Just a heads up, this chapter takes place around the time of Fruit of the Poisonous Tree, but I am overriding it so that this chapter will take its place.

In this chapter, we finally get a flashback, and we learn about what kind of childhood Declan had in his past and current lives.

Thanks to CherryBombshell, wing-GAR-dee-um levi-O-sa, milieumarch, danifan3000, Ginerva1988, and djacobs for following this story, and thanks to danifan3000 (again) and djacobs (again) for favouriting this story.

Special thanks as always to Can't-Stop-My-Fandoms for helping me with this story.

Disclaimer: Everything in canon belongs to Adam, Eddie, and ABC (plus Disney, never forget Disney). Also I am not a medical professional, so please forgive any and all inaccuracies.

Also, just to be safe, here's my WARNING: there are mentions of neglect and abuse, and the effects of these two. Also, beware of a few deaths in flashbacks.

Enjoy!

The Lonely Boy

December 8, 2011

Somehow, Killian ended up becoming a pseudo-teacher to a small group of students.

The newest additions to their little group were Ava and Nick, who came by after school with Henry, LJ, and Declan. Originally, when it was only Henry who came into the library on a regular basis, the boy would usually enter quietly until he spotted either Killian or Dada. When he started bringing LJ and Declan, they would talk and laugh together, and sometimes run in together. Now that Ava and Nick came along, it was rare for the group to enter the library in a quiet and orderly fashion.

They received help with their schoolwork, and sometimes they would even go out to get something to eat. It was kind of like Killian adopted Henry, by extension, his friends too.

As Killian stood upright after helping Nick with some of his English homework, Killian had to wonder about how that came to be.

He spotted Declan sitting next to LJ, pencil in hand, but he was staring into space.

"Are you neglecting your work to plot against me?" Killian joked, hoping to startle Declan out of his stupor. However, when Declan didn't respond, not even sparing Killian a glance in his direction, he began to feel nervous. "Declan?"

LJ took note of Declan's lack of awareness, and gently nudged him on the shoulder.

"What?" Declan sounded annoyed, finally snapped back into reality. LJ pointed in Killian's direction, a little annoyed at being spoken to like that, before returning to his work. Declan tiredly turned his head in Killian's direction, but seemed too tired to lift his head to meet his gaze. "What is it?" He asked breathily, his voice giving away how tired he was.

Killian's brow furrowed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Declan said, still tired but evidently strong enough to make it clear in two words that he didn't want to talk about it.

Killian's instincts told him that he couldn't just ignored this, so he pushed on. "Declan-"

Declan immediately shoved his belongings into his backpack, though took the time to take out that fake egg of him, to avoid it being crushed under the other items. Killian hadn't seen that egg in a while, though he had no doubt that Declan always kept it on his person. Even now, after hastily closing his backpack and putting it on his back, Declan held it closely like he was afraid someone would take it, but also held it gently like he was afraid he would break it.

"I gotta go home." Declan muttered, standing up to leave.

"Declan, wait!" Killian started to go after the boy. Something was wrong. He could feel it in his gut.

"I'm fine! Leave me alone!" Declan shouted as he ran out, slamming the door behind him.

Killian ran out, but to his shock, he found that the boy was already out of sight. He stood at the front door of the library, searching for Declan, but he was gone. Where had he gone?

Killian went back inside, where the remaining children were staring at him in utter silence. He then saw that they were sharing looks with each other.

He looked at Henry. "Do you know what that was about?"

Henry shook his head, though Killian didn't miss the hint of guilt on Henry's face.

Killian walked over to him and knelt down to his level. "Henry, if Declan's in trouble, then as a friend, you should tell someone who can help him."

Henry glanced at something over Killian's shoulder, and his gaze lingered long enough for Killian to look over his shoulder to see what it was. He found were Ava and Nick doing their homework, almost too casually.

He turned back to Henry. "You're not betraying him if you get him help. Is it his parents? Henry, do they hurt him?"

"I-I don't know." Henry stuttered quietly, unable to look at Killian.

"Henry, look at me." Killian waited for the boy to do so. "You trust me don't you? You can tell me. Or tell Emma, or Mary Margaret if you wish. It doesn't matter where the help comes from, but if Declan is getting hurt, if he's not getting food, if he's in trouble, he needs help."

Henry still looked hesitant, but he finally said with guilt in his voice, "It's just...he doesn't have a lot of money and...he doesn't like asking for help. There's just not a lot of food right now. Sometimes I give him some of my lunch, but it's not always enough. Plus it's getting colder."

Killian's heart ached in sympathy. He spent too many nights as a child suffering through starvation, and too many harsh winter nights with nothing to warm him but threadbare blankets and newspapers stuffed under his arms and anywhere else he could stuff it. He remembered the times where Liam would purposefully deprive himself of jackets, shirts, or even socks just to ease Killian's burdens. Even though this meant taking on more himself.

Killian put his hand on Henry's shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. "You did the right thing by telling me."

"Will you help him?" Henry asked.

"Believe me, lad, I know his plight all too well." Killian said. "I'll do whatever I can to help him."

Henry smiled a little before suddenly leaning forward to hug Killian, who returned the hug. Henry didn't say anything, but the tight hold he had on Killian spoke for him.

Killian resolved to ensure that Declan wouldn't suffer as he had as a child. In order to do that, he needed to talk to others who he knew would help. After the lesson was over, he was going to find Emma.

It was a slow day, and neither Emma or Graham had been called out to do anything except reign in Leroy from another drunken outburst. Seriously, that man needed some help. Other than that, things had been pretty quiet, and Graham had gone out to get some drinks for them.

This unfortunately led to Emma thinking about her moment with Killian during the storm.

She thought about the moment over and over in her head. She had gotten too close to showing how she felt about him. She had almost revealed too much vulnerability. She hadn't meant to do it, it just...happened.

Then, when she pulled back, Emma saw the disappointment in Killian's eyes. He could hide it from on his face, but not in his eyes. She knew he wanted something more, but he just didn't realize that she couldn't give that to him. She wasn't built to have a relationship like that. Her friendships with people like Mary Margaret and Ray, along with her relationship with Henry notwithstanding, she just couldn't risk her heart like that.

No matter how much she might want to try something with Killian, she wouldn't risk having her heart broken again. She wouldn't make that same mistake twice.

Graham came back with drinks. "Here you are, cocoa with cinnamon." He said as he handed it to her.

"Thanks." Emma said, accepting the drink and taking a sip.

Graham was staring at her.

Emma asked, "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing, you just have your thinking face on." Graham told her.

"Thinking face?" Emma asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, you know." Graham said as he leaned against her desk. "The kind where you're thinking about something really personal that you probably won't want to talk about."

"I do not have a thinking face." Emma told him.

He clearly didn't believe her. "So what were you not thinking about?" He teased.

Emma stared at him with an unamused look. "Maybe I was thinking about how bored I am."

"You're no fun." Graham scoffed as he stood up.

"And you're nosy." Emma playfully shot back.

"I'm a cop." Graham replied simply as he walked into his office.

A few minutes later, Killian walked into the station, and Emma wondered if maybe this wasn't a slow day so much as a 'Let's see how much Emma can take' day.

"Emma, can we talk?" Killian asked.

"Uh, sure." She really hoped that he wasn't here to talk about their...moment at the loft.

Killian walked over and took a seat next to her desk.

"What's up?" She asked, hoping that she didn't sound as nervous as she felt.

"Henry told me something today." Killian started.

Immediately, all of Emma's thoughts turned from worrying about what happened during the storm, and wondering what had happened to her kid.

"He's alright." Killian assured her. "Declan was acting out though. He wasn't paying attention, but even when I tried to get him to focus, it took him longer than usual to do anything. He was tired, more snappy than usual, and he even ran out of the library today when I tried asking him about it."

"What did Henry say?" Emma asked him, her mind already coming up with reasons that might explain this behavior. Killian wouldn't have brought this up if it wasn't important.

"Henry said that Declan's been having some money troubles." Killian answered. "As a result, there hasn't been a lot of food in his home lately. Henry said that he even tried to split some of his meals with Declan, but...I've noticed the boy getting skinnier and skinnier."

"Yeah, I noticed that too." Emma said, now feeling about not having done something.

"It's not just Henry." Killian said. "LJ, Ava, and Nick were at the library too, and I have a feeling that they know something is going on, but none of them are talking. I fear it'll only get worse, what with winter setting in."

That only worried Emma more. "Have you talked to his parents?" She asked.

Killian replied, "That's just it. I've never met them. Come to think of it, I don't even know where Declan lives."

Emma tried thinking about it, and she realized that she didn't know where he lived either. She knew where Henry and LJ lived, and even where Ava and Nick lived. When it came to where Declan spent his nights, she came up with nothing.

"There has to be some record." Emma said. "Let me see if we have any files on Holtzer. If not, we can check the records at town hall."

"Check the records on who?" Graham asked, sticking his head out of his office.

"Declan." Killian said. "We need his home address."

"Ah." Graham said, already opening some drawers. Then he stopped and asked, "Is he in some kind of trouble?"

"Not the kind we need to arrest him for." Emma told him. I hope, she added in her thoughts.

Before they could get any searching done, Emma heard someone run into the bullpen.

Killian sounded worried. "Henry? What is it lad?"

Turning around, Emma saw Henry standing there in absolute tears. She immediately walked up to him and asked, "Henry, what happened?"

Henry just rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, his shoulders shaking as he tried to suppress his sobs.

Emma wrapped her arms around him. "Henry, did something happen? Are you hurt?"

Henry mumbled something.

"Henry?" Emma asked again, and though she felt both men staring at them, Emma was focused solely on Henry.

"She destroyed my castle." Henry said louder in a shaky voice before turning his head up to look at her. "My mom destroyed my castle."

"What?" Emma asked.

"She destroyed my castle." Henry said, this time angry filtering into his voice as he pulled back a bit. "She said that it was dangerous, but that was a lie. She just wanted to stop us from having a place just for us. She just…" Henry trailed off, his lip trembling as his sniffled.

"Hey, hey, it's gonna be okay." Emma said, pulling him back into her arms. She then turned her head towards Graham, and said in a lowered voice, "Graham, do you mind if I-"

"I'll look for the files." Graham told her in a sympathetic voice.

Emma then began to lead Henry away. "Come on. Let's see if the vending machine has anything you like."

"What if she destroys something else?" Henry moaned in a wobbly voice. He then suddenly looked at Killian with worry. "What if she tries to destroy the library?"

"I wouldn't worry about that." Killian assured him as he walked with them. "She'd have to go through a great deal of people before she could tear that place down."

Henry only looked a little reassured, and as Emma went to get something for him from the machine, he transferred himself from her arms to Killian's. Killian immediately let Henry hug him, rubbing his hand up and down Henry's back in a comfortingly manner.

A small part of Emma was happy that Killian was able to comfort Henry, and that Henry felt comfortable enough around Killian to do so. She also couldn't help but feel warm towards Killian again, confusing her about her feelings even more.

Normally, those feelings would take center stage on her mind. Right now though, she would focus on Henry. After that, she would help Declan. When both of those were taken care of, she and Regina were going to have words.

No one would make her kid cry and get away from it. No one.

Night time, Declan thought bitterly, was the worst part of the day in his shack. Even with his blankets, his lack of heating made things hell. He thought about stealing a heat lamp, but realized that would be pretty useless since there weren't any outlets.

His stomach rumbled, and Declan tried to lay very still on his small bed, hoping that he wouldn't upset his stomach. He really didn't feel like taking a horrible shit for the fourth time tonight.

Declan felt the biting chill of the winter night air. Part of him wanted to talk to Henry and LJ over the walkie talkie, but he also knew that they would be all stupid and worry about him. It was kind of weird having people who constantly asked him stuff like how he was doing, did he eat today, all that shit.

