Parker ran towards the forest as fast as her feet could carry her. Henry and Hardison were just behind and doing the same. They were all eager in saving Sophie and Nate.

My parents, Parker thought. The joy of that discovery was still fresh in her heart but doubt resided there as well. It had been twenty-eight years since they last saw each other. It couldn't be possible that they found each other before the curse was even broken. Dreams like that never came true. The real world had no happily ever after. Her old foster parents taught her that first hand.

"Oh Hell no!" Hardison groaned.

Parker couldn't help but to agree. The worst thoughts of what they would find were incorrect. Nate and Regina were alive but they were fighting a vicious beast, a dragon. There was a real dragon in Storybrooke and it was pouring flames upon them whenever it could. The flames jumped around them though but still the worst was far from over. The grifter was nowhere to be seen.

The sound of horse hooves disturbed them all. Hardison quickly grabbed the kid and pushed him behind. He grabbed the boy's book and held it as a weapon to use against the newest enemy. Parker just listened to her locket and raised her hand. She could feel a great force enveloping in her hand. But there was no danger. Nolan was riding a horse their way, the brunette woman on his back. The horse stopped inches in front of them.

"A dragon?" Charming gasped, "It's been a while since I've fought one of those."

"Yeah but where's Marian?" Snow asked. She dropped from the horse's saddle with enviable ease. She reached for the bag on the side and pulled out a large vase. "We need her to activate the magic. We're going to trap Cora in it."

"I'm guessing Cora's the dragon," Hardison growled.

"We can't find Sophie," Henry replied.

"You guys find Sophie I'll help Nate and Regina!" Charming said, "Henry, stay with Parker!"

Then he took off, his sword glistening in the sun. Parker silently wondered why he had two. Still, she nodded her head at his last orders and quickly began to scan the area. She knew she could find the grifter. She was certain of it.

"Split up," Snow suggested softly, "we can cover more ground. I'll cover you."

Hardison nodded his head and immediately started running towards the trees. Parker took hold of Henry and was about to start in her own direction. Instead she noticed an odd wisp of brown hair floating in a ditch not too far away. That was too much of a coincidence.

"I found her!" The thief shouted.

She was already running when she spoke. That weird feeling called fear was in her belly again. She knew something was wrong but she was going to go to the grifter anyway. She felt compelled to be by the older woman's side. Whatever problems they would face, they would face it together. She remembered being told that by the grifter a million times. This was definitely what she meant by that statement.

The thief fell to her knees beside the unconscious brunette. Her hand snatched out to find a pulse immediately at her landing. She grinned and sighed in relief at the steady rhythm under her index finger. Sophie was still alive but she looked dead. Why did she look dead?

"Poison apple," Henry croaked.

Parker frowned at the boy's statement. She looked at him with a quizzical eye and tried to figure out what he meant. She kept coming up empty though.

"Snow White took a bite of a poisoned apple and fell into a deep sleep, Parker," he explained.

The thief blinked at his arrival. She hadn't even realized he was following her so closely. She was expecting him to take at least a few more seconds. Hardison was huffing too and there within moments before he was needed. Snow stood with her bow drawn and an arrow safely nuzzled there. That was comforting.

"So how do we wake her up?" Parker demanded softly. She was more than eager to get to the bottom of this whole thing. She needed to know if what Nate said was true. She needed to know if she really did find her parents, if Sophie was her mother.

"True love's kiss," Snow replied.

The hacker's head turned towards the big black dragon in the middle of a fight with their mastermind and Prince Charming. Parker followed his line of sight and felt her heart drop. There was no way they would be able to get Nate back, not while he was still protecting them. They didn't have enough time.

"My mom managed to save me with True Love's kiss," Henry replied, "Maybe it works the other way around."

"I'm confused," Parker admitted softly.

"Well my mom, my real mom said she loved me and kissed me on the head and that's how the curse was broken," Henry shrugged, "Maybe that's what will save Sophie."

"Um kid," Hardison coughed out, "Your mom saved you. Sophie's mom is currently a fire breathing dragon trying to kill Nate. I don't think it's going to work this time around."

"We don't need her mom," Henry grinned. Then he directed his attention to the blonde thief beside him. "We have her daughter."

"There's no proof," Hardison growled, "And it will be too late by the time we get a test done."

"Nate seems to think she's his," Henry shrugged, "What else do we have?"

"He's right," Snow argued, "Now hurry up because Marian's going to be stuck like this forever if you don't do something about it soon!"

"Fine!" Parker growled, kissing the grifter on the brow.

Everybody held their breath and waited for some sort of change to happen. It didn't. There was nothing different. The grifter was still in a deep sleep of death and showed no signs of waking.

