Thicker than Water Part II: Life in the Real World

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

So, a few notes before we get started. First of all, as I had just stated in the disclaimer this is a sequel to La Lisboa's "Thicker than Water." It starts a few days after that one finished, and does make several references to the earlier story. Therefore, I recommend that you read or review the original "Thicker than Water" first, or you may feel a little lost.

Second, I'm going to try to post this story regularly. (On Sundays, usually, as any of you who may read my last story know; that's when I can use the internet.) But I may have some problems because

I live in an area where snowstorms can be an issue.

The computer I'm currently using is having some problems, and it may crash while I'm writing this story.

If I ever decide not to finish this story, for whatever reason, I will tell you. Otherwise, assume I'm still working on it, even if I don't post for quite a while.

Thanks so much to La Lisboa for letting me write a sequel to your story! And for betaing and putting up with my constant emails about different chapters. I really appreciate your input, even if there are a few times I've decided not to use your ideas.

Key

XXXXXXXXXX means POV change

OOOOOOOOO means time change

XXXXXXXXX

OOOOOOOO means POV and time change

The Charming family, as well as Granny, Red, and the dwarves remained in the cave for another few days. They ate the local blackberries, but since that was all they had to eat, there wasn't much left of them. If they ventured out any further, they may not be able to find their way back. Mary Margaret – Snow! Emma thought to herself. She still had a hard time thinking of Mary Margaret as Snow, but since she didn't remember being Mary Margaret, Emma felt that's what she should call her. Anyway, Snow had been out hunting for rabbits a few times, but didn't have much luck.

"I can't believe I'm having such trouble with this!" Snow exclaimed coming back empty – handed again, her spear in hand. "I used to live on wild game for weeks at a time when I was on the run in the Enchanted Forest!"

"Well," Ruby (Red! She should think of her as Red!) began. "You didn't have to rely exclusively on wild game. I provided you with food, too. I'd like to think that made a difference, Snow."

She patted her best friend on the shoulder. "Of course. I just meant I needed to hunt to get meat in my diet. And now that we don't have anything else to eat, I can't catch anything!"

"Calm down," her friend replied. "I think the stress is just getting to you. You should know better than to try to hunt when you're so tense."

Emma sat quietly on a rock, watching the scene from a distance. She needed to start talking about leaving the woods and finding a town somewhere. Somewhere with a grocery store and a home with four walls. She had been thinking about that for a while now, after all the forest would never be a place where Emma was comfortable. But she had been reluctant to force her family away from the only place they seemed to find comfortable. Besides, leaving here meant Henry would have to leave Regina's burial plot behind. Who knows when they would be able to come back?

Henry seemed to be doing pretty well with Emma and his grandparents together again. He loved hearing the stories about his grandparents adventures, just as he always had. Ruby and the dwarves were also happy to add their parts as well. But Henry also spent a lot of time alone at Regina's grave site. He didn't seem to want company, and none of the others knew what to do about that. Was it better he had time to grieve by himself, or was he shutting everyone out because he didn't want to seem weak? Anyway Emma really didn't want to take her son away from whatever comfort he was able to get from visiting Regina's grave.

But they had to face facts. They were running out of food. And there was no way they could stay in the cave forever, anyway. Henry would have to be enrolled in school in another month. Maybe the sense of normalcy and routine would be good for him.

"I think it's time we think about leaving," Emma stood up and addressed the group. Mary Margaret (Snow! Snow!) and Red were still sitting in the corner, discussing hunting options. The dwarves and Henry were searching for a mine in the area. No matter how many times Emma told them mines didn't exist in Maine, they refused to be dissuaded. Henry probably knew that as well, but Emma knew how much he loved adventures, especially with his family nearby. The opportunity was just too good to pass up for him.

Granny was still trying to help Sneezy and Sleepy, who still didn't know who they were or who anyone else was. They weren't even interested in joining their brothers, as they had no idea why it would be important to find a mine. They eyed everyone else warily, and even only nibbled on the berries they were given, not sure if the food was safe. If they didn't start eating better soon, they'd suffer from malnutrition. David was assisting her with trying to feed them. He had said something about having experience feeding animals who didn't want to eat. He thought some of the methods might work on frightened dwarves as well. Emma had no idea what he meant by that, horses maybe? But whatever.

