Author's Note: Hope you're all enjoying the fic so far! FYI, this chapter is almost word for word, scene by scene from the pilot, but I did try my best to do my own spin on it with my OC, Hayley. Enjoy! :)

Chapter 2: Welcome to Storybrooke

The drive took nearly four hours time from Boston all the way to Maine. At that point, it was nearly 10:00pm, around the time that Hayley's shift would've ended. She winced when she remembered how pissed her boss was that she left right after she got there. She'd be surprised if she even still had a job when she got back.

During the car ride, Henry had revealed something very strange to Hayley. He showed her that the book he was carrying around was called "Once Upon a Time" and it was full of fairytales. Okay, fine. Nothing too odd there, at least not in Hayley's mind. But then, shit took a very weird turn when Henry claimed that all of the stories in it were real...like they all actually happened. And not only that, but Hayley herself was in it as well.

The whole thing was super concerning to Hayley, to say the least. The kid was adamant about it, too. Like borderline delusional about the whole thing. Hayley had given him up for adoption when she was only sixteen years old, and she was now twenty-six, which would of course make Henry ten. Sure he was still just a kid, but it still seemed like he was a bit too old to still be living in an elaborate fantasy world. She wondered if his parents knew about it.

Man, she could not wait for this to not be her problem anymore.

They then drove into a dark, wooded area where a sign that read "Welcome to Storybrooke" stood on the right-hand side of the road. So, it was the actual name of the town. Hayley sighed under her breath as they drove onward. This was all too weird.

After about another minute or so, the hundreds of trees surrounding the area seemed to disappear to reveal the town itself. It seemed very small and quaint to Hayley. She also noticed that it seemed pretty desolate, almost like a ghost town. It was pretty late, but Hayley was used to the streets of Boston and how they were flooded with people from dusk until dawn. This place was a clear reminder that she was a long, long way from home.

Hayley then looked down at Henry, who was once again reading his book. She sighed before speaking to him.

"Okay, little dude," She began. "I need an address. Where do you live?"

"123 Not-Telling-You-Street," He said bluntly, not even looking up at her.

Alright, that was it. Hayley slammed on the brakes and sighed impatiently. She then parked the car and got out, going over to the passenger side to open the door. As soon as she did, Henry sighed and stepped out, looking up at her as he folded his arms.

"This isn't a game, kid!" Hayley snapped at him. "I need to get you home!"

Just then, Hayley's eyes flickered up from behind Henry, almost as if they were being willed to. She saw that it was a large clock tower, which seemed to be part of the building in front of her. Her eyes contorted in confusion when she saw the time it read.

"8:15?" She inquired before taking out her phone to double-check the time. "That can't be right."

"That clock hasn't worked my whole life," Henry informed her as he looked back at the clock before turning to look back up at her. "Time is frozen here."

"What?" Hayley asked him, bewildered once more as she put her phone back in her pocket.

"It's the curse," Henry told her. "The Evil Queen sent everyone from the Enchanted Forest here, and stopped time from moving forward."

"Okay, let me get this straight..." Hayley said as she rubbed the bridge of her nose with both hands. "The 'Evil Queen' sent a bunch of fairytale characters here, to this town, frozen in time?"

"Yes!" Henry exclaimed.

"Henry..." Hayley said as she looked down at him. "That is...bonkers. You have to know that."

"It's true!" Henry insisted.

"Well, then, why doesn't everybody just leave this place if it's cursed?"

"They can't. If they try, bad things happen."

Hayley glared at him. It seemed as if he had convinced himself so intensely for the longest time that this whole thing was true to the point that he now actually believed it. She didn't know what else to say at that point.

But then, suddenly, a small voice broke the silence.

"Henry!"

Hayley and Henry both turned to see a man approaching. He was holding an umbrella in one hand and a leash in the right. Attached to the leash was a Dalmatian, which trotted along as both it and the man approached.

"What are you doing out here?" The man asked as he reached them. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine, Archie," Henry told him as he reached down to pat the dog on the head.

"Who's this?" Archie said as he looked up at Hayley.

"I'm...just giving him a ride home," Hayley told him, trying to play it off. But of course, Henry just had to add to the fact.

"She's my mom," Henry informed Archie. "My birth mom."

"Oh," Archie said, his polite grin fading a bit. Hayley's throat tightened as she looked away.

"Uh..." She began before looking back at Archie. "W-would you happen to know where he lives? He's kind of refusing to tell me."

"Yeah, sure," Archie began, gesturing behind him. "Just, uh, down Mifflin Street. The Mayor's house is the biggest one on the block."

