Enjoying Life?

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time.

XXXXXXXXXX means POV change.

OOOOOOOOOO time change

This is another one of my Snowing/Abririck missing scenes from canon. It exists on the same timeline as "A Royal Wedding," "An Interesting Double Date," and "A Walk to the Mines." But you don't need to read those other stories if you don't want to. All you need to know is that Snowing and Abirick became friends in the Enchanted Forest after both couples got married and were able to resume their friendship in Storybrooke eventually.

I'm still using "Alan" as Fredrick's cursed name. It makes more sense to me because Alan means something involving gold.

Mary Margaret watched as Emma continued to worry about Henry as everyone else celebrated at Granny's. She understood why Emma would worry about her child all too well. But Mary Margret hoped Emma would soon learn not to let worrying get in the way of enjoying her life. "Who does she remind me of?" David chuckled to Mary Margaret. She knew he was remembering a time when Mary Margaret was too concerned about Regina's threats to enjoy life.

Mary Margaret smiled at her husband. "Well, if she is like me then Emma will learn soon enough, right?" she asked hopefully.

David smiled at her. "Of course," he replied, sounding certain. "In the meantime, let's remember to enjoy our lives. This is a party!" He took a gulp of beer.

Mary Maragret smiled and took a drink herself. He was right. "Kathryn and Alan are over there." She pointed to a corner where the couple was sipping wine. "Let's go see what they've been up to."

David nodded. "Sounds great."

"I'm glad Henry's okay, now," Kathryn commented to her and David. "I can't imagine the terror you guys went through…with that Peter Pan."

David nodded. "We're glad Henry's alright, too."

Mary Margaret shrugged. She knew Emma didn't believe Henry was "okay," yet. Still at least he was home. That had to count for something, right? "We're glad Henry's in Storybrooke where we can all take care of him. What's been going on here while we were gone? The dwarves filled us in a little but…" She trailed off, unsure how to finish.

" – Other than Ariel's arrival, they didn't say much," David concluded for her. She squeezed his hand to thank him. Then she took another drink.

Alan shrugged. "There really hasn't been much going on. I went to the school and taught gym, just like the old days. Only it was better because Kathryn had dinner ready when I got home."

Kathryn nodded as she sipped her wine again. "It's been quite peaceful here, actually. Except for that little scare with Michael and John in the mines."

"What?" Mary Margaret asked. Did something happen to the mines? Why didn't the dwarves mention this? The mines were their domain.

Kathryn shrugged. "I don't know that much about it. Belle was more involved, but apparently they wanted to break something using one of the dwarf's axes, but she talked them out of it."

"Well, that's good at least," David sighed. "But yeah, that was something the dwarves mentioned, too. That it was a lot quieter when we were gone. More peaceful."

"Do you think our family causes all the trouble here?" Mary Margaret asked softly. She didn't like to think about that, but she couldn't ignore the facts, either.

Alan took another sip of wine. "I don't know, but I do know it's not your fault. All you guys have ever tried to do is help. Like you helped me in the Enchanted Forest. Just like you were helping Henry in Neverland."

"We're happy to have you back," Kathryn agreed.

David wrapped an arm around her. "The people in Storybrooke don't blame us, Mary Margaret. They could never blame someone like you. Even Regina doesn't blame you anymore. We help people find happiness. We don't prevent people from enjoying life."

Mary Margaret smiled at her husband. "I guess you're right."

Kathryn's eyes fell on a few of the Lost Boys as they sampled sodas. "Who are they? I've never seen them here before. We've had trouble with outsiders before…"

David shook his head. "They're not outsiders. Not in the way you mean. They used to work for Peter Pan, but Emma convinced them Pan was lying to them, and he wasn't a good boy. She let them come home with us. She thought they might find a real home here." He sounded very proud of Emma as he explained this. Mary Margaret had to admit, she was proud of Emma for reaching the Lost Boys as well. Emma had made sure they only had to fight one evil boy instead of a group of them. She had also given hope to a group of kids that believed they'd never have anyone to care about them except Pan.

Kathryn nodded. "That's a good idea. I hope things work out for them. Maybe they can enjoy life in Storybrooke, too."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

OOOOOOOO

David was still trying to process all of this information. A new curse had been cast, but they should have enough time to escape it if they worked together. Unfortunately, "escape" meant something different for them than it did for Emma and Henry. Emma and Henry would leave Storybrooke and return to the rest of this world. Everyone else would return to the Enchanted Forest. David's heart was breaking, and he knew Mary Margaret's was as well. But they tried to stay positive, anyway. It was the only thing they could do.

Besides saying goodbye to Emma and Henry, they had to tell as many citizens of Storybrooke as possible to prepare to return to the Enchanted Forest. David ran into Alan and Kathryn on the way to the town line. "We're going to be transported back to the Enchanted Forest soon," he told them.

"For real this time?" Alan asked. "The last time we planned to go back, you guys changed your minds at the last minute."

David sighed and looked at the ground. Then he looked up. He couldn't be afraid to face this. "Yes. For real. This is the only way."

Kathryn nodded. "Well, I'll have to say goodbye to hamburgers, but I'd love to see my palace again. We'll have your family over for a feast soon." She sounded happy about the plan.

David wasn't that happy about it. "What's left of our family, anyway," David snapped. "I'm sorry, it's just that…Emma and Henry, they can't come with us."

"What do you mean?" Kathryn asked, confused. "Why wouldn't they?"

David sighed. "That's the way the magic works. They have to stay in this world. I think they might be happier here, in the end. It's just…I wish…well, it doesn't matter. I need to meet them at the town line to say goodbye. I'll see you in the Enchanted Forest."

"Of course," Fredrick agreed. "We're sorry, David."

"Thank you," David replied. Then he ran off. Stay positive, he told himself. Someday, you'll be able to enjoy life again.