"Good morning Sir! Would you mind following me?" an unfamiliar voice wakes David up.

He sits up in the darkness of his cell and glances around. Did they place another prisoner in his cell last night? Who is the guard addressing in such a courteous manner?

"Sir Nolan?" the guard tries again. "Please forgive me for waking you up this early."

David can barely believe his ears. The guard is addressing him after all. It's too early for "recreational" time. That's what the guards call it when they send him to the cave where other prisoners, usually trolls, are waiting for him, thirsty for blood. David stretches and gets up slowly.

The guard unlocks the door. David offers his hands, because since the guards figured out he can easily fight seven trolls at once, without having a dagger or a sword, they will not move him unless he is shackled. The guard takes a step backwards, looking horrified.

"That won't be necessary, Sir," he says. He is a guard he hasn't encountered before, his clothes are refined, his face freshly shaven. He seems kinder, than the typical dungeon guard.

What new game is this, David wonders. He follows the man cautiously through the dungeon's dark and misty hallways. He tenses up before turning corners looking for unknown attackers. But there is nobody there. And instead of descending towards the deeper levels of the dungeons they are walking up instead.

"Am I scheduled for a hearing today?" David asks.

"No, Sir, I don't believe that you are. I can find out when your next hearing will be, if you like..."

"Please do," David nods, still eyeing his surroundings suspiciously.

And now they are crossing a clearing that is well lit, it has an actual wood flooring, and smoother walls, and David is blinking, his eyes used to the darkness.

"Here" the guard unlocks a wooden door and pointing inside. David walks inside cautiously. There is a wooden bed against the wall, with an actual mattress, and sheets and a blanket. There is a window that might be too high to actually provide a view but it is still letting natural light in. A small table and a chair. The guard points to a small door that leads to an adjoining room.

"The water is hot, Sir, if you'd like to shower. We've taken the liberty of providing a fresh set of clothes. There is a shaving kit on the sink. Unfortunately we cannot let you keep that. Regulations, you understand. After you are done shaving an attendant will come pick it up. Your breakfast will be brought in shortly."

David blinks in disbelief but the guard has already gotten out and is now locking the door behind him.

This must be a trap, there is no way this is happening. David walks to the adjoining bathroom. It's a trick, it must be a trick. They want him to relax, let his guard down. No doubt the guards will come back and then move him in a hole two times worse than the cell he woke up this morning once he's decided that this is really happening and there is nothing to fear. Either way he is taking advantage his new privileges, however sort their duration might be. He rushes to shower.

Snow is brushing Emma's hair absentmindedly.

"Maybe we can talk to Dad again today," Emma says quietly. Every time she brings this up her mom finds reasons to turn her down. And Emma wants to ask why but she doesn't. Something about the way her mom holds her breath when Emma asks, makes her hesitate.

"Maybe," Snow replies, secretly dreading seeing David again, because she has nothing hopeful to tell him. Her investigation has yielded no results. Just one dead end after the next.

"Mommy are you sad?" Emma asks and Snow closes her eyes.

"I'm a little sad," she replies. "How about you Emma? Are you okay?"

But Emma has turned around and has wrapped her arms around her and is holding her tight.

And there is something so sweet and comforting, Emma trying to take care of her mother. She is so much like David, Snow realizes, her eyes welling up.

"My girl" she whispers tenderly, her hand caressing Emma's cheek. "Do you want me to walk you to the squash stop?"

Emma is old enough to walk there all by herself, but she liked it when David walked her to the bus stop every morning.

"It's okay Mom," Emma replies grabbing her wand and her backpack. "Have a good day!"

Snow walks to the window and watches her daughter walk away.

Even her stride is confident, just like her father's she thinks.

Her magic mirror rings, starling her.

"Hello?" she answers.

"Good morning Snow White, I have good news!" Throx, David's defense attorney, is sounding excited.

"What is it?"

"I got a message from the White Knights, I am supposed to pass on to you."

"Yes?"

