Chapter Six: Modern Technology

Snow spent the time trying to explain all of the modern conveniences to her husband. Some stuff they had in the Enchanted Forest, just not as flashy, like the tea kettle. He didn't understand why some people needed all of this stuff, but he wasn't going to complain. The concept of television was exciting. Typically, entertainment came in forms of jester or competitions. She said there were similar sports that they showed on the screen and that she was sure Thomas would be more than happy to watch it with him.

"We're going to need some stuff," Snow said. She didn't want to leave her family, but Charming had no clothes outside what Regina cursed him with and all Emma had was the dress she came through the portal in. All of Snow's stuff would be far too big. "I remember your measurements from the Enchanted Forest and I'm sure since whoever runs the store was from there, they can convert that to size, but I don't know Emma's."

Charming thought for a minute. "Well, maybe August knows?"

"How much would he know about measurements? I'm sure her…" Snow stopped herself from saying mother. She knew she'd have to get used to it for Emma's sake, but it was so hard for her to accept that she had another mom. To Snow, she was her mother. Of course she was so thankful Odette had taken good care of her, it just wasn't easy. Charming caught the look on his wife's face and squeezed her face. He understood. "I'm sure Odette or Alise would be the one to know all that."

"It's worth a shot. They do seem to be very close."

"I'll phone Geppetto." That got a look across both of their faces. They knew they had to have a talk with him and Blue, but it could wait. "Hopefully Jiminy will pick up."

"I didn't know he was ever human."

"Yeah, me either." Snow walked over to the phone and picked it up, quickly dialing a number. Charming watched in amazement. To most people in their current realm, a phone wasn't such a big deal, but where he came from, you had to communicate via messenger or birds if you were so inclined to have any nearby.

It took a few rings and an accented voice filled Snow's ear. She cringed, of course Geppetto answered.

"Geppetto," she said, her voice frosty.

"Your majesty," his own voice came across suddenly nervous and trembling. There was no doubt to him now, she knew. The Snow he knew was kind, to everyone. It shocked him at first when he got to know her when she was a young girl, still a princess. Most royals turned their noses up at him, but not her. When Pinocchio became a real boy, she even sent by some clothes and toys for him. There was only one reason why she would be speaking to him in such a way. "If you please allow me to explain…"

"I'm not calling to talk to you. Is August there?" Snow asked, quickly.

"Oh, yes. Let me go fetch him." Snow could hear footsteps and then some calls for "Pinocchio", more footsteps and then fumbling. Geppetto said something along the lines of "No, hold it this way, so that side is by your mouth. There you go."

"Um, hello?" August asked, not sure how loud he had to be. His papa had yet to explain everything to him. Before they got the call, Jiminy was showing him the VCR.

"Hi, it's Snow," she said, her tone instantly becoming softer. She had just gotten done holding back a laugh over him being taught how to use the telephone. She could only imagine how it would go with Emma.

"Your majesty. Is Emma okay? Did she get hurt? If she's sick, I can be right…"

Snow raised an eyebrow at how concerned he sounded. She could tell he was close to her daughter, but this level of protection was impressive. "Emma's fine, don't worry. And please don't bother with the, your majesty. You're royal, just as I am, and you're my sister's brother."

"Oh." August calmed down a little. "Emma's really okay?"

"Yes, she's taking a nap."

"Good. She barely gets any sleep anymore."

Snow flinched at the confirmation. No wonder she looked so tired. "I just need to get her some clothes. The only thing she and Charming have is what they ended up in this realm in. I can remember his measurements from before the curse, however I don't know Emma's and as I said, she's asleep, I don't want to bother her. I know it's a long shot, but do you possibly know?"

To her surprise, August rattled them off instantly. Snow quickly scribbled them down on a piece of paper, he even had her shoe size. She was so tiny, then again, she had been at that age too.

"Thank you," she told him.

"It's no problem. Alise isn't always the best at knowing which clothes Emma is going to like, so I typically order them," August explained, knowing she was probably wondering why he had them.

"Does she have a specific style?"

"No frills, sparkles or pink. Oh and absolutely no bows unless you want a fireball thrown at it."

Snow raised an eyebrow. She hadn't been expecting that, didn't most princesses like that kind of stuff? "Bows are a no go. Go it."

"I'm sure you'll do fine. Please just don't get her whatever it is I saw Red wearing."

The queen laughed. "I promise; I have no intentions of letting her dress like that."

"Thank you," August chuckled. "I might stop by later…if that's okay."

"It's perfectly fine. You're welcome here any time."

"I appreciate that. Did Emma…did she tell you…"

"Your father's role?"