"Well I guess that proves Parker's not Nate and Sophie's daughter," Hardison replied. He sent a glare Snow White's way. "Now how are we supposed to save Sophie?"

"Maybe I should help them out while we figure out a new way," Snow shrugged.

"No," Henry said, "Parker, you've got to believe. If you don't believe than it won't work."

"Well how am I supposed to do that when I never even met my mother?" Parker growled, "You're asking me to believe but I have no reason to. They're not even old enough to be my parents."

Henry quickly pulled out his library book. He flipped to the desired page and shoved it under the thief's nose. Then he pointed to the baby in the basket.

"Remember how she tried to protect you," Henry begged softly, "Look at the way they took care of you while you were with them. Your mother swore she would spend every second of her cursed life looking for you and wouldn't rest until she had. You don't have to believe me, just believe them!"

Parker stared at the little boy completely dumbfounded. She rolled her eyes and quickly snatched the book from his grasp. She stared at the picture of Robin and Marian singing to their precious baby girl. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on what the boy asked. She turned up empty so she flipped through the pages and tried to focus on the words she said.

"Make a decision fast," Snow ordered, "We're running out of time!"

She ignored that. She just focused on the words and images flashing on the pages before her. She ignored the hammering of her heart and closed her eyes again. This time she would let her fingers choose the next page. So she flipped through the pages and let her fingers dance. As soon as she felt them stop the fluttering pages she opened her eyes.

It was a picture of Marian that caught her fingers' attention. Marian was smiling away in a rocking chair, holding a tiny bundle of blankets in her arms. There was a bunny dancing in her right hand and she was laughing away. The thief frowned at the image. The bunny looked familiar and Marian looked more like Sophie than ever before.

Close your eyes and let your memories consume you, the locket said.

Okay, she replied. Her mind soon exploded with wonder.

"Hello sleepyhead," a light voice spoke into the air, "Did we have a wonderful sleep?"

Parker stared at the image again and blinked. It was still there. Nothing about the image had changed but she could have sworn she heard a voice speaking only to her. She turned the page again to see if that triggered anything. It did.

"Hush now," the voice called again, "You're alright. I'm here. There's no reason to cry. Get rid of those awful tears."

Parker blinked at the sudden memory. There had been a woman comforting her while she was crying. The woman had long curly brown hair. It was soft, she remembered running her fingers through it because it was so soft. But the face, she couldn't see the face. The morning sun was shining just the right way, hiding the woman's face from view. But she remembered soft hands brushing away her golden locks and the feeling of nothing but pure love.

Then the image on the page caught her attention. Marian was bending over a cradle and whispering words. The sunlight was shown in the window, peeking through. The curtains were painted red though. That was wrong. Parker's memory had purple curtains that felt like velvet. They weren't red and they most certainly weren't open. They were thin and didn't hide the sun at all, but only in the morning.

The thief frowned at her knowledge of such an error and quickly turned the page. This time the voice whispering in her ear was male. It was happy and joyous and telling her everything she was going to become. He told her about a fearless maiden who stood up against evil just to protect a princess' heart. He told of stories of a wretched crook who became a thief for good when the fearless maiden asked him to. He told stories of a big brother who would protect her from everything no matter what.

Parker stared at the image of the father holding his child. This time the voice matched the image. Nathan Ford's voice had been the one that belonged to the one whispering in her ear. It was Nathan Ford who was holding his baby near. The smile on his face was foreign but one of pure bliss. His eyes even twinkled in a way that the thief had only seen once in her life. His eyes only twinkled like that when he remembered he was Robin Hood, and she was his daughter.

What's your name, Parker? The locket said.

Parker snapped the book closed and stared at the woman lying on the ground. She slowly reached out her hand and felt the soft, velvet hair. The curls and color were the same. The face was a little more wrinkled but that was to be expected. The hands were cold but still felt safe and just the right amount of soft.

"It was just a bad dream," Parker repeated the words filtering through her mind. Another memory was taking over, trying to make itself seen once again.

The thief allowed the images to consume her. The warm, soft hands were keeping her safe from harm and cradling her with love. The curly hair was tickling her chin and twirling around in her quick fingers, even as a baby she had quick fingers. Her father's gentle laugh was distant, filtering in from another room entirely. Then her mother whispered the one word she had pretended to never know. She whispered her name.

Parker leaned over the sleeping brunette with tears in her eyes. She brushed away the stray hairs on the tip of her forehead. Then she lowered herself so she was speaking to the grifter and the grifter alone.

"You have to wake up," she said, "because I need you. And I'm not the only one. Hardison and Eliot need you too even though they don't always show it. You help us with the emotion stuff. You save Eliot from thinking he's a monster. You make sure Hardison doesn't get too absorbed in his computer world and that he doesn't get a big ego."

