Rachel tugged at the hem of her red lace dress one more time, making a face when it still would not go further down her thighs. It was not what most people would define as a short skirt, but to her it was. She would have felt way more comfortable in a blouse, a pair of nice trousers and heels than this. Quickly she fished out her phone from her purse.

Clarissa, next time, don't buy a dress for me, alright? she texted. The answer came almost immediately.

So you're saying there will be a next time already?

Rachel rolled her eyes and put the phone back in her purse without answering. She could basically hear Clarissa squeal those words next to her ear.

"Miss Nolan?" the waiter on the podium said as she entered the restaurant, having handed in her coat in the wardrobe. Even from the outside she could tell that this place was fancy and the inside definitely did nothing but confirm that suspicion.

"Yes?" she said. It felt weird using her brother's last name, but also a lot safer than her real one. There definitely did not need to be any confusion as to why she existed in two places at the same time, if someone decided to look her up on Facebook or any other social media. Now the waiter smiled at her and gracefully showed her into the restaurant itself.

"This way, please."

He guided her through the restaurant, which was filled with couples, even now on a Thursday. Rachel kept an eye out for Sam but could not spot him anywhere. As they got further and further inside the large room and then headed up a wide set of stairs to an equally filled upper floor she actually began to wonder if this was all just a prank and quickly made sure that her wand was easily accessible inside her purse.

Then the waiter led her up a second set of stairs to an empty ballroom and opened up a pair of large glass doors leading out onto a covered balcony. Heaters were strategically placed out around a single table with two chairs, one that had been occupied by Sam until they entered the balcony, at which time he rose.

"Hi", he said, smiling a lopsided smile. Rachel stared at him and their surroundings.

"Alright, this is pretty amazing", she managed to say. Sam's smile widened, before he walked around the table and pulled out the second chair for her.

"I'll give you two a moment to look through the menu", the waiter who had escorted her said, before he headed back inside the restaurant.

"Hello, by the way", Rachel said as he disappeared. Sam chuckled and poured a glass of water for her before he sat down opposite her.

"I can't believe you actually came", he said.

"What, because we don't actually know each other?" she retorted.

"Yes. I have to say this isn't exactly something that I do every day, you know."

"I'm sure you tell all the girls you've brought up here exactly that", Rachel replied and took a sip of her water.

"Actually", Sam said, "you're the first."

Rachel paused and studied him. He seemed to be telling the truth and also looked quite nervous under her, possibly, scrutinizing gaze.

"Then I must say I feel very privileged", she said with a smile. Sam smiled as well, some of the nervousness seemingly melting away.

"It's really beautiful", Rachel continued. "I just can't believe you'd take me to a place like this after only running into me at a small café."

"Well, I guess sometimes one has to take a leap of faith", Sam replied. "You seem like a really nice person, Rachel, and I'm really, really sorry for ruining your coat. I might not know you yet and you might not even see me as anything but a strange guy who asked you out on a date, but... I'd like us to be friends."

Rachel felt a small blush creep up her cheeks at the small speech he had given and hoped that it was not too visible in the slight darkness.

"You didn't ruin it", she then said. "The coat, I mean. I sent it to the drycleaner and they got the stains out of it."

She paused and studied him, tilting her head slightly to the side as she did.

"And do you see this as a date?"

Now it was Sam's turn to blush and his was clearly visible in the semi-darkness.

"Maybe", he replied, clearing his throat and then focusing on the menu. "Well, what would you like to have?"

Rachel could not help but smile at him, before she turned to look at the menu. As if the location next to Central Park or the fancy interior had not given it away, the prices on the food here were ridiculously high. Even the cheapest dish – which was a small bowl of salad and an appetizer – cost $15.

"Don't worry about the prices", Sam suddenly said, causing her to look up at him again.

"Sam, they're ridiculous", she said.

"I'll pay for whatever you like", he pointed out.

"There are way better things for you to use your money for than this."

Sam studied her in silence for a while, before his mouth widened in a grin.

"My treat", he said. "Pick whatever you want; don't worry about the money. Alright?"

Rachel eyed him with suspicion before returning her attention to the menu. After considering her multiple options she eventually settled on a vegetarian lasagne. Sam ordered a pork fillet.

"And to drink?" the waiter asked, looking from one to the other.

"Wine?" Sam suggested, looking at Rachel. She hesitated for a few moments before she nodded.

"Yeah, sure", she said. "A bottle of Zinfandel from California, perhaps?"

Sam blinked in surprise and quickly glanced down at the menu. The waiter, however, nodded with a smile.

"An excellent choice, ma'am", he said, before he took their menus and walked back inside.

"You know wines?" Sam said once the waiter was gone. Rachel shrugged with a small smile.

