Chapter 8

A couple of hours had passed, and Storybrooke was once again still, all the lights off, everyone asleep, the town quieter than anyone remembered, all for one little sound, David letting out a small whimper. He tossed and turned, the beginning of a cold sweat starting to appear on his forehead as his body jerked, a flashback beginning to play out in his mind, it was all very hectic, he couldn't pinpoint a single separate memory, they were all coming as one, as though they had happened exactly at the same time. He let out a little grunt, turning to his side, shivering slightly, one other thing he could do was force himself to wake up, he didn't have a clue what was happening.

Snow had been fast asleep, that was until she felt her husband tossing and turning which woke her up. Though she was still half asleep as she slowly sat up, rubbing the rest of the sleep from her eyes as she turned and looked over at her husband, reaching out to put a hand on his arm and shake him gently. "David?" She asked, her voice now full of concern and worry feeling him shiver slightly but was more concerned about what was happening to him than if she woke Emma or Henry up. Though Emma and Henry were both passed out from exhaustion so they weren't going to wake up anytime soon at the moment.

David shook and trembled a bit more tensely, for a moment he slowed, and after a few moments he stopped, even in his trance-like state he'd heard Snow call out to him, felt her touch on his arm, and it brought him back to reality, he gasped awake and panted briefly, he took in what was around him before realizing he was back in his room with his loving wife. He let out a quick sigh and rolled over to face Snow, cupping her cheek delicately. "I am alright....it was just some kind of nightmare," he said shuffling closer and pressing his lips to her forehead with a soft him, rubbing both her arms to reassure her that he was indeed alright and she didn't need to worry anymore, at least definitely for the moment. Snow kept her eyes on her husband with concern, though when she saw he seemed to stop and relax a little, she smiled a bit but when she saw him awake, she sat up a bit more, her hand on his arm still. Feeling the kiss on her forehead, she smiled some and nodded before reaching up and brushing his thumb against David's cheek. "Do you want to talk about the nightmare?" She asked but she wouldn't push it if he didn't want to. "But you're sure you are alright?" Snow asked, she knew he was trying to reassure her but a small part of her still felt worried about him. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen him tremble like that in his sleep or toss and turn that way before.

David let out a small breath, he ran his hands up and down the length of her arms and pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes closed as he just focused on the sound of her breathing, he wrapped one hand to rest against the back of her neck, stroking it gently. He opened his eyes and pulled back, softly kissing her lips. "We can talk about it later. I'm okay for now" he promised. "you still need your sleep. We all do" he said pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I think it was a flashback to where we were before coming back through the portal...but we can discuss it after a bit more rest, okay?" He asked trying to keep his voice quiet so that he did not wake Henry or Emma by being loud or worrying Snow too much, that was the very last thing he wanted to do.

Snow gave a reassuring smile, letting their foreheads rest together as she put her other hand on the back of his head, playing with his hair. When she felt his lips on hers, she kissed him back with a small smile before she pulled away, nodding. "Really?" She asked hearing about the flashback but was about to question it when she heard his words. She knew he was right. "Okay," she said after a moment she pressed a kiss to his forehead. "We can talk more about it in the morning over breakfast." She said as she moved closer to her husband, wrapping her arms around him and leaning her head against his shoulder. She had questions but knew they all still needed their rest. She could ask her questions the next day. "You sure you're alright?" She asked, just wanting to double-check.

David smiled as she agreed, happy that she was indeed willing to let the matter rest for now, he was still recovering from the chaotic and bizarre flashbacks trying to make sense of them but it wasn't enough to distract him from wrapping his arms back around his wife and kissing the top of her head. "I promise" he whispered, one hand draped over her side and one around his wife's shoulders, holding her against him, with the hand on her hip he used it to pull the covers back over them. "I am well enough to sleep, I am with you...I have never felt safer" he hummed softly nuzzling his head to the top of hers, his eyelids already beginning to close for the second time that night.

Snow let herself just lean into him, smiling with a nod at his words. "We're home and safe." She murmured sleepily as she gave his side a gentle squeeze, laying there a bit longer before she just let herself fall back to sleep as she held onto him, letting herself sleep the rest of the night. David had slept considerably well, despite his late-night interruption, he'd woken up snuggled rather close to Snow, and it was nice to be inside, in shelter, no longer feeling the harsh winds of the outside world against his skin. He had carefully pulled himself away from his wife, wondering if he still had anything in which he could make some breakfast for his wife, he'd made sure to pull the duvet over Snow and be quiet as he walked around the kitchen. He looked up hearing Emma's footsteps and smiled. "Good morning," he said quietly motioning to Snow who he couldn't see if she'd woken up or not from this angle, still he'd like for her to relax.

By the next morning, Emma was awake and up, now dressed in jeans with a t-shirt and sweater since it was still cold out. Henry wanted to go to Regina's to see her and Emma had offered to walk him, and she was hoping she'd be able to get away to see Killian a few and return his jacket. While Henry got ready, Emma walked to her parent's room but she wasn't sure if they were even awake so she was going to be quiet, and if they happened to be asleep still then she would just leave a note for them.

Hook had gotten up rather early, he was sitting in his quarters in his ship, technically, according to his memory he had only been in here yesterday, but it felt different, didn't smell the same, had a thin layer of dust, so he cracked open a bottle of room and sat down, enjoying the peace and quiet waiting for a little while to see if Emma texted him.

Emma gave a smile. "Good morning." She replied quietly but knew that her mother was still probably asleep. "I was just wanting to let you know that I was going to walk with Henry over to Regina's. He wants to spend time with her." She said but had pulled her phone out. She made it seem like she was just checking the time but had sent a quick text to Hook, "Are you up?" She asked. She wanted to see him but she wasn't sure if he was even up yet or not so she wanted to just text him first before she just showed up.

After getting dressed and his shoes on, Henry walked over to where his mom and grandfather stood as he put his coat on. "I'm ready." He told Emma but then his eyes went to David, an excited smile now on his face. "Can I still come to the station today?" He asked, excited at the thought of them working on the Operation and trying to find out clues to what could have happened to their memories. Henry mainly wanted to go see Regina just to check and see how she was but wanted to still see about going to the station today like they talked about the previous night.

David nodded as she spoke. "Alright...that's fine, just be careful and if you need anything, you know where I am," he said as he continued to look for something in the house that wasn't completely out of date. "Of course, you can still come by Henry! Go see Regina and then I'll be waiting at the station ready for you" he said with a small smile, he could already imagine Henry running around with a very real gun.

Killian almost dropped his rum when the phone buzzed, it slightly sloshed over the edge but there wasn't much damage at all. "I'm awake" he chuckled. "Good morning to you," he said with a small chuckle, unlike some of the residents he'd managed to get a decent night's sleep, he chuckled and texted back. "I'd wonder when I'd hear from you" he hummed texting Emma back with both hands now.