–[Real World]–

(August, the Stranger, is tinkering with his motorcycle outside of the Mayor’s house. Henry walks up to him.)

Henry: What are you doing here?

August: Fixing my bike.

Henry: No, I mean in Storybrooke.

August: Just visiting.

Henry: What’s that?

August: A box.

Henry: What’s inside it?

August: Just something I need to do what I came here for.

(Regina opens her front door and sees the two talking.)

Henry: Well, I thought you were just visiting?

August: Doesn’t mean I don’t have something to do.

(He starts his motorcycle. Regina yells for Henry and walks towards them.)

Regina: Henry!

August: Better get to school. Looks like a storm’s coming.

(August drives off just as Regina reaches Henry.)

Regina: Henry. Who was that?

(Henry shrugs.)

———–

(At Mary Margaret’s, Emma is eating breakfast as Mary Margaret scrambles to get ready. A television airing the weather is on in the background.)

MMB: I can’t believe I overslept.

Emma: It’s only seven ten. You’ve got plenty of time to get to school.

MMB: No, I have to be there at seven fifteen – science fair. I’m helping the kids with their project before school.

Emma: I’m sure if you’re five minutes late they’ll live.

MMB: We’re making a volcano.

(Mary Margaret leaves.)

Emma: Okay.

———–

(Mary Margaret arrives at Granny’s Diner. She sits at one of the tables, takes out a book, and fixes her hair in a spoon’s reflection. At seven fifteen, David enters the diner and walks up to the counter. Ruby serves him two coffees.)

Ruby: One cream and sugar, one black.

David: Thank you.

(David takes the coffees and notices Mary Margaret sitting behind him.)

David: Good morning.

MMB: Morning!

David: I-I… I should go. I’m going to be late for work.

MMB: Oh, the animal shelter, right? How’s that going?

David: Well, the apes haven’t taken over.

MMB: Yet.

David: Not on my watch.

(David leaves. She sees him meet Kathryn at their car, where he gives her the coffee and a kiss on the cheek. Emma comes out of the back room.)

Emma: This is making a volcano?

MMB: I was-

Emma: I get it.

MMB: He comes here every morning at seven fifteen a.m. to get coffee.

Emma: For him and his wife.

MMB: I know, I know, I know. I just like to…come here to see him.

Emma: So you’re a stalker?

MMB: No, not really… Maybe a little bit. I mean, it’s not like I’m following him. I just know that he spends his mornings with Kathryn, gets coffee, then drives to the animal shelter to start work at seven thirty and then he’s home around five.

Emma: Oh, is that all?

MMB: Thursdays they pick up Chinese for dinner. I can’t get him out of my head.

Emma: I know. Maybe the first step is not showing up here tomorrow.

MMB: Love’s the worst. I wish there was a magic cure.

–[Fairy Tale World]–

(Snow White is hunting a wild turkey in the forest with a spear. She goes to take aim, but the turkey flies away. Red

Riding Hood comes into view.)

Red: Hey! It’s me.

Snow White: Red!

Red: The spear, Snow.

Snow White: Oh, sorry.

(She lowers her spear and walks over to Red Riding Hood.)

Snow White: Wasn’t expecting you for a month.

Red: It’s been a month.

Snow White: Has it?

Red: You’re really taking well to the solitude, aren’t ya?

Snow White: It’s fine. It’s exactly what I wanted – to be out here…away.

Red: And that you are. Here you go.

(She hands Snow White the basket of food.)

Snow White: Thank you. So, how are things back in the world?

Red: Come on – ask what you really want.

Snow White: I don’t know what you mean.

(Red Riding Hood gives Snow White a look.)

Snow White: Okay, fine. Tell me.

Red: The wedding’s happening. Prince James is marrying Midas’ daughter. In two days time. You okay?

Snow White: I just thought the longer I was out here, the easier it would be to forget him, but… Instead, all I do is think about him.

Red: I’m sorry.

Snow White: I wish there was a way to get him out of my head. …What, is there?

Red: Of course not. That would be-

Snow White: Red, what do you know? Come on – I helped you when no one else would. What do you know?

Red: Well, there are whispers. Whispers of a man who can achieve even the most unholy of requests. A man who can do what you ask.

