~ A Land of Magic and Mystery ~

Rumple arose at 6 AM the following morning and pulled back the drapes, smiling to himself at the beautiful sight that met his eyes outside his bedroom window and raised the window and allowed the warm summer breeze to caress his cheeks. He could see the Acropolis and Parthenon in the distance, excited to tour the ancient sites for himself. He could also the feel the magic radiating from them, not dark magic as he'd often sensed in the Enchanted Forest but the light magic of the gods that once ruled over the lands from the famed Mt. Olympus.

Belle rose from the bed and walked over to the window, putting her arm around her husband's waist. "Rumple, it's beautiful. I can't wait to see everything!" Rumple summoned his phone and snapped a picture as the two of them stood there together, feeling like they were at last on the honeymoon they hadn't been able to talk when they got married years ago. They often spoke about a honeymoon and couldn't help feeling a little envious when Archie and Marie returned from theirs with so many photographs and videos of these beautiful countries, promising each other that one day they would finally see them for themselves.

"Well, my sweetheart, we're going to see as much of this part of the world as we can before we go back home," he murmured. "Come on. The children will be awake soon and wanting breakfast."

As if on cue Adriana walked into the sitting room holding Major Rumple in one hand and grinding the sand out of her eyes with the other. "Are we gonna go see all those old buildings today, Papa?" she asked sleepily.

"We certainly are, mo astor!" he picked her up and kissed her forehead. "Why are you awake so early?"

"Was too excited to sleep," she confessed.

"Well I hope you won't be too tired later on," Belle teased.

"Uh-uh. Can I take Major Rumple and Major Belle with me?"

"Dearie, we talked about this. You cannot take the bears with you because they will want to stay animated and if anyone sees them or any of us doing magic, you know what will happen."

"Papa, they won't stay animated. They just wanna see everything." She gave him a puppy dog look. "Please. I promise they won't be animated until we're back here."

"Adriana, sweetie, it's too risky," her mother reminded her.

"I can make them really small so they can fit in my Belle bag."

"Mo astor, I know you want to take your bears sightseeing but it's far too risky," Rumple insisted. "You're going to have to leave them here."

Adriana's face fell. "Okay," she sighed.

Belle held her daughter up so that she could gaze out the window. "Isn't that beautiful, sweetie?" she asked pointing at the Parthenon in the distance.

"It kinda looks like an old castle," she said. "Are we gonna go in it, Mama?"

"We're going to see as much of it as we can and many other places. Come on. Let's get you dressed and we'll go meet everyone for breakfast."

The little girl raced into her bedroom and opened her dresser drawer, holding up a yellow Belle shirt and a pair of shorts. "I'm gonna wear these with my big sunglasses!" she cried excitedly. "Mama, how 'bout we wear matching stuff today?"

They sometimes did wear matching outfits, allowing them to bond even closer. While she was growing up Belle always longed to have a daughter she could do those things with just as her mother did with her and Marie while she was alive. She went into their bedroom and took out her own Belle shirt and blue shorts and set them on the bed while she helped her daughter dress. She was looking forward to the day when she and all of her daughters would be matching.

"You know what would really be cool? If we all wore matching stuff...all the girls!"

"I don't know if everybody will want to do it, sweetie."

"They don't have to wear what we do...but they can match in their own stuff."

"Maybe some other day, sweetie. Now wipe that frownie off your face. You and I are still going to match today. Remember, no frownies allowed here."

Rumple was waiting for them in the sitting room wearing his white button down shirt and relaxed fit jeans with his Gucci loafers. "Aren't ye the the most beautiful lasses," he said softly and snapped a picture on his phone of mother and daughter in their matching outfits. Moments later the triplets awoke needing to be fed and changed. While her parents tended to her siblings, Adriana grabbed her father's phone and pulled up Bae's number.

In the Scorpions' room, the group stayed up most of the night watching horror movies and snacking on soda and popcorn, reminding them of the old days at the warehouse when they all lay on the floor in front of the latest model television they'd stolen and for a few hours they could forget they were in a constant struggle with the Black Dogs and their families were gone or just didn't want them. Even though they were all back with their families, they still tried to spend as much time together as they could. Next year they would all be graduating from high school and starting college, not having as much time for each other as they became adults.

Bae was having a rather pleasant dream of Andi when he heard his phone ring. He grabbed it off the nightstand and held it up to his ear expecting to hear his father's voice but instead it was his sister on the other line singing.

"Get up you sleepy head

'Cause life won't find you in bed

Take a deep breath

Look up and say

Thanks for a brand-new daa-yyy!"

"Rumplette, how'd you get Papa's phone?"

"Ahh Val, Victoria and Bobby are being fed so I just borrowed it. C'mon, get up! We got a lotta stuff to do today and ya can't do it bed! You want me to send Major Rumple over to throw you in the shower?"

"Heck no!" he jumped out of bed and grabbed some clothes out of the dresser. He could hear phones ringing in his friends' room and chuckled to himself knowing his devious sister wasn't going to let any of them sleep in on this vacation. He had to admit he was as curious as to see this new country they were in for himself. He had only been in the shower thirty minutes when he heard someone pounding on the door.

