I stood in the kitchen next to David the next morning, helping him prepare breakfast. Yesterday, he told me that it was Mary Margaret's birthday, but also told me to not put any importance on it as it's also the day that her mother, my Grandma Eva, passed away. It made sense when he put it in perspective. "Can you hand me the plate Hadley?" David asked. I nodded before picking up one of the plates and offering it to David. He picked up one of the pancakes in the pan and slid it onto the plate.

"What are you two doing?" Mary Margaret asked.

"We're making breakfast!"

"Why?"

"We're hungry." I muttered, deflating somewhat.

"You think I don't know what you're doing? We talked about this. We had a deal."

"I know, I know…" David said, handing me the spatula. I started to take the other pancakes off the pan and piling them onto the plate I still held. "But with the curse broken, I thought maybe you would change your mind."

"Well, I didn't." I looked down, turning off the stove. I set the plate of pancakes on the counter, watching as she walked over to the present on the dining table. "What's this?" Mary Margaret sighed, gesturing to the wrapped box on the table.

"Birthday Present."

"No, I told you-"

"It's not from me." Mary Margaret turned to me. I raised my hands,

"Don't look at me, I was only told about your birthday last night, no time to get anything." I stated.

"No one else knows." Mary Margaret said.

"Apparently someone does." David countered. "And they also think you should celebrate."

"I found it out the front door this morning." I added. Mary Margaret rolled her eyes, reluctantly tearing the paper open and ignoring the card. She opened the box. When she looked at the contents inside, she paused, her mouth dropping open in shock.

"What is it?" Gently, Mary Margaret pulled out a diamond-encrusted tiara. It looked like something from medieval times, which means it had to have been from the Enchanted Forest. Mary Margaret started to tear up. David approached his wife slowly. "I thought that was lost when the Curse hit." He said. I walked up to examine the tiara myself.

"So did I." Mary Margaret responded, her voice breaking slightly. David took it from her, and I peeked around him to get a better look at it. David gently handed it to me. I turned it in my hands slowly as David watched me. I looked up at him with a smile, holding the tiara over my head.

"I'm a real Princess now." I joked.

"You sure do." David agreed. I pulled the tiara in front of me, running my thumb over the jewels. Mary Margaret had grabbed the card and inspected it.

"Johana." She whispered.

"She was one of the people who worked in your castle, right?" I wondered.

"Yeah." David agreed, "I didn't know she was in Storybrooke."

"Neither did I…" Mary Margaret trailed off.

"After the Curse, you were gone for a while. You know, we're all still finding each other. It hasn't been easy."

"I have to go." Mary Margaret stated. She reached out for the tiara, which I handed over reluctantly.

"Hey." David pulled Mary Margaret back as she went to leave, "Happy Birthday." The two shared a kiss,

"Thank you for understanding." Mary Margaret said as she started to pull her jacket over her shoulders with the help of David. "You should go. It's getting late. You have to go to work."

"I know. I just...I just wish this day made you happier."

"I know, but we both know it can't." Mary Margaret then rushed out the door. I guess I was gripping the table a bit too tight, and a crack sounded through the loft. I looked down at my hands and saw the splintered wood between my hands. I gaped at my hands, tipping the broken wood onto the table.

"Hadley…" David trailed off. I looked up at him, pausing only for a second to grab my coat, slip it over my arms and race out the door. Luckily, I was wearing warm clothes, as it was freezing cold, even for me. Black tights, a black skirt that reached my knees, black heeled boots, a white sweatshirt with my red coat over the top. I raced down the stairs of the loft. I didn't know where I was going until I found myself sitting on a bench overlooking the Storybrooke Warf.

"Hey." Someone said softly. I jumped, not expecting anyone, and looked up to see Ben. He was wearing a navy blue button-up coat, slacks and sneakers.

"Hey." I replied in the same tone. "David called you, didn't he?" Ben sat next to me.

"He did. You ok?"

"Yeah...it's just…" I sighed, "Today's Mary Margaret's birthday." I turned my gaze back to the water. "I wanted to do something special for her. Cook her a special dinner, go out to Granny's instead of a plain meal at home but...she hates her birthday."

"Why's that?"