Hayley's eyes widened at this. The...mayor? She looked down at Henry, who was looking down as well, clearly avoiding her gaze.

"You're the freakin' mayor's kid?" She asked him.

"Yeah..." Henry said, weakly.

"Oh," Hayley said, nodding as she looked up. "Well, that's real nice."

"So, uh..." Archie began, looking down at Henry as he spoke. "Where were you today, Henry? You missed our session."

"Oh," Henry replied, still looking away. "I, uh...went on a field trip."

Archie gave him a look, before looking upward at Hayley. She returned his look by shrugging, inferring that she had no idea what the kid was on about...because she really didn't. After a moment, Archie then kneeled down to Henry's level.

"Henry," He told the kid in a stern voice. "What did I tell you about lying? Giving into one's dark side never accomplishes anything."

Hayley then couldn't help but chime in, knowing how late it was at that point and how worried Henry's parents must be.

"Sorry," She told Archie. "But, I should really, really be getting him home."

"Sure thing!" Archie replied as he stood back up. "Well, listen, have a good night. And uh...behave yourself."

He then touched Henry's shoulder playfully before going on his way. Hayley then turned and looked down at Henry once more, giving him a look.

"What?" Henry asked her.

"That was your shrink?" Hayley asked him right back.

"I'm not crazy," Henry told her.

"I didn't say that," Hayley replied. "I just...I don't know, little dude. He just doesn't seem cursed to me. Maybe he's just trying to help you."

"He's the one who needs help!" Henry exclaimed once more. "Because he doesn't know!"

"That he's a fairytale character?" Hayley asked, raising her one eyebrow.

"None of them do," Henry said. "They don't remember who they are because of the curse."

"Wow. How convenient. All right, I'll play along. Who's he supposed to be?"

"Jiminy Cricket."

"Ha! Right, the lying thing. I thought I saw your nose grow a little bit."

"I'm not Pinocchio!" Henry then walked back to the passenger side of the car and opened the door. Hayley sighed and went to open the driver's side as well.

"Of course not," She said, replying to Henry. "Because that would be ridiculous!"

It wasn't difficult for Hayley to find the mayor's house. Much like that Archie guy had said, it was the biggest one on the block. Actually, it seemed to be the biggest one in the whole town, at least from what she'd seen so far. She was kind of happy her kid grew up with a wealthy family, because with her he would've definitely never had that lifestyle.

After parking the car, Hayley practically had to force Henry to get out. He sulked the entire way up to the front door.

"Please don't make me go back!" Henry pleaded with Hayley, but she wasn't budging.

"Are you kidding me?" Hayley exclaimed as she led the way. "I have to! Your poor parents must be worried sick about you!"

"It's just my mom," Henry revealed to her. "I don't have a dad. It's just her, and...she's evil!"

"Evil?" Hayley asked in exasperation, stopping to look down at him. "Why would say that?"

"Because she is," Henry said, sighing as he looked down. "She doesn't really love me. She only pretends to."

Hayley couldn't believe what she was hearing. Why would the kid even say such a thing?

"Little dude," Hayley said to him, leaning down to his level much like Archie had. "I'm sure that's not true. She can't be that bad, can she?"

Just then, the front door of the house suddenly swung open. Hayley turned to see a woman with short dark hair standing in the doorway with someone behind her.

"Henry!" She exclaimed as she ran over to him, her heels clacking on the stone walkway the entire time. She immediately hugged him tightly as soon as she was close enough. Yeah, Hayley thought to herself. Super "evil".

"Where have you been?!" The woman asked Henry as she pulled back, still holding onto his shoulders. "What happened?"

"I found my real mom!" Henry snapped at her before rushing past her into the house. As he did, the woman looked from him to Hayley, who felt incredibly awkward at that point. She had no idea what to say, even though she felt obligated to. But still, an extremely awkward and uncomfortable silence ensued for a good thirty seconds or so.

"You're Henry's birth mother?" The woman then asked Hayley, finally breaking the silence.

"Uh, yeah..." Hayley replied quietly. "Hi."

The other person that was behind Henry's mom in the doorway then came into Hayley's view, and she saw it was a relatively good-looking guy with brown hair and doe eyes. Hayley wasn't sure who he could've been, since Henry claimed he didn't have a dad.

"I..." He began to speak, revealing a slight accent. "I'll just...go check on the lad and make sure he's alright."

He looked from Henry's mom to Hayley, meeting her gaze for a brief moment. She noted that he almost seemed to be making eyes at her. Hayley blushed slightly and looked down before the man turned and walked into the house after Henry. All the while, Henry's mom kept her eyes locked right onto Hayley, which in turn made Hayley look back at her uncomfortably.