He wished that he was with them, but he felt too weak. He'd barely had enough strength to come back to the shack after running out of the library. Why did Killian have to ask so many questions? The guy liked to act all cool and stuff. Wasn't it against some code that caring about people wasn't cool.

Declan sighed. Declan didn't really hate the guy. He didn't even entirely dislike him. It was fun to get under Killian's skin, and every time Killian got under his, it only made him want to try harder to get to him. Besides, Killian actually cared about Henry and LJ, and that made him alright by Declan's standards.

Dumbass, you should've kept it together, Declan berated himself. At the time, he was barely able to keep his eyes open as it was. And when Killian started asking questions, all of a sudden, it just got to be too much to handle.

Letting his thoughts drift, he thought about the last time he had company there. Ava and Nick were nice, and Ava did her best to help out. Nick even tried to figure out how to make a sandwich. Plus, Nick hugged him, which was definitely nice...when was the last time someone had hugged Declan?

Feeling his throat clenched up, and his eyes begin to water, Declan reluctantly got out of bed long enough to grab his fake egg. He then quickly got back into bed, huddling under the covers to hold onto some warmth.

"Sorry I haven't taken you out in a while." Declan whispered to the fake egg, and in his delirium, he could almost imagine someone was in there listening to him. "I've kept you with me though. Made sure you didn't…" Declan's thoughts were lost to him, and when he recovered, he realized that some time must have passed by, as his side now cramped horribly from laying on it.

"I'm so hungry." He whispered out, then tried to banish the thought, as thinking of food just made him want it more. He tried to drink water, but he could barely keep food down anymore. He tried eating, but one way or another it would leave his body too quickly for his stomach to process it.

Instead of focusing on his hungry, Declan tried to think about other things. It was maybe...a year ago? His parents had kicked him out of their house, and he could them fighting loudly even as he walked down the street. He walked in the woods, his usual hangout whenever he figured that his parents wouldn't let him back in anytime soon. After a while, he almost decided to head back before he tripped over something. He looked, and found a crummy looking egg there. After inspecting it, he found that it wasn't real, and instead looked like someone painted a big plastic Easter egg in cheap grey paint.

Declan decided he would keep it. He hid it from his parents of course. They would just say that he's wasting more space than usual. Or worse, they would try to sell it for whatever money they could get.

"Delinquent, come in." LJ's voice startled Declan. He almost looked around before he realized that it was coming from the walkie talkie. "Delinquent, this is Goody Two-Shoes, come in."

Declan grabbed the walkie talkie and groggily replied, "Goody Two-Shoes, this is Delinquent. What is it?"

"I just...wanted to see if you were okay." LJ said. "Why did you run out of the library?"

"Because I didn't feel like it?" Declan replied weakly, feeling bad about not even being able to put as much effort into his snark. Normally, his snark came naturally, because that's just what he did, but hey things were even more shitty lately.

"Or because Killian was getting close to figuring something out?" LJ, damn him, correctly guessed. "Listen, you want to come over to my house? I can walk over and take you."

"It's fine." Declan said. "I'm just really tired."

"Declan, I'm worried." LJ replied. "You're falling asleep in class, spacing out, and you're hungry all the time."

"I'm a growing b-" Declan stopped himself, suddenly suppressing the urge to throw up. "I'm growing. Fuck."

LJ started, "Declan-"

"I'm fucking fine, okay." Declan said, trying to sound irritated, but his voice was so weak he just devolved into a whine.

Several seconds passed before LJ talked again. "Tomorrow's your birthday right?"

Declan thought, He remembered? In shock he replied, "Um, yeah."

"Then, you can come to my house for food." LJ suggested. "Or we could go to the ice cream shop. I could convince my uncle to have a sleepover."

"LJ-" Declan started, but LJ interrupted.

"Hey, it's your birthday." He said. "You're turning 12. You should have fun."

Declan couldn't help but laugh, however weak it was. "Sure. Fine Mom."

"That's right." LJ teased. "Now try to get some sleep. It's a big day tomorrow."

"I guess so." Declan said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." LJ said, and the other end of the line became silent.

Declan tried to get some sleep, with only a fake egg as a companion, hoping he'd have better things to dream about.

December 9, 2011

"Happy birthday to you!" LJ, Henry, Ava, and Nick sang as they sat at the cafeteria, Declan fidgeting in his seat with an embarrassed smile on his face. "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Declan! Happy birthday to you!"

Soon other people near them clapped as Declan took a bite out of the cupcake they all got him. All four of them got up and gave him a hug.

"Ugh, guys." Declan 'complained', though it was clear from the smile on his voice and the tone of his voice that he didn't mind at all.

Once they regained their seats, they began presenting him with some small gifts. Ava and Nick got him a warm sweater. Henry got him a nice-looking journal. LJ got him some pencils for that journal and $10. It wasn't a lot, but they tried to get him things they hoped would be of some use to him.

"Thanks guys." Declan said, bringing his gifts closer to him. For a second, it almost looked like Declan was gonna cry.

"You want a hug?" Nick asked.

Declan shook his head. "Nah, I'm alright. Want to share some of my cupcake?" He asked as he tore off a small piece of the cupcake, and offered it to Nick, who politely turned it down. As did everyone else when Declan offered it to them.

You don't look alright to me, LJ thought. Everyday Declan came to school looking skinnier made LJ want to go to his uncle and tell him everything. He knew they couldn't keep this up forever. Something bad was going to happen, and he was going to say something, and soon. Maybe if Ray did agree to let Declan have a sleepover at their apartment, LJ could tell him. He could stay with them, right? The last thing LJ wanted was to be the reason that his friend was sent to Augusta.

No, the last thing he wanted was for Declan to end up in the hospital or something.

As he watched Declan devour his food, LJ worried about what would happen when school shut down for Christmas break, and Declan would lose one of his meals. Maybe there really was a way for LJ to convince Ray to let Declan stay with them. Their apartment was kind of small, but they could make due. If not, maybe someone else in town could help.

Ray's a lawyer. LJ told himself. And he's smart. He can figure something out.

There had to be a way to help Declan. There just had to be.

Henry was reminded of the fact that his castle was destroyed once school ended. He had begun thinking about what he and his friends would do. It was when he wondered if he should show it to Ava and Nick that he remembered that there was nothing left to show.

His mom made sure of that. Henry wondered if it was retaliation for the rumors that David filed for divorce against Kathryn. He hadn't seen David or Kathryn in a while, but it would explain his mom's anger recently.

Still, Henry was determined to not let this ruin the day. It was Declan's birthday after all, and Henry wanted to get his friend to smile.

That just made Henry worry more about Declan's pale demeanor. Typically, Declan was paler than Henry, Ava, or Nick was, but lately he'd started looking downright sick. Henry tried to give Declan more of his lunch, but Declan refused. Even the others tried to do the same, but Declan just kept insisting that he was fine.

He keeps saying he's fine, but that's a lie. Henry thought.

Henry hadn't meant to tell Killian all of those things yesterday, but he couldn't lie to him. He had thought about it, but for one, he knew that Killian would spot the lie immediately, and Henry wasn't convinced that he would be able to lie well. For another, his mind had flashed back to when he broke his promise about going into the mines, or when Emma talked to him in her car the night the stranger came. He had told Killian as much as he dared, and he had hoped that would be enough.

Looking at Declan shuffle out of school, with LJ making sure to walk beside him, as if to make sure that he wouldn't fall over, Henry wondered if he should've said something sooner.

Henry saw the concerned looks on Ava and Nick's face, and Henry knew it was only a matter of time before one of them cracked.

You can't let anyone know that he's homeless. Henry told himself. If they do, Mom will make them take him to Augusta. If he crosses over the town line, he could end up getting even more hurt, or even killed.

Declan was clutching onto that egg of his, and Henry couldn't help but wonder if that was a major part of his story, a clue of who he was in a past life. Henry had tried to look before, but sometimes there were just so many stories somehow crammed into that one book that it made his eyes hurt. If Henry found something about who Declan really was-

"Hey!" Declan shouted as a random boy ripped his egg out of his hands, and then began to toss it between himself and another boy. "Give it back!"

"Relax, we're just playing!" The boy who took it shouted back, now dodging both Declan and LJ.

"This isn't funny." LJ said. "Now give it back. It's not yours."

"We'll give it back after we're done." The other boy said, catching the egg like a football as he began to sidestep Declan, who was weakly trying to catch him.

Henry, Ava, and Nick rushed the boy, and Henry managed to wrench it out of his arms before he could throw it again.

The boy rolled his eyes. "You guys are no fun."

"Just go." Ava told him with a glare, and the boys just scoffed and left, like somehow they were the ones who unreasonable.

Henry turned the fake egg over in his egg, and he was surprised that it was heavier than it looked. He could feel the plastic and the cheap grey paint, so he had expected it to be light and empty. However, it weighed about as much as he thought a real egg would. Also, he almost thought it-

"Declan?" LJ asked, his voice tinged with worry.

Henry looked up and found that LJ was holding onto Declan's arm, with Declan swaying unsteadily on his feet.

"Declan, you okay?" LJ asked, but Declan wasn't responding.

"Hey, it's okay." Henry said as he approached. "We got your-"

Henry's words died on his lips as he saw Declan vomit, spewing bad-smelling yellow stuff onto the ground. The next second he collapsed, only being kept upright by LJ hastily wrapping his arms around him.

"Declan!?" LJ asked, and soon Henry, Ava, and Nick swarmed around them.

"What happened?" Ava asked at the same time Nick asked, "Is he okay?"

LJ turned Declan over, and to Henry's rising horror he found that Declan's eyes were closed, and he was passed out.

"Declan!?" Henry shouted, kneeling next to him as LJ placed him on the ground, a few feet away from the vomit.

"Help!" LJ shouted. "We need help!"

"We'll get a teacher!" Ava shouted as she and Nick sprinted back into the school.

"Henry, what happened?" A new voice asked.

Henry looked up and saw that it was Paige, who was now part of a growing crowd of kids who had looks of confusion and fear on their faces.

"I-I…" Henry said, unable to form words, wondering what could've happened. Was Declan poisoning? Why did he pass out? Is he going to be okay? He then looked back at Declan. "Come on, Declan, wake up. Please wake up." Henry pleaded.

Please, please. Please.

The minute the station got the call that Declan Holtzer was in the hospital, Emma grabbed the files she and Graham had found, and they headed to the hospital. She had a bad feeling that she would need those.

When Emma and Graham arrived at the hospital, they were soon directed to the waiting room of the wing where Declan was being treated, where they found Henry and LJ sitting there in tears. In LJ's hands was the fake egg that Emma remembered belonged to Declan.

"Henry?" Emma asked.

The next second, Henry was in her arms, and he started crying. Emma passed the files to Graham in order to better hold onto Henry.

"He's going to be fine." Emma assured him as she led him back to his seat next to LJ. "The doctors are going to fix him up."

Henry didn't respond with words, but cried harder into her shoulder.

"Did you two see what happened?" Graham asked the boys.

LJ was the only one calm enough to explain what had happened. Declan was sleepy and weak at school, but nothing indicated that he was ready to pass out. Then a boy took Declan's fake egg, which made him angry, but he couldn't get it back until his friends took it back. Then he was unresponsive, he vomited (from Henry's description, it sounded like bile), and then he passed out. A teacher called an ambulance, and it took him away, with Henry and LJ racing after it.

Graham and Emma shared concerned looks.

That's when Dr. Whale came into view. "Sheriff, Deputy." He said as he waved them over.

"We'll be right back." Emma told them as she and Graham went to talk to Dr. Whale.

"We're here for Declan Holtzer." Graham said. "What happened?"

