Belle awoke in their bed with a jerk as if waking from a bad dream. Her sudden movement away from Rumple's comforting embrace roused him abruptly as well. With a concerned look on his face, he said with alarm, "Belle! Belle what is it?"

"I-I don't know. Something doesn't feel right. It's… it's hard to explain." Belle racked her brain trying to figure out what it was. Why did she wake up suddenly? She looked around their bedroom. Nothing was out of place. With the light that peeked between the blinds she could still see every object in their room. Nothing was out of the ordinary, except… the silence. Belle looked over at her alarm clock which read 7:32 a.m.

Usually around this time Belle heard the typical movements from their daughter. She waited to hear the usual stomping around in the kitchen or the clanking of a spoon knocking against her bowl as she ate her poured cereal. She waited to listen for the sound of pages flipping in the next room. Belle hoped that Lily was simply reading a book from her bookshelf, but instead she heard silence and it disturbed her. Belle called to Rumple, "Do you hear anything?"

"No," he replied unsure what it was that she was talking about.

"Exactly. It's too quiet."

She tossed the blankets from off of her body and immediately got out of their bed to leave their bedroom. As soon as she opened their bedroom door she scanned the living room. It was empty.

"What's wrong?" Rumple asked again as he stared at Belle's face which seemed to be filled with worry. Belle leaned up against the door frame to their bedroom and turned to Rumplestiltskin. "Rumple, when did Lily go to bed yesterday?"

"Sometime in the late afternoon… Why?"

"Lily's been asleep for over twelve hours… that's an awfully long time. Doesn't that seem odd to you?"

"Well, she has been having trouble sleeping lately. Perhaps she's just catching up on some well-needed rest," justified Rumple trying to alleviate her concerns as he sat up in bed.

Belle shook her head. It was possible that Lily was still sleeping, but for some reason something just didn't feel right. His comment should have reassured her, but it didn't so she left their bedroom. When she crossed the living room to Lily's bedroom, she opened the door to discover…

"Rumple! Rumple, Lily's gone!"

"What?!" shouted Rumplestiltskin. He sprung out of their bed and hobbled quickly over to Lily's bedroom. He rushed to Belle's side to see the evidence and to his dismay discovered the same thing.

"Oh Rumple! Do you think she was kidnapped?!" Belle cried out of distress.

"I don't see a ransom note," he said as he looked around Lily's room for clues. "I don't see a struggle either. Her dresser drawer is still open and her bookbag is gone. She wasn't kidnapped. Lily ran away."

"Ran away?! Why? Should we call the police? I'm going to call the police," stated Belle determinedly as she went to her purse to search for her cell phone.

"There's no need," he said more calmly than Belle, "I think I know exactly where she went."

"Where did she go?" inquired Belle. Rumple walked toward the journal that was lying on the side table next to Lily's bed and picked it up. As he flipped through the pages Belle could see from where she stood the one word in the journal that was circled at least a dozen times. "To Storybrooke," answered Gold as he pointed to the highlighted word.

When Gold was done flipping through the pages, Belle noticed the letter Mary slipped into the journal from earlier. She called to him while extending her hands to reach for the letter, "Mary's letter! Hand it to me!"

Rumple did as he was commanded and handed the unopened envelope to Belle. "She said if we ever needed her we just needed to open this letter."

Belle ripped open the envelope and opened up the letter in which she read out loud:

Dearest Belle,

Should you need my assistance again, you will find that the rest of your family is now in Storybrooke.

Sincerely yours,

Mary Poppins

"…the rest of your family… Mary kidnapped our daughter! This is a ransom letter!" concluded Belle irrationally.

"Don't be absurd! You're jumping to conclusions. Mary would never do such a thing. Besides, we were standing right here when we watched her put that letter into this journal. Lily was still sleeping when Mary left and we both watched Mary leave alone. There's no possible way that Mary kidnapped her," reasoned Gold.

"She could have used her magic!"

"You and I both know that's not the case." Rumple shook his head in disagreement. "And no," he said firmly. "In all the years I've known her, she has never taken or harmed a child. Look," he said while coming forward to her to look her sincerely in the eyes, "I know that your relationship with her is still very complicated. I know that when you're angry with someone it's very easy to find reasons to blame them for everything. But you and I both know that she didn't do this."

