. . . . . ╰──╮✰ ✰ ✰ ╭──╯ . . . . .

‎‧₊˚✧ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ✧˚₊‧

‎‧₊˚✧ꜱɴᴏᴡ ꜰᴀʟʟꜱ✧˚₊‧

______

"The World Changes From Year To Year

Our Lives From Day To Day

But The Love And Memory Of You

Shall Never Pass Away."

______

Mary Margaret packed up her bag for work that day. "Hey, Ange? You planning on doing anything today?"

Angie glanced up from the couch, where she was watching Jeopardy. "May, I'm unemployed. My plans involve napping, watching TV, and raiding the fridge. But, I'd be willing to waive them."

"Well, the kids and I are going to volunteer at the hospital today. Would you like to come?"

"Sure. Just give me one second." Angie leaned in closer to the TV as the next question was revealed: The Roman emperor strangled to death in his bath in the year 192.

"Who is Commodus!" Angie yelled out at the same time as the contestant. Angie cheered out in triumph as Mary Margaret laughed. Angie pointed a finger at Mary Margaret. "One day, I will win Jeopardy and you won't be laughing when I don't give you any of the money."

Mary Margaret gestured for Angie to get up. "C'mon Mary Eubanks. Let's go."

—

The hospital was abuzz with children. Angie and Mary Margaret were working together to help the kids with some decorations. Angie was tying a knot for one of the kids when she noticed Henry sitting in the ICU cubicle with a patient. Angie locked eyes with Mary Margaret, who was also looking in that direction. Angie finished tying the knot and headed over to Henry with Mary Margaret.

"Henry," Angie said gently. "We could really use your help with the decorations."

"Is Mr. Doe going to be okay, Angie?"

"Mr. Doe?" Angie questioned. Henry gently tapped the man's bracelet, which said John Doe.

"Oh," Angie smiled softly. "His name's not John Doe, honey. That's just what they call people when they don't know who they are."

"Do you know who he is?" Henry questioned. "Either of you?"

"Nope," Mary Margaret responded. "I just bring him flowers on my rounds."

Angie shook her head. "I don't think I know him either. If I did, I can't remember."

"What's wrong with him?" Henry wondered.

"I don't know," Mary Margaret said softly. "He's been like this as long as I've been volunteering."

"Does he have any family or friends?"

"No one's claimed him," Mary Margaret responded.

"So, he's all alone."

"I guess so, kiddo," Angie said with a frown. "It's quite sad."

"You sure you don't know him? Neither of you do?" Henry asked again.

"'Course we're sure," Mary Margaret said with a smile. "Come on. You shouldn't be in here."

—

Mary Margaret and Angie stopped to get dinner at Granny's after finishing up at the hospital. They were barely through their food before Emma walked in. Angie spotted her first and waved her over. Emma slid into the booth next to Angie. "Just the people I was looking for. Listen, I have a favor to ask of you, Mary Margaret."

"Sure," Mary Margaret said. "What is it?"

"I want you to read Henry's storybook to John Doe tonight."

"You want me to read to a coma patient?"

"Henry thinks it will help him remember who he was," Emma said with a grimace.

"And who does he think he was?" Angie questioned.

"Prince Charming." The conspiracy theories struck again.

Mary Margaret sucked in a deep breath. "And if I'm Snow White, he thinks...me...and him..."

"He has a very active imagination, which is the point," Emma explained. "I can't talk him out of his beliefs, so we need to show him. Play along, do what he says and then maybe, just maybe–

"He'll see that fairy tales are just that.  That there's no such thing as love at first sight or true love's kiss," Angie realized. "He'll see reality."

"Something like that," Emma nodded.

"Well...sadly, this plan is rather genius," Mary Margaret admitted. "We get him to the truth without hurting him."

Emma smiled. "I told him that we will all meet tomorrow for breakfast at Granny's. And you will give a full report."

"Well, I suppose I'll get ready for my date," Mary Margaret said, getting up from the booth. "I guess I'll have to do all the talking," she joked.

—

Angie, Henry, and Emma met back at the diner that morning. Unfortunately, this would most likely be the morning that crushed Henry's dreams. Henry had arrived with a metallic blue shirt for Emma, which she had put on almost instantly. "Thanks for the shirt. Hey, is this your mother's?"

"She'll never notice," Henry said with a shrug.

"Where does she think you are, anyway?" Emma questioned.

"Playing Whac-A-Mole."

Angie chuckled. "The Evil Queen. She bought that?"

"She wants to believe it, so she does," Henry said with a shrug. Then, he looked away from the two women. "She's here!"

Angie and Emma glanced towards the door, where Mary Margaret was jogging in. "Hey, don't get your hopes up," Emma reminded Henry. "We're just getting started, okay?"