"Hey bro! Ye wanna hurry up in there?" Ewan yelled from the other side of the door. "Me an' Bobby gotta shower too!"

"Hold your horses will ya!" Bae called back.

"What t'hell are ye doin in there anyway? Just wash, rinse an' git out!"

"I'm almost done for cryin' out loud! Why don't you use this girls' bathroom?"

"Cause I don't want Fury kickin' my nuts up inta m'throat that's why!"

Bae stepped out of the shower, dried himself quickly and exited the bathroom, scowling at his friends. "If Dickie were here, you know what he'd say."

They laughed. "Yeah. he said he was gonna put in one of those showers like they have in the school. Hell no! I hated those damn things. Everybody looking at ya!" Bobby exclaimed.

Ewan raced into the bathroom and shut the door.

The girls were having a more peaceful time getting themselves ready for the day's adventure even though they were still getting used to having to wake up early during the summertime, especially if Bae's sister was around. After they were all showered and dressed they got a text message from Rumple telling them everyone was meeting in the hotel lobby after breakfast in their rooms.

Geppetto stood beside his son's bed with his hands on his hips. "What have I told you about your drinking?" he said angrily. August sat on the edge of the bed holding the ice bucket in his hands and heaved into it.

"Papa was...just...ohhhh Gooodddd!" he moaned and heaved again.

"I've had enough of this, Pinocchio! When I sent you through that wardrobe it was on the belief that you would protect Emma and lead the decent life I wanted you to, not going around drinking and staying out until all hours of the morning! What happened? You were doing fine back in Storybrooke."

August lowered his head guiltily. He hadn't as far as his father knew. He'd been cut off at the Rabbit Hole more times than he could count and it was becoming increasingly difficult to conceal his hangovers from his father.

"You're gonna have to...go...without me today..." he murmured.

"Yes but we're going to be having a talk with Archie about your drinking problem."

"Papa!"

"Don't you Papa me! You aren't hiding it as much as you think you are! Now you're going to spend the rest of the day in bed sleeping it off but we are having a talk with Archie!" Geppetto spun on his heels and left his son's room, slamming the door behind him, the noise sounding like a dozen anvils being pounded in his son's head. He found Granny and Ruby in the living room, both of them already dressed and ready for the day's adventure.

"I tried to stay with him, Geppetto, I really did...but he gave me the slip," Ruby insisted. Unlike her companion, Ruby only had two drinks during the evening, fearful that if she had anymore she would remove her protective bracelet and change. Several men in the club had stopped to talk to her and had given her their numbers but she was getting tired of playing the field since she'd been doing it for so long.

"It's all right, Ruby. I know you tried. Beverly, I just don't know what to do with him," he said to Granny.

"What you told him you would, sit him down with Archie. Hopefully he can talk some sense into the boy. Unless he finds some sense of his own after he sleeps it off."

"I don't know. I just don't know."

Of the two of them, Granny once thought she had the more difficult child to deal with but she was now beginning to realize that Ruby had mellowed out some since the curses were broken but Geppetto's son couldn't seem to shake off his wild ways, the drinking being the worst of the lot. August tended to babble quit a bit when he was in his cups and his father feared he would start telling everyone in Greece who they were.

In the Hatters' suite everyone had just finished showering and dressing when Dominic and a bellhop wheeled the silver carts with their breakfast into the room. Henry lifted the lid off one of the platters and whistled. "Holy crap Mom, check all this out!"

"Damn! We're gonna get fat eating in style like this!" Jeff chuckled. "And the kid's gonna get its palate spoiled before its even born," he added, patting Emma's belly.

"Well look at it this way Hatter, we sure as hell didn't eat like this when we were growing up," Emma reminded him.

"You can say that again!" He poured himself a glass of orange juice and handed the others out to his children. "Hey! No eating or drinking on the sofa!" he yelled at them just before they sat down on it.

"Dad, we're not gonna make a mess," Grace insisted.

"Table, Gracie. No arguments," Emma said firmly.

They had been served a Western continental breakfast with eggs, bacon, orange juice, pancakes, muffins and toast and were eager to try to more of the local cuisine but had been told by Archie that the best places to do that were the restaurants around Athens.

"I wanna go see all those old buildings!" Maggie exclaimed after she finished her breakfast. "C'mon Daddy! Don't wanna stay here all day!"

"Mags, cool your jets will ya and let us finish eating!" Grace begged. She and Henry were still eating as were their parents.

"Margaret Eva Hatter, you better not have inhaled that food and given yourself an upset stomach," their mother warned.

"I didn't."

"Guess we're gonna find out later, eh Mom?" Henry teased.

"Better let Rumple know we'll need one of his wonder tonics if she gets sick," Jeff groaned.

"M'not gonna get sick!"

"She says that now," Grace chuckled.

"M'not. You wanna bet on it?"

"Sure. Whadda ya got?" her sister challenged.

Emma slapped her forehead. "Great Hatter, just great. Now you've got the kids gambling!"

"Em, I swear I didn't..."

"Oh, never mind!"

"If I get sick...I'll be your gofer for a day."

Grace smirked. "You got a bet, Mags."

"And if I don't? What'cha gonna do for me?"

She thought for a moment. "Okay, how about you get to put me in your jail for a few hours?"