Snow White: Who is this man?

———–

(Snow White paddles a rowboat through the fog. She reaches a pier, where she gets out and ties down her boat.

Rumpelstiltskin appears behind her in the boat.)

Rumpelstiltskin: How much for this?

Snow White: Excuse me?

Rumpelstiltskin: Your boat. Exquisite craftsmanship.

Snow White: It’s not for sale.

Rumpelstiltskin: Of course it is, dearie. No one comes to see me without a deal in mind.

Snow White: So you’re Rumpelstiltskin?

Rumpelstiltskin: Indeed, I am. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. Wow. You really are the fairest of them all, aren’t you? What can I do for you?

Snow White: I need a cure.

Rumpelstiltskin: What ails you, child?

Snow White: A broken heart.

Rumpelstiltskin: Ah. The most painful of afflictions. Well, I’m afraid if you want me to make him love you, no can do. And nothing can.

Snow White: Oh, no. That’s not the problem. We can’t be together.

Rumpelstiltskin: Well that, I can help you with.

(He pulls out an empty vial and dips it in the water. When he takes it out, the water in the vial turns a cloudy white.)

Snow White: That’ll do it?

Rumpelstiltskin: Not yet. No two loves are exactly alike. We must make this personal.

(Rumpelstiltskin pulls out a strand of Snow White’s hair and adds it to the solution.)

Snow White: So, if I drink that, I’ll no longer love him.

Rumpelstiltskin: The next time you see the object of your grief, you won’t even remember who he is.

Snow White: Won’t remember him?

Rumpelstiltskin: Love is the most powerful magic. The cure must be extreme.

Snow White: ‘Extreme’ sounds like an understatement.

Rumpelstiltskin: Don’t doubt yourself now, dearie. Love makes us sick, haunts our dreams, destroys our days. Love has killed more than any disease. This cure is a gift.

Snow White: What’s your price?

Rumpelstiltskin: These’ll do.

(He holds up a leftover strand of her hair.)

Snow White: What do you need of my hair?

Rumpelstiltskin: What do you need of it now? It’s been plucked from your head. Do we have a deal?

(Snow White takes the potion from his hand.)

Rumpelstiltskin: I thought so. Drink it in good health, Snow White.

–[Real World]–

(Mary Margaret is shopping, when she bumps into Kathryn. Regina is also in the same aisle.)

MMB: I’m so sorry!

Kathryn: It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.

MMB: I wasn’t looking.

Regina: Clearly.

Kathryn: Oh, is this yours?

(Kathryn hands her a chocolate bar.)

MMB: Um, yes, thank you. Um, this must…

(Mary Margaret picks up a pregnancy test. She hands it to Kathryn.)

MMB: Good luck.

Kathryn: Thank you.

(Kathryn walks away, leaving Regina and Mary Margaret alone.)

Regina: I trust you’ll be discrete? Their lives are their business – not yours.

–[Fairy Tale World]–

(At King George’s castle, Prince Charming looks out over the balcony while music is heard in the background. King George enters the room with a box in hand.)

King George: James.

Prince Charming: How goes the feast?

King George: Your absence is felt. It is, after all, in your honour. I thought this might rouse you from your chamber.

(He pulls the lid off of the box, revealing a crown.)

Prince Charming: You could feed the kingdom for an entire winter with that crown.

King George: It’s a gift – from King Midas. For you to wear as you marry his daughter. Once that is done, our new prosperity will allow us to feed the kingdom for all eternity. Show some enthusiasm.

Prince Charming: Enthusiasm wasn’t part of the deal. The wedding’s in two days. I’ve honoured your wishes.

King George: But I want your heart – not just your honour.

Prince Charming: My heart shall belong to Abigail.

King George: You think I’m a fool, don’t you? Your heart can’t belong to Abigail when it’s held by another woman. And don’t deny it. I know that look. Who is she?

Prince Charming: I met her on a journey. We haven’t seen each other since, but… She stayed with me.

King George: Forget her.

Prince Charming: You speak as if that’s so easy.

King George: Nobility was not meant to be easy. All this wealth, the power we hold over other men’s lives – do you think that comes at no cost?

Prince Charming: I asked for none of it.

