Snow. She's David's first thought. Her words recounting the beginning of their love story echo through his mind. "They didn't need words to express what they felt in their hearts. It was here, in the shadow of the troll bridge that their love was born. Where they knew, no matter how they were separated, they would alwa-" Always find each other, he finishes in his mind. He has to find her. He has to find his true love. That single-minded conviction propels him into weakly but determinedly stumbling to the troll bridge.
David is confused. Abigail gently secures her arms around him, addressing him by his given name instead of the name he told her. James, the name of the twin brother he never met and had to pretend to be. It's just one jarring thing to add to the incredibly extensive list. Abigail is happily discussing second chances and apologizing, tears brimming in her eyes. Never one to allow anyone to remain in distress long, David tries to reassure her without grasping the precise details.
Snow stands behind glass panels, watching with an expression he knows is masking heartbreak. The expression of masked pain guts him. But Snow is all he has eyes for, looking over Abigail's shoulder. She's wearing the strangest clothing he's ever seen. She looks beautiful, of course, she looks beautiful. Snow would look beautiful in a feed sack. But he doesn't recognize the trousers, shirt or sweater she's wearing. He does recognize the ring she's nervously twisting around her finger. Not even the curse could take away that symbol of their true love, his mother's ring. The ring that initially brought them together.
When she turns to leave, she says goodbye to two people David hasn't noticed. Well, he's only had eyes for his true love. After Snow leaves and takes half of his heart with her, David examines the two she spoke to.
Of the two figures, one is a young girl who can't be much older than fourteen or fifteen. She's dressed in blue trousers and a red bulky sweater that seems to be part-cloak with the hood at her back. She's tall, standing at about the man's shoulder. Under the bulky clothes, she seems to have the stretched look teenagers get as they grow so suddenly. While she's leaning against the wall, she keeps moving, fiddling with the end of her sleeves, bouncing her foot. Something about the girl, David can't quite put his finger on it, but she looks painfully familiar. The man leaning by her side, David's never seen before in his life, but he recognizes by appearance alone. Black leather and a penchant for jewelry, David's willing to wager money the man's a pirate. Though why he's dressed like he's back in the Enchanted Forest instead of clothes native to this realm, David has no idea. He glances down at the man's left hand, or where his left hand should be. In lieu of flesh and blood, there's a curved metal hook. Captain Hook. David heard stories back in the Enchanted Forest. Ruthless and vicious don't cut it. This man is credited with slaughters, massacres, dating back centuries. David's almost irrationally terrified for the girl's safety. But she doesn't seem to be worried about any danger as she leans against the wall with the pirate. Something in David rankles at the sight of the pirate distractedly thumbing his metal hook, the weapon far too close to the girl for his peace of mind. One thing the two have in common is the same expression surveying their surroundings, observing every detail carefully.
David's still so confused. He remembers fighting two Black Knights from his heartbroken wife's bed to his newborn daughter's nursery. He has his sword in one hand and his brave little bundle of joy in the other. Emma was so peaceful on the way to the wardrobe, as if she knew she had to be. She was incredibly calm, so instinctively trusting of her father to keep her safe. And he always would, David swore to himself. He leans back, suffering a slash across his shoulder where it would have taken Emma's head off. Seeing red in his paternal rage, he finishes off the knights. But his injury forces him to slow down on the way to the nursery his daughter will never use or know. He places his daughter inside the wardrobe with a kiss on her soft, little head and a whispered prayer of 'Find us' before he secures the wooden door. The quiet snap of the wardrobe door closing, almost impossible to hear in the chaos raging outside, echoes in his ringing ears and shatters his heart. But he also finds a limited measure of relief in it, knowing he was sending his daughter away, but it meant she would survive. Black Knights break down the nursery door. A sword pierces his gut. Burning pain erupts from his stomach. He collapses and everything goes black.
The next thing he knows, he's soaking wet and the angelic face of his true love is hovering over him. Snow is begging him to come back to her. And David can deny her nothing. Whatever she asks of him, he'll move heaven and earth to make it possible. He's coughing up water. He can't register the questions she's asking. He considers only two thoughts, reuniting with his wife and finding his daughter. Flashing red and blue lights and the shrieking wail of a banshee come tearing through the trees behind Snow. David is surrounded by people methodically examining him and barking orders at each other as they transport him in the strangest carriage he's ever seen.
He's far too dazed and overwhelmed to fight back against the women in white dresses and strange hats or the man in the white coat. They all seem to be trying to help him, but he doesn't know any of them. His muscles are far too weak and fatigued to fight back anyway. The sole person he recognizes is on the other side of a glass panel. Then Abigail enters, followed swiftly by Regina. He overhears Doctor Whale's explanation of his memories, and it presents as good an excuse as any.
"David," Abigail says with tear-filled eyes and a beaming smile. He's seen that smile from her once, directed at Frederick as the man returned to flesh and blood. "I'm so glad you're okay."
He nods. He's glad Abigail seems to be okay too. While she's not his true love, he does want the best for his once-fiancee. And that would mean her true love, Frederick. Abigail has done absolutely nothing to deserve to suffer the fate of being separated from her true love or used as Regina's pawn.
Over her shoulder, he continues watching Captain Hook and the girl. Over the years as a shepherd, his mother imparted a few skills that proved useful to him and Snow on the run. One skill was reading lips. Barns and pastures get noisy, and it's often challenging to distinguish what you hear. Reading lips remedied that problem. Since David can't hear them through the glass, he watches their lips move and makes out the words.
"I thought politicians were supposed to be better liars," the girl mouths.
"Most are,"Hook mouths back.
"Mrs. Nolan's story is full of crap, and the mayor's is even worse."
Hook chuckles a bit at that. "I'd cut Lady Nolan a bit of slack were I you. The curse wasn't exactly thorough about backstories, evidently. It plundered them of their pasts, but left nothing but the most basic scaffolding in its place."Both Hook and the girl know about the curse? She said the mayor's story was full of crap. The mayor's Regina. So at least the girl isn't working with the Queen. Is Hook?
"You said you'd explain later about Mrs. Nolan, Captain."
