…Flashback… six years ago… Storybrooke… same evening…

Both Belle and Rumple magically returned home in their own individual swirls of dust and magic, arriving at the stoop of their pink Victorian home. Belle turned to Rumple and briefly held his hand. When she looked up to him, he looked back to her as he fumbled with his words, "I'll... talk to her." Surprised to hear that he hadn't forgotten about their familial problems, Belle smiled as he continued, "You're right. Lily shouldn't have run away from the school. She knows our numbers. She should have at least tried to contact one of us."

Belle, gratified to hear that they were in agreement again, replied with great relief, "I'm glad that you understand my concern for her." Then her voice changed to that of worry as she postulated, "I mean, what if something had happened to her on her way back into town? How would we, or anyone else for that matter, have known to help her?"

He nodded in concurrence and consented to taking on the responsibility of ensuring her remediation by assuring, "She knows better. Don't worry. She will not be doing this again." He lifted Belle's hand to his face and kissed the top of it sincerely. She gave him another grateful smile and said appreciatively, "Thank you."

He released his grip from her and she proceeded back inside the house. Rumple lagged behind as he stared at his wife entering their home. From where he stood he could see the light to his daughter's bedroom still on. He thought about her problem. She was still getting bullied at school. Short of cursing all of her enemies into slugs, he knew that there had to be a better solution. He thought about how he was going to approach the situation and concluded that he either needed to intervene and dispense of her problem personally or he needed to facilitate something or someone to change. Before he could react to either situation, he needed to assess the situation first and get to the root of the problem. He needed to talk to her. Despite what Belle thought about him and his pursuit of the Author, Lily was always Rumple's top priority. She was, afterall the reason Rumple continued using magic.

Upstairs, Lily had gone to the bathroom and then returned to her bedroom. When she arrived to her room she was surprised to see her father standing in her bedroom staring stoically out her bedroom window. "Papa..." gasped Lily in surprise. "You-you startled me."

"Your mother tells me that you are still getting some unwarranted attention at school," he said while still staring out the window. "Is this true?" he asked as he finally turned to her.

"Yes," Lily replied meekly as she crawled back into her bed. Rumple stepped away from the window and approached his daughter who sat cross-legged on her bed with an open book in her lap. From what he saw, she wanted to appear casual and normal but deep down he knew that she was embarrassed by it all. He stood before her looking down at her in with his arms tucked around his back. His stark black suit created a darkened, intimidating shroud around him, but despite his stern looks he inquired softly, "What happened?"

Lily shrugged her shoulders timidly and said simply, "People were bothering me, so I walked away from them."

"Yes, but you walked beyond where you were supposed to. I'm very disappointed in you Lily because quite frankly, you know better than that." His comment really ate her up inside and she felt horrible. He approached her slowly. "You could have called upon either your mother or myself, but instead you took matters into your own hands and left without having told anyone. This troubles your mother and I because if something had happened to you, we wouldn't have never been able to forgive ourselves." He could tell how hurt she was for being reprimanded so he sat down beside her. "We love you. Very much so. And if you're having issues with something your mother and I want to know about it. Whatever it is we can figure it out together, ok?" He waited for Lily to reply and when she acknolwedged him with a head nod he quickly changed the tone of the conversation from condemnation to one of problem solving. "So how are we going to fix this? Should I speak with someone at your school?"

"No, Papa! Everyone already thinks I'm a freak for being your daughter. You'll just make things worse."

Rumple was struck by her comment. It hurt him to hear such things come out of his daughter's mouth because it echoed Baelfire so similarly. Still, he carried on, "Lily..." He exhaled a frustrated sigh and then rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "We need to do something. You're being tormented and it just kills me to see you this way. I will not allow it. So tell me, honestly, what happened? I don't care how bad you think it is I want to know what's wrong. So what is it, sweetheart?"

"What's wrong?" reiterated Lily angrily as she raised her voice. "This whole town is what's wrong! Something isn't right. Can't you feel it?" Rumple understood exactly what she was referring to; the cost, but could she really tell? Was it a coincidence that she felt something strange in the town as well? "You're right. I should have called Mum, but I didn't want to talk to her. And even if I had wanted to call you, you would have been too busy or off on some business trip. I had even gone to the shop to try to talk to Neal, but the shop was closed. You know who was left? My therapist. Isn't that pathetic?"

