I do not own Once Upon a Time.

So there is a lot going on in this chapter with Amelia. Hoping you can pick up what is wrong and maybe guess where I am going with it.

Amelia sat in Granny's with Marian, Nathan, and Jordan a few days later. They had found a storefront for Marian to set up shop. Now they were just going over what kind of renovations the building would need.

"You guys are sure this is the one? It seems to need a lot of work." Marian was looking over the listing; she did not understand most of the words. Like electrical or plumbing.

"Yes, it's within earshot and eyeshot of both the station, the bakery and the library." Amelia told Marian as she sipped her latte.

"Such good friends, aren't you?" She smiled.

Nathan raised his mug. "The best." The four of them clinked mugs. Never in a million years did any of them think this scene was possible.

Amelia had an odd taste in her mouth, it took her a few seconds to decide whether she liked it or not.

"Amelia, you alright?" Jordan asked.

"Yeah, Henry has been trying for weeks to sneak cinnamon into my latte. Just because I'm joining the family doesn't mean I have to drink like them. But this isn't half bad." She looked around but didn't see Henry anywhere in sight. Well, the kid was sneaky.

"So Regina really brought these plans over and already had the dress shop idea Okayed by the … zoning board?" Marian asked, using foreign words.

"Yep, she dropped them off this morning at the station." Amelia said.

"So she's a good guy, turned over a new leaf?" Marian was still unsure.

"Yes she is. I spent a while with her on Neverland, we all had to work together to save Henry from his great grandfather, a kid in demon's clothing." There was a look of shock around the table. Amelia shrugged her shoulders. "Neal's family is messed up."

At a table nearby, Neal was coloring with Roland.

"No, Uncle Neal, grass is green!" Roland told Neal, whose picture of a house had a yellow front lawn.

"The kid who lives in this house spends too much time playing video games and never waters his front lawn." Neal reasoned with the five-year-old.

"What's a video game?" Roland asked.

"Something you will never know about because your father lives in the forest, your mother is new here and your Aunt Mia doesn't believe in TV."

Amelia smiled and there was a common thought around the table. Neal was very good with children. Her finger was moving in a casual spinning motion as she thought.

The four of them continued to go over lists and items that the shop needed. Then there was a distinct soft clinking sound. Amelia's eyes slid to her mug and the stationary spoon in it. The spoon received an eyebrow raise and a confused look.

But Amelia dismissed it, it had to be nothing. Her mind was playing with her. She finished her latte in one gulp.

The friends stood up and promised to meet up at the storefront in three days. Neal and Amelia headed around town for some errand running.

Marian spent an evening with Amelia and Neal, just dinner, drinks and some dress ideas. Marian needed to know what this realm's taste in fashion was like. After dinner, Marian walked into Amelia's closet and just stared for a while.

"Is everything here so short and tight?" She yelled out.

Amelia giggled from her seat on the bed next to Neal. "No, not really. That's just my style."

Then Marian walked out of the closet. "When would a person wear this?" She was holding a very sheer, very short dress.

Amelia felt her face turn red at once. "Umm, that dress doesn't leave the bedroom." She somehow got out the answer.

"Oh…." Marian was suddenly very embarrassed when she understood what Amelia meant. She then went back into the closet.

Neal's arm pulled her close and whispered in her ear. "I don't remember seeing that one."

"In the light." Amelia told him quietly, which received a chuckle.

Later that night, Amelia's eyes flew open, that had been an odd dream. She couldn't figure out what was happening in it, but it felt wrong.

She rolled over to see Neal's sleeping form next to her. He had been in the dream. Of that she was sure. She wasn't sure where the dream had taken place. Had there been anyone else? Maybe… wait… yes.

A chill came over Amelia when she remembered it and she instantly snuggled closer to Neal.

Which slightly woke Neal up. "Babe, you alright?"

"Just hold me."

He did so, placing a kiss on her forehead. He was too tired to question her sudden need to be held.

Three mornings later a small group stood outside a slightly run down store front on the main road of Storybrooke. Marian, Amelia, Neal, Jordan, Aiden and Nathan were armed with coffee and tools. They were all dressed in comfortable clothes that clearly meant they were going to get work done.

"Alright, let's get this started." Jordan said to the group and walked into the shop. Aiden followed her with Nathan behind him.

"Marian, you sure want to help? Maybe it could be a welcome back present to you from all of us." Amelia said to her friend.

But Marian shook her head. "I want to help. I don't mind getting my hands dirty. Besides it will be fun." She shot Amelia a smile before walking into her shop.

Neal smiled at Amelia and laced his fingers around hers. Amelia swung a sledgehammer onto her shoulder and together followed her friends.

"Nathan, is this a load bearing wall?" Amelia yelled over the music hours later. They had been hard at work all day, taking down walls and painting the new walls.

"No, it's fine to take out." Nathan yelled back after checking the blue prints.

"Okay good." Amelia swung the sledgehammer and the beam didn't stand a chance. No, she wasn't pretending the beam was a certain person she wanted to take out none too nicely.

"She has barely slept all week." Neal remarked quietly to Jordan.

Jordan looked terrified. "Should she be holding a sledgehammer?"

"No, not at all, but I am not going to be the one to tell her no." Neal knew better. But her nightmares had not escaped his notice. He just hadn't said anything to her yet. He was hoping they would pass soon. In the back of his mind, he did wonder what her nightmares were about. She woke up in a panic almost every night.

Michael and Helen arrived later in the day with coffee and baked goods. They had donated money already for the renovation but they couldn't let the workers go hungry. The pastries and muffins were quickly gone as everyone sat on the floor as there were no chairs. Eventually Amelia snuggled up to Neal and tried not to fall asleep on his shoulder. But they couldn't stay like that, there was still so much work to do. So as soon as they finished eating, everyone was back on their feet back to work.

"Bernadette what is that?" Helen asked suddenly, there was horror in her voice.

Amelia should have been scared, Helen had used her real name. But she knew exactly what Helen meant. The tattoo. "It's a tattoo, Mom, calm down." Amelia said carefully.

"When did you get it done?" Helen needed to know more.

"I got it a while ago, when Mary Margret and Emma were in the Enchanted Forest. It's for my mother, the blue orchid was her favorite flower."

And Helen couldn't really argue with that. So she turned to Neal. "You knew about this?"

"I was with her with when she got it. I actually drew the template." Neal couldn't lie, he knew better. And shockingly Helen dropped the topic but she did keep sending certain looks Amelia's way until she left.

A week later, Marian's dress shop, which had been simply named "Marian's Dress Shop", was open for business.

Marian cut the ribbon herself and was met with a loud applause from her friends. Well, her friends and half the town. Granny and Ruby had offered a full snack table for the occasion.

"Marian, this is amazing." Robin came over to her, Regina was close by with a real smile on her face.

"Thank you, any dress you want Madam Mayor is on the house." Marian told Regina.

"I couldn't, I'll pay for one like everyone else. We just need a reason to get all dressed up." Regina said with a hopeful look in her eyes.

Mary Margret came up to them. "Maybe we can hold a ball of sorts in the town hall. That would be like the old days."

Neal and Amelia overheard the conversation. "I really liked that green dress you wore back in the Enchanted Forest." He whispered in her ear.

"Then you are really going to love what I have picked out for tonight." She whispered back.

She's strong, independent business woman, a good role model.

Reviews?