LAND WITHOUT MAGIC
October 24th, 2011, 8:15 A.M.. Phuket
August was in bed with a girl, sound asleep. He suddenly woke up as if in pain, sat up and saw his leg turning into wood. He turned around.
August spoke in Thai. "Wake up. Wake up!"
Isra looked at the clock, then reluctantly at him. "It's only 8:15, go back to bed..."
August pointed at his leg. "Look at this. Right here. Isra, wake up! Help me!"
Isra got up halfway and looked at him. "August, it's early. I'm sleeping."
August reached out and touched his knee. "Look, don't you see it?"
Isra looked up. "I see your leg! Now please, be quiet..."
"I need to go to a hospital..."
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
August spoke in English. "I'm turning into wood."
BLANCHARD LOFT - PRESENT
David brought a tray for Mary Margaret.
Emma frowned. "Breakfast in bed? Seriously?"
"What happened has been really hard on Mary Margaret. The least we can do is make sure she's eating," David reasoned.
"I think it's time to give the hot cocoa and the foot massages a rest. It's time to haul her ass out of bed and get her to move past this."
"That's a little harsh, don't you think? She took Cora's life."
Henry and Aubree paced down the stairs and asked, "Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine, kids," Emma replied. "Get your coats, we're gonna be late."
"Bye, Gramps." Henry and Aubree left.
"I know you think that she needs our help. But at the end of the day, she's the only one who can help herself." Emma left and Mary Margaret popped up from behind the island in the kitchen.
"Good morning," Mary Margret said.
"Hey. Morning. I made you some eggs. But if you're craving something else, we can go to Granny's," David replied. "Unless you have other plans?"
"I thought I'd head out to the woods, actually. I need to think things through."
"Let me come with you."
"David, I need to do this alone. And you have things to do. I know you've been looking forward to working in the bean fields."
"Yeah. Yeah, Anton says we might have a crop soon. And once we do, we can go home. And none of what happened will matter. It will all be in the past."
"I used Regina to kill her own mother. I don't think going back will erase that."
"Mary Margaret..."
"Please. Give me time."
GRANNY'S BED AND BREAKFAST
Henry, Aubree and Emma entered and Neal was waiting for them. Henry and Aubree showed Neal their storybook.
"Hey, buddy. Hey, sweetheart. How are you two?" Neal asked.
"We're good," Henry said. "We brought this. We thought you could tell us what it was really like over there."
"Sounds great. I tell you what, why don't you two run into the diner, get us four hot cocoas and we'll dive in." Henry and Aubree left.
"I'm gonna have to take a rain check on that. I need to get down to the station to take care of some things," Emma told him.
"Can it wait? There's a couple of things I wanna talk to you about. Tamara went to my place to get some of her stuff."
"Okay..."
"Well, her bags were in the storage room, but Hook wasn't."
"Lucky."
"Yeah, but now he's out there."
"I'm not sure how much more trouble he can cause anyway."
"The second thing I wanna talk to you about is, the reason Tamara was getting her stuff is that she's on her way here."
"Here? As in Storybrooke?"
"Yeah. She should be here at Granny's any minute now."
"What are you thinking?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what are you gonna tell her when she sees a giant or a werewolf run past her down Main Street? Between Greg Mendell, our food-obsessed tourist, and now your fiancée, this town is turning into a theme park."
"Maybe I didn't think it all the way through. I'm sorry. I just... I need her. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to..."
"You don't need to apologize to me. I'm not the one you're lying to."
"Who's lying?"
"Does she know who you really are and where you're really from? Take my advice, don't let her find out on her own. Tell her the truth. Tell her everything."
Neal's phone rang. "That's her. She's ten minutes away. Why don't you stay and get to know her?"
"I really should be going."
"I know, but we're all connected. Now, it might be nice for you two to talk. Just stay and say hello. She's bringing bagels."
WOODS
Mary Margaret was practicing her archery while listening to rock music. She heard a sound in the distance. She followed it to an old trailer.
"Anyone in here?" Mary Margaret asked.
"Just me," August replied.
"August?"
PAST, OCTOBER 2011 - HONG KONG
August sat in a hospital in Hong Kong, waiting for his leg to be inspected.
"August W. Booth?" the orderly called.
August showed his leg to the doctor. Through the doctor's eyes his leg looked perfectly normal.
"I don't see anything," the doctor said.
"My leg is turning into wood," August told him.
"I think you should go."
