Story title comes from the song "When You Believe" from DreamWorks Prince of Egypt.

AN: So I had a bit of trouble writing parts of this chapter, but I think it all came together alright in the end. Still having computer issues, so updates will continue to be infrequent until I finally stop procrastinating and get my stupid technology looked at. I'm basically writing each chapter by hand and then transcribing it onto the computer when it's free. Hopefully I'll be getting this problem resolved soon(ish) so I can go back to writing with all my notes accessible whenever I want.

Chapter 3: That's How You Know

Giselle stared at her mother's strangely large stomach. Her parents, the king and queen, had explained to her that her baby brother or sister was inside there, but the little blue-eyed bundle of energy still had many questions. "How did my baby brother or sister get inside you, Mama?" she asked innocently, crawling up onto her mother's near non-existent lap. "Did you eat him?"

Queen Leah chuckled lightly. "No, my darling girl," she said. "Your baby brother or sister is inside of me because he—or she—is still too small to live outside of me. He—or she—still has to grow some more before he—or she—can come out."

"But why?" asked Giselle. "Why can't he come out and play with me now?"

The queen smiled patiently at her daughter. "Well, he—or she—can't survive without me just yet, my darling. Before a baby is born, he—or she—depends on the mother to keep him alive and help him grow. All babies start out very small, Giselle. Even after your brother or sister is born, it will still be some time before he—or she—is big enough to play with you."

"But why, Mama?"

Queen Leah chuckled and pulled her daughter close. "Oh my darling Giselle, you are so full of questions today. Why the sudden interest?"

Giselle buried her face in her mother's chest and shrugged. "Papa says I'm gonna be a big sister soon an' that I gotta be 'sponsible for the baby. But Mama, I don't know how ta be a big sister an' I don't even know what 'sponsible means!" She started at a mutter, but ended her rant at a wail.

"Baby girl," said the queen patiently, "no one knows how to be a big sister at first. You will just do the very best that you can. You will love and care for your baby brother or sister with all your heart and that will make you the best big sister you can be."

"Really?" She looked up at her mother with pleading eyes as blue as the sky on a clear day.

"Of course my darling. You will be the very best big sister that any Giselle could ever be."

Giselle smiled happily and cuddled close. Then she spoke, her voice a small whine, "I still don't know what 'sponsible means, Mama."

XXXX

"Look, Em, if I'd've known you were planning on sleeping in your car, I never would have agreed to stay at Granny's." Dawn was half-bent over with her head poking through the open passenger side window of Emma's yellow bug.

"I know, Dawnie," said Emma, lowering the newspaper (where she was perusing the housing ads) and looking her sister in the eye, "that's why I didn't tell you."

Dawn rolled her eyes and opened the passenger side door to join her sister inside. "It's not exactly ideal," she said.

Emma shrugged. "It's not the first time I've slept in my car," she admitted.

"Doesn't make it right," said Dawn. "Mom and Dad'd be pissed if they found out."

Emma narrowed her green eyes to glare at Dawn. "That's why no one's going to tell them, capiche?"

Dawn opened her mouth to protest, but was interrupted by a light tap on Emma's window. The sisters looked over to see Mary-Margaret waving at them, so Emma rolled down the window. "Hi Mary-Margaret," she said.

"Hi," she said back, glancing into the back seat of the bug and frowning at the pile of blankets and pillows. "Not that it's any of my business, but are you guys sleeping in your car?"

"Just Emma," said Dawn. "I've got a room at Granny's, but she was forced to kick Emma out. We're pretty sure it was the mayor's doing."

"Hey," protested Emma, "it's not so bad in here."

Mary-Margaret looked doubtful. "If you say so," she said. "Just—if you change your mind, I've got an extra room available for rent at my apartment. It's yours if you'd like it."

"Thanks," said Emma stubbornly, "but I'm fine."

Mary-Margaret shrugged. "Just think about it," she said. "It's an open offer. You girls have a good night."

XXXX

Dawn slid into the empty bench across from Henry at his booth, waving to Emma and Mary-Margaret as they left the diner together. "What's up squirt," she asked her nephew with a smile.