Hope skyrocketed with Mary Margaret's announcement. "He woke up."

"What?" Emma and Angie asked at the same time.

"I knew it!" Henry exclaimed.

Mary Margaret clarified herself. "I mean, he didn't 'wake up' wake up, but he grabbed my hand."

"He's remembering!" Henry said excitedly.

"What did the doctor say?" Emma questioned.

"That I imagined it, but I'm not crazy. I know it happened."

Henry looked like he was about to explode with happiness. "We have to go back. You have to read to him again!"

Mary Margaret agreed instantly. "Let's go."

Angie quickly stopped her roommate. "What?"

"If I got through to him, if we made a connection-" Mary Margaret was saying before Angie cut her off.

"May. You don't believe..."

"That he's Prince Charming? Of course not," Mary Margaret clarified. "Somehow, some way, I touched him."

—

The group made it to the hospital in record time. It seemed like they had missed something important, as a crowd of doctors had gathered in John Doe's hospital room.

"You're right," Henry exclaimed. "He's waking up."

Graham noticed Henry attempting to run over and quickly stopped him. "Henry, you should stay back."

"What's going on?" Mary Margaret questioned. "Is it John Doe? Is he okay?"

"He's missing," Graham replied.

Regina suddenly exited John Doe's room to everyone's surprise. Regina was surprised as well. "What the hell are you all doing here? And you," she stated looking directly at Henry. "I thought you were at the arcade. Now you're lying to me?"

"What happened to John Doe? Did someone take him or something?" Angie questioned.

"We don't know yet," Graham admitted. "His IVs were ripped out, but there's no sign for sure of a struggle."

"It's curious that the mayor is here," Emma said, gazing at Regina.

"I'm here because I'm his emergency contact!" Regina exclaimed.

"You know him?" Mary Margaret and Angie asked in unison.

"I found him. On the side of the road years ago with no ID. I brought him here."

Clearly done with the conversation, Regina grabbed Henry by his jacket and left for home.

Graham looked to the doctor who was most recently on duty. "Doctor, how long between your rounds since you last saw him?"

"Twelve hours or so," the doctor testified.

"Then that's what we need to account for."

Angie locked eyes with Graham. "Security cameras."

"Exactly."

The group headed to the security room, where Angie sat down at the desk and started to fast forward through a tape. Solving mysteries made her happy. Especially since there weren't many in their small town.

Graham looked to two employees. "You two were the only employees on the floor last night. And you saw nothing."

"Not a thing," one of them stated.

"Did anyone walk by?" Emma questioned.

"I didn't see nothin'," the other said.

Graham turned to Mary Margaret. "Miss Blanchard, was there anything unusual you saw during your trip with your class?"

"I don't think so."

Angie spoke up. "We're looking at the wrong tape. This is the ward where the class put up decorations. I was there. If this was really the tape from last night, we'd see the banners the kids hung."

One of the guys turned to the other. "You fell asleep again."

"Are you selling me out?" the other fired back.

"I ain't getting fired for this!"

"At least I don't drink on the job!"

Graham quickly broke the fight up. "Gentlemen, enough. Where's the real tape?"

One of the men retrieved another tape and handed it to Angie. Angie put the tape in the computer and began to fast forward through it. Finally, she stopped at a motion segment. The group watched as John Doe got up from his bed and went out the back door.

"He walked out alone," Mary Margaret exclaimed. "He's okay."

Angie checked the time on the tape. "This was about four hours ago. Where does this door lead?"

"The woods," one of the men replied.

—

Graham, Emma, Mary Margaret, and Angie followed the trail to a spot in the woods. Halfway through the search, Henry showed up. Henry made some threats that no one was threatened by, but they couldn't stop the search to bring him home, as they would risk losing the trail. With no other choice, the group let him tag along. Emma still made an attempt to get Henry to go. "Henry, you should be home."

"I can help! I know where he is going!"

"Where?" Mary Margaret questioned.

"He's looking for you. You're the one who woke him up. You're the last one he saw. He wants to find you!"

"Henry, it's not about me," Mary Margaret gently said to him. "I just... I think he's lost and confused. He's been in a coma a long time."

"But he loves you! You need to stop chasing him, and let him find you."

Emma cut Henry off. "Kid. You need to go home. Where's your mom? She's going to kill me and then you...and then me again."

"She dropped me at the house, then went right out."

"Guys!" Graham called. The group headed over to Graham, who was standing by a bush. He was holding an ivory colored hospital bracelet. Angie gasped when she noticed something out of place on the bracelet.

"Is that..."

"Blood," Emma confirmed.

The group became even more determined to find John Doe. Graham led them even farther into the forest, stopping them at the toll bridge. Mary Margaret called out, "Where is he? Can you see him?"

"The trail dies at the water line," Graham told her.

