(A/N) hey guys! Hope you enjoy this chapter, those of you who haven't given up because of the nature of the story. Thank you for being open minded and those of you who don't like it, I'd urge you to read another few chapters, just to see what you think? Hope you enjoy it and please comment!
"Hey," Charming smiled as he walked through the front door, Henry miles in front and already in the kitchen. I gained a soft kiss on the cheek before he heading after his grandson. They wrestled playfully at the fridge door before Henry dodged his grandpa and grabbed the jug of orange juice out of the fridge door.
The pair of them laughing as Emma fished out some glasses. I felt my stomach twisting, seeing him smile and thinking of the awful news I had to give.
"Henry, shower. Come on its Monday, you've got school tomorrow." Henry sighed, sulkily but with a raised eyebrow from Emma he did as he was asked. She turned to give me a small smile of support before heading off upstairs. I realised she'd sent Henry in the shower for a reason, it would prevent Charming raising his voice.
I took a deep breath and walked over to him, running my hands up his back and across the width of his shoulders. He sighed deeply and relaxed under my touch before turning and pulling me to his chest instead.
I stopped him, holding my hands up against his chest. I couldn't look him in the eyes, couldn't see the confusion and the fear.
"David." My eyes went to my stomach then his hands. I watched him slide them around my waist then back to settle across my middle. I took hold of his hands, pulling them away and feeling his confusion burn into the top of my head.
"David; I need to talk to you." I took a moment, took a deep breath, shoved my fringe out of my face and eventually looked up into his blue eyes. A lump began to form in my throat, choking me.
"The baby. The baby isn't yours."
His eyebrows creased together, his eyes full of misunderstanding.
"What?" He gasped, looking away from me, unable to cope with what I'd told him.
"That, that's not possible. It has to be."
"Think about it, Charming, it's been four months."
The fire began in his eyes. Now he knew what I was saying. His muscles tensing straight away.
"He did this to you, to us."
"No he didn't," I replied, speaking firmly, trying to pull my emotions out of this. To show him the crude young woman he met in the forest.
"David I did that willingly. You know I did, I am sorry for that but getting angry at him won't help us."
He stared across at the door, his chest deflating as he let out a huge sigh.
"So what the hell do we do now, huh Snow? How do you suppose we fix this?"
He was angry, frustrated was more fitting and I knew it wasn't with me but still his words stung.
" I don't know," I whispered truthfully,
"What happens now is up to you. I'm sorry for what happened but we can't take it back. Violence is no answer to this issue, and arguing doesn't solve anything. This is just an effect of the curse, another wave of pain and I can't force you to ride it. I'm not going to tie you to me."
Now panic took over in his eyes, he looked even more upset than he had before.
"What are you saying? Snow, I love you, I would never leave!"
"I'm not saying that, I just want to be sure you know it's an option."
With that I walked away from him, straight to our bedroom and hid behind the frosted glass panel. I slid down to the floor and felt the tears running down my cheeks. I wanted him to run after me, to hug me and kiss me and say it was alright. I wanted him to make promises to bring up our baby as if it were his but he didn't. He didn't move at all. I watched his blurry form, he stood against the island for a few minutes then turned and walked straight out the door.
My tears turned from tiny droplets to wailing. I couldn't stop and I didn't understand what was happening. I didn't know where he'd gone, whether he left for good or went to beat the life from Whale but he left me to cry.
I heard Emma's feet on the stairs, heard her cross the floor and then she was there, slouched down beside me and hugging me tight.
"Hey," she whispered into my ear as she held onto me, tears falling on her shoulder, "Guess it didn't go so well, huh?"
"I basically told him not to stay tied to me, I told him to leave." I sniffed, trying to stop the tears I still felt tumbling from my eyes.
"I heard every word." My daughter reassured, "He's coming back Mary Margaret, I know he is."
"How can you know?" I half snapped, half sobbed back at her. She pulled away from the embrace taking my hands in hers.
"Because he loves you, he won't do anything to hurt you. He will come home. Trust me."
"Then why did he go?" I retaliated, but still Emma remained calm.
"If he's anything like me, he's gone to his car. He just needs to think."
At that moment Henry appeared, dressed in his pj's with a wet mop of hair over his face and bare feet.