"They say that you are welcome to investigate anyone and everyone regarding your husband's case. They won't stand in your way... Their exact words were 'they know they owe you and the White Knights pay their debts.'"

"Really?" Snow gasps. This is the best news she's heard all week. It's the only good news she's heard all week.

"Yes! How did you pull that off?"

"Kind of a long story," Snow shrugs.

"I'd like to hear it sometime..." Throx replies.

Snow closes her eyes and breathes in. This is it she thinks. This is it. Now that she has access to anyone and everyone, can she solve the case? Can she prove David innocent? Who did kill Edward?

David is shocked to find that the clothes the guard provided actually fit him. Not only do they fit him but they look sort if familiar. What if they are his clothes from back when he lived in the castle. Or rather James' clothes.

There is a soft knock on the door. This must be it, David thinks. This is the part where they come tell him that there's been a mistake and they toss him in the oubliette. Or they accuse him of escaping from his real cell. Or...

David stands up, his fist clenched. He feels unprepared for a violent encounter. He should have broken the mirror in the bathroom and hidden the shards around the room, ready in case he needs a makeshift knife. Instead he showered and shaved. He doesn't know what he was thinking. That's exactly what they wanted and now he's unprepared. They set him up in a comfortable trap.

But nothing bad happens. The guard has come back with a breakfast tray. And it's a real breakfast too, not the usual dungeon slop. There is steaming hot coffee and buttered toast and a bowl of oatmeal.

The man places the tray on the small table next to the desk. "I hope it's to your liking Sir," the man says, then he walks around the room gathering David's dirty clothes.

"We'll have this washed and brought back to you..."

David is shaking his head. None of this makes any sense. The breakfast must be poisoned. He will take a bite and die probably in some sort of terrible manner, spasming at the floor, foaming at the mouth. And the reason they brought him to this room is that they don't want him dying in his old cell and the terrible conditions of his imprisonment exposed. David lets out a sigh of relief. This must be it. He's figured it out.

"Go ahead Sir your coffee will get cold," the guard says and then as if reading David's mind he adds "it's not poisoned. Do you have any special requests for dinner? Our chef will be happy to accommodate any food preferences..."

"What's going on?" David asks, trying not to sound frantic or paranoid. "What brought on these changes..."

The guard looks around. "I believe it's your wife, Sir" he whispers. "It's all the White Knights will talk about. She singlehandedly delivered the former King to the White Knight's Headquarters last night. I think that made the White Knights reconsider your living conditions. So, things will be different from now on. "

David sits on the bed looking at the guard like he doesn't quite believe his ears.

"My wife?" he blurts out. "She went after the king?"

"The former king. It appears so Sir. Perhaps you would like me to bring you a newspaper..."

"Please!" David nods.

"Of course Sir. Will there be anything else?"

"No, not a this time," David replies quietly.

"As you wish, Sir," the guard offers a small bow and exits the room.

Snow. Snow did this. And he doesn't know whether he feels incredibly grateful or proud or terrified, because Snow, his Snow went after the king. She found the King and arrested him. And that changed everything somehow. Perhaps it's safe for her to visit him now, perhaps he can even see Emma. David sits at the table and stirs his oatmeal absentmindedly. This still feels too good to be true, like he hasn't earned his new privileges somehow. David looks at the window. He pushes the chair under the window and he climbs on it placing part of his toast on the window ledge. He needs to lure a bird up on the window. He needs to send a message to Snow.

Snow calls Grumpy on her magic mirror right away.

"I'm on my way to the peninsula dungeon," she says instead of good morning. "Are you coming with me?"

"What?" Grumpy sounds confused. "Snow, we've been through this, all the prison guards have been warned not to talk to you..."

"Not anymore," Snow can barely contain her excitement. "They sent a message through Throx. They are going to let me investigate..."

"I'm in!" Grumpy is quick to reply. "By the way did you read the morning news? You made the front page..."

"Did I? It doesn't matter, Grumpy. I don't have time for this. Just come over!"

"Here is your newspapers Sir!" the guard hands three different newspapers to David.

