Mary left the Pawn Shop and rounded the corner of the building until she found herself down a deserted alley, completely out of sight from anyone and everyone. When she saw that the coast was clear she allowed herself to finally release the sob she had held in since meeting Belle at the diner. She cried into her hands and used the building's outside wall to prop herself up as she leaned against it. She cried to herself for only a few moments, allowing the pain from the emotion to escape through her tears, and when the moment of wallowing had passed, she quickly collected herself drying her face off with a handkerchief she conjured for herself. From within her pocketbook Mary pulled out a small compact mirror and checked her face. When she felt she looked presentable she continued walking down the alley-way and marched onto Storybrooke's main street.

To keep herself distracted from the thoughts that lingered in her head she walked around town to admire the architecture. She walked to the school, then past the diner and then the Town Hall. In front of the Town Hall was a well decorated community board and the brilliant colors of the flyers caught her attention. She saw a young couple with a baby hovering close to the board and watched as the father staple a few signs up onto it. Mary's curiosity got the best of her so she walked up to the board and read the young couple's advertisement:

PART-TIME NANNY WANTED

Trial basis. Must be flexible, kind, loving and understanding.

Pay is negotiable and based off experience.

Contact David or Mary-Margaret Blanchard for more information.

Mary was reading the flyer when she caught out of the corner of her eye, the baby of the young couple staring at her. From his mother's arms, the baby boy stared at her with curious blue eyes and when Mary smiled the baby smiled back, making cooing sounds. At the baby's delighted sounds, the mother turned around to look at the stranger her baby was so amused with.

"Oh, I think someone likes you," the mother with short dark hair said looking back and forth between her child and Mary.

"How old is he?" Mary asked with a smile. She reached over to the baby boy and offered her little pinky which he immediately took hold and gripped. "Oh my! What a strong grip!"

"Eight," replied the father, smiling at the interaction, "going on nine months."

"What's his name?" Mary asked.

"Neal," answered Mary-Margaret.

She looked back and forth between the couple and offered, "If you are looking for a new nanny, I have many years of experience in that field."

The father with piercing blue eyes and short buzzed blonde hair responded, "I'm sorry… I thought I've met every person here in Storybrooke, but for some reason I don't think I've ever met you before."

"My name is Mary Poppins," Mary said introducing herself and offering her hand to shake and greet. "I'm Belle's mother. Or, I believe she goes by Mrs. Gold here."

"Belle! Yes!" said Mary-Margaret immediately recognizing Belle in Mary's face. Meanwhile, David kept looking at Mary skeptically.

"Well, nice to meet you, finally," said David trying to be friendly, shaking Mary's hand briefly. "I'm David and this is my wife Mary-Margaret." With the available hand Mary-Margaret wasn't using to hold Neal she used to shake Mary's. David continued, "Forgive me for seeming wary. Our previous nanny turned out to be a Wicked Witch and because of her we almost lost our son."

"Oh my goodness. How terrible! You have every right to feel as you do. I completely understand your need to be precautious. That must have been incredibly traumatizing," commented Mary.

"It was. It took us quite a while to even want a nanny. I'm still a bit scared to trust him in anybody's but our own. However," Mary-Margaret said looking at her husband for assurance, giving out a reluctant sigh before continuing, "we agreed that this is for the best. So you're Belle's mother?"

"I suppose Belle rarely spoke of me," Mary said shrugging her shoulders.

"Or none at all," added David.

"Well, any family of Belle's is a friend of ours," said Mary-Margaret. "Are you here to help Belle with her baby?"

"Well, between getting lost, the curse and the amnesia it has been very difficult to keep in touch with each other."

"I can imagine. That sounds a lot like what all of us have experienced," empathized Mary.

"We were separated in the Enchanted Forest a long time ago and ever since then I have been trying to get back to Belle. I only happened upon Storybrooke only to discover that she was here all along and we were finally reunited. I didn't even know that she was with child until we met yesterday."

Just when Mary finished her thought, Henry came up from behind his grandparents and greeted them, "Hey grandma, hey grandpa."

"Henry," David and Mary-Margaret greeted in unison.

Mary Poppins did a double-take between Henry and his grandparents, clearly confused at the small age difference and remarked, "Grandparents? Well, I surely hope I look just as youthful as you both do when my grandchild is born."

"I'm so sorry. It's a long story. The curse did a number on our family too, hence the short age-gap," apologized David as he brought Henry forward with a smile, "Mary, this is Henry our grandson. Henry, this is Mary Poppins, Belle's mother."

