Chapter Ten: Lost and Found

Archie was kind enough to drive August to the garage the next morning. The writer thanked his friend and managed to get all the way inside. Not feeling up to customers due to his hangover, August found a blanket and curled up in the back to sleep. This time he was uninterrupted by nightmares. He did have a good dream that Emma was with him, saying his name and combing her fingers through his hair. August thoughtlessly spoke her name out loud.

He could've been sleeping for minutes or hours when a noise startled him awake. Groggily he sat up, pushing his hair back off his forehead.

"Is someone there?"

"…Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't know you were asleep." That voice… August pushed to his feet to face Tamara. She flashed him a smile that he didn't return. Something about being alone with her unsettled him; something told him it was dangerous. He struggled against the desire to run for the exit. Be brave.

"I don't see your car," he noted casually.

"Oh, I didn't come in here for that. Neal told me what you said about me, that you think my being here is dangerous?" She quirked her eyebrow at him. "I wanted to come by and assure you in person that I can be trusted to keep Storybrooke a secret. I admit all this stuff about magic and fairy tale creatures being real is a lot to take in… Neal's helping me get through it. I love him, and I would never hurt him by talking about this place."

August kept his face blank but on the inside he was rolling his eyes incredulously. As if he couldn't spot a fellow liar a mile away. The words were perfect but August spent far too many years doing the exact same thing.

"Okay," he responded, "I believe you. I'm sorry that I jumped to the wrong conclusion before." His own lie rolled off his tongue naturally; Tamara responded with a smile that didn't feel completely genuine.

"Glad we've got that settled. I guess I'll see you at Granny's for your next story." She waved and left the garage. August waited to be sure she was gone before grabbing the phone and dialing a number.

"Hello? August?" For a moment the sound of Emma's voice distracted him, but he managed to focus again.

"Emma, I need to see you right away. It's important. Can you come to the garage?"

"Yeah, of course. I'll be there in a few minutes." He smiled at her instant acceptance and clicked off the phone. True to her promise, Emma was in the garage within a few minutes. Seeing her made his pulse jump and he thought of their moment at the castle: her eyes, her skin under his fingers, how the world seemed to narrow down to just the two of them in the moonlight…

"August, I'm here. What's so important?"

"Oh. Right. I was asleep here in the garage and woke up to find Tamara. She said Neal told her I thought she was dangerous and she wanted to assure me, but… she was lying."

"So…" Emma's brow furrowed thoughtfully. "What else would she come for?"

"I'm not sure." August paused, giving the garage a thoughtful glance. His eyes paused on his typewriter and the unbound pages of his book. "It looks like she was rummaging through my pages."

"You're writing another book?" Emma asked, moving to join him.

"All the stories I forgot last time." He started flipping through the pages. "There are some missing… Stuff about Gold, Ruby, Regina, and Doctor Whale. Four powerful and potentially dangerous people…"

"What do you think she wants with that information?"

"She…" August touched where the device shocked him. He could feel the memory stir, struggling to take shape. "She!" He grabbed Emma suddenly. "Emma, she-" August froze, realizing just how close they were. His hands slid down her arms to curl around her fingers. It was difficult to breathe and he could hear his heart thundering in his ears.

"She what?" Emma prompted him. "August, what is it?"

"Emma, it was her. She's the one who killed me." Her fingers twitched in his compulsively. "I've been having nightmares about it, and… I just remembered. She had a device that was powerful enough to kill me." He touched the spot on his chest where the device struck him. Emma's hand rested over the spot, too.

"This world doesn't have magic. Where would she get something like that?" August shook his head in answer. All his memories were coming back now. He thoughtlessly leaned closer to Emma, wanting the comfort of her.

"I remember now. She was in Hong Kong seeking out a powerful man named Dragon. This man had magic, and she killed him too. We met there, and she tried to make me leave Storybrooke so no one would know her secret. But when I realized what she was planning, I came back to warn you."

"She found you in the station," Emma finished for him. "And she killed you. Now she's got information on four people in town, plus the book and whatever Neal's told her." Emma's hand gripped his tighter. "August, she can't find out you remember."

"What good is being selfless, brave and true if I run away at the first sign of danger?" he argued. The argument felt a little flat, since he just lied to Tamara earlier about trusting her. But it still sounded good.

"I'm not watching you die again, August. I can't…" Emma's eyes dropped away. "Just do this for me, okay? Promise?"

"I promise," he agreed, despite being notoriously bad at keeping those. "For you." Her eyes moved up to meet with his and for a moment they were frozen like that. Time stopped and all August knew was Emma: the waves of her hair, the feel of her hands in his, her body close…

"I should go," she said at last, breaking away from him. "Mary Margaret said she was coming by to talk about your nightmares. You should tell her what you told me."

"I… yeah. I will." He stood frozen in place as she left the garage. It took a long time for him to stir out of his daze. When he finally did, August checked the loose pages of his book one last time. He flipped through every single page, every picture. Then he stopped, a cold chill running through him.

"..No," he breathed out loud. "Emma." She was in danger now, and that changed everything. August couldn't lose her, no matter what.