There is a picture of Snow White on the front page on every single one.

"SNOW CAPTURES FUGITIVE KING Is there anything the former princess cannot do?" David reads.

They are using a stock picture of Snow White. It must be from five years ago. He's seen it before. Snow standing in a leather vest and knee high boots aiming her arrow at a target. Must be from when she won a local archery competition for a charity event. Funny how he remembers working a case at the edge of the realm at the time, reading about her in the paper. Wondering why the picture of a former princess of the North sent his heart racing.

David devours all three articles. He is quick to realize that they are mostly speculative. All they know is that Snow delivered the fugitive king to the White Knight force Headquarters. They are quite unclear on the reasons or how she did it. Snow's refused to comment. And that's it, he's left in the dark. He has no information. Snow didn't send a bird last night. You'd think that this would be important enough to mention. Except maybe she didn't say anything because nothing the king had to say was relevant to his case. And if the King isn't behind this then who is?

David throws the newspapers on the bed all frustrated. He needs to calm down, he needs to wait, he needs...

The Peninsula dungeon is reserved for prisoners guilt of non violent crimes and royals. Snow stares at the clean waiting room, the high ceilings and the large windows of the waiting area and she cannot help but compare to the conditions in David's dungeon. The comparison is striking. Edward confessed to kidnapping her and torturing her and had to do time in this place. Snow shakes her head at the unfairness of it all.

"I need to look at the visitors logs," she tells the Guard in charge. "I need to see the guard who were watching Edward."

"We've been expecting you," the man replies. "Over here," he says handing her a large book. "He didn't have hardly any visitors..."

Snow flips through the pages. The guard is right. A woman came and to visit him three times. Grumpy jots her name down. "Audrey Clark."

"Would you like to take a look at his cell?" the guard offers. "Follow me..."

Snow's already looked at the pictures of the crime scene that the prosecution sent to Throx. But it will be so much better looking at everything in person.

Once in Edward's cell Snow cannot help comparing David's dark dungeon cell to this small but clean and bright room. But there is no time for this. Snow tries to ignore those nagging thoughts while she focuses on the state of the room. She carefully looks at the security locks and the corridor.

"No camera here pointing here?" she asks.

The guard shakes his head. "Just the camera in the corridor. Nothing directed at his room. You have to understand this isn't a maximum security dungeon. The men we keep here aren't likely to escape or to become violent... Nothing like this has ever happened before..."

Snow nods, carefully inspecting the lock. This isn't a lock she could easily pick. Whoever came into Edward's call must have used a magic bean. Or some other kind of magic. No other way to enter undetected.

"When you are done here, Trent is waiting to talk to you Ma'am," the guard says quietly.

"Who is Trent?" Grumpy asks.

"Trent was the guard on duty the night if the murder," the guard explains.

Not only are the White Knights letting her investigate but they've made sure everyone is available for her convenience. Snow doesn't know what to think of these new developments.

Trent doesn't really have any new light to shed on the matter. He is looking quite nervous as she answers her questions. No, he did not see anything suspicious. No magic bean portal light, no lingering smell on the cell afterwards. Yes he was at his post all night. Yes he did the required rounds at three'o clock in the morning which is how he discovered the body.

Snow is watching him as he nervously fidgets with the button on his sleeve. If he has nothing to hide, why is he so nervous? Her questions gets answered soon enough.

"Do you think I can have your autograph Ma'am?" Trent asks. "My daughter is a fan..."

Grumpy glares at the man. Snow doesn't even reply. She thanks him for his time and she walks away.

"Let's see if we can find her next," Snow points to the name of the woman who visited Edward in prison three times.

"Looking her up," Grumpy looks at his magic mirror. "Here," he says handing Snow his magic mirror. Audrey Clark, the screen reads. The address isn't too far.

Snow pulls a magic bean out of her pocket.

Grumpy is about to protest, but he thinks better of it. If his Nova was in trouble he wouldn't be suggesting they take a taxi coach instead.

Audrey Clark lives in a small house that looks different than any dwelling that Snow has ever seen. Why, it's practically shoe shaped.