"Wait, wait. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I'll prove it to you." He stabbed his leg with a scalpel.
"No! Stop! Aah!" He spoke in Cantonese. "Orderlies! Restrain him! Take him to psych!" The orderlies chased August through the hospital. "Wait! Get back here! Hey! Get back!" He was taken into a restroom by a man.
"Who are you?" August asked.
"Someone who can help," Quon answered. "I heard you yelling about your situation. And I work with a man who fixes those kinds of problems."
"What kind of problems?"
"The kind most people just dismiss. For the right price, he can cure anything."
"Who is he?"
"They call him the Dragon."
STORYBROOKE - PRESENT - AUGUST'S TRAILER
"But the curse broke," Mary Margaret said.
"Not for me," August replied. "When it lifted, I could move again. But I stayed like this. This is my own punishment. Not the Queen's. I did this to myself."
"August, I'm so sorry. But you don't have to hide. There are people in Storybrooke who care about you. Emma, your father..."
"How is he? My papa?"
"He misses you."
"I know. But I can't let him see me like this. Or Emma."
"Please reconsider. They could all use you back. There's been a lot going on. Henry and Aubree's father returned. Emma found him."
"Wait, Emma and Neal? They're back together again?"
"Uh... Uh, no. Actually, he's engaged to someone he met in New York."
"I was hoping... That's my problem. Hoping. Hoping that things can still work out. Hoping that I can find redemption for the mistakes that I've made. But maybe some things you just don't come back from."
"No matter what you've done, you deserve a second chance."
"That's easy for you to say. You've never had to worry about forgiveness and redemption. You've never needed it."
"August, it's time to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Come back to town with me, we'll find Marco..."
"You expect me to face him like this? A wood pile of failure?"
"Don't say that!"
"You wanna help me? Leave. And don't tell anyone you saw me."
GRANNY'S BED AND BREAKFAST
Tamara had reached Storybrooke and was visiting with Neal, Emma, Aubree and Henry.
"So, how did you guys meet?" the twins asked.
"Um... Well, I was super late to work, rushing like crazy, guzzling my giant coffee, when this guy crashed into me. Hot coffee soaked my blouse. There was no time to change, so Neal gave me his scarf to hide the stains. And he said I could keep it or call him if I wanted to return it. I decided to call and, well, we've been together ever since," Tamara said.
"Sounds like fate," Emma commented. "I've gotta drop Henry and Aubree off with their grandpa. Thanks for the bagel."
"It was nice meeting you, Tamara," the twins told her.
"You, too," Tamara stated.
"Here you go, man, sweetheart," Neal said, wanting to give Henry and Aubree their book back.
"Why don't you hold on to that?" Henry suggested.
"Okay. See you."
"See you later," the twins said, leaving with Emma.
"Henry and Aubree seem like really great kids," Tamara noted.
"Yeah," Neal agreed.
"They have your spirit."
"You think?"
"Yeah."
"There's something I need to tell you. Here's the thing. I'm not from here. I'm from a place called the Enchanted Forest. I'm being serious." He grabbed the book. "Here. Go ahead."
Tamara looked into the book. "These are fairy tales."
"And they're real, all right? They're more than real. They're history. They're my history. See this little boy?" He pointed to a picture of Baelfire. "That's me."
"What the hell are you doing?"
"I'm trying to be honest with you."
Tamara closed the book and stood. "If you wanted to be honest, you would tell me what this is really about. Cute blonde who was just here? Mother of your children?"
"Emma?"
"I'm not a fool, Neal. I saw the way you two look at each other."
"It's not like that."
"I think it is. I think it's why you wanted to hide under the table when Henry and Aubree asked how we met. You didn't want her to hear the story. If you want to be with her, Neal, you could've told me instead of making up crap to force me away."
"I don't want to force you away."
"Here's the thing, Neal. When you're ready to be honest with me about yourself and your feelings, then come find me."
LAND WITHOUT MAGIC - PAST - HONG KONG
August and Quon walked up some stairs to find a room full of people waiting to see the Dragon.
"We're almost there. Wait here. It shouldn't be long," Quon said, pointing to a woman. "You, come. He's ready." The woman dropped her wallet.
"Miss?" August called. "You dropped this."
"Thank you," Tamara replied, taking the wallet from August.
STORYBROOKE - PRESENT - GRANNY'S DINER
Regina introduced herself to Greg Mendell. "I hope you enjoy your pie. It's on me. I'm Regina Mills, mayor of Storybrooke. I'm also Henry and Aubree's mother."
