Chapter 51: Heart of a Hero

The three ride in complete silence through the streets. Devoid of any noise inside the car, while the casinos, hotels, and other shady businesses were ablaze with light and sound, even at the very late hour.

It never stops, a city that never sleeps, Henry wonders to himself. Is all this chaos meant to keep us distracted? To keep us from stopping her?

It seemed like the most reasonable explanation. In a world filled with no morals and utter sin, a dark entity's actions could go unnoticed easily. It sickened the young hero and left him feeling empty and angry. Why did this have to happen? How does this involve the Final Battle?

He gazes out the window, watching the reflections captured in his eyes and he's wondering where the rest of his family was in this large city. He knew where both his mothers were, along with one of his grandfathers and his girlfriend, despite their less desirable circumstances, one being in an asylum and another in a gang. But what about Killian or his other grandpa, the one who shared true love with the driver of the car? Where was his Aunt Zelena too? And what happened to Belle, would she be okay? He also thought of others like the dwarves and the fairies, all the people of Storybrooke whom he'd grown up with and truly did love. The town was his home and would always have a special place in his heart.

He watches as Crystal puts the rest of their plan into action. The daughter of the Dark One directs the Fairest One of all towards the outskirts of town with simple instructions, her voice seeming to echo through the quiet car. They both knew they were manipulating a member of their family, but it was out of desperation and a need to keep them all together. They'd apologize once the curse was broken.

As they wove through the streets, Mary Margret began to feel something odd. At first, she ignored it or shrugged it off but as the chaos became less and the surroundings darker and quieter, she had an inkling… a sense of familiarity, as if she'd been to this part of town before. Her mind saw the dilapidated shops and homes and for a moment, they were clean and filled with people going about their lives. It felt like a memory, buried inside a fog… a fog that she struggles to lift in her mind.

"Just up here," Crystal says.

The car pulls up and Mary Margret notices the neon sign, struggling to remain lit in the darkness.

Granny's Bed and Breakfast

Despite the apparent recognition of the name, it takes the teacher a moment to realize where they are and what this meant.

"You kids live here?" the shock in her voice is palpable and both "kids" know what she's thinking.

"Cheapest place we can afford," Crystal answers nonchalantly. Her stomach turns to have to manipulate her surrogate mother with sympathy and an imaginary story. "Not a lot of landlords are willing to rent to a bunch of teenagers. The only way I was able to keep Henry out of foster care was to have a place to stay and be able to provide for his basic needs. The owner, we call her Granny, agreed to let us stay with a monthly rent and food when needed. She's a good woman to do this."

"The best…" Henry mutters.

"I can't…" the former princess stammers. She can barely form her words in shock and grief. This is so horrible for these children. How could the world turn its back on them and force them to basically live in motels in an abandoned part of town? She could understand Crystal's desperation to keep her brother out of the system; a broken system that separated families and more often than not, psychologically damaged children or put them in abusive homes. Many of her students were in this same system and she could always see the pain in their eyes while they sat in her classroom. They struggled to focus on school when they were in a home that was not their own and with people who were not their families. Her heart ached heavily and she wished that she could do more to help them, but was powerless to do so. After all, she's just a school teacher.

"I can't believe this…"

"Could be worse I suppose," Crystal says. "Anyways, thank you so much for the ride, Mary Margret."

She begins to get out of the car, waiting for the kindness of Snow White to shine through.

"Wait!" the teacher says.

The two teens turn.

"I can't… I can't let you live like this."

Despite her best judgement, Mary Margret knew she had to take these kids home with her. Every part of her common sense and rationale said no, don't let these kids stay there. She knew her apartment was too small for even her and her son, who was no longer in her care, let alone three people. She knew she struggled to make ends meet as it was, hence, her reason for exotic dancing, and that her life was just an absolute mess to even consider taking these children in. Plus, they could be the kind of people who would rob her while she slept, but despite the doubts and the uneasiness, something else was there. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was if she knew these people; the same sense of familiarity returns to her mind again and fills her body with hope and confidence. She felt compelled to trust them and there was a kinship between them. They must have cared about her enough to save her from her abusive boss and if the kids were truly selfish and just wanted money, they wouldn't have stuck around or come to her defence when everything went down.

Have we met before? she pondered in her mind. Her brain began to hurt as she tried to place the faces. She knew she'd never seen them in the school before, so where?

"What do you mean?" Crystal asks. "You can't really control it."