Grumpy knocks on the door. The door bursts open and three children with bright red hair stare back at them, one of them actually running out the door.

"MOOOOOOOOM!" the older girl yells at the top of her lungs.

A woman with reddish hair and a face full of freckles walks over to them wiping her hands in her apron.

"Get back inside!" she tells the five year old that's already playing in the sandbox outside. "Put your shoes on!" she tells the other two about to go outside then she snaps "do not mess with your brother's bottle!" Apparently there are even more misbehaving children inside. And in the same breath she turns to Snow and Grumpy half smiling "How can I help you?"

"Audrey Clark?" Grumpy starts.

"Yes!" she smiles, then she turns around to glare at one of her kids who were squealing loudly. The young offender smiles at her and raises his hands indicating he wants t be picked up. "In a minute," she shays to him.

"Did you visit baron Edward in prison in the last month?"

"Baron who?" the woman raises his eyebrows.

"Edward," Grumpy replies patiently.

"The man who painspelled the princess?" the woman is looking shocked. "Why would I visit him?"

"Ma'am your name was on the visitor's list," Grumpy replies.

"I.., I've never even heard of the guy until the news broke that he got arrested for hurting Snow White," the woman shrugs. Then she points to her funny looking house and her children playing noisily.

Her seven year old is helping one of the toddlers put his shoes on, a little girl is focused coloring a picture and a three year old is tugging on her hand asking for juice.

"Do I look like I have time to spend hobnobbing with imprisoned royals?" she asks.

Snow's shoulders slope. Another dead end.

"Unless...-" the woman is looking at them shocked, as a realization hits her.

"Unless?" Snow is looking hopeful again.

"I was notified by the knight force that my identity was stolen a few months ago. They wanted me to look at all my bank accounts, and credit cards, make sure there were no weird charges... apparently the woman who pretended to be me had stolen information from several people and opened all sorts of bank accounts and did credit card fraud and got herself arrested... but she never did anything using my name..."

"She didn't?" Snow frowns.

"No! In fact when I found out that someone tried to steal my identity I laughed."

"Did you?" Grumpy is looking surprised.

"Yeah, I thought the joke is on her! My credit is terrible, I owe the butcher and the milkman and the baker money. Who is going to give her any credit in my name?"

"Mommy!" a little girl interrupts handing her a picture of a herself fighting a giant dragon. "I made this for you!"

"Oh, that's lovely!" she smiles.

"You don't happen to know what the name of the woman was? The one who stole your identity?"

"The officer told me, but I don't remember... hold on! Mark! Would you get me the officer's card that's hanging on the refrigerator?"

The boy who was helping his younger siblings put on their shoes stops what he is doing and comes back with a small business card.

"Here!" the woman says. "He said to call him if anything strange turned up in my accounts and he would take care of it for me..."

White Knight force officer Ben Prattle is quite eager to share information. He gives Grumpy the name of the identity thief, he even gives him a case number. She spent one month in the dungeon and now she is on parole.

"Alright," Grumpy sighs handing his magic mirror to Snow.

"Helena Lorst," the screen reads. Her house is not that far either. Snow reaches for another magic bean and Grumpy closes his eyes, submitting to his fate.

Helena's apartment seems very quiet compared to Audrey's.

Grumpy knocks on the door.

A woman barely cracks the door. "Who are you and what do you want?" she asks gruffly.

"Need your help," Snow starts. And when there is no reply Snow continues. "We are looking for the woman who visited Edward in the dungeon..."

The woman scoffs. "That wasn't a dungeon, that was a country club compared to what most dungeons look like..." She hesitates and then she opens the door and lets them both inside.

"Have a seat!" she says even though every available surface in the room is covered with piles of papers, bills and numbers. She lifts up stacks of folders and places them perilously on top of other papers making enough room on the couch for two people to sit.

"Well?" she asks leaning against the arm of a chair. "What do you want?"

"We are investigating Edward's murder," Snow starts.

"Thought they already caught the guy," the woman shrugs.