"How would you like a glass of the best apple cider you've ever tasted?" Henry's mother then asked Hayley, smiling widely.

This surprised Hayley to say the least, not expecting to actually be invited inside this woman's - the freakin' mayor's - home. But, she decided to take the woman up on her kind offer, only with a different suggestion.

"Got anything a bit stronger?"

As expected, the inside of the mayor's house was super fancy and swanky. The woman, who had introduced herself to Hayley as "Regina", seemed nice enough despite Henry's claims of her being evil or whatever. Hayley waited in the doorway of the dining room as Regina went to fetch several glasses for their drinks. She had one of those fancy glass decanters with booze in it out on a console table.

"So..." Hayley began as Regina walked over to the table. "How did he find me anyway?"

"No idea," Regina told her as she put ice in each of their glasses. "When I adopted him, he was only three weeks old. Records were sealed...was told the birth mother didn't want to have any contact."

"Yup," Hayley confirmed as she leaned against the doorway and nodded.

"And the father?" Regina inquired as she poured their drinks. Hayley pursed her lips at this, not wanting to even think about the guy.

"Haven't seen him in ten years," Hayley informed Regina.

"Still," Regina began, looking up. "Do I need to be worried about him?"

"No," Hayley replied. "He doesn't even know."

Regina then turned around with the drinks in her hand, giving Hayley a look that almost unsettled her. She then approached Hayley and handed her one of the drinks before speaking again.

"Do I need to be worried about you, miss Norwood?"

Hayley took the drink and looked Regina dead in the eyes as she replied.

"No you do not."

Regina looked almost relieved to hear this, but still had a look in her eyes that suggested she wasn't fully convinced. At the same time, a voice was then heard from above.

"Mother mayor," The man from before said as he walked down the stairs. "You can rest easy now. Other than being a tired little boy, Henry is absolutely fine."

"Thank you, sheriff," Regina responded, finally revealing who the guy was. He nodded and met Hayley's gaze once more for a brief moment before turning and leaving.

"Well," Regina then said to Hayley, leading the way to the den as she spoke. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry my son dragged you all the way out here. I really don't know what's gotten into him."

"He's just having a rough time it seems like," Hayley responded as she stepped into the room. Regina looked a bit taken aback by this, but continued on anyway.

"You have to understand," She said. "Ever since I became mayor, balancing things has been a bit...tricky."

Hayley nodded and went to sit down on the couch, sipping her drink as she did so. It felt admittedly good to get some alcohol in her system, though she knew she couldn't drink too much if she wanted to make it back home that night.

"You have a job as well, I assume?" Regina asked Hayley, whose throat tightened in response.

"I...hope I still do when I go back," Hayley told her. "Henry, he uh...kind of showed up at my job and I had to leave to take him back here. My boss was pretty pissed."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Regina said, going to sit on the couch across from Hayley. "Being a single mom is a whole other job in of itself. As such, I push for order. Can I be strict at times? I suppose, but I do it for his own good. All I want is what's best for my son, and I want him to excel at life. I don't think that makes me evil, do you?"

Hayley couldn't argue with this. It seemed like this Regina chick really was looking out for Henry's best interest. Sure, Hayley had just met the woman and truly didn't know how things were behind closed doors. But as long as the little dude was having a better life than he would've ever had with her, she was fine with it.

"I'm sorry," Hayley sighed as she set her drink down on the table. "I shouldn't have told you he said that."

"No," Regina insisted, shaking her head. "I'm glad you did. I just...hope that's not what he really thinks of me."

"Well," Hayley began. "I mean, there's his whole fairytale thing, too. That might be causing him to throw around the word 'evil' like that, you know?"

"What fairytale thing?" Regina asked, looking confused.

"Oh, you know, his book. How he thinks everyone in this town is really a fairytale character from it. Like his shrink is Jiminy Cricket."

Hayley waited for Regina to respond to this, but all she did was stare at Hayley in pure confusion. This practically shocked Hayley, to say the least. Did the woman really have no idea?

"You really don't know what I'm talking about?" Hayley asked her. Regina shook her head in response.

"No," She replied. "I'm afraid I don't."

Hayley stopped for a moment before going any further into the topic. She figured Regina had a right to know about it and how Henry was acting almost delusional. It seemed to be a serious thing that he was going through, but still, Hayley decided to just leave it at that instead of divulging any further.

