Hello!

Guys! A new fic! I can hear your cheers all the way from here, lol ;)

I know I should be updating one of the other fics I'm working on, see I've been without internet except for what I use on my phone for a MONTH. Awful I know, right? So readers of Like No One's Watching and Faith is Able fret not because I have a lot of extra time on my hands right now and will be updating both of them this week.

With that out of the way, I have been working on this story off and on since January, waiting to begin posting until I had it more or less done because this will be my longest story to date! I KNOW that what-ifs of Snow making through the wardrobe have been done to death, but I hope that mine is different enough that it keeps your interest!

So sit back, and enjoy and don't forget to let me know what you think!

Memories Keep You Near

The sickening sounds of battle echoed through the castle halls. People were shouting, everyone was panicking. Somewhere Red howled.

I clutched my swollen belly tightly. I had known the day was coming. Regina had promised it would. The day all of this would end. My home, my life, my friends, my husband were about to be taken away from me, and there wasn't a damned thing I could do to stop it. The only thing that I could do was to save my child, and to save my child, I must save me.

Charming, my wonderful husband, my best friend, was curled up in bed beside me, clutching his sword in one hand while the other rested protectively on top of my round stomach. We should have been in the nursery by now, and we would need to leave right then if we hoped to make it before the soldiers got upstairs, but we both knew that as soon as we did, we may never be able to hold each other again. And if we did, it wouldn't be for a very, very long time.

"It's gonna be okay, Snow," he whispered in my ear. "How do you feel? How's Emma?"

"I've been feeling pains," I admitted. "I think she may be coming!"

He moved so he could meet my eyes, and my heart shattered at the look in them. At the tears, the agony. Yet behind that there was hope, my Charming was never without hope, and that was one of the thousands of things I loved about him.

"Charming," I hadn't meant for it to come out in a whimper, but I couldn't help it. "I don't think I can do this alone. Raise her alone."

"Yes, you can," he said, taking my face in his hands. "You are Snow White. I believe you can do anything! You will take our baby to safety, and love her and prepare her. And in 28 years, you will find me and save me as I saved you."

Suddenly the door burst open. "The wardrobe, it is ready!" Geppetto exclaimed, frantically waving for us to follow. With the door open, I could hear that the battle had gotten much closer than we thought. Something crashed, like a heavy object falling over, and I jumped. My little one jumped with me.

"Come on!" Charming said, pulling me up with him. "We have to hurry!"

When I got to my feet, a sharp, agonizing pain hit my belly and lower back and I cried out.

Charming looked helpless for a moment before taking me up into his arms, no easy feat what with my size and weight. "If I may never hold my child, I can at least hold her while she is within you!" he meant it as a joke to calm me down, but my heart only broke further at the thought that he could never hold our daughter.

He ordered Geppetto to take his boy and hide, and ran with me toward the wardrobe. We were almost there when three of Regina's soldiers appeared, blocking our way. Charming sat me down gently, then gave me a charged look before lunging for the enemy, sword drawn.

I backed behind a suit of armor, fear twisting inside me as I watched the three against one battle. One of the men turned and faced me, his coward's face hidden behind black mesh, and while Charming was busy with the other two, he came at me.

I nearly froze in panic, but my fight instincts won over, coupled with fierce protectiveness of the life inside of me, and I reached over to draw the sword from the suit of armor. I was just in time to block his lunge aimed right at my stomach, but not before it could graze my belly just slightly.

I realized quickly that I was no match for him in my condition, but I blocked his attacks with every ounce of strength I had, until he suddenly stopped and let out a gurgled gasp before he fell. Charming stood behind him, bleeding from his shoulder. He yanked his sword out of the man's back with an angry tug.

"Are you okay?" we asked simultaneously, quickly examining each other's wound.

"Do you think he hurt the baby?" Charming asked, uncharacteristic panic lacing his voice.

"No! It isn't deep," I assured him, and we spun around to make our way to the nursery.

The tree looked smaller than I remembered, and it had a simply-made door cut into its middle.

"What will happen when I go in there?"

"I don't know," Charming said, staring at the wardrobe but grasping my shoulders. Another pain hit me, but it was milder and I breathed through it.

He turned back to me and his eyes roved my face, as if trying to commit it all to memory. I just kept thinking that this couldn't be happening, that I would wake up and he would be in bed beside me and this was all some terrible nightmare.

"You'll wait for me, right?" I asked, my voice feeling small.

Charming took my face again. "Of course I will wait for you, Snow. I would wait a lifetime and more. You don't have to worry, 28 years will just fly by for you, I promise! Please, my love, try and live and be happy with our daughter. Tell her how much I love her."

"I will," I promised. "I will tell her every day. And I'll see you again, soon."

