Chapter Fourteen

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

Thank you again for those who are following or even putting this story on their favorites.

And thank you soooooooooooo much for those that reviewed the last chapter. That was exactly what I wanted for my birthday! Reviews I can respond to! Responses for those people will be at the end of this chapter.

Emma returned to her parents' new apartment Saturday evening. They were still acting very…affectionate, but fortunately they did realize she was in the room most of the time. Even though Emma did find the behavior a little annoying, she also realized they had just got married again the day before. It was to be expected. All in all, she was happy to be living with them, even if they did get...gooey sometimes. Emma hated to admit it, but she really liked having a family to live with. She particularly liked having a family to support her when she was missing its most important member. David and Mary Margaret were really good at comforting her when she was missing Henry. Even when they'd rather spend their time on romance, they were there for her.

Sunday afternoon, for example, the three of them had gone to the supermarket to buy some food for the next week. (They were all pretty glad they had enough money to buy plenty of food this time.) They had already put the basics in the cart including cereal, milk, coffee, and bread. They also added crackers, cheese, ham, chicken, and fish. Then her parents started looking at inexpensive wines. Emma supposed that made sense, considering they'd just got married. They also seemed to have some kind of fascination with grapes she didn't understand. But they were definitely having another "romantic moment" since they were staring into each other's eyes and giggling about the grapes.

Meanwhile, Emma noticed a bag of cheese doodles in the next aisle. She began staring at it, as it reminded her of one of her first memories of Henry.

Emma had agreed to drive Henry back to Storybrooke herself, even though her instinct was to put him back on a bus. She shouldn't be getting attached to the kid, after all. Still, Emma wanted to make sure he got home safely. A ten – year – old kid shouldn't be traveling alone. But then the kid began explaining this crazy theory that his book of fairytales were real. And that she was in the book? What? So the next time they stopped at a gas station, Emma bought him a bag of cheese doodles, to keep him quiet. After all if he was eating, he wouldn't be taking so much, right?

If Emma could go back to that moment now, she wouldn't have bought him cheese doodles to keep him quiet. She'd tell him he could talk about whatever he wanted. But maybe she'd still buy him the snacks. Henry seemed quite pleased with them, after all.

Just when she was about ready to turn around, she felt Snow's hand on her shoulder. "You're thinking about Henry again, aren't you? It's okay, you can get through this. Only two more weeks, remember?"

Emma turned around and found both of her parents behind her. How had they gone from making gooey eyes at each other and laughing about grapes to supporting her so quickly? How had they even known she needed them? She shrugged. "Yeah. I know. I can get through it." She tried not to make a big deal out of their support. She didn't want to appear like a clingy child who needed her parents all the time, especially in public. But as they returned to their shopping, Emma felt a warm glow surrounding her.

OOOOOOOOOO

Emma went to work on Monday at noon after her university classes, just as she had done the week before. "Hi, Officer Swan," Chief Winslow greeted her as she came into the police station to get some coffee. "Before you go out on patrol, I should probably let you know we've got some visitors this morning."

Emma nodded. "Okay. Why should that matter to me?"

Chief Winslow chuckled. "Because they're still here. They're in our holding cell until someone bails them out."

Emma nodded, chuckling as well. "Ah, that kind of visitors. What do you want me to do about them?"

Chief Winslow shrugged. "Go see if they'll talk to you. Sometimes people will talk to a different person a little more. Officer Mckendric said someone caught them living in their camp over the weekend, but they won't talk to anyone. Won't even make a phone call. It's hard to know what these people are up to when they won't talk at all. I'd say they're just using their Fifth Amendment rights, but since they won't call anyone…I think they're just being tight lipped."

Emma nodded and marched into the police stations' holding cell, ready for some young punks with attitude. Probably about nineteen years old. She'd dealt with kids like this before, when she was a bounty hunter. But when Emma looked in the jail, she didn't see what she expected to see. Instead, she saw a blond woman and a brown – haired man about her age. Then she got a closer look and saw someone she would have never expected to see again.

Kathryn Nolan.

Or at least, that was who Emma knew her as. She had no idea what her fairytale name was. Her family had kind of…avoided Kathryn, from what she could tell, in post – Curse Storybrooke after what had happened under the Curse. And of course, since she didn't read the book nearly as much as she should have…Emma didn't really know which name she would respond to now.

