Snow and Charming walked into Emma's room to see her sitting up in bed expectantly.

Snow joined her at the head of the bed and laid down next to her, Emma snuggling up against her Mom's side. David lay across the foot of the bed facing his two girls.

"Aren't you getting a book Daddy?"

"No Ems, this story is too special to be in a book."

"Oh." Emma sat there looking at him all wide eyed, she looked so much like her mother, except for the blue eyes and the blond hair, that was all him.

Snow gave him a nod of encouragement. Here goes nothing he thought.

"Once upon a time in a magical land there lived all the fairy tale characters that you know of..."

"Like who?" Emma asked.

"Hold your horses and I will get there. Lets see who lived there, well there was Pinocchio and his father, Red Riding Hood and Granny, the seven Dwarfs, Jiminy Cricket ." Charming had to stop thinking about all their friends was hard. Snow had obviously thought the same things because she reached out to hold his hand and gave it a gently squeeze. It gave him the strength to continue. "Cinderella though she was just Ella then. Everyone you could possible imagine."

"What about Snow White?" This question that seem to come out of no where made him laugh.

"Of course Snow White, she was the most beautiful of all the Princesses." He said this directly to his wife who just rolled her eyes at him.

"And her Prince? Did he live there too?" This time it was Snow's turn to laugh, finding it very funny that out all the people she could have homed in on it was herself and Charming.

"How could we have Snow White without her Prince Charming?" Snow replied.

"Prince Charming? That's what you call Daddy?"

"Yes it is. Don't you think Daddy is like Prince Charming."

"Yep Daddy is the bravest. But why was Prince Charming called that its a funny name?"

David needed to take back control of this story and fast "You see that is a name that Snow White gave him when they first met."

"Really?" Emma sat up a little more. Snow thought that this may have not been the best idea, not because telling her wasn't important it was... But she looked far too awake and excited by the story she may never get to sleep.

"The Prince was travelling along in a carriage with another Princess called Abigail.."

"Princess Abigail? Who is she?"

"She was a spoilt Princess who was mean. The King was making the Prince marry her." This came from Snow who still hadn't quiet got over the dislike from Charming first Fiancé.

Charming cleared his throat at Snow. "Right you were telling the story."

"I was starting to wonder." He teased.

"Anyway as your Mom said Abigail, who turned out not to be that bad." He said pointedly at Snow. "But most importantly the Prince did not love her."

"Well duh he loved Snow White." To Emma that was obvious.

"Yes, but he hadn't met her at that moment." He tried to continue the story again "In this carriage was a very special object though. In the Prince's hand was a pouch and in the pouch was a ring that his mother gave him to give to the person that he loved."

His fingers brushed over the ring on Snow's left hand.

"Suddenly the carriage stopped there because there was a tree in the middle of the road so they could not continue down the path. The Prince went to help the guards go to move the tree, placing the pouch on the seat next to him. When he examined the tree he saw that it wasn't just a fallen tree."

"What was it Daddy?"

"Some very clever person had had cut the tree blocking the road."

"Why would they do that." Emma was captured in the story.

"To steal from anyone who got out of the carriage."

"But stealing is bad isn't it."

This time both Snow and Charming laughed. "Look at that Mary Margaret, your daughter agrees stealing is bad."

"But it is!" Emma insisted.

"Yes honey, stealing is very bad, but the person who cut down the tree thought she was stealing from someone very bad."

"She? It was a girl?" Emma was a bright child and caught on to Snow's mistake. A look of panic crossed Snow.

Charming as usual came to the rescue. "Yes the person who cut the tree was a girl."

"Woman actually." Snow smirked.

"Yes my apologise a Woman. Anyway she stole the pouch from the carriage and a horse and rode away fast. But the Prince, who was better at riding, caught up with her and knocked her off the horse. But upon seeing the thief's face he stopped fighting her. The thief sensing opportunity at the Prince's manners. Hit him with a rock, knocking him over." Charming subconsciously rubbed at his chin at the now faint scar.

"Was he ok though." This was very important to Emma.

"He was fine a little scar and bruised ego." Charming frown slightly at Snow's answer.

"Yes he was fine, though very worried about his mother's ring." Thinking of his mother was very hard for David to do he missed her so much, it pained him to think that she had never met Emma.

Snow sensing Charming's difficultly carried on the story. "When the thief got away on the horse, which she was so much better at riding than the Prince by the way, he shouted something very important at her."

"What was it?" Emma was sitting up on her knees now. Not looking anywhere need sleep.

David took back over, looked at Snow "I will find you, I will always find you."

Snow smiled back at him, that was a promises he kept and she was glad of it.

"But what about the ring?" Emma didn't know what was wrong with her parents but they were looking at each other oddly and she wanted to hear the rest of this story.

"The ring right." David woke up out of his daze. "The Prince kept his promise he did find the Thief again. But on looking for her he found out something very important about her. She was Snow White, who was wanted by the Evil Queen. So she was having to hide out in the forest. He had heard the story about the brave Snow White and wished he could help her but he really did need his mother's ring back."

"You knew?" Snow asked him in a quiet voice.

"Everyone knew." He replied just as quietly.

There was that look again Emma thought. "The thief was Snow White?"

"Yes she was, the Prince found out where Snow had been hiding and set a trap for her, she did hit him pretty hard with the rock and maybe he wanted to get her back a little without actually hurting her. So he caught her in a net, that took her all the way to the top of a tree."

"Snow wasn't impressed." She added herself.

"Oh come on she must have been a little bit impressed."

"Nope not at all." She lied just a little.

"The Prince however found it very funny, and reminded her that he promised he would find her again. Snow wasn't too happy about being trapped, and was trying to be mean about it, the Prince found it how can I put it... Sweet that she was trying to be mean." David knew this would annoy Snow a little, he knew she was anything but sweet, but she wasn't good at being mean either.

"Sweet! It so was not sweet." She replied indignantly.

"It was a little bit sweet. The Prince told Snow that trapping her was the only thing to do with thieves."

"Wasn't quite was what said."

"No but I thought I'd PG it." David said smiling nodding his head toward Emma, it sounded like Snow was getting caught up in the story as much as his daughter was.

"Ah yes right." Snow had almost forget the Emma was next to her. Who was against her wishing she wasn't starting to feel sleepy.

"So when the Prince said that it was the only way to catch a thief. Guess what was Snow reply was?" He leaned closure to a sleepy Emma.

"What did she say?"

"Mary Margaret, you want to answer that one?"

"Aren't you a real Prince Charming." She repeated her words from years ago, minus the anger in her voice.

"I have a name you know."

"Don't care Charming suits you."

It was strange for David to hear the words back at him after all this time. It seemed like another life time ago.

Emma yawned loudly "so that is why he was called Prince Charming?" She mumbled, wanting to hear the rest of the story but her eyes wouldn't stay awake any longer.

David leaned over to his daughter and kiss her forehead "That is exactly why he was called Prince Charming." Whispering back. "Goodnight Princess."

"Night Daddy."

Snow followed David's actions. "Sweet dream Emma."

"Night Mommy." And with that she was asleep.

Leaving the room as quietly as they could they took one last look at their sleeping daughter. This maybe more fun than they had imagined.