A/N: Trigger warning for mental hospital/perceived mental health issues.

Princess Aurora spent the morning following Henry's confrontation with the mayor sitting on a bench out by the docks. Kevin was concerned about how disheartened she'd been by what had happened to Henry, but he had no way to understand why, so she felt she was better off alone with her thoughts. Especially since Kevin had outright asked her twice now if anything had been going on between her and Henry. More than anything, that bothered her because the man whom she still saw when she looked at him never would have asked her that.

The worst part right now was that Henry couldn't even tell her what had gone wrong and what he'd learned about the curse. If they could at least manage that, she'd have some idea of where to go from here. She'd stopped by the hospital earlier and been told that as long as he was confined to maximum security ward, the only person who they could even consider letting visit him was his sister. And somehow, Aurora doubted Helena would be doing her any favors anytime soon.

Aurora didn't look up when she heard light footsteps skip down the dock towards her. She only realized it was Kayla when the girl plopped down on the bench next to her.

"Hey, you," said Aurora.

"We need to come up with a plan for phase two of Operation Zebra," Kayla began. "I was thinking, first, we need to figure out how to help Henry escape from the hospital. I'll bet my dad will let him hide in the quiet closet at the pawn shop for a few days. Then …"

"Kayla," Aurora cut in. "I think it's best if we stop doing Operation Zebra stuff for a while."

Kayla shook her head. "No. We can't. Henry needs us, and Storybrooke needs him. We have to get him out of there."

"Exactly. And if Mayor Evil Witch Mills finds out we know about the curse and decides to lock us down there with him, who's going to be left to threaten it?"

"But we can't give up!"

"We're not giving up," said Aurora. "We're just taking a break. For the next couple of weeks, let's not talk to each other or mention this stuff to anyone else unless they bring it up. Then we'll meet here and come up with a plan. Okay?"

Reluctantly, Kayla whispered, "Okay." Then she got up and ran home.

Helena headed up the stairs of the hotel towards her room, floorboards creaking rudely under her steps. She had just been to the hospital for the third time to check on Henry and had been informed that he hadn't had any psychotic outbursts since they admitted him but that she wouldn't be able to see him until the next day. Just hearing the words "psychotic outbursts" in the same sentence as her brother's name had made her feel sick to her stomach. Thinking about the fact that he had seemed fine less than two weeks ago almost made it even worse, because now she knew that this madness had been bubbling under the surface her entire life.

Helena pasted a fake smile on as she unlocked and entered the room. "You want some coffee, Virginia?" The other woman was sitting on the edge of the bed just gazing out the window. "I wasn't sure what kind you'd like, so I just bought two of mine." Virginia thanked Helena and took the cup of coffee and continued starring out the window. "How are you feeling?"

Virginia shrugged. "Strange, I suppose. I'm glad I finally got out of there. I just don't know what to do now."

"Well for now, you could volunteer at the stables," Helena suggested. "You seem happier there than you do when you're anywhere else. And if you're worried about running into your mother...well, it's out of the way."

"I was hoping we could do that today," she confessed. "The horses keep my mind off of things."

A few seconds later, there was a knock on the door. Helena got up to answer it. Surprisingly, it was Granny wielding a closed cardboard box.

"Good morning, dear. I just wanted to check on you, and bring by…" she paused when she saw Virginia watching them and idly sipping her coffee. Helena could have sworn Granny's face turned the same shade of white as her hair.

"She's just staying with me for a few days," Helena explained.

"Please don't tell my mother I'm here," whispered Virginia.

"I most certainly won't. But for both our sakes, I hope she doesn't figure it out before you find a place of your own. Anyways, Helena, these are Henry's personal effects that I found in the room. I assume he won't be staying here for a while." Helena took the box and thanked Granny, who then left.

"Your mother really does have the entire town wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?"

"More like squashed under her thumb from what I can see," said Virginia. "Until yesterday, I had no idea that everyone was so afraid of her. I thought it was just me."

"You're not the problem," Helena assured her. "Every time I've ever seen her she's been bullying someone."

"That's one thing I think everyone in town likes about your brother right now. Whatever his intent, he did stand up to her. The way that everyone else seems to worry about whatever will make her happiest and then does it without question or pause makes me wonder if we're the crazy ones." Helena bit her lip and looked away. "Sorry," said Virginia quickly. "Was it wrong that I brought him up?"

"No," said Helena. Determined to get this over with now, she had opened the cardboard box and was setting the few articles of clothing he had out on the bed. She let out a heavy sigh when she lifted out a scrappy little brown thing. She held it to her chest and closed her eyes. When she opened them she caught Virginia looking away, as if she'd wanted to say something comforting but didn't know if that would have been a welcome gesture in the moment.

"Henry's stuffed horse," Helena finally explained, setting the beloved old thing on the bedspread. "It's the one thing we managed to save in every foster home. He's had it as long as I can remember. He slept with it until he was in his twenties, then started keeping it in the glovebox of his car. I was always worried he'd lose it somehow."

