He had a suspicion that Regina had used the book and gotten some of her powers back. It was just a suspicion. There was nothing solid about the guess except for what the world beyond his shop hinted at. After lunchtime, the streets were unsettled, unusually so. People were seen congregating in small groups in the middle of the road again, talking, looking over their shoulders as if expecting someone to be listening to their conversations. They were acting as they did when a new villain emerged on the scene, and after giving Regina the book...well...he wasn't one to believe in consequences.

Still, he shut the people beyond his own shop out of his mind. Whatever was happening in town, even if Regina had gotten her magic back, it didn't concern him. Belle was home; the protection spell he'd placed on the home ensured that she was safe so long as she stayed inside. And she wouldn't be home alone for long. He'd made up his mind. Screw sitting around waiting for Emma to get back, forget figuring out whatever kind of magic August had gotten his hands on to help him hide. He was going to pack a bag, go home, pick up Belle, and go.

The vision he'd gotten earlier suggested that Baelfire was close. He'd always known that the Curse would deliver him somewhere close by to his son, certainly somewhere in the same country, but the Seer's vision…there had been further hints. It had been cold in his vision. The Northern United States was all cold at the moment. His vision showed him images of trash bins, high buildings, steam, and concrete. And his son…his son had fallen to the ground, but not from a window or the sky…when he focused, he realized he'd fallen from a fire escape. That meant he had to look for him in a city. While there were cities in the west, the North East was more likely. That wasn't definitive, but he'd rather comb through all the likely culprits before turning to the unlikely ones. And the Curse had delivered them to Maine, just a hop skip and a jump from several very key cities in this region: Philadelphia, Boston, and New York City all came to mind. They would be cold in the Winter, and they were here. He could take Belle with him. For all he knew, she was the female presence he'd felt standing close to him in the visions.

He combed through his shop, looking for things he wanted to take that he couldn't leave without. The black trunk was still out. Obviously, he couldn't take all of it with him, Baelfire probably wouldn't care to see the boots he'd owned when he was eleven again, but the shawl, that would be something easy he could take. In the backroom, he found the black bag that he'd stored a lot of his potions in. That would do it. Magic would help him find Baelfire; that's why he'd wanted it to begin with. Of course, because they'd never had it before, the world beyond Storybrooke would still be baffled by it, and that meant they couldn't use a tracking potion or tracking spell the entire way there; that would cause too much attention. But there were other things they could use. He'd take his potions home, and when he arrived, as he told Belle to pack a bag, he'd search the basement room for anything else there that might be helpful. And then…

Then they'd leave. If Belle wanted an adventure, then he'd give her one, the greatest she could imagine because it was unplanned. He'd tell her where they were going on the way, only…where were they going? He needed to tell her who they were going to, but where…

He grabbed a bag and went into the front of the shop. He didn't have much that wasn't an antique in the shop, but he did have some maps and guidebooks of major city areas in the Northeast. They were useless next to the magic, but he wanted to be as prepared as possible. Perhaps he could do a little bit of reading on the way when they stopped for food or water or anything else Belle needed as they-

Suddenly it was there again, just as it had been earlier, a feeling that his property had been breached. Not the house, thankfully, but the shop again. This time it wasn't Regina, but it was still a familiar presence he recognized. David had finally come to him.

"It appears when I bought that closed sign, I was just throwing my money away," he announced before turning to find him.

"Looks like it," the False Prince agreed.

"Sorry to hear about your wife and daughter," he insisted quickly, cutting right to the chase. He'd been expecting this visit. He harbored no ill-will between the prince and the rightful Queen. In fact, if he could make a deal for returning to the Enchanted Forest to bring them back, he would, especially because it would benefit him greatly. But as it was, after Regina's last visit, he was interested only in going home, collecting Belle, and leaving immediately. "If you're looking for a retrieval, I'm afraid portal jumping is just outside my purview."

"Of course, it is," David sighed as if he wasn't surprised to hear he couldn't help him. Interesting reaction from a man who often had temper tantrums over not being helped back to his beloved. Especially when he considered that instead of leaving, he just stood there and stared at him as if he wanted something more. What else was there to want from him?

"So, what's the commotion outside?" he asked, trying to figure out what he might need so he could think two steps ahead. That was difficult when the Seer herself was being, well, difficult. He wanted information about where Baelfire was, anything to narrow down his search, and instead, all she kept whispering to him about was a deal he'd made with David years ago in the Enchanted Forest. A deal for peace between them.

David glanced over his shoulder to the door. "Oh, a little stir at the border. Problem crossing the line."

He felt his chest tighten as the rest of him went numb, and he stood up a little straighter at that. Trouble at the border? Not with Regina? A problem crossing the town line? What the hell kind of 'stir'?

"Do tell."

"Actually, I'm here to buy something. A way to find someone."

A problem at the line, and now David wanted to find someone but didn't need help crossing realms, and no one mentioned that Regina had magic again…what the hell was going on?

"What, like a map?"

"Something with a bit more kick. Like the ring you gave me to find Snow."