A banging sound from outside alerted us that more soldiers had arrived, and were trying to break into the nursery.

"You have to go, Snow, now!" he grabbed a dagger from its stand on a nearby shelf; a pretty one with jewels on the handle that we would have one day given Emma, and pressed it into my hands before wrapping something around my shoulders.

Charming took my arm and pulled me to the wardrobe, threw open the doors, and helped me inside. I almost didn't even fit, but managed to situate myself, arms covering my stomach.

"Charming!" I cried, clutching his shirt.

"I love you, Snow," he leaned inside to kiss me, and I kissed him back with every ounce of love and desire I possessed.

He pulled away, face contorted as if doing so was physically painful, then placed a quick kiss to my belly, whispering, "Find me…"

The doors to the library flew open and soldiers ran in right as Charming was shutting the doors.

"I love you!" I shouted.

And then there was nothing.

I'm not sure if I fell asleep, or was somehow knocked unconscious, because the next thing I knew, I was waking up inside the wardrobe.

But it wasn't the wardrobe. The opening was bigger, and the doors were gone. And outside the opening…was a forest.

I hissed as another pain struck, and clutched my stomach and dug my bare heels into the rough wood on which I sat until it passed. Once it was gone, I sat a while longer, feeling dazed and scared and so utterly alone.

It happened. It really happened. Regina cast her curse, and I escaped it. But Charming didn't. Tears sprung to my eyes as I thought of him. Was he hurt when the soldiers broke in? Was he…no, I couldn't think that way. Charming was alive. I had no idea where he was, but he was alive. I would feel it otherwise.

Sucking in a breath of air, I slowly emerged from what turned out to be a gigantic tree. The hole I was in seemed to have suddenly been blasted into the bark upon my arrival. A quick look around revealed that I was in a dense, quiet forest, very much like home. Wait…it isn't home…is it? I thought. Could the wardrobe have only sent me into the woods? Maybe Regina's curse failed! Maybe I can just go home!

Suddenly I heard what sounded like growling, which quickly grew into an ear-splitting roar. I covered my ears and backed toward the tree, drawing my dagger, and looking around for the danger.

My eyes followed the sound and I looked up into the sky to see a shiny, white…thing with wings, as big as a dragon, glide by overhead. It was gone before I could even really see it, but it didn't even look alive.

No. I'm definitely not home.

My heart was pounding. If I wasn't home, where was I? Rumplestiltskin hadn't been specific on exactly what the curse would do to us, only that we'd be trapped in time with no more happy endings. "The wardrobe was meant to send us to safety," I murmured to Emma, who was kicking fiercely from my previous scare. "So we must be safe here, right? Just have to decide what to do now."

A rustle in the bushes caught my attention, and my heart began to race again. I gripped the handle to the dagger, wishing that I had my bow, or at least a sword.

Praying that it was just a little animal, I spoke gently. "Who is there?"

A mop of red hair peeked out from behind a tree. Of all things I thought I might see, Geppetto's little boy was certainly not one of them."

"Pinocchio?" I exclaimed.

The boy emerged slowly from the bushes, clutching his hat tightly in shaking hands and looking like a frightened rabbit.

"Pinocchio, what are you doing here?" I was really confused. How did he get here?

Pinocchio just fidgeted with his hat, and looked positively terrified. Of what? Me?

I put my dagger in the belt of my dress and moved closer. "You don't have to be afraid, it's only me. What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness," he said, his voice wobbling. "My father said it was the only way."

"Pinocchio, I'm confused, what are you talking about?"

He took a step closer. "My father, he put me in the wardrobe.

I felt my eyes widen, and my stomach lurch with something that had nothing to do with the baby. No. "What? But how? The wardrobe…it could only take one."

He shook his head then spoke in a rush. "No, Your Highness. The Blue Fairy said it took two, but my father would not build it unless I went in. I'm sorry! I didn't want to lie, but Father said that sometimes we must lie to protect those we love! Please forgive me, Snow White!"

I backed away from the boy, putting out a hand to the tree to support myself as my world turned on its end. I had been tricked. The wardrobe took two. Not one. Charming, I thought, beginning to breathe heavily. He could have come through with me…

Pinocchio started to cry, and though my anger at being ripped from my husband unnecessarily was there, I knew I couldn't take it out on this poor little boy, who had just lost his family, too. And really, would I have not done the same thing to save Emma had I been in Geppetto's shoes? It didn't quite excuse Blue's lying, but what was done, was done. Only now I didn't just have myself and my unborn child to worry about, I had a seven year old boy to worry about too.

I could cry about the injustice later.

Pulling myself together at last, I sat clumsily on the ground against the tree. "Pinnoch, sweetie it's okay, don't cry. Come here."