"Aye. In the Enchanted Forest, she was Princess Abigail, daughter of King Midas."
"Like, turn things into gold with a single touch, King Midas?"
"Aye."
"Well gee, I wonder why you'd know about him."Something about the girl's smirk looks familiar. So much about this girl looks painfully familiar, like the answer of who she is should be on the tip of his tongue, but isn't.
Hook turns to her with a frown belied by the smile he can't smother. "I'd watch that tone were I you, Savior." Savior. Savior? Savior! The breath rushes from his lungs in a woosh. David stares without really seeing, heart hammering in shock, almost missing the annoyed scowl Hook receives as a result of the title. The scowl that looks so much like her mother's. Because God, everything about Emma looks so much like her mother.
His beautiful, brave, amazing girl. His baby, all grown up into a teenager. David drinks in the sight of his baby, all grown up, feeling a whirlwind of emotions that he doesn't know how to sort out right now. But as she leans back against the wall, frowning at him through the glass, one question seems the most pressing to David. What in the hell is she doing with Captain Hook? Better yet, what in the hell is he doing with her?
"Princess Abigail was also engaged to Prince James. Royal engagements are a large enough affair that they're well known throughout the realm. Any child of King Midas, that engagement certainly would be. Whatever kingdom united in that marriage would undoubtedly become rich. Prince James encountered some difficulties with the bandit Snow White and terminated his engagement. Why he'd leave that opportunity, the son-in-law of a king who can transform anything to gold with a single touch…" Hook trails off, shaking his head in disgust. Naturally, that's the pirate's concern is gold, not true love. Emma smirks, crossing her arms across her chest. "His people talked about how he helped save his ex-fiance's true love from the fate of her father's curse. And she, in turn, helped him be with his true love." Hook seems to scoff at the explanation. David's surprised. Aside from a small bit of commentary from the pirate, everything about his account is accurate.
Emma gnaws her lip, glancing in the direction Regina went. "Still doesn't explain the mayor's piss-poor explanation. Like, she mentioned Katherine here being her friend. If I know what my friend's deadbeat boyfriend looks like, then I think grown-ups would know what their friend's husbands look like. Supposedly, the mayor's been his emergency contact for years, never mentioned anything. If Katherine's been missing him all these years, a good friend would say something. Like hey, a John Doe at the hospital matches the appearance of your husband. Thought you might want to know." David discovers himself grinning as he watches Emma gesture vehemently with her hands through her tirade. The information itself gets tucked away for later. For now, he's processing seeing his daughter.
She crosses her arms across her chest and frowns at the window towards David and Katherine. "Timing's pretty convenient too. Just as soon as he wakes up, then Regina finds his ex-fiance, or ex-wife, or whatever she really is in this world? Just as soon as he wakes up and it's Mary Margaret who did it?" Emma cocks her head in thought, just like he's seen Snow do a million times. His heart is absolutely overflowing with love for this girl. "John Doe's full of crap too."
David jolts. He sees Hook balk as well. "What are you suggesting, Swan?" Swan? Why is Hook calling her Swan? Is it some kind of nickname? Just how well does the damn pirate know Emma?
"I mean, I told you about that superpower, right? The lying thing?"Hook nods. What superpower, David wonders. Exactly how well does the damn pirate know Emma? "Mary Margaret asked John Doe who he was. He said he didn't know. My superpower went off. Ergo, John Doe's lying. He remembers something."
David sees Hook sigh, and God does he want to switch places with the pirate. He wants nothing more than to be by his daughter's side instead of lying weak in bed watching her through a window. He wants to know his daughter, what she means when she describes a superpower, how her life has been, everything. They've lost so much time together. David doesn't want to waste another precious second. "Lass, it's very possible the man was disoriented. I'm not doubting you, I'm simply suggesting there might be another explanation. I doubt he intentionally lied."
David is able to feign exhaustion enough that Abigail leaves. With as weak as he is, it's not entirely fake. Emotionally overwhelmed as he is, he knows he won't be getting any rest. Abigail promises to return the next day with pictures to help jog his memory. He almost wants to refuse the pictures, just in case they're some planted way for Regina to impose fake memories like the rest of the town. Because he retains his memories, he can be with his wife even if she doesn't really remember him. He knows who his daughter is and can help her.
Emma's next words should give David more hope than he's ever felt in his life. But the set of Emma's shoulders squaring up for battle, the just-shy-of-a-glare directed at him, and the challenge written across his daughter's face and posture fill him with nerves. "I wanna talk to him." David observes her green eyes, again so much like her mother's, flick to Hook for reassurance. He nods briefly and the two walk through the door.
"Good evening. I'm sure you've had a chaotic night. Just wanted to say-"
"Why are you faking amnesia?" Oh God, she inherited my tact.
"Sorry? I don't understand," David tries weakly to fend off the questions he knows are coming. His voice comes out as a croak after so long of disuse. Quickly, Emma fills a cup with water and hands it to him. "Thanks," he says with his usual sunshine grin. And she inherited her mother's kindness for others. Emma steps away and glares, crossing her arms across her chest. She waits as he takes a drink and sets the cup down.
"You remember something and you're pretending you don't. Why?" David shifts.
"Swan, he presumably has a reason," Hook responds quietly.
"He seems like a really charming person," she smirks and David chuckles. She spits the word just like her mother did when they first met. Once again, my tact and my subtlety. "Charming people have reasons why they lie. So, if he's got reasons, then why?" She challenges.
"Likely safety, presumably yours and Snow White's," Hook explains bluntly. "Should the Queen realize he's awakened, who knows what will come of it? She's already lashed out at you for changes. The prince likely doesn't want to direct the Queen's ire towards either of you." Regina's already lashed out? What the hell did she do to my daughter? David looks Emma over carefully, critically. From what he can see of her, he doesn't note anything. The cloak/sweater and her hair cover her neck, and the sleeves fall to her fingertips.
Emma's nose crinkles, her brow furrows. Her glare becomes a confused frown, glancing between David lying in the hospital bed and Hook leaning against the doorframe. "Why would my safety matter?"