"For where?" Ruby (Red!) asked. "Where else would we go? This place has room for all of us, and it's less scary than the rest of the world!" Everyone else nodded in agreement.

Emma sighed. She had expected this type of response from them. But they had to understand where she was coming from. "That may be true, but we're still running out of food here." Emma gestured at all the bushes that had been stripped clean of berries.

"But we're working on that!" Mary Margaret and Ruby replied, sounding defensive.

"Yes, and I understand that, but we need food, now!" Emma argued. "Not when you finally calm down enough to get us a rabbit!"

Mary Margaret looked hurt at that comment. Emma was sorry about that, but there were more important things to worry about. Like why they all had to find a town soon. "Even if you do find us a rabbit, how long is it going to last before we run out of rabbits in this area?"

"Well, it should last a little a little while…" Ruby tried again. Mary Margaret stayed silent.

Emma shook her head. "Look, it's not even just about food. I have to get Henry enrolled in school. It will be starting in another month."

"Well, we can teach him here. That's how I got my schooling. He already loves our stories, anyway," Mary Margaret tried, finding her voice again.

Emma sighed. Of course she got schooling that way. She was a royal princess who had private tutoring. But that wasn't going to work here. "Yeah, but he needs more than just stories. He needs real school! With other kids his age! I think it might help him you know…if he could have a normal routine again. Plus, even if he was taught here, we'd need books! And paper! Do we have any of those things here?"

Ruby and Mary Margaret looked at the ground, apparently not having an argument for that.

"Plus," Emma continued, another thought occurring to her. "The game wardens will catch us here eventually. This isn't hunting season yet! And beyond that, we don't own the land we're using. We could get fined for squatting. I don't want to pay a fine. And I certainly don't want another problem with the law!"

Emma said that last comment without thinking. She put her hands over her mouth. She really didn't want her parents to know all of her problems with the police when she was younger.

But David came out from the cave, gingerly putting his hand on her shoulder. "Okay." He told her calmly. "If you're sure we should find a town; then we'll find a town. We'll go together. Right?" He looked over at his wife and Ruby expectantly.

"Right," they both agreed.

"I'll give it a try," Granny called out from inside the cave.

Emma smiled a thank you at David. She was somewhat surprised he was the one who supported her. She knew this version of David was brave and strong and valued his family (unlike the fool he had been under the Curse) but Emma was still used to being closer to Mary Margaret than to David. Still they had an even bigger challenge: convincing the dwarves. How were they supposed to convince men who were still determined to find mines in the woods to come with them to a modern town?

Twenty minutes later the dwarves came back to the cave. "There's still no sign of mines. Maybe that Emma woman is right. Maybe there are no mines. But what do we do without mining?" Grumpy grumbled to the other dwarves. They shrugged.

David stepped forward, squaring his feet. Emma wondered if he had practiced his "princely stance" or if it just came naturally to him. "Well, actually, we were thinking we might find out what's in town."

"Why should we do that, Prince James?" It was going to be difficult getting used to people calling him that. Even more than it was to hear people calling Mary Margaret Snow White. At least Snow was her actual name. Anyway, Grumpy continued, "There's probably even less for us there than there is here! At least this looks like the forest from home."

David smiled sadly. "I know - I know. But Emma's right. There are no mines here. We're running out of food. Henry needs some sort of schooling that we can't provide for him here. And we need to be there for each other. If some of us are leaving, we need to all leave. It's the only way we can get through this."

The other dwarves nodded, understanding. Grumpy looked sideways at Mary Margaret (or Snow! She was Snow!) to see if she agreed. She did, of course. Grumpy finally looked back up at David. "Okay, James. We'll see what's in the next town."

Henry looked Emma and David with sad eyes. "We're going to be leaving? But my mom…" His voice trailed off as he glanced toward her gravesite.

Emma sighed. She knew this was going to be hard to explain. She knelt down in front of him to look in his eyes. "I know Henry. I know it's hard. But we have to move on. You're going to have to go to school soon. And we're running out of food. We'll always still have each other." She looked at this whole group of people she all cared about and she knew they all cared about Henry, too.

