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:
Number Ten: Yep, that was a reference to Gold's hatred of fairies.
Saberius Prime: Yep, Damon is back to being a snake and he's going to get worse. Glad you're excited for the proposal. You'll like this chapter then! :)
Barratta Jennifer: Yes, Damon is a creep for sure.
Ragsweas: Yep, the trial is coming soon and David is going to propose! As for August, I already PM'd you, but August is Pinocchio and he's just a big liar. He just has no idea in this version that Emma's already a believer. :)
BooksinmyDreams: Thanks!
AshGreg: Thanks! So glad you like it! Yes, the August storyline will get very interesting. And yes, David is going to propose! You'll really like this chapter if you're excited for that. As for Damon, he is up to no good in more ways than one. Glad you like the mother/daughter relationship between Mary and Stephanie too. I'm really enjoying writing that.
Naomi Blue: Yep, Jefferson can't see it like David can. Yeah, August has no idea what's coming for him.
Guest: Glad you like that he's giving her another family ring. Don't worry, when she gets her memories back, she can put Ruth's ring back in its rightful place and still wear her mother's. :)
Paulaa90: Wow...thanks! Glad you stumbled onto my story and loved it. I'm so glad you like the concept. I wanted that blend of Emma growing up as she did, but knowing about everything. And I love playing around with Greek Mythology so it just worked so well with this story. Yeah, Hades isn't nice here, but I'm glad you can still enjoy. :)
Cassie: Thanks! I don't like the dumb drama in relationships that TV writers always seem to use. I don't think it's interesting at all. I'm a bigger fan of a healthy relationship and that couple facing the trouble around them together, so I'm glad you agree. Glad you like that MM and David are going to get married and yes, Persephone will get to attend her daughter's wedding now. Yeah, Lacey's not good for him. We'll have to see where that goes. Yes, it was very bad for August to lie to Henry and Grandpa Charming is going to have something to say about it for sure. ;)
Sara K M: Yeah, it is interesting how nervous they are about him. To be honest, I'm going to play with the dangers of the real world vs. Storybrooke a lot more in this. I find it fascinating and they didn't do enough with it in the show. So expect the Greg Mendel thing later on to be even more fleshed out with possible new obstacles. August irritates me too, but he will eventually be an ally. That being said, David will have some things to say when he finds out what August did. David will be setting him straight for sure.
Glad to hear the scene in the shop was spot on. I know most men it's about the conquest, but with David, since he's a one woman man, it's about being in love and all that's great about that physical love. And I like Jefferson being clueless this time. As for them sleeping together, it was the natural direction. Despite the fact that she's technically not Belle, I'm not sure Gold could have resisted the opportunity if offered. Lacey is a bad influence. :(
Yep, Damon is still around and very dangerous. That becomes even more prevalent in this chapter. Glad you like the mention with Jim. They won't have a big part, but I plan to at least show a few reunion scenes when the time comes. :)
Beth1980: Lol, yeah the Dark One and Charming in a bar makes me think of all kinds of jokes, lol. You're not crazy, I don't think they explored Lacey enough. I like Belle, but Lacey was interesting. Glad you liked the changes to the story line with Ashley and how it took David back to the day Emma was born. I never had a problem with Snowing having more children, but most of the fandom was always Emma, Emma, Emma. I agree, it's my head canon that they had at least one more kid after the end of season six. As for Emma, I can really only imagine her with one more too. I could see Emma and Neal eventually having another baby too. Yep, Damon is going to get what's coming to him. It's going to be a while, but he'll get his. :)
Dreaming Out Loud
Chapter 27: Dreaming On
David hadn't had a chance yet to tell Emma what he had found in August's room, but figured he should still tell Gold first. He didn't know if August was telling the truth, but decided Gold deserved to know about this development right away. He hurried in the back way and to the front of the shop.
"Did you find anything?" Jefferson asked.
"Oh yeah...I found this in his things," David said, as he placed the drawing of the dagger on the counter. He watched Gold's face go ashen.
