Henry bounced into the hospital, a fresh bunch of flowers clutched in his small fist. When he entered his mother's room, he noticed the wilted flowers in the tiny vase on the minute nightstand had already been replaced with a bouquet of red roses, set off by a single sunflower. They were beautiful.

He faltered, wondering who put those there. Everyone knew that that little vase was just for his flowers, and he turned his questioning gaze to Mary Margaret, who stood near the door. "Who put these here?"

"I don't know, Henry. Maybe Dr Whale knows? Someone must have forgotten and put their flowers in." The gentle woman reached over, plucked the roses from the vessel and set them with the other gifts left for Emma. "Speaking of, we can't stay for long after you talk to the doctor. I know you have a pile of homework tonight, and I'm not going to let that slide just because I'm not Regina."

Henry shot her a withering look before sighing and plunking the flowers into the vase. "Fine, but can I start my homework at Granny's? I promise I'll do it!"

"Okay, but you have to get a minimum of one of your assignments done while we're there, deal?"

"Deal!" Henry smiled widely, an expression that the woman had been falling in love with. She had no children of her own, but always dreamt about being a mother. Taking care of Henry was something she found she enjoyed greatly. He was a sweet, eccentric boy with a passion for life and love. Looking after him made her feel a little bit more complete, almost as though this was something she was made to do.

Her fond thoughts were interrupted by the good doctor entering the small room. There was always quite a lot of tension between Mary Margaret and Dr Whale, not all of it fun. He gave her a somewhat less-than-chaste look-over before turning his attention to the boy before him.

"Well, Henry, I know what you're going to ask me, and, as you can see, there's not much difference in Emma's state..."

"But?" He prompted, hearing the unspoken word. "There is something, isn't there?"

"Yes, but don't get too excited. I don't even know what to make of it myself. Let me show you something." He pulled out the clipboard tucked underneath his arm and flipped it to a funny-looking chart. "This is Emma's brain activity during most of the day and night. This is how it looked for the first few days after she went into the coma."

All the squiggly, jagged lines that Whale was pointing at made no sense to Henry, but he observed them as if he knew just what all of this would lead up to. The brunette could see the feigned look on the boy's face, and smiled to herself. He was so adorable when he was trying to act grown up.

"This," Whale continued, dramatically turning the page. "Is her brain activity during a very specific window just about every night now."

Henry's eyes widened. The spiky lines that the doctor had shown him before were fairly small and roughly the same size as each other. These were completely different. Some of them were huge while others stayed small, and it was clear that something was going on with the woman.

"You said it happened during a specific time, Dr Whale?" the woman asked.

"Yes. It normally starts anywhere from 2:15am to 2:30am. It continues like this, sometimes broken up, until roughly 3:30. The heightened activity stops after that, until the next night, of course. Some nights, it doesn't happen at all. But the pattern is fairly consistent. I cannot for the life of me figure out what is triggering these bursts."

"Does this mean she could be waking up?" Henry asked with excitement shining in his eyes.

"I don't know what this means, Henry. I will try to figure out what is triggering this; it may help me understand what happened to her, and maybe even help me revive her." He shot a warning look at the boy hanging on to his every word. "But, I have to ask you not to get your hopes up. These are very complicated situations, and, unfortunately, we have a very limited understanding of Emma's condition. As always, I will notify you immediately if there is any significant change." He departed with a few words of farewell, leaving the two alone.

Henry grasped the blonde's hand, squeezing it tightly. The steady sound of her heart reassured him that she wasn't going to vanish on him again. "I don't know who he is, but I'm gonna find your Love, Mom. I know he's here somewhere! Maybe he left you those flowers!"

He uttered a few more promises before turning and telling his teacher to go so they could get to Granny's. Mary Margaret placed her hand on top of her friend's, fighting back the sensation that made her stomach clench uncomfortably at the way Emma's hands were always frozen. She gave it a quick squeeze before following her charge out of the door.

Henry plopped himself down at the front counter, pulling one of his notebooks out of his bag. Mary Margaret took the stool to his left, picking up a newspaper that someone had forgotten there. Ruby sidled on up to them, a big smile on her face as always.

"Hey Ruby!"

"What's up Henry? What can I get you? Hot chocolate, maybe?"

"Make that two," Mary Margaret said. The waitress winked and walked off to place their order. Henry dutifully set about working on his Math, just as he had promised the woman next to him. The brunette quietly hoped to herself that whenever she ends up having kids, that they turn out as smart, earnest and charming as Henry.

He triumphantly threw down his pencil half a hot chocolate later, proudly proclaiming his completion of his Math assignment. "I wasn't sure I would be able to figure out that last one, but I did!" A big smile painted his round face.

"I'm glad you were able to get it. I wouldn't be any good at helping you with Math! Now, onto the next assignment."

"Can't I at least take a little break?"

"Okay. I'm going to use the restroom, I'll be back in a few."

Ruby walked over as the other woman headed for the facilities. "What's new?"

"We talked to Dr Whale again today."

"Any news?"

"Yeah, actually. Something weird is going on with her brain late at night!"

"Really?" Ruby leaned forward on the counter, suddenly very interested in what he had to say. Without further prompting, Henry launched into what the doctor had shown him. He explained about the differences in Emma's brain activity, with the help of some quick drawings on a blank page in his notebook. He told her about how they only happen late at night.

"Oh! And you know the vase of flowers I keep by Emma's bed?"

"Duh! Of course I do!"

"I came by to put fresh ones in, and someone already put new flowers in."

