7:15 AM AU - Things go a bit differently in the cabin during 7:15 AM. With memories returned, how will this change things?
Wow! Such a great response to this fic, which has turned out to be even more amazing than I thought it would. The idea for this fic actually started as an idea in my head on a drive to work, way back in January or February when I actually still drove to work. I work from home now like most and am glad this idea came to fruition. I'm glad everyone is enjoying the twists and turns. Season 1 can be very fun to play with. Enjoy this latest and keep reviewing! Here are individual responses to reviews:
Ghostwriter: Yeah, Regina is irrationally angry at Snow when it should be Cora she's most angry at. I know, poor Henry and poor Snowing. Glad you're enjoying it! :)
Baratta Jennifer: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Sammii16: Glad you're enjoying the twists and the story in general! :)
210: So glad you like it! Enjoy the latest update! :)
Number Ten: We find out who the drunk is in this chapter. Yeah, this is really hard for Henry. Maybe harder than it was in the canon, because his grandparents are awake and believe him, but Emma still refuses to. Yeah, Regina is desperate to hurt them now so she is pulling out all the stops. Glad you're enjoying :)
Guest: I know, poor Henry. :(
Sexystarwarslover: Yep, Emma is going to run into her parents at the Rabbit Hole so that will be very interesting. Yep, Regina is losing control and she's dead meat when Rumple finds out that Belle is alive. For now though, she's going to try to destroy Snowing. But she won't be able to. Yeah, Granny is going to feel really bad pretty soon. Yep, some sexy Snowing time, only for it to be spoiled by Regina getting her fired. But they're not going to let her ruin Valentine's Day. I know, poor Henry. Snowing rebels is very hot! Yeah, Henry and Mary Margaret don't deserve any of this. But glad you're enjoying it!
AnonSnowing: No, no one would probably trust Gold with the results. I like Emma too, but here is she very frustrating. I love Regina losing control too. It's very satisfying. Sometimes I like those rare moments when Rumple is not getting his way either. And when Regina gets desperate, she makes those kinds of calls. But Snow has Charming at least and they'll get through anything together. It hurts my heart too thinking that Emma hates them right now.
I'm glad David's curse memories are vague too, but enough that he functions in this new world. Though a David confused by the modern world is always fun too. It does help here though that he doesn't have to learn to drive or cook in a modern kitchen. I loved when Snow wears his clothes too. Yep, Snow got fired now too, thanks to Regina. But they are not going to let that spoil their Valentine's Day. They're going to rub her face in their happiness. Yep, they're as full of rebellion as their grandson is. I know, some nice Snowing romance there. Yeah, Emma is just being stubborn. Yep, both Snowing and Emma are going to end up at the Rabbit Hole at the same time. You're welcome! Glad you're enjoying!
Clarity
Chapter 10: Open Wounds
Henry rushed toward the diner and sped around the corner, only to collide Neal, the very person he was seeking.
"Whoa...where's the fire, kid?" Neal asked and then saw how upset he was. He got down on one knee so he could look him in the eye.
"What's up?" he asked.
"My Mom...Regina got Miss Blanchard...my grandma Snow fired from her job so she's not at school anymore. She's the only one that talks to me and understands me!" he cried.
"Hey…fortunately that's not true anymore. You have me now, your grandpa David, and Emma of course," he said.
"No...she won't believe!" he said in exasperation.
"She moved out of the loft!" he cried and Neal gave him a hug.
"Okay buddy...I know you're upset, but things will work out," he promised.
"How do you know?" he asked.
"For the same reason that you know. Your grandparents are awake and Emma is just stubborn. Stubborn as hell...believe me, I know better than anyone. She'll eventually come around," Neal replied.
"In fact, I know her pretty well and I'd say she already knows in her heart. She's just really good at denial, buddy," he said.
"I don't want to go home to my Mom. Can I stay with you?" Henry asked. He chuckled.
"I'd love that...but you know I don't actually have custody of you, right? If it were that simple, we'd make it happen in a heartbeat," Neal replied.
"But it can! Your Dad was gramps' lawyer and he made sure David got divorced from the fake marriage that my Mom put him in. He can help you get custody!" Henry exclaimed.
"Henry...we can't trust my Dad," Neal claimed.
"I know he's done some bad things...but you're his son. He would do anything for you," Henry insisted.
"I'm not sure that's true," Neal argued.
"No...he will! Please!" Henry pleaded. Neal sighed and then gave in under his pleading stare.
"All right...do you know where his house is?" Neal asked.
"Yes, but he's probably at his shop. Come on!" Henry called, as he pulled his newly discovered father along, despite his reluctance.
