Author's note: As usual I do not own Once Upon A Time, Wizard of Oz or anything else I quote. Please keep leaving the reviews and alerts it's great to get all the positive feedback from a silly little Twitter idea, thank you everyone! For the purpose of this story again August is MIA as a wood statue. (I know sadness but I don't want this to turn into some Twilight love triangle)

"Road to Acceptance"

Emma and Henry stood at the front door.

Belle gave a hesitant look towards Baelfire, still a little bit afraid to open the door without Gold being back.

She opened the door relieved to see Emma and Henry standing there. "Emma, Henry, come in" Belle said greeting the duo at the door.

"We aren't staying just checking to make sure there wasn't a murder here last night" Emma's said stating the truth of the fact.

"You do care then" Baelfire said with a half crooked look from behind Belle.

Henry looked beyond Belle at Baelfire "I'm Henry" he said with politeness.

"Baelfire, nice to meet you Henry" he said with a smile back coming towards the door.

"We are going to Granny's" Henry added then looked up at his mom with a can we invite them look.

"Belle, would you and Bae like to accompany us?" Emma asked.

Belle looked at Baelfire "I should stay here, but you should go, see some more of the town, and enjoy some ice cream."

"Root beer floats" Henry said with a smile to the princess.

Belle smiled back at the ten year old. She enjoyed sharing books and other old objects with the kid when he came into Mr. Gold's shop. She thought he was very wise for his age and unique to be a product of this world and theirs.

"They still make those things?" Baelfire asked grabbing his black leather jacket and following them to the car.

"Sure, Granny even makes the ice cream homemade" Henry said getting in the car. The story book sat on the seat next to him. Emma asked him to bring it especially for Baelfire.

At the diner Baelfire and Henry sat at a booth while Emma went up to the bar to talk to Ruby.

Henry pushed the story book over to Baelfire as they waited for the drinks. "My mom told me who you are. I think it's great you're back!" Henry said very enthusiastic, but then added with a pang "does this mean Mr. Gold is in trouble?"

"Not sure yet kid, that's why I'm here looking for answers. So, all these stories are real huh?" Baelfire asked flipping through the book.

"All these stories are real." Henry said with the upmost seriousness. "Rumplestiltskin is in several of the stories" Henry said. "But my favorite is Snow White and Prince Charming, they are my grandparents. I hope you get to meet them soon" the child said sounding very proud of his family.

"Is your mom in the book too?" Baelfire asked turning a page wanting to know more about Emma as he glanced over toward the counter area.

Henry shook his head "only one story. She was a baby when the curse started. She grew up here in this world. You were stuck here too, weren't you?"

Baelfire nodded "for too many years. It took lot of trust to let me borrow this book. I bet your mom put you up to it. I promise I'll keep it save. And I'll even make a deal with you" Baelfire said thinking maybe his father had a smart idea about deals at times. He pulled the old Wizard of Oz paperback out his back pants pocket. He slid the wrinkled book across the table. "I guess you could call this my safety blanket, it's very old and I've had it for a very long time. "Reminds me of home, but funny I never really liked it much until I met Dorothy" Baelfire said telling the story of one of his Halloweens down in the southern part of the states looking for his father.

"So your hot date last night with short handsome and mysterious turned out to be more than a one night stand?" Ruby asked with a smirk coming to take Emma's order.

"I gave him a ride, that's it." Emma said waiting to put her order in.

"Doesn't look like just a ride from here. About time you move on, I hated seeing you all mopey over Graham and then poor August."

Emma shook her head "August and I were… nothing happened Ruby" August would always be an enigma. This man sitting at the table with her son did not have a typewriter but she still had the strange felling he was hiding something. Emma could not get hurt again no matter how good his lips tasted on hers the other night. But, part of her wanted to be close to someone that wasn't her family. And he made her senses tingle.

"Is he… family?" Ruby wondered seeing Henry and the stranger get along; she thought he could be his father.

Emma shook her head "no, not family and especially not Henry's father. Henry's father was for the better term a total jerk. That man sitting over there is Mr. Gold's son. Three floats please"

Ruby looked again "no way! Son? Grown up and very good looking. This place still has secrets doesn't it?" She smiled "If you don't snag him then don't be mad when I bite him" Ruby said jokingly she licked her lips "I am one for the bad boys"

Emma gave her an ew look, sometimes Ruby spoke her mind too much. "What about your favorite customer over there Billy?" She asked knowing the tow truck driver always had an eye on Ruby.

Ruby shrugged "he tips well" she said putting the root beer floats on the counter.

Baelfire and Henry could be heard laughing about something in the background. Emma shifted her gaze back towards them thinking it funny Henry had more in common with this strange man then most of the kids in his class.

"I don't think he is ... Bad, I just think he was lost." Emma said "how much?"

"On the house, Granny's orders" Ruby said with a smile

"Again? She can't keep doing this that was over a month ago." Emma said taking the drinks as Ruby just shrugged.