"You know..." Hayley finally spoke, shaking her head. "It's really none of my business. He's your kid, and...I really should get going."

"Of course," Regina said, standing up from the couch as Hayley went to do so as well. She went to open the door to the den for Hayley to leave.

"Thanks for the drinks," Hayley told her. "Good luck with everything."

"You're welcome," Regina replied, smiling once more. "Safe travels."

Hayley then headed out the door and made her way down the walkway in front of the house. As she passed the front gate, however, she could feel someone watching her.

She then turned to look back at the house, and there he was. Little Henry, looking down at her through a window upstairs. After a moment, he walked away, and Hayley felt a strange sense of...sadness. As if she was regretting having to leave him. But she forced herself to shrug it off as she approached her car and got in. She started it up and was on her way out of town, driving back into the darkness.

Just as she saw the back of the "Welcome to Storybrooke" sign in the distance, she looked down at the passenger seat to see the oh-so-familiar book. Shit, she thought. What the hell am I supposed to do with this?

After looking back up at the road, Hayley's eyes widened as she saw what appeared to be a wolf standing right in the way of her quickly approaching car. She panicked and went to swerve quickly out of the way, just so happening to run right into the sign.

The impact knocked her out cold as she fell onto her steering wheel, just as the wolf leaned it's head back and let out a howl.

Hayley awoke to to find that she was no longer in her car. She sat up from the cot she had been sleeping on and saw that she was in a completely unfamiliar place...with bars. She sat up to get a better look at her surroundings, realizing that she was in a jail cell of some sort. What the fuck? She thought.

She then turned to the neighboring cell to see that someone else was inhabiting it. It was a rough looking older guy with a dark beard.

"What are you looking at, red?" He snapped. Hayley rolled her eyes at him and went to stand up from the cot.

"Leroy!" Another voice spoke, and Hayley looked over to see another much older looking guy standing on the outside of their cells. "Manners! We have a guest!"

Hayley was totally baffled at what was happening, but then held her head as she could feel a headache coming on.

"You are Henry's mother, yes?" The older man asked her. "How lovely for him to have you back in his life!"

"Actually," Hayley began, her head hurting too much to even ask who these people were and what the fuck was happening. "I was just stopping by."

"Don't blame you," Leroy said to her, scoffing. "Who the hell needs kids anyway? They're all just little shitheads."

"Well, I'd give anything for one!" The older man outside of their cells said before turning to Hayley. "My wife and I, we tried for many years but...it was not meant to be."

Despite that little tidbit of information from this total stranger, Hayley felt sad for him. She gave him a sympathetic look as yet another guy came walking in. He was much younger than the two, around Hayley's age it seemed like. He had longer dark brown hair and a beard much like the sheriff Hayley had met the night before.

"What's going on, Marco?" He said to the older man. "You get everything taken care of?"

"Yes," The older man - Marco - replied. "If you have any further issues, please contact me."

"Sure will," The younger guy said. "Thanks, man."

Marco then walked off, and the younger guy turned to Hayley.

"Oh," He said. "You're awake. Finally."

"Can someone please tell me what the hell's going on?" Hayley asked as she leaned out from the bars of her cell.

"Regina's drinks were bit too strong for you it seems," Another voice spoke, revealed to be the sheriff's as he stepped into the room.

"Oh, come on," Hayley said. The sheriff gave her a look before handing the keys to the young guy, who was standing next to him.

"Here," The sheriff said to him. "If you would let Leroy out for me, Peter."

"Sure thing, boss," Peter said, going over to Leroy's cell before unlocking it. "Since we're letting you out, you gotta promise to behave yourself, big guy. Alright?"

Once the cell door was unlocked, Leroy stood up from his cot and gave Peter a mocking smile.

"Of course," He said before walking past and rolling his eyes. As he left, Hayley began snapping her fingers at Peter.

"Hey!" She said. "How about letting me out, too, guy?"

Peter and the sheriff then looked at each other before looking back at Hayley.

"That all depends," Peter began, walking over to Hayley as he spoke. "You gonna drink and drive again?"

"I wasn't drunk," Hayley informed him. "There was a wolf standing in the middle of the road, and I had to swerve out of the way to avoid hitting it."

"A what?" Peter asked her, confused.

"A wolf," Hayley repeated impatiently. Peter turned to look back at the sheriff.

"Are there wolves around here, Graham?" He asked. Graham shrugged as he looked back at Hayley.

"I suppose there is now," He replied. Hayley rolled her eyes in response. God, she was so over this shit.

