Hello my readers! Yes, I posted this late at night but only so you had something fun to look forward to in the morning :)

Looks like Snow is up to scheming her way into a Happy Thanksgiving this year and I hope you enjoy this chapter. No Killian or Emma featured in this chapter I am sad to say, but this sets it up for the rest of this little story.

Thank you for the reviews! You are all too kind :) Thank you Soulphur for the idea of "Honest Intentions" for a title...I've incorporated it into our series title.

Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT or ABC...otherwise I wouldn't be as broke as I am.

Chapter 2 of Turkey Season: Scheming

"Rumpel! Rumpel! Are you here?"

Rumpelstiltskin came out of the back office of his shop with a polishing cloth between his hands, his dark brown eyes filled with concern as Belle walked further into the shop. The excitement on her face put his worries to rest, however, and he felt his expression relax as he rounded the counter to help her with the grocery bags.

"Belle, what is it, dear?"
"I ran into Mary-Margaret at the market and she asked what we were doing for Thanksgiving."

Oh no. This couldn't be good.

"Oh? And what did you say?"
"Oh, you know…the truth."

Rumpel gave her a longsuffering sigh as he shifted his weight to one foot and leaned against one of the counters.

"And?"
"And she invited us over and before you say anything I really think we should think about it."

"Belle, I thought we agreed that we were just going to have a quiet holiday."
"No. You suggested it and I listened. I didn't say anything."

Rumpel watched a proud smile light up Belle's face as she hoisted her grocery bag up on the counter and turned to him with her hands on her hips as if gearing up for battle. He grinned back at her determination and her with. She was right. She hadn't given her opinion.

"You've been hanging around me for far too long, haven't you dearie?"

"That's what happens when you live with your love. You take on some of their habits…good and bad."
"I really don't think we should."
"But we are."
"We are?"
"I already told her we were going. You don't want to be rude now do you?"
"I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be surprised if I was rude," he quipped back, the idea of dinner at the Charmings not sounding at all delightful. She walked toward him, giving him one of her adorable looks as she reached out and straightened the lapels to his suit coat.

"So you're just going to let them think that you, the mighty Dark One, are too scared of a family dinner party? I'm surprised at you, Rumpel."

He paused at her words. She was aiming at his pride and judging by the lift of her brow she knew it.

"Fine," he finally exhaled at the hopeful look on her face. "We can go but if it turns into something terrible, we're leaving with no arguments."

She gave a squeal and before he could blink, her arms were thrown around him and the air in his lungs was violently exhaled from his body.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh, this is going to be fun! You'll see."

Rumpel gave her a slight smile and watched as she grabbed a bag and motioned for him to do the same before disappearing into the backroom. As soon as he was sure she wasn't going to surprise him with her presence, the smile tilted off of his face as he leaned his full body weight against the counter, swearing he could already feel a headache coming on.

Fun? Fun was a humorous way to put it.

Who was she trying to kid? This was going to be a nightmare.

Mary-Margaret held her grocery bag against her chest as she walked toward Granny's, super pleased with how her encounter with Belle had gone. She had been pondering exactly how to ask the couple to their holiday get together when she'd run into Rumpel's love at the store and despite David's discouragement, she took that as a sign that there were higher powers working on her side.

It had been somewhat awkward considering she'd never really talked to Belle except for a handful of times and when she'd asked for their plans Belle had been hesitant to reveal that they indeed didn't have any big plans. Her hesitance had flickered into doubt when Mary-Margaret had extended an invitation to join them for dinner and she knew that she had to come up with something rather persuasive to ensure their presence.

"You want us to come over? But why?"
"Well, we're basically family. Rumpelstiltskin is Henry's grandpa after all and Neal…Neal's coming over, too!"

Belle had given her a thoughtful look, tilting her head to the side as if it abled her to study Mary-Margaret better.

"Rumpel and Neal haven't exactly been talking to each other. Not since you all came back from Neverland so I really don't think this would be a great idea. I thank you, I really do but I don't think it'd be convenient for everyone else to have us. It'd be a bit…awkward."

She had ducked her head and Mary-Margaret for the first time wondered exactly how lonely Belle really was being the girlfriend of one of the most feared men in the town. Without really thinking she'd put her hand on Belle's shoulder before she could sidestep around her, causing the girl to glance up at her.

"Seriously, it's Thanksgiving. You two should be with family and as for Neal…he can be a grudge holder I've gathered but I'm sure with Henry there he'll be willing to put his bitterness on hold. Who knows?" she smiled brightly just then, " Maybe this could be a good step forward for the two of them to start letting go of whatever past hurts they're still hurting over and move on toward a more healthy relationship."

The look on Belle's face had grown thoughtful and Mary-Margaret had held her breath, giving the brunette beauty a hopeful face that seemed pleading. A smile finally broke out across Belle's lips and she nodded her head.

"You're right. They both need to move on and it is the holidays after all," she nodded as if assuring herself this was the right thing to do. "We'll be there."

So that put Mary-Margaret at two down…two to go.

The smell of fries and coffee assailed her senses as she made her way across the diner and slid into one of the stools at the bar, settling her groceries on the chair beside her. Ruby flashed her a bright smile as she hustled over, eyeing her friend with a knowing a glance.

