It had been 18 long years since David went through the wardrobe with Emma. This world was different. For one David wasn't able to turn into a dragon anymore and didn't have any magic powers at all to speak of in this world. That was fine with him. He was always better with a sword anyway. James was the one who was better with magic. David always struggled with it though he did have to admit it would have been useful for some things like changing Emma's diapers which always stunk really bad or he could have his mother make Emma a potion that would make her feel better when she was sick. Magic had it's uses but overall David wasn't really a fan of it. He could still control his aging though. That was thanks to the dragon blood he had inside of him. He was just as young 18 years later as he was when he went through the wardrobe. He needed to stay young for when he saw Snow again. This was the year Emma was supposed to break the curse. She finally turned 18 today.
It had been hard being a single father to Emma for 18 years. When David first came through the wardrobe with Emma and ended up in this new world he learned quickly there was no magic here. His mother had always told him and James that there were some lands out there where magic didn't exist. David figured this must be one of them when he tried to turn into a dragon to fly Emma some place safe but it didn't work. David learned everything there was to know about this world. He learned that those weird carriages that pulled themselves without horses were called cars and he would need one to get him and Emma around. He also learned he would need to get a job so that he could support himself and Emma. Luckily David met this family that was kind enough to take him and Emma in for a little while. The Nolan's were always so kind to him and Emma. He made up that his and Emma's last name was Smith when they asked what their last name was. He saw it in some black and white paper.
David had gotten some odd jobs so that he could make money to support him and Emma. He was a carpenter construction worker and even worked on a farm for a bit. One day David accidently helped the cops stop a criminal and they offered him a job. When David got home that night he put 4 year old Emma to bed and stayed up reading about all the crimes that were committed by bad people in this world. This world wasn't safe for Emma. He figured he might as well take the cops up on their offer and except the job. He had to make this place safe for Emma so that nothing happened to her. Plus the pay was good. The next day David went to the police station and accepted the job. They told him he would have to train with all of the rookies. David was able to excel very quickly in training thanks to his enhanced senses which didn't go away when he came through the wardrobe. He was able to rise up in the ranks fairly quickly and within a year became a detective.
When Emma was 5 David finally got enough money to get him and Emma their own place and buy a car. He saw a cheap truck that would be able to get him and Emma around and he found a small apartment for him and Emma. When him and Emma left the Nolan's they hugged them and said they would always be family. From that point on David and Emma Smith became David and Emma Nolan. David and Emma moved around a lot because David was trying to find where James and Regina's curse had sent everyone. Him and Emma were never anywhere for more than a year which David felt bad about but he was trying to Snow and his mother so they could all be a family. When Emma was 7 she found a book called Once Upon A Time in her closet. She showed it to David and he couldn't believe it. It had all of their stories in there. The whole kingdom. David finally told Emma about where she came from when she asked about why the Prince looked like him. He told Emma all about Snow.
David told Emma about the curse and how she was the savior that would bring back all the happy endings. Emma slept with the page of her mother and father together every night. She had memorized every feature of her mother. She was going to meet her someday. When Emma turned 12 she lost the book. She was hysterical and David looked everywhere but he couldn't find it. It had disappeared like magic. It took David hours to calm Emma down and she cried herself to sleep in his arms. When Emma started high school that was when his real challenge as Emma's father started. Boys. Up until high school David had never had to worry about boys when it came to Emma. That's when Emma and him started fighting. A lot. She always wanted to go to all the party's she hated moving all the time and worst of all she stopped believing. That hurt David the most that she thought he was lying to her about Snow and the enchanted forest and the curse.
When Emma was a junior she started dating a boy named Jeff Mendell. He was 4 years older than her and he was one of those bad boys David wanted Emma to stay away from. He smoked and did drugs and he hung out with a lot of bad kids. David tried to find anything on him that could get him arrested but he couldn't find anything. One night Emma lied to David and went to a party he told her she wasn't allowed to go to. When David found out he went to the party and took her home and grounded her until she was 18. The next couple of days Emma wouldn't talk to him not even with a hello. It broke David's heart. His baby girl, his princess, wouldn't talk to him. He decided he was too harsh on her so one day he came home from work early to tell Emma she wasn't grounded anymore and that he was sorry. He knocked on her door. No answer. David opened the door and what he saw made him so mad if he still had his dragon powers he would have burned the whole house down.