She could, however, infer a few things. The brown – haired man must have been Kathryn's boyfriend or husband back in the Enchanted Forest. It was weird for Emma to think of Kathryn as having someone else, too. She had gotten used to thinking of her as "David's wife" under the Curse. And last year, Kathryn hadn't really been someone Emma thought a lot about, with everything else going on. Emma also knew why they weren't talking to anyone. Because they didn't understand this world and didn't trust anyone. They probably didn't have anyone to call in this world. And that's if they had any idea how to use a phone in the first place.

So how would she get them to talk to her? Emma supposed she could start by making it clear she knew where they were from and go from there. She marched up to the bars and said causally, "So you're from the Enchanted Forest, huh?"

Both of them looked surprised. After a minute, the man looked straight at Emma and said, "What makes you say that? What do you know about the Enchanted Forest?" He sounded very suspicious. Emma supposed she couldn't blame him.

She took a deep breath and replied, "I know you're from a world where castles, princes, princesses, and knights are normal. I know magic is common in that world, and you probably can't understand why there isn't any magic here. I know you don't really understand the rules in this world at all. And I know you were brought to this world by a Curse."

Both Kathryn and the other man nodded slowly. But the man still looked at Emma suspiciously. "Okay, but why do you know about that? Are you working for the Evil Queen? Or are you trying to profit from us somehow?"

Emma sighed. "No, I'm not working for the Evil Queen." It would do no good to tell them the Evil Queen was dead and was no longer evil right now, even if Emma didn't like the name anymore. An image of Henry crying over Regina's dead body filled her mind for a second, but Emma pushed it away. It wasn't important right now. "And I don't know to make you believe that I'm not here to profit from you, but I'm not. I will tell you this. I'm the only one who can help you. I am one of the only two people who knows this world and your world at all…and the other person is a child. Now do you want my help or not?"

Kathryn and the man looked at each other for a minute. Then they began whispering to each other. As they did so, Emma wondered how she would be able to help them even if they accepted her offer. On one hand, Emma felt sorry for them. They may not be her family, but these two were just as lost as her family had been in the first few days after Storybrooke was destroyed. They were exactly the kind of people she wanted to help when she became a police officer. On the other hand, Emma thought it might be prudent to keep Kathryn away from her parents. She hadn't forgotten the possessive look in Snow's eyes when Emma told her David had another wife in Storybrooke. But how would she keep them apart from her parents if she was going to help Kathryn and her…man?

Finally they seemed to have reached a decision. "Okay. We'll accept your help if you tell us who you are and why you want to help. And you better make it good," the man answered. He stood in front of Kathryn, as if to protect her from Emma.

Emma took a deep breath. She knew what she'd have to say. It just wasn't something she liked to admit. "I'm someone who was born in your world but grew up in this one. I know about your world because of my parents…Snow White a – a – a –n –d Pri –nce Charming." She stumbled over the words of that. "I was the S – S avior that was supposed to break the Curse."

But before she could continue, the man interrupted, "If you were really the Savior, the Curse would be broken. Sorry. Try again." He folded his arms across his chest. He was still standing in front of Kathryn. Emma wasn't sure what he thought he needed to protect her from, since they were behind bars. Probably just the principle of it.

But how was she going to explain to them what really happened? Emma felt like beating her head against the wall. Once again, she felt a lot of sympathy for Henry as he tried to get people to accept the truth during the Curse. Still, at least the people Henry tried to talk to trusted him. It was obvious that Kathryn's significant other did not trust her. For a minute, she wondered if she should even try. Emma hadn't even figured out how she was going to help them, even if they agreed to it. And it wasn't like they were family, or even close friends.

But then she thought about what would happen if she didn't help the couple. They would have no one to bail them out, so who knows how long they would remain in jail. Emma remembered her time in jail. Was that really what she wanted to happen to people that were almost innocent? And in the meantime, the other police officers would continue to try to question them. They were doing a good job keeping quiet now, but would they eventually crack? And if they did…would it be a danger to her family somehow?

Emma took a deep breath and tried again. "The Curse has already been broken. It was broken about a year ago. We were all in a town called Storybrooke. When I broke the Curse, you had an Enchanted Forest identity and a Storybrooke identity. About a month and a half ago, Storybrooke was destroyed. When that happened, you lost all your Storybrooke memories, so you only remember your life in the Enchanted Forest."

