(Storybrooke, present-day)

"You got it back!" Henry enthused; eyes fixed upon the pendant that dangled from Kat's neck as she stooped to pick up the napkin he had dropped from his lap in his haste to get a closer look "When did that happen?"

"Yesterday. After my shift at Granny's" Katarina replied; dropping the napkin on the empty plate that had once housed Henry's breakfast, and moving around the table to take it back into the kitchen for washing, and he moved to follow her as she did so.

"Did Mr. Gold give it to you?"

Depositing the dish in the sink, and stepping over towards the trash can to do the same with the paper napkin, Kat exhaled a sigh; her lips pursing together for a moment as she considered the apparent skepticism in Henry's inquiry. It was obvious to her that he didn't trust the pawnbroker—that many of the inhabitants of their little town didn't trust him, in fact—and although she could not quite find it within herself to join them in that mutual distrust and dislike of the man, Katarina held her tongue in regards to questioning Henry on that particular fact; instead choosing to simply answer his question as directly as she could as she set herself to the task of cleaning up after their shared breakfast.

"Yes, he did."

"What do you owe him in return?"

"What do you mean?"

"Every time he does something for someone, they have to pay him back" Henry explained; his expression seeming to indicate that he was clearly in doubt of his sister's sanity, and powers of recollection while he elaborated further "He gave you the necklace, so he probably expects something from you, too."

"Well he certainly never made mention of anything like that—" Kat began; flicking the switch to the garbage disposal, and wincing a bit against the harsh grinding sound it made as the uneaten remnants of their breakfast swirled away out of sight "He just seemed like he wanted to chat a bit; that's all."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, kiddo, I'm sure."

Aware of the sensation of Henry nudging at her side to get her to scoot over, and turning to see him standing beside her with towel in hand, Kat was unable to suppress her smile; her own arm shifting to return the nudge with one of her own before she set to work on scrubbing the first plate. In truth, she was touched by his concern; if for no other reason than that it meant their bond was still every bit as strong as it had been, even in spite of the arrival of his birth mother, and a subsequent new chance for a family. It had not occurred to her at the time of Emma's arrival, but some small part of her had apparently been apprehensive that his reconnection with the blonde would threaten their own closeness in one way or another—and, satisfied that such an occurrence was no longer a threat, nor had it ever been, Kat straightened her shoulders and redirected her attention to the dish cleansing at hand; her lips turning upward in an attempt at a smile as she felt Henry leaning slightly against her side before she spoke.

"You want me to walk you to school today? Or would you rather take the bus?"

As if she didn't already know the answer…

…

"You wanted to see me, Madam Mayor?"

Glancing up from the document she had been perusing, Regina reassembled her features into a faint smile that was meant to be a sign of welcome; her posture straightening as she placed the pen she had been fiddling with rather absently back down upon the desk, while her guest took the liberty of moving himself further into the cleanliness and order of her office at the Town Hall. As ever, the man was impeccably dressed; a trait more unsettling than she would ever dare to admit, as it was all too likely indicative of an inherent inability to avoid letting much in the way of her threats turn intimidating. But, in spite of that reality, Regina was not going to permit herself to be so easily swayed; her eyes holding Gold's with equal fervor as she gestured for him to take one of the seats opposite her desk, before she spoke.

"I did. Hopefully I'm not interfering in your busy schedule—"

As though she cared…

"No, not at all, dearie" Gold replied; endeavoring to get a bit more comfortable in his current position seated across from the Mayor, and returning her feigned attempt at a smile with one of his own before going on "Though I am a bit curious as to why you wanted to speak to me, of all people."

"I wanted to ask you exactly what you think you're playing at with my daughter."

"What I am playing at—"

"She seems to think the two of you are friends" Regina maintained; holding onto her composure by a thread, and wiling her features to remain neutral so as to avoid alerting her would-be guest to the very real anger that was so near to overwhelming her "Quite close friends, if I'm not mistaken."

"Last I looked, that was no crime" Gold mused; one brow lifting in open skepticism as he noted the brief flare of irritation that brought about a tightening in Regina's already pursed lips, and acknowledged the sense of satisfaction that such a thing brought about "Unless of course you've managed to write a law against friendship in the last hour or so before my arrival."