The boy approached me slowly, flinchingly, as if afraid I'd suddenly hit him or something. It sort of hurt, as I had never been anything but nice to the child, but I suppose he didn't know me well, nor I him for that matter. I never really paid much attention to children in all honesty. I loved the one inside me so bad it hurt, but before that, I had little patience for them. I had simply never been around them.

So now I awkwardly tried to comfort the little boy, and invited him to sit beside me.

"You aren't mad?" he asked, sniffling.

"No," I said gently, running a hand over his head in what I hoped was a comforting gesture. Oh my, perhaps I'm not cut out to be a mother! I have no idea what to do, here! "I'm not mad at you, I was just surprised is all. This isn't your fault, or your father's for that matter."

"No," he said, with surprising ire. "It is the Evil Queen's fault!"

"That's right," I said with an approving pat. "It's the Evil Queen's fault. But what is done, is done. And now we must figure out what has happened, and where we are. Oh!" I clutched my abdomen and doubled over, groaning in agony.

"Your Highness!" Pinocchio exclaimed, standing up and putting a hand on my shoulder. "Your Highness, are you alright? What can I do?!"

The pain faded, and I couldn't help but smile at the boy's sense of duty. "I'm okay, Pinocch. I think Princess Emma is just about ready to come out and greet us, is all!"

The boy's eyes went round as saucers. "She's going to come out? How?"

Oh dear. Not only was he only seven, but he had also only even been real a year. The pains were becoming more and more frequent. I didn't know much about childbirth, but from what Doc had told me, this meant that Emma truly was well on her way.

"Can you help me stand up?"

Jumping to assist, Pinocchio grabbed my arm and helped me to stand. "We need to find help…a village, or something," I said.

"I think there is a road this way," he said, pulling me.

"You think?"

"Well, it looks like a road…just not one I have ever seen before. It is a dark, scary looking black."

I hesitated. "Well if it was scary looking, perhaps we should avoid it."

"Everything so far here is scary."

He had a point there.

Another wave of pain hit me, only this time, it was accompanied by a sudden rush of wetness between my legs. I froze, terrified.

"What is it?" the boy asked, frightened.

"The baby," I said, and then gasped in pain. "She's coming!"

I gripped Pinocchio's arms hard as he struggled to help me sit back down. I registered the grimace of pain on his face, but I couldn't make myself loosen my hold, and he braved through it without a word.

I cried out, feeling the most searing, agonizing pain I have ever felt. None of the countless injuries I had incurred in battle, not the terrifying pain of my throat closing up when I bit into that apple, could even compare to the pain I was feeling then.

This isn't how it's supposed to be.

"What can I do?" Pinocchio exclaimed, bravely fighting back tears.

"You must find help," I said, gasping. Pinocchio froze, his eyes shining with fear, and I fixed him with a gaze I hoped was encouraging "I know it's a lot to ask of such a little boy, but you must! I don't think I can do this alone!"

I screamed again, and Pinocchio took off without another word. All I could do was hope that he could find someone to help.

Pinocchio could have been gone minutes, hours, or days for all I knew. All I was capable of doing was screaming in agony.

Pure instinct led me to press my back against the tree, and bend my knees, feet braced against the moist ground. The urge to push was unmistakable, and I groaned, feeling as if my whole body would just rip apart.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. I was supposed to be at home, in my bed, with Doc there to deliver because I refused to trust any midwife. Charming would have been at my side, holding my hand, no matter how hard I squeezed. He would be beside me, not out pacing the hall like most husbands. I knew him. He would want to comfort me, and be there to see our precious baby girl take her first breath.

Instead I was alone, covered in dirt, on a forest floor.

I was vaguely aware of voices, and in my pain-induced stupor I thought for a moment perhaps Charming had found me! But my vision cleared and Pinocchio was beside me, taking up my hand and allowing me to squeeze it. I tried to pull away, unwilling to hurt him, but he held firm.

"Here boy, let me," a gravelly voice said, and Pinocchio's soft little hand was replaced by a large, calloused one. "Hold on as hard as you need, little girl. Won't hurt me."

"Who are you?" I groaned, squeezing the hand despite myself.

"Don't you worry, Hon, we're gonna help you," only then did I notice the woman in front of me. She was older, with graying hair, but rather beautiful. I shrank away in distrust though, closing my legs as if to keep her away from Emma.

"Who are you?" I repeated.

"My name is Elsa, and this here is my husband, Fred. Your little boy told us that you were out here alone, and havin' a baby! You don't have to be afraid, dear, I've had my share of babies."

I knew I was a person who easily trusted, which somehow made me more wary now, but the woman in front of me had such kind eyes. The man beside me squeezed my hand reassuringly, and smiled warmly when I looked at him.

