Chapter Ten

Disclaimers: I don't own Once Upon a Time. Also this is a sequel to the original "Thicker than Water" which was written by La Lisboa.

I'd like to thank those readers who have written reviews especially, but also those who have followed or favorite this story.

Emma arrived at the Hampden Police station on Wednesday morning, ready to give Officer Collins a piece of her mind. She realized that, in many ways, he was just filling time when he talked to her. But enough was enough! Emma did not need a "buddy" in the police department. They were co – workers, and that was as far as it went. She did not need to know the other cop's life story and had no desire to share hers, either.

But when she entered the cruiser, she found Officer Collins already on the phone with someone else. She sighed in relief. Maybe he was finally realizing there were other people to talk to after all. "Well, I don't know what to tell you, Bill," he said into the phone, as he nodded at Emma's presence. "I think you're just going to have to advertise again and see what happens." He pulled out onto the road as they began their patrol for the day. "I get it, but I don't know how you're going to find another worker without advertising."

Advertising? Another worker? What was Officer Collins talking about? Who was he talking to? Emma tried to listen more closely, without making it obvious she was eavesdropping. (Not that it could really be helped with the two of them both sitting in the front seat of the police car, but still.) This could be important for her family. After all, David still hadn't found a job yet.

But Officer Collins finished the call saying, "Listen, Bill, I'm on the clock, okay? I'll talk to you later. Bye." With that, he hung up his phone. He turned to Emma. "Sorry about that. My brother's been having trouble finding someone to help him on his farm. Says the help he gets are either college students who can't give him the availability he needs, or lazy people who are unwilling to do the necessary grunt work."

Emma nodded. She never thought that this man's compulsive talking could benefit her, but it looks like it might now. David had spent the last month waiting for a call from one of the places he had applied, but unlike the rest of them, he had no luck. He also examined the newspaper on a regular basis, as Emma recommended, looking for new job openings. So far, there were no openings that David would be qualified. But what about this job? David certainly had plenty of free time, unlike college students would. He also had made it quite clear to Emma he was willing to do anything to help their family, so he shouldn't have a problem with whatever the "grunt work" was.

"I told him he'd just have to advertise, anyway," Officer Collins continued, oblivious to Emma's thinking. "It's the only way he'd ever find someone to help on his dairy farm. But he's had so much trouble with advertising; he's just dragging his feet." Officer Collins shrugged and took a right turn.

Emma's eyes widened in excitement. A dairy farm? His brother needed help on a dairy farm? This was even better than she'd thought. David had told her last week he would've liked to find work in livestock. Well, dairy cattle weren't sheep, but they were still farm animals, right? David would be more than happy to do this job! "Maybe he doesn't need to advertise," Emma commented to Officer Collins.

Officer Collins turned around and looked at Emma in shock. The only thing that came out of his mouth was "Huh?"

Emma smiled. "I think I know someone who could do the job."

Officer Collins kept staring at Emma. "Let me pull over for a minute." He parked in empty elementary schools' lot. "Okay. Start talking. You seriously know someone who would be interested? And has availability from sun up to sun down?" His voice showed disbelief.

Emma smiled and nodded. "His name is David. He's my," Emma paused for a minute as she tried to think of how to explain their relationship. Usually she just called him "David," and didn't really think about their relationship. In fact, the only people she really talked to about him were her family, and they already knew what Emma and David's relationship was. But they all agreed they couldn't be her "mother and father" in this world. Emma and Mary Margaret had decided to be sisters, so that made David her brother – in – law, right? "Brother – in – law," Emma finished. No, that wasn't right, either. At least not yet. "Or he will be soon, anyway," she added.

Officer Collins nodded. "Okay. Why do you think he'd be interested? I'm not telling this to my brother until I have more information about him."