Henry looked at the ground. "Yeah, but school won't start for another month. Can't we stay there until then? Grandma said she'd catch us some rabbits! I thought maybe…she'd teach me how to do that, too."

Mary Margaret came over and patted Henry on the shoulder. "I'd love to teach you how to hunt rabbits someday, Henry. But I'm afraid…right now I'm too tense to do a good job with it myself. Your mother's right. We need a better food supply."

Henry nodded, still looking at the ground. David knelt in front of him as well. "Look, I know leaving your mother will be…hard." David obviously still had a hard time seeing Regina in a positive light, but he was really trying, for Henry's sake. "But just because we have to leave the grave site doesn't mean she still won't be with you. I had to bury my mother two, back in our land. But even though I can't visit her, she's still with me. I have my memories of her. You'll have your memories, too."

Henry took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay," he said, trying to sound brave and strong.

"Okay, so we need to see how much money we have available," Emma announced, getting back on track now that everyone had agreed to her plan. The others all looked at her blankly, obviously not understanding what she meant. She went into the cave to retrieve her purse, as well as Mary Margaret's (Snow! Snow! Snow!), which she had made sure to get when she picked up their clothes in the mental institution. Snow held it up gingerly, trying to figure out it's significance.

Emma pulled out her wallet out of her own purse. Then she pulled out some bills, holding it up. "This is money. I have about $40 in cash right now. How about you?"

Snow dug around in the purse and pulled out a broken cell phone. She put it aside and began digging again. This time she pulled out a wallet as well. "I have five pieces of green paper," she commented, uncertainly. "Is that what you meant?"

Emma had to try very hard not to laugh at that. She reminded herself that this really was Snow White who had no experience what so ever with the modern world. In her mind, it was a perfectly legitimate question, and she didn't need Emma laughing at her for it. As calmly as she could, Emma shook her head. "No." She leaned over Snow's shoulder and pointed to the number five in the corner and the word "five" on the back. "See, that? That's why it's called a 'five dollar bill.' It's one bill, but it's worth five dollars. So we count five, ten, fifteen, twenty dollars. And then this one," Emma held out a ten dollar bill, "is worth – "

" – ten dollars," Snow finished nodding. "I get it now," she snapped. "Don't worry about me. I can learn quickly." Emma nodded backing off, trying not to feel hurt. She understood that her mother was feeling overwhelmed and stressed right now, but she had never heard Mary Margaret speak to her that way. Except, of course, the time right before the Curse broke when she had made that stupid decision to run away with Henry. "So I have thirty dollars then," Snow announced to the rest of the group.

Red was rummaging around it the cave at the same time. "I think I had something like that when I first came over. I wasn't sure what it was for, but I kept it, anyway. Ah ha! I think I have…ten, twenty, twenty – five, thirty, thirty –five, forty, forty – five, forty – six, forty – seven, forty – eight, forty – nine, fifty!" Emma nodded. That was a lot of money to have in cash, but of course, Ruby had been a waitress back in Storybrooke. A lot of her pay came from tips the customers left her.

Granny dug through her purse as well. "I have about...$30, I think."

"Well, I know I don't have anything like that, sister," Grumpy told Emma, scowling.

"I don't think I do either, Emma," David added, shaking his head.

At that, Emma couldn't hold it in any longer. The idea of men carrying purses was just too amusing. "Don't worry about….laugh, laugh…it. These bags aren't really made for men. You should have yours in your pockets, if you have anything."

David and all of the dwarves nodded, fumbling in their pockets. "Here's something. I have five, ten,…just fifteen dollars." Emma nodded. David never carried a lot of cash in Storybrooke, she remembered.

"I have about…twenty – five dollars, I think," Happy announced, cheerfully.