Dr. Whale wasted no time listing his ailments. "The boy passed out due to low blood sugar. He's malnourished and dehydrated, and we believe that he suffered diarrhea recently. We also found evidence of exposure. Not to mention the fact that the clothes he was brought in hadn't been washed in awhile. We've currently got him on IV fluids, and we're hoping that he'll wake up soon."

Emma and Graham were both openly shocked. They knew from the files and Declan's attitude that he didn't seem to have a good home life, but they never imagined that it was that bad.

Emma suppressed the memories of her really bad foster homes where she had similar experiences.

Dr. Whale seemed just as shocked and disgusted by the whole thing. "How did his parents let it get this far?"

"Sadly, I don't think this is an isolated incident." Graham said as he opened one of the files they found. "Terrence and Claudia Holtzer. Parents to Gavin, Oscar, and Declan Holtzer. Their neighbors called the station several times last year over complaints of domestic disturbance, usually the parents arguing with each other." Graham then closed that file, and opened up the one they found at the clerk's office, the one that nearly broke Emma's heart. "Both Gavin and Oscar died roughly a year ago due to an accident in the woods."

"Both of them?" Dr. Whale asked.

"Both of them." Emma confirmed, trying to keep her tone steady at how young they were. She remembered how shocked she was to learn that Declan had brothers, since he never mentioned them before, let alone that they died. What's more, she suspected something was off. It was bad enough that one kid died an accidental death, but two? Plus, there was the fact that they died not far apart.

Graham had explained that the coroner was positive that nothing was amiss, and there was little he could do to investigate, as they genuinely seemed to be accidents.

Whale looked as unsettled about that as Emma felt. "So, am I to assume that I should let you know if the parents come by to collect him?" He asked them, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of giving Declan back to his parents.

"Yes." Graham said. "I also think that it's best to alert your staff that the parents might present a danger to the child."

Emma heartily agreed. She'd never even met Declan's parents, and she already despised them.

Dr. Whale agreed, and said that he would call them the minute Declan woke up, and went back to complete his duties.

Emma and Graham went back to the kids, who stopped whispering to each other the minute the adults appeared.

"Is Declan going to be okay?" LJ asked.

"He's still unconscious, but the doctors are optimistic." Graham said.

"What were you two talking about?" Emma asked them, taking note of the increasingly guilty looks on their faces. Emma looked at Graham, and it looked like he suspected something too. The two of them kneeled in front of the kids. "Hey guys, has Declan ever talked about his home life? About his brothers?"

To her surprise, both Henry and LJ looked confused, with LJ saying, "Declan doesn't have any brothers."

"Yes, he does." Graham said, somewhat taken aback that the two boys remained clueless. "Their names were Gavin and Oscar. He never mentioned them?"

"No." Henry said as both he and LJ shook their heads. That's when Henry got a dawning look on his face, and asked, "Wait, 'were'? What happened to them?"

"They died." Graham informed them, and both kids looked shocked.

"He never told us he had brothers." LJ said.

Henry looked hurt over not being trusted with that information.

LJ just seemed in shock over the whole thing, and he stared at the fake egg in his hands. "Do...Can I give this to Declan? I know he's still asleep, but…" LJ couldn't finish his words as he began crying.

"Hey, hey, it's going to be okay." Graham tried to comfort him.

"No, it's not." LJ cried. "This is all my fault."

"How is it your fault?" Graham said.

LJ then looked at Henry and LJ said, "We have to tell them."

Henry looked ready to argue, but any protest died on his lips when he realized the severity of the situation. Instead, he looked at Emma and said in a wavering voice, "I'm sorry."

"Henry, what is it?" Emma coaxed.

This time, Henry was the one calm enough to explain things while LJ cried. Emma listened in stunned silence as Henry began to explain that neither he or LJ ever met Declan's parents, and the reason for that was because they weren't in town. Declan was apparently living in a shack in the middle of the woods, and had been doing so for quite some time. They only learned about that very recently, and both of them kept their mouths shut because they were afraid that Declan would end up in the same situation Ava and Nick were in before their dad stepped up. They had noticed that Declan was getting worse, but hoped that they could find a place for him to live before Christmas break came, but it was clear that they were completely out of their depth.

Emma felt sick to her stomach that these monsters just abandoned their son. This kid could have starved to death. This was the last living child they had and they just left. What was wrong with these people?

Henry looked at her, and pleaded, "You can't take him to Augusta. You can't take him over the town line."

"Henry..." Emma handed him a nearby tissue box before gently clasping one of his hands in one of hers. "I don't know if Graham and I have a choice. If Declan has no relatives to take him in..."

"He can't go." Henry protested before wiping tears from his eyes with a tissue. He handed the box to LJ before frantically saying, "He's already in bad shape. If he crosses the town line, he might die. You can't tell my mom about what's happening."

Graham's expression was pained.

Emma knew that he was no more in a hurry to tell Regina than she was, but he was the sheriff. His job was on the line.

Graham asked, "LJ, does Ray know you're here?"

LJ shook his head.

"We're going to call him to let him know. I'm sure he's worried about you." Graham said. "In the meantime, we'll do what we can, but I can't make any promises."

Both boys nodded, either because they were too emotionally exhausted to argue, or because they knew that they didn't have much of a choice. Maybe both.

Graham called Ray to let him know of the situation, and where the boys were. When he was done, he and Emma walked a few feet away from the boys so their conversation wouldn't be overheard.

"This isn't good." Emma said.

"No, it is not." Graham said as he looked over the files they got from the clerk again. "It wasn't just his brothers. Both his paternal and maternal grandparents died before Declan was born, and neither of his parents had any siblings. He's got no other living, viable relatives."

"Even if his parents spontaneously showed up, I'd be hard-pressed to give him back to them." Emma tersely said. She's never even met Declan's parents, and she already despised them.

"Same goes for me." Graham replied, closing the file with a sigh, a look of shame on his face. "How could I miss this? I went to that house to break up the disturbance, give them warnings. After I hadn't gotten any calls in a while, I just thought that the message finally sunk in. I had no idea this was happening."

"It wasn't your fault." Emma told him.

"I still should've noticed something." Graham replied quickly, still looked ashamed of himself. "First it was the Zimmer twins and now Declan, and he could've died. How many other kids do I not know about?"

Emma tried to calm him down. "Hey, hey. Let's focus on the kid that's in the hospital right now and see if we can help him. Sad to say, but I don't think he's going to be leaving the hospital anytime soon. Maybe we can use that time to our advantage."

Graham took a few calming breaths. "You're right. Let's see if there's something we can do. I mean, even Regina's not cruel enough to force a sick child out of the hospital and into another city, right?"

Graham did not look sure of that, and Emma wasn't sure of that either. Nonetheless, they would have to do what they could with the time they had, and hope that Declan woke up soon to answer their questions. Yesterday, he was just a kid her son hung out with. Now, there were so many things Emma hadn't realized she didn't know, and each new piece of information just added onto the confusing mystery.

Just who was this kid?

Dummy placed some wild flowers he found nearby on his brothers' graves before he took off into the forest, hoping to avoid his parents' wrath. It took some time before he was deep enough in the woods to stop hearing the echoes of his parents' fighting.

It hadn't even been a month since Stone and Forrest, and Dummy was filled with rage over how his parents could resume fighting with each other while his brothers were in the ground.

Still, Dummy couldn't entirely fault them for that. After all, unless his family scrounge up the money they owed to live on the land, they'd lose their home and have to find somewhere else to live. Their home wasn't much, and their land even less so, but it was still a place to sleep. They barely got by as it was, and Dummy would hate to see how they would treat him when they no longer had a place to live.

Dummy decided to walk into the woods, hoping to find something to eat and wanting to get away from his parents before they turned their attention on him. He didn't dare ask either of them for food in the state they were in. If he were lucky, they would just berate him for wasting resources by being, you know, hungry. If he was unlucky, they'd lock him in the trunk again and shake it. When his brothers were still alive, their parents made them do it, but now they'd just have to conduct that cruelty themselves.

Dummy's stomach rumbled. He only had a few nuts in the little pouch he carried, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. He hoped that he wouldn't have to hunt any animals, as he didn't think he'd have enough strength to chase or kill anything.

Dummy heard a thump, and then a loud moan. Scared, Dummy picked up a rock and quietly crept closer to the sound of the noise, mentally preparing himself to fight or run if need be.

He came upon a small clearing, where he found an old man lying on the ground in pain.

The old man noticed him. "Young boy, please, I fell. Please help me."

Dummy, whilst still unsure of this old man's intentions, held onto the rock as he went over and helped the old man into a sitting position.

"Oh, thank you so much." The old man said.

"You're welcome." Dummy replied. "What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." The old man said.

"I'm looking for food." Dummy told him.

"What a coincidence." The old man said. "So am I. My land is parched, and I can barely walk as it is. I don't know what will happen if I don't get anything to eat."

The old man looked so downtrodden, so hungry and miserable, and Dummy worried that he wasn't strong enough to find any food. As hungry as Dummy was, he was able least able to run and walk. This old man looked ready to keel over any second.

Without thinking, Dummy said, "I have a few nuts. You want some?"

What are you doing, you idiot?, a voice that to Dummy sounded suspiciously like his brothers berated him in his mind. You're hungry enough as it is. Don't make it worse.

Still, the words had already come out, and Dummy couldn't go back on them now. He reached into his little bag and pulled out the nuts. "You can take half, and I'll take the other half. Maybe we can help each other find food."

The old man seemed genuinely surprised, like he hadn't expected Dummy to do what he had just done.

Dummy, a little annoyed, asked, "You want the nuts or not?"

The old man grabbed all of the nuts Dummy had, but before Dummy could protest, the old man cupped them in his closed hands, shook them, and then gave all but one back to Dummy. After popping the one he'd kept into his mouth, the old man said, "Have the rest, boy. You'll need your strength. Go on."

Dummy hesitantly ate them, but he was glad he did. For some unfathomable reason, his stomach became full. They tasted like regular nuts still, but for the first time in months, perhaps ever, Dummy had a full stomach. He was energized, and he no longer felt that painful cramp in his stomach he'd always had.

Then a thought struck him. "Are you a wizard?" Dummy asked.

"Of a sort." The old man said proudly. "And I wasn't completely honest with you. The truth is, I planned on finding something very important, but I'm afraid I'm not up to the task. You, however, a strong young boy, could be the right one for the job."

"What job?" Dummy asked suspiciously.

The old man said, "Legend has it that a tree in this very forest contains never ending riches for the one worthy enough to take it down."

Dummy didn't believe it. It sounded too good to be true.

"I didn't believe it myself." The old man said with a look that showed that he probably guessed Dummy's thoughts. "However, I believe I have located that very tree."

The old man then pointed to something behind Dummy.

Dummy turned around, and saw that the old man was pointing to something in the distance. At first, he didn't think there was anything there, but the more he looked he could see, just hidden beyond other trees, was a smaller tree that looked like it was made of gold.

"Is that...gold?" Dummy asked.

"Yes, I believe it is." The old man said confidently. "Now, how about I propose a deal?"

"A deal?" Dummy asked cautiously.

"I'm not asking for much." The old man said. "If you manage to take down that tree, I'll let you keep whatever treasure you find. In return, I shall return at some point and reclaim my portion of that prize."

"What's in the tree?" Dummy asked.

"Well it's a golden tree so I imagine it's something made of gold." The old man quipped before reaching out and clasping Dummy's arms in his weathered hands, pulling Dummy closer. "Just imagine it. Even the smallest bit of gold can buy you a month's worth of food, maybe even more. No more starving, no more wondering when the next meal will come in. And all you'd have to do is take down that tree, and share your treasure with me. Oh, and tell no one about it. Can you imagine some greedy hearts learning of this treasure?"

"Have you met my parents?" Dummy asked in a deadpan tone.

