A/N: Thanks for the reviews, they mean a lot to me
Charming's fairy-tale land name is James in this story to make it easier to separate things later on and trust me there is a lot to come! Graham will also be a large part of this story because I loved him and I can't believe they killed him off! I'm still bitter about that one.
Updates will be regular for this story because I've gotten most of it written already – it's shaping up to be a long one so I hope you guys will stick with me for the ride!
Enjoy!
/
"Because I know who you are. Snow White."
"Well aren't you charming, Charming."
"Wherever you're going, be careful."
"You'll find me."
"Always."
"You came."
"I'll find you. I will always find you."
"We're going to take back the Kingdom, Snow and we are going to do it as a family."
"I love you, Charming."
"I told you, it's James."
"Snow?"
The pain exploding in James' head would have been enough to bring him to his knees if he wasn't already lying down. His hands curled into the material under him as his mind was assaulted by vision after vision. No, not visions. Memories. His memories.
Snow.
He was vaguely aware of someone in the room with him, a child's voice calling to him.
"Grandpa?" The voice seemed scared and a little bit hopeful but mostly James was just confused. Grandpa?
He focused in on the little boy beside him, who in his attempt to reach James had all but managed to climb onto the bed next to him but was not quite touching him. The pain ebbed enough for James to get a handle on himself, the memories still in his mind but no longer screaming in his head.
There was something else there as well. Something distance and… not quite formed. David Nolan. Storybrooke, Maine. These were things James felt like he shouldn't know but they lingered in the back of his mind with everything else, these strange recollections of a foreign land where he went by another name and had little else to go on. David Nolan of Storybrooke. How odd.
He looked over to the young lad questioningly, his eyes taking in the boy with brown hair and familiar eyes as he saw his face break out in a grin of triumph.
"It worked," The boy said excitedly, "You're awake and you remember. You do remember, don't you? Who you are?"
James frowned at the question, "Who I am?"
"What's your name?"
"James."
The boy's grin only grew. "Yes! Exactly, James. Prince Charming. Snow White's True Love. Emma's father."
At the mention of his family James tried to sit up, eager to reach his family only to find his movements haltered by several wires attached to his skin. The Prince looked around confused at the bland room and the beeping monitors surrounding his bed before looking back at the boy a little helplessly.
"Snow?" He asked again, "Where is she? What did the Queen do?"
Henry looked down sheepishly, "Okay, Gramps. I don't know how much time we have before people come in here but I need you to listen. It's important and you've missed a lot."
James' eyes narrowed in confusion but there was something about this boy he couldn't place, a sense of kinship and longing that James didn't understand but he knew what the boy was saying was very true and that within a few minutes of waking up he knew he trusted this little boy more than anything else right now.
"Hey, Grandpa. I'm Henry, your grandson. We'll get to that later."
Henry.
His grandson.
James didn't have the luxury to break down that one so instead he studied Henry's face carefully and nodded once, "Tell me everything."
Henry grinned.
…
Emma quickly opened up the door to Mary's apartment with the plans of quickly changing clothes before heading out to meet Henry for lunch at Granny's. She still wasn't sure letting him go off to the hospital alone was such a good idea but Emma also knew if the kid was confident enough to get on a bus and come all the way to Boston to find her then he would have went regardless of what Emma told him to do. There was a small part of her that could see herself in her son in those moments and she wasn't sure if that scared her or made her proud. She never really thought that far ahead when she had given him up for adoption, she never thought about a young man who might inherit her knack of finding trouble or her headstrong determination.
Did that make her a bad mother already?
In the five minutes she had known her son before social services came she didn't once think about the type of person he could grow into or what features he'd take from her.
Yet here she was putting down roots in a small town like Storybrooke which once would have made her skin crawl just to drive through for a ten year-old boy with her eyes and an unmeasurable imagination.
That wasn't something she ever planned for.
