Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time. Never will.


04- The Crocodile

It had been an interesting few days for Ally Lucas. She hasn't seen Henry for five whole days unless they're at school. Their new substitute teacher didn't appreciate they're long reunions hugs each day, and Henry and Ally can't help but think that Mary Margaret would have been fine with them hugging.

When not in school, Henry is being kept busy with his grandfather Prince Charming or better known in this land as David Nolan. It was easy to tell that there was a rift between the man and his newly discovered almost 15-year-old daughter Rose. The teen was not ready for any of this to happen. She wasn't really for two new parents.

She wasn't ready to have to come to face the reality that her life was a lie, and that the woman who raised her, and was still so easy to think and call mother, was actually evil. So to say that things were quiet in Mary Margaret's and Emma's apartment would be a mistake.

Ally on the other hand was still being amazed each day with how much her mother and Gigi had changed. Sure her Gigi was still as hard and stern as ever, but there was a more battle weariness about her, and she would always double check to make sure that Ally was fed properly throughout the day.

There were a lot less fights between Gigi and Ruby as well, which relieved the young girl. She never did like it when the pair of them would fight, and now it was much easier to see the love that the both of them have for each other. Ruby was much more mature now. Sure there was still the sarcasm and sass that was there before, but now there was a strength and confidence about her that never was there before.

The main thing that Ally liked though, was the intense interest that her mom now had in being with her. Ally had never had this much of her mom's attention focused on her before, and she couldn't help but beam a smile most of the time, even though she missed Henry.

Today found the mother and daughter where they usually were in Granny's diner, Ruby behind the counter, and Ally at her customary bar stool. Ruby was leaning against the counter stealing a fry from Ally's plate every now and then, a mischievous twinkle in her eye, every time her daughter tried to bat her hand away from the plate.

Ruby still couldn't believe at times that the girl sitting in front of her was her baby. She could clearly remember holding her one-year-old daughter in her arms, while Snow told her that she was pregnant. It had made both of the women cry out with glee, and that caused little Ally to add her own jubilant cries into the air while clapping her little hands in glee.

That baby had been her life. Those chocolate brown eyes were so big and so trusting, looking exactly like Peter— the only bit of him that she had left, for Ally looked almost exactly like her, with head full of wavy brown hair. So seeing this girl, this 10-year-old girl sitting in front of her, with Peter's eyes and shoulder length wavy brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, showing off her dimple in her left cheek— she almost couldn't take it again.

But there were moments that she wouldn't give up for the world. Her daughter was brave and her daughter was loyal. She was smart, quick, and almost always quick to smile— but the greatest thing about Ally in Ruby's opinion is her ability to forgive. She forgave Ruby for all of those years for not having the bravery, and constitution of Red. She forgave her, and she loved her. That was not something she would give up, her daughter became the person she wanted her to be, even though she wasn't able to remember and influence most of it.

"You're staring at me again." Ally giggles, taking another bite of her turkey melt that Gigi had cooked up for her earlier.

"Am I? Well that must be because you are the cutest little girl ever Pup." Ruby replies, her grin broadening at the blush darkening the girl's cheeks.

"Mommy?" Ally says after a few moments of silence. Ruby smiles happily at the title, she's been noticing that Ally has been slipping back into calling her that more recently, and it pleases her to no end.

"Yes Pup." Ruby says softly, before stealing another fry, to an exasperated whine, that sounds a little like an actual puppy.

"What was it like in the Enchanted Forest? I don't remember anything… I think it had to be exciting." Ally says her eyes lighting up at the mere thought of the magical place. Ruby's smile immediately turned melancholy, and a bittersweet taste came about.

"It was indeed a truly magical place. It was freeing to live in the woods, and have what seemed like the whole world around you open for the taking, but it was dangerous… extremely so. I didn't know nearly enough about the world around me and myself, and it nearly got me killed, and it—" Ruby chokes unable to finish the sentence, the memory still too painfully clear for her to relate.

