Mary-Margaret sipped at her morning tea slowly, watching the sun come up over the horizon and let out a sigh. It was Saturday, so she didn't know why she was awake so early.

Well, at least she could get ahead of her grading.

Leaning against the window, Mary-Margaret gazed out at the small town she'd called home for her entire life. She'd nearly left once, to get her teaching degree, but as soon as her father had died, her cousin had asked her to come home and take care of things, so she'd ended up getting her degree online. Then she'd found the job at the elementary school, and Storybrooke had chained her in.

Shaking her head, Mary-Margaret took another sip at her tea. She didn't know why she'd started thinking about that again. There were better things she could dream of. Like the fact that she actually had a roommate that seemed like she wanted to be around her. And she had a boyfriend – maybe. Mary-Margaret wasn't sure where she and David stood since he kept trying to be secretive about it.

There was a familiar thump outside her door – the newspaper. At least that was still delivered right on time. Lifting the paper up from where it had been left, Mary-Margaret felt her eyes widen when she read the headline.

"Huh," she remarked as she closed the door behind her.

"What's up?" Emma's voice suddenly came from the refrigerator.

"Oh! Emma. I didn't know you were awake. Sorry, it's just the headline for the newspaper today. I didn't realize Mr. Gold had a son." She remembered Henry talking to her about the man, but she'd never suspected that the man was Mr. Gold's son.

Something clattered to the floor in the direction Emma was in, and when Mary-Margaret looked up, Emma was standing frozen in front of the fridge.

"Emma? What is it? What's wrong?"

She didn't say anything.

"Emma?"

"We need more eggs," the sheriff finally croaked as she stepped away from the fridge. It was then that Mary-Margaret saw the carton of shattered eggs on the floor.

"It's okay, Emma. Just tell me what happened. Do you know Mr. Gold's son?"

"You could say that."

"Who is he, Emma? You can tell me."

Emma swallowed visibly and sank down into a chair, her head in her hands. "He's been here for a few weeks now."

"Yes, I know that. Henry's spoken very highly of him. But your face says something else," Mary-Margaret

Emma took a deep breath – Mary-Margaret could see her hands shaking as they clenched on top of the table. "He's Henry's father. We were keeping it quiet from Regina for… obvious reasons."

Mary-Margaret could only stare. Henry's father. Which meant Mr. Gold was Henry's grandfather. Of course she understood why Emma and Neal would want to keep something like that a secret from Regina. And she did find it a little disturbing that Sidney Glass somehow managed to find out that secret so suddenly.

"I'm so sorry, Emma. I know this must be hard for you both," she said softly.

Emma shrugged. "She was bound to find out eventually. This is her town after all."

"She didn't have to do it like that!" Mary-Margaret suddenly snapped. "I mean – sure you should have told her the truth but I'm sure you all were just trying to get used to everything before you told her, but still, she shouldn't have done that!"

Emma stared at her. "Whoa, Mary-Margaret, where did that come from?"

"I… I don't know. Sorry. I don't know what came over me. But… I don't think Regina realizes what she's done."

"What do you mean?"

"Emma, there's a reason people in this town fear Mr. Gold. No one dares to cross him. If this was supposed to be a secret between the three – "

"Four. Henry knows the truth."

There was a bit of comfort in learning that Henry knew the truth, at least. "The four of you then… then… well, I wouldn't want to be Regina or Sidney Glass."

"Why?"

Mary-Margaret shrugged. "Like I said… people are afraid of him for a reason. If I were a parent and someone splashed their face across a newspaper without their knowledge well… I'd be very angry. I can't imagine what Mr. Gold is feeling."

It was odd. She felt overly protective of Emma in that regard.

Emma could only nod slowly at her words. "Yeah. I think I get what you're saying… I should probably go check on Neal. Thanks Mary-Margaret. I promise I'll get some eggs on the way home."

"Take a pop tart to go at least," Mary-Margaret replied with a soft smile.

Emma grinned back as she grabbed one out of the box. "Thanks… Mom." The word was dripping with sarcasm but somehow, it still struck Mary-Margaret hard.

The teacher could only wave to her roommate as she left the apartment before letting out a sigh. What a strange feeling she had about the word 'mom'. Shaking her head, Mary-Margaret rose from her seat and went over to the sink with her dishes. It was time to start her day and not think silly thoughts like that.

Wincing in disgust, Mary-Margaret scrubbed her hands in the sink after cleaning up the last of the broken eggs. No matter how hard she scrubbed, she still felt angry that Emma had to go through this. Anger wasn't something normal with her but God, she was so angry.

Exhaling through her nose quickly, the woman moved to dry her hands off as a spot of purple caught her eye. Emma must have forgotten to put her blanket away after the events of the previous night. Well, it couldn't hurt to fold it up and put it on her bed, could it? She didn't think Emma would mind, especially since it seemed like today was going to be a stressful day on her.

Lifting the delicate blanket into her hands, Mary-Margaret hesitated for a moment. It felt… familiar. It was ridiculous since she'd held blankets before but this one was just pulling at her incessantly.