He was right. She still harbored resentment for Mary. And although they had made peace on their last encounter, it didn't completely wipe away the pain that she still felt. But that was another discussion for another time. This was about finding their daughter. Belle side-stepped his point and pointed at the letter. "Then how do you explain the 'you will find that the rest of your family is now in Storybrooke'? It's worded pretty conveniently, don't you think?" Belle said while looking down at the letter and then up at him to interpret.

"Well, she did mention right before leaving that she was heading home and she made herself quite clear as to where that was. It must be a coincidence," explained Gold.

"But you don't believe in coincidences!" exclaimed Belle as she shook her head.

Rumple paused for a moment as he realized the error in his statement. She was right. He never believed in coincidences. Even he was shocked to hear those words come out of his own mouth. The Freudian slip was said out of his own denial for what they were about to do next. In a low, but serious voice he admitted, "You're right... I don't. Either way… we're going to Storybrooke."

… …

Lily awoke inside the backseat of a taxi cab lying next to Mary. She sat up inside the moving vehicle and quickly looked about the cabin space. Somehow, Mary transported both of them from the final Greyhound bus stop to a cab without waking her up. That much, Lily was able to gather. The one thing Lily couldn't figure out was where they were, but before Lily was able to ask any questions Mary noticed Lily stirring and said, "You're awake. Good. We're almost there."

Lily rubbed her eyes as she glared outside the taxicab window. She saw fields upon fields of agriculture and turned-up soil. They were driving through farm country. Was this the right direction? Did this road lead to Storybrooke? It all seemed suspiciously desolate so Lily asked, "Where are we exactly?"

"Just outside of Storybrooke, which reminds me… Excuse me, Dennis…" Mary said calling to the taxi cab driver. The driver looked up through his rear-view mirror and said in a low voice, "How did you know my name was Dennis? I mean, I know we had talked for a while about my family earlier, but even then I never once mentioned my name."

Lily looked around the cab's cabin and wondered the same thing too. It felt like a valid question to ask since she didn't know either. There was nothing in the cab she could see from her perspective that would indicate to her otherwise.

"Your full name is on your business card which is clearly labeled on the dash in front of the speedometer," pointed out Mary from the back passenger seat. Lily sat up in her seat and craned her head to see the dashboard and just as Mary described there was the business card. As soon as Mary pointed toward the business card Lily became less wary. However, it was still curious for Mary to have spotted such small font from far away. Could this woman be The Mary Poppins from her book? Part of her believed it to be so. So Lily looked on as a healthy spectator watching the curious conversation unfold before her.

"Now please, would you be so kind as to drop us off at the side of the road," directed Mary.

"What? Here?" Dennis said while raised a worried brow. He turned around in his seat to get a better view of Mary and asked, "Are you sure?"

"I am quite positive."

"I can't just leave you and this little girl here in the middle of nowhere by yourselves! It wouldn't be right," explained Dennis. "Why don't I drop you both off at the gas station we saw earlier? Please? I insist! It would make me feel so much better."

"I appreciate your concern for our welfare Dennis, but I am sure that we will be quite alright," insisted Mary affirmatively. "Dennis, if you would, please?"

"Alright…" said Dennis reluctantly. Dennis pulled off on the side of the road and stopped.

"How much do I owe you Dennis?" Mary asked as she reached for her carpetbag. Lily watched as Dennis reset the cab's counter and saw the price of their trip drop from $457.32 to zero. Dennis turned around in his seat and proclaimed with a toothy grin, "You don't owe me anything."

"What utter nonsense! It's too much. What do I owe you?" she asked again.

"No charge. It's the least I can do," insisted Dennis in his gruff voice. Mary squinted disapprovingly towards Dennis and he continued, "You fought me on where to drop you off, now please don't fight me on this. Let me have this one courtesy."

Mary beamed at Dennis and said gratefully, "Thank you Dennis. You are much too kind."

"Anything for you Mary," grinned Dennis as he parked on the side of the road. Dennis got out of the cab and left to retrieve their bags for them from the back trunk. Before Mary got out of the car, Lily stopped her to ask curiously, "That was awfully nice of Dennis. Why did he do that?"