"I think I have…ten, no twenty! No fifteen! No sixteen! No, thirteen!" Dopey commented, trying to count his money, and obviously not succeeding. Mary Margaret came up behind him, and helped him count. It amazed Emma how gentle and comfortable she was with the dwarves, when they couldn't seem to talk at all. Emma understood, though; her mother remembered the dwarves from the Enchanted Forest, while she didn't remember Emma. But she was still her mother. She wanted them to be able to talk. "He has fourteen dollars," Mary Margaret told the group. She should still work on calling her Snow, even in her head. It might make it easier for them to talk.

"Well, I guess I have twenty – two dollars, so that better be okay!" Grumpy snapped.

"I think I have twenty dollars," said Bashful, very quietly. Emma could barely hear him.

Emma nodded. "Now, does anyone have a card that looks like this as well?" She held up a Master Card.

"I do!" Mary Margaret said excitedly, holding up her Master Card.

"I have one but it looks a little different," Granny commented, showing Emma a VISA card. "Yeah," Emma nodded. "That works, too. You can also have a card that looks like that," Emma added as Granny held up her VISA card.

They all had either VISA cards or Master cards. Unfortunately, Red, Bashful, and Grumpy's credit cards had been damaged in the explosion that destroyed Storybrooke. They were unusable. Emma also had them check for cell phones. She knew all of the cell phones would be damaged in the explosion, but if they had kept the handset, they could get it replaced. Fortunately, they all had them.

"Okay, then," Emma announced. "We should head in, and look for a supermarket and a US Cellular store." They all nodded and gathered their stuff. Henry had disappeared while they were talking about money. Emma was pretty sure he went to Regina's grave one last time. She carefully headed in that direction and saw she was correct. "Henry," she said softly, approaching him from behind. "We have to go now."

"Okay," he replied, sounding as if he had been crying. She gave her son some time to compose himself, knowing how badly he wanted to be strong. After a few minutes, he turned and ran to Emma. "I'm ready, Mom. I'm ready." Henry's eyes were still bright from crying. Emma took a deep breath and reminded herself that leaving was best for him, even though a part of her wanted to tell him they could stay here longer.

They returned to the rest of the group. Surprisingly, Sneezy and Sleepy came with the rest of them right away. Emma was afraid they'd be harder to convince, since they didn't know or trust anyone here. Look how hard it was to convince them to try some of the blackberries. But since they didn't remember their fairy tale personas, Sneezy and Sleepy felt no ties to the forest. And they seemed to trust Granny enough now to want to travel with her, at least.

Everyone headed in the direction of the road. But when they got there…there was a problem. David, Mary Margaret, and Henry all headed in the direction of Ellsworth. "Uh…actually, that's not really the best direction to go in."

"But this is where the hospital was, Mom!" Henry argued, confused.

David and Mary Margaret nodded. "That is where the closest town was, Emma," Mary Margaret said sharply.

Emma sighed. "Yes, but that's also where the mental institution was! The people in charge of that place are still looking for us over there! Do you want to get locked up again, because I don't! We're lucky we weren't caught when we were at the hospital last week. If we go in the opposite direction…, hopefully they won't be looking for us over there."

Mary Margaret looked at the ground, "Okay. You're probably right."

"Of course, Emma," David added cheerfully. "If you think we should go this way," he turned around. "Then that's what we'll do." The rest of the group also turned around and they headed for the nearest town in the other direction.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

OOOOOOOOOOO

It took the group about three hours to finally find a town this time. Emma and Henry appeared to be exhausted; they were obviously not used to walking for such long periods. But they were also trying to be strong, so they didn't complain. Snow tried to convince Emma it might be a good idea to rest for a little while once. "You and Henry are clearly tired, Emma. Don't you think you should rest your feet a while?" she asked, trying to sound causal.

"No, I don't," Emma had replied. "If we're going to do this, we have to make it to a town as quickly as possible. We need a supermarket, a US Cellular store, and some place to sleep before nightfall."

"But Emma…" Snow replied, still worried about her daughter's physical condition.

"Grandma, I'm fine," added Henry in an excited voice. "This is another adventure! I want to see which town we see next!"

"Look, I don't know how long this is going to take of foot; you're right, I usually don't walk these distances" Emma began. But I do know finding everything we need to will be a lot harder in the dark, and more dangerous, especially for Henry."