"No escaping neither!"

"I won't."

They shook hands. "Deal!"

Jeff had recorded the exchange on his phone thinking Rumple would find it amusing then looked at the time. "Okay guys let's get this cleaned up. Rumple's gonna be ready to roll in ten minutes."

Robin and Regina had little trouble getting their brood up and about much to their relief and believed the morning was off to a good start...until Kermit decided that he wanted to keep Ellie company during breakfast.

"Ewww, get away ya stupid frog! I don't want warts!" she yelled.

"Maybe he wants to kiss ya," Jason taunted.

"M'not kissin' a stupid frog. You git!"

"Jason, would you please put Kermit back in his cage?" Robin pleaded.

Pinkie jumped up on Roland's lap and started licking at his plate.

"Gross! Now your food's got dog germs!" Ellie shouted.

"I already ate and Pinkie wants some so mind your beeswax." Roland snapped.

"That is enough! I don't want anymore fighting. Pinkie, get off the table. Jason, put Kermit back in his cage!" Regina said sharply. Three heads bowed in shame.

"Sorry Mommy," they chorused.

"Now finish your breakfast. We have to meet everyone downstairs shortly. After everyone was finished eating they scraped off their plates and set them aside for their butler to take down to the kitchens to wash and Regina made sure everyone had their beds made and their clothes and toys picked up, not wanting the poor man to feel like he was serving a bunch of slobs. She cast several wards on them before they left the room, not wanting to take any chances at any of them being harmed in this strange land they found themselves in. Like Rumple, she could feel its magic and though it was light magic, she knew there were sometimes dark mages lurking in neutral boundaries.

The Nolans were also awake at 6 AM even little Neal who had been too excited to sleep. He had to crawl over several snoring Minions to get out of bed, never needing his parents to come in and wake him up. Snow and David were already sitting at the table loading their plates with the breakfast items. Neal glanced down at his plate of eggs and pancakes and frowned.

"Thought we were gonna have Greek stuff."

"We'll get that all day. Eat up son. We have a long day ahead of us," David encouraged.

"Can we see if we can find a pair of earplugs? Milo snores really loud and Gru kept telling him to quit it but he just got louder."

Snow laughed. "Maybe you should only have them animated during the day so you can sleep better honey."

"I'm okay at home 'cause they got their own room but they don't wanna stay in their box here cause they get...clausphoobic."

"Claus-tro-pho-bic," Snow corrected. "Say it like that."

"Kay. Claus-tro-pho-bic."

'That's good. It's your new word for today."

"That's a big one, Mommy."

"Well you'll be learning a lot of big words as you get older but it helps if you sound them out first."

"Okay. You think Driana's up yet?"

"Knowing Rumple they're all up and dressed already," David answered and heard his cellphone beep. He took it out and read the display. "Yep. He's up. We're all gonna meet down in the lobby at eight."

They finished their breakfast and changed their clothes. When they entered the lobby everyone else had assembled except for the Hoppers.

"It's not like Archie to be late. Did you text him, Rumple?" David asked.

"Yes. Twice. And he hasn't answered either one of them."

"Marie's not responding to mine either. I hope nothing's wrong," Belle said worriedly.

"Maybe they just slept in," Maurice mused.

Jonny was awake the moment the rays of the morning sun touched his small face. He jumped out of bed and ran into his sister's room. "C'mon Sella, Kyria! We gotta get up. Mommy and Daddy are gonna be taking us to those old buildings today."

"We're comin..." Gisella grumbled and shook Kyria awake. The two girls crawled out of bed and walked into the living room where their butler was setting the table up for breakfast. "Mommy and Daddy aren't up yet?" she asked her brother. He shook his head. "I'll go get 'em up!" he called out and ran down the hall toward the couple's bedroom with Gisella and Kyria in tow.

"Mmmm...now this is how I'd like to wake up every morning," Marie murmured as she lay in Archie's arms. "I'd stay here in bed with you all day if we didn't have so much to see and the kids would throw a fit."

"We have the rest of our lives to make up for lost time, my goddess," he whispered and kissed her.

"Last night was a good start...and this morning..."

"Daaaa-ddyyyy...Mooo-mmmy wake up!" Jonny called out from the other end of the door.

"If you're in there making out, get it done with and get up! We wanna go sightseeing!" Gisella yelled.

"Gisella!" they cried. "That daughter of ours knows far too much at her age," Archie grumbled, untangling himself from his wife's embrace. As he was walking toward the bathroom Marie picked up her buzzing cellphone to find several messages from Belle.

Marie, we're all waiting in the lobby. Where are you? Is something wrong?

Marie, did you sleep in? Answer me back or I am sending Rumple up.

We're getting up! Calm down!

What did you do, sleep in?

Something like that :D she texted back.

"Everyone's waiting downstairs in the lobby, Archie. Rumple and Belle have been burning up our phones wondering where we are."

"Well, we're going to have some explaining to do, won't we? I'll be out in a bit."

The adults were all smirking and the children were giving them impatient Looks when they finally met up with them in the lobby an hour later. "Sorry we're late," Archie said sheepishly. "We..ahhh...forgot to set the alarm."

