A/N- Hello! Once again, I do not own Once Upon A Time, ABC does. I only own the OCs.

Hope was shocked when Rumple came home that night with his arm wrapped around Lacey's waist. She had no idea how he'd gotten Lacey to give him another chance, but somehow, he'd managed it.

At first, she was happy to see Lacey and Rumple together. She really was. If he couldn't get Belle back, at least he had Lacey. But when Hope saw the way Lacey was eyeing all of the expensive things in the house, her heart hardened. She knew that Lacey had only come home with Rumple because he was rich.

Astounded by his naivety, Hope stormed towards the door.

"I'm going out for a fli. . . a run. Don't wait up for me," Hope announced, throwing a hateful glare towards Lacey.

She strode out the door, slamming it behind her. Lacey gave Rumple a confused look.

"Why does she hate me so much?" Lacey inquired. "She seemed to like me well enough when she saw me in the hospital. What changed?"

Rumple thought for a minute, trying to come up with a believable lie.

"Her mother is missing," he said eventually, thinking that Lacey would believe it. "You look a lot like her. So when you showed up with no memory of who you were, she was hoping that you were Belle. But you weren't, and it's quite upsetting to her."

"Well," Lacey said, trying to decide how she felt about this. "That's still no excuse for her to treat me the way she does. I mean, she doesn't even know me!"

"I know, dearie, but you've got to cut her some slack. Her sister's in the hospital, and she's fallen into a coma. The doctors are saying she only has about a week left," Rumple explained, finding the need to stick up for his lover's daughter, who he had come to think of as his own.

"Well, that's terrible and all," Lacey said.. "But she doesn't have to take it out on me. Little brat."

Rumple bit back his angry remark. She didn'thave any right to talk about his daughter like that.

"Why don't I drive you home?" he suggested.

"But I just got here!" she protested.

"Yes, dearie, and you've overstayed your welcome," he informed her, ushering her out the door. "Here's your coat. Goodbye."

"But-" Lacey started, but Rumple had already shut the door.

After he heard her leave, he grabbed his own coat and went outside

He looked for two hours, and eventually found Hope, sitting in the woods, her wings wrapped around her, staring at a tree.

"Hope?" he asked gently, kneeling down beside her. "Are you okay, dearie?"

"No," she replied, her voice muffled by her wings.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" he inquired, although he was fairly certain he already knew.

"I just. . . can't stand to see her like that," Hope confessed. "I miss her."

"I know, darling, but you musn't take it out on Lacey," he reprimanded gently. "It's not her fault, you know."

"I know," Hope sighed. "But, it's just hard, and with Elizabeht's condition; I just don't want to lose them both."

Rumple sat all the way down and wrapped his arm around her, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly.

Hope continued to stare at the tree, and Rumple looked too, trying to figure out why. He got his answer from the carvings on the tree.

"Oh, Hope. . ." he trailed off, unsure of how best to make her feel better.

"I just get the feeling that I'm going to be making a lot of trips to this tree," Hope said sadly, and Rumple felt his heart break for her.

"You can't give up, Hope," he told her, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Come on, let's go home," Rumple urged. "I'll make us some cocoa."

"Okay," Hope agreed, and the two of them stood up, his arm around her shoulders, her wing wrapped around him.

Together, they walked away, their backs to the carvings in the tree: Marie, Alexander, and Jacob.

As they left, she prayed to the only god she'd ever known that she wouldn't ever have to add any more names.

A/N- So, what did you guys think of the tree? It wasn't originally in the story, I just came up with the idea on a whim. Anyways, follow, favorite, and review, and I'll see you on Friday with another chapter. Bye dearies!