AN: See chapter 1 for story notes and summaries.

Ships: Snowing, Rumbelle, Swan Believer, eventual Swanfire, and a delightful Golden Mad Charming BroT3. :)

Please consider leaving a review. Feedback is much appreciated.

Thanks for awesomethe reviews. Here are individual responses:

ragsweas: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the last chapter so much! Yes, August is definitely being mysterious. He's in for some surprises in later chapters. As for the curse, it's coming. I know it seems like it's taking forever, but I have a plan and certain events have to happen before we get there. It's going to be a good ride though :)

BooksinmyDreams: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

Saberius Prime: Thanks! Yep, lots of people are awake and Emma believes, but the curse is still in tact. It makes for interesting situations.

Sara K M: Yeah...they are hiding the same thing. I'm looking forward to it being August this time that gets constantly surprised. He thinks he knows what's up, but oh he has no idea!

Yeah, I think Emma will always be annoyed by her parent's PDA.

I do agree and see David as a person that shows more emotion. I tried to convey that early on with his anger and there will be some more of that to come. But the reason I wrote him concealing his feelings is that I feel he does do that to protect his loved ones, Neverland being the prime example of that. Glad you liked the David/Stephanie scene. I'm anxious for Snow to wake up, but it's going to be a while still, because I also don't want to rush it. And I'm having a lot of fun with the whole Miss Blanchard and her Prince Charming thing too. ;)

Beth1980: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too! Glad you liked conversation with August, Henry, and Emma. It is funny, because they all know the truth, but are unwilling to share. Astrid and Leroy will appear again later on. Glad you like their inclusion. I love the part too where David likes being Mary's Prince Charming just as much as he likes being Snow's. I post on both sites, here and AO3 and will continue to do so. :)

Dreaming Out Loud

Chapter 24: Pressing On

Emma sat absolutely stunned the next morning, as her father finished explaining everything he had learned about her mother's true heritage.

"I...I can't believe she doesn't know," Emma said in disbelief.

"I know...believe me, I was in just as much shock as you are now," he agreed.

"So Stephanie is…" she started to say.

"Persephone. She's supposed to be in the Underworld, but found a way to come to this world without a portal. She still didn't tell me how she did that, but she says we're out of Hades' reach...for now," he replied.

"And Hades isn't…" she said, her stomach twisting a bit.

"Oh no...Gods no, Hades is not your grandfather. Her marriage to him is...forced. According to the book, she fell in love with a Prince, brother to Queen Eva. Your mother is still biologically related to Eva, just not exactly the way we thought," he answered.

"And all of this is in this really old book?" Emma asked. He nodded.

"Gold has it "commissioned" to use his words. It's the only account and wasn't included in Henry's book. It also explains why we have the dreamscape," he added.

"She did that for us?" Emma asked. He nodded.

"She couldn't stop the curse, so she asked Morpheus to create the dreamscape for us. It nearly killed her to give up your mother, but she did it to save her from Hades. She didn't want us to lose you completely like she lost your mother," he explained.

"So she gave her her best chance," she muttered, realizing that her parents had done the same for her and she had done the same for Henry. She wondered if there would ever be a time in their bloodline that this history wouldn't repeat itself. As if David could sense what she was thinking, he got up from his desk and knelt in front of her.

"We're going to win this. Then no one is ever going to separate this family again," he assured.

"I want to believe that, Dad. But Regina is bad enough. Deimos is frighteningly worse. Now it looks like the God of the Underworld is also gunning for our family," she fretted.

"Hey...I know, I know it's overwhelming and downright scary. But after everything we've been through, there is nothing we can't get through, as long as we do it together," he tried to assure her. She took a calming breath and composed herself.

"I don't know how you do it sometimes. You always have all this faith…" she mentioned. He smiled and kissed her forehead.

"My love for you and your mother gives me the courage to have that faith. Good will win. True love does mean sacrifice sometimes, but this family has sacrificed enough as it is," he implored. She sighed.

"I hope you're right," she replied. She knew they were in for the long game and she had never truly been alone. Her parent's voices had always been there, but now she had them by her side. Her mother didn't remember yet, but she would. And she knew her father would do anything to protect the people he loved, just as she would...

Despite the weariness of things going on in town, like Damon walking free and his approaching trial, which she was almost assured would be a joke, the predicament of having Belle believe she's a loose barfly by the name of Lacey, and the discovery of her mother's true heritage told to her by her stunned father, Emma was able to enjoy the holidays for the first time in her entire life.

Mary was especially excited at the prospect of not being alone. Thanksgiving had been truly wonderful and Christmas was going to be no exception. She had gone all out with decorations around the loft, including the addition of mistletoe, which made her practically giddy. Especially when she told David what the purpose of mistletoe was. She found herself underneath that mistletoe with her love quite frequently after that and laughed heartily when he naturally suggested that they should have mistletoe up all year around.