A cold weight plummets in his gut. "Of course your safety matters!" But God, the shocked and confused look on her face at his vehemence devastates him. Why doesn't his baby think her safety matters? Why is she so surprised by the idea? Snow's words ring through his mind again. 'We have to believe she's strong enough to grow up without us.' Clearly, Emma is strong. She's tough. Looking at her, he couldn't be prouder of her or more upset with himself. He should have pushed harder against what Snow suggested. He shouldn't have agreed so easily. He shouldn't have allowed her to shut the door, the portal made by magic that appeared in a land without.
David sighs. "Kiddo, you're right, I remember who I am. Prince Charming, though David's okay too." After a victorious little smirk, she tilts her head in consideration. "And Hook's right too." David groans out and sighs. God, the words are awful. They taste like vinegar. "Pretending is the safest route for everyone. I am sorry I lied." Emma nods. "Tell me, kiddo, what do you know about the curse?" Emma explains how Regina cast it to separate him and Snow, how everyone lost their memories and identities, and how it transported them to this world to strip them of their happy endings. She rocks back and forth on her heels with her hands jammed in her pockets as she delivers her report. The slightly juvenile behavior leaves David with a dreadful thought. She's just a kid. She's barely mature enough to shoulder that responsibility, and yet now she has. She should never have had to shoulder it in the first place. "And what do you know about your role in it?"
He becomes the focus of the annoyed scowl. "That I'm the Savior, pretentious title that it is," she mutters out. Even as clearly annoyed as she is, David can't help but take in every detail he can. Besides, the teenage annoyance he never thought he'd witness is adorable. Emma crosses her arms across her chest and sighs heavily. Staring at the floor, she continues in a lowered voice. "That my parents sent me away to break it." The cold, hard edge to her voice strikes him like a punch in the chest. Her eyes shoot wide as she glances back up, almost spooked by the show of vulnerability. Her shoulders shift as her expression shutters.
"And you know who your parents are?" he asks with increasing, desperate hope.
"Don't know, don't care." She answers blithely.
God, that devastates him. Apparently, the pain that statement leaves in its wake is obvious, as Hook turns away towards the window while scratching behind his ear and Emma looks a bit concerned. Her green eyes hold cautious concern for him, but not…not what he ever could have expected. This, this isn't the life he wanted for her.
"Hook," he croaks out. The man turns. "You brought her here?" David asks.
"Aye."
"How much did you tell her?"
"Everything she's already explained to you."
David sighs, resigned. "So nothing about her parents?"
The pirate sighs, shaking his head. Emma glances between the two of them with an increasingly puzzled expression. "Well no. I made it kind of clear just how much I didn't want to talk about my parents and just how off-limits the topic was." So that wasn't deliberately withheld from her to manipulate her. That was by her own choice.
"It was no skin off my nose to oblige the request."
"What about them?" Emma asks David, returning to a skeptical glare.
"Emma, kiddo," David whispers. She visibly tenses up. Her breathing goes shallow. Her wide eyes dart around desperately. Towards the door, the window, anywhere but at him. Escape, David realizes. Like a cornered animal seeking an escape. She takes a few stuttered steps back. David wants nothing more than to jump out of bed and gather her into a hug. One to make up for all the hugs he never gave her as she grew up. But he can't, since he's the reason behind her panic. And that's when it clicks. She never told him her name.
"You're my father?" she asks in a strangled whisper. Her tensed muscles seem to be vibrating to escape. Emma anxiously scrutinizes his face and seems to determine her answer before his nod. She whips around on her heel and sprints through the door, dodging around Hook.
The pirate looks troubled, like he's considering chasing her, but David's got more than a few questions of his own that need to be answered. "Hook, how the hell do you remember who you are?" he demands in a low, forceful voice.
"I was never cursed. I escaped it with Cora."
"Regina's mother! Are you here for Cora? Are you working with her? What the hell are you doing with my daughter?!" David demands as he unsteadily rises from the bed, reaching for a weapon and coming up with the metal pole holding a bag attached to his arm. Hook slightly smiles at the sight. "Don't fucking patronize me! Answer me!" The pirate shakes his head.
"Apologies, it's just now I see where your daughter got her gumption. That was her initial instinct as well, to reach for a weapon." David's immediately proud of her. Hook's voice almost sounds fondly affectionate of Emma, further irritating David. He takes a swing with the pole, overextending and unbalancing himself. Hook catches hold of David underneath his arms and lowers him back to the bed. "I don't fight invalids, mate. To answer your questions, no, I am not here for Cora. I am not scouting in advance for someone who attempted to kill me. I am not working with her. I brought your daughter here to break the curse and I am attempting to help her do so."
"Help her do so?" David repeats slowly through his teeth. He climbs unsteadily back to his feet, fueled more by paternal rage than actual strength. David takes another swing, weaker than it should be, that the pirate catches deftly and deflects without retaliating. The way to break a curse is true love. Does this bastard…? His little girl is too young for true love! And she's too good for a pirate like Hook to be her true love! "Help her how? How is she breaking the curse?"
Hook picks up on the tension but doesn't seem to understand it. "She's got the idea of bringing back the happy endings independent of the curse breaking. Thus far, her mere presence has time moving forward again and ordinary citizens acting out of turn. Her interference is the reason a young princess was allowed out of her deal with the Dark One to keep her baby, and the reason you're awake."
"And you're just doing this out of the goodness of your heart?"
Hook scoffs. "Bloody hell no. I've my own reasons. Suffice to say, I want the damn thing broken and have thrown in my lot with your daughter for that to happen." He meets David's eyes solemnly. "I'll not harm the lass."
The pirate doesn't elaborate any further. David knows exactly how unlikely it is he'll manage to break him. He has no reason to believe the promise from a pirate. There's more he needs to know. So he sets down the pole and changes tack. "How long has it been? Since the curse?"
"Not quite fourteen years." Hook answers quietly, like he recognizes the impact his answer will have.