"Oh, they—they're the cute little kids that were wandering through the woods," Greg remembered. "Right?"
"Yes. I just wanted to thank you for calling me about them."
"Yeah, no. No sweat. I-I have a soft spot for little kids in trouble."
"I'm--I'm fairly certain we haven't met before, but... you do seem oddly familiar."
"I don't see how that's possible, unless... h-have you spent a lot of time in Carlisle, Pennsylvania?"
Regina laughed. "I can't say that I have. Well, if there's anything you need during your stay here... Please don't hesitate to ask."On Regina's way out of the diner, she bumped into Mary Margaret. "If I were you, I'd try the fish special. It's right up your alley—blackened sole."
"Hey," Emma greeted. "What's up? Why the urgent phone call?"
"It's August. I found him," Mary Margaret said.
"My boy? He's alive?" Marco asked.
"Yes, but... he's completely wooden. He's been living in an abandoned trailer down near the toll bridge."
"What can we do? Can we help him?" Emma wondered.
"No. But I know someone who might be able to--."
Marco interrupted Mary Margaret. "Yes. Yes, The . She helped once. She can help again. She must!"They left the restaurant, unaware that Tamara had eavesdropped on their conversation.
LAND WITHOUT MAGIC - PAST - HONG KONG
Tamara exited from her session with the Dragon. "He said to send you in. Good luck."
August entered the Dragon's abode.
"Please, sit," the Dragon said. "Tell me. Why have you come?"
"You see that?" August showed his leg.
"No, because the problem is with your other leg. You're turning to wood... Pinocchio."
"How in the hell do you know my name? Who are you? Are you from my land?"
"August, you're in pain. Waste your energy not on me but on your affliction. All you need to worry about is whether I can help you. And the answer is, indeed I can."
August exhaled and whispered, "Thank God."
"There are, however, conditions."
"Yeah."
"I need an item of great value to you."
"Money. I-I have some-"
"No. That comes later. I need something close to your heart, something that cannot be replaced." He pointed to August's neck.
"This? It's... It's worthless."
"The pendant, perhaps, but the string—it was the string your father used to animate you as a freshly carved puppet. In a way, it first gave you life. It will serve as payment from your soul."
"Will it work?"
"Perhaps." August gave him the string. "Now... as any vendor from this world, I also need payment from your wallet. 10,000 American dollars."
"$10,000?"
"Bring the money tonight, and you shall never turn to wood again."
STORYBROOKE - PRESENT - CONVENT OF THE SISTERS OF SAINT MEISSA
"I know about August," Mother Superior said. "He came to me shortly after the curse broke and asked if I would return him to what he was."
"Why didn't you?" Emma asked.
"Because what he was is what he is. Do you remember the morning I found you on that beach all those years ago? The day I turned your son into a real boy?"
"Yes. It was the happiest day of my life," Marco replied.
"I told Pinocchio so long as he remained brave, truthful, and unselfish, he would stay a real boy. But I'm afraid he did not. That is why he changed back. And that's why there's nothing I can do for him."
"It's true he's done some things he regrets. We all have. But shouldn't he have another chance?" Mary Margaret said.
"If there is still a path of redemption for August, it is one that he must travel on his own. No one can force him, or it will not be true."
"Don't despair, Marco. I know there's still hope for your son. There has to be."
LAND WITHOUT MAGIC - PAST - OUTSIDE A BAR IN HONG KONG
August looked through his wallet to find payment for the Dragon, but didn't have sufficient funds.
"Hey," Tamara greeted.
"Hey," August said.
"You look like you could use a drink."
"Yeah, well, I wasn't planning on staying very long."
"Come on. Humor me. Celebrating alone is no fun." When he sat next to her she pulled out her purse, which contained a big stack of one hundred dollar bills. "Figured a medicine man wouldn't take plastic. Um... To second chances."They toasted.
"Who knew they'd be so expensive? So what brought you to him?"
"Cancer. A very rare form. When I was diagnosed, the specialist told me I was on borrowed time. Ever since, I've been all over the world, trying to find a cure—doctors, healers, you name it. Anyone who could promise a miracle. And no one could. And then... Then I heard about the Dragon. How about you?"
"Skin condition."
"Acne?" She laughed.
"Yeah."
"You know, there are creams."