King George: You were chosen to be my son. Plucked from poverty, wanting for nothing. Be thankful for that.

Prince Charming: It wasn’t charity, Father. It was the only way to save your kingdom.

King George: Watch yourself, boy. This is a choice you made. A role you have taken – honour it. There is too much at stake. Do whatever it takes to get that woman out of your head, because nothing is going to stop this wedding.

(King George leaves. Prince Charming rushes to his desk and starts writing a letter that begins ‘Dearest Snow’. He attaches the letter to a carrier pigeon and sets it free.)

Prince Charming: Find her.

–[Real World]–

(Mary Margaret is walking along a gravel road through the forest. She hears a cooing noise coming from the slope on the edge of the road. She slides down the incline and finds a dove trapped in some plastic netting.)

MMB: Oh, hey. How did you manage to get yourself… Come on – it’s going to be okay.

(She frees the dove and takes it with her.)

———–

(At the pet shelter, Mary Margaret is talking to the vet. David is standing off to the side.)

Vet: Well, the good news is, no broken bones. She was just a little dehydrated, but I got her some fluids and she should be just fine.

MMB: And the bad news?

Vet: Well, this is a north Atlantic dove. It’s a migratory species. Very unique among American doves. They tend to form strong, monogamous bonds, meaning-

MMB: If I don’t get her back to her flock, she’ll be alone forever.

Vet: Well, it’s a long shot, but the alternative…

(He puts the dove into a cage.)

Vet: She’ll heal, but she won’t be happy here.

MMB: I’ll take my chances. Thank you, Doctor.

Vet: You’re welcome. Good luck.

(The vet leaves. Mary Margaret takes the dove’s cage and goes to leave.)

David: Mary Margaret, there’s a storm coming. You really shouldn’t go out there.

MMB: Well, the storm’s coming tomorrow. If I wait, she could be lost forever. Completely alone. No one deserves that.

David: Then let me drive you.

MMB: I don’t need your help, David. I’ll be fine.

———–

(Emma is loading storm supplies into the trunk of her squad car. Regina walks up to her.)

Emma: If you’re looking to blame me for the storm, I think you’re taking things a bit far now.

Regina: I need you to look into something, Sheriff. Someone’s in town – someone new.

Emma: Yeah, I know. I gave him directions to Granny’s the other night.

Regina: You talked to him? What’d he say?

Emma: He asked for directions. What’s the big deal? Who is he?

Regina: I don’t know. I asked around, but no one seems to know anything. There’s something about him. Something familiar.

Emma: He must be one of the untold millions you cursed.

Regina: What?

Emma: Oh, you know. The curse. Henry’s whole thing.

Regina: Sheriff, I need you to find out who he is, what he wants and what he’s doing here.

Emma: You know, as hard as you tried to find one in my case, there is no law against visiting Storybrooke.

Regina: This isn’t about the law, Miss Swan. You’re going to do this because I asked you to. And because you’ll see it’s the right thing to do.

Emma: And why is that?

Regina: Because he was in front of my house. Taking a particular interest in the one thing we both care about – Henry.

Emma: I’ll look into him.

———–

(Mary Margaret is driving along the same gravel road where she found the dove. She has the dove in its cage on the seat next to her. Thunder can be heard in the distance.)

–[Fairy Tale World]–

(Snow White is looking at the potion vial that Rumpelstiltskin gave her. The carrier pigeon from Prince Charming lands on her hand and she unties the letter.)

Letter: Dearest Snow. I have not heard from you since our meeting and can only assume you found the happiness you so desired. But I must let you know, not a day goes by that I have not thought of you. In two day’s time, I am to be married. Come to me before then. Come to me and show me you feel the same and we can be together forever. And if you don’t, I will have my answer.

–[Real World]–

(Mary Margaret continues along the gravel road, until she comes to a ‘Road Closed’ sign.)

MMB: Well, the flock can’t be much farther. We just have to beat the storm. They’re waiting for you.

(She takes the dove’s cage and gets out of the car.)

–[Fairy Tale World]–

(Snow White, wearing a cloak to conceal her identity, carries a basket of flowers through the courtyard of King George’s castle. She approaches the unarmored guard, who is acting as a gatekeeper.)