"Graham!" A female voice was then heard...one that Hayley recognized immediately to be Regina's. "Henry's run away again! We have to-"

Yours truly then stepped into the room, but stopped talking immediately upon seeing Hayley there.

"What is she doing here?" Regina snapped before quickly approaching Hayley's cell. "Do you know where he is?"

Hayley sighed heavily at this. She was fresh out of patience at that point.

"Look, lady," Hayley told her. "I haven't seen him since I dropped him off at your place. In case you couldn't tell, I've kinda been locked in this cell all night. So."

"Well, he wasn't in his room this morning," Regina said.

"And you have no idea where he might've gone?" Hayley asked. It was then Regina who sighed impatiently and rolled her eyes.

"No," She snapped at Hayley. "If I did, then I would've found him by this point, wouldn't you think?"

"Actually," Hayley snapped back. "I would think as his mother you would at least have some idea where he might've gone."

Regina gave her a menacing glare for that comment, and Hayley sighed. Here we go again.

"Here's an idea," Hayley suggested. "How about you guys let me out of here and I can try to help you find him?"

Hayley, Regina, and Graham all met up back at Regina's place to scour through Henry's room for clues as to where he might have disappeared to. Turns out the kid had his own freakin' desktop computer in his room, though the history was cleared. Smart kid...but he could've been a bit smarter if he had logged out of his e-mail.

In Henry's inbox was where they eventually found a receipt to some kind of ancestry website specifically for adopted children. An accurate one at that, too. It revealed not only Hayley's identity as his birth mother but also her location in Boston, which was clearly how Henry was able to track her down. But that's not what caught Hayley's eye. Instead, it was the insanely expensive price on the receipt...almost 300 dollars. A credit card was apparently used, but it didn't belong to Henry.

The name on the card was "Mary Margaret Blanchard", whom Regina revealed in a rather poisonous tone was Henry's teacher.

Graham returned back to the station while Regina and Hayley headed to the school to speak with this "Mary Margaret" person. Regina practically stomped down the school hall with her high heels clacking loudly on the floor. All the while, Hayley followed close behind, fidgeting a bit as she once again felt very out of place. They soon reached a classroom where Regina forced her way through a large group of children who were all heading out. Hayley stayed behind and waited for them all pass, hearing a woman's voice politely speak to Regina in the classroom.

"Ms. Mills, what are you doing here?"

Hayley then stepped into the classroom just as Regina approached the woman in question. She was a bit shorter than Regina, and dressed in a very typical school teacher fashion. Her black hair was cut very short, pixie style, which complimented the dainty features of her face.

"Where's my son?" Regina asked the woman in an unusually cruel tone of voice, that of which took both Hayley and the woman a bit by surprise.

"Henry?" The woman inquired. "He never came to class, I assumed he was home sick with you..."

"Do you think I'd be here if he was?" Regina snapped. The woman, who Hayley could only infer at that point to be Mary Margaret, then looked over at Hayley.

That's when she saw it.

Even from where she stood, Hayley could clearly see that the woman had the same eye color as her and Henry...golden brown. It was odd to say the least, as once again, it was a rather uncommon eye color. It definitely got Hayley's wheels turning in her head, but she quickly shrugged it off. It had to just be some kind of weird coincidence...right?

"Did you give him your credit card so he could find her?" Regina asked Mary Margaret.

"I'm sorry..." Mary Margaret began, still looking at Hayley. "Wh-who are you?"

"Uh..." Hayley began, looking away as she once again felt incredibly awkward and put on the spot. "I-I'm his..."

"She's the woman who gave him up for adoption," Regina snapped at Mary Margaret once more, cutting Hayley off.

Mary Margaret then looked at the two in confusion before promptly going through her purse. It then became all too clear to Hayley what was going on.

"You don't know anything about this," She said to Mary Margaret. "Do you?"

"I'm afraid I don't," Mary Margaret said as she pulled her wallet out of her purse, opening it and sighing when she saw the empty sleeve where her credit card usually was. "Clever boy. I should have never given him that book."

"What in the hell is this book I keep hearing about?!" Regina exclaimed, raising her voice in anger.

"It's just this book full of old stories I gave him," Mary Margaret insisted innocently as she put her wallet away. "As you know, Henry is a special boy. So smart, so inquisitive and full of wonder. But also, as you may know...lonely."

Mary Margaret's sweet tone changed on that last word to one of firmness, as the latter fact was clearly the most apparent to her. She was his teacher, she had to know better than probably anyone at that point. Hayley looked down, feeling incredibly sorry for the little dude. She had hoped Regina was being a good mother to the kid, but now it seemed as though he needed some more emotional support in his life.