Kathryn nodded, accepting the answer. But her man still looked suspicious. "Do you have any proof of this?"

Emma tried to think of something that would prove her story. But unfortunately, there really wasn't anything. Nothing that would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, anyway. "No, I don't have any proof. But I'd still like to help you. Please. Just accept this as the truth."

But the man still shook his head. "I can't accept this without any proof. If I trust you, and you're actually trying to hurt her in anyway," he gestured to Kathryn, "then we'll be worse off than we are now." He shrugged. "At least we're safe in here."

Emma sighed. "I'll come back tonight and ask again. But let me tell you something about jail. This is only a temporary holding cell. If you don't get out of it, eventually they'll transfer you to a state prison. In those places, they keep the women separate from the men. How will you protect her if you can't be with her on a regular basis?" She gave him a pointed look and left the room. She hoped that explanation would make the man agree to let her help them. It would certainly have worked if she were talking to David.

In the meantime she still had to patrol the town. Not that anything ever happened in Hampden on a Monday afternoon, but it was still her job.

OOOOOOOOO

Emma came back to the station at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. It was a little earlier than she had planned, but she needed more coffee, and she didn't want to pay for it. When she came in, Chief Winslow grinned at her. "What did you say to our jailbirds? You said they wouldn't tell you anything, but you must have said something! They haven't stopped arguing since you left."

Emma shrugged. "I just told them it would be in their best interest…if they accepted the truth. The woman seemed more accepting than the man."

Chief Winslow nodded. "Maybe we should try talking to them separately. We probably should have tried that first, actually."

Emma nodded. It might work. Then again, it might not. Kathryn may be more accepting of Emma than her brown – haired man friend, but she seemed to lean on him for support. If Kathryn didn't have him nearby…she wouldn't necessarily be friendlier. She might actually be less friendly, if their relationship was anything like Mary Margaret and David's. "Let me try talking to them together one more time. Then, we'll try separating them."

Chief Winslow shrugged. "Knock yourself out, Officer Swan."

Emma marched into the jail room again and asked "So have you given any more thought to my offer to help?"

The man looked at Emma carefully and sighed. "You seriously mean it? You'll help us? And if you don't we'll probably be separated?"

Kathryn put her hand on his arm. "Freddie, we've been through this already. It's okay to ask for help."

Freddie? Emma thought to herself. She didn't really see this man as a Freddie, but whatever. To the couple, she replied, "Yes. Of course I do. I'm a police officer here. I can probably get you out if I talk to my boss. But first, you need to tell me exactly what you've been doing for the past month and a half and how you ended up here. Then I can talk to him."

They both nodded. "I don't think we've been properly introduced," Kathryn commented. "I'm Princess Abigail, daughter of King Midas." Of course, Emma said to herself. King Midas would have to have been in the Enchanted Forest, too. Why not?

The man next to her sighed. "And I am Prince Fredrick, husband of Abigail. I used to be the captain of Midas's guard before we got married."

Emma gave them a small smile. "I am Emma Swan in this world, although you should call me Officer Swan while we're at the station. Like I said before, you may have known my parents."

They both nodded. "If your father really is who you say he is, I owe him a big debt. He freed me from my Golden curse so I could marry Abigail," Fredrick commented. Emma nodded, thinking about how much information she was missing because she hadn't read the book as much as she should have. It didn't surprise her that David would do something like that, though. He was always trying to help everyone. (In Storybrooke, he even tried to help Gold!)

"Okay, so what happened?"

"We were in our castle. My father had just passed away, from a heart attack a month earlier, but I hadn't been crowned queen yet," Abigail began. Emma nodded. It seemed most of the older generation of royalty had passed on before the Curse hit.

"I was all ready to fight, dressed as a knight again. But the Curse…it didn't come as a person." He sighed and looked at the floor. "So there really wasn't anything I could do to protect my Abigail."

"Then suddenly we were in the middle of a forest. At first, we thought the Curse only destroyed our castle. Then we saw one of those loud…carriages that move really fast. And we knew the Curse had to have brought us somewhere else, like we were warned it would." Abigail shook her head.

