Disclaimer: I am tired of doing this. I own Rose and Mason, the writers of Once Upon a Time own everything else.

A/N: I don't remember what exactly was going on during the episodes around this time, so please ignore all else that happened and allow me to make my story just the way I want it to be.

Chapter 17

Rose

"Here you go," Rumplestiltskin said, ladling some food onto my plate. I stared at it, trying to figure out what it was. It seemed to have a sort of sauce on it and it smelled appetizing, but I always liked to know what I was eating. "It's lasagna," Rumplestiltskin explained, reading my mind easily in such a way that reminded me that he may not have been my father right now, but one day he would be.

"Thank you," I said, picking up the fork and taking a hesitant bite. My father was not exactly known for his cooking skills. Known for other things, but not his cooking skills.

"I like this," Mason announced, his face smeared wildly with sauce even though Rumplestiltskin had just given it to him a second ago.

"I'm glad," Rumplestiltskin said, grinning at him. He sat down opposite of me and fixed me with a serious look. I prepared myself, wondering if he was going to tell me to stay away from Killian. If he was, it would be a lot better than the last time he had told me to do so. Last time quite a few things had been thrown and one of my brothers may or may not have been vanished. "About your magic,"

"Yes?" I asked, holding in a sigh of relief. He was not going to forbid me from being near Killian. Not that it would have worked, but you know, it was good for him to hold some semblance of authority.

"Do you have a teacher?" Rumplestiltskin asked. I took another bite of the food, Mason was right, it was good, before swallowing and answering.

"You," I said, then clarified quickly. "Well, I mean, you in the future. You started teaching me when I was ten years old."

"And this magic is natural?" He asked me. I took another bite and then shrugged at him.

"The product of True Love is always magic," I reminded him. He blanched, reeling back like someone had physically struck him, and I was reminded that right now my mother was in the hospital and could not remember any of us. Well, more importantly, could not remember him. Obviously she did not remember us, because she, like the rest of the town, had never met us before. "Is there a way to save her?"

"Your mother?" Rumplestiltskin clarified. I nodded and he shrugged, looking uncertain. It was strange and uncommon look on him and it made me even more worried. "I don't know. The curse that was set on the Enchanted Forest was the first of its kind and the situations that follow after are likewise. Your mother still holds her fake memories given to her by the curse, but everything else was wiped away when she stepped over the town's line."

"If you had your magic, and my magic," I started. "Would it be better? I could help you. Two magics are better than just one, right?"

"I will see," Rumplestiltskin said, renewed hope appearing one his face. I hoped, with all that I was, that I could help him. It would be perfect if I could help them while I was here. Maybe that was why I was here in the first place. Perhaps fate knew that I was needed by my parents.

Of course, I was still going to rip fate a new one for taking me away from Killian, but it would nice if it was all for something.

The door swung open and we all looked up, almost simultaneously, to see Auntie Emma.

"Is there something I can help you with, Miss Swan?" Rumplestiltskin asked politely.

"I was just checking to make sure that you were here," Auntie Emma explained.

"May I inquire why?" Rumplestiltskin asked.

"Because someone did dark magic on one of the townspeople." Auntie Emma explained. "And usually it's you."