Snow shakes her head. "Not the right guy," she replies.

"You can say that again," the woman mumbles.

"Please," Snow starts looking at her. "Anything you can tell us, anything will help..."

The woman stares at Snow and snow shudders. She looks oddly familiar, with her black hair and blue eyes.

"What's your connection to Edward?" Snow asks.

The woman shakes her head. Her eyes well up and she looks very annoyed with herself for showing emotion. "No connection," she replies.

"Please," Snow tries again. "Whoever did this is still out there..."

"And you'll never catch them," Helena shrugs.

"I have to!" Snow replies. The woman sizes her up carefully.

"You are the one who married that guy who used to be a prince," she states. "The one who walked away from the throne... the real prince's brother..."

Snow nods. "I am..."

"And now your guy is in the dungeon..."

Snow nods again. "Yes. He is."

"You had the right idea walking away from the throne..." Helena shakes her head as if what she is doing goes against her better judgement. "I can't believe I'm doing this. I'll tell you... and it won't make a bit of difference... Edward is my brother," Helena starts. "Was," she says, shaking her head. "We... when he was three the Dark One showed up to our house...Made my aunt an offer she couldn't refuse... we were living with my aunt at the time... My parents passed when Edward was two. Cart accident." She stands up in a hurry and comes back with a picture that she hands to Snow.

A twelve year old girl is looking back at them, clinging on to an adorable toddler in her arms.

"He was so beautiful," Helena says quietly.

Snow thinks that it's really strange looking back at someone who hurt her so badly when he was an innocent two year old.

"And they took him from me... " Helena continues her voice shaking with anger. "I didn't even know where he went. I screamed that my little brother was missing till I was blue in the face and nobody did anything. I told the White Knights. One of them even started an investigation, but at some point he must have been told to drop it. The child was safe. You can't mess with royal adoptions. Can't expose them. And then the prince died and Edward was in the news. The heir to the throne. He was all grown up. And it all made sense why they took him away from me, why they wouldn't let me see him. I tried to meet with him then, but have you ever tried contacting a royal when you are a nobody? That just doesn't happen. They wouldn't let me anywhere near him. But, once he was in the dungeon... I visited him there..."

Snow nods, her eyes still on the twelve year old girl, smiling at her form the picture.

"Did he remember you?" she asks.

"Not at first," Helena replies. "But he didn't care. He needed to talk to someone and I was there. And none of his friends would ever visit. Once he got labeled an abuser nobody would even admit to ever being his friend. I was the only one visiting... So he talked to me..."

"What did he say?"

"He said that a woman materialized in his cell in the middle of the night every other night. She'd pull his heart out and squeeze it and place it back in his chest. She said you like to hurt women? You like to torture them? You thought it was okay to hurt Snow White?'"

Snow gasps.

"A woman?" Grumpy asks. "Did he tell anyone?"

"The guards wouldn't believe him. Thought he was making it up. He had no visible bruises. "

Snow's heart is beating wildly.

"What else did he say about her?"

"That she could shapeshift. She'd show up looking like Ursula the singer, or Ella the princess. A different famous woman every time..."

"How did he even know it was a woman then?"

"Her voice," Helena replies. "She'd slip and use her real voice. And Edward recognized her voice because he'd met her before..."

And when Snow doesn't respond Helena stares at her.

"You know who it was... don't you princess?"

Snow nods, feeling sick to her stomach. "Regina, the former queen."

"She was defending you," Helena adds.

"Defending me, framing my husband. Two birds with one stone..."

"I told you finding out the truth wouldn't make any difference..." Helena pulls back the picture.

Right. Because none of this is something Snow can prove. Helena is a known criminal who was convicted for committing fraud. She is as far from a reliable witness as anyone could get.

Snow has never felt this lost, this hopeless before.

"Did you report what he said? Did the guards not believe you?"

Helena shakes her head. "They didn't believe a word. Even though they thought I was Audrey Clark. And let me tell you that woman is squeaky clean. She has no criminal record, she is credible, they had no reason to doubt her..."