Snow and David walked into the Rabbit Hole that evening and as expected, all eyes were on them momentarily.
"Yep...they're staring," she murmured, as he helped her with her coat and they found a table. He put her coat on the back of her chair and pushed her in once she was seated.
"They are, but then so am I with you in that dress," he said, marveling once again at her beauty. She smiled slyly.
"You like?" she asked.
"I love...I mean you always look beautiful, but wow…" he replied, admiring her trim figure in the curve hugging teal dress she was wearing. It had very thin straps, leaving her milky shoulders in view and it was short, giving him the vision of her gorgeous, shapely legs.
"What are you thinking?" she asked, biting her bottom lip as if she didn't know.
"I'm thinking about having you in my arms and kissing you...and other things…" he replied.
"Mmm…this is a nice table, but you're too far away," she said. He got up and moved his chair to the side of the small table, rather than across from her where it was.
"Much better," she said, as they joined hands and were about to kiss when the waitress approached.
"Drinks?" she asked.
"Uh...yes, I'll have a Malibu pineapple," Snow said.
"Just a beer," David said, as the waitress left them and they resumed where they were. Unfortunately, their lips barely touched before they were interrupted again.
"Well, well...fancy meeting you two lovebirds here," Ruby said in a cheeky tone.
"Hey Ruby," Snow greeted, wishing it was Red at that moment.
"Can we join you?" Red asked and they noticed that Ashley was with her.
"Uh...sure, I guess," Snow replied. He gave her a nod and a smile. They wanted to be alone, but they also didn't have many friends right now, so turning away two people that were actually willing to talk to them wasn't a good idea.
"So...how are things?" Ruby asked. They smiled.
"We're great...how about you?" Mary Margaret asked, as she and David held hands.
"Oh you know me. Granny is pissed that I bailed on the Valentine's crowd, but I had to get Ashley out here a bit," Ruby replied.
"That's right...how is the baby?" Mary Margaret asked, as she felt a pang of envy. There hadn't been a lot of time to think about much else other than their current situation when they had awakened from the haze of the curse. But as this new reality was setting in, she realized how much she was still the mindset of an expectant mother. An expectant mother without a baby, because hers grew up without them, alone and unhappy.
"She's good, very healthy and I didn't think I could do this. But I am. Some days are harder than others...but I wouldn't change anything. I owe Emma everything for helping me get Mr. Gold to tear up our contract," Ashley said.
"That's wonderful...I'm very happy for you," Mary Margaret said, as she took a big drink from her glass and David squeezed her hand.
"Hey...if this is too much and you want to go, we can," he whispered to her, but she shook her head.
"I'm fine…" she assured him, as Sean came in and insisted on talking to Ashley. But their attention was taken away from that when Emma came in. Her eyes locked on them for a moment and then she breezed by them toward the bar.
"Okay…I think I'm ready to go now," Mary Margaret said, as she was on the verge of tears now. She didn't want to hear about Ashley's happiness with her baby, because she wanted a baby. She wanted it so badly, but her baby was grown, which would have been okay if her baby didn't hate her guts right now. He stood up with her and was about to get her coat when they heard a ruckus.
"I think that guy has a knife," Ruby mentioned and that led to David dropping his wife's coat and running toward their daughter.
Emma walked in and spotted David and Mary Margaret at a table, apparently celebrating Valentine's Day together. Her eyes locked with Mary Margaret's for a moment, before she pushed her emotions away and headed to the bar to do what she came here for.
"Where is he?" she asked the bartender. He proceeded to point to a man named Keith, whom she had discovered was a frequent troublemaker and often belligerent drunk.
"Okay Keith...let's go," she said.
"You called the Sheriff on me?" he asked the bartender.
"Yep, and it's time for you to detox in the tank. Let's go," Emma repeated, as she took out her cuffs.
"I'm not going anywhere with you, bitch," he barked at her, as he took a sloppy swing and missed. He hit the bar and Emma sighed, as she took one of his wrists, preparing to cuff him. That's when he brandished a knife and she saw it a moment too late. She gasped, but no stabbing came, as suddenly someone was in front of her, holding his arm at bay with his own.
David stepped in, trying to fend off the drunk, who was insanely strong at the moment, due to an alcohol filled rage.
"Back off…" David growled.
"Make me, pretty boy," he slurred, as David punched him in the face.
"Drop the knife, asshole!" Emma demanded, as she drew her gun. But he was feeling no pain, thanks to his drunken state, and rushed at her with the knife. Her eyes widened and she hesitated to shoot for a split second, which she thought might cost her her life. But to her surprise again, David jumped in front of her and took the knife wound to his gut. Screams erupted from several people in the room, but none more bloodcurdling than Mary Margaret's.