"Okay, Emma, we'll keep walking," Charming had replied, supporting her as he had done since they started this adventure. Snow knew he was just trying to give their daughter his support, which Emma seemed to appreciate. But it bothered Snow that Emma didn't need her mother to take care of her. As far as she remembered, she had just given birth to her baby two weeks ago. Emma had looked up at Snow, all innocent, knowing her mother would take care of her every need.

Now, suddenly Emma was almost thirty years old, and knew more how to take care of herself in this world than Snow did. To make matters worse, Emma seemed to be taking care of her mother as well. Emma was the one who knew how to break out of that dungeon – like place. Emma knew which way they should go to find a town. Emma knew the dangers in this world better than Snow did. And even in the one place where Snow sort – of at home, in the forest, she had been too tense to provide her daughter with rabbit meat!

Snow was determined to find some way to make a good decision, and show that she could take care of her daughter. The result, however, was that they had argued over every decision since Emma had decided they should leave the forest. Leaving Charming to be the only one to support Emma's decisions. Would she ever get a chance to be a mother to Emma? To take care of her, even a little?

Hopefully that chance would come too, Snow said to herself as they finally emerged from the woods. Nearby was a sign that said, "Welcome to Brewer."

"Well, we finally made it to a town. What do we do now, sister?" grumbled Grumpy.

"Now we find a supermarket and cell phone store, like I said before," Emma replied, sharply. Her tone of voice indicated Grumpy should have listened earlier.

"Well, where would that be?" he snapped back.

"Why don't we try this direction?" Snow suggested, pointing to the direction that seemed to have a lot of stores. That was reasonable, right? Perhaps she could finally make a good decision!

Emma shrugged. "That seems logical, but actually I think we should ask for directions. We could ask the man over there," Emma pointed to a man operating a combination gas station, car wash, and car repair shop.

"Whatever," Snow grumbled, sounding a lot like Grumpy. She looked at the floor. As Emma disappeared into the shop, she felt Charming put his arm around her. He was so sweet. Even though he was trying to support Emma, he still knew Snow was upset and wanted to comfort her.

Emma came back outside a few minutes later. "He said we should go that way," Emma pointed in the direction of all the other stores, "until we get to the Burger King. Then we need to take a left, and that will take us to the supermarket."

"Sounds good, Emma" Charming commented, supporting her as usual.

The others all agreed and began moving.

"At least I had the direction right," Snow muttered. Charming squeezed her hand as they walked. Snow took in the town as they went. There were lots of those horseless carriage that moved extremely fast. They had seen them last week on the way to the hospital. Emma called them cars. Of course, Emma knew all about them. There were also many other buildings with signs like "Motel," "General Motors," and "Kentucky Fried Chicken."

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the store called "Burger King." They turned to the left, but the left was across the road the cars drove on. How would they get across it without getting hit? Those cars moved way too fast. "Maybe we should consider going in a different direction, after all." Snow suggested, trying to sound cheerful. Emma wouldn't have a problem with that suggestion, right? It was obviously unsafe to cross the road.

"Well, if we wait for the light up there to turn red," Emma said pointing up at some metal torches that were lighting up without anyone carrying them. Right now that "light" as Emma called it, was green. Snow hadn't noticed them before, but there were a lot of them on the street. "When it turns red, the cars will stop, and we can go across the street."

Snow sighed, looking at the ground. Emma had an answer for everything. She was still the one taking care of everybody. They all waited until the red light flashed, and just as Emma said they would, the cars on the road stopped. They all crossed the street quickly.

Then the group walked for another five minutes before seeing a building that said "Shop 'N Save." Emma told them that was the supermarket, of course. "There's even a US Cellular store here, too!" Emma added, pointing to the sign right next to the "Shop 'N Save." "Okay, let's get something to eat first. Some sandwiches, maybe, and a drink." They all headed into the store. Emma and Henry chose ham and cheese sandwiches. Snow chose something called turkey, Ruby chose a "chicken salad," Charming chose a turkey as well, and Granny chose an egg salad. Grumpy, Happy, Dopey, and Bashful all chose ham sandwiches. Sleepy and Sneezy agreed to egg salad, but were still unwilling to eat them until after Granny started eating hers. Emma also chose something called a "Coke," for her and Henry to drink. The rest of the group decided to play it safe and drink water.