Snow White: Flowers for Prince James from the Kingdom of Midas.

Guard: Top of the northeast spire. Take the service stairwell. The guards will toss you over the walls.

(She walks past him and enters the castle. Inside, she ditches the flower basket and her cloak. She continues down a hall, when she hears the sound of a door opening. Snow White hides behind a pillar as the person walks past. She realizes it’s Prince Charming, but is suddenly grabbed from behind by a guard. The guard takes her to the dungeon and throws her in one of the cells.)

Snow White: Wait! I am a royal embassary!

Guard: Sure you are. The King will decide your fate.

(The guard leaves. Snow White unsuccessfully shakes the bars and climbs up the front of the cell. Next, she attempts to climb up the stone wall at the back of the cell, but ends up falling. While laying on the ground, she hears whistling coming from the cell next to her.)

Snow White: Who’s there?

Grumpy: What are you looking at, Sister? Tried it all. Steel gets stronger as we grow weaker.

Snow White: Well, I am not…giving…up.

(She tries to pry open the lock with a rock.)

Grumpy: Give it time. Grumpy.

Snow White: I’m not grumpy – I’m focused.

Grumpy: No. My name – Grumpy. I’m telling you there’s no way out.

Snow White: Well, I’m Snow, and I’ll find one.

Grumpy: You say so.

Snow White: There’s someone out there for me – someone I love very much. And I will not lose him.

Grumpy: Love, huh? Good luck with that.

Snow White: Yeah? What do you know about it?

Grumpy: It’s why I’m stuck in this hole. I had it bad. She was beautiful as a fairy. But I lost her. I was desperate to get her back, so I came up with a plan. I worked at the diamond mines. Traded all my wages to the foreman for a diamond to propose. But I got swindled. It was a stolen rock and I took the blame. I’m no thief, but they think I am. Should’ve known better. But I wasn’t thinking clearly – all cause of love. And now here I am – trapped – with no way out.

(A voice suddenly calls out.)

Stealthy: I know a way out.

(A figured dressed in black slinks toward the cells. It turns out to be another dwarf.)

Grumpy: Stealthy!

Stealthy: You ready to go home?

Grumpy: How’d you get in here?

Stealthy: Doc whipped up the sleeping gas – knocked all the guards out cold. The rest are waiting with transport.

Snow White: There’s more of you?

Stealthy: Who’s that? She’s pretty.

Grumpy: No one. Come on – let’s go!

(Stealthy frees Grumpy and the two go to leave.)

Snow White: Grumpy? Good luck. I hope you get your love back.

Grumpy: Son-of-a… Give me that.

(Grumpy takes the keys from Stealthy and frees Snow White.)

Grumpy: Come on.

–[Real World]–

(Mary Margaret has set out on foot along the road. The storm can still be heard in the distance.)

MMB: Do you hear that? Your flock!

(Mary Margaret looks over the edge of the road. She puts down the dove’s cage and goes closer to the slope. Thunder clashes and she ends up falling down the incline and over the side of a cliff. She grabs onto a branch and dangles over the river below. She attempts to crawl up, but ends up falling farther down. Suddenly, David appears and extends his hand to Mary Margaret.)

David: Here!

MMB: David!

David: Grab my hand!

(Mary Margaret grabs his hand.)

David: Hold tight! Come on.

(David pulls Mary Margaret to safety.)

David: You’d really think I’d let you come out here alone? You okay?

MMB: Yeah. I’m fine, thanks.

(She walks up the incline and back towards where she left the dove. David follows her.)

David: Where are you going?

MMB: I came to find the flock.

David: And I came here to get you before you got hurt. We have to go.

(A torrential rainfall starts as they find the dove’s cage.)

MMB: No.

David: Doing this on foot is not the best plan.

MMB: The gate was closed.

David: I know. I saw. It’s too late – we have to go.

MMB: No! But the fl-

David: Mary Margaret, it’s not safe. We need to get out of here. Come on!

(Mary Margaret agrees and the two of them run to find shelter.)

–[Fairy Tale World]–

(Snow White, Grumpy and Stealthy are quickly, but silently, running through the tunnels of the dungeon. Snow White stops when they pass a set of stairs.)