Fredrick wrapped his arm around Abigail. "We made our way through the woods until we found some cabins. We figured since we didn't know anything about this world, we should try staying there. We thought it was our best chance of staying safe and together." Emma nodded. It made sense, especially considering these people obviously didn't have her mother's knowledge of how to survive in the woods. "We knew the cabins belonged to others, but they were apparently not used all the time. So we thought we'd move from cabin to cabin, to avoid detection."

"We knew we shouldn't be using cabins that weren't ours," Abigail continued. "But we didn't know what else to do. Then, this past weekend, we got caught. Since the family who owned the cabin lived in Hampden, we were brought here."

Emma nodded. "Okay, I'll have to see about bailing you out. It might not be that expensive, since it's your first offense. We'll have to talk to the owner of the cabin and the police chief about your charges, too. Then we'll have to see about finding you a place to stay while you adjust…"

That was the problem she was still having trouble solving. She couldn't bring them home. Emma tried to picture Snow's face if she brought Abigail to their apartment. "Well, you were curious about David's ex – wife, right? Here she is! Why don't you sit down and compare notes?" No, Emma knew that wouldn't go over well at all. Besides, their extra room had to be saved for Henry. Who knew how long it would take for the couple to get on their feet? She could show them the motel her family had stayed in the first night in the area, she supposed. Still, motels could get expensive if you had to stay there for a while. What if they couldn't find jobs right away? Then, Emma thought of another idea. What about Ruby? She did, after all have an extra room to spare now. And she would certainly understand why the couple needed a place to stay. The only thing was…would Ruby be okay with another couple staying with her? Emma hated to make Ruby's…issue with her boss worse. "Excuse me for a minute. I might know of a place where you can stay."

She left the room to call Ruby on her cell phone. "Hi Ruby. It's Emma. I found some people in the jail today that are from your area," she began with a chuckle.

"Really?" Ruby responded. "I suppose that's to be expected. Snow ended up in a place like that at first. It's been a while since we've been in this world though. Where have they been for the past two months?"

"Apparently hiding away in cabins owned by people who use them on the weekends," Emma replied. "But anyway, once I get them out of jail, they're going to need a place to stay. I thought, since you had an extra room, maybe they could stay with you?"

Ruby paused for a minute. "Who are they? I suppose it doesn't matter. I'd hate for our people to be out on their own. We're lucky we have you to help us, Emma."

"Ah, you're welcome," Emma replied, uncomfortable with compliments. She rushed on, "Think about it for a minute, Ruby. I didn't mention it you before, but they're a couple. Are you okay with that? I mean, because of what we talked about this past weekend? I don't want to make that situation worse. I can send them to the motel we stayed at if you want."

Ruby thought again for a minute. "Yeah, I'll be fine, Emma. I think your parents bother me so much because I know them so well. And like I said before, I had a boyfriend when Snow didn't. These people will be different. And like I said before, I don't want them to be out on their own. What if they start saying things and it affects us somehow?

"Yeah, I thought about that, too. If you're sure, I'll bring them by your apartment after my shift is over."

"I'm sure, Emma."

Emma returned to the room with the holding cell. "Okay, I found a friend of mine who is willing to let you stay with her. I'll still have to talk to Chief Winslow about the bail, though."

"Thank you," Abigail told her.

It turned out bail money was $100 a piece for them. Emma had been planning on using most of her pay check this week for her lawyer. She also had her cell phone bill coming up. Still, she had promised she would help the couple. She still had some money left for her lawyer after she paid their bail. She also called the owner of the cabin the couple had trespassed in. He agreed to come to the station the next day so they could work out a punishment for their crime.

"Okay, I'll be back here at 8:00PM. In the meantime, you can explore the town if you want. There isn't much to do in this town, but I'm sure you'd rather spend the day outside the jail." Emma opened the jail cell to allow them out.

"Of course," Abigail replied.

"Is the town safe?" Fredrick asked, stepping in front of Abigail as if he could protect her again.

"Yes," Emma replied firmly. "Very safe. It's a small town, so you shouldn't have to worry about murderers, or robberies, or anything. You don't have to worry about ogres, either," she added with a chuckle.

Fredrick nodded.

"Just…don't mention anything about magic or the Enchanted Forest, okay?" Emma warned. "You guys seemed to be doing a good job with that before, but remember that."

They both nodded. "Come on, Freddie," Abigail said. "Let's explore this town for a couple of hours."