Mary gestured with a kind nod toward Henry and said, "Pleased to meet you Henry."

"Wait a minute, you're Mary Poppins? The Mary Poppins? You're Belle's mother?" Henry reiterated in shock and disbelief.

"You know who Mary Poppins is, Henry?" wondered Mary-Margaret.

"Of course! Practically every child outside of Storybrooke knows who Mary Poppins is. In fact, she's the most infamous nanny out there."

"You are much too kind, Henry" said Mary, blushing at his flattering words.

"It appears you have quite the reputation if Henry knows you," David remarked, resting his hands authoritatively on his hips.

"Henry, what are you doing out of school so early?" questioned Mary-Margaret.

"Today's a half-day. I was heading over to your apartment when I saw you over at the community board."

David explained to Mary Poppins who was looking on, "Henry has been coming over to our apartment after school for the past few days, helping out with Neal while we," David said gesturing to himself and Mary-Margaret, "spent some time alone together. It's only temporary, hence the reason for a part-time nanny."

"Well I would be more than happy to help you out, even if it is only temporarily," agreed Mary. "When shall I begin?"

"You can begin… well, today!" said David enthusiastically. "Let's walk back to the apartment. It's not far from here."

"I'll lead the way," volunteered Mary-Margaret.

Mary followed after Mary-Margaret as she and Neal led the way to the apartment making small talk with each other. They walked on ahead of David and Henry and when the two women were out of ear-shot David leaned over to Henry and spoke, "Do me a favor…" Henry looked up to his grandfather as David continued, "I still want you to keep an eye out on Neal for us, but more importantly, keep an eye on her." David gestured looking at Mary Poppins.

"Don't worry grandpa. Mary Poppins is one of us; she's one of the good guys," comforted Henry, but David's face still seemed unmoved. Henry added, "I'll still come over to the apartment after school to look after Uncle Neal if that makes you feel any better."

"It does, actually. Thank you, Henry."

"No problem, Gramps."

Mary Poppins and the small Charming family walked into the secluded apartment and settled themselves. Henry slung his book-bag on top of the dining table and unloaded his notebooks. While Henry tried to busy himself with the assignments in front of him, he watched his grandparents meander around the apartment giving Mary the tour, orienting her to all of the care-giving essentials.

"Over here are the diapers at the changing table…"

"And these are the emergency contacts numbers to call in case something happens. If you have any questions, Henry will come by after school to assist you should you have any further questions," David said looking over at Henry who was obviously eavesdropping.

"Help yourself to anything in the kitchen," Mary-Margaret insisted.

"And the sum we agreed on… is ok?" David asked.

Mary raised her hands to calm the worried parents, "Please, just… whenever you can. I'm happy to do this for you. I should actually thank you really. You're giving my hands something to do while I wait for my grandchild to arrive." Mary reached out her hands gesturing towards Mary-Margaret who was still carrying Neal to hold him. Mary-Margaret looked at her husband and then back at Mary Poppins with great reluctance. "I assure you, Neal is in safe hands. Besides, Henry will be here with me for the majority of the time while you are gone. And I'm betting he will report back to you on his cell phone should I do anything suspicious."

Mary-Margaret took a deep breath and nodded. She gulped as she slowly and carefully handed Neal over to Mary Poppins. Upon Mary's handling, Neal smiled and let out a soft giggle, alleviating some of the anxiety.

"Thank you. We'll only be gone for a few hours. Emma should be home shortly to take over. Henry, I assume you'll fill your mom in with the rest of the details when she does arrive?" asked David looking over at Henry eagerly.

"Of course," Henry assured.

"Alright. Then I guess we'll see you in a couple of hours… Snow?" stated David, looking at his wife. Mary-Margaret nodded to her husband as David gently and slowly escorted the reluctant and anxious mother out of the apartment.

Silence fell in the apartment as Mary held Neal in her arms. Henry peered suspiciously over his textbook, looking curiously at Mary's interaction with Neal as she cooed. Mary could sense Henry's eyes and without looking up asked, "What are you studying, Henry?"

As if being caught in a stare, he quickly scrambled and looked down at the book he was holding. "History," he replied.

"And why, do you think, history is an important subject to learn?"

"I, uh… I… I'm still trying to figure out the answer to that question," Henry stammered.

