Once Upon a Time 1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **So this idea came to me when I was trying to go on a peaceful walk and I had to run home and write it out. I'm thinking it will be a short story, like maybe 5 chapters, but I could make it into more. I haven't decided! I'm going to decide how much I'll develop the story based on the response it gets. So please please leave reviews and let me know what you're thinking!

* * *

"What do you think Emma? Do you like it?" Snow stood in front of an average size light brown paneled house. It was obviously much nicer and bigger than any apartment they had stayed in.

"Yes," Emma said, her hand in her moms. "Are we gonna iive here?"

"I think so," Snow breathed, taking it in. She was by no means wealthy on an elementary teachers salary, but she was making enough to make mortgage on a house. She had been saving every penny she could for four years. Now that she finished her last classes, her job and income was officially stable enough to afford it. She really wanted Emma to grow up in a house, not a tiny two-bedroom apartment with teenagers and college students as their neighbors all around. She wanted something permanent.

"Should we take a look inside?" The realtor suggested, gesturing towards the front door. With Emma in tow, Snow followed the woman through the entrance way. Right in front of her was a wooden staircase, to the right was an empty open dining room area, and to the left was some type of tv room with glass doors. She already loved it. Emma had broken free and ran down the hallway to the kitchen area. It was a large area with an island and space for a kitchen table. Immediately Snow could picture Emma growing up here. She could see long talks at the island with her, therapeutic baking sessions in the middle of the night, or making four dozen cupcakes in one night when Emma forgot to tell her she needed them for school the next day. To the side of the kitchen was a large space for a living room.

"What do ya think?" The realtor said, kneeling down to Emma's eye level, who was taking in the kitchen.

Emma shied away and looked to her mom before responding. "I ike it," she admits.

"I'm glad to hear it," the realtor smiled. "Would you like to look at upstairs?"

Emma nodded, excited at the idea. "Go ahead," Snow told her daughter. "I'll follow you up." This was all Emma needed to take off up the staircase.

"So what are you thinking?"

"I like it a lot," Snow admitted. "It's a little over my price range."

"What were you thinking?"

"If you could get it down five thousand, I'll sign today." The realtors eyes lit up at the words sign today.

"Okay..." she said, the gears in her mind moving, "okay, let me crunch some numbers. Meanwhile, why don't you check out the upstairs with your daughter? I might have to call my boss and see what we can do."

"Great. Thank you so much." Snow said and moved towards the staircase. She found Emma in the bedroom in the corner. It had an octagonal shape bay window with a bench attached to it. There was a walk-in closet and a bathroom connected to the room.

"What are you thinking?" Snow asked, coming up behind Emma. Emma jumped, obviously not realizing her mom had come up. Her eyes were animated looking around the room.

"Can this be my woom?" Emma asked. Snow knew it wasn't for sure that they would live here, that she should tell Emma to wait until it's official, but somehow she knew this is where they were going to end up. She opened her mouth to tell Emma that it was the perfect room for her.

"Ahh, I see you found the Princess room." The realtor said, coming up behind her. "It's fit only for real princesses." Snow's breath caught in her throat for a moment before seeing Emma happily dancing around the empty room, the realtor laughing. It didn't mean anything. "I had to call my boss," she continued, facing Snow. "I'm sorry. There's no way we can get it down five grand. But the seller is willing to lower it 3800."

Snow looked at Emma, still dancing to whatever beat was in her own little mind, before responding. "Where do I sign?"

* * *

"Are you ready?"

"Uh-huh."

"Do you have your new sneakers?" Emma nodded. "Your sweater in case the classrooms get cold?" Another satisfied nod. "Your new backpack?" At this Emma looked taken off guard. She ran up the stairs to her room to get her new backpack. It was a penguin with a face on the front, the front pouch at the bottom being an orange beak. Emma had picked it out excitedly. When she put it on, it looked bigger than her. She ran to her mom waiting by the front door.

"Well then, let's go! Did you put your plate in the sink?"

"Uh-huh."

On the way, Snow tried to prepare Emma as best she could. Really, she had to prepare herself. Emma was in daycare while Snow was working, but the idea of Emma being in a real classroom was overwhelming. She was growing up too fast.

"Mumma?" Emma said, breaking Snow's train of thought.

"Yes?"

"When do I get to take the bus?" Snow laughed, looking at her daughter in her booster seat, staring enviously through the window.

"Well, first-graders take the bus, so that means that will be you on that bus next year."

"For real?"

"Well, do you trust me?"

"What's trust mean?" Emma asked curiously.

Snow smiled and looked in the rearview mirror. "It means that you always know how much I love you, and that you know I'll always put you before anyone else when I have to make hard choices."

"Of course I know that, Mumma!"

"Good. Because I wouldn't lie to you," Snow promised. "Next year, I'm going to be waving bye to you on that bus! Do you know how old you'll be?"

"Five!"

"Well, yes, you're five now sweetie. But do you know how old you'll be on your next birthday?"

Emma thought about it for a minute. "Four!"

"You were four, then you turned five." Snow explained, "do you remember what comes after five?"

"Six?"

"Yes! Very good, Emma! You're so smart!" Snow responded to her daughter as if the word six was the answer to all the world's problems. She couldn't help it, her daughter being so smart made her swell with pride. She only wished she could share the privilege of watching Emma grow up with her husband.

* * *

"Hey James, how ya doing today?"

"Hey Ry, same as usual," he replied, picking up a clipboard with the schedule for the day. "You?"

"Same old, same old," Ryan said, brushing a golden lab's fur coat. James had been working at the animal shelter grooming, dogs mostly, for almost five years now, when he ended up in this world totally lost. He was looking for a quick job, and he ended up really enjoying it. He wasn't living like a king with the money, but he was surviving. Ryan had been here since he started, and they were about the same age. They had always gotten along, although James sometimes felt a little more mature. "Hey, you know Meg's friend Imogen? She really wants to meet you. She won't stop asking. What do you say? Tonight? We could all go out."

"I told you, Ry. I'm not interested."

"Come on, man. When's the last time you got some?"

"None of your business." James said brusquely.

"Look, I know you're on the whole I-have-a-wife-and-I'm-hell-bent-on-finding-her kick still but-"

"It's not a kick. I have a wife, and I will never stop looking for her."

"Look, James," Ryan sighed. "I'm worried about you. I don't know what happened to your wife, but it's been five years. She's gone. Was there an accident? Was she hurt? Maybe this is how you handle the trauma. But I think it would really do you good to get out there a little. It doesn't have to mean anything. We can all just go as a group of friends."

James looked at his friend hopelessly. There was nothing he wanted to do less. But he knew his friend was sincerely concerned, and he didn't want to make it a weird work environment.

"Okay," he sighed. "As friends. And then you leave me alone."

"Of course buddy," Ryan said, giving James a slap on the back.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hey guys thanks for the reviews/follows/favs! I really appreciate you giving the story a chance! Special shoutout to Princess Pinky- I woke up to your review and it got me so motivated I was writing all day. (even moments I really shouldn't have been! Heh) I still haven't planned an exact ending, which means the length of the story is still undetermined. I'm thinking I'm just going to go chapter by chapter and continuing posting based on the response it gets. Thanks again! I was smilin' all day :)

This is not really my fav chapter, but it explains some important things so ya.

* * *

_Heavily pregnant, Snow didn't waste any time after landing on the side of the road. On the other side was forest. She was freezing, though, and she could see buildings lining the other side of the road with tons of people. She thought it was a better chance. She wondered if her shivers came from her lack of proper attire or the feeling of being completely alone. She figured it was a combination of both. Instinctively, she put her hand over her stomach. She wasn't alone at all._

_She had been strong throughout this whole experience. She didn't have time to fall apart just yet. She couldn't think about leaving her husband, the last kiss, how she looked in his eyes the last moments before he closed the wardrobe. No, she had no time to think of that just yet. This was her first task as Emma's mother, alone, to find a place to settle in. She had no idea how currency worked here, how exchanges worked, who was in charge... was there even a King and Queen? Snow wondered if she knew of them._

_She didn't know anyone, which meant she should be wary to trust anyone. She wondered if she could make it without any help. She supposed not. She had a gold necklace. If she had to guess, it would be worth a lot in any realm. She wasn't ready to part with it yet though, for the gift from Charming and his mothers ring were her last reminders of her life with him. She would do what she had to for Emma, though._

"_Hey, lady!" The voice startled Snow as she walking. It was a woman calling out of a window. She was in some type of moving machine with wheels._

"_Me?" Snow tried to hide her wariness, for it showed weakness. The woman had half of her head shaved and drawings all over her skin._

"_Yeah... are you alright?"_

"_Alright? Yes... I'm..."_

"_Lost?"_

"_I don't know," Snow admitted. She didn't want to say yes, but this felt enough like a confession._

"_Do you have a place to go? I can give you a ride."_

"_Oh, that is very kind. But I do not wish to burden you."_

"_Look, lady, you look about to pop that baby out any second. If you're running away from an asshole boyfriend, I totally understand, I won't ask any questions. I've been there. I know a guy that can help you start over completely... new birth certificate, license, social, everything..." She said then noticed Snow's hesitation. "If anything, do it for the kid." The woman said, nodding towards Snow's stomach. Snow watched her stick something white in her mouth and light it on fire. The idea of going with this woman was frightening, but her feet burned, and this lady seemed to think she could give Snow a whole new start in the world. Isn't that exactly what she needed? She had no idea what these things meant, but the lady made it seem pretty important to surviving here. And Snow guessed it wasn't the easiest thing in the world to get._

_Snow nodded and walked over the machine with wheels. The woman nodded towards the seat next to her to motion her to go on the other side. The inside of the contraption was incredibly fascinating. It had warm air blowing out of it. Snow lifted her hands in front of them and let the heat warm her up. The air, even warm, felt good blowing on Snow's long, sticky hair from walking._

"_Shit. You act like you've never seen a car before," the woman laughed, the white stick hanging out of her mouth._

_Snow smiled in response. "This is very nice of you to do."_

_The woman shrugged off her compliment. "You keeping the kid?"_

"_Yes," Snow said quietly. The thought of giving up Emma was unfathomable. She wanted the best life for Emma, but she knew it was with her. No matter what. Even if they had to live off the woods._

"_What are you plans then?"_

_Snow looked at the woman, who was looking at her curiously. She was in the car with this stranger. She put her and Emma's life in her hands. There was truly no point in lying now._

"_I don't have any plans. I don't even have a name."_

"_You don't have a name?" The woman said, amused and intrigued at the same time._

"_Not one I can use anymore," Snow confessed._

"_Well, we can fix that easily," she assured her, her tone becoming more understanding. Snow guessed she could relate. "Just pick a new one."_

"_It's that easy?" _

"_It can be," the woman grinned. "It's how I became Harmony."_

* * *

"Mary Margaret! Do you have a minute?" Snow looked up from locking her classroom door to the principal waving her down the hallway.

"Sure," Snow said surprised. "I'm just on my way to pick up Emma."

"Aw, lovely. She'll be attending here next year for first grade?"

"Of course," Snow said, giving a tight-lipped smile. Something about the slender, blonde woman made her feel uneasy. Maybe she was just too underhandedly peppy.

"Great! We can't wait to have her," principal Harris smiled and put her hand on Snow's arm. "Listen, I know you just finished your classes a few months ago and are still settling in. On behalf of everyone here at Laurel Street Primary School, we're all so proud and honored to have you as an official member of our faculty. Trust me, we _all_ know you were really busy before," she laughed ironically, "since the school was paying for your classes. But the administration was hoping you'd get more involved in school activities now. It really helps with school spirit, of course."

"Of course," Snow gritted. "I was just enjoying having more free time with Emma actually. And since she'll be here next year, I'm sure I'll be much more involved."

"Oh I totally understand! However, we can't show favoritism just because Emma is your daughter, but you knew that. How about we start off small? I know it's last minute, but there's a bake sale tomorrow and it would be _so_ helpful if you could bring in two dozen brownies. And maybe sell them for an hour or two after school."

"I would love to help, but I pick up Emma right after school. Her teachers are probably wondering where I am right now actually..." Snow trailed off.

"Of course. Well... we'll talk soon." Snow nodded and turned around to finally leave. "Maybe you could just drop off the brownies first period then?"

Snow turned back around and smiled to assure her boss she most definitely would. At least when she was juggling school, she could study with Emma around. Harmony had set Snow up to take her GED and told her it was important if she wanted to do anything. Luckily, Snow passed on her first try after memorizing the study book from the library. She stayed with Harmony for five months, only paying her back for the new identity, while she saved up money working at a food shop called McDonald's. When she finally could afford a studio apartment, she hugged Harmony goodbye and never saw her again. She still thought about her sometimes, wondered how she was doing. She started college on her own at a community college, taking online classes while working at McDonalds. With any free time she did have, she took Emma to the library. It was her favorite place, and Emma had grown to show quite an affection for it as well. It was just a building of books, not attached to any castle. When she got her job as a teacher, she still had another year of undergraduate but they told her she had two years to get her masters. That was two years in itself. So she had to take classes towards her masters as she completed her undergraduate education. Snow had learnt so much in this world. She was amazing at budgeting money and time. She was highly educated, she knew that. For the past five years, she had been so exhausted almost every night, she was passed out before her head even hit the pillow. Still there were the nights she couldn't seem to escape, when her body ached from something much worse than exhaustion: longing. She longed for her husband, her castle, the life Emma was meant to have.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Here's a little David background/explanation and a little fun in the present day, if ya catch the drift of whats happenin;) Thanks for all your reviews and follows and favs and just everything! I can't tell you how much I love the reviews when you guys explain everything you're thinking, your concerns, all that stuff. It makes the story better! Even if I don't change the actual plot line, when you guys point something out, like the education difference, it will definitely add a different dynamic to their relationship!

* * *

"Hey, James, you ready?" Ryan called through the office door. David was closing up the pens for the night. He really didn't leaving the animals alone and locked up. It seemed cruel to him. They were meant to be wild and free.

"No," David muttered to himself.

"Huh?"

"I said yep. Are we just gonna go from here?"

"Like that?" Ryan questioned.

"What's wrong with my outfit?" David mocked, then added his point. "I'm not trying to impress anyone."

"Of course not," Ryan rolled his eyes. "Let's just go in my car. Do you mind if I stop at the grocery store? It's on the way and I figured I could just pick up some flowers."

"Okay. Meg will be happy."

"Yep," Ryan said distracted. They drove in silence, David not knowing what to say. All he could picture was Snow's face, the tears on her cheeks as he closed the wardrobe. Five years. He wondered what Emma would look like now. Would she have blonde hair like him? Or curly, raven colored hair like her mom? Blue or green eyes? Would she be timid and reserved like David had been growing up, or fierce and confident like Snow? Ryan's voice broke him out of his daydream. "Do you mind running in for me real quick?" He asked, putting a twenty in his hand. David sighed and opened the passenger door to the truck. "Get something for Imogen!" Ryan called. David pretended he didn't hear as he was closing the door.

* * *

_It was dark, and cold, and really loud. Where am I? Did I make it through? Impossible, David thought. There was only enough magic for one. But I'm here. Is this where Snow ended up? Could there have been strong enough residue magic?_

_After he had closed the door, he opened it within moments, his body erupting in sobs. He was going to confess it was a mistake, it was all a mistake. He couldn't survive without Snow and their daughter. But when he opened the door, Snow was already gone. Full of despair, David climbed in the wardrobe where Snow was just moments ago, desperate for any connection to her. Wishing, begging, take me with you. I'm right behind you, Snow. Wait for me. He had never expected it to work. He was ready to die in the wardrobe when Regina's knights found him. But he had woke up on the side of the road._

_It couldn't have been long ago. David looked around. There was a forest on one side and a road with several modern looking carriages. He knew where he chose to go was important, as this was his only chance to find Snow, or she might be lost forever. She could end up anywhere if he didn't find her now. David decided his best bet was to explore the forest. He couldn't imagine Snow walking across such a busy road alone. She had to be in the forest. It's what she knew. So he took off to find someone he was traveling farther and farther away from._

_Finally, after hours of searching, David collapsed on a tree stump, his head in his hands. Despite his best efforts, tears started falling from his eyes. He couldn't cry, he couldn't admit he had failed in finding her. But his body would not listen, and tears fell until sleep followed._

_He woke up with his legs halfway in a bush. He didn't recognize his surroundings until the memories came crashing into him, like a bike with broken brakes on a big hill. He tried to imagine where Snow could be, but he had no images of this place. He could only see Snow in her white gown, Emma making her presence known in the swelling of Snow's stomach, standing by the window of Emma's nursery and talking to the birds._

_For a moment he considered staying in the woods, hoping Snow would come back for him. But of course, she wouldn't. She didn't know there was anyone to come back to. David made the decision to walk back to where he first landed, towards the busy street. He figured it was his best chance at this point. He walked and walked, aimlessly, forgetting his purpose. Though there was daylight still, he could see the sun had shifted in the sky. Which meant he had spent almost an entire day walking. When he passed a building that said 'Shelter' in big letters, he decided it was his only option. It did say shelter, after all. _

"_Uuuh... can I help you?" A boy with mousy brown hair asked as David walked in._

"_Yes... this is a shelter? Can anyone stay here?"_

"_Dude, like people? No... this is an animal shelter. It's what that big paw print next to the shelter sign means."_

"_An animal shelter? But animals live in the wild."_

"_Dude... what's your name? Do you need help? You're kind of weird."_

_David did not know why he answered with James. For some reason without Snow, his identity felt sacred. Especially in a world he did not trust._

"_Cool James. I'm Ryan. Do you have a place to stay tonight?"_

"_No, I- I just got here. I have nothing."_

"_Like an illegal immigrant?" Ryan asked. "But you speak English. Where are you from? Like Canada?"_

"_Uh... yes. Canada. I'm afraid I have nothing but the clothes on my back."_

"_Whoa... well... Hey, I'm locking up tonight and opening tomorrow. You can stay here tonight in the office. There's a cot in the closet. It's not the most comfortable arrangement, but it's something. I can take you to my gym tomorrow before work and you can use their showers."_

_David didn't know what to say. "Thank you... Ryan," he nodded. It seemed like a safe response. He didn't really process what he was saying yet._

_Ryan shrugged. "I've never helped an illegal immigrant before. What are you gonna do? I mean like get a job, go to school, or what?"_

"_School? I completed my lessons."_

"_Oh man, so you're a graduate," Ryan interpreted. "Hey, what about working here? We would start you off with the gross stuff probably, cleaning at the end of the day and stuff, but it's something. I could definitely get you in considering we're hiring right now and the boss is my father. Are you interested?"_

_The boy with mousy brown hair looked about David's age but he spoke fast and it made him seem much younger. David thought about finding Snow. He already knew from the few shops he had been in while walking today that if he was going to accomplish anything here, he was going to need money to do it._

"_I am interested. Thank you very much, sir."_

"_Sir? Bro, you sound like you just got off the boat from like England," Ryan laughed, and David slightly panicked. It didn't sound familiar but he couldn't remember for sure if that's where he said he was from. "You're from Canada, right?" Ryan continued._

"_Uh, yes. Canada." David said, the name ringing a bell. He made a mental note to write it down._

"_Cool. Don't worry. We can set it all up under the table and stuff."_

_David wondered why they would have to do it under the table as opposed to over it, but the look on Ryan's face made him feel like he was doing him a favor by saying that. David tried to give him a grateful look. He wasn't sure if he was convincing or not. _

* * *

"Hi baby girl, how was your day?"

"Good," Emma replied absentmindedly as she got in the car.

"Good," Snow smiled and then noticed the paper Emma was gripping for dear life.

"What's that?"

"I made you a picture," Emma said sheepishly.

"Well lemme see it, then!" Snow said, sitting in the parked car. It was a picture of two stick figures holding hands, one had dark hair, the smaller one with yellow lines drawn for hair. There was a third stick figure, with brown hair, standing to the side of the picture. The figure had shorter hair and was disconnected from Snow and Emma. Snow knew immediately her daughter and tried to include her father. The top of the page said "I love my mom and dad because..." and Emma had filled in the line at the bottom with "she taks car av me" in all capitals. Snow swallowed, feeling like her heart was sitting in her throat. The idea didn't escape her that Emma was probably trying to think of a reason to write why she loves her father, but she had never known him. She didn't want to picture Emma sitting in class trying to imagine what it would be like if her father was here.

"I love it, Em. It's absolutely beautiful." Emma beamed, looking visibly relieved at her moms reaction. "Hey, do you think you could help me tonight? I have to make a lot of brownies, and I really could use an assistant. I think there might even be some left over brownie mix needing to be licked off a spoon as well."

"Really?"

"If you want to," Snow smiled. She stopped there because she didn't want to mention the fact that she would drive to the end of the world if Emma had said she wanted to do that right now. She figured it was more information than necessary for a five year old. "Let's stop at the grocery story then and get the ingredients we need."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **I don't have much to say here, but I wanted to say thank you again. The reviews get me so excited to keep this story going! I really hope you like this chapter. Oh, I did want to tell you guys not to worry about Snowing! True love is true love, ya know;)

* * *

Snow held a small basket of two brownie mixes and sprinkles for frosting on one of her arms, her other hand taken by Emma's small one.

"I can't remember if we have enough eggs," Snow said absentmindedly to her daughter.

"Can we get this?!" Emma said, pulling away from her Snow's hand and pulling a red, blue, and green bottle off a shelf and continued to walk by her mom. Snow narrowed her eyes to look at what Emma picked up, and her eyes widened in surprise. It was a bottle and the top was the shape of some type of cartoon based off Ariel. She could actually see the resemblance.

"Emma, do you know what this? It's just a bubble bath. It's not even a toy."

"I know," Emma said defensively, even though she didn't. "It's Erry-elle!"

"You really want it?" Snow sighed.

"Yes!"

"Okay, but that's it then. And you actually have to use it if I buy it, okay?"

"Yes!"

Snow smiled at Emma's excited response. Emma had no idea how much power she had in her own happiness. "Let's get eggs and get going to make those brownies," Snow said putting the bottle with Ariel on it in the basket she was holding. "So you like Ariel?" Snow asked curiously.

"Uh-huh."

"Is she your favorite princess?" Snow couldn't help herself.

"Of course not, Mumma," Emma said, looking at Snow like she was an idiot for asking. For a moment Snow's breath caught. There's no way she could know. She's only five. But she is the Savior... Could she have just been born knowing? "Belle's my fay-der-ite."

Snow didn't know if she should be amused or offended, but she couldn't hold in a laugh. "Really? Why's that?"

"I dunno," Emma admitted.

"Well, Belle is quite lovely. I think you made an excellent choice," Snow said honestly. Emma looked satisfied at her mother's approval as they rounded the corner to the dairy section. Snow was debating if she should just get milk while they were here when it happened.

She could faintly hear Emma's voice in the background asking if she was okay, and she wasn't sure if she responded. She thought she heard her own voice reassuring Emma, but she couldn't be sure. It was like someone had come up behind her and knocked her head with a hammer. It felt like all the blood was rushing away from her head and limbs. She felt paralyzed. She was afraid to touch anything, because she was sure there was an electrical charge on her fingertips.

Standing just feet away from her at the end of the aisle, where the floral department was, was David. Or a hallucination of him. Or a look-alike. He was facing away from her, so she couldn't see his face. Why did she feel so strongly? There were plenty of blondes with his body structure. Somehow this one had made her feel like David was here. It was her mind playing tricks on her. There was no possible way David was here, that he could end up at the same grocery store as her and Emma five years later. It just wasn't possible. She had been missing him more because Emma had started school, so she was seeing what she wanted to. The more she convinced herself it wasn't real, the more she came back to reality. She exhaled the breath she had been holding in, feeling foolish. Emma was holding her hand more tightly, and looking up at her visibly scared.

"Let's go, Em. It's getting late." Snow said, reassuring her daughter with a smile. Emma accepted this, glad her mom was acting normal again. She rushed past the blonde man still facing the counter of the floral department. He was buying flowers. Obviously for a loved one. Probably a wife. There was no way it could be David. Was she hallucinating this whole thing? She considered asking Emma if she could see the man at the floral counter, now behind them, but decided against it, thinking it might scare her more.

"Mumma? Are we still making the brownies?" Emma asked as Snow thanked the cashier and picked up the two bags of groceries.

"Of course, Emma. Why wouldn't we?" In response, Emma just shrugged and followed her mom towards the door. She was still worried about her mom from earlier.

David heard the name Emma before he recognized the voice. It couldn't be his Emma. But the more the name rang through his head, the more it sounded like Snow's voice. Without a second thought, he dropped the flowers he had just paid for and ran through the register line to the exit door. The parking lot was empty of pedestrians, except for Ryan sitting in his truck out front on his phone. His eyes scanned the empty cars desperately. Finally he saw a medium sized sedan moving in reverse and driving away. And then he saw her. Snow White. In the back seat, obviously propped up by a booster seat was a blonde little girl. Her hair looked thin and wavy, and she looked like she was daydreaming out the window. Without thinking, he started sprinting towards the moving car. He knew it was futile before he even started. They were already driving away. There was no way Snow would see him. Still he couldn't help himself, he ran.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Ryan called out the window, pulling up next to David in the parking lot. The navy blue sedan was already out of the parking lot and pulled out on to the main road. "Where are the flowers?"

"Ryan, I don't have time... I need you to drive me somewhere, no questions asked."

"Bro, what are you talking about? Did someone give you drugs in there or something?"

"Please Ryan! We're losing them!"

"Losing who?"

"It's my wife! I saw her. Please, just humor me. It's a navy blue sedan, they just pulled out."

"You mean the woman with the blonde little girl?"

"Yes!"

"James, I think something is wrong with you. I'm worried."

"Ryan, _please."_

Ryan looked at his friend. He had never seen him so desperate. Usually James was incredibly polite and formal, never losing his composure. "Get in," Ryan nodded. "We don't have much time or we're gonna lose 'em."

* * *

Snow still a felt little off when she pulled in the garage. She wanted to watch a movie with Emma and lay down on the couch all night, but she had to make these brownies. At least Emma was going to help her.

She walked in and put the grocery bags on the kitchen island.

"Can you run this upstairs to your bathroom while I get all the baking stuff ready?" Snow asked, handing the bottled shaped like her former friend to her daughter. Emma obeyed, running up the stairs two at a time.

She silently cursed herself for getting distracted by that man/hallucination at the grocery store because she had been so eager to leave, she didn't end up getting milk. Now she could see she was going to have to stop there again tomorrow and run in for milk. That was the only problem with a child who had never tried any type of soda, she drank chocolate milk like it was going out of business.

The doorbell rang as Snow was putting a whisk on the counter next to the mixing bowl she pulled out. Emma had just reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Whoz here?" Emma asked. They didn't get many visitors.

"I have no idea," Snow admitted, walking towards the front door.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Wow, thanks for the love guys! I'm sorry I left you guys with such a cliffhanger! But it was a little fun, yes? I tried to get this written and posted as quickly as possible. I was actually considering changing the whole plot but I couldn't. Don't worry though! You will get what you seek. To make up for it, I included a flashback scene inspired by the song that inspired the whole story. Also question- would you guys prefer more of an action story of villians keeping Snowing apart and them dealing with safety/ fighting for lives, or more normal day-to-day mother/daughter stuff with Snow and Emma until Snowing is reunited? Because this story is more casual, I figure I'll just write whatever you guys would rather read. (Note: either way, Charming family will be reunited at the same time. I already have that planned!) Thank you again SO SO much for the reviews/follows/favs! I can't thank you enough! thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you! You guys make me so happy!

* * *

When Charming got into the truck beside Ryan, he ordered himself to calm down. He couldn't find her like this. He had to focus. There would be plenty of time for emotions once he found Snow. And... Emma. He tried to memorize the face of the small girl in the car window, but he hadn't been able to see her head on. It was the first time he had seen his daughter. He wished he could have seen her eyes, but at least now he knew she had blonde hair. He smiled, getting lost in his thoughts. His daughter looked like him.

"Dude... hello? I don't know where to go... we... we lost 'em."

David snapped back to reality. "No... we have to find them. Where's the last place you saw the car?"

"I saw them turn down this street but I have no idea where to go from here," Ryan said, looking around the intersection they were stopped at. It was a residential neighborhood. "Weren't you looking?!"

"They must live here! Somewhere in this neighborhood! We'll just drive down every street until we find the navy blue sedan."

"James... we can't do that..."

"Why not?" David questioned.

"Because it's weird, James! And they probably have a garage anyway so you wouldn't see the car! Get over it, okay? I followed your little game, but you need to let that poor woman be. She'd probably call the police on you if you showed up at her house. You need to get over it." David responded by opening the passenger side door. "James... what are you doing? Dude..."

"I am sorry for placing any burden on you. Thank you for your time, but I need to find my wife."

"James, get in the car."

"Thank you, Ryan." David nodded, pushing the door closed behind him.

"If you don't show up to work tomorrow, you're fired. That's it. I'm serious, James."

David nodded. He understood.

* * *

_Snow rolled over in her bed to face her husband. Her smile erupted like a volcano when she saw he was already awake._

"_Hi," he said quietly, not being able to control himself from mirroring her smile._

"_Hi," she whispered, and put her hand over his face. Everything was finally perfect. No one was going to take away their life anymore. They were going to get married and start their life together. They could start their life. They could start their family, and take back the kingdom. She could wake up to this face every day for the rest of her life._

"_Are you ready for the wedding?" Charming asked._

"_I don't know," Snow teased, biting down on her tongue. "We _are _already married, after all."_

"_True, but it's worth the celebration," Charming said, sitting up. _

"_Stay in bed," Snow offered, lacing her fingers through his, telling him to lay back down. He laid down to give her a kiss before returning to sitting up._

"_I'd love to, Snow, but unfortunately I cannot."_

"_You cannot?"_

"_Nope," he responded, smiling from ear to ear. Snow looked at him suspiciously, raising one eyebrow. "You'll understand later. But for now... I love you."_

_Snow rolled her eyes, but sat up to eye level with him so she could kiss him again before he went left. "I love you too," she breathed into him, pulling away from the kiss._

"_You purposely make it harder for me," Charming accused, leaning in for a longer kiss. _

"_You figured me out," Snow grinned, standing up off the bed so Charming would lean in to empty air. She twirled her white dress as she watched him open his eyes and catch himself. She smiled devilishly when Charming looked at her._

"_You know, I'm changing my mind," he declared._

"_About?"_

"_This," he said, moving to the drawer in the stand next to their bed. He pulled out a small black box. _

"_What is this?" Snow said, moving to sit next to Charming on his side of the bed, where the stand was._

"_A gift."_

"_For what?"_

"_You."_

"_I meant for what reason?"_

"_Maybe I'm just in love with you," David said, handing the box to Snow. She let out a small gasp, seeing the necklace made of solid gold, the pendant carved into the shape of a heart._

"_It's..."_

"_Not as beautiful as you."_

"_Do you have to be so charming?" Snow smiled, shaking her head._

"_I carved it as a necklace," David explained, "so the heart falls on your chest and a piece of me will always be wherever you are."_

"_Charming..." Snow said, her eyes welling up._

"_No matter where I am, my heart will always be wherever you are. You just have to breathe to feel my heart against yours."_

* * *

Snow twiddled the gold heart lying over her chest, a nervous habit she had, when she walked towards the door. She tried to stop doing it countless times, but the familiarity of it brought too much comfort.

"Who is it?" Snow called through the door. She looked out the window to the side of her door and saw familiar blonde hair.

Her jaw opened a little. "How did you find my house?"

"Your teacher file," principal Harris clarified. "I'm sorry to bother you at home. I hope you know I would _never_ do this if it wasn't an emergency."

"Of course," Snow grimaced. "How can I help you?"

"Hi Emma!" Principal Harris said, looking over Snow's shoulder, then turning back to Snow. "I would have just called but I actually happened to be in the neighborhood. There's a fair on Saturday and one of the moms just dropped out of her volunteer booth. I was wondering if you could..."

"Oh, I don't know..."

"Oh please! It's only a three hour shift. I'm sure Emma would have a ball, too."

Snow sighed, defeated. She was thinking of stopping by with Emma anyway. "Sure, why not?"

"Oh, wonderful! You're so dependable!" The blonde woman said, wrapping her arms around Snow's neck.

Snow closed the door as her boss turned away and walked down her front walkway, victorious. How was she supposed to say no when she showed up at her house?

"Oh Em, that woman won't give me a break."

"A break from what?"

"Everything," Snow smiled. "Let's get started on those brownies once and for all." Emma climbed up and kneeled on the stool to peer over the empty bowl on the island. Snow moved behind her and put her blonde hair in a quick ponytail before they started. "Ready?" She asked, moving to the side to see Emma's face. When Emma looked at her, she used her pointer finger to pat Emma's tiny nose. In response, Emma scrunched her face.

"First we empty the boxes in the bowl." Emma declared.

"Oh-Kay!" Snow said as if she was following orders. "What's next?"

"Two eggs." Emma said, relishing in her authority. When she saw the eggs being pulled out of the refrigerator, Snow could see the idea in her eyes before she even asked. "Can I break them?!"

"How about I show you how to do the first one and you do the second one all by yourself?"

Emma decided this was a fair deal.

After they finished and put the brownies in the oven, Emma sat at the island and licked the spoon while Snow wiped the countertop.

"Over the bowl," Snow reminded her. Emma responded by moving the spoon towards the middle of the bowl, far away from spilling.

"My tummy hurts," Emma complained, looking at the spoon still in her hand.

"I think you had a little too much brownie mix," Snow laughed. "How about a walk after the brownies are done?"

"Can I ride my bike?!"

Snow looked out the window. It was a beautiful day outside. "I don't see why not."

* * *

"No, he's going to find them. He saw them today. I have no idea how they ended up in the same store, but it was like fate bringing them together or some shit. He's hell bent on finding them now that he knows they are so close."

"How could you be so stupid?" The woman hissed.

"What am I supposed to do, man? For christsakes, he saw his daughter. How do you keep a man away from his daughter?"

"You figure it out," she spit. She put her head in her hands, suddenly feeling hopeless. "There's no way we're going to keep them apart now."

"Is that really so bad?" The man asked very cautiously. This caused the woman to look up suddenly and glare.

"Tell me that was some type of joke." The woman deadpanned.

The man shrugged. "Maybe it was. Maybe not."

Exasperated, the woman got up and started pacing. They were in a gruesome hotel room. The kind people wouldn't stay in if the staff paid them. The walls were covered in old wallpaper rotting off the wall, which gave way to a general decaying and musty smell. You could actually feel the ants crawling over your body if you were stupid enough to get under the blankets on the bed. The lights were dim and occasionally flickering.

"I can't stand it here," the man admitted.

"Nobody asked you."

"What's your problem today?!"

"My problem? MY problem? My problem is that _you_ are supposed to watch over Prince Charming and somehow he ended up finding Snow White's neighborhood today."

"Um, excuse me but, she was at that grocery store too. Maybe you weren't doing _your_ part."

"Are you kidding? Are you honestly kidding? You let him _follow her_."

"It was a lapse in judgement."

"Yeah, well your little lapse in judgement might have just cost us everything."


	6. Chapter 6

Snow woke up on the couch with Emma's head on her lap. Snow squeezed her eyes and remembered watching movies last night. Emma had a fascination with disney princess movies, and Snow felt she was partly to blame. It didn't take long to figure out their lives were a big franchise in this world, and the curiosity had gotten to Snow. Emma had practically grown up watching them. Judging by the half full bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and the menu screen of Mulan still on the television, Snow figured out pretty fast that they had both fallen asleep. She picked up her phone in one hand while her other hand ran through Emma's hair splashed across her lap. To her surprise, it was past nine in the morning. Her nor Emma ever slept that late. She would have let Emma continue sleeping but Snow was supposed to be at the booth by eleven.

"Hey Em... wake up sweetie," Snow said, gently nudging Emma's shoulder.

Emma opened her eyes slowly, looking confused. "Mumma?" She asked in a sleepy voice.

"Hi baby. It's morning time and we gotta get ready to go to the fair!" This news seemed to excite Emma enough not to close her eyes again. She reached out her arms to stretch over her head and Snow laughed as both tiny arms waved in front of her face. She remembered looking at the clock last night past ten and Emma's eyes were still wide open, which was extremely out of character for her. If she wasn't completely passed out by 8:30, something had seriously caught her interest.

Snow and Emma had somehow managed to both get ready and in the car and driving by 10:50. It was nothing short of a miracle in Snow's eyes. Emma was wearing a denim dress with a white long sleeved collared shirt underneath it. She had a red bandana tied as a headband keeping her hair out of her face, and Snow thought that her daughter might be the cutest person that has ever walked the earth. Of course, she was bias, she reasoned with herself, but it still seemed pretty true. She saw so much of her husband in Emma, and even when it made her heart clench missing him, it somehow made her treasure Emma even more. She knew her love for Emma would be immeasurable since the moment she knew she existed, but she couldn't deny it had crossed her mind late at night before. She wondered if her fierce love for her daughter was so effortless and overpowering because of the fact that she was a mirror of the man she had loved so much.

Snow saw principal Harris within moments of walking through the entrance of the fair. It seemed like she was waiting for her.

"Great! You're here just in time," she said, leading Snow and Emma to a booth of the water squirters in a clowns mouth. The prizes were just different sized stuffed bears. Every size came in pink and blue except the largest one, all of those were just ordinary brown.

"Come on, Emma," Snow said, walking behind the booth. Emma started to follow her mom.

"Actually, I thought Emma could join the first and second graders. Some parent volunteers are taking the kids through the whole fair. Only 25 dollars," the principal smiled. "It will take about two hours through, lunch included."

"What do you say Emma? Would you like to do that?" Snow asked her daughter, who was standing behind her. She hated being separated from Emma at all, but she knew it would be much funner for her than to sit at the booth with her for three hours. Emma looked hesitant but she nodded.

"Can you come?" she asked.

"Your mommy has to stay here for all the other kids, but I'll stay with you! Don't worry," principal Harris smiled through her teeth and Emma looked so disgusted by the idea that Snow had to put her hand over her face to cover her laugh.

"It will be fun, Em, I promise. I'll be right here at this booth if you need me, okay?" Snow assured her, and Emma nodded and let principal Harris lead her to the group.

Snow immediately felt lonely the moment Emma left. Emma was much more timid than she was as a child, and she always wondered if it was a product of circumstance or if it was just another biological trait she inherited from David. She always worried about Emma on her own. With Snow she was outgoing and confident, but on her own, she didn't really come out of her shell. She knows Emma would have a lot of fun in the group if they could get her to open up. She'd have to figure out how to pass the time until Emma came back.

"Hi," a man said, coming up to Snow's booth.

"Um, hi. Would you like to play?" she asked, noticing there were no smaller kids around him.

"Well, I'm really great at this game, so..."

"Oh, is that so?" Snow laughed.

"It is indeed. But, sadly, it looks like I have no competition."

"Yeah... it's a little slow," Snow admitted. "I don't know why."

"Clearly," he teased.

"Hey!" Snow pretended to be offended. "What are you even doing at the fair anyway?"

"Actually it's a really weird story. You wouldn't believe me."

"I have two hours left here. Try me."

"I'm actually here with my friend who is in the midst of a psychotic breakdown. I'm pretty sure his wife died 5 years ago, but he's still looking for her. He's convinced he has a child too, so, that's how we ended up at the fair. He's off somewhere looking for them."

"Wow..." Snow said. "That is... nice of you to be so supportive in his time of need."

"Yeah, well, I'm really not. I fired him from his job for it. I'm still hoping he'll come around and realize he needs his job and quits this whole thing but until then... you know. He's still my friend."

"Yeah... well. It's still very good of you to care."

"Well, thanks for saying that. I'm Ryan," he said, holding his hand out.

"Mary Margaret."

"It was nice talking to you, Mary Margaret."

"You too, Ryan." Snow smiled. She watched him walk away, for some reason curious about his story. Why did he tell her so much when they had just met? And why did he come up to her booth when no one was around... just to talk?

"Mumma?" Snow's concentration was broke by a familiar five year old's voice.

"Emma?" Snow said, looking down surprised. "Emma, what is wrong?" Snow asked more urgently, seeing tear paths on her cheek and red eyes around the green circles, the only thing Emma had inherited from Snow. Emma's hands were curled into tiny fists, as if she was trying to swallow the anger that was bubbling up in her.

"Baby girl, tell me what happened," Snow said, bending down and holding Emma's wrists.

At this, Emma's tiny body erupted in sobs. Snow had never seen her so upset. She shouldn't have let her go to that stupid group. Of course principal Harris had suggested it, it was a bad idea. Finally, Emma calmed down enough to take in deep breaths, and Snow immediately took the opportunity to wrap Emma in her arms. She wanted to take whatever was upsetting Emma away from her, and maybe if she hugged her tightly enough she could absorb some of it.

"I ran away," Emma admitted softly to her mother.

"You ran away? From the group?"

"Yes. Because I was going to get in trouble."

"Why would you have gotten in trouble?"

"Cause I called a boy a dumb baby."

"A dumb baby? Oh goodness, that's a harsh one. What brought that one out?" Snow inquired, slightly amused. Emma spoke as if her insult was going to be the reason the world ended. Emma's eyes welled up again and Snow realized it was more serious than it seemed.

"Ms. Harris was putting me in time out from the next ride but Adam wasn't in trouble at all."

"Well what did Adam do?" Snow asked.

"He started it!" Emma exclaimed. "He said tomorrow we are all supposed to buy prezents for daddies because its fathers day. I told him he was wrong."

"And called him a dumb baby?" Snow asked. It was out of character for Emma to speak up like that, especially in a group she doesn't know, and especially to insult someone.

"He called me stupid," Emma confessed.

"And you were angry?"

Emma nodded and continued, "he said everyone has a daddy and I told him I didn't." Snow's heart sank as far Emma's face fell when she finished. "Adam said if I don't have a daddy that it means he left cause he didn't want me."

"That's when you called him a dumb baby?" Snow said, realizing her eyes were filling up with tears. Charming would have known exactly what to say. But if Charming was here, Emma wouldn't have disagreed with Adam in the first place. She would be planning a perfect five-year-old present for her father.

Emma nodded.

"Good," Snow said. Every emotion left Emma's face except for pure confusion. She knew what her mom taught her. Always be good to people, always do the honorable thing, always be a friend.

"But I said something mean," Emma argued.

"Yes, and you know it was wrong, right?" Emma nodded slowly at her mom. "Then good. Emma, my love, _you_ are exploding light. Being good and doing what's right is very important, but you must remember something: we are only human, we do not always have to take what we are given," Snow explained looking at her daughter, her hand on Emma's cheek. "You were angry and upset, and that's when being good isn't always the most important. Because if you hold those feelings in, they stay there until they become a part of you. Do not hurt anyone, but that includes yourself. Emma, they only tell you not to fight fire with fire because they are afraid of your flames."

Emma looked her mom, dumbfounded. "You know what?"

"What?" Snow asked.

"I don't want to go back there with them. Adam talks too much," Emma smiled slowly.

Snow smiled back at Emma making that decision for herself. "I could use some help with the booth."

"Ms. Harris said it wasn't Adam's fault and that he was mean to me because he liked me. Is that true?" Emma asked curiously, sitting down on a stool in the booth. That's why Adam wasn't getting punished, but Emma was. It made no sense to Snow. Especially because Emma was only five. She was too young for that to even be starting.

"I don't know," Snow admits. "But I do know that any friend worth having won't be mean to you, no matter what. If someone really likes you, they'll want you to feel like the most special person in the world. You don't take that from anyone, no matter what their reason is, okay?"

"Okay," Emma agreed. It made sense to her.

* * *

**A/N: Shoutout to Sara K M because you're amazing! Every time I read one of your reviews I get so motivated to drop everything and write more because they include so much of what you're thinking. Thank you so much for taking the time to review the chapters! **

**Lucinda2323- Thank you for reviewing! You are right, David will be seen much more (despite the lack of him in this chapter) so keep an eye out! You might be on to something else though;)**

**All the guest reviews- I wish I could thank you personally, but I appreciate every single one so much. These reviews are literally whats keeping the story going!**


	7. Chapter 7

Snow woke up at looked at her alarm clock. It was two minutes until six am on a Saturday, but she was still running behind. She had planned to wake up at half past five. She was debating if she should shower or skip it, but with Emma still fast asleep, she decided to take a quick one. Emma had just started summer after finishing first grade, and she was sleeping in much more. Sleeping in meant waking up between seven thirty and eight of course, but it was better than the previous six am. She still had time to make french toast for Emma before her big day when she finished getting ready, but she figured it wasn't a good idea. Emma had been practicing for this day for so long, the last thing she wanted was for Emma to be so nervous she threw up her carbohydrate-filled breakfast. For this instance, she decided some cut up fruit was a safer decision.

She signed Emma up for dance lessons at Emma's request when she started first grade. Apparently all her friends were doing it. It was a late state, which made Emma even more determined to catch up. She had always figured Emma would want to do a different type of sport, but Emma really seemed to take to dancing. She loved ballet, and she was even willing to practice. As much as Emma claimed to like her piano lessons, she never wanted to practice that.

"Hey sweetie, it's time to wake up," Snow murmured gently to her sleeping daughter.

"Nooooooooooooooo," Emma groaned into her yellow and pink pillowcase.

"It's recital day! You have to get ready!" Snow chirped, trying to get her daughter excited. This, at least, got Emma to open her eyes. She still made no effort to move. "C'mon, Em, you don't want to be late, do you?" Still, nothing. Finally, Emma squinted her eyes and started to speak.

"I'm scared," she confessed.

"What are you scared of?" Snow asked curiously. Days ago Emma was bouncing off the walls with excitement.

"I'll forget."

"You mean your dance moves?" Emma nodded. "That's silly," Snow assured her.

"No it's not Mommy," Emma said, her face as stern as she could make it. To make her point, she rolled over to face the wall instead of her mom. Snow tucked Emma's hair behind her ear so she could see her face.

"I mean it's silly because I saw you practice. You worked so hard on learning every move, didn't you?"

"I guess," Emma admitted.

"You know." Snow corrected. "I saw you practice every spare minute you had the past month. You've shown incredible motivation and responsibility to your commitments. That's very honorable, Emma." At this, Emma rolled back around to facing her mom and smiled. Honorable was her favorite word. She liked when her mom told her what she did was honorable. "Sometimes we forget things. Does that mean you are a bad dancer if you did or didn't try hard enough?"

"No... I guess not."

"There's no reason to be afraid, then, because there's nothing more you can do if you've already done your best. Anything else... will just happen. And after that, well, we'll take it on together."

At this point, Emma was smiling ear to ear. She stretched her small arms around her mom's neck as a six-year-old version of a thank you.

"Let's go! Chop chop!" Emma yelled, jumping out of her bed in a flash only someone that small could pull off. She started to peel off her matching blue shirt and pants pajama suit to exchange for her costume.

"Tights first," Snow reminded a bouncing Emma. It was amazing how fast energy could flow through a child. At this reminder, Emma sat down on the floor directly under her feet, waiting for her moms help. Snow smiled and stood up from Emma's bed. Emma's costume was a typical white tights, baby pink leotard and a matching tutu with her ballet slippers, and yet somehow, Emma looked like the most adorable tiny dancer in the entire world.

"You look like a professional dancer!" Snow mused, and Emma giggled and twirled in her tutu. There was no possible way, Snow thought, to describe the feeling of seeing your child genuinely happy.

"Ow," Emma said after they moved to the bathroom. Snow had to put Emma's hair in a tight bun, which proved to be harder than she anticipated. After half a can of hairspray and an entire pack of bobby pins, all of Emma's curly blonde fly-aways were pinned down to a smooth bun. She had a matching pink hair piece that went around the bun to match her costume.

"There. All done." Snow promised, handing Emma a small handheld mirror to look. Emma looked at her reflection, seemingly satisfied.

"Can I wear some lipstick?"

"Lipstick?" Snow didn't know Emma even knew what lipstick was.

"Miss Kristy said all the girls do it during recitals."

Snow sighed. "You really want to?"

"Yes yes yes yes ye-"

"Okay!" Snow laughed. "A little bit."

Snow tried to make a habit of promoting the qualities in Emma like her brilliance, dedication, and honor; things that came from Emma's mind. But as Emma twirled around again in the bathroom looking in the small mirror, Snow couldn't help but remind Emma how beautiful she was.

* * *

"Remember what I told you?" Snow asked, walking through the hallway of people. She could feel Emma's grip get tighter around Snow's hand. She wore a zip-up sweater over her leotard, but her tutu, tights, and hair made it pretty obvious and easy for them to get through backstage doors without many questions.

"Yes," Emma swallowed. "Nothing to be afraid of."

"Exactly."

"Miss Kristy!" Emma said, breaking her grasp off her mother's hand and running towards the brunette that looked barely out of high school. She was wearing her hair in a bun like Emma's and a sweatshirt and sweatpants. Presumably she had some type of costume underneath it to perform as well. Surrounding them was a fold-up card table with about 10 other girls dressed exactly like Emma.

"You'll be okay here now Emma?" Snow asked. "I'm going to find a seat by the stage to watch you, okay?"

"Okay," Emma nodded, distracted by the excitement buzzing around her.

"Have fun, baby girl. I love you," Snow said, giving Emma a hug. Emma refocused to return the hug to her mom.

"Love you too Mommy," Emma responded, and then pulled away. The table was filled with coloring pages and crayons, and Emma was moving to talk to a little girl already halfway done with her picture. A friend, Snow recognized. Snow felt a twinge of sadness and happiness. She was happy Emma was comfortable and out of her shell here, but a little sad at her lack of need for Snow. She knew that was selfish though. She was glad Emma was fine, and she wanted to get a front row seat. It was like a maze getting out of the backstage area, but when she got to where they were performing, she was grateful one of the moms Snow had talked to waiting for Emma's class to end throughout the year had open seats next to her, in the fourth row too. She was sitting with an older boy and a man she presumed as her husband. She waved her down and Snow, happy for the great spot, joined them.

* * *

Because Emma was in one of the younger classes, she was going close to the beginning. After they got off, their parents could come find them right away if they weren't in any other dances.

Emma waited in line to go on stage anxiously. She was so excited it was really happening. She hoped she would be able to see her mom.

Her spot on the stage was in the front line to the right. They were supposed to stand in their spots and wait for the music to begin. Emma looked at all the people watching her. There were a lot. She looked for her mom, but she couldn't find her. She squinted her eyes searching until she saw a hand waving back and forth right in the middle. It was her mom! Without thinking, Emma smiled and waved back. She was so relieved. She had a video camera up facing her.

When the music began, Emma tried to focus and remember everything she had practiced. When she forgot, she looked at the girl next to her. It wasn't so bad. In fact, it was really fun. She wanted to do that again. But they were being ushered off the stage on the other side, back to the room she was coloring pictures in. It was a blur of people moving really fast. She decided to just wait at the table until her mom found her, but her bladder decided otherwise.

"Miss Kristy? I have to go to the bathroom," Emma tugged on the sweatshirt of her dance teacher to get her attention. She was yelling at someone on the phone.

"It's down the hall, Emma. Can you go on your own?" Kristy said, distracted by her phone conversation. Emma went to the bathroom on her own at her house and at school. Of course she could go on her own. She nodded and started walking towards the hall Kristy had pointed to.

The complete contrast of what the coloring room had been startled her. Instead of a constant buzz of voices and people, it was completely empty. She wanted to just go back and wait for her mom, but she really had to go.

"Emma!" A voice called and Emma jumped and hit her head on the wall. "Are you okay?" Emma nodded, scared. "It's okay. I came to get you."

"My mom says not to go with strangers." Emma said confidently. Truthfully she felt like crying. Her head hurt, she had to pee, and she wanted her mom.

"Of course not, but I'm not a stranger. Your mom sent me to get you."

"I don't believe you."

"Well you have to! Your mom got really hurt, Emma. An ambulance came to take her to the hospital. She asked me to get you to bring you to her. We have to hurry before anything happens to her."

At this information, Emma began sobbing. Not just crying, but violently sobbing.

"No! Don't cry, Emma! It will be okay, we just have to get to her. Come on," the man said reaching out his hand. Emma took it, slowly. She didn't trust him, but he knew her name, and he said her mom was hurt. She didn't have time to think. "My name is Ryan," he smiled, while they walked out a back door. Emma decided she didn't like his smile.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Wow even I didn't see this one coming and I wrote it, props to anyone who had any type of idea haha. You guys are seriously amazing with this stuff! And welcome back to the story Charming! ;) Next chapter you're going to learn much more about our lil friend Ryan and who he's working with/for. Thanks for the reviews, follows, favs, everything, ugh you guys are just the best. I actually had an idea of the story line when I started writing but I was unsure how far I'd go with it, but anyway you guys have been AMAZING with responses and you guys seem to know what you want, so I modified it a bit (a lot. It's completely different. but I hope you guys will like it. I think you will. I hope)

* * *

"Where is my daughter?" Snow demanded.

"She went to the bathroom," Kristy said, at a loss. "Like fifteen minutes ago."

"Fifteen minutes? And you didn't check on her? Why did you even let her go alone?"

"She said she was fine!"

"She's six!" Snow yelled, realized she was making a scene. She didn't know if it was tears or sweat from anxiety on her face, but if she had to guess, she'd say it was a mixture of both. There was no way Emma could be gone. They were safe here. They were normal. Who would want to hurt her? Could Emma have wondered off by herself? It was so unlike her. But right now it was the only thing that made sense. "Please," Snow begged. "She's all I have."

* * *

"Are we almost there?" Emma asked from the backseat of the red minivan.

"Yes, well, no. We have to make a pit stop."

"But my mom is sick!"

"The truth is she's really not that sick. She's actually very healthy and we're going to her after our little pit stop."

"You lied to me."

"It was for a good reason."

"Lying isn't the honorable thing to do."

"Yeah kid, well, not everyone can do the honorable thing all the time," Ryan said, and Emma scrunched her eyebrows.

"That's not true," Emma countered. "You can always do the honorable thing."

Ryan sighed. Emma was a smart little kid. She reminded him a lot of David.

"You really think so?"

"I know so." Emma declared with certainty. Ryan stared at Emma through the rearview mirror for a few moments, then let out another sigh and slammed on the brakes. "What are you doing!"

They sat in silence for a few moments. Then, still without a response, Ryan turned the minivan around.

"Are we going to my mom now?" Emma asked.

"Not yet. But something pretty close."

* * *

David sat in his room by himself. He was in a low security dormitory, so he stayed in an open room with one other male. There was absolutely no privacy.

"James Nolan?"

"Yes?" David said looking up at a guard. The man that called him was abominable and deserved the least amount of respect than anyone David had ever known. But he had learned the ways. He knew he could not fight for honor in this place.

"Visitor for you in visiting room 2B."

"For me?" David said without thinking. The guard glared in response and David immediately began moving towards the room. He hadn't heard from anyone in over a year. It took less than two weeks of wandering the neighborhood from Ryan's truck that fateful day before someone called the police on him. Apparently he scared the neighbors. He tried to explain his situation, but it was practically hopeless. He didn't know Snow's name in this world, but he knew she didn't go by Snow White. Saying he was looking for a five year old girl named Emma didn't help his case. Still he was lucky for the first few times. Every time he posted his own bail, he returned to the neighborhood though. Despite the warnings not to, he had to find his wife and daughter. He continued knocking at doors. But once the other residents of the neighborhood knew his face, it was almost hopeless. He got out of jail three times before the same judge set a bail of 100,000. There was no way he could afford that, not even with a bond. He didn't own any property. So he awaited for his trial. He couldn't prove it, but he thought combined with his low priority case, the judge was purposely pushing it back. Considering his long wait already.

"What are you doing here?" David asked, seeing Ryan as he walked into the room, but his breath stopped when he looked down at Ryan's legs. There was the blonde little girl in the back of Snow's car from almost eighteen months ago. It was his daughter. "Emma?" He asked, his voice breaking.

"I don't know you," she said to David, then looked at Ryan. "I want my mommy."

"Emma." He said again, taking in the moment. Her eyes were green, like her moms. The blonde hair he used to remember her was pulled tightly back in a bun. She was wearing a teal zip-up sweater over a pink tutu and tights. "You're so beautiful."

"Thank you..." Emma very warily, so quiet it was almost a whisper.

"Ryan?" David said, looking up.

"It was the honorable thing to do." Ryan tried to explain with a shrug, but he couldn't make eye contact. "It's only for today. As soon as my partner finds out this happened, I'm pretty much dead."

"Thank you."

"Well, don't thank me. It's one day. I'm bringing Emma back to her mom after this. Then I'll have to deal with my partner. This is it."

"You can't," David pleaded. "You can't give me a day then take her away from me."

"It's all I _can_ do," Ryan explained. "Take it or leave it."

* * *

"Who are you?" Emma asked curiously, licking orange from her cheeto puff hands off her fingers. She seemed much more comfortable without Ryan around. Ryan stood at the vending machines, tapping his fingers on the side of the machine. David wondered why Ryan did this, and why he was giving David time alone to talk to Emma. He had been with his daughter for less than an hour, and he was absolutely in love with every single thing about her.

"My name is David," he answered, hoping Ryan couldn't hear. It felt wrong to lie to Emma. He wanted to tell her that he was her father. That he loved her so much. That he couldn't wait to be with her. But she was alone and brave and her world made sense to her right now, and David didn't want to jeopardize that. These weren't exactly the conditions he imagined reuniting with his daughter. For one, he imagined being with his wife.

"I don't know why I'm here," Emma confessed. She wasn't acting scared or nervous, as David would have been at her age. He smiled, thinking of the qualities of Snow that he saw in her. She had done so great raising her. "I want my mommy."

"Your mommy is great, isn't she?"

"Do you know her?!"

David smiled sadly. "I know her very well."

This made Emma visibly relax. "I had my dance recital today."

"Did you? How was it?"

"Good," Emma answered. "I wish I saw my mommy after though. I saw her watching me when I was dancing but after Ryan came and told me mommy was sick and I had to go with him. Then he told me she wasn't sick and we had to go on a spitspot."

"Then you came here?"

"Yea," Emma nodded.

"You'll see your mom soon, I know it," David smiled, but he didn't know it. "Do you think you could do me a favor when you get home?"

"Ok."

"Thank you Emma," David said, smiling at the cheeto dust around Emma's mouth. "When you get home, I need you to do something really important. I need you to tell your mommy you went to see David in jail. Can you remember that?"

"I can amember."

"It's really important, Emma."

"I'll tell mommy," she assured her father unknowingly.

"Emma," Ryan said awkwardly, walking over to the table. "We gotta go now." Emma looked up at David for reassurance. He nodded, and Emma felt like it was okay to go.

"Bye," Emma said, hopping up from her metal fold up chair.

"Bye Emma. Thank you for you coming to visit me."

"Are you gonna be in here forever?"

The question took David by surprise. "No... no I'm not going to be in here forever."

Emma nodded happily. "You can come visit me and mommy when you get out."

"I'd like that a lot," David felt warmness all the way to his fingertips. "Do you mind if I hug you Emma?" When Emma shook her head, David embraced his daughter for the first time.

He watched them leave with a brave face from the windows of the visitors room, not knowing when he'd see his daughter again. Everything overwhelmed him at once. He didn't know if his chest felt tight from Emma making it larger, or from it breaking from the fact his daughter really did not know him. Of course he knew when he met Emma she would not know him, but he supposed he'd always had a daydream of Emma just _knowing_ once they were reunited. Of course, she was six and had never known him. There was no way she could. He should be there protecting her, he should be the man she trusts most, she should recognize him. But he had failed her and Snow. He had been failing them ever since the first night he came through the wardrobe and made the decision to go into the forest.

* * *

"Are we going home now?" Emma asked, walking out of the tile-walled building next to Ryan. He looked at her hopeful eyes. So innocent and naive, so blissfully stupid. She truly believed she was going back to her mom. Ryan opened the door for her, a last ditch effort to show kindness to a girl who he was about to rip everything away from. He thought about her life, and then his own.

This was _his_ choice now.


	9. Chapter 9

"Am I going home now?"

"Emma, please stop talking."

"Why?"