Emma quickly showed them all how to pay for their sandwiches and drinks. And with the food in her hand, Emma was finally willing to sit down on the bench outside the store and eat. "This tastes sooooo good," Emma exclaimed as she bit into her sandwich. "I can't remember the last time I had real food. Sorry, but a diet of strictly berries just don't cut it for me."

Snow sighed. As if she needed reminding that all they had in the forest was berries. All because she was to tense to get a rabbit or two! "I did the best I could!" she snapped, without thinking. Then she covered her hand with her mouth as Charming shook his head at her. She didn't need him to tell her that her attitude was only pushing their daughter away. She hadn't done anything right since this started. She took a small bite of sandwich, figuring she may as well eat.

Henry took a drink of the Coke. "Thanks for sharing with me, Mom! Regina – my other Mom, never let me have soda!" As soon as he said that, his smile faded. It was as if he had forgotten, for a minute, why Regina wasn't with him to forbid him from drinking whatever "soda" was. He took a bite of sandwich, looking at the ground. Emma patted her son's leg. Emma didn't even seem to need help with Henry. Did she need Snow at all?

They all finished their sandwiches and drinks about twenty minutes later. "We should go over to the US Cellular store to get our phones replaced," Emma suggested to everyone. They all followed Emma to the store next to the supermarket and all received new "cell phones" as Emma called them. They were pieces of metal with buttons and flat screen on them. The buttons had numbers and letters on them. Then, Emma showed everyone how to use the phones. They were a communication device, it seemed. If someone was in a location where it was too far to talk normally, they could talk to someone who also had one of these devices. Apparently this was the way most people communicated in this world.

Snow could understand the benefits of such a fast communication device, especially since it was supposed to allow you to hear the voice of the person you were talking to. But…she missed her bird friends. Couldn't she teach Emma how to use birds to send messages? Would that be something Snow could help Emma learn? "What about using birds? Could we use those, too?" Snow asked, trying not to sound too forceful.

"Well…that's not very practical in this world…And other people would think it was strange. You need to try to blend in a little…That's what caused you problems, before…when we were locked up." Emma tried to explain her reasons as gently as possible.

Snow didn't need reminding of that horrible dungeon place! The only good part about it was it allowed her to meet Emma again. Of course, she had needed Emma to rescue her. But Emma had a good point. She had to be careful about what she said and did in this world, it seemed. She sighed. She couldn't do anything right here.

"Can you teach me how to do that someday, Grandma?" Henry asked excitedly, interrupting her thoughts. "Maybe if we go to a park or something, Mom, it would be okay?"

Emma thought for a second and then smiled at Snow and her son. "Yeah. I think that would be fine. After we get settled with a place to live and everything." Snow beamed at Henry. At least he wanted to learn from her. That was something to look forward to. And Emma said it was a good idea. Perhaps Emma would like some help with Henry, after all. Snow's feet didn't feel quite so heavy anymore, especially with Charming right there, holding her hand again.

"Speaking of a place to live and jobs, why don't we look at some of the ads on the supermarket bulletin?" Emma suggested. Everyone shrugged and went in.

They found ads for local musicians playing at the pubs here. They found ads for people offering to baby – sit. They found ads for lost pets. Then, in the back, Happy found something promising: "Apple Orchard Looking for Workers to Help with Pre – Harvest." "It's not mining," Grumpy moaned. "We're miners!"

"And we didn't find any mines; no matter how hard we looked, did we?" Happy replied, still sounding merry, despite his life's work was gone. "Maybe we should try something new."

"Shouldn't be too hard," Dopey agreed.

"We're all going to have to have jobs if we're going to live in this world," Emma said reasonably. "And I remember in Storybrooke…you guys took to farming pretty well for a time. I bet the pre – harvest for the apples is similar. Look there's a number done here. 945 -7767. It says they even provide transportation! Let's call and see what they're about."

"I'm not so sure…" Grumpy protested.