"Very funny, Mr. Gold" Regina began; tempering her voice so that it would seem less acerbic than she truly wished it to be, and leaning back in her own chair with both arms crossed over her chest "But why don't we dispense with dancing around the subject, for once; and just get to the point?"

"And what point might that be?"

"The point is that you've been inserting yourself into my daughter's life every bit as much as Miss Swan has been doing the same in my son's; and it is well beyond time for that to stop."

"Are you threatened by me, then, Madam Mayor?" Gold inquired; the soft chuckle he gave only serving to harden Regina's features as he adopted an expression of feigned innocence before going on "Believe me, I hardly plan on stealing your children from under your nose."

"Then what do you want with Katarina?"

"She's a lovely girl, Madam Mayor; surely you realize that—"

"Of course I do!"

"Then it must not be such a mystery that anyone other than yourself would wish to spend time with her."

"Aren't you a little old to be spending your time with young girls?" Regina pressed; crossing one leg over the other, and fidgeting a bit in her seat in an effort at making her line of questioning seem less precise. She was probing, of course; a suspicion having grown in her mind regarding Gold and his awareness of the reality of their situation ever since Emma Swan's untimely arrival. But loathe as she was to alert him to that suspicion, Regina resolved to remain as unobtrusive as she could; one brow lifting in open skepticism of the obvious amusement on her counterpart's features while he replied.

"Believe me, dearie, my interests are not that superficial."

"Then what are they? These—interests—of yours?"

"Perhaps they are simply centered around encouraging the ideations of a young woman with a rather sharp mind."

"I am perfectly capable of encouraging her myself, Mr. Gold" The Mayor hissed; for the moment losing hold over her carefully constructed composure, and shifting to curl the fingers of both hands around the arms of the chair she occupied, for lack of anything more constructive to do with them in her anger "Katarina does not need you, or your baubles, to feel worthwhile, and encouraged."

"My baubles?" Gold stated; chuckling again, albeit more so out of a continued desire to aggravate the Mayor, than out of any real feeling of good humor "My goodness, Madam Mayor, you have quite the eccentric vocabulary—"

"Why did you give her the pendant back?"

"It was hers, was it not? I felt it only proper to return it to its rightful owner."

Not at all assuaged by the assertion, Regina leaned forward with both elbows placed carefully upon the desk before her; her fingers intertwining to create a surface for her to rest her chin before she narrowed her gaze at her would-be opponent, and took a slight breath before speaking.

"Why is it that I don't entirely believe you?"

"That seems to be more of a personal matter" Gold quipped; one corner of his mouth turning up in an almost ironic smile as he regarded Regina with no short supply of bemused curiosity "You'll forgive me if I refrain from involving myself in such things."

"In my experience, it's a bit odd for you not to be involved" Regina pressed; regaining some control over her aggravation, and managing a slight relaxation of her shoulders before going on "Or do you plan on denying how you've stuck your nose into pretty much every event that's gone on in this town?"

"I'm a landlord, dearie. That sort of thing tends to come along with the job."

Scoffing in open disbelief at the statement, Regina remained stonily silent otherwise, at least for the moment; her anger once again coming oh so close to overwhelming the desire that had caused her to have the man meet with her in the first place. He was hiding something. She knew that as surely as she knew her own name. But in spite of all her best efforts, getting him to reveal even a hint of whatever that knowledge was had been about as simple as extracting a tooth from someone's mouth without any anesthesia—the comparison only serving to renew the tension that had been nagging at the space between her shoulder blades, and forcing her to exhale slowly in an attempt at relieving it.

"Well whatever your reasons, you would be wise to heed my advice" She stated; noting with some degree of predictable resignation that Gold appeared completely unabashed by her attempt at giving an order, and forcing herself to press on regardless.

"And if I ever find you trying to turn my daughter against me, you'll have a lot more than late rent payments to worry about."

…

"You're kidding" Mary Margaret began; looking from Henry to Emma, and back again as her apparent astonishment was met with the exact opposite of the reaction she had been looking for "You want me to read to a coma patient in the hopes of—waking him up—"

"Yep" Henry confirmed; grinning at his teacher, and casting a sidelong glance towards Emma before going on "If you wake him up, maybe he'll remember who he really is."

"And you think who he really is—is Prince Charming."

