I do not own Once Upon a Time.

Heads up, this chapter is kind of sad. Note for the Latin paragraph, there are no capital letters at the beginning of the sentence.

Amelia struggled to keep her eyes open. She was sitting on the couch wrapped in the wolf blanket reading The Hobbit, again. It was familiar and comforting, more so than Neal, was that a bad thing to say?

"You have probably read that book so many times you can quote it." Came a voice from the hallway.

Amelia turned around to face Neal, a forced smile on her face. "I come from under the hill and under the hills and over the hills my paths led. And through the air. I am he who walks unseen. I am the clue finders, the web cutter, the stinging fly. I was chosen for the lucky number. I am he who buries his friends alive and drowns them and draws them alive from the water. I come from the end of bag but no bag went over me. I am the friend of bears and the guest of eagles. I am the ring winner and the luck wearer. I am the barrel rider."

"Impressive." Neal complimented her, sitting down on the couch.

"What to hear me do it in Latin?" She didn't wait for a response. "Sub colle uenio, et subter colles et supra colles uiae meae tetenderunt. Atque per acerem. Ego sum qui inuisus ambulat. Sum inuentor rerum reconditarum, sector araneorum Musca cum aceleo. Propter numerum fortunatum electus sum. Sum qui amicos unuos sepelit et eos submergit et eos iterum ex aqua uiuos tollit. A fine sacci ueni, sed nullus super me ueniebatur. Sum ursis amicus, et aquilarum hospes. Sum Anuil-uictor, et Fprtunae-gestor, et sum Cupae-rector."

"Wow, that was amazing." Neal said, then she yawned. "You coming to bed soon?" He asked

Amelia closed her eyes, bed was the very last place she wanted to be. "No, I'm not tired yet." She answered half truthfully.

"You know you don't have to sleep in bed, right?" Neal gave her a crooked smile. She shook her head. That was odd, she was turning him down. And now he became worried. "It's because of the nightmares, isn't it?" He asked, finally ready to find out what was going on with her and wanting a straight answer. Amelia sucked in a deep breath. How had he known? Before she was able to ask, he stopped her. "You moan stuff in your sleep and not in a good way. Then you wake up in a panic every morning. You have barely been sleeping since the break in. Are you confused about that person?"

"Neal…" She almost didn't have a voice. He cared so much about her. He was always in her dreams, safe and happy with her. In her dreams, she was never going to lose him. But she couldn't bring herself to tell him anything. "I don't want to talk about it. Please, please, leave it at that." She almost pleaded. She couldn't voice her dreams to him, not yet.

Neal sighed and leaned his forehead against hers. "Fine, but promise me that you will tell me when it doesn't hurt so much."

She nodded but knew that day was never coming. She did let Neal take her hand and lead her to bed.

Yes, maybe sitting in the station with her feet up on the desk was about as unprofessional as one could get. But Amelia didn't care. She was trying not to fall asleep. Why did Storybrooke have to be so calm right now?

The dreams were getting worse now. She could remember the whole thing when she woke up in the morning. And it scared her to the bone.

A knock at the door brought Amelia's feet to the floor with a very loud thud. She expected to see either a very angry David or an annoyed Emma. But to her shock, Archie Hopper stood in the doorway.

"Amelia, am I interrupting anything?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Just watching the station while everyone else is out at lunch." Silence filled the station. "Can I help you with something? Did someone break into your office?" Amelia asked Archie. Suddenly she was very uncomfortable.

"No, nothing like that. How are you dealing with Mr. Gold's latest quest for power? You were heavily involved there."

Oh, that's what he wanted to talk about? Amelia shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Gold got what he deserved and I have moved on." Yes, Amelia just lied to the shrink's face.

David then entered the station. "Archie, is something wrong?"

"No, David, I'm just here for Amelia." Archie turned back to her. "Neal had said you were having nightmares." Archie said carefully.

"Why the hell is he talking to you about my problems?" Amelia felt anger rising in her.

"And you're getting defensive." Archie observed. He should have taken a step back but for some reason he was feeling brave.

"So what if I am?" Amelia half yelled. Suddenly one of the cell doors slammed shut.

"Is there a sudden draft in there?" Emma and Killian were just entering the station. David shook his head and reopened the cell. Amelia hadn't move yet. She was still sitting and fighting emotions.

"Archie, thank you for your concern, but it's nothing I can't handle." She told him. It was only a half truth. And she thought she made a wise decision but not making eye contact with anyone. There was someone in the station who could see right through her.

Later that day, Amelia stood outside Archie's office, hand positioned to knock. She shouldn't be mad at him; he had only talked to her because Neal asked him to. And she couldn't be mad at Neal either, he was just worried about her.

She didn't want to talk about her reoccurring dreams. They just made her feel so guilty. Made her sick to her stomach. Made her want to punch the living daylights out of the person who inspired these dreams.