"Hey Dawn," said Henry. "Guess what? I found Prince Charming today."

"Prince Charming as in Emma's birth dad?" asked Dawn, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"Yup. He's in a coma at the hospital. I saw him today when my class went there to volunteer."

"You don't say," said Dawn, pulling Ruby aside to order a hot chocolate. "So what's the plan there?"

"Miss Blanchard is gonna read their story to him," said Henry excitedly. "It's perfect! They're true loves; he'll have to remember her!"

Dawn gave him a sad grin; she wanted to believe it would happen, but she knew how tricky curses could be. "I hope so squirt," she said. "So any luck finding the story I told you about in that book of yours?"

"Not yet," said Henry, eying Dawn oddly as she pulled a bottle of tabasco from her large purse. "Do you take that stuff everywhere with you?"

"Mostly," admitted Dawn. "Dad and Nick always resupply me at Christmas because they got tired of me always asking for it at restaurants. Thought it was weird or embarrassing or something." She shrugged nonchalantly and proceeded to dump a generous amount of the hot sauce into her cocoa. Henry made a disgusted face. "I've been told that my taste buds are weird," said Dawn, cracking a smile.

"It's stranger than cinnamon cocoa, that's for sure," said Henry.

Dawn snorted. "Story of my life, squirt," she said. "Anyway, do you have your book with you? We could look for the story together."

"Sorry, Dawn," said Henry, "Miss Blanchard is borrowing it right now."

"Right, right. The reading to her prince thing-a-ma-bob," said Dawn, nodding head. "Maybe some other time, then?"

"I'd like that," said Henry, smiling widely. Dawn smiled back, giddy that her newly-discovered nephew wanted to spend time with her. "So are you gonna tell me more about this story?" he asked after a minute of silence.

Dawn eyes him critically. "I suppose it couldn't hurt," she said slowly. "What do you want to know?"

"How does it start?" he asked eagerly.

"Well, it all starts with a girl…"

XXXX

Giselle padded along the empty halls of the dimly lit castle on tiny, bare feet. She knew she was supposed to be in bed (Miss Merryweather would be very cross with her if she was caught), but she desperately wanted to see her new baby brother. She didn't really see what all the fuss was about; Thomas was small and he cried a lot, but he didn't do much else. All the same, he was her brother and that meant something (she wasn't sure exactly what it meant, but that's what Papa told her). Giselle crept up to the nursery doors on her tippy-toes and gently turned the silver knob.

The nursery hadn't changed a bit since she had last seen it, when Mama was still keeping Thomas in her tummy. The room was dark now, but during the day it was filled with bright sunlight streaming in from the two large floor-to-ceiling windows that took up most of the wall directly opposite the door. Giselle glanced quickly to the small door to the left of entrance that led to Miss Merryweather's room. The smaller door was cracked open slightly and she could hear the familiar loud snores of her nurse. She knew from experience that once the raven haired fairy was out, she slept like the dead. The little redheaded girl scampered across the room to the lone cradle; the same white wood painted with mint colored vines that had once been hers. If she stood on the very tips of her toes, she could just see over the top.

Thomas was bundled up in an azure and silver chevron patterned blanket, a tuft of dark blonde hair sticking up on the top of his head. He was fast asleep; one tiny arm had escaped from his cocoon and he was sucking contentedly on his little thumb. "You know, you're kind of cute," said Giselle softly, reaching out her hand to stroke his soft cheek. "Maybe you aren't so bad after all."

Giselle was mesmerized; she couldn't stop staring at her sleeping brother. She saw him stir slightly, his face scrunching up as if preparing to cry. She simply couldn't let that happen. If Thomas started crying, Miss Merryweather would wake up and she would be sent back to bed. That was just not acceptable. Like a little spider monkey, Giselle climbed up the side of the cradle and plopped down beside the tiny baby. She was small for four-and-a-half so she fit comfortably next to him. She laid her hand across her brother's chest and hugged him close to her, like a teddy bear. "Shh Thommy," she whispered, "Ellie's here. Ellie will keep you safe. Go back to sleep."