"Haven't had the misfortune." The old man snarked before releasing Dummy's arms. He then reached into his robes and pulled out a piece of paper and a quill. "Can you write?"

Dummy paused before nodding. He could write a little bit, like the letters of his name. Forrest had met a teacher once who was sympathetic to him, and taught him to write a little. Dummy couldn't do much more than his name, but that was a lot more than he used to know.

"Excellent." The old man said before offering the quill to Dummy. "So, do we have a deal?"

Dummy took the quill and wrote down his name in horrible handwriting. As he did so, he felt something race throughout his body before the feeling briefly settled on his heart, and he felt like something had clenched over it. Soon though, the feeling was gone

The old man took the quill back, and looked at where Dummy had signed his name. As the old man put the paper and quill back into his robe, he asked with a quirked eyebrow, "Dummy? Oh, your parents truly spent a great deal of time on that one, didn't they?"

"I can't remember what my actual name is." Dummy said defensively, his cheeks beginning to burn. "They just called me dummy for a while, so I thought that was my name."

If he did have a real name, Dummy couldn't remember it. Even his brothers didn't remember if their names were actually Stone and Forrest, but their parents never bothered to correct them.

Sometimes Dummy had to marvel at his parents' capacity to be both lazy and mean.

The old man almost looked sympathetic. "One last thing." The old man said as he reached into his robes, and took out a shovel before handing it to Dummy. "You might find this useful. Now go on, and get your treasure."

Dummy turned around, and walked a few steps before realizing something. "Hey, what's your na-"

Dummy turned back around, but found that the old man was gone. After calling out for the old man a few more times, Dummy took note that the sky above him was dimming. He knew he'd only have an hour or so of daylight left before it was completely dark.

He needed to get started.

Dummy at first tried to force the tree down. He pulled, pushed, and even hit the shovel with it, but it didn't make a dent. There wasn't even a scratch in the golden tree. In fact, when he tried to do that, he seemed to get hurt by the tree.

Eventually, Dummy then looked at this shovel in his hands, proclaimed himself an idiot worthy of his name, and began digging, It was a long and strangely arduous task trying to uproot the tree. The more he digged, the more roots he found, and they looked like the different metals he'd seen in his short life. Silver, bronze, steel, and even some he didn't recognize. At one point, his shovel broke, and Dummy resorted to digging with his hands.

It was bitter work, and he was exhausted by the end as the sky had turned dark, but it was worth it. Finally, he found the last of the root, and began to pull the tree as hard as he could. Unfortunately, he was so tired that he could barely lift his arms. He was so close. He was almost there. Why couldn't he just get this one thing right?

He laid on the ground, breathing heavily, staring at the stairs with both exhausted and sad tears welling up. "Please." He said to no one, or perhaps anyone that might be listening. "Please just...just give me a little more strength. I can do this just...I just need a little more strength."

No one answered his plea, but Dummy was used to that. His whole life, his parents ignored him or deemed his existence as a burden, and encouraged his own brothers to do the same. Even after his brothers died, they barely cared about him. When Stone and Forrest were alive, however mean they could be when prompted, they at least tried to look after him, and they didn't exactly enjoy the cruelty their parents encouraged in them.

Now Dummy was alone, and though his parents were alive, he had no one to look out for him except himself.

This angered Dummy. He hadn't asked to be born. He hadn't asked to be a burden. His parents didn't have to keep him. They could've given him to someone else, but they just kept him around. Why? They clearly didn't want him. This wasn't the first time he'd had to go out looking for food when one of his parents' schemes to make money fast didn't work, or landed them in worse trouble. They barely even showed favor to Stone and Forrest, and seemed even more consumed with themselves after their deaths. Dummy was the one that visited their graves. He was the one who made the headstones, however crude and small they could be.

Dummy had to do a lot of things on his own, and this wouldn't be the first or last time he did so.

With that in mind, and with the anger fueling him, Dummy got up, said, "I'm not giving up," and got back to work.

Dummy got into the hole he'd dug around the tree, used his hands to brush away more dirt, and began to attempt to push it over.

"Come on." Dummy urged, wondering if gold was always supposed to be this hard. "Come on, just tip over." Dummy felt a surge of hope as the heavy tree finally began to bridge. "Yes, that's it. Just…" Dummy trailed off, putting all the strength he had in his small dirt-covered body into pushing the tree, until at least it finally tipped over, landing on the nearby ground with a heavy thunk.

The underside of the tree was hollow, and to his immense shock, Dummy saw a creature squirming in there. He tried to step back, but the creature inside soon came out and began to honk.

What in the world?, Dummy thought as a golden goose flew out of the tree, and began to circle above him.

The golden goose eventually landed in front of Dummy, though began to make distressed noises as it waddled in a circle.

"Um...are you okay?" Dummy asked hesitantly before the golden goose honked again, this time in pain.

Dummy watched in astonishment as the golden goose began to lay an egg in front of him, and he nearly jumped when the egg fell out of the golden goose and onto the ground with a heavy thunk. Instead of breaking like most eggs would, it remained intact, and the sound it made when it fell against the ground was more reminiscent of metal striking the ground.

The golden goose then used its beak to nudge the egg towards Dummy.

"You want me to have it?" Dummy asked in astonishment.

The golden goose simply gave the egg one more nudge before looking at Dummy patiently.

Dummy hesitantly picked up the egg, which true to its appearance was as heavy as Dummy expected gold to be. "Thanks." He said as he turned it over in his hand. This was enough gold to get him a month, maybe two months' of food. Maybe it could get even more. The old man was right! Dummy would've have to starve!

Dummy looked at the golden goose appreciatively. "Thank you. You have a name?"

The golden goose stared at him blankly.

Dummy then suggested, "How about Goldy?"

The golden goose actually looked unimpressed.

"Yeah, I'm not so good with names." Dummy chuckled nervously before saying, "This is unreal. This actually happened. I have to tell-"

The old man's words came back to him. Can you imagine some greedy hearts learning of this treasure?

They can never know, Dummy thought. His parents could never know about this. Not just because of his deal with the old man, but because he knew that if they found out about the golden goose, they would sell it, or destroy the golden goose like they destroyed everything else. He had to protect the golden goose from his parents, and anyone else that might try to steal and hurt her.

He couldn't hide her at home. His parents would discover her there. And he needed to make sure she'd be safe. Besides, if he was home if his parents discovered the truth, they would-

Run. A voice in his mind told him. Just run.

He couldn't just run...could he? He couldn't just leave his brothers-

Your brothers are dead. The voice said. Your parents don't care.

They...they didn't. They truly didn't, and as much as that broke his heart, as Dummy always wished that his parents would just love him, he knew what he had to do.

"This should be enough gold to help them." Dummy told the golden goose. "All I need to do is put it in front of our house, then we can go. It's not safe for you there." Then, he added more quietly, "It's not safe for either of us."

Dummy then began to walk towards his home, and to his happy surprise, the golden goose walked right alongside him.

"I hope you lay another egg soon." Dummy told the golden goose. "I think we're gonna have a long journey ahead of us."

The boys were sitting at a table with dejected looks. Neither of them were keen to touch the food Mrs. Lucas - who insisted she called them Granny - had brought them. They'd barely spoken a word since they explained what happened to Ray. LJ felt his spirits dampen as he recalled the look of disappointment his uncle had when LJ revealed his deceit. It was only because Ray made him maintain eye contact that LJ also saw the sorrow Ray felt for Declan, as well as the pain in his eyes.

LJ wondered if it was just because of Declan, or if it was because Ray was thinking of LJ's biological parents again. Either way, it was enough to make LJ feel even worse.

Ray had wanted to stay with them, but an emergency meeting of some kind pulled him away, so Ashley was asked to babysit last minute.

That's how LJ and Henry ended up at Granny's, with baby Alexandra in a baby carrier next to LJ. He was just staring at his food, occasionally playing with the baby, though without the usual satisfaction that came with it. Henry was just consumed with his storybook, and had been combing through the pages since they got there. If he was looking for something, he hadn't found it yet.

I should've said something sooner, LJ berated himself. If I had, none of this would've happened.

Perhaps the only good thing he'd done all day was leave Declan's eggs by his bedside, and making the nurses promise to not take it away, as Declan would need it when he woke up.

He'd had his reasons for keeping silent. Declan would've been sent to Augusta to live in a foster home, and maybe they would've never seen him again. After seeing the state of where he lived, learned the truth about his life, LJ didn't want him to lose anything else.

I didn't even know he had brothers. He thought. That stuck out to him the most, besides his friend being in the hospital that is. Declan had never mentioned brothers once, to either of them. Then again, he never talked about his parents before, and maybe for good reason. LJ was filled with almost overwhelming hatred toward Declan's parents. By all accounts, they had just left him there. They hadn't even left him with someone like LJ's parents had. They just left him to fend for himself, and LJ hated them all the more for it.

That's when Granny appeared. "Your food is going to get cold." Granny told them gently.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Lucas." LJ said in a soft voice. "I'm not very hungry."

"Me neither." Henry said as he robotically turned page after page.

Granny pursed her lips. Her mothering instinct didn't like to hear that. "You're growing boys." She tried to encourage sternly. "It's not good to let food go to waste."

Without meaning to, Granny's words made LJ burst into a new round of tears, as he felt so selfish for denying food when his friend nearly starved to death. This in turn caused Alexandra to begin crying. Henry was nearly close to crying to, but tried to hold it back by looking more into his book.

After Ashley came by to comfort her baby in the back, Granny sat on LJ's side of the booth, and brought him into a hug.

"Shh, shh, it's alright." Granny said as she rubbed his back.

"It's my fault." LJ sobbed. "I should've said something. I'm the oldest. I should've done something. Now Declan's in the hospital, and-and-"

"Shh." Granny soothed. "It's not your fault. You're just a bunch of kids. You're not supposed to do things his parents were supposed to take care of."

That only upset LJ further.

The bells at the front door of the diner chimed, and LJ saw that Ava and Nick had entered, breathless. Upon spotting them, they headed in their direction.

"I'm alright, Mrs. Lucas." LJ said.

A voice asked, How many times did Declan say he was alright, and you knew it wasn't the truth?

"Are you sure?" She asked.

LJ nodded.

Only then did she get out of the both, but not before gently urging both he and Henry to eat more. Oh, and to call her Granny.

Ava and Nick arrived at their booth, with Ava sitting on Henry's side and Nick sitting on LJ's side.

"We looked everywhere for you guys." Ava said, still huffing to catch her breath.

"We tried the hospital, but you guys weren't there." Nick said. "It took forever for our dad to let us check it out."

"We got to visit Declan for a little bit." Ava said, looking distressed. "It's bad, isn't it?"

Henry could only nod. The lump in his throat made it hard to speak.

"They know where he's been living." LJ told the twins. "We had to tell them the truth. We couldn't let this keep going."

Ava nodded, and said, "Yeah, I get it. I knew that we couldn't stay at the shack forever, and especially not Declan."

"We just didn't want him to get in trouble." Nick added sadly. "Are they going to take him to Augusta now?"

"Not right now." LJ told them. "He's too sick to leave the hospital."

"Are we sure he doesn't have any other relatives?" Nick asked with a touch of hope in his voice.

"I don't think there's anyone." LJ replied.

Henry just kept turning the pages of his book, and at this point it began to anger LJ into a fervor.

"Will you stop looking at your book and talk?" LJ demanded, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Ava and Nick stiffen. At least it got Henry to stop. "Looking at your book isn't going to help Declan."

"It could." Henry protested, looking angrily at LJ. "It helped us figure out who Ava and Nick were."

Ignoring the twins' confused looks, LJ burst out, "What are we going to find out Henry? That Declan's parents suck? That they abandoned him? That unless we find something to keep him here, we might never see him again?"

