A/N: I am overwhelmed about how many of you expressed interest in this little story! I want to let you know a few things. One, this is unbetaed and English is not my first language, so please excuse any grammar errors and typos. If you see something that is totally preposterous, let me know and I'll fix. (And yes, I am aware that I mix in and on a lot, but there are no rules for that!)

Two, I am not going to rewrite the entire show for this (I am planning to do that in another canon rewrite, tbh). Since it's Liam centric, it will be focused mainly on his experiences (for now) and perhaps a little of Emma's PoV. I'll include mentions of certain events from season 1, but you are all familiar with the plot and what happened!

Chapter II

Michael Dillon never gave much thought on town gossip. He had a job doing sailing trips over the summer that left him enough money to almost make it by for the winter; and he picked work on the docks and helped Marco or Maurice around if he needed more. He led a nice and quiet life, sharing the occasional beer with Graham at The Rabbit Hole.

It was an uneventful life in an uneventful town.

Until Emma Swan came along. And all of the sudden, Graham was acting strange, Regina was losing her composure and Mary Margaret lost her reputation by gallivanting with a married man.

Emma was interesting, though, and so was the breath of fresh air she'd brought into town when Regina's lad found her, his mind full of dreams and stories about fairytales. He had asked the lad one time who he was in the book, but Henry had said that he wasn't there, so he was clearly from another realm. Or time. "That's a convenient excuse, lad." Michael said ruffling Henry's hair.

Michael still remembered the first time he crossed paths with Emma Swan, a few days after she'd yelled at Graham about unrequested drinks. He was picking up his tea from Granny's while she sat there having breakfast. She sported a 'no nonsense' look on her face and she almost yelled at him, "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing, lass, just getting my daily cup of tea. Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of approaching you and buy you a drink after what you've said to our dear sheriff." He smirked at her before bowing his head in salutation and leaving towards the docks.

He ended up buying her a drink. After Graham's funeral, they both got hammered at The Rabbit Hole and they ended up by the docks, sharing one last toast in his memory.

After that night, he made a habit out of dropping by the station with a hot cocoa from Granny's in his hand, and checking on her. She could use all the help she could get when she ran for sheriff. Michael voted for her, in the same way he convinced the guys at the docks that Sydney was not qualified to be sheriff.

Emma had little friends in town, and when Kathryn went missing and Mary Margaret ended up in jail, it was Michael who found her at the docks and encouraged her to seek the truth, to have faith in herself. He couldn't understand why he felt that strange pull to Emma, or why he was so apprehensive of that August bloke that had showed up in town. Emma asked him teasingly if he was jealous and he shook his head, smiling. It wasn't like that. It truly wasn't. But there was something special about her, he just couldn't connect the dots. He felt that several pieces were missing for him to fully understand it all.

His nightmares didn't make matters easier. He would wake up in the middle of the night, his body covered in sweat, shaking, a dread feeling at the pit of his stomach. But he could never remember what was haunting him in his dreams. He would get off bed and head to the docks, finding calm in waiting for the sun to rise and then contemplating the horizon.

Suddenly, many things happened at once: Emma felt overwhelmed and decided to leave, Henry got sick and Emma went after Regina. When he found her, she had a determined stare on her eyes and he knew he wasn't going to talk her out of it. So he made himself useful and got out of the way, heading towards the docks to prevent any further commotions around town.

And that was where Michael Dillon felt the wave of the curse break and Liam Jones was back. Back in a town he knew nothing about, victim of a curse he had no part in and the painful reminder that he had left someone behind.

Liam took a deep breath to ground himself into the present time. There will be time to commiserate about what was lost. Now it was not the time. If the curse was broken, it meant everyone remembered and it could only mean one thing: disturbs were coming and it was probably too much for just Emma to handle. A sheriff that until the day before, didn't even believe in magic.

Liam arrived at Regina's house at the same time Emma, David and Mary Margaret did, and he stood by her side until the mob dispersed. He offered to go with her to the sheriff station, but she refused, shaking her head.

"Just… who are you?" She asked curiously, "You know, out of – in the other…" She hesitated.

"My real name is Liam." He said smiling, "And I am afraid that the rest is a tale for another occasion, when you have a little more time and at least a few libations in front of us," He bowed at her, "Your Highness."

"Oh no!" She said, "You are not calling me that!"

"But if what the book said was true, and it seems it is, then you are a princess." Liam said seriously, "I didn't meant to offend you, lass." He bit his lower lip sheepishly.

Emma sighed. "You didn't, Liam." She stopped for a second. "That is going to take a little getting used to." She admitted. "I have to run to the station, I'll see you later."

But that was the last time he saw her. By the time he arrived to help with the Wraith, all he found was David, Henry and Regina looking vacantly at the floor.