After everything that had happened today, the last place he wanted to be that evening was at Mary Margaret's apartment. Emma had planned a party tonight for her homecoming. Even though she'd actually been released the night before, she'd wanted her to have a night of normalcy before being shoved in front of half the town. But he suspected there was more to it than that. Emma seemed like someone to face challenges head-on, not to run from them but rather conquer them. After everything that had happened to her dear roommate, he imagined she wanted to help her get the "gawking" stage over with. There was no doubt in his mind that people would stare at her over the next few days, he was sure that when she returned to work next week, her own colleagues would watch her with suspicion, but by inviting people over and into the apartment, Emma took care of some of that for her all at once. It was smart. And also a waste of time for him.

However, if he wanted to uphold his cover as Mr. Gold, accepting Emma's invitation seemed like the thing to do. So he'd arrived, mostly because it was polite. They hadn't wanted him there; when the invitation came from Emma, she'd made that abundantly clear. But, if he was completely honest, the feeling was mutual. He was here because it was the cordial thing for Mr. Gold to do and nothing more. He didn't actually want to be here, or at least he hadn't wanted to be. Not until he'd arrived. And then things had changed quickly.

When he'd received the invitation, he'd made plans in his head to stay for no more than thirty minutes. He'd eat a bit of food, have a little bit of punch, and then politely excuse himself so he could go home, drink some whisky and consider August Wayne Booth a bit more. And then he'd stepped inside the apartment and saw who was gathered there; Emma Swan, the dwarves, a few other teachers from the school, Henry, naturally, Archie and Pongo, Red…and one Mr. August Wayne Booth. The man of the day.

Strange. He knew that he'd been spending time with Emma, but why he'd come to a party for Mary Margaret…it was odd. He couldn't figure out why he was there unless he was trying to potentially court Emma. However, odd as it was to see him there, it was also incredibly convenient for him.

The second he registered his presence, the second he saw the sheriff and Mary Margaret and Ruby and finally Granny all in one place, he'd had a remarkable revelation. He wanted to know more about Mr. Booth, about who he was or who he could be. What better way than to search through his possessions as he suspected Booth had attempted to search through his own. And right now, his room at the bed and breakfast was beautifully unoccupied while the sheriff and the B&B staff were all very occupied.

But for how long? He'd come to the party halfway through, and Granny had been late too. She and her granddaughter here meant that they would be leaving soon because the diner and Bed and Breakfast couldn't be left unattended for too long, which meant that if he wanted to do something with this opportunity, it had to be quick.

"Hey. I have something for you," he looked up, pulled from his inner planning by Henry. Nearly everyone else at the party gathered close when Henry smiled up at his teacher. He had a large paper card in one hand and a silver-wrapped box in another that chimed when he moved too much, no doubt the windchime he'd bought earlier.

He smirked, realizing this might have been the first time he'd seen grandmother, daughter, and grandson all together for the first time. Three generations all in one room. Of course, none but Henry actually believed that, but it was almost impossible for him not to make a note of it when they stood beside one another. Didn't they realize they all had the same chin?

"Well, thank you," Mary Margaret sighed, taking the card and opening it. "'We're so glad you didn't kill Misses Nolan…'" she read awkwardly.

"It's from the whole class, and I got you a bell," the boy smiled proudly, even as Mary Margaret winced before looking back at him.

"Thank you. Tell everyone I'll be back soon."

"Okay."

"Hey, Henry, we should get you home before your mom finds out. That won't be pretty."

And that made this a perfect time to leave himself. Emma, busy with Henry, trying not to be discovered, hurried to return. It was perfect. If he left now, he could have a solid five to ten minutes in Booth's room alone, for sure, so long as he fetched what he needed from the shop quickly. But when he turned to head for the door, he was shocked to find Emma closing the door on her father, David. He overheard the quick arrangement that Emma made for Henry to go home with his grandfather, though she didn't know that, and set his jaw when he realized that it meant Emma would be staying here.

It was fine. Not as perfect as it could have been, but fine. Emma might not be busy doing something else or even be across town, but if she was determined to stay here, then that was good. If he left now, he could still bank on at least five minutes. But…since he had the Savior so perfectly backed into a corner…he may as well talk to someone about Booth.

"Hard to let him go, isn't it?" he commented, wondering for a brief second at the look on her face if maybe she felt something for David like she did Mary Margaret. Perhaps there was that parental bond reaching through the cracking and fraying Curse. But there was no need to expose it now. "Your son…"

"Yeah," she answered swiftly. But then she approached him, her face hardened, and her entire demeanor changed. She was angry. Good. "Pretty much the hardest thing. Speaking of something we weren't talking about, was it you?"

"Was what me?"

"Did you make Kathryn suddenly materialize? Cause it sure played that way to me. Was that the magic you were going to work? Because if you kidnapped that poor, innocent woman, just to let her go-"

"Are you proposing I'm working with Regina or against her?"

"I don't know. Maybe, diagonally."

Smart girl. Very smart. A woman worthy of her title. It was too bad that when it came to intelligence, he still had the upper hand, right along with decades of experience she could never make up for. She'd never figure it out. And if she could correctly channel that anger toward Regina, then by the time she figured it all out, it wouldn't matter. She'd have other things to worry about by then.

"Well, you keep working on that one. My question's about something else. What do you know about him?" he questioned, motioning to Booth, who was busy chatting with some of the dwarves as well as Archie. Jimnny and the Dark Haired Stranger were comfortable…another point for the Seer.

"Goes by August," Emma answered honestly, which surprised him because he'd been expecting a bit more trouble from her given their previous comments. "He's a writer-typewriter wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in stubble. Why?"

"He was poking around my shop today. August Wayne Booth. Clearly a false name. If there's one thing I know about its names."

"Writers go by pseudonyms. What does it matter?"

"You trust him?"

"Yeah…a lot more than I trust you."

She left the conversation at that and walked away, straight to Booth, actually. Probably to tell him that his ears should have been ringing. He was fine with that. If the conversation kept two of the four people he was most worried about at the moment busy, they could talk about him all they wanted. He had work to do.

Ugh, this chapter turned out...well...it's not my favorite. Seen Scenes that have a lot going on in them are challenging to write because they're not always focusing on the person you want them to be at the right point. You have Rumple, who is obviously out of place at the party, throwing shade at August, you have a couple of tiny interactions with the other guests, August and Henry talk, Henry and Mary Margaret, and then, of course, the brief conversation Emma has with David before we finally circle back around the August and Rumple. And, of course, in order to accomplish what comes next, Rumpe pretty much has to get out of there right away. Don't get me wrong; I like writing group interactions just as much as I like writing one-on-one interactions. But something like this isn't a group interaction. It's like 4-6 one on one interactions all happening at once in one chapter. I did my best with it.

Thank you dearly, Grace5231973 and Alarda, for your reviews. Up next we're ready to get to the bottom of August Booth and Rumple, so prepare for these chapters to take a bit of a darker turn as we carry on! Peace and Happy Reading!