"Because my head hurts," Ryan snapped. As the car came to a fast stop, the red light in the front window blared into Emma's eyes. She squinted, instantly quiet at Ryan's tone. "Listen Emma, this is how it's going to go. I'm going to drop you off on your front yard. You need to walk up to the front door on your own. I can't stick around to see if you do, because I need to go right away. Your mom is going to answer the door, and then you'll go back to normal. Okay?"

Emma nodded from the middle of the backseat. The red light had turned green and they were driving beyond it.

She didn't want to talk anymore.

* * *

"Where is she?"

"Home," Ryan answered.

"Home? What do you mean home? You're instructions were simple! Get her to go with you and bring her here. Are you that incompetent?"

"No I got her. And I brought her home."

"You're an idiot. A goddamn idiot!"

"Why are you so afraid of her?" Ryan challenged the blonde women.

"She gave us everything," she responded. "She can take it all away."

"So what? If she takes everything away so what? Is it worth being such despicable human beings?"

"You don't understand, Ryan."

"Then tell me, Harmony. Help me understand what is worth spending six years keeping a family apart."

The blonde women looked at Ryan with wet eyes, finally letting weakness overpower her. She sat down on the dirty bed in the hotel room. With her head in her hands, she looked up and started.

"Regina gave me a whole new start," she explained. "She told me if I was Harmony for a year she'd take my son and make sure he grew up in a good home. She said he'd get his best shot. All I had to do was be Harmony and help get this stranger off her feet and then... you know the rest. She got me the job as the principal to watch over Mary Margaret. Every time I looked at that little girl though, I saw my son. And that was exactly why I couldn't stop. I had to make sure he got his best shot. If I didn't keep my end of the deal, she wouldn't keep hers."

"Regina's son... that's...?"

"He's mine," the woman cried. "I thought if I could make enough money with this job as principal I could get him back."

"But Regina would never give him up."

"I know," Harmony said, not caring enough to put effort into hiding the fact she was crying anymore. "You have to understand Ryan, I was addicted to all kinds of drugs, I was broke and homeless. I couldn't have been a mom. When Regina found me, it seemed like my only option. She gave me a new start. The hair, the reconstructive surgery, the tattoo removals, it was all just a price to pay for my son's safety."

"I had no idea..."

"I know."

"Harmony, we have to do what's right, now. We have to make it right."

"I can't, don't you understand anything I just said? I can't go against her."

"Be an example for your son!"

"Don't you wish I could be?" she yelled in frustration.

"You can be! Starting now!"

"I'm sorry, Ryan. I have to bring Emma to her."

Ryan looked at the desperation floating around in Harmony's eyes. They were always partners, one assigned to Snow and one assigned to David, but somehow the principal had always felt like his boss. He always, consciously or not, felt he was working underneath her, following her orders.

Until now. Because he knew Emma was back with her mom, and anyone who tried would be hard pressed to get her away from her again.

* * *

Snow paced back and forth in her living room. She had two phones practically glued to her ear, calling people, waiting for calls. It made no sense to stay here while her daughter was out there, probably alone and scared, but they had told her Emma might find her way back home and if she did, Snow needed to be there. How often does that happen? Snow had asked. They responded grimly. Not often. But they were still in the first 48 hours, which means it was their best shot. Plus Snow knew something that the people of this world didn't. Emma was the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. And they always found each other.

How could she have been so stupid, though? She spent minutes saying bye to her friends she was sitting next to before heading backstage to find Emma. If she hadn't, if she had just gone straight to Emma, Emma would probably fast asleep in her bed right now and Snow would be in hers, relaxed and reading.

The sound of the doorbell caused anchors to be released in Snow's stomach. They said if they found anything, they would call first. Unless it's really urgent, unless something bad happened... Snow filled in the blanks. By the time Snow was opening her door, her mind had imagined the worst.

"Emma," Snow croaked. "Emma, you're okay!" Snow hugged her daughter tight enough for Emma to pretend she couldn't breathe.

"I missed you!" Emma exclaimed, still being squeezed by her mom.

"Emma, is everything okay? Are you hurt? What happened? How did you find your way back here? Did someone take you?" Snow couldn't help the questions, they came out like water through flood gates. Only after did she pull away, her hands still around Emma, did she see she overwhelmed her. "Nevermind that, I'm just glad you're back," Snow assured her, hugging her again and picking her up off the ground.

Snow walked with Emma in her hands to the kitchen and put her on the stool.

"Are you hungry?"

"Can I have some chocolate milk?"

"Of course, baby girl," Snow said, wanting to get anything Emma wanted but also not wanting to let go of her. Eventually she decided to get Emma her glass of milk, but she wasn't able to go much longer than ten seconds without glancing back to make sure her daughter was still within reach.

Emma gulped down the milk with three sips.

"How about a bath and a book in bed?" Snow asked and Emma nodded. Her hair was still hairsprayed up in a bun and she had her dance costume on.

By the time Emma got into her bed with her mother near her, she was flat out exhausted. She wanted to roll over and fall asleep right there, but she wanted to listen to the book to. And she didn't want her mom to leave.

"Mumma," Emma said in a sleepy voice, using the small amount of energy she had left to keep her eyelids open. They felt like they weighed at least ten pounds. "I gotta tell you sometin."

"Shhh baby, it's okay. You had a long day, you can tell me tomorrow. Go to sleep," Snow soothed her daughter, placing a kiss on her small, freshly washed forehead.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Ohhhh another fun ending!;) Enjoy! ;) Sorry if it takes me a little longer to update! I have a lot of other writing projects I'm doing and I have finals this week for my summer courses so I should probably focus on that :/ But then two months off before the fall semester! I am so excited for the amount of time I'll have for writing! THANK YOU for the reviews, I can't even describe the feeling when you guys get into the story and plot and characters and all that good stuff. Especially because this story is so deviated from the show. It makes me all warm and tingly inside that you guys like it!

* * *

Emma walked down the stairs to the foyer by herself. With her pajamas and unbrushed bed hair, she woke up with the smell of syrup dispersing through her house. As expected, she found her mom in the kitchen.

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty," Snow said, meeting her daughter with a wide grin. She was in a very appreciative mood after yesterday. As much as she told herself Emma would find her way back, she would never be able to forget those hints of doubt that creeped up on her while she sat in their house alone, waiting. She promised not to take a single moment with Emma for granted again.

"Morning Mumma," Emma smiled sleepily. "Pamcakes or French toast?" She inquired about the smell of syrup that caused her wandering nose to get out of bed. She was reading Junie B. Jones in bed, perfectly content.

"Both. What do you feel like?"

"Both?!" Emma said with wide eyes.

"You can have anything you want, Emma," Snow assured her. Maybe it was literally about french toast and pancakes right now, but metaphorically it meant much more, whether Emma knew it yet or not. Emma decided to eat one pancake and one piece of french toast with a glass of chocolate milk. "How would you like to do something fun today?"

"Like what?" Emma asked curiously, swallowing a cut up piece of pancake.

"Well, if you could do anything in the world today, what would you want to do?"

Emma clearly had to think about this one. She had to come up with something good. Unfortunately, her mind was drawing a blank.

"We could go to the park, the zoo, the-"

"Swimming!" Emma interrupted. "Can we go to the beach?"

"Absolutely," Snow said, mentally preparing what they would need to bring and the drive there. If they got ready now they could probably be sitting on the beach in Ogunquit in two hours. "Why don't you go get your bathing suit?"

"Yay yay yay yay!" Emma said, running so fast towards the stairs she almost fell on her face. Snow loaded the dishwasher and made peanut butter sandwiches. An impromptu beach day, I mean, why not?

She wanted desperately to ask Emma about the previous day, but she was actually frightened. She was scared that Emma wouldn't remember and whatever happened would forever be a mystery, the person who did it still roaming free. But an idea, perhaps even scarier, was that Emma did remember every last detail. If she was scared and alone, possibly even hurt, did she want Emma to relive it again in storytelling? And the third option, one just as hard to imagine, was Emma left by her own free will. Snow tried to convince herself Emma wouldn't, that she wasn't failing that miserably at raising their daughter without Charming, but Emma did show up at their door alone last night. Maybe she left and came back. Snow supposed that was better than not coming back at all.

By the time Snow had weighed out all the possibilities, she had finished making their lunch and decided Emma probably left on her own through the back door of the building her recital was in. The weight of the revelation was almost crushing to her. She always assumed Emma had loved her by default. She tried not to pity herself. It was her fault, not Emma's. She messed up somehow. She wasn't who Emma needed her to be. No, she didn't even know for sure Emma did leave on her own. She shouldn't work up over it yet. If someone did take her, they needed to be punished. She would have to just suck it up and ask her daughter what happened. She'd just have to find the right time.

Snow packed a cooler with some water bottles and some snacks and left it on the counter while she went upstairs to change. She was putting towels and sunscreen in a beach bag when Emma approached her from behind. She was wearing the yellow sundress that was her favorite. It had 'Emma' monogrammed across the chest in curled letters. Underneath were purple bows, and Snow could see she picked out the purple and white horizontal striped two piece suit. The yellow and purple looked good together, and Snow was impressed by Emma's color coordination. Although she suspected they just both happened to be her favorite articles of beachwear and Emma didn't give much thought to the matching colors.

"Do you have your sunglasses and hat?" Snow asked.

"Okay," Emma said absent mindedly, not realizing it was a question. When she came back with her big straw sunhat and pink barbie heart-shaped sunglasses, Snow couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"You look like a movie star," Snow chuckled, and she did.

"Is it time to go yet?" Emma beamed.

"I think so... are you ready?"

"Uh-huh."

"Can you carry this bag to the front door for me?" Snow asked, and Emma obliged.

* * *

"We're here," Snow said softly to her daughter from the open door of the backseat."Wake up sweetheart." For the first 30 minutes of the ride, Emma had been eagerly waiting to arrive at their destination. For the last 30 minutes, Emma had decided on a power nap. Well her body did, if not so much her mind.

Emma blinked her eyes open. "We're here," Snow repeated. "Do you want to go swimming?" It seemed this question sparked Emma's memory of where they were.

The ocean water all over Emma caused the sand to stick to her, but she didn't seem to mind. She sat knee deep in the sand, focusing intently on building an intricate sandcastle.

"Em, can we talk about something really important?" Snow asked, patting down the sand in a pail.

"What is it, Mommy?"

* * *

"_David!" Snow scolded me as soon as I stumbled into the library where she was reading. "You were drinking!"_

_I didn't argue. I was. I told Snow I had to attend to business and would return tomorrow. I wasn't planning to come home until after the effects of drinking had worn off._

"_What is the matter with you?" She yelled at me. I think she yelled at least. It sure sounded like it in my ears._

"_I'm in love with you," I slurred. "I'm in love with you Snow White."_

"_Seriously David?"_

"_Seriously...I love you so much."_

"_David," she said, and I briefly wondered if she was crying. "This is not how to handle what you're feeling."_

"_I'm feeling greaaaaaaat," I assured her. "Life is greattttttt."_

_I could see Snow shaking her head. This time I was sure she was crying._

"_I'm going to bed. We can talk when you're sober." And with that, she left me in the library. I laid on the library floor, because I suddenly really felt like I needed to cry too and I knew I could be alone here._

_I woke up with the worst splitting pain in my head I had ever felt. Every time I made any move, it felt like my brain was rattling around inside my skull. I wanted nothing more to close my eyes and sleep it off, but all I could think of Snow. I remembered faintly her leaving me here mad. I hoped she was not on the second floor, because I didn't think my head could handle walking up a staircase._

_With a stroke of luck, I found her sitting at the table in the dining area. She was smiling and talking to one of the chefs, Tempra, and I couldn't help but smile at the sight of her. She was a ray of light to everyone around her, it was so obvious. For a moment, I forgot she was upset with me._

"_Hi," I said sitting across from her._

"_Hi." Tempra quickly walked away and Snow narrowed her eyes at me as I sat._

"_I'm sorry."_

"_For what?" she challenged me._

"_Drinking? Upsetting you? Lying." I decided._

"_You didn't need to lie," her voice is softer now. It's sweet and forgiving, and I want to bottle it up because it's the only sound that ever made me feel like this._

"_I know," I admit. "I don't know why I did. I couldn't handle it. I couldn't handle losing you." As I finished, Tempra returned with a warm cup. _

"_For your head Mister."_

"_Thank you, Tempra," I smiled and she quickly dismissed herself again. I took a sip of the grassy colored liquid and almost choked on the taste of it._

"_You're not losing me forever," she reminds me._

"_The wardrobe only takes one," I remind her. "I'm going to miss our child's entire life. I can't live with myself for that."_

"_You're not choosing this. It's her best shot," she tries to comfort me. I thought it was an impossible task until she put her hands over mine. _

"_How will I live without you?"_

"_You won't remember me." I can hear sorrow woven through her voice when she admits this fact out loud._

"_It's impossible to forget you."_

"_It won't be your fault."_

_I shake my head. It will be my fault. I've failed to protect them. "Snow, last night, I just wanted to stop feeling. For one night. But I couldn't."_

"_David..."_

"_I couldn't," I finish. "Even as I actively tried to numb my brain to nothingness, when I couldn't even remember how to pronounce my own name, the only thing I knew was how much I love you and needed to be with you. I had to find you in that moment, because you're all I could think of. I can't survive twenty eight years without you. I can't survive twenty eight years without her," I say, looking at Snow's belly, just swollen enough to know there's another miniscule human inside. _

"_You said 'her'," Snow laughed through wet eyes._

"_Huh," I replied. "I guess I did." I let my smile ache my jaw._

"_We won't be apart. Every time I breathe, I'll feel you with me. Remember?" Snow said, clasping the gold heart around her neck._

* * *

"What happened yesterday... after you finished your dance?" Snow asked hesitantly.

"You mean when I went with Ryan?" Emma asked, innocently.

"Ryan?"

"Yeah. He said you were sick and you told me to go with him, but then he said you weren't sick anymore when we got in the car."

"He scared you?" Snow said, half as an observation, half as a question. Emma nodded to confirm.

"How did you come back?"

"Ryan brought me home," Emma answered. If it was possible, Snow had even more questions than before. Her brain racked her mind for anyone named Ryan, but she couldn't think of anyone. It sounded irritatingly familiar. Who would kidnap her daughter and return her without a scratch? Emma wasn't acting too traumatized, either. She decided not to push it any further. She'd call the police later to report someone named Ryan. Maybe Emma could describe him later.

"How about some ice cream?" Snow offered.

"Yea!" Emma exclaimed. She stood up and you couldn't even see her knees or calves through all the sand. "You know what, Mommy, maybe we can go to the beach again when your friend David comes to visit us."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** HI! I HAVE TO TELL YOU GUYS SOMETHING! I started a blog on tumblr. The url is shelizabethwriting. Of course fanfiction is difficult so I can't post the link, but if you just type that in with the little tumblr link it should work swimmingly!;D I'm going to post pictures of characters, sneak pics of chapters before I post them here, I'll take prompts for one shots there, I'll take suggestions for current and new stories and just get to talk to everyone! I realize it may not be top priority to go on tumblr and follow a fanfiction blog so I'm going to propose this: for **every 100 followers** the blog gets, I'm going to do a mini marathon here where I'll post **four** full length chapters **within a 24 hour period.**

Thanks in advance! If I'm being honest this isn't my favorite chapter, but I wanted Snow to have some information before going in there. I feel like I'm torturing you guys at this point. Hold out a little longer, next chapter will be a good one!

* * *

There are thousands of ordinary moments we take for granted with the people we love, because we always expect more. More days, more moments, more memories, more time. We grow so spoiled with these ordinary moments, that we begin to forget them. We can't recall exactly what we were doing at the same time last week. That is until we are forced to recall them through extraordinary circumstances. Like your six year old daughter, who has never known her father, suddenly say he is going to visit with confidence. Those are the moments we don't forget, because they turn the ordinary days on it's heels.

"Emma, what are you talking about?" Snow asked as her mind went into overdrive, trying to explain her daughters statement. Was there a friend at school named David? Was she forgetting something? It couldn't be... no, it was impossible. Not after six years.

"David said he knew you," Emma explained. "Ryan took me to visit him. He told me to tell you he was in jail! I forgot though," she admitted and looked down. At this, Snow's heart felt like it was beating so violently it was going to thump out of her chest.

"What did he look like? Emma, this is really important. Do you remember?"

Emma looked at her mom, suddenly feeling like this _was_ really important. She didn't want to let her down. "Um. He had light hair like me. And his shirt was white but he had on really bright orange pants!"

Snow wanted to know more. She wanted Emma to describe the color of his eyes, what he said, what his smile looked like, if it still was a little crooked towards the right side, and everything else. But of course she couldn't expect Emma to remember these things.

"Emma, do you remember how long you were in the car? A long time or a little time?"

"A long time! And Ryan didn't like when I talked."

Snow twinged at the statement. Even if Ryan didn't hurt her, he kidnapped a six year old girl and was mean to her. Whoever he was, he was psychotic. Did David know him? Why would he take her to see her father? Going by Emma's explanation of time, there was only one place in Maine where David could be. Calm down, she told herself. She didn't know if he was even Maine. Maybe this Ryan drove with her daughter out of state. No, it had to be North to the prison nearby. Maine is big enough where they wouldn't have made it back in the same night. She wanted to drop everything at the moment and get in the car and drive. No, she didn't just want to, she had something in her that _needed_ to.

"Emma, would you be okay with visiting David again?"

Emma nodded, then decided to seek a confirmation from the person she trusted most in the world. "Is he really your friend?"

"He is," Snow smiled. "A very, very good friend."

"He's nice," Emma said, giving her approval. Snow smiled, knowing how relieved David would be to find out that their daughter liked him. But as soon as she thought it, she felt a shiver throughout her whole body. Had she gone mad? Did she imagine this whole conversation, whole day, whole life? Could David have been here this whole time? Snow learned a trick that if you look at your hands and you can see them clearly, then you can't be dreaming. She looked down at hands. She could see every detail.

* * *

"_I don't understand," Red questioned her friend. "Why are you nervous?"_

"_I'm not nervous," Snow corrected. "I'm concerned."_

"_Concerned?"_

"_Nervous," Snow finally admitted._

"_But you know he's going to be thrilled beyond belief. There's nothing he loves more than you, so automatically he's going to love any person that's half of you."_

_At this, Snow couldn't help but smile. The idea that a person was coming into the world that was going to be half-David gave her the same sensation._

"_I know he'll be happy," Snow grinned. "I just want the way I tell him to be special."_

"_Ahhh, I see, do you have any ideas?"_

"_No! I'm totally at a loss."_

"_We'll think of something," Red assured her. And they did think, until Snow returned home shortly before nightfall._

"_Hi," she smiled, folding her leg as she sat next to David. He had on black-rimmed reading glasses and his nose in a book. Reading glasses weren't the most glamorous look in the world and weren't to be worn outside the castle, but they suited David. "Whatcha reading?" Snow said in a sing-song voice._

"_It's about war strategy, actually."_

"_War strategy? Do you have some big plans I don't know about?"_

"_No," David gleamed. "I'm just trying to expand my knowledge. You know I was just kinda thrown into this life. I wasn't raised royalty. It's not always so natural Miz Snow White."_

"_I think you're doing a great job Prince Charming." Snow stretched from curling herself on his chest to give her husband a sweet kiss. She could feel his smile in it._

"_Are you tired?" He asked, still opening his eyes as she pulled away._

"_A little," Snow admitted, but understanding why more than he did._

"_Would you like to join me in bed?" David invited coyly. Snow stuck her tongue in between her teeth, deciding to wait until tomorrow._

_Tonight they would be two. But tomorrow they would start their journey together as three._

_David woke up to an empty bed. He had grown so used to waking up to the presence of Snow's body that being without her felt almost unbearable._

"_Good morning Mister," Tempra said with her head down as David walked into the kitchen. He thought Snow would be in here, but she was nowhere to be found._

"_Good morning Tempra!" David's voice was more cheerful than usual, and it caused a smile to bloom on the bigger-boned woman's face. "Have you seen my beautiful wife?"_

"_No Mister," Tempra replied. "Not since before sunrise."_

"_She was up before sunrise?"_

"_Yes, I do not know what she was doing. She was very busy. I did not seek to bother her."_

"_Thank you Tempra," David smiled. He always imagined what her life was before she came to work in the castle kitchen, and who she was outside of it. It seemed like she was always here. What did she dream of as a child? Her aspirations surely weren't just to cook food and call someone much younger than her "mister" all the time. It could have been him. He could have lived a life similar to the people who work for him now. He was thrown into this life, and he fell in love with a princess. But it could have gone another way. Life is half choices, half chance. That truth is absolute._

_David ate just a piece of homemade bread Tempra had prepared and decided to go looking for Snow. Usually he left her to her own devices, but for some reason today felt different._

* * *

The decision had been made that they would go home from the beach and visit the jail tomorrow. It pained every ounce of Snow's body to know David was mere hours away, but she knew two things. One being that Emma would probably be exhausted from the sun and swimming, and she needed to put her daughter first. Two being that David, for some reason, was in jail. And Snow was almost certain that they had visiting hours and getting there at eleven at night would most certainly be frowned upon.

As soon as she got home, she got Emma in bed and opened up her computer. She tried various searches, not knowing anything but the name David and arrest in Maine. She quickly figured out David had not gone by his real name in this world. She tried James next, looking up arrests in Maine in the past five years. She found an article about an arrest made less than a year ago for loitering with criminal intent in her neighborhood. It was a man named James Nolan. Snow held her breath and clicked on it, recognizing the butterflies in her stomach. It wasn't the first time the sight of him created them. But it had never been in circumstances like this.

She had braced herself, but seeing his picture, his face in this world, had seemed to stop everything in her body.

"Oh David," she whispered. "What have you done?"


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Hope it was worth the agonizing wait! Please review, I'm really curious to reactions and predictions!

Sara K M- I totally hear you on wanting to know more about Snow's adjustment to this world! David will have a lot of questions about it too, and Snow will have some explaining and some flashbacks!

Also don't forget to check out my tumblr: **shelizabethwriting**. Yesterday I posted a sneak peak of this chapter and I've posted pics of Ryan, Harmony, and Emma if you want to check them out! I'd love to hear your opinions on those too (if they were what you expected, etc)

I'm officially on school break! It's time to party!

* * *

"_What are you doing?" David asked, coming up to Snow from behind. She was sitting in the grass, her hands clenched into fists._

"_Thinking," Snow answered, turning her head to look at him. She gave him the mischievous smile that David knew better than anything. He sat down next to her._

"_About what?"_

"_I don't know if you're ready," Snow teased. _

"_Try me."_

_Snow decided to obey this invitation. She unclenched one of her hands and used it to pull David's to her. She faced his hand palm up, then put her still clenched hand into it. She opened it and let something drop out of it._

"_What is this?" David asked, looking at the miniscule green circle. "A pea from a pea pod?"_

"_Yes." Snow said it simply._

_David laughed. "Why were you thinking about a pea?"_

_Snow held David's hand holding the pea with both of hers. "I was thinking about the fact that this is about how small your child is right now," she said looking at his eyes, a twinkle in hers._

"_Snow... are you sure? Really?"_

"_Yes! Are you happy?"_

_David's body responded before he could, with tears escaping his eyes. He wiped them quickly._

"_We're going to be a family, Snow."_

"_We already are," Snow smiled at him, placing his hand over her stomach._

* * *

Emma was supposed to start a camp with the school from nine to two all week, but Snow really wasn't willing to let Emma out of her sight just yet. She didn't know who Ryan was, or where Ryan was, or anything about him. She was going to just let 1200 dollars go and keep Emma home with her.

At 9:15, as Snow prepared to leave with Emma to go the prison in Maine, she got a call on her cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Mary Margaret? I'm glad I caught you!" Principal Harris's voice rang through Snow's phone.

"Oh, hi Ms. Harris. I'm sorry it totally slipped my mind. I meant to call. Emma won't be attending camp this week. Don't worry, I won't be requesting a refund. I know it's last minute."

"Nonsense! Why wouldn't she be coming?"

"Something... happened," Snow breathed. "I'm just more comfortable with her being by my side this week."

"I assure you, Mary Margaret, Emma will be safe in the schools care. I'll be here to personally look after her. I'm sure Emma would enjoy herself much more than just staying home. I don't want to overstep... but aren't you letting your fear get in the way of what's best for Emma?"

"Being safe is what's best for Emma," Snow countered, trying not to let her anger ruin her logic credibility.

"Of course, and she'll be safe here. I understand though. We'll keep Emma's spot reserved though. In case you change your mind."

"Great. Thanks," Snow practically spit into the phone. Emma was all dressed and ready to go to the jail. She was sitting on the couch watching tv waiting for her mother. Emma rarely watched tv, so she when she did, she was amazed by it. Snow looked at her completely absorbed daughter and wondered if she was being selfish. It _was _a school function.

"Emma, are you ready?" Snow asked, breaking out of Emma's daze.

"Uh-huh," Emma said, still watching until the end of the scene of the episode of Word Girl. Emma followed her mom out the door and into the car.

"Buckled?" Snow asked, getting into the drivers seat.

"Yep!" Emma said proudly. She always remembered to buckle. Snow looked in the rear view mirror. She wondered if her daughter would really have such a great day at a visiting center at a jail.

"Emma, if you could choose between going to visit David in jail with me or going to your camp, what would you like to do today?"

Emma thought about it. "What do we do at camp?"

"Lots of things, I'm sure. Arts &amp; crafts, rock climbing, I think you even go canoeing... although I'm not sure if that's today, it will be a lot of outdoor fun things."

"I think... camp!" Emma said.

"You wanna go to camp?" Snow asked, just to be sure. She was scared she would get this answer.

Emma nodded her head, then wondered if she gave the wrong answer. "Maybe not."

"If you want to go, it's okay! We can go, and I'll pick you up at at two o clock. If you want to come home earlier, tell Principal Harris and she'll call me and I'll come right away. Okay?"

"Can you stay?" Emma asked.

"I don't think so, Em, unfortunately. I wish I could." Snow said, backing out of their driveway. She drove to Emma's school with a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to turn around, drive away with Emma safely in her back seat. She swallowed her fear and parked the car.

"Ready?" Snow asked. Her dashboard said it was barely past 9:30. That was four and a half hours to survive without Emma being by her side. Snow was glad she had given Emma a comfy outfit today of a yellow t-shirt with a sun on it, jean shorts that almost touched her knees, and her pink light up sneakers. It was a good camp outfit.

Emma responded by opening the back door of the car. Snow got out to help her out. It took only minutes before they were spotted by Harmony Harris.

"I'm SO glad you could guys make it! Emma, you are going to have SO much fun!"

"Please keep her safe," Snow pleaded, not even thinking how odd it sounded that Snow was referring to a day at summer camp.

"Of course I will. I'll watch her myself." And for some reason, Snow didn't feel assured at all. Emma looked happy already, joining kids she must have known from school. She told herself she was being ridiculous.

"Okay," Snow said. "Two o clock."

"See ya then," Harris waved Snow off. As soon as Snow got into the car, she felt a headache coming on. She told herself to relax. It was already almost quarter to ten. That meant four hours. She could handle four hours. Then she'd pick Emma up and they'd spend the night doing something fun together. Besides, she did have something else to do today. She could drive herself mad if she wanted to, but no one would benefit from that.

It didn't stop her from doing it the whole ride to the jail. She took a deep breath in the parking lot. She had no idea how jail worked in this world. She had six years to figure out most things she needed to know to survive, but jail was something she never had to worry about. She supposed she'd just go in and say she wanted to visit James Nolan. She wondered if he knew she'd be coming. He must know she'd always find him.

"What can I help yuh wit?" The woman at the desk asked without even looking up.

"Hello," Snow smiled, though the woman wasn't looking to see. "I'd like to visit someone."

"Sha," she said. Snow figured out she meant sure. "What the name?"

"James Nolan," Snow swallowed, feeling a lump build up. She was waiting for the world to come crashing down. He wasn't here. He got transferred. He was never here. He never existed. This was all a dream. You crazy lady, you need help.

"What yuh name? He don't have nobody on his visitor list."

"Mary Margaret Blanchard," Snow answered. "He wasn't expecting my visit, I live across the country, I just was visiting and I thought..." Snow trailed off. She was surprised at her ability to lie, but she couldn't think of exactly how to finish it.

The woman seemed to buy it. "Sha. It ain't a big deal. You can wait in visiting room 2B. I'll have a guard notifah him."

"Thank you," Snow answered. She looked down at her hands. She could see every detail, despite their nervous shaking.

* * *

"James Nolan?" The same guard that approached him two days ago called his name again. Was Ryan here again? With his daughter? Did Snow about this? Had Ryan never brought her back? Snow was probably worried sick. He didn't know if he wanted to ring Ryan's neck or kiss him for letting him see his daughter.

Probably not. The guard probably was going to tell him about an inmate count, or a visit from his public defender, or his commissary money, which was closing in on zero.

"Visitor for you in room 2B," he said, uninterested. That was all David needed. He convinced himself it wasn't Emma. Ryan promised he would only get one day. David didn't ask any questions this time, he knew better. Everyone looked at him when he walked towards the room. He went from no visitors in a year to two visitors in two days. They were jealous.

Despite his efforts not to get his hopes up, he felt lighter walking. Any visitor, any break in normal routine, was exciting.

It was the first thing he saw when he approached the room. Her ebony hair was covering her face, but he knew right away.

The first thing he remembered thinking when he saw her was the moment he first put glasses on. Before that, the world had always made sense to him. He had never known anything else. Then he put glasses on, and the world around him was completely different. It was overwhelming in the best sense possible. The moment he saw the world with glasses, he wondered how he ever survived before, being only a fraction of what he could be.

"Snow!" He couldn't think of anything else. His light walk turned into a run and as she stood up from the hard metal chair, she dissipated into his arms.

"David," Snow whispered. Her shaking hands turned into a shaking body. She felt like she had no control over herself, and it was frightening.

"No touching inmates!" The guard yelled, but David and Snow physically could not pull away. David smelled like prison, but he was still David. It was the same embrace, same feeling, same voice saying her name. "Break it up, or the visits over!"

At that, Snow finally let herself move from David's arms. He spoke simply.

"You found me."

"Did you ever doubt I would?" Snow smiled, causing the tears on her cheeks to fall off hills and splattering on David's palm. She looked down at his hands as it fell, this time knowing she'd be able to see every detail.


	13. Chapter 13

"Well you know, the whole six years thing..." David teased, and Snow had to stop herself from giving him a playful shove.

"I can't believing I'm really looking at you. How did this... how are you here?"

"You sound awfully pleased."

"David! I'm being serious. Have you been here for six years?"

"Yes," David says, his tone becoming serious. He had to look down to hide his shame. "I've looked for you every day."

"But how... how are you here? How did you get here? The wardrobe only took one."

"I know. I wasn't trying to come. I just sat in the wardrobe and awaited my death by Regina. I lost all hope. I just wanted be with you two. It's all I could think of. Then I was next to a road and a forest."

"I was walking on the road for hours..."

"I looked for you in the forest."

Snow had to let out a laugh of disbelief. Of course. "What have you been doing? How have you survived?"

"Well, as you can see I ended up in the most luxurious living arrangements this world has to offer," David joked, gesturing around the room with his hands.

"Loitering with criminal intent, _James? _Not to mention in the neighborhood your young daughter lived!" David couldn't help the butterflies in his stomach at the words 'your daughter'.

"Emma," David breathed with a twinge of sadness. "Tell me every detail about her," he pleased. "Don't leave anything out."

Snow nodded. "I heard you met her. She's something else, isn't she? Her favorite animal is elephants, only to her, they're ephelents. She loves all aminals really," Snow smiled at Emma's pronunciation and David returned it. "The only thing to calm her down when she cries is to wipe the tears off her cheeks with your thumbs. She's really smart in school. She doesn't try at all, but it comes naturally to her. Although she seems to be struggling a bit with math lately. She really needs to be coaxed into completely her division worksheets. She's starting second grade in the fall. She plays piano, and she can play songs with both hands even though she never practices. She loves dance though. She'll practice her routines all day. This fall she's starting ballet, jazz, and tap. She loves chocolate milk, but she's the worst eater. She hates vegetables and it's a struggle EVERY night to get her to eat them. She loves reading and she doesn't mind being alone. She reminds me so much of you, David. She's independent and brave and funny and intelligent and she's six years old but has an amazing work ethic and sense of morality already. She's the best of both of us. She really is."

Snow didn't miss the silent tears on David's cheeks before he wiped them away. "I knew from the hour I had with her. Knowing how close she is, Snow, it feels like I'm being ripped apart piece by piece inside."

"I know," Snow whispered.

"She doesn't know me."

"I know," Snow repeated in the same hushed tone, because she didn't know how to comfort him. If they had been in opposite positions, she would be inconsolable. She knew David was feeling it too. "How long are you in here?"

"I don't know," David admitted. "I'm waiting for a trial. This is my third time in here for the same thing, so they're trying to prevent it from happening I guess."

"That can't be legal."

"I know."

"Why couldn't you get out this time?"

"Bail is 100,000. I have no way to afford it. I don't own any property, otherwise I could have used that for equity. It took so much of my money just to pay this shady man to get me a birth certificate and valid social security. I didn't have one for the first three years I was here."

"How did you figure out you needed one?"

"Well I wanted to get my own apartment or house, or something, I don't really know, just anything where I could be by myself. I heard apartments are cheaper. I met with a real estate agent after seeing a poster with her number on it and she asked my name to do a background check. I told her James Nolan, not really understanding. She called me back and told me I didn't exist. She asked if I was born in Maine and I just said yes, and she told me it was impossible. That's when I figured out I was going to run into some problems. I really wanted my own place while I looked for you and Emma. Before I was getting paid under the table by the guy I was staying with, and as good as me and Ryan got along-"

"Ryan?" Snow said sharply. David nodded his head. "You know Ryan?!"

"Yeah. He helped me out when I first got here."

"He kidnapped Emma from her dance recital."

"I know, and brought her here."

"Then brought her back home," Snow finished, and both halves of the couple lost themselves in thought.

"It doesn't make sense..." David said. "Ryan helped me look for you that day I saw you in the grocery store."

"What?!"

"That's how I ended up in jail! I saw you, and I saw Emma. She was holding some type of shampoo bottle and it looked like Ariel was on it. I saw you getting into your car and I made Ryan follow you but we lost you in your neighborhood. Or a neighborhood near you. But I stayed there. I went door to door looking for you. But I didn't know your name, and people started getting creeped out."

"And called the police."

"Right."

"I'm going to get you out of here." Snow said.

"How are you going to put up 100,000? That's a lot of money, Snow."

"I own a house. I have equity. And I go by Mary Margaret here, just so you know. You should probably know your wifes name in case anyone asks."

"I missed the sound of that," David grinned. "But even if you put your home up for bail, what am I going to do? Come live with you?"

"Where else?"

"Oh great! We'll be a happy little family! I'm sure it would make perfect sense to Emma, too! In fact, she'll be thrilled!"

Snow sank. She forgot Emma didn't know who David was. "How are we going to tell her?"

"I don't know," David admitted.

"Maybe we'll get you out of here, and have you guys get to know each other first."

"But then when we do tell her, won't she feel lied to?" David asked. Snow agreed he had a point.

"But if we tell her right away, it might make Emma feel too weird in the beginning of your relationship. She'll have expectations of what it's supposed to be like, and she might not feel like she can meet them yet. She's never had any type of father figure, you know."

"We'll have to figure it out based on Emma's reaction..."

Snow nodded. "I'm going to start the paperwork. I don't really know how it works with this type of stuff, but you'll be out of here as soon as possible. We'll be together. We'll be a family."

"I love you so much, Sn- Mary Margaret."

"I know," Snow smiled, placing her hand over the gold necklace she could never bear to take off. "I've felt it every day."

"Snow, there's something else... something really important," David said, each word a bullet.

"What is it?" Snow asked, realizing how serious he sounded.

"I think Emma is in danger. I don't know why Ryan took her, but I know he wouldn't be working on his own. He's just not enough of a mastermind."

"So you think someone else is after Emma? Who?"

"I don't know. But they must be working for Regina."

"That's impossible," Snow said. She tried to swallow, but she came to a sharp realization that her mouth was completely dry.

"I know.. but..."

"It's the only explanation. That means we have no idea who we can trust."

"Where's Emma now?"

"At a camp for school. I'm supposed to pick her up at two o clock... but..."

"Go get her!" David advised.

"We'll come back together, both of us, tomorrow. And we can finally get you out of here."

David nodded at Snow's promise. The idea of leaving with his wife and daughter was too much of a dream to have even allowed himself to hope for less than a week ago. It still felt surreal, and he didn't want to jinx it.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Hi guys! Just wanted to thank you for the reviews again! And I wanted to give a special shoutout to the guest reviewer, I wish I knew your name- I'm so so happy that this story could be a source of happiness to you while you're going through a hard time. Please feel free to PM me anytime and I'm on tumblr as _shelizabethwriting_ if you ever need someone. You guys are amazing, I hope every one of you know how special you are. You guys have made such a difference in my life alone and I really do care about you guys. Next chapter will be a special one.

* * *

Snow couldn't explain the urgency as she got into her car and started driving. She had a bad feeling since she dropped Emma off, but suddenly after speaking to David she felt like the minutes were against her.

"Please, Emma, stay safe for a little longer. I'm on my way," Snow whispered to the steering wheel. She was trying to find a balance between flooring the gas pedal and not getting stopped for a ticket. She didn't need anything else to slow her down. For some reason, it felt like the universe was in cohorts against her.

The digital clock on the dashboard kept moving.

* * *

Emma sat with two girls her age on both sides. Their names were Callie and Emily. Emma liked Callie better, but she wondered if that was just because Emily was too close to her own name. But Emily was a little too annoying for Emma's taste. She always asked questions to teachers after they just explained exactly what she just asked. But Emma thought Callie was funny, and Callie and Emily were a package deal, since they were twin sisters.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Emma announced to her two friends.

"It's lunchtime."

"I _know_ that, Emily," Emma replied dryly, causing Emily to back down. "I still have to go."

"Ask Ms. Harris," Callie suggested, looking around the school cafeteria for adults.

"I don't like her," Emma said as if she was admitting a secret.

"Why not? She's nice."

"I just don't. She's creepy. I'll just wait for Talia." Talia, their camp counselor, was 16 and volunteering for college credits, but she was the coolest person in the world to six year olds. Emma began tapping her legs in a little dance.

"Just go ask Ms. Harris. She's right there!" Callie urged, and if it didn't feel like she about to explode, Emma would have insisted she could wait. But her body betrayed her, and she gave in.

"Excuse me?" Emma said in a voice much smaller than she felt. She wasn't afraid of Ms. Harris.

"Hi Emma! Did you get your lunch?"

"No, um, I have to go to the bathroom and I can't find Talia," Emma explained, but it came out more like Ta-yuh. They were supposed to report to their counselors whenever they left the group.

"Okay, well you go ahead. I'll make sure she knows."

"Thank you," Emma said gratefully, thinking maybe she was wrong about her principal after all. She was always pretty sharp for her age, and maybe if she hadn't just let her guard down in relief, she would have noticed the shadow on the wall of the figure following her down the hall.

* * *

_Snow looked at her infant daughter through the mirror in the front of her car seat. She was thrashing her arms and legs as if she was in the middle of a fight with the air around her._

"_What are you doing, baby girl?" Snow cooed, and Emma looked up at the sound. "You're not feeling so hot, are you?" Emma seemed to look around for the source of the sound. Snow wondered what she was thinking. She loved her nine month old daughter endlessly, but she couldn't deny the loneliness of not having any adults to converse with. _

_She looked out the front window of her car and took a deep breath. Harmony had given her a license with all her fake Mary Margaret documents, but Snow hadn't driven yet by herself. Harmony had taught her a few things and helped her pick out a car that she bought. She didn't think it would be a big deal, but every time she tried to drive she somehow came up with an excuse. She had gotten by on public transportation for the past four months on her own, but now she couldn't. The buses weren't running for some minor holiday that Snow didn't know (although she had begun making a list of the holidays in this world and their dates), and Emma was running a fever. She knew two things about sickness in this world: there was no easy access to organic herbs, and a building called the hospital had the same relief in tiny hard pills._

_She put on the lever resting next to the P and pulled it to bring it towards the D, but it wouldn't budge. She let the small wave of panic wash through her then reassessed the situation. Emma was sick and she needed Snow to get it together. She squeezed her eyes together, thinking of the few lessons Harmony gave her from the passenger side. She needed to press the pedal down before moving it. She pressed the right pedal down and a surge of a loud sound rushed through her ears. It alarmed her, but the car didn't move, so she breathed. She tried the next pedal and nothing happened, and when she pulled the level, it shifted easily next to the D. Snow couldn't help the success she felt. She knew one pedal was gas and one was brake, and she had just figured out the left one was the brake and it was what you needed to move the gear shift. All she needed to do now was press on the gas._

_As if on cue, Emma let out a cry. Not a normal cry, but one of discomfort and pain. If she needed a push, she had one. She pressed on the gas and lurched forward and came to sharp stop. She glanced back to make sure Emma was again and tried again, this time much slower. The large machine moved much smoother. _

"_It's okay, Emma. We're going to be okay," Snow assured her through the rearview mirror. She looked for her daughter's face, and wondered who she was trying to reassure._

* * *

The brakes screeched as Snow halted in Emma's schools parking lot. It was half-past one, and there was nobody outside. _They must still be in lunch._ She jiggled the the keys out of her ignition and they seemed to get stuck. She considered just leaving them there and running, but they broke free just in time. _Calm down, Emma is fine. She's safe having lunch. Don't freak her out because you're paranoid._ Still, Snow was grateful she was able to make good time.

It made sense to go to the front door. At least it did to Snow. Apparently it wasn't the right choice because the front door to the school was locked. _No no no no. This can't be happening._ This was just taking up more time. The universe was in cohorts against her. She could feel it. Without thinking she began banging on the doors. She didn't have time to find another entrance. This school was enormous. Probably every door but one was locked. _Let me in! Let me in! Let me in! My daughter is in danger! Someone is trying to hurt her! Let me in. I need to protect my daughter._

She didn't even think of the time that was being taken up as she banged on the doors; she couldn't stop. It felt like the energy was draining out of her.

"Ms. Blanchard?! Are you okay?" A young girl that couldn't be far out of middle school opened the front door. She had a volunteer sticker on the front of her shirt that said "counselor". Snow recognized her after a few moments. She was in the first class she ever taught as Mary Margaret Blanchard.

"Victoria, hi! What are you doing here?" Snow said snapping back to reality, disbelieving the ironies of the Universe.

"I'm volunteering as counselor. My little sisters are here for the summer, so..." Victoria trailed off. "Don't you have a daughter their age? Maybe a little older..."

"Six. I'm looking for her right now. It's really important, actually. A family emergency. Could you help?"

"Sure, I'll do whatever I can. They're all in the cafeteria," Victoria led Snow down the hallway she knew so well to the small room that still passed as the biggest room in the school.

"Six, right? She should be in the same group as my sisters..." Victoria trailed off, motioning to the table where Emma had sat between her two friends less than a half hour ago.

"She's not there," Snow said, her voice catching in her throat. She felt like a swinging boulder just crashed into her stomach. She scolded herself to get it together. She couldn't protect Emma if she was passed out on the floor.

"That's weird... maybe the bathroom?" Snow nodded. She could definitely be in the bathroom. A perfectly logical explanation. "We could ask my sisters if you want."

"Yes. Please." Her voice was hoarse.

Victoria nodded and moved to the little girls sitting one seat apart. "Cals, Em, do you know Emma? Ms. Blanchard's daughter?"

Both girls nodded.

"How come she's not in lunch with you guys?"

"She had to go the bathroom," Callie supplied, and Snow let out a breath and felt her chest start moving again. "But it was a long time ago. Ms. Harris left with her, and neither have come back yet."

Ms. Harris. The principal Snow always had a terrible feeling around. She was after Emma. She was somehow working for Regina. Somehow Snow knew all of this without a doubt as soon the words left the little girl's mouth.

"Please find me if Emma returns here," Snow managed to request before her legs took over her brain.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:**

The chapter is dedicated to the guest reviewer who said they were going through a rough time. I hope this update gives you something to be happy about!**You are a butterfly just like Emma and you are important to the world. Don't let the world make you feel too small; you're big enough to start a hurricane.**

As always, thank you to the people who continously review every chapter. This short story I planned has gone on much longer and it's because of you guys. I can't thank you enough...

* * *

"_Mommy, what's the butterfly effect?" Emma lifted a spoonful of cereal into her mouth._

"_Where did that come from?" Snow laughed, her back turned towards her daughter as she poured coffee into her usual mug._

"_I got a book from the lie-berry." _

"_At school?"_

_Emma nodded. _

"_Well," Snow thought. "It's about the world. The butterfly effect is how important everyone of us are."_

"_Important?" Emma interrupted out of disbelief._

"_Yes my love, important. You know, each one of us affects the future. The smallest things we do can change the entire world."_

"_For real?"_

"_Mm-hm. Everything we do connects to the people around us and affects their decisions. So every choice we make changes our lives and other peoples. The butterfly effect really says that a hurricane is influenced by the minor movements of a butterfly flapping their wings. So no matter how small you feel, you're big enough to cause a hurricane. You know what that means?" Snow asked._

_Emma shook her head._

"_It means the world would be a much different place if you weren't in it. And in my professional opinion, not quite as bright."_

_Emma beamed at her mother with the look of validation on her face that every child needs once in a while. She liked the idea of the butterfly effect. _

* * *

Emma sat in the stall of the bathroom and wondered how long she had until her principal knocked down the door. Would she do that?

"Emma, let's go. We have to go!"

"No."

"We'll just go back to the cafeteria so you can finish your damn lunch!"

Emma let out a small gasp at the bad word her principal had used. She wasn't planning to go with her before, but with a mouth like that, oh man she really couldn't now. She had seen Ms. Harris's feet under her stall before Ms. Harris even said a word and before Emma even got the chance to go. Her first instinct was to make sure the stall door was locked.

"You're going to miss your whole day of camp!"

"I'll wait for my mommy."

"She's not coming until two," the woman tried to reason. "She's not going to be happy that you wasted your whole day." Harmony Harris knew she could kick down the door if she needed to, but she couldn't now. She needed Emma to come willingly and quietly, if she was dragging her out by her feet, surely someone would notice and question them. She didn't need an investigation on her part.

"I will wait. She won't be mad at me."

"Do you really know that?"

"Yes!" Emma said confidently, but even she heard her own voice waver at the end.

"Why don't you come with me and we can call her to come now then?"

"I don't know..."

"Come on, Emma. I'm not going to hurt you."

Emma didn't trust her at all, but she wanted her mom. She thought about her options.

* * *

Snow raced down the hall towards the nearest bathroom, and thanked herself for knowing the school so well even though she didn't teach on this floor.

"Emma, please... please be in there. Please be okay..." Snow whispered to herself as she turned the corner. She didn't realize she was holding a breath in until she pushed open the bathroom door and exhaled at the sight of her boss.

"Where. Is. My. Daughter?"

"Mummy!" Emma yelled in disbelief while simultaneously unlatching the stall door. "Mummy I waited for you!" She yelled excitedly while running into her mom's arms. Snow wondered if her daughter was going to suffocate for a moment, because she truly was incapable of letting her go.

"She locked herself in the bathroom for 25 minutes. I tried to get her out but-"

"Save it," Snow said confidently. "I know you're working for Regina." She surprised herself there, because she really didn't know that for sure. But she had a pretty good feeling. Especially now, at the lack of surprise on the woman's face. "I just want to know... how? Who are you?"

"I'm surprised you didn't recognize me, Snow White... or should I say Mary Margaret? I did get those papers made for you. I'm honestly a little hurt."

Snow's mouth went dry. "What do you... what do you mean?"

"I mean I know I got tattoo removals and a new haircut and a nose job, but I'm still _me_ underneath. I thought that was what's most important," Harmony's tone was mocking.

"Stay away from me, and more importantly, stay away from my daughter."

"Sorry, but that's a no-can-do," she said, her voice with easy confidence. "Regina wants Emma away from you, so if that's what I have to do, I'll do it."

"You will _never_ go near my daughter again."

"Sure."

Snow looked down at her frightened six-year-old clutching her leg and made her tone softer. "Come on, Em, let's go home, okay?"

Emma nodded and took Snow's hand. Snow could feel the eyes of her former friend staring into her back and tried not to let it sway her confidence walking away from her. Snow tried to reassure herself it would be easier now that they knew who was after Emma. Snow knew Harmony, and David knew Ryan.

David. If she didn't find him and see him today she might have lost Emma. She could feel the muscles all over her body tense up at just the thought of it. Her heart was still thumping so hard it felt like it was about to break her chest walls.

Emma buckled into the seat, just like she always did, but Snow could see she was still a little frazzled when she looked back. She wanted to bring up David, but it didn't feel like the right time right now.

"How about a movie marathon this afternoon?"

"With snacks?"

"Of course, is there such thing as a movie marathon without?" Snow said incredulously.

This made Emma smile in approval, and the upturned line made Snow feel like everything was okay.

"Emma, you following your instincts today saved us all. You gave me time to get to you and I am so grateful you knew to do that."

"I was a butterfly," Emma said simply.

"A butterfly?" Snow asked in confusion.

"A butterfly that can start a hurricane, no matter how small I feel." Emma explained it, refreshing Snow of the memory of a conversation from months ago.

"You were exactly that."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:**Hmm... I don't think I have much to say this chapter! As always thank you for the reviews, which I look forward to every time I post. I haven't written it yet, but I'm pretty sure you can expect next chapter to be some Charming family adjustment time. Oh and don't forget to follow my blog **shelizabethwriting** on tumblr where I post sneak peaks of chapters before I post them here!:)

* * *

"Can we have more popcorn? Pleeeeease?" Emma looked up with puppy dog eyes. Of course she wasn't talking about normal popcorn. No, Emma wanted more of Snow's own creation of popcorn trail mix. She mixed pieces of Hershey's chocolate, m&amp;m's, peanuts, and doritos into the popcorn. It was a creation she made with Emma, and possibly Emma's favorite snack in the world. It was only for special occasions. And Snow had something important to talk about with Emma.

"There's no more, Em. We ate it all!"

"Can we make more?" Emma asked, but even Emma knew the answer wouldn't be yes.

"If you want to. But we have to talk a little bit then before the next movie, okay?" Snow bargained and Emma shot up and nodded her head to agree to the deal. She was good at talking, and they had already watched two movies straight in a row. She didn't mind a break.

Emma crunched doritos in the bag as her mom broke pieces of the chocolate candy bar. She tried to focus. She didn't like the pieces too small or too big. She poured the bag into the giant bowl, the finishing touch, satisfied with the creation. She reached her tiny hand into the bowl to eat a handful. As she went to pick up the bowl and carry it back to the couch, her mom stopped her.

"Emma, let's stay here for a minute. So we can talk."

Emma listened and set the bowl back down on their table in front of her. She sat on the chair and waited for her mom to continue, because it seemed serious.

"I want to talk about our friend David," Snow started, sitting in the chair next to Emma. She turned her body to face her. "You remember visiting him?" Emma nodded, so Snow continued. "Do you know where he was?"

"Jail," Emma said simply.

Snow looked at her daughter in disbelief. She didn't expect Emma to know that. She wondered how she did and considered asking her about it, but decided to just continue.

"Right. Do you know what it means to go to jail?"

"Uh-huh. It's for bad people."

"Right, Emma. When people break the law, they go to jail. But not all people are bad. Some people are good and break laws for reasons that are important to their own morality. You remember what I told you about doing what you think is right or wrong? Emma?" Snow said, trying to get Emma's wandering attention back.

"What?"

"This is really important. Do you remember what I said about doing what you believe is right or wrong?"

"Always do what is right!"

"Exactly, even if people don't always understand. That's what David was doing. Sometimes you can get in trouble for that still."

"Am I gonna get in trouble?"

"No, Emma. I won't let that happen. It's my job to protect you now. When you're an adult, you'll make your own decisions."

Emma nodded. That seemed to relieve her.

"So you understand David is a very, very good person, and I care for and trust him very much. He doesn't deserve to be in jail. But he has nowhere else to live."

"Why doesn't he live with us?"

"That's what I was thinking," Snow smiled. "Would you be okay with that?"

Emma kneeled up on her chair and squeezed her mom's face with affection. "You're so silly, mommy. I wouldn't want him to not have a home."

Snow smiled and put her hands over her daughters. Emma let go and let her mom hold her tiny hands in hers.

"You are such a sweet girl, my love. Who raised you so well?" Snow asked, causing a giggle of satisfaction to bubble up and escape out of Emma.

* * *

Snow woke up with hair damp from sweat and the sound of thumping in her ears. She looked at the digital clock by her bed. 3:03 am. She started inhaling deeply to steady her breathing. Looking around helped, knowing she was in the bedroom she had come to know for almost three years now. It was her home. But she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep again until she saw the only thing she needed. As quietly as she could, she exited her room and tiptoed to the white door that said Emma in pink letters on the front. She opened the door slowly, knowing it would creak. It creaked anyway, but Emma was the deepest sleeper she ever knew. Definitely a quality from her father, and most of the time, herself. But when something was bothering her, she could be woken up with a needle dropping. She wondered if Emma inherited that aspect of the trait.

Snow's heart lifted at the tuft of blonde hair on the pillowcase. She told herself it would be enough just to see Emma there, but she found herself walking over to her sleeping daughter. She was so small, so innocent, so full of the life ahead for her. Snow reached her hand down to run over Emma's sprawled out hair. She could smell the lingering scent of her berry scented kid shampoo and conditioner, and it reminded her that everything was normal. The past night did happen. Emma was safe with her. No one got her. She didn't realize how emotional it had been on her until she watched her daughter sleeping soundly, when tears started falling from Snow's eyes. They were silent, but fast. Every time she wiped them, they replenished in moments. She wondered if she'd have the strength to get through a night without checking on Emma ever again. She sat down in the chair against the wall of Emma's room. As soon as she saw her, she knew she wouldn't sleep again tonight. In a little while, she'd go and make coffee and get ready for the day and wait for Emma to wake up. But for now...

"Mommy?" Emma asked, rubbing her eyes as if she was looking at a hallucination.

"Hi Em."

"What are you doing in my room?"

Snow looked at the clock by Emma's bed. It was analog, for practice. 8:27am.

"I guess I fell asleep. I came in to check on you after you fell asleep."

"Mommy, that's so uncomfortable! You slept in that wooden chair all night!"

"It wasn't so bad," Snow smiled. "I slept better here than in my own bed, believe it or not."

Emma looked at her mom in disbelief, throwing the covers off her and sitting up. "I don't think I'd like to go to camp today."

"Me either." Snow agreed, again earning a tiny giggle from her daughter. "I was hoping you could come with me to get David."

"Okay. I have to pee."

"Okay. I'm going to get dressed. I'll leave an outfit for you on your bed." Emma nodded and walked out of her room, and Snow had to assure herself it was only to the bathroom. She couldn't be this overprotective forever. Especially as Emma was just experiencing a desire for independence. She made her daughter's bed, something she usually requires Emma to do herself, but she liked small surprises like that. She knew Emma would be excited to come back and see it already made. She put a light purple t-shirt and different-shades-of-purple checkered shorts on her bed before returning her bedroom. Her messy bed reminded her of her nightmare from earlier and she wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. She dressed in the comfortable pants and and went downstairs to wait for her daughter. To her surprise, Emma was sitting at the kitchen table waiting.

"You took forever," Emma joked, taking a bite of the banana she peeled herself. Snow looked at her daughter in surprise. When did she stop being a baby, and start becoming a little person? She always thought of Emma as an extension of herself, a product of her, and it was hard to wrap her mind around the idea of Emma being her own person with her own thoughts and ideas and perspectives. It was terrifying and thrilling. There was nothing more exciting than learning about your child.

"Sorry," Snow joked and moved to the coffee machine. "Do you want some cereal or toast?"

Emma shook her head before explaining. "I'm not hungry anymore," she said easily, sliding off the chair to put her peel in the trashcan. "Can I have some chocolate milk?"

Snow smiled. Learning new things about your child was exciting, but reassurance of the things you already knew was comforting.

"If you get hungry on the way, we can stop somewhere."

* * *

They ended up stopping at Dunkin Donuts, and Emma was still eating her munchkins in the back seat when they pulled into the prison parking lot.

"Ready?"

"Uh-huh," Emma said with her mouth full, popping a tiny chocolate donut into her mouth. She licked her fingers before unbuckling herself. She hoped Ryan wasn't here like the last time she saw David. She wondered if he would be. She'd like to visit David with just her mom more. "Is Ryan going to be here?" Emma asked, thinking out loud.

"I really hope not," Snow said honestly. She wanted to do the right thing, if only to be an example, but she had a feeling she wouldn't be very worthy of idolizing if she ever came face-to-face with the person who abducted her daughter.

"Hi." Snow cleared her throat at the woman at the front desk. She recognized her immediately. It was the same lady from yesterday.

"Hey. Yaz back. Who yaz vizitin again? Slipped my mind. I gotah big work load, ya know?!"

"Of course. Um, we're here for James Nolan."

"Is the pee-wee coming too?"

"Well, yes." Snow said, wondering where else Emma would have been going.

"Sha. You know the drill. Room 2B just down the hall."

"Thank you," Snow smiled gratefully at her easy-going nature. It could have been a lot more painful than this, given the fact their names and identities are all fake. Except Emma, of course. She was born here. "I actually wanted to post bail for him, though. Could you direct me to where I would go about doing that?"

"Right hea, sweetie! James Nolan ya zaid?"

"Right." She punched letters into her computer, then her mouth dropped.

"100 big ones for someone you only seen once! Are youz sure lady?"

"I've known him much longer," Snow assured the lady Emma was looking at quizzically.

"A bond of property I'm guessin'?"

"Um, yes."

"Well, yaz have a mountain of papers to fill out. And I need proof of yaz ownership." Snow pulled out her deed from her purse and took the clipboard from her hand. It was a

lot of paperwork, but it was worth it. She'd figure out Harmony and everything else later, with David. They'd be a family.

Once they figured out how to tell Emma.

* * *

Emma wasn't looking at the man she had met once before and was going to live with, although she could see him from the corner of her eyes. She was focused intently on her mother. She had never seen the look on her face before, but she liked it. She wanted David to be around all the time if her mom always looked liked this.

She knew her mom was happy before. She could feel it, every time they made a green light, or Emma gave her a drawing, or said something to make her laugh. So it wasn't like she was seeing her mom happy for the first time. It was like she was looking at more of her mom. Yeah, Emma decided, that was it. Her mom was _more_ when she was looking at David come through the door in pants that were more normal than the orange ones she remembered him in. Emma tiled in her head in wonder, realizing where she saw that look before. Every morning when her mom woke her up and every night when she tucked her in. _That's the way mommy looks at me._

She wasn't jealous she had to share her mom. She was so happy she wrapped her arms around her moms legs before David got to them. Snow looked down distracted, but with happy surprise and bent down to kiss her daughter's forehead.

"Hi," David said simply, looking at both of them.

Emma watched him and his mom, both looking restrained. She wondered why they weren't hugging, at least. They looked like they wanted to kiss each other like the Princesses in her favorite movies when they reunited with their Prince Charmings. No one said anything, so Emma decided to break the silence.

"Hi David! You're gonna come live with us, okay?"


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: **Quick update! It's short and sort of a cliffhanger, I suppose :P I'm almost at 100 reviews which is SOOOOO cool for me. To celebrate I made a part one and part two of the day at the zoo, and part two will be posted after my 100th review!

Thanks again to everyone!

I used a scene from season 3 when Snow was like "I don't know how to comfort my daughter! It's the first thing a mother learns!" because that line is really what made me wonder what it would have been like if Snow HAD gotten to learn. The thing about wiping her eyes I actually stole from my nephew. For some reason he always calmed down if you wiped his eyes while he was crying and then he could talk about whatever bothered him.

Enjoy and review!

* * *

"That sounds lovely, Emma," David smiled big. He looked as happy as her mom did.