"History tends to repeat itself. Those who don't learn from the mistakes of the past are condemned to repeat them. We study history to find out more about ourselves, to learn from mistakes, to recall different ways of approaching things. And we are but humans, with limited time and memory. We study history so that we don't forget ourselves."

"Oh," acknowledged Henry. "You should tell that to my grandpa."

"David?"

"My other grandpa."

"And who is your other grandfather?" asked Mary as she gently laid Neal down in his crib.

"Mr. Gold."

"Mr. Gold," repeated back, still looking at Henry for clarification, "as in…"

"Rumplestiltskin."

"Rumplestiltskin is your grandfather?" Mary asked, realizing how closely tied everyone is in Storybrooke.

"Long story. My father is his son, Baelfire… or Neal. That's what he preferred to be called in this world. In fact, my Uncle Neal was named after him; a hero."

Henry hadn't thought of his father in a while and the subject was still very sore to him. The mere thought of his father again made him incredibly sad, so he frowned and resumed his attempts to concentrate on his homework assignment. Mary caught sight of Henry's sudden change in mood and walked over to the table where he sat and sat down in the chair across from him. Henry focused on the page before him when he heard the clanking of china in front of him. Mary was pouring herself a cup of tea when Henry looked back up from his book.

"What's wrong?" Mary asked, noticing the perplexed look on his face.

"The tea set… it wasn't there before and now… did you…?" but before Henry could finish asking the question, Mary interrupted him. As she poured water into his teacup she offered, "Would you like some?"

"No thanks. I'm not much of a tea drinker."

"Are you sure?" she said while sipping on her Earl Grey, "I'm betting this is your favorite beverage."

Upon her insistence, Henry took the teacup she poured for him and brought it close. As he brought the cup close to his face, he recognized the sweet aroma and looked down into the liquid which had a familiar dark milky look about it.

"I thought you said this was tea?" Henry said confused.

"Did I? Taste it," Mary coaxed.

Henry sniffed the beverage before sipping it and remarked excitedly, "It's hot chocolate! And…," he said taking another sip, "cinnamon? How did you know I liked cinnamon with my hot cocoa?"

"Do you? That is quite the palate you have there, Henry."

"Only my mother knows how I like my hot chocolate. Did you just use magic to figure out my drink?"

"Henry…" said Mary pulling out a torn instant hot chocolate packet and showing it to Henry. Apparently it was just out of his peripheral vision. "Not everything I do is magical."

"You sound just like my grandpa, Mr. Gold. But still… it doesn't explain how you knew about the cinnamon."

"Mmm," Mary replied ambiguously as she took another sip of her tea; neither confirming nor denying the cinnamon accusation.

Henry continued sipping the perfect hot chocolate, debating in his mind the legitimacy of the instant hot cocoa mix in Mary's hand. To believe she used the mix would imply that he still didn't believe in magic. But as he drank the perfectly tempered and silky smooth beverage, he knew that the delicious drink couldn't have possibly been made using hot water. Given what Henry knew about Mary, his mind struggled to disbelieve in her magic. He knew it was a losing battle as he drank the decadent hot chocolate, and he almost allowed his senses to betray his judgment when he shook his head and stated boldly, "I don't believe in magic."

"I never asked whether or not you did," Mary replied candidly, "but that would explain a lot."

"Explain what?"

"Your temperament. You're experiencing, what I like to call, the Age of Not Believing."

"What is that suppose to mean?"

Mary placed her teacup down and explained, "I have worked with children like you before. It's an age when you're done with make-believe. Children like yourself seem to rush around in hopeless circles searching constantly for something true. At this age, you set aside childhood heroes and dreams and dwell upon the doubts that you have about yourself. You start to feel incredibly lonely and wonder the whereabouts of happy moments and happy endings. You, Henry, must face this Age of Not Believing and doubt everything you ever knew until you start to believe in yourself again. And when you do that you'll discover something wonderful, realizing that all along it's been inside you. So you see, you don't have to believe in magic. There's magic in you already because you have love. You just have to believe in yourself. Love is magic and there's powerful magic in love. Your family is very powerful because of their love for you and that kind of magic is not something you can see, it's something you feel and when you do… you just know."

Ah, The Age of Not Believing… another call-back tribute to Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Who would have thought that there would be magic in a simple cup of hot chocolate? Shout-out high-fives and gold stars to carpelibrum, Imusicluver23, Montreat11, and Grace5231973 for sticking with me and reviewing! You guys are awesome. Stay beautiful. See you next chapter!