"Henry told me what it is and what it does," David said, looking at the pawnbroker.
"He's right...but the dagger is useless without magic," Gold stated.
"Henry said that too, but there's more. He told Henry that he's actually someone named Baelfire," David said, looking at Gold, who was now clutching the counter so tightly his knuckles had turned white.
"Baelfire...your son?" Jefferson asked, but Gold couldn't find his voice.
"So he says...but he sets off Emma's superpower like crazy," David replied.
"Is that really reliable?" Jefferson asked skeptically.
"If Emma thinks he's lying, then he is. About what or how much, we don't know. That's why I think we should be cautious about believing anything he says," David surmised, looking at Gold.
The Dark One knew his ability to be rational when it came to Baelfire was limited and he wanted it to be true, despite knowing the Prince had a very good point.
"Okay...let's say he is Baelfire. Why would your son be looking for the dagger?" Jefferson asked.
"He knows it's the source of my power," Gold replied.
"But there's no magic here...he has to know that," David reminded.
"Something doesn't add up to me," Jefferson added.
"Well...we could set him up to find out if he's really who he says," David suggested.
"How do you propose we do that?" Gold asked curiously.
"We know that he's looking for the dagger, so eventually he's going to come here to look. I say we let him find it," David replied.
"I don't let anyone just handle the dagger," Gold hissed.
"No, but you said it has no power here. Besides, we'll be watching when he does come. He won't have it long. Emma just got something she called security cameras in the mail. She explained to me what they do. She says they have them at the hospital. It's how she knew which way I went the night I woke up," David explained.
"Yeah, we know what security cameras are, chisel chin. But you discovering technology is still cute," Jefferson teased, making David roll his eyes.
"Anyway...he won't have the dagger long once we confront him," David continued.
"If he's a liar, it's probably the only way to get him to come clean...by backing him into a corner," Jefferson agreed.
"Fine...but we do this my way," Gold stated.
"If he isn't your son, I can't let you kill him," David warned.
"There are varying degrees between alive and dead," Gold countered.
"I think that was code for he's gonna kick his ass," Jefferson said.
"If he did lie to Henry, I can probably help you do that," David agreed, as he checked his watch.
"I need to get to the square to help Mary soon. If he shows up…" the prince said.
"I'll call you," Gold agreed, as David left the shop with Jefferson following him a bit later.
Lacey came in soon after that.
"Please tell me we're not going to that lame Miner's Day thing," she drawled. He smirked.
"As landlord to most people in this town, I'm required to make an appearance, but we don't have to stay long," he promised, as he got his coat.
"Good...too much of that bleeding heart stuff makes me nauseous," she complained.
"You and me both," Gold agreed, as he turned out the light and they left the darkened shop.
As school dismissed for the day, Mary started packing up her things, including the candles she had left, and prepared to head directly the square to finish setting up. Leroy stood on a ladder in her room, fixing one of the overhead lights in her classroom that was having a wiring problem. She watched him almost stumble off it, as Sister Astrid arrived and smiled to herself.
"Hello Mary Margaret," she greeted.
"Hello sister...I just want to apologize again that I couldn't sell all the candles," Mary said.
"It's not your fault and we still have a little time left. I've been praying for a miracle to fix my blunder," she replied.
"I do have a confession to make and I hope you don't hate me for it," Mary said with trepidation. Astrid smiled kindly.
"Mary Margaret, you are one of the sweetest, kindest people I know. I could never dislike you, let alone hate you," the nun assured her. She let out a relieved breath.
"Earlier today…Damon Tromera came by my classroom," Mary started to tell her.
"Oh my goodness...are you okay?" Astrid asked in concern. She nodded.
"He got me riled up, but I'm guessing that was probably his intent. I'm not sure what his ploy was, but he offered to buy the rest of the candles. He just scares me so much...I ripped up the check and Stephanie made him leave," Mary confessed.
"You did the right thing," Astrid agreed.
"Did she?" a voice said from the doorway, as they both turned to see Mother Superior standing there with a very cold, scrutinizing stare.