"Yes."

"Yes. We'll speak with him about it at some point, but not today."

"I understand your majest…Snow. I'll have Papa or Jiminy show me how to use this thing to let you know when I'm coming by."

"Alright. Talk to you later," Snow hung up and turned to David. "He is really, really protective."

"Well, he is her big brother," Charming pointed out.

"I guess. He just sounded really anxious as soon as he figured out it was me. I can't imagine what he's been through these past 16 years."

Charming nodded, something else on his mind. "How could Odette and Derek not have told her?"

Snow chewed on her lip. "The curse may have never been broken."

"They lied to her, for her entire life."

"To be fair…" Snow sighed. "Sometimes parents lie to their children to protect them, your mother lied to you."

"That was different," Charming argued. "She couldn't tell me about James or else it would break the deal. They weren't under any deal."

"Breaking this curse was tricky. She only got here via a magic bean. Now, we have no clue what Regina is going to do, what she has planned. Even if there's no magic, there's so many possibilities."

"So, they go with her. Then she wouldn't be alone."

"Yes, they bring her to her biological parents and then she has to make a choice," Snow pointed out. "Between the people who raised her and the people who only gave her up to save her. One, that's not right to put on her shoulders, none of this has been. And two, they clearly loved her. You know that feeling in our chests, the one that says that we can't lose her? I'm sure they felt that every single day." Snow wasn't sure where this protectiveness for the other king and queen came from, but maybe it was a mother thing. She had been the one to decide they'd send Emma off, because she knew it was doing what was right. Clearly, they thought that was right.

Charming just sighed, running a hand over his face while he slid into a chair. Snow gently sat on the arm of it, rubbing his back.

"We can be angry with Blue, Geppetto and Regina. They caused this. But it's not at us to be angry with or forgive Odette and Derek. They didn't do anything to us, everything that happened was with Emma and we have to support whatever choice she makes in terms of that."

Charming just nodded. "I still think they were wrong for lying."

"I know you do," she kissed his cheek. "Just don't badmouth them to her, that won't help us build a relationship with her."

"I never would," he promised.

"I can't believe how beautiful she is," Snow whispered, a smile going across her face.

"She looks just like you," Charming replied, finally smiling himself.

"With your hair," his wife pointed out.

"The color, texture is so you…what happened to your curls?"

Snow frowned. "I don't know. I should definitely not be this skinny either, we were all frozen in time for so long. I guess Regina's curse made me have shorter hair and not have a post-baby body, that'd be too suspicious I guess." She shrugged.

"You'll always be beautiful to me," Charming told her, touching her chin. Snow's smile return and she kissed his lips, gently.

"And you'll always be handsome," she whispered. "Kinda good we didn't age during this time, though. No gray hairs yet."

Charming laughed. "A definite perk." They resumed kissing for a while. 28 years had really been way too long. Snow wished they could move things to her…or rather, their bed, but she knew she had to go buy all this before Emma woke up. She pulled away and ignored his whines.

"Later, tonight," she winked. "I have to do some shopping."

"I don't want to be apart so soon," Charming said, his brows creasing.

"Neither do I, but as of now, neither of you have anything."

"Should we wait until Emma gets up?"

"No, I don't want to bring her out right now. Who knows if Regina's out there?" Before he could protest, she held up a hand. "Don't worry. I'll be careful. You just stay here. I have a feeling Grumpy and the dwarves will be back soon. Blue may be with them…just do your best not to say anything, okay? We both need to talk to her."

Charming would like nothing more than to step on that fairy, but nodded in agreement. "Alright. Just come back to me."

"I always will." She kissed him and got up. "I have already prepared snacks in the cabinets, please don't touch or let Emma touch the stove or oven yet, alright?"

"You think I'd burn our kitchen?" Charming pretended to sound offended.

Snow giggled. "You'll be fine after some lessons." She grabbed her purse and gave him one last kiss before leaving.

David flicked on the T.V and looked through the channels to get an idea of what the men wore. It seemed to be so different. He looked down at his own plaid shirt and jeans. They were more comfortable than his usual royal garb and warmer than the rags his mother had barely been able to afford when he was growing up.

His mother. Emma didn't even know her middle name: Ruth. Unless Odette and Derek already gave her one.

He knew he was being too harsh on them, deep down. After finding out that Snow had once been cursed by King George and if it not for his mother, they wouldn't be able to have any biological children, he knew that wouldn't have stopped them. Misthaven was, unfortunately, filled with orphans who needed good homes. Without the magical water, they would've adopted one of them. And if there was a chance that they would ever lose said child, they'd do everything to stop it.

