A/N: Chapter three is ready, longest chapter yet. But I think this is the perfect ending point so it was worth it. As usual, own nothing but my plot and OCs
Chapter Three: It Started with Once Upon a Time
Lucy went with her mother to the small apartment they shared with Sabine.
"Good afternoon Jacinda, good afternoon Lucy."
Lucy looked over to see their neighbor, Chief Sommers. She smiled in spite of herself.
Jacinda nodded in the man's direction. "Hello Quaid. I'll go get your overnight bag Luce." She knew Lucy liked to talk to the fire chief.
"Okay Mom," Lucy turned her attention back to the Chief. "Are you staying home this weekend Chief?"
"Oh I don't really know yet Lucy," Quaid replied. It all depended on if there was a call.
"Are you visiting family?"
"Yeah, I am." He traveled around making rounds, spending most of his time at the firehouse but also hitting the spots in town. He considered them all family, so the answer was technically yes. He didn't really have much in the way of family to visit.
"That's cool," Lucy tried not to let her disappointment with the afternoon's announcement from her grandmother show.
"Hey, why the long face?" Quaid asked.
"I was supposed to do Thanksgiving with Mom this year, but Grandma says I have to stay with her."
Quaid had heard tell of Lucy Vidrio's situation, and he knew all about Victoria Belfry. Couldn't stomach the woman, but it's not like he could do much. If he ever did, funding to the fire department could suddenly run dry. The same could be said for 95% of the town. So he always tried to give Lucy a nice time in his own way. It was the neighborly thing to do. "Say, I think I'd got something you can investigate for me."
Lucy raised an eyebrow.
"You're in Nicki Davis' class aren't you?"
Lucy nodded. "Yup."
"Well, Nicki gave me this book, wanted an opinion on if she should teach it next year. And for some reason, she gave me two copies. No one down at the fire station is really going to be able to give Nicki an honest take. Between you and me, they fall asleep reading the cereal box. And I need a second opinion, you interested?"
"What kind of book is it?" Lucy asked.
"You've got some time right? Come on in, I'll show you." Quaid smiled opening his door.
Lucy smiled. "Okay,"
Jacinda had gotten Lucy's overnight bag ready quickly, but upon overhearing the conversation, and seeing Lucy's excitement decided to hold off. Her stepmother could wait the full hour. It wouldn't kill her.
The apartment Henry shared with Tilly wasn't entirely huge, even for a two bedroom, but with the mess of boxes seemed even smaller and more claustrophobic. Henry frowned. He didn't remember the girl bringing this much with her. "When you said you unpacked the wrong boxes, how many did you unpack exactly?"
"Two, or was it four?" Tilly frowned herself. "Either way, I figured you wanted this stuff out, it was only collecting dust anyway, what's the use of having stuff if you're not going to use it?" Tilly went over to the couch and picked up two objects that made Henry's blood run cold.
"Henry Mills," She looked at him sternly raising the object in her right hand. "Now why would you pack this away? It's brilliant you know."
Henry studied the objects Tilly held in each of her hands, trying really hard to keep his composure. The first was a doll, brownish red yarn for hair, and a dress he distinctly remembered being sewn together from an old tablecloth as Abbi had wanted to try clothing design, and with Lauren's help had managed just so. The second was a manuscript, one copy of two different copies. One copy had been sent to the publisher, and published, but this copy. This was the copy that he'd kept, was going to present on Christmas morning along with the secret that he'd kept close to his chest for just the right moment. Until that moment went up in smoke.
"It's just a doll." Henry replied dully crossing the room and taking it from her hand. "And it was in the donation box for a reason." He then went back to where the empty box sat and proceeded to repack it.
"Henry…" Tilly could hear a switch in Henry's tone. "Can we talk about this?"
"You went through my things Tilly. You can figure it out."
Tilly was versed enough in hard times to know tears when she heard them even when held back and disguised with disgust, especially when disguised with disgust, and she had peeked at the manuscript, had actually read much of it. Working at the slowest shop in the city had some advantages. She remembered the inscription. "Lauren and Abigail, these things were theirs weren't they? Your family's?"
Henry took a breath. "What's left of it."
"And the book?"
"Was actually published." Henry said.
"Henry, that's brilliant! Where can I get a copy?" Tilly exclaimed. "But why was it in the donation box? Why is any of this?" She frowned. Tilly would think that Henry would want to keep his wife and daughter's things, especially knowing they had passed away, that he would want to keep his first manuscript...the manuscript that had been published.
"Probably in a clearance bin or a used bookstore. And I don't exactly need toys or china sets anymore Tilly," Henry said as he continued to pack, holding back tears. "They're just taking up space."
"Henry, you don't have to. There's no time clock…"
"Maybe you should put your psych degree to use on someone who's asking for it." Henry turned and replied, a bit sharper than intended.
Tilly's face fell, an expression that was foreign to him. "Fine then. Oh, and in case you're interested, Hyperion Heights is holding a donation drive. I'm sure they'll take this off your hands." She set the manuscript down with a thump before turning on her heel and going to her bedroom, slamming the door.
Lucy looked at the book in disbelief flipping a few pages as she let it fall closed. "Fairy tales?"
Quaid nodded. "Nicki says they're a different sort of fairy tale though." He went to his kitchen. "Would you like anything to drink?"
Lucy sat on the couch, studying the book on the coffee table: Once Upon a Time, as she flipped it open. "We read fairytales when we were six," But she couldn't help as she looked through, being captivated. This seemed really cool. "Chocolate milk please."
"What you don't like fairytales?" Quaid looked through his fridge and pulled the small bottle out twisting the cap to loosen it before he brought it over.
"No, I love them," Lucy said. "It's just…"
"Just?"
"Doesn't feel right." Lucy sighed. "Everything's so awful, why should I waste time reading fairytales when stuff sucks?"
"You know something Lu, I think that's when you should waste the most time." Quaid placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Tell you what? Take it with you. I've got that second copy. This one's yours. Read as much as you can, even when your Grandma's trying to bore you, especially if she's trying to bore you. then we'll talk next week see if I'm wrong or right. If you hate it, I'll take it back. We won't have to talk about it ever again."
"That seems a bit extreme since you're reading it too," Lucy said, but she was smiling.
There was a knock on the door.
Quaid got up and answered the door to see Jacinda. "Hey,"
"Hi," Jacinda replied. "Luce, are you ready?"
"Yep," Lucy took the bottle of chocolate milk and the book. "Thanks Chief Sommers, have a Happy Thanksgiving."
"You too Lucy,"
After the Vidrio's left, Quaid went closed the door. He went to his room and grabbed his copy of the book he had just given Lucy. He flipped it over, and studied the photo on the back inside cover. He had only told half the truth to Lucy. The truth was, it had nothing to do with Nicole Davis, not in the way he had said. He had actually been the one to suggest the book to Nicole for her class, just like he was suggesting it to Lucy. There was something about the stories, and not just because he recognized the man who had written them. He hadn't forgotten any of the details of that evening two years ago, and he hadn't forgotten the man whose photo looked back at him. These stories, there was something special about them, and he had the strangest feeling that Lucy needed them as much as that man, Henry Mills, had needed to write them.
A/N: So, the book has entered the picture. Fun fact: That scene with Tilly confronting Henry was actually the second scene that came to me for this story, close to fully formed, though I was not sure whether it would be Tilly or someone else until a full day later.