Snow White: Oh, hey, wait! The stairs.

Stealthy: No, we sneak out through the courtyard.

Snow White: No, it’s safer if we crawl over the curtain wall. Trust me – hiding from royals is my life.

Stealthy: No, the courtyard is clear now. It won’t be for much longer.

Grumpy: Sorry, lady. Stealthy got me this far.

(Grumpy and Stealthy leave Snow White behind and continue through the tunnel.)

Snow White: Grumpy… Grumpy, wait!

———–

(Grumpy and Stealthy make it to the courtyard. It seems to be clear, but King George and several guards appear around the corner.)

Guard: Halt! Those two are prisoners.

Stealthy: Grumpy, run! We can make it!

Grumpy: Stealthy, no!

(Stealthy starts to run, but is shot with an arrow by a guard in a tower. Stealthy falls to the ground and Grumpy kneels by his side. King George and his guards approach them.)

Grumpy: No! Stealthy…

King George: Where is the girl?

Grumpy: What girl?

King George: Kill him.

(A guard draws his sword and prepares to swing, but stops when Snow White speaks up. Behind them, Snow White holds a torch over a pile of straw.)

Snow White: Looking for me? Let him go, or this place will burn.

King George: Be gone, dwarf.

Snow White: Go, Grumpy.

(A guard kicks Grumpy over. He scrambles to his feet and flees the courtyard.)

King George: Now, Snow White. We need to talk.

–[Real World]–

(David and Mary Margaret are still caught in the storm.)

David: There!

(He points to a cabin in the woods.)

David: Come on!

(They run to the front door and look in the window.)

MMB: Hello? Hello, is anyone in there? It’s empty.

(David kicks in the door and the two of them rush into the cabin. David gets a fire going in the fireplace.)

David: Okay, let’s get you dry.

MMB: Whose cabin is this? Are you sure it’s okay for us to be in here?

David: Well, you’re roommates with the Sheriff, so I doubt she’ll arrest us for breaking and entering. Here.

(He puts a blanket over Mary Margaret’s shoulders, but she shrugs it off.)

David: Hey, I’m just… I’m just trying to help. What’s going on with you today?

MMB: What’s going on? ‘What’s going on’ is I still have feelings for you.

David: What?

MMB: Why do you think I go to Granny’s every morning at seven fifteen? It’s to see you. I don’t even know why, because it just makes me miserable. Because every time I see you, it just reminds me that you chose Kathryn instead of me. And that’s why I didn’t want you to come to the woods with me. Because being around you is too… It’s too painful.

(David laughs.)

MMB: You think this is funny.

David: No. No, it’s just… The reason I go to Granny’s every morning at seven fifteen is to see you.

(They slowly lean in for a kiss, but Mary Margaret pulls back.)

MMB: How can you do this?

David: What are you talking about?

MMB: David, I know.

David: You know what?

MMB: About Kathryn.

David: what about Kathryn?

MMB: That she thinks she’s pregnant.

David: What?

———–

(Emma walks into Granny’s Diner to get out of the storm. She sees the Stranger sitting at one of the booths by himself, with the box from the back of his motorcycle sitting under the table.)

Emma: We need to talk.

August: Why?

Emma: Because you’re suspicious.

August: Sitting here, out in the open, drinking coffee. I wonder what kind of hell I would’ve raised had I ordered a donut.

Emma: You were talking to Henry.

August: You mean the little kid who came up to me asking me questions? Is that unusual for him? Being curious and precocious?

Emma: What were you doing outside his house?

August: My bike broke down. It happens.

Emma: Your mysterious box – what’s in it?

August: It’s awfully frustrating not knowing, isn’t it?

Emma: Just tell me.

August: Why? Is it illegal to carry around a box in these parts?

Emma: No, of course it’s not.

August: You really want to know what’s inside it, don’t you?

Emma: No. Well, maybe.

August: I’m going to make you wait. You’re going to have to wait a long time and watch me carry it around. Hauling it to strange and mysterious places. And with each passing moment, the mystery will become more tantalizing. Your imagination will inflame, but so will your frustration. Never knowing – only guessing – what could possibly be inside that box? Or, you could let me buy you a drink sometime and I’ll tell you right now.

