A/N: Super sorry for the delay, all. With school and work and my internship I've been annoyingly busy, but hopefully I'll be a bit less so since my internship is ending soon. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter since I had fun writing it. As usual, none of the OUAT belong to me.

"Mom!" Katie and Lauren jumped off of the bed when they caught sight of Vicky in the doorway, abandoning phones and books in their race to get to their mother, burrowing themselves into her as they ran into her open arms.

"Girls!" Vicky hugged them tightly, kissing the top of Katie's head and, in Lauren's much taller case, her cheek. "I've missed you."

An excited cry came from the bed as Emma flailed her arms, as caught up in the excitement of reunion as the rest of them.

"Don't worry, I didn't forget you, Em. I missed you, too!" She let go of her daughters to scoop up the baby, moving her head just as Emma's tiny hand reached out to grab a fistful of her hair. She kissed the baby's plump cheeks before setting her back down on the bed to briefly embrace her mother.

Snow smiled and greeted Vicky, happy to see her friend, hiding her worry. All of the people she cared about were together in one small town ruled by Regina—perfect targets for whatever Regina was planning. Because surely she was planning something. The thought made her uneasy.

"I hope your drive wasn't too bad. The roads are still pretty slick, I think."

"Oh, they were." Vicky laughed. "But I can barely remember the drive down here, so it couldn't have been too bad."

Snow couldn't bring herself to laugh along. Memory loss was never good and she wondered briefly if Regina hadn't gotten to her before shaking off the thought. Vicky was fine and if she went back home soon enough, she and the girls would continue to be fine. Having reassured herself, she allowed her thoughts to turn to the thought that constantly filled her mind: Charming.

Charming smiled at Katherine who sat perched on his hospital bed. He had never seen a more beautiful sight, he thought to himself, though the image of her threatened to be pushed out by another, blurrier image. He could just about make out dark hair, but that was all. He thought of the young woman who'd been at the hospital with her baby, Mary Margaret. He hadn't seen her lately and he hoped that it meant her daughter was feeling better. Emma, he recalled the infant's name and remembered the feel of Mary Margaret wrapped in his arms as he tried to soothe her. His smile softened a bit at the edges.

"David," Katherine called, startling him out of his reverie. He flushed a bit guiltily and focused on her.

"Yes?"

"Did you hear what I was saying?"

"Ah, no. Sorry."

"I was saying how when you get out of here we can go home. Oh, David." She stroked his cheek lightly. "I was so worried."

He nodded. "I'm sorry." He apologized, and she laughed softly.

"It wasn't your fault. You didn't cause the accident."

Right, he thought. The accident. It only ever came to him in bits and pieces: their argument, his storming out, skidding off the road and blacking out. "I'm sorry anyway." He apologized again. "I shouldn't have just stormed out, especially when we were arguing." He looked at his wife. "But I can't remember what it was about."

Katherine smiled a bit sheepishly, glancing down at her hand playing with the white hospital sheets. Her blue nail polish and her clothes were the only real hints of color in the room, he noticed. "About kids." She admitted.

David blinked. "Kids?"

"Yes. I was ready for them and…I don't think you were."

"Oh. Um—" He wasn't sure what he should say. Though his memories were back, there seemed to be a disconnect between them and his emotions. He was trying hard to feel the things he felt he ought to, like proper love and attraction for his wife, but he felt as though was pretending. Thankfully, Katherine didn't let him finish whatever he'd been planning on saying.

"David, it's okay." One hand was still pressed to his cheek and she cupped it, leaning forward to press a faint kiss on his lips. "You've just woken up for a coma, for goodness sakes! I won't be pressing you about children for a while."

He found himself relax, though a niggling thought itched at the back of his mind like an itch he couldn't scratch, it seemed like a memory too far out of his grasp. Dr. Whale had said that might happen from time to time, for up to years after the coma even, and the thought bothered him. Were there people and places and events he'd forgotten in his life entirely? He tried hard to shake the thought from his mind and offered Katherine a faint smile.

"I'm feeling a little tired." He lied, moving away from him to snuggle deeper into the uncomfortable hospital bed. He didn't dare to turn his back on her completely, but he hoped he was getting across his desire for her to leave.

Thankfully, she caught on without him having to go to any loud yawn or not-so-subtle stretching. She stood and pecked his cheek, gathering her things. "I'll be back tomorrow." She promised. "I'll talk to the doctor and see if you can't go home by then, okay? Then you can sleep in our own bed."

David nodded, keeping his faint fixed smile, and shut his eyes until he was sure that she had gone. He opened one eye to case the room and, when he saw no one, allowed the other one to open. He sat up and breathed a heavy sigh of relief at being alone once more. He felt a growing pit of guilt grow in his gut as he briefly wished that he'd never gotten his memories back.

He turned, reaching to grab a jello cup from his side tray, and jerked his head back around at the sound of the door opening. If it was Katherine coming back, there was no point in trying to quickly pretend to be asleep again. But it wasn't Katherine. Mary Margaret offered up a shy, nervous smile from where she stood in the doorway, half in and out of the room as if she was unsure what to do.

A genuine smile formed on his face. "Mary Margaret, hi. Please come in. I was just thinking about you and your daughter. Emma, right?" He blushed faintly and added quickly. "I just meant I wondering if she was feeling better."

He mistook the flush that rose to her cheeks for embarrassment and berated himself inwardly. She smiled warmly though, and he relaxed. "She's much better, thank you for asking. Back to her normal happy self."

"That's good to hear."

Mary Margaret nodded before hesitantly taking a seat in the chair next to his bed. She scooted a bit closer to him and the small gesture made him feel irrationally happy. "I, um, met your wife." She said and his happiness dimmed some at the mention of Katherine.

"In the hall?" He asked, but she shook her head.

"No, at the inn in town. She seems nice."

David nodded noncommittally. They were both quiet, but he was surprised to find that there was no awkwardness or tension in the silence. It was more comfortable than anything, and seemed to bring some warmth to the clinical hospital room. They sat watching one another and slowly, as if to not scare him away, Mary Margaret reached out a hand toward where his sat on the hospital bed and covered it with her own. Her palm was small and soft, but it felt nice. And familiar. The itch in his memory started up again and he frowned at his inability to access it.

Mistaking his frown as being directed toward her, Mary Margaret drew back her hand and David very much wanted to kick himself.

"I should go. I shouldn't have come." She said, starting to rise to her feet.

"Please don't!" David blurted out. At her startled look, he offered her an apologetic smile. "It's just…with you, I feel like I'm not pretending. I'm sorry if it sounds weird since we've only just met but…I don't know. With Katherine, my wife, I feel so flat and two dimensional. But, when I'm with you, which has only been twice, I know, I feel much more alive. Much more real."

He stared at her, imploring, and watched as she struggled to get whatever emotions she was feeling under control. Her brown eyes were warm and shone with an inner light that he wanted to identify as her soul. "Please." He whispered again.

Snow stared at David, trying hard not to swallow the lump in her throat so that she could speak. His gray blue eyes were so much like Emma's and the single dimpled hopeful smile made her heart soar. There was Regina to worry about and she knew that she should leave before she showed up, but she couldn't imagine leaving him, not again. She'd already had to leave him so many times and she didn't think that her heart could bear it again.

It already ached without reprieve whenever she wasn't near him, but now it was threatening to beat right out of her chest as if to be closer to David. Momentarily abandoning all thoughts of Regina and danger and separation, Snow White leaned forward and pressed her lips lightly against Charming's. The room exploded with light and warmth, and an undercurrent of magic.