"Yeah. I wish. No, this condition—once it, uh, spreads, I'm done for."
"Well... I'm glad you found him, too."
"Thanks."
"He tell you he needed a personal item?"
"Mm."
"Who carries something like that around with them anyway? Luckily, I had a photo of my grandmother and me in my wallet. Now it's gone, but... If my cancer is, too... Yeah." Her cell phone rang. "Oh. Sorry. I'll be right back. Will you watch this?"
"Yeah."
"Hey."
"Mm." He took a stack of bills out of the purse and left the bar.
STORYBROOKE - PRESENT - AUGUST'S TRAILER
Someone knocked on the door.
"I told you to leave me alone!" August yelled as he opened the door.
"Hey. Long time," Tamara said.
LAND WITHOUT MAGIC - PAST
August runs back to the Dragon.
"For someone who spent his entire life running, you should be in better shape," the Dragon commented.
"Well, I will be... if you have what you promised," August shot back.
"I believe we discussed a price. The money. You have it?" August noticed Tamara's picture. "The body has a strange way of sending us signals, doesn't it? The tricky part isn't hearing them, but knowing what they truly mean."
"Are you sure this can cure me?"
"What's in this bottle will stop you from turning to wood, yes. But that's just a symptom. Only you can cure yourself." The two exchanged the money for the cure. Later, August left and unwrapped the vial.
"Stop!" Tamara cried. "That's mine."
"I'm so sorry," August said as started running.
"Hey! Somebody stop him!"
"Out of the way! Aah! Aah!" He fell. "No!"
"Whatever it is you have, you deserve your fate." Tamara took the bottle and left. August cried.
STORYBROOKE - PRESENT - AUGUST'S TRAILER
"Not much of a decorator," Tamara noted. "Then again, I guess a man made of wood doesn't require much."
"You can see me? You believe?" August asked.
"Do you think I would have chased down someone called the Dragon if I didn't?"
"I don't understand. What are you doing in Storybrooke? How is this even possible?"
"What I'm doing in Storybrooke doesn't concern you. But I need you to do something. And after what you pulled in Hong Kong, you owe me."
"What could I ever do for you?"
"Leave. It's a simple request considering what I'm about to offer you."
"No. You're going to explain this. Did you follow me? Are you like me?"
"Magical? No. I'm quite human. But forget for a second why I'm here and who I am and instead ask yourself the more important question... how? My cancer was a death sentence, remember? Yet... here I am."
"The Dragon. The liquid in the bottle... it worked."
"It cured me, August. And it can cure you, too. I still have some of it left. The bottle's in my apartment in New York. You can go get it. All I ask... is that you leave Storybrooke now and never return."
"Neal. You're the fiancée. Are you and Neal here for the magic? Are you two trying to take the magic from Storybrooke?"
"Neal has nothing to do with any of this. Okay? He knows as much as you do. Actually, now you know a lot more. So do we have a deal?"
"I can't leave without knowing what you're doing here."
"Sure, you can. And you will. You're the same man I left in a Hong Kong gutter... a man willing to do anything to save himself. And that's what I'm offering, August." Keys jangled. "Salvation."
GRANNY'S BED AND BREAKFAST
Greg Mendell returned to Granny's Bed and Breakfast, only to discover Regina waiting for him.
"You know, I'm all set on towels... if that's why you're here. I air dry," Greg said.
"I'm here because I realized why you look so familiar to me," Regina told him. "It's because we have met before, haven't we? Owen. I kept this all these years as a reminder of our time together. You were just a boy when you gave this to me. Now look at you, all grown up. No wonder I didn't recognize you."
"Yeah, but I-I recognized you, because you look exactly the same, Regina. It's as if no time has passed for you."
"Monthly juice cleanse. Does wonders for the skin. You could've come to me, Owen. You could've told me who you were and why you're here."
"Well, I-I think you know why I'm here."
"I honestly don't."
"I'm looking for my father."
"Your father? He left shortly after you did. I never saw him again."
"I don't believe you."
"Be that as it may, it's the truth."
"People don't just disappear, Regina."
"Scared little boys tend to have overactive imaginations."
"Well, I'm not a scared little boy anymore, Madam Mayor. It's taken me a long time to get back here. I'm not leaving without my father."
"I'm afraid you are, because he's not here. I'll let Granny know that you'll be checking out tomorrow."
"Or what?"
"Contrary to what you might think, people can just disappear."