Emma sat down next to Henry and put the drinks down as Baelfire continued his story. "So, there I was dead of winter, up near what they call Alaska now searching for a portal because I thought the aurora borealis was a sign from our side. Took me a month of searching in the snow before I gave up."

"It's just a reflection from the sun" Emma said sounding like her old non-believing self.

Ruby came over at that moment with a big smile on her face for Baelfire. "Is everyone doing ok over here?" she asked with the almost fake politeness of a veteran waitress.

"Fine" Emma said as Ruby smiled at Baelfire.

"I'm Ruby, and that wonderful lady over there is Granny" she said pointing to Granny behind the counter busy ringing up Mr. Clark.

"Nice to meet you Ruby, I'm Baelfire" he said with the upmost kindness to the waitress.

"Don't be a stranger, if you need anything you let me or Granny know" Ruby said before giving a big smile and going to help Ashley in the next booth over.

"I still think something is up there" Baelfire said taking a sip of the float after Ruby was gone.

"How do you know?" Henry asked.

"Because I believe there is more than here and our land" Baelfire said sounding very serious.

"You sound like Jefferson." Emma said. It took her a lot to believe in magic and in the other world. She was not ready to know about other lands even though Baelfire hadn't been the first to tell her about other places.

"The Mad Hatter from Wonderland" Henry said flipping to the page and showing Baelfire.

"Henry" Emma said giving her son a lay off it look. She didn't want to relive being trapped in his house making hats again.

"Mom, he's better now. He saved Belle remember" Henry said reminding her that Jefferson maybe a spy, but a good one.

"Saved Belle? I thought P... Gold did?" Baelfire asked wondering what else happened.

"Regina had Belle trapped in what Dr. Whale called the psych ward. Jefferson found the code to open the rooms and freed her. He told her to find your father. That was about the time of the crazy purple smoke. Regina went into hiding after that. And here we are" Emma gave a quick smile trying to keep off the touchy Regina subject with Henry but hoping she gave him enough information.

"You forgot the best part. There was a dragon living under the library and you slayed it like Charming did" Henry said with all the enthusiasm of a ten year old almost knocking his float off the table.

Baelfire smiled thinking of Emma with a sword in her hand.

"Anything in here of a girl named Morraine?" Baelfire asked flipping through the book.

"Sister?" Emma asked knowing Rumplestiltskin made a few deals involving children back in the other world.

"No, just a girl in town." Baelfire said with sadness looking over at Emma. How sad those ancient eyes were. Emma felt a pang of jealousy. The secret princess part of her wanted to be the girl the man never forgot.

Emma turned her gaze down from his eyes to something that caught her eye near her son.

"Henry, what's that?" Emma asked knowing he reads many books and comics but has never seen him with that one before.

"The Wizard of Oz, Baelfire is letting me borrow it." Henry said with the excitement of a kid with a new toy.

"You know of it?" Baelfire asked Emma.

"Yeah, hasn't everyone seen it on TV before, they used to show it all the time." Emma said taking a sip of her root beer and adding "I was Dorothy once for Halloween."

"I thought you didn't believe in magic?" Henry asked Emma knowing it took him dying to make her truly believe. "It wasn't about magic, it was about wanting to be somewhere else" Emma explained "Regina was evil but you had a good home. Let's get out of here" Emma said wanting not to bring up the "R" word too much or her sucky childhood in the foster care system. She got up from the booth and went over to say bye to Ruby and Granny.

Henry tugged at Baelfire's arm sleeve as he got out the booth. "She's your Dorothy" Henry said always the little romantic. "Kid that could have been anyone. I've seen a lot of Halloweens" Baelfire responded glancing towards the sheriff at the counter again he wondered if it had been her after all. "But, only one in Florida where she lived" his eyes on his mother and then back on Baelfire.

He shook the notion off that she could have been the little girl. "Come on kid, next you'll say Red Riding Hood is the big bad wolf" Baelfire said waking towards the door.

"She is." Henry said following him out the door.

"Thanks for letting me borrow the book Henry; I'll protect it with my life." Baelfire said getting out the car in front of Mr. Gold's house. He glanced upon Emma again with those striking blue eyes. "Thanks for the evening out Sheriff" he said politely.

"Hey Ace" Emma said as he popped his head back in the car "you know you can call me if there is any trouble."

He pulled the crinkled up piece of paper out his pocket "got it" he said with a smile wondering if Emma cared about everyone in town this much or was it really just him? Then he was gone back inside the salmon colored estate along with the story book.

Emma looked at her son in the back seat. He looked very concerned at that moment.

"Henry what is it?" Emma said as her son climbed in the front seat.

"If he is here then that means something is about to happen" Henry said as Emma gave him a comforting look.

"Hey that doesn't mean anything, you heard him. He saw the smoke and came to town. Everything is going to be ok. And if something bad does happen I'll stop it" Emma said reassuring her son nothing bad was going to happen again.