"Are we going now?" Emma asked, looking up at her mom. She seemed to be staring at David still. They were both just staring at each other. Emma looked at both of them quizzically. "Mummy?" Emma tried to get her attention by pulling on her shirt.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. What did you say?" Snow asked, looking down.

"Are we going home now?"

"Yes, I think that would be a good idea," she answered her daughter, but she was smiling at David again. Emma was starting to believe that maybe this could get old, after all. She sighed and took her mom's hand so they could walk. They walked in silence for a few moments, but Emma was curious about the new situation. Once they got outside, Emma decided to break the silence again.

"What are we gonna do now?" Emma asked. Snow looked at her cell phone and noticed it was already more than half past noon. Emma was probably going to be ready for lunch soon enough.

"Well we had a long morning filling out paperwork. How about we do something fun? What do you want to do?"

"Yeah!"

"How about...," Snow said, looking around. The weather was a wonderful summer day. "How about the zoo?"

"YEAH!" Emma said enthusiastically at the idea.

"Okay! Then the zoo it is! David, you're probably very tired. Would you like to go home and rest or join us?" Snow asked, smiling at her husband, the answer she knew already so easily that it was behind her lips and she had to stop herself from answering for him.

"You know, as tired as I am, the zoo has just always been one of my favorite places."

* * *

"Monkeys first!" Emma yelled, pulling her mom's arm so hard it was about to pop out of the socket.

"Slow down, baby girl! There's no rush!" Snow said, trying to keep up with Emma. Emma suddenly stopped, listening to her mom. "Are you hungry? Do you want a hot dog or something?"

Emma stuck out her tongue. She liked hotdogs, but only if the mood struck her. Apparently it wasn't doing it for her today. There wasn't much else at the food stands at the zoo that Emma would eat.

"What's your favorite food?" David asked curiously, using any chance he could get to learn about the little girl that he barely knew. Emma took the question seriously, rubbing her chin in thought.

"Cookies!"

Snow let out a laugh at Emma's predictable answer, then continued for her. "She's picky. She likes peanut butter, but only plain. No jelly. She likes everything very plain. No spices or sauces on anything."

David smiled. "I'm the exact same way, Emma."

Emma looked at her mom triumphantly and Snow looked at David exasperated as if she could say "really?" with her eyes.

"How about a slice of cheese pizza, Emma? You have to eat something," Snow reasoned. Emma thought about it, and agreed. Snow bit her lip before saying what she was thinking. "Emma, how about I go get you a slice of pizza and I can meet you and David at the monkeys? That way you don't have to wait. Would you want to do that?"

"Yeah!" Emma said excitedly, taking David's hand. "I know where to go, don't worry."

David followed his daughter to the monkey exhibit, the first place he would of many.

* * *

Snow had felt that hammering in her heart so often within the past week, she had almost gotten used to it. Almost. Still, there was a panic when she found her daughter wailing by the glass exhibit.

"What happened?"

"She got scared!" David exclaimed nervously. He seemed at a loss. "She tapped on the glass and they freaked out. She's not hurt or anything... I think she just got a good scare... I tried to tell her they can't hurt her but..."

Snow kneeled down to eye level with her daughter and used her thumbs to wipe the tears spilling from Emma's eyes. Almost instantly, Emma calmed down enough to be consolable. Snow smiled, it was the only thing that always calmed her down.

"Take a deep breath," Snow instructed and Emma inhaled deeply. "Now let it out, you silly goose!" Emma opened her mouth and a giggle came out with the breath.

"I scared the monkeys," Emma admitted with shame.

Snow nodded. She knew feeling like she did something wrong upset her just as much, or more, than the scare. "Nobody is mad at you. And look, the monkeys are still just as happy. You know better for next time, right?" Emma nodded vehemently. "Then next time we'll do better." Emma nodded again and took the paper plate with the cheese pizza her mom offered her.

"You scared me, baby girl," Snow said as Emma started devouring the slice. Emma didn't even seem to hear her over the sound of her own chewing.

"Can we go to the trains?" Emma asked, referring to the amusement-type ride that was offered to children visitors. It was in an area where birds flew around the sky. Personally, it terrified Snow to have birds flying around her head. But Emma still had that aspect of children fearlessness.

"If you eat all your pizza, yes." Snow answered and looked at David, who still looked hopeless from when she found them, despite Emma's quick recovery.

* * *

"David..." Snow said carefully, returning to him after letting Emma go on the trains. It felt like she was surrounded by her family, but she knew it wasn't so perfect for him.

"Snow, I don't belong here. I accept that. I don't even blame myself, because I knew my home is somewhere else. At least, I did. I knew my home was with you guys. But now I'm with my family, and I still don't belong."

"That's not true."

"It is true, and you know it."

"It's not true. You'll always belong with us."

"Today I watched my daughter, my helpless six year old daughter, bawl and I had no idea how to comfort her! It's the first thing a parent should know how to do... I'm supposed to protect her. There are people after our daughter. How can I be a parent when I don't even know how to calm her down when she cries?"

"It's not your fault, David," Snow whispered. "You'll get to know her. She wants to know you, too. That's a huge step."

"She doesn't even know me! She doesn't even know me..." David repeated shaking his head, as if the words were sinking in. "I'm her father."

"Mummy?" Emma said questioningly, and both parents looked back in surprise. "A bird landed on my shoulder..."

"That's great, honey!" Snow said a little too cheerily. "Was it fun?"

Emma nodded suspiciously. "David?"

"Yes?" He looked up quickly when Emma said his name.

"You're a daddy too?"

David looked at Snow for help, but even she looked at a loss for a response. Finally, Snow opened her mouth to respond.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: **Here's part two! Thanks for the 100 reviews! I feel like a broken record now but I really appreciate it so much. You guys keep me so inspired.

* * *

"Yes, yes he is, sweetie. And he loves his daughter very very much," Snow explained, each word coming out of her mouth carefully. She didn't want to lie, but she didn't exactly picture telling Emma at the zoo about her missing parent. Emma was still young, but she didn't know how she'd react. All she knew for six years, despite what Snow tried to explain of him, was that her father was a man who left her and didn't want to know her. She was sure Emma was going to feel confused and hurt. It had to be approached carefully.

Emma nodded slowly, as if she wasn't really buying it, but it made sense enough for her to not have questions to ask.

"I'm tired," Emma said suddenly.

"You don't want to see any other animals?" Snow questioned, and Emma shrugged.

"How about the elephants?" David asked, and though he hid it well enough to anyone else, Snow smiled at the hint of nervousness in David's voice. He was afraid of his daughter rejecting him.

"Yeah! I forgot about the ephelents," Emma explained a perfectly reasonable explanation.

Emma ran excitedly ahead and Snow called out a little too harshly to stay in her line of vision. It only took one moment of not seeing her.

"I want to tell her," David said quietly towards Snow.

"I know."

"So we're going to tell her?"

"When, David? She's six, she barely knows you, and she thinks her dad didn't love her enough to stick around. If she finds out now before she really has an opinion on you, you're going to get all those feelings of resentment and pain. Are you ready for that? Because I don't know if I'm ready to see my little girl deal with all that."

"Our little girl," David whispered.

"Right," Snow breathed. "I'm sorry. For six years I've been in this different world, trying to figure out how to survive not only here but without you, while also trying to give Emma the best life possible. For the past six years, Emma and I have only had each other."

"I know. I'm sorry. I should have found you."

"It's not your fault, David. You can't keep blaming yourself. We're together now, and we have to focus on Emma. We have keep her protected. There are people in this town after her. I don't know if they'll follow us, or get us sent to prison for fake ID's, or worse, hurt Emma. All Harmony said was Regina wants Emma away from us. Emma is the savior. She's going to save our people and break the curse. Of course Regina wants to stop her," Snow stopped, because the words stop her got caught in her throat and made her feel like she was going to be sick.

"We're not going to let Regina anywhere near her. We have the upperhand here. We're together and we know what we need to. We'll get away. We'll survive, together. All three of us."

Snow nodded and embraced her husband without thinking. She was trying to limit the public affection to not confuse Emma, who of course looked back at them at the exact moment.

"Look! A baby ephelent!" She said excitedly, not even noticing her mother leaving David's arms.

"How cute!" Snow said genuinely, admiring the tiny elephant.

"That's me," Emma declared looking at baby elephant. "There's you mumma, and that one is David." Emma pointed her small finger to the two elephants over the baby elephant, one slightly bigger, who was presumably the mother and father.

"It looks just like me," David joked.

* * *

"Emma, it's starting to get late," Snow said truthfully, and the sun backed her up by lowering in the sky.

"Okay," Emma said defeated. Any remark of being tired earlier was long forgotten, and she was still bubbling with energy. Snow had a feeling she'd be asleep within ten minutes of the ride home.

"Can I get a prize first?" Emma asked when they passed the booths of games that were starting to close. "That one! An ephelent! Look!"

"Do you want to play with her?" Snow asked turning to David, because there was no one else around to challenge her. "Don't let her win, though! She only wins fair and square, right Em?"

"Right."

"Sounds like my kind of game." David sat down on the round bar stool type chairs and positioned the water gun to the clowns mouth. Emma watched and echoed his movements as exact as she could. When the bell rung to go, both started shooting fervently.

"Emma, you won!" Snow exclaimed.

"Pick out any prize you want," the lady behind the booth couldn't hold back a smile. Snow thought Emma was a weakness for just about anyone.

Emma's eyes brightened at the options. There was a small lion and a small elephant. "I would like the ephelent please." The lady pulled down the elephant and gave it to Emma to hold. With a smile, she gave the stuffed animal a tight hug.

"Ready to go now?" Snow asked. Emma nodded, but leaned up and kissed David on the cheek before getting up.

"What was that for?" David asked in surprise.

At this, Emma lowered her voice, so her mom wouldn't hear. Snow pretended it worked. "You let me win, you silly head!"

"I did no such thing!" David mocked in shock.

"For you," Emma said, handing over the stuffed elephant she had wanted so badly.

"Emma, I can't take this from you. You won it!"

"It's a present. Mommy says if someone gives you a present you say thank you."

Despite her efforts to pretend she couldn't hear, Snow couldn't hold back a little laugh at Emma's six year old wisdom. She didn't give her father much of a choice.

"You are a lot like your mother," David said with fake exasperation. "Thank you."

* * *

By the time they got home, Emma was completely conked out in the backseat.

"I figured as much," Snow said, looking back after she parked the car. "She really likes you. I'm impressed."

"Well I was hoping so," David said, looking down at the stuffed animal in his lap.

"I know you missed six years, but I'm so glad you're home now, David. I want Emma to know you. I think you're right about telling her. I guess there's no right way to go about it, but we'll figure it out. Tomorrow when she wakes up, we'll sit her down and explain it as best as we can."

"She'll understand," David said reassuringly. "She's an amazing little girl."

"What about when she finds out she's the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming? I've been able to push it to the back burner, saying she's too young to understand still, but if she can understand this..."

"Then she'll feel like we lied to her."

"We can't have so many secrets from her. I never wanted to tell her because she's just a kid. She's either going to feel like she was burdened with a secret from her parents her whole life that she couldn't tell her friends without getting made fun of, or she's going to feel lied to us this whole time. So which one is better? Which one do we choose?"

"Snow, none, right now at least. Right now we bring her upstairs and tuck her in and kiss our daughter goodnight, just like we both should have been doing for the past six years. Then we go to bed together like we should have been doing, and do some things no one should have to live six years without. Tomorrow, well, we'll face tomorrow when tomorrow comes."

Snow nodded, calming down. "Can you carry her in?"

David was happy to do so, and got out to open the back door. He lifted Emma into her arms and to his surprise, her arms wrapped around his neck while her eyes squinted open.

"Emma? You're awake?"

Emma smiled the biggest smile he had ever seen, but spoke in a tired, sleepy voice. "I know who you are."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: **Another quick update! woo! I try to update every other day but I've been having writers block on my novel for quite a few days now and am feeling inspired with this story, so there ya go.

THANK YOU for all the love the past couple chapters! The reviews have been AMAZING! I mean not even just the amount but the thought you guys put into it and the story astounds me. (Hey, I didn't lie when I said it motivates quicker updates, did I?) Writing the Charming family scenes has been so fun and I hope you guys don't get bored of reading it soon.

P.S. I always reread old chapters and notice the most annoying typos ever. Two reasons for that: 1) I always proofread with music playing, I guess I should stop. I will eventually, I promise. and 2) It's harder to proofread right after you write. That's why I like to write a chapter and post it the next day, but with all the reviews I just get too excited to wait. Sorry. I'm going to work on it.

* * *

"You know what?" David swallowed. He looked at Snow, who seemed to be staring without moving.

"I know who you are," Emma said again, sleepily. Then before David could ask more, she let her head rest against his chest and fell asleep within moments. David breathed a sigh of relief and started walking to the front door, with Snow just a little ahead of him.

"This house is beautiful," David commented.

"It's not the castle Emma was supposed to grow up in," Snow remarked. "But it's been a good home."

"You've done amazing, Snow. You are a wonderful mother."

"Thank you," Snow said quietly, wishing she could return the parenting compliment. "She needs you, too, though."

After that, they were both silent. Both of their minds were full of thoughts on what they had to do to keep Emma safe, and what Emma meant by saying she knew who David was. She knew he was her father? Snow doubted so. Emma was in a sleep-induced trance. Still, she overheard that he was a father earlier and pointed to the family of elephants. Emma was incredibly smart. It was possible.

* * *

"_Emma! Hold up!" Snow yelled, trying to catch up with her three year old daughter, who was running away from her mother and the sunscreen bottle in her hand. "Emma, I'm serious! Stop or we're going to go home and you're not going to get to play at the park at all today!"_

_This threat was enough to get Emma to return to her mother's side by the bench in the park._

"_Thank you." Snow offered exasperated, and Emma responded by moving back and forth anxiously. "Okay, go. Stay on this side of the playground where I can see you, okay?" Snow warned, and Emma nodded and went on her way to climb up the stairs next to the big slide that swirled around instead of going straight down._

_She sat admiring her daughter when a tiny blue bird sat next to her. Snow smiled instantly, thinking of her home life._

"_Hello, friend! Thank you for visiting me today," Snow said cheerily, holding out her finger. The bluebird perched on it and Snow suddenly felt like she had never left home. She was in the Enchanted Forest and Emma wasn't on the playground alone, she was playing with her father, and tonight they would eat dinner together and tuck Emma in and then talk about all the amazing things their daughter said and did. It was a life almost too perfect, a life she almost had. A life Emma almost had._

_But they didn't._

_Learning about this world in the past three years had tremendously affected the person Snow was. There were things Snow had to become just to survive. Things about herself she had to compromise._

_She knew her heart wasn't the same. She knew it might never be the same. She was in this world alone, and David would still be David when they returned. Snow will be aged and a different person. How could she expect him to love her still? Without thinking, she closed her outstretched hand into a fist. The bird flapped away quickly and tears started spilling out of her eyes. She had been afraid of a lot of things since she came to this world, like burglars and getting bad cheese on burgers from Mcdonalds, but it was fear of physical things. It never felt like this._

_This fear was deep enough to go right through her bones. _

_It's just a bird, Snow. Get it together. You aren't afraid of birds. _

_No, she was terrified of what they reminded her of. _

* * *

"Good morning," Snow said in a just-woke-up voice, rolling over to face her husband.

"Hi."

"I think I could get used to this."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mmm-hmm." David took this as an invitation to continue what they had begun last night, and it was like they hadn't spent a day apart. Snow pushed David down and laid on top of him to kiss him.

"Mumma?"

"Emma!" Snow screeched and jumped inches apart from David. She pulled the covers to her shoulders. "What are you drinking?" Snow asked distracted, scrunching her eyebrows in confusion at the coffee mug Emma was sipping.

"Water."

"In a coffee cup?"

"It's just a cup, Mommy. You don't get to name it because you put your drink in it. There's not a chocolate milk cup." Emma scolded her mother while sipping water out of her cup. She looked like a tiny adult. Except that she still couldn't pronounce chocolate efficiently, so she enunciated every syllable in choc-o-lit.

"I see your logic in that," Snow admitted. "That's a great way to think about it."

Emma smiled proudly, then remembered her initial shock. "What are you guys doing in bed still?"

"We were... well..."

"...resting," David finished. "How about we all have a late breakfast together? Do you mind waiting downstairs while your mom and I get up?"

"Okay," Emma agreed. "I was just finishing my Judy Blume novel anyway. Hurry though please."

"You got it." David said and watched Emma turn out of the bedroom door while taking another sip out of the mug. He looked at Snow in disbelief. "She's amazing."

"She's something else," Snow agreed lightly. "She always surprises me."

"We probably shouldn't keep her waiting long."

"No," Snow agreed, "we probably shouldn't."

* * *

Downstairs, Snow immediately went to the counter to put cinnamon toast in for Emma, but David told her to stop.

"What?"

"Sit," David instructed. "Relax. Let me help."

Snow smiled, and Emma seemed to look on in approval too. She was so used to being the only adult, of looking out for Emma, she forgot what it felt like to have someone looking out for her. She watched her daughter turn the page, unaware of the presence of her father cooking her breakfast. She wondered if understanding the curse and her role in it would help her understand David being missing for her entire life so far.

But could she really burden a six year old with all that? She had decided it was unfair to keep who David was from her, but what about why? It would be easier for Emma to come to terms with it if she knew her whole life, but it's a heavy weight to grow up having. She'd have to believe Emma would understand when she was older. It was Snow's, and David's, job to protect her. She didn't need to know yet. She wanted to talk to David more about approaching it, but they had agreed to tell her today. David wanted to be a father, he deserved to be her father, she couldn't keep postponing it out of her own fear. She was still trying to justify waiting to herself when David's voice interrupted her.

"Hope you guys like cinnamon toast, frozen waffles, and bacon," David joked and Emma placed a bookmark in her book.

"Frozen waffles?" Emma questioned. "Why?"

"No- I mean, they're cooked. They just were frozen before I, uh, cooked them."

"Ohhhh," Emma nodded.

"It looks really great! Emma?" Snow said, hinting to Emma she had something else to say.

"Thank you, David! I like frozen waffles," Emma declared. David laughed, but looked at Snow. He was anxious to talk to Emma.

"Emma, after we clean up breakfast, we need to talk about something really important," Snow began, and Emma's face immediately filled with worry.

"Am I in trouble?" She said, her lip wavering. David was shocked by the physical reaction at seeing it. He knew seeing your child in pain wasn't a particularly enjoyable experience, but it was more than that. It felt like someone punched him in the stomach.

"No! Not at all!" David said quickly.

"Of course not, sweetie. But it is very important."

* * *

David sat down on the reclining chair opposite of the couch where Emma and Snow sat. He didn't know if he should speak first. Snow looked thoughtful, and Emma looked slightly bored. He was anxious, but he felt like the actual words should be said by Snow. She was the parent Emma knew. As much as it hurt, between the both of them, Emma only trusted one right now.

"Emma," Snow finally started. "Do you remember what you said last night?"

"Yes."

"You do," Snow breathed. "What was it?"

"I said a lot of things, Mumma." Emma had said it completely serious and had a valid point, and David lifted his hand to cover his smile.

"Yes, I should have been more specific. I meant last night before we went inside and David got you from the backseat. Do you remember that?"

"Yes. I said 'I know who you are'."

"Exactly. Why did you say that, Emma?" Snow held in her breath, and she didn't even need to glance over to know David was doing the same.

"Because I know who he is."

"Who is he?" Snow pressed.

"Prince Charming!"

Snow wondered if the hammering in her heart was loud enough for her daughter to hear. Finally, she stole a glance over to David, who had no color in the face around his slightly open mouth.

"Why do you say that?" David asked.

"Because you are! You're just like from the movies me and mommy watch."

"So you think he's just like a character from a movie?" Snow clarified, relieved. She didn't know how much Harmony or Ryan had mentioned to her. She never even thought about it until now. They had both been alone with her.

"All the movies," Emma corrects. "All the princesses have a prince charming. He just comes from nowhere and is really nice and you know what?"

"What?" Snow asked, nervous of where it was going.

Emma cupped her hand over her mouth and whispered into her mom's ear. "Prince charmings sleep in the same beds as the princesses, just like you and David."

All the color rushed to Snow's cheeks at the reminder of the incident from earlier.

"Emma, that's an interesting theory."

"What's theory?"

"It's an idea you think is correct."

"My idea is correct!"

"We have to talk about something else really important about David, okay? It's about you, too."

"What is it?" Emma asked, shifting back down into the couch and adjusting her shorts. Snow could tell she was getting distracted.

Snow looked at her husband and daughter for a long few moments before she had the strength to continue.

"Do you remember when we went to the fair last year and you were upset because a little boy told you that your dad didn't want you?" Snow mentioned the memory and could see David wince. She wondered how badly he wanted to speak up, to tell Emma how wrong that boy was, to tell her he was here and never leaving her again and he loved her more than anything.

"That was Adam. He's in my class still."

"Right, Adam. Well Adam was very, very wrong. Your dad spent six years looking for you but he could never find you. He's loved you so much ever since he knew you were in my tummy. He even had to go to jail because he wouldn't stop looking for you." Snow said the words carefully, wondering if Emma would understand. She only nodded, waiting for Snow to explain further. "Do you remember what I said about David going to jail?"

"Good people go to jail sometimes even if they do what is right." Emma proudly boasted her excellent memory, not making the connection.

"Exactly, sometimes they're doing things that are important to them and what they know is right. David was looking for us, because he loves you very, very much and wanted to find you."

Emma nodded again as if she understood, but then her expression changed into one of confusion. Snow could almost see the questions being formed in her brain.

"I know this is confusing, Em. I'm sure you have questions."

Emma looked back and forth at both of her parents for the first time knowingly. She opened her mouth, but closed it again.

She put her hands on the side of her legs and stared at the space on the couch that she could see in the crack between her thighs.

Then she burst into tears.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: **Kind of a twist at the end, I won't give it away so I'll explain at the bottom. Let me know what you are thinking! I'm dying to know. Expected? Unexpected? Weird? Conflicted? Tell me it all. Also, poor Ems, am I right? :(

* * *

"Emma, baby, it's okay. It's okay," Snow without thinking wrapped her arms around Emma, and Emma's cries only got louder. She tried to comfort her by running her hands through Emma's hair, but she was hysterical. She kept one hand holding Emma's head by her chest, and used her other one to wipe the tears staining her cheeks.

"Mommy," Emma choked out the word and made herself small enough to curl into Snow's lap. David watched helplessly, wanting to comfort his daughter, but scared of making it worse. Was there something he could say? Should he leave them alone until Emma calms down? He had no idea how to approach the situation. It was truly his first one as a father.

"Emma..." He tried, but his voice was too quiet, and neither Snow nor Emma heard it. He had never felt so helpless. He racked his brain, then got up and went to the kitchen. He could feel Snow eyeing him, probably wondering what he was doing, but she was too consumed with hysterical Emma to be able to ask. The only time he had seen Emma upset was for those few minutes at the zoo, and Snow was able to calm her down almost instantly. But Emma was absolutely inconsolable. He knew what Emma was feeling; he felt it before. The air around you seemed to become heavier when words that changed your entire life escaped into it.

He came back into the living room with a coffee mug, or, just a mug as Emma would argue, and offered with his outstretched hands. Emma looked up from her mother's lap with wet eyes in confusion.

"Are you thirsty?"

Emma sniffled.

"It's chocolate milk. In a chocolate milk mug."

Emma gave way to a small half-smile and hiccuped. "There's no such thing as a chocolate milk mug, David." _Choc-oh-lit._

"Well, why can't there be? I say we make an official chocolate milk mug for all your chocolate milk needs."

Emma was still wearing her smile when she looked at her mom, who gave her a look and small nod of approval. Emma slowly took the mug out of David's hand and took a sip.

"How is it?"

"Good."

"Do you want to talk now?"

"Okay," Emma agreed. Her eyes were still wet and her cheeks were still rosy. She looked so young. It was hard for David to believe she was the same girl who explained she was going to finish novels while she waited or thought about the logical names of cups. Seeing her cry like that, it reminded him that despite her intelligence and independence, she was still a little girl who needed her parents.

"I know this is going to be hard for you, Emma," David started. He sat back down on the reclining chair across from Snow, who was rubbing Emma's back comfortingly. "I just want you to know it's okay, and that none of this is your fault. If you're angry or sad or upset at all, I don't want you to feel bad about feeling those things. You didn't ask for this, and you're allowed to feel anything you want." David looked to see Emma's reaction, but she just blinked. "You can always talk to me or your mom. There's no right or wrong way to feel."

Emma looked at David and Snow and fidgeted again with her position on the couch. She moved her legs up and crossed them.

"I'm sleepy," Emma warned.

"It's okay, baby. You can take a nap if you want," Snow assured her quickly. Watching Emma melt down like that felt like Snow's heart was getting torn out of her body. She felt tired herself.

Emma laid down right on the couch, put her head on Snow's lap and closed her eyes. It may have felt like her heart was getting ripped out of her body, but this small act of Emma's reminded Snow it was still there and who it belonged to without a doubt.

"Well..." David said and sighed. He took a few moments to admire his daughter, who already looked like she was a trance-like sleep. "Wow, she was exhausted."

"I've never seen her cry like that. It takes a lot of energy out of you."

"Yeah..." David agreed, looking down.

"If I knew she was going to react like that..."

"You what? Wouldn't have told her?"

"No- of course I wasn't going to say that!" Snow defended, then lowered her voice. "We shouldn't talk about it with her here anyway. She could wake up any second- and we both know it doesn't take much for her to put things together."

"Okay," David agreed. "I think I'll go for a walk if you don't mind. I haven't been able to enjoy the sunshine and outdoors for awhile. Do you need anything from the store? Maybe I could drive a bit to figure out the area."

"I think we're all set... Maybe some milk and chocolate powder," Snow smiled almost shyly. "The keys are in the bowl by the door."

* * *

David had every intention of stopping at the store as he had told Snow. But he had another destination in mind, and an important one.

He had driven before, but not much. He hadn't owned his own car, but he had borrowed Ryan's before. He was reminded of the rules of the road quickly, and by the time he pulled into the Animal Shelter parking lot, he felt like an old-time pro again.

"David! What are you doing here buddy?"

"I'm here to see Ryan, is he here today?" David greeted Jason as warmly as he could. He wasn't in the mood for small talk, but he didn't want to take it on the teenage kid trying to make extra cash by cleaning animal crap.

"In the office. He's got someone in there with him though..."

David only needed to hear in the office. Anything else was irrelevant. He walked to the small room he slept in his first night in this world, suddenly realizing it was all a trap. He went exactly where he was supposed to. Ryan had been playing him this whole time, keeping him away from his family, trying to set him up with other people. From the moment he walked in here, Ryan knew who he was.

"Uh, hey..." Ryan said, not hiding the shock in his voice.

"You have about ten seconds to give me a reason not to kill you with my bare hands."

"Meg, I'll call you later, okay?" Ryan said to the girl standing near David. Meg took the

hint and walked out of the office, leaving David and Ryan alone. "I know you have a lot of questions, James..."

"Don't patronize me, Ryan, or whoever you are. You know my name."

"Okay, David. I know you're angry but I also know who you are. Think logically."

"Logically? You kept me away from my family!"

"I know, and I regret it, but I want to help now."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because I was wrong. I couldn't stand up for myself or what's right, but I can now. I told Harmony I won't help her steal a little girl away from her parents. Not anymore, at least. Not now that I spent a day with her. She's a great little girl and she deserves to grow up with the people who love her most. I shouldn't have helped keep you away from her so long. I'll never forgive myself for not being able to stand up for my own consciousness."

"How can you help?"

"I was on the inside. I know what Harmony wants. I also know the one weakness she has."

"She has a weakness?"

"Her son. Regina has him. Harmony is doing all of this for him."

"She has a child but she'd still try to keep a parent away from their own?"

"There are different kinds of people, David. For some, love is the most powerful motivation. It can make people do extraordinary things. But for others, the most powerful motivator is fear."

At this point, David was wondering if she should continue the conversation or strangle his old friend. He was still so angry, deep inside. He had never felt anger so strongly before. The only time he had felt anything close to this was the despair of learning only one could go through the wardrobe. He couldn't deal with that hopelessness. But he couldn't run away from those feelings this time. This time he didn't just have a wife, he had a daughter to be an example for. A daughter to find answers for.

"You said you knew me? Were you from the Enchanted Forest?"

Ryan looked down, as if he was suddenly ashamed. "Yes, I was. But you wouldn't remember me."

"Why do you say so?"

"I wasn't exactly in this... form. At home, I went by Jiminy."

* * *

**A/N:** For the people who were wondering if Ryan was from the Enchanted forest... there ya go! He's not Archie Hopper though. He was Jiminy Cricket. His human form is different than the character of Archie. I posted a picture of him on my tumblr and if you copy this link: post/89774025344/ryan-wake-me-up

Hopefully that works! Also on my tumblr **shelizabethwriting** I started to post a little short story that takes place in the future centered around Olivia, Henry's future daughter, who learns about her family history from Grandma Emma. If you want to check it out that would be cool!

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review! Yay


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N:** Sorry for the late update! Things got busy, and I'm going away for the weekend again but I started writing as soon as I woke up so I could finish and post this update before I left. I'm not sure if it's just me, because I'm mapping out where it's going, but it's getting really interesting to write. I'm excited to reveal more about Harmony and Regina, and write more about Snowing and their family. I hope you guys like it! Thanks for the reviews.

Also if you guys have any guesses to who Harmony is or if she was even in the EF, I'd be really interested in hearing the predictions.

Oh and SaraLovesCastle, don't apoligize for a long review! They are my fav!

* * *

"Jiminy?" David's voice was encased in disbelief and doubt.

"Jiminy Cricket."

"_You_ are Jiminy Cricket? You're unrecognizable."

"Yes, Regina turned me back into human form when she sent me to this world," Ryan looked down when he spoke, as if he couldn't bear to make eye contact.

"How did you get here? Who is the woman you are working with?"

"It doesn't matter, she has become Harmony now. It does no matter to dwell on our past selves, only who we are becoming from here. I came here with Regina's aid. She sent ah-Harmony and I here about a week before she set the curse. Our realm was so paralyzed with fear, scrambling for a way out, that nobody even noticed the small absences. We were to live in this world freely, so long as we kept you away from Snow White. And as long as Emma remained unknowledgable about the curse, she was to be left be."

"What if she did know? I mean, about the curse?" David asked with hesitation, thinking about his conversation with Snow last night.

"Then Regina would begin her plans to take Emma away from Snow White and keep her locked in solitude until her 28th birthday passed- or, she died," Ryan lowers his already quiet voice. "Whichever came first."

"No! How do we stop her?"

"I'm not sure how to stop Regina. I know we can buy ourselves time as long as Emma doesn't know about the curse and her role in it. Can you make sure of that?"

David clicked his tongue, unsure if he should believe Ryan, and unsure if he should force his wife and daughter to live in fear. But he couldn't sacrifice her safety just to live "right." Would Snow agree though? Maybe he should just try to talk her out of telling Emma without mentioning why. Could he keep up such an extravagant lie?

"Yes," David said finally. "I can make sure of that."

"Okay, good. I think I know where to start with Harmony."

David waited for a response, assuming Ryan would let him in on his plan after explaining all of this to him. He was right. Ryan continued with a mix of determination and regret in his eyes.

"We have to get to her son."

* * *

David power walked through the store, anxious to get back to his family. He was brimming with new information about their lives. Although he still didn't know how much he planned to share, he knew he just wanted to be with them. His visit with Ryan was longer than he expected, and he just wanted to get back to Snow and Emma.

He couldn't stop tapping his fingers waiting for the person bagging his groceries to finish. He knew he needed to calm down before he got back, so in Snow's car he counted until to ten, then took deep breaths until he calmed down. He continued his deep breaths throughout the ride, reminding himself that Snow didn't know where he was, and had no idea that he would be getting such information. He didn't want to lie to her. He knew that. But he also didn't want to burden her. He knew how devastated she would be to even think of what would happen if Regina knew that Emma knew. He didn't want to force Snow to make the decision between her consciousness, and Regina's threat. He didn't want Snow to live with either decision.

Closing the car door in their driveway, he realized he would just have to protect her.

He walked in to Snow and Emma in the same spot he left them in. Only, Emma was now awake and they were walking on a puzzle on the coffee table.

"Hi," David said shyly, not wanting to interrupt.

"Hi David!" Emma said without thinking, before she could recall the earlier conversation. It quickly washed through her, and Emma turned to look back at her puzzle before David could respond.

"What's going on?"

"Emma woke up from her nap about 30 minutes ago and we were just waiting, so we decided to do a puzzle. How was your trip?"

David swallowed and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "It was good... Really beautiful outside. I'm just going to go put these away," David offered, pointing to the bag of groceries in his hand with his eyes. Snow nodded suspiciously but smiled, and David walked to the kitchen.

"Is he still gonna live with us?" Emma asked out of the blue.

"Yes... yes, he's going to live with us, still," Snow said thoughtfully. "Does that upset you?"

Emma shook her head. "Mommy?"

"Yes, love?"

"Was I right?"

"About what?"

"Is he for real your prince charming?"

Snow smiled at her daughter, amazed at her conclusions on David after only knowing him briefly. The combination of David's charm and the excess of Disney movies with Emma's intelligence was there though. David was charming and sweet, more than Emma had ever known from any other man.

"Yes, Em, that's exactly what he is. I love and care for him very much."

Emma nodded, but a smile big enough to swallow her face erupted. "That means you're a Princess!"

Snow let out a chuckle of sheer disbelief at Emma's own perception of her parents. What were the chances? Of course Emma was smart, but it was amazing how right she was. Snow suddenly wanted to tell Emma everything, to tell her she was right, to explain how important she is, and tell her where she came from. But she knew now it was a decision to make with David. She had gone from a parent to a co-parent, and she had to make sure she let David's thoughts have just as much weight as her own if Emma would be able to ever think of him as her father.

"I'm back," David announced in the entranceway to the living room, as if he was afraid of surprising Emma by walking into the room unannounced. He was afraid of surprising her, as if it might set off more tears. "That's a really pretty puzzle. Did you pick it out?"

Emma looked at the picture of the sunset on the puzzle box, then at her father. "Yes."

"I like it," David confirmed.

"Do I have to call you Dad now?" Emma's blunt question caught them both off guard.

David could see Snow moving to respond, but David started talking first. "No, no, you don't have to call me anything you don't want to. I know this is new for you. You can call me David, or Cheese-head, or whatever name you want."

Emma erupted into giggles at the sheer impossibility of calling an adult Cheese-head. "That's disrespectful!"

"Oh, hmm, well... I guess David will be okay too."

"Okay, David." Emma was smiling when she said it, and David suddenly couldn't fathom living another day without that smile. "Do you wanna help me and Mommy with the puzzle?"

David smiled somewhat sadly. He should have been here, Emma should have been calling him Dad and Daddy with that kind of ease. He was here now though, and his daughter had invited him to do a puzzle with her.

"It would truly be my honor," David said and did a small bow, causing another fit of giggles in Emma.

* * *

At the end of the day, David was feeling pretty successful with Emma. He had gotten her to brush her teeth and take her vitamin all on his own. He pulled back the covers and got into bed with his wife for the second night in the row. She was using the lamp to read a giant brown book.

"I could get used to this again," David smiled coyly.

"Hmm?" Snow responded without looking up.

"What are you reading?"

"It's a book of our lives, David," Snow said eagerly, as if she was waiting for him to ask. "I never bought it, it just was in my closet one day. I have no idea how it got there. It's just all of our lives, written down. It's everything."

"And... you want to give it to Emma?" David said slowly.

"Wouldn't it be the perfect explanation? It's our real stories. Emma is smart enough to understand, but young enough to believe in us still."

"No, Snow. We can't."

"Excuse me?"

"We just can't. It's not the right thing to do."

"That's not really just a decision for you to make. If we're going to parent her together, we need to _actually_ do it together."

"I know, just please. Can you trust me on this?"

Snow sighed and closed the book. She turned over to face David. "If you tell me where you really were today, maybe."


	22. Chapter 22

"How did you know?" David asked with a hint of defeat.

"Did you really think I would forget all your mannerisms in only six years? You did your dead giveaway!"

"Hand on my neck..."

"Mhmm. So what's going on? What didn't you want to tell me?"

"Snow..."

"Don't Snow me. What is going on with you? Where did you go today?"

"I went... I went to visit Ryan," David admitted. He was lying on his back, facing the ceiling, but he moved his eyes to see his wife's reaction.

"Ryan? The man who is trying to hurt us and/or our daughter? Did you just want to catch up? See how your old buddy is doing? How's his favorite sport team doing, by the way? Did you tell him I said hello!"

"No! Listen to me. I had to talk to him about what was going on. He brought Emma to see me when I was in jail. If he didn't do that, I'd still be there and you still wouldn't have even known I was in this world."

Snow's argument was silenced at this point, knowing it was true. "What did he say?"

"You'll never believe who he is-or was- or is. I don't know. Back home, in the Enchanted Forest, I mean."

"Who?" Snow said intrigued, getting the point.

"Jiminy Cricket!"

"From the war council?"

"Were there other bugs at the round table that I was unaware of?"

Snow rolled her eyes. "How did he get here?"

"Regina assisted him, as well as Harmony. They were to keep us apart in order to live freely here away from the curse."

"I always considered her a friend... I always wondered how she was doing. Now I know she was right under my nose this entire time, making small digs at me, keeping away from my husband. How infuriating." Snow claimed anger, but she looked more crestfallen than mad.

"I know... but we're together now. That's what matters."

"Yes," Snow smiled. "That's what matters."

David rolled over to kiss Snow, ready for another night like the one before, but Snow wasn't finished. "I was thinking of doing some errands tomorrow. Maybe you and Emma could have some bonding time?" She continued kissing him in between words, but the idea made David stop.

"Really?"

"I think it would be really good for you guys to have some alone time to bond."

"I would love that, Snow."

Snow smiled at the response she was expecting.

* * *

"I'm off now, Emma, you're going to be good right?"

"Yes, Mommy." Emma was distracted, working on her princess coloring book.

"Emma, look at me," Snow said, crouching down to eye level with her daughter. "I'm serious. David loves you very much and just wants to get to know you."

"Okay!" Emma agreed hastily. Snow sighed and looked at her husband.

"It will be fine. You don't need to worry," David assured her.

"I know," Snow agreed, because she did know they would be fine. She also knew her daughter was shy and stand offish with people she didn't know, and they had turned her world upside down with the news about David. She seemed to really like him before, though. "Have fun. I'll be back in a couple hours."

With that, Snow walked out of the front door, leaving David alone with his daughter for the first time.

"So Emma, do you have any idea what you want to do today?"

She shrugged.

"We could finish that puzzle."

"I wanna wait for mommy to finish it."

"Oh, right. Well, anything you want just let me know."

Emma thought about it for a minute. "Can I watch tv?"

"Do you usually watch tv?"

Emma considered lying, but she chickened out. "Not really," she admitted.

"Oh."

"Is it always going to be this weird, David?"

"Well," David started, relieved at Emma's blunt question for eliminating some of the awkwardness. "I really hope not. We still have to figure each out. You could tell me things about you, and I'll tell you things about me."

"Okay," Emma said after thinking a moment.

"Okay," David smiled. "I'll ask a question first. What's your favorite subject in school?"

"Recess! And Science. I like astromeny."

"You like learning about the stars?" David said, interpreting.

"Yeah, the constant-lations."

"I think that's pretty interesting too," he admitted. "Do you want to ask a question now?"

"Okay," Emma thought silently for a few minutes before she decided on one. "How did you meet Mommy?"

"That's a big one," David joked. "We met a long, long time ago."

"Like before I was born?" Emma gaped.

David laughed. "Yes, that's how you were born," he joked, but it went right over Emma's head. "We met in a forest. We were both in trouble. I saved her, then she saved me. Then somehow... I fell in love with her. We wanted to get married and have a family- well, you."

Emma nodded. "You can axe a question now."

"Okay, let me think. Hmmm. If you could have any pet, besides an elephant, what would it be?"

"A puppy! Or kitty. I like both," Emma smiled at the thought. "Her name would be Cutie Pie."

"That's a really great name. Did you think of that yourself?"

"Yeah! Okay, my turn to ask a question," Emma declared before she got serious. She looked down before continuing and when she opened her mouth, her voice was quiet. "How come you left us?"

"Emma... I-"

"It's okay, David. I'm not mad at you."

"Emma, I didn't choose to leave you. I would have never chose that. There were just things that got in the way... things I hope you will understand someday. I wish I could explain it now, but I just can't. I just want you to know I love you, I've always loved you, and I'm never going to leave again. You can trust me... you can believe in me."

Emma looked up with a slight twinkle in her eye. "I have another question. Do I have to wait my turn?"

"No, you can ask me anything."

"You said you were my dad." A statement of clarification.

"Yes?"

"There's a dance that we're apposed to bring our dads to at my dance place..." Emma trailed off.

"Did you want to go?" David asked, surprised and hopeful.

Emma shrugged.

"Well, I don't know about you, but that sounds like a lot of fun to me."

"It does?" Emma asked, her eyes lighting up.

"Are you kidding? I would love to go to one of those."

"Well... you could go with me if you wanted," Emma said shyly.

David smiled. It wasn't her first dance at a ball, but it was still close enough to the moment he had always imagined having with his daughter.

* * *

"You knew," David accused.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Snow smiled and added dishes to the sink where David was washing them.

"You're lying."

"Emma, go upstairs and get ready for a bath. I'll be right up." Emma took the cue from her mom and walked up the stairs two at a time. As she disappeared, Snow turned to David. "You were saying?"

"You were trying to get Emma to ask about the father daughter dance. You planned it!"

"I might have casually reminded Emma that it was coming up this month. I didn't tell her to ask you. I was hoping she would, but that was all her."

"Spending time with her was so great, Snow. I can't believe we made such a great person."

"I know."

"Do you think she'll ever call me Dad?" David turned off the sink and wiped his hands on the towel Snow was using to dry the dishes.

"Hey!" Snow teased, pulling the towel towards her. "And of course, she will," Snow's voice softened. "I can tell her to, if you want. That is who you are."

"No, no, I don't want you to tell her to call me anything. I want it to be when she's ready and really thinks of me as her father."

"It won't be forever. I think you guys are off to a great start," Snow kissed him lightly and handed the dish towel to him in the process. "If you'll excuse me, the little Greatest Person Ever is awaiting me upstairs."

David sighed and picked up a cup to start drying.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N:** Hey guys I didn't put an authors note in the beginning of last chapter which is weird for me cause I really like talking to you guys directly.

So yeah what's up with Ryan though? Seriously man... Haha but really what do are you guys thinking? Is he actually good or bad!? Is he just a big fat liar about everything?

Please reviewwwww! I told you guys I'd update every other day and I'm trying to stay on that regular schedule but it really helps when I have reviews. It just motivates me, plus it makes the story better. I know what I'm envisioning when I write, but when I hear from you guys I know what I'm pulling off and what I need to put more focus on. Also it's just really fun for me, to be honest, when I get them.

* * *

"You know if I could make it stay like this forever, I would."

"I know," David whispered to his wife. They had both tuck Emma into bed, and waited for her to fall asleep. They stood over her, neither one making the first move to leave.

"Are you hungry or anything? I could make hot chocolate."

David nodded to agree, but both watched their sleeping daughter a few more moments before David assured Snow. "She'll be okay. She's just a few steps away."

"I know," Snow agreed. "It's just- we have to talk. I wish we didn't, but there's a lot of stuff happening. I wish things could stay like this forever, but they can't."

"Okay. Let's talk downstairs over that hot chocolate," he put his arm around her shoulder, and she sighed and put one arm around him, comforted by his small act. It felt good to have him close.

David watched his wife watch him. Her hand was tracing the mug with her drink in it, but she had yet to take a sip. There was something on her mind, that was troubling her so much she couldn't even manage to get down her favorite drink.

"You have something on your face," she laughed, reaching over and rubbing the edge of his top lip with her thumb. She licked the whipped cream off her thumb, knowing she had broken the silence. "There's a lot of things to talk about."

"I know," David admitted.

"The curse."

"I know."

"Harmony and Ryan," Snow continued.

"I know."

"We have to do something. We can't just sit here and wait for ourselves to somehow mess up and lose Emma again. We need to get her to safety."

David sighed and looked at his hot chocolate, already about halfway done. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach and didn't know why he drank so much of it.

"There's something else I need to tell you... something about when I met with Ryan," David started, waiting to see Snow's reaction.

"I know."

"You know? And you didn't say anything?"

"I was hoping you'd tell me before I had to. I don't know what it is... I just knew you hadn't told me everything."

"No.. I hadn't," he sighed. "I left out a pretty big piece. Ryan told me more than just who he was at home. He told me about Harmony, and I'm pretty sure she's from back home too because of what he told me about Regina assigning them to keep us apart," David paused while Snow nodded at the information she already had. "He also told me about Emma. They're supposed to keep us apart, but that's all... They claim that they'll leave Emma be... as long as she doesn't know about the curse or her role in it. Regina wants to make sure she never knows. If she does..." David stopped because he couldn't finish.

"If she does then what? What will she do, David?"

"If Emma did know, she won't stop until she has Emma. Ryan said her plans are to keep Emma locked away until her 28th birthday passes... or worse..."

"Worse?" Snow exclaimed. "What could be worse than being locked away somewhere for over twenty years?"

"Snow..."

"No!" Snow gasped, realizing. "No! How could you not tell me this sooner?"

"I wanted to protect you!"

"What about Emma? Who was going to protect her?"

"Me!" David defended. "I wanted to protect both of you!"

"You can't think like that anymore, David! You just can't afford to. What if something happened to you before you got to tell us? I don't want to even imagine it... but say something did? I need to know these things. I need to know _everything_ involving Emma. We have to be in this together. Protecting us is helping me protect her, too."

"I wasn't sure if...," David started, not making eye-contact. "I wasn't sure if you would still want to tell her after this. I know you didn't want to live in fear of Regina. I was afraid- I was afraid of risking it."

Snow shook her head in disbelief. "You can't honestly believe that... can you? That I would risk my daughter's safety just to spite Regina? I don't even know if I would want her to know this young. It would be easier for us, yes, to make her believe now. But no one should be burdened that young with a secret with so much power." Snow shook her head, as if the memories with Cora could be shaken out if she did it enough.

"Snow..."

"David, how could you think that I would let anything, _anything_ come before Emma?

"I didn't. I wasn't thinking..."

"Yeah, that was the problem!"

"I'm sorry. I promise, Snow, I won't keep anything like this from you again. I won't keep anything from you at all. I guess I forgot how strong you are. You don't really need my protecting."

Snow sighed and reached her hand across the table to hold David's. "That doesn't mean you should ever stop trying, though."

David smiled in relief, but his face contorted with worry when he continued. "Not telling her only buys us time. It's not a permanent solution."

"I know. We're going to tell her someday, and when we do, we can't be living here. But they can follow us anywhere, plus they know we have fake ID's. We fell right into Regina's trap."

"There's gotta be a way out."

"I can't see one. I can't send Emma to school there, and I can't go back to work there. I can homeschool her, but then we lose my entire income. How can we survive with that? You don't have a job either."

"I'll find a job. I'll do whatever it takes."

"It's not that easy, David. In this world you need a lot of schooling and a lot of education."

"Then I'll go back to school."

Snow let out another sigh. "Maybe we have enough money to run... but I don't want Emma to live like that if she doesn't have to. David, it's like we're at a brick wall. We have to figure out how to get over it, because if we just plow through someone is going to get hurt. And I don't think either of us are willing to risk the person who suffers being Emma."

"No. But we'll figure a way to get over it, or around it, or drill a hole in it and get through. We always find a way."

"I missed your optimism," Snow said, letting out a smile as she leaned over the table to kiss him.

"Well I'm starting to think you just bring out the best in me."

* * *

Ryan didn't bother knocking. He had been to this room too many times before to worry about proper manners.

"Get up," he ordered, pulling the sweatshirt from underneath the blonde woman's head.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

"Saving your ass," Ryan explained.

"Get out of here. You have no business being here. You picked your side... you don't want to help me. So get out. I don't need you," Harmony declared with a mix of contempt and confidence.

"Get off your high horse. I came to apologize, okay? I'm here to help."

"You want to help me? What changed your mind?"

"Maybe I've just done a lot of thinking."

"Mhmm. What really changed your mind?"

"Regina... reached out to me in sorts. She reminded me what I have to lose. So I'm here to help. Whether I want to or not," Ryan rubbed his thumb into his palm, a nervous habit he always had.

"Fine," Harmony agreed. "Only because my plan could require some extra hands."

"Plan?" Ryan said, intrigued. He sat down next to the chair Harmony was previously sleeping in.

"Yes. Regina isn't aware of it yet, but I think it will make her more than happy. I think the best way to split up those two is to take the girl away from them. We'll send them different hints as to where Emma is, leading them in different directions and tearing them apart. Once they're separated... well, it's much easier to keep them that way then to get them that way. We'll give the little girl to Regina... sort of like a bonus."

"No..." Ryan said, understanding. "Not as a bonus. As a trade-off. You think if you give Emma to Regina, she'll give you your son? Do you really believe she's that heartless? To just trade off children like that?"

"She's Regina."

"True... but still, the chances are slim. She wouldn't want to raise Emma. She'll torture her."

"It's my best shot," Harmony said, her voice thick with desperation.

"Okay," Ryan agreed. "I get it."

"Okay," Harmony said. "Why did you talk to him when he came?"

Ryan clicked his tongue. He didn't know she knew about that. "David was angry. I had to feed him something to calm him down. He thinks I'm on his side now. It will work to our advantage. Don't worry... everything I told him was just made up. I told him Regina both sent us here to keep them apart."

"But she did send you here, didn't she?"

"Yes, that part was true, but it was to make sure Emma didn't know about the curse. Not even Regina knew David would make it through the wardrobe."

"He's dense, that one. Isn't he?"

Ryan laughed, but it came out more like heavy air out of his nose. "You believe what you need to believe."


	24. Chapter 24

_**A/N:**_HEY! So... hey. I'm glad I got this update today. I was hoping to finish sometime over the weekend, and I ended up just sitting right through and writing it all out. I just wanted to let you guys know about updates. Two things. 1) I am going on vacation this coming week with no internet access! So no updates throughout the week. 2) I am getting a super minor surgery when I get back, but I honestly don't know how much I'm going to feel like writing. It is kind of my favorite thing to do, so hopefully I'll feel up to it while I'm sitting around doing nothing.

Anyway, I tried to make this chapter Charming family heavy to make up for it!

Please review. It will make a poor girl who spent all night in the hospital smileeeee! (did I just attempt to guilt trip? A new low...) I even like reviews when you tell me what you didn't like.

Also in case anyone didn't know and was wondering- the song in this chapter is Butterfly Kisses by Bob Dylan. It always makes me cry.

* * *

_She was in the Enchanted forest. She was alone. She looked around for someone she knew, vaguely aware Emma was missing from her side. She looked for David to tell him they had to find her, but he was nowhere to be found. She tried to scream, but her lungs were empty. At this realization, it felt like everything was collapsing. She looked around the forest, desperate for help, but it was completely alone. The green trees were turning brown in front of her eyes. The leaves were disappearing, and the grassy fields and easy dirt for traveling was turning into all mud._

_Please help! Her lungs were closing. She tried to yell out, but it only stopped her breath. Help me. Help me. Help, I can't do it alone! She couldn't breathe. She looked down at her feet, her last resort, because maybe if her brain failed her then her feet could still run. It could take her away. Run, feet, fun. They started to move, slowly, stuck in the mud. Move faster, you stupid feet! Slowly, but surely, they were taking her away. I'll find David, and Emma. It will all be okay._

_As her feet moved through the mud, one foot stopped. Her heart hammered as she pulled and pulled, a futile fight against the mud sucking her whole leg under._

_I have to find my family! She yelled, but she still had not found her voice. The air seemed to get heavier. She tried to breathe in again, but it just felt like she was choking._

"_Your family is right here," a woman's voice called through the thickness. Snow whipped her head around, and then she was gone._

She woke up, again, sweating in her room. She lifted her palm to her face to wipe the sweat and her hand was cold to the touch. She could feel her lip quivering. It was the only thing that could move, the rest of her suddenly felt paralyzed.

"Snow... Snow, are you okay? What happened?"

The voice snapped her back to reality, and she slowly turned her head, scared of what she would see.

"What happened? Are you okay?" David's voice was understanding and calm, and Snow took a deep breath, relieved that she could. Her hands were still shaking, but David held them in his own. "It's okay. It was just a dream."

Snow looked at him and nodded. She didn't say a single word, just laid back down and curled her body into David. It was just a dream.

After a few moments of pregnant silence, and David stroking Snow's hair, she spoke into his chest.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Snow."

"I don't want to ever go another day without you."

David kissed the top of her head as a response.

* * *

Snow woke up to the sound of her daughter's voice, and blinked her eyes open. She lifted her head from the position on David's chest, a reaffirmation that her nightmare was real.

"Hi, love. What time is it?"

Emma shrugged, which meant she hadn't even looked at her analog clock, something she always took pride in doing. "I just woke up."

"Are you hungry?"

Emma shook her head. Snow looked suspiciously at her daughter.

"Can I lay with you guys for a little while?" Emma asked shyly. This made Snow sit up, as David was rubbing his eyes open.

Snow scooted over and patted the spot in between her and David. "What's going on, baby?"

Emma climbed on the bed and settled in between them. David looked questioningly, but Snow gave him a look that she'd explain later. Emma had loved her big girl bed since the moment she got it when they moved into this house. She was always independent with it. The only time she ever asked to lay with Snow was when she had nightmares.

"I had a bad dream," Emma confirmed Snow's thought.

"It's okay," Snow comforted, putting her arm around Emma. "It was only a dream. Do you want to talk about?"

"I was in a forest, and it was muddy, and I was alone," Emma started, and Snow choked on her own spit out of surprise. "Mommy?"

"Yes, continue, it's okay."

"Okay," Emma agreed. "I got stuck in the mud and I was calling for you. You were there but I couldn't find you. I was looking for David but I was alone. Someone was yelling at me and saying my family was gone. Then I was in a tower and a woman with dark hair told me I was never gonna see you again. I started crying, then I woke up."

"Oh, Emma," Snow said, hugging her daughter. "You will never be alone, you hear me? That was just a horrible dream, but we're awake now." Emma nodded, letting herself being pulled into the hug. She reached her hand out to hold on to David's arm, a silent message that she wanted him there.

"I feel better now," Emma declared after the reassurance, her tone completely changed. "Can I get ready?"

"Get ready for what?" Snow teased.

"Mommy, you know what today is!"

"I know," Snow smiled. "Go ahead. I think David has a lot to do too."

Emma beamed at her father, then turned back to her mother. "Will you braid my hair?"

"Of course!" Snow exclaimed. "Let's eat first, though. The dance isn't til much later this afternoon."

Emma sighed, but got up and made the turn out of the bedroom towards her own. She was going to put on the ankle-length skirt all the younger kids at the dance studio designed for the dance. She was excited about it, and thought maybe fashion design was for her. She could envision a life of designing clothes with puffy paint and iron-ons.

"We're doing this tomorrow still, right?" David asked.

"Yes, there's no other option. I'll get everything ready while you guys are at the dance, and we'll go."

"How are we going to tell her?"

"We'll have to figure that out. As long as we still have the option of telling her, we're in good shape."

"She's just started to trust me over the past month. I don't want to ruin everything," David admitted.

"She'll forgive us, I promise. Eventually, she'll understand. She knows she's loved and safe, and that means we're doing our job."

"I know," David sighed. "I guess I should start getting ready. It might take awhile to meet her standards."

Snow let out a genuine laugh thinking of their daughter judging David's apparel with approvement or disdain. She would definitely be honest.

* * *

Snow ran down the stairs, where David was waiting at the bottom. She had just finished Emma's hair, finally to Emma's satisfaction. Snow got her camera that she had left sitting on the kitchen table, waiting to be used.

"Okay, ready, Emma!" Snow called up the stairs. She positioned her camera so she could get shots of Emma and David in them.

The tiny blonde six year old appeared in her red homemade poodle skirt, a plain white turtleneck shirt, and her hair down and a braid set up like a horizontal headband around the back of her head. She looked adorable, and she walked like a movie star. Snow flashed pictures, and took pictures of David in his first tux, holding his hand out to Emma as she walked down the stairs.

"Wow," David said. "I have to say you look beautiful tonight, Miss Emma."

Emma smiled proudly and took David's hand. "You look hamdsome too, David."

"Wait," Snow called. "A few pictures of you guys together."

Emma groaned and David grunted, but neither wanted to fight Snow on taking pictures, so they both posed complacently.

"Say cheese!" Snow called.

By the time they had actually gotten out the door, they had about five hundred pictures, and a mental list of what not to forget checked so many times it was getting sickening.

"Are you excited?" David said, buckling his own seatbelt and watching Emma buckle hers through the rearview mirror.

"Yes!" Emma exclaimed, watching David's face. "Are you nervous?"

"Could you tell?" David tried to joke.

"Don't be nervous, silly! I'll be with you the whole time," Emma assured him.

"Oh, well, that changes everything. Thank you," David said with a smile, trying not to picture Emma's reaction after they got home. He knew there was no other option, and Snow and him and decided this together, but he couldn't help his nerves. He knew Snow was worried too, even though she thought she had to hold it all together.

The dance studio was busy as expected, with Valet parking set up by the main doors. David opted for just paying the five dollars for it instead of searching for a spot. They opened the back door for Emma, and for a minute, David forgot they didn't know she was a real Princess.

David met her by the door, and Emma took his hand as they walked in the building. It was loud, busy with idle chatter and kid friendly music, with tables and tables of food.

"This is really something, huh?" David observed, looking around.

"There's my teacher!" Emma said, pulling David's arm through the crowd. "Come on!"

"Hi Emma! I'm glad you could make it!" The lean brunette woman crouched down to Emma's height.

"Hi Miss Kelly! This is my dad! His name is David."

The brunette woman laughed and stood up to shake hands with David. "Emma has not been able to stop talking about you in the summer classes! Every week she tells the class a funny story her dad did or said," she laughed and looked at Emma. She then looked at David and lowered her voice before continuing. "I'm glad you and your wife are working it out. She really thinks a lot of you."

David smiled, unsure of what the correct response was to an assumption like that. There really was no use in correcting her, but it still was bothersome that people assumed. He couldn't blame them, though, and he reminded himself it didn't matter. Plus, she just told him Emma really does like him, outside the house and everything. Overall, it was good news. "That's good to know," David finally said, as light as he could.

David made a fool of himself dancing all night to fast paced songs. Trying to keep up with the energy of a six year old was tireless and disappointing. Somehow, every time David asked Emma if she wanted to take a break, they ended up playing another one of her favorite songs. So far, David was sure Emma had about forty seven favorite songs. Finally, David convinced Emma to drink some water to keep herself hydrated. He was excited to finally be giving his legs a break, when the music stopped.

"Alright fathers, it's time to get sentimental in here. Pick up your daughters to dance to this one and remember that's your whole world in your hands. They won't be this young forever..."

The voice faded out as the music started. David looked at Emma, who shifted in the metal folding chair with her plastic cup full of water.

_There are two things I know for sure_

_She was sent here from heaven_

_And she's Daddy's little girl_

"Do you want to dance, Emma?"

Emma looked shocked at the question, but nodded her head and walked over to David. He picked her up to join the rest of the father's on the dance floor.

_Sticking little white flowers all up in her hair_

"_Walk beside the pony, Daddy,_

_it's my first ride._

_I know the cake looks funny Daddy,_

_but I sure tried._

_With all that I've done wrong,_

_I must have done something right_

_to deserve a hug every morning_

_and butterfly kisses at night_

"Daddy, are you okay?" Emma asked, wiping the tears off David's cheek with her thumb. David smiled and tried to nod, but he was absorbed in the song, in the moment. He was here, with his daughter.