"You look like you've been up to something."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Mary-Margaret teased and Ruby just shook her head.
"I'll hear about it some time I'm sure. Is David on the verge of a migraine?"
"Oh, he's already there. Big baby.""May the daily use of aspirin commence," Ruby smiled as she leaned against the bar. "So what am I getting you today?"

"Three hot chocolates to go. Figured I'd swing by the office and drop them off for Emma and-"

"Big Baby?"

"Yeah," Mary-Margaret confirmed with a light laugh.

Ruby turned slowly back toward the kitchen while Mary-Margaret leaned back in her chair and folded her hands in her lap. Content as she could be, she allowed her gaze to drift around the room when her eyes landed on a man across from her at the counter.

Neal.

He was flipping through the newspaper, seeming to be completely oblivious to her presence, let alone anyone else in the dining area. She studied him realizing that she hadn't seen him for awhile and came to the conclusion that he must have been laying low since Halloween. Henry had been seeing him, of course, and Emma had worked out Thanksgiving details with him on the phone regarding Henry, but to anyone else save Ruby and Granny he had appeared scarce.

Without giving it much thought, she slipped from her seat and rounded the corner of the L shaped counter figuring that now was as good a time as any to invite him over to their possible dysfunctional family get together. Was she having second thoughts? Yes. Was Emma going to kill her? Probably. But that didn't keep her from making her way toward him and lightly punching him in the shoulder to get his attention.

Neal glanced up from his paper and when he realized who she was, surprise flickered across his face.

"Snow, hey! Uh, how are things going?"
"Good, they've been good," Mary-Margaret answered realizing that this was going to be something she'd just have to run through quickly. The man didn't look good what with his hair looking like he hadn't bothered to do something with it and the shadows under his eyes making him look like he hadn't slept well for days. "I was just wanting to know what you were doing for Thanksgiving this Thursday."
"Oh, well me and Henry were going to get together earlier on in the day then I was dropping him off at Regina's. After that, nothing," he answered nonchalantly and then fixed her with a suspicious look. "Why?"

"Well, me and David," she started knowing that if her husband was standing beside her he'd be mean mugging her for dropping his name into the scheme. "We're having a big family get together at our place and considering you are Henry's father…would you like to come over for dinner?"

He looked at her as if she had grown three heads in the span of five seconds but she continued smiling at him, beginning to wonder for the first time if she was out of her mind. He finally leaned back in her chair and let out a sigh, his hand flexing over his knee.

"Henry's gonna be there?"
"Yes."
"And so is Emma?"
"Yes."
"With Hook?"

She swallowed and nodded her head not trusting herself to speak.

"I'll be there," he said firmly.

She blinked at him in surprise and he stared back, his face a blank slate if she'd ever seen one which was driving her crazy at the moment because she wanted to know his motive.

"Really?"
"Really. I don't trust that pirate around my kid and I know Emma. She doesn't have the best taste in guys, I mean…she dated me and I wasn't exactly Prince Charming back in the day."

Before Mary-Margaret could rise up to defend her daughter's choice in men, Ruby came up to the counter with a tray of hot chocolates that smelled of cinnamon and a smile on her face that seemed frozen there as she glanced from Neal to her best friend.

"Hot chocolates to go?"

It was meant to be a statement but it came out as a question and Mary-Margaret tore her gaze from Neal to her friend, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Perfect, thanks Ruby," she beamed before looking back at Neal. "You can come over around 3. Dinner will be at 4:30."

"See ya then," he waved and turned back to his paper, not seeming as affected by their talk as she was.

She worked at avoiding Ruby's probing gaze that followed her back to her original seat at the bar where she balanced the tray of beverages in her left hand as she picked up her grocery bag with the right.

"So do you care to tell me what that's about?" Ruby whispered as she leaned against the bar, "because it sounds like you just invited Emma's ex who punched her current boyfriend in the face three weeks ago over for dinner. Something tells me that's not going to make a certain blonde with a spitfire personality inherited from her parents very happy."
"I know, I know…I'm starting to regret it right now but Henry deserves this," Mary-Margaret answered her in a hushed tone, her gaze darting back toward Neal who didn't appear to be paying her any mind.

"The kid deserves a traumatic holiday experience dealt out by none other than his own family members? Yeah, okay."
"No…he deserves a family get together that doesn't involve him having to jump from house to house."

Ruby raised a brow at the defensive tone in her friend's voice and decided to let the matter drop and instead gave her a smile. The pixie haired woman was obviously starting to feel the stress of the situation she was getting into anyway. Scolding her wasn't going to do anything.

"Okay, well let me know if you need help with anything. Okay?"

Mary-Margaret shot her a thankful smile before heading for the door, her mind instantly going into overdrive as soon as she hit the sidewalk and started walking for the Sheriff's office. David's words came back to her and she wondered for the first time if he was correct about everyone and whether or not they'd be able to forgive and forget for at least one day.

She let the doubt tear at her mind for a moment before she felt something snap inside of her. They were all grown adults here. For the gods' sakes they should be able to put their differences aside and suck it up for one day…right?

So what did you all think? Lemme know, lemme know because I do take what you have to say into consideration.