All of a sudden Snow is feeling like she is too hot. Her blood pulsing with anger and frustration. She feels like she is going to be sick. The Queen torturing Edward as if she was protecting her, punishing him for what he did while plotting to frame David all along. The Queen watching them, disguised as Ursula in Water world. The Queen joking with David as he went to the gift shop late at night.

"I have to go," is all Snow says.

Grumpy races after her.

Snow hands him a magic bean. "Go home," she says quietly. "There is something I need to do..."

"Wait! Snow! What are you doing? We talked about this!" Grumpy pleads. "No running off alone..."

Snow hesitates. "I'm going to go to the council and tell them exactly what I think about the deal they made with Regina," she replies. "Don't worry, I won't do anything rush..."

Grumpy is looking doubtful.

Snow tosses the bean on the floor and states clearly "take me to Crimson at the castle."

She is telling the truth after all. Grumpy shrugs, then he places the magic bean in his pocket. He is not using that thing. It may take him the rest of the day but he is going to take a taxi carriage home.

Snow knocks on Crimson's office door.

"Come in!" he says and then he looks at her. "What can I do for you Council woman, Snow?"

"You made a deal with the Queen," Snow replies, her voice trembling. "You made a deal with her even thought her offenses were not only impeachable but they were bad enough that she deserved to spend the rest of her days locked up..."

Crimson tries to intercept but Snow raises her finger.

"You made a deal with her even though she made me forget... made David forger... made Emma grow up without her father..." Snow's eyes are welling up and her voice is trembling even though she is feeling more furious than sad. "And you made a deal thinking it would be easier for the kingdom to survive if we dealt with this quietly, and if there was no long manhunt for the former Queen. You thought that was the right thing to do. Except that she has magic. And she can shapeshift. And there is no telling what kind of damage she can do from exile. What kind of damage she did do. Why... with her power and ability to shapeshift you had no guarantees she would even remain in exile! She could be anywhere! She could be you right now!"

"I am not the former Queen!" the Crimson Fairy replies dryly.

"And I cannot prove that she committed murder!" Snow yells. "She was in line behind us in Water World, cracking jokes, being all friendly, looking like an Ursula impersonator. She was watching us. She murdered Edward and left a magic bean she stole from us in Edward's cell. She showed up in Edward's cell night after night to punish him for painspelling me. And on the final night she stabbed him! And I can't prove any of it!" Snow is breathing fast, "I can't prove it!" she repeats loudly. "And my husband is in the dungeon getting beaten up by trolls because the White Knights want to play games. They want to punish him for who knows what... Emma is home and I am chasing this impossible case because Regina is out there, with magic, covering her tracks, luring all the witnesses away with dream jobs and inheritances form relatives that died in other realms..." Snow opens up the file and her notes on Crimson's desk and walks him through every aspect of her investigation. She shows him lists of witnesses, dates, timelines. She hands him copies of her notes, she shows him the picture of Helena holding baby Edward. Then she sits on her chair exhausted, shaking her head.

The Crimson Fairy looks at her. "You are right!" he says quietly. "We were shortsighted. And cowardly. We didn't want to get dragged in the news, we didn't want an extended manhunt of a Queen we couldn't easily catch and bring to justice. And we..." he stumbles for the right words.

Snow looks at him. In all her years of knowing him the Crimson Fairy has been nothing but firm and serious, never at a loss for words. He has been the epitome of stately power. And now he is no more than an old man who is sitting before her, struggling to explain himself.

"Forgive me, my Queen," he says quietly.

"I am not...-" Snow replies startled.

"It should have been you," he interrupts her. "It should have been you all along. We would have saved ourselves years of trouble and grief if we'd been brave enough back then to contest the Queen's claim to the throne and crown you instead.

"I was a child," Snow frowns. "And none of this matters, Crimson my husband is in the dungeon!"

"I'm going to need some time..." Crimson replies.

Snow arrives at home sooner than she usually does. Emma greets her at the door. "Did you solve the case?" she asks.