"What's wrong?" He asked looking straight at me, "where did Grandpa go?"
"Come on Henry," Emma got to her feet, placing her hands on her son's shoulders and trying to pull him away but he shrugged her off.
"He's just gone for a walk, he'll be back-." I tried to spin a story for Henry but the boy was too clever he knew it wasn't right.
"Your lying!" He yelled, becoming angry at being treated like the child he was at heart.
"Henry, please you're not helping. Go upstairs and I'll be there in a minute," Emma said firmly, slipping into her parent role. Henry rolled his eyes, not looking best pleased but did it.
My grown up daughter looked at me again as soon as she'd checked Henry was out of sight.
"I'm alright," I told her straight out. Emma wasn't an easy nut to crack and she just glared at me. I kept my gaze and eventually she broke.
"Ok, just go to bed and think it through. Everything will work out." I nodded, getting to my feet again. I realised how stupid I was being, Charming would be back. Everything would work out. I was just letting the hormones go to my head.
"Go check Henry's ok, I think we've confused him a lot. I'm sorry." Emma went to say something in response but the look I gave seemed to stop her in her tracks. She just nodded before turning for the door.
I busied myself, trying to keep my mind off what had happened. First tidying my bedside table, needlessly straightening a bookmark and checking the time on the alarm clock. I went and rummaged through the wardrobe, picking out clothes for the following day. I browsed, looking through tops with low necklines, smiling when I remembered the days I'd tried to seduce the man who had turned out to be my husband. I looked at the section of summer dresses, realising I had put on weight since it had become too cold for those clothes. I remembered feeling ill around the time I'd spent with Whale, remembered putting it down to my rocky relationships. It had been the queasy feelings of early pregnancy, just like when I'd had Emma.
Eventually I ran out of things to do and collapsed into bed at only quarter past nine, desperate for sleep to take me over so I couldn't think. It didn't change the fact he wasn't home. It didn't change what I'd done, what the curse had done. The whole house was a mess because of Whale and as much as I wanted to blame him I knew that would mean telling him. I didn't ever want him to know, didn't want him ripping my family to shreds. I didn't want to be the mother who sent her child away each weekend to stay with its father. I didn't want want to have to explain how my second child had a different father to my first. I didn't want the teenager who argued they wanted to stay with their real dad. I wanted to be carrying our baby, our creation with his seed planted inside me. I wanted him to feel it moving around and know he had helped to make it. I wanted him to grip my hand tight as I cried through labour.
"I'm sorry Charming, I really do love you," I whispered into the air. My hands reached round for his pillow, I hugged it to my chest, burying my nose in the fabric and breathing deeply, smelling the scent I loved more than any in the world.
I must have fallen asleep eventually because I was roused from it by a cold hand gently shaking my shoulder.
"Snow, Snow wake up," the voice of my husband filled my ears and I was washed through with love and relief, with happiness of every kind. Then I remembered.
I turned from my side onto my back, my cheek brushing against his skin, his chest it turned out.
"I'm so, so, sorry. I love you and Emma, and this baby too. You're right about the curse. It needs to be embraced, I love you and that is all that matters."
I didn't know how to reply, didn't know what to say. I had known, somewhere deep inside that this would be his reaction, that he was loving and charming enough to make the choice. I felt myself smiling a little, the relief was so unbelievably great. He felt my cheek on his chest and pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arms vice-like around my waist and pulling me across him so my head lay on him, my hand resting against his bare stomach.
"I'm sorry too, and I have more reason to apologies, I did sleep with him."
A finger came to rest on my lips in the dark, silencing me.
"Let's not lay blame Snow, whatever happened it's not something we can change."
I could have argued more but I didn't, feeling we had gone through enough pain and confusion, feeling we needed time to lie together, to hold each other and to come to terms with what this meant for us all.
The man I loved more than life itself pulled the quilt up around me as I slid from his chest to rest my head on the pillow beside him. He reached across and very carefully, very slowly began to kiss me, a kiss so soft it felt like it was barely there. So sweet and tender that there was barely a sound when he pulled away. On the windowsill behind our heads the crickets could be heard and the occasional chirp of a bird. As if the kiss had somehow reformed the harmony in Storybrooke.
"Goodnight, Snow White," my prince whispered into the dark.
"Goodnight Prince Charming."