"Lily! Lily, honey, wake up. I need to ask you something," Belle said anxiously to her daughter while coaxing her to wake up. Belle felt horrible to wake her, but Lily stirred anyways. "I know you've been having trouble sleeping and I'm so, so sorry to wake you up, but this is very important. Did you read this book last night?" said Belle as she held the book up. Lily's eyes opened but her vision was blurry. She squinted and did her best to identify the object her mother was waving in front of her face; The Mary Poppins book. Lily nodded her head.
"There was a piece of paper inside, did you see it? Do you know where it is?" pressed Belle anxiously.
Lily shook her head as she replied groggily, "No."
Rumple came into the living room to assess the situation. He looked around, appearing before them in his work clothes and asked while straightening his tie, "What seems to be the problem?"
"Oh no, no, no, no!" Belle cried out worriedly. At Lily's reply she suddenly fell to the floor and began crawling on her hands and feet to search for the parchment.
"What is it?" demanded Rumple as he watched his wife behave curiously.
She searched frantically underneath the couches and around the living room's furniture when she called back to him, "That book contained a very important piece of paper. That was the Return Ticket for my-"
Suddenly, Belle was cut off by the door bell which went off at that very moment. Belle got to her feet and hurried to the door. Rumple hobbled over after Belle who beat him to the front door and opened it. At the sight of the woman in front of her, Belle stuttered in surprise, "Ma… ma… ma…"
"Mary will suffice, but really, I thought we had gotten past our differences," said Mary. Lily came to the front door to greet whoever it was that their parents were occupied with. The strange woman, who appeared to be about the same age as her mother, wore a plain white long-sleeved dress shirt and a black pencil skirt that went appropriately down to her knees. Lily continued looking at the stranger curiously. In one hand, Mary held an umbrella that had a unique handle in the shape of a bird or parrot of some kind. In the other she held a large multi-colored carpetbag. Although the bag appeared to be in good shape, the colors were slightly faded probably due to over-exposure from having visited so many places. Her hair, which was wrapped up in a strict bun, matched perfectly with her overall demeanor which seemed to say 'professionalism' all the way down to her black high-heeled shoes. If Lily had to guess, Mary was a traveling business woman of some sort.
"Mum," said Lily as she looked at both of her parents for assurance, "Mum, who is this?"
"Oh my!" cried out Mary who was simply overjoyed to see Lily. Lily stood awkwardly in front of the stranger and found the whole situation incredibly odd. She had never seen this woman before, yet somehow tears were forming in Mary's eyes. Mary said joyfully to Lily, "My dear you have grown up so beautifully!"
Seeing that Belle was too shocked to say anything, Rumple answered for her placing both his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "Lily," smiled Rumplestiltskin, "this is Mary. She's an old family friend of your mother."
"But mother doesn't have any family friends," said Lily most astutely. It was true. The only friends that Belle had were the mothers of Lily's friends at school. Belle never talked about her family. In fact, as Lily thought about it some more neither did her father. So the fact that Mary was not just a friend, but an old family friend made Lily grow more suspicious of the pleasantly sweet stranger.
"Well that is most unfortunate," shook Mary's head as if giving them her condolences while taking a spare handkerchief to dry her moistened eyes. "And don't forget," she said while looking at Rumplestiltskin, "we met a long time ago too. I would say that makes us old friends as well."
"Of course," agreed Rumplestiltskin.
Belle's jaw fell open as she couldn't believe her eyes. Mary took notice of Belle's staring and replied, "My dear Belle, it is incredibly rude to gawk at people. Mr. Gold," she said addressing Belle's husband, "I do certainly hope you're not going to let me stand out here all day," stated Mary most positively, yet forwardly. Rumple brought his daughter close to his body and they both moved out of the way to grant Mary entrance into their home.
Belle closed the front door and followed after Mary, "How-How did you get here?"
"I flew in, of course. As I hear most people do in this world," replied Mary earnestly. She gave the condo a good once-over with her eyes to inspect the place. When nothing appeared to be out-of-sorts she then turned around to address the family, "I received your return ticket and I arrived as quickly as I could. Is everything all right?"
"Everything is fine. There must have been some mistake," reasoned Belle.
"There are no mistakes. Everything happens for a reason. So let's be wise with our time and spend it together. Hmm?" stated Mary as she wandered off into their living room to examine Belle's miniature library of books.