They walked down the street as Emma got back into her cruiser to finish her shift. She shook her head. "Freddie?" It was obviously a nickname, but the idea of Abigail, or rather Kathryn (because that's how Emma still saw her sometimes), using a cute nickname for her man…it was weird. Not that Emma knew much about Kathryn from Storybrooke. But from what she remembered, she seemed so…proper. It didn't matter though. What mattered was that Emma finished her patrol. She pulled out onto the street.

XXXXXXXX

OOOOOOOOO

Red took a deep breath as she entered The Hot Spot on Monday night. She hadn't forgotten what Emma told her on Friday night. Her boss might ask her for sex someday. And if she said no, he could start pressuring her. Or even get violent. Was she prepared to deal with that? No, Red admitted to herself. She really wasn't. But was she prepared to leave this job? Red put her uniform on and took a look at herself. It made her feel great. No, she wasn't ready to leave, either. She wasn't even ready to look for another job. So what could she do?

Maybe she could make it clear to her boss that his touches, at least, weren't welcome? That should do it. If his touches weren't welcome Mr. Jenison probably wouldn't want sex from her. She put on a determined look and marched over to the desk.

"Hi there, Ruby," Mr. Jenison greeted her, admiring her outfit as he always did. Then he handed her some menus. "You've got tables five, six, seven, ten, and eleven, and thirteen tonight." As he handed her the menus, he made sure to brush past both her breasts. Red shrugged. She supposed that was okay. After all, he didn't really grab anything.

She started with table five. It consisted of five men, who looked to be about twenty years old. They looked her up and down the same way Mr. Jenison did. (They were typical customers at this restaurant.) But, that wasn't really a big deal. All they did was look, right? So what if those looks made Red feel great? She returned with their drinks within a minute, and got another dose of those looks. Unfortunately, their food took a little longer, so she'd have to wait longer before the men would look at her again.

Table six was empty right now. Table seven consisted of what looked like a young couple on a date. It was too bad. The man probably wouldn't look at her physical attributes as much if he already had a girlfriend. They ordered a couple of sodas, and Red was right. The man was too interested in his girlfriend with the short skirt too pay much attention to her. (Red thought she saw him watch her as she left, out of the corner of her eye, but she couldn't be sure.) As she went to the next table, she thought about that for a minute. Was she actually disappointed the young man was paying attention to his girlfriend? Had she really sunk that low? Red had to stop this. It was one thing to enjoy being admired. But it was a different matter when it concerned someone who had already had a girlfriend. Maybe Emma and Snow were right. She needed to think about leaving this place.

About fifteen minutes later, the food for table five was ready. As she made her way to the kitchen, Mr. Jenison grabbed her butt and squeezed for a few seconds. It felt great. As she made her way back with the food, Red remembered she was supposed to be telling Mr. Jenison not to do that anymore. She'd worry about it later, though. Right now she had food to serve.

OOOOOOOOO

Four hours later, Red remembered she hadn't talked to Mr. Jenison about his…touches. She shrugged. It didn't matter now, considering he'd already left. Maybe she'd think about looking in the newspaper for another job, anyway. She had to get home. Emma had said she found some people from the Enchanted Forest locked up today, and Red agreed they could stay with her for the time being.

They all arrived at the apartment at about the same time. "Hi Ruby," Emma greeted her. She was accompanied by another woman with long blond hair, and a brown – haired man. "This is Princess Abigail and Prince Fredrick. Abigail and Fredrick, this is Red, or Ruby, as I like to call her."

"Hi," Red greeted them, shaking each of their hands. The woman looked vaguely familiar, but Red couldn't place her. It was no matter, though. They looked friendly enough, and they definitely needed a place to stay. She quickly opened the door.

"Here's the bedroom you'll be using. Sorry you'll have to sleep on the floor night. Tomorrow, maybe we'll see about getting you an air mattress. Here's the bathroom. It has a really nice shower. I don't know if you'll familiar with showers, since we didn't have them in our land, but they're kind of nice. They work like this." Red demonstrated the shower.

"Thank you," Abigail replied, nodding as she surveyed the apartment.

"I'd like to show you something before I leave," Emma told them. "I need to show you how you access your money, and about your identities in this world. They'll be different here." So Emma educated the couple about money, check books, and their names. It turned out the woman's name was Kathryn in this world and the man's name was Alan.