"My Grandma Eva died today." I finally looked over to Ben, "And Mary Margaret doesn't like today for that reason. I thought that...because now she had me and Emma, and Henry now too, I thought she'd be at least happy. I mean I am. When I found out that I was adopted all I wanted to do was find my birth parents, and I have. They're right there." I gestured harshly towards Storybrooke. "But I feel like she doesn't want me."

"No, Hadley, that's not true." Ben said. He took my hands in his. "Mary Margaret is so happy that they found you." Ben pulled me closer and I fell into his side, letting him wrap his arm around me in a hug. "Now, come on, let's go walk off this feeling." Ben stood up, pulling me with him. Ben laced our fingers together and lead us away from the wharf. I wrapped my opposite arm around his, pressing into his side. Ben walked us through Main Street. There was a buzzing in my pocket and I pulled out my phone, reading the name on the screen to be David's. I bit my lip, contemplating for a second before answering the phone and putting it to my ear,

"Hey." I greeted softly.

"Hadley." He breathed, "Where are you, I've been worried sick!"

"I'm fine."

"Hadley. Get to the Station, I'll be waiting for you."

"O..ok…" The phone cut off, "Bye…" I looked up at Ben. "We need to go to the station." Ben nodded reluctantly, and we changed our course to the Storybrooke Sheriff Station. When we entered, David was holding an ice pack to the back of his head. When he saw me, he dropped the pack and pulled me out of Ben's grasp, holding me tight.

"Oh thank goodness you're ok." David sighed.

"I'm fine." I muttered, pulling away from him. "What's going on?"

"We found Cora." David said, "She's working with Regina, she's trying to find the Dagger." I nodded slowly.

"So, what do you want us to do?" Ben asked, stepping up to me.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" I asked, "Why don't you want us to do anything?"

"Hadley, you're just a kid." David sighed. I growled lightly, my eyes burning. "I want you to go to the loft, and stay there."

"I'm not a little girl, Dad." I spat, my eyes now gold, "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, I've done so for sixteen years. I don't need your protection anymore."

"Hadley…" Ben said softly, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. I slapped his hand away,

"Ben, don't." I didn't look away from David, "I'm going to the Loft...not because you want me there, because I just want to get away from you." I turned on my heel and stalked out of the station, the filing cabinet draws bursting open as I passed them.

TIMESKIP

I had gone to the grocery store and bought a whole load of ingredients. The rest of the day, I cooked and baked, so much that the island and the dining table were laden with new dishes and desserts that I had made to try and placate my anger. As I was mixing the batter for the third batch of cupcakes today, when there was a knock at the door, "It's open!" I called. The door opened to reveal Ben and my friends. "Hey guys." I greeted.

"Hey Hads." Evie replied softly.

"What...what are you doing Hadley?" Carlos asked.

"Stress baking." I replied tensely, "And stress cooking. My father thinks that I'm too young to do anything." I started to mix harder, "It's not like we practically raised ourselves on the Isle, lived on scraps to survive and oh yeah, we defeated Maleficent! The biggest, baddest villain in Auradon!"

"Hadley!" Mal shouted, placing her hand on mine, "Chill." I blinked, looking down at the whisk in my hand. I slowly pried my fingers off the handle and realised I had pressed my handprint into the metal. I sighed, laying the whisk down.

"I'm sorry." I muttered, "This has been happening recently, I broke the table this morning."

"Your Mark was...glowing." Jay said. I looked down at my arm, and saw that the spaces between the black on my arm were fading from gold back to my skin.

"We were supposed to be happy. We...we beat Maleficent, we made it to Storybrooke, I found my family." I looked down, tears started to form in my eyes, "Why does it feel so bad?"

"I don't know." Ben said, stepping closer to me, "But...all you can do is enjoy the time with your parents." I nodded, leaning into Ben.

"So...what's gonna happen with all this food?" Mal asked. I looked around the plates of food. "We're not gonna eat it all."

"Let's give it to Mother Superior and the Nuns." I suggested, "I think they'll enjoy this." Between the six of us, we managed to pack up all the food and deliver it to the Covenant of the Sisters of Saint Meissa. Mother Superior herself was very happy with all the food, and the other Nuns were grateful. Ben, Mal, Evie, Carlos, Jay and I were happy to donate the food, however, I still had underlying anger towards Mary Margaret and David, though after the conversation with Ben, there was no way I was teling anyone.