Virginia cautiously straightened the stuffed animal. All four of its legs were hanging by a thread and its mane was knotted and filthy. The animal was clearly sewn by hand, and despite everything it had been through, she could picture how cute it must have looked when it was new. She impulsively traced the seam along the stuffed horse's back with her finger.

"You haven't lost anything," said Virginia gently. "You'll get Henry out of there in a few weeks."

She squeezed Helena's hand for a moment and got a small smile out of her. Helena reached into the box and pulled out the two biggest remaining items: the Once Upon A Time book and Henry's sketchpad. Helena took a second to flip through the sketchpad, saw all the drawings of the fairy tale characters, and then shoved both items into the drawer next to her. She couldn't think about them right now.

"What do you say we go to the barn and get distracted by some horses?"

"Let's go," said Virginia. "But can we go clothes shopping first? Going to the barn in a skirt was awkward enough the first time."

"Sure," said Helena. "We get both get our own boots, too."

"Where's Kayla?" asked Mrs. Gold as she poured cups of tea for herself and her husband, who was going over some papers at the table.

"Out for a walk." He set the paper aside and greatfully accepted his cup of tea.

"I don't like it when she goes off by herself," said Mrs. Gold. "If we kept her inside more, she never would have gone to Boston to find Henry, and none of this mess ever would have happened."

"Indeed," said Mr. Gold. "At least now we know fantasyland runs in their family, hmm?"

"It's not funny. I'm worried about her. This whole thing has caused her to go even deeper into her fantasies."

"She has a session with Dr. Hopper today. I suggest you bring it up to him before then if you're so concerned."

Before Mrs. Gold had a chance to reply, Kayla burst into the house and ran up to her father.

"Daddy," she said. "Can you get Henry out of the hospital? Please?"

Mrs. Gold shot her husband a nervous look but didn't interfere. "And how do you figure I would go about doing that, Kayla Belle? I don't own the hospital. That's city property."

"But Mayor Mills is the one keeping him there, and you're the only one who's not afraid to do things she doesn't like. Just go talk to them. Please?"

"It wouldn't do any good right now, Kayla Belle," said Mr. Gold. "When the timing is right, I promise you I will see to it that Henry ends up exactly where you need him."

Kayla sighed. "Okay." She ran off to her room.

"Why would you make a promise like that?" asked Mrs. Gold. "Do you really think you have enough power in this town to have any influence over when Henry gets out of that hospital?"

"Darling, I have more power in this town than anyone could possibly imagine."

Grey. Everything was grey. There was one bright light in the corner above the cot they'd given him. He could just barely make out his father's pale figure hunched over on the bed, starring at a crack on the wall.

"Hey," said Henry groggily. "What time is it?"

"Probably about eleven?" the other man guessed. "You already missed breakfast."

Henry sighed and rolled over onto his right side, almost falling off the cot in the process. "So, what are you here for?" His father stared at him for a moment. "Sorry. I'm a detective. I'm used to being straightforward. But I promise that whatever you did isn't as screwed up as what they think I did." Henry wondered for a second if it was okay to say "screwed up" in front of his dad.

"Yesterday, after they brought you in, the first thing you did was call me Dad. Why?"

"They gave me a shot before they even brought me into the hospital. Blame the drugs." Henry could tell the other man was wondering why they would do something like that but was tactful enough not to ask. "Do you know who I am?"

"I don't even know who I am."

"Oh?"

"I just woke up here one morning and the nurse told me I had amnesia. No one will talk to me or tell me anything else."

"You don't remember anything other than being locked up here in this room?"

"No."

Henry swung his legs over the side of the cot and attempted to sit up, but felt light headed immediately and dropped back down.

"Did you per chance see them give me another shot while I was asleep?"

"Right before lights out yesterday."

Henry pulled his legs back onto the bed and closed his eyes. All things considered, he wondered if what they were giving him was even safe.

A few minutes later, he was out again.

Virginia and Helena spent the rest of the morning and afternoon at the stables, feeding the foal and grooming all the rest of the horses. The stable owner was quite pleased to see his animals getting more personal attention than he had the time or energy to give them these days, and the horses were appreciative as well. Every single one of them was more responsive to Virginia than they were to Helena, probably because Virginia was such a natural. She was better at both disciplining them and coaxing them to do what she wanted, among other things. On the way back they spotted both David and Mary Margret buying each other presents for their impending one-week anniversary.

Later, while Virginia was in the shower, Helena decided to retrieve the toxic items from the bedside bureau. It didn't take her long to realize that Henry had used the sketchpad to draw fairytale characters.