Christmas Eve was truly wonderful, as they celebrated together and her loft was bursting with friends and Christmas cheer. Emma only wished Henry could be with them, but Regina had forbade it and kept a close watch on him. Still, all three of them had bought gifts for him and left them under the tree for him to open at the first opportunity after the holiday. Mary knew she wasn't supposed to have favorites, but admittedly, Emma's little boy was and David had assured her that it was okay to give him a gift since it was outside of school. He couldn't wait until she knew the truth though that Henry was their grandson. Hell, he couldn't wait for her to know the truth of her own lineage and that Stephanie, the woman she had developed a very close friendship with, was in reality her biological mother. He knew she would be in shock at first, but in the long run, she'd be extremely happy to have her in her life.

Christmas Day was low key and they spent it together, just the three of them with lots of leftover goodies, Christmas movies, laughter, and Emma rolling her eyes every time David and Mary found their way under the mistletoe.

With Christmas behind them, they faced the New Year, as 2011 was about to come to an end. Emma vowed right then that by New Year's 2012, the curse would be broken, hopefully long before that, and they would finally be together as a family. She was more determined than ever and it quickly became clear that 2011 was going to go out with a roar.

Ashley set their food down in front of them and Emma picked up an onion ring, taking a bite.

"Mmm...I've been waiting for this all day. You know these should be their own food group," Emma mentioned. Ashley chuckled and nodded.

"I know what you mean. It seems these days that fried and breaded is all this baby wants lately," she agreed.

"My kind of baby," Emma mused.

"How are you feeling, Ashley?" Mary asked.

"Truthfully...I'm miserable. I'm a couple weeks overdo. If I don't go into labor soon, Dr. Whale says he wants to induce, but…" she trailed off.

"But?" Emma asked.

"I just...can't keep her. Once she comes...that's it," she said sadly.

"Why can't you keep her?" Mary asked in a horrified tone.

"I have next to no money and I live in a tiny apartment that I can barely pay my rent on. Besides...I already made the deal with Mr. Gold. When she's born...he's going to find a good home for her," she replied.

"Ashley...if you don't want to give her up, you can still change your mind," Emma reminded.

"Emma...no one breaks a deal with Mr. Gold. And even if I wanted to, what kind of life could she have with me?" Ashley asked sadly, as she went to pick up another order.

"That poor girl...I can't imagine having to give up a baby. How does one even recover from something like that?" Mary wondered and Emma took a sharp breath. She knew from her interactions with her mother in the dreamscape that it wasn't something that she had gotten over. It wasn't something her father was over either. They were still able to be happy, because they had each other and her in a certain capacity. But she knew her parents would never not wish they didn't have to give her up. And it was something that would stay with them for the rest of their lives.

But with Ashley's situation, her happy ending truly would be ruined if she was forced to give her baby up. Gold wasn't in the best of moods lately since Belle was given curse memories, but she knew if anyone could get through to him, it was her dad. So when Mary went to talk to her, in hopes of giving her comfort, Emma made a quick call to her father.

After lunch, Mary returned to her classroom. With her students on break, she spent her days planning new lessons for when school resumed. She was technically on break too, but had chosen to come in for just a couple hours to get a head start on future lesson plans.

She hummed to herself, that familiar tune she had come to love, even though she couldn't put her finger on where it was from, as she looked through her students art projects they had made before break. She found herself smiling more at Henry's than any and felt a little bad about her secret favoritism of him. She couldn't help it though. He was such an amazing little boy and there was something about him that was just special. David and Emma always insisted that she was responsible for the change in him; that she had managed to instill hope in him again. And she had done so before she had any hope herself.

Before David, she had all but given up on finding love. A couple horrible dates at Granny's with Whale and Damon's stalking had almost assured her that she'd never find her Prince Charming; certainly not the way Snow White had in the book she had given Henry. She was aware that Henry thought she and David were in fact Snow White and Prince Charming. It was a sweet notion and she found herself realizing that maybe he wasn't so wrong. Obviously, she was no bad ass bandit like the Snow White in his book and David didn't wield a sword or ride a horse. But he certainly had swept her off her feet like a Prince Charming would.

It was at that moment, she felt her vision go blurry and flash to another place. It was that day in the elevator again suddenly and she was walking around on a rocky surface in the blackness of the cavern. There was an object before her, a structure of sorts with a glass top. Before the flash of memory could go further, a voice interrupted her thoughts and as she snapped back to reality, she saw that the voice belonged to a very unwelcome person.

"Miss Blanchard...daydreaming on the job is very unbecoming, even from a woman such as you," Albert Spencer chided, as he and Mitchell Herman suddenly stood before her desk. She resisted the urge to shrink away from their scrutinizing gazes and looked up at them both.