Snow doesn't know how to answer that question. She pulls Emma in her arms instead.

"Not quite," she ends up saying.

At night, once Emma is asleep she stares at the note she plans on sending David. What is she supposed to say? Solved the case. Can't prove anything. Love Snow? She crumbles up the note and dismisses the bird. She crawls in her bed, hopping her mind will stop spinning and let her get some rest. Her thoughts are swirling with 'what ifs' and 'if onlys'. He brain is already making lists of potential witnesses, other people she could talk to.

Snow tosses and turns in her bed all night and in the early morning hours she just gives up on sleeping all together. She steps out in her front porch and breathes in the fresh air enjoying the hazy look of the trees half hidden by the early morning fog. The earth smells moist, the snow lilies in her planters are swaying in the breeze. Snow is absentmindedly gazing in the distance trying not to drown in her thoughts. She solved the case. But not in a way that can be proven. She needs to rethink everything, she needs to start over, she needs to come up with irrefutable proof, she needs...

Snow momentarily gets distracted because there is slight movement at the end of the road. The fog is too deep, she really can't tell who it is. Her hand reaches for the dark dust vial around her neck. Who could be coming over this early she wonders. The shape of the man looks familiar and for a brief second Snow thinks that she must be in bed still dreaming. She must be imagining things. This can't be real. And then she lets out a muffled cry and runs.

David is standing the end of the road. Snow crushes in his arms and the first noises that she makes aren't even real words, she is crying and laughing and trying to speak all at once, failing miserably.

"Snow!" David whispers, his forehead pressing against her cheeks and then he lifts her up in his arms, her feet no longer touching the ground and he is kissing her. It's hard to kiss someone back when you are laughing and sobbing all at once, but Snow tries her best and then she pulls back to get a better look at him. He looks like he's lost some weight. The bruise on his face has faded. He doesn't seem to be in obvious pain. And he looks just at stunned and surprised to be there as she does.

"What are you doing here?" she asks, wiping her eyes. "Did you escape? Is it time to run?" She is prepared to throw a few essentials in a bag, wake up Emma and flee.

David shakes his head. "They let me go this morning," he explains. "The taxi coach couldn't find the house, because of the location spell. I had him drop me off at the corner..."

All are perfectly normal explanations but Snow doesn't really understand what he means.

"They let you go..." she frowns, all confused. "But how? Because I still need to investigate, and then I need to rethink everything... because the evidence... she's just not a reliable witness...-" Snow is crying again.

"It's alright," he says quietly pulling her back in his arms. "It's all right. They are dropping all charges. They let me go early cause they wanted to avoid the media circus, but they will hold a press release later today... Snow it's over!"

"It's over!" Snow looks at him eyes open in wonder.

He smiles, his eyes welling up and Snow wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him over and over.

"Are you alright? How bad did they hurt you?"

"I'm alright," he says so then Snow tugs on his arm pulling him in the cottage.

She doesn't even know what to do first. She is so startled, she hands him a coffee cup without any coffee inside at first, then she takes it back, spilling coffee all over the counter as she tries to fill it. Her hands are still shaking.

"Are you hungry?" she asks and when he shakes his head she sits on the couch next to him.

"Are you sure you are not hurt?"

"I'm sure," David places his arm around her shoulders. "How are you? I didn't get a message last night.." he says.

And all the words come tumbling out of Snow mouth all at once, the events of the past two weeks not in any particular order, all the fears and the worries she tried to keep from him. How the case was impossible to solve with the White Knights blocking her path every step of the way and how she found the king, and how in the end though she figured out who killed Edward.

David listens, his fingers lacing hers, watching her. "The Queen?" he asks incredulously. He did not see that coming.

And Snow describes what she learned from Helena Lorst, how the Queen looked like Ursula and how there was no tangible proof for any of this.

"Well, whatever you did was enough," he replies. And then he leans his head on her shoulder. Snow is running her fingers through his hair.

"And you!" she whispers. "David? How bad was it?"