"Bullshit!" Jeff coughed. Emma poked him in the ribs.

"Well now that we're all here, where do we go first?" Rumple asked while his brother-in-law's face turned crimson.

"You need to see the Acropolis first," Marie suggested. "But there can be very long lines even when it first opens so everyone needs to stick together."

Rumple, Belle, Bae, Archie and Marie were all carrying the infants in carriers strapped to their chests and the other children held the hands of another adult except for Grace and Henry. Alessandro arranged through the concierge team to have several minivans take them to the historical sight rather than taking the Metro to avoid as many crowded conditions as possible.

"I feel like we're on the red carpet," Bae joked when their van stopped at the entrance to the historical site. They could feel the eyes of the other visitors on them, some of them giving them hostile looks, mistaking them for snooty rich tourists.

"Was this where you wanted to renew your vows, Marie?" Belle asked her sister while they were walking toward the Parthenon. She nodded.

"Alessandro told us yesterday they don't allow anything like that on the historical landmarks," she admitted sadly.

"Oh, honey I'm so sorry. I know you had your heart set on it. What are you going to do now?"

"We're going to renew them on our anniversary and have the ceremony at on the beach in Vougliameni," she answered. "We talked about this morning. I don't care where we have it, Belle. I could marry him in the woods if I wanted to, as long as I'm with him."

Belle giggled. "You're acting like you're on your honeymoon again, keeping us all waiting while you lounge in bed with your husband!"

"Oh don't you tell me you didn't have a little fun yourself, sister dear."

"Well...last night, but not this morning!"

"I rest my case."

"Papa, what was this place supposed to be?" Adriana asked her father.

"Well, mo astor, the Greeks built this in honor of their goddess, Athena. The Athenians considered her their patron, that she took care of them but it also served as a treasury but in the sixth century it was turned into a church by the Christians honoring the Virgin Mary."

He went on to explain that it had also been turned into a mosque during the Ottoman empire and that a great portion of the building's destruction occurred when the Venetians ignited an ammunitions storage the Ottomans had been keeping in the building.

As Rumple was giving his daughter a brief history of the landmark all the other families gathered around as well as several other groups of tourists and even the tour guide herself was impressed with the sorcerer's knowledge.

He'd seen many pictures of the site in books, documentaries and on the computer but as Archie told him before, they didn't compare to the joy of actually being there.

"Have you been to Greece before?" she inquired.

"No but my brother-in-law has," he said, indicating where Archie stood taking pictures of his family on the steps then Archie handed the camera to Geppetto so that he could take more with Archie included in them.

"It's not gonna fall down, is it?" Adriana moved closer to her father's side.

Bae laughed from where he was standing. "I doubt that, Rumplette but you guys would make Stonehenge fall down."

She blew a raspberry at him.

"Enough of that you two," Rumple scolded.

"Darling, let's get a picture!" Belle handed her camera to Ruby.

"Okay everybody, big smiles!"

The Golds huddled close together smiled brightly for the camera.

"Mommy, this wouldn't make a good castle. It's a big wreck," Ellie said with a frown.

"In its heyday this was one of the grandest buildings in the world, honey," Regina said softly.

"I think it's cool. Don't you, Jase?" Roland asked his brother.

"Yep. I woulda wanted to see all those gods kick butts."

"I would've been looking for the gold," Robin teased. Regina swatted him.

"And you would've brought the wrath of the gods down on you for desecrating a holy place."

"You mean gods lived here?" Ellie asked her mother.

"Well it was dedicated to the goddess Athena."

"Cool! What was she like, Mommy?"

"Well, she was said to be the goddess of wisdom, war, law and justice among other things," Regina replied.

"Cool! Did she make fireballs like me?"

"Possibly."

"You think maybe someday I have a building and statues made of me?"

"Honey, you don't need all that to feel special. You already are to your family and your friends. Being too prideful can do more harm than good. Always remember that, Ellie."

"I will."

"Hey, Gina! Get over here! Picture time!" Emma called out from where she was standing with the rest of their families to pose for a picture while Granny held the camera. Regina took Ellie's hand and stood beside her husband, all of them wearing bright smiles as Granny snapped the picture and emailed it to Henry to add to his album. Normally they all made silly faces and gave each other bunny ears in their photographs but they chose not to do so in a place that commanded a great deal of respect. They would have plenty of time for silly moments later.

"These monuments are astounding," Maurice was saying to Penelope while they were walking the site together.

"We have so much beauty in this country, but it like any other country isn't without its problems," she confessed sadly.

"Archie mentioned the financial crisis..."

"It reminds me of your Great Depression. We owe the European Cenrtal bank almost three billion dollars amd we defaulted on our repayment this month. Our unemployment statistics are very high, one of the highest in Europe and many of our investors have been pulling their euros out of our country and investing elsewhere. People have been withdrawing all of their money from their banks or using the ATMs in a panic. Some businesses are even accepting only cash payments. Some stores now have empty shelves and people are stocking up on the basics because we don't know what's going to happen now."

"Isn't the tourism helping at all?"