Much like Snow and Charming though, they almost never used the names this world gave them. Fredrick always called her Abigail, and she often called him "Freddie." They weren't as tactile as Snow and Charming were, which was probably a good thing for Red. But they way they talked to each other and looked at each other made it obvious they were a couple. It really didn't bother her that much. Like Red had told Emma, Snow and Charming were probably a problem because she'd known them that long. (Of course, they were also more physically affectionate than these two were.) It wasn't as if it hurt her to see them happy, anyway.

Anyway, Emma eventually returned to the apartment she shared with her parents. Red made small talk with the couple for a while, and then they all went to their rooms.

XXXXXXXXXX

OOOOOOOOOO

Emma stopped by Ruby's apartment after her college classes, just before noon. This way, they could all talk to the owner of the cabin about their punishment. Abigail and Fredrick seemed to find the bus as nerve – racking as her parents did at first, from the expressions on their faces. Fredrick seemed particularly worried, since he held onto Abigail a lot harder than he held onto the seat.

Emma shook her head. David could be overprotective sometimes. Of her and Snow, Emma admitted. Emma still remembered how David reacted when he found out she had to take a trip with Gold and he couldn't go with them.

"Do you really have to go?" David asked Emma as she packed.

"Of course I do," Emma grumbled. "I 'made a deal with him', remember? It's a lot more dangerous for me to refuse than to do as he asks, I'm assuming."

"Yeah, that's true," David agreed, looking at the floor. "But how do I know you're going to be okay with him? Who knows what he could do with you once he crosses the town line…"

Emma sighed. "I can handle him, David. I'm used to that world. He won't have magic outside of Storybrooke, after all. And without magic…believe me, I've faced a lot worse than Gold's bad temper. It's Cora in Storybrooke I'm worried about." She shuttered as she remembered Cora's hand, prepared to rip out Mary Margaret's heart.

David shrugged. "We've handled dark magic before. We can do it again."

"We'll that's good to know, but to be on the safe side, I think I'll bring Henry with us."

David shook his head firmly. "No! I can't have you and Henry in a place where I can't protect you, Emma."

Emma shook her head. "I told you. I can take care of myself, and I can take care of Henry, too. He'll be safer with me than in Storybrooke, if Cora's around."

And then there was the way he coddled Mary Margaret with hand – feeding her, foot rubs, bathing her, and breakfast in bed after she'd killed Cora. She'd told David he was overdoing it then, but he wouldn't listen. So yeah, David could be overprotective. But still, he let Emma and her mother live their lives. Fredrick didn't seem to let Abigail do that. He was always standing in front of her or holding on to her extremely tightly.

To distract them, Emma showed the couple the newspaper. "After we get this…police matter taken care of, you'll need to look for jobs. Here's one of the best places to look." She showed them the want ads section. "Is there anything you particularly enjoy, or that you're particularly good at?" Maybe they had some hidden talents, like the ones David had for livestock.

Abigail shrugged. "I know how to do embroidery and crochet. I really enjoy painting pictures." Emma nodded. Typical princess stuff then. It might be harder for her to find a job right away.

"I remember the pictures you used to do of the mountains," Fredrick commented. "I could stare at them for hours."

"Oh, Freddie," Abigail sighed, dreamily.

"Yes," Emma replied, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. At least they weren't her parents. "What about you?"

Fredrick shrugged. "I'm a knight, so I enjoy sparring and working on defense moves." Emma nodded. It would be tougher getting jobs for these two than for Snow and David, it seemed. "I love to watch theater, too," Fredrick added. "Is there anywhere to do that here?"

Abigail nodded. "That was our first outing as couple!" she added, excitedly. "I'd love to go to another one with you."

Emma nodded. "I think the university that I take classes does performances sometimes. I'll let you know." Finally, they arrived at the Hampden gas station where the bus stopped. Emma showed them how to walk to the police station from there.

Chief Winslow greeted them as soon as they arrived. He gave Abigail and Fredrick a disapproving look and Emma a pleasant nod. "So they admit to the charges?" he asked Emma.

"That's correct, sir" Fredrick replied for both of them. He was standing in front of Abigail, as to protect her again. Of course.

Chief Winslow nodded. "Then we can resolve this without a court hearing," He certainly sounded pleased about that. "We'll just have to wait until Mr. Donahue gets here. It was his property you were trespassing, after all." He looked at Abigail and Fredrick again and shook his head.