Belle turned to her husband, who was clearly not as upset as she was. In fact, he was the calmest person in the room. "And how are you not concerned right now?!" she accused with frustration as she stormed off after their guest to monitor her.
The truth was Rumple knew that Mary would never admit to her using magic so he really had nothing to worry about with her around. He chuckled with amusement as looked on at his flustered wife with fondness. Lily, who was still by her father's side, looked on curiously at her mother interacting with Mary and remarked, "Mummy doesn't look too happy to see her friend."
"Nonsense. Your mother is just surprised," Rumple replied with a gleeful smile.
… …
Rumplestiltskin decided to call the day off from the Pawn Shop to entertain their guest for the day. The first thing they did was walk around central park. Belle, for the most part, remained quiet listening to both Mary and Gold strategically articulate their small talk. While Belle listened on to the banter, it amazed her on how well they were able to catch up on their lives without bringing up their true pasts. For hours, the dialogue smoothly transitioned from one subject to another, navigating away from certain topics that would otherwise arouse suspicion from their daughter. They were both masters in the art of words. When their legs were tired, they sat for lunch. When lunch was over, they museum hopped all over the city, giving Mary a brief but grandiose tour of New York City.
After all the walking and entertaining, Lily was beginning to fall asleep which cued the family to return back home to their condominium. As Gold unlocked the door Belle carried Lily into their home and went straight to Lily's bedroom to tuck her in. As soon as Belle closed her daughter's bedroom door, she turned and found Mary and Rumple sitting and settling down around the dining table. Just as Belle was about to speak, Mary quickly turned to Gold and asked, "Rumplestiltskin, dear, would you be so kind as to start the kettle, I could really go for some afternoon tea right about now."
Gold nodded to his old friend and got up, glancing over at his upset wife saying, "It would be my pleasure."
Mary looked up at Belle and observed, "I take it you haven't told your daughter."
"Haven't told my daughter… what?" Belle asked offensively as she sat down beside Mary.
Mary turned to Belle and finished her thought, "…about who I am."
"She doesn't know about either of our families, or of magic. Though, somehow, she knows about Storybrooke…" Belle said trailing off. It seemed too much of a strange coincidence. Just last night their daughter confessed her knowledge of magic and now Mary was sitting at their dining table having tea. Before she could speculate further on the matter, her thoughts were interrupted by Rumplestiltskin.
"She doesn't need to know about Storybrooke, or of magic for that matter," he said as he set the tea set before them. "Belle and I decided on the day Lily was born that moving away would be what was best for all of us. This is our happy ending."
"And quite the dream you're living in," retorted Mary snidely. Belle was appalled by what she heard and took the comment negatively. Belle didn't like Mary's tone and what insulted her further was that it was being disguised as sweetness. Before Gold had a chance to respond, the tea kettle began to whistle and he got up to the stove to turn it off.
"I'm sorry," Belle retorted sarcastically, showing her hostility. "Are you judging us on how we choose to live our lives?"
"Not at all," defended Mary. "I'm merely remarking upon the fact that you are denying your daughter the opportunity to learn the truth about who she is. Your child is magical and you seem to think that by denying who she is, she will be complacent to live out the rest of her days without knowing the rest of her family."
"Both of my parents abandoned me and my father… well, let's just say that nothing good came from learning about him," stated Gold as he poured hot water into three tea cups. As soon as he was done pouring he sat down to listen and joined in on the conversation.
"What about your father, Belle?" Mary said redirecting the conversation back over to Belle. "Don't you think Maurice deserves to see and know his granddaughter?"
"I told him and he understood when we moved that this is where I would be most happy and that I would always treasure his memory in my heart."
"But you dishonor him by never mentioning his name. How can you love a person if you can't even acknowledge their existence?" Mary pointed out as she took her tea cup and sipped a little bit of her hot beverage. The conversation turned awkward, but before it turned uncomfortable Mary said, "I can see that I've overstayed my welcome." Mary set her unfinished cup down and got up from the table. As Mary stood up, so did Gold.
"Nonsense, you're our guest. You're welcome to stay here for as long as you like," insisted Gold to their guest, but Mary closed her eyes and nodded politely.
