Gold

{15}

I OPENED my eyes to see I was lying in the small bed in the back of Golds shop still.

I reached over and grabbed his arm, and saw he was still asleep. I smiled and laid back on his chest. Thoughts of last night flooded through me and I felt myself blush.

"Good morning." I heard him say and I turned to face him with a grin. "Good morning." I whispered back to him. "Hey, what time is it?" I asked him suddenly and he looked over at one of the clocks hanging on his wall. "It's seven twenty." He said and I jumped up.

I looked down to see I was completely naked and winced. "Damn it! I'm late!" I said and hurriedly grabbed random clothes from the floor. I ended up with Gold's shirt and my jeans.

"I've got to go." I told him, hurriedly buttoning the buttons. "You look sexy in my shirt." He said and I grinned. "I bet." I said and kissed him quickly. "Too bad you have work." He told me and I groaned. "Right. I have to go." I said, forcing myself away from him.

"Wait! You almost forgot this!" He said and I saw him holding my ring. "Thanks."
I said and slid it back on my finger. "Bye. I love you!" I called as I left the story hurriedly.

I rushed back to the apartment to see Mary Margaret and Emma sitting at the table, eating breakfast. I'd been hoping to sneak in so they wouldn't question me, but I wasn't going to be that lucky.

"Hey!" I said cheerfully, sitting down at the table. Emma gave me a suspicious look, taking in my shirt and my hair, which was very messy.

"Good morning." Emma said and I smiled. "So.. where have you been?" Mary Margaret asked me, and she sounded like a mother.

"I was with Gold." I said quietly and they exchanged a look. "All night?" Emma asked and I sighed. "Yes." I said and Emma smirked.

I rolled my eyes at her and jumped up. "Oh look at the time. Mary Margaret, we're going to be late!" I said and rushed to fix my hair into a ponytail.

TIME SKIP

I laughed as Mary Margaret told me the stories from her class that day. We made our way back to the apartment and opened the door to see two kids I'd seen before at the school eating at the table.

My eyes widened as Emma rushed up to us and pulled us aside. "Do you guys know them? Do they go to your school?" Emma asked us and I glanced at Mary Margaret. "Why? Emma what's going on?" I asked her and she sighed. "They were staying in an abandoned house, with no parents." Emma told me and I looked back at the kids again.

"I've seen them, but I had no idea." Mary Margaret told Emma. "None of us did." I told Emma, who glanced down at a file she was holding. "Ava and Nicholas Zimmer. They said their mother was a woman named Dorrie Zimmer. She died a few years ago." Emma told us.

I glanced over at Mary Margaret who looked very confused. "No one seems to know or remember her." Emma said and I once again thought back to Henry's theory. What if their mother never even existed?

What if they had no mother when the curse happened and this was the situation they got stuck with? It seemed crazy, but if it was true, I felt even worse for these poor kids.

"And the father?" Mary Margaret asked Emma. "There isn't one. At least not one that they know." Emma said and I glanced back sadly at the kids.

"What does Social Services say?" Mary Margaret asked and Emma gave a guilty look.

"You didn't report them." Mary Margaret said.

"If I report them, they'll go into the system, then I can't help them." Emma said sadly. "The system that's supposed to help." Mary Margaret said and I winced. "Yeah, says the woman who wasn't in it for 16 years." Emma retorted back.