"First of all, you know that's not true. I would have answered your call. Second, did you even try to call me?" Lily looked to her father and paused. He was right. She was so caught up in the flurry of distress that she hadn't even bothered to find a phone to contact any of her parents. "That can't be all that's bothering you?" prodded Rumple further with deep concern.

Lily teared up and said more sincerely, "You'd think that being as notorious as we are I'd have someone to talk to, but I didn't..." Lily suddenly thought about Neal Nolan and realized that he did attempt to save her, but like everything else, it was always too little too late. Rumple stared down at his hands as he continued listening intently. "In that one moment Papa, I felt... alone."

Her last word hung in the air like poisonous smog and it left the pair in deafening silence. He brought her close and then kissed the top of her head. "But, my dear, that's where you are wrong. You're never be alone," he replied while they embraced. He continued hugging her dearly. "And you'll never be alone, you want to know why?" She looked up to him beneath his warm embrace with hopeful eyes as he answered, "because you are magical and with magic... all things are possible."

Lily rolled her eyes and stated incredulously as they pulled away from each other, "Magic, Papa? Really? Those are your encouraging words? Magic is for babies and make believe. I'm too old for that."

Rumple scoffed at her comment and then said with a smirk, "Trust me, you're never too old for magic." Upon seeing how she handled the 'magic' comment he decided to take a different approach and explained further. "Look, what I'm trying to say is that you're brilliant. You're so loved and so magnetic that it'll be impossible for anyone who loves you to be too far away. Trust me. Someday, someone will see you the way I do."

Lily thought about her father's comment and thought about Neal Nolan. He did, at least, always seem to try and help her. Lily wondered if there was something more to it. Seeing that Lily had opened up Rumple asked, "Who was it this time? Was it the same person?"

Lily shook her head and replied, "It was a different person. Only, this person had a scar over his eye."

Rumple was fishing for a name, but he knew that Lily was deliberately being less than forthcoming. She was being clever and was trying to avoid a confrontation between her father and her assailant. Bluntly, Rumple asked, "What's his name?"

"I'm not going to tell you his name."

"And why won't you tell me his name?"

"Because I know how you are with names and it always comes back to haunt me in the end."

In confusion, Rumple questioned, "I don't understand. Are you trying to protect your abuser?"

"No, I just don't want to see anybody else hurt."

"Who said that anybody was going to get hurt?"

"Papa..." started out Lily as she rolled her eyes incredulously at her father. "We both know that you have a pension for the dramatic."

Rumple chortled at the comment, thinking the same thing about her and replied, "Oh, do I?"

Lily had no idea how to respond and they both allowed his comment to hang in the air. He knew that what she said wasn't a lie. Right before Rumple had a chance to respond, Lily took advantage of the silence and attempted to change the subject. "I just want to forget about this. Ok? I promise I won't run away anymore. I'll find a teacher next time." Rumple nodded his head in satisfactory and upon seeing that her father was much more receptive she continued, "Papa, I've been thinkng..."

"Oh?"

"I'm going to focus more on my studies. I want to be done with Storybrooke Academy and go straight to college."

"College? That's mighty fast." He couldn't believe they were already having this conversation.

"Yes, and the quickest route for me to get there is to do really well in school, skip a few grades and prove myself college ready to all my teachers."

"You seem awfully keen on being done with school..." but he could tell right away that it wasn't her education that she had a problem with. It was the town. He couldn't blame her for wanting to run away. "Now your mother," Rumple added. "If you can remember, she worked at NYU's library for a time."

"That's... another thing I wanted to talk to you about," mentioned Lily hesitantly. Rumple raised an eyebrow out of both concern and curiosity as he listened. "I want to attend New York University. I want to go back home to New York. Is our old home still there?"

This was all happening too quickly for Rumple. They had just moved back to Storybrooke two years ago and he finally felt like he reached a place of complacency with all things. He blinked a few times out of disbelief but then carried on as he pointed out to her, "Yes, but Lily, this is your home."