Without even thinking, Mary-Margaret lifted the blanket to her nose and inhaled.

And instantly, a vision began swimming in her mind, clear as day.

"Snow, you must tell us if you're having a boy or a girl!" Guinevere said as they sat at the table. "Arthur simply will not let it go."

She laughed softly as she looked at her cousin. "Really now? I'm surprised that he's so invested in my pregnancy."

"Well, why wouldn't I be? It's a miracle child that we didn't think our family would have… between my battle with the Apprentice and yours with Regina," her cousin replied with a slight scoff.

"I know, I know," Snow laughed as she rose from her seat, going over to where Granny had left the half-finished blanket and handing it to Guinevere.

"Emma…" the queen of Camelot said softly as she traced the purple letters delicately. "What a beautiful name."

Mary-Margaret gasped and dropped the blanket as the… vision or whatever it was… ended.

"What the hell was that?"

"Papa, no," Neal said firmly as he stared at his father. He knew he should've found a way to hide all of the copies of the paper in town before his papa woke up. He knew this was coming. Sidney Glass had been following him around all day the day before.

He just wish he would have been able to stop it.

"They cannot get away with this, Baelfire. You know that," his father replied with a snarl that took Neal right back to the Enchanted Forest when he was a teenager.

Neal exhaled through his nostrils slowly as he looked at his father. "Papa, please. This isn't the Enchanted Forest anymore. And the curse is still in effect. You don't want to make Regina suspicious that you remember."

Though, she probably already did. Still, there was no reason to give her more suspicions.

"But Baelfire – "

"No, Papa. I caused his mess by coming here. I'm going to be the one to make things right," he replied with a firm shake of his head.

"How are you going to make things right when the story is out there already?"

Neal shrugged. "I tell her the truth."

"What sort of truth?"

"Whatever I need to tell her."

The door burst open suddenly, a disheveled Emma standing in the doorway.

"I take it you saw the paper," he said. "Come on, let's go in the back and talk."

She nodded and followed him into the back room.

"So she knows I'm Rump – Gold's son," Neal said with a heavy sigh. "You know it's only a matter of time until she finds out about Henry."

"I know," Emma whispered. "I just thought we would have had more time with him without her knowing. It's silly considering he's not our son but…"

Neal nodded and swallowed thickly. He had no custodial rights to Henry. Hell, he didn't even know if he was on Henry's birth certificate. Probably not, considering the circumstances. "I know Emma. But there's nothing we can do now. She has to know the truth, or she'll expose it like this again… or something worse. I don't want you to be run out of town by this woman."

"She could never run me out of this town," Emma said in that same tone of voice that had captured his heart all those years ago. The determination she had had always been attractive. "I'm more worried about you."

"Whatever it is she wants to do to me is nothing I haven't dealt with before," he replied. "You've seen my dad in action before. Nothing Regina does can be worse than what I had to deal with growing up." At least there wasn't magic here to ruin things. "Besides, I have Henry to think about now. I can't be selfish like I was back in Portland."

"Yeah, what exactly happened there again?"

Neal opened his mouth to speak, before hearing a loud cry of "Papa!" from the front of the store. They exchanged confused glances.

"I didn't know you had a sibling," Emma said with a raised eyebrow.

He looked at her, pale. "I don't."

Stepping into the front shop with Emma on his heels, Neal felt his blood grow cold as he took in the man at the counter pretending to be him.

"August," he spat the name as if it were poison.

The other man looked up in disbelief. "Hey… Neal… what the hell are you doing here? I thought I told you – "

"Why should I listen to you after you lied to me and told me you gave Emma the money?" Neal snapped. He wouldn't dare say anything about Henry to August.

"Neal… who is this?" his father asked.

Neal could feel his eyes turn to ice as he looked at the other man, his father and Emma staring between them in confusion. "This is August Booth. When I met him in Portland he told me he was your guardian angel, Emma."

Emma snorted. "I've never seen this guy before in my life."

"He also stole the money I left for you when I left."

"You mean the money I could have used to start a new life after my jail stay, instead of having to resort back to being a thief and almost go to jail again?" Emma asked.

August looked humiliated.

Good.

"Why were you pretending to be my son?" his father asked, turning his attention to the other man.

"I… was hoping you could help me. It's my leg. I was hoping your expertise would be able to fix it," August explained, looking at his father with wide eyes. Now that Neal was getting a good look at the man… he realized that August looked absolutely terrible. Pale, slightly sweaty despite the early hour, and his leg looked unnaturally straight. Almost… stiff. Wooden.

His father raised an eyebrow at the man. "Yes… I think I have some extra canes or whatnot in the back. I'll show you."

Neal shook his head. He couldn't believe August was going to pretend to be him in order to fool his father.

"Right… that was weird," Emma said as the two men retreated into the back of the shop. "Back to what we were saying… you sure you'll be okay with Regina?"