"I'm not sure what you mean by a woman such as me, Mr. Spencer, but if you're here to insult me, then maybe you should just leave," she said. Albert Spencer seemed shocked by her ability to look him in the eyes, much less talk back to him.

"We won't be here very long, Miss Blanchard," Mitchell interjected.

"Yes, we have come to encourage you to drop the charges against Mr. Herman's client, Mr. Damon Tromera," Spencer continued. Mary felt a spike of anger spur inside her. So that's why they were here. To intimidate her into dropping the charges against Damon.

"I see...well, I'm sorry you wasted a trip, gentlemen. But I'm not about to do anything of the sort after what he did to me and David," she responded, trying her hardest to keep the quiver out of her voice.

"Miss Blanchard...I assure you that it is in your best interest to let this go. I think a messy trial is in no one's favor," Spencer prodded.

"He is right, Miss Blanchard. Do you really want to put yourself and your lover through the ordeal and scrutiny that is involved in testifying in court?" Mitchell asked.

"David and I will be fine. We have done nothing wrong. Your client on the other hand is guilty as sin. He attacked me and tried to kill the man I love, so if you think I'm going to just let it go...then you're going to be sorely disappointed," Mary spat in return. This time, she was unable to keep the quiver from her voice and so they felt the need to keep pushing her.

"Miss Blanchard...we have spoken to the Principal and the school does not want to be involved in such litigation," Mitchell stated.

"This has nothing to do with the school. This is about me and David. We were attacked and David was nearly killed," she responded, as the trepidation started to creep up in her.

"But you are a teacher at this school and the board is reluctant to have one of its employees involved in such scandal," Albert stated. That trepidation spiked into fear.

"Are you threatening my job, Mr. District Attorney?" she asked meekly. His smirk sent cold chills down her spine.

"Of course not, Miss Blanchard...I do not have the power to do that," he purred. But she knew that was a lie. He had almost as much power as Regina.

"But you must see it from the school board's point of view. To have one of the school's employees involved in a trial, accusing one of this town's most prominent members of such depraved acts does not bode well for any," Spencer continued. Mary felt her heart sink. He was practically telling her that the trial would ruin her, while Damon would be vindicated and she felt a little of the fight in her dwindle. Mitchell seized the opportunity and pulled an official document out of his briefcase.

"Just sign this paper, Miss Blanchard and all this messiness goes away. Mr. Spencer has even graciously agreed to grant you that restraining order against Mr. Tromera you've been vying for," Mitchell stated. Mary resisted the urge to scoff. A man like Damon Tromera would never let a thing like a restraining order stop him. But maybe if she did sign...maybe this was the best way to protect David. After all, if she lost in court, she knew Damon would seek revenge on them. As she instinctively picked up a pen, she almost felt woozy for there was a terrible pain in her head, almost as if something inside her was telling her that signing the paper would be a terrible mistake. An injustice in its greatest form. She dropped the pen and looked up at them, trying to suck her tears back.

"No…" she croaked.

"Miss Blanchard...do we really have to keep going over this? Or perhaps I should be more blunt. If you go through with this trial, I can assure you it will ruin you...and your lover. And anyone else that sides with you," he hissed. Even Mitchell looked a little taken aback by his malicious tone, but didn't have time to ponder that, as a voice interrupted them from the doorway.

"She said no, Mr. Spencer, and you have five seconds to get the hell away from her, before I call Sheriff Swan to come arrest you both for harassment," Stephanie growled, as she swept into the room and put her arm around Mary's shoulders. And something in this woman's piercing emerald eyes made Albert Spencer involuntarily back away. Her eyes flicked to the other man.

"You too, Mr. Mitchell," she added in an icy tone and he quickly backed away as well.

"Then I guess we'll been you in court, Miss Blanchard. I hope you're ready for what's to come," Spencer warned, as he and the other man left, leaving Mary to sigh in relief.

"Thank you," she said tearfully and Stephanie hugged her.

"It's going to be okay, honey. They're not going to win," she assured.

"I want to believe that...but I'm not sure I can," Mary sniffed.

"Why don't you let me take you home?" Stephanie asked.

"Thanks...but I need to go around and try to sell more candles for sister Astrid," Mary replied. She still had a couple weeks until the Miner's Day celebration, but sales weren't going very well.

"I'd like that," she said, as they got their coats.

David walked into the shop through the back entrance with Wilby in tow and Gold immediately knelt down to pet the dog.

"You still have the contract on Ella's baby?" David asked.

"Yes, it transferred over with the curse," he answered. David sighed.

"Don't you think you could forgive this one? I can't believe that you really want to take her baby from her," David countered.