"Henry doesn't need some book to keep him locked in a fantasy world," Regina began. "He needs a dose of reality. And this...has proven to be nothing more than a waste of time."

Regina then turned swiftly on her heel and began to walk out of the room. On her way out, however, she purposely knocked down a stack of books off of one of the desks. Hayley's eyes widened at this as she jumped at the sound of them all loudly hitting the floor.

"Have a nice trip back to Boston," Regina snapped at Hayley as she walked past her and out of the room. Hayley watched as she left with a look of complete bewilderment on her face. What the hell? She thought to herself.

Hayley then turned to see Mary Margaret rushing over to pick up the books, and she quickly went to help her.

"I'm so sorry," Hayley told her.

"No, it's...fine..." Mary Margaret began, her voice trailing off a bit. Hayley took notice of this and looked up to see Mary Margaret looking at her intently. Hayley returned her gaze for a moment before sucking in her lips. She wondered if Mary Margaret had too noticed the eye color thing. However, Mary Margaret then looked away, shaking her head.

"I-I mean..." She began again. "I feel like this is partially my fault, too."

"What do you mean?" Hayley asked her as they both went to stand up. "She was the one acting like a bitch for no good reason."

"Not that," Mary Margaret said, shaking her head once more. "Giving Henry the book."

"Oh, right," Hayley said, pausing for a moment before continuing. "How do you think the book's supposed to help him, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well, what else are stories for?" Mary Margaret said, smiling as she went to put the books down. "These stories...they're classics. There's a reason we all know them. They're a way for us to deal with the struggles of the real world. And Henry has been having a pretty difficult time lately."

"Yeah," Hayley nodded as they both went to walk out of the room together. "Regina seems like kind of a hard-ass when it comes to parenting."

"Well, it's a bit more than that," Mary Margaret replied. "Honestly, it's like what any adopted child goes through at some point. They all struggle with that one big question...why would my real parents give me up?"

Mary Margaret then quickly stopped herself, realizing she was talking to the very person who gave him up. A feeling of guilt washed over Hayley, and Mary Margaret saw it in her eyes.

"I..." Mary Margaret began. "I am so, so sorry. I...really didn't mean in any way to judge you."

"I mean..." Hayley said, sighing heavily before she continued. "I was sixteen. I was just a kid myself back then. Hell in six years, the little dude will be as old as I was when I was pregnant with him, you know?"

"Oh," Mary Margaret said, looking down. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were so young when you..."

"Got knocked up?" Hayley replied, cutting her off. "Yeah, well...I don't know if the fact that I was sixteen and pregnant really justifies any of it. If anything, it probably just makes you wanna judge me more."

"No!" Mary Margaret insisted. "Of course not. I mean, it happened, and...to me, it sounds like you just wanted a better life for him."

"Yeah," Hayley said, nodding. "But it seems like things are kinda questionable in his life right now."

"That's why I gave him the book. I wanted him to have the most important thing that anyone can have...hope. Because believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing."

Those words actually seemed to move Hayley a bit. This Mary Margaret girl seemed to be very opportunistic and positive, something that Henry definitely needed a dose of...much more than a "dose of reality" or whatever. If anything, Hayley was glad Henry had a teacher like Mary Margaret in his life. But still, she wasn't too happy with the way Regina was handling things.

But then, Hayley quickly remembered why she was there.

"Hey, so..." She began speaking to Mary Margaret. "Do you know where he might be?"

"You might want to check his castle," Mary Margaret replied.

After getting some clarification as to where this "castle" might be, Hayley hopped back into her Honda Civic and rushed to said location. There, she found a rather large wooden playset in the shape of - you guessed it - a castle. She headed over to it with the book in her hand as she saw Henry sitting up top. Once she saw him there, she exhaled in relief and climbed up to the ledge where he sat. One there, she went to sit beside him.

"Here," She told him, handing him the book. "You left this in my car."

He took the book from her silently, not even looking up at her. Instead, he kept his eyes locked forward and sighed as if he was disappointed.

"What's up?" She asked him, concerned.

"I was hoping when I brought you back here, things would change," Henry confessed, looking down. "That the clock would move, and...we can start planning for the final battle."

Hayley chuckled under her breath at this. The "final battle"? Who did he think she was?

"I'm not fighting any battles, little dude," She told him.

"But you have to!" Henry said, finally turning to look at her. "It's your destiny! You're gonna be the one to save us!"

"Okay," Hayley said, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Henry, but I think I've had enough of the book BS."