Another thing she didn't plan for was her roommate being home during the day after she bustled out of the apartment earlier that morning in a rush due to oversleeping.
Mary was standing with her back against the sink and a mug in her hands, her mind clearly elsewhere as Emma shut the front door behind her, effectively managing to draw her friend's attention, as she made her way over to join Mary in the kitchen.
"You're home early."
Mary set down her mug on the counter, "Yeah, Jason is making me work the late shift tonight so I got to finish early."
"He's making you work again? Has this guy ever heard of slave labour?" Emma asked, not having met Mary's boss and sincerely hoping to never have the misfortune in the future.
"Its fine, Emma. It's not like I had plans."
Emma sighed and took a seat at the kitchen island, shrugging off her jacket as she did so, "I've got the rest of my stuff coming over later day. Just a couple of boxes. You sure you don't mind me keeping it here?"
Mary shook her head with a smile, "This is your home as well now. It's nice to see you're sticking around."
"For Henry," Emma added, "Not because I want to put down roots or anything. The kid wants me to stay and Regina makes my stomach turn so until I am convinced Henry is happy and safe I'm staying."
"And getting a job at the Sheriff's station?"
"Blame Graham for that one, he offered it to me and I needed to pay you rent so it just seemed to work out." Emma explained as she rested her arms on the counter in front of her.
Mary's place was homely and there was plenty of space for the both of them. Normally Emma wasn't the roommate type of person but Mary didn't seem to be either so they worked well. Mary's job kept her pretty busy and Emma had Henry and her deputy job to occupy her which meant it didn't feel like they were roommates at all. Emma never really classed herself as a people person and she was thankful Mary never seemed to push her for more than she was willing to share. That's what made conversation between them easy, there was this unspoken rule not to push it and both parties seemed to respect that and their privacy.
"I'm just saying, you might find you like it here." Mary teased.
Emma simply scoffed at the notion, "And I might like punching Regina in the face but that doesn't mean I'm going to try it."
"I do imagine that to be quite satisfying though," Mary laughed, "Like ripping off a Band-Aid."
"You don't like the mayor?"
"Does anyone?"
Emma paused for a moment, "True."
"I don't know, I've never really talked to her. She doesn't exactly look like the kind of person I'd deal with at the bar, you know? There is something about her that sets my teeth on edge."
"It's all that arrogance," Emma decided, "Arrogance in a pant suit."
Mary laughed at that as her eyes caught sight of the clock on the wall behind Emma. 1:15pm, that's odd, Emma was never normally home at that time of day.
"Aren't you meant to be at work?" Mary asked, voicing her unspoken thought.
Emma looked at the clock as well, "Lunch break. I'm meeting Henry, just wanted to change first. That kid certainly knows how to go looking for trouble."
"How so?"
"The mayor's son is currently reading to a coma patient."
Mary frowned at that, "A coma patient? Why?"
"I have no idea," Emma replied, "Henry gets these ideas and he just rolls with them. I figured it can't hurt, right? It's not like anything is going happen."
"Why this particular patient though?"
"It's silly," Emma sighed, "Henry told me once he thought the coma patient was Prince Charming. You know like from Snow White. I think he thinks he can wake him up."
Mary tilted her head to the side thinking back to what she knew about the story, "Doesn't he need a kiss for that?"
"Who knows?" Emma laughed, "Maybe when he sees nothing happens he might start to give up on the fairytale characters all being Storybrooke people thing."
"Right, the curse." Mary said, remembering the last time she had this conversation with Emma about Henry's beliefs that everyone in this town was a fairytale character, "Who does he think you are? Cinderella?"
"The daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. I'm going to save you all from the curse apparently."
"So let me get this straight," Mary started, "Henry is going to try to wake up Prince Charming, who he thinks is your father. That would make him Henry's grandfather."
"Yeah," Emma nodded, "And the guy is barely older than I am now."
"That kid definitely has some imagination."
"Should I be worried about it?"
