"Welcome back," Regina said, pouring the tea and sliding a mug across the table to Snow, and another one to Belle.

"Thank you. Are we okay to talk here?" Snow asked.

"Marco's out scouring the woods, looking for his son, just like he is every night," Regina said. "He won't be home till late."

"No sign of Pinocchio?" David asked.

Regina shook her head. "I have no idea where he is. He could be on a beach in Phuket, or in the belly of a whale."

"Or maybe in a trailer in the woods," Henry suggested. "Have you tried that yet?"

Snow nodded. "He's right. That was a very low point in August's life, and we all agree that whatever this 'Dora' has done, it's brought us all back to our lowest point."

"But we broke out," Belle pointed out.

"Yes," Regina agreed. "You broke out. And just how did that happen? Snow and David had true love's kiss, but what worked for you?"

"I don't know...the cup? The book?" Belle was confused. "Though neither of them alone did it, really. I saw them together and...something clicked."

"Like a talisman?" Snow asked.

Regina shook her head. "No, it's different from that. And you were showing signs of waking up before David kissed you."

"And I only kissed her because seeing her there with Neal...it just seemed...I don't know. Right. It made me feel hope for her. And for me."

"Hope." Snow turned wide eyes to David. "I was trapped in that burning room, but I knew Neal was close. I could sense it somehow. And then I heard your voice and I felt...hope. I was hopeful. I knew you'd find me."

"Ariel said that, too!" Henry chimed in. "Killian told her she was a ray of hope on that godforaken island."

"It was the same for me," Belle agreed. "I saw the cup and I started feeling like I knew it, deja vu or something, and it made me hopeful that I might be getting some memory back. When I set it down on the book, I felt it again, but stronger - and then it all came back to me.

"And you can bet Emma felt hopeful when Killian showed up at the prison in disguise," Regina said.

"I didn't get everyone else to start believing me until I found you," Henry said to Regina. "Once I did, it started getting easier. And now that we're all coming back, you've got hope, too."

"You might be right," Regina said. "Let's give it a try." She strode over to the door, reaching for the knob and pulling. Nothing. She tried the window, just in case. It seemed to budge the slightest degree, but still wasn't opening easily.

"I guess I'm not hoping hard enough," she said. "It did feel like the window was giving, though. That alone gives me hope. I'll keep trying."

"So that's the key," David said. "Hope counteracts whatever it is this "Dora" person unleashed on us."

"Unleashed?" Belle stood up, pacing slowly back and forth. "That's it. Unleashed!"

"You know something?" Regina asked her.

"I might," she replied. "I need to get to the library."

She was kept from further comment by the ringing of Henry's phone.

"It's my mom!" he said, holding it up to his ear. "Hello? You are? Great! Just be careful. You're a wanted fugitive now, they'll be watching for you. And guess what?"

Henry smiled widely as he passed the phone to Snow.

"Emma?" Snow was grinning, and they could all hear Emma's exclamation from the other side. "It's a long story, but the short answer is, "hope." Hope seems to be the one thing that breaks this curse. Your father is free now, too, along with Belle." She listened a moment. "No, not Regina, but she might be making headway. We need something more powerful for her."

"Get back here and that might do it," Regina called out.

Snow put up a finger to silence her as she listened intently, nodding. "Okay. We'll see you then," she said into the phone. "Be careful." She ended the call.

"She heard you," Snow smiled. "She and Killian will be here tomorrow or the next day at the latest."

"So now we know how to get people back to the way they were," Regina said. "We need to mobilize. I mean, you need to mobilize. I'll just...sit here, I guess."

"There might be a way for you to help us," Snow suggested. "Don't you think it's time the mayor had an open house? Met her constituents? If they come to you, you can remind them of things. Things that might give them hope."

"Maybe." Regina looked skeptical. "It's not like I've ever paid attention to the minutiae of their lives."

"Well, now you can," Snow said. "And you of all people know how to look for the light in the darkness. That's all they need."

Regina still looked doubtful, but she nodded her head. "I'll do my best."

"I'll head over to the trailer," David said. "If I can put Pinocchio back with his father, we'll have one more on our side."

"You'd better let me," Snow said. "You need to go and talk to Catherine - I mean Abigail."

David looked uncomfortable. "I forgot all about her. Maybe I'd better find Frederick first. If I can get him pulled over, he can probably figure out the best way to give Abigail some hope."

Belle reached out, taking the story book off the table. "I'm going to need this, and your help, Henry," Belle said. "Will you come to the library with me?"

"Sure," he said, grinning. "Operation Sunrise is underway!"

"They say it's always darkest before the dawn," David agreed, smiling. "Let's get everybody back on the sunny side of the street."

###

"Things just got a little more complicated," Emma said, sliding the phone back into her pocket.