Even so, it was hard for Charming to even view them as her parents. He was her father; he was meant to help her take her first steps on the nursery floor. It was his job to teach her to ride a horse, sneak her treats when she was in timeout or in trouble. He was supposed to mediate Snow and Emma in the teen years, then be ganged up against when she dared to want to date. He had missed her first ball, possibly her first suitor. His baby girl wasn't 28 as he had been told by Rumpelstiltskin, but she wasn't exactly a baby anymore either. How much was a 16-year-old going to need her father? Especially when she already had one. Even if she ever viewed him as one, would Emma spend all her time comparing them? Charming wondered what kind of father he was. The time he met Alise, he seemed to be wrapped around her little finger. He couldn't picture Emma being much different.

Charming also knew that Snow was struggling with Odette, there were mother/daughter milestones, along with just the everyday ones that neither received. She just seemed to be handling it all better. He had to remind himself it was Day 1. She had plenty of time to express how she truly felt about the situation.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Carefully, he got up and walked to it. "Who is it?"

"The dwarves," came Doc's reply.

Charming opened it up and found the 7 of them standing there with Blue. "Where's the Huntsman?" he questioned.

"He's the sheriff of this town or he was as the result of the curse, his name is Graham" Grumpy explained. "He took Regina into custody, she was at her home. She tried to use her magic on us, but of course it didn't work. We figured you and Snow would want to interrogate her."

Charming nodded. "She left us all cursed for 28 years, she can stay locked up for a little bit. I want to focus on reuniting with my daughter for now."

"How is Emma doing?" Sneezy asked.

"As well as could be expected," Charming replied with a grateful smile. "Snow stepped out to get some things for us."

"Does that mean we're stuck here?" Grumpy butted in.

"No, we're going to find a way home, I promise, no matter how long it takes."

"It could take a while," Blue piped up. "As stated there's no magic in this town."

"We'll find a way," Charming replied, respectfully, but firmly. He matched the fairy's eyes. "And you will be doing all you can to help, won't you Blue?" He noticed she was faking being taken back, she wasn't as sensitive as she tried to make herself out to be. When the dwarves weren't looking, she gave him her infamous shady smile.

"Of course, Prince Charming."

"Great." His attention was turned back to the dwarves. "You all have shelter?"

"Yes, Regina thought of everything with the curse. We have homes, jobs and the like," Doc replied.

"Great. Let us know if you need anything, Snow and I will try to get a meeting together for tomorrow afternoon. Do you know of a place where we could? This loft doesn't come with meeting halls or anything."

Doc laughed. "Yes, there's town hall. It should be big enough to gather everyone."

"Great, we'll be there around noon. Please spread the word?"

The dwarves agreed and dispersed, leaving only the fairy behind. Charming just stared at her, wondering what she could possibly want.

"Are you upset with me?" Blue asked, coyly.

"We need to have a chat. You, myself and Snow."

"Whatever about?"

Charming continued to stare at her. He wasn't going to tear into her, that's what she wanted and he wasn't going to play her mind games.

"We'll just discuss it when we do."

"Your wish is my command," Blue replied simply, before walking away. Charming shut his eyes as he closed the door. Geppetto was going to be the easier of the two, he already knew it.

A little later, he could hear the bed in the loft creaking, followed by footsteps. Emma was on the lower floor, looking a little refreshed.

"Good nap?" He asked.

Emma nodded, awkwardly. "Where's Snow?"

"She stepped out to grab a few things, should be back soon." David studied her, trying to think of something to say, something profound, fatherly. All he could think of was, "You must be hungry."

"Hungry?" Emma clearly also hadn't been expecting that.

"Well…yes."

"I guess, a little." She shrugged.

"Snow sort of forbade me from heating anything up, but she said there's stuff in the cupboards."

Emma nodded, heading into the kitchen. She opened up one of the cabinets and felt herself feel a little happier. There was a package with chocolate chip cookies. The label said "Chips Ahoy", whatever that meant. She carefully removed it and saw Charming lighting up.

"Chocolate chip cookies are the best," he said.

Emma smiled a little. "Yeah, they are."

David opened the ice box…or fridge as Snow had described it and found a carton labeled to be milk. Did they not have it in glass bottles in this realm? After locating the cups, he poured out two and sat with Emma at the island, munching on the prepackaged treats. Charming noticed she nibbled around it, in a circle rather than just biting it down the middle. He did the same thing. Maybe she got more from him than his blondeness. Only time was going to tell that one.

