Deep in my heart, a memory

A/N: Sorry I didn't update sooner. Unfortunately, I got hit by a car and it nearly destroyed my shoulder. But I'm better now and so tada, a new chapter!

In that moment, Charming, David, whoever he was, felt frozen. His heart seemed to stop for just a second, but long enough to make it impossible to breathe. All that held him upright were his feelings of disdain for Regina. Unless… those feelings went away in a puff and were replaced by something much more powerful, much more dangerous: what if she was right?

"After everything we've been through, how can you believe I want to cause you or your family any harm?"

"You just told me to kill my daughter!"

"That's not what she said." Gold barged in. It seemed natural that he took Regina's side. How quickly alliances just burst apart, Charming thought. His hand went to where his sword normally would be; to where it had always been. It wasn't there. He hadn't thought he needed it.

"It's exactly what she said!"

"The stab won't kill her. Just the child she is now," Regina told him, "it will make her remember who she is." She was an exceptional good liar and he wasn't sure whether he could trust her. He wanted to, because having her on their side would be so much easier. But experience told him otherwise. Just the thought of hurting Emma in any way made his stomach churn. It couldn't be the only way.

"I can't- no. There has to be another way."

"There is," Regina told him and there was a glint in her eyes that made Charming recoil, "you let her grow up happily with her parents."

The possibility that almost hurt as much as the other one. Without another word, he left them. They were supposed to be family, but he still wasn't sure he could trust them. His legs felt heavy as he went to find Snow and Emma. There was no decision to make; it had been made for them. As it always was. Others kept deciding the fate of his family.

Having taught small children for a long, long time, Snow recognized signs of boredom – and Emma was clearly bored. She lazily played with the toy Hook had given to her, but it had lost its appeal.

"When my parents come?" Emma suddenly asked. She looked up at Snow expectantly, who wanted to tell her so badly that she had met them already. Knowing that she couldn't left her speechless.

"How about we eat something now, hm?" Maybe she could distract the child a little while longer. At least until Charming was back. The longer he was gone, the more she feared the outcome. Her daughter kept staring at her as if she knew something was wrong. Tears filled her eyes. How easy her life could be now; this girl had known no heartbreak, no disappointment. But in the end it was all a lie. Someone had erased her life. She hoped that the memories were still somewhere inside of her, just locked away. After all, she knew a lot of about those.

"Not hungry. Can you tell me a story?"

"You like stories?" Emma nodded fervently and Snow smiled at her. In many ways, she was almost like Henry. It shouldn't surprise her, but it did. After all, she only knew the grown up Emma. It was just like she had told Emma in the Enchanted Forest: optimism obviously ran in the family. Only back then Emma hadn't believed she, too, possessed that trait.

"I know a lot of stories."

"With dragons?" Emma's eyes grew big.

"You like dragons?" The girl nodded again.

"Your father could tell you a story about a dragon." Snow mused and it was only when Emma fell silent that she realized what she'd just said. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest. Your father. She had lost herself in this comfortable feeling of just being with her daughter.

"Daddy?" Emma asked with so much hope in her voice. There was no way Snow could lie to her, to destroy that glimmer she saw there. Unshed tears – of joy, not bitterness – sparkled in her daughter's eyes that were so much like her own.

"Emma, there is something I have to tell you. You might not understand all of it now, but you deserve to know the truth." Just as she was about to tell her, Charming walked in. Emma smiled up at him and waved. But her husband's own smile was forced. Bad news.

"I get a story now. Dragons. And the tuth."

"Truth." Snow corrected her automatically. Emma just nodded solemnly.

"Truth?" Charming asked confused. She could hear the exhaustion in his voice, saw it in his whole stance. They couldn't talk in front of Emma, but for the moment she was glad their daughter was with them. She didn't want to know. No matter what he would tell her, she would hate it. Either way.

"Emma, honey, I need to talk to your – to David – a moment alone, alright?" She almost said it again. It just came naturally to her.

