AN INTERESTING DOUBLE DATE

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time.

This story is canon with the show, but not with "Thicker than Water Part II" for those who are wondering. (Because Emma made it clear that Snow and Abigail avoided each other in that reality.) It is, however, on the same time line as my other Snowing and Abirick one – shot "A Royal Wedding." You don't need to read that story to understand this one, though. Just understand that Snowing and Abirick became friends in the Enchanted Forest after both couples got married.

This takes place in episode 2 x 13, after Emma and Henry leave with Mr. Gold but before Snow and David decide to look for Cora.

And, as for all my stories

XXXXXXXXXXX means POV change

OOOOOOOOOO means time change

One more thing. I know it's popular fanon that Fredrick's Cursed name was "Jim." But I see no evidence that that is the case. I think people only say that because he's supposed to be a gym teacher. With all due respect, it sounds like a poor reason to pick a name for him. So I'm giving him the same name I gave him in "Thicker than Water Part II." Alan Woodson. (Although I usually call him "Fredrick" in that story, that is the name I gave him.) The name "Alan" means something to do with gold. I always thought that was a lot more fitting.

David watched as Emma and Henry got into Mr. Gold's car and drove out of sight. They'll be okay, he reminded himself. After all, Emma had proved she was quite good at handling herself against villains. She could handle herself against…whatever Gold was. And Emma knew more about the outside world than any of them did. She could take care of Henry, too. His heart swelled with pride at that.

"Do you think…they'll be okay?" Mary Margaret asked standing beside him.

He squeezed her hand. "I know they will be," he told her, firmly. "Emma can handle Gold. And she's understands the outside world very well."

"Of course," Mary Margaret nodded, in a voice that showed she was trying to convince herself. "You're right."

And, because she seemed to need a little more reassurance (and maybe David did, too, although he'd never admit it) he kisses her.

"Do you want to go back to the apartment?" she asked when they're finished. "We won't be interrupted this time."

David had to admit, it sounded like a good idea. A very good idea. But, he'd been wondering about something else since last night. He and Whale had been able to work pretty well together, despite their past. What about Kathryn? After all, Kathryn had made it clear that their relationship had been over before the Curse had been broken, and she said she was okay with that. Would she be willing to talk to him and Mary Margaret now? They had been friends in the Enchanted Forest. What if she brought Fredrick with her?

Of course, even more important than Kathryn, Mary Margaret had to be okay with it. David would never do anything that made his wife unhappy. If the memories of Kathryn were too unpleasant for her, they would simply return to the apartment, as she suggested. "Mary Margaret, did you notice how well I did last night, dealing with Whale?" he began.

Mary Margaret sighed. "Yeah, so what do you want, a medal? As I told Henry, 'We were Cursed. We're over it.'"

David nodded. "So do you feel the same way about Kathryn? And do you think she'd feel the same way about us? We did become friends in the Enchanted Forest, after all."

Mary Margaret stopped walking as she thought for several minutes. From the look on her face, Kathryn gave her some pretty unpleasant memories. David was just about to tell her to forget it. But then Mary Margaret sighed and replied, "Maybe we should call her, at least. See if she's okay. Do you think she found Fredrick? He was a gym teacher at the elementary school."

David smiled at his wife. She had such a good heart. She was always willing to help people, even those that gave her unpleasant memories. "I think that sounds like a wonderful idea."

When they got back to the apartment, Mary Margaret paused as she picked up the phone. "Do you think she's still living at your old house? I still have that number memorized…" There was a horrible silence between them, as they both realized why she would have the number memorized. The shame of their affair from their Cursed personalities hung between them. Maybe this was a bad idea. But before he could suggest that, Mary Margaret dialed the number. "Hello, Kathryn?" she asked trying to sound confident, although David could hear a slight nervousness in his wife's voice. "It's Mary Margaret…or Snow White, if you prefer. David and I were wondering…how you were doing since the Curse broke. Did you find Fredrick?" She paused as she let Kathryn talk for a minute. "That's good. I'm glad to hear that." She paused again. "Do you really think that's a good idea? I mean…" her voice trailed off. Mary Margaret put the phone aside. "David, Kathryn would like us to meet her and Fredrick for lunch at Granny's today. She wants talk. Do you think that's a good idea?"

David sighed. There was a part of him that said, "yes." After all, they had become friends in the Enchanted Forest. It should be possible to do that here as well, right? But Mary Margaret didn't seem comfortable with the idea. He didn't want to do anything that would make her unhappy. "I don't know, Mary Margaret," he replied finally. "I'd like to be friends with them again, but not if it's upsetting you, as it obviously is."

But Mary Margaret shook her head firmly. "No, you're right. They were friends before, and they can be friends again. Kathryn and I certainly have a better history than you do with Whale, and you did fine with him last night."

David wasn't sure he liked that comparison anymore. Yeah, he'd made his peace with working with Whale, but he had no desire to become friends with him! "Are you sure?" he asked her. "Maybe too much has happened…"

Mary Margaret shook her head again. "We should at least try, David. It might be good for us to talk to them." She finally picked up the phone and told Kathryn, "We'll meet for lunch. Is half an hour okay?"

XXXXXXXX

So half an hour later, Mary Margaret and David were on their way to Granny's. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked her for the tenth time. "We can always tell them we changed our minds."

Mary Margaret slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "Yes," she told him firmly. "After all, I've faced Regina again, so I can certainly face Kathryn. Besides, it would be rude to cancel on them now."

David nodded and squeezed her hand. "Your right. It's just…I can tell how uncomfortable this is making you, and I don't like that."