"David Nolan-Prince James a.k.a. Shepherd Boy-James" was scrawled neatly at the bottom of the drawing Henry had made of the prince in the storybook. The drawings in the book were watercolor drawings, and he had used his detective skills to combine them with the actual physical appearances of the Storybrooke residents he thought they were. Helena had to admit that in this case, the resemblance between the actual drawing and the person was striking. But it was still scary that these were the connections that her brother's mind was making. That because a real person looked like a drawing in a book of fairytales, that meant that the fairy tale character was real and cursed.

Helena flipped the page on the sketchpad. "Mary Margret-Princess Snow a.k.a. Snow White." That one had a drawing of Mary Margret in a white dress and long dark locks. There were subtle similarities in their facial features, but Helena wondered how Henry could possibly think those were the same person considering how much better Snow White's hair was.

She flipped the page to a new drawing. "Ruby Lucas-a.k.a. Red Riding Hood a.k.a. The Big Bad Wolf". Helena studied the drawing for a moment, then felt another pang of something that resembled both pain and grief and had to set the book and sketchpad aside once more. The nuances of how her brother's mind apparently worked were piling up in her mind, and that last bit made so little sense it scared her.

Moments later, Virginia exited the room's bathroom in a casual tank top and pair of shorts. Helena forced a smile.

"I was thinking that tomorrow morning, I should go try to look for a place of my own," said Virginia as she plunked herself down on the foot of the bed. "I don't think it'll take very long, because Storybrooke only has one landlord. Do you know where I might find a Mr. Gold?"

"Yeah. I know where he works. I'll go with you to talk to him. I've only met him a few times, but he seems to like me for some reason."

"Thank you. I've heard my mother speak of him plenty of times, but I've never met him myself."

"He's…interesting," said Helena. "He's polite as anything, but he always gives off that…I don't know, vibe that he's up to something."

"Sounds like my mother only worse. Her politeness is never genuine. Nothing about her is."

"And even she's more genuine than my brother is right now," Helena whispered. Virginia gave her a sweet sympathetic look. Helena rolled over on the bed and held Henry's stuffed horse to her chest, clinging to it like a life preserver.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Virginia.

"No."

"Do you want to be alone?"

"No."

Virginia wordlessly sat down on the opposite side of the bed and stayed there. Both women spent the rest of the evening silently gathering their thoughts.

Henry's eyes flew open more suddenly this time. He looked around and took a moment to remember where he was. He saw his father still hunched over on the bench where he'd been that morning. He saw a pile of dirty dishes by the door.

"I missed lunch, too, huh?" Henry mumbled.

"And dinner. It's probably around eight by now."

Henry sighed and tried to convince his limbs to pick him up off his bed and bring him upright. They felt heavier than cinderblocks. He just barely managed to rub his thumbs across the palms of his hands and curl his fingers.

"Did they give me another shot?"

"Yeah. Right before lunchtime."

Henry let out a moan that barely sounded human. A few minutes went by. He fought to stay awake and take in the situation.

"I know you," he finally blurted out. The other man looked over at him in surprise.

"What?"

"I know who you are. Your name is Daniel. We went horseback riding together."

The other man's face twisted into a bewildered gaze. "Daniel," he said to himself. The name felt right, like something he was comfortable grasping onto even if it turned out not to be what he was supposed to be called. "But I don't know anything about horseback riding."

"You did before. You had your own horses and a barn. Your favorite horse was named Fireball, your wife was named Regina, and her favorite horse was named Rocinante. I don't know what happened to the horses, but your wife is looking for you."

Henry tilted his head back on the pillow and managed to adjust the position of his head, despite the fatigue weighing him down. If only he could think through this whole thing more clearly, he might not have said too much at once.

"Are you absolutely certain that I'm this Daniel? If my wife is looking for me…if there are people who really want to know where I am…why am I only being found now, by you as a patient?"

"I've been looking for years," Henry assured him. "So has she. It's…complicated."

Before their conversation could continue, a male nurse entered the room holding a cup of water and a pill cup. Another nurse stood guard right outside the door. Henry's apprehension over being pumped up with even more meds was the sharpest thing he'd felt since he'd entered this room. But surprisingly, the nurse walked over to Daniel, who took the pills and water and swallowed the pills without fuss. Henry managed to pull together enough of his senses to turn to the nurse and say, "Hey, why does he get pills and I have to get a shot? The spots where you injected me hurt so bad I can't think straight."

"You'll get pills when the doctor says you get pills."

"When do I see the doctor?"

"When you're actually awake when he comes by," said the nurse disdainfully, as if it were Henry's fault that those weren't the times he'd woken up. "I'll be back to give you another shot in a few minutes." The nurse collected the dishes and left.

"Don't worry, Daniel," mumbled Henry. "I'll bring you back. I'll fix everything. I'll save everyone."

By the time the nurse came to give Henry another shot, he was already half asleep. Daniel wasn't quite sure what to think of this man who was convinced he knew who he was. Maybe he really did know, or maybe…well…obviously, the guy was in here for a reason. But in any case, it was nicer to have him for company than no one.