Not quite fourteen? Emma's thirteen...he's missed thirteen, almost fourteen, years of his daughter's life. "Rumplestiltskin said twenty-eight," David whispers, collapsing in shock. Eyes wide and unseeing, he stares at the stark wall in front of him. He could've gone through the wardrobe a few years before, to his beautiful ten-year-old daughter. He could've been a part of her life. He could be the one guiding her to her destiny. She wouldn't have needed a new destiny. She could have come at ten years old and broken the curse with the help of her loving parents. 'Find Emma now, and she will never fulfill her destiny. The curse will never be broken, and everyone will be trapped here forever.' It didn't have to represent a choice between duty to their people or their daughter. He and Snow could have done both. Emma, Snow and him, they could have been a family these past few years.
"The Dark One bloody lied." Hook glares at nothing in particular. "That's what the bloody Dark One does is lie." David could point out that pirates are also known for lying, if he stops reeling in shock from the realization. "Whatever he told you was to his own advantage." And bringing Emma here seems to be to your advantage, somehow, Hook. I just don't know how. He sighs, rubbing his forehead. "I can try to talk her around, if you like," he offers uncomfortably, making eye contact with the floor and scratching behind his ear. David balks.
"She," he hesitates, "Emma trusts you?"
Hook shrugs. "I don't know. I doubt it. She doesn't trust anyone much. But I do know what it's like to be in her shoes. Reuniting with her father, I mean. She handled it far better than I did." He meets David's eyes. "She chooses when to listen to me. But the revelation…" Hook shakes his head.
"It's a lot to take in." David acknowledges and nods. He imagines how he'd react to seeing his father again. He sighs. There's still more he needs to know, something else Hook mentioned that needs to be addressed. "Regina's taking out her rage on Emma?" The thought fills him with dread and terror. Hook nods, eyes flicking to the door.
"She's been here a week and been arrested twice. Regina tried to entice me to kill the lass," David's already reaching for the pole again, "which I did not do! As you can clearly see!" He sighs. "Swan representing the threat to her curse that she does, I doubt it stops there."
"Why do you call her Swan?"
"Surname," Hook answers simply. Emma Swan, David repeats in his head. Where did she get it? Was it a family name? Did she pick it? The pirate turns and starts to leave where David is too unsteady and weak to follow. He pauses at the door. "A word of advice, Your Majesty? Food will make that conversation run much more smoothly."
"Why are you helping me?" David asks in shock.
Hook turns with a grin and a wink. "I'm not doing it for you, mate." A moment passes and Hook sobers. "I've spent many centuries in Neverland, home of the Lost Boys. And I would hate to see anyone fall to that fate, especially her. This may surprise you to know, but I care about her. She's a hard person not to care about." He sighs. "If it makes you more comfortable, consider it the principle of the matter. I'd hate to see anyone inflate the numbers of Pan's brigade, after so many years wasted dealing with the little shit."
David sighs, acknowledging the point. He's forced to spend the rest of the night in the hospital. Bed rest, they call it. Another roadblock to reuniting with his family, David calls it. They subject him to a series of tests meant to assess cognitive function. It seems his cognitive function is completely fine, as David knows it is. He struggles to keep a cheerful disposition and not let the doctors know just how frustrated he is with the tests. He undergoes a series of physical tests and another examination of his physical state. From the way the doctor speaks, David knows he's something of a medical miracle. You'd think, if I were as miraculous as they say, they'd let me go. He's beyond lucky Snow seems to be a volunteer at the hospital, as she returns the next day.
They play a game called Hangman. While he doesn't know it from the Enchanted Forest, he's able to pick up rather quickly. Mary Margaret, as she's called here, stares forlornly down at the notepad. Half of the alphabet is written underneath the noose, half a stick figure already formed in the noose.
"M?" she guesses. He smiles, hums his answer, then takes the notepad and writes the letters. She hides her blushing face in her hands, something Snow under no circumstances did. "I'm completely mortified. I almost hanged on my own name."
"Don't worry, I would never have let you hang." There was a time that wasn't as light of a statement as it is now. Where it would have involved a noose around Snow's neck instead of a stick figure's. "I would've added toes and a hat," he doodles on the drawing of the hanged man with a sunshine grin. "Maybe a horse," he suggests, looking up at his wife.
"Is this a game you played a lot? Before?" she shrugs one shoulder as she asks.
He looks at the notepad because he can't look her in the eye. "I don't know."
"It'll come back," she says reassuringly. Snow tilts her head down to meet his eyes. He finally can meet hers. "They're sending you home soon. They have to think you're progressing, don't they?" she suggests.
"Physically," he answers.
"You're making new memories just fine." God, he wants to tell her. She's his wife, his true love, he remembers her. He wants nothing more than to tell her. Meeting Snow's green eyes and knowing it isn't her looking back…it wasn't even this painful after Rumplestiltskin gave her that memory potion.
"Maybe I'll like these better." These new memories will include a safer world, one where they're not on the run from Regina. They will include their daughter. These new memories he's forming may be happier. Snow suggests another game when Abigail enters with a box of photographs. Snow quickly excuses herself, once more taking half of his heart with her as she hastily leaves.
"Honey, I brought more pictures. Maybe it'll jog something," Abigail suggests as David watches Snow signing out on a sheet just past the door. "It's our old dog, Ajax," Abigail says, holding a picture of a white dog with a bright, hopeful smile across her face. Who would name a dog Ajax? "Remember?" she asks as she hands off the image.
It's as good an excuse as any. And the only one who has seen through it so far is Emma. David forces a smile on his face and nods. "Yeah, yeah Ajax." His words don't convince himself, but Abigail keeps smiling. When he looks up, Snow is gone. Abigail stays for a bit and they chat. David's attention is on his wife and daughter. He should be able to reunite his family, not here with Abigail. The two walk, getting in David's hours of physical therapy, before he's able to feign exhaustion and she excuses herself for him to get some rest.
The next day, neither David Nolan's wife nor Prince Charming's come to visit. Emma does, though. Arms wrapped around herself clutching a large book to her chest, shoulders squared and chin held high, she stands at the doorway for a moment in place of knocking.