"It's not bullshit!" Henry exclaimed. Hayley shot her head down and glared at him for that.

"Little dude!" She reprimanded, but he cut her off.

"I know why you really came over here," He began. "It's because you like me. You can push me away all you want, but you know it's true. Besides, you only push me away because I make you feel guilty. But it's okay. I know why you gave me up. You just wanted to give me my best chance."

Hayley was completely taken aback by the kid's words. He really was smart...and deep. Like...holy shit, was he deep. Her eyes began to well up from his words, and she bit her lip to keep any tears from coming out. After a long moment, she finally spoke up.

"How do you know all this?" Hayley asked him, her voice a bit shaky.

"Because it's the same reason your parents gave you away," Henry told her.

"My parents?" Hayley asked him breathlessly, turning to look at him once more.

"Snow White and Prince Charming," Henry told her.

Alright, that was it. Hayley shook her head and sighed, trying to find a way to confront the kid about his nonsense as calmly and as nicely as possible.

"Listen to me, little dude," She began in a firm voice, looking back down at Henry. "I am not in any book. I am a real person, and I'm no savior. But you know what? You are right about one big thing here. I did give you away because I wanted you to have your best chance. And your best chance is with me out of the way. Now, let's go."

She went to hop down from the ledge, ready to drag the kid away if she had to. Because as expected, he wasn't going down without a fight.

"Please don't take me back!" Henry pleaded, going to climb down from the ledge as well. "Just stay with me for a little while longer, okay? That's all I ask! Then you'll see I'm not crazy and I'm telling you the truth!"

"Henry," Hayley said to him in a firm tone once again as she turned to face him. "I need to get you back to your mom."

"You don't know what it's like with her!" Henry exclaimed. "My life sucks!"

"Are you freakin' kidding me, little dude?!" Hayley finally snapped. "Your life sucks? You live a freakin' mansion with a desktop computer and all the toys you could want, with a mother that cares about you! You wanna know what I had? Nothing! I didn't have shit! I was abandoned when I was born on the side of a freakin' highway, half my teenage years I was out on the streets, worried about if I was gonna even be able to eat the next day!"

Hayley then stopped, not wanting to go any further as she could feel herself getting completely worked up. She sighed and wiped her tears away, which were now flowing freely down her face. After, she leaned down to Henry's level and looked directly into his eyes.

"Look," She told him. "Your mom is trying her best. I know things are hard right now, and I know sometimes you think she doesn't love you, but you know what? At least she wants you. At least you're wanted."

"Hayley," Henry began, continuing to look right into her eyes. "Your parents did not abandon you. You ended up on the side of the highway because that's just where you came through!"

"What?" Hayley asked him, bewildered.

"The wardrobe!" Henry told her, his voice more persistent than ever. "The one your parents sent you through to save you from the curse! It led you back here, to the real world! They didn't abandon you."

Hayley chuckled under her breath before nodding.

"I wish that were true, little dude. I really do."

"It is true. Hayley, you have to believe me."

Hayley then stood back up, inhaling deeply as she did so. She looked out toward the clock tower, looking at it as her mind became flooded with different thoughts. But she then stopped before looking back down at Henry.

"Let's go, little dude," She told him, turning to walk back toward her car. Surprisingly enough, he went to follow behind her before taking her hand. She almost pulled it back, but sighed as she let him hold it as they continued on.

Regina flung the door open right after Hayley rang the bell. Henry then went running past his mom and into the house, with her watching him the whole way. She then turned back to look at Hayley before approaching her.

"Thank you," She said in a friendly-ish tone, though Hayley could still sense her annoyance.

"No problem," Hayley replied quietly.

"He seems to have taken quite a shine to you," Regina told her, smiling. Hayley shrugged.

"We're a lot alike," Hayley told her. "Almost like he...got his entire personality from me. You know, he keeps asking me to stay and, I'm almost wanting to just so, like..."

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Miss Norwood," Regina promptly cut her off.

"I'm sorry?" Hayley inquired.

"Staying," Regina told her, repeating the word back.

"Well, I mean..." Hayley began. "I just..."

"Miss Norwood," Regina snapped, cutting Hayley off once more. "You made a decision 10 years ago. And during that time, while you've been...doing who the hell knows what, do you know what I've been doing? Changing every diaper, soothing every fever, enduring every tantrum. You may have given birth to him, but make no mistake, he is my son."

"Regina, I..." Hayley tried to speak but was cut off yet again.

"No!" Regina snapped at her angrily. "You don't get to speak!"