"Ah, yeah, magic," he corrected. The Prince wasn't here to buy something. He was here to make a deal. That was well and good, but what was wrong with the border? And how could he figure it out without giving away the fact that it mattered? "Whom are you following?"

"Not telling."

David was smiling, grinning ear to ear. The price of magic, sometimes it did come at a cost for him, like distrust. David clearly thought he was playing a game, just as he had been in the Enchanted Forest. In truth, he just wanted to know about the border. But…David wanted something like the ring, and a tracking spell would do it, so long as he possessed something of the person he wanted to find.

"So, do you have something of theirs, this missing person?"

"Yes."

"May I see it?"

"No," he answered with another smile as his hands stayed clasped in front of him.

He laughed. He would never have thought David would have the brains to sort out anything as smart as this in the Enchanted Forest. Perhaps David Nolan had rubbed off on him a few good ways. The question was, what happened if Prince Charming rubbed off on David Nolan? He could think of a few ways that would not be ideal for him.

A magical object he couldn't see that belonged to an individual he couldn't know. Very well, for that, there was only one solution. The physical equivalent of a tracking spell, a Tracking Potion. He hated to get rid of it, but outside of Storybrooke, he could use a spell for himself. And perhaps he could use it to ensure David Nolan, or more importantly, Prince Charming, stayed out of his hair until he and Belle were out of Storybrooke. If he played his cards right and came across as helpful, he might even get more information out of him.

"Pour this on the object, and then follow it. So simple, even David Nolan could do it."

He held it out for him, but when David moved to take it, he quickly pulled it away, a friendly reminder that he'd come here looking to "buy" it. Nothing in his store was free, especially not magic. And right now…

"What do you want?"

Not him…the Seer wanted something. She wanted something reiterated. Desperately. She was reminding him over and over in his head with harsh hissed whispers. It was a deal they'd already made in another world. Still, with the Curse broken and a previous deal with Regina obviously not in effect, perhaps there were others he'd overlooked that were specific to their land that needed to be re-enacted.

"Peace," he answered to the Seer's pleasure. "Leave me alone."

David huffed. "What do you care what David Nolan does?"

"Oh, no. It's Charming I worry about. I'd like a little non-interference guarantee."

David glared at him, clouds of suspicion forming in his eyes as he wondered how he would come to regret this deal. In a way, it was a test. If whatever he needed this potion for wasn't that important, he was almost certain he'd turn him down. If it was important, well then-

"Fine," David conceded, giving some of his cards away. It was important then. "If you give me the same. You and I–we stay out of each other's way."

That wasn't part of the deal, not officially. But, in fact, making a second request like that, with a little bit of magic, meant he owed him a little something more. And he intended to cash in. So he handed David the vial.

"Thank you for your business," he smiled, handing over the last transaction he'd ever make in this Pawnshop.

David took it and immediately turned to leave, but he stopped him before he could, wanting the information he was owed, knowing that David wouldn't feel the magic in the air when he answered him.

"So, uh, what happens when you try and cross the border?"

David paused and turned back to him. "You lose your memory of everything of our old lives."

As a boy, he'd fallen through some ice and into the chilly depths of the lake below. Suddenly, standing in his shop on dry ground, he experienced it all over again. The feeling of the bottom of the world being torn from him, his legs standing on nothing. Icy, chilly water swept up over him so that his vision blurred, the image of David before him spun out of control. The world darkened. Then he was numb. Numb and caught off guard and in shock all at that one pronouncement. The fragile edges of his psyche, of the Dark Ones before him, toyed and played with the words trying to fix it, to understand it. He tried to replay the statement, tried desperately to believe and hope that he'd heard it wrong that the implications of it wasn't what he thought it was. And then David shrugged casually as he fought to maintain control inside himself.

"Looks like we're stuck here."

Stuck here.

Trapped.

Unable to leave.

Stuck in Storybrooke.

Because…because…because…

The Curse on this land, the plague of ordinary, non-magical world…it wasn't broken. In Storybrooke, perhaps, there was magic here now…but it hadn't extended out to the rest of the world as he'd planned.

As he'd planned…

His plans…

To find Bae, to keep Belle safe, to leave tonight and outrun Regina…

Gone. All gone.

The chiming bell indicating David's departure shoved him back into his body and out of his mind. Energy, roaring and savage, tore through him, anger and malice and pain, things he could do nothing to fix because he was closer to Baelfire than he'd ever been and separated by nothing more than a fucking town border!

He gripped the cane in his hand tight. Then swung it into whatever would break.

And there you have it, another seen scene. I think it's pretty straightforward!

Thank you, Grace5231973, for your review of the last chapter! I'm so glad that you enjoyed them as much as you did! Yay! We are not quite done with 2x02 yet. Remember, I had to expand the timeline a bit to make everything work in the long run and work according to what A&E were saying was canon at this point. So up next, we see the result of David telling Rumple he can't get out of town. Spoiler alert...he doesn't take it well. Peace and Happy Reading!