"Jones said I should come talk to you." Emma says in greeting. David can already feel a helpless smile spreading across his face. "He told me to look through the book, said you had reasons to do what you did. And that's, well, that." Emma sets a large, leather-bound tome on a table in front of him, then flips to a page towards the end. He contemplates a picture of himself, blood staining his shirt, placing baby Emma wrapped in her blanket in the wardrobe. "I would have died if you hadn't, so, yeah." She mumbles and looks elsewhere, fidgeting uncomfortably. "Thanks."
"Kiddo," he whispers. "You don't have to thank me for that. You never have to thank me for that." Emma reaches into the pocket of her jacket. She withdraws a card, much like the ones David's been tested with the past two days. Abruptly, like she's afraid of losing her nerve, she sets it on the table beside him.
"Cheat sheet," she mutters in explanation. Emma tugs at her sleeve and sends her gaze anywhere but in his direction. David looks at the sheet in front of him, the quick, narrow handwriting spelling out where he is and small tidbits about this world. "You said pretending's the safest route. They're gonna expect you to be David Nolan and know stuff. Once they expect the whole amnesia thing to wear off… So, yeah…" Emma collects the book and turns to leave.
"Wait!" he calls out, reaching suddenly. She stops a few steps away from him. God, I should be able to say something. I want to say something. I want to talk to her. I want to know her. Emma raises her eyebrows in prompting, and he realizes he's been silently staring at her, imploring her to stay.
Emma fidgets around, digging her foot into the tile floor, drumming her fingers against her leg. Does she fidget like that all the time or just when she's nervous? Uncomfortable? She directs her eyes around the room, ending on the picture from Abigail. "Who's that?" she asks, pointing to the one on top.
"Ajax," David answers.
Emma cocks an eyebrow, looking unimpressed. "David Nolan named a dog after dish soap?" she deadpans. He laughs and shrugs cheerfully. "David Nolan has terrible taste in names. Either that, or I'm guessing you didn't pick mine." She tries to joke, but it produces a thick layer of tension between the two of them. Her attempt at a smile gets directed ot the floor and slides off her face. His heart sinks and the tension in the room chokes him. He can't respond with the truth, that he didn't choose her name. That her mother announced to the Dark One that her name was Emma when David still believed she was pregnant with their son. But that from the moment he saw her, small, pink and crying in her mother's arms, he wouldn't change a single thing about her.
Emma physically tries shrugging off the tension in the air. Her eyes cast around, again settling on anything but him, eventually landing on a deck of cards. "You wanna play Go Fish?" she suggests. David nods, a bit too enthusiastically with a grin splitting his face. Emma explains the rules to the table as she shuffles and deals. David tries making conversation as they play, trying to learn about her.
"So you're thirteen, right kiddo?" She nods silently, mixing the order of the cards in her hands. "Fourteen's coming up soon, though, right?" She nods again, eyes on her cards. "What, ah, what…?" God, I should be able to do this! I should be able to have a conversation with my daughter!
"You got any three's?" she asks. He hands his card over.
"Any two's?" He asks.
She shakes her head. "Go fish." They play a few rounds, during which the only topic he can convince Emma to open up about is the town. He hears it as more of a reconnaissance report from a scout than his first real talk with his daughter. She was brought here to break the curse, and that seems to be her primary target. No wonder she sounds like a scout. Emma's leg bounces under the table the entire time. An outlet for nervous energy. Her green eyes rarely meet his.
His hand brushes over the cheat sheet. He tucks the treasure away close to his heart, in his pocket for safekeeping. "So, was this Hook's idea?"
"Hook?" Her brow furrows for a moment in thought then clears. "Oh, Jones. The visit, yeah. He, uh, said it'd be a good idea. Not in a curse-breaking way, but just in the it'd-be-good-for-me way. The cheat sheet, no, that was mine. He probably wouldn't know or care about most of the stuff on there anyway. And no, he's not so bad of an influence on me that he'd be where I came up with a cheat sheet."
"He told you talking to me would be good for you?" David repeats quietly. So many emotions are running rampant. That pirate actually means what he says when he said he cared about Emma. Emma nods with a slight smile.
"He seemed to think so. And, uh, for what it's worth, he's probably right." She sighs and arranges her cards out on the table. Squaring her shoulders, she draws herself up to sit up straight. "Look, I have thought about this moment my whole life. Wondered who you might be, what you might be like. Prince Charming admittedly never crossed my mind. It's just," she shrugs, seeming to deflate from whatever confidence struck her. "Just gonna take some getting used to," she mutters.
"Absolutely, kiddo. Anything you need." Her eyes dart across his face, seeking the truth. David holds still under her scrutiny. He wants her to have absolutely no reason to doubt his word. Someone's told her that before and failed to deliver. Probably many people. Emma seems to discover the certainty she's looking for because she nods.
"Emma, I'm not going to pretend to know what you're feeling," he starts.
"That makes two of us," she deadpans.
He smiles cheerfully. "I just want you to know, whatever it is, you're absolutely justified in feeling it. Not like you need my permission to feel how you do or anything…" he trails off, shaking his head. "It's just, I can honestly say that if I were reuniting with my own father, I have no idea what I'd be feeling either." Her green eyes are wide as they meet his. "I just wanted you to know I understand that. I'd like to be here for you and know you might not be okay with that, and that's okay." Emma nods silently, seemingly at a loss for words. "We'll take this at your pace, kiddo." Quick as a shot, before she loses her nerve, Emma reaches out and squeezes his hand lightly. He recalls what her tiny hand felt like, so soft and so small, her whole hand gripping around his finger. Tears mist his eyes and emotion clogs his throat as they both return to their cards. They play in silence for a few minutes before Emma breaks it.
She shrugs, then drums her fingers against the book. "So, the curse…"
David frowns in thought. "Regina is definitely awake, but is there anyone else in town? What about Rumplestiltskin? If anyone else is awake, it's going to be him." He points out what Snow had told him the last time he woke up. "Besides, there's no way Rumplestiltskin would let himself fall under the power of Regina's curse while she herself is awake."
