voice// un: L.Mills

[thestoriesarereal]

[If everyone knew or not, Lucy feels like she has to say it. In case some of Emma's friends didn't know, they should. she has cried a lot over this, and while it does get a bit easier each day...she does miss her grandma a lot. She misses her family a whole lot, but one thing at a time. When she turns on the feed, it's just her voice. Not as chipper as she was before, more somber and softer.]

If anyone was friends with Emma Swan, I'm sorry to say...she's gone back to her home world.

[Which, thinking about it, would either dropped her off at Storybrooke or the Enchanted Forest, but that's not the main point.]

She would've said goodbye if she had the chance, so please don't hold that against her.

[Done. At least people know now....and hopefully she did the right thing.]

Comments

[thestoriesarereal]

Oh. [ She didn’t know he knew Doctor Hopper—then again, small town where everyone knew of everyone else. Same with August. Learning more about them might lift her spirits a little.

But something different...something else. ]

Maybe not an animal but....an item. Operation Glass Slupper?

[jolting]

For your mother. All right, that will be the code. And only those who know it can come in our house. Agreed?

[thestoriesarereal]

[ Lucy thinks it over for a moment, okay with the concept but...they need something just in case. ]

But what if they over heard the code word? Like you did with August. Can we have a back up one? Just in case?

[ Not pessimistic, but cautious. Wasn’t that what most adults want for their kids? Be happy and cautious? ]

[jolting]

Ask them what it means. They’ll have to know it’s your mother, not just referencing Cinderella.

[thestoriesarereal]

That’ll work....

Okay. I’ll agree to it.

[ So code words and explanations have been set in place. She feels a little bit better. ]

[jolting]

I know a lot changed for you very quickly, but if you bear with me, we’ll get through it.

[thestoriesarereal]

[ A slow nod of her head.]

Do things have to keep changing?

[ Moving, she understands. Jim on the other hand....she kind of gets that to, but still doesn’t like it too much. ]

[jolting]

That's the whole point of life, Lucy. If things didn't change, you'd never see a butterfly or flowers growing. Or you can think of it this way: if there was no change, we would all still be under that first curse, because there was no change in Storybrooke before then.

[he gets down on her level] Not all change is good, but you can't pick and choose, Lucy. You have to take it all. Believe me, this change scares me, too. I haven't cared for someone at quite this level since my brother, and James... I've never had something like that before. It's new and unfamiliar, but it's also exciting and amazing.

I know a man who once said, "We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." Try this new thing with me, Lucy, and let's see where it leads us.

[thestoriesarereal]

[ Lucy makes eye contact with Victor,listening to his words and trying to take them to heart. He was right. Change moved them forward. Change wasn’t always bad—in this case it was, but things could get better. Things could also get worse but...they could try. He had a point—without change, the first curse would still be in effect. Her parents wouldn’t have gotten together and she wouldn’t have met so many people.

She starts to break eye contact, looking away and started to play with the hem of her shirt. Thinking things over and trying to place her trust and faith in Victor.]

I can try. It’s hard—difficult and painful right now with Emma gone...but I can try. I just...

[ She looks up at him again. ]

I don’t want to be taken away from you. Like the curse did with everyone and with my dad. I don’t want to lose you.

[jolting]

[he lets her think through it without interruption. When she voices her concerns, his expression turns serious]

Lucy, I promise you that as much as it is within my power, I won't let anyone or anything take you away from me.

[thestoriesarereal]

[Lucy weighs Victor's words, staring back at him with uncertainty in her brown eyes. She has to be strong, she has to be brave...that's what her parents would've wanted.]

I believe you.

[she moves in to hug him tightly, sealing the promise he just made.]

[jolting]

That means a lot to me, Lucy. Thank you.

[seriously, having people who believe in him is a big deal. He will hold her for as long as she wants, and will take care of her as long as he can]

[thestoriesarereal]

[Lucy continues to hold Victor for a little while longer before pulling back to give him a weak smile.]

Welcome. It means a lot that you're not sending me away.