"Look, all you have to do it use this phone to ask about it. See what it's like. We all need to find our place in this world. Maybe this is yours," Charming suggested, agreeing with Emma again.

Grumpy thought again for a minute. "All right; whatever."

Charming of course, was able to motivate them when no one else could. He was good at that; motivating people to do the right thing. Snow looked up at him and smiled. She loved him for that,

They called the number and found out that the job would include keeping bugs and worms off the apples, keeping the trees watered when it didn't rain, checking the apple trees for disease, and making sure the apple juicers and ladders were ready for harvest. The owners were looking for several workers, as they had lost a group of workers a couple of weeks ago. He was willing to pick up the group and show them the orchard. From there, the owner and the group could decide if it was a job fit for them. They were to wait where they were, at the Shop 'N Save.

A half hour later two large horseless carriages appeared. They all climbed inside them. Emma and Henry discretely showed them all how to use "seat belts." They were belts that came across the shoulder and waist and attached to a button on the other side. Snow squirmed in her seat, uncomfortable with the belt. She was tempted to take it off; how necessary could it really be? But just then the horseless carriage moved, and Snow was reminded how fast these things went. She decided to keep the "seat belt" on as she clutched her husband's hand tightly. Were these things really safe? But Henry didn't seem to be worried.

They drove through two more towns, one with a lot more tall buildings than the other, before arriving at the apple orchard. It was huge with apple trees as far as the eyes could see. It reminded Snow very much of the Enchanted Forest, and from the dwarves' expressions, she could tell they felt the same. Maybe they could make a home here, after all.

"These are the trees," the owner of the orchard explained. His name was Sam Gungeon. "You have to inspect them carefully. Knock on them," he demonstrated. "If they sound solid like that, that's good. If they sound hollow, the tree is dying. You then make a mark on them with the red paint. Then you have to look them all over for growth. If it's moss, it's okay. If it's anything else, you make a mark on them with red paint as well. "You need to check all the apples to see if they have any worms. If they do, then you dispose the apple. Any time there's no rain for more than five days, you take these buckets," He showed them his plastic buckets. "And water the trees."

"I also want people to make sure all my extra ladders are secure." He placed a ladder out for them to see. It was made out of some kind of metal Snow didn't recognize instead of wood. It also stood on its own. "If they don't stay up; they're not safe to stand on. I need to know how many to order before harvest; especially since we have a lot of children visiting during that time."

They all nodded, understanding. "So how long do you want a job?" he asked them. "My last workers only lasted three weeks. The ones before lasted a month. I'm looking for people who are willing to work until the end of the harvest."

Emma stayed quiet. Snow got the impression she wasn't as comfortable in the forest as the rest of them were. Granny admitted perhaps her knees were no longer made for going up and down ladders. But the rest of the group eagerly agreed to that work plan.

"Well, that puts me in a bit of a dilemma, then," the man replied, sighing. "I only have enough money to pay six of you. Which six would like the job most?" If there were only six spots, the obvious answer was to let the dwarves have the job. After all there were six of them now. But none of them, particularly Grumpy, wanted to leave Snow. And Sneezy and Sleepy won't go anywhere without Granny; since she was the only one they trusted, even a little. But Granny had already said she couldn't take the job.

Grumpy was prepared to leave, already walking away. "This isn't going to work!" he grumbled.

But it was Emma that stopped him. "Look, I know being in a strange place and trying new things can be scary. Believe me, I know. But we have to get jobs if we're all going to survive here. I really think you and your brothers would do well here. Like I said, you did some farming in Storybrooke, and you did well with it. I know you're hard workers, and that's what this guy seems to want."

Grumpy looked at Emma with new eyes, seeming to finally take her seriously. Snow knew why that was. No one except for herself had ever really valued the dwarves before. People just expected them to mine the diamonds without questions. Emma told Grumpy she knew he and the others were hard workers. That meant something to him. Snow was torn between pride in her daughter - it seemed she could inspire people just like her father could. But Snow was also sad that Emma was taking care of Snow's family. She should be the one to help her brothers, not her daughter! Her daughter should be a child!

