Dreams Come True:

Page 54: Ordinary Joe... Or Greg:

"We've got to get into his phone... Let me guess another passcode." David said, taking the phone from Mary Margaret while they stood around with Ruby and Leroy. Emma was waiting outside the bathroom while Dream changed; meanwhile, the others were trying to figure out who the guy in the car was. "You can't guess. There are a million possible combinations..." Mary Margaret scoffed at her husband.

"Ten thousand." Ruby corrected.

"Ten thousand..." Mary Margaret repeated, looking at David. "Leroy, can you get it open or something? Hack it?" David asked, reaching the cell phone to Leroy. "Well, you do understand that computer hacking and pick-ax hacking are different?" Leroy asked him when Emma walked over as Dream followed, handing the bag of her pajamas to Mary Margaret.

"Here. Let me try. I have a thing." Emma said, taking the phone from her father when Mary Margaret fixed the color of David's jacket around Dream. "And we do know something. There was stuff in his car. Rental agreement, maps, receipts. His name is Greg Mendell..." Emma said, plugging her device into the phone. "Now, let's see... Pictures of him alone at a bunch of Eastern Seaboard tourist locations. Got a Linkedin account, and he tweets pictures of his food..." Emma said while she looked through his photos. "I'll keep looking, but I think what we have here is a well-documented, real-life ordinary Joe... Or Greg," Emma said, unplugging her device when she looked at the others.

"So whatever's kept random people from stumbling into Storybrooke for the last twenty-eight years..." Ruby went to say but paused when she felt herself getting nervous. "Is gone." Mary Margaret said, finishing Ruby's sentence.

"Anyone could drive in... Why are my instincts telling me that's a bad thing?" David asked when Dream looked down.

"'Cause you've seen E.T. or Splash or any other movie where they find something magical and study it to death. Think what they'd do to a werewolf." Leroy said, making Ruby look at him. He definitely was not helping the tension. "Oh, and his friends and family? They're going to come looking for him soon." Mary Margaret added when Emma sighed to herself.

"Let's try not to overreact," Emma told the group, trying to remain calm.

"Leroy's right. We don't need outsiders here..." David said when Dream looked up at the group. "Hook says he doesn't know where Cora is. And God knows what she's gonna do. If other people come in here, that's not going to be good for anyone..." Emma said while Mary Margaret rubbed Dream's back in comfort.

"We need to find Regina; tell her we know she was framed." Mary Margaret suggested.

"I've been tracking her, no luck. She's gone underground..." Ruby sighed to herself when Dream scoffed to herself. "I know where she is... I'll tell her." Dream said to the others.

"What if Cora finds her first? I don't wanna think about the damage those two would do together. This could not have come at a worse time." Mary Margaret rambled, looking at Emma. "It's okay. Dream will go and let Regina know the truth... The guy's being patched up right now... He'll probably be on his way home by morning--" Emma said to them before she was interrupted.

"Not quite..."

The group turned to look at Dr. Whales when they saw him holding papers in his hand. "What do you mean by, "not quite"?" Dream asked him, crossing her arms over her chest. "He's bleeding into his chest cavity. It's not a full flood, you know, but pretty soon, he'll be drowning in his own blood." Whales explained to the group when Dream sighed, feeling guilty. She did not tell anyone that she knew Cora and Hook were in Storybrooke. And this man... this stranger might die because of her actions.

"So make it stop. Aren't you a doctor?" Emma asked when Whales sighed before he saw Gold coming over to them.

Whales ignored the group, causing them to watch him walk up to Gold. Instinctively, David moved Dream closer to him when he noticed the girl tense up when she saw Gold coming over to them. "Gold." Whales said, making Gold look up at him.

The group could not hear their conversation since Whales spoke in a quieter tone, but Gold shook his head at whatever Whales said to him. "Just, "no?"" Whales asked, a little louder so the group could hear. "I owe you nothing, Whale. I owe none of you anything. And some of you owe me. So, yeah. Just no. Oh... And point of interest, the driver, he saw me throwing some magic. So, instead of trying to get him out of here, you better be hoping he dies because if he doesn't, he's going to be driving tour buses up and down Main Street. So glad I don't care." Gold said, looking at the group that walked closer before he turned to leave.

"You owe me." Dream spoke up when the group looked at her, hearing the shakiness in her voice.

"I owe you? Tell me, dearie... What exactly do you mean?" Gold asked, sounding agitated when he turned to look at his daughter. "Nineteen years of being a decent father." Dream spat, making Leroy and Ruby look at her in shock. "I had no choice on that matter." Gold said when Dream scoffed at him.

"I hear you have a thing with deals... You made a deal and backed out of it nineteen years ago... And all I ask is that you be a decent person with an actual heart and save this poor guy. Or is Hook right? And you're just a heartless monster?" Dream spat when the group looked shocked. No one has ever spoken to Gold like she just did.

Gold did not say anything as he looked at his daughter, who stood in the middle of the group, while David stood protectively behind her. He scoffed to himself, walking off when Mary Margaret turned to Dream, who had tears welling up in her eyes.

Dream was never a bad kid. Sure when she was little, she had some manner issues. But she was the kind of person who would go out of their way to ensure you had a good day. She was kind and optimistic. But ever since the curse broke, her world has had one obstacle over another. This perfect bubble that Regina made sure stayed around her daughter popped, causing her to learn that the world is not always a happily ever after.

Whales turned to the group when he did not seem shocked by the news like Leroy and Ruby. But he was the one there when Gold walked out of Dream's life. "Look..." He sighed, looking at the others when Mary Margaret moved Dream over to the seats since she looked so pale that she was practically green. "Letting him die is easy. I can do that if that's what you decide." Whales said as Emma looked at the others.

"Let's take this somewhere private..." Emma sighed when Whales led them to the break room.

~season 2, episode 12: "In the Name of the Brother"~

~1179 words~