_Oh with all that I've done wrong_

_I must have done something right_

_to deserve your love every morning_

_and butterfly kisses- I couldn't ask for more_

_Man, this is what love is..._

"I'm okay, Emma. They're happy tears. I'm happy you invited me to come with you to your dance."

"I'm happy you came, too," Emma smiled, wiping David's cheeks again.

* * *

David walked into their house with sleeping Emma in tow. Snow was sitting on the couch, looking shaken and scared. The house was supposed to be packed and ready to go quickly.

"Snow...?"

Her eyes were puffy and red. David wondered what happened, and the sight made him realize he was back to reality. The dance was a bubble of happiness and bliss, but it couldn't last forever.

"David." Snow said, looking up, as if she just now realized she wasn't alone.

"I'm going to put Emma to bed. I'll be right down, okay?"

Snow nodded, rubbing her hands together and then wiping her eyes. Time had passed so fast.

"What's going on, Snow?" David asked, coming down the stairs towards the living room. "What happened?"

"We cant... we can't run. We have to figure something else out."

"What? You're backing out? I thought we agreed it was the best decision to make for Emma. That she'll understand. How can you just change your mind like that? We were supposed to go tonight! Now we just aren't? Glad you filled me in on _your_ decision."

"David..."

"What?" He snapped. It was out of character for him, but he had spent all night preparing to leave. That was their plan of action. They agreed there was no other choice, and now he had no idea what Snow was thinking.

"I can't run," Snow explained, trying not to get upset, and failing. "I think I'm pregnant."


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N:** (Long authors note ahead. I'm apparently in the mood to chat). Well my mini vacation is over two days early and it left me sunburnt and inspired, which caused a day of hiding out from the sun inside and writing.

Hope you guys like this chapter! I've decided to split this story into two parts. This will be the end of Part 1. Part 2 will just be added on to this, so if you're already following it or faving it or however that works, you're all set :)

Enjoy! Let me know what you think and/or predictions and/or anything else! (Please?) Also I want to sincerely send out thank you's to everyone who wished me a good trip and well wishes on my tiny surgery. It was just a few words in a review, but it seriously touched my heart. (Not to be lame or corny, but I couldn't think of a better description than that cliche)

Wait one more thing- shoutout to Sara K M again. Your ideas always leave me inspired, and I try to incorporate them as much as I can, like in this chapter with David and Emma. It makes for a much better and more dynamic relationship when they resolve it!

* * *

"That's amazing news... Snow! That's amazing news. A baby!" David exclaimed in disbelief.

"David, don't you understand? I can't go running if I'm pregnant. I can't do it again. I need a life for us this time. I can't risk this baby."

"We'll figure it out. We'll protect Emma and the new baby. We'll figure it out, Snow," David lifted his hand to her cheek. Snow lifted her hand over his.

"How was the dance?" She tried, realizing how curious she was.

"It was amazing," he smiled. "It really was. She called me Daddy. I don't think she even realized it when she did, it wasn't a big deal at all, it was just what she thought of me in that moment."

Snow kissed him in happiness. "That's wonderful, David."

"And this baby," David put his hand over her stomach. "I'll be here from day one. You don't have to do it alone this time. We'll be a family, Emma called me Dad, we'll all be a family. How we're supposed to be; a normal family."

"A normal family? Except for the fact someone is trying to hurt our oldest daughter and we'll constantly live in fear of being found. How can we do this?" Snow's thoughts led her straight back to the despair she felt all night on her own.

"We can do it like everything we've always done. Snow, if we stay, both Emma and the baby are in danger."

"I know," Snow admitted. "You are right. I just didn't know if I was ready to give this all up."

"No one is ready for that. But we'll adjust. We'll find a new home and Emma will decorate her own room and we'll tell her about the baby and she'll help decorate his room."

"His?" Snow asked somewhat light heartedly. "And you don't really believe it will all work out that easily and perfectly, do you?"

"I have to be optimistic," he grinned, responding to both questions.

Snow took in a breath and let the word okay escape on her exhalation.

"Okay," David mirrored. "I'll start getting the essentials. We'll pack the car and go in the morning?"

"Yeah," Snow nodded absent-mindedly. Her mind was elsewhere, but she couldn't be there right now. She had to come back. It would have to wait. She had to pack up the car with David and go. Truthfully, she knew there wasn't another option. She just had hoped one might appear. She made her way to the kitchen, where David was packing the essentials.

"Should we bring this?"

"Yes!" Snow exclaimed. David didn't fight, but put it in the box and held up another baking pan.

"Yes!" Snow repeated. "We have to."

"Are you going to say this about everything? We have to pick and choose, and quickly."

"I know," she admitted. "How can I choose what's more important when everything in this house has a memory with Emma attached to it? This baking pan," Snow took it out of David's hands and held it up, "was after Harmony ordered me to bake like two dozen brownies in one night. It seemed silly, but I felt lonely and angry that she had that power over my life. Even then, when I had no idea who she truly was. Emma happily helped me make all of them. We spent all afternoon laughing, even as she ate most of the mix before it could make it to the oven. I was so sure that day that I would never be alone again, and that we would end up together again. Emma made me remember what I believe in just by being around her. Maybe it's because she's my daughter, or maybe it's because she's the savior. Every time I bake with that pan, I remember that day, what Emma reminded me of," she explained with tears in her eyes, then hesitantly put the pan down on the counter beside the box. "I guess I don't need this one anymore after all, I don't need reminding of what I have right in front of me."

Wordlessly, David picked up the pan and put it in the box they had assigned to the kitchen.

"We all need reminders from time to time," he explained at Snow's confused look. "I know this is hard for you. Leaving behind the life you worked so hard to create for Emma, especially now, with another little life on it's way."

Snow nodded. "I don't think you understand. We need to find a home, a real home, before I have this baby. I already had nowhere to live with Emma. I worked at a quickly-prepared food sweatshop more than full-time just to get an old apartment to live with Emma on our own. I don't want to raise another child in conditions like that. I can't do that."

"We won't do that, then. We'll get a home."

"It's not that easy! We have to sell this one if we're ever going to have enough money, and then Harmony and Ryan will know what we're doing! We have to get completely new ID's if we even have a shot at getting away, which will be unbelievably hard. That means we would need to change Emma's name too, because they can track Emma too. And I have a sneaking suspicion they'll find us anyway. They'll always find us."

"Well what do you want to do, Snow? It seems like you don't want to run at all."

"Of course I don't! I want a _life_ for Emma, with a house and school and friends. It's not fair she can't have that. She didn't ask to have us as parents... neither did this baby. We are bringing them in to the world for a life of fighting and running. What kind of world is that?"

"The only world we have. I think if you ask Emma, she'd rather live in a little bit of a smaller house with us then have not ever being born."

Nodding, she spoke with defeat and despair. "I'll start on the bedroom," she picked up one of the boxes she pulled up from the basement as soon as David and Emma left for the dance. David watched her go, wishing he could bring her peace over this decision.

* * *

"Are you ready?" He whispered to the back of Snow's head in bed. She reached her hand backwards and it flopped on David's face. He got up and leaned over her in bed, which caused her to open her eyes.

"What time is it?"

"4:30."

"We agreed on 5!"

"I knew it would take you some time to get up," David grinned at his idea. Snow couldn't help, despite her best efforts, but return the smile.

"You're the worst," she laughed. "Now I'm awake and we have an extra half hour."

"Well, if you're really looking for a time-filler," he suggested, leaning down to kiss her. When Snow's alarm went off at 5, Snow thrashed her arm over the snooze button.

"We have to get up," David said, slightly groaning.

"No," Snow said, holding him back down.

"Don't," he warned. "We don't have time now." Snow sighed, a pretend defeat, and rolled the covers off her. "Wait," David called. "You're giving up that easy?"

"You said there was no time," Snow teased. "We have to get up now."

David smirked before getting up himself and moving to get dressed. He stripped the bed and threw the it all the washing machine quickly, so they could pack fresh sheets. He double checked mentally, but it seemed like they had gotten everything packed last night. This was the hardest part, coming; bringing Emma. They still didn't know how they were going to do it.

"Maybe we should just carry her sleeping in the car and explain it after we're already moving," David called.

"Huh?" Snow said walking into the room, toweling her hair.

"With Emma... maybe we should just not wake her."

"So she never has a chance to say goodbye and have closure with the only real home she's ever known? These are where all her memories are."

"So we wake her and tell her... what? Say bye Emma! We're leaving right now and you'll never see this house again!"

"I don't know! But we definitely can't just take her and leave."

"Okay, then we'll wake her."

Snow nodded, moving towards the door of the bedroom. "Let me start," Snow suggested, slowly pushing Emma's bedroom door open. Her heart twisted at the memories that filled the room.

"Sweetie," Snow said gently, putting her hand on Emma's arm. "Em, it's time to wake up." Emma fluttered her eyes, slowly opening them in confusion.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, baby, it's time to get up. We're going somewhere."

"Where?" Emma asked, lifting her tiny hands over her eyes and rubbing them.

Snow looked at David, who returned the same hopeless gaze back. "On an adventure," Snow said, finally.

"An adenture?" Emma said sleepily. She started to close her eyes again.

"Yes, let's get ready and I'll explain it all to you," Snow said, lifting her sleeping daughter off her bed. She turned to David, who already was picking up the box they saved for packing Emma's room.

As soon as the water from the shower hit Emma, she woke right up and her curiosity came in full force.

"Where are we going Mommy?" Emma asked, squeezing her eyes shut as Snow spread the shampoo throughout Emma's hair.

"We are... going on an adventure," Snow tried.

"But what kind?" Emma asked, rubbing falling shampoo off her forehead before it reached her eyes. Snow noticed and used a dry face cloth to rub the rest of it off. She lathered her hair with her conditioner, thinking about how to explain it.

"A special kind. We are going away for a little bit."

"Are we coming back?"

"I don't think so, sweetie." Snow wrapped a towel around Emma, who looked confused at this confession.

"Where are we going?"

"We don't know yet," Snow confessed, picking Emma up over the bathtub and on to the rug. "It's what is best for us as a family."

"I don't wanna go."

"I know. Me either. But in our new house you can decorate your room any way you want."

"I like my room."

"I know, Em. I wish we didn't have to go."

* * *

David was checking everything around the house again, while Snow arranged the car to the neatest of her abilities. Emma sat at the kitchen stool, waiting.

"Ready, kid?" David asked lightly. The clock read 5:47am. He and Snow had set the goal to leave by six.

"I don't wanna go."

"I'm sorry Emma," David said sincerely.

"If you go, can me and Mommy stay here like before?"

David opened his mouth to respond, but closed it again. He didn't know what to say, so he repeated himself. "I'm sorry, Emma."

Emma looked at him, and David watched her eyes trying to decide if it was anger or sadness she saw when she looked at him. He was the one changing the life she knew with her mother. He came out of nowhere, and Emma had been generally happily accepting. But now she was being taken away from her home; of course Emma saw the recent big change that happened in her life as the reason why.

"It's time to go," David said softly, not wanting to push her. Emma said or did nothing but stare at him. "Emma." David said more sternly, and moved closer to Emma, enough to apparently make her feel threatened.

"No! You go! You leave! I want my mommy!" Emma yelled, thrashing her arms in defense of David trying to pick her up.

David moved back in surprise. He had never seen Emma act this way. He was torn between asserting himself as her father, and giving Emma space. He had told her there was no right or wrong way to feel, and he wanted her to know he was good on his word. "I'll get Mommy," David offered, and Emma seemed to calm down as he backed away to actually do it.

"Snow," David said, moving to the back of the truck. Snow was gazing at the neatly stacked boxes in the trunk, feeling satisfied enough with it.

"Hey," she responded, looking around the car towards him. "Where's Emma?"

"Emma... needs you, I think. I think she blames me for this whole moving thing and I- I don't really blame her."

"David..."

"No, it's okay. I just think she needs you to help her right now," David admitted sadly.

Snow nodded, taking David's hands in hers before moving. "I couldn't stop thinking about how hard this would be for Emma and me. The idea of losing our home was devastating. I never thought about how lucky I was to have had this home, to have had Emma the past six years. All I thought about was how hard it was for me to settle into a life with her. But you lived every day, alone, knowing we were out there. I can't even imagine it David. I hate that I'm leaving my memories, but I'm grateful I had them, and I'm grateful we're going to make more." Snow moved David's hands to her stomach. "Do you remember when I told you I was pregnant with Emma? Do you remember what you said?"

"Of course," David said, smiling faintly at the memory. "I said we were going to be a family."

"And do you remember what I said back?"

David glanced at Snow's stomach, then back into her eyes and smiled. "That we already are."

* * *

"Hey sweetcheeks," Snow said lightly, sliding into the kitchen stool across from Emma. She looked defeated and angry, with her chin in her hands. "Can we talk?" Snow asked, but Emma made no move to respond, so Snow continued. "I know it's hard for you," Snow tried, but still received no reaction. "That's why we're going to live on the mountain made completely of chocolate and gumdrops."

At this, Emma couldn't help but look up with interest. "You're just kidding," Emma said confidently, but with a tremor of hopefulness. "That's not a real place."

"Maybe so. I had to make sure your ears were still working though," Snow said, causing Emma to narrow her eyes with the defeat of caving and speaking. "You know it's funny how much we don't like change, even though a lot of times it's for the better."

"Like when?" Emma asked with disbelief, somewhat interested.

"Well, I don't know, like that time I accidentally bought chocolate chip waffles instead of plain ones. That was a pretty big change, wasn't it? And if I remember correctly, you really liked the new kind."

"That was only one time," Emma huffed, unable to argue the point.

"True," Snow admitted. "There was also that time, though, when I signed you up for soccer and you came to me saying all the kids in your class were doing dance and you wanted to do it too. Imagine if I never changed what you were signed up for!"

Emma looked away with no response.

"And when David came to live with us. I know it's been an adjustment for you because it's such a big change, but overall, you've seemed pretty happy. At least your face in those pictures from last night seems to say that. Just tell me if I'm wrong."

"He's the reason why we have to leave!" Emma declared suddenly, as if the words had been bubbling up inside her. "He's making us!"

"No, Emma, that's not true," Snow explained. "I made the decision with him. It's what's best for all of us, and we would have had to go whether David was here or not." Snow didn't know how soon they would have had to leave, or if she'd even know about the people after them if she was never reunited with David, but she knew eventually they would have found out and had to run. And it would have been much worse to run on her own again.

"How come you didn't ask me?" Emma said so quietly, Snow could feel it in her heart.

"I'm sorry, Em," Snow said, getting up from her seat across from Emma and moving close enough to put her arms around her. "Your opinion does matter, very much, to us. But this is something really important. If it wasn't, we wouldn't do it. Do you trust me?"

"It means you love me, and you always put me before anyone else when you have to make hard choices," Emma repeated the definition Snow had given her over a year ago. It was a simple conversation in the car, not something that Snow expected would stay with Emma so permanently.

"Right," Snow said, squeezing Emma in her hug, trying not to let tears build up in her eyes at her daughter's perception of trust. Emma let her mom hug her, uttering out the word yes so softly into her embrace, that Snow almost missed it.

"We can go now," Emma declared when her mom let go of her. She jumped off the stool, waiting for her mom to take her hand.

* * *

David had been driving the car for hours. It was almost ten in the morning, and none of the three had eaten breakfast. Emma was passed out in the backseat, and both parents knew when she woke up she would be cranky with hunger.

"Should we start looking for a place to stop?" David asked.

"That might be a good idea," Snow agreed, looking at the paper map she was holding. "I think I need one of those smartphones with the maps inside them. I can't stand these paper ones."

"It's classic," David defended. "You can't go wrong with classic."

"You can go wrong when they become outdated. I don't even know when this map is from!"

"Well, it's served it's main purpose," David continued his defense, earning an eye-rolling from Snow. Her phone buzzed as if on cue.

"Hello? Hi, yes this is Mary Margaret! Oh hi, Veronica. Absolutely. Any time today is totally fine. We're out of the house. Of course, thanks. I'll talk to you soon."

"Who was that?" David asked.

"Real estate agent. Someone is looking at the house today."

"That's great news!" David said, trying to be enthusiastic. "Here's a town sign coming up. I'm sure there's a place for breakfast somewhere in the town where we can stop."

"Great," Snow said, then looked at the paper map. "I might be reading this wrong, or it could be upside down or something totally silly, but this spot on the map is all forest. There's no town."

"That's weird... Maybe it really is an outdated map," David admitted, causing Snow to smirk in triumph.

As they passed the sign, Emma's eyes shot open, a chill washing through her body.

"Where are we?" Emma said suddenly and with a slight sense of urgency.

"Oh Emma, I didn't know you were awake!" Snow looked back in surprise, then squinted at the sign as they approached it. "It says we're in Storybrooke, Maine. Are you hungry for some breakfast?"

* * *

Veronica led the two buyers into the kitchen, realizing the house looked completely deserted. Mary Margaret hadn't told her she moved out already, but it didn't look like anyone was living in the house currently.

"Well, this place is in top condition. The previous owners were a small, quiet family, very well respected and liked. The market price is much lower than the asking price, as they're trying to make a quick sell, so you really won't find another deal like this," the real estate woman explained.

"Can we take a look upstairs?"

"Of course! Take as much time as you need! I actually didn't get a chance to catch your names though."

"Harmony Harris," the blonde woman held out her hand and smiled. "This is Ryan."

"Well, Harmony and Ryan," Veronica smiled, shaking Harmony's hand. "I think you could be very happy here."

Harmony gave her a smile fake enough to convince the real estate agent she was actually there because of interest in the house itself, and not the people who were living in it.


	26. Chapter 26

Emma yawned, but she wasn't tired. She was alert, and watching her surroundings. She squinted her eyes through the window to get a better look at the town she was in. She didn't know what she was feeling, or why she was feeling it, but it wasn't like anything she had known. She felt like a tornado was inside her.

"Are we gonna live here now?" Emma inquired causing both of her parents to let out a small laugh.

"I don't think so, Em. We're just stopping for breakfast. You must be starving."

"A little," she admitted. She was relieved and nervous that they were stopping in the town.

"This place is pretty small," David observed, driving slowly through the streets. "I don't see many places to stop."

"We could wait for the next town. Emma doesn't seem too famished," Snow suggested. Before David could respond though, Emma did.

"There!" Emma said, pointing to a tiny restaurant with booths in the window.

"Granny's Diner," David read. "What do you think?"

"Fine with me," Snow shrugged. Emma smiled in triumph. She didn't know why it was so important to her, but she was glad her parents agreed.

David pulled into the parking spot while Emma was already unbuckling her seatbelt in anticipation. Snow called out to wait for her as Emma opened the car door and slammed it behind her. Hearing her mom, she sighed, waiting at the front of the car.

"What's the rush?" Snow asked, taking Emma's hand as David came around the other side of the car. Emma shrugged, still shifting her feet as if she was waiting to run. Snow looked at David, who just gave her a "what are you gonna do?" smile.

Emma's bones were still ignited when they walked through the jingling door, but she still had no reasonable explanation. Her heart and breath didn't stop the way her parent's did when they walked into the diner.

"So that's why the town wasn't on the map," David whispered towards Snow's ear.

* * *

Mr. Gold could feel her as soon as they drove into the town line. He waited behind the brown desk, flicking his cane up and back down towards the ground. He let out a small smile thinking of the tiny girl and the power within her.

"Gold!"

He knew it was only a matter of time before she came marching in.

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, you can help me. You can tell me what _it_ is doing here."

"By it, I know you are not referring to your step-granddaughter. That would be quite crass of you."

"You know what I'm referring to," Regina narrowed her eyes.

"Unfortunately, I can't help you," Gold said, with no sorrow in his voice.

"You have no choice," Regina warned. "You enlisted the two morons that were supposed to follow them around and keep them apart. I want it away from her parents, or I'll kill her."

"No you won't," Gold said, not hiding the boredom in his voice. "If you do that the curse will be broken."

"The curse was meant to keep Snow White from getting her happy ever after! She still has it!"

"Away from all beloved friends and subjects. She's no queen in this world."

"If that child breaks this curse and everyone remembers who they are, you'll be sorry."

"Will I?" Gold challenged. Regina snarled, causing Gold to clarify. "Relax, Ms. Mayor. She's not breaking any curse. I'll see to it."

Regina looked at him up and down, deciding if she should trust him. "That's not enough."

"What do you have in mind?" Gold asked with genuine curiosity.

* * *

"Can I help you folks? You can sit anywhere you like," the old lady smiled. "I prefer a booth," she winked. "Ruby, help them out!"

Snow's jaw dropped at the lean brunette walking out of the kitchen and around the counter with menu's in her hand. She wanted to run over and hug her, tell her how happy she was alright, tell her how much she missed her, but she refrained. She waited for her to look up, hoping she would recognize her.

"Mommy," Emma tugged at the bottom of Snow's shirt. "Let's sit down." Snow was snapped back to reality at her daughter's request. David looked just as awestricken as Snow felt. She gave him a light pinch on his elbow, making him come back down and remember where he was.

"They don't know who we are," David whispered with surprise.

"I've noticed that."

"This is the cursed town."

"That means... everyone..."

"...must be here." David finished Snow's thought, and they looked at each other with surprise.

"Can I get waffles?" Emma asked, holding the menu upside down.

"Anything you feel like," Snow told her, suddenly amazed at her young daughter. She wished Red could meet her, really meet her, not as Ruby. She wished everyone in town could meet her funny, intelligent, interesting tiny daughter. Emma was supposed to be their princess, completely adored by everyone. Snow smiled at the thought of being back in the Enchanted Forest, then looked down at her stomach. It wasn't even swollen. There were no signs showing her pregnancy, and before they sat in that diner, Snow wondered if it was a false positive. She had only taken one test. But sitting there, with Emma and David, she suddenly somehow knew without a doubt. She put her hand over her stomach, a silent apology to the baby for ever doubting his or her existence. David noticed and smiled, and Snow smiled back.

"Hey, I'm Ruby, I'll be serving you today," the brunette with red streaks in her hair said, pulling out a pencil and note pad. Snow couldn't get over the odd feeling of Ruby acting like they didn't know each other. "Can I start you off with some drinks?"

"Chocolate milk!" Emma called out when Ruby was looking at Snow or David to answer. She couldn't help but smile when she turned towards Emma.

"Chocolate milk it is then. Do you also know what you want to order, by any chance?" Ruby smiled again at Emma's excited grin.

"Do you have banana pancakes?"

"I think we could whip some of those up for you," Ruby winked.

"Thank you!" Emma beamed.

Snow crinkled her eyebrows, wondering what happened to waffles. She looked at David, hoping he would go next, because she was dreading ordering to her best friend-who-didn't-know-her.

"I'll have two by two by two special."

"Great," Ruby said, writing down David's order. "How do you like your eggs?"

"Scrambled is good."

"Bacon or sausage?"

"Bacon please. Thank you," David said, handing Ruby the menu. Ruby looked at Snow expectantly, the moment she was dreading.

"I'll have the eggs on toast. Over-easy. Thank you so much," Snow smiled genuinely, handing her the menu. Ruby smiled and took their orders to the kitchen.

"That was so weird," Snow breathed to David.

"What was weird?" Emma asked loudly.

Snow didn't have time to reply, because over Emma's shoulder the diner door jingled open once again. And in walked her stepmother.

Snow's mouth dropped, and David reached for Snow's hand under the table. She watched her intently, wondering if she was like everyone else in this town with their forgotten identity. It seemed unlikely, as she had cast the curse, but Snow really didn't know what to expect. Should she act normal, or let Regina know she knew who she was? She didn't have time to decide.

"Hi," Regina said, extending her hand. "Mayor Mills. Will you be staying here long?"

Snow looked at David, and David looked at Snow.

"We haven't decided yet," David said finally.

"Well, the town was plenty of room for you. And what's your name?" Regina said crouching down in a baby voice much too young for Emma's age.

"Emma," she answered, slightly annoyed at being spoken to like a baby. "My name is Emma. And I'm six."

"It's nice to meet you Emma. I have a son the same age as you, I'm sure you'd be great friends." Regina said normally, taken aback at Emma's adult way of speaking. "Well, I hope to be seeing a lot more of you guys in the future," she winked. "I have a feeling I will be." She walked towards a seat at the bar counter, leaving Snow and David wide-eyed and Emma annoyed.

"She's like Ms. Harris," Emma decided, making Snow laugh.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I don't like her."

"That's not nice, Emma," David reminded her quietly, so she wouldn't hear.

"That's true, Em. You don't even know her." Emma huffed. "But," Snow continued, looking at David, then spoke to Emma. "Because you don't know her, you should never go with her. You know what right? You never ever go with strangers, no matter what. They'll say whatever it takes to get you to go with them, even lie. That's why you should always wait for me or David to see if it's okay. You understand that?"

Emma nodded. "They'll say you're sick and they need to take me to you?"

"Exactly. But I would never go anywhere and just leave you. I'd always come find you first if I was sick or had to go somewhere. Same with David."

"Okay," Emma nodded again.

Snow felt partially relieved at Emma's understanding, but looked at Regina and caught a glimpse of her watching them from the corner of her eyes. She felt uneasiness in her stomach, and she wondered if the baby could feel that too.

How could they stay here? But then again, how could they just leave?

Snow pulled out her credit card to pay for the bill.

"I think we should just stay here for the night and see what happens," Snow suggested as they walked out of the diner.

David looked thoughtful, holding Emma's hand as the door closed behind him. "Are you sure?"

"What were you thinking?" Snow asked.

"I really have no idea," David admitted.

"Me either."

"It doesn't feel right to just leave."

"It doesn't feel safe to just stay, either."

"Are we going to live here now?" Emma interrupted, repeating her question from the car.

"That's a good question," David complimented. "What do you think?"

"I think we should stay," Emma answered seriously.

"Why's that?"

Emma shrugged.

"We'll look for a place to stay for the night. Emma, can you wait in the car for a moment please?"

Emma scrunched her eyebrows, but David handed her the keys and suddenly it was adventure to turn the ignition.

"You know how to right?"

"Yes!" Emma exclaimed, climbing in the drivers seat.

"Don't touch anything else in the car, Emma!" Snow called, then turned to David. "What are we going to do? How can we live so close to Regina when we know she's after Emma?"

"Emma wants to stay. I know she's six, but there must be a reason... she must feel something! She's the savior. We can't just leave our people," David reasoned, pulling Snow close and stroking her hair. She looked defeated, like she couldn't argue the logic.

"Rumple said Emma will be 28."

"Maybe he's wrong," David reasoned. "Even the Dark One can't _always_ be right."

Snow laughed, comforted by David's positivity.

"So it's settled, I guess," Snow said as their car blared with the sound of their horn. Snow and David looked through the window to a surprise-stricken Emma, who looked afraid of her own strength.

David opened the passenger door to ask Emma what was going on.

"Did I do that?" she asked with genuine wonder.


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N:** Hi! Quick update because I was inspired! It's sort of like a mini plot arc, but I'm sure you can guess who the woman is, which will play a big part in Gold's aid to Regina. Lily will be pretty important too (any guesses to where she fits in?) Also, I consulted an expert (just kidding, it was my mom) about telling kids about baby siblings because my sister is 6 years older than me, and she told me by that age they seem to kind of outgrow the jealousy factor and it was mostly just excitement. Although you never know how kids react once someone is actually there taking the attention, you know! ;)

If you leave a review, know I love ya. I truly do. They really make my day. Sara- I haven't had it yet! It's just to get an earring removed, so it's not really an emergency or anything and I was referred to a different doctor to we still have set it all up. Thank you so much for the well wishes!

* * *

Five Months Later

"Hey bud. How was school?" David asked, putting his arm on Emma's back.

"Good," Emma answered absent-mindedly.

"Got any homework?" David asked, the same question as every day. They had gotten into a habit since Emma started school. David walked from Gold's shop every day at two forty pm to get Emma at three. Then they walked back to either the small apartment they were staying in, or the shop, depending on Snow's day. She had started as a substitute teacher for the year, so if she was working Emma would go back to Gold's shop with David until four. Gold, or Rumple, owned all the buildings in the town and had given Snow and David an apartment rent-free, so long as David worked for him during the week. They took the deal, not knowing if Snow was going to be able to get a teaching job. The work was mostly odd jobs around the town, collecting money, or cleaning the shop. It wasn't hard, but it wasn't exciting.

"Yeah. I finished my math sheet already, but I have a project."

"Yeah? What kind? Anything I can help with?"

"It's called a family tree. It's all about where I came from," Emma explained. David choked on air in surprise.

"Really? That is a very... interesting project."

"Yeah," Emma agreed. "Can you help me with it?"

David smiled, thinking of the progress they had made since moving to Storybrooke. "I'd be happy to help."

"Cool!" Emma said excitedly, then continued walking. "Is mommy working today?"

"She is, indeed. But I have errands to run for Mr. Gold today, so we won't just be sitting in the shop."

"Okay," Emma sighed. David wished Gold would just let him come in earlier so he could be done by the time Emma came out, but he liked his rules the way he set them. "Who are we visiting today?" Emma asked.

"Well we have to visit Dr. Whale in the hospital. I figured you could help me out with that," David suggested, knowing Emma happily visited all the patients. She was always cheerful, a source of light, and everyone loved Emma's visits.

"Okay!" Emma took David's hand so they could cross the street. She wondered if they were going to live in this town forever now, but everytime she asked about it, her parents didn't give her much of answer. She stopped asking now. She trusted her parents.

When they walked into the hospital, still hand-in-hand, David started speaking to the receptionist.

"I'm looking for Whale. Tell him it's important..." David was still talking, but Emma was looking around.

"Can I go see Lily?" Emma asked, causing David to look down. Lily was about a year younger than Emma, but they had become friends fast with Emma's visiting hours to the hospital. She had been there as long as they could remember, with no explanation or known parents when asked.

"Alright. But stay with Lily until I come get you. Don't go visiting anyone else, understand? I don't want you walking around the hospital without me." David was wary of letting her go, but Lily was in a secluded room on this floor anyway. He was pretty sure no one knew she was there, because she had never had any visitors. David didn't recognize her from the Enchanted Forest, and he was personally trying to put it together still himself. Emma took off towards the end of the long hallway. The door to her room was marked closet, something Emma had recently figured out how to sound out.

"Hey, how come your door says closet?" Emma asked, noticing it as she opened the door to Lily's room. The door handle was eye level with Emma as she turned it down to unlatch it.

"What's that?"

"You know, like a closet, where you hang clothes and stuff," Emma tried to explain, raising her eyebrows. "Hey... Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever been out of this room, like ever?"

Lily looked her up and down, like she didn't understand the question. "I can't remember," she admitted.

Emma thought about what her dad had said. She normally didn't have a problem listening to him, but she did think there were room for exceptions. If she was extra careful, she could get Lily back before he came to get Emma to visit everyone else. Dr. Whale was usually busy, which gave her more time.

"Wanna go on an adventure?"

"What's-uh adendure?"

"You know, like the stories. We'll go somewhere in the hospital that no one has ever been before!"

Lily's eyes lit up at the prospect, but they quickly dimmed. "Dr. Whale says it's dinosaurex."

Emma scrunched her nose at her friend. "What's that mean?"

"You know, dinosaurex, like when you could get hurt."

"That's _dangerous_, Lily. Plus, it won't be. Haven't you ever wondered?"

Lily eyed the door, imagining what it would be like every time Dr. Whale opened the door to bring her the medicine that made her sleep. "I guess."

Emma reached out her hand for Lily to take. "I promise," Emma whispered. Lily took her outstretched hand, and when Emma squeezed it, Lily felt a sudden surge of bravery. She nodded, to show Emma she was ready. With her free hand, Emma pulled the door handle down, unlatching it from the wall and pulling it towards her. She made the first steps out after looking around and seeing the clear hallway, and Lily followed.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked.

"Shhhh," Emma warned, eyeing for where to go. She landed on the stairway she was never, in any circumstances, supposed to go on. She contemplated it for only a minute before pulling Lily towards the door that led to the stairs. "We'll go the basement," Emma decided.

"Have you been there before?"

"No," Emma admitted. "It's an adventure for both of us," she noticed Lily feeling afraid again, so she tried to reassure her. "My dad is right upstairs. Don't worry. If anything goes wrong, he'll find us quickly."

Lily nodded, comforted by the thought of David. He was always so nice to her when he came to visit with Emma.

Emma looked back, putting one finger over her lips to signal to Lily to be extra quiet. She could see a secretary flipping through a magazine at a desk. It was dark and musky, and more thrilling to try and get past her. At the bottom of the stairs, Emma got on her knees to crawl past the desk, and Lily followed. As soon as they got into a different hallway, Emma let out a breath.

"I can't believe we made it past her!"

"It's so big out here," Lily marveled. Emma looked around to the cramped, gloomy basement.

"You need to go on the outside!" Emma decided.

"But I have no mom and dad," Lily said sadly. Emma agreed this was a problem, thinking of her own mom and dad.

"You could come live with me!" Emma suggested.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah!" Emma said, excited by the idea. She always wanted a sister. Before she could continue her train of thought, she heard a noise behind the wall. "Do you hear that Lily?"

"Hear what?"

"It sounds like a monster," Emma said, truly scared and regretting her decision. "Like in the walls."

"A monster?" Lily said with a quavering voice. Emma sighed, annoyed that Lily had so little experience with the outside world.

"It's not really a monster. It's something else," Emma decided, partly to convince herself. There were doors all along the wall, doors that Emma assumed belonged to empty rooms. "Look in the cracks. Maybe someone is down here."

Emma and Lily looked along the cracks. Emma could barely see anything. "Maybe we should just go back now," she suggested.

"There's someone here," Lily said, with horror and shock in her voice. "It's a lady."

"Are you for serious right now?"

"Look," Lily challenged, and Emma complied.

"Oh. my. gosh. It's a person."

"I know," Lily replied.

"We have to help her!" Emma said suddenly.

"She looks like she's sleeping," Lily said, then a groan fell from her mouth as she laid lifeless.

"She must be in pain," Emma observed. Another groan, this time louder. This time her arms tried to flail too, but they were chained to the side of the bed.

"We have to go!" Emma said urgently, but the footsteps were already getting louder. "Someone's coming!"

Lily looked like she was going to cry, so Emma grabbed her, not sure where she was pulling her. She pulled open the door next to the one the lady was staying in, surprised that it moved towards her. She pulled Lily in with her and sat down, clamping her hand over Lily's scared mouth. Emma tried not to breathe, or cry. She wondered if David was looking for her yet. She hoped he was. If he came down here and got her and brought her home right now, she would take any punishment her parents gave her. She tried to send him telepathic messages. I'm here, Dad, I'm down in the basement. Come save me. I'm in a scary room down the hallway. Please come get me.

It wasn't working. Emma thought that if Lily wasn't here, she would probably cry. But Lily was the younger one, so Emma had to be the brave one. Plus, Emma got them into this mess. Emma listened to the footsteps, getting quieter, meaning farther away. She let out a breath and looked at Lily, who looked traumatized.

"Lily, can I ask you something?"

"Ok."

"Do you remember anything about your parents?"

"Not really," Lily said, as if it might be the wrong answer. "I don't know. Sometimes I feel like I remember my mom, but then I think it might be a dream. Dr. Whale says I've been in the hospital since I was a baby."

"Yeah..." Emma said, not convinced. "We should go, before anyone else comes down here." Lily nodded, and they made their way, easier the second time, past the lady at the desk and up the stairs. Emma felt overwhelmed with relief when they were back on the hospital's regular floor. Almost instantly, she saw her dad.

"She's blonde, small, her name is Emma. She was visiting another little girl named Lily in the room at the end of the hallway," David was exclaiming to the lost looking nurse.

"Daddy!" Emma said, feeling overcome with happiness to see him. David crouched down, wrapping Emma in a hug as she ran to him.

"Emma! Where were you? I told you not to go anywhere but Lily's room!"

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Emma said with her head down, but looked up smirked at David's exasperated expression, because she knew he wouldn't be mad.

"Lily, you let her talk you into this?" David said light heartedly to the brunette little girl, who shrugged in response. He noticed how out of place she looked, and realized he had never seen her out of her room before.

"You know we're going to talk about this later," David said to Emma. "With your mom."

Emma let out a deep breath, still glad to be out of the basement.

"Can Lily come home with us?"

"Emma..."

"She's not even sick! She needs a family, not a hopsital."

"I wish she could," David said sadly, "but it's not that simple. We'll walk her back to her room though before we leave. Let's go," he said, putting one of each of his arms around both of their shoulders.

* * *

Snow sat in the recliner in their small apartment, looking at her swelling belly. It was obvious to anyone who knew she was pregnant, which was David and Ruby, who had become a close friend, again, in the five months they'd be staying in Storybrooke. Ruby was different than Red, but they had similar qualities, and Snow loved both of them. She wondered if Emma was suspicious, or had no idea. She hadn't had the talk with Emma, so she didn't even know if Emma knew anything about babies and stomachs. She was incredibly smart though. Still, Snow assumed Emma assumed she was just putting on weight if she noticed anything at all.

When the door opened to the apartment, Emma wordlessly went to her room without saying anything, her head down. David walked in behind her, looking disheveled.

"What's going on?"

"There was an incident today."

"An incident?"

"Emma asked to see Lily while I was waiting for Dr. Whale. Emma is usually so trustworthy and responsible... I let her go and told her not to leave Lily's room before I got there. They decided to on a little adventure. They were gone for over an hour."

"Where were they? Was everyone okay?"

"They're both fine. Emma decided Lily needed to see something other than the plain old four walls. I told her we'd talk about it together."

Snow nodded, trying to fight a smile. "Uh-oh."

"What?"

"She's becoming a little too much like me, I think," Snow joked, causing David to follow with a small laugh.

"There's something else, Snow. Emma said she saw something down there- no, not something. Someone."

"In the basement of the hospital?"

"Yeah. She said it was a lady chained to a bed. We have to do something."

Snow nodded. "We can't just leave her there."

"She's probably an innocent victim of Regina somehow. We have to free her."

"What if she's not, though?"

"What if she is?" David countered. "Should we tell Gold? He practically runs this town."

"I don't know if I trust him. It seems like him and Regina are a team. Do you?"

David shook his head. They both sat in silence for a few moments, thinking.

"Are we still going to tell Emma tonight?" Snow said finally.

"About the...?" He eyed her stomach.

Snow nodded before he could finish.

"I don't think we can put it off much longer," David joked, and Snow swatted his arm. She moved to get up, pushing herself off the chair with her arms. David stood behind her, trying to provide support. She grabbed on to his arm to steady herself.

David slightly in front of Snow, knocked on the door.

"Come in," Emma called, her voice muffled. When they opened the door, she was lying face down into her bed.

"What are you doing, baby?" Snow asked confused.

"It's my punishment. No playing."

"We didn't give you any punishment yet, Emma," David said, just as confused as Snow.

"I know," Emma sighed. "I just figured."

"You don't need to punish yourself," Snow said, running her hands over Emma's hair. "You're taking away our job if you do," she joked, pushing blonde strands behind Emma's ear. Emma smiled, relieved they weren't mad.

"We do have to talk, though. You can't do what you did today again. If you wanted to take Lily somewhere, you have to ask first."

"I thought you'd say no," Emma admitted. David sighed, unable to argue that point. He probably would have said no.

"Then there's a reason for that, Em," Snow said. "We have to talk about something else, though. Something very important."

Emma nodded, to signify she was listening. She crossed her legs, her official sitting up position.

"You know how a lot of other kids have younger sisters and brothers?"

"Of course I know that. Like everyone in my class has one."

"Well," Snow started, thinking about exactly how to word it. "You're going to have a baby one too. In a few months."

"Someone's bringing it?"

"Not exactly, Emma," David chuckled. "The baby is in Mommy's tummy."

Emma eyed Snow's stomach, looking somewhat terrified. "You ate a baby? Why did you do that Mommy?"

"No, Em. The baby is just growing in there for now. He or she will come out when they're ready, and it will be your baby brother or sister."

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Snow nodded. Emma seemed excited.

"What's it's name gonna be?"

"We haven't decided that yet. You can help if you want."

"Okay," Emma said. "Is it really gonna come out of your tummy?"

"Really," Snow confirmed.

"I hope it's a sister! I will like a brother, too. But I think I'll like a baby sister more."

"Well, we'll see," Snow laughed and kissed her on the forehead before making the movement to get up.

"Can I read?" Emma asked softly as her parents made their way to the door. Snow and David looked at each other. Emma was asking because she thought she was punished.

"You will never do anything like this again, right?" Snow asked. Emma shook her head furiously.

"If you do," David added, "you'll have to really be punished. No reading or toys for a long time. You understand that?" Emma nodded her head furiously.

"Go ahead, then. As long as you learned from your mistakes," Snow said, and Emma reached down to pick up her book from the floor next to her bed.

Snow and David walked into the kitchen. Snow opened the cabinets to start making dinner for the three of them. They took turns cooking, and tonight was Snow's night.

"Are you subbing tomorrow?" David asked.

"No, tomorrow I'm off."

"Can you get Emma from school? I have to run an errand after Gold's."

"To the hospital?" Snow guessed.

"I believe Emma fully. The way she spoke about it... there's a woman down there. I have to help her."

"What are you going to do after she's out?"

"I don't know," David admitted. "Maybe she can stay with us for awhile. I just know we have to do something."

Snow sighed, turning the stove on to start boiling the water.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N:** To be the honest I have no self control and I can't stop writing and updating, I hope you guys don't mind, I just got flooded with inspiration and how everything connects so I've been writing out chapters and chapters in advance. I'm going to try and pace it though! I'm really going to try!

Also- flashbacks will be starting in the next chapter! (Don't worry, they're already written out. They are definitely there)

* * *

"Hey kiddo," Snow reached out her arm and Emma gave her mom her backpack as she approached her.

"Where's Dad?" Emma asked, confused.

"He had an errand today and I was off. Why? Are you disappointed?" Snow teased.

"No," Emma swore.

"So how's school been anyway? We haven't really talked about it. Are you making friends?"

Emma shrugged, causing Snow to worry a little. She had walked out alone. She wondered if she did everyday, and if David had noticed.

"Not really," Emma said finally.

"Not really? What's that mean?"

"Everyone here already has friends. They don't like me."

"Emma," Snow started.

"It's no big deal. I have Lily. Plus I like homework and stuff. I have a big project. It's about our family tree. Can we stop at the store and get some construction paper?"

"Sure," Snow agreed, sad at Emma's declaration of no friends. It wasn't like that at all before. She was always quiet, but very well-liked among kids and adults. "So family tree, huh? How far back do you have to go?"

"As far back as I can, I guess," Emma shrugged.

* * *

David locked up Gold's shop. He had no idea where he was. He disappeared in the morning and told David to manage the store all day and lock up when he leaves. His day was over, and he was anxious to do what he had to do and get back to his family. He had no idea how he was going to accomplish it, but he had spent all day thinking about it. He hoped something would come to him by the time he got there.

Before leaving, he searched cabinet hidden behind the painting on Gold's wall. He didn't know if Gold knew he knew it was there, but he figured he would after this. All the vials were labeled with pictures, and he hoped he read symbols accurately.

He tried not to look suspicious when he walked through the town. He didn't want it to be read all over his face, so he spent most of his walk reminding himself to stop looking down. It was too obvious.

"David! How nice to run into you!"

David was looking down again, and looked up to see he was face-to-face with Regina. "Ms. Mayor," David choked out the term exemplifying respect.

"Where are you heading?"

"An, uh, errand for Mr. Gold. Just one last quick one before heading home. Nice to see you," David said, ducking out and continuing his walk towards the hospital. He could almost feel a hole in his back where Regina was staring at him. Don't look back. Don't look back. Don't look back. Absent-mindedly he place his hand over his pocket, still feeling the vial. He breathed out illogical relief, as if it would have disappeared.

It didn't take much to find spare scrubs in the hospital storage room. They were fading light blue, as if they were one wear away from the trash. The harder part was finding coffee. There was a cup on the counter of the nurses' station. No one was looking at it. It probably belonged to someone, but there was no one close enough to notice where it went in time to catch David. He tried to make it look casual, picking up the cup to take a pretend sip as he walked towards the stairs. He looked at the Do Not Enter sign, wondering why there wasn't an alarm. If two little girls could get down there so easily and notice a woman in chains, how did nobody else?

Then he remembered the town he was in wasn't home. And these people weren't the people he knew. They were different, more afraid, more comfortable with accepting things as less than what they could be.

As soon as he closed the doors to the stairs, he pulled the vial out and poured it into the stolen coffee. Emma told him there was a lady behind a desk, and he sincerely hoped that was all he would run into.

"Who are you?" The woman asked as David descended the stairs. Her hair was up tight. She was in a typical nurses' uniform although she looked like she was doing paperwork.

"New nurse," David lied. "I brought you a coffee."

She looked skeptical, but took a sip. David watched, hoping Rumple's vial would be enough. He had no idea if any magic worked in this world, or if he chose the right thing. He eyed her desk, spotting the keys on a circle ring. He wondered if he could convince her to give him the keys even if the magic didn't work, when her head plopped on the desk. David's mouth dropped. It really worked. He didn't know how long it would last, so he picked up the keys and looked around. There were three hallways, all in different locations. He closed his eyes and tried to think like a nervous six year old girl trying to get past someone. He figured they were crawling past the desk, so where would it have most obviously led to? There was one hallway in a straight path from where they would have been, and he figured it was the best bet. Hopefully the magic lasted long enough.

The hallway was dark and slightly claustrophobic, and he didn't like the idea of knowing Emma was down here by herself- or down here, at all, for that matter. There were tiny windows on the top of the door, but David figured they found the lady through the cracks between the doors and the wall. He gazed in the windows, seeing only empty rooms. He had believed Emma, but he briefly wondered if Emma thought finding someone would make her get in less trouble. He considered checking the other hallways before he saw her.

She was brunette, her arms were chained to the bed, and her hair was disheveled. She was staring at the wall on the opposite of the room, and David could see her eyes. Even from here, he could see they were blue. They reminded him of the ocean. They looked deep, lost, abandoned. He wondered if there was still a person in that body.

He had to find out. He picked up the circle of keys, each one the exact same. He wondered if they had different functions somehow, but he picked a random one, figuring it was as good a shot as any. It opened the door easily, almost too easily, and David made his way in. The chains had a lock around her wrist. He used the same key to try and unlock them. It didn't work quite as easily, he had to fiddle it, but the chain broke open into two halves.

"Who are you?" She asked with wonder, her voice quiet and her eyes squinting.

"My name is David. I'm here to help. I want to get you out of here."

"Out of here?"

"Yes. Please trust me," he said, holding out his hand. She looked skeptical, but she took his hand, as if she didn't have any other better options.

"Where are we going?"

"To my family. They're nice, don't worry. Do you remember anything?"

"N-no. I've been here as long as I can remember. No one talks to me or tells me anything. A lady in a small white hat gives me food twice a day and that-that's a-"

"It's okay," David reassured her. "We'll figure it all out. We can explain everything. You don't have to worry."

She nodded, following David up the stairs. She looked at the lady who brought her food twice a day, knocked out on the counter. She knew David did that.

"Why are you helping me?"

"Let's get out of the hospital before we do a question and answer," David suggested. He wondered if they'd run into Regina. He didn't really care at the point. He was walking with living proof that proved Regina had locked a woman up for almost seven years. That was almost a decade of solitude.

* * *

"This is your home?" The woman asked as they walked up the apartment building's stairs.

"Home _sweet_ home," David smiled. "My wife and daughter know you're coming. Don't worry."

She nodded. "What are their names?"

"My wife... her name is Mary Margaret. My daughter, she's six, her name is Emma. She's the one who found you yesterday and told us there was someone down there," David explained, smiling at the thought of Emma. He opened the door to the apartment. Emma was sitting at the counter with construction paper sprawled out, and Snow was leaning over, watching.

David closed the door behind him, the sound signifying he was home, because he didn't know how to start the conversation. Emma noticed first.

"Hey! I'm working on my family project! I have a lot of questions though, can you help with-" Emma was talking cheerily fast, but stopped in her tracks at the sight the disheveled woman. "You're the lady in the basement."

"Yeah," she laughed, for the first time in years, "I guess that's me."

"You're pretty," Emma observed. "Do you want to borrow some of my mommy's clothes?"

"Okay Emma," Snow said, joining the conversation. "Why don't you clean up your art supplies so we can have dinner?"

"Okay," Emma complied, moving to the counter.

"Hi," Snow said to the woman and reached out her hand. "My name is Mary Margaret."

"Hi," the woman replied. "I'm sorry I don't- I don't remember my-"

"It's okay," Snow said suddenly. "Maybe it will come to you." The woman nodded, pretending to be hopeful. "Why don't I take you to my closet? I have plenty of spare clothes."

The woman looked at David, the first person she knew, for reassurance, who nodded at her. She followed Snow into the room.

David joined Emma at the counter.

"You saved her, Daddy!" Emma said proudly. "I knew you would."

"Well, no one would have known if it wasn't for you. Even though you're never, ever, going to do that again."

"Right," Emma agreed, still beaming. "What are you gonna make for dinner?"

"Hmmmmm," David thought. "What do you feel like?"

"Mac n' cheese!"

"You want that every night, Em! You gotta have a little variety. How about some good old fashioned vegetables?"

Emma stuck out her tongue in disgust and swiveled out of her chair. "I'm going to get my new book to show the lady from the basement."

"You can't name her," David said, reading his daughter's mind.

"I just want to show her my favorite character. Maybe she'll remember it's her name," Emma insisted. David shook his head and laughed, trying to figure out what to make. Emma made her way to her room as the lady walked out with her mom.

"Hi," Emma said, face-to-face with her.

"Hi there."

"I'm going to get my new book to show you. Do you wanna come and see my room?"

She looked hesitant. "Sure," she agreed, figuring there wasn't really an option of saying no.

"This is my room," Emma announced, opening the door. "I decorated it myself. This picture is all the princesses," Emma explained at the framed picture of Disney princesses on the wall. "I've had it since I was four," she explained. "I brought it from my old house. It has all of them. I like all of them, but my favorite is Belle. I like Ariel too."

"I see," the woman said, trying to make conversation. "Why's that?"

"Well I like Ariel cause she's a mermaid. But Belle's my favorite because she likes books just like me," Emma explained, then made her voice quiet as if she was telling a secret. "And I think she's the beautifulest."

The woman laughed at Emma's confession. "Well, I think it's great you love books so much. You know I also have a fondness for them."

"You do?"

"I do," she explained, slightly surprised at herself. She didn't remember that part of herself until she was talking about it with Emma. "I remember being in a big library. I used to read all the time."

"Wow," Emma said, amazed. "I have a lot of books. You can borrow some. Most of them are real chapter books." Emma was proud of this fact, even though she still had some trouble sounding out some words. She had just started to learn how to read in her head.

"That's pretty impressive for a six year old," she marveled. Emma blushed at the compliment.

"I've been reading since I was three. My mom says so."

"You must be super smart."

Emma blushed again, then changed the subject. "Do you really not remember your name?"

"No- I don't. I wish I did," she admitted. "Everything is just really hazy."

"It's okay," Emma said, holding the woman's hand. _Let me go! Don't touch my daughter! Please. Just bring her to her father. You can do anything you want to me, just don't hurt her! The dark haired woman didn't even blink at her pleas. _

"What? I'm sorry," she said, coming back to reality.

Emma looked at her curiously. "I said it was okay. If you don't remember, we can always find you a new one."

"Thank you Emma," the woman smiled.

"We can go see if Daddy is done cooking dinner now if you want," Emma suggested. She nodded, and Emma held out her hand again. She held it tentatively. _Mommy, where we are going? Is Daddy going to find us? I don't know, baby, I don't know. It'll be okay, I promise. Are you sure, Mommy? I don't know, I don't know. They were alone when the smoke came. She had to find a way out before the dark-haired woman found them. She was looking for someone. She knew they weren't safe._

"Are you okay?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay, thanks Emma," she smiled. What was that? What were those flashes? Who was the little girl? And why did the only come when she touched Emma's hand?

"I'm stuffed," David said, happily.

"Yeah, I bet you liked your favorite meal," Snow teased.

"Hey, my cooking, my choice!"

"It was yummy," Emma defended her dad. "Did you like it?"

"Yes, thank you. It was the best meal I've had in years," the woman said honestly, causing all three of them to smile politely. "Do you mind if I rest now? I'm really quite drained from all the activity. I'm not used to so much stimulation."

"Of course! Uh- do you mind the couch? We can pull it out for you and set it all up."

"That's more than enough, I assure you. Thank you so much for being so generous, all of you."

"Of course," David promised her. "It's not a problem."

She nodded, getting up and bringing her dishes to the sink and hand-washing them quickly before going to the bathroom. She was tentative, afraid of doing something wrong. She hadn't had so much freedom in any of her memory.

She didn't have a toothbrush, so she borrowed some of their toothpaste on her finger. She turned at a knock on the door.

"I brought you some sweats and a tshirt, to sleep in. I hope it's comfortable," Snow gave her through a crack in the door.

"Thank you so much," she said, putting on the black sweat pants and white tshirt. She walked out and saw the couch pulled out with sheets and blankets. She sat down on it. Emma was nowhere to be seen, and Mary Margaret and David were washing and drying dishes together, laughing in their own world.

"Hi," Emma said quietly, appearing out of nowhere. She jumped in surprise.

"Hi," she said, putting her hand over her heart. "You scared me."

"I brought you this. It's a bedtime story. It always helps me sleep. Especially in new places."

"Thank you, Emma. You're such a sweet little girl." Emma blushed again at the compliment, and wrapped her little arms around her neck in a hug. When she pulled away, she gave her a goodnight kiss on the cheek.

"It will be okay," Emma assured her.

Lightning flashed through her eyes, memories swimming so fast it was like the speed of light. Her breathing deepened as she remembered everything. Her memories were like unfocused photographs of paintings. All the colors, the artwork, the meaning, all the important things were still there. She just couldn't make out the strokes.

"Emma?"

"Yes?"

"My name... it's Belle."

"Like the princess?" Emma exclaimed. "You're so lucky!"


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N:** Important message: THANK YOU!

Thank you seriously for the reviews, you guys are so freakin' great. I'm a broken record, I know, but every time I get a review I read it like 10 times. I just love 'em.

Oh, also, happy birthday, Guest! ;) It's late... but still your birthday! I got your review at work and rushed home to start writing Forever In My Life's update... it was request I couldn't deny. Hope it makes ya smile and you enjoyed your day :)

* * *

"Yes, kind of like that," Belle answered, smiling, remembering her conversation with Emma earlier. Was that supposed to be her? "Excuse me, Emma, I need to talk to your parents for a minute."

Belle made her way towards the kitchen, where both adults were still absorbed in their own world.

"David," Belle said, clearing her throat. "Mary Margaret."

"Yes?" David said, turning around.

"My name is Belle. I remember," she told them. "Emma kissed me goodnight, and I just had these flashes. It's still a bit fuzzy. But I remember Rumple, and my daughter. I have a daughter. I don't remember much else. I don't know how I got here..." Belle said, starting to get worked up.

"Okay," Snow said, breathing in. "We can help. We'll do whatever we can."

"I don't mean to burden you guys. But would you point me in the direction of Rumple? Here's here, right? In this town?"

"Yeah, he's here alright. He goes by Mr. Gold. He owns a pawn shop," David answered.

"...and practically everything else, we've noticed," Snow added.

"Is that like him?" Belle asked with genuine curiosity.

"You mean you don't remember?"

Belle shook her head. "I-I just have these flashes. I can see him, and I can hear the name Rumpelstiltskin. I remember my daughter. She has blue eyes and brown hair just past her chest. Beautiful brown hair...," Belle explained.

"We'll find her," Snow repeated. "I'm sure Mr. Gold knows more. You shouldn't go alone. I'll go with you. David, you'll stay with Emma?"

"Of course," David nodded. "Good luck Belle."

"Thank you," Belle said, bowing her head a little. "You are an honorable man, Prince David."

"I just go by David here," David said lightly, unsure of how to respond.

"Of course," Belle smiled, and followed Snow to the door.

"So," Snow said, closing the door behind them. "Rumple. You're Belle? His true love?"

"Is that what they say?"

"Well, it depends on who 'they' is," Snow clarified.

"Speaking of, I have a bit of a question," Belle said, walking down the stairs towards the main door of the building. "I was talking to Emma before I got my memory and she showed me this framed photo of princesses on her wall. She said her favorite was Belle..."

Snow laughed knowingly. "Yeah, it's weird, but you get used to it. It's a franchise here. They make movies about our lives."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. When you said your name, the connection totally clicked. I didn't think you knew, though. I should have expected that of Emma."

"That's... that's insane. Movies? About us?"

"Yeah, quite a lot of us. I can't believe Emma met _you_ and didn't actually know it. Belle has been Emma's favorite out all of the princesses since she started watching."

Belle laughed almost shyly, not sure what to say. "Is there a Snow White movie?"

"There is," Snow admitted. "I don't really like it. Emma doesn't care for it much either." Both of them laughed at this. They walked in silence, the residue laughter still lingering in the air before they made it in front of the pawn shop. "So Rumple... he's the beast?"

"The what?"

"Oh- it's part of the movie in this world. In the movie, Belle marries a beast and true love makes him good."

Belle laughed at the idea and joked back. "I can't imagining marrying a beast, but I suppose the movies don't lie." She got serious then, looking at Snow. "I can't thank your family enough. You guys saved my life."

"We'll help you find her daughter," Snow promised. "What's her name?"

"I- I can't remember," Belle admitted. "I just see flashes of her," the statement of the truth seemed to crush her. "I can't even remember my own child's name. What kind of parent does that?"

"We'll find her. She's going to be okay." Snow gave Belle a hug before she opened the door the pawn shop. It read closed, but the door was open. Belle walked in, and Snow watched the door close before making her way back to the apartment. She had the sudden urge to hug Emma tightly.

As she was walking, she thought about Emma, sweet, innocent Emma, who loved to read and dance along to movie sing-alongs and was having trouble making friends. It seemed like such a minor problem compared to Belle's catastrophe. Snow felt lucky, and convinced herself it was okay, because Emma did have Lily. Sweet Lily, still a mystery to Snow and David, a parentless brunette with bright blue eyes.

Snow sat on the information for a few moments before turning around, convincing herself with every step it couldn't be just a coincidence.

* * *

"_Mommy," Emma asked, laying on her bed. They had been in Storybrooke for a little over three weeks, and while Emma adjusted to her new life, Snow and David were trying to figure out who was who in the town. Walking the streets was like a giant puzzle. Emma was signed up for second grade starting next week already, but moving in the summer didn't give Emma many opportunities for making friends. They had started volunteering at the hospital, where Emma had found a little girl in a tiny room at the end of the hallway. She knew her name, and that was about it. Emma had taken to her, and they became good friends. Her only friend, so far. Snow sat on the edge of Emma's bed, with the book she had just read closed on her lap. "Are you and David for real married?"_

"_We are." Snow smiled at her daughter._

"_How come I didn't go to the wedding?"_

"_Well, it was before you born. So you couldn't have."_

"_But if I was alive, I could have gone?"_

_Snow laughed. "Yes, technically, I suppose so."_

"_You would have wanted me there?"_

"_Of course we would have wanted you there, Emma," Snow said, confused. "Where is this coming from?"_

"_Lily doesn't have a mom or dad," Emma explained. "They didn't want her. Like what my friends used to say to me."_

_Before Snow could respond, there was a light knock on the door. That was what they had been doing for three weeks. Snow would read Emma a story when she got into bed until Emma was tired. Then, David came in to say goodnight. He didn't want to push her, and he knew bedtime stories were something special Snow had always had with Emma. _

"_Come in, David!" Emma called. David walked in and raised his eyebrows. Usually Emma was halfway passed out by the time he kissed her goodnight. _

"_We were just talking," Snow explained._

"_Ohh, I see." David nodded._

"_Will you read me a story tonight, David?" Emma said it more like an offer. David looked at Snow, who looked just as surprised as him._

"_Of course," he replied. "What did you have in mind?"_

_Emma's mouth erupted into a thin smile of approval. She hadn't told her parents how much she had talked to Lily about them. Lily always asked Emma to tell stories of being with her parents, and the more stories she told, the more she wanted to be around them. Snow crept out, giving Emma one final kiss, and leaving David in her spot at the edge of Emma's bed._

"_David?"_

"_Yes?" He answered, looking up from the collection of her favorite books Emma kept on the shelf of her nightstand._

"_I told Lily I was going to learn how to ride a bike so I could teach her when she got out."_

"_Oh yeah?"_

"_Yeah," Emma explained. "Do you think you could, like, help me?"_

"_I think we can definitely arrange that," David smiled. "We'll start this weekend."_

"_David?"_

"_Huh?"_

"_You can pick out any book you want."_

_David laughed. "Thank you, Emma. I'll pick a good one hopefully," David laughed, picking up a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. "Is this good?"_

"_Uh-huh," Emma nodded in approval. "David?"_

"_Yes, Emma?"_

"_Is it okay... is it okay if I really call you Daddy now?" Emma asked, genuinely nervous of his reaction. "Like, instead of David," she explained._

"_Anything you want," David assured her, kissing Emma's forehead. "I would be honored to be called your dad."_

"_Okay," Emma nodded and gave her dad another smile before he began to read._

* * *

"Is anyone here?" Belle called through the room.