She had to be brave, Amelia Hunter was anything but a coward, which was more than she could say for someone else. So she held her head up high and knocked on the psychologist's door.

Archie answered it right away, slightly shocked. "Amelia, come in." He ushered her inside.

Amelia sat down on the actual couch, as opposed to her usual arm of the couch.

"So, like I had said earlier, Neal told me you have had trouble sleeping recently." Archie started.

"Nightmares to be exact." Amelia corrected him.

"What kind of nightmares?"

"Well, they aren't really nightmares…" Amelia began that stopped. Archie didn't look like he was going to start talking. "So I'm doing all the work here?" He only nodded.

So she brought her knees close and began to tell her tale. "In my dreams, Gold succeeded in taking the family to New York. Neal and I settled into a routine, took Henry to school in the morning, then Neal would go to work while I stayed home. Weekends were for family time, movies, baseball games, museum trips, whatever. We had Belle and Gold over for dinner weekly. It was so calm and normal and quiet. Just a small family unit. Myself, Neal, Henry, Gold, Belle and…" She suddenly stopped herself and strove to control her emotions.

"And who else?" Archie suddenly became curious. Amelia furiously shook her head; she didn't want to answer that question. "Amelia, I can't help you if you don't tell me everything."

She closed her eyes. "There was a baby." And the tears started. Archie passed her a tissue, which she took gratefully took. "In New York with the family… there was a baby."

"Amelia, you should have come here after your miscarriage to cope and talk it out."

Amelia gave a heartless laugh. "There was no time. It happened on the way to Neverland. Then we went back to the Enchanted Forest. Then I nearly lost Neal. We haven't had time to properly grieve. All we did was have a makeshift funeral with pink carnations thrown into the water over at the docks."

"The question now is why do these dreams keep you up at night?"

"Because they make me feel so guilty. I liked it, I wanted it, so badly. Part of me wished Gold had succeeded." She finally stood up and began to pace the small office.

"Amelia, have you ever had a stable life?" Archie asked.

She laughed. "Do I look like I had a stable life before coming to Storybrooke?"

"I think the reason these dreams are so appealing to you is that you crave a routine and seek normalcy. I assume that the life of a bounty hunter was very unpredictable."

"Never knowing if or how you were getting your meal, always looking over your shoulder, never letting people get too close, never knowing if you were going to see the sun set that day or rise the next…"

"It's not for everyone, you walked that path and came out on the other side. I think that you were given this life because you're strong enough to live it."

"You think I'm strong, Archie?" Amelia asked honestly. There were a few people who had told her she was, but she had very close relationships with them. Archie was more of an acquaintance, barely.

"You had at one point closed yourself off to connections but you found someone who opened you up to the possibility of love and hope. You found your way back from a very dark place." Archie answered her.

Amelia smiled. "I always like to think of myself as entirely made of flaws stitched together with good intentions. No matter what I did, it was always for someone else, not myself. As long as the people I cared about were safe, that was the most important thing to me. I never pictured myself one to get overly emotional about a baby and a family and a home. After my life went to hell, I accepted that I didn't deserve that, didn't deserve happiness. And there I go on the pity party."

"Pain never really goes away. The loss of a child or any close person never goes away. Just carry them in your heart and they will never leave you."

"What about my nightmares? How do I make them stop? Do I tell Neal?" Amelia finally circled back to the reason she was here.

"They are dreams, not nightmares, Amelia. That future, or at least something like that, is still very possible for you. Telling Neal is completely up to you."

Amelia felt so much lighter, less stressed and worried. "Never forget something that made you smile. The nightmare, sorry the dreams, made me smile, made me so happy. I can picture a life like that here in Storybrooke, when things stay calm. Thank you, Archie, I needed this." Amelia stood up, Archie followed her suit.

"Glad I could help. Any time you need to talk, my door is always open to you." He made a motion to hug her but Amelia raised an eye brow at him. She was not there yet. And he took the hint very well.

Amelia exited his office and then walked out into the quiet streets. There was a slight mist coming down.

She just stopped on the sidewalk and lifted her face to the sky. She was the strongest person she knew, she had a hard life and somehow she wasn't a horrible person because of it. She was loved and cared for, she was powerful in her own special way. There was a bright and wonderful future waiting for her.

A light breeze blew past her and the leaves did an almost dance around her. There was something magical about it. Amelia smiled, understanding what had just happened. She was going to enjoy it for as long as she could.

Amelia went home to find Neal cooking a very late dinner. She wrapped her arms around his waist and told him everything about her dreams. He listened and when she finished, gathered her in his arms and just held her. That was all they needed at the moment, to hold each other.

Her reaction to Archie trying to help, it's so her, not accepting help. So that's what she had been dreaming about.

All the Latin is correct; I do own a copy of The Hobbit in Latin. I am such a nerd and I love it

Reviews?