"What I think Henry is going for, here, is just to give the guy some company" Emma cut in; nudging Henry gently in the side, and failing to entirely suppress her smile as she turned back towards Mary Margaret to elaborate further "You know—in case he really is aware of what's going on around him."

"Right. And that—it won't come across as a little weird?"

"There's proof, you know. That coma patients can hear what people say" Henry persisted; glancing both towards his mother, and Mary Margaret as though willing them to believe what he said, and noting that both of them appeared at least a bit less reluctant than they had before "Please, Miss Blanchard? Please at least give this a chance?"

Releasing a sigh at the obvious plea that was in Henry's tone, Mary Margaret leaned back in the seat of the booth across from the boy and his birth-mother; both arms crossing over her chest as she regarded them both with brows raised in open apprehension. Of course, she was forced to acknowledge that she truly never stood a chance against Henry's request; even without the prospect of the boy bringing his mother along for the ride. But even that awareness was not entirely enough to quell her uncertainty; her hands smoothing down the edges of the knee-length skirt she had worn for classes that day before she squared her shoulders in her best attempt at appearing determined, and managed a nod.

"Okay, Henry; I'll do it. Though it looks like I'll be the one doing most of the talking—"

In spite of her apprehension, the teacher would have been lying, had she pretended that some small part of her was not eager to do something that was so remarkably different from the routine that had become her life…

…

"You're kidding" Kat exclaimed; stopping mid-motion as she had been preparing to place some of the cookies she had decided to make in the oven, and turning to face Henry with a raised brow "You actually convinced Mary Margaret to read to the guy?"

"Emma and I both did" Henry replied; grinning as though he had just announced that he had won a trophy of some kind, and placing both elbows on the countertop so that he could rest his chin on his hands before going on "She's gonna do it tonight, and then we're meeting for breakfast at Granny's tomorrow to hear the story. You should come!"

"Really."

"Really! Come on, Kat, it'll be fun" Henry pleaded; his eyes growing slightly rounder as he attempted to wheedle his sister into consent, and consequently earned himself an eye-roll, and a semi-reluctant laugh from the woman in question "Please?"

"Alright, kiddo, I'll come" Kat agreed; unable to resist the smile that toyed at the corner of her mouth at Henry's answering whoop, and doing her best to keep the cookie sheet steady as he moved around the countertop and threw his arms about her waist "But you need to promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"Make sure you don't eat all of these cookies before dinner. Mom'll kill me if you have no appetite."

"Why would he not have an appetite?"

"Kat's making cookies" Henry replied; dropping his arms from around Katarina's waist so that she could place the sheet she held in the oven, and noticing Regina's apparent terseness as evidenced in her pose, with arms crossed over her chest "She told me not to eat all of them before dinner."

"Well she's right" Regina confirmed; glancing towards where Katarina was now rehanging the oven mitts on the rack beside the appliance, and noting with some degree of dismay that the familiar blue pendant still rested around her neck "Henry, did you get your homework done?"

"Yep."

"Did you recheck it?"

"No—"

"Well why don't you go ahead and do that. I need to talk with your sister for a moment."

"But I—"

"Henry, please do as your told!" Regina pressed; silently chastising herself for the sudden harshness in her tone, and how it had caused both Henry and Katarina to flinch in response, before the former nodded, and sidled his way towards the doorway that led back to the foyer and the stairwell therein. Once she was certain he was out of earshot, upon hearing the sounds of his footfalls as he made his way upstairs to his room, Regina relaxed, even if only slightly; her footsteps carrying her to the chair situated opposite where Katarina stood beside the oven before she spoke.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Do you remember exactly where you got that pendant?"

Stunned, to say the least, by such an unexpected question, Kat remained silent for a moment; shifting just enough to grant herself the opportunity to lean back against one portion of the countertop, and look at her mother more directly.

"What are you talking about? You gave it to me, for my birthday."

"Except that I didn't" Regina pressed; lifting a brow at Katarina's apparent desire to avoid meeting her eye directly, and still persisting in her line of questioning in an attempt at getting to the truth. It was obvious that something was off in her daughter's explanation; though it was not yet apparent whether or not Katarina was consciously aware of her own deception—which of course was what the Mayor was determined to discover, no matter what transpired as a result.

"You've had it ever since I can remember."

