"Kathryn, we need to talk."

His fake wife looked up at him, eyes wide in genuine surprise. "Is everything okay?" she asked, frowning in concern.

"Not fully," he said, sitting down and staring at her. He had to make this look convincing – that he truly did remember Kathryn being unfaithful to him. That he truly did want a divorce.

Well, that part wouldn't be so hard.

"What's the matter David?" she asked, setting the rag and cleaner down and sitting next to him.

"I know what you did. I know you were cheating on me."

The color drained from Kathryn's face, and part of David felt sad that he had to hurt her like this, but he knew it was for the best. They weren't supposed to be together. She was supposed to be with Frederick, and he was supposed to be with Snow. He was doing what needed to be done – for all their sakes.

"David I – you don't understand it was just a stupid mistake. I love you!"

"Do you, Kathryn? Because if you did love me, you should have told me you wanted a divorce before you cheated on me." He could feel real anger starting to bubble up to the surface now.

"D-David…"

"I've already spoken to Mr. Gold. He is going to help me with the divorce."

Kathryn sighed and leaned back against the couch, putting her head in her hands. "Okay. You're right. I did cheat on you with one of my co-workers. He's the gym teacher. It was during a point in our marriage when we were both really stressed and fighting. And I – I started falling for him, so you decided to leave. That's when you had the accident."

David wasn't expecting all of that, but he supposed he was glad for it.

"If you don't love me, Kathryn, all you had to do was say so. Even when I was still in the hospital. No wonder you and my mother were fighting so much."

It all made sense to him now.

"I am sorry David. Truly, I am. I never meant to hurt you. I thought your accident was a chance for a fresh start."

David sighed and wrapped an arm around her. "An accident like that shouldn't be the reason we have a fresh start, Kathryn. If you have feelings for this guy, go after him. Make your fresh start that way. Find your happy ending."

Kathryn took a shaky breath and nodded. "Okay. I'll consent to a divorce."

David took a deep breath himself. "I don't want to upset you Kathryn, but I think a divorce is what's best for us. I mean, if you weren't happy with me before the accident… how do you know that we'd be happy if we stayed married? You deserve to be happy with someone you really love. It's okay if that's not me."

Kathryn let out a watery laugh. "You're too good for this world David, did you know that? You're like a real Prince Charming."

David actually laughed at that. She had no idea how right she was.

"Oh – there are Sherwoods. I'll be back later Neal," Emma said, giving him a light kiss before she turned and waved at Ali, who was just coming up to the bench he and Emma had been sitting on before. They'd been taking a walk before Emma got a call from Molly and Alec Sherwood asking her to babysit – immediately. Neal hadn't liked that their date was cut short, but Emma had promised they could see each other tomorrow.

He watched Emma greet Eddie, smiling a little as the boy seemed smitten with her. It was funny to think that had everything gone right in the Enchanted Forest, Eddie would only be a few years older than Emma.

"So how are things with Jasmine?" Neal asked, looking over at Ali.

"Well… she's into me, there's no doubt about that. But she's not Jasmine. That's the thing. Yes she looks like Jasmine but she's so much more shy and under the Sultan's thumb than my Jasmine was," Ali explained with a small sigh and a frown. "Still… I'm happy that I get to see her again."

"I'm sorry. It must be difficult. But at least she's here, yeah? I mean, you could always go to Emma's dad if you're feeling overwhelmed. He's in the same boat as you."

"Emma's dad remembers?" Ali asked, staring at him. "How? What happened?"

Neal shrugged and leaned back. "He touched something in my dad's shop. I think it might have something to do with the fact that he didn't have any memories in his head at all. But I'm not sure. Neither is Papa. But the important thing is, we have David on our side."

Ali nodded, though Neal could see the worried look on his face.

"Have you heard from August lately?" Neal asked.

Ali shook his head. "Not for a couple of weeks now. He didn't seem real thrilled that Emma had decided to stay here with Mary-Margaret."