Emma smiled. "He moved to Bangor at the same time I did about three weeks ago. He's been having some trouble finding a job. But maybe…that's because fate or whatever was saving him for this job. He was raised on a livestock farm. He just told me last week he'd really like to get a job in that area again. I think it's a job he'd really like." Emma chuckled to herself as she listened to what she had just said. "Fate was saving David for his 'ideal' job?" It sounded like something Henry, or for that matter, David himself would say! She remembered last week, when she thought she could try being more optimistic. Maybe it worked better than she'd thought?

Officer Collins, meanwhile, nodded his head. "Sounds promising. How about we go see my brother on our lunch break, and you can tell him about your future brother – in – law there?"

Emma smiled. "Sounds good." By the end of the day, David might be closer to having a job! And not just any job, but a job that was exactly what he wanted. Emma couldn't wait to see the look on David's face when she told him.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Emma and Officer Collins arrested one person for speeding and handed out one parking ticket before their lunch break. Meanwhile, the time dragged on as Officer Collins continued to chatter about anything and everything. Emma decided just to let him chatter. After all, he had helped her find a potential job for David. And anyway, who said she had to listen?

"…So I decided if I was going to have decent coffee, it was going to have to be made my way." Officer Collins voice finally cut through her daydreaming. He held up a thermos of coffee he was keeping in the cruiser. "You're really okay with the stuff they keep at the station?"

Emma shrugged. She had never been picky about food, especially when it came to coffee. As long as it had caffeine, she was happy. But just because she found Officer Collins to be less annoying because he may have helped her with David, didn't mean she was interested in talking to him. So she went back to daydreaming as he continued to talk.

Finally, 12:30 rolled around. "We can eat at Bill's. I'll call and tell his wife to expect us." Emma nodded.

Officer Collins turned onto a hilly road off Hampden Main Street. It was lined with trees and reminded Emma of a small forest in the middle of the town. Weird. Near the end of this road, they pulled into a driveway. She nodded to herself. David would be able to get here easily on the city bus. She had been a little concerned the farm would be too far away for him to get to by himself. This was right in town, so he could walk from the bus stop here. Emma also assumed he'd feel comfortable in the small forest. After all, he enjoyed time their family spent in the woods, before they had to leave.

As she exited the police cruiser she got a whiff of cattle and made a face. Hopefully David would be able to handle the smell a little better. After all, he'd told her he'd cleaned sheep dung, hadn't he? But Emma wasn't sure she'd visit him if he did work here. The smell was…yuck. Fortunately, Officer Collins made his way to the farmhouse, saying "Come on" to Emma. Maybe the smell wasn't so bad inside. She quickly followed him.

Inside, they were greeted by middle – aged man and woman with big smiles. The man was still appeared pretty well – built for someone his age but his dark hair was balding. The woman was slightly plump with shoulder – length curly red hair. They looked like a stereotypical farm couple. With Emma's recent history, she wouldn't be at all surprised if they were from Charlotte's Web. "Hi Sam!" the man said to Officer Collins, patting him on the back. "What's up? You usually don't come on your lunch break."

Officer Collins smiled. "Bill, I liked you to introduce you to Officer Swan. She's our new police officer."

Bill nodded and held out his hand to Emma. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Officer Swan." Emma shook his hand, smiling as well.

"And I'm Penny," the woman standing next to Bill added. She held out her hand to Emma as well. Emma shook Penny's hand after a second. "When I heard you'd be here for lunch, I prepared some sandwiches. I wish I'd known you were going to be here earlier; I would have gotten some more food. But I hope this is okay." She set out a tray of ham, turkey, and chicken sandwiches.

Emma shrugged and picked out a chicken sandwich. She would have preferred grilled cheese, but it didn't really matter. She wasn't here to eat; she was here to find a job for David.

Bill picked out a ham sandwich and then turned back to Officer Collins. "Okay, Sam, seriously what's up? You can't tell me you came all the way over here for lunch just to introduce us to your new co – worker!"

Officer Collins picked up a ham sandwich and smiled. "Well, you remember this morning you were complaining that you couldn't find any quality help for this farm? Officer Swan tells me she knows someone who could do it."

