"So, MK, what do you do?" The brunette took a sip from his glass, watching his date a bit intently.

MK shrugged, "It's kind of hard to describe, Peter."

"Well, see if you can try."

"I don't know if your wife would like it," she said as she casually took a sip of her drink, her eyes never leaving his face. Peter's eyes grew big with a sudden realization as he quickly rose and bolted from the table. MK casually placed her drink down before walking briskly after him. In his rush to get to his car, he stumbled several times, giving MK the chance to catch up to him, right as he was trying to get into his car. She slammed the door into him, stunning him, before opening it and dragging him out, cuffing him. "Peter Black, you are under arrest for attempted murder, and faking your wife's signature on large bills."

An hour later, an exhausted MK entered into her apartment and set a cupcake down on her counter, a skinny candle sticking out of the top. She rummaged through a drawer, finding a lighter and lit the candle.

"Here's to another year, make a wish," she sighed, closed her eyes and blew out the candle. She opened her eyes and let out another sigh as she picked out the candle. A knock at her door made her pause. She placed the candle on the counter and strode to the door, opening it to reveal a boy of about ten years old stood there, smiling at her.

"Hi, are you Mary Katherine Bomba?"

"Uh, yeah? How do you know my name?"

"I'm your son, Jamie," smiled the brunette. MK backed up, her mouth opening in surprise.

"M-my son? How can you be sure? It's been, what, ten years since I had to give up my son?"

"I'm nine, actually, I turned nine on August tenth, remember?"

"Oh, um, right, OK, how about this? I take you home, and we'll work it all out there, OK?"

"Um, I live in Cedar Grove, Idaho."

"What? Idaho? How did you get here?"

"Um, a train, and a few buses, they were the cheapest I could find." MK glanced at him, her own mind filling with early attempts at finding her own parents.

She groaned and sighed, "Oh, alright, fine. You can spend the night on the sofa, we're leaving first thing in the morning."

Jamie's grin slightly dimmed, "Oh, OK, thanks mom!" He gave her a tight squeeze before dumping his backpack next to the sofa. MK went to grab a few blankets, muttering along the way.

"Of course, this just had to happen. And on my birthday, of all the days in the year, it had to be my birthday."

"Today's your birthday? Happy Birthday, Mom!" Jamie gave her another hug. After a few minutes, MK finally managed to pry him off and got him under the blankets, moving quickly away once she was done.

"Yeah, um, thanks. Well, good night, we've got a long drive tomorrow. I still can't believe you came all the way to Las Vegas, Nevada without any adults. Don't you have an adoptive mom? She'll be worried sick!"

"She's . . . she's not what you think."

MK stole a glance at him before turning off the lights, "Well, guess I'll be finding out soon enough."

About two days later, MK passed a sign advertising "Welcome to Cedar Grove." She glanced at the passenger seat, Jamie was sound asleep, for which she was thankful. She had heard plenty of the comings and goings of Cedar Grove, but the main conversation in particular nerved her. He had gone on and on about how she was supposed to save the town of Cedar Grove, and that her own parents were in the town. He had even showed her a book called A Faraway Land, full of stories that she primarily recognized from her youth. Tales like Brown Bear of Norway, Rapunzel, The Sea Maiden, Jack Frost, and tons of others that she had come to know as mere fairy tales. She didn't want to hear about that book again, not wanting to have her hopes risen only to have them dashed again, but now she would have to wake him up so he could direct her to his house.

She leaned over and gave him a little nudge, "Hey kid, time to get up, we're in Cedar Grove. I need you to get me to your house." Jamie yawned as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.

"Hm, yeah, OK." He took a quick look around before giving any directions. They got to his house easily enough, but MK noticed that with every minute closer, he became more alert and more depressed. Almost as soon as she parked her green car, the drama unfolded. A dark-haired woman dressed nicely in black came rushing out of the house to greet Jamie as he sauntered around the car.

"Jamie! Where have you been? I've been so worried about you! Jamie!" Jamie walked past her, not even giving her any eye contact, before muttering the news.

"I found my real mom!" He stomped into the house and, MK hoped, straight to his room. The woman turned to MK with a questioning look.

MK chuckled, "Yeah, that's what he claims. I'm not really sure. Um, here's his backpack." The woman practically snatched the backpack from MK.

"And you are?"

"I'm Mary Katherine Bomba, but you can call me MK."

"Ah, well, I'm Mavis Bennett, the Mayor of Cedar Grove. Thank you for bringing my son home, MK."

"Oh, no problem, otherwise he'd have been at my house making you more and more worried. I can't imagine what that would be like . . ."

"I don't think you would, but you were at least capable of thinking along those lines whereas my son was not. Now, I won't keep you much longer, I know you must have a long drive back, and you'd probably would want to get back home. I'm really sorry my son took up so much of your time." Mavis smiled and walked back to her house.

"Oh, um, OK," muttered MK as she got back into her car. She glanced at the house as Mavis turned to close the door. She wasn't sure what she saw, but something was not sitting right with her about Mayor Bennett. She pulled out of the driveway, still thinking. Maybe Jamie wasn't her son after all, but he did go to her, if not just to find his real mom, at least to get some help. MK glanced back at the house before it disappeared from her rearview mirror, and made a quick decision. "Sorry Mayor Bennett, but I'm not leaving until I know what's going on and that Jamie is safe." She pulled into the nearest hotel parking lot and got out, leaving no room for second thoughts. She walked into the hotel, where she was warmly greeted by the owner.

"Hello, I'm Paula Wiggins, welcome to the Wiggins Bed and Breakfast, how may we be of service?"

"Mom! I think Gramma Norma's gone off with Granny Puckett again!"

"Ted! Not now! We have a guest!" Paula turned back to MK and grinned. "Sorry about that."

"Oh no, that's alright, I'm looking for a room."

"Well, you've come to the best place in town . . ."

"Mom, we're the only hotel in town." A brown-haired boy who looked to be about 14 leaned on the staircase, glancing nonchalantly at the two.

"Oh, good, Ted, why don't you take this nice lady's bags up to room five where she'll be staying. How long will you be staying, Miss uh . . ."

"Oh, MK Bomba, and maybe a week?"

"A week! Wonderful! And what does MK stand for?"

"Mary Katherine."

"Alright, well, Mary Katherine, you've got the best view in the whole hotel. Hope you enjoy your stay here!" Paula handed her the key to room five, and with Ted's help, took her luggage up to the room. One she was alone and the door was closed, her thoughts turned back to Jamie.

She sighed, "If you are in fact my son, Jamie, the least I can do is get you out of the mess I got you into." She glanced out the window at the quaint little town before laying down on the bed and falling asleep.