"Mother Superior…" Astrid started to say, but she was ignored.
"Miss Blanchard...the convent is in dire straights and the fact that you turned down a solution to our problem is deeply troubling," she said sternly.
"Mother Superior...that man hurt Mary Margaret and almost killed David. I don't think that is the kind of money we need," Astrid protested.
"Considering you are the reason we are in this predicament, you should be as upset as I am," Mother Superior snapped, as she looked back at Mary Margaret.
"Damon Tromera is a terrible man. I assure you that if he was trying to help, then it was probably to make himself look good for next week's trial," the teacher protested.
"I don't care...you had no right to turn down that money for the convent. We are not too proud to take his money. After all, he is a pillar of the community," she stated. Mary Margaret was appalled.
"A pillar of the community? He owns the sleaziest club in town! Emma says she suspects he's involved illegal things she can't prove! How can you call him a pillar of the community?" the raven haired beauty cried in outrage.
"I would watch your tone, Miss Blanchard. I hardly think someone like you should judge others," the head nun hissed and Mary blanched.
"What does that mean?" she asked.
"It means that I remember when David and Kathryn were married in my church. But instead of trying to make his marriage work, David left her and allowed himself to be seduced by the pathetic woman who visited him every day while he was in a coma," she said harshly and Mary was taken aback by her hostility. She shook her head.
"David is divorced and we love each other. We aren't doing anything wrong," she said.
"Keep telling yourself that, dear," Mother Superior said.
"I'm sure she will, just like you will," Leroy grumbled.
"Excuse me?" Mother Superior snapped, glaring at the handyman.
"Just saying, sister. The gossip around town is that Damon Tromera is dropping cash in the forms of charitable donations all over, including at the hospital and the church," Leroy stated.
"That has nothing to do with this and it's none of your business," Mother Superior snapped.
"So...Damon is buying his way through town in hopes to sway the trial next week," Mary said. It was a hard pill to swallow, but one she wasn't really surprised by.
"The church has many needs and cannot be picky like you, Miss Blanchard," Mother Superior defended.
"Sure...you can take money from a man that runs a club that probably moves drugs and has strippers, but you refuse to recognize David's divorce," Mary said.
"Miss Blanchard…" Mother Superior hissed.
"No...I get it. He throws money everywhere so he gets a pass. But I'm dating a man that's been divorced for years and I'm the tramp. I should be used to that in this town by now," she added sadly.
"I don't have time for this anymore...I need to get to the square and hope that we can earn enough donations to pay our rent, since you decided to throw away the solution to that problem," Mother Superior said, as she stormed out.
"Mary Margaret...I'm so sorry," Astrid apologized. The raven haired beauty sniffed.
"It's okay...it's not your fault. I should have known better than to get my hopes up, you know? Next week, Damon Tromera is going to get away with terrorizing me and David, because he's already probably bought the judge and jury," she sniffed.
"We don't know that," Astrid tried to assure her.
"We kind of do, sister. As much as it sucks, she's right. This whole town is messed up," Leroy deadpanned and received an annoyed look from the nun.
"You're not helping," she chided.
"Come on, let's take the rest of the candles to the square. You never know, we could still get that miracle," the nun tried to encourage the teacher.
"And if we don't, I'm sure Damon will swoop in and save the day in front of the whole town," Mary said, as she took a box and stalked out with it. Leroy watched them go and knew they had no chance of getting that miracle...unless he managed to create one.
Normally, he wouldn't even consider helping another person in this town. But Mary Margaret had always been kind to him when no one else bothered. And Astrid...he had admired and loved her from afar for years. Perhaps...he could make this happen for them and stick it to that rich sleazeball at the same time…
Jefferson milled about the square, trying to make sure it wasn't obvious that he was watching Grace with her foster parents. He ached to have his daughter back and as impatient as he was, he knew they were getting close. The curse was weakening, little by little. The changes were very subtle, but he saw more of them every day. Mary Margaret grew a little bolder each day with David and Emma's influence. Ruby was more conscious of her life choices and was actually getting along with Granny these days. She was much less Ruby and more Red every day. Leroy was here too and that was huge. Finding him anywhere but at the bottom of a bottle was progress, indeed. Regina still had her cronies and supporters, but once the curse broke, that tide would change in an instant. He had never put much faith in leadership, but he was eager to know what a Storybrooke under Snow White and Prince Charming might be like. He knew it meant family and that was enough for him to throw his support behind them once it came time for the battles ahead.
