The following morning, Mrs. Gold commented on how unusually happy her husband seemed even before he suggested that they go to a nicer restaurant for Sunday brunch than Granny's.
"I'm ready to leave when the two of you are, darling!" Mr. Gold called up the stairs when it was almost time to leave.
"Mom's just gotta fix her hair!" Kayla called back down.
Mr. Gold was about to remind Kayla to brush her teeth when he heard pounding on the front door. When he opened it, the mayor sauntered inside with her usual level of grace. "Please come on in, Mayor Mills," said Mr. Gold sarcastically.
The mayor flipped a full 180 about six feet into the house, facing the pawnbroker head on. "I was informed that you leased an apartment to my daughter, Mr. Gold. Is that true?"
"Indeed. If you've come to inquire about her address, I'm afraid I can't give that to you."
"I've come to offer you a deal," said the mayor. "I want you to evict Virginia immediately."
"Unfortunately, Madam Mayor, a deal requires two interested parties."
"Surely there must be something you want."
"Nothing that you have, dearie," said Mr. Gold.
"But you'll think of something, won't you?"
"I'll be sure to let you know when and if I do." Mr. Gold waved his hand. "Don't let the door hit you." Miffed, the mayor exited.
Mr. Gold turned and noticed Kayla standing at the foot of the stairs, dressed for Sunday brunch in a bright green gown that matched her eyes. "Are you ready, Kayla Belle?"
"Yes," she said. "Has Mayor Mills ever told you what to do?"
"Of course she has. Mayor Mills tells everyone what to do. I've just never listened."
"Huh." Mr. Gold walked over to the door and stuck his wallet in the pocket of his coat. "Daddy?"
He turned to face her. "Yes, Kayla Belle?"
"What do you think would happen if the mayor decided to lock me up in the hospital for trying to break the curse like she did to Henry?"
"Well, she'd have to go through me first, wouldn't she?"
Mr. Gold turned around to finish buttoning his coat, oblivious to the light he'd just set in his daughter's eyes.
Even if it wasn't safe for Aurora or Henry to work on Operation Zebra right now, it was safe for her.
Fifteen minutes later, Kayla found herself knocking on the door of Virginia and Helena's apartment. Helena answered the door.
"What's going on? Shouldn't you be at Sunday brunch with your family?"
"My parents stopped to chat with Mr. French," Kayla explained. "I need to talk to you about Henry."
"He's doing okay," Helena lied. "I'm sure he'll be happy to hear you stopped by."
"No, he's not okay. You need to find a way to break him out of the hospital as soon as possible."
Helena forced a smile. "I'm sure they'll let him out soon."
"No, they won't. Mayor Mills knows he's not crazy. The only reason he's in the hospital is because she's keeping him trapped down there so that he won't be able to break the curse, and she's going to make sure he can't get out. Ever."
Helena took a deep breath. "Kayla, honey, we need to talk. I don't know what Henry told you about this town being cursed, or…"
"He didn't tell me. I told him. That's why I brought him here, remember?"
Helena didn't know which was worse, the fact that part of Henry's version of reality was constructed by an eleven-year-old (then again, they'd read the same book, so maybe that was why he believed her so easily), or the fact that Kayla had taken after her birth father in the worst way possible.
"Kayla," Helena pleaded, "Just what about your life makes you feel like it's part of some curse waiting to be broken? You live in a nice town, you go to a nice school, and you have parents who love you and can afford to give you anything. I know dozens of people who've fantasized about growing up the way you are."
"I'm not the one who's cursed. Everyone else is. That's why they're not going to help Henry. If you don't believe me, ask the doctors at the hospital when Henry is getting out. Then, when you do realize you need to break him out yourself, come get me and I'll help you find a good place to hide him. And whatever you do, stay away from the mayor. She's evil."
"Kayla…" but the child had turned and taken off down the steps.
"I don't want her to end up like him," said Helena as she shoved the door closed.
"She's just a kid," Virginia reminded her. "And I'm sure her parents are completely aware of what she's doing. All you need to worry about right now is Henry."
But Helena knew she was going to do everything she could to help Kayla realize that the town wasn't cursed, because if Henry were in his right mind right now, that's exactly what he would want her to do.
"So, my wife and I used to train horses for a living?" Daniel asked Henry. Henry was awake and willing to talk most of the day but still spending most of his time lying down. He'd managed to stand up and circumnavigate the room once at around lunchtime.
"Yes," said Henry. "You taught her everything she knows. You learned from your father."
"What happened to my parents?"
"I think…I'm not sure. You didn't mention your parents to me very often." The only reason he even know that his paternal grandfather had been a stable hand was from the book. He wasn't sure his parents had even mentioned Daniel's mother and father to him as a child.
"What do people remember the most about me?"