"How so?"

"We have to find someone." She started walking down the street. "Come on. I need to get to a computer and look up some old friends."

"And who are we finding?" Killian asked.

"Robin. The only thing that can break this curse is hope. Regina needs a strong dose of it, and talking to him again may just do the trick."

"Hope? What kind of a curse breaks with hope?"

"A curse of despair. Tell me you didn't feel it, sitting on that island."

Killian's eyes darkened. "Aye. I felt it."

"And I wasn't doing so good in prison, either - until I saw you."

He gave her a crooked smile. "You had to know I'd find a way to get to you."

"That's just it," she said. "Until I saw you, I didn't know just how much I knew that. And once I did see you, well...I knew there was no stopping us."

He slid his arm around her and pulled her close. "I like that word."

"What word?"

"Us."

She gave him a smirk. "You didn't realize we were an 'us'?"

"I like "we" just as much as "us," he replied, dropping a kiss on her lips.

"As much as I'd like to continue this conversation," Emma replied, "We need to get off the street. By now there's an APB out for us that's gone nation-wide. And once we find Robin, we need to find a car and get back to Storybrooke."

"Good point," Killian agreed. "And we'll do all that right after breakfast. I'm starving."

Emma looked around, giving a reluctant nod. "I could eat. I know a diner with the best damn pancakes you've ever had."

"Lead the way, Swan." He put his hand to the small of her back. "Do we get preferential seating as members of an exclusive club?"

###

Dora's hand shook as she put her key in the lock. She knew she didn't have long - they were probably on their way even now, and it was only right. This was their home, after all.

She'd have to find another place. The woods, perhaps? At least, during the day, anyway. Come nightfall, she'd go back to the store. She reached her hand into the other pocket of her cloak and pulled out the key she'd stolen from Henry. She would go back tonight and search for it, and if she didn't find it, at least she'd have somewhere warm and sheltered to sleep. Then she'd come back again the next night, and the next.

The box was here, in this place. The divining spell she'd bought from the mystic had brought her here. She'd break into every home in town if she had to.

She just didn't want to.

These were good people. These were good people, and this was a nice place. She'd grown fond of Henry, almost as attached to him as she'd been to Neal. Her eyes pricked as she thought of the babe.

It had felt so good to be needed again. Important. And in the night, when she took him from his crib and held him close, she sang the old songs, and if she closed her eyes, she could pretend things weren't as they are.

But that was foolish. She knew that was foolish.

She swiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand, picking up her satchel from where she'd left it on the chair, and began filling it with canned goods and packages of food from the cupboards. A loud knock at the door nearly made her drop it.

"Who - who is it?" she called out.

"Dora? It's me, Dr. Hopper," Archie's voice called back.

"What do you want?" She kept her eyes on the door, but she was frantically trying to remember if there was another way out.

"I just wanted to check on you," he said. "Is everything all right?"

She put the satchel down, acutely conscious of the fact that they could all be here at any moment, and who knows what they'd do to her? She could have harmed or even killed some of them. She hoped not.

Dora opened the door a fraction. "I can't talk right now," she said. "I have to pack. Mary Margaret is awake and will be returning here."

"I heard," Archie said. "And I wanted to make sure you had someplace else to stay."

Her face softened. "I do," she said. "Thank you for your concern. You're very kind."

He smiled. "You're no trouble, Dora. How are you acclimating?"

"Acclimating?" She looked around and gave a slightly hysterical laugh. "Not so well today, I'm afraid."

Archie's face grew sympathetic. "You miss Neal."

Her eyes welled up again at the mention of the baby's name and she nodded, unable to answer.

Archie reached out, squeezing her hand. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. Thank you."

"You might feel better if you did. I was just on my way to Granny's for lunch - you're welcome to join me."

Dora looked a little disconcerted. "You - you want to take a meal with me?"

Archie smiled again. "You find that surprising?"

"A little." She smiled back, tentatively. The sound of a car going by on the street below jarred her out of the conversation, reminding her that she had to get out of there, and fast.

"Maybe another time," she suggested.

Archie nodded, but she could swear he was almost...disappointed.

"If you change your mind, just let me know," he offered. "Anytime you want to talk. Or eat."

"I'll remember that," she promised. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

"Can I at least give you a lift somewhere?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you."

"All right. I'll...uh...I'll see you around then." Archie gave her a slight bob of his head and then turned and walked back down the stairs. She shut the door behind him, and her hand lingered on it for a moment before she grabbed her satchel and the bow. She'd go out the back door of the building, and if she kept to the alleyways, she should be into the woods in a matter of minutes.

She took one last look at the apartment. For a short time, she'd been almost happy here. Almost.

Maybe, just maybe she could be almost happy again. If she could only find the box.