Neal sighed heavily and shook his head. "Idiot. If he was such a good guardian for Emma why would he deny her ten years with her parents?"

"Unless he wanted twenty-eight years to screw off in our world."

Neal made a face. "Are you sure?"

Ali shrugged. "Take it from someone who's an orphan and who was on his own for a few years before he met his true love. Yes. I'm sure he would love to screw off with whatever he could for another ten years before he turns back into a puppet."

"Puppet?"

"Don't you know the story? When Pinocchio royally screws up, the blessing the Blue Fairy gave him starts to wear off and he starts becoming a puppet again."

"Uh… Ali… what do you think abandoning Emma would do to him?"

Ali stared at him, before cursing under his breath. "He's probably not too far off then. Keep your eyes open. And remember, protecting Emma, especially against him, is our first priority."

Neal rolled his eyes, watching as Emma left with Eddie. "Yeah, I'm well aware of that. Especially since her dad remembers. Who knows what Regina will do if she finds out."

"Then you better hope David's a good actor."

"Believe me… I have been."

"Hey Eddie, do you want to read a book Mary-Margaret got for me?" Emma asked, grinning at the five year old as they sat in the apartment she lived in with Mary-Margaret. She had grown really comfortable and close to the woman lately, and, even though there weren't that many years between them, Emma had taken to considering the woman to be a mother to her, even if she wasn't comfortable calling her 'mom' yet.

"What kind of book?" the five year old replied, looking up at Emma with that dimpled smile that Emma had fallen in love with the day she met him.

"Well, I haven't read it myself yet but it looks like a book of fairy tales." Emma pulled the large book off the shelf and look at it. Once Upon a Time. She'd be surprised if it was anything but fairy tales.

"Ummm okay. Can we read something cool with dragons or sword fights?" Eddie asked as he hopped up on the couch next to her.

Emma laughed and nodded. "Sure. Let's see what's in here, yeah?"

There was no table of contents, Emma noticed, but she saw the first story was Snow White and wrinkled her nose. There weren't any dragons or sword fights in that one. So she flipped to the next story. Robin Hood.

Perfect.

"How about Robin Hood?" she asked. "It's a story about a man who stole from an evil king and gave to the poor that were in need."

Eddie's eyes widened. "That sounds awesome!"

Emma grinned and wrapped an arm around him as she set the book between them and began to read.

"Once upon a time, there was a man named Robin Hood, who lived in the Sherwood Forest…"

"Hey! That's my last name!" Eddie suddenly exclaimed, looking up at Emma with childish excitement.

Emma smiled. "So it is," she said with a chuckle. "Did you know Sherwood Forest is a real place?"

Eddie's eyes widened again. "Do you think Mommy and Daddy would take me there one day?"

She couldn't help but laugh. "I don't see why not, Eddie," she replied as she turned the page, pausing and frowning slightly. The picture of Robin Hood looked like –

"That's daddy!" Eddie exclaimed again and pointing at the page. "What's my daddy doing in a book, Emma?"

Emma blinked in shock. "I… there's no way that's your daddy, Eddie… it's an old book. I mean – Mary-Margaret had it in her closet. It must be as old as she is."

"Oh. That's old. Like Mommy and daddy."

Emma snorted with laughter. Oh, to be five years old and think anyone older than them was old as dirt.

"That's very old Eddie. Shall we continue reading?" she asked with a wide grin, amusement still in her gaze that was lost on the young boy.

Eddie nodded, but Emma found herself unable to stop thinking about the odd likeness of both Alec and eventually Molly in the book.

So, when the Sherwoods came to pick up Eddie and Mary-Margaret came home, Emma found herself sprawled out on the floor of the living room, a mug of hot chocolate in her hands as she stared at the Robin Hood story. It was bizarre how much the characters looked like Alec and Molly.

She wondered if there was anything else odd about the book, so Emma flipped to another story – Red Riding Hood.

And she was startled at what she saw.

Mary-Margaret, though she had longer hair and a white dress on, was on the page with a girl that looked exactly like Ruby.