Mary Margaret shrugged. "I've had to do a lot of uncomfortable things in my life, David. It doesn't stop me from doing them. Usually they end up turning out well."

They reached the diner. "Hi!" Ruby greeted them cheerfully. "Usual table?"

Mary Margaret nodded and they sled into the same booth they always sat in and ordered a couple of burgers. Just then, Kathryn and Fredrick came in. "Hello," they greeted Mary Margaret and David.

"Hello," David said nodding. "Kathryn. Fredrick."

Fredrick shook his head. "Actually, call me Alan here."

Mary Margaret nodded. "I'm called Mary Margaret here, although I'm sure you know that," she commented, looking at Kathryn. "You can call me Snow, if you're more comfortable with it." Mary Margaret wasn't sure if Kathryn needed to hear the name of the woman who caused her so much pain in her marriage to David, even if the marriage was fake.

Kathryn shook her head. "David was never mine, Mary Margaret. Not even back then. Regina made me believe he was, but he always belonged to you. I'm sorry I made you feel guilty about loving him."

Mary Margaret stared at her. She had decided it would be a good thing to talk to them, but she hadn't expected such an apology. She still remembered how hurt Kathryn looked when she confronted her at the school. "Are you sure? I mean, I know it was just the Curse…but you seemed so hurt back then…"

Kathryn nodded. "I was hurt. It hurts when a marriage dies, no matter how it happens. But that doesn't change the fact that I had no right to David. I knew that then, too. I just had a hard time admitting it. But now…a lot of time has passed. I have Alan now. And you guys were our friends in the Enchanted Forest. Why can't you be again?

"I still owe you a lot for freeing me from the golden curse," Alan commented, looking at David.

David shrugged. "I'm just happy you guys found each other…again." They all laughed at that.

Ruby handed them their meals just then. To their surprise, all of them had ordered the same thing: burgers. "I'll say one thing about this world," Alan commented. "The food is great."

David sighed. Mary Margaret knew he still hoped to go back to the Enchanted Forest, even though she tried to explain to him the reasons why that wasn't an option. "It causes a lot of complications, though. I mean, how do you feel about the fact that I slept with your wife?" he asked Alan.

The rest of them all stared at David. Why did he have to bring that up when they were all getting along so well now? Suddenly Mary Margaret remembered she didn't just have an affair with David under the Curse. Kathryn and David slept together, at least once. Otherwise, she wouldn't have needed that pregnancy test! How dare she! Mary Margaret couldn't help but think. She scooted closer to David and wrapped her arm around him, suddenly feeling possessive.

Alan slid a little closer to Kathryn as well. He took a huge bite of his hamburger and chewed for several minutes. Finally he replied, "I don't like it. I don't like it at all. I mean, I really hate thinking about it."

David hung his head at that, looking ashamed. Mary Margaret rubbed his shoulders in response. She didn't like thinking about this either, but she knew her David had been trying to help, in a way. "But that's all because of the Curse. You guys were told you were supposed to be married. You believed you were supposed to fix your relationship. That's…a popular way to make up, I'm aware."

Mary Margaret looked at her husband, and he nodded uncomfortably, agreeing with Fredrick's assessment. She remembered how he'd told her that he'd decided to "honor his marriage" and try to "fix his relationship with Kathryn" at the bridge that night. Of course that had included…that She took a deep breath and tried to block the images that were suddenly appearing her mind. They were Cursed! She reminded herself. Alan was right. David was trying to be the honorable guy she knew him to be to Kathryn.

Mary Margaret turned to her. "David's a good man. He was trying to do what was right by staying with you and…performing as a husband."

Kathryn sighed. "He wasn't all there, though. I mean we tried our best, and I thought it was a good way to "begin again" at the time. But…it was like he was looking for someone else while we were doing it. He was looking for you, Snow."

Mary Margaret sighed in relief. She knew being intimate with Kathryn would never compare to being with her for David. But it was still nice to have it confirmed.

"And I think you were looking for someone else, too," David told Kathryn, looking at Fredrick.

"Yes." She smiled at Alan, full of love. "I was."

The finished their lunches. "So now that we've talked about all these unpleasant memories, do you think we can be friends again?" Kathryn asked. "I liked having you two as friends."

Mary Margaret nodded. "I think we're going to be pretty busy soon. Cora is in town, and we need to protect the town from her. But we can try to get together again soon."

"We'll be friends," David agreed, shaking Alan's hand and smiling at Kathryn. They all left the diner.

"So are we ready to head home?" he asked Mary Margaret. "There's still no one else at home, after all. We still have a little while before we need to look for Cora."

"Of course," Mary Margaret's smile was larger than normal as she looked at her husband. She couldn't believe how much better she felt after talking to Kathryn and Alan. No matter what she thought of it at first, talking to them about their past had been a great idea. Mary Margaret supposed she shouldn't be so surprised. After all, she'd been a little jealous of Abigail's past relationship with Charming in the Enchanted Forest, but they'd gotten over it. They could obviously do the same thing in this world.

I realize there probably wasn't as much time as I implied there was that day, but it was the best place for this scene, in my opinion. And then I had to have a reason why they were back at the apartment when they talked about looking for Cora.

So what did you think? I hope it met your expectations for those who were really interested in seeing this scene.

I'm also considering writing more canon "behind the scenes" one – shots between these two couples if I get inspired in the future. If I do that, they will be on the same time line as this one and "A Royal Wedding," although I'll try not to make them dependent on each other. Would any of you be interested in reading more such Abirick and Snowing stories?