"Parker," Hardison said gently squeezing her shoulder.

He looked on the verge of tears. He placed his hand on her cheek and rubbed his thumb lovingly. The thief smiled at the motion and the way he was wiping at her tears.

"Everything's going to be okay," he promised.

Parker nodded and then immediately turned her attention back on the grifter.

"Nate needs you too," she cried, "because he loves you. You remind him of everything he used to be and everything he could be. You're his conscious. He told me that… Do you remember?"

"Parker, what are you saying?" Henry questioned softly.

"Every night before I fell asleep he would whisper stories in my ear," Parker replied, "He would tell me about my mother and how much I was already like her. He told me how she was going to teach me everything and turn me into a strong woman. He was talking about you, wasn't he?"

The thief leaned towards the grifter again and lightly touched her soft hair. Then she gave the sleeping a grifter a soft hug before speaking again.

"You're my mother so I can finally tell you the one thing I've been afraid to say since we met when Nate formed this team. Because I'm sort of angry with you for letting me go but I know why it happened and I know how hard you tried to stop it from happening. But Daddy needs you and I don't know what else to do."

"Parker, are you…?" Hardison began. He stopped himself short though. The book had finally drawn his attention.

The hacker picked up the book and immediately gasped at what was written on the final page. His face went from the grifter to the thief and back again. Then his eyes fell towards the hitter, wide and panicked like never before.

"You stole something from me, Mother," the thief cried, "but that's okay because you're the Queen of Thieves. I'm the daughter of Robin Hood and Maid Marian. I know who I am."

"What's going on, Hardison?" Snow demanded of the hacker. She had already unleashed one of her arrows. The fight was making its way towards them. It wouldn't be long before the dragon was there. Time was clearly not on their side.

"She's getting rid of the curse," Hardison replied.

"She believes," Henry smiled in accomplishment.

"My name is Sophie," Parker said, placing her lips on top of the grifter's brow as she spoke.

Just like that a burst of light filled the air. It pushed the arrow right out of Snow's bow and toward the dragon. Regina unleashed a spell way too soon. Nate barely succeeded in parrying a shot before the magic hit him. Charming was distracted long enough to be hit with Cora's tale. Even the dragon was effected. Her giant fireball backfired and she roared in pain.

The grifter's brown eyes opened in relief and the woman immediately sat up straight. She turned towards her savior, shock and love clearly on her face. Her hands shot up to frame the thief's face. A smile appeared. Her white teeth shined brightly and there was nothing but pure joy in her eyes.

"Snow Pea," she grinned.

"Hi," Parker smiled at her mother's happy expression, "I would like to still be called Parker though."

"Robin's in trouble," Snow replied in greeting.

"Sophie's Parker's mom!" Hardison gasped.

"I told you so," Henry replied.

"Grandma's trying to kill Dad," Parker stated bluntly.

The grifter turned to observe the horrendous news. Then she whipped her head back at her small family with determination. She quickly stood to her feet and looked back at the sight. She smiled and turned back to her daughter.

"In your grandfather's tomb," she said, "There is a door with a lot of beating hearts behind it. Your father's bow and arrows are in there. Take Hardison and go get it. Snow, you're with me. Henry, go find help. We might not be able to stop her."

"Why am I with Parker?" Hardison demanded in confusion.

"Because she needs you more than I do," Sophie winked. Then she was off to help her husband with the task of going against her mother.

"So you're their daughter?" Hardison clarified sharply.

"Yep," Parker nodded.

"That makes so much sense now," Hardison replied.

"How am I supposed to find help?" Henry asked.

The thief and hacker turned towards the small boy in absolute wonder. They weren't even sure how they were supposed to find their weapons. They didn't know the town like the kid did. They didn't even know what they could do. Apparently a new set of horse hooves were supposed to be their divine answer. It definitely didn't disappoint.

"Eliot!" Henry cheered.

The hitter didn't even break stride as he unleashed the weapons on his saddle. He was riding a dark grey horse at top speed. He wasn't even pulling on the reigns. He was too busy pulling back on the string of his bow. An arrow flew through the air and hit the dragon in the eye. The horse didn't even seem fazed by the amazing shot. It just kept running as if it was born to have Eliot riding on its back.

"Well," Hardison replied. He picked up a sword and swung it experimentally. It wasn't exactly a perfect fit but it would serve its purpose well. He grinned at the pair manically. "That solved that problem."

"What's next?" Henry asked.

Parker stared at the small dagger in her hands. It wasn't exactly the most extravagant weapon. She knew how to use it though. Plus, she had a secret weapon of her own. She was Marian's daughter. She had magic on her side. Her father was the greatest thief in history. She had the skills necessary to protect her young charge.

"I've got a plan," she said.