Bill's eyes widened as he looked at Emma with new interest. Penny also looked up and pushed her chair closer to the group. "Really?" Bill asked Emma. "Who is he? Why hasn't he answered my ads before?"

Emma smiled. "His name is David. He is, or will be, my brother – in – law. He only moved to this area a few weeks ago, just like I did. But he grew up on a livestock farm. He was just telling me recently it's something he'd like to do again."

Bill and Penny nodded eagerly. "It sounds like he's exactly what we're looking for. And he'd be available all day? From sunup to sundown?"

Emma nodded. "Basically. I think he'd prefer to have Saturday afternoons off. My son visits us on those days; we having a custody fight. But other than that…He's been looking for a full – time job."

Penny nodded. "That sounds reasonable."

"We also don't have a car, so he'd have to come in on the Bangor city bus schedule," Emma added.

Bill nodded. "I think that can be arranged. It would be worth it to have someone willing to work every day who knows livestock."

"Well, he knows livestock, but not cows. Sheep." Emma warned, trying to make sure they were aware livestock wasn't a metaphor for cattle.

Penny shrugged. "Well, I had thought he knew cattle but…"

"But he really does know about farm animals," Emma continued. "Birthing, taking care of them when they're sick, and cleaning up after them. He even knows a little about milking. He told me they milked the sheep."

Bill and Penny shrugged and nodded. "That makes sense," Bill commented.

"The only thing is, he doesn't know very much about modern technology or livestock equipment." Emma warned them, as she thought of David's uncertainty with machinery. She didn't know what kind of machines they had to run a dairy farm, but surely they had some. Would he be expected to know how they worked already?"

Bill and Penny looked confused. "Huh?" they asked, obviously wondering how a man who had grown up around livestock didn't know anything about its equipment

"He used to be Amish," Emma explained, thinking quickly. It was a pretty good reason, she thought, for David to know a lot about taking care of livestock but nothing about the modern equipment used to run such a farm.

Bill nodded. "Okay. That makes sense, I guess."

"So would you like him to come down for an interview?" Emma asked hopefully. She really wished she had helped David.

Bill burst out laughing. "What for? You already gave his interview for him! And honestly, I haven't had much more luck with interviews than I've had with advertising. People say things they don't mean. Tell him to come in tomorrow, as soon as the bus allows him, and we'll try him for two days. If he works out, which I think he will, we'll hire him."

Emma nodded happily. "Thank you. I know he'll be happy to hear that."

Penny stood up. "Thank you for coming to talk to us. It was nice to meet you."

Officer Collins stood up from the background as well. "Thanks for having us over Bill, but we've got to go back to work."

Bill nodded. "Thanks for coming over, Officer Swan. You too, Sam."

They went back to the police cruiser.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Emma finished her shift and exited the police cruiser at 2:00PM, just as she had all week. She couldn't wait to get home and tell David about the job! Then suddenly, as Officer Collins left the cruiser, Emma remembered something. She had that appointment with the lawyer for Henry's custody hearing today. At 2:30. How was she going to get there on time if the buses didn't arrive here until 5:00? Before she knew it, she was running to Officer Collins.

"Look, I need a favor. I know I'm not always friendly to you, and you've already done a favor for me or for my family anyway. But I need another one."

Officer Collins had his hand on his car, but he turned around after she began talking. "Sure Emma. What is it? And as far as the 'favor' I already did for you, that was a favor for me, as far as I'm concerned. Bill probably has someone to work for him now, and I don't have to listen to him complain about it anymore! I owe you one."

"I need to get to a Wendell Underwood's office right away. He's a lawyer." She kept the details short. Just because Officer Collins seemed to be a good guy who wanted to help her didn't mean she was comfortable talking about all her business. Especially something as important as Henry's custody hearing. "I have an appointment at 2:30PM," she added, to make him understand how urgent this was. "But the bus doesn't come to Hampden again until 5:00PM. Can you drive me?"