Jeff was on top of Emma on her bed and she wasn't dressed. "Dad I can explain" Emma said pushing Jeff off her and moving to get clothes on. David just saw red. He walked over grabbed Jeff by the neck and pinned him against the wall. "If you ever touch my daughter again I will lock you up and make sure you never see the light of day again. Is that understood" David screamed in Jeff's face. Jeff just shook his head terrified. "Now get out of my house" David said letting go of him. Jeff ran out of the house. "Dad why'd you do that" Emma asked. David turned around and looked at Emma. "I don't want you seeing him anymore" was all David said. "That's not fair" Emma said. "Emma he was forcing himself on you" David said. Emma shook her head. "No dad he didn't force himself on me. I was letting him have sex with me" Emma said. That made David even more mad. "You will not be leaving my sight from now on. After school is over you will come to the police station until I am done with work" David said.
"Dad you can't do that" Emma said. "Yes I can. You will never be in this house alone again" David said. "I hate you" Emma screamed at David and slammed the door in his face. That hurt David. Emma had never said she hated him before. He wanted to apologize to her but he just walked to his room and shut the door. He'd just give her some time. As time went on it got worse. Now she wouldn't even let him drive her to school. She had one of the other parents drive her to school and when she came to the police station after school she refused to talk to him. David kept trying to start conversations with her when they were on their way home from the police station but she would just put her headphones in and ignore him. This happened for a couple weeks until one fateful day. David had gotten a call while he was at work that Emma never came into school that day. David was pissed. He hurried home to confront Emma.
When he got home he marched right up to her room and walked in. "Emma Ruth Nolan you better have a good excuse for" David stopped talking when he saw Emma. She was curled up in a ball on her bed crying. David calmed down and walked over to her bed and sat down. "Emma princess what's wrong" David asked. Emma wrapped her arms around David. "I'm so sorry daddy. You were right. Jeff isn't a good guy" Emma said as she continued to cry. David just held her tightly. She told David about how she saw Jeff on her way to school and he offered to drive her there but instead of taking her to school he drove her to an alley and he tried to rape her. She told David about how Jeff said that if she told him about this he would kill her. Emma also told David she was bale to get away because of the fight moves he taught her. David was furious and proud. He was proud of Emma for being able to get away from Jeff but furious that Jeff tried to rape her.
The next day David was able to get Jeff on drug possession. When David arrested Jeff just laughed and said that he would be out soon and when he did get out he would be going after Emma. David punched him in the face and put him in the police car. Ever since what happened with Jeff David and Emma were closer than ever. So David was sitting at his desk waiting until he could get home to celebrate his baby girl's birthday. When he was done with his shift he clocked out headed to pick up Emma's cake and headed home. He had a surprise for her birthday that he was excited to show her. "Emma I'm home" David called as he walked into the house. Emma walked into the kitchen. "Hi dad" Emma said. David put the cake on the table and smiled at Emma. "Happy birthday princess" he said kissing the top of her head. "Thanks dad" Emma said. David got candles out of the cabinet put them in the cake and lit them. "Make a wish" David said. Emma closed her eyes and blew out the candles. David got two plates out. "Birthday girl gets to make the first cut into the cake" David said giving Emma the knife. Just then someone knocked on the door. "I'll be right back" David said. He opened the door and saw an old man standing on the other side of it. "Can I help you" David asked politely. The old man smiled. "Yes you can. You can make sure Emma breaks the curse and saves your kingdom Prince Charming" the old man said. David stood there stunned. He didn't know this man but somehow this man knew about him Emma and the curse. David didn't know it yet but his and Emma's lives were about to change forever.