Everyone was shocked at such an outburst from LJ. Normally, he was the one who kept things calm. In the times when Declan and Henry would argue, as they were the most stubborn of the group, LJ was the one to break it up. For the normally even-tempered boy to say such things in such an angered manner put them all off balance.

Henry, overwhelmed and emotional, shot back, "What am I supposed to do? Just sit here and do nothing?"

"That's what we've been doing!" LJ suddenly shouted. "We did nothing! We didn't say anything because we were being stupid!"

"Hey, hey!" Granny suddenly said, and Ava and Nick looked like they wanted to sink into their seats. "That's enough. You're both emotional, and your friend is in pain, but now is not the time to turn on each other."

LJ saw that Henry's face as scrunched up, and it broke LJ's heart to think that he was going to be responsible for hurting another one of his friends. LJ felt like he was screwing up everything.

"I'm sorry, Henry." LJ said in a cracked voice. He then reached over the table to grab one of Henry's hands, and he was glad that Henry didn't pull away. "I'm sorry."

Henry just silently held onto his hand. Eventually, with some seat changes, Henry consented to a hug. Both friends silently comforted and apologized to each other, and each sat there worrying about what the future might hold for Declan, wracked with guilt that they might not be able to save him.

This is where Declan Holtzer lives. Graham thought as he took in the sight of the lonely little shack, but correcting his thoughts. Lived. One way or another, that boy is never staying here again.

Graham and Emma found the shack fairly deep into the woods, and Graham had to wonder how it hadn't fallen apart yet. The windows were cracked, some of the wooden boards were falling off, and overall it just looked sad. It did contain the bare essentials such as access to a nearby river, which he guessed is where Declan might have bathed, though he certainly hoped that Declan didn't also defecate into the safe place.

Inside, there was a small bed, a small table, and also some food, along with other things that Graham recognized.

"I guess this is where all those 'misplaced items' Mr. Clark complained about ended up." Graham said as he found some medicine, toothbrushes and toothpaste, among other items.

"No wonder he can't keep anything down." Emma said as she found a number of empty chip bags and soda bottles. "He's been eating nothing but junk food. Oh, and a few boxes of cereal."

"Looks like he tried to get into water bottles." Graham said as he pulled out a plastic-wrapped container of the stuff, with a few bottles left.

"Not to mention as many blankets as he could find." Emma said as she pulled back the several layers of blankets on the bed, then recoiled. "Oh damn. I don't think this mattress has been clean for a while."

"I'll take your word for it." Graham told her. He'd be lying if he hadn't smelled something bad in here, and he wasn't keen to directly look at the potential cause just yet.

God this just keeps getting worse and worse, Graham thought with a cringe. It also brought back unpleasant memories from his own childhood, of the intense bitterness he felt towards his own parents. Abandoning a child was bad enough, and maybe, just maybe, they could have good reasons for doing so, though to Graham those would have to be extraordinary circumstances. However, to so callously abandon a child to fend for themselves as Declan's parents had - as Graham's own parents had - was inexcusable.

"Graham? Hey Graham." Emma's voice broke into his thoughts, and Graham snapped back into reality. "You were kind of lost for a bit."

"Just…" Graham trailed off with a shake of his head. "Sometimes I just can't understand people."

Emma seemed to agree. After some sort of internal debating with herself, she finally said, "Some people...just don't deserve to be parents. They really just don't." After a long silence, with both of them immersed in the sorrowful air of the shack, they got back to work. They cordoned off the area with police tape, taken photos and bagged as much evidence as they could. At last, when they sealed off the door with a special tape, Graham and Emma got in their cars to go back. It was unbearable to stay in there a minute longer.

Dummy wondered, not for the first time, if it was a bad thing to not miss his parents.

He and the golden goose, who after a long and painstaking process seemed to react well to the name 'Sunshine', had been on the road for months. Not all of it was spent on the road of course. Every now and again, Dummy and Sunshine would stay at an inn in a town, always an inn with a stable, and use one of Sunshine's golden eggs as currency for room and board. They would never overstay their welcome, as Dummy would always use the last of their reserves to buy food, new clothes, and anything else he could carry that needed replacing. Then they'd get back on the road, and they'd use the next egg to finance their next stay.

They never got a horse. The one time he tried saw Sunshine show just how jealous she could be when it came to Dummy.

It wasn't always easy. From time-to-time, someone would get it in their head to try to take Sunshine from Dummy. Sometimes they would bargain or threaten, in which case Sunshine would honk in a very unhappy way. Other times they would try to use force, or wait until Dummy was asleep to steal her. Time and time again, Sunshine pulled a funny little trick where everyone who laid hands on her couldn't release her, and only Dummy was allowed to pick her up and be able to put her down.

It was dangerous living sometimes, but nonetheless Dummy was happy. He was really happy.

It was nighttime. They were in a forest, and Dummy had cooked a rabbit, and had just taken it off the fire when Sunshine waddled over. Dummy laughed as Sunshine began fanning her wings to try to cool it down.

"Okay, okay, I'll be careful." He chuckled, making sure she watched as he tried to cool the hot rabbit. Taking a bite of the rabbit, Dummy said with his mouth full, "Hey, you mind not sitting on me again while I sleeping? I'm not an egg you know."

Somehow, Sunshine managed a look that showed that she thought differently.

Dummy, overcome with affection, said, "I love you Sunshine."

Sunshine obviously didn't say anything back, but she waddled closer to him before eventually sitting herself down on the ground next to him. He got some food from Sunshine's food pouch, and laid it before her, and the two of them ate their meal together.

Sometime after he finished the rabbit, and finished off his canteen of water, Sunshine made familiar pained noises.

Dummy instantly got some worn blankets he'd brought for such an occasion ready, making them into a hastily made nest. "There you go, that's it." Dummy said as Sunshine got on the, circling around as she honked in pain. "You're doing fine."

Just like all the other times before, Sunshine honked in pain as she gave birth to an egg, but this time she did something strange. She sat on it. Normally she'd just nudge the golden egg to Dummy, and wait until he put it in his money pouch for safe keeping before returning to do whatever it was she wanted to do. She had never been attached to the eggs before, so this struck Dummy as add.

"What is it, girl?" Dummy asked, crouching down to try to catch a glimpse at whatever it was Sunshine was hiding.

Sunshine didn't move for almost an hour, and when she did she cautiously moved away from it, allowing Dummy to get a look at what she laid.

Instead of the usual golden egg, this time it was an egg that looked silver. When Dummy touched it, it felt heavy like metal, just like the other ones had. This time, however, Dummy felt something emanate from it. Something warm. Something, he was surprised to think, might very well be alive.

"This...is new." Dummy said. "Still, we might get something for it at the market."

Sunshine honked indignantly, and continued to do so when Dummy tried to put the egg in the money pouch. Sunshine even nipped at him for attempting to do so again.

"What is it?" He asked annoyed. "What do you want?"

It was only then that Sunshine grabbed another pouch, and placed it in front of Dummy. It was his 'special things' pouch. Nothing was in it of course. There was nothing special to Dummy except for Sunshine, but he had mused in front of her that he might need it one day.

Sunshine apparently thought today was that day.

"Okaaaay." Dummy drew out the word before taking the special pouch, and putting the silver egg in it. He even attached it to his belt for good measure.

Only then did Sunshine appear satisfied, and nestled in her blanket nest.

It was perhaps a half hour afterwards, when Dummy thought about getting ready for sleep, that Sunshine became alert, and instantly Dummy was on guard. He grabbed a knife he bought from a town early in their adventures, and prepared himself to use it.

He heard rustling in the bush leaves, and both Dummy and Sunshine became agitated.

That's when two family people emerged from the bushes.

"Mother?" Dummy asked in shock. "Father?"

There his parents stood, in finer clothes than he'd ever seen them, and with faces that weren't as gaunt as before. Dummy had made sure to find a way to send an egg back to his parents at times, usually through a messenger he could hire. He had always expressed the importance of the messengers never revealing where the gold came from, but now he worried that perhaps one of their had gone back on their word.

"My boy!" His father greeted him with a smile. "It's been so long."

His father tried to step closer, but Sunshine honked in warning, causing his father to stay put.

"How did you find me?" Dummy asked, now worried about the fact that his parents had seen Sunshine. Maybe he could convince them that she was just an oddly colored goose?

"Darling, we've looked everywhere for you." His mother said gently, taking a step closer to him. "When you didn't come back...we were so worried."

Since when has Mother ever spoken to me gently?, Dummy thought suspiciously. "You were?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Of course we were." His mother said. "You're our son. We'd never want anything to happen to you." His mother tried to take a step closer, but Sunshine honked more aggressively, even spreading her wings and taking a few aggressive steps forward.

"Is this it?" His father asked with eagerness on his face. "Is this the famous Golden Goose?"

"How do you know about her?" Dummy asked.

"It's how we found you." His mother said. "Once we realized who was sending us those golden eggs, we just had to keep following the rumors of a boy accompanied by a golden goose that lays solid gold eggs. And now we found you, and we can be a family."

"Why?" Dummy asked, trying so hard not to hope but finding himself unable to stop. "Why now?"

"You're our boy." His father said. "Our last boy."

"We haven't always been kind." His mother said. "But we're here now, and we want you home son."

In spite of himself, Dummy dared to hope. Had they finally come to love him? Had they finally come to see himself as more than just a burden, more than just another mouth to feed?

Dummy stepped forward, but Sunshine circled protectively around him.

"What's gotten into you?" Dummy asked Sunshine.

So much happened in span of a few seconds. His parents raced forward, and dragged a net over Sunshine. She honked indignantly, but she couldn't get out.

"I can't believe it worked." Dummy's father said with a gleam in his eye.

"That witch's spell was worth every penny." His mother said. "Now we just need to drag this thing home. We'll have the debtors off our back."

Dummy couldn't abide by this. "Stop it! Let her go!"

He raced forward to free Sunshine, but his father pushed him to the ground.

"What are you doing?" Dummy demanded, again trying to stop his parents, but this time his mother pushed him to the ground.

"Securing our future." His mother said simply.

"You're hurting her!" Dummy protested. This time, he brandished his knife, and pointed it towards his parents. "Let her go!"

"Look at this." His mother scoffed, like she wasn't even scared by the knife. "He thinks he's a man."

"He's stupid, but not quite a man." His father told her, equally unimpressed by Dummy's action.

"I'm warning you!" Dummy said.

"Warning us?" Dummy's father asked angrily. "We slave away for years to put food in your greedy mouth, put a roof over your fat head, and clothes on your stinking body, and this is the thanks we get? It was bad enough that we were saddled with your brothers, but you were the worst one of the lot."

Tears came to Dummy's eyes. He didn't want them to hurt Sunshine, but he was afraid of actually hurting them.

"Oh dear, he's going to cry now." His mother rolled his eyes before looking annoyed at Sunshine, who was still struggling. "Will this thing ever stop moving?" His mother than made the mistake of touching Sunshine in an attempt to keep her down, and became angry when her hand became attached. "What's it doing?"

"You idiot, didn't you listen?" His father asked. "You're not supposed to touch it."

"Get it off!" His mother demanded, pulling harder at it.

In the fray, Sunshine managed to get loose from the net, and his mother now held on. To Dummy's horror, his mother wrapped her hand around Sunshine's neck.

"NO!" Dummy screamed, and he raced forward with the knife.

His father intercepted him, took the knife from his hands, and struck Dummy in the face so hard that when he hit the ground, stars danced before his eyes. He blearily heard the sounds of Sunshine fighting his mother, and despite his state, Dummy tried to get up. He had to protect her. He had to-

CRACK!

Time stood still, and as Dummy's vision came back, he was met with the horrifying image of Sunshine lying lifeless on the ground. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, blocking out all other sounds save for his own heartbeat and heavy breathing. He saw that his parents were arguing, with his mother finally being released from Sunshine's hold, but all Dummy cared about was that his friend….his friend…

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Dummy screamed and sobbed so loudly and fiercely that his voice became raw soon afterwards.