"I blame my dad", she replied and took a sip of water while also feeling as if a thorn branch had been inserted into her heart. There was no way she could go back to them by use of a time portal now; Ollivander had used up all of that magic when he brought them back here and they could not replicate the spell. She had sacrificed her old family, the family that had raised her, for a chance of seeing (and helping) her newfound brother again. The only way she would ever meet her old family again was to go back to Sweden when 2017 came around, use a spell to cover the fact that she, by then, would have aged four years. It was not optimal, but she also knew she would never have forgiven herself if she had ignored the call for help coming from Storybrooke.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked, his brow slightly furrowed as he studied her.

"Yeah", Rachel replied and forced a smile. "Just got lost in thought, I guess."

Sam did not look entirely convinced, but he did not push her.

Once their food had arrived and they had both complemented – and tried out – each other's dishes came the long row of questions about who they actually were. After all, they had met just the day before and that meeting had consisted mainly of trying to scrub coffee from Rachel's coat. Rachel now found out that Sam was 29 years old and worked as a psychiatrist, that he had lived in New York for the majority of his life but also for some time in Aurora, Illinois, while his parents worked there. She stuck to the story she and the others had made up together with Godric; that she was a teacher from Sweden who had decided to take a year off to study at NYU. When asked about her age she gave what she would have been in 2017, but also added the extra year spent in the Enchanted Forest; 27.

They shared a cheese pallet with crackers for dessert before Sam paid the bill. While the waiter cleaned off their table Rachel walked over to the railing, looking out over Central Park. She tried to make out where she and the others had landed earlier that week, but was interrupted by Sam taking a place next to her. His cologne smelled of wood and mint.

"It really is beautiful up here", she said, looking at the lights in the building surrounding the park, the dim skyline and the shadows of the many trees.

"So are you."

Rachel immediately turned to look at him.

"Don't get cheesy with me", she remarked. Sam laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry", he said, "but you really are, you know. Beautiful, I mean."

"I'm definitely not beautiful", Rachel replied and turned back towards the park. "I'm an average person."

Sam leaned against the railing much like she did, but kept his gaze focused on the view.

"I have a hard time believing in average people actually existing", he said. "People are like... like this view. If you look at one thing at a time, say, one single building that we see right now, it will look like any other building you might walk by and you wouldn't spare it a second glance. Same if you walked through the park; at this time of the day you might even find it scary. But then you pull back, you stand up here instead of down there, you see the bigger picture... and suddenly nothing is average, because if you put all of these things together they create something beautiful. Something way beyond average."

He turned to face her and she found herself staring at him.

"Is that something they teach you at psychiatry school?" she tried to joke. Sam smiled a lopsided smile and linked his hand with hers.

"Maybe", he said. Then he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers.

She had kissed guys before, mind; there was nothing new about being kissed. She had had good kisses and bad kisses, kisses that sent her body tingling and kisses that made her want to throw up. The sensation she now experienced was, however, nothing like her previous ones. It was as if she had been turned into a flower blooming in the driest of lands and the only thing that kept her alive was Sam and the way his lips felt against hers. His hand came up to cradle her head, his fingers weaving themselves into her hair, and then he pulled back. His breathing was haggard and he kept his eyes closed as he leaned his forehead against hers.

"Wow", he mumbled, causing her to smile.

"You too", she replied.

"I really had not planned to do that tonight", he admitted, pulling back somewhat and looking at her with a sheepish grin. "I'd planned to ask you out again, and then again, and then, maybe..."

"I'm glad you did it tonight", Rachel said with a smile, interrupting him. His grin turned from sheepish to happy in a nanosecond. Then he leaned forward and touched foreheads with her again.

"May I do it again?" he asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper. She could not keep the smile off her face when she nodded.

"You may."

It was half past ten in the evening and the gang were getting ready for bed. Some had already nodded off in the chairs around the room, books about magic still open on their laps, and were now groggily making their way up the stairs to the bedrooms.

At least they were until Clarissa's phone buzzed and she squealed when she read the message.

"What?" Chris asked, waking up from his short nap and blinking in the light of the still lit fires. Clarissa smiled.

"Rachel's going to stay with Sam for the night", she said, winking at everyone who was awake.

"Seriously?" Miranda asked. "That's... fast."

"But so romantic", Clarissa sighed. Godric rolled his eyes at her.

"Go to bed", he said. "All of you. You have another busy day ahead."

The members of the group still downstairs nodded and walked upstairs, their whispers audible for some time longer before they slowly fell silent. When that happened Godric turned around and looked through the narrow opening leading into Ollivander's room, next to the library. The old man was awake but refused to look at him, causing Godric to walk into the room and place himself directly in Ollivander's line of sight.

"Out with it, old man", he sharply ordered. Ollivander's expression did not change as he looked at his former apprentice, or when he then responded.

"These Children are brightly burning flames in the night. They will draw attention to themselves, for better or for worse. You know that as well as I do."

Godric's eyes narrowed as he regarded the old man, his former master, the man he almost saw as his own father. Then he stomped out of the bedroom and took the elevator down from the apartment.