"Well...I'm surprised to see you here. Don't you usually experience everything from behind your telescope?" Regina jabbed, as she sided up to the hatter.
"Things are different this year...as I'm sure you've noticed," he replied, a bit smugly. He wouldn't deny that he greatly enjoyed watching Regina squirm.
"Well enjoy them while you can, because if I have my way, next year will look very different," Regina said through barely contained rage.
"I think it's time you get real, Madam Mayor. Because this can of worms, so to speak, has been blown wide open and you can't just put everything back neatly the way it was," Jefferson warned.
"Oh, we'll see about that, now won't we?" she asked, as she brushed past him. He watched her go and saw her and Emma glare daggers at each other from across the square. The Mayor put her hand firmly on young Henry's shoulder, as if she was trying to make a statement with that one gesture. But what the Mayor didn't seem to understand was that the tighter she gripped Henry, the more he would slip away. His yearning to be with his biological family was growing stronger by the day. He wondered if the Mayor realized that if she were just to let him go that she might find that he would return willingly to her. After all, he knew the boy loved her, despite what she had done. If Regina would just allow him to be with the other people he loved as well, they'd all be happier. It made him wonder why this town, with all its people under her thumb, was really her happy ending. He'd watched the monotony for the last twenty-eight years. It was boring and nothing had happened before Emma came to town, save for when Regina adopted him.
It was that thought that struck him then. He didn't pretend to know a lot about the American adoption system, but it did make him wonder what kind of red tape Gold had to cut through to allow Regina to adopt Henry with no questions asked and no follow up from the supposed Adoption agency. Now there was a question he wanted to ask and he had a feeling, given Gold's current feelings toward their esteemed Mayor, that was a question Gold might be willing to answer.
With the arrival of Mary Margaret, he saw David's face light up and then turn down in concern, as he ensconced her in his arms. It looked like Mary Margaret Blanchard hadn't had a good day at all and wondered if it was about it get worse with Damon Tromera strutting smugly toward the square with Albert Spencer. The electricity in the air with all these opposing forces was volatile and promised fireworks in Storybrooke tonight, for if there was one thing that was true about Storybrooke these days; it was no longer boring.
David smiled, as he saw her, but frowned soon after and pulled her into his arms as she reached him.
"Hey...are you okay?" he asked, as she buried her face in his chest. She found herself breathing in his scent and relishing his arms around her.
"I'm okay now...it just wasn't a very good day," she sniffed and he could tell she had been crying.
"What happened?" he asked. Whoever had made her cry was going to get an earful from him for sure. He hated that there were people that treated her so terribly in this town. He knew most of it was the curse and Regina had managed to turn the opinion of some against her, but he still hated it.
"Tell me…" he pleaded, as he caressed her beautiful face.
"Well...first Damon Tromera showed up at the my classroom," she said, wincing when she saw him go rigid and his eyes shoot toward the man like blue fire.
"He did what?" he growled.
"It's okay...I wasn't alone. I'm not exactly sure what his ploy was, but he tried to buy the rest of the candles, like he was doing me a favor. Stephanie made him leave and I ripped up the check," she replied.
"Of course...we don't need his dirty money. We'll sell the rest of these candles," he assured.
"That's what I told Sister Astrid and she agreed that we couldn't take money from that man. Unfortunately, Mother Superior didn't share our opinion," she said sadly.
"Mary...I don't care what she said, because you did the right thing," he implored. She nodded and sniffed.
"I know...it just still hurts, you know? The names...but I think it hurts more that she refuses to recognize your divorce," she replied.