Mary paused for a moment, "No. Regina has had him in therapy for ages and he still believes in fairytales so I doubt anything you could say would change his mind. There aren't a lot of kids in Storybrooke Henry's age so maybe he is lonely. But if it isn't hurting anyone what's the harm, right?" Mary reached over for her mug and took a sip of her now lukewarm tea, "I think it's nice he can still believe in all that stuff. You don't want him knowing how harsh the real world can be until he has to."
"So just play along?"
"That's what you've been doing and he's opening up to you. He already trusts you more than Regina."
Emma smiled at that, "Yeah, maybe you're right. Besides him believing that my parents are Snow White and Prince Charming and they sent me through a magic wardrobe to save me is a lot better than my parents just abandoning me because they didn't want me."
"Who does he think I am?" Mary asked, "Fairytale me anyway."
"Snow White."
Mary's eyes went wide, "Well that certainly couldn't be further from the truth."
…
James was still reeling from Henry's explanation, his mind working almost as quickly as Henry had explained it moments ago before Dr Whale had charged into the room with his face a mixture of shock and disbelief that the patient who had been in a coma for as long as he could remember was actually awake.
In more ways than one, James thought bitterly.
As Dr Whale about checking the machines and prodding James within an inch of his life the Prince's focus remained on Henry. The little boy who sought him out, woke up him and told him of the Queen's curse.
His grandson.
That was a hard one to swallow.
Emma.
That was even worse.
James knew Regina's wrath would be fierce. He was never under any illusion that she wouldn't go to whatever lengths she needed to break apart his family and Snow's happiness. Apparently she had done exactly that, they'd all been frozen in an unfamiliar land and none of his people could remember who they were, not even Snow. James couldn't help the tightness in his chest at the thought of his beloved Snow walking around without knowing who she was or who he was or their life together. Henry hadn't said much about her, claiming not to have much interaction with her other than her being Emma's roommate here in Storybrooke.
Emma. That was another bombshell for the Prince. According to Henry 28 years had passed while everyone in this town was frozen which meant his daughter was now walking around as a 28 year-old woman. James could remember the feeling of her in his arms as he fought to get her to the wardrobe like it was yesterday. In his frozen mind maybe it was.
Then there was the fact that his baby was now a mother herself. James wanted to hunt Regina down for that alone. For starting the chain of events that lead to him and Snow deciding it was in Emma's best interest to put their newborn in a magic wardrobe to send her to a land where she had to grow up alone but Henry's voice quickly came to his mind.
"She can't know you're awake. We need to get Emma to believe so she can break the curse. Who knows what the Evil Queen will do if she realises you know who you are."
He was right and James knew he had to be smart about this. He was awake but no one other than Henry knew about the curse and if Regina found out… James didn't even want to think about who she would target for revenge. He couldn't put his family in danger, not Snow who was out there living the life Regina created for her. Or Emma would had no idea what her destiny was or who she really was or even Henry. The little boy with so much hope and an Evil Queen for a mother.
No, James thought, he would have to be subtle even though as Snow often just to remind him it wasn't his forte.
A warm hand on his shoulder caused James to turn sharply and realise that Dr Whale was speaking to him. He tried to focus on the man with the white medical jacket and blonde hair but his mind was wrestling with all the information Henry had just told him and trying to figure out how to fix this without Regina knowing and Gods, he wished Snow was here right now. She'd know exactly what to say to him to restore his faith.
"… It's the most unusual thing, really. Nothing changed, nothing has ever changed in your vitals and suddenly you're awake and it's almost like nothing is wrong with you? How do you feel?" Whale pressed, hand still on James' shoulder, "Blurred vision, pain anywhere?" James shook his head, eyes glancing down to the white bandage on his shoulder. Emma, he thought briefly, the night he got her to safety. The night he should have died protecting his daughter from Regina.
Whale didn't seem to notice James' turmoil, still firing questions at him, "How much do you remember? What happened to you? What's your name?"