WOODS
The group was on their way to August's trailer.
"This is all my fault," Marco said.
"Our children make their own decisions, Marco. You can't blame yourself for anything that's happened," Mary Margaret reasoned.
"Yes, I can. And you should blame me, too. The wardrobe I built for you. The one that transported Emma to this world—she did not go alone."
"Of course she did. The only had enough magic to transport one person."
"No, that was a lie I made The Blue Fairy tell you. It had enough magic to transport two, and it did—your daughter... and my son... Pinocchio."
"I could have gone with her? With Emma?"
"There is no apology I could give that could ever make up for what I did. But I am so sorry." Mary Margaret slapped Marco.
"Mary Margaret. What are you doing? He's apologizing," Emma told her.
"No, no, that's okay. I deserve that."
"No, that wasn't me. Marco, I am so sorry. I'm not myself. You just made a mistake. I would have done the same thing for my child. I forgive you. You were protecting your son," Mary Margaret said.
"No. I burdened him with a weight no child should have to bear, and I called it love." They found August's trailer shortly after, but he was nowhere to be found in his trailer. August was driving Tamara's car out of Storybrooke as quickly as possible.
LAND WITHOUT MAGIC - PAST - HONG KONG
"Your photograph is on the desk," the Dragon said. "Do not forget to take it when you leave."
"I'm not going anywhere until I get the truth," Tamara replied.
"Interesting choice of words from someone who lied about being sick."
"You're right. I don't have cancer."
"And yet you sought me out."
"I've been searching for someone like you for a very long time."
"Ah. For magic."
"It's rare in this world... so rare most would say it's... fiction."
"But not you."
"Not me. But finding it? That has not been easy. I found a world full of frauds... until you. I've analyzed the contents of this bottle with the most sophisticated techniques available to man. You know what I found? Nothing."
"So I'm a fraud, too."
"No. Literally nothing. The liquid in this bottle doesn't contain a single element found in this world. Can you explain that?"
"What I create is not from this world because the people who need my help suffer from affliction that science cannot treat. People like the man you stole that from."
"I didn't steal anything. I paid for what's in this bottle. But... now that I have it, I can't risk anyone else finding you." Tamara pulled out a weapon. "It was nice meeting you."
Smoke exited the Dragon's nostrils, and he magically glided towards Tamara. "You haven't met me. At least not the real me." He levitated above the ground, but Tamara's weapon electrocuted him until he dropped dead. She took her picture and left.
STORYBROOKE - PRESENT - ROAD
August was driving Tamara's car when he hit a bump in the road. The bump caused the photo of Tamara and her grandmother she previously gave to the Dragon to fall onto the seat next to August. Upon seeing the photo, August turned the car back around. He returned to Storybrooke, and he went into the Storybrooke Sheriff Department looking for someone to help him.
"Emma?!" August called. "Hello?! Is anyone here?!" Using the phone there, he called Emma who was out in the woods.
"Emma Swan," Emma said.
"Emma, it's August."
"August."
"Listen to me. I have to warn you."
"August..." Static crackled. "Warn me? Warn me about what?"
"You disappoint me, August," Tamara told him.
"I know what you did to the Dragon," August said. "A few days after you left, I went back to beg him to fix me, and we both know what I found. At the time, I was too wrapped up in myself to wonder what had happened, to question who could have done such a thing. But then I found this photo in your car, and it hit me. You and your grandmother... you went back there. You killed him."
"You should have left. I counted on you to wanna save yourself."
"Maybe that's what I'm trying to do. I've lived a life of selfishness, cowardice, and dishonesty. And only I can cure that, not magic, not science. Just me. I care about the people in this town. And if you wanted the Dragon's little bit of magic... well, you have hit the mother lode here, and you are not going to harm anyone to get it. I'm going to warn them."
"No. You're not." Tamara used her weapon to electrocute him.
OUTSIDE SHERIFF DEPARTMENT
"If August is still at the station, he's not picking up," David said as August bumbled out of the Sheriff Department.
"August! August!" Emma called.
"Oh! My child. My boy. My boy. What happened to you?" Marco wondered.
"I'm so sorry, papa," August apologized.
"No. There is nothing to apologize for. Everything is gonna be all right."
"Emma," August said.
"August," Emma replied.
"Emma... She's..." He gasped "She..."
"Oh, no." Marco's voice broke. "Not again." He sobbed.
Neal appeared and called, "August?"