A solemn look comes about Ally's face and she reaches across the counter to touch her mother's hand with her cheek.

"I know what happened. I don't blame you, and I don't think that Daddy does either." Ally says softly, panicking when she realizes that there are tears now streaming down Ruby's face. "I'm sorry!" She cries trying to figure out how to fix the damage that she's caused.

"There's nothing to be sorry about Ally. I'm just so happy that I have you back in my life again. That's all." Ruby says leaning forward and delivering a kiss to her daughter's forehead. There's another reason why Ruby would never trade this world for another to go back in time, her daughter is still the sweetest after everything that's happened, and everything she's been through.

With a sigh Ruby pulls away from Ally, and wipes at her eyes, thankful that the eyeliner that she's wearing is actually waterproof for once. She glances around the diner, and notices that the glass is empty in front of a woman at one of the booths. That woman has been here for a good few hours now, and Ruby is beginning to get worried.

"Finish your meal Pup. I don't need Granny coming after me because she thinks you're too skinny again. Heaven knows why, when you eat like you have a hollow leg." Ruby shakes her head as she pours another glass of iced tea.

"That's cause I have two!" Ally says proudly before biting off another piece of her sandwich and moaning, to the amusement of mother and daughter. With a quick roll of her eyes, Ruby makes her way over to the woman in the booth, who has a lost expression on her face.

The woman at the booth was very pretty. She had long curly brown hair, and a pair of bright blue eyes, though they were clouded over with worry at the moment. Ruby had seen that look a few too many times, and had unfortunately been the one with that look once or twice before. Ruby sits down the glass gently so as not to startle the woman too much.

"Thank you." The woman says softly looking up at Ruby with a genuine smile on her face.

"Are you okay? That's your third iced tea this morning. Wouldn't want to call you a cab." Ruby says trying for some humor to break the ice with the stranger.

"No. I… I've never had it iced before. It… it's delicious." The woman says with a slight smile on her face.

"I haven't seen you in here before." Ruby says glancing back at her kid, to make sure that she hasn't gotten into trouble, and has actually done as she's been told. Seeing nothing amiss she returns her attention to the woman.

"Well, I, uh… I've been a kept woman until recently." The woman replies with a rattled look on her face.

"What's a kept woman?" Ally asks sliding into the booth across from the lady. "You're really pretty." She adds with a smile.

"Ally. It's not polite to eavesdrop on people's conversations." Ruby scolds her, but deep down she admires the spunk that the kid shows.

"It's quite alright. Your daughter— isn't she? She adorable. Ally is it? What I meant by kept woman is that I have been in a relationship with my boyfriend for a long time, and he won't let me do a lot of things, or see a lot of people." The woman says attempting to explain it as softly and carefully to a ten-year-old as possible.

Ally's eyes widen at this. She looks between her mom and the new lady a few times before speaking. "That sounds terrible! I'm sorry lady." Ally says trying to imagine living a life like that but can't. Ruby sighs, seeing that the questions are only growing in her pup's head now.

"Pup go find Granny, and ask her if she'll help you make some of her famous snicker doodle cookies." Ruby says, pulling Ally lightly out of the booth across from the woman.

"Could I have some if she does?" Ally asks looking at her mother with hope.

"Of course, what's the point of making cookies if there's no one to eat them?" Ruby says with a grin. Ally bounces excitedly before hugging her mom, and to the shock of both women, crawls onto the booth to give a light hug to the sad woman as well.

"My friend Henry always says that hugs are the best. You look like you needed one. Oh, and I'll get you some cookies too! Cookies make everyone feel better, especially my Gigi's!" Ally says, and with a flash the girl scampers off behind the counter and into the kitchen.

"That's some little girl you have there." The woman says with a soft look on her face. "You're lucky."

"I know." Ruby says before the pair fall into silence for a long moment. "So let me guess— bad breakup?"

The woman winces. "I think I may be headed there." She says honestly.

"Do you have a place to stay? Any family here?" Ruby asks beginning to get a little worried for the still nameless woman.