"Not enough to repay such a large debt and we're going to have a voting whether we will stay in the eurozone and continue to use its currency or attempt to solve our problem internally. I'm still uncertain as to how I will vote. Either choice has consequences for this country. Some of us are able to hide our pain behind a smile. Others not so fortunate. I and several of my fellow professors run a relief organization in our spare time and Sandro and Sophie volunteer there when they can."

"Had my kingdom not been destroyed by the Ogres I would be wealthy enough to send some of my money here. Still, if you need funds for your organization..."

"Maurice, you don't have to..."

"I want to and I'm sure my family and our friends would be willing to set aside some of their own finances as well. My sons-in-law already do."

She smiled faintly. "You're a good man, Maurice Bordreaux."

The former lord found himself blushing at her words. Though her mind was troubled by her country's current affairs, she was making a valiant effort to enjoy their time together.

Everyone went to the museum next, the parents giving their children stern warnings that they were not to touch anything. Jeff chuckled, recalling the disaster they'd faced when they took the kids to the mall in Portland over Christmas.

"And there they are...the naked statues," Gisella joked and pointed to some of the sculptures in the Archaic Gallery.

"Daddy, why're they naked? You're not 'sposed to be naked in public. It's bad," Jonny reminded his father while his sister giggled behind him.

"Daddy, his bojangles are hangin out...why doesn't he wear a fig leaf?" Jason asked his father. The former outlaw sniggered.

"Don't you be getting any ideas about drawing some of the women here like French girls," Andi teased Bae. He blushed, hoping she wouldn't figure out that he was looking at some of the statues of the women and imagining her in their places.

"These sculptures and statues are beautiful. It's a shame a lot of them were damaged," Belle was saying to Rumple.

"Can we fix them, Papa?" Adriana inquired.

"No, mo astor," he whispered. "The damage they sustained is a testament to the troubled times they survived and it would be blasphemy to repair them. But you can see them as they once were in your mind."

"Okay."

"I remembered seeing statues similar to these in our holy temples," Snow said to Regina. "I know we had one of Medusa...but David's encounter with that didn't turn out well," she teased her husband.

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in. You were the one who wanted to try to use her on Cora and Regina."

"I think she would have been the one frozen by my mother," Regina said bitterly.

"Rumple, they have a reading room," Belle exclaimed. "I'd love to go up there."

He chuckled. "Of course, dearie. You never want to miss storytime."

"There are so many great exhibits in here...wish I could get some pictures or video," Henry whispered to his mother. Emma shook her head.

"You can't take them here...they'll confiscate your phone. But...I may have a trick or two up my sleeve. Let me think on it." She checked to see that no one was looking and waved her hand and a gold chain with a charm book appeared in it. "Wear that and it will send pictures and video to your phone," she whispered.

"Cool! Thanks Mom."

"I try, Henry. I try."

"That's awesome Emma. C'mon Henry!" Grace grabbed her brother's hand and they restarted their tour at the entrance now using Henry's charm to capture their moments on video.

The peaceful silence was suddenly interrupted by five screaming infants. Belle, Rumple, Bae, Archie and Marie took them down to the baby changing area in the north side of the first floor gallery and asked for some strollers that seemed to make the babies happy because it allowed them to see everything and changed them. Bobby wriggled about in his stroller impatiently and started sliding his arm along the side of the stroller to get his bracelet off.

"Bobby's gettin mad, Uncle Rumple. He wants to be a kitty and run around," Jonny whispered to him.

"Not in here he can't."

"I have a feeling we're going to have a hard time keeping up with him when he gets older," Belle sighed.

"We're going to have a hard time keeping up with all of them," Marie giggled.

They decided to have lunch at the museum's restaurant and were able to see the hills of Athens and the Acropolis itself through the panoramic windows in the dining room. Since it also offered a traditional Greek breakfast, they made reservations to eat there the following morning so that they could experience more of the local cuisine. Rumple and Belle ordered wild greens with goat cheese, grilled fish fillet with potato puree, a fresh sea bass in salt crust with steamed vegtables and lemon sherbets with ice cream. Henry, Grace, Maggie Jeff and Emma all ordered gyros. Regina had a smoked eggplant salad while Robin ordered veal scaloppini with oregano, lime and sautéed seasonal vegtables. Roland, Jason and Ellie all had tomato soup with turkey sandwiches. David ordered trachanas from Arachova with mushrooms, Snow homemade pasta with minced meat and kefalotiri cheese from Amfilohia while Neal had cherry tomatoes and red saffron. Maurice ordered Greek prosciutto for himself and Penelope at her request and Geppetto, Ruby, and Granny ordered shrimps from Alexandroupoli with ouzo. The restaurant was crowded and they all had a long wait for their meal but they were all used to that from eating at Archie and Rumple's houses since neither one of them enjoyed making dinner in a hurry. They could hear a few of the other tourists complaining some of the cursing at the staff. Adriana turned around in her chair and glared at the couple behind them.

"Hey! You quit givin them frownies!" she said angrily.

"You mind your own business," the man snapped.

"They should have more people working if they knew the place was going to be busy," the female added.

"Adriana, mo astor, ignore them," Rumple advised.

"Mister Rumple, they're mean," Neal defended. Adriana smiled at them.

"And rude. Oughta have their food dumped on their heads," Maggie said with a smirk.