Emma frowns, tilting her head in thought. "See, I thought so too. Jones said he was keeping an eye on Gold. He hasn't mentioned anything conclusive." She shrugs. Why would Hook be keeping an eye on the Dark One? "There's plenty to suggest that Gold's awake, but I'm not quite certain."
"Emma," David whispers, remembering. 'What a lovely name.' "Kiddo, your name."
Unexpectedly, Emma shudders, a visceral disgust coloring her face. "God, that creepy ass fucking scroll!" she hisses beneath her breath. David crosses his arms across his chest, frowning. What scroll? "Then again, Gold's just a creep in general. Would explain why he was so weird when he heard my name, though." She seems to shake off the feeling and encounters David's eyes. "Okay, Gold's dubious amnesia aside, how do I break it?"
"True love," David answers.
"That's nice, except I don't have one of those." Emma's hand unconsciously grips her necklace.
"Good, and it's staying that way until you're thirty."
"What about you and Snow White? You guys are like, what? The quintessential true love?" Emma asks. Quintessential true love, David puffs up his chest. That's a nice phrase. "Why don't you kiss her, break the curse? Sort of a one-two punch." She shadowboxes as she explains it with a sheepish smile. David chuckles at the display.
"Doesn't work that way, kiddo. True love's kiss only works when you both remember who you are and who the other person is. Believe me, I've tried. And took a log to the head for the attempt," he chuckles. "Besides, even if I could, it wouldn't break the curse. It has to be you, kiddo. You're the Savior." She scowls at the word.
"So, we're stuck waiting around until I manage to discover true love? No matter what I do, I can weaken it, but it won't break without true love? That's what you're saying?" Her voice rises in pitch as she speaks. Grooves dig themselves into her forehead. Emma must read the answers on his face because she shakes her head. "Then you're all screwed."
A shift comes over her entire demeanor. Emma draws herself up. Her shoulders are squared, her chin is held aloft. David's reminded of regarding Snow in all her queenly glory. "No, you know what? That's crap. There's a point to which you can weaken something so badly that it'll collapse under its own weight. I just have to achieve that. I'll continue the way I have, bringing back the happy endings, and I'll let the curse collapse under its own weight." She declares her intent with such conviction and determination that David believes her.
As his daughter leaves with a promise to see him again, he watches the Huntsman halt her just past the door. He's too far to overhear their conversation, so he watches and reads. "Miss Swan, I was hoping we could talk."
"I didn't do it," Emma instantly answers. The Huntsman chuckles and shakes his head.
"Actually, I'm here to offer you a job. How'd you like to see the sheriffing up close? I could use a deputy." David watches Emma arch a brow in question. "You've proven you'd be more than an asset with both the John Doe case and helping Miss Boyd."
"The mayor's not gonna be pissed about this?"
"It's in my budget. And I'll be able to tell her this is a way to direct you back to the straight and narrow." Is that what this is? Or is he merely trying to keep an eye on the Savior for the Evil Queen? The Huntsman chose to spare Snow's life and let Charming free to save her from the sleeping curse, but Regina controls his heart. What if Regina commands him to hurt Emma? To kill her? He can't refuse!
The conversation continues past David's worried and increasingly more desperate thoughts. "But she will definitely not be thrilled about this. You let me worry about that."
"You do realize I'm a kid, right?" The Huntsman nods.
"I discussed it with Captain Jones. He's alright with the idea. He said it wouldn't interfere with your studies." It shouldn't be Hook. It should be her father. Except he can't be her father, not yet. "It's small-town sheriffing. We're a peaceful little town, as you've seen. I won't be bringing you to anything dangerous. Not that much I deal with on a regular basis is dangerous. Primarily, your job will be paperwork and filing, if you accept. Maybe I'll ask you to look over a case file or two. Like I said, you're observant and have a good head on your shoulders. If possible, I'd like to direct that towards investigating crime rather than committing it."
Emma chews her lip and tilts her head in thought. Her eyes flick in David's direction briefly. Maybe for reassurance, maybe for approval, he's not sure. She squares her shoulders and returns her focus to the Huntsman. Emma nods and offers her hand to shake in agreement. "When do I start?"
"How does Monday morning sound?" They nod. Emma waves before she leaves.
David wonders how much he can toe the line. What Hook said about Snow and Emma's safety being his primary concern was correct. And if he acts like he wants to, as Snow's husband and Emma's father, Regina would take her anger out on his girls. Why the hell should anyone have to pay for this? What the hell justification does Regina conceivably have?
Snow explained once. She mentioned when they met that Regina blamed Snow for ruining her life. Snow told him in great detail after she halted Regina's execution. He supported her as she cried and explained. Snow, when she was ten years old, told Cora a secret that Regina had been in love with a stableboy before being engaged to King Leopold. Snow only wanted to prevent Regina from losing her mother the way she had, was manipulated by Cora into betraying the secret, and Cora killed the man. Somehow, Cora murdering Daniel acted as justification for the bloodshed, horror and reign of terror of the Evil Queen. 'She was good once, Charming. I couldn't execute her. She could be good again.'
Cora's actions and Regina's misguided anger cost Snow her life. And now, Regina's actions were costing everyone their lives. As far as David's concerned, there is no justification for what Regina's done. He doesn't think there can be any forgiving what Regina's done either.
Later in the day, he's able to engage Snow as she's leaving. Her pink sweater is buttoned up as far as it goes and her blue skirt swings around her knees. He's able to convince her to walk with him. Fresh air and sunlight do him good, much better than the sterile smell of the hospital. David walks along the wooded, green path with his hands thrust into his pockets to keep himself from reaching out and taking Snow's hand. Because Snow is Mary Margaret here, and Mary Margaret doesn't know him.
Seeing his wife, his true love, his Snow, and knowing it isn't really her is gutting him, bit by bit. Mary Margaret displays many of the same habits as Snow. She has Snow's kindness and patience. She has Snow's generous heart. But she has none of Snow's confidence. She doesn't have that same iron-clad resolve born of surviving as a bandit in the woods. She doesn't have the same fierce warrior spirit David saw in his wife. Seeing her face, looking into her eyes, and knowing it wasn't really her looking back...
"I'm trying to remember this place. It's like, it's like I woke up in some strange land."