"No. It can't end this way. He was supposed to get a second chance," Mary Margaret said.
"What happened?"
"Someone killed him to stop him from telling us something. He used his last dying breath to warn us. I will not let that be in vain."
Henry and Aubree under their breath said, "Brave... truthful... and unselfish." They spoke in their normal voices. "Brave, truthful, and unselfish."
Henry continued. "Don't you see what this means? That's what Pinocchio was supposed to be. There's still hope. We need The Blue Fairy."
"I'm here, Henry, Aubree," Mother Superior told them.
"What do Henry and Aubree mean?" Mary Margaret asked.
"I was able to turn Pinocchio into a real boy after he sacrificed his life for Marco's. If his actions today were indeed brave, truthful, and unselfish, then you're right. There's a chance I can do it again."
"Please, I beg of you. Try," Marco said and Mother Superior's wand reverted August back into a real boy.
"Father?" Pinocchio called.
Marco cried. "Pinocchio. Look. Look."
"I'm a real boy. I'm a real boy!"
"Honey," Neal said, noticing Tamara.
"It's... it's true," Tamara stammered.
"Do better this time, Pinocchio," Mother Superior told him.
"Pinocchio? That's..."
"Yeah," Neal confirmed.
"Pinocchio? I have to ask you a question. I need you to think real hard, okay? Before you turned into a little boy, you were trying to tell us something very important. Do you remember? You were trying to warn us about something," Emma said.
"I... I don't remember," Pinocchio replied. "If I did, I would be truthful. I promise."
"If you wanna head back to New York, I wouldn't blame you. I know this isn't what you signed up for," Neal said.
"What I signed up for... is you. I love you," Tamara told him.
"I can't believe how lucky I was to have met you."
"We were both lucky."
LAND WITHOUT MAGIC - PAST - NEW YORK - 2011
"It's been a hell of a flight from Hong Kong. You've looked better," Neal commented.
"Well, I've felt better. I'm turning back to wood, Neal. Which means that Emma's in Storybrooke," August said.
"You're going there, aren't you?"
"I gotta get her to break the curse to stop what's happening to me."
"If she breaks the curse, my father's gonna remember who he is and come looking for me."
"Flip side—you get to see Emma again."
"Not sure she wants to see me."
"You never know. When the curse is broken, I'll send you a postcard." Tamara was spying on them using a mirror. After witnessing the conversation, she walked over to Neal, purposefully bumping into him, causing her to spill her coffee all over herself.
"Oh!" Tamara cried.
"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Neal asked.
"It was me. I'm... I'm in a hurry. I'm late for work."
"Oh, here. You know what? Take my scarf. It'll cover up the stain."
"It's perfect. Thank you."
"I'm sorry."
"Thank you. I'm Tamara."
STORYBROOKE - PRESENT - BLANCHARD LOFT
"Henry. Aubree," Emma called. "We gotta talk. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I lied to you two about your dad. I promise I will never lie to you two again. Just don't push me away."
"I won't," the twins replied.
The three embraces, leaving Mary Margaret and David alone downstairs.
"Ready to tell me what's going on?" David asked.
"Yes. But before I do, you have to promise you won't get mad," Mary Margaret replied.
"That always means good news. I promise."
She sighed. "David... last week, I went to Regina's house and confronted her."
"Are you... are you out of your mind?"
"You promised not to get mad."
"I'm not mad."
"I can see that."
"She could have killed you."
"I know. That's why I went... so she would kill me."
"What?"
"I couldn't take the guilt over what I did to Cora. I could barely breathe. I told her to end it, and she ripped out my heart. And when she took it out, my heart, David... it had started to blacken because of what I did."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because telling you makes things real, and I needed to believe it wasn't, that I could find a way to stop it, that redemption was possible."
"It is. Look at August."
"But it cost him... everything."
"Oh." They hugged. "You are not him, Mary Margaret, and you sure as hell aren't Regina. Which means those are not the only two options. We'll find another way. I know it."
"What makes you so sure?"
David put his hand on her heart. "This does. And I know it better than anyone."
GRANNY'S BED AND BREAKFAST
Greg Mendell received a call from the infamous "Her".
"Hey, why haven't you called me back? Where are you?" Greg asked as a knock sounded on his door.
"Right here," Tamara said. "Sorry I'm late. It's been a heck of a day. I don't have much time. Neal's in the shower. I only have a few minutes."
"Then let's not waste them." The two kissed.