Officer Collins shrugged. "Sure. I'm not doing anything this afternoon. Hop in," he commented, pointing to the passenger door. He was able to find Wendell Underwood, Attorney at Law, without much trouble. He dropped Emma off at 2:20. She sighed in relief that she wasn't late. "Do you need a ride after the meeting as well?" Officer Collins asked, casually.

Emma laughed. "No, of course not. I can take the bus after I'm done. They come by here every half hour, right in front of the Rite Aide."

Officer Collins nodded. "Just making sure. I'll see you tomorrow."

Emma saw Wendell Underwood after waiting for several minutes. He looked exactly like Emma imagined a lawyer would look. He was tall, with black hair and glasses. He wore an expensive – looking grey suit and carried a briefcase. "Hello, Miss Swan," he said in a calm voice. "So you're in a custody fight with the state for your son?"

Emma nodded. "That's correct."

"Can you tell me the details of this case? Why did they take him away?" He took out a laptop out of his briefcase.

Emma shuddered as she remembered the horrible day the social worker told her Henry would be taken away from her. And even worse, to be put in a foster home! "I had just moved to this city with my family and I was trying to get him enrolled in school. Unfortunately, I didn't realize I had to prove I was legally Henry's mother. In the eyes of the state of Maine," she sighed. "I'm not."

Mr. Underwood looked confused, but still interested. "Okay. Why is that?"

"I gave my son up for adoption when he was born. A closed adoption, unfortunately, so my name isn't even on his birth certificate. I was young, had no support system, and was in a little trouble with the law. I didn't think I had much of a choice at the time. But two years ago, my son found me anyway. He wanted me to be in his life…to be his mom. So I stayed in the town where he lived even though he continued to live with his adoptive mother. During that time, I was able to find a…family, so I had a support system."

Mr. Underwood nodded. "Okay. Go on."

"Recently, Henry's adoptive mother passed away. Since she had no living relatives, Henry's only family is with me…and my family." Emma said sadly. She knew Henry was probably still grieving Regina. Was anyone helping him through it anymore? Probably not.

Mr. Underwood nodded and typed something on his laptop. "But since I have no legal rights to Henry, Social Services took him from me anyway." Emma commented bitterly. "Of course, that wasn't all. We had just arrived in Bangor, so I didn't have a job yet. The social worker said I wouldn't be able to support him. Finally, my family was only able to find a two – bedroom apartment for all of us. The social worker told me we had to have an apartment that was big enough for Henry to have his own room," Emma growled.

Mr. Underwood typed something again. "Okay. I understand this is hard for you, Miss Swan. But are you willing to follow the guidelines that the social worker gave you? Because if you're not, there's no way we'll win your case."

Emma sighed and nodded. "Yeah. As you can see, I've already found a job. She gestured to her police uniform, which she hadn't had a chance to take off.

Mr. Underwood nodded and typed something on his laptop. "That's good. And since it's in law enforcement, I can make the argument Henry will be raised by someone who believes in following rules."

Emma smiled. "Sure. It also comes with a full health insurance plan for Henry, if I had custody of him, that is."

Mr. Underwood nodded. "Even better." He typed something else. "The only thing is…law enforcement sometimes has odd hours. Do you have a fixed schedule during the day or some kind of childcare plan for him if you have to work nights?"

Emma nodded. "My family…that's ah…my sister and her fiancé, are available at night. We all live together."

Mr. Underwood sighed in relief and typed something again. "Okay. What about proof he's your son? Have you had a blood test done yet?"

Emma sighed and shook her head. No one would let that go! "No, I don't have the money for it yet." She grumbled. "When I get my first paycheck from the station, I will."

Mr. Underwood typed something else and looked at her in disappointment. "See that you do that. Soon. Okay. I'll take your case. Do you have the six – dollar fee for today?"