"It's... It's not right for you kids to be living in a motel. You should have a home where you feel safe and not living like… vagrants… not knowing where your next meal is coming from… I… have to do something. I can't sleep at night knowing that you're in this situation and I did nothing to help… I've lived my whole life like that..."

Tears begin falling from her eyes and a horrible pain enters her chest as she sobs. She hated how helpless she was and how she was always pushed around by other people, used as something that people could take advantage of… her kind nature, her hopeful demeanour, all of it. This shouldn't be who she is, she felt like she was more than that, but something was holding her back. Almost like a force that kept her down.

Suddenly, Mary Margret finds herself in a hug. Crystal has wrapped her arms around her as if done impulsively. She's surprised, but at the same time grateful. This also solidifies her thoughts that these kids could be trusted. She returns the embrace as best as she can.

After a few moments, the two separate.

"I'm sorry," Crystal said. "It looked like you just needed some support."

"It's perfectly all right," she says with a smile. "You have no idea how much better that makes me feel."

The young girl smiles, happy to see a bit of the real Snow White shine through.

"You're not a bad person," Henry adds. He leans forward from the back, wanting to hug his grandmother as well. He does manage to, though it is a bit awkward with the seats in the way. He curses the Black Fairy for doing this to Snow White and his entire family.

"Sometimes you can't control the hand you've been dealt," Crystal says. "But that never makes you a bad person."

"The fact that you care makes you a hero," Henry nods. "A hero with a heart."

Mary Margret is amazed by their optimism and hope… it was refreshing, comforting and… familiar. It gives her the confidence to say this:

"I want you kids to stay at my place. I don't want either of you worrying about not having a stable place to live."

"We can't do that," the girl says. While internally she is pleased that their plan has worked, the guilt still remains, even if it meant that she and Henry will be closer to their family. "It wouldn't be fair to you."

"You're coming home with me and that's final. I won't take no for an answer," Mary Margret says firmly, power and authority in her voice.

That's the Snow we know, both kids think in their minds, they have to avoid smiling.

The two look at one another and pretend to think about it for a few moments.

"Do you mind giving us a few moments?"

Shocked, the teacher nods as both passengers exit the vehicle. They take a few steps away and lower their voices to avoid being overheard.

"Well, it worked," Henry says.

"Yeah, and we can start working on finding Belle and the others…" Crystal nods.

They share a look of guilt and hug one another.

"We're going to end this," he mutters in their hug.

"There's not a doubt in my mind that we are." Even without magic.

"She's going to pay for everything."

"Let's pluck those fairy's wings…"

The two stand outside for another few minutes, pretending to talk over Mary Margret's proposal. They then get back into the car.

"Okay…" Crystal says. "Thank you so much, but we insist on at least paying some kind of rent to help you."

"No, absolutely not!" the woman says.

"But we have to do something for you…"

"The two of you being safe is payment enough for me," she argues.

"Please let us…"

"I don't want to hear. I don't want any money and if you so mention it again, I will withdraw my offer."

This shuts Crystal up, even though she knew the princess would never carry out her threat. The young adult really did want to pay and help their family member any way possible, just until the curse was over.

After a long moment, she nods.

"Okay, but can you give me half an hour to go and pack our stuff from the room?"

"Take as long as you need,"

Crystal gets out, telling Henry to stay where it was warm and that she'd be back soon.

She enters the restaurant; all the lights are off and the place is dead quiet. The daughter of Rumpelstiltskin enters the door connecting the diner to the bed and breakfast, slips through the lounge and up the stairs.

She fumbles with her key and finally manages to get the door open.

The room remains untouched from when she last left it, with the bed still unmade and the window still open, making it rather cold. She grabs the duffle bag and suitcase that she'd had in her car, the ones leftover from her trip to New York; she'd poofed them in after she rented the room and she begins packing anything she'd left into them, which is not much. Hopefully, Mary Margret will believe that this is her and Henry's stuff. Once she's packed, she makes the bed and straightens up, something nice for Granny.

She then drags the bags downstairs and puts her key on the podium. She then scribbles out a note, making up some kind of lie to explain why she had to leave and pays for all her nights there with a little extra for the struggling owner. She remembers to sign it Amelia, as it had been her alias at the time.

With a sigh, she leaves the B&B and takes one last look at the diner before exiting.

We'll be back, she reassures herself. When everything is normal.

A/N: Another chapter. Please follow and review. Special thanks as always to Samii16.