"I get a story then?" Their daughter asked hopeful.

"I promise you get as many stories as you want to hear." It was the way Charming said these words; sadly, beaten that Snow knew. She just knew there was no way to revert what had happened to her. The joy of seeing Emma grow up was muffled by the sad reality of what her daughter would unknowingly lose. What she had already lost. None of this was fair to either of them.

"We'll be right back." Emma nodded and sprawled on the floor, playing with Hook's toy. Just before they went outside, Snow heard her daughter talk to herself and the toy. Such a lovely noise. But such a painful reality.

The salty wind outside made Snow feel sick. Or maybe it was the anticipation. Charming was running his hand nervously through his short hair. He wasn't even looking at her, searching for the words to tell her what she needed to know.

"Just tell me." She said feeling defeated.

"There is no way to-" Despite having known it, Snow gasped. Hearing his words made it real. While part of her had dreamed it was true, that she would get to see her grow up after all, she knew it was wrong. Unnatural. A lie.

"I can't lie to you," Charming suddenly said, changing everything. Snow stared at him. The tears in her eyes made him seem blurry, but with her heart she always saw him clearly. Had he once again tried to spare her a bleak reality? Not for the first time she wondered when they would ever be able to just stop. Just live. She wanted to spend time with her husband, her daughter and their grandson. Just like the normal family they had never been allowed to be.

"There is a way, but… but it's not a possibility."

"What is it?"

"Regina said… she said the only way to revert this," he stopped, swallowing hard. There were tears in his eyes as well, "is to – to kill the child inside." The heavy wave of nausea hit Snow unexpectedly. Charming's arm shot out to steady her immediately. Everything seemed to fade in front of her, but her knees didn't give in. His voice was suddenly far away and his words no longer made sense. Nothing made sense anymore. Her mind was filled with images of the small child waiting for them. With the simple request to tell her a story – and to love her. But there were memories, vivid and so strong, of the Emma she had known before. Her adult daughter, who had just started to trust them. To forgive and to love them. The Emma she would never see again.

"I-I told her it wasn't an option. I can't – there is just no way. We'll find another way." The wind carried the words away. It was a lie. Deep down, Snow knew it to be true. Neither of them was able to hurt the girl – and it was the only possibility.

"We need to tell her."

"What?"

"Who we are. I was about to before you came in. If she- she stays like this, she needs to know." He nodded sadly. It had never been supposed to be like this.

"When we find Henry…" Snow stopped, unable to finish the sentence. Or even her own thought. With Emma being a small child herself who couldn't protect herself, this mission was even more dangerous. How would they keep her safe?

"We'll solve that problem, too." They both attempted to smile, but there was no happiness. No comfort. Charming grabbed her hand and together they went back to tell Emma who she was – and most importantly, who they were. On the other side of the ship, Hook stepped out of the shadows. Too wrapped up in their problems, they hadn't seen him. But he had heard everything. The words that constantly repeated themselves in his head however were different ones. They belonged to Emma. 'The kid just lost his father today, I'm not letting him lose a mother, too', she'd told him. And he pondered and pondered as he stared at the horizon.

Emma looked up as the two adults entered. Despite being a child, she immediately noticed that something was wrong. Both Snow and Charming sat next to her on her ground. Instinctively, the small girl reached out and wiped a tear away from her mother's eye.

"A story." She said solemnly.

"We'll tell you a story," Charming told her, "A great one. One that is true even."

"Is there a dragon?" Emma crawled into his lap. Snow buried her face in her daughter's long hair, softly crying. 'This isn't right', she chanted mentally, but Charming's voice drowned out everything else.

"There is a dragon, princess."

"I'm no princess."

"Actually, you are." And as the girl's eyes grew big, as she looked first at Charming and then at Snow, she seemed to understand. She seemed to recognize them in some way. She took a deep breath, smiled secretively and just listened to the story.

TBC