"You idiot!" His father screamed at his mother. "Now what'll we do?"

"I'll tell you what you can do, dearie." A new voice, gleefully manic said, shocking everyone into silence. Or well, near silence, as Dummy was unable to contain much of his sobbing.

Dummy turned to see who it was, and he found some sort of creature standing there in leather. It's skin was scaly, like a reptiles, and yet strangely it almost seemed to have flecks of gold in it. His eyes were an unnatural gold as well, and Dummy wondered if he truly saw fangs in this creature's teeth or not.

"Who're you?" Dummy's father asked whilst brandishing the knife threateningly.

The creature simply flicked his hand, and the knife sailed away into a nearby tree.

"Such unpleasantness." The creature giggled. "You come all this way to lure your son into a false sense of security, letting him believe you cared, only to murder an animal, and now you show me disrespect." The creature tutted. "Very poor manners indeed."

"Are you a wizard?" Dummy's mother asked warily.

"Of a sort." The creature replied, and Dummy wondered why that sounded so familiar. "You may, however, refer to me...as the Dark One."

All three humans paled at the title. The Dark One was known far and wide as a powerful spellcaster, an immortal wizard who did as he pleased, and could turn your life into pig shit or king's gold on a whim. The Dark One was not to be trifled with, and here he was before them.

"Dark One." Dummy's father greeted, now properly scared. "I don't know what business you have with us-"

"Ah, not with you." The Dark One interrupted before pointing one of his scaly fingers at Dummy, who was nearly on the ground with tears and snot streaming down his face. "It's with him."

"With me?" Dummy asked, fearful for why the Dark One would want him.

"Why yes." The Dark One said, and with a flick of his fingers, Dummy was unnaturally forced to stand up. "You see, we had a deal. You held up your end of the bargain, and I've come to collect on my end."

"I haven't made a deal with you." Dummy said. He would've remember making a deal with this creature.

"But of course you did. See?" The Dark One magically rolled out a long sheet of paper, and there Dummy saw his name horribly scrawled at the bottom. Before Dummy could process what was in front of him, he sneered, "Can you imagine some greedy hearts learning of this treasure?"

Dummy swallowed a lump in his throat, realizing with horror that he had indeed met the Dark One before. "It's you. You were the old man in the forest."

"Yes, he can be taught!" The Dark One declared before reaching his hand out as if to stop something.

Dummy turned around, and saw that his parents had tried to escape, but were now compelled to stay.

"Unlike those two." The Dark One said sourly. He then told Dummy, "Do you know what they did after they received the golden eggs you so graciously sent? They spent them to pay their debts, only to continuously end up in new ones. Then, they tried to find the source, and look what they've done." The Dark One waved a hand in the direction of Sunshine's body, but Dummy couldn't bear to look.

"Please Dark One." Dummy's mother pleaded. "If we had known that it belonged to you-"

"You would've what?" The Dark One asked with a light scowl. "You would've ignored the chance to continually pay your debts over and over again. You would've left well enough alone."

"We had a child to feed." His mother pleaded.

"The last of three children you ignored." The Dark One said. "Even after the first two boys came home with dire injuries, you just hoped for the best. Even when they both told you that they had been hurt by a golden tree, you simply called them mad and left them to fend for themselves, until they simply wasted away." The Dark One gestured to Dummy. "You didn't even look for this one until you realized that he had the Golden Goose."

The Dark Ones words sunk into Dummy's head, and a new horror emerged in his mind. "Wait...a golden tree?" He asked, looking into the Dark One's terrible golden eyes as he hoped that he was wrong. "Stone and Forrest...you met them?"

"Only briefly." The Dark One waved away. "I admit, I was surprised when you so readily offered me the little food you had. Your brothers had more food on them, but even an old, helpless beggar couldn't get them to share."

"Because they were starving!" Dummy protested fiercely.

"So were you, boy." The Dark One said more softly. For a moment, Dummy almost saw humanity there before it was snuffed out. The Dark One then added eccentrically, "Neither passed my test, and when they happened upon the golden tree, it rejected them, and they paid the price."

Dummy began to weep. "My brother are dead…because of you?"

"They didn't have futures beyond that point. I should know." The Dark One said simply as he waved a hand over Sunshine's body, and she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"No!" Dummy shouted. "Where is she?"

"My business. After all, our deal is concluded." The Dark One said. "Congratulations. Most people can't seem to keep up their end of the bargain." The Dark One then forced Dummy's parents to walk closer to them. "As for you two, I believe you've long overstayed your welcome among the living." The Dark One then looked at Dummy. "Think about this moment. This is the moment you are freed of these stones around your neck."

Dummy opened his mouth, "Wha-"

CRACK!

CRACK!

Two bodies slumped to the ground, and in a puff of smoke that snuffed out the light of the fire, the Dark One was gone, leaving Dummy alone in the forest with the bodies of his parents.

Dummy stood there in shock, and soon he felt something warm and wet in his pants. It was only then that he realized that he wet himself. Almost as if someone else had taken control of his body, Dummy went and changed into a new pair of pants, and it was after he reattached his belt that Dummy began to weep again.

This...this wasn't happening. This couldn't have happened. No. No no no no no no no!

Dummy was sobbing. His best friend, his only friend, dead. Killed by his parents, because Dummy was too stupid to not just leave them alone in their misery, because he was too much of a coward to defend her. His brothers were gone, and he was still here.

Dummy fell to the ground on his knees. "I'm sorry." He wept. "I'm so sorry, Sunshine."

Perhaps the only thing in the world that ever loved him was gone, and it was all his fault. He was alone. He…

He heard the sound of music, which struck him as strange considering the dead silence that he only just now realized had preceded it. Dummy waited for it to go away, but it continued. In fact, it persisted, and began louder, soothing.

Perhaps there were other people nearby. Dummy got up in a daze, walking towards the sound of the music as tears began to disappear from his face. The misery remained, and he suspected that it would never leave.

He followed the sound of pipes playing, and Dummy wondered if he was imagining the revelry of boys as well.

Emma entered Declan's hospital room, her gut clenching at the sight of the weak boy on the bed. He was unhealthily pale, and due to the ill-fitting hospital gown, she was able to see that he was too skinny for a kid his age. He seemed barely able sit up, and when he tried he just fell back onto the pillows of his bed, kept only somewhat upright by the top of the hospital bed existing at a 40 degree angle.

Whale had kept his promise, and called them the minute Declan woke up. After witnessing the state of the shack Declan had been living in, the hospital ended up being a welcome change.

That shack brought back a lot of bad memories for Emma. Emma remembered the nights where she would have to settle for sleeping under a bridge if no other options were available.

Not to mention the feeling of being abandoned and unwanted that permeated her entire childhood, and leaked into her adulthood.

This kid's parents lost two kids, but still left the last one they had to fend for himself. They could've left him with people, but they just threw him away like garbage.

Like Emma's own parents had done to her.

"How are you feeling?" Emma asked Declan.

"Like shit." The boy whispered weakly.

She waited for Graham to begin, not trusting herself to speak at the moment.

Graham walked closer to Declan's hospital bed, standing on one side while Emma stood on the other side. "Declan, do you know why you're in the hospital?"

Declan replied, "One of the nurses said that I passed out at school. That I was dehydrated or something."

Graham nodded. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Declan seemed to be thinking. "I was walking out of school, and...someone took my egg." He then startled. "My egg. Where's my egg?"

"It's right here." Emma said, reaching over to the bedside table and handing Declan his fake egg.

Declan took it from her and firmly held onto it

Emma knew what it was like to have a security blanket such as that one, as she used to hold onto her baby blanket that tightly when she was a girl.

Graham then said, "Declan, we know about the shack." At Declan's shocked looked, Graham continued, "We also know that you haven't lived with your parents in some time."

"So?" Declan was immediately on the defensive.

This time, Emma spoke. "So, you've been living in a shack that's falling apart in winter. The little you've been eating is made up of junk food, which made you malnourished and dehydrated. You could've died."

"Haven't died yet." Declan said without looking at them.

Emma sighed. This kid thought that he had to be tough and strong, because the world hadn't been kind to him.

"Do you have any idea where your parents might be?" Graham asked.

"Who cares where they are?" Declan snapped, though Emma didn't miss the hint of misery on his face.

God, how many times had she felt the same way? Night after night, wishing her parents would come for her, and then in the next breath cursing them for ever having her. Even now, she still felt the old burning resentment.

Graham tried to break it to him gently. "Because you know that Storybrooke doesn't have a foster care system. Not that we'd be inclined to give you back to them." Declan looked at him in surprise, so Graham added, "We know about your brothers, and about your parent's neglect."

Declan focused on his egg. He then bitterly said, "Are you going to send me to Augusta?"

Emma said, "You're not going to leave the hospital anytime soon, so not yet."

Declan tried to look tough. "That's good I guess. Henry's probably freaking out about me crossing the town line, what with the 'curse' and all."

Emma couldn't help but smile a little at that despite the situation, because Declan was right.

"Where are they by the way?" Declann asked, looking at Emma this time. "Henry and LJ I mean."

"They're being looked after." Emma said, and upon seeing the disappointed look on Declan's face, she quickly added, "They were here earlier, and LJ left the egg in your room."

Declan seemed touched by that. "Sounds like him." Declan said quietly. Declan then pursed his lips, and was unable to hide all of the vulnerability on his face.

Both Emma and Graham waited in silence, wanting to give Declan time to say what he needed to say.

Eventually, Declan finally did speak. "I...a few months ago, I wouldn't have cared if you were going to take me to Augusta. I mean, I did fine on my own, but...I just wouldn't have cared, and no one would've cared if I left. Now…" Declan couldn't look at them, and it looked like he was trying not to cry. "You know, Henry and LJ are big softies. I'd actually kind of miss them, you know?"

Emma's heart went out to him. She knew that being separated from his friends, likely the only friends that he ever had, would only harm Declan. Emma also knew that it would not just break Declan's heart, but Henry and LJ's too. If anything happened to Declan too, then Henry would take it even harder and likely blame the curse and himself.

Emma could see Declan began to close himself off, but before they could question him further, Dr. Whale entered the room.

"Mr. Holtzer, how are you feeling?" He asked the boy.

"Pretty shitty." Declan replied though he refused to look at anyone.

Dr. Whale then said, "Sheriff, deputy, I need to check on my patient. I'm going to need you to leave now."

Seeing that there weren't getting anywhere, Emma and Graham left the room. It was only when they got to their cars, and saw no one else nearby, that they spoke again.

"You know it's only a matter of time before Regina hears about this, right?" Emma asked.

"If she hasn't already." Graham replied.

"What are we gonna do?" Emma asked. "Does this kid have any options?"

Graham said, "No living relatives means that he ends up in the foster care system. That is unless someone decides to take him in."

As he said this, Emma noticed a look on Graham's face that seemed to be a mixture of concern and determination.

Emma, wondering if Graham already had someone in mind, asked, "Anyone you think could be up to it?"

"I'd have to check." Graham said. "But there may be someone."

"Who?" Emma asked.

Graham then opened the driver's side door of his car. "When I have the answer, I'll let you know. See you at the station."

Without another word, Graham got in his car and drove off.

Emma followed soon after, and hoped for Declan's sake that whoever Graham had in mind was up to the task.

Killian was walking around town when he saw Emma's car pull into the station's parking lot, so he hurried over to talk to her.

"Emma." He called her name as he crossed the street.

"Killian, hi." Emma said in surprise as she locked her car.

"Hey." Killian said. "I heard about Declan. How is he doing?"

"He's...not doing so well." Emma admitted. "He's young, though, so he could bounce back."