Emma nodded and handed him a check. Ruby had given Emma some of her money to put in the bank for today. But after that, Emma was going to have to look elsewhere for the lawyer money. Snow said she'd talk to Granny and the dwarves.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

OOOOOOOOOO

David, Snow, and Red had decided to play Sorry! Wednesday afternoon. It was a pretty fun game, and it was something the three of them could do together while they waited for Emma to get home. "Okay, I've got ten," Red commented after she rolled both dice. "I'll move this one," she decided as she picked up one of her red pawns.

As she did so, Emma suddenly burst into the apartment. "Hi! I have great news!" she announced. All three of them looked up from the game at the same time.

"Hi Emma!" Snow said cheerfully. "Do you want to play the game with us? There's room for another player."

"Why are you here right now?" David asked, confused. "Not that we aren't happy to see you," he quickly assured her. "But, don't you usually have to wait until the bus picks you up at five from Hampden?"

The others nodded, indicating they were confused as well.

Emma smiled brightly. "I got a ride from one of my co – workers today, so I could meet with the lawyer at 2:30."

David nodded. "I take it that went well? You said you had great news." He smiled at Emma; happy things were finally going well for his daughter.

Emma laughed. Her expression reminded him of Snow when she was trying to surprise David with something. What did Emma have up her sleeve? "Well, the meeting did go well. He said he'd help me get Henry back. It's going to be a little expensive, though. You said you'd talk to Granny and the dwarves about helping pay for him?" she asked, looking at Snow. "I have to save my paycheck for the blood test."

Snow smiled at Emma. "Of course. Anything you need, Emma. We're your family and we're here to help you."

David and Red nodded in agreement. Emma still had that look on her face though. David had seen it hundreds of times on Snow's face. She had a surprise for them. He wondered how much longer she was going to be able to hold it in. Not long, he suspected. Emma was just as impatient as her mother, if not more so.

He was right. About ten seconds later, Emma exclaimed, "Okay, I was going to make you keep guessing, but I can't hold it in anymore. David, I think I got you a job!"

Of all the things he expected Emma to say, that wasn't one of them. How was it even possible? He had been looking in the newspaper for weeks and hadn't found one opening that he was qualified for. "That's great, Emma. But how?"

Emma smiled at him. "One of my co – workers was talking to his brother this morning. His brother apparently didn't want to advertise in the newspaper because had bad luck with it in the past. But David, he's looking for someone to work on his dairy farm." A farm? Well, that sounded wonderful! He could be outside all day. And he could use the money he earned to help his family. "Thanks, Emma. That does sound great." Snow squeezed his hand under the table to show her happiness about the new job, and he squeezed back.

"It's right inside the town where I work, so we could ride in together tomorrow," Emma continued. "I already talked to the owner for you; he said you could come in on a trial basis for the next two days. I think you'll do fine, though. You said you took care of livestock as a child, right? I don't think the cows will be that different than sheep."

David nodded as his eyes widened. That was right. A dairy farm wasn't just a farm, it was livestock! He could work with farm animals again. He gave his daughter a hug. "Thank you so much, Emma. It's exactly the kind of job I wanted to find."

Emma smiled at him. "That's what I thought."

Red, however, looked confused. After looking from Emma, to David, to Snow for a few minutes, she finally asked, "What do you guys know that I don't? How could Prince James have taken care of livestock as a child? I mean…that doesn't make any sense."

David looked at the floor. He should have known masquerading as his brother would come back to haunt him someday, but he certainly had never expected to be in a situation like this. "Well…the thing is…Prince James never took care of livestock. But I'm actually…not him." Snow squeezed his hand under the table again, this time to support him through a difficult conversation.

Red was silent for another minute. Then she exploded, "What! I've known you for how long? And you've never mentioned that you're not Prince James! No one told me," she added directing that comment to Snow.

"I made her promise not to," David said firmly. The last thing he needed a fight between his wife and her best friend because of something he did. "It's not her fault."