"I know..." she replied sadly.

He could sense how unhappy she was. He could practically feel the weight of her sadness on his shoulders and wanted desperately to remedy the situation. He took a few moments to soak in what she said and tried to reason out her logic. She wasn't intending on doing anything dangerous. Instead, he felt proud of her and had to give her praise for finding an alternate and positive solution to her problem.

"I'll tell you what," he began. The moment she heard the beginning of his proposition she turned to him with hopeful eyes and her face lit up in anticipation. "When you're much much older, you can stay at our old place in New York so you can attend college there, but," he lifted his finger at the stipulation as he said the conjunction, "no more running away and being disrespectful to your mother, deal?" Lily nodded enthusiastically. Rumple continued, "and... you must answer this one question truthfully for me..." Lily leaned in, waiting with bated breath on what the question could be. The finger he had pointed up in the air slowly turned down until it was pointing right at her. "Who suggested this to you?"

At first, Lily was offended that her father didn't believe her idea was original, but then again, she also knew to never doubt her father's perceptiveness. "Roland Locksley," she answered honestly yet timidly.

He squinted his eyes to scrutinize her statement and made his judgement slowly, "Locksley... you mean the boy who vandalized the town, terrorized dozens of families including us and claimed they all had magic?"

Lily nodded, confirming the same individual. Rumple automatically disapproved and it was obvious as he turned to look away from his daughter. What angered him the most wasn't that he harbored any leftover anger from the vandalism, it was the fact that he suggested this idea to have his daughter leave him prematurely. He stewed as he thought of more reasons to dislike the boy. Lily could see her father's disapproval grow on his face, so she quickly defended Roland and explained.

"He's changed, Papa," she said as she placed a caring hand on his wrist. He noticed her soft gentle hand on his and was more inclined to look at her when she spoke. "When I went to see Dr. Hopper today I was actually intruding on his session and it was Roland who brought me to Mum."

"Ah, I see," acknowledged Rumplestiltskin, but the explanation did nothing to waver his opinion of her friend. "Well, I think you should get some sleep. We'll discuss your schooling arrangments in the morning with your mother." Lily rolled her eyes at the comment which Rumple took notice and slight offense to as she got underneath her bed covers. "I really meant what I said in regards to your mother. You might not take her seriously, but you'll soon come to find that she is rarely wrong, and that you'll find no greater ally than her." Lily nodded compliantly and Rumple sealed the mutual understanding with a kiss to her forehead. "Sweet dreams, my love."

Rumple got up and flipped the switch to her bedroom light off as he left her room and shut her door. Lily got under the covers and turned in her bed to where she was facing her bedroom window to get comfortable when she noticed specks of dirt on the rug in the pale moon light. Lily immediately turned on the lamp that was on her side table next to her bed to investigate further. She got out of her bed to investigate the tracks when she also noticed fresh pine needles on the floor which could have only gotten there from her father who was standing and pacing in those exact spots in her room. The dirt on the floor was fresh and moist and suggested that it was fairly recent visit. It made Lily wonder how they got there, especially since the only pine needles in Storybrooke was in Storybrooke Forest. What was Papa doing in Storybrooke Forest?

Lily picked up one of the needles from the floor and stared at it intensely. She pondered how it was possible for pine needles to have traveled so far in such a short span of time. She knew that her parents had stepped outside for only a moment for privacy, but she also knew that there weren't any pine trees in her neighborhood and the forest was on the opposite end of town. Lily had so many questions flood her mind as she returned to her bed. What was her father and mother doing in the forest? How could they have traveled so far yet so quickly in one evening?

This wasn't the first time she noticed pine needles in their home and she knew of her parents venturing into the forest occassionally. It made Lily wonder what was going on in the forest that had her parents retreat there every time they needed a private moment together. None of it made sense to her as she crawled back underneath her covers. She placed the pine needle on her side table and turned off her lamp light.

She pondered and pondered until she could think no more and fell asleep.

It was a dark room, darker than anything she could have imagined. Despite her surroundings being as dark as they were she could still see her body as clear as day.

