AN/ When David told Rumple to do what Belle would want him to do, it was like he was, again, giving him advice from his own experience. Originally it was supposed to be a conversation between the two men but I've wanted to write something about Emma and David for a long time so…
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of these characters. This story is for entertainment purposes only and has no commercial aim. Please do not publish without my explicit consent.
"What would Belle want you to do?" When David spoke out these words, the expression on Gold's face changed. He stepped back from Hook and looked at Belle.
"I'm a stranger to her." He cried.
"I know." David said with a steady yet comforting tone.
"She's lost."
"I know." David looked at the poor woman that his wife was trying to comfort.
"She doesn't remember who I am. She doesn't remember that I love her and that all I want is to help her." No one had ever seen Rumplestiltskin so vulnerable before.
"I know." David made the man look at him. "But murder is not the answer. Trust me."
Emma observed the interaction between the two men and wondered how David had managed to calm down Gold.
"Can I ask you something?" Emma sat down next to her Deputy. Well, she hadn't officially deputized him but no one cared about formalities in this town anymore.
"Of course." David took a sip of coffee. "Anything."
"When you were talking to Gold earlier, it sounded like… like…" Emma couldn't quite put a finger on it.
"Like I knew what he was going through?" David finished her sentence. "That's 'cause I do."
"What do you mean?" Emma was curious.
"Well, when you and Mary Margaret got sucked into that hat, I was lost for a while. Everything happened so fast: the curse broke, we had to stop the crowd from killing Regina, the wraith, Regina trying to kill me, Henry saving my neck, literally."
"Regina tried to kill you in Storybrooke?" Emma almost panicked.
"Nothing to worry about. Really." He looked at his daughter and smiled. "My point is: I lost focus. And I almost let half of the town cross the border when they realized that Regina had her powers back. I allowed her to get Henry back… I didn't know what to do. Then on the way to the town line I asked myself what would Snow do in this situation. How she would handle this? And I asked myself that damn question every single day while you two were gone. I always ask myself that question when I have a tough decision to make."
"Wow." Emma smiled.
"Believe it or not but Belle brings out whatever good is left in that dark twisted soul of his." David took another sip of coffee. "And I know that because my wife brings the best in me. I wouldn't be the person I am today if it wasn't for her." He took a deep breath. "That's how I knew that playing the Belle card might actually restrain him from killing Hook."
"There must be more than that. When he told you that Belle didn't remember him and you said that you knew, the way you said it and the way you looked at him… What was that?" When Emma wanted to know something, she wanted to know every detail. She wouldn't let go until she did.
"You noticed that, didn't you?" David tried to avoid looking at her.
"I wouldn't be a good sheriff if I wasn't good at noticing things." Emma smiled.
"I… I think that this is a discussion for another time." He got up and threw his coffee cup in the trashcan.
"What is it? What did I say?" She was bumped by David's reaction. She knew that he wanted to build a relationship with her based on trust and she was surprised that he pulled away.
"Emma, can we not talk about this now?" He was clearly upset and she couldn't think of a reason why. "But we should keep an eye on him. Even someone as evil as him doesn't deserve this."
"What are you talking about?" Emma grabbed his arm and made him turn her way. "Listen, two days ago you told me that we didn't have to go through anything alone because we were family. Was that a lie?"
"No." He looked at the ground and then at her. "Fine. You'll probably find out about this from Henry's book so I might as well tell you. Sit down. Please." They made their way to the chairs and sat down. David took a deep breath and started telling the story of one of the most painful memories in his life along with his mother's death, the sight of Snow's lifeless body in the glass coffin and putting Emma in the wardrobe not knowing where she was going. "A long time ago, because she thought that we couldn't be together, Snow drank a potion that Rumple, Gold, had given her and she forgot who I was. Since it took away her love, that potion also took away her compassion and kindness. When I found her and she didn't recognize me… It was like…" Tears were falling down his cheeks. "Emma, she was a different person. There was only darkness in her eyes. All she wanted was blood and revenge. But the worst part was that she didn't know how loved she was. By her friends. By me. She wouldn't allow us get near her. I will never forget how cold her gaze was when she looked at me. How empty. She wasn't my Snow. She wasn't the Snow I had fallen in love with."
Emma didn't know what to say. The man before her had nothing to do with the David Nolan that she knew. This man had known heartbreak. Heartbreak that she had the impression she would never understand.
"But you didn't give up on me." Both Emma and David turned away and saw Mary Margaret approach them. "Even when I had lost sight of who I was, you reminded me that I had good in my heart. You saved my soul." She was crying too.
"I couldn't afford to lose you. I can't afford to lose you." Mary Margaret bent over and hugged her husband who buried his face in her neck.
"You won't. Ever." She reassured him. "I never told you how sorry I was that you had to go through that."
"Blaming yourself won't change the past." David said with a reassuring tone again. "Didn't you tell me that earlier today?"
"Are you using my own words against me, Charming?"
"That would suggest being against you, which I could never be."
Emma looked at her parents. She felt pain inside when she heard that story but she also felt a warm feeling spread though her heart. She felt safe for once in her life because she knew that she finally had a home and nothing and no one could ever break that home.
AN/ So? Comments?