"That's good." Killian said. Truthfully, he'd been worried when he heard that a student had passed out at school, and had to be taken to the hospital. He had become even more worried when he heard that it was Declan. Killian felt guilty, as he knew that something was wrong, but he didn't do enough sooner.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked.

Killian swallowed. "I knew something was wrong, but I...I didn't do anything. I didn't see the signs..."

"Hey." Emma said gently. "Remember, you came to me the second you thought something was up. You tried to help, but none of us saw the signs."

Killian saw the guilt that was on Emma's face.

Killian couldn't help but say, "You know, the things he's done make a sad sort of sense now." At Emma's curious look, Killian explained, "His obstinance, his general lack of respect for authority, and how he always just seemed to separate himself from everyone. He was just...lashing out."

Killian had done the same thing when he was younger. After his parents died, he'd lashed out against Liam. Not because of anything his brother did, but because Killian couldn't comprehend that his parents were never coming back. It only got better over time as Killian matured and Liam stuck with him, but he started lashing out again when Liam died. Only this time he started drinking too.

Doing his best to drink bottle after bottle made more sense than focusing on his loneliness. He lost himself inside of his grief, not having friends or loved ones, pushing most people away. That had changed only recently, but even though he had people now, demons still haunted him and ate away at him.

"Killian." Emma's voice drew him back to the world. "You want to share with the rest of the class?" Though she was joking, her tone was soft and soothing.

"I just...I understand his...situation all too well." Killian replied.

"Because of your parents?" Emma guessed before clarifying. "You mentioned them before, when we found Ava and Nick at that abandoned house."

Killian nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Emma asked.

Not particularly, no, Killian thought, but instead he replied, "There are more pressing matters at hand. Have you found any living relatives?"

"Unfortunately no." Emma told him. "His parents were real pieces of work, and there are no grandparents, aunts, or uncles. Graham said he had someone in mind, but he hasn't told me who that is yet."

"At least that's something." Killian said, feeling relieved. "Henry and LJ would be devastated to be separated from Declan, and I know that the system wouldn't treat the boy kindly."

"No it would not." Emma agreed. After a few moments of silence, Emma said that she was going inside.

In spite of his previous words, watching Emma walk away filled Killian with the need to confess.

"Swan." He called out.

Emma turned to face him.

Killian swallowed. He wasn't really one to trust others enough to confide in them. However, he knew Emma's story, at least some of it. If anyone could understand, it was her.

"I don't get cold." Killian finally told her. "I used to get cold all the time. Growing up, my brother and I never had enough blankets in the winter. The ones we did have were threadbare or had holes in them. Liam often tried to start a fire, but we never had enough to keep it lit. He'd even give me his own clothes to try to keep me warm. Eventually, I became so exposed to the cold that eventually I became used to it. I thought that if i just didn't think about it, I could try to pretend that things weren't as bad as they were." Killian then pushed down the echoes of heartache that felt just as horrible as when they first started. "Then Liam died, and I was on my own."

"Your brother died?" Emma asked, her eyes becoming pained for him. When Killian nodded, Emma stepped closer to him. "I-I'm so sorry."

"It was a long time ago." Killian said more quietly. "So I understand Declan's predicament, at least some of it. It's not easy being that young and being alone. Sometimes, if you tell yourself that things aren't as bad as they are, you begin to believe it. You might even fool yourself into thinking that you're beyond that point, but you aren't. Just like-"

"Me." Emma said, and Killian could tell that she hadn't meant to say it, but was unable to stop herself.

Emma's face flushed in embarrassment, and Killian also saw the wheels in Emma's mind turn, likely in an attempt to figure out how to cover up the vulnerability she just showed him.

"Just like us." Killian agreed, without judgement or pity. He knew there was a connection between him and Emma, and he knew all too well that wounds made young tend to linger longer than most.

Emma seemed to be at war with herself, but Killian could see that just like him, there was a part of her that wanted to confess something.

"I've…" Emma started but cut herself off. After a few moments, she continued, "Part of me hasn't forgiven my parents for abandoning me. Not that I think that they should be forgiven. They must have had options, but…" Emma seemed to be struggling with her words. "Declan claimed that he didn't care about where his parents were, but I know that's not true. I know, because I would care. For some reason, I still do. I just hope that there's still time for him to not become...like me."

"There's nothing wrong with you." Killian told her sincerely. "Whoever told you that, or made you believe in that, there is nothing wrong with you, Emma."

Emma flushed in embarrassment at his words, but he could see in her eyes that she was grateful that he had said them. "I need to get back to work." She told him.

"Of course." Killian nodded, as he could tell that she was ready to close up again. "See you around, Swan." He began to walk away, but stopped when Emma called him. He turned back to her. "Yes?"

Emma gave him a gentle smile. "Thank you, Killian."

Killian smiled back at her. "Go on and save the day, Swan." He lightly joked, though he had faith that she would be able to help the boy.

With that, Killian walked away.

A tearful Dummy found the source of the music, and found a hooded boy playing pipes as other boys danced around a fire. His tears began to disappear as he found himself drawn to the fire. Without meaning to, he'd walked close enough for one of the boys to grab him and drag him into the circle.

"What are you doing?" Dummy asked.

"Dancing." The boy who grabbed him said. "Join us."

Dummy began to protest. "But-"

"Dance!" The boy urged, and just to get to get the boy to stop, Dummy began to dance.

His head began to feel light, his body warmed not only by the fire, but as if the very feeling of being excited beyond care began to fill his entire body. His dancing was stiff, awkward, but despite the fact that his life had imploded not long ago, any thoughts of walking away began to vanish. He couldn't stop, and slowly but surely he felt any desire to stop fade away. His movements became more fluid, he began to woot and holler, and he could almost forget-

Something hard hit against his hip, and Dummy was shocked into stopping, much to the annoyance of the boy who was directly behind him. Dummy moved away from the circle as the boy nearly pushed him into the fire to continue dancing.

Dummy investigated the source of what hit him, and he realized that his special pouch was still attached to his belt. That in his previous daze to remove his soiled pants, he'd had the presence of mind to keep the special pouch attached. The pouch that held the last egg that Sunshine laid.

Dummy pulled out the egg, held it in his hands, and began to weep again. He still didn't know why, but this meant something to Sunshine. She wanted him to keep this with him. Did she know, somehow, that this would be the last night time they'd be together?

Out of the corner of his eye, Dummy saw the boys dancing away from the fire, and seemingly floating into the air and disappearing like magic.

The boy who had been playing the flutes stopped, and said to him, "You can't bring that with you."

"Why not?" Dummy asked defensively.

"You don't need that in Neverland." The boy said jovially, though Dummy detected something cold in his tone, something that told him to run away. Just like with the Dark One.

Not caring about this Neverland, Dummy warily asked, "Are you the Dark One?"

"Of course not." The boy said. "I'm far above him. Now come along. Leave it behind, and come to a world where you will never have to worry about anything again."

The Dark One made me promises too, and he's ruined my life. Dummy thought darkly. Dummy shook his head, and walked away.

"Suit yourself." The boy said. "Grow old and waste away here. Don't say I never offered you anything."

With that, the boy disappeared, and the last thing Dummy saw before he did so was his wide grin.

The light of the fire was extinguished, and once again Dummy was left in the dark. Dummy squinted his eyes in the dark, holding onto the silver egg. For a brief moment, Dummy thought of all the times Sunshine would lay a golden egg, and that would provide for them long enough to prepare for the next stop on their journey.

But Sunshine was gone. His parents had killed her. His brothers were dead, and the Dark One was responsible for all of it. All his life, he'd been left to his own devices, or become a means to someone else's ends. Eventually, he would suffer for the plots and schemes of others. The only one who'd never done that was Sunshine, and this silver egg was special to her. He would not trade it, and he would never lose it.

Dummy walked in the dark forest for most of the night, and when it was nearly down, he came upon a remote shack near a river. One of the windows was cracked, the wood panels on the outside were falling off, and the inside was small enough to only be comfortable for one person.

It's perfect for me, Dummy thought sadly as he entered his new home. It's ruined, and it's all alone.

Graham sat in his office thinking about his apartment. It was big enough for one person, which up until now was perfect for him. However, if he could somehow restructure it, perhaps it could accommodate Graham and Declan.

The more he learned about Declan's circumstances, the more Graham had been at war with what he could do for the boy. Graham doubted that the boy's parents would contest his entering the foster care system, though if they had Graham would sooner rejoin Regina than let them have him. They didn't deserve the boy after all they'd put him through.

Graham didn't know Declan as well as he did Henry, but he understood what he was going through. Graham was lucky to have been found by his adopted family when his parents had left him to die. He hated to imagine what would've happened if they hadn't found him, or if no one took up his case.

Emma was still trying to maintain contact with Henry, and so Graham didn't know if she could take Declan in. Regina would take any opportunity she could to suggest that Emma didn't have enough time or resources to be in Henry's life. Mary Margaret had a good heart, but he had no idea if she would do it. Even if she did, Graham knew that Regina hated the schoolteacher enough to impede anything Mary Margaret might try to do.

With him, he just didn't know. He had busy hours, his apartment might not be deemed big enough to house Declan, and he'd never really had a lengthy experience with children outside of Henry.

But he couldn't just let the kid fall into a system that failed children more often than not. Try as she might, Emma couldn't totally hide just how much being constantly switched from foster home to foster home had hurt her. She barely talked about her time there, but the little she gleaned onto him, Graham knew how much the experience damaged her.

No offense to Declan, but he was already an angry and mouthy kid. There would be a number of foster homes that would mistreat or trade him in the minute things became inconvenient. Plus, prospective adopted parents would likely look for babies or toddlers instead of a 12-year-old boy from a bad home.

Could he do this? Could he really take in a boy and make it work? Aside from wanting to protect him from a potentially hard future, and to keep him with his friends, Graham wanted to give Declan the protection and sense of family the Humberts had given him. He was a little worried about how he'd handle Declan', as even Graham had been older than Declan was now when he starting swearing, and certainly not with that frequency. His attitude also worried him, and he hoped that he could be patient with the boy. He didn't want to remind the boy of his parents' near constant fights, nor did he want to be a pushover.

All the same, Graham felt a little more inclined to at least give it a try. This may be Declan's last chance.

Graham picked up his phone and dialed a number. After some more hesitation, really thinking over his decision, Graham went ahead with the call.

After a few rings, the person on the other end of the line began to speak in a somewhat haggard voice. "Raymond Fitzroy, LLC. How can I help you?"

"Ray, it's Graham." He said, feeling nervous about his decision, but determined to stay the course.

"Hi Graham." Ray replied. "Do you need something?"

"Yes." Graham said. He swallowed a lump in his throat before saying, "I wanted to know if you could do something for me."

"What do you need?" Ray asked.

Graham saw that Emma overheard the conversation on Graham's end, and looked at him curiously.

Unable to break eye contact with Emma, Graham told Ray, "I need to know if you can start up, and hopefully expedite, the process of me becoming a foster parent."

As Ray told him about his options, realization dawned on Emma's face before it softened and Emma gave him a proud smile.

Despite his worries, Graham smiled back, more sure of the idea that he was doing the right thing.

"Who are you thinking about taking in?" Ray asked, his tone suggested he had a pretty good guess.

Graham firmly responded, "I want to foster Declan Holtzer."

Henry had been sent back home after Ray picked up LJ. Thankfully, his mom didn't seem to know about Declan's predicament. It would only be a matter of time before she eventually heard about it, and once she did, she would use her powers as mayor to send him away as soon as possible. Henry didn't think that Declan defied her in the Enchanted Forest, like Ava and Nick (well, Gretel and Hansel) did. Still, he wouldn't put it past her to give it a try.