"Doesn't anyone read the closed sign?" Mr. Gold was distracted, and it was late. He turned around and his breath caught in his throat.

He walked slowly towards her, holding out his hand, as if he touched her he would go right through her. He held on to her shoulder, lightly squeezing it.

"You're real."

"Rumple, it's me."

"You know who I am?"

"Yes."

"She told me you were dead. That you and Lily..."

"Lily?"

"Lily," Gold repeated. "Our daughter, Lily."

"That's her name," Belle smiled at the thought. "It's beautiful."

"You picked it out," Gold reminded her. "You don't remember? How did you remember me?"

"Emma found me in the basement of a hospital," she explained. "Her family helped me escape. They let me stay with them and then Emma kissed my cheek and I remembered... I saw flashes of you, I could remember a teacup, falling from a curtain and someone was saying the name Rumpelstiltskin. I saw Lily, I just saw a little girl, she looked scared, but somehow I knew she was my daughter." Belle spoke urgently, as if she had to tell him before her memories dissolved again.

"Emma? ...remembered...? But... she's twenty two years too early to be bringing memories back."

"Well she did. It happened right after."

Gold squeezed Belle's shoulders. "Then I am forever indebted to them."

"Belle!" Snow panted, opening the door to the shop. She was holding her stomach, and breathing fast. Gold rolled his eyes in annoyance, and Belle looked at her new friend curiously.

"I think I know where she is."

"You do? How?"

"Emma has a friend named Lily she met visiting patients in the hospital. Lily has no memory of any life other than in the hospital, no memory of parents, nothing. How old was she when the curse? Well... you know."

"She just turned five," Gold answered for her.

Snow smiled at both of them. "I think we found your girl."

Belle's face crumpled as she started bawling. "She's okay. She's okay," she cried, and Gold held her in his arms, her face in her own hands.

He was already using one free hand to the pick up the brown jacket from the coat rack.

* * *

Regina marched through the hospital hallways. She wasn't just walking, she was walking with purpose.

"Madame Mayor... what are you doing here? Is everything okay? Is Daniel okay?"

"Fine," Regina snapped at the well-meaning nurse. "Where's Whale?"

"He's in a surgery... I can- I can page him if you want."

Regina rubbed the bridge of her nose, debating if she needed him or not. "No, don't worry about it. You can do it. I need you to go to the front door. If anyone comes near it, I need you to use speed dial number one on this cell phone. Do you understand?"

The nurse nodded, taking the phone from Regina's hand. She rushed towards the front door. Regina rolled her eyes and walked down the hallway towards the closet door. She moved the handle down and pushed the door open. The miniature version of her mother was sleeping soundly. Part of her medicine was high doses of triazolam every night so she would sleep without interruption. On particularly annoying days, she got it to sleep away the day too.

"Let's go kid," Regina said, picking up the sleeping child. "Mommy's going to be looking for you soon enough. And we can't have her finding you, no we can not!" Regina spoke in a voice suited for a baby, an irony enough to be chilling. "I can't bring you home with Daniel, and I can't lock you where your mom was staying, so what am I left with? I guess I could just rip your heart out now, but that would be no fun. I need your parents to think they have a chance first." Regina hummed while she walked through the hallway with the sleeping child and back to her car. She laid the girl down in the backseat, knowing they'd be in that old closet looking for her within moments. She was still humming when she started the car and drove away.


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N:** It's the 30 chapter mark! Right now I truly don't know how long this story is going to continue. I don't want to drag it on, but I guess I have that problem because she was only supposed to be six for a couple chapters and just keep going through time jumps until she was adult Emma, but here we are... 30 chapters later. I do want to show Emma growing up with her parents before ending the story because that was the original idea I had, but I just feel like to do that effectively it's going to take quite awhile and I don't want to overwrite and make the storyline tired to read. I guess I'm asking you guys how much more you'd be willing to read before you think you'd get sick of the story.

* * *

_Emma was buckled into the seat next to her dad in his truck. Her mom had fought them on it, but David insisted he would be careful, and they needed the truck to bring the bike home._

"_You ready?" David asked, unbuckling himself. _

"_Uh-huh!" Emma said excitedly, waiting for David to come around to the passenger side. It was a long jump down, and up, for that matter, and she needed a little assistance. He lifted her out of the truck and on to the pavement. Emma was watching her pink sneakers light up as she hit the parking lot ground and absent mindedly reached her hand out to David to cross through the lot._

"_Have you ever ridden a bike before?" David asked, too aware that he should have been there. He should already have known this._

"_Yes, I used to ride with training wheels. We forgot my bike at the old house," Emma said, slightly annoyed, but she quickly recovered. "I want to ride without, anyway."_

"_That's a big step..." David teased._

"_I can do it!" Emma insisted, looking up._

"_I agree," he replied. "I think you can."_

_The sales lady was quick to help them. "How can I help you guys today?"_

_David looked at her up and down, trying to figure out if he knew her from before. "Oh, we're just here for a new bike," David answered, still trying to remember her._

"_Oh, all the way in the last aisle. I can help you if you need it-"_

"_We'll be okay, thanks though!" Emma said cheerily, pulling David's hand towards the last aisle._

"_You didn't want her help?" David asked, slightly amused._

_Emma shrugged as if it was no big deal. "Look at all these bikes!"_

"_Anything catch your eye?"_

"_Hmmmm," Emma said, walking down the aisle and observing all the bikes. "I like this one," she said pointing to a maroon colored mountain bike._

"_Emma, that one is bigger than you."_

"_They're all bigger than me," Emma argued._

"_No, not these," David eyed the bikes at the end of the rack, the smaller selection of children sized bikes. Emma sighed as if she was completely defeated, then walked to the smaller bikes._

"_This one is pretty," Emma admitted, looking at a pink and white bike made for a little girl. David eyed it and looked at the measurements on the tire. _

"_Do you wanna sit on it and see how it feels?" _

"_Alright," Emma agreed, and David lifted the bike off the rack. Emma sat on it tentatively, but her face transformed within seconds._

"_I want this one!"_

_David laughed. "Are you sure?"_

"_Yes yes yes yes-"_

"_Okay! I think we found your bike, then."_

"_Yay!" Emma said excitedly. A matching helmet, knee and elbow pads, and an E sticker designed for the basket later, they were checking out and on their way home. The bike came disassembled in a box, so when they pulled up to the apartment, David sent Emma to get Snow while he began putting it together as best he could with the toolbox in his truck bed._

_As expected, Emma returned downstairs with Snow, who was holding her camera. Emma had brought all her safety equipment to Snow, who was helping her put it all on. With all the pads and the helmet, Emma looked like she was ready to fall off a building and land safely._

_By the time they were done getting Emma ready, the bike was ready to ride. It was an easy assembly, coming already partially done. He just had to attach the wheels and handle bar._

"_Are you ready, Em?" Snow asked nervously. _

_Emma was only excited as she moved to the bike. David was holding it steady as Emma climbed over with one leg. "I'm ready!" _

"_Feet on the pedals, hold on with both hands... if you have to stop, just pedal backwards, that's the brake. Steer with the handlebars. I'm not going to let go, okay?"_

_To start it, David held on with one hand over Emma's on the handlebar and one hand on the back of the seat and started pushing it as he walked, then jogged. The faster they went, the more Emma could feel the wind in her face. It was a six year old's first taste of freedom._

_Her legs were wobbly, but she used them to pedal as best as she could. She could feel them moving, up and down, round and round. She was pedaling._

"_I'm doing it, I'm doing it!"_

"_Yeah, Emma! You're doing it!"_

"_Don't let go!" Emma warned, and David promised he wouldn't. They kept going, David increasing his pace to keep up with Emma's pedaling. But her legs weren't wobbling anymore, and she wanted to fly. _

_The wind hit her face and whipped her blonde waves into her neck. She could feel the wheels turning on the pavement below her, the sun in her face._

"_You can let go now, Daddy! I'm ready to do it on my own!" Emma hollered through the wind._

"_Are you sure?" David asked, slightly out of breath, holding on to the seat of the bike._

"_I'll be okay, Daddy, let go now!"_

_David, reluctantly, let go of the seat, and Emma continued riding steadily. Not just riding, but flying. For a good minute, she was riding the bike on her own, until she crashed into the sidewalk and landed on the pavement._

"_Emma!" Snow yelled, running to catch up to David who was almost at her side already. "Are you alright?"_

_Emma was looking down at her calves, which were scraped and a little bloody. Both parents were waiting for Emma to erupt into sobs at the sight._

"_Did you see me?" she looked up and asked with hope. Snow and David started laughing, if nothing but out of surprise, at her question. "I did it."_

* * *

"Where is she?" Belle's voice dropped, practically falling over opening the door marked closet.

"This is where she is... where's she's always been..." Snow said confused, then understood. "Regina must have got to her."

"Regina?" Belle asked.

"Presumably the woman that separated you guys. She enacted the curse in the first place."

"Why would she do such a terrible thing?" Belle asked, truly confused at the horror.

Snow looked down, guilt ridden. "She wanted to keep Emma away from David and me."

"But you still have Emma," Belle pointed out, and no one dared to say what they were thinking. _Lily is paying Emma's price._

"We escaped," Snow explained. "Emma is the savior. She's going to break the curse and reunite all the families."

"Except for the families it will be too late for," Belle pointed out, her voice cracking.

"It will be okay," Snow assured her. "She's got to be somewhere in this town. We'll turn it upside down. We'll get Lily."

"I can't ask you to come with us," Belle said, looking down. "Go home to your family. You need to protect that little one," Belle motioned to Snow's stomach.

"I can't just not help you guys find her. Lily is important to Emma too."

"That's why you need to go be there for her. Rumple and I will find her. Go be with your family," Belle insisted, and Snow nodded. She gave her friend a hug for good luck, thinking of Lily, thinking of the one day she spent not knowing where Emma was when Ryan took her to see David. She would not wish that agony on any parent, but here she was, watching it happen. She wanted to help Belle and Lily, but she still needed to go home and hug Emma tight.

* * *

"What in the name are you guys still doing awake?" Snow asked, walking through the apartment door. Emma was sprawled out on the floor, with her green construction paper cut into the shape of a tree. She was using a brown marker to color the bark.

"Working on my project," Emma said, lying on her stomach and swinging her legs back and forth and barely looking up at the sound of her mother's voice.

"I see that," Snow observed, then looked at David. He shrugged his shoulders.

"She wanted to wait for you. We were doing homework..." David tried, and Snow shook her head. She sighed, not really mad. She was too grateful to have Emma to be mad about bedtimes, especially on a Friday night.

"How's the project coming then?" Snow said, sitting in her favorite recliner throughout her pregnancy, near Emma's art station on the floor.

"Good. My grandma's name is Ruth, like my middle name!"

"That's where the name came from, Em!" Snow laughed.

"Will I ever meet her?" Emma asked.

"I wish you could," David said, sitting across from Emma on the floor holding a pair of scissors and a piece of darker green construction paper than the tree Emma was working on. Near him were cutouts of leaves the same color of the paper he was holding. "She's not... with us, anymore. But I know she would have adored you, Emma. She loved you before you were even born."

"Is that even possible?" Emma asked, completely amazed.

"It is," David answered, putting the scissors down. "That's how long Mommy and I have loved you."

Emma looked at Snow for confirmation, who smiled and nodded. Emma seemed to process all the information.

"Grandma Ruth was your mom," Emma said to David, clarifying, then turned to Snow. "What about your mom? She was my grandma too?"

"Yes, she was," Snow said softly. "Her name was Eva."

"How come you never talked about her Mommy?"

"She passed away... she passed away when I was very young. It was hard to talk about," Snow admitted softly. "I still miss her all the time."

Emma could feel the sadness in her mother's tone, so she stood up to hug her. The small act make Snow overwhelmed with gratitude. Everything could have slipped away so easily, but she was here, with Emma, with David, with her entire family in the town, even if they didn't know who they were. Emma brought back a woman's memory. Of course her daughter couldn't go around kissing everyone in town, but it meant something. Emma really was the savior.

"I bet she was nice," Emma assured her mother.

"She was," Snow confirmed. "So was my father, his name was Leopold. He was your grandfather." Snow wanted to tell Emma about how her parents were as rulers, how honorable they were, how adored they were, but she couldn't. She could only do her best by teaching the lessons of her parents through her own example.

Emma wrote out Leopold next to Eva near the top of the tree, taking time in between each letter to sound out what came next.

"Did you know Daddy grew up on a farm?" Emma said, as if the thought had just crossed her mind again.

"I did know that, yes, did you?"

Emma shook her head. "He lived with real animals. He had to get up every day and clean after them. Like cows and stuff."

"You're kidding," Snow joked. "That's crazy."

"I know!"

"Hey, it wasn't that crazy," David defended. "It was very peaceful. Someday maybe I'll be able to take you to the farm I grew up on, Emma, if you wanted."

"Really?"

"I sure hope we can someday," David said, looking at Snow. She smiled sadly back at him.

"What's that?" Snow asked, pointing to the circle with four lines coming out of it next to Emma.

"That's my baby," Emma explained. "The one that's in your tummy that you didn't eat. I don't know what to put for her name yet, though."

"I see," Snow smiled. "We'll have to figure that one out soon."

* * *

Belle waited at the white door, Rumple slightly behind her. He was perched on his cane, but she could see power in his eyes.

"Hello?" A small voice called through the door.

"Daniel, it's Mr. Gold. Open the door please."

The door opened slowly, and the little boy noticed Belle first. "Who are you?"

"A friend," Gold answered. "Is your mom home?"

"No," he answered. "Sheriff Graham is here. Mom's working."

"It's quite late," Gold inquired suspiciously. Daniel nodded.

"Sometimes she does that."

Belle looked at the little boy, not much older than the little girl she remembered, and her heart suddenly hurt for him. He looked lost and scared, like if he said the wrong thing he would be in trouble.

"Who's there Danny?" A man called from inside the house, and then Graham was next to the little boy. "Gold?"

"Thank you, Daniel, for all your help," Belle said, crouching down. He smiled again, and Belle wished she could do something for him, but she didn't have the time. Her daughter was waiting.

"Daniel, how would you like to come with Belle and I for a little adventure?" Gold asked suddenly, and Belle, Daniel, and Graham's faces all mirrored the same shock on them by Gold's invitation.

"My mommy says I have to stay with the Sheriff and listen to him."

"Good point," Gold agreed. "Sheriff Graham, we're going to go on a little walk and be right back. That's okay with you, right?" Gold looked at him as if he didn't have any other choice, and Graham didn't know who he was more afraid of.

"I should probably ask her first," Graham said, scratching the back of his head.

"Excellent idea, except, she is probably so busy with work she'll be quite irritated with you for interrupting with something so trivial. But whatever you think is best."

Graham looked at him suspiciously before agreeing. "Okay, yeah. You'll be right back?"

"Of course," Gold promised. Daniel was already slipping on his shoes, excited at the idea. When he walked out of the doorway, Belle reached out her hand and he took it, accepting.

"Where are we going?" Daniel asked, his hand swinging with Belle's and his footsteps practically bouncing off the pavement.


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: Just wanted to let you guys know I did post pictures of Lily and Daniel (per request) on my blog, so check it out at **shelizabethwriting**. tumblr. com :) And give it a follow if you would like, because I post sneak peaks of chapters and one shots on there :)

* * *

_Snow stared at the water while she waited for it to boil. _

"_Please don't put yourself in danger, David," Snow tried earnestly. He insisted he wasn't, but his hand on the back of his neck told Snow he was hiding something. "What are you thinking?"_

"_I... I haven't told you, because I didn't know if it was important or if it was Gold just being Gold."_

"_Told me what?" _

"_A little over a week ago when I was working with Gold, he, um, we started speaking. He asked me how much I knew about what was going on, and I asked him what he was talking about. He told me he knew I knew who everyone was and he needed my help."_

"_He needed your help? With what?" Snow asked, concern taking over her voice._

"_He told me that there was a woman he was with before the curse. He went on and on about her; he couldn't stop talking about her. He told me loving her made him a better person, that he was good when he was around her, and that he would do anything for her."_

"_So why was he telling you all of this?"_

"_He told me that Regina cast the curse, the woman he loved was living with their five year old daughter while he was locked up. Part of the deal was that in the curse he would be living with her and their daughter happily."_

"_But he's living alone, is he not?"_

"_Regina didn't come through with her end of the deal. She told Gold that she had found them both dead. Apparently he was crushed, and just recently he started to doubt her. He asked me to help him find them."_

"_And you think... the woman in the basement?"_

"_I don't know," David answered honestly. "I really don't know. But it's possible, isn't it?"_

"_Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Snow asked, moving close enough to David to put her hand on his chest. She wasn't mad; she just didn't understand why he wouldn't have told her right away._

"_I didn't know- we didn't know if we trusted him. I didn't know if I was going to help or if he was even telling the truth. But if this woman is her..."_

"_How would we know?"_

"_I guess... I don't know. We'll see what memories she has once we get her out safely."_

"_If she doesn't remember anything?"_

"_We won't lead her. We'll just keep her staying with us."_

"_And say she does remember and as soon as you get her out she asks for Gold?"_

"_That doesn't seem very likely, given Regina's history."_

"_Say it does happen, do we believe her and bring her right into Gold's arms?"_

"_If she did remember him, how could we not?"_

_Snow sighed, looking at David up and down. She shook her head. "I wish you would have told me this sooner. We could have talked about it and figured it out together."_

"_I'm sorry," David said sincerely. "I just truly never thought much of it until it became possible he was being sincere. The way he spoke about this woman, Snow, if he wasn't being sincere... he is a cold-blooded pathological liar."_

_Snow put her hands to her face as if she was thinking. "Maybe we should just focus on getting her out of a hospital basement for now," Snow suggested. "The chances that she'll have any memory at all is probably extremely slim. If she does, one of us will just go with her at first."_

* * *

"Where are we going?" Belle asked, following Rumple through the dark woods. "Is this where she works?"

"Not quite," he explained. "But I think it's where she brought her." He stopped in front of a small building in the woods with two narrow doors. It looked like an evil shed.

"What is this?" Belle asked, completely overwhelmed but even more determined. She didn't know why at first Rumple suggested to bring Daniel, but she had got a pretty good idea the closer they got. Now she was almost certain. She felt her stomach twist at it ever even getting to that point.

"This is where Mommy keeps her secrets," Daniel answered calmly. He wasn't acting afraid, but Belle could feel him squeeze her hand a little tighter the more they got into the woods.

"I'm not bringing him in there," Belle said firmly. "To be used as a bargaining chip."

"Belle, you don't remember this woman, so you don't know how far she'll go. I wouldn't do this if I thought there was any other way to get Lily back safely."

"It's not fair to him," Belle argued. "Let me go in first. Open it for me. You wait here, and if I don't return after an hour, bring him down. Please? Just let me try to talk to her."

"Absolutely not, you don't even know her! You don't know how to handle her!"

"I know how to talk with people. Last time I checked, she's still one of those."

"No you don't!" Gold snapped. "You've been locked up for almost seven years with no human interaction, and now you come out with only fuzzy flashes of memory. Belle, I can't let you do this. I'm sorry."

"You don't have a choice," Belle clarified, more confident than she felt. "Just give me an hour."

Gold looked like he was being held at gun point. "30 minutes. Then I'm coming down, no matter what."

"Okay," Belle accepted this, because she knew an hour would be too long anyway and he would bargain it down to 30 minutes, the time she originally wanted. "Watch out for him," Belle instructed to Daniel, eyeing Rumple, which made Daniel giggle.

Belle turned around and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, the doors were slightly open. She looked at Rumple, then back at the doors, slowly pushing them open wide enough to get in.

There was a casket in a small room, and not much else. She knew there had to be more to it, so she began feeling along the walls. On the other side of the casket, the floor had skid marks, the same size as the coffin. She moved around it, pushing it to the match the direction of the skid marks. Underneath there was a stairway. Belle took another deep breath and walked down it, unsure of what she would find.

The room was dark except for one wall of glowing red coming from the walls. The lack of light was so severe she could almost feel her iris's widening, desperately searching for more light to adjust. She didn't know if she should call out Lily's name or not, because she didn't know where Regina was. As she was staring at the glowing wall, imagining what could be the source of the glowing, she stumbled over herself, but caught herself from falling.

"Oh God," Belle cried, looking down. She hadn't stumbled over herself, she had stumbled over a leg. A tiny leg, with a tiny bare foot. It was behind a protruding wall that acted as shelf, where a giant brown leatherbound book was. "No, no, no..." Belle moved to the other side of the wall/shelf to see the rest of where the leg was coming from. It was a little girl, lying lifeless, with long brown hair. Her eyes were closed, but Belle knew more than anything she had ever known before that the little girl's eyes were bright blue. "What has she done? Why would she hurt you?" Belle cried, holding the little girl in her arms.

"Relax," a voice came from behind her. "She's on sleeping meds. She's fine."

"Regina?" Belle said slowly, turning around in confusion. It was the dark haired woman from her memory flashes.

"To my friends. You can call me Madame Mayor though," she explained.

"What do you want from Lily? From me? Why are you doing this?" Belle was still holding the little girl, even tighter now.

"Nothing," Regina answered. "I could care less about you guys. But I do need to know how you were found. And how you know who you are," Regina narrowed her eyes. "I'll make a deal with you. Tell me everything you know, and I'll let you carry your sleeping beauty out of here unharmed."

Belle pursed her lips, thinking of Snow's admission that Regina was after Emma. She thought of how kind they had been to her, how much they had risked for her. She thought of the way Emma offered to share her books and Emma's admission of loving Belle. Then she looked down at Lily, her own flesh and blood, a promise of the love her and Rumple had found, living proof of it. She didn't even feel the tears until a drop fell onto Lily's cheek.

"I won't help you hurt someone."

"Relax, always the melodramatic one, huh? I'm just asking for what you know. You have no idea what I'm going to do with the information," Regina offered her a cop-out. Belle imagined for a moment if she could live with it. She imagined life with Lily and Rumple, forcing herself to believe she didn't know why Regina was asking. She wondered if she could.

"I won't help you," Belle said firmly. "I know you don't want to do this. I know there's still a person deep down in there. You wouldn't hurt someone so innocent," Belle bargained. Regina rolled her eyes and lifted her hand, sending Belle backwards against the wall. Her cheek hit the wall hard. She could taste blood in her mouth, and she moved her jaw in shock at the pain.

Regina grabbed Lily and held her up with one arm. "Tell me what you know."

"I can't help you hurt her!" Belle cried, getting up to run towards Lily. Regina, in an instant, reached her hand into Lily's chest and pulled out a beating heart. It was beating rapidly, something Belle always imagined was in part due to a child's wonder about life still, and it glowed like something she had seen before. With horror, she looked at the wall, the glowing red, and realized what it all was.

Regina dropped Lily's body to the ground, holding her heart in her palm. Belle ran to where Regina's feet were, picking up Lily's body and holding it into her while she sobbed.

"Lily," Belle held her head to her chest, using her other arm to hold the rest of her small body. She was still in a hospital gown. "Regina, take my heart instead," Belle pleaded. "Give Lily's back and take mine. Please. She's a baby, she didn't do anything wrong."

Regina rolled her eyes. "She's still going to wake up, you annoying twat. Just heartless. Unless I squeeze this," Regina smirked, giving it a light squeeze, causing Lily's body to contract in pain.

"Please!" Belle begged. "Let Lily be. Take mine."

"That's just no fun," Regina joked. She gave the heart another light squeeze, causing Lily to whimper and contract with more pain.

"Please, Regina, please," Belle sobbed. It felt like the world was crashing, she could see her fingers holding her daughter shaking. She felt powerless and angry that she couldn't stop her, couldn't save Lily. "How do you live with yourself? How do you get up in the morning and look Daniel in the eye and tell him you love him?"

"I do love him," Regina snapped back quickly. "You don't know anything about Daniel."

"Maybe, but I do know when you love someone, you try to be the best version of yourself for them. You don't love him. You just want to control him."

"You don't know anything," Regina defended herself, getting angry.

"I know he deserves better than you," Belle said coolly, tears still dripping from her eyes. "I know if you truly cared about him you'd want to be someone he could look up to."

"I am someone he can look up to."

Belle shook her head, burying it into her daughter to make the tears a little less heavy. She had no idea how long she was leaning over Lily, but Regina was still towering over them with Lily's heart in her hand.

"Mommy?" a little voice called out, walking towards where Regina and Belle were.

"You brought him here?" Regina looked at Belle in shock. Belle looked just as surprised, trying to see past him for signs of Rumple, but it was too dark.

"Mommy, what are you doing? Are these all your secrets?"

"Daniel, you shouldn't be here," Regina said softly, crouching down to meet his eye. He looked at Belle, then at her.

"Belle, how come you're crying?" Daniel said, moving towards her and putting his little hand on her back. Because Belle didn't know how to answer him, and because she couldn't stop crying when she thought about it, Daniel wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay, Belle. It will be okay."

"Thank you, Daniel," Belle tried to sound convincing, knowing it wasn't Daniel's fault, still holding on to Lily.

"This is why you came here," Daniel said, looking at them. "To save her."

"Kind of," Belle tried to explain.

"Daniel, go wait for me outside," Regina ordered, but Daniel just stared at her. "I mean it!" It came out more like a bark, and Daniel followed her orders, flinching at her tone.

Regina watched him disappear into the darkness, then sat on her knees across from Belle wordlessly, and picking up Lily's heart carefully and returning it back into her chest without a word. Belle looked at her with her mouth slightly open, not sure if she should run or thank her.

"I am someone he can look up to," Regina clarified, her voice emotionless. "Now leave before I kill both of you."

Belle nodded, picking up Lily's still sleeping body and walking outside, still dazed. She thought she could hear the faint sound of Regina saying it wasn't over yet, but she wasn't listening. Her cheeks were still wet with tears, and her heart was hammering. She lifted one hand over Lily's chest, feeling the thump of her heart. As soon as they got into the cold air of the outside, Lily's eyes started squinting open.

"Lily?" Belle's voice was filled with so much gratitude and love and anticipation, it almost weighed down the air when it came out.

"Where am I?"

"We're outside... we're going home," Belle answered, sure that she could never spend a day apart from her again.

"Who are you?" Lily asked, staring at Belle's face as if it would give away some type of clue.


	32. Chapter 32

Belle looked at her daughter's expectant face, willing herself not to cry. She didn't know if she was overwhelmingly happy to hear her little voice, or heartbreakingly sad at what she uttered with it. All she knew was she had to force herself not to cry in front of her.

"We can talk about it at home," Belle offered, not sure if she should overwhelm her. "You're safe now though, I promise. We're gonna go home."

"You mean the hopsital?" Lily corrected, and Belle's heart suddenly weighed enough to fall to her stomach.

"No, baby, no more hospital," as Belle explained this, she lost some of her willpower and she couldn't hide her need to cry.

Rumple looked at the woman he loved, still holding the daughter he never got the chance to know, and he had never been more sure that what Belle spoke when she visited him when he was imprisoned was absolutely true. But Belle couldn't remember where they had left off. He could tell her what they agreed on, perhaps the honerable thing to do, or he could hope she never remembered. He could have everything he was supposed to have while he waited for Emma to break the curse so he could reunite with Baelfire.

He kept his mouth quiet, leading Belle and Lily back home.

* * *

"What did you think?" Snow asked, looking up expectantly at David. They were sitting on the couch side by side, with Emma laying down, passed out, with her head on Snow's lap. After significant progress on the family tree project, Emma had somehow convinced them to watch a movie to fall asleep. They had picked out _Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs_, as David had never seen it before.

"Where did they even get this story?"

"I wonder about that myself," Snow admitted.

"They made it seem like you ate that apple because you were tricked into it! You did it out of sacrifice and honor!"

"I liked how they portrayed the Prince though. Very accurate," Snow teased.

"Hey, I didn't fall in love with because of your singing voice. I fell in love with you because of your bravery, strength, your heart-"

Snow was smiling when she kissed him. "And all this time I thought it was just because how this ring looked on my finger."

"It was a combination," David joked, then nodded towards sleeping Emma. "Do you want me to bring her to her room?"

"Yeah," Snow answered, looking down at Emma. There was something hypnotizing about the innocence in a sleeping child. The way her chest moved up and down, the way her fluttering eyelashes signified sweet dreams. Her small hands were tucked in a prayer position between her cheek and the blanket on Snow's leg. Over Emma was her white embroidered blanket with purple stitching, Emma's only physical connection to the Enchanted Forest. Snow had been clutching it in the wardrobe, as if holding on to it made David closer too, because it was the only thing he would know of his daughter. David lifted Emma off the couch and held her newborn-baby style to her room. "Sweet dreams, baby girl," Snow said softly after David was already almost to her room. She waited for David to come back before she moved. Emma's blanket was still on the couch, and Snow held on to it, thinking of all the times Emma had held on to it too, for comfort.

"Ready to go to bed?" David said, holding his hand out to help her off the couch.

Snow smiled and looked up at him, as if she just remembered she wasn't alone. "Uh-huh."

"Hey, I hadn't even noticed," David said, holding the gold heart resting on Snow's chest with his pointer finger and thumb. "You still have it."

"Of course I do. It's a piece of you," Snow explained, putting her hand over David's that was resting over her heart. "It's right where it needed to be."

Later, when David and Snow had been in bed for awhile, David lay awake, imagining what life would have been like if the curse was never cast. He knew he couldn't dwell on it or else he could get physically sick over it. He knew he couldn't go back in time and that he would never risk losing the Emma he knows now even if he had the opportunity, but it was still one of his guilty pleasures. It filled his mind so often, an innocent daydream of the life he expected. He always thought falling in love and being a father entitled him t his family, but he wasn't entitled to anything. It was a privilege, one he didn't get to have. He imagined tiny arguments with Snow about who would have to get up in the night with Emma when she was a newborn, and joking with her about if Emma's first word was going to be mama or dada. He imagined it so often, it almost felt like an alternate reality sometimes. Like it really did happen, somewhere, somehow. It was almost like a story in his head, picked up anytime he thought about it again.

"Snow?" David said quietly into the darkness. He didn't get a response. "Snow," David whispered, leaning over her side of the bed. "Are you still up?"

She squinted her eyes open at him, trying to adjust to seeing him in the darkness. "I am now."

"I was just thinking..."

"About something incredibly important, I presume," Snow joked.

"About the Snow White movie," David explained.

"You woke me up to discuss your thoughts on the cartoon children's movie? This could absolutely not wait until the morning?"

"No, not about the movie, about what we talked about after. You know how I said why I fell in love with you?" Snow nodded. "Well, I take it back," David said.

"You woke me up. To tell me you didn't fall in love with me for all my best qualities." It wasn't a question, though. Snow was more alert now, interested to see where he was going with this and how he was going to redeem himself.

"Well, no, those too. And the ring. All those things, really. But I fell- I fall in love with you when you wake me up."

"David," Snow groaned, not understanding what he was saying. "I think you're tired."

"No, well, I am tired, but I was just thinking. I fall in love with you every morning. Every time I catch you staring at Emma, or when you're singing to yourself, the look in your eyes when you're up to something. When I told you Emma had found a woman in the basement, you didn't even question anything but how we could help. I know you aren't perfect, but even the things you think are shortcomings, they're just another part of what I love about you. So I was thinking about the movie, and I finally realized when I fell in love with you. I fall in love every morning, at the thought of getting to spend another day with you. Every time you wake me up," David smiled, looking at Snow's grin, waiting for a response. She looked like she was in slight disbelief.

She stared at him in silence for a few moments, thinking, taking in everything he just told her. Her eyes were glistening, they could be seen even in the darkness of the room.

"Has anyone ever told you that the name Charming really suits you?" Snow joked finally, causing David to feel like his jaw was going to break if he didn't stop smiling. His heart had never felt so full. He leaned over to kiss her, desperate to share some of the love that didn't feel like it could be contained in his body anymore.

He didn't even imagine his alternate world in the Enchanted Forest again before falling asleep.

* * *

"_Don't speak your name with the Dark One. It gives him power."_

_Belle looked at the knight, wondering what his life was like, wondering if he had a family to go home to or if this order to protect the kingdom from the Dark One was his life now. She looked down at the four year old holding her hand, wondering if she was scared. Maybe she was too young to have come here._

"_Rumplestiltskin." Belle said it with authority, almost commanding. He looked up from his prison cell in surprise._

"_Belle?" His voice cracked with disbelief, his face contorted with the desire to reach out his hand and feel the warmness of her skin. "You're real?"_

"_It's me, Rumple."_

"_Belle," his voice was practically breaking with the promise of tears coming. "You came to see me."_

"_Tell me what is happening with the curse. The town is abuzz with talks of the evil queen's plans. I know you are a part of it. Tell me."_

"_The curse will be enacted soon, and everyone will live in a prison like me, but worse. It will be a prison of time. Regina is seeking revenge on her stepdaughter, Snow White."_

"_She's doing all this in vengeance for one person?"_

"_She's a complicated woman."_

_Belle studied his movements, his eyes, the way he looked at her. She thought about how she was going to go about what she was about to do._

"_Rumple, this is... this is Lily," Belle said, looking down at the little girl hiding behind Belle's legs. "She's four. Almost five."_

"_You mean... Is she...?"_

"_Yes." Belle looked at him with a straight face, waiting to see his response. His hard face transformed into one of joy, a softness only a child can bring to you. He looked like he was in true pain being separated from her with jail bars. _

"_I'll keep you two safe, I promise. We'll be together. I won't let the curse affect you. We'll live together, as a family. We'll have a fresh start."_

_Belle stared at him, water welling up in her eyes. The idea seemed so promising, but she knew it would never work. _

_With eyes slightly heavy from tears, she shook her head. spoke. "Rumple, I love you, I always have loved you. I know you can be good. I want to help you be yourself again, but you have to understand something now. I love Lily, more than I love you."_

_Rumple looked at her, as if he was killed by his own dagger. He nodded, presumably in understanding. "Magic always comes with a price," he offered. Belle nodded, trying to make her crying silent so she wouldn't scare Lily. "I'll protect you still. You can live with Lily freely, and maybe, we can work on it together. I want to be a part of her life," he practically begged. He thought of the prophecy, the notion of leaving his child fatherless. He thought he had paid his debt with Baelfire. He promised himself he wouldn't make that mistake again._

"_Yes," Belle said simply. She wiped her eyes with her finger, then crouched down to pick Lily up. "Goodbye Rumple."_

"_Bye-bye," Lily said, waving her chubby hand. They were the first words he heard his daughter speak, a beautiful irony at it's finest._


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N:** Hey. I hope no one is mad with this update. Please understand that everything that happens in this chapter has a clear reason. I don't want to say too much now (at the beginning of the chapter) but I would be happy to answer any questions in PM's or on tumblr. If not, it will all be answered in the story in time.

Thank you guys so much for reading and for the reviews.

* * *

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Emma, happy birthday to you!" Voices sang in unison as they crowded around the kitchen table in the small apartment. Emma sat at the head of the table, wearing a plastic tiara on her blonde waves that said "Birthday Girl", smiling ear to ear at the seven candles on the white frosting. There were purple and pink flowers decorating as a border, and in purple writing it said Happy 7th Birthday Emma! Emma loved it. The attention she was getting made her feel special.

"Make a wish!" Her mom told her. Emma thought about her wishes before, then looked at her mom and dad. They were leaning into each other and holding each other's hand. Emma smiled at them, and they both looked slightly confused, but smiled back. She had been making the same wish ever since she could remember, and it came true, which meant this really worked. She had to pick a good one. Emma closed her eyes and blew out the seven candles, needing a second breath to get the last one. Everyone cheered when she did it.

"What did you wish for?" Lily asked, leaning over the cake.

"It's a secret Lily. If I told you it wouldn't come true," Emma informed her closest friend. Lily didn't seem to think this made sense, but she didn't argue.

"Alright, first piece goes to the birthday girl," David said, starting to slice the cake.

"I want the the E in Emma," Emma requested.

"Okay," David corrected. "First piece goes to whoever wants it. The E piece goes to the birthday girl."

Belle smiled, watching Lily eye the cake and trying to be patient. She had been living with Rumple and Lily for a bit of time now, and Lily didn't question it much. Belle hadn't told her as much as she wanted to because she didn't know how to approach it, and didn't know if it would overwhelm her. Plus, if she had questions, Belle wouldn't have many answers. She barely remembered anything, although things were coming in flashes the more time she spent with Emma. She couldn't help but wonder why Lily didn't have any flashes. Emma was her best friend, they practically acted like sisters. She wondered Lily was getting flashes of memories but didn't know what to make of them, or if there was a reason she wasn't getting them.

"What's it like?" Lily said quietly to Emma who was silently enjoying her chocolate cake with the purple E.

"The cake? You have your own piece."

"No, I mean... having a birthday," Lily admitted.

"You never had a birthday party?" Emma inquired, because the thought never occurred to her.

"I don't have a birthday."

"Of course you do," Emma told her. "Everyone has a birthday. You just don't know it."

Lily shrugged. "Well if I don't know it, it doesn't count."

Emma looked at her friend sadly, because she was being completely sincere. She had never celebrated a birthday.

"We can share mine," Emma decided. "It can be your birthday too."

"We can?"

"We can do anything we want," Emma took her plastic Birthday Girl tiara off her hair and put it on Lily. "That means you get a wish."

"I do?"

"Yeah, you always get a wish on your birthday. I already used the candles, but I think it will still work. Just close your eyes and wish."

Lily did as instructed, squeezing her eyes so tightly that when she opened them she saw the colors of a kaleidoscope.

"What did you wish for?" Emma asked, the curiosity getting the best of her.

"Isn't it apposed to be a secret?"

"Yeah, I guess," Emma admitted, bummed out at the rule. "Maybe it won't count if we only tell each other."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. I'll tell you mine and you tell me yours."

"Okay," Lily agreed. "You go first."

"Okay," Emma looked at her parents and smiled. "I wished that I could meet my new baby brother or sister."

"For real?"

"Yeah. And it really comes true, you know how I know?"

"How?" Lily asked, completely amazed and intrigued at the concept of it.

"Because my last birthdays," Emma's voice shrunk down to a whisper, "I wished for my daddy." Lily's mouth dropped at Emma's confession, and she quickly looked to double check David was really standing there. "So what did you wish for?" Emma asked.

Lily spoke as if there was a new weight to it now that she knew it came true. "I wished that I could live with Mr. Gold and Belle forever," Lily said, feeling guilty that she didn't confess all of her wish. She was still scared it wouldn't come true, and she wanted it desperately. _I wished that Belle could be my mommy, like the one you have._

Lily and Emma were both interrupted by the slight scream coming from Snow's direction. Both young girls looked terrified, Emma completely horrified.

"Mommy?" Emma asked, running to Snow's side. She was clutching her stomach and holding on to David's shoulder.

"The baby... is coming," Snow said in between breaths to David.

"The baby?" Emma asked.

"It's still early though!" David exclaimed, as if his declaration would change the baby's mind and he or she would stop trying to join the world.

"Emma, I need you stay with Belle and Lily for a little while," Snow tried to explain as best she could between breaths without yelping in pain.

"It's coming out of your tummy now?" Emma exclaimed.

Snow yelled in pain, causing Emma to jump back from fear.

"Come on, Emma. You can play with Lily for a little then I'll bring to your parents, okay?" Belle jumped in, leading Emma towards the door. Emma looked hypnotized, but moved in the direction Belle was leading. "Come on, Lily," Belle called, and Lily, awestucken, got up to follow them out of Emma's apartment.

It worked. Their wishes really would come true.

* * *

Emma sat in Lily's new room, distracted and thinking. The walls were bright yellow, like sitting in a room of sunshine, and they didn't really match Emma's mood.

"Wanna play?" Lily said, sitting behind her giant dollhouse.

"No thanks."

"How come?"

"I have to wait for my mom," Emma explained.

"Belle is going to come get you," Lily offered. "You can play while you wait."

"I just don't want to, Lily, okay?"

Lily looked taken aback, but shrugged and looked towards her dollhouse. It didn't last long, and she moved to sit next to Emma on her bed. Emma looked at her quizzically. Lily didn't say anything, but gave Emma a hug. Emma immediately felt bad for snapping at her about playing.

"I like your new room," Emma offered and Lily seemed pleased.

"Me and Belle decorated it togever."

"It's nice," Emma agreed, not saying what she was thinking. She wanted to ask Lily if she thought it was weird that she was living with people who had never visited her before, who Lily had no memory of knowing, but they seemed to know her. At least, Belle did. She wanted to ask her if she ever questioned why she had no memory at all. Emma was seven now, but she could still remember being younger with her mom. She wanted to ask if Lily noticed she was the exact same as when Emma first found her in that hospital room while Emma was growing and learning.

"Hey girls, how's it going?" Belle asked, peeking her head in the doorway and smiling.

"Good!" Lily answered.

Emma nodded. "How's my mommy?"

Belle smiled at Emma, as if she was waiting for the question. "I just got a call from your dad," Belle was smiling ear-to-ear. "How would you like it if I took you to the hospital to meet your new baby brother?"

"He's here?!" Emma said, getting up with excitement. "Yes!"

"Okay," Belle laughed. "Get your shoes and coat on and we can go. You too, Lily."

"To the hopsital?"

"Is that okay?" Belle said, kneeling down, realizing it's still probably a scary place for her. Lily burst out crying in response, causing Emma to stare at her in confusion as she tied her shoes, something her dad had recently shown her how to do herself.

"Do I have to?" Lily cried.

"You don't want to visit Emma's new baby brother?"

"I don't wanna go back. I wanna stay with you," Lily cried into her mother unknowingly.

"Oh, Lil. It's just a visit. You're going to come home with me, and Emma is going to stay with her parents. I promise."

Lily looked up at Belle, relieved at her promise, and nodded. Emma put her hand on Lily's back comfortingly.

* * *

"Do you think he will be..." David started.

"...cursed?" Snow finished. David swallowed and nodded. "We're not. So I don't know. How could have he been born if he was? Time wouldn't have passed and allowed him to develop at all..."

"That's true. How would we know for sure though?"

"If he gets older, I guess."

"He IS the product of true love," David smirked.

"That he is."

"Mommy!" Emma called when Belle opened the door to their room, running to the bed where Snow was laying down.

"Emma!" Snow kissed Emma's forehead, even though it had only been hours."I missed you."

"That was really quick," Belle noted. "How is everything?"

"He's hooked up to a ventilator. His lungs are still underdeveloped, but they're really positive about it all. ...He was apparently eager to meet his big sister. Do you want to go see him? Daddy can take you." Snow offered, looking at Emma.

Emma nodded eagerly, jumping off the bed to hug her dad too. "He shares a birthday with me!"

"Well your birthday was Tuesday, today was just your party, but I think you guys will be celebrating together for quite awhile," David joked, leading Emma out of the room and towards the NICU.

"Where's Lily? Staying with Rumple?" Snow asked, still smiling from the thought of her family.

Belle scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "She's right...," Belle started, turning around

to see an empty spot in the doorway where Lily was. "She was right there! Where is she?" Belle yelled, running into the hallway. "Somebody help me! My daughter is missing!"

"What's wrong, Miss?" A nurse came up to Belle, trying to calm her down.

"My daughter... is... missing. She can't be alone in this hospital, she gets scared. She's five, brown hair past her chest, bright blue eyes, she's about 40 pounds. Please help me, call on a search party, do anything."

"I'm sure she'll be fine, Miss. Is there anywhere she likes to go?"

Belle thought of the little room marked closet, wondering if and why Lily would ever wander back there on her own.

* * *

"Who are you?" Lily asked the woman sitting on the bed she had lived in.

"I'm a friend," the woman smiled. "Who are you?"

"My names Lily. I wanted to see my old room. How come you're here?"

"I've been following you around. I wanted to talk to you."

If Lily was old enough to know this was weird and out of the ordinary, she didn't show it. "How come?"

"It's about your new family."

"You mean Belle and Mr. Gold?"

"Exactly. Do you know who they are?"

Lily shook her head. The woman smiled sadly at her, as if she was the dumbest creature on earth and she actually felt bad. Lily suddenly wanted to leave, go find Belle, and go home. She turned around, but the woman was in front of her in an instant, locking and blocking the door.

"I wanna go home," Lily requested.

"I'm not done," the woman said calmly, causing Lily to start crying. "Be quiet if you want to leave," she lied. This caused Lily to gasp for breaths, trying to calm herself.

"I want my mommy," Lily gasped. "I want Belle."

The woman took deep breaths herself, trying to relax and get her nerve. Her heart was hammering. She couldn't believe how far she was willing to go. It's all for him, she reasoned. It's all for him. She picked up the syringe, sticking it into the tiny girl. Lily looked at her shocked at the pain of the needle, but was completely sedated within minutes. Part of her deal was making sure she was unconscious before she did it. She didn't know if she would have lost her nerve if she had the time to think about it, but there was someone slamming on the door, screaming for Lily, trying to break it open. She had to work fast.

She closed her eyes as she brought the tool closer to her chest. She could reason to herself until the end of the time, but she couldn't deny the tears on her face as she cut open the chest of an innocent child. She put the little girl's heart in the box exactly as she was instructed to and climbed out the window on the far side of the room, grabbing the rope ladder as she ran. The wind stung her cheeks, a reminder of the tears stained on them. She wished she had never given her son to Regina. She wished she had never gotten into this. But the more she learned about Regina, the more she knew she couldn't leave Daniel in her care.

* * *

"I brought it exactly how you asked," Harmony said, handing over the box with the little girl's heart.

Regina smirked, as if it was a game, one that she was winning. "Was she dead?"

"I cut into her chest with a knife and ripped her heart out of it. How could she not be?"

"Very well. You did good," Regina said, looking at the heart. "Don't feel bad. I warned the woman what would happen if she didn't tell me. She made her choice."

Harmony swallowed. "About our deal..."

Regina rolled her eyes. "You didn't really think I'd give up Daniel, did you? Get out of here, before you're next."

"I could call the police on you!" Harmony threatened. "I could have you arrested."

"Good idea," Regina said sarcastically. "Make sure to mention how you murdered an innocent little girl because I told you to."

Harmony's eyes filled with tears, her mouth slightly open at the coldness in Regina's tone. "You are evil."

"So I've heard."


	34. Chapter 34

"What's his name?" Emma asked, looking through the window from the hallway. They were standing on the other side of the glass holding hands, watching a blonde baby boy squirm his arms and legs.

"We haven't decided yet," David said, staring at the little boy.

"Emmo."

This caused David to laugh out loud and look down at his daughter. "Emmo?"

"Emma and Emmo," Emma explained. "It makes sense."

"It does make sense," David couldn't argue. "But could you really call your baby brother Emmo for the rest of his life? We'd always get confused. I'd say Em, and both of you would look."

Emma looked perplexed at this unforeseen problem. "Maybe we should think of another name."

"We'll keep our options open," David agreed.

"He's so little," Emma said, staring at the tiny baby. "He was in Mommy's tummy?"

"He was. But he's going to grow now. He's going to be as big of you before you know it!"

Emma raised her eyebrows, as if the idea was unfathomable.

"You're his daddy?" Emma asked, not taking her eyes off the newborn baby.

"I am," David answered. At this, Emma finally looked up at David, looking almost afraid.

"You're still my daddy too, right?"

David crouched down. "I will always be your dad, Emma. Until the end of time. Nothing, no one, could ever take that away."

Emma showed her relief with a smile.

* * *

Belle almost drove a hole through the door with her fists, only acutely aware of what was happening around her. She could faintly recognize familiar voices, but she didn't care about anything. Finally, a janitor came with a set of keys and unlocked the door. Belle practically fell over opening the door and swinging in. She had to get Lily, had to save her, had to bring her home. She had no idea what she was opening the door to, and how she could ever survive it.

"No."

Belle whispered it under her breath, then said it louder, yelling it as loud as she could. Her daughter was lying lifeless, blood spilled along the floor. It felt like she was being suffocated, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight. Her knees broke before her mind did, and she fell to the floor, still staring.

_I remember your blue eyes looking into mine, like we had our own secret club. I remember you dancing before bedtime, then jumping on me, waking me up._

"Belle..." Snow's trailed behind, her hand on the portable machine she was hooked up to that was monitoring her vitals. "I'm so... sorry..."

Belle shook her head, holding Lily's body. "Regina ripped her heart out before. She could survive without it. She can."

"Belle... all the blood she lost..."

"No! She's going to be fine. Lily, come on. Don't leave me," Belle cried. "Don't leave. You still have to grow up. You still have a life to live."

"Belle..." Snow tried, moving closer to her. As she got closer, she saw Lily's hand tighten around Belle's finger and Snow's mouth dropped.

"Lily! Lily, I'm here! Please come back to me," Belle begged, trying to calm her crying so she could speak clearly. Lily's eyes fluttered, as if they were trying to open but were glued shut. There was a tiny, agonizing groan, as if she was waking up to all sorts of pain. Belle realized she had been sedated before just falling unconscious.

"Belle," Snow tried, unsure of how to say it. "She's in pain. Alot of it. Don't make her hold on for you."

_Remember I leaned in and whispered to you, come on baby with me, we're gonna fly away from here. You were my best four years._

Belle looked at Snow, trying to see her through the tears in her eyes. Lily let out another moan, the pain becoming unbearable.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Lil. I didn't want to scare you, but I love you so much. I have loved you from the moment you were born... from the moment I knew you existed. I thought I knew what love was before I knew you, but it wasn't anything like this. I love you, Lily. I'm your mommy, and I love you. I love you to the moon and back," Belle's voice cracked with her promise.

Belle leaned in to kiss her on the forehead, tears spilling off her cheeks every time she moved.

"It's okay, Lily. We're gonna fly away from here together. It's okay to go, baby girl. I'm right here with you. Mommy is right here with you. Let yourself fly," Belle spoke with tears falling out of her eyes like tsunami tides. She held Lily's hand, that was still holding on, and kissed the back of her hand.

As the words were uttered, Lily's eyes suddenly looked at peace, as if the fight left them. Her grasp on Belle's finger loosened to nothing and Belle felt herself crumple in the weight of what she was losing.

_I remember the drive home, when the blind hope turned to crying and screaming "Why?"_

_Flowers pile up in the worst way, no one knows what to say about a beautiful girl who died._

"I'm so sorry, Belle," Snow said through tears, her voice breaking. "I'm so sorry, Lily. You deserved so much more than this."

Snow's words drifted into Belle's mind, and Belle started crying even harder, imagining the birthday's she'll never have with Lily. She thought of the first boyfriend Lily would never have, the books she would never get to read, the world she would never get to see. For some reason, what was the most intolerable to think of was the light blue sundress Belle had bought with Lily. There was only a size too big left, but Lily had fallen in love with it so Belle bought it anyway, agreeing that she would grow into it. Lily would never get to wear the tiny blue dress. Lily would never outgrow her sunny yellow little girl's room. She would never grow at all.

_What if I'm standing in your closet trying to talk to you? What if I kept the hand-me-downs you won't grow into? And what if I really thought some miracle would see us through? _

_What if the miracle was even getting one moment with you?_

"Belle, I'm going to get a doctor," Snow said softly, her hand resting on Belle's shoulder. She didn't know what to say; she couldn't say anything. "She's not in pain anymore. She's at peace."

"It shouldn't have been her," Belle said, surprised at her own statement. Snow looked taken aback, understanding what Belle was implying.

"You're in pain, I understand," Snow said. "I'm sorry. This shouldn't have happened to Lily," Snow agreed softly.

Snow walked into the hallway, moving slowly to give Belle more time to say goodbye. As if she could ever say goodbye.

"Mommy! I saw the baby!" Emma came running down the hallway with David steps behind her.

"Did you?" Snow said, returning Emma's enthusiasm.

"Yeah! What's his name going to be?"

"I know what you're thinking," David joked, "but we've already crossed Emmo off the list." Emma nodded looking somewhat disappointed to disagree.

"It just wouldn't work," Emma explained, causing Snow to laugh. She quickly remembered what had just happened and the laughter suddenly felt stale in her mouth, misplaced to be there when Lily would never laugh again. Not to mention the idea of telling Emma seemed daunting, but it seemed unfair to keep it from her fore even a moment. "Where's Lily?" Emma asked if she was reading her mom's mind. "I want her to see my brother too."

Without being able to stop herself, tears spilled from Snow's eyes, thinking of the scene she walked out of. She couldn't, under any circumstance, let Emma see the condition Lily and Belle were in now. She still had to get a doctor.

"Emma, I need to help with something right now. Do you think you could keep an eye on your brother upstairs for me and I'll come up after?"

David and Emma both looked at Snow suspiciously, wondering what was going on. David trusted Snow's suggestion, telling Emma they would work on names while they waited. Emma agreed hesitantly, turning away from her mother and back towards the stairs.

* * *

"_Lillian! Come here!" Belle called to the toddler running around the castle Belle grew up in. She had returned home after leaving Rumple's, although she wasn't too thrilled to be raising Lily here._

_The three year old giggled as she ran around in circles on the rug in her bedroom. "Run! Run!"_

"_Lily come here and get dressed!"_

_Lily, obedient to her mom, stopped running in front of her mom. Her cheeks were rosy with childhood energy and her mouth was stuck in the shape of a smile, pleased with herself._

"_You know what tomorrow is?"_

"_My birday!" Lily exclaimed excitedly, no matter how many times she had answered it the past couple days._

"_And how old are you turning?"_

"_Fee!"_

"_Yes! Three! You ready for your party?"_

_Lily clapped her hands, barely making any sound with her chubby palms. It was a small get together to celebrate another year of life, with only her family. To Lily though, it was a party, and for a three year old it was exciting just to get a treat. Lily yawned, tired from her bath._

"_You tired Lil?" Belle asked, sitting behind her and brushing the tangles out of her brown hair. She tried to be as gentle as possible._

"_No," Lily answered, yawning again. Belle put her hands over her daughter's hair, now soft. _

"_You know you can say yes," Belle laughed, leaning to Lily's side to speak._

"_No!" Lily asserted, her big eyes waiting to see if she would be reprimanded for yelling._

"_You're going to give me trouble as a teenager, aren't you?" Belle said, her eyes twinkling. "How about a story before bed?" she offered._

_Lily agreed, getting into her child-sized bed while Belle sat on the edge of it, telling the familiar story. "Once upon a time, there was a young girl who lived in a big castle. She was happy, living as a princess. Then one day a man came to the castle and the princess had to go with him to his castle and had to clean up after him and do all sorts of things she didn't want to do. But the man wasn't exactly who he seemed to be. The princess fell in love with this man, believing his heart was truly made of the gold he could spin from straw. Once they were in love, a baby came unexpectedly. The princess still believed in the man she loved, but she knew he wasn't ready to change fully yet. Not until he found his other baby. So the princess went away with her baby, deciding it was the best choice. That's when the princess really fell in love, every time she looked at her little girl. And that's how she knew the man she loved was worth waiting for, because something so beautiful had to have come from someone with a heart of gold."_

_Lily, half-asleep, smiled at the story she had heard so many different variations of, but it always had the same points to it. Belle kissed her forehead, running her hand through her brown hair and twirling it with her hands at the end. "I love you Lily girl," Belle said as Lily closed her eyes. "I love you to the moon and back."_

* * *

Rumplestiltskin walked into the hospital room that smelled of windex and cleaning supplies. The door was marked closet, and Belle sat on the bed, sitting in a fetal position if you ever could.

"Belle..."

"She's gone. She's downstairs in a bag." Belle looked up with wet eyes, but her tone was emotionless. It was like she couldn't even function as a human being.

"I'm sorry," Rumple said, his face contorting as he started to cry. "I'm so sorry Belle. I'm sorry I couldn't be the man you needed me to be when Lily was born. I'm sorry I couldn't be the father Lily needed. The past month and a half with her was incredible... she was the most incredible little person." He moved to sit next to Belle on the bed.

Belle looked down, she could feel her upper body shaking due to her rapid breathing from crying. She looked at Rumple, suddenly angry and forgiving all at once.

"What do you mean?"

"You lived alone with Lily before the curse," he explained, looking ashamed. "You left because you didn't think I could change enough to be a good enough father. And you were right. I wasn't ready at the time. I wasn't who you needed me to be. I'm so sorry Belle. For everything, for lying to you now. I just wanted to know Lily. I shouldn't have lied to do it though. I should have reminded you of exactly who you are. You are a beautiful woman who loved an ugly man and I-"

"Don't," Belle warned, her eyes fresh with new tears.

"Don't what?"

"Don't insult yourself. Don't insult half of Lily."

Rumple nodded, and Belle, needing comfort, fell into his arms. He held her and cried with her, promising her that Regina would not get away with this.

* * *

Snow held her son in her arms, while Emma sat on the edge of the bed and David napped in the recliner put in their room.

"Is he going to live with us?" Emma asked.

"Yes, he's going to live with us," Snow smiled.

"When are we going home?"

"I don't know. I think they're going to tell me I can go home tomorrow, but the baby is going to have to stay a little longer."

"How come?"

"Well, he's breathing on his own now, which is good, but I think they still want to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't get sick again."

"Then we can go home?"

"Right."

They were interrupted by a slight knock on the door. Snow called that they could come in, while she gave the baby her finger to grasp onto.

"We just came to say goodbye," Belle was putting all her effort into keeping it together long enough to walk out of the front doors of the hospital. She wanted to yell and scream and cry and knock things over.

"Where's Lily?" Emma said, tilting her head to look behind Belle, but she could only see Mr. Gold. Belle looked like she had gotten hit in the gut with the words from that question.

"Emma, can I talk to you?" Belle asked, kneeling down. Snow looked hesitantly, wondering if Belle was going to try and tell her everything. She did not want that, but something in Belle's face made Snow not stop her. Emma got off the bed and walked to Belle. Belle put her hands on Emma's shoulders. "Emma, thank you for being such a good friend to Lily. You are an incredibly special and important little girl, and I don't want you to ever forget that. You loved more than you could ever even imagine by your parents, and I don't want you to ever doubt that. You understand me?"

Emma nodded, unsure of the reason behind Belle's speech.

"And one more thing," Belle started. "I know for a fact that if the princess Belle from your stories ever got to meet you, she would say the same thing. She would absolutely adore you, and I think you guys could talk about books together for a long time."

Emma's eyes looked as lit up as a Christmas tree before she wrapped her arms around Belle's neck. Belle for one moment could pretend it was Lily, that she got to tell Lily all those things, but it was still a seven year old blonde who pulled away.

"I'll see you soon, okay Emma?" Belle said, giving her a kiss on the cheek before standing up. Snow watched them, feeling overwhelmed with emotions herself. For the first time since escaping the curse as a heavily pregnant woman, she felt guilty. She had saved her family, with no thought to how it would affect the people she left behind. She always assumed the ends justified the means, that Emma saving them was the best option, but she couldn't deny Lily planted a seed of doubt in her mind.

No, there was no other option. Emma was the savior. She was the _only_ choice. She was telling herself that when the little screen monitoring the baby's heart rate went off, beeping with the promise of nothing good.