Hayley shook her head in bewilderment at Regina's sudden hostility. She glared at Regina as she continued on her angry rant. All the while, Regina began approaching Hayley closer and closer, her eyes full of rage.

"Not only do you not get to speak, but you don't get to do anything so long as it involves Henry! You gave up that right when you tossed him away! Do you know what a closed adoption is? It's what you asked for. You have no legal right to Henry, and you're going to be held to that. So, I suggest you get back into that run-down little Honda Civic of yours, and you get the hell out of this town."

Hayley's expression became increasingly hardened with each one of Regina's words. Sure, the woman made a few good points. It was the way she said it, her voice full of pure poison and cruelty, that made Hayley's blood boil. At that moment, the last thing she wanted was to leave. Rather, she wanted to stay and protect Henry.

Regina then turned and went to walk back up the steps to her front door, and suddenly, Hayley heard herself ask Regina one last very important question.

"Do you love him?"

Stopping dead in her tracks, Regina snapped her head back to glare angrily at Hayley once more.

"Excuse me?" She asked, raising her voice slightly.

"Henry," Hayley replied before repeating the question again. "Do you love him?"

Regina glared at Hayley for this question, but Hayley didn't give a shit if she was offended. She wanted to know, but more importantly, she wanted to hear the way Regina said it. Turns out, Regina's response was exactly what Hayley was looking for.

"Of course I love him."

The tone in Regina's voice was, yet again, one of poison. No warmth, not even any real sincerety. It was just...cold. She glared at Regina with a hardened expression, and Regina glared back at her for a moment before scoffing and going back into her house, slamming the door. Hayley didn't budge, though. She kept staring forward, now knowing exactly what she had to do.

After some driving around, Hayley finally stopped when she came across an Inn. "Granny's Bed & Breakfast", to be exact. She was hoping it wasn't too much money to stay there, as she was now definitely going to be jobless after a few days of not returning to work. She couldn't give a shit about that though, or her old life at all. All that mattered to her now was keeping Henry safe.

Hayley opened the front door of the inn, seeing it was just as quaint as it looked from the outside. Much like the rest of the town, in fact. She was then taken aback when she heard yelling from above.

"You're out all night, and now you're going out again?!"

"I should've moved the hell out of this place when I had the chance!"

Looking up to find the source of the yelling, Hayley saw two women walking down the stairs. One was a much older woman with grey hair tied back in a bun, and the other was a younger woman around Hayley's age. Her hair was black with red streaks, and she was dressed in all black with several red details.

"I'm so sorry that my heart attack interfered with your plans to sleep your way down the Eastern seaboard!" The older woman snapped at the younger one, who promptly threw her hands up and stomped into the other room.

"Um..." Hayley spoke up as the older woman turned to face her. "Sorry, hi. Um...do you guys have any rooms?"

The younger woman then leaned inside and looked over at Hayley in curiosity, as did the older one.

"We do!" The older woman said, smiling widely as she hurried behind a counter, that of which Hayley guessed must have been the front desk. "Would you like a forest view or a square view?"

"Doesn't matter," Hayley replied. "Either or."

"Alright," The older woman said, getting out a pen and opening a notebook. "We'll do a square view then. And what's the name?"

"Uh, Norwood," Hayley told her as the woman began writing it down. "Hayley Norwood."

"Hayley," Hayley heard a dark voice speak from behind her. She turned to see an older man, though not as old as the woman in front of her. He sported shoulder-length, dark gray hair and was dressed very formally. He held a cane in his left hand as well. Where the hell did this guy come from now? Hayley wondered to herself.

"Lovely name," The man spoke once more, smiling at her warmly. He had a slight accent as well, one that Hayley couldn't quite point out though.

"Oh, thanks..." Hayley told him, trying to sound polite, though she was a bit creeped out. The man kept his eyes on her as the older woman behind the desk reached into a drawer and pulled out some money, handing it to the man.

"It's all here," She told him as he reached out and took it from her.

"Ah, yes," He told her in a sort of hushed tone. "Of course it is. Thank you, dear."

After pocketing the cash, the man then looked back up at Hayley intently for a moment before speaking once again.

"Enjoy your stay...Hayley."

The man then turned and walked out the door, limping a bit as he used his cane to support himself on the way out. Hayley watched him in awe before he closed the door behind him.

"Well, anyway..." The woman spoke once more, smiling politely at Hayley. "How long will you be with us?"

"Um..." Hayley began, thinking. "Just a few days, maybe like two or three."

"Great!" The woman replied before reaching for the key. She turned and handed it to Hayley, smiling as she spoke her next words.

"Welcome to Storybrooke!"