"I… I'm not sure. I'm still looking. But I… I'm on my own for now." She says looking confused and more than a little lost.

"I can ask Granny about a room here." Ruby says easily ready to help the woman out of a bad situation if need be.

"Really?" She asks, looking shocked at the offer. Ruby merely nods her head in response.

"Uh, thanks…"

"Ruby."

"Belle. What I really need, though, is… is a life. A job." Belle says.

"Well, uh, what do you like to do?" Ruby asks, wondering if she should start a job listing board soon.

"I— I do love books." Belle says tentatively.

"The library. It's been closed forever, but, uh, things are changing now. Maybe they need a librarian?" Ruby suggests. Belle's smile is the largest its been since she walked into the diner.

The two go about their business until about an hour later a very excited Ally comes prancing out of the kitchen with a plate of hot snicker doodle cookies, beckoning Belle over to join her and her mom in the feast.


It isn't until much later that day that the unlikely duo of Prince Charming and Rumplestiltskin come walking through the door. A shiver runs down Ally's spine at the sight of the creepy man who uses magic. She didn't like him before, and she definitely doesn't like him now. She can tell that her mom is of the same opinion, for she ushers her off the stool and behind her, Ally huddles close to her mom, not sure what to make of what's going on.

There's something inside her that's telling her that her mom thinks that there's going to be a fight, and that she needs to stay behind her in protection. Ally wraps her fingers in her mom's belt loops just to reassure herself that her mom is in fact still there, and that there should be nothing to worry about.

"Good day David… Mr. Gold. What can I get for you today. Granny's famous pumpkin pie ran out about twenty minutes ago I'm afraid." Ruby says casually while cleaning a glass with a rag. Ally can instantly tell this this is all Red, Ruby could be like this before, but the extra strength and coolness under pressure had to have been from her new side.

"Ruby, we were wondering if a woman named Belle has been here today by any chance?" David asks softly with a hopeful look on his face. Ally tightens her grip on her mother. Why do they want to know about the nice sad lady from earlier?

"Belle, huh? Sorry, doesn't ring a bell." Ruby says simply returning her focus to her glass.

"Ruby, listen to me. If you've come across her, you've got to tell me. I'll make sure nothing bad happens." David says earnestly leaning towards her slightly. Ruby's jaw twitches and she looks darkly at Mr. Gold standing behind David.

"Yeah, but what about him?" She asks in practically a growl.

"I've got him. Trust me." David says. It takes a good while before Ruby responds to him.

"She was in here earlier. She was looking for a job. I pointed her in the direction of the library." Ruby eventually says, not looking to happy at having given away that information.

"Well, you think she went there?" Mr. Gold demands, speaking up for the first time, causing Ally to flinch from behind her mother. The flinch caused Ruby to tense up.

"Don't know. But when you find her, give her this. She left it in her booth." Ruby says pulling out a sweater from the lost and found box underneath the counter.

"Well, that's mine. She didn't have anything for the cold." Mr. Gold says in what almost seems like a soft manner.

"You sure you'll watch out for her?" Ruby says directing her question back at David.

"Yes. Why?" He asks.

"I think… I think I can find her. Lately, since things changed, I've been, uh, a little more sensitive to odors." Ruby says shifting uncomfortably. She has bene having to deal with the possibility that the wolf may be coming back in this world, and she's not sure how to rectify that part of herself, with her daughter, who has never had to experience this curse before.

"Well, you can smell her?" Mr. Gold says dubiously.

"I guess its cause of the wolf thing." Ruby says with a shrug, before reaching back and pulling her daughter away from her.

"I'm going to need you to stay here Pup." Ruby says softly, crouching down until she locks eyes with the child.

"No! I want to stay with you! That nice lady from earlier might be hurt! I don't want to be alone…" Ally practically whimpers at the end of the sentence. She can't very well tell her mother that even though she's become this fierce capable woman, that she's still scared for her to be alone with Mr. Gold, even when David is there.