Emma could feel him watching her and nearly told him to cut it out, but her heart told her brain to shut up. He was her…father. Oh God, that was weird to think about. She had two fathers. Growing up, she never understood how August could love their dad and yet feel so much for his papa. He didn't speak of him much, but when he did, she could tell how deeply she loved him. Now, she definitely felt something for these people, but she didn't know if it was love. So, how was it that they seemed to love her so much? They just met her.

Or, really they had met before, she just couldn't remember it.

Emma reminded herself of the nursery she had seen, the symbol of how much they had wanted her, to raise her. To have that ripped away…she couldn't imagine. But she didn't know what to say to make it okay, to make them feel better. They were being so kind to her, she just wished she could repay the favor.

A jingle could be heard and then the door opened, Snow walking in, bags hanging off her arms, even a couple dangling from her mouth. That caught Emma's attention, it didn't seem very princess-like…and she was okay with that. Charming leapt up to help her out, and Snow smiled gratefully, removing the handles from her mouth.

"Sorry, I just wanted to get it done in one trip."

"Do the vendors have any items left?" Emma asked, her voice joking. Suddenly, she got a little worried. Sometimes her humor got her in trouble. But, to her surprise, Snow just laughed.

"I was a little surprised anyone was opened, but as we said, continue on with your life, I guess." Snow gave Emma a small smile. "August gave me an idea of what you don't like, but of course the items here aren't like the ones where we're all from. I hope it's okay, I can take things back if they don't fit."

Emma crossed the room, rifling through the bags. Yes, the clothing was most certainly different. But to her amazement, there was nothing pink, sparkly or overall cutesy. Lots of blues and purples, her favorite colors. Her cheeks tinted.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"It's no problem," Snow replied. "I don't know how long we're going to be stuck in this land, so I just wanted to be safe."

"I really appreciate it."

Snow pulled herself away from staring at her daughter to fix them all some dinner, making grilled cheese sandwiches. Emma had eaten cheese sandwiches before, specifically at tea parties, but never heated up. It turned out to be quite good. She wanted to try to find something for them all to talk about. Yes, there was one thing they could but she wasn't ready. Not yet.

"Is your name really Charming?" Emma asked.

Charming laughed. "No, it's a nickname. My real name is David."

"Oh."

"Charming is a nickname I gave him and it stuck," Snow smirked. "He's just so charming."

"Something about your tone implies sarcasm," Emma pointed out.

"He wasn't so charming when we met."

"You hit me in the face with a rock!"

Emma's eyes widened. "What?"

Snow rolled her eyes at her husband. "Long story, he also tied me up a tree."

Emma looked between the two of them. "I'm sorry, I thought you two were true loves."

The pair laughed. "We are," the queen replied. "It's just true love doesn't always start off that way."

Emma thought of her adoptive parents' story, how her father was a miserable little brat who tormented her mom. She supposed it was true. She had never been in love, courting was near impossible with August following her everywhere. She had kissed boys, but never anything more. The thought made her nearly roll her eyes. Part of her wondered if it was just because August was in love with someone, just not a person he could have. The other part of her knew it was really because it was his job to "protect her". Until recently, she hadn't realized it wasn't just one he had decided. It had been placed upon him.

"You okay?" Charming asked.

"Oh, yes. Sorry." Emma blinked her eyes a few times.

As they were finishing eating their dinner, there was a knock at the door. Charming went and answered it, returning a moment later with August. Emma leapt out of her seat, throwing her arms around him. It had only been a few hours, but it felt like forever. August hugged her tighter, kissing the top of her head.

"You eat?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"Good. Um, we're going to be in the other…or I guess, my room." Emma lead him up the stairs, leaving her parents to watch after her, sighing a bit. They were going to have to be in Geppetto's life whether they liked it or not. There was no way they could deny their daughter her brother.

They gave the two some privacy, Snow teaching Charming how to use the dishwasher and other appliances before returning to watch some T.V. After a while, they realized just how quiet it was. They headed up the stairs and found both sprawled out on Emma's bed, asleep, Emma softly snoring. August had a protective arm around her, his head on top of hers.

Snow simply put a blanket over the two of them, only just then realizing that had she not delivered before the curse was set, she probably would've been the one to raise this young man. That equally would've made the whole thing awkward.

But tomorrow was a new day, one they could use trying to figure everything out. How to start the process in going home, how to deal with the people that had caused them all of this pain and finally…how to rebuild their family.

As always, let me know what you guys want to see. I know some of you requested stuff and that will come, well outside the person that requested Snowing to try for another baby right now. I think things are just a bit too hectic for that at the moment, haha. Anyway, hope to have more of this and my other multi-chapter and one shot series up soon.