"Well that doesn't change how I remember getting it" Kat protested; curiosity dawning in her expression as she shifted both shoulders as though trying to ease some form of tension that existed between them "I just—I know I've had it ever since I was four."

Four—the age that Katarina had been when Regina enacted her curse, and stole her from her rightful parents forever…

Shaking herself before the thought could bring about any change in her features, however, Regina resettled her expression into one of a more genial nature; her eyes meeting those of her daughter for a moment of silent contemplation before she spoke.

"If you ever do remember exactly who you got it from, will you tell me?"

"I guess—but why—why does it really matter, anyway, Mom?"

"It's just a matter of simple curiosity" Regina replied; persuading a smile to spread across her features in an effort at appearing only mildly intrigued in the answer that her daughter might have given her, and turning to set about the task of gathering ingredients for their supper before she finished.

"In the meantime, though, how about you grab the leftover chicken from the refrigerator. I'm in the mood for a salad."

…

(Enchanted Forest, thirty-two years ago)

"What do you want, Regina?" The Dark One spat; hardly glancing from the spinning wheel that he was so intent upon to acknowledge the unwanted visitor that had recently arrived at his castle "I'm a bit busy, if you could not tell—"

"You aren't even going to comment on how I got in here to begin with? You need to get yourself some better locks, Rumple."

"Something tells me you'd still find a way to let yourself in" Rumplestiltskin countered; finally abandoning his efforts at the spinning wheel in favor of turning to face the woman that had so effectively broken his solitude with a shrewd glance in tow "So I will ask you again. What—do—you—want?"

"I came to see how you were doing, of course" Regina purred; running a gloved fingertip along the surface of the wooden table at her side, and investigating the grayish debris that marred the otherwise pristine surface of said glove for a moment before going on "Looks like you're a bit worse for wear."

"I fail to see how that should matter to you. It is my castle, after all."

"It matters because I was under the impression you had someone around to take care of the place" The Queen pressed; leaning a hip against the table, and regarding her companion with unmasked glee as she caught sight of the slight tensing in the lines of his shoulders and back "What happened to her? Did you scare her away?"

"You know very well what happened—"

"Ah yes. You forced her out."

"You turned her against me!" The Dark One growled; rising to stand so quickly that he nearly upended the stool he had been sitting upon in the process "You know exactly what you did; and you've come here to gloat!"

"As I recall, Rumple, you were the one who told yourself you could never be loved" Regina persisted; moving away from the table in favor of walking to meet her adversary toe to toe, and adopting a rather satisfied grin at the very obvious anger that was so apparent in his features "This is just a self-fulfilling prophecy."

"Shut up!"

"Ooh, so testy—and I haven't even told you the best part yet—"

"I don't want to hear anything from you!"

"Not even when it pertains to your own flesh and blood?"

Freezing in the act of turning away from the troublesome intruder, Rumplestiltskin tightened the fingers of one hand into a fist; every muscle he possessed tightening in response to the taunting that Regina seemed so determined to throw at him. Before he could have had any hope at stopping it, he had given the Evil Queen exactly what she wanted; namely by the utter stillness and silence of his most recent reaction.

Flesh and blood—that was impossible, unless—

"Now that's more like it" Regina cooed; shifting until she rested before her counterpart once again, and looking him over with apparent satisfaction as a muscle in his jaw twitched before he spoke.

"Tell me what you came here for" He hissed; pulling away from the Queen as she stepped just a bit closer, and fighting to maintain composure as the information that Regina relayed hit home.

"I rather thought you'd be more amiable to a chat if you knew there was a child—your child—involved…"

…

Hello there, my dearies, and welcome to a brand new chapter! I have to admit that this little guy got away from me just a bit; and I didn't get quite as far into the scenes where Mary Margaret reads to David as I originally planned—but hopefully the hint of that taking place, and the rest of the goings on make up for it! And you can all rest assured that I plan to get more detail on the MM-David story in the next chapter!

As always, my heartfelt thanks go out to each and every single one of my readers for the ongoing support! It makes me so happy to see that so many are enjoying these chapters; and I can only hope that will continue as the story goes on! And special thanks goes out to all of my reviewers (CrystalVixen93, blackcat711, JustPassingThru, Malorn-10, SeraphineWhist, and Christmas 95)! I am so thrilled that you enjoyed chapter 9, and I cannot wait to hear what you think of this one!

Until next time…

MJR