"I can lasso 'em with the tablecloth." Jonny offered.

"John Wayne Hopper, you'll do nothing of the kind," his father said sternly.

"I can burn their food and make it roadkill," Ellie grinned. Giselle and Kyria laughed behind their napkins.

"You don't wanna do that, Ellie. The cook'll get blamed for it," Jason said.

"Maybe we oughta put a big ole rat on their plate. That would scare 'em off," Roland put in.

"All right guys, quit it." Robin scolded.

"Something tells me these kids keep you on your toes," Penelope whispered to Maurice.

He chuckled. "The beauty of it is some of them I can spoil rotten and send home to their parents."

"Oh thanks a LOT, Papa!" Belle groaned.

Moments later servers returned with the orders for both tables. No sooner had the server given the other couple their meal, both of them complained about the long wait and their meals.

"I asked for bottled water, not tap water. Did you not understand English?" the woman ranted.

"Oh, get over yourselves," Emma muttered from her seat, the couples' loud voices giving her a headache. Whether it was the woman's loud voice or simply being hungry, Maureen started howling, her brother and cousins following suit. Their older siblings were laughing thinking they could give the irritating couple beside them a run for their money.

"Jesus Christ, can't you shut them fuckin' kids up!" the man complained. "Thank God we don't have any. They'd drive me nuts."

"You'd probably be in jail for child abuse!" Archie snapped, his blue eyes narrowed to slits.

The Scorpions made crashing and burning sounds.

"You want your face rearranged, old man?"

"Ye might not want to bait anyone at this table, dearie unless ye want yer arse handed to ye on a plate," Rumple gave him a cold stare, his hand gripping the handle of his cane tightly, wanting to smash the man's face with it while his brother-in-law wanted to give him another set of holes with his umbrella.

"Ohhh yeah, you don't want to mess with Gold and his Cane of Doom and the Hopper umbrella buddy!" Bobby hooted.

"Is there something wrong here?" they heard someone ask as he approached their tables.

"Yes. These people have been rude to your staff and rude to us. They should be asked to leave," Snow answered.

The couple protested loudly, spouting obscenities at both the restaurant staff and the Storybrooke residents, angering the parents. Several staff members were forced to physically remove the couple from the restaurant and once they were outside Rumple smirked and waved his hand.

"What did you do to them, Rumple?" Belle whispered.

"Papa gave them soap mouth," Adriana giggled.

"Among other things," the sorcerer said evasively. "Needless to say, they'll be minding their manners next time."

They spent the rest of the day in the Plaka, a historic village in Athens. The stone streets were of labyrinthine patterns and neoclassical architecture. Unlike most modern cities, the view was not obstructed by utility lines as they were all located underground and accessible by tunnels. Bae and his friends decided to separate from the group for a bit so that he could visit the Folk Art and Frissiras Museum of Contemporary Greek and European Painting so that he could study the works of other artists to inspire him.

"One of these days bro, you're gonna have your stuff in here," Ewan said.

"Maybe."

"No maybes, you will," Andi assured him.

Bae and his parents had several discussions about his future education and they all agreed that he needed to live out his dream of being an artist instead of spending his time at the shop. They were looking at several art schools in New York and even a few in Europe. It would mean that Bae would be separated from his friends, one of the many downsides to finally becoming an adult but he knew he always had the phone and the internet to keep in touch and they'd all agreed that no matter what they chose to do with their lives, they would still stay in Storybrooke.

"You know, we passed a few artists outside selling some of their work. Maybe you could do that," Becky suggested.

"I could..."

"It would get you noticed, man," Bobby pointed out.

His fellow artists didn't seem to mind it but he knew many of them had to try to sell their works to tourists to make a living. He'd heard his parents and their friends discussing the country's current financial crisis shortly before they left Storybrooke and some of the concerns they had. He knew his mother and aunt feared rioting since their nurse was killed in one years before but Archie's friend assured them they wouldn't have as much trouble as people believed.

"Yeah it would but some of these people need that money right now more than I do and Papa said while we were here, we were going to support the locals as much as we could with what we spend."

"So you could put up a stand and tell them you're going to donate what you make," Andi suggested.

"Yeah I could and make sure it goes to people who need it. A lot of us know what it was like to have nothing."

They stopped to talk to several artists and purchased some of their works and one of them invited them all to sit down with him. The others had very little to say but he and Bae had a wonderful time discussing their work and he even allowed Bae to sketch him and his daughter. They were having such a wonderful time that they hated to leave but his father wanted them to meet up at the Cine Paris which was an outdoor cinema.

The Charmings were stopped at several tables where a group of girls were making fuzzy marionettes, moldable faces out of balloons and one of them was attempting to make an image of David's face with rice while their parents sang and played various instruments. Neal was speaking with a girl just a few years older than him who made him a makeshift Minion out of a balloon.

"That's really cool! You seen Despicable Me?" he asked her.

"Yeah. I watch it a lot. I wanna go see the Minion movie but I don't know if I can."

"Why not?"

"Cause my dad has to work."

"Awww. I hope it's really good and you get to see it."

Neal could feel sadness and anger amongst some of the people they visited as did the other children and when he asked his father about it, David explained what was going on in the country in a way that his son understood.