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: **Good news, I finally just figured out how to turn on accepting messages on my blog, so check that out at **shelizabethwriting**, and shoot me one if you're awesome! Just kidding, you guys are all awesome. For real.

Sara- a bit of a late response but the Snowing scene of David's speech tying in with the title- that was originally my plan when I started the story and where the title came from. (Wake Me Up by Ed Sheeran). Of course, at the time I thought it was going to be a few chapters, and it was going to end with them finding each other and David saying that, but of course that didn't happen. I did want to include it though.

The baby's name has been kept the same in order to maintain the integrity of canon character, but of course there needed to be different reasoning here.

Also I don't know if you guys want a warning, but next chapter will be a time jump. Just so you aren't caught off guard when the next chapter starts with 5 years later.

* * *

"Nurse! Nurse!" Snow called out as loud as she could without moving. She was afraid if she moved at all with Neal in her arms it would make it even worse. David was up from his nap in the recliner within an instant, and nurses followed shortly after that. "Something is wrong!"

Several medical personnels came rushing in, some students, some nurses, some doctors.

"His heart is tachycardic!"

"He's going into v-fib!"

"Push .2 mg of epinephrine!"

Snow watched in horror as they took her baby out of her hands and started pressing on his chest. They used a defibrillator to shock him three times before stopping. Finally, all the machines stop, and the room was quiet except for the breathing sounds of Snow, David, their two children, and all the doctors and nurses.

"What's wrong?" Snow asked.

"His heart isn't working the way it's supposed to. He's going to be hooked up to a machine that will keep it pumping until we figure out what's wrong."

"Is he going to be okay?" David asked, holding on to scared Emma.

"We're doing all that we can," the nurse said, a line repeated so often it had little meaning. When she left, Snow buried her face in her hands. _This is karma. This is the world punishing you._

"Mommy?"

"Emma?"

"It will be okay," Emma said, putting her hand on her mom's. David put his hand on Snow's back, moving it up and down slowly.

Snow took a deep breath. "Emma, we need to talk about something very important."

"What is it?" Emma asked, and Snow pat a spot on the bed for Emma to sit. She listened, crawling up. Immediately she crawled next to her mom, laying down beside her. Snow put her arms around her daughter, wondering how she would have the strength to ever let go.

"It's about Lily," Snow explained, turning to Emma and pushing her hair behind her ears. "We have to talk about something very important," Snow paused to make sure Emma was listening. Emma and David were both staring intently. "Sometimes we love somebody, but they can't always stay with us. Sometimes they have to move on to bigger and better things. That's what Lily had to do."

Emma looked confused with her first experience of death. "Is she coming back?"

Snow felt like she was in pain thinking about how to answer this. "No, no, Lily's body isn't going to come back, Emma. But she's still here, in your heart, and in your memories. She's the wind on a hot day, and the sun after it stops raining. Lily got too big for her body, and she had to fly."

"So I'm never gonna see her again?" Emma's forehead wrinkled with the betrayal of losing someone she loved.

"Only in pictures, and in your memories. She'll never leave there."

At this, Emma started crying, starting to grasp the idea. "Why did she go?"

"Sometimes things happen that we can't explain. There was no reason for it," Snow answered honestly. "But it still happened, and we have to believe Lily is still happy now, and honor her memory."

Snow held on to Emma as she cried, silent tears falling off her own cheeks. David stood there in complete disbelief, clearly blindsided by the news of Lily.

Emma's voice was so quiet, she was barely audible. "It's not going to happen to me right? Getting too big for my body? I don't wanna leave. I wanna stay with you."

"No Emma," Snow said, squeezing her into a hug. "You don't need to worry about that."

"Do I get to say goodbye?"

"There's going to be a funeral," Snow explained. "Where everyone can talk about Lily. You can say goodbye then."

"But she won't hear me?"

"She won't be able to respond, no."

"But why did she have to get too big for her body without telling me? Why would she go without me?" Emma's voice filled the room with a despair only a heartbroken child's voice can carry. She didn't understand, she didn't comprehend why her friend had left her without any warning.

"Oh Emma," Snow held on to her daughter, remembering the last time Emma had cried so much, the last time Snow had turn her daughter's world upside down.

_Emma we have to talk about something else really important about David, okay? It's about you, too._

_I know this is confusing, Em. I'm sure you have questions._

_I'm sorry Emma, I'm sorry._

After lying with Emma in her arms for awhile in the hospital bed, she presumed her seven year old asleep. Emma's body was turned into her, and she could feel her chest rise and fall with steady breaths. Snow was staring at the wall in front of her, thinking of Emma, thinking of Belle and Lily, thinking of David, thinking of her precious baby boy fighting for his life upstairs.

"Mommy?"

"Em? I didn't know you were awake," Snow said, slightly startled.

"Lily... do you think Grandma Ruth could take care of her now? Since I never got to meet her... Maybe if she knew Lily was my friend..."

"Oh Emma," Snow said, kissing the top of her head. "I'm sure Grandma Ruth is already waiting for her with open arms."

* * *

Snow was signing the papers to be discharged with David while Emma took her turn sleeping in the recliner. She hadn't been able to sleep the night before, even next to her mom, because she was constantly waking up from nightmares and asking for Lily. Finally, she looked at peace sleeping on the recliner, although her mouth was slightly open and ready to catch some flies, she looked peaceful.

"Why don't you take Emma home to nap and get changed and I'll stay here with the baby?" David offered, slightly hazy from lack of sleep.

"You've barely slept yourself," Snow pointed out.

"When you come back, I'll go home for a little while and shower and nap. It doesn't feel right to leave him, even with all the nurses and doctors."

Snow kissed him lightly before agreeing. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," David said. "Emma needs a break from the hospital, and I think she needs to spend time with you right now."

"We still need to decide on a name. We can't just keep calling him the baby," Snow reminded him.

"I know," David agreed. "I was thinking... how about Neal?"

"Neal?"

"Yeah. It means Champion. That's what the little guy is, isn't he?"

"I like it," Snow said, the thought uplifting to her. "Neal."

"Neal Lyle," David said, looking into Snow's eyes. "Lyle for Lily." Snow tried to smile without crying, nodding to show agreement. "Why didn't you tell me?" David asked, as if he was waiting for the right moment to say it.

"I would have," Snow said. "We just didn't have any time alone so I couldn't tell you without telling Emma."

"It was Regina, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

David shook his head, as if he wasn't ready for the answer. "We're going to stop her once and for all when Emma breaks the curse. No more second chances."

Snow nodded while moving to Emma in the lumpy recliner. "Em, we're going home for a few hours. Wake up," Snow said gently, shaking Emma's shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open, with panic streaking across them.

"Where's Lily?"

Snow looked at her daughter with genuine sadness. "She's not here, baby. It's okay. We're going to go home and rest and then come back to see Neal."

"Neal?"

"Your baby brother's name. Neal Lyle, for Lily. What do you think?"

Emma seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding. "I like it.. it's good."

"Ready to get some real rest, kiddo?" David asked, ushering her off the chair.

"Can we say bye before we leave?"

"Of course," Snow smiled, and Emma took her mother and father's hand walking to the stairs, the route to the NICU that she knew so well now.

"Can we go in?" Emma asked, looking up at her parents, standing on the side of the glass just peering in.

"I'll ask a nurse," David said, looking for a nurse. Emma could see her father talking animatedly until finally returning. "We have to be extra careful, and wear gloves and jackets and face masks when we go in, because if he gets sick he won't be able to fight it off himself."

"But we can go in?"

"Yes, carefully," David explained. Emma jumped in excitement, and didn't even mind putting all the equipment on to see him. He was tiny, but she could touch him through gloves in the box he was laying in. Emma watched his legs and arms squirm, and Snow and David watched Emma watch him.

"Daddy says you're going to grow as big as me. But you're pretty small, and so I doubt it. But maybe if you could just grow a little bit, that would be okay, because then maybe you would get better."

Snow held David's hand, touched at watching Emma talk to Neal. Suddenly she turned to them crying. Full out sobbing that came on with only seconds.

"I'm sorry," Emma cried. "I'm so sorry for making Neal sick."

"Emma, why would you even say that?" David asked. "You didn't do anything."

"I did," Emma sobbed. "It's my fault. On my birthday I wished that I could meet my brother but now he's sick. He's too small. I shouldn't have wished. You said he would know when to come out, but I made him come out too fast."

"Emma, that isn't your fault. You did not do this, do you understand?" Snow said assertively. "This had nothing to do with you."

Emma nodded unconvincingly, using her shoulder to wipe her cheeks. At the same time, Neal's monitor went off with the familiar beeping. Quickly, the see through case over him was whipped off, leaving him out in the open. Nurses piled around him, pulling up crash carts.

"He's in congestive heart failure!"

"Charging! Clear!"

One doctor ordered Snow, David, and Emma out, but Emma flailed and screamed. "Let me go! Let me go!"

"Get her out of here!"

"Emma, please!"

"Let me go!" Emma screamed, breaking free of the male nurse's grasp. She ran to Neal, who's beeping was at all time quickened pace.

"Get her _OUT!"_

"Neal, it's me, it's Emma! I'm your big sister, okay? Don't be too big for your body. I know it's small, but it will grow with you, Daddy said so. Don't give up on it yet," Emma's speech left all the medical personnels speechless, frozen in their track. Emma kissed Neal's bare belly before being picked up and dragged to the other side of the glass, where her parents were waiting.

"Emma," Snow started to reprimand, but they were distracted by Neal. His heart rate was suddenly steady, all his vitals suddenly matching a full term healthy newborn. "Emma..." Snow said again, this time in a much different tone. Emma looked like she was going to fall over from glee.

"He listened," Emma said, her eyes crinkling from the size of her smile.

"How..."

Everyone crowded around him, wondering if their eyes and ears were playing tricks on them, but they were all looking at the same thing.

"It was a coincidence..." David tried to explain. Snow looked at him like he just announced that Neal had ten heads.

"You don't really believe that, do you?"

David shook his head slowly, both still staring through the glass.

"Are we still going home?" Emma asked, looking up at her parents vacant stares.

"Uh... uh," Snow said trying to focus on what Emma was saying. "Yeah. David, you'll call me with any updates?"

"Of course. I'll see you guys soon?" David said, holding out his fist to Emma. She smiled wide and bumped it, feeling like a grown up at their new way to say goodbye. It made her mom shake her head and laugh, which made her feel like she had her own secret club with her dad.

* * *

Snow had run into the convenience store with Emma to pick up milk and bread so Emma would have something fresh to eat at home. She figured they would shower and change, pack a bag and lay down together for an hour or two before going back to the hospital, giving Emma a much needed break.

"Emma, come on," Snow called picking up her bag from the check out. Emma was in the aisle by the register with small toys. Emma followed quickly, trying to keep her face as emotionless as possible. "You ready?"

"Uh-huh."

Snow tilted her head up and looked at her daughter, but walked out of the store with her. "You wanna tell me what's going on?" Snow guessed, looking at Emma's hidden grin.

"I got a present!"

"What are you talking about?"

Emma pulled a plastic rattle out from under her sweatshirt. She spoke with enthusiasm. "I got it for Neal!"

"Emma! You just took this from the store?"

"Yes, but it was for Neal. It's a present," Emma suddenly looked completely defeated and dejected at her mom's reaction.

"You have to pay for things you want, Emma. You know that. Why would you just take it? You could have just asked me. I would have been happy to help you get a present for your brother."

Emma shrugged, tears brimming in her eyes. "You're supposed to say goodbye when you leave, but Lily didn't."

"Oh Em," Snow breathed, her heart aching at Emma's confession. "It's not fair, but you still have to follow the rules. Do you understand me? Someone worked hard to make this toy, and you can't just take it without paying."

"I'm sorry Mommy," Emma said, her voice thick with regret. "I'll 'poligize to the man behind the counter."

Snow nodded, putting her hand on Emma's back as they walked back into the store. Emma placed the rattle on the counter, not being able to make contact.

"I took this without telling, and I'm really sorry," Emma said sadly. "I'll never do it again."

The cashier looked perplexed at Emma's confession, as if it didn't really matter. "Alrighty..."

"Thanks," Snow said quickly, ushering Emma out of the store.

"Are you mad at me?" Emma asked, buckling her own seat belt.

"Why would I be mad at you honey?"

"'Cause."

"I'm not mad. We all make bad decisions." _Some of us just have different decisions to make._

Emma sat in the car in silence until the got back to the apartment, where Emma raced up two stairs at a time, seemingly feeling much better.

* * *

David held his son in his arms, not forgetting the fact he never held his daughter like this. They were down in the Nursery, Neal have been moved from the NICU. The doctors had no explanation, but until he showed signs of needing it, they couldn't use a bed in the NICU for a baby who didn't need it.

"How is this possible?"

"We honestly don't know," the doctor said truthfully. "His white cell count is up, he's starting to gain weight, his heart is healthy. It's like there was never any problems. It all came suddenly. It's a medical mystery if there ever was one."

David shook his head in disbelief, giving his son his finger to grasp.

"We want to see him hit six pounds before we let him go. But with this sudden change, it could happen in days."

"So that's it? We're just waiting for him to gain weight?"

"Pretty much, exactly that."

David turned around and started pacing slowly while holding Neal in his arms.

"You are definitely a little champion."

"Hey," Snow said coming up behind David.

"You scared me!" David said, jumping a little.

Emma laughed and Snow apologized. "Neal got moved?"

"Yeah, the doctors say it's a medical mystery," David eyed Emma, but Emma was distracted, standing on a cheer peering over to see Neal. "They just want him to gain a little weight before we can bring him home."

Snow kissed the baby's forehead in response. "Did you hear that little guy? We're going to go home."

"And be a family!" Emma added, getting off the chair while suddenly joining in on the conversation.

"We already are." David and Snow spoke in unison, then looked at each other in surprise.

Emma looked at her parents with the same surprise they were looking at each other with, then looked at her dad, who was still cradling Neal.

"Can I try holding him?"


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N:** Well here you go! My take on preteen Emma. It's honestly a bit more fun than even I expected, especially finding a balance between the qualities that are undeniably Emma and the qualities that came from surviving the childhood she did.

While I move the curse along, if you guys have any requests about scenes you want to see, definitely leave it in a review and I will incorporate it if it's possible to without compromising any of the plotlines (which it usually is!). Other than that, enjoy! Also, my daily THANKS**!**

* * *

**5 Years Later**

* * *

"I can babysit Neal by myself," Emma declared to her parents, sitting at the island in the kitchen with her textbook and notebook. "I'm responsible!"

"You are very responsible," Snow reasoned. "But you are still only 12. Besides, Belle is going to hang out with you more than babysit you. That way you don't have to worry about Neal." Snow looked over to the living room floor, where David, in dress pants and a button up shirt, was building block towers with their 5 year old son.

"Going on a date night is gross anyway," Emma said, flipping the page in her textbook.

"Can I get that in writing so you don't change your mind for a long, long time?" David said, getting up to walk over to the island. He kissed the top of Emma's head, causing Emma to let out a groan.

"Dad, stop. You're being embarrassing again."

The doorbell rang, but before anyone could get it, the door opened slightly. "Just me," Belle said walking in. Emma tried to hide her face lighting up when she saw her, but she couldn't. She had always felt close to Belle. After Lily, Belle had been like a second mother to her. No, more like the cool older sister that didn't embarrass her in public and make her do the dishes like her actual mom did.

"Belle!" Emma said happily, and Belle walked over and put one arm around Emma for a half-hug.

"How are you love?" Belle said smiling, tapping Emma's nose to say hi. Emma smiled and returned the one armed hug.

"Good. Just doing homework."

"If we did that," David whispered into Snow's ear, "she would be yelling at us for being embarrassing."

Snow giggled and almost joked back about the price of parenthood, but she stopped herself. _Not everyone gets that price. They were the lucky ones._

"Well, we're going to head off. They've both already eaten and Neal is already bathed. Everything should be all set, but you know both our numbers if you need us."

"Everything will be more than fine," Belle insisted. "Go, enjoy yourselves."

"Alright," Snow nodded. "Bye pal. Be good for Auntie Belle, okay?" Neal nodded, giving both his parents a hug before they left. "By Em. Don't stay up too late," Snow said and Emma rolled her eyes.

"I won't, obviously."

"Love you."

"Mom!"

"What?"

"Ugh! Why do you always have to say it front of everyone?"

"That I love you?" Snow said in disbelief. "I do!"

"Love you too. BYE!" Emma was practically pushing them out of the door. Before they left, David held out his fist for a bump. Emma smirked and hit it back lightly. It was their secret way of saying I love you, without actually having to say it. Emma was grateful for it, because she didn't think she could stand her dad constantly telling her he loves her and calling her his princess in public. She didn't think he could, either.

"Everything okay?" Belle laughed as Emma returned to her spot at the island.

"Yeah. I just feel like I have no freedom with them, like ever."

"It's because they love you, that they look out for you."

"I know," Emma sighed. "I know that. I just... it's nothing." Emma shook her head, staring at the empty page in her notebook. She was trying to think of what to write, but her mind was blank. She couldn't focus on the history material.

"Working hard there?" Belle joked, peering over to the blank paper and Emma's frozen hand. Emma narrowed her eyes.

"I'm thinking."

"Well while you think, did you want to watch a movie with me and Neal?"

Emma looked at the empty couch and thought about it, but declined. "No thanks, I think I'm just going to head upstairs and try to read."

"Come down if you want, okay?" Belle offered, and Emma nodded.

When she got upstairs, she picked the brown book up from under her bed. She had put it there weeks ago, telling herself she'd look at it, but she kept forgetting. Tonight, for some reason, it crossed her mind, and it seemed like a good enough time to see what it was all about.

"_What's wrong?" Daniel asked, sitting next to her with a backpack bigger than him._

"_Do you ever feel weird? Like you don't belong here?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I don't know... forget it," Emma shook off the feeling and looked around the courtyard where she ate lunch. It was all the same people. The same exact people since she could remember. She wanted to ask her parents about it, but she didn't want to seem crazy. Of course people were aging. Daniel was aging, she was aging, her baby brother was aging. Were her parents? She couldn't really tell. They seemed to look older to her, but all parents look old._

"_I got this for you," Daniel said, pulling a brown book out his bag. "I got it from my mom's place of secrets. I went down there a long time ago and saw it, so I snuck back a few months ago to get it. I've been reading it... and I think you should too."_

"_A book of fairy tales? Why?"_

"_I don't know," Daniel admitted. "They just seem important."_

_Emma looked down at the book marked Once Upon A Time. It was nice of him to want to make her feel better. He was her only friend, and she didn't want him to think she was ungrateful. He was the only person Emma could remember growing up with, besides Neal. _

"_Thank you," Emma said sincerely. "I'll read it."_

"_Are you busy after school?" Daniel asked, changing the subject. Emma shook her head, smiling at whatever mischief they would get into._

Opening the dusty brown cover, safely in her bedroom, she read the first page. It was about Snow White and Prince Charming. The first few sentences enthralled her, being much different from the movie she had known growing up. She smiled when she read about Snow White defending herself with a rock, thinking it reminded her of something her parents would do if her dad ever tested her mom. Snow White's story stopped in the middle, where the Evil Queen interrupts their wedding. She wondered if pages had been ripped out and was surprised at how severely disappointed she was at not knowing the ending. The next story began with Little Red Riding Hood.

"I didn't know they were friends..." Emma whispered to herself when Snow White came in Red's story. Emma continued reading and absorbing every word on the pages until she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Hey, how you doing?" Belle asked. "I just put Neal to bed."

"Good. Just reading," Emma said, the giant book sprawled open on her bed. When she looked up to talk, she realized how heavy her eyes were. How long had it been?

"What's that book?" Belle said, tilting her head and walking towards the bed.

"It's all about fairy tales," Emma explained. "Except different. They're not like the movies at all."

Belle's eyes widened at the page Emma was on, which was about herself and Rumplestiltskin. Belle, though it came back to her only in flashes with Emma, pretty much had all her memory filled in spending the last five years talking to Snow and David and Rumple.

"Where did you get this?"

"A friend," Emma tried to say nonchalantly.

"Daniel gave this to you? Where did he get it?"

"I have other friends!" Emma defended, then caved. "He said he got it from his mom."

"She gave it to him?"

"Kind of..."

"He stole it?"

"It's not a big deal, Belle! Don't tell!"

"Emma!" Belle said, waving her hands up to show her disapproval.

"He just thought it would make me feel better. He was trying to help. Please don't get him in trouble."

"I'm not going to tell," Belle said, sighing. "But you are."

"What? No I'm not!"

"Yes. You are. You're going to tell your parents you have the book and show them. Do you understand? If you don't, I'm going to."

"But why?"

Belle thought about their story, the part where Snow goes through a wardrobe with the white blanket that's stitched with the name Emma. The same blanket laying on Emma's bed. She wondered how she'd react to seeing that before her parents had the chance to talk to her.

"Because Emma. Those are the conditions. Do you accept?"

"Fine."

"Okay," Belle breathed. "No more reading for tonight, though," Belle said, closing the book and putting it on the top shelf of Emma's dresser. As soon as she left, Emma got up and hid it in her top drawer. She told Belle she'd tell, but not when. Not until she finished the stories. If her parents were going to make her return it, she wanted to know what happened.

Emma stared at the doorway, perplexed at Belle's reaction. She stared at the door for awhile, imagining different ways Snow White and Prince Charming's story ends. She wondered if the Evil Queen died, or if they just locked her up. I mean, they had to have won, hadn't they? Snow White and Prince Charming were good, and the Evil Queen was, well, evil. Good always won. That had been a truth in her life ever since she could remember.

Finally, she got tired of thinking and curled into her bed, waiting for the sound of her parents return and their voices thanking Belle. She knew it was silly, because she was 12 and all, but it was hard for her to sleep before she knew they were home safely.

"Emmy?"

"Neal?" Emma asked, squinting her eyes in the darkness to see a figure standing in her door. "What are you doing?"

"I had a bad dream, and Mommy and Daddy aren't home yet."

Emma sighed, knowing this was true. They weren't home, she would have heard them. Her eyes were adjusting now, and she could see his footie pajamas and something hanging from his arm, probably one of his stuffed animals. "So what do you want, Neal?"

"Can I stay with you? Until they get home? Please Emmy."

Emma grunted, hating the nickname that only her little brother got away with calling her. "Fine, come on," Emma caved, moving to the side of her bed and patting the spot next to her for her annoying baby brother to join.

"Do you think they'll be home soon?"

"The sooner you fall asleep, the sooner they'll be home," Emma pointed out. She closed her eyes, hoping Neal would follow.

* * *

Emma woke up to the feeling of metal in her mouth. She tried to gather saliva to swallow, but it was like there was none. Reflexively, she coughed. As soon as she heard the sound, she knew it wasn't a good cough. She looked out the window, seeing light was approaching. She was thankful, she didn't think she could manage to fall asleep again. Grudgingly, she trailed down to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

The darkness wasn't welcoming, and before the kitchen, her original plan, she found herself walking to her parents room.

"Mom? Mooooom." Emma stood quietly by her parents bed, feeling embarrassed that she was waking her mom up on a Saturday morning, especially because she went out the night before.

"Emma?" Snow said it as if she was surprised Emma was actually standing there and she didn't dream it. "What's wrong sweetie?"

"I don't feel good," Emma whined, and as if she needed proof, she felt a cough bubbling up in her throat. It was thick and raspy.

"Oh no, that sounds terrible. Let's get you some medicine and a hot shower," Snow pushed the blankets off her and put her arm around Emma while leading her to the kitchen.

"Sorry for waking you," Emma gruffed.

"Don't worry about that," Snow hushed, pulling out a bottle of antihistamines. She put her hand on Emma's forehead before handing her the water and pills. "You don't feel too warm."

"My throat hurts," Emma explained. "It feels like there's a rock in it."

"Take this," Snow instructed. "I'm going to start the hot water so you can sit in the steam. It will clear your head right up."

Emma nodded, picking up the glass of water to take a sip before gulping the pills down. She walked slowly to the bathroom, feeling like her head weighed about two tons more than her body could hold.

"Try taking a shower to relax. When you're done stay in here with the water running so the steam can clear you out. I'm going to set up the couch for you, just call my name if you need help with anything, okay?"

Emma nodded, already peeling off her sweaty pajamas when Snow closed the door. Setting up the couch meant a sick day. Since she was little, she knew staying on the couch meant being doted on. If it was just a headache or stomachache, it was 'why don't you lay down in bed for a little and see how you feel?' but laying on the couch, that was the real deal.

When Snow walked back out of the bathroom, David was already walking back and forth between the living room and kitchen rubbing Neal's back to soothe him.

"Don't tell me..."

"I forgot to mention," David said innocently, "Neal got a notice from school yesterday that a bug was going around in his kindergarten class."

"Emma got it too. She's in the bathroom now taking a hot shower."

"Probably from cuddling last night," David said, smirking a little at the memory of seeing Neal curled up in Emma's bed when they got home last night.

Snow couldn't help but return the smirk, thinking of Neal convincing their preteen daughter to let him stay with her. Although Emma was stoic at best the past few months with her emotions, she clearly had a soft spot for her brother.

"That _was_ pretty impressive, buddy," Snow mused, rubbing Neal's back. He seemed too out of it to notice. "I'm going to get some fresh clothes for Emma," Snow left with a kiss for David and Neal, and a whisper to Neal that it will be okay and he'll feel better soon.

Snow walked into Emma's room, realizing she was definitely going to make Emma get serious about cleaning it when she felt better. She picked out a t-shirt from her pajama drawer and sweatpants for the comfort level. She opened the top drawer for fresh undergarments, but barely could get it open. Was it broken? No, it was stuck. She opened it as much as she could and realized a giant book was stopping the drawer from sliding open. She reached in to push the book down to get the drawer open. When it opened, she picked up the book, staring at it the cover. Once Upon A Time. She opened it quickly, reading the first page and knowing instantly. How did Emma have this? And why did it seem like she was trying to hide it? Could she... know? No, surely not. She had been sure Emma had magic years ago, and proof was every day they had with Neal, but it seemed as Emma got older she tried her best not to acknowledge it, chalking it up to coincidences every time. She had become different after the death of Lily, as if she knew something wasn't normal with the town she lived in, but wanted to pretend it wasn't. Snow made the decision to ask Emma about it, but not until she felt better. She got the benefit of the doubt when she was sick. She picked up Emma's clothes, including the training bra they had shopped for together much to Emma's embarrassment, and headed downstairs. Both of her babies needed her today.


	37. Chapter 37

"Mmmmmm," Emma groaned into the couch pillow, trying to block out the sounds around her. Neal was crying and her mom was trying get him to swallow some medicine on a spoon. It was early afternoon, and she felt much better after eating a full bowl of soup for lunch. "Mom, I'm going to take another shower."

"Are you feeling okay, sweetie?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling better. I want to take a shower and get dressed."

Snow got up to feel Emma's head immediately at this declaration, and Emma sighed, waiting for the prognosis.

"You feel okay," Snow said hesitantly, looking her daughter up and down. "Are you sure?"

"Mom! Why do you always have to be so overprotective? I'm fine!"

"Emma," Snow said, slightly shocked. "I just want to make sure you aren't rushing things."

"It's not just that," Emma sighed. "You still make me have a babysitter, and you don't trust me with Neal. I'm growing up, but you aren't acting like it."

Snow put her hand on her daughter's cheek and smiled a little sadly at her statement. "I know you're growing up," she promised. "It's just hard for Dad and I to feel comfortable... there's... there's a lot of things you don't know yet, Em."

"Then tell me! Why won't you tell me?"

"It's complicated."

"I can understand complicated!" Emma spoke with such conviction her voice broke as she insisted. "What I can't understand is why my parents are keeping things from me. Why did we move to this weird town as soon as Dad came to live with us? And why was Dad in jail for the first six years of my life?!"

"He wasn't in jail for six years, Emma. It was a minor offense... he wasn't-"

"Well, wherever he was, he wasn't with us! So where was he? Did he leave us and then change his mind and come back cause he got bored?"

"NO! Emma, please listen to me-" Snow began, but was interrupted by Neal's crying. "Can we talk after your shower? I promise, I'll answer your questions. Neal is going to need a nap after this medicine, and your dad is setting up fresh sheets on his bed right now. Just try to relax, okay? We have a lot of things to talk about, and I promise, we will."

Emma nodded before she let the emotions get the best of her. A hot shower sounded like exactly what she needed right now. She was groggy from laying on the couch for hours. She desperately wanted to get out of the house, to get a break from her family, and she wondered what Daniel was doing. But no, her mom had agreed to talk to her, and she was going to demand answers.

After her shower, Emma sat in her room towel drying her hair. She could hear her parents telling a story to Neal about Snow White and Prince Charming, and Emma froze as she started listening in. She knew it seemed familiar, she knew she there was a reason she was so enthralled in reading it. They hadn't told it to her in years, but she knew it so well, it was like riding a bike. Her parents were telling her brother the same exact story she had read in the book from Daniel; the story that was nothing like the fairy tale version of the cartoon. Had her parents read the book? Had the mayor stolen it from her parents? No, that was impossible. Emma could remember her mom telling her the story before they moved here, before they even knew who Regina was. So how did they know the stories? There was no logical explanation; there was no way Emma could spin it to make sense in her mind.

"Knock knock," her dad said standing her doorway with her mom closely behind. "Can we talk?"

Emma threw her towel in the hamper by her dresser before nodding and sitting on the bed. She sat by the headboard, curling her knees up to her nose and holding them. Her jeans were not soft like her pajama pants, and she suddenly wished she hadn't had the urge to get up and get ready.

"We know there's a lot to talk about..." Snow started, sitting on the bed by her.

"How do you know the stories? Of Snow White and Prince Charming?"

"What?"

"The story you were just telling Neal. About how Snow White and Prince Charming met. How. Do. You. Know. It."

"Emma," David started, looking at Snow, who seemed to be at a loss for words, "Where did you get the book?"

"What book?"

"The one I found hidden in your dresser," Snow explained.

"You were snooping through my things?!" Emma cried.

"I was getting fresh clothes for your shower this morning, and either way, I'm your mother, and I used to know every single thing about you. Our privacy limits are still a bit blurry."

"The limit is that you can't snoop through my things! I'm not just your child, I'm an actual _person_ and I deserve some privacy!"

"Okay Emma," David said, trying to diffuse the situation. "We can give you a little more privacy, but we need to know where you got the book, still."

"A little more? Why do you even get a say?! You were missing for the first six years of my life! I met you when I was _kidnapped _and brought to the _jail _you were in!"

"Emma!" Snow said sternly, causing Emma to look towards her mother.

"Why are you defending him?! He left us! He left _you_ with a newborn baby to go do whatever landed him in jail and you still bailed him out so he could come live with us like we were a big happy family."

"It wasn't like that at all, Emma," David tried to explain. "You have to understand I would have _never _left you by choice."

"I know, I know. I've heard it a million times," Emma said, suddenly feeling a slight pang of guilt at her accusations, but she was too angry still to dwell on it.

"David," her mom said, looking at her dad. "I don't think we have a choice."

"So we'll tell her," David said, agreeing, sitting on the other side of the bed. Emma was still holding her knees, not able to make eye contact after what she had said to her father. She knew she didn't mean it. She loved her Dad, sometimes she felt like he understood her better than her mom even. She honestly had no idea where her outbursts had come from.

"Tell me what?" Emma mumbled into her knees.

"This is going to be a lot to take in," Snow started. "And we weren't going to tell you until you were older..."

"Tell me _what?_" Emma repeated.

Snow let out a sigh and reached out her hand to David. "We should tell you the story of how we met first," Snow decided, and Emma nodded, realizing she had never heard it before.

"I was to be married to someone else..." David started, before being interrupted by Emma.

"You were _engaged?_"

"Yes," David clarified. "Are you going to let us finish the story before you ask questions?"

"Okay, fine," Emma nodded.

"Well," Snow continued. "I was living as a bandit on the run. I had to steal to survive, and one day I saw a carriage going by and I-"

"Hold up," Emma interrupted again. "This is Snow White's story. I know it by heart. The carriage she stole from was Prince Charming's who was going to marry someone... else..." Emma trailed off, then shook her head as if it could get rid of her questions. "Why are you telling me this story when you know I know it?"

"It's how we met, Emma."

"No, it's how Snow White and Prince Charming met. In a fictional world. In a book. I can show you," Emma said, getting up and pulling open her top drawer and lifting the brown book out of it. She flipped to the page with the picture of Snow stealing from Charming's carriage. As she opened it, she paused, staring at the picture. It looked almost exactly like... her parents.

"I don't understand."

"Have you read the ending yet, Emma?"

"No... it was... it was ripped out." Emma's voice answered, but her mind was a million miles away, spinning like the force of a thousand gears.

"It's at the end," Snow explained, putting her hand over the pages to stop her from flipping to it. "But we want to tell you it first."

"No," Emma said, looking at her parents. "Have you guys taken something? Some overdose of cough syrup?"

"Emma, _listen._ This is really important. This is your life we're talking about. Do you understand?" Emma nodded, obedient to her mother's tone. "You were conceived in another world. A world where I went by Snow White and Dad went by, well, Prince Charming. The Evil Queen hated... hates," Snow corrected, "me. She blames me for taking away her happy ending and has been seeking revenge since. She crashed our wedding, promising to take away ours. There was talk of a curse, and it came shortly before you were born. We had to get you to safety, so I went through an enchanted wardrobe to this world to raise you here. Dad somehow found a way to get through after I already made it here, and spent the first six years of your life trying to find us. He went to jail because he knocked on every door in our neighborhood and someone who was, reasonably, creeped out called the police to report him."

"A curse...?" Emma started. Her expression was blank, but Emma was pondering the idea. "Is it this town?" Both of her parents nodded in response to this, as Emma expected. "That's why nobody is aging?"

"Yes. Regina stopped time. Because we escaped, we're unaffected by it."

"This makes no sense," Emma said, realizing how much of a lie that was. It made perfect sense to her. It somehow explained everything. But it couldn't be true. She watched Snow White on tv, it couldn't be her _mother. _How could it be possible? Emma studied her mom; the dark hair, pale skin, red lips. _Oh god, _Emma thought, _is Snow White sitting in front of me?_ Emma suddenly felt her bug from earlier return, because she thought she was going to throw up. As she entertained the thought, Emma suddenly felt unreasonably nervous. It was her mom, for godsakes. It was the same person Emma just yelled at for snooping through her things, who embarrassingly told her she loved her in front of other people, the person she could wake up before sunrise because she had a scratchy throat. It was still her mom, but it was also _Snow White._ The little princess-obsessed girl inside of her got butterflies at the thought.

"I know it's a lot to take in," Snow said, reaching her hand out to Emma's, and all Emma could think was: Snow White is reaching out to touch my hand. _No,_ Emma thought, _it's impossible. Her parents were crazy. Oh god, oh god, oh god. Who will Neal and I live with if they go to the looney bin? Belle? She didn't know if Belle would take them, and she didn't want to move. Why were her parents talking like this? Oh god, her parents are crazy._

"The... um... curse? Is it going to be like this forever?"

"No," Snow said vehemently. "It will be broken."

"How?"

"That's another discussion, Em," David offered. Emma, feeling like she didn't want to know, agreed to let that one go.

"Belle?" Emma said suddenly. "She's cursed?"

"She's cursed, yes, but she knows who she is. She has her memories and her life... thanks to you."

"And Lily," Emma said sadly, looking down. "Lily... she died months after we moved here. Regina killed her like a freakin' evil queen! She killed her for no reason!" _Were her parents crazy? Did that make her crazy? If all this made complete sense to her, did that mean she belonged in the looney bin as well?_

"Emma, Regina WILL pay for what she's done to everyone," David looked at her daughter when he made the promise. "Especially Lily."

Emma nodded, feeling overwhelmed with the idea of processing all this information. "We live in a town... with the evil queen?"

"Yes, but she's not going to hurt you, or anyone else."

"How do you know that? She crashed YOUR wedding! Wouldn't she be after me if I'm your..." Emma trailed off, too embarrassed to finish her train of thought. She didn't need to though, because her mother read her mind.

"Yes," Snow smiled. "You are our happy ending. Along with Neal. That's why it's been... difficult for us to leave you alone. I know you want your independence though, and you deserve it. Your father and I have talked about it, and we thought, if you wanted to, you could get Neal after school Monday and watch him for a few hours by yourself."

"Really?!"

"We'd have to go over a lot of things, Emma," David added. "Like no leaving the house unless it's an emergency. The doors need to be locked at all times, and don't open it for anyone but us."

"Yes!" Emma agreed. "Yes!"

"Okay," both of her parents laughed. "We still need to talk about it more later, but I think we could all use a break right now from thinking."

"Yes," Emma breathed. "Please."

Emma left her room behind her parents still feeling a little light-headed from her sickness, or maybe from the news that she was a child born from Snow White and Prince Charming. Either way, she closed the big brown book clumsily as she jumped up, the swift motion knocking it off the edge between her bed and the wall.

_I'll forget about that, _Emma thought as it disappeared in the crack, but she was already by the doorframe that led out of her room. _Mental note to remember to get it later and see how the story ends._

* * *

"What are you doing after school today?" Daniel walked using both hands to hold onto his backpack straps.

"I have to get Neal from kindergarten," Emma explained. "I'm going to watch him all by myself."

"Seriously? My mom would never let me be by myself! She still makes the Sheriff stay with me when she leaves." Emma thought about his mom, the mayor, and what she had learned over the weekend. She winced, thinking of Daniel going home to her. Daniel noticed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Emma said, almost too-quickly. "I was sick over the weekend. I'm out of it."

"Oh. So what time does the kindergarten get out?"

"Like three, I think."

Daniel looked at his red and blue watch. 2:37. "I can walk with you if you want."

"Okay," Emma smiled and took Daniel's hand to lead him to Neal's school, a 10 minute walk, but a 5 minute one with the right shortcut behind the back of their school.

"Where are we going?" Daniel said hesitantly, but allowing Emma to pull him.

"A shortcut. Don't worry, I know where to go."

"Are you sure?" Daniel pulled back a little, causing Emma to slow down.

"Why? Are you afraid?"

"No!"

"Okay. It's just a back parking lot and cutting through a few trees."

Still as they walked, Emma had to slightly pull on Daniel's arm to keep him going. She noticed lately every time they touched at all, Daniel tensed up. She figured Daniel was going through some type of awkward not-a-boy-but-not-yet-a-man stage, so she let him be and pretended not to notice. She figured he would go back to normal eventually.

"Who's there?!"

The unknown voice caused Emma and Daniel to widen their eyes at each other, both in surprise.

"We should _go!_"

"We're almost there," Emma insisted.

"Who's there?!" This time the voice was louder, closer.

"Okay," Emma agreed. "Let's just go." As they stumbled towards where they came from, practically falling over each other, the voice was on top of them. This time it was not booming though, but quiet and scared.

"Who are you?" The voice was not demanding, but questioning. Emma felt bad, and couldn't help but turn around. She held on to Daniel's arm, so he didn't run and leave her alone.

"Who are _you?_" Emma asked, staring at the stranger.

"Neal, um.. my name is Neal."


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N: **I just wanted to mention before you read the chapter that although this chapter has Emma and Neal and sibling love, stay with me on the Charming family drama! No 12 year old girl gets along with their parents all the time, plus Emma had to find out in an interesting way, yes?

Enjoy :) Thanks again for the reviews. You guys are truly the lovliest.

* * *

The boy looked a little older than Emma.

"Neal?"

"Yeah."

"That's my brothers name."

"Cool."

"What are you doing here?"

"Living here."

"In the woods?" Emma questioned. "Why are you doing that?"

"Emma, we should go," Daniel offered, looking at his red and blue watch. 2:53. Emma looked at her best friend, realizing he was petrified.

"Okay," she agreed. "I'm going to get my brother. Are you going to be here later?"

"I live here," Neal answered. Emma nodded, feeling this was an acceptable answer. She let Daniel pull her towards where they originally going, the shortcut to the kindergarten.

"That was scary," Daniel announced. Emma looked at him quizzically. Sure, it was scary for a few moments when they didn't know who was there, but not after they spoke to him. He wasn't scary at all. Or maybe he was, and that's why Emma was so interested. "You're not really going to go back, are you?"

"Of course I'm going to go back! He's living in the woods."

"That's not _your _problem! It's dangerous! He could be crazy! We can find a thrill somewhere else, Emma. We can jump off a building or something."

"It's not just for a thrill, Daniel. He obviously needs help." Emma stated it simply before walking into the front door of the school. All the five year olds were lined up with their backpacks, waiting to be picked up. "Neal!" Emma called and waved, causing her brother to look up. He smiled brightly and walked over to her as fast as his little legs could move.

"You're really watching me all day?" Neal said in amazement, as if their parents telling him Emma was going to pick him today was just a silly joke.

"Uh yeah! Are you ready? Do you have to tell your teachers or something?" Emma asked. Neal yelled out to the volunteer parent facilitating the dismissal that he was going, and the woman waved them off. Emma wondered how safe that was, because what if she was a random stranger? She didn't even ask Emma any questions. Her parents must have told the school she would be getting him.

"Are we going right home?" Neal asked, reaching his hand up as soon as they walked out. Emma took it before crossing the parking lot.

"Well... would you mind a pit stop?"

Neal shook his head excitedly. Anything with Emma was an adventure. "Will we get in trouble?" He added as an afterthought.

"Not if Mom and Dad don't know." Neal's jaw dropped to his chest. "It's not a big deal," Emma explained. "I promise they'll understand eventually. You just can't tell right now, okay?"

Neal nodded, letting Emma lead him towards the back of his school towards the woods. Emma looked around for Daniel where she left him to go inside, but she figured he must have left already.

"Neal?" Emma called, walking back into the woods.

"I'm right here," baby Neal said, looking up at his older sister in confusion.

"Not you, a different Neal."

"Anover one?"

"Yes, another one. Neal?" Emma called again until she heard rustling leaves.

"Back so soon?" Neal joked. This time, not worrying about Daniel, Emma actually looked at him. He was lean and taller than her. He looked dirty and malnourished. His shaggy brown hair fell around his ears.

"I told you I would be," Emma said, then reached into baby Neal's backpack as if she suddenly remembered something. "Our mom gives Neal a banana every day with his lunch, and Neal throws it out every day," Emma explained, causing Neal to widen his eyes in surprise towards his sister at being caught. "He thinks no one noticed. Anyway, it's not much, but here."

"Uh... thanks," Neal said shyly. "Um, our names might get confusing... so to make it easier you could... um, call me Baelfire. Or Bae."

"Bae?"

"It's a nickname, um from my father."

"Okay," Emma shrugged. "So who is your father?"

"You don't hold back, do you?"

"I don't have much time," Emma defended. "I'm babysitting Neal and my parents are going to go crazy if I don't get home to call them and tell them we're safe pretty soon."

"Oh. You should go then."

"Probably." Emma didn't move though, even when Neal tugged slightly on her arm.

"Emmy, I wanna go home now," Neal tried, tugging towards the other parking lot.

"I should go," Emma said, again, this time really meaning it. "Will you at least tell me one thing?"

"What is it?"

"You're family is here, aren't they?"

"How did you know that?" He looked genuinely surprised at Emma's assessment. Emma shrugged in response.

"I figured you're either running to or running from them. And if you're running from them, you'd do a much better job than the tiny wooded area between the two schools."

In response, Bae looked down.

"You should just go for it," Emma advised. "Believe me, I know things with family can be... complicated. But most of the time it's better to know than to not know." Emma thought about her dad looking for her and her mom for six years as she lead baby Neal through the rest of the woods to the back of the parking lot of her school.

"Is he your friend?" Neal asked as they walked around to the front of the middle school.

"I dunno," Emma answered honestly. "What I _do_ know is that we have the rest of the afternoon at home to do whatever we want."

Neal couldn't hide his excitement. Being babysat by Emma felt like freedom for him, too.

* * *

"Neal if you get marker on me I swear you will be sorry!" Emma warned, laying down and staring at the ceiling. Neal had somehow convinced her it would be a fun idea to roll out the arts and craft paper like a paper towel roll until it was life-size, then trace Emma on it. He had a box of all different color markers, and was stopping every few inches to switch colors.

"I'm being careful, Emmy."

"You better be!"

"I am. Emmy?"

Emma let out a loud breath at the nickname. She knew she could yell at Neal and he

would be afraid to ever call her it again, but she didn't have the heart. As annoying as he was, she felt it was her job to protect him. That job included not making him cry for sport.

"What?"

"You're for real my best friend."

"What?" Emma repeated, lifting her head to look at her brother.

"You really are!"

"Why are you randomly saying this though?" Emma asked, sitting up more straight

forwardly to look at her brother. He was holding three different markers in his hand at once, all uncapped, since had been stopped from tracing by Emma sitting up.

"Nobody else plays with me," Neal admitted. "Except Mommy and Daddy, but they don't count."

"Well..." Emma said thoughtfully. "You know what?"

"What?"

"It doesn't even have anything to do with you. It's not your fault, okay?" Emma insisted, wishing he could understand the town they lived in. "I mean, you are _kinda_ cool for a five year old little tattle tale."

As if he didn't hear the backhanded aspect of the compliment, Neal's face lit up and he dropped the markers to give his older sister a hug of thanks. Her approval clearly meant much more than she knew.

"I wish you could babysit me all of the time," Neal dreamed, his cheek smushed against Emma's arm in the hug.

"Yeah, yeah," Emma said, embarrassed by the unmatched love of a child. "You got marker on my arm."

"Sorry Emmy," Neal smiled, looking up. Emma rolled her eyes, but laid down again to let Neal finish tracing anyway.

* * *

"So how did it go?" Snow asked the two children sitting at the table as David placed dinner in front of them. Snow smiled up at him as a thank you.

"Yeah," David added. "No calls from the hospital, and no reports to the Sheriff office, so that's a good sign."

"Ahb-viously," Emma rolled her eyes, "it was fine."

"Oh, _ahb-viously,"_ David answered, causing a giggle from Snow and Neal and a death glare from Emma.

"I'm serious, Dad. It was fine. We got all our homework done and everything."

"I'm glad it went well," Snow offered, smiling.

"Yeah," Emma said. "So I've been thinking."

"That's never good," David joked, earning himself his second death glare of the evening.

"I think we should leave."

Her statement causing her mom to choke on the water she was taking a sip of and her dad to widen his eyes and drop his fork, but Neal didn't seem to see a big problem. Emma squeezed Neal's hand under the table, a promise she would keep the one they had already made.

"Leave? Where?"

"The town?"

"Yeah, I mean, not forever. I just think we should for a little. I mean, has Neal ever even been anywhere else in his entire life? Is that really healthy for him?"

"Emma." Snow used her name as a warning.

"I'm just saying. I don't think it would be that big of a deal. I mean we came here, right? That means we can leave here if we wanted. You guys are just so afraid that you're making Neal suffer!" Emma made sure she made eye contact with both of her parents before she finished her statement, then locked on her Mom. She was the one who needed the convincing. She could break her Dad after, much easier.

"This is absolutely not the time to discuss this," Snow warned.

"Fine. Neal, go away," Emma ordered, pulling his chair out from the table.

"Emma!"

"Neal, do not leave this table until your dinner is finished." Neal looked at Emma, then at their mom, deciding who he was more afraid of. He pulled his chair back in and picked up his fork to continue eating. Emma sighed of exasperation.

"I'm done," Emma said, pushing her plate in front of her. "May I be excused?"

"You've barely eaten."

"Do you really want me here right now?" Emma bargained sarcastically.

"Emma, that's enough!" David spoke up suddenly, causing Emma bob her head back in surprise. Her dad rarely, if ever, rose his voice at her. Wordlessly, she pulled her plate back and began eating tiny bites. They finished their dinner in silence, Emma afraid to speak another word. After she had finished, she sat and waited until her parents finished their plates as well.

"You may go to your room now," David said towards Emma, much calmer than before. Emma didn't dare question it, and immediately pulled out her chair and ran up to her room. She didn't know why, but she felt like crying. Feeling like your parents hate you might be the worst feeling ever, she decided.

"I'm sorry," came a little voice from the doorway. Emma wiped her cheeks and turned around.

"It's not your fault, Neal. They're just being jerks."

"But you only asked for me."

Emma could hear the guilt in his voice, and it made her more angry at her parents than sad. "I'm your big sister. It's my job to be your voice for you when you need me to sometimes."

"I didn't want them to get mad at you," Neal said, his voice quavering.

"They're not mad," Emma insisted. "They're fine, I promise. They just have to think about it a little bit."

"You promise?"

Emma smiled. "Would I lie to you?"

Little did he know.

Feeling bad about knowing what he didn't, even if he was still young, she told him she'd walk him to bed. Partly because she wanted to stop at her parents room on the way back. She was angry at her parents still, but she still wanted to talk to them alone about the idea she brought up in dinner. She couldn't let it go just yet.

* * *

"It doesn't feel right going to bed like this," Snow said, laying on top of their bed covers.

"I know," David agreed. "Believe it or not, I think one child knowing and one child not knowing is even more complicated."

"We could tell Neal. He's young enough to believe us without many questions."

"But he's not old enough to understand he can't talk about it with Regina and everyone around town."

"Yes, I suppose that's true," Snow said sadly.

"Emma doesn't even know everything yet," David reminded his wife. "Like the biggest part about how she's the key to this whole thing."

Snow put her hand on her forehead and shook her head. "This is a mess, David. This whole thing is a mess. How are we going to tell Emma that she's the Savior to a curse that we already explained? Don't you think she'll be upset we didn't mention it the first time we told her that the curse existed?"

David opened his mouth to respond, even though he seemed to be at a loss for words. Luckily, he didn't need to think of a response, because they were interrupted by their door swinging open. Emma wasn't even thinking about the trouble she could have gotten in for eavesdropping when she stood in doorway with her mouth open. Her eyes were filled with the look of betrayal.


	39. Chapter 39

"What does that even mean?" Emma looked at her parents in disbelief.

"Emma..."

"I don't understand."

"Emma, listen."

"Why should I listen to you?!" Emma yelled, louder than she intended. "You didn't listen to me at dinner, you just yelled at me! You keep secrets from me my whole life then act like you're doing this big noble thing by unloading it on me, but you don't even tell me the entire truth! Maybe I didn't want to know! Maybe I was fine before my parents came to me telling me this big stupid fairy tale book was real!"

Snow moved her head as if Emma had hit her in the face. For the first time she realized that Emma didn't completely believe them. She had never even considered the possibility. She still saw Emma as the little girl that crawled into her bed with when she had a nightmare and thought her mom knew the answers to everything. She couldn't, nor did David ever want to, try to forget the fact that there was a special trust in Snow and Emma's relationship from the first six years of figuring out a world with only each other. For the first time, Snow looked at Emma and realized it wasn't her tiny trusting daughter anymore, but a young woman, with her own thoughts and ideas and opinions. She had already lived enough life to have doubts about everything, which Snow always encouraged, even if they were doubts about what her and David were saying.

As Snow watched Emma erupt, a volcano whose blow up was inevitable, she saw the tears prick at her eyes that were threatening to undermine Emma's tough exterior. In response, Snow patted the bed in front of her without a word. Emma looked at both of her parents in disbelief before finally complying. She moved slowly, then sat on the bed and allowed her mom to pull her in towards her, feeling her dad rubbing circles on her back. She couldn't help the tears now, but she wasn't sure if they were from anger, sadness, or relief.

"I don't want you to be telling the truth," Emma admitted into her mom.

Snow and David looked at each other, feeling the weight of Emma's admission.

"Last week I had a babysitter. Now I'm supposed to save an entire freaking kingdom? What? I'm just... a normal girl. I'm no Savior."

"You are so much more than a normal girl," Snow said, pulling back to look Emma straight in the eyes. "And you are so much more than a Savior. Neither of those words describe the incredible, thoughtful, funny, intelligent, responsible person you are. You are still Emma. The same person you've always been. No title can change that. Whatever you do with it... it's because it's been who you are the entire time. You are so much more than you give yourself credit for."

Emma didn't even try to hide her sniffle when she wiped her eyes. She wanted to hug her mom, but she felt too awkward after her recent outbursts.

"Tell me about when I was born," she said instead.

"When you were born?"

"Or whatever. When you found out about the curse and about me and... whatever."

"Well... did you know I was cursed before even this? By a King named George. He was sort of like your father's... adopted father. He adopted his twin, and then... sort of him."

"And he cursed his true love? That's kind of rude."

"He wasn't really keen on manners," David said laughing at Emma's observation. "He only cared about money and power. He was extremely corrupt."

"And he wanted to use your father to become even more corrupt."

"He wasn't married to Grandma Ruth, right?" Emma said, a hint of concern in her voice.

"No, no. Grandma Ruth was my real mother," David explained. "She was attacked by George's men after he had cursed your mother by tricking her into drinking a potion that made her unable to carry a child."

"So either his potion sucked, or I'm adopted."

"Neither," Snow laughed. "We went out to the most powerful lake to cure Grandma Ruth after she was attacked by a poisoned sword. But the healing water only had one drop left in the lake. Grandma Ruth was convinced that it would cure George's curse on me, so she sacrificed her life so we could create yours."

"She died... for me?"

"She knew you were you and Neal were her father's happy ending," Snow explained. "That's what you do when you become a parent."

"I don't think I ever could do be a parent then," Emma shivered.

"That's because you're still a baby," Snow said, causing an eye roll on Emma's part.

"You still didn't tell me how you found out about the curse and me and stuff."

"Well that was your mother," David explained. "She insisted on seeing Rumplestiltskin, Mr. Gold, even though he was so powerful and dangeous he had an enchanted jail cell. He was extremely dangerous, but talk of the curse was looming. With you on the way, we had to find a way to ease both of our minds, and she insisted this was the only way. We went to visit him, where he told us what was coming. A curse of time. Everyone would forget who they truly are and be stuck in a timeless abyss. He told us the only way to escape it was to get you to safety. You were going to break the curse in 28 years."

"28 years?"

"I was going to raise you by myself and return in 28 years. We had no idea how or where, but it was prophesied. It was our only hope..."

"You were going to really seriously split up for 28 years?"

"Emma, if there ever a choice between you and Neal or anything else, you have to understand it is not even a choice. You and Neal will always come first."

"So basically my entire life is just blind faith? And we just ended up in this town by pure luck and stayed here?"

"I don't think it was blind chance."

"I want to leave."

"What?"

"I want to leave this town! I hate this stupid town! It's not fair to me or Neal! He told me I'm his only friend. Fine if I have to be the stupid savior when I'm 28. I'll come back and do whatever you need me to do, okay? But until then, I want to leave."

"We can't just leave, Emma."

"That's the thing. We can. I want to live a normal life and I want Neal to live a normal life! It's not going to happen here."

"We need to talk about it more. It's more complicated than that..." Both of her parents looked shocked at Emma's declaration.

"If Lily didn't die, she would have still been five right now."

"Right. Time stopped in this curse."

Emma continued because her parents obviously didn't get her point. "Regina didn't kill Lily to get back at Belle or as some warning or whatever. She killed Lily because she was my friend, and she knew I would have noticed if I grew up and she didn't. Regina has known this whole time. Who else knows?"

"Nobody. Except us, Regina and Mr. Gold and Belle."

"How can I believe you?! If you had told me earlier, Regina wouldn't have had to kill Lily!" Emma's statement shocks even her, and when she sees the hurt on her parent's faces she runs out of the room in embarrassment and anger.

"Emma, wait."

She's already running out the front door, something she is definitely not allowed to do. She's so angry, so upset, so confused, she doesn't care. Let them yell at me. It can't be any worse.

The outside air is colder than she expected. She wished grabbing a jacket would have been part of her dramatic exit, but unfortunately, it would have completely ruined it. She knew one parent would be following her soon and one parent would stay with Neal, and she wondered which one would do which. On one hand, she hoped it was her dad, who was much less prone to an emotional talk and to yell at her. On the other hand, she hoped it was her mom, who would make her feel awkward but just enough so it didn't matter, because whatever she said would make her feel better about the whole situation. She guessed she wanted it to be her dad, because she wasn't ready to feel better about the whole situation.

Figuring she only had a short amount of time, she started running behind buildings, staying as well hid as she could. She could go to Belle, but Belle would just make her hot chocolate and call her parents. They all wanted to resolve everything, make everything better! Why couldn't they understand she didn't want to feel better yet? She just wanted to be angry!

The thought occurred to her that her friend was probably still alone in the woods. Since she had nowhere else to go, and he didn't know her parents so he couldn't defend them, she decided to go looking for him.

"Bae? It's me, Emma."

Rustling leaves. There was movement behind a tree stump, and Emma could see him laying by it.

"What are you doing here so late? Did you bring food?" He asked trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"Sorry, no. I got in a fight with my parents and stormed out. Otherwise I would have. Were you sleeping?"

"It's no big deal. I can sleep anytime."

"You should really find your family."

"He's not lost."

"Your father?" Emma asked, and Bae just stared at the ground. Emma pursed her lips, thinking about what to say next. "I just found out my parents lied to me my entire life about who I am. And who they are."

"Yeah? You're adopted?"

"No. I wish. It wasn't like that. Even worse."

"That sounds serious."

"Maybe I should come live here in the woods with you," Emma joked. Suddenly she felt hot tears on her cheek. She quickly wiped them, but they kept reappearing.

"Hey, no parents are perfect. They can only do what they think is the best thing to do at the time with the information they have. As long as they do that... you can't really fault them."

"Yeah? Your dad didn't do that?" Emma sniffed, wiping her cheeks again.

"My dad was a lot more complicated. Your parents, they love you and they'd give up everything they know in their lives just to be with you. My dad had the same opportunity and he... didn't."

"How do you know what my parents would do?"

"I told you... it's complicated. I've been waiting to look for my dad again for a long time. Now that I'm close... it's, well, hard."

"A long time? You look barely older than me."

"I told you..."

"Complicated, right."

"You should get back to your parents."

"I'm going to move. Somewhere other than this stupid town. So if I never see you again..."

"We'll see each other again," Bae interrupted.

"How do you know that?"

"I don't. I just feel like we will."

"You should go visit your dad before you leave."

"How do you know I'm going to leave?"

"I don't. I just feel like you are," Emma smiled.

"It was nice to meet you, Emma."

Emma smiled, shaking the hand Bae stuck out. She turned out of the woods and towards the front end of her school. She started walking towards the apartment, but decided to sit on a bench outside it instead of going in when she got there. She kicked her feet and sat on her hands, thinking about what Bae said about her parents.

"Emma! I've been looking everywhere for you."

Emma looked up at her dad's voice. He didn't sound angry, but more like relieved.

"I'm sorry."

"You can't just leave when you're upset, especially when it's dark out. Do you know what could have happened?"

"I said I'm sorry."

"Are you just going to hate us forever?" David sighed, sitting down next to Emma on the bench. The question made Emma's hot tears return, and she silently yelled at herself for being a complete mess tonight.

"I don't want to live here, Daddy," Emma said looking up, her voice as small as a child's. "Don't make Neal grow up here. I promise to be the Savior. Just let me come back when it's time. I promise to do whatever then. Just let's move. Let me be normal for a few more years. Really normal. Please Daddy."

David put his arm around Emma and let her lean into his chest, unable to respond. He held out his other arm towards where Emma was sitting and curled it into a loose fist. Emma, through her tears, let out a chuckle and shook her head. She bumped it back softly.

_I love you, David promised._

_I would do anything for you._


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N: **Hey, I know updates are taking a tiny bit longer than normal, so sorry about that! Thank you for the reviews though. They always motivate me and keep me inspired. Especially with different writing projects going on now again. I figured I'd tell you guys I'm foreseeing about 10 or so more chapters of the story right now, although it's not particulary planned out so it could be more. (Probably not less). I just figured I'd give you guys a ball park. Thank you so much again for reading the past forty chapters!

Hey, like only about a month now until the show returns! Yay.

Sara- There WILL be a Bae/Rumple reunion. It will happen after another time jump though, as he will be making more appearances.

* * *

Emma stared at her bare room. Her parents were loading up the last of the car and Neal and Emma were assigned to double check there was nothing left in either of their rooms.