"Where am I?" she wondered outloud to herself. There was no echo when she spoke, no form or definition of her placement in space. She couldn't even tell what it was that she was walking on, but knew somehow that it was solid. It was the only thing that made sense as to how it was that she was still standing and it kept her oriented. She moved about the void.

"Hello?" she called out again. Nothing replied back to her, but the response to her question came back to her through her intuition. Somehow, the answer reverberated throughout her body. The call made her feel like this place was her destiny, that she would be coming back to this place again. Lily didn't feel like she was in any danger, but she did find the whole ordeal alarming; especially with how she was coming to this knowledge. Her intuition spoke to her again, and for many reasons she needed to wake up. Lily couldn't agree more. She wanted to wake up from this eerie place.

…LIIIIIILLLYYYY…

Lily spun about where she stood to identify the familiar voice, but no figure came out to greet her. The last time she had heard this call was when she had run into Neal Nolan earlier in the day after he had shoo'd away her bullies at school, and then she had heard the voice after she had a conversation with Neal at the hospital a year ago. This voice was somehow tied to Neal Nolan and she couldn't explain why. Dark room, voice, destiny, Neal Nolan. This was somehow being communicated to her and it was something she just couldn't fathom. It was as if the answers were just beyond her grasp.

Her mother. For some reason, the idea of her mother popped up into her consciousness and she called to it. "Mother!" called out Lily into the emptiness. The name brought around the feeling of being grounded, centered. Almost immediately she felt comforted and safe. She called out into it again, "Mama!" Clarity was beginning to take hold and Lily was beginning to take control of this dream.

"Mama!" called out Lily again as she sat up in her bed in a pool of her own sweat. She looked around the room and found herself shaking. It was a dream, wasn't it? Lily felt dizzy and confused.

Suddenly, Lily heard thumpings from down the hall coming from her parents' bedroom. Her mother immediately opened Lily's bedroom door and rushed to her side. Belle gathered Lily and brought her to her chest. "I'm here, love," soothed Belle to her daughter. Belle felt how saturated Lily's clothes were and remarked helplessly, "Oh honey, you're sweating! Are you ok? Was it a dream?"

"I-I think so," replied Lily, dazed and confused. Rumple came into Lily's bedroom and observed studiously.

"What happened?" questioned Rumple who had entered the threshold to Lily's bedroom and was looking on with concern.

"It was just a dream," answered Belle plainly.

"Yes, but what kind of dream?" His question wasn't beyond merit, but the timing of the questioning wasn't appropriate. His daughter was both shakened and confused and Belle defensively responded, "Rumple! Can't you see that you're daughter is in distress? We can talk about the dream later. Right now, she needs to be calmed back down."

Seeing that he wasn't doing any good being present he left Lily's bedroom and returned to bed. There wasn't anything he could do at that moment that Belle wasn't already doing, or so he justified in his mind. The moment Rumple left Belle began rocking Lily back and forth in her arms.

"You were little the last time I rocked you to sleep like this," murmured Belle softly to Lily. Belle reflected with joy over the memories she still had of her and her daughter when they were in New York. She looked back in fondness over how simple their lives were in New York and in an instant felt sad that it had come down to soothing her daughter like this. Lily didn't respond to Belle's whispered observation and instead nuzzled harder, holding onto her mother so tightly that is seemed as though her life depended on it. "Oh honey..." whimpered Belle sympathetically as she felt the squeezes come from her daughter.

Belle welcomed the nurturing and was grateful to be there for Lily, but she was greatly disturbed by what had just happened. The nature over which Lily had receded to needing Belle's comfort like this gave her pause. It had been a long time since they had last experienced something such as this and it made her wonder. What did she dream to invoke such a reaction? Was this another traumatizing dream like the one she had experienced years ago? As tender as this moment was between herself and her daughter it was also an ominous one. It made her worry about the future and what was to become of them as a result of it.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Ended a little dark, but the next chapter I'm looking forward to publishing soon! When it comes to Lily, dreams always seem ominous. In this chapter I liked showing Lily bond with her mother. I kind of portrayed that Lily only bonded with her father (and true, she does gravitate towards her father often), but I wanted to showcase that Belle was just as adequate at comforting Lily. Thank you for reading. I look forward to reading your reviews! Until then, see you next chapter.