"Thank you very much for such a lovely day. It was really nice of you to give me a tour of your wonderful neighborhood. And thank you for your invitation to stay, but I really must get going. I know where my home is and I must get back to it," said Mary as she went to her carpetbag, pulling out a letter of some sort.
"And where is home for you, now-a-days?" inquired Gold as he watched Mary take the letter and walk over to Lily's bedroom. Quietly, Mary opened Lily's bedroom door and glanced one last time at Lily's sleeping form. Both Belle and Gold followed after Mary into Lily's bedroom and watched as Mary slipped the letter into Lily's completed dream journal. Mary looked back up at the parents and smiled as she excused herself back out of the child's bedroom.
As soon as the door was closed again, Mary softly answered Gold's question and said, "My home is wherever my family is… and that is in Storybrooke. Should you ever need my assistance again, just open that letter. You'll know what to do."
What the family outside Lily's door didn't realize was that just inside… Lily was wide awake and heard every single word Mary said.
… …
As soon as her bedroom door closed, Lily's eyes shot open. Mary knows about Storybrooke! Not only does she know about the place, she acknowledged it! Why did her parents deny its existence? Who exactly is this Mary, the mysterious family friend? And why was her mother acting so strangely around her?
It didn't matter. All Lily knew was that Storybrooke actually existed and that it wasn't just a dream. Storybrooke was real. It upset Lily that her father didn't believe her, so it was decided then that she would go there and bring back magic to New York to prove it to her father. She knew exactly where it was so she waited for nightfall to make her move.
Lily waited all evening for her parents to finally go to bed and when they did she crept out of her bedroom. With her packed bookbag hoisted over her shoulders, she snuck into the kitchen and threw a couple of snacks into her bag. She stealthily walked out of the kitchen and strode over to her mother's purse taking her mother's credit card and cash before quietly walking out the door.
… …
All on her own, Lily hailed a cab which took her to the nearest Greyhound bus station. She looked around the bus station for signs that would take her to Maine, so she went to the front clerk to inquire about purchasing a ticket.
"Excuse me, I'm looking to purchase a one-way ticket to Maine. When will the next bus depart?"
The heavy-set woman in the ticket booth eyed Lily up and down suspiciously and asked, "Honey, where are your parents? All underage children must be accompanied by an adult."
Just then a woman suddenly appeared next to Lily and claimed assuredly, "I am this young girl's chaperone."
"Mary?" Lily said looking up at her mother's friend. Mary ignored Lily's acknowledgement and was instead focused on the woman in front of them in the ticket booth. The ticket administrator looked at Mary and felt more at ease knowing Lily was not there unaccompanied. So she replied answering Lily's original question, "The next bus that leaves for Portland departs at twelve a.m."
"We shall take two tickets please," said Mary as she pulled out the exact change from her carpetbag and handed it over to the lady.
"Thank you," said Lily as both she and Mary sat down at a booth together to wait to get on the bus.
"Well I was not about to let you go on a bus alone. Besides, you and I are going to the same place."
"You-you are?" stuttered Lily, surprised by how much she knew.
"Of course, we are heading to Storybrooke, aren't we?"
"Yes," replied Lily dumbfounded. She blinked unbelievably at Mary. Lily had so many questions, but to double-check to make sure she wasn't just imagining things she asked the first thing that came to her mind, "You… you believe? You believe in magic?"
In response, Mary said nothing. Instead she smiled at Lily and then started humming a pleasant and upbeat melody.
Minutes later, the boarding call for their bus was announced over the intercom and they both got up to board. As soon as Lily and Mary got onto the bus and found their seats, Lily began asking Mary questions.
"Are you Mary Poppins? How do you know my mother? Are you magical?!" Lily asked eagerly.
"That is enough questioning for now. Now it's time for you to rest. If you stay awake it'll be an awfully long bus ride to Maine."
"But I can't possibly sleep right now! I've got so many questions for you," said Lily excitedly.
Mary refused to answer her questions and instead started to sing a strange yet enchantingly subdued lullaby.
"Stay awake, don't rest your head. Don't lie down upon your bed. While the moon drifts in the skies. Stay awake, don't close your eyes…"
Before Lily knew it, her eyes closed and her head fell casually on Mary's shoulder. Unfortunately for Lily, she never got to hear the ending of Mary's hauntingly beautiful song.