"It wasn't my secret to tell," Snow added, putting her hand on his shoulder to show support.

"How is this even possible? How can you not be Prince James?"

David sighed. "Prince James was my twin brother. My parents were poor and gave him up in exchange for money to keep our farm going. He was given to King George. But James died young, and George," David grumbled the name. He still didn't have found memories of that man. "needed someone else to play the part of the Prince to slay a dragon. Me. The rest…while, you know."

Red nodded. "Okay. Whatever. I still wished you had told me before. I like to think I'm your best friend. But anyway, Emma got you a job in something you have experience in. That's nice."

"It is," David agreed, smiling at his daughter again. "Do you want to finish the game?" He pointed to the Sorry! game board, still all over the table.

"Sure. Do you want to play too, Emma?"

Emma shook her head. "I'm all set."

OOOOOOOOOOO

The next morning David, Emma, and Snow all got up at about the same time. David and Emma had to catch the 6:30AM bus to Hampden, and Snow wanted to see them off. "Are you sure you want to wear that?" his wife asked as she looked at the outfit David was wearing. It was the blue jeans and the brown shirt. "I mean…I was expected to dress nicely the first time I met my boss, and so was Emma." She smiled at him. "I just want to make sure this goes well for you."

David smiled at her. "I know. But Emma told me the man said they'd hire me for a trial basis for two days. I think that means I'm supposed to work today. Trust me; these are the kind of clothes I need for this type of work."

Emma finished dressing in her police uniform and entered the kitchen as well. "I agree with David. Usually, I'd say you should dress up for an interview, but Bill specifically told me David wasn't being interviewed today. He wants to see how he can do the work. That means he should wear clothes he can work in." She picked up her coffee mug and swallowed the last bit of her second cup for the day.

Snow nodded. "Okay. Just wanted to make sure." Then she leaned in and whispered in his ear, "And be careful how many other women see you in them, too. I don't think you realize how good your butt looks in those pants."

David's eyes widened as he looked at the pants. Really? He didn't think there was anything special about them. Of course, if Snow thought so, he should wear them more often at home, at least. Out loud, he whispered back, "I'll keep that in mind."

As he and Emma rode the bus to the next town, David thought about how nice this was. "I'm glad we're able to do this together, Emma," he told her as they drove by a huge statue of a man with an ax. He'd seen it when they had rode the bus to Hampden before. He supposed the man was probably a big political figure. That's who people usually made statues of, right? But it didn't matter now. What mattered was he was spending more time with his daughter while they were on their way to jobs they enjoyed.

When they arrived at the Hampden bus stop, Emma told David, "The police station is up here." She pointed up the street. You can come with me if you want, at least for today. Then I can drive you to the farm." David nodded. That sounded reasonable. Besides it gave him more time with Emma.

They walked up to the police station. Emma went inside the building for a second to get another cup of coffee (David was beginning to think coffee was more important to Emma than food, at least in the morning.) As she came back out, another officer arrived in a car. "Hi, Emma!" the officer said, sounding bright and friendly.

"Hello, Officer Collins," Emma replied. She sounded happy, but not quite as friendly as the man. David wondered why that was. Had the man done something to Emma or made her angry in some way? He was going to have to ask her about it. The man better not have hurt his daughter. "This is David," she told the other officer. "He's the one I told you about, that would like to work on the farm? I told him he could ride with us for today, so we could show him where it is."

Officer Collins nodded eagerly. "That's fine. You don't know how easy you've made my life," he said to David. "All I've been hearing from my brother is how he's never going to find someone good to work with the cows. And then, suddenly Emma tells me about you...and boom!" He slapped his hands together. "Problem solved!" He was such a friendly guy. David hoped he didn't do anything to Emma. He'd hate to have to start disliking him.

David smiled as they all got into the police car. "Well, then I'm glad to help. But this is great news for me, too. I've been wanting to get a chance to work with livestock again. I just didn't think…this doesn't seem to be an area for it." He laughed. "I should know better to lose faith."