Giselle fell asleep with her ear pressed against Thomas' chest, his soft, even breaths lulling her into a deep sleep. When Queen Leah came in at midnight to feed her son (she insisted that she could feed her own child, thank you very much), her heart melted at the sweet picture her two children made. And to think she had been worried about Giselle adjusting to the new baby. She had absolutely nothing to worry about. All was well.

XXXX

Telling Henry about her mother's stories had made Dawn homesick. She'd been living with Emma in Boston for almost five months before Henry had come and whisked them away to Storybrooke. Before that she had been at Oxford and it had been close to a year since she had seen the rest of her family. On a whim, she stopped into Dark Star Pharmacy on her way back to the inn and picked up a couple dozen Storybrooke postcards.

When she got back to her room, she flopped down on the queen sized bed with a sigh, rumpling the maroon comforter. She kicked off her shoes and pulled the cards and a pen (purple was her color of the day) and began to write. She enjoyed having some time to herself in her room to write out a personal message to each of her parents, siblings (including in-laws), nieces, and nephews. It seemed like her life had been one adventure after another since Henry had come into her life just a few short days ago.

She had just started the card to her sister Buffy when her cell phone rang. She groaned dramtically and glanced down at the screen. It was Emma. "Wazzup, Ems?" she said.

"Dawn, thank God," said Emma, sounding frazzled. "Please tell me you're not doing anything that can't wait til later."

"What's up, Ems?" asked Dawn, flipping onto her back and letting her head hang off the end of her bed.

"John Doe from the hospital—the one Henry wanted Mary-Margaret to read to—woke up and now he's missing. Can you help us track him down?"

"Of course," said Dawn, rolling off the bed and searching the floor for her purple converse. "Pick me up?"

"We'll be there in three."

"Great," she said. "I'll be ready." She paused as she rifled through the closet for a jacket. "Not that I'm complaining, but why do you need my help?"

"I need you to help me keep an eye on Mary-Margaret," said Emma quietly. "She's insisting on coming—she thinks she's responsible for the guy because she was the last one to see him before he went missing. I'm worried she might wander off and get hurt while Graham and I look for clues."

Dawn rolled her eyes. Emma was such a mother hen sometimes. "Sure thing sis," she said. "One distraction girl at your service. You almost here?"

"We're pulling into the drive now."

Dawn slammed and locked her door before she took off running down the stairs. "Gimmie five seconds; I'm on my way down."

XXXX

"Tell me again what happened?" asked Dawn, hugging her dark denim jacket closer to her body as she trudged through the woods with Emma, Mary-Margaret, and Graham.

"I was reading to him out of Henry's book and all of a sudden his hand moved," explained Mary-Margaret. "I decided to go back later and try again, but he was already gone when I got there."

"We looked at the security tapes from the hospital and it looks like he just up and left," said Graham, crouching down and inspecting something on the ground.

A sudden light shone on the group and Dawn whirled around, hand automatically falling to the pepper spray she kept in her jacket pocket. "Henry," she gasped when she saw who it was, "you scared me."

"What are you doing here?" asked Emma, looking less than pleased with the boy.

"I want to help," said Henry firmly, flashlight held up in one hand and the other clutched around the strap of his trusty backpack.

"No," said Emma firmly.

"If you don't let me come with you, I'll just go off on my own," insisted Henry.

"Parental blackmail; nice," said Dawn, high-fiving Henry.

He grinned up at her. "Thanks," he said.

"You are such a child, Dawn," said Emma, clearly not happy, but realizing it was futile to argue.

XXXX

Thomas was barely a year old when Queen Leah and King Stefan had their third child; a daughter named Aurora. Giselle was more than prepared this time and took it upon herself to instruct her little brother in the fine art of being an older sibling. "Now Thommy," she said, sitting the chubby-cheeked blond boy down on his blue and red painted rocking chair, "there are a couple things you need to know about being a big brother."