"Emmy?"

"Yeah?" Emma said, turning towards the voice.

"Are you done?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Are we really leaving?"

"Did you think we packed up all our things for fun?" Emma dead-panned.

"No."

Emma sighed, gently leading Neal out by pushing on the top of his back. She was glad they were actually leaving, but she had a little bit of cold feet. She could remember faintly life before Storybrooke, but most of her memories were here. She had glimpses of her old princess room in the house with her mom, but they were fuzzy, and she wasn't sure if they were actual memories or her brain was just filling in spots with whatever seemed to make sense. Neal was younger than she was before Storybrooke, and she wondered if this town would just be a faint memory to him. He would move on, find some real friends, live a normal life. Despite her own fear, she smiled at the thought. Even if she never had a normal life because of this stupid curse, at least her little brother could have one.

Her parents were standing together by the doorway, one last duffel bag slung over her dad's shoulder.

"Ready?" He asked, when both kids came down the stairs, Emma slightly following Neal.

"Uh-huh," Emma said absent-mindedly, still guiding Neal with her hand on his back. "Are we going to say bye to Belle?"

"Of course," Snow said softly. "She's waiting for us at the diner."

Emma watched her parents take over leading Neal out of the apartment they had grown up in, falling behind. She looked around to the bare surroundings. She thought about what Bae said to her.

_They can only do what they think is best at the time with the information they have._

_Your parents, they love you and they'd give up everything they know in their lives to be with you._

Even though her dad already found a job in Massachusetts as a police officer, and her mom had an interview with a school nearby where they were moving, Emma suddenly felt crushing guilt. _I won't ask them for anything else, _Emma reasoned. _I won't make them give up anything else for me._

Too embarrassed to say it loud, she mouthed goodbye to the empty apartment and followed her family down the stairs. At the car, Neal was already buckled in and her mom was in the passenger side, facing back towards Neal, probably telling him something about the ride or asking if he's sure he doesn't need to go to the bathroom before they go. Afraid her dad would try to say something sentimental, she avoided eye contact and slid into the backseat next to Neal. She stared at the buckle as if it was immensely interesting, ignoring her mother's gaze. _Snow White's gaze, _she reminded herself. She shook her head, trying to shake the thought.

"Em? You alright?"

"Fine." She said snappier than she intended, finally looking up. She felt bad as soon as she saw her mother's face. _Mother,_ she reminded herself. _It was her mother, still._

"Ready?" Her father got in the car, oblivious to the tension. Emma and her mom silently agreed to let it go.

"Uh-huh."

"To Granny's Diner we go then!"

* * *

When Emma walked into the diner, the surprise on her face was palpable. Snow watched her son run up to everyone in happy surprise, hugging their legs and telling them how much he loved them. Emma was a bit more reserved, smiling awkwardly and glancing over to her parents continually. Snow tried to smile back assuringly, but she had a feeling it made it worse. Emma had been pulling away more and more every day. She wasn't sure if the surprise goodbye party would be a good idea, but they took a chance, and she couldn't read Emma's face well enough to know if it worked out or not. Everyone in Storybrooke was here, and though they didn't know why they should love Emma so much, they did. Emma had owned their hearts since she waltzed into the town five years ago, and Neal had only added to their adoration.

Emma and Neal had grown up surrounded with the people Snow and David dreamed they would, and though she could still see them inside their cursed selves somewhere, she couldn't deny they didn't know who they were and it wasn't healthy for Emma and Neal to grow up in a town cursed with people who didn't age or move, while they did.

"A... goodbye party?" Emma said meekly, looking around the diner. It was filled with sad but hopeful eyes, waiting for Emma's reaction. "That's so nice, guys," she said, moving to the bar stools to hug everyone down the line. Snow smiled as Emma made her way down the line, Mr. Gold being second to last and Belle being last. Although Snow still didn't particularly feel chummy with Gold, she had to admit he was a better man with Belle. She was surprised when Emma reached her hands out to give him a hug, and he returned it.

"I guess _everyone_ is going to miss her," David joked in Snow's ear, giving her a tiny nudge.

"Apparently."

"This is the right thing to do. I know they look like the people we love and knew, but they aren't. They're still cursed. We have to think of Emma and Neal first...and now we know where they are, we know how to break it. Our daughter really is going to be the Savior."

Snow smiled, leaning into his side a little bit, but not taking her eyes off Emma and Neal, who was now following his sister and hugging everyone he passed by.

"Emma's pretty smart for a twelve year old," Snow observed.

"Well I mean, with her genes, she was set up for success."

David's statement caused Snow to laugh out loud and look at him. He was smiling at his own joke. She gave his side a squeeze of affection, which caused him to pull her towards him and bring his lips down to hers. They lasted about a minute until they were interrupted by their daughters annoyed tone.

"Get a room," Emma groaned, breaking apart from her hug from Belle on the opposite end of the diner. Snow smiled, still holding her arms around David's waist, and watched Emma as Belle gave her a medium sized square box.

"What is it?" Emma asked, looking at the wrapped box. The wrapping paper was maroon, with a purple ribbon tied in a bow on top of it.

"Well you have to open it!" Belle enthused. Emma shook her head, untying the bow. Snow watched Emma's face as she pulled the brown book out of the box. It looked like her Once Upon A Time book, which was packed away in the car. She opened it up to see it was immensely different. For one, it started with her mom going through the wardrobe and her dad following. Then there was her birth, her moving into the house with her mom, finding her dad, coming to Storybrooke, her baby brother being born, and all the other events in her life since then. Underneath all the pictures were lines, where there was writing explaining every event so far. The book stopped after about ten pages, and the rest were blank.

"What is this?" Emma asked, looking up at Belle and flipping through the blank pages.

"We had some help from your parents," Belle said, making eye contact with Snow and David, who watched silently. "It's _your_ story Emma. Only you can fill the rest in, because only you get to decide what happens from here. You are in charge of the rest of your life. Got it?"

Emma, in effort to stop herself from actually full out crying, wrapped her arms around Belle to give her a hug of thanks.

"I'm going to miss you so much, Belle."

"I'm going to miss you too, Emma. But you better come visit me once in awhile! Make a few day trips, would ya?"

"Of course," Emma pulled back and smiled. "I mean, you _were _my favorite."

"Were?" Belle said, raising her eyebrows, causing Emma's smile to grow even wider.

"Are. Of course."

"Of course," Belle agreed, squeezing Emma in one last hug.

"You would have been the most fantastic mother," Emma muffled into Belle's shoulder. Belle smiled at the thought before her eyes got wet, squeezing Emma just a little tighter in response. She wiped her eyes after she let go, and motioned Emma to go say goodbye to everyone else with a nod of her head. Emma nodded back, moving on to Granny and Ruby. Snow watched her daughter, then moved to her son, who was sitting next to his father and across from Grumpy. Snow let out a tiny smile. _Three of my favorite boys, _she thought, then wondered how she could leave these people in a town with Regina. _It's not even a choice between Emma and Neal and them. It's not even worth thinking about._

* * *

When the lights went out in the diner, everyone looked around with surprise. Emma was squished in a booth with her dad, mom, brother, Daniel, Grumpy, and Ruby. Emma, Neal, Daniel, and Grumpy were on one side, while her mom sat in the middle of Ruby and her dad. When Granny came out holding a cake with candles, Emma heard a laugh escape from her mom's lips.

"It's not anyone's birthday," she laughed.

"We couldn't think of any other special goodbye, so we settled on a goodbye cake. You all get a goodbye wish and have to blow out the candles."

Her parents shook their heads and smiled, Neal looked pleasantly surprised, and Emma was filled with dread. On her birthdays, she expected it. She planned her wishes. But this was out of the blue.

She thought about what she had and what she wanted. Her parents were already moving for her, so it would be a waste to wish for that. As Granny lowered the cake on the table, she saw bristling in the bushes. She suddenly thought of Bae.

_I wish for Bae to be right, _she realized. _I wish that we will meet again. And that Bae will finally go see his father._

She puffed up her cheeks and blew, listening to the laughter of her family and the cheering for Neal when he blew out all the candles on his side.

* * *

"Can I talk to you?" Daniel asked, shuffling his feet on the diner's floor.

"Duh," Emma replied.

"I mean, like, _alone." _The party was pretty much over, and her dad was ready to start driving. They already had made a trip to Massachusetts for a weekend and stayed in a motel, and her parents put down first months rent on a townhouse that was much bigger than the apartment in Storybrooke. It was already getting dark, and Neal was practically falling asleep waiting in the backseat with the door open. Her parents were saying goodbye and thank you to Granny one last time, so Emma let Daniel lead her outside to the side of the diner's building.

"Okay, okay," Emma said, getting pulled by Daniel. "What is so important?"

"I don't want you to go."

"Daniel..."

"I'm serious."

"I have to go. My family is moving."

Daniel took a deep breath and stuffed his hand in his pockets. He mumbled something that Emma couldn't answer.

"What?" Emma asked. "I didn't hear you."

"I like you!" He practically shouted. Emma raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"You do? Like, like-like me?"

"Yes," Daniel mumbled. "Forget it, it's stupid. I just- you're my best friend. I don't want you to go. Just forget it." Daniel turned around, trying to hide the burning sensation he could feel lighting up his cheeks.

"Daniel," Emma said, pulling on his arm, the way she had so many times when she led him on new adventures. She had always been the one to initiate it.

She didn't know what she was doing, but she hoped she was doing it right. She knew she was supposed to close her eyes. She tried to stick out her lips a little once they touched. She couldn't tell if Daniel was kissing back or just being kissed, but he didn't pull away. It just felt soft. When he pulled back, she looked at him. When she did, she saw the blood rush through his face.

"Sorry," Emma mumbled, but he just stared at her. "I have to go now. I'm going to hug you, okay?" Daniel nodded, so she hugged him, and lightly felt him hug her back.

"I love you," Emma whispered, knowing he knew what she meant. She loved him for being her best friend, her partner in crime, her sidekick and occasional leader. Perhaps if she stayed it would have been a different kind of I love you someday, but she wasn't, so this is what they were leaving with. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you too," Daniel said, his voice thick with the promise of oncoming crying.

"I have to go now," Emma said. Daniel nodded. "Bye Daniel."

"Bye Emma."

And that was that. Emma was gone, and the town went on as if they never existed in Storybrooke.


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N:** Hey guys! I already mentioned this on tumblr, so if you follow me there you know what I'm going to say, but I just wanted to say sorry for the little mini hiatus. Lots going on in my life right now, so updates are going to be fewer for probably the next week or two while I settle into the routine of class again and my new job. Thanks for bearing with me here!

This chapter is very much all about Emma, and where she's at with herself at age 17, but there will be more Charming family in their new house and talking about the curse and Emma being the savior etc etc.

Okay, anyway, that's it. Enjoy :)

* * *

"Yeah, I'm fine," Emma said truthfully to her school nurse. "I can go back to class now," she lied, standing over the desk and waiting for the nurse to fill out her a pass.

"What class are you heading to?" The nurse asked, filling in the lines of the paper pass that came from a stack of blank ones on her desk.

"AP French." Emma had no intent on going back to French class though. It was the last period of the day, and she figured it wasn't that big of a deal. It was a mental health day, she decided. She was 17, in her last year of high school, and she had never so much as skipped a class. She wasn't an angel child, but she did think she was well-behaved. Yet still somehow she was always fighting with her parents.

The only person she truly cared about, or at least was always sure she cared about, was her little brother. She wanted to be a role model for the ten year old more than anything else. It always seemed like the most important job. Ever since they moved five years ago at Emma's insistence, she felt it was her responsibility to keep watching out for Neal. In a way she resented her parents for it, feeling like they should have made the choice before her. They should have forced them to move. They should have been the parents. But another part of her was glad she felt so much responsibility for Neal. It made her feel like her life meant something, loving someone so much, and in a way she was sure that having Neal around actually saved her life. It made her a better person.

Her heart hammered in her chest when she thanked the nurse and took the pass. It was an easy enough escape. The side doors of the school were only about sixty paces away from where she came out of the nurses office, and there was a staircase if any teachers were there so she could just pretend to be going up to her French class. It was no big deal. It was one class.

As Emma walked through the hallway, it was completely deserted. Emma found it hard to believe there were over 1000 students and however many teachers in between her and the walls of the classroom hallways. The main hallway, which Emma was approaching the end to, didn't make any sound except for the shuffling of her backpack against the back of her legs. She wrestled with the straps and pulled them down in effort to hoist the bag up, so it would stop banging her thighs as she walked. As she approached the doors, she started panicking, imagining the worst scenarios. _It's going to be locked, no, there's going to be an alarm, then all the teachers will come out and ask her what the hell she thinks she's doing._ She almost talked herself out of it and into just heading to French, but she hated that damn class, and damn it, she was going to leave early!

She opened the door slowly, as if that would make a difference if there was some type of alarm and that way it wouldn't go off. _Stop it, Emma_. She scorned herself. There was no alarm. People left school all the time and cut classes and stuff. She had left through these doors by herself so many times in the past two years since she had her license, when her mom would write her notes so she could leave to drive herself to orthodontist appointments in the middle of the day. For all anyone knows she has an appointment and she's leaving with permission. There was no alarm.

Once her feet landed on the other side of the door, she felt freedom. Pure freedom. She did it! She really did it! She was going to beat the traffic jam, get out early, oh man, this was amazing! She had to stop herself from running once she hit the pavement of the parking lot. She walked briskly to her vomit-green colored car that her parents had bought her for her birthday. It was ugly, but it was a car, and a well-running, safe one, so she didn't think she had any right to complain. She didn't see any need to, really. The color seemed so miniscule, but she did sometimes still complain with friends from school. _Oh yeah, totally lame. My parents just HAD to get the ugliest color. It's whatever, though. _She'd pretend to be some spoiled brat, because that's what people here seemed to connect to.

She didn't know where to go, but she didn't want to go home. It was only 12:45. It was like she had the whole day ahead of her! What a thrilling experience, not to be trapped in the jail of going to high school every day. She decided to head to the plaza of shops in the next town over. She only drove to a few places regularly, so she didn't know how to get to many places. But she knew the shops, and she figured she could walk around a little to kill time. All the annoying kids from school would still be in class for another hour and fifteen minutes, plus the commute time. It would be like being an adult. Walking around from store to store, browsing wistfully. She even kept her wallet in the car, so she could really buy something.

* * *

By the time she got home, it was 7:30 at night and she realized she forgot to call. She parked in their driveway, behind the closed door of the garage on her mom's side. Her dad didn't leave for work until 8:30, while Emma and Snow and Neal had to be shuffling out the door by 7:15. Technically Emma didn't have to leave that early, but it was easier to work out with their cars and it gave Emma time to stop for coffee in the morning before school. There was something cool about walking into school with a coffee cup in her hand.

She sighed, turning off the lights before turning off the ignition and pulling out the keys. She wondered how bad her parents were going to flip out. _I was just shopping, _she'd say. _I could have been out getting high or drinking._

_You could have called still! _They'd say. _You know we worry about you._

_I know, _Emma would sigh as she collected herself up to her room. Maybe before that she'd hunt around the kitchen for something to eat. _I always know._

She opened the garage door with the passcode. 8426. She never forgot it before because it made the shape of a star. She had punched it in so many times at this point though, it was more muscle memory than anything. She let out a loud groan at the sight she knew she would see, both of her parents cars parked neatly in their overly organized garage. _Bet no one would have thought Snow White had some type of OCD about her clean suburban house_, Emma thought to herself, then laughed out loud at the thought of Snow White living in a suburb thirty minutes outside of Boston. Her own joke put her in a much lighter mood as she walked the stairs from the basement, sure of her parents waiting glares. They would have heard the garage opening, known she was coming. Before she even opened the door that led into the kitchen, she could hear loud banging sounds coming down through the walls. Neal practicing drums, the newest hobby he'd taken up.

"Emma!" Her mom said, a total of thirty seconds after she opened the door.

"I know I didn't call," Emma said, waiting to be yelled at. "I went shopping after school, I forgot. Sorry."

Emma glided past her mom, hoping she would drop it, and moved towards the shelves in the kitchen. Her favorite cabinet, the one filled with snacks, was full of endless choices. Cookies, or anything sweet, had always been her personal favorite.

"I saved you dinner. In the fridge."

Emma looked at her mom skeptically, waiting for her to continue, or her dad to step in. _But if you want it, apologize! Apologize for making us worry! Apologize for not coming straight home like the perfect teenager should!_ But she got nothing. She opened the fridge and sure enough on the second shelf was a plate covered in plastic wrap, a baked potato with rotisserie chicken. She figured there were vegetables put away somewhere, but getting Emma to eat them was always an uphill battle, and her mom clearly wasn't even trying with this meal. She smiled to herself and pulled the plate out. The smell made her realize how hungry she was, and how much she wanted a meal instead of just cookies.

"Thanks," Emma said quietly, although it was much louder than intended because it came at the exact moment Neal stopped banging on his drums.

"Emmy!" Neal burst through the double glass doors of the piano room. At least, that's what Emma called it. It had two pianos, a pool table, and a corner with drums and a guitar. The corner was a product of Neal's interests, and Emma wondered how much more would be added to it as the years went on. Although he was picking up drums pretty fast. Maybe he would stick to it.

"Hey bud," Emma smiled, as the microwave hummed while it heated up her plate.

"Where were you? I needed help on my math homework. I had to ask Dad! He's not as good as you," Neal said the last sentence quietly, as if he was telling a secret.

"Hey!" The voice traveled up from the couch in the living room that lied adjacent from the kitchen. The small wall made him invisible to see over it, so the voice seemed to come out of nowhere. He must have been watching tv lying down.

Emma couldn't help her small laugh when her dad's head popped up over the half-wall separating the living room and kitchen.

"You should have called. I would have came home if I knew the situation was so important," she said, knowing she wouldn't have come home. She knew she would be yelled at, and still, it was one of the best days of her life. Breaking the rules was exhilarating.

"Next time." Neal promised and the microwave beeped at 0. "Hah! You lose!"

"You distracted me on purpose!" Emma accused, referring to the dumbest game ever but Neal always insisted on playing. The only rule was that they had to stop the microwave before it hit zero. The closer to 1 you got, the more points. She didn't keep track, but she was sure Neal did somewhere of all the points they've accumulated since he started the game a year ago.

"You let it hit zero! That's minus two points!"

"It's not fair if you distracted me," she reasoned again, pulling the plate out of the microwave and having to jerk her hand back because it was so hot.

"It's all fair in a comp-e-ti-tion!"

"Yeah, yeah," Emma replied, trying again to lift the plate out using only her fingertips. She dropped it on the counter as soon as the heat began to travel through her hands. She gave it a quick blow, but was too impatient to wait any longer to eat. "Don't you have homework or something?"

"I finished. Don't you?"

"I finished," Emma lied, for the sanity of her parents who were pretending not to listen and so her brother wouldn't think it was cool not to do it, promising herself she would finish after everyone went to bed.

* * *

The next day, Emma almost forgot about the risk she took leaving from the Nurse's office until last period. Suddenly she was so nervous she could feel sweat brewing on her forehead and on her temples. _Nobody knows, you idiot. Nobody will know unless YOU make it obvious. _She comforted herself with the thought that if they were going to call her down because she got caught, they wouldn't wait until last period. Their favorite was to do it during lunch or study period so it took away from "you" time and not the "teachers" time. Personally, if it was her life, Emma felt like all of it was her time. Wasn't she in school so she could learn, not so the teacher's could teach? It seemed like the focus was on teachers though, not the students.

Either way, Emma already had lunch, and just left her study period, so she was home-free. They would have called her down by now. Yet somehow she was afraid her French teacher would know.

_Where were you? _She'd ask.

Should she say the nurse's office? Or that she went home sick? If she went home sick it would have said that on the electronic attendance sheet though. Nurse's office it was then. If she asked that is. Emma was quiet, reserved, in the back. Especially in French. She hated speaking and hated being called on, and in AP, her teacher spoke almost entirely in French. Even if Emma knew the answer, she didn't know she knew the answer, because she never knew what the question was.

She walked in with her head down, her backpack slinging over her shoulder. She moved to her desk in the back corner, on the opposite end of the room from her teacher's desk.

"Mademoiselle Emma?"

"Oui?" Emma said, looking up.

"Venez ici, s'il vous plaît." _Come here, please._

Well, this is it, Emma thought. I got caught. She's about to call me out then send me to the office and tell my parents. She's going to yell at me in front of everyone. Emma didn't even realize her hands were shaking as she approached the desk.

"C'est les devoirs te manqué," she said, holding up three sheets of paper. _The homework I missed._

"Merci," Emma said quietly, taking the papers and shuffling her feet back to her desk. She looked over the papers gratefully, her heart just starting to simmer down. As the second bell rang, she felt like she actually may have made it. Her teacher didn't know, her parents didn't know, and she only had three measly worksheets to catch up on. It was worth it. And now that she had survived it with no repercussions, it didn't seem like a big deal. She almost wished she had done it again, but that pushing it.

As soon as she pulled out her notebook and pen, calm enough to pay attention in class, the classroom phone rang. Hearing her teacher speak in English was almost uncomfortably weird, and she knew it was for her. She made eye contact when her teacher hung up the phone.

"The office, Emma," she said, in her thick French accent. Emma nodded, silently packing up her notebook and pen and stuffing them lazily into her backpack. It didn't seem like it wasn't a big deal anymore. It seemed like a huge deal. She had never, not once, been called down the office. Not in her almost four years here. There was no reason for her to go to the stupid shopping plaza yesterday! No reason! She could have gone at two! All she did was worry her parents and get herself in trouble.

She let her backpack sag on the back of her legs and stared at her palms. She always was fascinated by palm readers that she read about. It seemed too real to be faking. They seemed to know things that would be impossible to know. She stared at her palms, trying to read her future. _You will live a long and happy life, _she tried, but it sounded too cheesy. _You will live a long and happy life until you're 28, until everything goes to shit._

She looked in the glass walls of the third floor hallway. It looked like the attendance office, in the exact same location but on the first floor, where she signed in if she was late or got a dismissal pass if she were properly leaving early. It didn't seem scary, but she reminded herself that looks could be deceiving. It wasn't the attendance office, it was the principal's office.

"Hi," Emma said shyly. "I got called down here from French Class."

"Emma?" The receptionist said, clicking things on her computer.

Emma nodded, then realized she wouldn't see her because she wasn't looking at her. "Yes." She cleared her throat after.

"He's with someone right now, but you can wait outside his office. Just around the corner."

Emma nodded and swallowed, walking down the hallway and around the corner. She thought about the positives. _At least I'm getting out of French class. But that means more work to make up! And if they call my parents? Oh god. I don't think I can deal with the questions if my parents find out._

She was interrupted by the sound of a door clinking open and the sound of a bristling jacket moving towards her. She turned her head to see and then closed her eyes almost immediately, telling herself to shake the feeling off. She was seeing things. She was hallucinating. Maybe she was sick, that's why she suddenly decided to do something crazy like leave school yesterday. Yes, it was a symptom, a terrible illness, and it wasn't her fault.

"Emma?"

She opened her eyes slowly, and the person she was hallucinating was still standing there. At this realization, her eyes widened, and she couldn't stop herself from staring.

"Well Neal, it will be great to have you to finish off the year with. I'm sure you'll find your experience here rewarding and promising."

"Thank you, Sir," he said, holding out his hand to shake. Emma watched, completely awestruck.

"I'll be ready for you in just a minute," her principal said, looking at Emma. Emma nodded and watched him walk back in his office. She turned around quickly to the boy who was already walking away.

"Bae?" She said, standing up.

"I told you we'd see each other again," he smirked.

"But why are you here?"

"I'm volunteering in the principal's office for community service. I got caught stealing from a convenience store, so it was this or jail." He shrugged.

"So you're going to be here like... every day?" Emma asked, but before she could answer the principal called her in his office. She rolled her eyes, then dramatically turned back towards the office. What seemed like a big deal before seemed trivial now, and she wished the principal would stop being a big baby and just get over it. Still, as she walked into the office, her fear of authority gripped at her.

"You should know I have already sent an email and left a message for both of your parents, so it doesn't matter anymore about that. Do you want to tell me what happened and where you were yesterday?"

Emma didn't feel guilt anymore, she felt anger. It was none of her parents business anyway, and it was especially not this guy's business if she didn't care about French! It was _her _education, not his. She leaned back, crossed her arms and huffed.

Nobody was the boss of Emma, except Emma.

And her parents.


	42. Chapter 42

"Not really," Emma said, leaning back in the chair. After going a little too far back in it, she stopped and steadied herself and calmed her heart from the scare.

"Maybe I should rephrase that," her principal suggested. "If you tell me what happened, we can work together. If you don't, it's going to be much worse for you."

"You know what I don't understand?" Emma said, feeling a sudden burst of courage. If her parents already knew, it really didn't matter. "I don't understand how I'm getting in trouble for making the choice to leave yesterday. I'm in the process right now of making decisions about college that are so huge they will affect how the rest of my life turns out. And yet I need to raise my hand and ask to go to the bathroom. How can you treat us like children and expect us to act like adults?"

"Well-"

"And also, is it not true that an education is a privilege? Maybe if we would start acting like it was, instead of making kids feel like they had no choice in the matter, they wouldn't resent school so much that they lose any motivation for education." Emma had been moving her arms in passion, and crossed them again over her chest when she finished. She looked away at the wall, suddenly embarrassed.

"Well, it is a privilege, but it's also the law that children go to school until they're sixteen. So there really isn't a choice there, Emma."

"Sixteen? I'm seventeen."

"Yes, but you chose to come to school. That means you need to follow our rules." Emma set her jaw and continued staring at the wall. "But because you haven't been in trouble before, I think we can be a little lenient here."

"What do you consider lenient?"

"Lenient is that we'll leave it up to your parents. If you're caught skipping class again, further action will have to be taken though, Emma." Her principal always finished sentences with her name. She knew it was to make them feel like they had a special teacher/student connection or something, but it just made her feel a little weird.

"Great. Perfect."

"You can go back to class now." Emma glanced at the clock before slinging her backpack off the ground and through her arms. There was only thirty minutes left of class. She could handle that.

* * *

She made the executive decision to go right home when the last bell rang for dismissal. The last thirty minutes had not gone as fast as she expected. In fact they drug on, and it felt more like five hours than thirty minutes.

"Emma?"

Emma jumped back from the side doors, automatically assuming she was doing something wrong again.

"Bae?"

"Hey, Emma, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine. Uh, what's up? Are you leaving?"

"Yeah. I'm leaving. I have class."

"Class?"

"At the community college nearby. I take afternoon classes. I'm only part-time, but it's something."

"That's good."

"Yeah... I guess I should let you get going. I just wanted to say hi. Sorry for scaring you."

"It's okay," Emma smiled, suddenly feel more at ease when she realized how nervous he was. "We should catch up sometime," she suggested, shifting her backpack across her waist so she could reach in. She ripped off the corner of a notebook and took the cap off her pen with her teeth. "Here. Call me when you're free. We can hangout."

"Okay," he grinned "Cool."

"Cool." Emma nodded.

"Cool."

"Okay," Emma laughed. "I'm gonna go now. Bye...Neal?"

"Whatever works," he shrugged.

"Cool. Bye," Emma waved, pushing the side doors of the school open. By now the traffic jam had cleared up and all the buses were already leaving. She made her way to her car smiling, forgetting what she had waiting for her when she got home.

* * *

8426.

She walked inside to an empty house and dropped her bag in triumph. She went directly to the kitchen to dig through the refrigerator, even though she was already well aware of everything they had in the house. She thought about it for a minute, then ripped a cheese stick off the line and moved to the couch to flop down. She considered doing her homework, but she had so much French to catch up on, and she _really _wasn't in the mood. Later, she convinced herself. After Mom and Dad come home and flip and take away everything. She might as well relax and lay down and watch T.V. while she could. Besides, Tuesdays and Thursdays were the only days she didn't have to pick up Neal after school.

She woke up with a headache and to the sound of the garage door opening. A quick glance at the digital clock on the cable box told her it was a little after five. She groaned, wishing she had milked her time a little better than with a nap. She peeked over the little halfway wall to the door in the kitchen that led to the basement and garage, listening to the footsteps. She could tell it was her dad before he even opened the door, but still she waited for the confirmation. He saw her as soon as he opened the door.

"Hi." Emma said quietly.

"Hey Em, how was your day?"

Emma stared at him, waiting for his reaction. "Goo-od?" She said slowly.

"Good," he smiled. "What do you feel like for dinner? Mom is with Neal at karate until six."

"Yeah... um, Dad? Did you get any emails or phone calls today? From like, my principal?"

"Hmm?"

"Dad, are you okay?"

"Just a lot on my mind, Em. Um..." He put his hand to his temple as if he was thinking. "Yeah, I did get an email actually. But we'll talk about it with your mother. Until then, let's not ruin the night, alright? No fighting tonight."

Emma nodded, grateful for her Dad's proposal.

"I can help you with dinner," Emma offered to David's surprise.

"That would be great."

Emma started hesitantly at first, cutting up parts for a salad, but quickly got into a rhythm and felt more comfortable. It had been awhile, she realized, since she spent any real time with her dad without arguing about something. She had talked him into making brownies while their actual dinner cooked, and as she licked the extra batter off the spoon, her dad held out his fist for a bump.

"Do you remember when we always did that?" Emma laughed, using her free hand to return his gesture.

"Of course I do. It started when Neal was born."

"I used to love it so much," Emma admitted, still laughing. "Mom always embarrassed me in public yelling out how much she loved me. But you never did. Our fist bump was always enough. We both knew."

In response, David put his hand out again for another one. Emma smiled and lifted her hand up again.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?" David asked, leaning over the oven with the apron Emma insisted he wore, claiming that a real man wears an apron when he cooks. It was her mom's apron, though, and it was light pink with a bunch of muffins that had smiling faces on them.

"I just wanted you to know... I understand. About why you weren't here the first six years of my life. I mean... I always knew, well since you told me, I mean. But I just wanted you to know I'm not mad and I- I don't blame you. I mean, I did for a long time. Even after you guys told me. And I was still angry. But I don't want to be angry anymore. I barely even remember those years. Really, my whole life you were there and you were my father and I know that was because of how much you gave up to find us. I'm sorry for blaming you before and stuff. I just... wanted you to know." Emma shrugged as she finished, as if that made it less awkward to say. She stared at up at her Dad, waiting for a response, instant regret flooding through her. She should have just left it be. She could have shown him she changed by spending more time like this with him. She didn't have to go and say it in some big speech. She was filling herself up with self-hatred the more she thought about it.

"Emma," David pulled her into a hug, and she felt a little lighter knowing the fact that the side of her face was hugging an apron with a smiling muffin. "I've dreamt about you saying something like that since the moment you walked into the visitor room eleven years ago." He kissed the top of her head, and she couldn't help it when a few tears actually made the escape out of her eyes before she could wipe them.

"I'm gonna go set the table," Emma declared when her dad let go of the hug.

"Mom and Neal will be home any minute," David nodded.

As if on cue, a few minutes later, the front door opened and the hallways were filled with Neal's heavy, running footsteps and her mom's voice yelling to take off his shoes.

"Smells good," Snow said, walking into the kitchen.

"Emma helped make it."

"Did you?"

Emma shrugged and embarrassingly looked down. The room felt like an electrical outlet waiting to be stuck with a fork. She knew her mom wasn't going to let her get away with not even talking about it. It was almost worse not knowing when it was coming.

"I got an email from your principal today," Snow said, sitting down at the table. Emma sighed almost of relief. There it was.

"Did he want to talk about the incredible addition I am to my school's community?" Emma joked.

"Emma." Her dad interrupted, a warning.

"You skipped a class?" Snow asked, almost out of disbelief.

"It was no big deal."

"Emma, this isn't like you at all. Where is this even coming from? Were you meeting someone?"

"No! It was nothing like that. It wasn't peer pressure or whatever adults are trying to put the blame on these days. I did it for me. Is that really so bad?"

"Skipping a class? Emma, we've let you quit all your extracurriculars, you don't have a job, how much more 'me' time could you possibly need?"

"You don't even understand what high school is like! You never even went! All I do is think about school and about how pointless it is because my destiny has already been written. But still, I go every day, I do all my work, I'm never late, I'm never disrespectful. If I wanted to miss one lousy French class and feel like a normal seventeen year old for one _minute_ of my life, does that make me that horrible of a person?"

"No one said you were a horrible person," Snow said strongly.

"You didn't need to," Emma scowled. "It's what you think. I'm a horrible person who doesn't want to save your precious people. I'm a horrible person, a horrible daughter, and a horrible savior!"

"You can't possibly think that." Her mom's voice was more upset than angry now. Emma didn't feel bad, not this time, she was too angry.

"It's true, isn't it? You hate me because I don't care about saving all the people you love. You've hated me since you told me the truth and I didn't react the way you wanted to." Emma could feel the tears heating up her eyes, and she did not want to cry in front of her parents. She looked at her dad, who was still wearing the pink apron. "I'm not hungry," she told him before running to the staircase and up to her room. Slamming the door, she jumped on her bed and buried her face into her pillow. She wished she had more friends right now. She imagined having a group of a friends, and she would do a five-way call with them and explain how her parents were the _worst_ and they'd all agree and then they'd meet up at one of their houses and have a slumber party like in movies. She smiled at the thought, but when she came back down to reality, it only made it worse. I have no friends for the same reason my parents hate me. I'm selfish. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Nobody likes you. She was making herself cry harder now.

"Emma?"

"Go away."

"No." Her mom said it gently and pushed open the door. Emma groaned, embarrassed at the proof of crying that was still on her face. She faced the opposite wall and took deep breaths to try and hide any further giveaways. Her mom sat on her bed and faced the back of her head. "We need to talk."

"No we don't. I'm leaving."

"No, you're not. And yes we do. The things you said... Emma, I am so sorry for whatever I did or said or didn't say to make you believe that. But it is simply not true. _You_ are the only thing I care about, Emma," Snow said, brushing her hair back behind her ears.

"What about Neal?"

"And Neal," Snow smiled. "I loved the people of my father's kingdom, or at least, I thought I did. I care for them very, very deeply but that love doesn't even come close to the way I feel about you or Neal. Before you, Emma, I would have done anything for them. But it is different now. I would still do anything for my people, but my people now are you and Neal. What I would do for you two is... incomprehensible. You have to understand, your father and I didn't decide I was to go through the wardrobe to save the people of the kingdom. We decided I would go through because it was our best chance to save you."

Emma turned over after this to face her mother, her face wet with fresh tears, but she was breathing normally again.

"You have grown into such an incredible young woman," Snow continued. "Every time I look at you doing the smallest task I am overwhelmed with such love and pride over the person you are. How you could ever think I hated you cannot be explained as anything but a failure on my part. I love you more than anything in the world, and I wouldn't trade or change a single thing about you."

"Not a single thing?" Emma sat up and joked tearfully. "Not even when I ignore you and stay up until four in the morning watching reruns of Full House marathons?"

"Not a single thing," Snow laughed and hugged her. "You know, you're so much like your father, but you remind me exactly of how I used to be."

"Really?"

"I know exactly how you're feeling," Snow said, rubbing Emma's arm. "Feeling like people depend on you... it's a heavy burden. Especially when you didn't ask for it."

"It's not fair," Emma agreed.

"It's not. I want you to remember something very important though. Your destiny is not set in stone and school is not for nothing. _You_ are going to decide what _you_ are going to do with your life. You're going to make the decision on what believe is the right thing to do. And you have plenty of time to decide. But for now, focus on school and college and try being seventeen for more than just a minute, will you?"

Emma smiled and leaned into her mom. "I did lie about something else though."

"When?"

"A little while ago, when I told Dad I wasn't hungry. I'm actually starving."

Her confession made her mom laugh, and at the same she felt her phone vibrate in between her bed and her thigh.

"I'll come down in a minute. I want to wash my face from you know... crying. It's been an emotionally draining day."

"Okay," Snow hugged her one last time and kissed the side of her head. "I love you so much."

"Yeah, yeah... so I've heard." Emma smiled as her mom pushed her a little and got up to leave. As soon as she walked out, Emma picked up her phone, worried it might be her friend she texted earlier complaining about her parents.

Hey Emma.

Who's this?Emma punched back, not sure why her heart was beating so fast in excitement.

Bae. Did U give ur phone number out to a lot of other ppl today or something? ;)

Emma stared and reread the text about a hundred times trying to figure out what every single letter and abbreviation meant.

* * *

**A/N: Heck yes **I'm updating at 3am. The chapter took a bit longer than expected clearly, so hope you guys like. Can't thank you enough for bearing with me as my schedule gets busier. Now I am going to finally pass out! Reviews will make me sooo happy!

Btw- for those who have Netflix, I heard a rumor S3 will be coming on it this friday 8/29. Anyone else planning a weekend of not leaving the house because same.


	43. Chapter 43

"Wake up," Snow whispered, leaning over David on the couch. He squinted his eyes and looked up at her.

"Hi."

"Hi," she smiled. "You're awake."

"Well you did just wake me up."

"Oh, that's right, I did."

"Yeah, that's right you did," he smiled, turning her over so he was leaning over her. She smiled and ran her fingers through the side of his hair.

"Let's meet for lunch," she suggested.

"Let's meet right now," he countered, lowering his head to kiss the curve of her neck.

"Lunch. Will you meet me here at 12:30 or not?" She asked, giving him a little push back. He rolled onto his back and sighed.

"Of course," he said looking at his surroundings as if he just realized where they were. "Why are we on the couch?"

"We were watching that movie last night. I guess we both fell asleep."

"What time is it?" David asked.

"Six. I have to go get Emma and Neal up."

"Six?! Already?! I need to get ready!" he jumped to stand up. Snow watched him and smiled, placing her pointer finger to lips and lightly drumming her bottom one.

* * *

"Can I go to the bathroom?" Emma asked quietly, standing at the English teacher's desk. She had shoulder length brown hair that curled at the edges. It looked like the hair that Emma used to draw on her cartoon people.

"I don't know, can you?"

"May I go to the bathroom?" Emma corrected flatly, narrowing her eyes. As soon as she turned around to leave, she rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag. There was ten minutes left in study and she finished all her homework, she had no intention of coming back. It was a little less risky than leaving the school early, but it still gave her a little bit of a thrill. Still, she'd probably hide in the bathroom the whole time.

**Hey. R u here today? **Emma sent the text to Bae without even thinking. One came back almost immediately.

**Yeah. In the office. Where r u?**

**Heading to the caf.**

As soon as she sent the text, she left the bathroom and started following what her text said. She doubted he would come, or could come, but she might as well go and wait. It was better sitting in the tiny room of her study hall with her study teacher that thought they were in an actual class.

"Hey," Bae said, sneaking up behind Emma.

"Hey!" She said, jumping a little. "You left the office?"

"I volunteered to bring some papers to the main office," he shrugged. "What's up? You never responded last night."

"Sorry, yeah, I got distracted with my parents. We kind of had a family night type of thing."

"Oh, well that's cool."

"Yeah. By the way, I've been thinking about it and I was wondering... did you ever, um, find your dad?"

"Uh no," Bae responded, taken off guad. "I didn't. It's uh..."

"Complicated."

"Yeah."

"What brought you to Massachusetts anyway?"

"I go everywhere," he smirked. "Wherever the world takes me."

"How poetic," Emma teased. "What time do you get out of here?"

"I was actually bringing the papers on my way out. Do you have study last period or something?"

For a minute Emma almost told him the truth and went back to French class, but it seemed daunting.

"Uh yeah. I was just about to leave."

"Cool. You want to do something?"

"Okay," Emma smiled, picking up her backpack off the cafeteria ground. "Yeah."

* * *

"So how has your new life been?" Bae asked, putting a spoon full of vanilla ice cream in his mouth. Emma was seated in the passenger side of his car, and licked the chocolate off her cone.

"My new life?"

"Yeah, you know. The one outside of Storybrooke."

"Do you know?" Emma asked, letting the ice cream drip a little on her hands from melting. "About... everything?"

"What's everything?"

Emma bit her lip, thinking about how to respond. It felt like something that should be kept a secret, something not to discuss openly. She knew not to ever mention it to her regular classmates. But Bae was different, he lived in Storybrooke, he said he had family there.

"Like the curse and stuff." Emma watched him carefully while she waited for a response. In her head, she started planning ways to make it seem like she was just joking.

"Yeah. I know."

"Do you know what I am?"

"The Savior? Yeah."

"How? How do you know?"

"My father, Emma. He lived in the town. He's, well partly, responsible."

"But I thought you didn't talk to him. How do you know that? Have you known the whole time?"

"No. I mean I knew there was a curse when I saw all the people in Storybrooke not knowing who they were and stuff because I knew a lot of them from before. I assumed my father was responsible, because he's always responsible for things like that. I didn't know for sure until after you left though. I stayed for about another month, and before I left I talked to Belle. I told her who I was... and she sort of explained it me. What she could, at least."

"Belle?" Emma's face lit up at the memory of her. "You knew Belle?"

"Yeah. I knew her."

"Why would you talk to her out of everyone though?" Emma asked, her mind working in overdrive before she realized. "Your father. He was Mr. Gold."

The statement made Bae look away, and Emma was glad she already finished the ice cream on the top of the cone because otherwise it would melt, since it didn't feel like an appropriate time to take a lick now.

Bae mumbled under his breath, then looked at Emma for a response.

"I didn't hear you."

He cleared his throat before trying again. "His name was Rumplestiltskin."

Emma's mouth fell open. She hadn't really talked to her parents about the town's counterparts because it still felt too make-believe to assign a person she knew with the identity of a fictional story book character. She had automatically figured out the obvious ones though; Ruby was Little Red Riding Hood, Regina was Snow White's evil stepmother, Belle was, well, Belle. She had assumed Mr. Gold was just the unnamed beast Belle fell in love with.

She guessed it made sense. She tried to recall the memories of the tale of Rumpelstiltskin. She remembered the basics: he turned straw into the gold for some impoverished woman so the prince would marry her, in return he wanted her first born. Though out of place, Emma let out a small giggle. What is it with this guys obsession with firstborns? She joked to herself.

"I didn't know, uh, Rumpelstiltskin had children." Emma said, thinking about the story she knew.

"Yeah. It was a long time ago."

"You're barely older than me."

"Yeah, that's a complicated story. I got trapped somewhere for a long time. Neverland."

Emma widened her eyes, although she was enjoying talking about this stuff. She thought she hated it, but she didn't. She hated how crazy she felt talking about it with her parents. But talking about it with another person who knew it was real felt refreshing and calming.

"He had another child," Emma said quietly.

"What?"

"Rumplestiltskin. He had a daughter with Belle."

"A... daughter? Where is she? When? I have a sister?"

Emma nodded and smiled sadly. She didn't know why she brought it up so suddenly. She felt like he should know. "Her name was Lily. She was five. She was funny and sweet and she was my best friend when I first moved to Storybrooke when I was six."

"Was?" Bae said the word slowly, as if he drug it out long enough the answer might be different.

"It was Regina," Emma said, feeling the weight of her words as they came out. "It was because of me. She was stuck in a hospital room when I got there. Belle was locked up in the basement. We found her, and we got Lily out. It was because of me," Emma felt tears coming on so she blinked them back. "If I just left her, Regina wouldn't have even taken notice to her. She'd still be here in that stupid hospital room, waiting for the curse to break. I thought I was helping her."

"I had a baby sister?"

Emma nodded. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize. You said you were six. How could you have possibly known? You were doing what you thought was best with what you knew at the time. That's all anyone, even grown adults, can ever do."

"Thank you," Emma said under her breath, so quietly that she wasn't even sure if she actually said it out loud. "Is that clock right?" Emma said suddenly.

"Yeah. It's a few minutes ahead. Why?"

"I have to get Neal from school! I totally forgot!" Emma said urgently. When she left with Bae, two hours felt like more time than she knew what to do with.

"From where?"

"Uh, he just started fifth grade at the middle school. The one on Lake Street."

"We can just go from there and then I can bring you back to your car at the high school if you want."

"Okay," Emma agreed, not sure if it was because she didn't want to say bye to him yet or because if she didn't her parents would have her head for being late. "Thanks."

"I like hanging out with you," Bae shrugged, looking over to Emma and smiling.

"Eyes on the road." She teased, trying to hide her smile back.

* * *

Emma waited at door by the parking lot in the middle school. She was thinking about Bae sitting in the car, and what it meant, and if Neal would ask questions.

"Hey Emma!" Neal said, bouncing on his heels.

"Hey bud," Emma smiled. "How was school?"

"It was okay," Neal shrugged. "School sucks."

"True that. But I thought you liked it." Emma questioned him, then was distracted by rustling bushes on the side of the school. She moved her head back in surprise, then focused back on Neal. "Did something happen?"

"No. They just... they switched my classes! I really liked my teacher before, but the spots or desks or whatever got filled all up, and they moved me. I just wish-" Neal continued, and Emma stared again at the bushes. She saw a tuft of blonde hair and strained her neck to see.

"Hold that thought for one second, okay? I'll be right back." Emma cut him off and jogged to the bushes. "Hello? Is someone there?" The quietness made her feel eery. "I know you're there. I could feel you watching me."

The rustling bushes moved again, and through it came a leg, then another, then arms and a body. Lastly, Emma saw the blonde hair and the face. The boy was picking off fallen leaves off that were stuck to his clothes.

Emma stared. He was grown, but it was still him. "Daniel? Are you...?"

"Hi Emma." He said, and Emma was shocked at how deep his voice was. The last time she spoke to him he still had a small little boy's voice, untouched by puberty.

"Daniel?" Emma asked again in disbelief. "What are... How are you here?"

"I left. I came to find you. I couldn't survive another day with my mom... I just needed to get out of there. And I've thought about you almost every day since you left."

"Daniel... I..."

"Finding you here wasn't so hard. I just used your parents names. I figured you were still somewhere around New England, at least, I hoped for my sake. The hardest part was figuring out how to approach you. As you can see... I was still figuring that out."

"Uh... I have to get back to Neal. I was picking him up from school..." Emma pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. "Do you have a place to stay and stuff?"

"I've been staying in a motel," Daniel answered. "Can we meet again?"

"Uh.. yeah, of course. How about tomorrow after school? I get out at two. Do you still go to school?"

"My mom took me out a couple years ago to homeschool me. I got my degree a few months early."

"Oh. Okay."

"So tomorrow at two? Where should we meet?"

"Um. How about here? The kids don't get out until an hour after the high school."

"Sure. See you tomorrow, Emma." He made an awkward gesture to hug her, then decided on sticking his hand out instead. Emma shook it, then turned back awkwardly towards her little brother.

"Let's go," she said, putting her hand on Neal's back and ushering him into Bae's car, wondering if Daniel was watching.

* * *

A/N: Thanks again for reading &amp; reviewing! On my tumblr **shelizabethwriting** I've posted pics of 17 year old Emma, so check them out if you wanna! Hope you enjoy :)


	44. Chapter 44

Emma drummed her pen on the desk while she yelled at herself for not listening. Maybe if she paid attention, time wouldn't go by so slow. But, ugh, it was so boring. She tried to imagine scenarios in her head, tried to focus on seeing Daniel, anything to make the time go by quicker. She wondered what Daniel wanted and why he left. Well, I mean, she knew why. His mom was technically the Evil Queen. But he didn't know that. She supposed that once an Evil Queen though, patterns may be hard to drop. She must still act like it. She shuddered, thinking of her old friend growing up with the person who inflicted so much harm on other people.

When the bell clicked from the minute hand the twelve, Emma fumbled with the zipper on her bag. Frustrated, she pulled it harshly when it got stuck on the inner lining.

"Mademoiselle Emma?"

"Yes? I mean... Oui?"

"We need to talk," he her teacher said in perfect English, something so out of the ordinary it sounded weird to Emma's ears.

"Okay," Emma said, lifting her half open bag up over her shoulder and walking to her teachers desk.

"Is something going on at home? Do you feel... safe there?"

"What?! No! I mean yes! Everything's fine at home. What is going on?"

"Emma, you're still skipping class and you're not catching up on the work. I've known you for three years, and this is not like you at all. If something is going on, there are people, safe places where you can talk about it."

"I don't need to talk about anything!" Emma said, realizing even to herself that she sounded over-defensive. "It's not like that," she said more calmly. "It's just a bad case of senioritis. I promise I'll have all the homework in by tomorrow. Please?"

Her teacher sighed. "Oui, mais je peux vous donner un crédit partiel."

Emma only understood the partial credit part, but was relieved at her teacher speaking in French again.

"Merci!" Emma said, running out the door with her unzipped bag. She glanced at her phone. It was only 2:03. That didn't throw her off too bad. She promised herself she would finish her homework tonight though and would get it in by tomorrow. She didn't know where her new rebellion had come from, but once she got behind in her work, she just stopped caring altogether. She was going to change it though. She was going to get back on track, get her focus back. Right after she met with Daniel.

She walked along the sidewalk, checking her phone every few minutes for any new texts from Daniel, or worse, her parents. Every time she checked though, the screen came up blank.

When she approached the parking lot to the middle school, she realized they didn't given an exact spot to meet up. She thought about waiting on a bench like a normal person, but decided just for the heck of it to check the bushes where she found him.

"Hey!" He called as Emma approached. He was standing in front of the bush, his hands in his pockets.

"Hey," Emma said quietly. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. You?"

Emma bobbed her head forward and back as if she was contemplating the answer. "Why are you here?"

Daniel laughed. "So you're really not into small talk still, I see."

"I'm serious."

"Emma, my mom is awful. She doesn't even care about me. She just wants to control me. Honestly, sometimes growing up I just felt like she saw life as a game she had to win and I was just one of her moves."

"Daniel... you can't think..."

"Let me finish first, okay?"

Emma nodded.

"I've been planning this since I was fifteen. I would finish high school, then when I turned 18, I was going to leave. I just never knew where I was going."

"But you came here?"

Daniel took a deep breath. "I know this is going to come off as sudden and out of nowhere and I probably shouldn't even say anything... but I had to find you Emma. I- I'm in love with you. I think I have been since the first day you came back to school after Lily, plopped down beside me, and told me I could be your friend now."

Emma smiled and blushed at the memory. "That was embarrassing."

"No- it was you. All the times you led me on those adventures that I was too afraid to go on by myself. All the times you made these elaborate stories. You were this burning fire, too big to be contained, and, at best, I was a flickering light. When you left, I knew you made the decision for your family, and no matter how heartbroken I was, I was happy because it was such an Emma thing to do. Without you though, it felt like I was less of a person. I know that's corny, but it's like I am only who I want to be when I'm around you. You made me better. You don't have to say anything Emma, but I just wanted you to know, in case I never see you again, that I am completely, irrevocably, and irrationally in love with you."

Emma fluttered her eyelashes in surprise and stared. It was Daniel, but it wasn't. He was courageous, and tall, and... different.

"You're not in love with me," Emma said, softly. "You're in love with the idea of me. The memory of me that you built up of me in your head these past five years. But not me."

"You're wrong, Emma," Daniel said passionately, holding Emma's hands in his own. She looked down in surprise. "I've known the way I felt about you since we were twelve. Let me prove it."

"How?"

"Go on a date with me," he smiled.

"A date?"

"A real date. Just one night. If it's terrible, I can just leave and then you'll never see me again."

Emma smiled reluctantly and nodded. "Okay," she agreed.

Daniel smiled, and Emma noticed he was still holding both her hands.

* * *

"Okay, Neal, think about this. Four groups of cookies, and each group has four cookies each," Emma arranged the groups of cookies on the table, 4x4. "How many cookies would you eat if you ate them all?"

Neal stared at the groups, then counted the cookies. "16!"

"Exactly! You just multiplied four by four."

Neal smiled proudly. "I wish I could use cookies when I was taking tests."

"You can," Emma said, as if it was obvious. "Just draw it on the side of the paper if you need to. Make one number the amount of groups, and the other number the amount of cookies in the group."

"And it doesn't matter which?"

"Nope," Emma said shaking her head. Neal picked up a cookie from the pile closest to him and took a bite. "Hey!"

"It's for my homework," Neal defended, smiling. "Hey Emma?" Neal said, swallowing.

"Huh?" Emma said absent-mindedly, putting the cookies back into the package.

"Where were you today?"

"What do you mean?"

"I saw you leaving when I was at extended day care. It was with a boy."

"Neal, you snoop!"

Neal furrowed his eyebrows. "You were standing in my schools parking lot talking. He was holding your hand, then you left with him holding hands."

"It's a friend from the town we used to live in."

"You like him?"

"Neal!"

Neal smiled at his sister. "I won't tell."

"Okay," Emma sighed. "I think I like him. But it's no big deal. I'm not going to tell Mom or Dad until it actually means something. There's no point telling them now."

"Telling who what now?" Her mom's voice, walking in from the basement door. Emma scrunched her face as if she had just been caught stealing candy from a toddler.

"Where have you two been?" Emma accused, staring at her parents. They looked like high school kids, holding hands and giggling like they were in on a secret that the rest of the world didn't know. Emma's question caused her parents to look at each other and giggle more, which caused Emma's eyes to fall out of her head from rolling them. "What is wrong with you guys?"

"Nothing," her dad replied, still smiling.

"You guys need a room." Emma said, annoyed.

"Did you finish your homework?" Snow asked, moving over to look at Neal's notebook.

"Uh-huh. And Emma showed me how multiplication works with cookies."

"I hope you ate them all after," David joked.

"I hope not!" Snow interrupted. "It's dinner time."

Emma stared at her parents for a long time, trying to decode them and figure out what they were hiding. For the life of her, she couldn't though. It didn't seem like anything was wrong, in fact, they seemed happier than ever. The longer she watched them, the more stolen glances she saw happen between them. Still something was off, and she didn't know what.


	45. Chapter 45

"Are you sure?" Daniel asked, looking Emma up and down. Emma was working on tying his tie, because Daniel didn't know how to, but she quickly realized she didn't either.

"Relax," Emma smiled. "My parents already know you. They're going to like you."

"How do you know?"

"Because. Everyone likes you."

"That's not true," Daniel laughed. "Not even close."

"Well, _I_ like you." Emma said, and it was true. She did like him. After their first date, they went on a second, and a third, and then one night Daniel asked Emma to meet him in the parking lot of the middle school after dark and he had written _Will you be my girlfriend? _in chaulk all cross it. Emma had laughed in his face and told him he was too corny for his own good, but then she had kissed him and she didn't need to say anything else. That was two months ago. Finally, a few nights ago, she had confessed to her parents she had her first actual boyfriend. Her mom was upset Emma hadn't told her sooner, and all her dad said was growling out the sentence _he better not have touched you_. Emma had blushed and assured her dad that it wasn't like that yet. Her dad had gotten caught on the word yet, and Emma had flushed and stuttered over her words to try and explain it. Her mom had come to her rescue, proposing that Emma invite Daniel over for dinner so they could get to know each other. Emma was so relieved at the distraction, she complied easily.

"But you don't count," Daniel countered.

"Hey!" Emma laughed. "Are you nervous?" She tilted her head and smiled.

"A little," Daniel admitted. "I want your parents to like me. They can forbid you to see me, you know."

"I'm practically eighteen," Emma argued. "Plus, they wouldn't. They know how much I like you."

"Oh really?" Daniel asked, kissing Emma and making her drop his still untied tie. She lifted her hands and felt the heat come off his neck when she kissed him back.

"I should go," Emma said, pulling back. She fiddled with his tie for a second, then dropped it. "I'll see you at six?"

"I'll be on time," he smiled.

"Obviously," Emma teased. She turned around to leave before he could kiss her again. It was like when she left Daniel, her thoughts were safe again, and she could wonder how the dinner was actually going to go. She felt like she had to reassure him, that even doubting it in her thoughts would be obvious to him. Truthfully, she wasn't worried that her parents wouldn't like him. He was respectful, independent, motivated. He was starting college in the fall and everything. She was worried how much they _would_ like him. It felt too perfect, too superficial. She did like Daniel, but she wasn't sure about love. Maybe she was too young to know. Daniel had told her he loved her though, the first day he saw her again, but he hadn't said it again since they began dating. Maybe he was feeling the same way she was. The idea of that was relieving to her.

She walked slowly back to her house, watching the spots on the concrete that her footprints left. She left no footprints, no mark. There was no rain or mud to leave a trail of where she'd been. Without realizing, her feet trailed a different path.

She didn't know where she was going, but she let herself go. She had an hour and a half until Daniel showed up at her front door, so she allowed herself some time to wander.

It took her ten minutes of walking to end up in front of the door she was thinking about. She stared at it for a solid three minutes, but it felt more like thirty. Finally, she turned around to leave. It was useless, no point, it was stupid. There was no reason for her to be here. The only reason he gave her the address of the place he was staying at was because of the time she had called him, embarrassingly crying about her parents. The memory made her angry, furious even, at herself. She turned back around, wanting to go home and disappear into her bed more than anything.

"Emma?"

Emma pinched her face and turned around, as if she was five and had just been caught stealing the last cookie. "Hi."

"What are you doing here?"

Emma looked him up and down. He was wearing a plain grey t-shirt and plaid pajama pants. His hair was messy, as if he had just woke up, even though it was almost a quarter to five at night. He looked like a basic bum.

"Hey Bae. I just... I don't know. I came to say hi."

"Hi?"

"Yeah. It was stupid. I know we haven't talked in almost two months, but..."

"No, it's not stupid," Bae said, cutting her off. "We only stopped talking because you got a boyfriend. I still wanted to be friends."

"I'm sorry about that. I just... I thought it would have been weird."

"I figured."

"Is that why you left the school?"

"Because of you?" Bae laughed. "No, I finished my community service. It was only for six weeks."

"Oh."

"Do you want to come in?"

"No, I shouldn't. Daniel is coming over for dinner. He's meeting my parents."

"Wow," Bae said, failing miserably at hiding his surprise. "That's a pretty big step."

"I'm sorry for bothering you," Emma said suddenly. "I shouldn't have came."

Emma turned around, her eyes filling up fast.

_You should go._

_Go? She had asked._

_This was a mistake, he had said._

_It didn't feel like a mistake._

_Well it was! He had said, getting angry. You're a minor and I'm not. You're still a kid. This was a mistake._

_That's when she had started crying, to her own despair._

_I love you, she had said, borrowing Daniel's words. They were still fresh in her mind. He had said them only hours ago. I love you, I want to be with you, please, I love you._

_You need to go, he had said, wiggling his legs in his jeans. She had watched him curiously. Only moments ago those legs were wrapped around hers, while his lips were telling her own all of his secrets._

_I love you, Bae. We can make it work if you give it a chance._

_No, Emma. This was a mistake. We both could get in a lot of trouble. You have to go._

_Stop! She had yelled. Stop saying that!_

_It was! He yelled back._

_She had started crying so hard then. So damn hard, it felt like her chest was caving in. She wiped her eyes and slipped her shirt over her black bra. She ran home, she ran so hard and so fast the bottoms of her feet ached as they met the pavement. She felt shock run all throughout her body. She was buzzing, in every part of the word. When she got home, her dad was reading with Neal in the living room. She stared at them for a few seconds before running upstairs. Her mom was folding laundry on her parents bed. She stared at her blankly until her mom looked up._

_Oh Emma, she had said. Come here. Her arms were open, and Emma walked close enough to fall into them._

_I love him, she had cried. I love him._

_Her mom didn't ask for any more of an explanation._

"Emma, wait!" Bae had called, and she could almost feel his hand reaching out to her. She didn't even turn around, but kept walking. She kept her ground, focused on her feet moving. She had less than an hour now to get home before Daniel came over. She was sure her parents would be waiting for her.

She was going to tell him. That was her reason before appearing at his doorstep. But as soon as she saw him, she knew there was no point. He was the type that took naps in the late afternoon and got community service at a high school. That would never change.

She walked back to her house, wishing she had taken her car. She was too tired to walk, because walking led to thinking.

By the time she had gotten home, it was twenty minutes before six.

"Emma!" Her dad had said when she walked in the door, wearing the pink muffin apron. Her mom was setting up finishing touches on the table, and Neal was at his spot at the table intently building some new lego set.