Ruby looks at Ally for a long moment and sighs. She knows that this is a time where it will do more harm than good to Ally to leave her alone. Plus, it will slowly introduce her to the wolf. Ruby rises from the crouch and turns to face the two men.

"Ally comes, or I don't come at all." She says simply, crossing her arms over her chest. David nods his head slowly, while Mr. Gold rolls his eyes.

"We do not have all day. Time is of the essence!" He exclaims before pushing his way out of the diner with the group following behind him. Ally holds onto her mom's right hand tightly as, she puts the sweater to her face, and breathes Belle's scent in deeply.

They off foursome walk for a little while before Ruby comes to a stop in front of Moe's flower shop. Ally glances up at her mother unsure what this means.

"What's wrong?" David asks coming up to the pair worriedly.

"I had her, but, uh… I lost her trail. It must be the flowers. I… I can't track her anymore. I'm sorry." Ruby says, rubbing her daughter's back lightly when she sneezes from the scent of flowers in the air.

"Don't be. This is her father's shop." Mr. Gold says with a fairly scary look on his face, which makes Ally press closer to her mother as he passes them to go into the shop.

"Well this can't be good." David says before leading the rest of the group into the shop. Once inside, the sheer abundance of flowers begins to overwhelm Ally, and she presses her nose into her mom's shirt trying to focus on her scent instead of the flowers.

"You again. Out! This is a private establishment— you're not welcome here!" The man who is obviously Moe shouts. Moe was a slightly chubby middle-aged man, wearing a white ball cap, and a face that was red with anger as he pointed a shaking finger at Mr. Gold. Unable to stop herself, Ally sneezes.

"Where's Belle!" Mr. Gold demands, and Ally squeaks by the amount of anger that's in his voice. Ally is grateful that she has her mom here, because if she wasn't there was no way she would still be here unless Henry was here.

"I won't let anything happen to her Moe." David promises holding his hands up in a pleading gesture.

"We're just worried." Ruby adds, in though her attention turns back to her kid after another sneeze.

"Don't be. She's safe. You can stop looking." Moe says with a hard look about his face.

"Look, if I could just have a chance to talk to her." Mr. Gold says in a semi pleading voice much different from the one before.

"You will destroy Belle like you destroy everything else. Well, I won't let that happen." Moe says darkly, before casting his gaze Ally's way at another sneeze.

"What have you done with her?" Mr. Gold growls advancing towards the flower shop owner.

"There's only one way to get her—" Moe starts before Mr. Gold jabs him in the chest with his cane.

"What have you done with her?" This time the demand sounds even deadlier than before if that's even possible. Not even the sneeze of a small child can break the atmosphere.

"I have to make her forget you. No matter the cost. Even if it means she forgets me too." Moe says, his voice chocking up at the thought of his own daughter not remembering him anymore.

"He's sending her across the town line." Mr. Gold says, his already pale face, losing more color. Thankfully the four of them with Moe in tow exit the shop, much to the relief of one little girl.

"I think you might be allergic to flowers pup." Ruby says after a few minutes with no sneezing coming from her daughter.

"There was too many… it was awful mommy." Ally whines, rubbing her nose, still trying to get the excess scent out of it.

"Where are you sending Belle across? You know we have patrols on the town line to make sure no one crosses accidentally. So, how are you planning to pull it off?" David demands looking at Moe harshly, and directing everyone's attention back on the matter at hand.

Mr. Gold lunges at Moe, and pins him against a truck with his cane.

"Where? Where are you sending them across? Tell me!" He demands, his voice rising to a yell.

As Moe starts going purple in the face, David intervenes. "Stop it! You're going to kill him!" He growls pulling Mr. Gold off of the other man. Once Mr. Gold is off of Moe, his gaze drifts down to Moe's hands. They're covered in a thick dust.

"You've been down in the mines. The tunnels— they lead out of town." David says, his face paling, before the group breaks out into the run.