James' eyes met Henry's at that last question, the pleading look on his grandson's face begging him to trust him and stick with the plan.
After a deep breath, James spoke softly for the first time since Whale had arrived, "David… My name's David Nolan."
Henry released the breath he had been holding since Whale entered as none other than Graham and Emma practically burst through the door, taking in the sight in front of them.
Henry had completely forgotten about lunch at Granny's.
Emma looked over at the man in the bed and back to Henry with disbelief on her face and a questioning look in her eyes and Henry could only hope this was the start of his mom finally believing him, even if he did get grounded for not meeting her when he said he would. He gave her a pleading look as Graham took charge of the situation.
"Dr Whale, one of your nurses called and said our resident John Doe had woken up. Deputy Swan and I were already on our way here to look for Henry so we thought we'd stop by and check things out." Graham explained with an easy smile as he stepped further into the room.
The doctor nodded, "Everything's fine, Sheriff. Mr Nolan here seems to have made a remarkable recovery."
Graham's eyes locked onto James' then, seeming to evaluate 'Mr Nolan' for him. James had to bite his tongue to keep him from greeting his former ally and close friend from their other lives because it was clear that Storybrooke's Sheriff had no recollection of David Nolan.
"I'd like to take a statement from you when you feel up it to, Mr Nolan." Graham asked, "It's not every day a patient wakes up from a coma and we'd like to solve the mystery of what exactly happened to you."
David nodded, "I'm not sure how much help I can be there, Sheriff. I remember my name but nothing else. It's completely blank."
This wasn't exactly a lie. James didn't have any other memories that linked to David Nolan that he could recall. Maybe because he was already unconscious when the curse hit something blocked Regina's magic from changing his memories along with everyone else's. Whatever the reason was, James was certainly grateful.
It was only as he looked up at his former friend now that he understood what Henry had told him of Regina's curse. Graham was a shell of the Huntsman he used to be. A man of honour and a good heart, someone James was proud to have next to him in battle after he freed him from Regina's cell and James convinced the Huntsman to come with him.
"Henry, you are in big trouble, Kid." Emma's voice sounded out for the first time drawing everyone's attention to her, "If your mom find out you were here, she'd have my head."
"Emma…"
That one word had James internally crumbling.
Emma. His Emma. His daughter.
She was beautiful just like her mother with blonde hair she clearly inherited off him. James couldn't help the sense of pride and longing when he looked over at this stranger; his daughter.
He wanted to know her. He needed to know her.
"Emma," Her name tumbled from his lips without him realising and now she was staring at him. Green eyes that looked so much like Snow's, "Don't be too hard on him. He woke me up so I'd say that makes him a hero." James finished hoping to cover up his slip and praying Emma didn't hear the heartbreak in his voice at the sight of her.
She nodded once, "I guess he is."
Henry beamed next to her, "See, I told you it would work. Heroes are always there when you need them most."
"Henry…"
Her son cut her off, "It's okay, you're not ready to hear it yet." He smiled, "But you will."
Emma shook her head as a soft smile graced her features at her son's audacity, "Come on, Kid. Let's get you back home before your mom finds you in here." She turned back to James and threw him a small smile as well, "I'm glad you're wake, Mr Nolan."
James could have sworn his heart stopped for a second.
He smiled, "It's David."
"David." Emma nodded, "I guess we'll see you around."
And with that Emma guided Henry out of the room. The little boy managing to throw a quick smile over his shoulder at his grandfather before they turned the corner.
James turned his attention back to Graham who now had a notebook and pencil out ready.
He would get his family back together, he knew it, because he refused to miss another minute of his daughter's life.
Regina had taken too much away from them. He wouldn't let her take anymore.
/
So what do you think? Thoughts?
Please review? They make my day and keep me going
Next chapter includes: Regina finding out about David Nolan's recovery and James trying to see if the Huntsman is still somewhere within Graham.