So, he waited until his mom was consumed with work in her home office to leave the house. Henry headed straight to the hospital. Once he was there, he headed straight for Declan's hospital room, with his storybook in hand.

After everything he'd learned, Henry thought he knew who Declan was. It took some time, but the information he'd learned today had narrowed down the field. The story was titled "The Golden Goose," and the similarities were too many to be coincidental.

A boy - named Dummy in the story - had two older brothers who died, and parents that relentlessly abused him. He gains possession of a silver egg, though only after the Golden Goose, his only friend, was tragically murdered by the boy's parents (who were killed by the Dark One, which probably explains why Declan's parents weren't around). And, to top it off, Dummy ends up living in a shack that looks exactly like Declan's shack by the end of the story.

Henry's blood pumped with excitement at figuring out yet another fairytale character's identity. Even better, it was Declan's real identity. All he needed to do was figure out who LJ was and he'd solved the mystery of identities amongst his group of friends.

The only thing that dampened his spirits was that this didn't help Declan. Still, he was sure that Emma would figure something out. She always did.

Henry arrived at the door of Declan's hospital room, which was slightly ajar. After seeing that Declan was awake and still holding on that egg, the Golden Goose's last egg, Henry knocked on the door. "Can I come in?" Henry asked.

Declan actually smiled a genuine smile. "Yeah, sure." He said as he waved Henry to come forward. "Come in."

Henry did so, and then closed the door behind him to give them more privacy. Then he went over to stand at Declan's bedside.

"What's up?" Declan asked, looking a little less weak than he did before, but clearly not back to normal.

Henry hesitated. Declan had been through a lot, and he was more skeptical about the curse than LJ. What if he reacted badly to what Henry had to tell him?

Henry decided to try to lead up to it. "I wanted to know how you were doing." Henry said.

"A lot of people have been asking me that." Declan muttered before saying, "A little better I guess. Earlier I was at 'Like shit', and now I'm at 'A little less like shit'."

Henry shook his head with a chagrined smile at Declan's cursing, because it at least seemed like he was feeling better.

That's when Declan took notice of the storybook in Henry's arms. "You figure out who someone is?" Declan guessed. At least he didn't seem put off by the idea.

Here goes nothing, Henry thought. He then said, "Yep. I figured out who you really are."

"Oh?" Declan asked. "Who am I?"

"Dummy." Henry answered.

Declan blinked owlishly at him. "Gee, thanks."

"No, that's your real name." Henry said. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Henry hastily added, "Your parents weren't nice."

"No offense, but no shit dude." Declan deadpanned.

Henry sighed and opened up the storybook to Declan's story, placing it on the other boy's lap for him to see better. "See, this is Dummy's story."

"Why's it called the Golden Goose then?" Declan questioned, though he was at least looking at the story.

"Because that was your best friend." Henry said before turning a few pages to show an illustration of Dummy successfully uprooting the golden tree, which freed the Golden Goose. "You and the Golden Goose were friends. You named her Sunshine. You and Sunshine would use every golden egg she would lay to pay for stuff, and you traveled for months. One night," Henry turned a few pages to show an illustration of Sunshine and Dummy looking at the silver egg, "Sunshine laid a silver egg, and made sure you knew that it was important."

"It looks like…" Declan trailed off before looking at the egg in his lap. Granted the egg in Declan's lap looked less refined than the illustration, but Declan clearly saw a similarity between them, even if it wasn't prompting any memories. He then shook his head and said, "Mine looks like shit."

Henry shrugged. "The artist took some artistic license?" Or the curse made the egg look bad. To each their own.

"Clearly." Declan chuckled. He then turned a few pages before coming upon a part of the story Henry wasn't excited to get it, and Declan's smile vanished.

It was an illustration that was mostly comprised of dark shadows, but the fire in the illustration showed enough. It was an image of Dummy's parents trapping the Golden Goose in a net, with Dummy trying to stop them. This was the image of the attack before the Golden Goose's murder.

Declan read a few lines, and muttered, "Shit."

Henry knew that something, even if it was impossibly minute, of the real Dummy came forward, because in the span of a second, there was grief in Declan's eyes before it went away. For a brief second, Dummy remembered something before the curse forced Declan to forget it.

"Mhmm." Henry nodded somberly. "You kept sending your parents a golden egg, because you were too good a person to just let them lose your house and starve. They got greedy, and they tracked you two down. They tried to steal Sunshine for themselves, but they killed it. Then the Dark One came along, and he killed them."

"Fuck." Declan swore. "So my parents were always evil."

"You remember?" Henry said hopefully.

"No." Declan scoffed, crushing that hope in a second. "It just makes sense. Even in a fairy tale, I don't deserve good parents."

"Yes you do." Henry protested. "You deserve to have people love you."

"What makes you so sure?" Declan challenged as he looked at Henry, but Henry saw that a part of Declan wanted for Henry to prove him wrong.

So, Henry obliged him. "Because even though you don't believe in the curse, even though you think I'm crazy, you're still my friend. You still care about me, and play with me, and even try to help me break a curse you don't believe in. You're one of my best friends."

Declan's challenging melted away, and now he was the one who had a hopeful look. "Best friend?" He asked softly.

Henry nodded before amending, "Well, one of my best friends. I'm pretty sure LJ would get jealous."

Declan laughed. "Yeah, he'd get super jealous." Declan then bit his lip. "Thanks, Henry."

"No problem." Henry said before shuffling awkwardly. "Um...what do you want to do now?" Henry hadn't planned this far into the future.

Declan sighed goodnaturedly. "I don't think I'm gonna get out of this hospital bed soon." He then tiredly shuffled over until there was more room on Henry's side of the hospital bed. "Hop on."

"You sure?" Henry asked.

"Yeah, come on." Declan said as he settled back onto the bed. "Read me a story."

Henry felt a little excited at the prospect that Declan wanted him to do this, and so after he took off his shoes, he got onto the bed. "What do you want me to read?" Henry asked. "Your story?"

"Fuck no." Declan scoffed. "Something with a happy ending. There's got to be at least one of those in there, right?"

"Yeah." Henry said. He initially thought about correcting Declan about how Storybrooke only existed to ruin those happy endings, but that was an argument for another time. Henry then looked through the storybook, and found his favorite story. "How about when Snow White and Prince Charming first met?"

"Sure." Declan said. "That's your favorite one, right?"

Henry was a little surprised that Declan knew this. "How'd you know that?"

"Dude, you're kind of obsessed with it." Declan teased with a smile. "Pretty sure that having them as your 'grandparents' hasn't help."

"Ha ha." Henry fake laughed before turning to the correct page. He then settled back into the bed and began to read from the book. "As the Prince chased the thief on horseback, through the treacherous forest, his betrothed crossed her arms and pouted, wondering how many dreadful, boring minutes it would take until they could resume their journey again. The thief vaulted over a fallen tree, and went to claim what would soon be her stolen prize."

Eventually, Henry finished the story, but at Declan's prompting, Henry continued reading different stories until Declan fell asleep.

"Happy birthday Declan." Henry said to his sleeping friend. In spite of himself, Henry followed Declan into dreamland soon after.

Later, a nurse would discover the two boys laying there side by side, sleeping peacefully as the cares of the waking world were far from their minds.

December 13, 2011

Graham knocked on the doorframe to Declan's hospital room. He felt incredibly nervous, but after a pep talk from Emma, which mainly consisted of her saying that he and Ray put a lot of work into expediting this process and that he might as well go through with it, he felt slightly less nervous. Graham suspected that she hoped that he would house Declan because of her own past pain, but Graham also knew that if Emma didn't think he could do it, she would've told him.

Besides, after everything that Ray went through to get a process such as this done in four days, Graham was a little worried about his reaction if all his hard work went to waste. That man could be intense when he wanted to be.

Inside, Declan was walking around his bed. Instead of a hospital down, he was now wearing some sweatpants and a loose shirt that more or less fit him. He was shuffling around, probably trying to regain his strength, wearing nothing but socks on his feet, his precious egg on the hospital bed.

At the sound of the knock, Declan turned to face him. "Hey Sheriff." He greeted.

It's now or never, Graham thought before he asked, "You mind if I come in?"

Declan shrugged. "Sure."

Graham sat on the chair near Declan's bed, but couldn't figure out how to sit comfortably. He suspected that wasn't solely the hospital's fault, though the hospital didn't exactly invest a lot of money in comfortable seating.

Declan shuffled closer to stand near Graham, though with enough distance that he was just out of arm's reach. "What's up?" Declan asked.

How do I even broach this subject?, Graham asked himself.

When Graham was silent for too long, Declan snarked, "You gonna arrest me?"

"No." Graham chuckled nervously before suppressing it. He might as well go for it. "No, uh...so, Declan, you know that unless someone decides to take you in, we're gonna have to take you to Augusta, yes?"

"It's crossed my mind." Declan said in a deadpan tone, but that didn't completely hide the fear that radiated from Declan's body.

"Well, I think I found a solution." Graham said before taking in a calming breath. Here it goes. "How would you feel about living with me?"

Declan's jaw dropped. "I'm sorry, I think I'm going crazy, what did you just say?"

Graham couldn't help but smile at that. "I asked you how you would feel about living with me, as my foster son?"

Declan's lip wobbled for a second before he tried to steel himself. "You're joking, right? This is a joke."

Graham shook his head. "No, Declan, this is not a joke. Ray helped speed up the process so I could legally take you in."

The boy still couldn't believe it, and for once truly seemed to be at a loss for words.

Graham said, "I know it's sudden, and I know you've been through a lot, but I think we can work things out. You can stay here in Storybrooke with your friends. Now, I do want to be clear that there are going to be rules, and I will expect you to follow them, but I'm ready to do my best to give you a home."

"Why?" Declan asked. "Why would you want me?"

"Because I understand you." Graham said. When he caught Declan's disbelieving look, Graham continued, "My parents abandoned me not long after I was born."

This made Declan's suspicious look disappear.

Seeing that he had an opening, Graham went for it. "They didn't give me over to relatives, or even to a random home. They abandoned me in the middle of the woods, likely expecting me to die of exposure. Luckily, I was found by a good family, and they raised me as their own. I never met my birth parents, and personally, I don't care to." Graham took a calming breath. "They didn't deserve to be parents, and what they did was inexcusable, except…"

"Except?" Declan prompted.

Graham answered, "If I did want to see my birth parents, it would only be so that I could ask them, after some yelling probably...why. I would want to know why they left me in such a cruel way, or why they couldn't just give me to someone else."

Declan looked somewhat unnerved by the story, but at the same time he seemed to understand that Graham knew what he went through.

"What your parents did to you was inexcusable, and it was not your fault." Graham told him firmly. "The Humberts, my real family, they helped me, and now I want to help you."

Declan swallowed and tried to be subtle about swiping at his eyes.

Graham then gently said, "If you say yes, I promise I will do everything I possibly can to make this work. The choice is yours."

Declan looked at him with some amount of worry, and Graham knew it would be awhile before Declan could be entirely comfortable with this idea. With that said, Declan eventually said, "Okay."

"Okay?" Graham asked, feeling a burden lift from his shoulders.

"Yeah." Declan said. "I'll be your foster kid."

Declan still looked uncertain, but Graham was relieved that Declan was at least willing to give this a try.

"Great." Graham said. "We'll have to file some paperwork, but hopefully everything should work out."

"Let's hope so." Declan said, and from the tone of his voice, part of him hoped it would, while another part prepared for potential heartache.

Graham had made a promise though. He said that he'd do everything he could to make this work, and that was a promise he intended to keep.

Sometimes I feel bad about what I put Declan through, but that doesn't mean I'll stop :)

But yay he gets to stay with Graham.

Poor Ray. Will he ever get that drink he's been promised? lol :P

Let me know what you thought in the review below. Expect an update same time next week!

See you soon!