David paid attention to where they were going. Hopefully, he could find the farm himself soon. They drove through a forested street, right in the middle of the town. Snow would love this place, he thought to himself. Maybe someday, when they were more established they could buy a house in this neighborhood.

Finally, they pulled up to an open field with a house next to it. As they all got out of the cruiser, a man ran over to him. His smile was huge. "So this is him?" the man asked Emma and Officer Collins.

Emma nodded. "David, this is Bill. Bill Collins I guess, since they're brothers." The two other men nodded.

David held out his hand and Bill shook it eagerly. "I'm so glad to meet you! Let me take you to the barn and we can get started. The milking has already been done, but you can help collect the pails. Emma said you used to be Amish?"

David had no idea what that meant. He'd like to ask Emma, but she had already left while he was talking to Bill. He supposed she needed to get to her job. Still, David had learned when Emma said something like that, it was best to go along with it. She knew this world better than they did, after all. And David believed in his daughter. "Yeah, that's right," he told Bill.

Bill nodded. "I can teach you how to run some of the simpler machines, but we'll keep your main duties to just taking care of the animals."

David nodded. Well, whatever "Amish" was, it provided him with a cover for not being familiar with this world's technology. That was good.

OOOOOOOOOO

David spent the next two days getting acquainted with his chores at the dairy farm. He collected the milk pails. He fed the pregnant cows and released the other cows to gaze on the pasture land.

He smiled as he remembered the first time he had been asked to feed the pregnant animals. Bill led him to an area in the barn where there were about ten cows. "These are pregnant. They need some extra food, in addition to the grass that all the cattle eat. The hay for them is in this barrel." Bill pointed to a large metal barrel that was about half full of hay. "They each get two scoops, once in the morning and once in the evening." David nodded and picked up the scoop and headed over to the cows Bill had indicated. "Careful," Bill warned. "They're temperamental. They probably won't respond well to someone new."

Sure enough, the cows mooed and kicked as David tried to approach them. But David remembered how to deal with pregnant sheep. Cows couldn't be that different, right? So David continued to approach them slowly, making a big show of the food as he did so. He talked to them soothingly, saying, "Hi. I'll be here a lot from now on. I'm not going to bother you. I'm just giving you some food." Then David quickly poured the hay into the trough of the first cow, then snatched his hand away before she could bite. He did the same thing with the other cows. When one of the last ones kicked and pushed over her food with her nose in frustration, David told the cow, "That's okay." Then he retrieved another two scoops of food again. He quickly snatched his hand away before she bit him, as he had done with others.

When David turned around, Bill was just staring at him. "I've never seen someone who knew exactly how to handle a pregnant cow before. Especially when the cows are so unfamiliar with you. I know I was told you had experience with livestock before…but," he shook his head. "I think you're going to do well here, David. Let me show you the other animals. They need to be taken out to gaze."

He also cleaned out the cows' stalls while they were outside. It had been a while since he had cleaned animal waste, but David could handle it. At lunch, Bill showed David the milk machines that would be fastened to ten of the cows. This way they wouldn't have to be milked manually. David was fascinated with the new machines that allowed the milk to come out so quickly. However, he was a little unsure how to use them. Bill told him not to worry about it; that David could just be responsible for collecting the pails.

That evening, before he left, he was introduced to his favorite part: the calves. Those adorable little ones that followed their mothers everywhere even as they stumbled around. A part of his heart ached as he realized he and Snow had never had that experienced Emma following them everywhere when she was a child. But David still enjoyed watching them as he led them back to their stalls with their mothers, making sure they were okay.

The next day was more of the same routine. The pregnant cows were just as temperamental as the day before, although they weren't as surprised to see him. He was also introduced to the most dangerous animal on the farm: the bull. The bull needed to be kept separate from the other animals, since he was only used for breeding. Even Bill remained cautious of him. As Bill took him out to gaze in his special fenced area, he never turned his back to the bull and made no sudden movements. He also spoke carefully, but sternly. David nodded as he introduced himself to the bull from the outside of the fence. The bull grunted and bobbed his head in annoyance. Obviously he wasn't expecting to see anyone new.