"Be nice to them, Neal, and be generous," his mother advised. "But also keep in mind they have their pride and they're trying very hard to put up a brave front for the people who come here."

"Awww...I can't get this to come out right," one of the girls complained when her rice image hadn't turned out the way she planned.

"It doesn't matter. It looks good to me," David praised. "I'll tell you what...why don't you make me one of a horse I can take home with me?"

"Really?"

"Sure."

Snow purchased three marionettes thinking they would make the perfect additions to the talent show the school would hold during the fall and two of her students were turning out to be master puppeteers. The Greek families were astounded by the generosity of this particular tourist family and suspected at least the parents had been in a similar situation. Before they left, the girl had given David the rice image she created for him. It didn't look much like a horse but it didn't matter to him. He would still hang it up as he did with all of his son's artistic efforts.

The Hatters were happily indulging their sweet tooths in Ice Scream, an ice cream shop serving a wide variety of flavors with some eye catching names in gorgeous displays as well as milk shakes. Emma leaned back in her chair sipping from her milk shake, chuckling to herself.

"This kid's gonna have a major sugar high when it comes out," she joked.

"The best part is this stuff is homemade," Jeff praised.

"And they serve waffles with it!" Grace exclaimed. She and Maggie were having pistachio and caramel, dipping their waffles into it while Henry was having cookies and cream. Jeff raised his cone of a version of chocolate ice cream named erotica to his mouth and licked at it provocatively while winking at Emma.

"Keep it up, Hatter and you're gonna get us kicked outta the place..." she whispered.

"But it's sooo tasty..." he purred.

"Dad! Our virgin eyes!" Henry exclaimed.

"Dad, do that later," Grace scolded.

"Yeah or you're gonna get 'rrested for public lewdness," Maggie piped up.

"Where did you hear that word, Mags?" Jeff inquired of his daughter.

"You said it when you 'rrested that guy who peed on the wall of The Rabbit Hole."

"Hatter! You took our kid with you a bust?" Emma glared at him across the table.

"What the heck was I supposed to do? You were at the breathing class and I was on my way back from the store when they called it in."

"It's called Lamaze class, Hatter and it would be nice if you went to one instead of making Mom do it."

"Don't think different ways of breathing are gonna make it any less painful, hon."

"Says you," she scoffed. "Now quit scarring our kids, will ya?"

"Fine. But you owe me."

"Yeah. Later."

"Oh my God. TMI, TMI," Henry groaned and buried his face in his hands.

The Hoods spent most of their time visiting the various shops. Robin made sure to buy some souvenirs for the Merry Men, who were already talking about taking a little vacation of their own the following year. Instead of visiting Europe, they wanted to travel west to places like Colorado and Montana. At Olympico Jewelery he bought Byzantine pendants for Regina and Ellie since both of his girls loved wearing jewelry and Ellie was already after her parents to get her ears pierced though Regina didn't want her to until she was older and at the George Dolkas T-Shirt shop they had a great time browsing through the owner's collection of original t-shirts to find the ones they liked as well as some for their friends. Regina and Ellie bought matching shirts that depicted a breathtaking view of Athens, Ellie wanting to follow Adriana's example and dedicate a day to dressing alike.

"How about we do that tomorrow, honey?"

"You promise?"

"I promise. And you can even help me find a matching pair of shorts to wear."

"Cool!"

"Daddy, I wanna get a Swatch!" Roland begged.

"We'll get one but I don't want to see it sitting on your dresser back home, understand?" Robin said firmly.

"Can I get one, Daddy?" Jason asked.

"Same applies to you, Jase. If I buy them you wear them."

"We will."

Robin took his sons next door to the Swatch shop while Regina and Ellie stayed in the T-shirt shop purchasing the rest of their items. Both of their arms were loaded with shopping bags when they came out of the shop but they would have some wonderful new additions to their wardrobes back home.

While Ruby was enjoying herself shopping in a punk fashion store called Remember, Geppetto took Granny to the mosque on the Roman Agora. While she was standing on the sidewalk taking pictures of the marvelous structure that even served as a bakery for the Venetian army that now was a storage site for the Roman Agora archeologists, Geppetto glanced down at his phone nervously as it beeped with another text from Archie.

Did you ask her yet?

No.

What are you waiting for? That ring to burn a hole in your pocket?

Maybe you should come down here...

No, you'll be fine. Besides it should be done in private anyway. Just let me know what happens. Quit stalling and ask her!

There's something else I need to talk to you about...later.

I take it it has to do with why August is back at the hotel?

Yes.

All right. After dinner. Now get moving!

"Beverly..." he said hesitantly.

"You've been quiet this afternoon. Are you worried about Pinocchio?"

"I am but...there's something else I've been thinking about too and..."

"Yes..."

Please, please let it be what I'm thinking it is, Granny pleaded silently. If it was, he couldn't have picked a better setting for the occasion. She only wished her granddaughter would be there but she wanted to give Ruby some space on their vacation and show her that she trusted her enough to do things by herself without getting into trouble.

He took the box out of his pocket and held it out to her. "I know men usually do this on one knee...and I would...if I was twenty or thirty years younger...but..." He opened the box up to reveal a beautiful diamond engagement ring. "Beverly Lucas...will you marry me?"