"Really? I thought everyone knew that was your vase?"

"I did too."

"What kind of flowers were they?" Mary Margaret had come back and sat back down.

"Roses. Red, and there was a single sunflower in the middle."

"Roses, huh? How romantic!"

"Yeah, whoever left them has good taste," the teacher put in lightly.

"I think it's Emma's True Love," Henry said quite solidly. "He's probably too shy right now, but I bet he'll show himself soon. He has to..." he added quietly to himself.

"Don't worry, Henry. She'll wake up soon. Emma's a tough person. Hang in there. I have to make my rounds, you be good for Mary Margaret."

Ruby had no idea what to make of the information she got from Henry that afternoon. Being the only waitress in the only diner in the sleepy little town, Ruby was privy to all of the hot gossip floating around. Some of it was pretty heart breaking, other tidbits were downright juicy.

The best gossip that had been circulating the town was the scandal revolving around Mary Margaret and David Nolan. Everyone knew that there was something between the two of them, and the village had not had a love affair like that one for as long as they could remember. Naturally, it was the talk of the town.

What really shook the town was when Kathryn went missing, supposedly murdered. Again, the scandalous couple wound up at the heart of it all, and Ruby heard everything from people swearing that they saw Ms Blanchard stalking the missing woman, to others heatedly defending the couple.

When Ruby quit her job at the diner, and ended up at the sheriff's office, volunteering her services, she really got a dose of true gossip. Answering the phones for Emma gave her a front row seat to the problems that the people of Storybrooke were having. Especially the domestic issues.

Diner gossip was anything anyone felt comfortable discussing in public. Working in the little police station felt somehow more intimate to the young woman. She heard the panic and weariness in the voices of the townsfolk. It was jarring.

Things changed entirely when Emma started requesting that Ruby come along with her, to help her on her investigation of Kathryn's disappearance. Not only did she discover that she had a knack for tracking, but it gave her a measurement of self-worth. She realized that she was better than the tray and dishrag she followed around all day.

That pride vanished in a sobering moment of terror when she found a box containing a human heart by the Toll Bridge. Yes, she had found a crucial piece of evidence for Emma's investigation, but she was in no way prepared for the shock of what her new job entailed. What she ended up really learning wasn't that she was better than her job at Granny's, but that she simply wasn't ready to move on from it yet. On top of that, she learned the true value of information, and the damage that both the true and the false could cause.

So when she returned to what she knew best, she was a little older and little wiser. When Henry told her about the odd late night disturbances with Emma's condition, it raised a little flag in the back of her mind.

She couldn't figure out what kept nagging at her. She only knew that that particular piece of gossip had been the most startling one of all. She meandered through her shift in a haze, trying to puzzle out why Henry's story made her feel uncomfortable, and like it had sounded somehow familiar.

The little bell over the door tinkled, and Ruby caught the unmistakable sound of stilettos marching in a clipped sort of manor. She looked up to see the mayor heading straight for the front counter, but her appearance made the waitress' jaw drop slightly before she composed herself.

Regina Mills looked nothing short of haggard. The normally prim, well-put together woman seemed to have taken some time off. Her always-elegant hair lacked its usual, classy curl, choosing to droop more than bounce. The mayor appeared to have foregone makeup, revealing puffy, purple bags under her eyes and pale, sallow-looking skin.

"Coffee," she said, her voice heavy with fatigue.

"Coming right up." Ruby filled a mug as far as she dared without spilling over the rim, knowing her customer needed it badly. "Here," she said placing it as carefully as possible on the counter. "It's fresh, just made the pot a few minutes ago."

"Good." Regina lifted the cup to her lips, moaning ever-so-softly when the searing liquid passed her lips.

"Are you okay, Madame Mayor? Anything you'd like to talk about?"

"There is nothing I would like to discuss with you, of all people, Miss Lucas." Despite her exhaustion, Regina's glare had lost none of its potency.

"Sorry. You just seemed tired. I thought that maybe you'd want to unload or something..."

The look the older woman fixed her with made the color drain from her face. She immediately focused on wiping down the counter, starting at the end farthest from the mayor. By the time she was nearing the other woman, Regina was almost finished with the coffee she had been sipping slowly, as if she hadn't had any for years.

Regina set the mug down, sighing heavily and pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. That was when Ruby caught it. The moment the mayor exhaled, the waitress' unnaturally acute sense of smell caught an aroma that made the little flag in the back of her mind explode.

"Roses...?" she breathed to herself.

"Pardon, Miss Lucas?" Regina had heard her.

"Sorry, Mayor Mills, but are you wearing a new perfume? You smell like roses, and it's a really nice scent."

Regina looked at her as if she had gone mad. "Roses? No, I'm not wearing any new perfume, and the one I do wear does not have rose in it. You must be mistaken."

"Sorry," she mumbled. Regina started digging in her purse for her wallet. "It's on the house, Mayor," Ruby blurted.

"What?"

"Er... Two-fifty."

Regina tossed the money she owed onto the counter and left without another word. Ruby saw Regina at the hospital late at night the other week. Henry said someone left roses for Emma in the vase that only he was allowed to put flowers in. The only person in town who wouldn't know that would be the boy's adoptive mother.

Regina smelled like roses. There was no mistaking that fact. Ruby knew her nose never lied to her, as strange as that sounded. Not to mention how tired the mayor looked. If she was at the hospital in the wee hours of the morning every night, Ruby knew she would look as bad as the mayor did too. The pieces were coming together, but she had no idea what picture was in the puzzle. Time for a little investigation of her own.