Bill shook his hand before he left on Friday evening. "You're hired, David. I was right. You're perfect for this job. Come in on Monday morning and we'll fill out the paperwork." David finally left and headed for the bus stop to meet Emma. This was a wonderful job. He really couldn't thank Emma enough for finding it for him.

As David and Emma rode the bus home, he noticed the tall man with the ax again. He was starting to get really curious about which political figure that was. He'd have to ask Emma when they arrived at home. After all, if that man was such an important political figure to be made into a statue, he was probably expected to know who he was, right?

When David and Emma arrived home, Snow had finished preparing dinner. The dish was a delicious chicken parmesan, a dish she had discovered in this world. A part of David still missed some of the food they had back in the Enchanted Forest, but Snow really knew how to make the food here taste good. "So how did today go?" Snow asked them as they sat down at the table together.

"Good," David replied. "Really good. I love taking care of the animals. It's just so…peaceful. He said I could have the job permanently today. I have you to thank for that, Emma."

"That's great!" Emma replied. "I knew you would! We should be able to start looking for a bigger place soon." Emma looked happy, but David could see an impatience and a sadness behind it . (His daughter was so easy to read because her face looked just like Snow's.) Emma was obviously still desperately missing Henry.

David looked at her and nodded. "That's right. As soon as we do that, Henry will be back for good, Emma."

"So how'd your job go, Emma?" Snow asked.

Emma shrugged, although David noticed she didn't seem as surprised as she used to be that people were interested in her day anymore. He smiled softly at that. "Not too bad," Emma replied. "The job isn't very exciting, but I'll still get a paycheck. And maybe I'll be able to help some people eventually."

"Of course you will," David and Snow said together, sure of their daughters abilities.

"Oh. I wanted to ask you," David said, remembering. "Who is the political figure we saw on the bus?" At Emma's blank look, he added, "He was a huge statue we saw when we rode by. I was just curious who he was."

Emma still looked at David like she didn't know what he was talking about. "We've seen him every time we've rode the bus to Hampden. He was holding an ax?" he added, hoping to make Emma understand who he meant.

Snow nodded. "Yeah, I think I remember that statue. I saw him when we were on our way to the yard sales. Do you know who he is, Emma?"

Finally Emma's eyes lit up as she understood who they meant. She chuckled. "He's not a political figure. His name is Paul Bunyan. He's supposed to be this great logger because he was so big. But it's just an American legend. I mean he's not…" Emma's voice trailed off as she apparently realized whom she was speaking to.

She shrugged. "For all I know, he's a real person in another world somewhere. Nothing surprises me anymore. Are you guys sure you didn't know him from…there?"

David and Snow looked at each other and shook their heads. "No I don't remember anyone like that in the Enchanted Forest. There were ogres, but they would never be honored like that. And there were giants at one time, but they'd long since died by the time we lived," David told her.

Emma nodded, although she looked as if she thought about saying something to his last comment, but decided against it. Instead she said, "Are we all ready for Henry's visit tomorrow?"

They both nodded. "Of course. I can't wait to see him again, Emma."

What did you guys think of that? I'd love to have more reviews!

Guest - So this is the chapter you've been waiting for! Did it meat your expectations? I like to think I saved the best for last, as far as jobs go. (Because not only did David find a job that's perfect for him right now, but it helped his relationship with Emma.)

Also, about David's job. There are a lot of things in this story that I'm using personal experience to help me write. Dairy farms and raising cattle, however, are NOT one of them. I did look some information about it on Wikipedia, but a lot of it I'm still winging it. If you DO know something about dairy farms and/or raising cattle and something sounds REALLY wrong/unrealistic, please PM me and I'll try to edit it.