It was honestly the last place that Ally wanted to go. Ever since her last adventure in the mines, she absolutely loathed the place, but if her mom was brave enough to go in, and that lady Belle really did need help, then Ally was just going to have to suck it up, and live with the fact that she will be going to a second place that she hates today. Wasn't the flower shop of death enough already?

Luckily, the group didn't have to venture too far into the mine, before they heard screaming, and came across the coal cart track. Ally begins to fear that Belle will lose her memory when a stream of magic shoots out of Mr. Gold's hand, and starts pulling the cart and its unwilling passenger back to the beginning of the track where the group is waiting.

When the cart comes to a stop, the handcuffs on Belle magically break as well.

"That is seriously… wow." Ruby says, not even having words for the magic that was performed there, though she does clutch her daughter a little closer to her.

"Belle? Are you alright?" Mr. Gold asks worriedly looking the woman over.

"Yeah. I uh, think so." Belle says looking around at the assembled group tiredly.

"You remember who I am?" Mr. Gold asks, looking afraid to know the answer to that question.

"I do, Rumplestiltskin. I… I remember." She says. Mr. Gold pulls her into a hug, but its not one that she returns.

"Belle, what's wrong?" Mr. Gold asks now looking worried again instead of relieved.

"Thank you for what you just did, but that doesn't change that you're too cowardly to be honest with me." Bell says pulling away from Mr. Gold.

"Well, Belle, that's just—" Mr. Gold stutters before being cut off by Moe.

"I tried to tell them that Belle. Come with me, darling." Moe says holding his hand out for his daughter.

"After what you just tried to do to me? You're no better, Father. You don't get to decide what I do or how I feel. I do. If either of you cared about me, you would've listened. I don't want to see either of you again. Ever." Belle says firmly, before turning and marching away from the group towards the exit.

After a second, Ruby pulls Ally along so that they can catch up with the hurt woman.

"You know, I think that this calls for some cocoa at Granny's that will warm you right back up, and we can figure out what to do from there." Ruby says once they are alongside Belle. Ally's eyes light up at the mention of cocoa.

"Have you ever had cocoa Belle? It's the best!" Ally cries happily, reaching out with her free hand to take Belle's. For a second she looks shocked at the small hand within hers, before returning the gesture with a small squeeze.

"No, I can't say that I've ever had some…"


Back at Granny's Diner Ruby serves an overwhelmed Belle, and an overexcited Ally two plates of pancakes (much to the little girl's delight).

"This one, is a classic. The syrup, goes on the pancakes. It's, um, round things… But I kind of like it when it gets on everything." Ruby says with a smile, while watching Ally like a hawk as she uses the syrup. "Not too much Pup, I want to actually be able to get you to bed tonight." Ruby says, pulling the bottle away, after Ally officially drowns her pancakes.

"You know, um… Thank you. I-I mean not just for this, but… For everything." Belle says giving Ruby a grateful look, and smiling at Ally's puffed out pancake cheeks.

"No worries. And stay here until you're on your feet. Granny will be fine with it. Oh! I almost forgot. Someone, dropped this off for you at the front desk." Ruby says pulling a box off the counter and placing it down on the table next to Belle.

Not able to contain her interest any longer, Belle opens the box to reveal a key inside that says library on it. When Belle holds it up for them to see, Ally breaks into a big smile.

"Does that mean that the library will open? Henry and I have been wanting new books for ages!" She cries happily, taking a sip of her peppermint cocoa. Belle smiles at the excitement that Ally gets from the prospect of the library opening.

"I believe so." Belle says softly, before turning her attention back to the pancakes in front of her. Surprisingly it doesn't take long for the child across from her eyes to start drooping, and a yawn to break through.

Belle glances outside and sees that it has really grown quite dark, and it was an exciting day. She watches with amusement as Ally tries to fight her heavy eyes, and before her body can slump towards the table, Ruby swoops in, and picks up her daughter with ease.

"I was just waiting for her to crash. A little too much excitement for one day, I believe." Ruby says with a grin, as she rubs her hand up and down her sleeping child's back.

"I couldn't agree more." Belle sighs, before looking back down at the key in the box.