"DAVID!" she cried, as she was by his side in an instant, holding him.
"I'm okay…" he promised, but there was a knife stuck in his side and he was bleeding.
"Oh God…" she cried, as she prepared to pull it out.
"Wait...don't pull it out," Emma warned, as she turned to the bar.
"I need towels and someone to call an ambulance!" she ordered, as the bartender tossed her some towels, while Ruby called 911.
"If we pull it out, he could bleed out before we get him to the hospital," she said, as she packed the wound around the protruding knife.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Emma growled at him.
"I'm a cop...you had no business jumping in on this," she hissed. He could hear anger in her voice, but more than that, he could hear fear.
"Wouldn't be the first time I took a blade for you if Henry's right," he mentioned, as he hissed in pain a bit.
"I didn't ask for your help," she spat.
"Emma…" Mary Margaret scolded, but he managed to squeeze her hand.
"It's okay…" he whispered to her. Snow didn't like her reaction at all, but David understood it perfectly. When it came to dealing with emotions, he was starting to see how alike he and his daughter really were.
"Baby...hang on, the ambulance is on the way," Snow whispered, as she held his head in her lap.
"I'll be fine, I promise...you know I've taken worse than this," he whispered back to her, though Emma heard and decided to attempt to calm her as she was nearly in hysterics.
"I can't lose you again…" she sniffed.
"He's lucid and still conscious. That's a good sign," she offered, as Mary Margaret looked up at her. The ambulance arrived and Mary Margaret got into the back of it, as David was loaded into it.
"I'll meet you at the hospital," Emma said.
"You will?" Mary Margaret asked, with hope in her voice.
"Uh...yeah, I need to take his statement once he's patched up," she deflected and watched the dark haired woman's face fall. Mary Margaret gave her a slight nod, as the ambulance doors were closed and it took off for the hospital.
"That was cold," Ruby mentioned.
"What?" Emma asked.
"Uh...she's your best friend and her boyfriend just took a knife for you and you're acting like you barely know her," Ruby replied.
"I know you had some kind of falling out since you moved out...but this seems bigger than whatever you're mad at her about," she added.
"I'm not mad at Mary Margaret…" Emma said.
"Then why did you move out?" Ruby asked.
"It's complicated and I have a lot of work to do," Emma replied.
"Fine…I guess I'll go to the hospital instead. Maybe if you're feeling human later...you can join me," Ruby said, as she walked off. Emma sighed and continued filling out her report.
The shop bell rang and Gold was shocked to see his son come in with his own son. His grandson...that wasn't something he saw coming at all and he wasn't surprised very often. He shared a grandson with Snow White and Prince Charming. Fate certainly did have a sense of humor.
"Bae…" he said.
"Can you be my dad's lawyer?" Henry asked bluntly.
"Lawyer?" Gold asked.
"Uh...I think we're getting ahead of ourselves, kid. I mean, I'd love to have custody, even if it was joint custody, but my dad isn't a real lawyer," Neal replied.
"I do have a license to practice," Gold corrected.
"You never actually went to law school," Neal said skeptically.
"The curse may have given me the license, but I know everything needed to argue any case," Gold assured him. Neal sighed.
"See...you have to get custody! My Mom is trying to make it so I can't ever see you or Emma or my grandparents again," Henry said gravely.
"Well...we can't have that. Fortunately, I've already drawn up the filing," Gold replied, as he produced a document. Neal looked at him skeptically.
"You've already drawn up a custody petition?" he asked.
"Yes...and we can file first thing in the morning. It will be a battle, because the district attorney is corrupt in this land and was in our land as well. But I will win this," Gold replied.
"See…I told you he could do it," Henry said.
"Yeah...you did," Neal replied, as he patted his son on the shoulder.
"Hey...we should go get food at the diner. Maybe you can call my grandparents to meet us!" Henry said.
"Okay kid...give me the number," Neal said, as his son rattled off Mary Margaret's number.
"Mary Margaret...it's Neal," he said, as he listened to her.
"You sound upset...is something wrong?" he asked, as he listened again and his eyes widened.
"Wow...okay, we're on our way," Neal said, as he hung up.
"Uh...looks like we need to go to the hospital instead, kid. David was stabbed. He's okay...but that's where they are," he said, as Henry gasped.
"Then we should go," Gold agreed, as he started toward his car. Neal was reluctant, but knew that his son needed to go see his grandparents at this time, so they followed.