Henry took a minute to put his answer together. "That you were a thoughtful and generous man who was always willing to help his neighbors and friends. That the only time you ever truly hated someone was when they tried to hurt someone you loved. That you were willing to give up everything to be with Regina when you knew that she would have been alone without you."
Daniel wanted to believe that somewhere inside him was the man that Henry was describing. But if Regina was a real person, and if he'd really once loved her enough to give up everything for her, then he felt like he should worry about her. In fact, he was already beginning to. And what would be the use of worrying about her if Henry wasn't even telling the truth?
The following morning, Henry was awake when Helena came to see him through the window on his door. He sat up and smiled and waved from her from his cot. He called something out to her, then said something to his roommate, but she couldn't hear anything.
"Move out of the way, lady." Helena turned and saw two nurses standing behind her holding breakfast trays.
"Can I come in?" asked Helena.
"I'm afraid not."
"I'm Henry Stable's sister. They told me I could see him."
"You're seeing him right now, aren't you?" Helena gave the nurse a look. "We don't allow anyone inside these rooms other than doctors, nurses, and the patients themselves. It's too much of a liability."
Helena wanted to point out that even if Henry wanted to do something to hurt her, he probably wouldn't have the physical ability to do so right now. He was barely sitting up and frighteningly pale, and the other guy in the cell looked even weaker, albeit slightly more alert. "You don't have some sort of room for visitations?"
The nurse gave Helena a strange look. "Why don't you ask the doctor? He's just getting in. He should be in his office right around the corner."
The hospital's psychiatrist, Dr. Aras, recognized Helena as soon as he entered his office. She'd already spoken to him twice before. "Is there something I can do for you, Miss Stable?"
"Yes. First of all, is there any way that I can visit with my brother? As in, actually be in the same room with him?"
The doctor wasn't quite sure how to respond. None of the patients in the maximum security ward had had a visitor for as long as he could remember.
"Perhaps we can arrange for a short visit later this week. How does Wednesday work for you?"
"Sure," said Helena, even though she'd rather it would be sooner. "And is there any kind of estimate you can give me right now as to when he'll get out of the hospital, or at least be transferred to a different room?" The doctor's face took on a befuddled expression. "I know he just got here and you haven't even given him any kind of evaluation yet, but if I could give Kayla even a wild guess as to when there'll be some kind of progress, I'm sure she'll feel better."
The doctor placed a hand intending to be comforting on Helena's elbow. "Miss Stable…your brother pulled a gun on someone because he thought she was a witch. That's all the evaluation he needs." Helena's mouth dropped open. "We're going to begin medicating him with pills instead of shots starting tonight, but that's all the progress you should expect."
"In the near future?"
"Ever."
The only person in the waiting room of Dr. Hopper's office when Helena walked in half an hour later was Eleanor, who pointedly avoided the other woman's eyes. As well she should, Helena thought. Even though she knew it was misplaced, Helena was having a hard time curbing her resentment towards the confused woman. If Eleanor hadn't lured her and Kayla to the stables while Henry's breakdown was happening, there was a chance she'd have been able to do something about it.
"Do you know if the doctor is available?" asked Helena, staring hard at a crack in one of the waiting room benches.
"I have an appointment with him in five minutes. I don't think he's in with anyone right now."
"I need to talk to him about Henry."
"Go ahead," said Eleanor as she nonchalantly picked up her purse. "I'll reschedule."
"Really?" asked Helena.
"Sure. Go ahead. Henry needs all the help he can get." It wasn't like she wanted to be in therapy anyway. She knew she wasn't crazy.
A few minutes later, Dr. Hopper emerged from his office. Helena quickly explained who she was and that Eleanor had left.
"I wanted to talk to you about something you said the day my brother was taken to the hospital," said Helena. "You said that you've treated patients with his condition and that institutionalizing them isn't always beneficial."
"That was before I heard there was a gun involved," said Dr. Hopper reasonably. "But being it that this was an isolated incident, if Henry can be shown that what he did was wrong, I'm sure that with time it will become safer for him to spend time out of the hospital."
Helena felt more encouraged by his words than she'd been by anything in days. "The reason that I came to you is because the doctor at the hospital doesn't seem to agree. He flat out told me this morning that because Henry pulled a gun on someone, there's no chance of him ever getting out of the hospital or even the maximum security ward."
"Sometimes, doctors will lead a patient or someone who loves them to believe that recovery is less possible than it is to avoid getting peoples' hopes up. I personally believe that most people would rather know what they're going into up front. Despite everything Henry has been through, it is very possible, likely even, that he can be talked out of his beliefs and someday return to a new normal."
"I believe you," Helena stressed. "But the doctor at the hospital was telling me that Henry would definitely never be let out. He told me they're not even planning on evaluating him." Dr. Hopper was quiet for a moment. "The reason I came to you is that I was hoping you would be able to treat him. I know the mayor tried to tell you that treating him is beyond your abilities, but up until the last few days he's been more functional than Eleanor, and I know you've been seeing her since she woke up."
