Time for a bit of DaddyCharming, me thinks! Charming finds out who August really is, and what that meant for Emma.

Very little could ease the tension in the Charming family household. Emma wasn't adapting well to the curse being broken. To be fair, neither were Snow and David. They, in their eagerness to become a family again, were pushing her too hard. Emma, on the other hand, wasn't willing to move a muscle. They were caught in a strange kind of stand-off, with everybody feeling awkward. Charming couldn't help but feel jealous that Emma had such a close bond with her adoptive brother. Close enough that they shared true love despite not being biologically related. Not that he came around to the loft apartment often. Then, when he was there, he seemed to be almost frightened of them. Charming wasn't sure why. Yes, he was jealous of the relationship he had with Emma, but not to the extent he would cause him any harm. He would actually like to get to know him. He might be more willing to share some stories about Emma than she was for herself. Then, an idea struck Charming. Maybe the opposite was true for Emma. Maybe she would be more willing to talk about August than herself. Charming waited until another painfully quiet afternoon in the station with Emma to broach the subject.

"So…how's August?" David asked. Emma looked up, puzzled.

"Uh, he's fine." Emma answered. Why was David asking about him? Emma stiffened. Had he worked it out?

"I'm glad you had him, you know." David told her gently. "I'm glad you weren't alone."

"Uh huh." Emma answered, shifting uncomfortably on her chair.

"What a great guy to not judge you when you told him your parents were fairy tale characters. I'm sure a lot of people from this world would write you off as crazy or something." Charming said. Emma didn't answer. He hadn't worked it out. She couldn't lie to him, but how did she answer that? "He didn't treat you like you were crazy at first, did he? How did you convince him to come to Storybrooke?" David quizzed her further. Emma sighed. This wasn't going to be pretty.

"I didn't convince August to come here, he convinced me." She answered quietly, not able to meet David's eye. "He found you all here, not me." This did surprise David.

"How could he find us all when he's from this realm? Come to think of it, how did he even make it through Regina's barrier?" He asked. Emma sighed. Here went nothing.

"August isn't from this realm. He's from the Enchanted Forest. Haven't you noticed that someone seems to be missing?" She asked. Now David was totally confused.

"What do you mean he's from our realm? He would have been cursed too? Lots of people are still missing, Emma. We're still working out who's here and who's not." He reminded her.

"August made it through the same way as me, the wardrobe. August is Pinocchio." Emma told him, awaiting the backlash. David's sat silently for a moment, taking it in.

"No…no Emma, you're mistaken. The wardrobe only took one. That's why we had to put you through alone. Otherwise your mother or I would have gone with you." David told her. Emma shook her head sadly, still not able to look at David.

"Geppetto and Blue lied to you both. It was the only way Geppetto would build the wardrobe. His deal was that Pinocchio got the second spot." Emma explained. David felt like he'd been punched in the gut.

"So one of us could have gone with you?" He asked her quietly. Emma nodded. She understood his pain. Occasionally, she felt it too. If it hadn't been for Geppetto and Blue, she would never have been an orphan here. But on the other hand, could she blame Geppetto? He did the exact same thing as her parents; protected his child from the curse. David's sadness turned to rage. With tears glistening in his eyes, he rose from his chair and went to storm out. Knowing what he was about to do, Emma quickly blocked his path.

"David, no. You need to calm down." Emma told him.

"No, Emma. Right now I need to have a chat with Geppetto and Blue." Charming said, trying to dodge around her, but Emma wouldn't let him leave. "Emma." Charming tried, but Emma wouldn't budge.

"No, David. You need to cool off. I get it, I really do. You don't think I was pissed when I realised too? But can you really blame Geppetto?"

"Yes!"

"Really? How did he do anything different from you? You put me through that wardrobe to stop me being cursed by Regina. He did the exact same thing for his son.

"But if he hadn't then you would have had a parent with you! Because of him being so selfish you grew up thinking we abandoned you when we could have been with you. I'm sorry Emma, but I can't forgive him for that."

"I'm not asking you to. I'm asking you to let it go. For August, for me." Emma pleaded with him. "Can you honestly say you would have done any differently in his position? If you had to be sneaky about it, would you not still have made sure I went through that wardrobe?" Emma asked him. David reluctantly remembered some of the awful things he and Snow had done to help Emma. Some before she was even born. He knew deep down that if he went after Geppetto it made him a hypocrite. He was still furious, but he could contain his anger. Just.

"Fine. I'll drop it." He told her. Emma relaxed.

"Thank you." She said, moving aside. David kept his word and didn't go charging out, as much as he wanted to.

"On one condition." He said. Emma looked at him, concerned. "You have to be the one to tell your mother, today. Good luck keeping her back." Emma frowned. That definitely wasn't going to be fun.