Tell me you love me
Come back and haunt me
Oh, and I rush to the start
Running in circles, chasing our tails
Coming back as we are
Nobody said it was easy
Oh, it's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard
I'm going back to the start-Coldplay, The Scientist
David never lived alone. He went from his mother's to King George's castle to living with Snow. Even cursed, he lived with Kathryn. When Snow and Emma fell through the portal, Henry moved in. Afterwards, he and Snow shared a bed, never leaving each other's side. Some called it co-dependent but when you lost someone as much as they had...wouldn't you cling to them?
Now, David didn't live alone...but it almost felt like he did.
Snow couldn't keep a secret. He knew this about her from the start. But in the end, she was able to keep the secret that took her life.
Now, he slept in a queen sized bed, alone. It wasn't even the room they had shared after multiple curses. Not the bed they made love in countless times. The loft was vacant and it had been for weeks now. Emma wasn't ready to give up the big blue house and David certainly wasn't going to leave her alone. Even if she barely speaks to him anymore.
A cry rings out across the room and David climbs out of bed. He makes his way to the crib where his son lays. Neal stops the instant his blue eyes land on his father, a smile encroaching on his chubby face. He kicks his legs in the air, showing off the sheep onesie that Granny gave them at the naming ceremony.
That was only 6 months ago and it feels like forever.
David takes in his son. Snow always said whatever Emma inherited from each of them, their son was the opposite. Fine dark locks poke up in a fake mohawk, all from his mother. His eyes are the same shade of blue as his father's, a trait past down from David's maternal grandmother. The smile is all Snow, it's full of hope and wonder.
Sometimes David wonders if his son realizes what's going on. The only sign of change is his resistance to formula. Snow had breast fed from day one, but that's obviously not an option anymore. Luckily, they had just started the little one on solids after their trip to Camelot. Whale says that's his saving grace. Most kids wean off breast milk, but there was no time. One moment, things were normal. They had a wife and mother.
The next, she was gone.
David leans down and picks his son up, inhaling the sweet baby smell from his head. Neal opens his mouth, going to gum at his dad's University of Maine shirt (a favorite from David Nolan's cursed life). David lets him, still taking in his features.
"I bet you're hungry, bubba," David whispers. "Come on, let's get you something to eat."
Neal babbles in response as they head down the stairs. This house would've been the perfect one to be a family in. That's why Emma picked it in the first place as the dark one. It was Snow's favorite when they started house hunting before Henry was kidnapped. The walls are a creamy off white that's warm and inviting. All the furniture has a lived in, cozy vibe. The kitchen has all new appliances and an island, bigger than the one at the loft. There's a big yard with a solid oak that'll be perfect for a tree house one day.
The family lived there as a unit of 4 for two weeks. Two weeks as his daughter lied to them. Claimed that the sleeping curse was set by Arthur. Pretended they had suckered the darkness out of her. Hid that she inflicted some of it onto Snow in order to save her life.
Then the portal opened and all of the past Dark Ones emerged. They were going to destroy the town, so Snow White made the ultimate sacrifice. She took on all of it, allowing it to kill her.
And in that moment, David lost his wife. Their kids lost their mother.
David reaches the bottom of the stairs and heads for the kitchen. He halts when he gets a peak of the living room. Emma is curled up on the couch, one of Snow's cardigans wrapped tightly around her. She stares off into the horizon, her eyes haunted.
David doesn't blame Emma for what happened. He has his memories back from Camelot, he remembers how scary it all was. Nearly losing his wife, Emma sobbing over her body. He wanted to do everything to save her.
Emma had lost her mother twice, she wasn't going to let it happen a third.
He knows his daughter is vulnerable. She has trauma he could never imagine. She acted as someone who grew up alone, who had two men die in her arms (one of whom was the love of her life). She acted as the girl who watched her former foster mother and the only decent foster parent she ever had, kill herself. She acted as someone who never learned to grieve, because life wouldn't let her.
No, David didn't hate or resent his daughter for what she did.
And even if he had...it would never beat how much Emma hated herself.