"Helena, if there was any way that I could try to help Henry, I would," said Dr. Hopper. "But I'm not authorized to work in the hospital."
"Says who?" Helena challenged. "Mayor Mills? Or someone who actually has authority at the hospital?"
The look on the doctor's face suggested that he had just found a pot of gold. "Just…just the mayor, actually."
Helena smiled. "Then why don't you go to the hospital and discuss it with them? The worst they could say is no. I don't understand why everyone in this town lets Mayor Mills have so much power over them."
Dr. Hopper was silent for a moment. "Even if they say yes, it might be a few days before I'm actually allowed to talk to him. But I'll definitely think about it, Helena. Thank you for stopping by."
"Just let me know what you decide, okay?"
"Of course." Helena turned to exit. "By the way…just curious, what character does Henry think I am? I know he was going around profiling everyone."
"I'm not sure. I'll check his notebook." Helena hesitated. "Hey…how do you know so much about my brother?"
"Kayla called me this morning and told me everything she knows. She wanted to know if I'd be able to break him out of the hospital."
"Naturally," said Helena.
Helena arrived at the barn shortly. Virginia was in the stall with the foal, unsuccessfully trying to put a halter on her.
"Need some help?"
Virginia looked up with a start when she saw Helena. "Hey. Are you sure you want to come into this stall without boots on?"
Helena looked down at her sneakered feet. "Oh, right. Probably not. I actually only came here to talk to you."
"How did you know I would be at the stables?"
"Because you, Ms. Mills, are very predictable." That gave them both the chuckle they needed.
"How's Henry?"
"The doctors at the hospital have completely written him off as a nutjob, but I may have found a competent therapist to step in and take care of him. In any case, I'll hopefully be able to talk to him on Wednesday."
"Good luck. You'll get him back."
"I hope so. He's all I have."
Virginia looked at her new friend sympathetically. She obviously wanted to hug her but was covered in horse hair and both her hands were occupied with the filly's head. "I have some news, too. The owner has hired me to work here part time."
"So basically he's paying you to do the same thing you do every day anyway?"
Virginia smiled. "Now I won't have to sell any more of my jewelry to pay the rent. Not that I have any more of it with me anyway."
"When are you planning on going to your mother's house to get the rest of your things?"
Virginia let out a bitter chuckle. "Never. She'd either accuse me of stealing from her or find some way to keep me from walking back out the door."
As Helena made her way back to town, she realized she was becoming progressively disgusted with someone she'd never even had the displeasure of conversing with, which was something she normally actively avoided making a habit of doing. Mayor Mills seemed to see Storybrooke as her own personal puppet theater and believe that it would only take the snip of a string to weaken someone or remove them from the stage. Well, Virginia wasn't going to go out like that. And neither was Henry. Helena was beginning to wonder if the way the doctors were treating him did have something to do with the fact that Mayor Mills just so happened to be the person he went after and if she did have some modicum of control over what the workers at the hospital were doing.
Surprisingly, it wasn't hard for Dr. Hopper to sweet-talk Dr. Aras into letting him treat Henry. Dr. Aras tried to tell Dr. Hopper that Henry would be a lost cause, but had no objections to him gaining practice privileges at the hospital. They filed the necessary paperwork, and the secretary informed him it would take about two days to process. Dr. Hopper left the hospital with a smile on his face. The decision to go down the path he had just taken felt strangely good.
"Oh, Dr. Hopper," a sickeningly sweet voice called out from behind him. He sighed and turned around.
"What can I do for you, Mayor Mills?"
"What were you doing at the hospital?"
Dr. Hopper hesitated, then decided to go with the straightforward approach. "I think you know."
"I already made it perfectly clear that you're not going to be treating Henry Stable, Dr. Hopper."
"Oh really? How do you plan to stop me?" Before the mayor's thin lips could part, the doctor continued. "It seems that you're under the impression that you have a lot more control over this town than you actually do, Madam Mayor. I hate to break it to you, but you have neither the right nor the power to push people around as you see fit."
"Excuse me?" snapped the mayor with as much disgust as her cold soul could muster.
The therapist smiled. "You heard me. It's like you've been led to believe you're some sort of…queen. You've forgotten that you hold an elected position that it is entirely possible for you to lose."
The mayor leaned in close to Dr. Hopper, her face so close to his he could feel her frosty breath on his cheeks. "A position that no one in this town would dare challenge if…"
"But what if someone did?" Dr. Hopper countered. "How do you think it would affect your reelection odds if a qualified professional were to, say, let it slip to the town that you're a sociopath?" The mayor didn't say anything, just gave him the same cold stare she wore as a default. "I am going to treat Henry Stable, and I am going to treat him and any other patient as I see fit. And you are going to stay out of my way. Have a nice day, Madam Mayor."