"I've got this, don't worry. But if she asks about Henry… or if she hints that she suspects it can I…"

"What choice would we have at that point? I trust you know what you're doing when it comes to that."

He looked at her with wide eyes. "You trust me? Even after everything?"

"Henry trusts you. I trust you for his sake. Nothing more."

Neal nodded slowly in understanding, before he caught a glint of something against her neck. "I think part of you still trusts me, Emma. Otherwise, why would you still wear that necklace?"

She paused, her hand coming up to clasp the key chain around her neck. "Just go take care of Regina," she said curtly.

He didn't push the situation, simply nodding at her and leaving his father's shop with an ache in his chest. But he couldn't let that cloud his thoughts now. Not when he needed to talk to Regina about what she'd done.

He didn't even wait for Regina's answer before he pulled the door opened.

"Mr. Cassidy. To what do I owe the honor?" she asked, not even looking surprised as he tried desperately to keep his composure.

"I think you know what this is about."

She smirked a little. "Have a seat, Mr. Cassidy."

He did so, keeping eye contact with her the entire time. "What is it you want, Regina? What was so important that you sent a newspaper reporter to spy on me instead of asking me yourself?"

Regina shrugged. "I wanted to get to know you and you seemed so busy that I felt that was the only option."

He knew she was lying, but he didn't want to call her on it just yet. "Well you have my eyes and ears now. What do you want to know?"

"The truth. Why are you in Storybrooke?"

"I was tired of running and wanted to see my father."

"What is your relationship with Emma Swan?"

"We were together in Portland."

Regina raised an eyebrow. Neal could see the wheels in her head turning the information over. Between the information she had on him and the stuff she'd learned about Emma, Neal knew she might be able to put everything together very quickly.

"How long were you together?" she asked, a sense of dread beginning to creep into the tone of her voice.

"A little under a year. Long enough for the relationship to turn romantic."

Her nostrils flared. "And if you had a child with her, how old would that child be?"

"Ten years old… a student in elementary school. Probably adopted by a small-town mayor in Maine," Neal said as casually as if they were discussing the weather.

"You're Henry's birth father."

He nodded. "I am indeed. Just found out about that about a week ago actually."

Her eyes narrowed. "And let me guess. You're going to want him back since you didn't know about him until now. That's why you're been so chummy with me, isn't it?!"

His eyes widened. "What? No Regina! I mean – of course I'm glad to know that Henry is my son, but I know that you are the one who has raised him for his entire life. I wouldn't fight you for custody of him unless something terrible happened. I just want to continue to get to know him and be there for him as a father. Like… co-parents."

She leaned back in her chair slightly. "So… you aren't plotting with your father against me?"

He blinked in confusion."God no. My dad was a bit of a snake when I was growing up. I'd never work with him to take Henry away from you. But I just want you to know that the next time you want information about me, you come to me directly instead of making Sidney Glass do your dirty work for you. Do we have an understanding?"

Regina looked almost offended, but she nodded. "Very well, Mr. Cassidy."

"Good," Neal replied sharply as he turned and walked out of the room.

"Mary-Margaret, you okay?" Charming asked as he waved a hand in front of the woman's eyes. Ever since they'd gotten to their little hideaway in the woods, his wife (who didn't know she was his wife) had been acting sort of distant. Not in the way she was when she was angry, but in the way she was when she was contemplating something.

"Hm? Oh, yes, I'm okay David. I just… you know what? It's silly. Never mind."

He frowned in concern. "I'm sure it's not silly. If there's something bothering you, I'd like to know," he said. He needed to tread lightly with her, as much as it killed him. She didn't know who she really was, what they'd been through.

"I…" she sighed and nodded a little. "I was cleaning up the apartment earlier this morning and I was folding up something of Emma's… and it triggered something in me. Something crazy."

"I'm sure it wasn't crazy. What was it?" he asked, feeling his heart beginning to beat faster against his chest.

"I… was pregnant. I looked like some sort of princess or something. I had the blanket… and it was for my daughter. I dreamed that I was pregnant with Emma."

Charming inhaled sharply, looking at the woman with steady eyes. His wife was starting to remember. "I don't think it's crazy," he said. "What did it feel like when it came through?"

"It felt so right, David. But it can't be. Emma and I are the same age. I can't be her… her mother. No matter what Henry's book says. That's just not how this world works."

He took her hands in his gently, squeezing them in the way he'd often done in the Enchanted Forest when she was anxious about something. He hoped it was another familiar feeling to her. The sooner the curse broke the better.

"That… feels familiar too… oh David, what is going on with me?" she whispered.

"Mary-Margaret, I learned while my memories were lost that if there's something that feels familiar, you need to run and embrace it instead of being scared," he said softly. "So… as crazy as it sounds, if that… vision you had felt familiar, embrace it. Don't shy away from it."

Mary-Margaret let out a shaky breath. "I'll try."

He smiled softly, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I'm here for you, no matter what."

But as the two sat together in their serenity, something began stirring beneath the Storybrooke streets.