Emma: You want to buy me a drink?

August: Yes.

Emma: Okay. A drink it is.

(He takes the box from underneath the booth and puts it on the table. He unlocks it and opens it up, revealing a typewriter.)

Emma: Really?

August: I’m a writer.

Emma: That’s why you’re here?

August: I find this place provides…inspiration. Don’t you?

(August closes the box and locks it back up. He gets up from the booth.)

Emma: Wait. Have you been here before?

August: I didn’t say that.

(He goes to leave.)

Emma: What about that drink?

August: I said sometime.

———–

(Mary Margaret and David are still at the cabin.)

MMB: You didn’t know.

David: No.

MMB: And you two aren’t trying?

David: Not as far as I know. Mary Margaret, you have to believe me. I-

(The sound of birds chirping can be heard outside.)

MMB: Shh. The rain stopped. We need to get her out.

David: No, Mary Margaret-

(She picks up the dove’s cage and goes out the door. David follows her.)

David: Mary Margaret, please. Can we at least talk-

MMB: Shh. Listen.

(A cooing noise is heard in the forest. They look up and see several doves flying above them.)

MMB: The flock – it didn’t leave!

David: They must’ve been waiting for the storm to clear.

(Mary Margaret sets the dove’s cage on the ground and lifts the dove out.)

MMB: Okay. Okay, girl. Time to join your friends. You can do it.

(She releases the dove and it flies off to join its flock. David reaches for Mary Margaret’s hand.)

MMB: No, David. It’s too painful.

David: It doesn’t have to be. We don’t know if Kathryn’s pregnant.

MMB: It doesn’t matter. You chose her.

David: I know, but I still have feelings for you.

MMB: You can’t have both.

David: But I do have both. I know… I know it doesn’t make sense, but it’s like I have these two conflicting lives. Memories of feelings for her and real feelings for you.

MMB: Who’s to say which is real?

David: I can’t get you out of my head.

MMB: I know, me too. But we’re going to have to. We’re just going to have to forget each other.

–[Fairy Tale World]–

(Snow White and King George are in one of the castle’s rooms alone.)

King George: So, you’re the one.

Snow White: I don’t know what-

King George: Enough. I know everything. You poisoned his heart, now his marriage. And with that, the entire kingdom. All because of your feelings.

Snow White: I wish feelings could be helped, but they can’t.

King George: Of course they can. Love is a disease. And like all diseases, it can be vanquished in one of two ways – a cure or death. Do you know where your beloved is right now? He’s right down that hallway. Packing for his new life.

Snow White: He’ll never know I’m here.

King George: Oh, yes he will. Because you are going to walk down that hallway, Snow White. You’re going to sneak in and tell him you’ve received his letter. You’re going to tell him why you’re here – because you don’t love him. It will break his heart and that will cure him.

Snow White: Or you’ll kill me.

King George: Oh, no. I’ll kill him. Killing you would just make him love you more and the marriage – and the kingdom – would ultimately crumble. But if he were to die at an assassin’s hand, he would die a martyr. Midas would forgive, even laud, the death and the merger would be complete.

Snow White: You would do that to your own son?

King George: He is not my son.

———–

(Snow White opens the door to Prince Charming’s chamber. She sees him packing. She shuts the door to get his attention.)

Snow White: James.

Prince Charming: Snow.

Snow White: I got your letter.

Prince Charming: You came. You came!

(He rushes toward Snow White and picks her up in a hug.)

Prince Charming: You came. You came.

(He leans in for a kiss, but she backs away.)

Snow White: Wait, James. Us? It can’t happen.

Prince Charming: Wh-What’s wrong? Of course it can. You’re here. We can go. We can be together. We can leave all this. I know there are costs, but I’ve planned for everything. They can’t hurt us. And now that I know that you love me too-

Snow White: I don’t.

Prince Charming: What?

Snow White: Love you. I don’t. I’m sorry. You said I would always be in your heart and… That is too cruel a fate. Go live your life. Live it without me – because there is no place for us together – and fill your heart with love for someone else. Someone who can love you the way I never have – the way I never will.

(She gives him back his letter and walks away trying to hold back tears.)