The little boy shoved his fist into his mouth and looked up at his big sister, innocent blue eyes wide. "Haw," he said, extending his slimy fist and making grabby hands towards Giselle's red braids.

"No, Thommy, listen to Ellie," she said, lowering his fist and forcing him to look her in the eye (if there was one thing the siblings shared, it was their eyes). "Now Thommy, Aurora's just a tiny baby right now, so she can't play with you like I can. She won't do much at all really til she gets bigger 'cept cry a lot. Do you know what that means?" Thomas blinked slowly at her and gave her a gummy grin. "That means we have ta look out for her and protect her til she can do things for herself. You're big enough now, Thommy, that you get to help me. We'll make sure she gets lots of hugs and cuddles and that she doesn't cry while she's sleeping. We get to sing her songs and tickle her tummy and help Mama change her clothes. I know you don't know how to do any of that yet, but I'll teach you. You're gonna be the best little-big brother ever!"

"Ewwie!" shrieked Thomas happily, gazing adoringly up at his big sister.

"That's right, Thommy," said Giselle, smiling at him and giving him a big hug. "Listen to Ellie; Ellie will teach you everything you need to know. Rory's the luckiest baby in the whole realm and do you know why?"

"Why?" asked the little prince, blue eyes wide and curious.

"'Cause she has us as a big sister and brother an' we're gonna be the best there ever was!"

XXXX

"What story were you reading to him when he woke up?" Henry asked his teacher as they plodded along through the forest looking for signs of the wayward John Doe.

"Why does it matter, Henry?" she asked, staring intently at the bloodied hospital band Graham had found.

"It matters because he'll go looking for something familiar," said Dawn. "Something that's fresh on his mind, like that story you read to him."

"I-I read him the story in your book about Snow White and Prince Charming," Mary-Margaret told Henry. "I was reading about how they met and wound up fighting a bunch of trolls on an old bridge together."

"The Toll Bridge," said Henry confidently. "That's where he's headed."

Dawn pulled the boy back before he could race off after the others. He looked up at her questioningly. "Okay," she said, "when this is done, you and me are gonna sit down together with that book of yours. I have got to read these stories! They sound bloody fantastic!"

XXXX

Giselle fidgeted restlessly. She didn't understand why they had to have their portrait painted now. Aurora was only three months old; surely they could wait until she was a little more interesting. Papa caught Giselle's eyes as she shifted her slipper clad feet for the thousandth time and glared at her sternly until she went still. Ever since Aurora's christening ball (which Giselle and Thomas had not been allowed to attend), the King and Queen had been on edge. King Stefan was more short-tempered than usual and Queen Leah had become almost obsessed with spending as much time together as a family as they could. Giselle might have been only just six year old, but that didn't mean she couldn't feel the tension that wrapped around her parents like the arms of an octopus.

"Giselle," snapped King Stefan finally as the little girl shifted her feet yet again and nearly toppled over, "if you don't hold still we will be here for another three hours and I don't think any of us would care to do that, do you?"

"No Papa, sorry Papa," said Giselle, her voice small.

"Stefan," sighed Queen Leah, shifting her hold on baby Aurora and little Thomas, "she's only a child."

King Stefan closed his stormy blue eyes briefly and sighed. He held up his hand, signaling the painter to stop, and knelt down in front of his eldest child. "Giselle," he said softly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you."

Giselle shyly turned her azure eyes to her Papa's face. "It's okay, Papa," she said. "My legs are just getting tired is all."

King Stefan suddenly smirked mischievously and swept Giselle off the floor and up onto his broad shoulders, knocking his silver crown askew in the process. The little girl shrieked with glee and clung tightly to her father's sandy blonde hair. "They're getting tired are they?" he said. "Well, come Giselle, let us set forth to the kitchens and fetch us some victuals to share. We shall have a proper royal luncheon, just you and I, my darling princess."

"To the kitchens!" cried Giselle, pointing with one hand, the other still securely fisted in her father's hair, as they headed off down the castle corridors.