[jolting]

[his return smile is a little sad. He hates that the thought even crossed her mind. True Victor was reluctant, but only because he has no idea how to parent. It's a different thing than being a child's doctor]

I'm afraid you're stuck with me, kid.

[thestoriesarereal]

It’s what I want. I want to stay with you.

[She would’ve asked Jefferson, but that’s about it. She was still unsure of Jim, if he would be replacing her, in a sense and if Victor would barely see her because he wanted to spend more time with Jim.

But, they’ll cross that bridge later, right now she wanted to stay by Victor’s side and spend time with her not!dad. ]

[jolting]

[well, Victor won't lie to her or pretend he doesn't want to spend time with Jim or see him a lot, but he'll be sure she knows she won't be replaced. He just wishes he knew how to do this better. But then, isn't that the wish of just about every parent in the world?]

Then I'd better get started on dinner. See if you can find a good story for us to read together.

[thestoriesarereal]

[It is the wish of every parent to do something better, or to have a manual on parenting, but life doesn't work like that.]

Can I help with dinner? Please?

[She doesn't want to leave his side, he just got home. ]

[jolting]

[a manual would be so nice, sobs]

Of course you can help. Wash your hands first and I'll get out what we need. I was thinking we could make spaghetti and meatballs, so you'll need to help me form the meat into balls.

[thestoriesarereal]

[And nod of her head. Maybe they should visit the library again to borrow more books.]

Are we making the noodles too?

[She leaves quickly to go wash her hands and then comes right back to him.]

[jolting]

That can be a project on my next day off, since making homemade noodles takes a few hours. We'll just cook the noodles I bought at the market this time.

Now we're going to have a bit of salt and pepper for the meatballs, but what other kind of spices do you think would be good?

[thestoriesarereal]

I thought it didn't take too long. Those cooking shows never made it seem that way.

[Then again, Lucy hadn't paid too closely to how much time was needed to let the dough rise, or cook or bake or whatever it needed to do before it became noodles.

They were settling into something that was normal and familiar to her. Doing things together, Victor asking questions to get her mind going and to think about what the next step should be. She enjoyed spending time like this, where he gave her responsibilities, and structure.]

Maybe oregano? I can't remember if that's more of a spice than an herb..or rosemary?

[jolting]

[it's all about experimenting and testing to see what goes well. Even if these meatballs don't taste right in the end, it's something they created together and they can learn what didn't work to make them better next time. Victor smiles and nods, taking down both herbs]

They're herbs and you're correct, both are good to use with meatballs. Sprinkle some of both on this cutting board. We're going to roll the meatballs here. It's okay if the meatballs are different sizes.

[he tries to let her do as much as possible, mainly acting as supervisor]

[thestoriesarereal]

[Experimenting and cooking, all rolled into one. At least if it doesn't taste good, they will have fun learning what not to do next time. Or, try to have fun. It's hard for Lucy since she's still processing what happened to Emma. She'll get through it, she's a tough kid.]

Okay. [She reaches for the herbs, carefully pouring out a little into her palm so she could sprinkle it on the cutting board, trying to make sure it's an even layer of oregano and basil.]

They can't be too big though...right? Won't it take longer to cook?

[When something's smaller, it'll cook faster, but bigger takes more time.]

[jolting]

Very good, Lucy. That's right.

[he knows that she's still having a hard time, but he's hoping that focusing on making food will help her a little bit. At least, focusing on a task has always helped him get through stuff.

He shapes some meat into a ball to show her an example of what size they're going for]

We can make some extra to give to your friends if you want. I bet they'll be impressed when you tell them you made it yourself.

[thestoriesarereal]

[Lucy pays attention to what Victor's doing, and pushes up the sleeves of her shirt before attempting to do the same.

....ground beef feels weird. Like....squishy, but it's also weird knowing that it's muscle.]

I don't think they'd want any. [And she's slowly making friends with the kids in her class. Slowly.

Really, she'd much rather play with Nico and the other gods.]

Are we making the pasta sauce too?