"You show a bit of kindness to everyone and eventually it will all come back to you in one small way or another," reasoned Mary as she stepped out of the vehicle.

"Or in some big way," murmured Lily under her breath. With her book-bag secured over both of her shoulders, Lily watched as the back of the cab drove away without them. Lily doubted Mary's judgment and wasn't sure whether or not being left at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere was such a good idea. Lily spun on her heel to address Mary and accused, "Why didn't you let Dennis drop us off at a gas station? What were you thinking? We're nowhere near Storybro-"

By the time Lily turned around a sign appeared when moments ago it never existed. On the sign read, "Welcome to Storybrooke."

"I am thinking… that when we arrive to Storybrooke, we should go to the Flower Shop," said Mary as she carried her carpet bag in one hand and her umbrella in the other. Lily read the Mary Poppins story from her mother's bookshelf and everything she had read matched the exact person she saw in front of her; cheery disposition, rosy cheeks, carpet bag, magical umbrella… but was the umbrella really magical? Lily followed after Mary with her book bag over her shoulders and walked past the welcome sign with awe.

When Dennis dropped them off she could have sworn that the sign wasn't there before, but there it was, exactly as she had pictured it in her dreams. It was as if the sign appeared suddenly by magic. And if the sign had appeared by magic, then Storybrooke really did have magic! It wasn't any ordinary dream! The notion was certainly exciting as she found the pace in her step quickening. She continued to follow behind Mary and thought of something else. If what she dreamt about Storybrooke's magic was true, then that also meant that she too could wield magic. Lily had never performed magic in her life, except from when she had vanished to the library in her vision. Could she do it again? She couldn't even be certain her magic would work, but there was only one way to find out…

Mary carried on with her conversation as she led the way over the border. With complete confidence she continued walking, certain that Lily was following behind her. So she rambled without looking behind her, "…There's a very important person there that I'd like to introduce to you. His shop has all sorts of flowers…"

When Mary turned around she was surprised to see nothing following after her. Mary huffed out of frustration as she realized what had just happened. "Oh bother…"

… …

Gold gasped as he felt the strangest déjà vu. They were in their car heading back to Storybrooke and felt that they had done this before. In this world it felt like déjà vu, but from their world it was a result of his possessing the power to see into the future. It was a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time and he knew what it meant. Seeing that Belle wasn't startled by his sudden gasp, he looked over at her in the passenger seat engrossed in Lily's journal.

"You haven't stopped reading her journal since we left," pointed out Rumple as they drove out of the city and got onto the open road. He glanced over at his wife whose face was still buried deep in their daughter's journal. "I thought you were going to call your father once we got into the car?"

"I was… but Rumple, she knows about us," said Belle almost gravely.

"What are you talking about?"

"This dream that's frightened her from sleep… it's more than a dream. All these details of a kidnapping, about Storybrooke, and then this Sorcerer's hat… It's as if this all had actually happened… but obviously it hadn't."

"…Déjà vu."

"What?"

"Déjà vu… Us traveling back to Storybrooke right now… It's like we've already experienced this before."

"According to Lily's journal, we have done this before," said Belle as she looked up from the book, realizing something about his comment that he shouldn't have realized. "How could you have known that without having read her journal?"

"Because, just now, I experienced déjà vu and Lily's dreams sound exactly like what it is that you're describing. In her mind, Lily experienced a dream, but what I think she actually experienced was an alternate reality; an extreme sense of déjà vu."

"An alternate reality? Déjà vu? How is that possible? And what does that have to deal with you being able to see into the future?"

"How is anything extraordinary possible in this world? …Magic…" he answered gravely. "You see, when I had my power as the Dark One I could see into the future. When I had it, I remembered experiencing feelings similar to déjà vu, but instead of feeling like you've done something before, you feel like what you're experiencing now will happen again in the future. Like déjà vu, the power of foresight can be triggered by any one of your senses… a smell, a sound, a look, a taste, a touch… and because your senses are how you perceive time some people interpret this information more acutely than others. I think Lily is one of those individuals. I blame myself for this. I think one of the gifts she inherited from me as the Dark One was her unique ability to perceive time differently, or her ability to see into other realities. It would explain her nightmares and how she came to know Storybrooke so vividly. So if I'm experiencing déjà vu in a world without magic, then I think it's possible for Lily to have inherited this unique intuitive gift."