"Listen...you are not any of those names. You are the woman I love and the woman I'm meant to be with," he said. She smiled and nodded.
"I know...I think I can ignore the names as long as I have you," she replied. He smiled and kissed her tenderly.
"And you do have me…" he promised, as her eyes fluttered open. The festivities commenced and they were still struggling a bit with the candle sales. David nearly lost his cool when Damon strode up to the table and he put his hands on Mary Margaret's shoulders.
"I spoke with Mother Superior and I'm willing to ignore your earlier rejection of my contribution. A simple apology and your money woes will be over. These candles will look lovely in my club," he goaded.
"She doesn't owe you anything and we don't want anything from you," David growled. He smirked smugly.
"It continues to puzzle me why you choose to be with this pretty idiot when I could show you a life of luxury and sophistication with me," Damon goaded.
"You mean the life where you treat me as your possession?" she countered.
"Well...you are a prize for sure," he retorted.
"I love David and he loves me. We don't want anything to do with you, I don't care how many names I am called, but I will never accept anything from you. It would be like making a deal with the devil himself," she retorted back hotly. Damon glared at them both, as David was the one smiling smugly this time, as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Have a good evening, Miss Blanchard," he hissed, as he moved along and she let out a breath of relief.
"You are amazing," he told her, as he kissed her cheek.
"He's just so scary and creepy. He makes my skin crawl," she replied. He kissed her head.
"I know...we'll beat him though," he promised.
"I want to believe that, but Leroy said he's been making donations all over town. The convent, the hospital, every charity there is...David he's buying the jury," she fretted. He hugged her tightly.
"I know...but I still have to believe we can win and even if we don't, he's never touching you again," he replied. She was trying to think that was possible, but from the way her candle sales were going, she was having difficulty. What she didn't notice, however, was that Leroy had climbed onto the roof of hardware store where he had wired all the lighting from.
David saw him and looked at him curiously, but the shorter man simply motioned to the breaker box and held up his wire cutters. David smiled, catching onto to what he had in mind and gave him a thumbs up.
Suddenly, all the lights went dark and he was quick to start lighting candles on their table, giving off a glow. Mary looked at him and he grinned.
"We have candles!" she called and watched in amazement, as people began lining up at her table. Emma smiled, as she took one and stood by the table.
"Great timing for a blackout," she whispered to her dad.
"Well...the bad guys never play fair, so sometimes good has to stack the deck a little," he replied. By the time the line dissipated, they had sold out of the candles and Mary was in awe.
"We did it...we sold them all. We made enough for the rent at the convent!" she exclaimed. He picked her up and spun her around.
"I told you you'd do it," he said, as he kissed her. Her day had gone from bad to worse and then somehow had turned out good. But she could have never known at that moment that it would go from good to fantastic.
"You know...I've been waiting for the perfect moment to ask you a very important question and I don't think I'll ever get a better or a more romantic moment," he mentioned, as the candlelight around them created the perfect glow. She cocked her head to the side, wondering what he meant.
"I love you more than anything and I love making you as happy as you make me. I know the only thing that would make me happier than being your boyfriend...is being your husband," he said, as he got down on one knee and pulled the ring from his pocket. She gasped and they quickly drew everyone's attention.
"Mary Margaret Blanchard...will you marry me and be my wife?" he asked. A few tears escaped down her fair cheeks, but this time they were happy tears and she nodded her head.
"Yes…" she choked out.
"Yes!" she exclaimed again, as he put the ring on her finger and then stood up to pull her into his arms. He crushed his lips against hers and held her flush against him, as their lips moved passionately over each other's. Most everyone present applauded for them, while Regina glared murderously at them. Damon and Albert Spencer looked none too pleased as well, but David couldn't find it in himself to care about the possible threat they posed. So instead, he glared right back at them when his lips parted from Mary's and they basked in the congratulatory celebration from their friends. Emma hugged them both and they gathered together, as the fireworks to end the festivities began. For the moment, there was another victory for the side of good, even if the war between good and evil was far from over...