"Sorry I'm late," she breathed. "I took the long way walking home."

Her mom scrunched her eyebrows at her, but didn't say anything. They looked to the front door when the doorbell went off.

"He's early," David said, visibly impressed.

"I'll get it!" Neal said, leaving his half-built lego set on the table. Emma smiled at her little brother's eagerness.

"I'll be right down," Emma said quickly, running up the staircase two at a time. That was stupid, stupid, stupid. She should have just went home, gotten a shower, put on a dress maybe. Maybe not a dress, but she could have at least looked better. Maybe because she was crying and walking in the wind, but when she looked in the mirror she looked like a complete mess. She rubbed her face with a face cloth and tried to play with her hair, but ended up just putting it up in a ponytail to look less messy. After a quick change into cleaner clothes, she came back downstairs. Daniel had figured out his tie, and brought pink lilies. Emma knew immediately what they meant, and suddenly wanted to hug him, to thank him for being such a good person.

"These are so beautiful," Emma said sincerely, taking them out of his hand.

"I'll put them in some water," her mom offered, smiling. Emma handed them over, and for the first time, Emma realized her mom had probably thought she was talking about Daniel when she had come home crying the night she met with Daniel the first time.

"You didn't have to," Emma said, leading Daniel to the kitchen.

"I wanted to."

Emma smiled and took his hand, grateful for the moment, grateful for Daniel.

"So you're Daniel." David said sternly, looking him up and down.

"Hi Sir," Daniel nodded, causing Snow and Emma to laugh out loud. David cracked a smile.

"I like it. But I suppose you can call me David."

"And please, Mary Margaret," Snow said, reaching her hand out to shake Daniel's. Emma could see his hand shaking a little, and gave the one she was holding a little squeeze.

Daniel pulled the seat to the kitchen table out for Emma to sit, and Emma smiled and poked his stomach, because she didn't want to outright call him out for his corniness in front of her parents when he was trying so hard.

"So Daniel," David started, making Emma roll her eyes immediately. "There are some rules to dating my daughter."

"Of course," Daniel agreed.

"Dad, don't," Emma warned. "You're acting like, medieval."

"The first one," David said, ignoring Emma. "Don't touch her. Ever. Get your hand away from her right now. Stop thinking about it, too."

"Dad!"

"The second one," David continued, "is that Emma has a curfew. She should be home by eleven every night. No spending nights together, ever. And when you're here, downstairs. Always."

"_Dad!"_

"The last one is the most important," David said, his voice getting a little softer. "I don't care what you would do for her. I don't care if you would jump in front of a train or sacrifice a limb- I love her more, and I loved her first. As long as you don't forget that, I think we could all have a very happy relationship."

"It's _not _your relationship, Dad! It's between me and Daniel. Two people. Sound familiar?"

"Not when you're living in my house, it isn't."

"Dad!"

"It's okay, Emma," Daniel said, reaching for her hand, then on second thought placing it on the table next to hers. "He's just protecting you. It's what any good father would do."

"It's what any _annoying _father would do," Emma said, side-eyeing David.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones," David teased. "But names can never hurt me."

"Okay," Snow said, trying to break the tension. "Does anyone want some dinner rolls?"


	46. Chapter 46

"That was fun," Daniel assured Emma, walking towards the door.

"Yeah... fun. Getting interrogated by my insane over-protective dad. We should do this more often," Emma joked, and Daniel's laugh made her eyes glimmer.

"It would be an honor to be interrogated by your father again," Daniel bowed, this time being the one to make Emma laugh.

"I'm sorry about all this," Emma said sincerely. "I've never really brought a boy home before. Basically for this reason."

"It's really not a big deal. It was cute. I'm glad you have such good parents. I'm jealous, honestly."

"I'm sorry," Emma said, forgetting where Daniel came from. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Do you... do you know anything about your dad?"

Daniel shook his head. "No. And I don't know anything about my real mom, either. I want to find her someday. At least I hope to."

"I think you will," Emma said supportively, giving him her best smile. He returned it, then leaned down to kiss her goodbye, which lasted much longer than anticipated, and was only broken by the sound of throat clearing. Emma rolled her eyes without looking back, already knowing who it was.

"Sorry, uh, David," Daniel blushed.

"Bye Daniel," Emma said, kissing him again. This time, she held on to his shirt so he didn't pull away when her dad cleared his throat again.

"Bye Emma," Daniel breathed, then called out over her shoulder. "Thank you so much for dinner." At David's grunt of a you're welcome, Emma smirked in accomplishment.

"Was that really necessary?" David asked when Emma turned around. "It looked like you guys were sucking each other's face off."

"Yes, it was completely necessary," Emma said, annoyed. "Was it necessary to stand there and make him feel weird about kissing his girlfriend?" She asked, and even she saw her dad wince at Emma calling herself his girlfriend. She rolled her eyes and moved passed him, running up to her room.

"Hey! You need to come help with dishes!" David called to the sound of a door closing.

"I think we can handle it tonight," Snow called from the kitchen. "Right Neal?" Neal nodded, still young enough to be excited to help out with his parents in any way.

"She's acting so different," David said, exasperated. "I just feel like overnight she became this different person. Yesterday she was little Emma, learning how to ride a bike. Now she's off having boyfriends and shutting us out. Literally."

"She's got a lot on her mind," Snow said. "It's a confusing time for any 17 year old. Especially one with a heritage and destiny like hers. With college and Daniel, she just doesn't have quite the same time for us right now."

"Is it normal to feel this heartbroken over it?" David asked, throwing a dish towel over his shoulder and making Snow laugh.

"I think we'll make it," she assured him, bumping his waist with her own. "Besides, we have some pretty exciting news to share ourselves."

"When, by the way, are we doing that?"

"I don't know," Snow said with a mischievous grin. "When were you thinking?"

"I was thinking," David said, dabbing a bubble of soup on the tip of her nose, "as soon as possible."

* * *

Emma's hands shook as she placed the box in her bag. The last time she remembered stealing something was a toy for Neal ten years ago, and her mom made her bring it back and apologize. Her explanation was so simple; so logical, it made enough sense for Emma to never be tempted to try it again. Other people worked to make it; it's unfair to just take it.

But in this case, she would have to sacrifice her moral code for necessity. She couldn't risk anyone knowing what she needed. So she slid it into the side zip up pocket of her backpack, then picked up a single person package of cheez-its to buy. At least if she bought something, it would make stealing seem less bad. At least, in her mind, that made sense.

"Is that everything?"

"Uhhh. Uh-huh." Emma fished around for the cash she prepared in her pocket and pulled out a five to pay for the cheez-its. It was easier than expected, Emma thought. No one expects her to be a person who steals from a convenience store. She orders herself to remain calm when she thanks the cashier and walks out of the store. As soon as she's out, it suddenly feels like a weight was lifted off her chest. She's out, she's free, and she's not in trouble. And she has what she needs.

The whole ride home, she stared at the side of her bag. As if the box was going to claw it's way out of the zipper and attack her.

No it wouldn't. She would get home and no one would be there, and she would do what she needed to and then she would know. Good or bad news, at least she would know for sure.

She had repeated it to herself so many times driving back to her house that when she said it out loud, the words almost didn't feel like real words anymore. She absent-mindedly picked up the mail on the way in, shuffling through it just in case she saw her name. She had only heard back from one of the five schools she applied to, and she had been wait-listed. Emma had cried over it, even though she didn't really want to or plan to go to that school anyway.

There it was. In plain black font across the middle of the envelope. It was the school that was in her top two choices. It was further away, in New York, but she wanted it so bad. Her stomach was going crazy just staring at the envelope. It felt like tiny people doing gymnastics in it. As soon as she got in, she ran to the kitchen table and dropped everything except for the envelope, then fished through her backpack's front pocket for her cell phone. Her mom answered after two rings.

"Emma? Is everything okay?"

"I got a letter! In the mail! From my school!"

"That's great, honey! What does it say?"

"I haven't opened it yet," Emma confessed. "I'm scared."

"Well, it's either good or bad news, but either way, it's already in paper on there. There's no point being nervous anymore. Open it."

"Okay," Emma agreed. "Okay. I'm going to open it."

"Wait," her mom said on second thought. "Stay on the phone. I'm going to three-way your father."

"Mom. Really?"

"I'm sure he's going to want to drive home and video you opening it. A phone call isn't that bad."

"Fine," Emma agreed, sitting down and staring at the envelope. She turned it forwards and backwards while she waited, trying to memorize every detail of it. She imagined reading no, that she wasn't accepted, and felt her heart weigh her down. She shouldn't have called her mom. God she was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. How embarrassing, now both of her parents will be on the phone ready for good news, and Emma will have to tell them that she got denied.

"Hello?"

"David, it's me and Emma on a three-way. Emma just got a letter from a college and is about to open it."

"No way! Which one is it, Em?"

"The one in New York," Emma said nervously. "I'm going to open it now."

Emma somehow tore it open with the speed of a turtle. Both of her parents were silent as she lifted the paper out of the envelope, scanning the first few lines.

"Dear Emma," Emma read out loud. "Congratulations! The Admissions Committee has completed a thorough evaluation of your application, and I am pleased to inform you of your _acceptance_!" Emma stopped reading in the middle of the sentence after hearing the words she was looking for, and let out a tiny scream. Both of her parents joined her.

"Way to go, kiddo!" Her dad congratulated.

"This is excellent news, Emma! We have to celebrate!"

Emma felt like she was on cloud 9, probably because it was her first acceptance and she now knew for sure that she was going to college, no matter what.

"How about chinese takeout tonight?" Snow suggested, because it was Emma's favorite. "Your father have news we've been waiting to share you with as well."

"Okay," Emma agreed, still reading her acceptance letter over and over again. "I got a scholarship for 5,000 a year and they asked me to be in the Honors Program."

"See Emma? All that hard work pays off!"

"Yeah I guess," Emma said, shyly proud. "I'm going to call Daniel. I'll talk to you guys later?"

"You got it."

"See you soon, Emma! Congrats!"

Emma hung up the phone, then started to dial Daniel's number before deciding to shoot him a text instead. The excitement of her letter made her feel like she was floating, like nothing else mattered, but something else did matter. She unzipped the side part of her backpack, and she was sure that if the pink and white box had eyes, they would be staring at her. She left her letter on the kitchen table and took the box to the upstairs bathroom next to her room, feeling like for some reason, it gave her more privacy, even though nobody was home.

She looked in the mirror and practiced her speech to her parents, to Daniel, to Baelfire while she waited. Each time, it changed, but each time, she cried. When the alarm on her phone went off, she jumped, then shivered. She picked up the white stick, looking at the faint two lines on it. Maybe she was seeing things. Maybe it was a false positive. These tests were crap, anyway.

She could tell herself that all she wanted, but she knew. She knew before she took it, she knew as soon as her period didn't come.

She knew, but still, she cried. She fell on the tiled floor with her back against the sink and she cried harder than she had in her life. She cried so hard she started to feel overheated and claustrophobic, like there was no more air in the room left to breathe. She kept trying to take deep breaths, to calm herself, but each time the tears came harder and faster. Finally, she felt nauseous from heaving so much, and the thought of chinese food tonight made her actually think she was going to throw up.

Then, when the tears stopped, she felt strong.

She was going to college, her world wasn't ending. It was beginning. And nobody, and she meant nobody, was going to take that away from her.


	47. Chapter 47

Emma let the coldness of the bathroom tiles sink into her skin. The back of her head kept jamming the knob on bathroom counter drawer, but she couldn't move. Her head was starting to pound though, and she had no idea how long it had been. She had to get rid of the test. She couldn't flush it, she knew that wouldn't work. She couldn't just leave it open in the bathroom trash.

"Emma? Are you home? Oh, I see your acceptance letter!"

Her mom's voice had never instilled so much panic in her. She frantically looked around the bathroom, desperate to hide the terrible evidence that she held in her hand. Her phone was still in her bag downstairs exactly as she left it. She had no idea how long it had been. Thinking as quickly as she could when it felt like all her thoughts were mud slipping through the cracks, she wrapped the test in extensive amounts of toilet paper then stuffed it under the towels in the back of the supplies closet.

"Coming Mom," Emma called, flushing the toilet bowl full of clean water already. She made the effort to wash her hands, as if she was getting rid of any evidence she had.

"Oh hi!" Snow said, smiling as Emma came down the stairs. She stood there waiting, keeping her arms open to hug Emma as soon as she got close enough. "Congrats, baby!"

"Mom," Emma said embarrassingly. "It's no big deal."

"No big deal?! My baby is going to COLLEGE!" Snow put her hands on Emma's arms and gave her a light squeeze. "You are going to be _someone_, my little girl. Somebody so incredibly important."

"I'm sure every mother says that," Emma reasoned.

"Yes, but not every mom has you as a daughter," Snow smiled. "Anyway, your father should be here in any minute with the food and Neal. This is surely a day we are going to remember."

Emma grimaced, looking at the clock. It was already almost six. "Surely," Emma said, trying to be convincing. She looked at her bag on the kitchen chair and hurled it over her shoulder and ran it up to her room. She dropped it on her bed and being unzipped, the contents spilled on her bed. Her heart dropped when she saw her French textbook spilling underneath her yellow folder. She had so much French work to do. She had to get in by tomorrow. She _had to._ Maybe if she just did it now, if she put something on the paper, she could at least turn it in for something. She looked at the questions in French; they made absolutely no sense. She kept rereading them over and over until she heard the front door open and her dad greet her mom, Neal running around in his excited footsteps. Frustrated, she started writing down any words she knew in French. She was sure none of it made sense, but within five minutes she had filled out two pages worth of questions. She stuffed back into her folder, so quickly it almost crinkled the paper, then went back downstairs to her parents setting up the table with plates. At the end of the table was a giant balloon tied to the chair that read "Congrats!" and Emma shook her head, not believing she didn't see it coming. It was so typical.

"Congrats Emmy!" Neal shouted, running at Emma full speed to hug her. "Are you really moving away?"

"I dunno, Neal, we'll see," Emma said, ruffling his hair. Neal looked up at her sadly, but he didn't say anything further about it.

"I hope you guys are hungry," David said, bringing out cartons of chinese food from a large paper bag.

"Actually, my stomach doesn't feel so good," Emma said, holding her stomach. "I think I'm coming down with something."

"Oh no," Snow said, quickly moving to feel Emma's forehead. Emma sighed, expecting it, and let her. "You feel okay."

"I think it's just a small bug," Emma said. She wasn't lying. Her head was still hurting, and her stomach was doing flips. She pressed on her stomach, entertaining the idea that there was a little seed growing into a person in there. "I'm going to take something and lie down for a little while."

"Okay, Em," David said, trying to hide his disappointment. They had already pinned her acceptance letter on the fridge to admire it. They left Emma's favorite meal, the container of the broccoli and chicken, untouched for her if she wanted it later. Neal ate chicken fingers and crab rangoons, something he only tolerated for Emma, because he didn't really like it.

"You have homework, bud?" David asked when Neal finished the last chicken finger on his plate.

"A little bit."

"Why don't you go get changed and then we'll work on it?"

Neal nodded and left the table, running upstairs.

"I'll take homework with Neal tonight," Snow bargained, softly kissing him from her seat next to him.

"Really?" David asked, trying to pull away to talk but not being able to. "Why is that?"

"I want to spend some bonding time with my son," Snow smiled inches away from her husbands face. "Besides, you need some free time to do the laundry tonight," Snow said quickly, kissing him again before he could respond.

"You're too good," David laughed, getting up, but bending down one last time to kiss her, physically unable to get enough. "Have fun with the dishes."

"We still have our news," Snow tilted her head. "I think we should stop waiting for the perfect time and just go tell them."

"Now?"

"Why not?"

David didn't do anything but hold out his hand for Snow to take, which she did happily, scooting herself off the kitchen chair. Snow followed him up the staircase, both giggling like teenagers in love.

"Emma?" David knocked on Emma's door while Snow went to get Neal. She was lying on her back, staring blankly at nothing. "You okay?"

"Huh. Yeah."

"You sure?"

"Yeah Dad," Emma answered, finally breaking her gaze to look at him. "Did you need something?"

"Actually," David started as Snow came into Emma's room with her hands on Neal's shoulders. "We have something we want to tell you both."

"Neal, why don't you sit down?" Snow suggested, and he followed, sitting next to his sister, who was now upright.

"We have some very exciting news," David said, looking at Snow, who was smiling at him and holding his hand.

"You know how Mommy and Daddy were married a long time before you were born?" Snow asked, looking at Neal, stealing a glance towards Emma.

"Yeah!"

"Well, we're going to do it all over again," David explained to Neal. "With a really big wedding, with you and Emma in it."

"When?!" Neal asked excitedly.

"Yeah. When?" Emma asked more calmly.

"We haven't picked a date yet," Snow explained. "But we do know where. In our old town, with our old friends in Storybrooke."

Emma narrowed her eyes, trying to decipher what her parents really meant by doing this.

"Neal, go away," Emma ordered.

"Mommy!" Neal said, looking at Snow, who sighed.

"Emma, that wasn't nice. Neal, go get your homework started." Neal huffed when he left, but still left.

"Why are you doing this?" Emma asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I just mean why. Like how come."

"Well, as you know, we aren't really married in this world. After everything we've been through, raising our children here, we thought we should celebrate it by celebrating how we've survived it together. And the last wedding we had with everyone we loved, well, it was sort of interrupted."

"By the Evil Queen?"

"By Regina, yes," Snow clarified, sitting down next to Emma on her bed. "You know, we all have a lot to celebrate."

"Yeah," Emma said. "I guess."

"Emma," Snow said gently, "if you need to talk about something, please talk to me. If something is wrong, just tell me. If you tell me I can fix it."

"You can't fix everything," Emma scowled. "Not this."

"Let me try."

"I'm going to see Daniel," Emma said, getting up and picking up a sweater off her floor to throw over her head.

"No you're not," David said, still standing by the door.

"You can't tell me what to do."

"Actually we can," Snow said. "We're your parents. And you're still a child."

"Barely!" Emma yelled. "And you can't stop me!"

Emma ran through her dad and down the hall to her front door, angry and unsure of why. All her parents had done was share good news, and then her mom tried to help her. Truthfully she didn't know how her parents would react. She was sure her dad would blow up, maybe even lose his whole head from anger. But she could see her mom understanding. She could talk to her mom privately. It wasn't totally out of the question. But maybe her parents didn't have to know. She could give the baby up for adoption, she could wear really, really baggy clothes until then. Maybe she didn't need to tell anyone at all. No one would know, and she could go to New York for college. She could live a normal life.

She stood outside the front door, shivering, her sweater not warm enough for the evening breeze. She called Daniel while she stared at the front door.

"Hello?"

"Daniel? Hi."

"Emma? What's wrong?"

Emma sniffed and smiled, wondered how he always could tell. Because he paid attention, she realized. "I got in a stupid fight with my parents. Again. It's nothing. It's stupid."

"Are you sure? Do you want me to come over? I can bring chocolate and books."

"You know the way to my heart," Emma laughed. "No, it's okay. I'm just going to go to bed," she lied. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course. Bye Emma. I love you."

"I- gotta go." Emma said in response to his statement, hanging up quickly, then staring at the phone as if it were fire. She stuffed the phone in her sweatshirt pocket, trying to stuff it out of her mind. She took a deep breath, then walked up to the front door and knocked.

"Emma? What are you doing here?"

"Hi Bae," Emma said with a shaky voice. Can I- can I come in?"


	48. Chapter 48

"David, what are you doing!" Snow called out hopelessly to David's hard footsteps through the hallway. "You can't chase her for the rest of her life!"

"I can sure as hell chase her now! She's _my_ daughter and she's not going to act like that!"

"David, please," Snow held his arm gently, to be comforting while she held him back. "Let her be. She's going to Daniel's, she's safe, and she's right. She's turning 18 in a matter of months. We can't keep suffocating her. She needs some room to grow."

David shook his head. "I don't like this, Snow. This whole Emma growing up thing."

Snow smiled and kissed the side of his arm lightly. She suddenly felt overwhelmed with the intensity of the love she felt for her family.

"We'll be okay. We're going to make it," Snow said, and David couldn't doubt her.

"I'm going to get started on that laundry. But if Emma isn't home in a few hours..."

Snow glanced at the clock. "Let's give her two hours before we start calling her and Daniel."

"Two hours."

David left Snow to work with Neal, doing the one household task he really didn't mind. For some reason he found laundry calming. Besides throwing the clothes in the machine, it was just folding and putting away clothes. He found a peacefulness in the routine. The worst, though, was when the washing machine and dryer was already full, and he had to put away the clothes already in the dryer before even starting. Unfortunately, it was one of those cases tonight. As he folded the load of bath towels, he thought with annoyance of how inconvenient it was. As he made his way through the kitchen to the upstairs bathroom, he caught sight of Snow and Neal working on homework, seemingly math.

"Back so soon?" Snow teased, watching David walk through with a basket of towels.

"_Somebody_ left the dryer and washing machine full, as well as the full hamper."

"Oh, actually, I forgot about that. I had Emma doing her own load."

"Mhmm," David mumbled, walking away. Snow smiled before turning back to Neal.

"I don't understand this," Neal said, frustratingly looking over his math homework. "It only made sense when Emma explained it!"

"Well how did she explain it?"

"With cookies. One number was the number of groups and one number was the amount of cookies."

"Alright, so we'll do it that way. Pick one number for the groups and one number for the amount of cookies and draw it on the paper just like that."

"Snow!" David's voice echoed through the walls. "We need to talk _right now._"

Snow made a puzzled face towards the staircase, then towards to Neal. "I'll be right back. You draw those cookies."

She followed his voice into the bathroom, where the basket was dropped on the floor. David was holding something wrapped in toilet paper.

"What is this?" David demanded. "Why is this hidden behind towels in the closet?"

"W-what?"

"Is this yours? Are you pregnant? Why would you be keeping this from me, Snow? We're supposed to celebrate in a few months this amazing life we created together in this world, and you're keeping secrets this big from me? If you're worried about it, you could have talked to me. We could have talked it out together and figured things out together. But instead what? You were hoping I didn't see? Snow, it just doesn't make any sense," David said exasperated. "Why wouldn't you be happy? Why wouldn't you want this?"

"David."

"What?"

"I am not pregnant. And that is not my pregnancy test."

"Well it's certainly not mine! Who else's could it be?"

Snow bit her lip, waiting for the idea to cross David's mind. She didn't want to say it, she didn't want to be the one to say it out loud.

"No. No. It's not possible."

"David, before you do anything, you need to think rationally. You don't want to hurt yourself or anyone else."

"Oh, I can think of someone I'd like to hurt," David steamed.

"We're going to call Daniel, we're going to get Emma back here, and then we're going to talk to her and figure out what the hell is really going on."

"Let me talk to Daniel, I have a few things I'd like to say to him."

"_You_ need to sit down. You're acting crazy, David. That's not going to help anybody."

* * *

"Hello?" Daniel answered, slightly out of breath from running to his phone on the charger.

"Daniel? Hi. This is Mary Margaret, Emma's mother."

"Oh, hi! Is Emma okay?"

"Well, I was hoping you could tell me. She left to go to your house over an hour ago?"

"Uh, no. I talked to her about that time and she was upset. She said she got in a fight with you guys, I asked her if she needed anything and she said she was going to bed. I told her I'd talk to her tomorrow."

"And you're sure of this?"

"Uh yes. Is everything okay? She's not home?"

"No, Daniel, she's not home. She said she was going to see you. Which means we don't know where she is, and we have a lot of things we need to talk to her about."

"Is she going to be alright?"

"Well, we hope so. If you hear from her, you'll call us immediately, right?"

"Of course. Can you let me know when you find her?"

"I'm sure we'll be in touch with you soon enough."

* * *

"Emma, why are you here?"

"I don't know," Emma said miserably, "I shouldn't be here."

"No, you should," Baelfire reached his hand out to hers, and Emma, in surprise, drew hers back.

"I should?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything, about what I said... that night. You deserved so much better than that. I shouldn't have brushed you off and pushed you away. I was scared. I've survived my whole life on my own, Emma. You don't know what that's like. You've always had your parents on your side. I've had to figure out how to make it on my own, with nobody there. In the woods all those years ago, you were the first person who was ever nice to me, who ever saw me as a person instead of some poor orphaned kid. And when I saw you again at the high school, I just. I was scared. I like you a lot, Emma. I care about you more than I've ever cared about anyone. And I want you to get your happy ending. I don't know if that's with me or not, but I'd like it to be. I'd like _us_ to be. But either way, I just want you to be happy."

Emma looked down in shock and uneasiness. She had no idea how to respond.

"I was accepted to college today. The school I really want to go to. It's in New York."

"Wow. That's... that's great, Emma."

"Yeah. I don't know, though."

"You don't know what?"

"Anything," Emma said so softly that she lost her voice in it.

"You have an amazing opportunity. You should take it."

"Run away with me," Emma said suddenly, looking up.

"W-what?"

"Right now. We can go, anywhere, Bae. Just me and you. We can survive on our own, together. Will you, please? Run away with me."

"Emma, that's crazy."

"Is it? Honestly, why not? You don't have anything tying you here. I'm the one that would have to leave my family. And I'll do it. So let's leave. We can leave right now."

"Emma, there's no way we could-"

"You said you cared about me, Bae! If you cared about me, you would _want_ to."

"You don't know what I want!" Bae yelled, his voice so loud it made Emma shrink. "It's not a good idea for either of us. You should go, Emma. Go home. To your family."

"You don't love me," Emma said, tears staining her eyes. "I should have known. You're never going to love me the way I love you."

"It's not like that."

"No, then what's it like?"

Bae looked at the wall, as if he was searching for clues. He stayed silent for a few moments, listening to the sound of Emma breathing. "You should go," he said finally. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Emma shaking her head, and he purposefully made himself turn away so he didn't have to watch her leave.

Emma managed to keep a stoic demeanor until she hit the other side of the door. She walked and walked and walked. She ended up in a 24-hour dollar store, just wandering around, looking at the baby section. By the time she got home, her eyes were so blurred by tears that it felt like she was trying to walk through a cloud. She wiped her eyes one final time before pressing open the front door.

As soon as the door opened, she heard stirring in the kitchen. Both of her parents were sitting silently. Because she knew she'd already been caught coming home this late, she moved towards her parents. Their faces looked expressionless, their eyes tired.

"Mom? Dad?" Emma said, scared. On the table, in the middle of them, lied the pregnancy test that had sealed her fate.


	49. Chapter 49

_**March 2001**_

Emma didn't have time to process it. She didn't have time to think about exactly what she wanted to say, she didn't even time to think about what she wanted to do.

"Mom... Dad... I'm so sorry," Emma started, her body erupting into sobs. She felt a mix of anger and shame, and it was so overwhelming that after a moment she channeled it all into anger just so she could stop crying. "Where did you get this? Did you go through my things? You had no right!"

"Emma," Snow tried to keep her voice calm. "Your father found it in the bathroom closet underneath the towels."

Emma shrunk, remembering she had forgotten to go back and get it when she heard her mom come home. Her anger dissipated into only shame and embarrassment. The worst part of it all was that she knew that her parents now knew that she had had sex. She gritted her teeth, waiting for them to say something, then looked down. She watched her own feet as she shifted on the kitchen tiles. She thought about apologizing again, but no sound came out of her mouth.

"You should have told us when you started having sex," her mom said, breaking the silence. "Even if we didn't like it, we could have helped you take preventative measures."

"It wasn't like that!" Emma said defensively, still staring at the floor so as to not give away the heat burning at her cheeks. "It was one time, I swear."

"Does Daniel know?"

Emma almost said no, thinking that her mom meant if Daniel knew that she had sex. Before she spoke, however, she looked up and saw her dad expectantly and angrily waiting for an answer, her mom still trying to maintain a calm demeanor.

"No," Emma answered so quietly that she shook her head with it to communicate an answer. She looked up again, and as soon as she saw her parents, tears started exploding from her. "It wasn't with Daniel," she almost whispered, staring again at her feet. She had almost memorized every detail of her socks, white ankle socks with all different color polka dots. She thought they were cute when she got the pack, but now they just seemed childish. As soon as the words left her mouth and floated into the air, a huge crash made Emma jump and look up again. Her dad had stood up and knocked the center vase of flowers off the table. Emma looked at the scene in horror. She had never seen such anger fall from her father's finger tips.

"Who was it?" He demanded, still standing, the broken vase and splattered water all over the tiles. Emma flinched at his tone.

"Y-you don't know him. He worked at my school."

"He WORKED at your school?" David barked, hanging on to the word. "He was an adult? He took advantage of you, Emma!"

"It wasn't like that!" Emma yelled in defense. "I love him. I wanted it!" Both of her parents seemed to coil at the last sentence, and then it clicked in Snow's head.

"It was that night. A few months ago when you came home crying, saying you love him over and over again. Wasn't it?"

"Hold on," David said, looking angrily between Snow and Emma. "What night is this? Why don't I know about this?"

"I thought it was Daniel..." Snow explained, holding the bridge of her nose. "What's his name?"

"It doesn't matter," Emma mumbled.

"It does matter!" David yelled.

"It doesn't, okay!? He doesn't love me, he doesn't want to be with me! You don't need to worry about it! I thought he would want to be with me and we could be a family, but he doesn't want that. I'm going to have an abortion and I'm going to college, okay?! I'm going to have an abortion," Emma repeated, her chest heaving up and down so fast that it looked like she nearing a heart attack. "He doesn't love me. He doesn't want our baby."

"Oh Emma..." Snow said, her face fallen from watching her daughter break so utterly. She opened her arms, held back her own tears, and told Emma to come. Even David, who had been so angry he couldn't even think straight, couldn't watch his daughter like that.

"Mommy," Emma said, crying, looking up at Snow in her arms, then David. "Daddy. I'm scared," she confessed, crying into them. "About everything. I know you said breaking the curse was up to me," Emma sobbed, "but it doesn't feel like that. I don't want to let you guys down."

Snow put her hand over Emma's head, running it over her hair while she cried to keep her close. "It's okay to be scared, Em. We all are. We're going to figure it out together. We're all going to be okay."

"We're on your side, Emma," David added. "We will always be on your side."

**December 2001**

Emma was going crazy. She was almost nine months pregnant now, and her body never let her forget it. Her due date was in less than two weeks, which meant honestly, it could come any time now.

She had cried, and talked, and cried some more, with her parents and even Daniel, and she had decided on adoption. She couldn't go through with the abortion, she had made an appointment and sat in the waiting room and watched young women walk in with their little kids, and Emma just knew she couldn't do it. She had seen a little boy reading a book about fire trucks and she thought _I can't take the opportunity away from my child to ever read firetrucks. _So she left, going back to her mom in the car waiting. She would have came in, but Emma cried and begged her not to. Let me do this on my own, she had begged. She was too ashamed. When she came back in the car her mom had asked if it was really that quick and Emma had cried and said I couldn't do it, I can't do it. So they deferred her acceptance to the college in New York until the Spring semester. Which means that if she gives birth within the two weeks, she'll still have almost two months to live at home and recover until she moves away.

She was nervous, truly nervous, to start a semester late, but every time she felt a kick underneath her skin, she knew it was worth it. She had already concocted a story. Her grandma had gotten ill over the summer and Emma had stayed behind to take care of her. She had just passed in November.

She knew she shouldn't be ashamed of her life or herself, but she was. When she thought about it too much, she was.

Daniel had started classes at the community college, and his GPA was so amazing in one semester that he got almost a full scholarship offer to a state school further away in Maine. Of course he took it, and he had moved early to take a class during intermission, or, winter break, to get a head start.

Emma had to admit she missed him sometimes. When he found out about the baby, he had truly treated her with respect and dignity. Especially because there was no way it was his, considering they had never had sex. Emma told him crying, that her whole life was ruined, crying about how stupid and unlovable she must be. He should have agreed and forgot about her, but he let her cry it out, and then told her how she wasn't stupid, and she most definitely wasn't unloveable. On one particular bad night, he stayed on the phone with her for hours and listed everything he loved about her.

"You're a good guy, Daniel," Emma had suddenly said one night, eating cheese and crackers in her bed. "I think I might be in love with you."

"No, you're not," Daniel had said sadly through the phone. "You're in love with the idea of having a good friend. I'm sorry for whatever this guy did to you, but it doesn't change how you felt. I'm sorry I was never what you needed, Emma. But I meant every word I said. And I hope you can find someone who is worthy of all that you are someday."

Daniel had hung up then, without saying goodbye, and that was the last long conversation they had. They still sent each other texts and checked in with each other every once in a while, but never another long phone call. Emma hadn't called him again when she cried.

As for Bae, Emma hadn't heard from him or seen him since the night that she came home to her parents waiting for her at the kitchen table. She thought about him sometimes, even tried to call him, but when she did, the phone was disconnected. She had been hurt for only a moment before putting her phone down, realizing it was for the better.

Emma was thinking about how uncomfortable her stomach felt and how sore her feet were, how walking down a flight of stairs felt like a marathon, when wetness surrounded her. _Holy shit, _Emma thought to herself. _Do pregnant people wet the bed?_

It wasn't pee though, it was... _Oh my god! My water just broke! Oh my god, this is like the movies. _

"Mom!" Emma called, waddling out of her room, her pants soaking wet. If she didn't feel so panicked, she'd be embarrassed. It was like peeing yourself in the fourth grade.

"Hmm?" Her mom called from the couch, a stack of papers in her lap and a red pen in her hand. Her dad was at the park with Neal, sledding down the giant hills in the back.

"I think... I think my water just broke."

"Oh my god," Snow said, looking at her daughter. "How do you feel? Do you feel any contractions?"

"I- I don't really know what exactly a contraction feels like," Emma admitted. "It's sharp pain that comes and goes."

"Honey," Snow laughed, "it's what you're describing. How often does it come and go?"

"I don't know," Emma admitted, getting anxious. "I don't know anything. I'm not ready for this!"

"Alright, go get your bag we packed. I'm going to call Dad and Neal to meet us at the hospital. It's going to be okay, Emma. We're going to be okay."

Emma nodded.

It was going to be okay.

* * *

"Do you want to hold him, Emma? You still have a chance to change your mind."

Emma stared at the doctor, his blue cap, his blue gown, her baby was in his arms. _Her_ baby. She squeezed her mom's hand, who was standing at the head of her bed, and squeezed her eyes to stop any tears. She shook her head, her face contorting into the the promise of oncoming cries.

"Are you sure, baby? This is your last chance," her mom asked her, running her hand over Emma's damp hair, and her voice reminded her of the times she climbed into bed after having a nightmare. _It's not real, baby, _her mom would soothe. _It was just a bad dream._

"I have to give him his best chance," Emma cried.

* * *

** Note: **Fast updating right? The next and final chapter of Wake Me Up is written and will be posted pretty soon ;) In the meantime, reviews would make me smile.


	50. Chapter 50

**PLEASE READ: **Wow, I had an original author's note at the end of the chapter thanking everyone for reading, but I felt like I needed to put this at the beginning and address a few things.

Snow and Charming, I'm sure, would have accepted raising their grandson for their daughter, had that been a choice that she made. But it wasn't, and they didn't really get a say in that. Of course they supported their daughter, whether they agreed with the decision or not is not explored. She made the decision she felt was best for _her_ baby. Emma is an 18 year old girl who had an entire future ahead of her. Which ties into the other thing I wanted to clear up. Baelfire did NOT know about the baby. If you reread their interactions, Emma explicitly did NOT mention being pregnant. Bae sent her away because Emma had told him about college and he, similar to in canon, did not want to hold her back. Emma asked Baelfire to run away with her because she wanted to keep the baby and be with him. If he said yes, she would have told him. Because he said no, she left and decided to give the baby up for adoption. Of course, at the end of this chapter, you can decide the story goes in which ever way you please.

In this story, I made the decision for Emma to give Henry up for adoption, and you will shortly find out to who, to maintain the integrity of the story and characters in _Once Upon A Time._

As for what I originally wanted to say, I want to sincerely thank everyone who has read this story for the past four months. Wake Me Up has been really special to me and I'm really disappointed with the feedback I got on the last chapter, but I suppose I understand. Thanks to the people who have continuously reviewed on every chapter- you know who you are. And thanks to every reviewer who expressed their disapproval with grace and kindness. If there are any further questions about the story or ending, you can ask me on my tumblr: shelizabethwriting and I'd be happy to clear anything up.

* * *

_**August 2002**_

"Is everyone ready?" David called from the front door. Neal came bouncing down the stairs, Emma appearing from the kitchen with her hair in a bun and her glasses still on.

"Have you gotten dressed once this summer?" Her dad teased her. Emma bit into a peach casually while the rest of her family ran around frantically.

"I had a busy semester," Emma defended. "I worked herd."

"Clearly," her mom said, coming up behind her. "I still think you didn't eat enough. You look too thin."

"Mom," Emma said, her voice low. "I was losing weight from having a baby."

"I know, but still."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Are we going to good ol' Storybrooke, Maine, or what?"

_**March 2001**_

It took Baelfire less than a half hour after Emma had left to pack up all the things he needed, less than an hour to stand in line at the service counter and argue about cancelling his phone plan, most of which time he scorned himself for not just getting a prepaid phone like a normal person on the run, and less than four hours to get to Storybrooke.

However, it took almost a full day to get up the nerve to knock on his father's door.

By the time he did it, it was nearing sunset, and he was getting cold. He took a deep breath and thought of Emma. He knocked and stuffed his hands in pockets, and after a few moments, considered turning away. His father had seen him, he had purposefully avoided him. He was abandoning him again just like he had all those years ago. Yelling at himself, he turned around to walk away.

"Baelfire?" Belle's voice was smooth and sweet, and relief flooded through his veins.

"Actually, I go by Neal," he said, turning around. "Really only person in this world calls me that."

"Neal, then." Belle looked at him up and down. "You look well. You look grown."

"Well, that tends to happen when you're not in a cursed town," Bae cracked.

"Come in," Belle laughed. "Have some tea? Your father isn't home."

Nodding, he followed Belle inside the home his father lived in. It was dark, sort of musty. It reminded him of the hut he had grown up in.

"You guys live here?"

"We do. It's... home-y, when you get used to it," Belle smiled. "How have you been? How is everything?"

"Does he know I was here? I mean, when I was here five years ago."

"No. I promised you I wouldn't say anything until you were ready to come back. If you came back."

"Good."

For the rest of the conversation, Belle and Neal had been able to avoid almost all conversation about Rumpelstiltskin. For a little while, Neal had forgotten where he was, why he was there, whom he had left behind.

"I should go," Neal said suddenly, looking at the darkness outside the window. "I don't want to be here when he..."

"Don't keep running from him," Belle pleaded. "Give him a chance. Let him prove himself to you. If he fails, then you leave again and don't look back, no harm done. But if you never give him a chance, you'll wonder for the rest of your life."

Nodding, Neal sat back down.

_**August 2002**_

"Are we there yet?"

"No!" Emma, Snow, and David said in unison. Neal looked in surprise at his family, then shrugged and went back to the movie he was watching on his portable DVD player.

"But really, how much longer?" Emma asked, a slight whine in her voice. "I gotta pee."

"We can stop somewhere," her mom suggested.

"No! I just want to _get_ there."

"Not much longer," David said, pointing to the map on the dashboard. "Less than 10 miles until we're back in town."

_**March 2001**_

Rumpelstiltskin was tired. And bored. And more than anything, impatient. The days ticked on, the same after the other. No change, no excitement. He was getting what he wanted though, he was happy! Happy!

At least, more important than any boredom he felt, he had Belle. And soon enough the Savior would break the curse, and with Belle he could find his son. Maybe they could even have more children. He knew Belle would never recover, not fully, from Lily, but maybe eventually she would be ready. With his son, his wife, he could have a family. Isn't that he wanted? Before all of this, before he became the Dark One?

It was late, he spent too much time in his shop thinking, observing, sometimes. It was curious how these people could trotter on, with no sense of their real identity.

By the time he got home, it was nightfall. He was sure Belle would most likely be fast asleep already. So when he opened the door, he didn't call out for her, he moved quietly, not to make any unnecessary noise.

He saw her first. Sitting at their table, a tea cup in front of her. He had begun to ask her what she was doing awake when he saw him. His feet locked into place where he stood, his heart thumping wildly.

"Baelfire?" He asked, tears gleaming his eyes. His son nodded slightly, pressing his face so tightly together to stop himself from crying that he looked like he was in pain.

"Actually," he said, tears freely falling now. "I go by Neal in this land, Papa."

"You're here," Rumplestiltskin stared in wonder, completely mesmerized. "You've come back?"

"What you did... it was unforgivable," Bae started, tones of anger swelling his voice as he remembered. The only thing stronger than his anger though, was the gentleness. "But I- I forgive you anyway, Papa."

"Bae," Rumple repeated, he was close enough to hold his son his arms for the first time since he was a boy. "I promise to be someone worthy of your forgiveness."

_**August 2002**_

"It looks the same," Emma observed, getting out of the backseat of the car. "This is exactly what I remember seeing when I was like six and we were moving."

"Well, that's kind of the point."

"I know," Emma said, still looking around. "It's just weird to see."

"Why don't you take Neal to Granny's? We have to go see Mr. Gold about where the ceremony is going to take place."

"Mr. Gold," Emma shivered. "It feels like I just entered a time warp. I can't believe I'm the one who's supposed to fix all this..."

"Emma."

"I know, I know. Okay, Granny's. Neal and I will stop by and say hi to everyone. Come on, buddy," Emma ushered, holding her arm out. Neal swooped under it and Emma led them to Granny's diner before going to the room they were staying in. She could always count on people she knew being here.

"Ruby!" Emma called as soon as she saw her. "It's me, Emma! Do you remember me?"

"Of course I remember you!" Ruby said in shock after studying her for a moment, leaving Dr. Whale at the booth that she was supposed to be waiting on. "Don't tell me this is little Neal. What happened to you?"

"I grown up. We live in Boston now."

"So I've heard!" Ruby said, smiling. "How do you like it?"

"Good."

"It's good," Emma corroborated. "Is Belle around?"

"At the library, probably. It's good to see you guys!"

"You too, Ruby!" Emma said, leading Neal towards the door. They were going to the library. As she opened the door to the diner, Regina walked in, pushing a baby stroller.

"Madam Mayor?"

"Do I know you?" Regina said undeniably disinterested.

"Uh, I used to live here. _With my parents. _Emma, and Neal," Emma said, pointing to her brother. "You have a baby now?"

"I adopted."

"That's sweet," Emma said, peeking into the stroller to see a chubby baby in a blue cap and white and blue onesie. "What's his name?"

"Henry. He's eight months."

"He's really cute," Emma said genuinely. "I didn't really see you as a motherly type."

"Yeah, well," Regina said, slightly surprised at Emma coming out and saying that. "You thought wrong. Why are you back here anyway?" Regina snapped.

"My parents are renewing their wedding vows. It's a celebration type of thing. Since you know, how they got away and all."

Regina's lip curled at the comment, making Emma smirk in triumph.

"It was good seeing you," Emma smiled. "I hope you'll come to the ceremony to show your support."

"Of course," Regina said, her fake smile so tight it looked like botox. "I wouldn't miss it."

"Great," Emma said, moving past her. She had more important things to do, more important people to see. She pulled Neal along, her feet practically bouncing with excitement. She couldn't believe the place she was in her life now compared to a year ago. She was happy, free, excited for the future. A year ago everything felt like it was crashing down on her. Now it felt like she was strong enough to carry the weight of the world. Emma looked in the windows of the library first, where Belle was standing in clear view, putting books on the shelf.

"Excuse me," Emma said, walking in. "I need some help looking for a book."

"Of course," Belle said, turning around and getting stopped in her tracks. "Emma? Is that-?"

Emma's smile gave it away. She ran towards Belle, and hugging her felt so familiar.

"I missed you!" Emma said, muffled into Belle's shirt.

"I missed you too. How have you been? How is everything? God, I'm so bad with real world time. You must be what, 17 or 18?"

"18. I'm in college," Emma beamed.

"College? That's amazing. College is one thing about this world that just amazes me."

"It's great," Emma confirmed. "Really great. I'm really lucky for the opportunity."

"I'm so happy for you," Belle smiled. "I'm so glad to see you. And Neal? My, how big have you gotten?"

"Everyone keeps saying that!" Neal blushed from the attention.

"So what's the news?" Emma asked. "Anything new in Storybrooke? I saw Regina got a _baby._ Is that really that great of an idea?"

"What do you mean?" Belle asked, confused.

"I just mean she doesn't seem like the mothering type."

"Emma? You don't kn-"

"Emma."

The voice came from behind her, and when Emma turned, her heart stopped immediately. She felt like a balloon, all her strength slowly being let out and she couldn't figure out how to tie it and keep it in.

"Bae? W-what are you doing here?"

"My father wanted me to get Belle. What are _you_ doing here?"

"My parents are getting married," Emma said, tired of explaining the details. "Your _father?"_

"I came back here to see him," Bae admitted. "After that night. I've been living with him ever since."

"That's why you left me? Why you didn't want to be with me? For your father? Bae, you could have told me!" Emma yelled.

"Whoa, hold on," Belle said, getting up and standing between them. "Be with you? What the _hell _is going on here?"

Emma shifted her jaw and stared at Baelfire. "Nothing," she shook her head. "There's nothing here."

* * *

"There's _NO_ reason any of them should be here!" Regina yelled while simultaneously rocking Henry in back and forth in his carriage. "If she's here long enough, she's going to find out. She's going to try and take Henry back."

"You don't need to worry about that, Madam Mayor. Perhaps you should worry about keeping your voice down, though," Gold advised, looking towards the windows of his shops.

"You said she was going to return on her 28th birthday. I still have ten years to stop her!"

"Ah, yes, I did say that, didn't I? I suppose I forgot to account for the possibility of Snow and Charming finding each other and creating another little burst of true love's magic. When there's two kids, 18 plus-"

"I don't need the specifics," Regina snapped before walking out of her shop."I just need her away from my son."

Gold watched her, and considered letting it all be. But he had made a promise to his son, and he was going to keep it. He would do what he needed to do that would make him worthy of Baelfire's forgiveness.

* * *

"You look beautiful, Mom," Emma said, looking at her Mom in a white mermaid-style gown. "You look like one of those brides from that show on TLC."

"Ugh, that show is the worst," Snow groaned.

"True," Emma laughed. "But they do always look beautiful. Like you."

Snow held Emma's hand and rubbed her thumb on Emma's palm. "I love you, sweet girl of mine."

Emma laughed in embarrassment. "I can't believe you guys are doing this."

"It's a celebration."

Emma peeked out of the curtain of the tent they had set up for Snow to get ready in. All the residents of Storybrooke were sitting in white lawn chairs. Her dad was standing at the end in a tux, Mother Superior waiting to hold the ceremony.

"Hopefully I won't fall," Snow said lightly.

"You won't fall," Emma assured her. "It will be perfect."

Snow smiled, taking in her daughter. She had grown from a tiny girl in a denim dress and red bandana to a beautiful young women, in her lavender silk dress and her hair wavy and down, she looked like she was truly a Princess waiting for a ball.

"You're beautiful, Emma," Snow said suddenly. "Not just how you look, although, you are incredibly beautiful. But more than that, you are a beautiful, selfless human being. I don't know how your father and I got so lucky with you and Neal."

"Aw man, Mom, I have to go out there. Now is not the time to get all sappy and make both of us cry."

"Sorry," Snow laughed. "I just had to tell you."

"Thank you," Emma said. "For everything. I don't know if I would have survived this last year without you and Dad on my side. And Neal, for that matter."

"Luckily, you won't ever have to find out," Snow said, giving her daughter a light squeeze.

_Yeah, _Emma thought, _I guess I was pretty lucky._

* * *

"Almost twenty years ago," David started, looking into Snow's eyes. "We started a new life together, a new chapter. It was rocky at best, but we found each other. These years I've spent with you, spent with our daughter, Emma, and our son, Neal, they remind me why we always fought so hard for each other. Because love is worth fighting for. And I _love _you, in every aspect of the word. I love every piece of who you are, even when you leave the clothes in the dryer, or tell me you're going be to be there in five minutes when you haven't left yet, or growl at me in the morning when you don't have any coffee. I love the way you've sacrificed for our children, the way the light of the lamp hits your face when you stay up late reading in bed, the way that you buy me greeting cards from the store for the smallest occasions like Groundhogs Day or the anniversary of our first date. I not only fell in love with you all those years ago, I fall in love with you every day, at the thought of getting to spend a lifetime with you, every morning, when you wake me up."

Even Neal, in his tiny suit, couldn't help but cry at his father's speech, though he didn't understand exactly what he meant when he talked about the kind of love. Everyone shed tears, though, not because of what he said, but because of the intensity of how he said it. His words were so full, so loaded, you could almost feel the love that dripped out of them as he said them.

"I love you, Prince Charming," Snow smiled, wrapping her hands around his neck and kissing him in front of all the people they loved in Storybrooke, even if they didn't know they were the people they loved. They knew Mary Margaret and David Nolan, and that was good enough.

A baby's cry interrupted the ceremony, and Regina quickly shuffled away from where everyone stood.

"Well, even without knowing Regina still managed to interrupt our wedding," David teased into Snow's ear.

"Irony at it's best," she agreed smiling, kissing him again.

Emma watched Regina go, unexplainably curious, after seeing her parents embrace again, then felt something hit her leg. She looked down to a manila envelope with _Emma_ strewn across it by her white heels. She looked around, looking for the source, but everyone in the town was in their seat except Regina, Gold, Belle, and Bae. She had just seen Belle and Gold, though. Hadn't she? She was standing next to her mom in front of all of them, surely one of them must have seen the envelope appear? But if they did, no one seemed to be acknowledging it. Emma picked up the envelope slowly, hoping she wasn't about to be forced to diffuse some type of bomb.

She pulled out folded up papers, which looked like a bunch of math and numbers on it at first, but she quickly fished out her name at the top and _Henry Mills_ at the bottom. Henry Mills? Regina had said Henry was her son.

The sentence that really caught her eye was underneath Henry's name, where it read: _The alleged mother cannot be excluded as the biological mother of the child. The probability of maternity is 99.87% compared to an untested, unrelated woman of the Caucasian population._

* * *

She briefly heard her parents calling for her as she ran, but she didn't give it much thought. She ran, and ran. Her legs started to ache and the idea of going to a gym briefly crossed her mind until she shook it off. She had more important things to worry about than her endurance level.

"Where is he?!" Emma demanded, slamming open the door of the Mayor's house.

"Emma? What in the world are you-"

"Where is he?" She asked again, her voice even lower. "Where is _my son?"_

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. You have no right to be here."

"You have no right to my son!" Emma shot back.

"Legally, I do. You gave him up for adoption, a closed one. You had no interest in where he ended up. You don't care about him," Regina spat. "Don't pretend like you do."

"I'll kill you," Emma threatened, her lips quivering. Regina got right back in her face, unafraid.

"You're a child."

"Let me see him!" Emma demanded.

"Absolutely not. He's upstairs napping! If you'd like to schedule a meeting with lawyers-"

It was all Emma needed to run past Regina, whipping past her, up the stairs. There was only one door that was slightly open, and Emma was drawn to it. She could hear Regina calling, saying she was calling the Sheriff to have her removed from the house. She didn't care, she was taking her baby. She was going to run away with her baby, she was going to save him.

As soon as she walked into the nursery, she was overwhelmed by the, well, _blueness_ of it. It was decorated like it came straight out of a magazine. An entire wall was dedicated to a bookshelf full of different children's books. A toy box in the corner rested open to show all educational toys. Emma was struck by how organized it was.

Henry was in a crib, with blue sheets and white stars on them. He looked peaceful, one hand up next to his face and one resting down the side of his body. His eyes were fluttering, and Emma smiled, wondering what he was dreaming about.

She thought about last year, how hopeless she felt, when this little human was actually _inside_ of her.

She wiped her eyes, not even realizing that she had begun to silently cry. It was obvious Regina cared about him, wanted the best for him. And Regina's words echoed in her mind. _She was a child._ _She hadn't wanted him._

"She's your best chance," Emma whispered, bending down to kiss Henry's tiny sleeping forehead.

And as she did, something swept through her, swept through the air. A white glow. As Henry stirred, she knew before even finding her parents again.

The curse had been broken.


	51. Epilogue

**Note:** I have included an epilogue to Wake Me Up. Enjoy.

* * *

_**August 2002**_

Emma felt a shiver travel throughout her entire body.

"Henry?!" Regina called, running towards the stairs. Emma could feel a difference just in the way Regina spoke. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine," Emma said, watching Regina. She had tears in her eyes, she looked frantic. "He's sleeping."

"I have to go," she said suddenly. "You have to take care of Henry."

"Wh-what? Where are you going?"

"You broke the curse, Emma. I have to go. Take Henry and leave NOW!"

Emma shook her head in fear, but felt compelled to listen just because of the tone of Regina's voice. Picking up Henry's sleeping body, she tried not to cause him too much trouble, but his eyes fluttered open anyway.

"Hi Henry," Emma said softly. She couldn't help but smile a little when she looked at him. "I'm your Mommy."

"GO, Emma!"

* * *

"What was that?" Snow looked at David, then the people sitting at their ceremony. As soon as she saw their faces, she knew.

"Snow?" Red asked, standing up hopefully.

"Red!" Snow tried to run to hug her, but could only waddle in her dress, so she waited for Red to come to her with open arms. "I missed you so much!"

"She did it! Your child, the Savior, she saved us! Is it her 28th year already?"

"No," David said curiously. "It's her 18th."

"18 years only? Saving a kingdom ten years ahead of schedule, she really is your daughter," Red teased. Though it was a joke, Snow and David stole glances of pride at each other.

"Speaking of- where _did_ our daughter go?"

"She ran," Neal supplied helpfully.

"I think I know where," Gold came out of nowhere, speaking almost regretfully.

* * *

Emma was walking in a daze. She had a baby, _her baby_, in her hands, and no idea what to do next. She was making her way back to her family, slowly, but she was walking towards them. She never got the chance, though, because she was stopped by a familiar face on the street.

"Emma?"

"Bae? Why aren't you at my parents thing?"

"It ended. And it- it would have been weird. Why do you have a baby? Is that Henry- Regina's kid?"

"No, well, yes. And no. It's hard to explain."

"Where's Regina?"

"I don't know," Emma admitted. "I think I just broke the curse."

"Whoa, what? That's what that was?"

Emma shrugged. "I don't know. I think so."

"That's insane, Emma."

"I know. I think- I think Regina ran."

"What do you mean ran? And left you with her baby? Why would she do that?"

"It's not exactly her baby," Emma said slowly. "He's mine."

"_What?"_

"I gave a baby up for adoption eight months ago, I didn't know where he went, I thought I was doing what was best for him. I didn't know he would end up here, of all places, with Regina."

"Eight months ago? Emma is there any chance-"

"No." Emma said too quickly.

"That means he was born in December. Which means that it happened-"

"Bae, _stop. _I said no!"

"Emma! Be honest with me!"

Emma hated herself for crying. She hated how she felt so vulnerable around Bae, she was strong, she didn't need him! So why did he always make her feel like she was down on her knees? She looked down at Henry, who was wide awake, staring at her, studying her.

"Do you want to hold him?" Emma answered his question softly, smoothing the soft tufts of dark hair on Henry's head. Bae nodded and put his hands out. "He looks like you," Emma whispered. "He has your eyes."

"You should have told me," Bae said, betrayal laced in his voice. "I wouldn't have sent you away. We could have been together and raised him."

"I wanted you to be with me because you loved me," Emma explained. "I didn't want you to do it to fill obligated to because of your relationship with your father. That's why I gave you the choice to run away with me. You said no. I wanted you to say yes because you loved me."

"Emma it wasn't like th-"

"Emma!" Her mom's voice called, her feet waddling underneath her dress. An entire town of people was behind her. "Where did you go? We were so worried!"

"I'm sorry," Emma said truthfully. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You broke the curse! You did it, Emma. How did you do it?"

"I- I don't know. It just happened."

She watched her parents, who were watching her and eyeing Bae and Henry.

"I'm Baelfire," Bae introduced, lifting one hand from Henry to shake hands. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Rumplestiltskin's son."

"Ah, we've heard a lot about you," David said, shaking his hand, then looking back and forth curiously. "How do you know Emma?"

"Oh, um," Bae stammered. "I met her back in Boston. I was living there and I worked at her high school for a short time."

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Emma shrunk. She didn't even have to look at her parents to know it showed on both of their faces.

_Y-you don't know him. He worked at my school._

_He WORKED at your school? He was an adult? He took advantage of you, Emma!_

_It wasn't like that. I love him. I wanted it._

"Dad, please," Emma said before David could recoil his fist back and bring it to Bae's face. "Don't do anything stupid. He has Henry in his arms."

"Henry? Regina's adopted kid?"

"He's eight months," Emma said, hoping her parents would understand without her having to say it outright. "Eight months ago, he was born..."

"That's impossible," her mom said slowly, the idea still processing in her mind.

"Mom, Dad...," Emma introduced. "This is your grandson, Henry."

The sentence softened both of them as they looked at the tiny person, staring up at the world in wonder. Snow held out her arms, and Bae didn't dare keep Henry from his grandmother a second longer.

"Hi Henry," she said smiling. "It's so nice to finally meet you under better circumstances."

"When I found out, I was going to take him and run," Emma explained, watching both of her parents coo over him. "But he seemed like he was living in a good home. He seemed cared for. I told him I was giving him his best chance, I was going to leave, and I just kissed him goodbye. That's when it happened."

"An act of true love," David said, smiling at Snow.

"True, selfless, unconditional love," she agreed.

**December 2011**

She was awful at decorating cakes. It was definitely not the passion that she let slip away. She tried to decorate a design on the race car shaped cake she had made, but it all came out looking like a bunch of misshapen lines.

"Maybe next year, we should leave the cake decorating to Granny," Neal joked coming up behind her and scooping a swab of frosting on to his finger. "At least it tastes good."

"Hey! Get out of here," Emma warned her baby brother. "This cake is for Henry."

"He doesn't even like racecars," Neal joked. "What possessed you to try and make a race car shaped cake?"

"Honestly I don't know," Emma admitted. "I thought it would seem cooler than it does."

"Where is the kiddo anyway?"

"He's with his dad, I think working at the pawn shop. You know, the family business," Emma said, rolling her eyes. Bae and Rumplestiltskin were trying desperately to get Henry interested in taking over the Pawn Shop. "Do you know when Mom and Dad will be here?"

"Mom and Dad what?" Snow asked, peeking through the door with a container of cookies.

"Hi guys," Emma smiled and walked towards them to help him. She took the container of brownies from her mom and looked at her dad carrying a present that was almost as tall as his waist. "Presents on that table. What the heck did you guys get him?"

"None of your concern," Snow waved.

"Actually, it is _my_ concern, considering he's _my _son."

"Yeah, yeah," Snow waved again, making David laugh. Emma glared at Neal when he let out a giggle behind her.

"I'm back!" Henry yelled, running through the door. "Dad gave me an early birthday present! Wooden swords! We went sword-fighting."

"Swords?" Emma questioned, looking at Bae behind Henry. Behind Bae was Mr. Gold and Belle, holding hands.

"He's ten, he can handle them," Bae shrugged. Emma sighed and shook her head.

"Go wash your hands, then we'll celebrate," Emma instructed, then turned to Bae when he ran to the bathroom. "You fed him something for dinner, right?"

"Of course. Relax, Emma. It's all going to be okay."

Emma shoved him back playfully when he tried to kiss her. "Uh-uh. Celebration for Henry first. Us later."

"Sounds fair enough," Bae smirked.

Emma lit the candles while the family gathered around the table. She shut off the lights just as Henry raced back into the room, staring at the light from the candles in wonder. He took his seat at the head of the table, and everyone broke into the chorus of _happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear hennnnrrryyy, happy birthday to you!_

"Make a wish!" Emma said, standing in front of Henry with her camera.

"What if I don't have anything to wish for?" Henry asked, suddenly worried.

"Then," Emma smiled, "you wish for everything to stay exactly the same."


End file.

Once Upon a Time, Family, Hurt-Comfort