"But what are we going to do about Sneezy and Sleepy, and Granny, sister?" Grumpy argued. "Granny can't work in the orchard, and if she can't…"

"I might have an answer to that." Mr. Gungeon spoke up from the background. "I told you I don't have enough money to hire more than six workers. And that's true. But I do need help in cooking for all my workers. I can pay you a reduced salary, Ma'am," he said to Granny.

Granny nodded. "I think I could handle that."

Mr. Gungeon nodded. "Then it's settled. I'll get some papers for you."

Emma showed them how to fill out the work papers with their names from this world and something called a "social security number," which was also included in their wallets. She was taking care of everything again. Once the papers were done, Mr. Gungeon showed them the housing they had available, three rooms with several bunks. Granny could have one while the dwarves took the other two.

"Look," he said to the rest of the group. "It's late, almost suppertime. I understand you're reluctant to leave your friends. You are welcome to stay here for the night. I have one more room, and the rest of you can bunk with the others."

Granny set to work cooking for everyone. She was a bit unsure of herself, as there seemed to be new machines for cooking in this world. The stove operated on something called "gas" instead of wood or coal. But Granny always knew her way around any kitchen, and was able to follow the recipe for something called a "chicken pot pie." Snow was tempted to help; cooking was one of her favorite hobbies. But since cooking for all the dwarves was supposed to be Granny's job, Snow thought she should let her get used to cooking for a lot of people by herself.

The chicken pot pie was actually very good. Of course almost anything Granny made tasted wonderful, but between the turkey sandwich Snow had had for lunch and the pot pie for dinner, she was beginning to think the food in this world would be pretty darn good. After dinner, Mr. Gungeon recommended they all turn in. Even though it seemed early for them, he told them the men who were working in the orchard would have to get up at sunrise. The others, he admitted didn't have to get up so early to work. However, Mr. Gungeon wished them to leave tomorrow, since they weren't working for him. He would be willing to drive them to the nearest city bus stop, but it would have to be just after sunrise as well.

Emma grumbled at the idea. Apparently Snow's daughter wasn't a morning person. But then Emma's eyes had settled on her son, and she stopped. Emma obviously knew she did it because it was best for Henry.

Grumpy, Dopey, and Bashful took the first room. Happy took the second room along with Red, Emma and Henry. Granny took the third room, with Sleepy and Sneezy with her, of course. Snow hoped her adopted brothers would begin to enjoy life again soon. Although she couldn't imagine how scary it would feel to not know who or your companions were at all.

The rest of the group had very generously allowed Snow and Charming the last room to themselves. Or maybe, it wasn't so generous. Emma had said, "Really, I'd like you guys to have your own room." Then she'd muttered, "I've seen enough already." Snow wondered what was that supposed to mean. Had she and her husband acted inappropriately in this "Storybrooke?"

But even Red said something like, "I'd really rather you guys have your own room, too." Maybe she and Charming needed to work on being discrete? Nah. Never. They never needed to hide their love.

But when they went into the private room, Charming had other things on his mind than romance. He took both of her hands in his, caressing them softly. "What's the matter, Snow? Something's been bothering you all day. You're arguing with Emma about everything and you're as grumpy as…Grumpy."

She sighed. "Charming she was just a baby a couple of weeks ago! That we remember anyway. And now…she's an adult. An adult who doesn't need us to take care of her. She's taking care of herself and everyone else! I wanted…I want to take care of her somehow! There has to be a way. There has to be something she needs my help on!"

"There is," Charming replied patiently, still caressing her hands. "She needs our support, Snow. She needs your support. She does know this world better than we do right now, so she needs us to trust us with her decisions. The only thing you're doing right now is pushing her away. That's hurting her, Snow. It's not helping her."

Snow's face crumpled. "I know. I know….It's just…so hard. She was my baby!"

He drew her into an embrace. "I know how hard it is. Believe me, I know. But parenthood was never meant to be easy. And if you support her, she'll come to you someday because she does need your advice."

How did he always know the right thing to say? It was one of the things she loved about him. She looked up into his eyes. "You're right. I'll apologize to her tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you too. Why don't we take advantage of this private room everyone was so eager to give us, huh?"

Snow gave him a long, passionate kiss. "Sounds good to me."