"Yet everyone else won't be surprised at all. I'm Mr. Gold...the scary man not to be crossed. Perhaps I am everything they say," he retorted.

"What I know is family is important to you. That's one thing we have in common," David replied, as they stared at each other.

"We want the same things. You want Belle back. I want Snow back. I'll help you try and get through to Lacey. Taking Ella's baby doesn't restore her happy ending, which could delay the breaking of the curse," the prince added.

"I'll admit that you have a point," Gold said reluctantly.

"But you're missing a crucial part of her happy ending," he reminded.

"Thomas...I haven't seen him yet," David realized.

"Here in Storybrooke, he is Sean Herman, son of Mitchell Herman, who pressured his son to disassociate from her when it was discovered she was pregnant," he explained.

"He left her?" David asked in disbelief.

"It's the curse. He's not the Thomas you know. He's weak willed...scared that his father will cut him off from all his nice money," Gold stated.

"Mitchell Herman...why does that sound familiar?" David asked.

"He's Damon Tromera's attorney," Gold reminded. The deputy sighed.

"So if his son went back to Ella…" David started to stay.

"Ashley," Gold corrected.

"Ashley. If he went back to her, that would certainly tarnish his image. And you know that Regina will loathe another happy ending restored. I'd owe you too," David implored.

"You already owe me," Gold reminded.

"If Belle was here right now and found out you were going to take a baby from its mother, what would she say?" he countered. Gold gave the Prince a withering look, but he knew exactly what she thought of his penchant for taking babies in his deals.

"Fine...but you owe me doubly. And helping with Lacey doesn't count," Gold relented. David nodded.

"That one is on me and if it means a child can stay with its parents, then I'd gladly owe you a million favors," he replied. Gold rolled his eyes.

"Stop being so noble and get out," the pawnbroker grumbled. The former shepherd smirked.

"Or...we could go over the Rabbit Hole for a drink. I have some time to kill before I meet Mary and Emma at Granny's for the New Year's Eve party," David offered. Gold pondered for a moment.

"Flip that sign to close," he agreed. David smiled and did so, as they headed out.

Henry swung his legs back and forth, as he sat on one of the platforms of his castle playground after school. He was waiting to meet up with Emma, before he had to make sure he was at Archie's for his unnecessary therapy. Since the incident in the mines, he had returned to therapy, but Archie refused to follow Regina's instructions and hadn't discouraged Henry's belief. He knew it was a small consolation and that Archie didn't believe in the curse. But at least Henry's sessions didn't consist of an hour of his therapist explaining the difference between fiction and reality. He understood why people didn't believe though. It was hard for them to believe in magic, but it had never been hard for Henry.

He expected Emma to roll up in the bug any moment, but instead, he heard a motorcycle. August pulled up and took off his helmet.

"Hey Henry," he greeted.

"Hi August...what are you doing here?" the boy asked curiously.

"Just out for a ride. Thought I'd scout a good writing place and saw you here. Nice playground," he mentioned.

"It's a castle," Henry corrected. August chuckled.

"Of course...I see it now," he replied, with a touch of nostalgia in his voice that Henry didn't pick up on.

"Cool book…" August said, as he spied the brown, leather bound book next to him.

"Thanks…" he replied.

"Mind if I take a look?" August asked. Henry shrugged and watched the man flip through the book idly.

"These aren't quite the version most people know," he mentioned.

"That's because they're the real versions," Henry blurted out.

"The real versions? Like first editions?" August asked.

"Uh yeah...like that," Henry replied, realizing what he had just said. Thankfully, it seemed that the stranger didn't take his comment as the literal meaning.

"That's the great thing about being a writer. You can take a story that everyone thinks they know and take it in a whole new direction. And the best plot twists are the ones you don't see coming," August mentioned, though he could have no idea how true his own statement would prove to be later on. But there were definitely a lot of things happening that Henry never saw coming. This stranger coming to town just being one of many. Henry put his book away in his backpack, as Emma pulled up.

"I gotta go," he said.

"See you around, kid," August called, as he was impressed by Emma's scrutinizing gaze.

"Hey…" she greeted.

"Don't worry...I'm not stalking the kid or anything," he promised.

"Good to know," she retorted.

"What exactly are you doing?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Just looking for the right inspiration and killing time until the New Year's Eve party tonight," he replied.

"You're coming to the party?" she asked.

"Why not? What better way to get to know the town. How about you let me buy you a drink tonight?" he asked in return. She gazed at him with scrutiny again.

"We'll see," she replied, as she got back in the car with Henry and drove off. August smirked and pulled out an old newspaper article. He wasn't exactly sure where to start in getting Emma to believe, but he figured this article might be a good place to begin. He could not know though that getting Emma to believe wouldn't be a problem and the truth about the wardrobe would be a painful revelation...