"What do you think? Yes!" she cried and threw her arms around him and kissed him. "What took you so long?"

"Well...ahhh...we said we were going to take things slow..."

"We've been taking them slow enough!"

His hand was trembling as he placed the ring on her finger, both of them knowing this was a huge step they were taking but even though they were older than they were with their first spouses, they were looking forward to spending the rest of their lives together. They found Ruby at Remember and she suggested they go to one of the outdoor cafes to celebrate and called August to give him the news. He was happy for his father but still feeling too miserable to get out of bed.

The Golds and the Hoppers along with Maurice, Penelope and Mary were touring more of the historical sites in the Plaka with Penelope acting as the family's unofficial tour guide. Archie and Marie enjoyed revisiting some of the places they'd seen during their honeymoon. As they stood at the site where the famous Tower of the Winds stood, Rumple sensed there were some traces left of the great magic that once surrounded the building that was rumored to be the grave of Philip of Macedon but was in truth a meteorological station that was built in the first century.

"So there really was magic here, Papa?" Adriana asked.

"Yes, mo astor. There isn't much there now but we can still feel it. White magic." As they walked over to the Doorway of the Medrese, the mages in the group felt a sudden chill, even the babies started crying.

"Jonny, what's the matter?" Archie frowned. His son's face was pale. He stepped back away from the site, holding his father's hand tightly.

"Papa, this place is creepy..." Adriana whimpered.

"Aye..." her father agreed.

"Penelope, what happened here?" Maurice asked her.

"I suspect they're sensing what happened here. This is not a very popular place for the natives or the tourists."

"What was it?"

"Well Belle, it was originally a theological school but when we were fighting for our independence from the Turks this place became a prison. Many people were hung here...even after the war was over," Penelope answered.

"Gross! Mommy, let's get outta here!" Gisella cried, tugging on her mother's arm.

"Maybe they should tear it down," Mary suggested. "I mean, if it is not a pleasant chapter in your history, there's really no need to keep it standing."

All that remained of the site was in fact the doorway, the rest of it had been destroyed.

"I think we keep it standing for its historical significance and I choose to remember those who died here."

"Let's go see something a bit more pleasant, shall we dearies?" Rumple suggested.

They walked to Tripodon Street to see the Monument to Lysikratous. While the families took pictures, Penelope gave them a brief history of the site.

"Are you serious...did someone actually practice speaking there with rocks in his mouth to help with his stutter? I saw that on The King's Speech and it made me cringe only it was marbles not stones," Marie moaned.

"There were rumors that Diogenes did practice his speeches there but that's all it has ever been proven to be...rumors. You'll find quite a lot of them in many historical places and historical figures. He...had a colorful history to say the least."

"I read that he urinated on people who insulted him, defecated in theaters and...did some other indecent...things in public," Archie said.

"Ewww! You mean he pooped and peed on people? That's 'gusting, Daddy!" Jonny cried.

"Unfortunately there are some accounts of his obscenity from other writers and orators who lived during that period," Penelope confirmed.

"Well, I guess every realm has its share of mad people. I'm sure you girls remember Lord Babineut?"

"Oh, Papa, don't remind us. That man was a pervert!" Belle exclaimed.

"And he had the foulest mouth in Avonlea," Marie added. "Especially towards the women. We were glad when you and Jonas tossed his worthless hide into prison and he ended up dying of the pox there anyway."

"He's damned lucky I wasn't around to hear his foul mouth. It would have been scrubbed raw with soap after I gave him a few whacks with my cane to teach him some manners," Rumple growled.

"Oh you would have needed to let me put in a few shots Rumple," Archie put in. Seconds later his phone beeped. He took it out and read the display, grinning. "Oh, finally! Geppetto proposed."

"And? What did she say?" Marie pressed.

"She said yes of course! How could you doubt it?"

"Looks like we have some celebrating to do, eh Rumple?"

"Of course, Moe. Come on. Everyone should be at Cine Paris now."

Everyone congratulated Geppetto and Granny on their upcoming nuptials and everyone bought takeout from a nearby cafe to take into the theater with them, something that not even the closed in theatres in the States allowed. The weekly feature was La Isla Minima with the English title of Marshland but the content was not suitable for their younger children. Maurice, Penelope and Mary took the kids back to the hotel while the rest of the adults watched the movie.

"I think I love this as much as do our nights at the drive in," Belle said dreamily as she snuggled close to her husband while they sipped a milk shake they bought from the ice cream shop. "Here I can see the stars..."

"Psst...no PDAs, Papa," Bae teased from behind them.

Rumple waved him away and pulled Belle closer. "Git!"

"I'm enjoying the view more than the movie," Marie admitted as she cuddled next to her own husband.

"So am I, my goddess," he murmured.

Emma and Jeff sat a few rows back feeding each other popcorn while Snow and Regina were just content to rest after a long day of walking and their husbands had their drinks while Granny and Geppetto toasted each other over a glass of wine and discussed setting a date for their wedding.

It was after midnight when they returned to the hotel and woke their children up to take them back to their own rooms for the evening. It was only their second night Greece and they were already feeling like they were having the adventure of a lifetime.