Warning! Spoilers! This story takes place some time after the third episode, "Snow Falls."
"Everyone, take out your maps and crayons! Today, we'll be talking about the state of Colorado. Now, Colorado was…"
The students look in the direction their teacher is staring. Her mouth hangs open slightly and her eyes widen.
'David Nolan' stands at the entrance of her classroom with the school secretary.
"Miss Blanchard, Mr. Nolan would like to speak with you. I'll watch your class for you," the kind elderly secretary says as she gestures towards the handsome gentleman next to her.
Miss Blanchard blushes and nods her head. "Class, uh, turn to page 28 in your social studies textbook and read quietly. Please don't give Miss Sweets a difficult time," she says distractedly as she keeps her eyes on 'Mr. Nolan.'
A couple of the girls in the corner start giggling as they see Miss Blanchard gaze at the stranger. "Miss Blanchard, is that your boyfriend? He's so handsome!" says a moxie little girl.
"Annette, that's very rude. You shouldn't ask questions like that, you could embarrass someone, " Miss Blanchard scolds but her blush deepens.
"I'm sorry to embarrass you and your boyfriend then," Annette chimes in. All the girls in class start to laugh. The boys roll their eyes and try not to fall asleep over their reading.
"Annette! He is not my boyfriend. Get back to your reading or I'll quiz everybody on it." All the students pipe down and throw their eyes back to the book.
'Mr. Nolan' chuckles a bit as she walks towards him.
Miss Blanchard smiles at him shyly and leads him out into the hallway and towards the cafeteria. They sit across each other at an empty table.
"Uh, Mr. Nolan, I'm happy to see that you're well." She pushes a wisp of her dark black hair behind her ear. She gulps a little and tries hard not to frown, however, when she says, "I'm sure your wife is taking great care of you."
'Mr. Nolan's' charming smile fades. "Yeah, she's taking great care of me."
Miss Blanchard, noting his change in demeanor, she asks, "Is everything OK at home, Mr. Nolan?"
Her worried expression makes 'Mr. Nolan's' heart flutter just a little. A wry twitch appears on his lips, "Well, I don't remember anything. I don't know what 'OK' is right now. It's really awkward. That woman is a complete stranger to me."
"I'm sure your memory will come back soon, Mr. Nolan."
'Mr. Nolan' lets out a frustrated sigh. He runs his hand through his hair and clenches his jaw. His memory loss has been agonizing. He can't remember anything at all-who his parents were, what he did for a living, or even his name! How can he not know his own name? 'David Nolan' just didn't feel right. Using that name felt just as strange as wearing a shoe two sizes too small.
"I suppose. I just wish I understood what happened. All the mayor told me is that she found me on the side of the road, unconscious. I wasn't near a car and didn't appear to be injured. I have no idea what happened!"
"Well, until then, you can create new memories. Maybe you can, uh, fall in love with your wife all over again. Maybe this is your second chance." Miss Blanchard forces an encouraging smile on her face.
"Miss Blanchard, the truth is…"
"Please call me Mary."
"Mary," he says with a crooked smile, "the truth is that I frankly cannot stand the woman! I can barely stay in a room with her for five minutes. At our supposed house she has pictures of herself all over the place! There's even a huge painting of her, JUST HER, near the entrance. It's the first thing you see when you walk into 'our' house. I asked her if she had any pictures of me and she said she didn't. Isn't that strange? She didn't even have wedding pictures."
"Mr. Nolan, maybe…"
"Please call me…well, something else! She keeps calling me 'David' and it makes my skin crawl. It doesn't sound right." He lets out another frustrated sigh.
Mary thinks about Henry for a moment. Henry believed "Mr. Nolan" was Prince Charming to her Snow White.
"In the time that I've known you, you were always John Doe. Would that suit?" She raises an eyebrow at him.
"Much better!"
Mary laughs, "Then John Doe it is. So, John Doe, or can I call you JD?" He chuckles and nods. "JD, it seems that maybe you need to give yourself time to acclimate. Allow yourself to relax, maybe your memories will come back sooner."
He nods and swallows a slight lump in his throat. He hasn't been completely truthful with everyone. He does have a few memories. He vaguely remembers a soft voice speaking to him as he was sleeping. He remembers how it broke through the fog of his mind. It beckoned him out of sleep.
The moment he woke up, he knew he had to find that voice. He doesn't remember how he got to the woods. He doesn't remember slipping on a rock and falling into the stream. He does remember, however, hearing the voice again and then soft, warm lips against his own.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your class like that. I just needed to come down here and thank you. You saved my life. Sheriff Graham says that you gave me CPR. Thank you so much." He reaches out and touches her hand. They both feel a shock at the light touch.
Mary looks deeply into his eyes and her breath hitches. "It was nothing. It just seemed like the right thing to do."
JD takes his hand back. "Thank you, nevertheless. Without you, I probably would be sleeping with the fishes!"
Mary laughs again. Her eyes look up at the clock and realizes that it's about to strike 12. Lunch time.
"JD, it's time for us to go. The bell for lunch is about to ring and unless you don't mind a stampede of little feet crushing you, we better go." They stand up, leave the cafeteria, and walk toward the school exit.
As Mary reaches for the door, he says, "Mary, if you need anything, let me know. I owe you so much."
"Don't even think about it. It was nothing. Anybody would have done the same."
JD, thinking about his self-obsessed 'wife,' says, "Trust me, not just anyone would've done what you've done. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you."
Looking away from him shyly, she says, "Get your memory back. That'll be all the payment I need."
"I know but…" he's interrupted by a shrill school bell.
"I have to get back to my class so that I can escort them. I'll see you soon." Mary opens the exit door and lets JD out. Her stomach begins to a churn a little at the idea of their separation. She tells herself, 'He's not yours. He's not your Prince Charming. He's someone else's.'
JD walks out into the sunny outdoors. He walks a little and looks back to see the door close. Shaking his head and continuing to walk away, he thinks about the voice saying to him right before he woke up the second time, "Come back to me."
JD knows that he has come back because of that voice.
He also knows that the voice belongs to Mary.
'Don't worry,' he thinks to himself, 'I've come back to you.'