanted to write more, but I felt like this needed to be the place to stop. Kinda leaves you hanging. *Evil smirk* I know that it didn't have a scene from Fairy Tale world in it, but I promise that there will be more of those to come. Please leave a review.)