"Is there anything coming back?" She asks gently. Snow pauses, looking down at the path. "What about when you're with her?" He can hear his wife stifling the pain at the thought. "You remember your dog," she suggests more cheerfully.
He nods. "Yeah. I lied." And I keep lying. I don't want to hurt Abigail. I don't want to risk Regina realizing I know something and either moving to strip me of my memories or lashing out at you or our daughter. I don't want to hurt you. And if I describe everything I know, everything I remember and everything I feel, you will run for the hills. Because Mary Margaret doesn't know David Nolan. You don't remember being Snow. You don't remember…
"You did?"
"She's just so loving. I didn't want to disappoint her. But none of it feels right. A dog named Ajax? Who'd name a dog that?" Snow smiles. "None of it makes sense. None of it, none of it feels real." They pause their walk.
"That sounds lonely," Snow says sympathetically. You have no idea.
"Actually, one thing does feel real." He turns to her and sees her already turning to him. "You." Her green eyes widen. She blinks a few times in shock. "I know it's crazy, but I swear you're the only thing in this whole place that feels, that feels right." He can feel himself smiling as their eyes meet and they slowly lean in closer.
Out of his periphery, he spots a light blond head. Instantly, he knows it's not his daughter. "Katherine," he whispers, effectively shattering the moment. David feels his heart crack in half as Snow shuts down but quickly masks her pain with that smile that shouldn't be as familiar as it is. Snow nods understandingly, stepping back as he greets David Nolan's wife.
"I know it's outside of visiting hours, but uh, I needed to see you." Abigail holds out a dark, covered basket. "I made some cranberry muffins. They used to be your favorite." She has done absolutely nothing to deserve this. I'm not her true love and she's not mine. Regina's just made her into a pawn, a weapon to wield against Snow.
"Well, I should leave you two," Snow excuses herself.
"Wait," David halts her, chasing after her. "Mary Margaret! See you tomorrow?"
She turns back to him with a slight smile on her face, then continues walking away. Abigail walks with him back to the hospital. She talks about their honeymoon in a place called Vermont. She tells stories about their dog, Ajax. How he set aside leftovers from a meal on the counter for lunch the next day. He left the room for a minute, and when he came back the plate was empty. He'd asked her if she ate it, she said no, and Ajax pranced in, licking his chops. How when they were decorating for the holidays when they first started dating, she came in to discover Ajax sitting on the table, eating gumdrops. They avoid talking about whatever 'fight' they had, which led to David 'leaving' and the 'accident'. But it's the easiest conversation he's had with Abigail, ever.
After Abigail leaves, David finds himself reading over the cheat sheet from Emma. He's not focused on the information itself. Personally, he doesn't much care who the leader of this strange land is. What he cares about is the pen strokes his daughter made, and the thought she had to assist him. She wanted to help him orient himself, and help him blend in if that was the plan. While he didn't have any guiding hand in her life, she's a kind and thoughtful girl.
He's discharged from the hospital the following day. Abigail sets up an elaborate welcome home party at a house he can't recognize as home, filled with people he can't recognize as friends. It's telling when the most familiar, friendly face he encounters is the doctor. David goes around the room, shaking hands with a forced smile and taking small snacks off trays. He spends the evening hoping to see either his wife or his daughter. After a far-too-long time spent socializing with strangers, he's able to make some excuse and leave.
His feet direct him a few blocks away, outside of an apartment building. By a tree, he identifies Snow, Mary Margaret, he corrects himself. She's struggling with a birdhouse. Hanging it for her, he asks what he knows he needs to. "I heard you resigned from the hospital. Was it me? Because of what I told you. About how I felt. About you. Come on, don't tell me it's one-sided."
"You're married," she protests. Shoulders stiff, she walks away. "It should be no-sided."
"What it should be doesn't matter. Whoever married Katherine, it's not me. I didn't choose her. I'm choosing you." I will always choose you. "Now I know you feel it. I can tell." He insists as earnestly as he can, following her. Snow stops and sigh, staring down at the pavement beneath her feet.
"I know you think that we have this connection, but maybe it's because I happened to be the person that saved your life? So why don't we leave it at that?" She wraps her arms around herself and walks away down the street. David sighs, feeling disheartened. He turns and walks back to Abigail's.
Thankfully, the party has cleared out by the time he returns. He flicks his way through old pictures without much interest. What is intriguing is the lengths to which the curse went. This world seems to have the means to create almost life-like recreations of images that even the best court painters could never achieve back in the Enchanted Forest.
A gentle hand softly ruffles through his hair. While the gesture is affectionate, he doesn't respond. It's affection from the wrong woman. "You look different. Your hair, it's longer. You used to always have a buzz cut. You used to complain that long hair was itchy. And hard to take care of."
"I guess it grew out while I was in there." He answers noncommittally.
"So I was going to go to bed. Do you want to join me?" She asks softly.
David jolts in shock. The thought of going to bed with someone that isn't his wife appalls him. He can't respond quite as vehemently as he wants to the suggestion because it would be a conspicuous sign to Regina, highlighting just how awake he is. Emma and Snow would both be in danger. Snow wouldn't even know what kind of danger she's in. And he doesn't want to hurt Abigail either. "Why don't we just sit and talk some more?" He suggests. She leans over and gently kisses him. He carefully extricates himself. He can't do this, not even pretend. "This isn't right."
Gently, he takes both of Abigail's shoulders and encounters her blue eyes. "Katherine, this isn't right. This doesn't feel right. I'm sorry, I don't want to hurt you. But the worst way to hurt you would be lying to you and pretending to feel something that I don't. And I don't." He sighs. "I know a man loves you and married you. But I'm sorry, that man isn't me. I think I should leave."
Tearfully, she nods without comment. David packs a bag of his things, primarily consisting of the strange clothing in this land, and leaves the house. The lights go out behind him. Abigail's clear grief over the relationship eats away at him, but it's better than lying and pretending. Regina's not about to determine his decisions for him.