Belle shook her head and was still slightly confused, "Déjà vu… I-I still don't understand."

"It's complicated. Imagine time like you're looking down the neck of a guitar and the strings, in this case, represent time. On this instrument there are multiple strings, multiple timelines and realities running parallel to each other and often times they never touch. But occasionally, the strings bend and when they do the parallel universes touch and the reverberations of those connections are so immense that the waves are transmitted as moments of déjà vu. Trust me… what Lily experienced in her dream was an alternate reality."

"What's your proof?" questioned Belle.

"My proof?" Rumple said raising his eyebrows in surprise over the challenge. He looked over at Lily's journal which was still in Belle's lap and nodded towards it. "Read to me what's in her journal, starting at the beginning. You'll see that what I say is true," requested Rumple. Belle started from the beginning reading the story and agreed that Lily could have never concocted on her own. Since they had time to kill before they arrived at the border, Belle read through it all out loud to Rumplestiltskin. When Belle was done, even she was convinced that it wasn't any ordinary dream. Lily had somehow inherited the ability to dream alternate realities, but why this particular one? The ability was, in and of itself, curious. Perhaps, Belle speculated, it was a talent he had passed on to Lily as the Dark One. As soon as Belle was done, Gold took a moment to absorb everything she had read. It was shocking to say the least. As soon as the shock dissipated he said, "That proof you asked me earlier about the alternate reality. This is it… the journal. There are way too many details for it to be anything else."

"So why do you think she ran away to Storybrooke? What is she trying to prove?"

Gold sighed again as he realized the answer, "Because of what we had argued over two nights ago at the dinner table… magic. I believe she's trying to prove that magic is real. Based off of the alternate reality she wrote in her journal, I think she may be after the Sorcerer's hat."

"The hat?! Why? Of all the items in your shop, or even in that town, why would she choose that bloody item?"

"She wants to prove that magic is real and that hat may just be powerful enough to work, even in this world. It was the prevalent theme throughout Lily's story and it's the only thing there that she knows the most about. It certainly has my attention," said Rumple assuredly. At Rumple's last word, the Cadillac's engine revved and their speed picked up. "That hat is incredibly dangerous and if Lily is after it, then her life may be in danger. We need to get to Storybrooke as soon as possible."

They were going back to Storybrooke. That was for certain. They were going back to magic. The very idea was foreboding and Belle was suddenly reminded of the dangers of magic. "Rumple, when we cross the border…" Belle began hesitantly.

"Yes?" he asked as he glanced over at her in the passenger seat.

"Will you be alright?"

"Of course I will."

"No, I mean… with your magic. It has been years since you've been without it. Won't you be tempted to use the hat?"

"I'll be fine," assured Rumplestiltskin. "If this is an alternate reality, then when I wrote on the Grail to destroy the Sorcerer's hat, I never became the Author. It could be why we're experiencing this reality. If I never became possessed by the Author, then I never handed the hat off to Henry to give to my past self. The hat wouldn't even exist therefore, the Author does not exist."

"That doesn't answer my question," observed Belle skeptically as she waited for him to answer her question about being tempted by the hat. Rumple blinked and then replied, "Your half of your heart still beats within mine. According to the story, it was what prevented me from being tempted in the first place. I won't be so easily tempted so long as I still carry your heart. Essentially, it will be you who will be protecting me."

As uneasy as their situation was, his reply was somewhat satisfactory. The sentiment was heartwarming to say the least and Belle knew that so long as they were together they would be successful in finding their daughter. They were more powerful together than they were apart. Nothing could go wrong as long as they searched for their daughter together. She smiled at his assurance. She hoped that he was right about his addiction to magic and that for him it was truly gone.

Sorry guys about not posting on my usual Sunday. This chapter was a buggar. Especially when it came down to editing that Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey stuff. And then of course the server was down for a while. So here it is! Will be posting another chapter fairly soon, in lieu of the belated chapter posting. Thank you to Imusicluver23, ladybugsmomma, Montreat11, and Guest for reviewing the past couple of chapters! I look forward to speaking with you guys soon. See you next chapter!