I do not own Once Upon A Time.

CHAPTER 2

Storybrooke, Maine Granny's Dinner

Shaking her head to clear the pointless daydream, Linda only knew that she had to take his case. She was the public defender after all. Never mind that Gold had more than enough money to buy the best lawyer on the East Coast. Never mind that he himself held a law degree. Never mind that she could stop herself from loving him. Impatiently she shoved several escaped blonde elflocks back into her habitual tight bun just as she shoved her feelings back down into her heart in an equally tight bunch. All she knew at this moment was that she had a job to do.

"Everything alright?" asked Ruby as she checked her tea glass. "You didn't eat anything."

"No, I mean, yes, the food was wonderful as usual," Linda replied lightly. "I'm just going over a new case. Something about it keeps puzzling me." Linda smiled awkwardly at Ruby. "Hey, can I get that to go?" She pointed to the tea and then began sorting the papers into her briefcase. "And, can I get a plate to go? An Irish stew with a couple of thick slices of Granny's fresh baked bread?"

Ruby nodded. "Sure, I'll get it ready."

Shrugging into her butter-yellow coat, Linda gathered her briefcase in one hand and the take-out bag in the other. Although it was mid-February in Maine, the weather held clear and sunny, so she decided to walk the two blocks to the sheriff's office.

Winter - A Small Town near the Enchanted Forest - One Year Later

Weak afternoon winter sunlight streamed through the window of the spinner's snug little cottage. Lucy stood near the hearth of her sister's home, cooking the family's evening meal. She had taken over all of the homemaking chores when she and Gerta came to live with Milah and Rumplestiltskin. Milah ran her husband's spinning business, which was thriving. Between the three of them, life was good, very good. If only Gerta could be counted on; even now, they did not know where their sister was.

Her elder sister, Milah, scurried about organizing Gerta's things on the room's corner bed that the twins shared. She was packing them into a new trunk that Rumplestiltskin had purchased just yesterday. Gerta should have been doing this chore, but the brassy young woman had been missing for nearly a month now.

A frosty breeze swept through the room, causing the fire to gutter in the hearth, as the door quickly opened and shut. The two sisters, squealing in protest, turned to see the truant Gerta rushing inside. Icy blue eyes sparkling with devilment, Gerta, stated the obvious, "I told you I'd be back before the first snow."

"And none too soon," Milah rebuked her belated sister. Then she sighed in relief. Rushing forward, she clasped her sister's wind chapped hands, drew Gerta towards the fire, and removed her lemony cloak. She grinned impishly back at her sister. "For a time, I thought I'd have to give your husband to Lucy."

"A husband? For me? Oh, who is he? Tell me about him? Is he rich? Handsome?" Gerta asked breathlessly.

"He's handsome, of course, and brave," she told her sister in a rush of words. "Juan is a soldier of fortune and a minor nobleman in his home land. He will take you with him on grand adventures throughout the kingdom. Maybe you'll even see royalty," she paused for breath.

Gerta squealed in delight. "Truly, Milah? A titled gentleman! Is he so grand?"

"I wish I'd met him first. What I wouldn't give for a man like him." Grinning, then, she told Gerta, "And we have to hurry because he's due to return tomorrow morning. Your wedding is set for noon."

"Noon? Tomorrow? Why so soon? I'll never be ready in time!"

Sparing a fleeting look at Lucy, who was setting the table for the evening meal, Milah replied, "Well, old Rump made a deal with him nearly a month ago. You'll be taking a large dowry in coins with you, and Juan needs the funds to prop up his poor homeland estates," she told her truant sister. "The deal was struck without you, but we held him off for as long as we could because you've been away on one of your 'adventures' in the forest." Milah sniffed with annoyance. "I feared you would miss your lucky chance, and we'd have to send Lucy in your stead."

A perturbed and worried frown creasing her forehead, Lucy dared ask, "Where were you, Gerta?"

Gerta's smile instantly faded. "Never you mind where I was," she retorted enigmatically. "I'm back now and won't miss my chance. I can promise you that."

Milah raised a dark eyebrow on that comment. "Well, whatever you've been up to, you'd best keep it secret, and in future be more circumspect, sister," she warned. "The wedding is tomorrow morning. You don't want to spoil it. We'd best eat now so we can get things ready."

The temperature dropped dramatically with when the setting of the sun. This time when the cottage door open, an icy winter wind blew a few stray snowflakes through the small house, causing shrieks from the three sisters. Just as quickly, their cries and the blustering wind were cut off as the door slammed shut.

"I'm sorry I'm late, my girls," a contented Rumplestiltskin told them, as he hung his cloak on a peg by the door. "There were late customers, and I couldn't turn down their prices." His eyes widened in happiness when he saw the returned Gerta. "You're home, Gerta. I'm glad for we were worried." He smiled lovingly, watching his beautiful wife as she helped Gerta pack her belongings. He counted himself a very lucky man. "I see you're readying yourselves for the morning. That's good, but come now let's eat."

"You were late, Rump," Milah answered shortly. "Gerta and I have already eaten. You go ahead."

A soft voice intruded. "Sit, Rumple, and eat," Lucy told him gently. "The stew is warm, and the bread is fresh." Setting a wooden bowl in front of him, she quickly filled a mug with cold milk and slathered a thick slice of bread with butter for him. Then, she sat across from him with her own small bowl and mug.

He looked up and smiled at his youngest sister-in-law, noting her slight frown. "Don't fret yourself, dear," he told her. "We'll find you a rich, young husband of your own. I promise."

A wavering smile trembled across her pink rosebud mouth, and her clear, blue eyes watered. "I only want one man, Rumplestiltskin. He's the man I love," she whispered wondering if he could decipher her cryptic message. "I want to take care of his home and have his child. That is more than enough for me."

Rumplestiltskin smiled, showing dimples. "A man would be blessed beyond his wildest dreams to have a woman like you. I don't know what we would do without you, Lucy."

Her voice tremulous, she told him, "Eat, Rumple." And she turned her face to her stew.