–[Real World]–

(David is getting dressed in his bedroom. Kathryn walks in and sits on the bed.)

David: Anything you want to tell me?

Kathryn: What do you mean?

David: Something’s up, isn’t it? What?

Kathryn: I feel like ever since you’ve come home, you’re here, but you’re not ‘here’. I know you say you’re trying and I know you’ve been through a lot, but-

David: No, no. Kathryn, look-

Kathryn: No, David. Please – just let me finish. I know it’s been hard on you, but it’s also been hard on me. I want a family with you someday. I want children. I’ll be honest – I thought I was pregnant. And when the test came back negative, at first I was upset. But then, I was relieved. We’re not ready. If I was pregnant now, it would be a disaster.

David: Yeah.

Kathryn: But I want to fix this. I want to fix us.

David: Me too.

Kathryn: Do you? Well then, let’s go see Dr. Hopper. Let’s get some help. Will you do that? Will you give us our best shot?

David: Yeah. Look, you and I… I know we’re sup- I know we should be in love. And I want to make that work.

Kathryn: It’s seven ten. We should get going if you want your coffee before work.

David: No. Why don’t we go downstairs and have some breakfast instead? Hm?

Kathryn: Okay.

David: Alright.

(He kisses her on the cheek.)

–[Fairy Tale World]–

(Snow White is walking through the forest outside of King George’s castle. She runs into Grumpy, along with several other dwarves.)

Grumpy: You okay, sister?

Snow White: Not even close.

Grumpy: You didn’t find him?

Snow White: Worse – I lost him.

Grumpy: Come on.

Snow White: Where are you taking me?

Grumpy: Home. We all lost someone today.

Doc: Now, we’re seven.

Grumpy: I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. So you’re coming home with us, Snow, and we’re going to protect you.

Snow White: The only thing that needed protecting is destroyed – my heart.

Grumpy: It will get better.

Snow White: Yes.

(Snow White pulls out the potion vial that Rumpelstiltskin gave her.)

Snow White: Yes, it will. This will take all of my feelings – all of my pain – and destroy them.

Grumpy: No.

Snow White: But why? You, of all people, should understand. You’ve lost love. What if your pain could be erased?

Grumpy: I don’t want my pain erased. As wretched as it is, I need my pain. It makes me who I am. It makes me Grumpy. Look around, Snow. You’re not alone anymore. I promise you that’s all the cure you need. If the pain’s too much, you can always drink it. But for today, put it away.

Snow White: Okay.

–[Real World]–

(Emma and Mary Margaret are sitting at the kitchen table at Mary Margaret’s apartment. Emma is eating breakfast and Mary Margaret is staring at the clock. The clock reads seven fifteen. Emma reaches over and squeezes Mary Margaret’s hand.)

–[Fairy Tale World]–

(Prince Charming is riding through the woods on horseback until he reaches a clearing with a cabin.)

Prince Charming: Come on, come on. Snow! Snow White! Snow! Are you there?

(Red Riding Hood emerges from the field next to the clearing.)

Red: She’s gone. She never came back after she went to find you.

Prince Charming: Then I’ll find her. I will always find her.

———–

(Grumpy runs into the dwarves’ home.)

Grumpy: Where’s Snow? Where is she?

(Doc points to the next room.)

Grumpy: Snow! Snow! The royal wedding! The kingdom’s abuzz. It’s off, Snow. He left her. James left Abigail. Did you hear me? Your Prince Charming isn’t getting married.

Snow White: Who?

(The empty potion vial is on a table next to her.)

–[Real World]–

(Mary Margaret is at Granny’s Diner, where Ruby serves her a coffee at the counter.)

MMB: Thanks, Ruby.

(David enters the diner. He’s stunned for a moment, due to seeing Mary Margaret there, and then quickly exits. Mary Margaret follows him outside.)

MMB: What are you doing here?

David: It’s seven forty-five.

MMB: I know!

David: Well, I’m trying not to see you.

MMB: Well, I am trying not to see you.

David: Well, how do we stop seeing each other?

MMB: Apparently, we can’t.

David: This is a problem.

MMB: Yes.

David: She’s not pregnant.

(They kiss. Regina, who is parked across the street, sees them.)

–[End]–