XXXX

Dawn stood outside the hospital's glass walled coma ward with Mary-Margaret, Emma, and Henry (her arm thrown across the shoulders of the latter) as they all watched Regina Mills reunite David Nolan (formerly known as John Doe) with his wife Kathryn. "Gotta say," said Dawn, "I did not see that plot twist coming."

"I don't understand," said Henry, his face drooping with sadness. "This isn't how it's supposed to happen."

"Henry—" began Emma.

"No." Henry cut her off and turned to his teacher. "You're the one he was searching for," he told her. "You two belong together."

"Henry," said Mary-Margaret, her voice thick with unshed tears, "she's his wife."

"That's just the curse," insisted Henry. "It's keeping you two apart so you can't have your happy ending."

"Don't worry, squirt," said Dawn, squeezing her nephew's shoulder, "things that are truly meant to be have a way of working themselves out in the end." She glanced over and saw Regina exiting the glass room, a smug grin on her face. "Now if you'll excuse me," she said, "I have a bone or two to pick with a certain someone."

Emma had the same idea and the two sisters cornered the raven-haired woman before she could leave the waiting room. "What are you playing at, Regina?" hissed the blonde, narrowing her green eyes at the mayor. "You've been the guy's emergency contact for years and you only just now found his wife?"

"I'm a very busy woman, Miss Swan," she said smoothly. "Sometimes things, people, slip through the cracks."

Dawn, standing next to Emma with her arms crossed over her chest, snorted and said, "Yeah, I'm not buying that shit. You know more than you're letting on, Madam Mayor."

Regina's dark eyes narrowed at Dawn disdainfully. "You may be Miss Swan's 'special friend,' but that does not give you any right to butt into conversations that do not concern you," she said, her voice sharp and biting.

Dawn snorted again and wrinkled her nose in disgust. "'Special friend' puhleeze. Is that what you people think?"

"Dawn's my sister," snapped Emma. "She's got nothing to do with whatever issues you have with me, so leave her alone."

"Are you threatening me, Miss Swan?"

"It's Miss Philip, actually, and no. That's a promise, Regina. You hurt my little sister and there will be no place on this earth or any other where you can hide from me."

A strange gleam came to Regina's eyes; one that Dawn didn't like and couldn't quite read. "Is that so?" she said softly, her voice edged with something dark and dangerous.

Emma stepped forward until she was standing nose-to-nose with the older woman. "That is so, Madam Mayor. You mess with Dawn, you mess with me."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Regina, smirking. "Oh and, Miss Philip?" she added as she began to walk off. "Something to keep in mind: Not having someone? Well, that's the worst curse imaginable."

XXXX

Henry slid into the empty side of the booth across from Dawn later that same day. "I brought the book," he said, pulling the leather-bound treasure out of his backpack and setting it on the table between them.

"Awesome sauce," said Dawn, pulling the book over and starting to leaf through it. "Dinner's on me, so order whatever you want." She flipped through the pages carefully, looking for a certain face that she knew almost as well as her own.

"Sweet," said Henry, calling Ruby over to take his order.

By the time their food arrived, Dawn had finally found what she was looking for in Henry's book. "Here squirt," she said, sliding the open book across the table, "the tale of Giselle and Prince Edward of Andalasia." The right hand page was filled with a beautiful drawing of a handsome young man (with ridiculously large shoulder poofs on his shirt) holding hands with a delicate, red-haired maiden dressed in pink as they sat on a white horse. "Make sure to follow up with the next story, Prince Edward's Quest. Once you've read them both, I'll tell you my family's big secret, okay?"

Henry grinned and took a bite of his burger as he began to read. "Wait—how'd you know these stories were in my book?" he asked suddenly, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"I just guessed, really," admitted Dawn, doctoring her lasagna until it met the approval of her odd taste buds. "Some of the stories you told me matched up with parts of my mom's stories, so I thought it was a safe bet that they'd be in there as well."

"How'd your mom know the stories in my book?"

"Just read the stories kid," said Dawn, savoring a bite of her pickle, tabasco, and onion ring lasagna. "You're a smart kid; you'll figure it out."