David shrugs. "It was bad. It wasn't bad once I started actually fighting back. Once I wasn't afraid that I'd miss your visit... that I could handle. Having to make that choice... Knowing you were waiting to see me day after day, that part I couldn't deal with. But once you had the king arrested they moved me into the upper levels to a nice room and the guard was acting more like a butler at that point. Asking me if there was anything special I wanted for dinner..."

Snow isn't entirely convinced. "I know you were really hurt David!" she protests.

"It's all over now," he says softly. And then he hesitates. "It's almost six, Snow, do you think it would be okay to wake up Emma...-"

"Of course!" Snow nods, kissing his forehead. "Come on!"

David walks in Emma's room quietly, making sure he doesn't step on Star the turtle who's decided it's time for an early morning stroll. Snow leans against the door frame and she watches David sit on Emma's bedside.

"Emma!" he whispers. And once Emma's eyes flutter open he says "Emma, I'm home!"

Emma opens her eyes and sits up, her arms instantly wrapping around his neck.

"Dad!" is all she says. And David is crying, kissing Emma's forehead. Snow joins them and they are all hugging.

"Mom! Did you solve the case?"

"Sort of," Snow shrugs.

"She did," David says wiping his eyes, "And now I think I'll make breakfast..."

"You will not," Snow protests in a hurry. "We are making breakfast. We are taking care of you for a change..."

"For a change? What are you talking about?" he tries to argue. "Did you not just pull me out of a dungeon?"

But Snow isn't listening. "You are making it sound like I broke you out," she says heading to the kitchen.

"You might has well have," he smiles.

But Snow is already in the kitchen cracking eggs into the frying pan.

"I'll mix the pancakes," Emma offers.

"I'll steam the broccoli" David teases.

"Broccoli? For breakfast?" Emma sounds horrified.

"You have to let me do something!" David smiles.

"You can sit there on the chair and rest..." Snow points.

"I've been resting for three weeks!" he shrugs.

"That wasn't resting," Snow replies, and the thought of how he spent three weeks locked up in the dungeon makes her ache inside. She rushes over to kiss him. David grabs her hand.

"Let me go, I'm going to burn the eggs!" she protests.

"See? You do need my help after all," he smirks and he stands up to set the table.

Snow shakes her head but doesn't stop him.

This, this feels so normal, so right and Snow is so grateful, she wipes her eyes and pulls the eggs out of the frying pan.

"Ready," she says.

Emma flips the last pancakes.

"Ready," she nods.

David Snow and Emma gather around the table, enjoying their pancakes in puddles of syrup. Snow laughs because David is stealing bites out of Emma's plate when Emma isn't looking. And then Emma catches him and turns to glare at him incredulously.

"What? I'm hungry!" he states playfully.

Emma giggles and feeds him three bites from her plate. And Snow leans back on her chair, watching her family, her heart so relieved and grateful it could burst with joy.


How are you guys holding up? Thank you for reading, thank you for reviewing! Your comments mean a lot! Stay safe!

Jennifer Baratta chapter 38 Outstanding chapter

Thank you!

Alexa chapter 38 Yeah! Snow finally tracked down the king! Too bad he denies being the one that set up David for the murder. Since he confessed to his other crimes I'm going to assume he's telling the truth. So back to square one, who would benefit from David being accused of murder? I have a crazy idea but will wait for more clues!

You knew, didn't you? Your last few reviews have been very accurate

Bwayrox chapter 38 I don't trust Teal, or the teacher, or the King, or the White Knights. I don't know who to trust in this story anymore. Except for Grumpy, I can trust Grumpy.

Right? Grumpy rules!

Bella1296 chapter 38 Great great chapter l!

Thanks Bella!

Guest chapter 38 Still very sad stuff. And more sadness to come I expect. I don't see how they'll fix this or who will break the case open but it's not looking good. Snow and David has suffered enough and been apart enough. Someone should really cuff them together so no one can tear them apart again. Great chapter tho! Hope everything is safe and okay on your end.

:) Your solution would work... I'm doing well. Stay safe!