The next morning, he follows directions from a smirking Red to the school. Around noon, he enters Mary Margaret's classroom. She's at her desk, forcefully cutting into a letter with a small knife with her back to the door. "Careful," he remarks cheerfully. "Looks sharp."
"You can't be here," she insists.
"I need to see you."
"Tell me you didn't leave your wife because of me," she says distressingly, gathering a stack of notebooks in her arms. "I do not want to destroy your marriage."
"You're not. It's me," he immediately reassures her. "I don't want to hurt her either. But the most hurtful thing to Katherine would be me pretending. She needs someone to feel about her the way I feel about you."
"I'm really trying hard to stay away from you," she insists. She backs him down the row of empty desks, slapping workbooks down in her frustration. "To do the right thing."
"Why is that the right thing?" David asks desperately.
"Because you already have a life."
"With someone I didn't choose." A bell cuts across David's insistence. Children dressed in navy and white uniforms begin to file into the classroom. They take their seats as Mary Margaret seizes his arm and begins towing him to the door. "The man who chose that life, whoever married Katherine is gone. The man here wants someone else."
"You really have to leave me alone," she insists, finally forcing him past the door.
"Is that truly what you want?" David asks, clinging to the doorframe.
"Go." That's not a yes or a no, Snow.
"Meet me tonight. At least think about it. I'll be at the bridge where you found me at eight o'clock. Think about it until then and then decide. If you don't show, then I'll know, and I'll never bother you again. But if you choose this, if you choose us, you know where I'll be." Heart in his throat, he leaves and returns to his room at Granny's.
A knock on the door breaks his concentration on the cheat sheet from Emma. He looks up with an expectant smile, hoping to see either short, black hair and a colorful sweater or white-gold curls falling past the shoulders of an oversized red jacket. David sees neither. And it's only then he realizes how insane it is to expect either his wife or daughter to know where to find him. His smile dims. Instead, he sees Regina standing in the doorway with an insincere smile that doesn't reach her cold eyes. Warily watching the Evil Queen, David tucks the sheet away in his pocket.
"Mr. Nolan, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," she says, striding forward with a hand outstretched. Blend in, don't attract attention! His instincts scream at the impulse he has to confront her. Composing the smile back on his face, he offers his own to shake.
"I'm sorry, it's nice to meet you too, Miss…?"
"Regina Mills. I'm the mayor." She answers briskly.
"Interesting that the mayor would go out of her way like this," David starts carefully.
"Well, I can't help it. I feel responsible for you. Ever since I found you." Her voice is sickly sweet, pretending to be kind and caring. It rankles David. Especially the way she pulls in close, leaning in.
"No one told me that story."
"It's probably because I'm the only one who knows it." She smiles sinisterly, and he crosses his arms across his chest, trying to fake his sunshine grin. "I was working late. It was a cold night. Must have been ten below. And on my drive home, I realized I left my phone at the office. I remember thinking just to forget about it and I didn't really need it. But something inside me told me to turn around and go back." Her voice lowers to an almost intimate level.
"And that's when you saw me?"
"You were on the side of the road, unconscious, and you were so cold you felt like ice. The doctor said if I found you ten minutes later, it would have been too late. It's amazing, isn't it?" David sighs profoundly. "If I hadn't forgotten my phone, I wouldn't have been on the road at that time." He nods slowly as he takes in the story. She leans in, eyes lowering to his lips.
Instantaneously, David pulls back. "I'm sorry, I don't know if I gave you the wrong impression," he apologizes. She shakes her head. He glances at the mayor then at the clock. "If you'll excuse me, Madam Mayor. It was a pleasure meeting you." He moves to leave but the mayor halts him with a hand on his arm. Anger flares in his veins. David carefully resists glaring at the offending hand.
"Wait, before you go. I thought you should have this. It was on you when I found you." She hands him a wristwatch with a brown leather strap, worn in with grooves and curved to about the size of his wrist. Knowing that doing otherwise would cause a risky situation for Emma and Snow, he accepts it with a gracious smile. "Look at it, dear. Don't you recognize it?"
David examines the face of the watch. It seems like a plain wristwatch. Looking at the center point, with each tick he feels one of David Nolan's memories unlock. He stares at the watch, as if in a trance, for a few seconds. The world around him and the town make sense now. He remembers seeing Katherine walk down the aisle towards him in a lovely white dress and a beaming smile. He remembers naming Ajax after the first night they adopted him and he tore up an entire box of dish soap. He vaguely recalls his fight with Katherine, one thing leading to another, a constant piling-on of problems and distance. He remembers saying he was leaving, walking out the door into the freezing cold. And the next thing he remembers is Mary Margaret's, no, Snow's, face hovering over his. Everything around him makes a certain amount of sense. Two lives are competing in his head. David Nolan's memories of this world are flooding in, but Charming's memories remain.
"Yeah, it was my father's. He, ah, gave it to me when I graduated high school," he answers in a low voice with a sunshine grin at the mayor. "Thank you, for getting this back to me." Regina's smile is smug as she rises to her feet, collects her bag and turns to leave. He brushes his fingers over the cheat sheet tucked in his pocket, and no amount of fake memories can overrule the real ones. And come hell or high water, he's meeting his wife at the toll bridge.
The first thing he distinguishes is a bright pink sweater. The sight supplies him with so much hope that he can't resist his smile. Or his actions as he runs the rest of the distance to his wife, picks her up in his arms and twirls her around. Her shocked laughter fills his ears as he sets her back on her feet. His arms are around her. Her arms are around him. This is perfect.
"You came," he whispers.
"You sound surprised," she laughs. He chuckles and shakes his head.
Under the starlight, as Dvaid leans in to kiss his wife, he watches her eyes. Their bright sparkle dims. A fog seems to come over her. "David, I'm sorry, I can't." She pulls out of his arms. They drop numbly by David's sides. "I can't be the reason you throw away your marriage. I just, I can't," she insists in a whisper as she wraps her arms around herself and walks away. David's heart shatters to pieces. The curse is keeping Snow from him and determined to keep her miserable. He won't let that be the end of it, the end of them. Somewhere inside of Mary Margaret is still Snow White. He brought her back once. He'll do it again. Because he will always find her.