XXXX

Giselle loved being a mother. She loved the sweet smiles and gentle hugs that her children bestowed upon her and she wouldn't trade a single one of them for anything in the world. She cradled her brand new daughter in her arms, running one gentle hand across the soft tufts of chocolate brown hair on her head. Dawn was only a few hours old and already Giselle was smitten with the small, perfect child. For all the children she and Robert had, it was a rarity that they got to enjoy them at this young of an age. But Dawn was hers; hers and Robert's in every way imaginable. She had her father's dark hair and her mother's pale complexion and delicate features. She was perfect in every possible way.

Unbidden, a memory of another small girl, named too for the dawn, came to Giselle as she memorized every feature of her youngest child. She vaguely remembered a baby with hair the color of rose gold and wide, curious eyes. She remembered padding on tiny feet, leading a toddling blonde boy by the hand as they snuck into a nursery to see the little baby. She had vague flashes of playing peek-a-boo with both little ones, teaching the boy how to make the infant (a sister!) laugh and coo in delight. She recalled a picnic in a meadow, the sun shining bright and warm on the family of five: a golden father, stern but loving; a fiery mother, soft and kind; a princess, a redheaded ball of sunshine, joyful and exuberant; a small prince, as golden as his father, inquisitive and smiling; and the littlest princess, a wide-eyed, laughing vision of the rosy dawn.

Giselle's breath hitched and she tightened her hold on the precious bundle in her arms. She'd long thought the memories of her family lost. Her time before the lonely cottage in Andalasia (accompanied as a child by a stern, distant guardian fairy) was mostly lost in the haze of time. How ironic, that the very day her Dawn was born, she would remember the sister who shared the same name. How long had it been since she'd remembered any of them? She'd had dreams, flashes of vibrant red curls and sad blue eyes, her entire life, but only now were these images falling into place.

"Giselle?" asked Robert softly, laying a gentle hand on his wife's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Her eyes focused on her husband, his presence grounding her and reminding her of where she was. "Yes, I think so," she replied. "I was just a bit lost in my own head for a moment there."

Robert smiled. "Were they happy thoughts, at least?" he asked.

Giselle paused. "Well, yes, I suppose they were," she said, surprising herself with the answer. "They were memories," she continued, "memories of I time I had thought long forgotten."

Robert sat down on the hard plastic chair next to her hospital bed and placed his hand on their daughter's head, stroking her wispy hair. "Tell me?" he asked, staring at her with such love and devotion that she just wanted to melt.

"I remembered my family," she said quietly, not wishing to wake the sleeping infant in her arms. "I remembered my mother and father, a brother and a sister as well. I didn't always live in the forest in Andalasia. I think I lived in a castle before that, but I was very small when I had to leave."

"What happened?" asked Robert gently.

"I-I think there was something—someone— bad after my family," she said, closing her eyes and trying to call up the memory from the fog of her past. "I remember red hair and sad eyes; I think my mother didn't want to let me go, but she had to, to protect me."

"Do you have any happy memories of them, Giselle?" asked Robert, twining his fingers into her sweaty red curls and tugging gently.

"M-my little brother," she said slowly, "he was always following me around like a little puppy-dog and I loved every minute of it. He was mine to love and protect and teach. I remember showing him how to be good to our baby sister. I don't think she was more than a few months old the last time I saw her." She lifted her azure eyes to gaze at Robert and smiled. "I didn't realize it at the time, but Dawn's name means something more to me than just my favorite time of day."

Robert cocked his head in question. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"Most of what I remember of my family is bits and pieces, moments that stand out in the haze of my memory. I don't really remember any specifics, names or ages or places, except one."

"What's that, darling?"

"My sister's name," said Giselle.

"What was her name?" asked Robert, locking his dark eyes on her.

Giselle gazed lovingly down at their daughter and stroked her cheek. "Her name," she said with a smile, "was Aurora."

Thanks to everyone who's favorited and followed this story so far!

Thanks also to YastoraRisa and wladka . peters for reviewing!

Reviews are always appreciated ( but no flames please!). :)