About ten minutes later, Mr. Donahue arrived. He was a tall man, who was partially bald and wore glasses. "They admitted to the charges, huh?" he commented, looking from Emma, to Chief Winslow, to Abigail and Fredrick.

"That's right," Emma replied, nodding.

"The punishment will be less, since we've admitted, right?" Fredrick asked hopefully, looking at Abigail as he said so. Emma knew he was hoping things would be easier on his princess this way.

"Yes, usually when someone admits to charges, we give them a lighter punishment," Chief Winslow agreed.

"I'm okay with that, as long as you won't be trespassing on my land again," Mr. Donahue added.

"Of course we won't" Abigail replied.

"How about a fine?" Chief Winslow asked. "Do you think a fine of $700 would be sufficient?" he asked Mr. Donahue.

"How about $750?" Mr. Donahue argued. "They had been staying at my camp for a whole week, for goodness sakes. They used all my things, ate my food, got into who knows what…"

"We didn't touch any of your private things!" Fredrick protested. "We know better than that." He folded his arms across his chest, insulted at such an accusation.

"But you had no problem sleeping in my bed, eating my food, and living in my vacation home?" Mr. Donahue shot back.

Abigail and Fredrick both sighed. "No."

Emma spoke up. "I know a little of these people's financial situation," she began, trying to sound non – confrontational. "I think that much money would be beyond their means." According to their check books she'd showed them how to use last night, Kathryn Nolan had only $25 in the bank. Probably the expense of her divorce. Alan Woodson had a little bit more. $60. But that was still too big a fine for them to possibly pay. Especially since it didn't appear that they'd have jobs very soon.

Mr. Donahue looked at Emma. "I suppose you're going to give me the standard sob story about how they're poor and homeless so I should let them off, Officer Swan?" He shook his head in disbelief.

They had been poor and homeless, but that wasn't Emma's point. "No, I just meant…maybe they can have a different punishment?"

"Would you like to spend six months in jail?" Chief Winslow asked the couple. "That's another option."

"What about some kind of service for you?" Emma suggested.

Mr. Donahue thought about this for a second. "Maybe. Would you clean the camp, the inside and outside, for next month? You could start tomorrow and come in every week?"

"That sounds reasonable," Emma replied nodding.

"You'd have to a really thorough cleaning," Mr. Donahue warned. "There are a lot of places that are too difficult for a man my age to take care of. I think two young people," he eyed Fredrick and Abigail, "would be able to do them."

Fredrick thought for a minute; then replied, "Yes. We will do that for you. If you provide transportation that is."

Mr. Donahue nodded. "Be here tomorrow morning, and I'll bring you to my camp."

Chief Winslow nodded. "Okay then. Trespassing case; punishment one month of service for the injured party."

With that, Mr. Donahue, Emma, Fredrick, and Abigail all exited the police station. "Emma," Abigail whispered. "I don't know how to clean! Especially not with the things they might use in this world. How are we going to clean for that man's satisfaction?"

Fredrick held her hand tightly. "We'll figure it out. I think this will be the best way, Abigail. Emma's right. We don't have money to pay for a fine in this world. And I certainly don't want you to spend six months in jail!"

Emma thought for a minute. Abigail didn't know how to clean. She was exactly like the traditional princess who didn't lift a finger that Emma always disliked. She buried her resentment for a second. How could she clean a cabin tomorrow? Should she just leave them on their own? That was how Emma learned how to everything, after all. Necessity. Still...she had promised she'd help them. Even if Abigail was raised as a pampered princess.

Suddenly she knew someone who would be able to show them all about cleaning. Who spent everyday cleaning with all the modern materials. Before Emma stopped to think, Emma dialed Snow's cell phone number. "Hi Emma!" Snow greeted her. "Is there anything you need?"

"Yes," Emma replied. "Do you remember the couple I told you that found from the Enchanted Forest last night? They've been living in a man's vacation home. He's agreed to let them off with cleaning his cabin for the next month. The thing is…they don't know how to clean, especially with modern materials. I thought you could show them."

"Of course," Snow replied brightly, only too happy to help someone from the Enchanted Forest who needed assistance.