"You told me to find help," Pinocchio said proudly. "And I did!"

"Can we get her to the hospital?" Fred asked.

"No," Elsa said, gently pulling my knees further apart. If I hadn't been in so much pain, this might have been embarrassing. "This little one is comin' right now! I see the head. Boy, what's your mama's name?"

"She isn't my mama," Pinocchio said. "But her name is Snow White."

Elsa gave him, and then Fred a look I was too agonized to decipher. "What's your real name, Hon?"

Somewhere in my pain-addled mind I wondered why my name wasn't good enough, but the old compulsion to use a false name bubbled forth and the lie came easily.

"Mary…" I stammered, "n…umm…Margaret…" oh why couldn't I ever just pick one? At least I didn't say Frosty this time.

"Okay Mary Margaret," Elsa said. Not what I meant, but okay. "When I tell you to push, you push, okay?"

"I think I got that," I said sarcastically through gritted teeth, then shot Fred a glare when he chuckled.

Pinocchio moved as if to look and see what was happening between my legs, but Fred grabbed his arm and yanked him back beside him. "Trust me, boy. You don't wanna know."

"One more push, Hon!" Elsa shouted.

I pushed as hard as I could, screaming out loud enough to send birds flying, and all of a sudden the pressure was gone, and I heard the most beautiful, most miraculous sound I have ever heard.

My daughter crying.

"It's a girl!" Elsa exclaimed, and Fred broke out in a happy chortle.

I flopped back against tree in utter exhaustion, half-aware that I was being supported by Fred. I watched in dazed fascination as Elsa tied off the cord with string, then swiftly snipped it with scissors. She then wiped the squirming pink infant with a fluffy cloth.

"Is she…okay?" I asked, my speech slurred.

"She's just fine," Elsa said softly. "What's this? A blanket?"

At first I didn't know what she was talking about, but my hand moved to my shoulder to feel the soft wool there. I knew it the moment I felt it; the baby blanket Granny knitted for Emma. Charming put it around my shoulders before I left, one last gift before I had to abandon him.

New tears came to my eyes as I removed the blanket from my shoulders with numb fingers and handed it over. I felt like something was wrong, and part of my subconscious was aware that if these people decided for some reason to take off with my baby, there was absolutely nothing I could do. But all I could manage to do was watch, and trust these strangers.

Elsa bundled Emma up in her blanket. "Emma," she said, reading the name stitched on the corner. "Is that her name?"

I nodded, then held out weak arms for my child. Elsa smiled warmly and placed Emma on my chest, and I wrapped my arms around her soft, tiny body. My thoughts were jumbled, half-formed, but I couldn't take my eyes off her perfect face. She has my chin, I thought.

"Hi, Emma," I whispered, tears rolling down my face as I touched her hand.

"She's beautiful," Fred murmured.

"So small," Pinocchio said in wonder.

"Fred," Elsa said, and my head shot up at the severe tone in her voice.

Fred stood up, leaving my side and went to kneel beside his wife. "What is it?"

"Is something wrong?" I asked shakily. "Is something wrong with my baby?"

"No, Hon," Elsa said, but I could see the worry on her face. "Emma is fine. You're still bleeding an awful lot though. But don't you worry, an ambulance is on its way."

I couldn't even begin to imagine what an ambulance was, but I was beginning to see dark spots, and my head swam. Emma cried against me.

Frank had jumped up and ran away, saying something about "flagging them down." Elsa was still in front of me, and I felt a wave of nausea when I saw the blood that now covered her. I gripped Emma tighter, but could feel myself losing consciousness. I looked up at Pinocchio, who stood beside me, white as a sheet.

"Take her," I pleaded to him.

The boy looked ready to burst into tears again, but reached down to carefully pick up, then cradle Emma. He looked so small holding her.

Fred was back, hoisting me up into his arms as effortlessly as if I were a child, and so quickly my head spun.

I think I passed out, because when I came to again, Fred was lowering me onto a small cot and three men in white coats were surrounding me.

"No…" I murmured, trying to push them away. "Em...ma…"

"Take it easy, maim," one of them said. "We're going to take you to the hospital."

"Hos..pel?" my vision was coming in and out, and I was vaguely aware that they were pushing my cot toward a swirling red light. "What's…hos-pel? Where's m' baby? Where's Charming?"

The men seemed to be answering me, but their voices were muffled to me.

The last thing I remembered hearing before everything went black, and I heard it clearly, was "Take the baby."

And there you have it! So, you like? Want the rest? Tell me so if you do! Any and all feedback is welcome, and if you have suggestions throw 'em out there. The title is from the song Memories by Within Temptation.