"Why don't you meet them at the bus station? Have them show you their ID's so you know they're the right people. "They're called Alan Woodson and Kathryn Nolan." As soon as she said that, Emma hung up, without listening to Snow's response. She directed Fredrick/Alan and Abigail/Kathryn to wait at the bus station and to show their ID's to Snow White. (She figured everyone knew who Snow White was.)

Then Emma started kicking herself mentally as she got into her police cruiser. She had promised herself she'd keep Snow and Kathryn (or Abigail, whatever) separate. She really didn't think it would be a good idea for them to interact. Protecting her mother the heartache of seeing Kathryn was the least Emma could do after all the support Snow had given her with Henry's custody fight. For that reason, Emma hadn't even told Snow she'd found David's ex – wife last night. Then today, Emma sprung her on Snow, even asking her to help Kathryn! To top it off, she made it very clear exactly who Kathryn/Abigail was. "Kathryn Nolan" Emma had said. Her mother wasn't stupid. She knew that meant Abigail/Kathryn was David's ex – wife. Why didn't Emma ever think things through before she spoke? What had she done? Instead of protecting Snow from the heartache, she'd made it worse, that's what!

Of course, Snow isn't going to kill Abigail, or anything. But Emma knows it won't be a pleasant reunion, and she's made it worse by not preparing her mother.

I'm sure you didn't expect me to bring Abigail and Fredrick (I've taken to calling them Abirick) into this story, but I've had plans to do it since I started. (I just needed to make sure Red had extra room in her apartment first.) I love them as a couple almost as much as Snow and David (because I love the moment when Fredrick is freed from the Golden curse. I swear, it's more dramatic than when Snow wakes up from the sleeping curse). It always bothered me that we didn't see what happened to them on the show, either in the Enchanted Forest, or in Storybrooke. So now, I can show what happens to them

And I DO think they're a lot of potential for good storylines if Snow and Abigail/Kathryn interact (with and without David and Fredrick). So I wanted to force it.

Also, if you want to read some background of the way I see the Abigail/Charming/Fredrick relationship back in the Enchanted Forest, you can read "The Hope Cycle" on my profile page. I go into a lot more detail about their relationship in this chapter, but that story is where I got some of my ideas for this chapter.

So I would love some reviews from this chapter. What do you think of Abirick? What do you think of Emma? Any ideas of what will happen in the next chapter?

And…here's some responses to those who gave reviews for last chapter.

Guest: I'm glad you liked all the feels in that chapter. It was a good chapter for feels, don't you think? I'm really glad you like the birds and dancing, too. I wanted them to have a "first dance" at the park, but I also knew they didn't have a radio or CD player. They don't have a lot of money, and had already spent money on food. Snow made it very clear she wanted most of her family's money to go to the lawyer for Henry. So I thought…since she's Snow White, and it's canon that she could communicate with birds, that would work well. Like David said in the story, I actually think it works better for them than normal music. (Of course Snow would want the birds to be part of the celebration, too.)

Anon: I love Snowing, too, actually. But I didn't want the whole story to be about them for two reasons:

(1). I have a lot of other ideas for scenes from the other characters that I'm excited about writing.

(2) I don't think it's realistic or in character for Snow and David to only focus on their romantic relationship, when they care just as much about Emma and Henry, and Red is also an important friend to them.

But – I will let you in on a secret. All of my chapters have Snowing in them. Sometimes, like the wedding chapter, there is a lot of Snowing. Sometimes it's only one small scene. Sometimes it's even more subtle than that. (Like it's just something someone says, or a gesture between Snow and David.) But I promise you there will always be something.

Parapentistria4ever: I'm glad you like the Emma/Ruby bonding scene. It's a scene I've had in my head for a long time. I wish the writers of the show had realized the potential for bonding between these two, but whatever. I've never seen Red act jealous of her friends in the show, so I made it subconscious. But I found it almost impossible to believe with the amount of time she spends with them, that she never gets jealous of their relationship. Emma, of course, is not very comfortable with seeing too much physical stuff with Snowing (they are her parents, for goodness sakes.) But I think it does bother her that she doesn't have anyone like they do, as well. (Of course in the show, she does have someone now, so that's a little different.) Red is going to be a lot more involved in this story in the coming chapters, and her new bonding with Emma is a part of that.

I'd also like to tell you guys I should be posting chapter fifteen next Sunday. (And a new "Voices" chapter on Thursday, for those interested in that.