Angie was about to give up when she spotted something floating in the water. Or was it someone? "Uh, guys!"

Mary Margaret spotted him next. "Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!"

Graham pulled out his walkie talkie. "I need an ambulance! At the old Toll Bridge, as soon as possible." He ran towards the body with Angie, Emma, and Mary Margaret right behind him. John Doe was lying face down in the river. He was all dead weight, so they needed a bunch of hands to get him out. Together, the four of them were able to pull him out of the water.

"Is he going to be okay?" Henry questioned.

"Henry, don't look," Emma told him. "Okay? Don't look."

"Come back to us," Mary Margaret begged John Doe. "Come back to me." Everyone watched as Mary Margaret began CPR on John Doe. The chest compressions weren't working, so Mary Margaret pressed her lips against his to give him breath. Suddenly, John Doe let out a gasp.

"You saved me," he said looking at Mary Margaret.

"She did it," Henry yelled out joyfully. "She did it! She woke him up."

"Yeah, kid. She did," Emma said with a smile

"Who are you?" Mary Margaret gently asked John Doe.

"I don't know," he responded.

"It's okay," Mary Margaret smiled. "You're going to be okay."

—

A few nurses and Dr. Whale wheeled John Doe into the hospital. He didn't seem to be too banged up, but the hospital still needed to keep an eye on him. Angie and Mary Margaret sat with Emma as John Doe was treated. The surprises for that night seemed to be nowhere close to over as a blonde woman barged into John Doe's room.

"David!" she called. "David is that you?"

"Ma'am, you can't be here," Dr. Whale spoke gently. The woman ignored him, again continuing towards the door. Angie sighed and grabbed the woman by her arms. She fought hard, but Angie was strong, and pulled her away from the door.

"Ma'am, they'll let you in after a little bit. Just give it time."

The woman finally stopped fighting and walked to a corner. Mary Margaret came up to Angie. "Who is that?"

Regina came up behind them. "His wife."

Mary Margaret's jaw dropped as Regina explained. "His name is David Nolan. And that's his wife, Kathryn. And the joy on her face, well, it's put me in quite the forgiving mood." She turned to Henry. "We'll talk about your insubordination later. Do you know what insubordination means?" Henry shook his head. "It means you're grounded."

Kathryn emerged from her corner. She acknowledged Angie, Emma, and Mary Margaret at the same time. "Thank you. Thank you for finding my David."

"Um, I-I don't understand," Mary Margaret stuttered. "You didn't...you didn't know that he was here in a coma?"

"A few years ago, David and I were not getting along," Kathryn explained. "It was my fault, I know that now. I was difficult and unsupportive. I told him if he didn't like things, he could leave. And he did. And I didn't stop him. It was the worst mistake I ever made."

"You didn't go look for him?" Emma questioned

"I assumed he'd left town all this time. And now I know why I never heard from him. Now I get to do what I've wanted to do forever...say I'm sorry. Now we get a second chance."

"That's wonderful," Mary Margaret spoke softly. Angie wasn't so sure. Something felt wrong about Kathryn. Why would a person not think of locating someone they never heard from? And for years? And then conveniently show up the second that someone woke up. Something about the situation just didn't seem right.

Dr. Whale came up to them in order to explain some of David's progress. "Well, it's something of a miracle," the doctor admitted.

"He's okay?" Kathryn wondered.

"Physically, he's on the mend. His memory is another issue. It may take time, if at all."

"What caused him to wake up?" Angie asked.

"That's the thing. There's no explanation. Something just clicked in him."

"He just got up and decided to go for a stroll?" Emma questioned.

The doctor seemed to find difficulty answering. "He woke up and he was delirious and his first instinct was to go find something, I guess."

"Someone," Henry corrected.

"Can I see him?" Kathryn asked.

The doctor nodded, and Kathryn was let into the room. Her work done, Regina gripped her son's arm. "Henry, let's go."

"Wait, my backpack." Henry headed over to the sitting area to retrieve his backpack. While over there, he leaned over to Mary Margaret. "Don't believe them. You're the one he was looking for."

"Henry..."

"He was going to the Troll Bridge. It's like the end of the story."

Mary Margaret sadly cut Henry off. "Henry, he was going there because it's the last thing I read to him."

"No, it's because you belong together."

"Henry," Regina sternly called. Henry reluctantly left Mary Margaret alone and went with his mother. Emma watched them leave before going out after them. Mary Margaret turned to look at Kathryn and David. She began to twiddle with a green ring on her finger. Not able to look any longer, Mary Margaret grabbed her bag and turned to Angie.

"We should probably go...Ange? You okay?"

Angie was standing at the glass window looking into David's room. She didn't respond to Mary Margaret's questions. A wave of heat traced its way down her spine, causing a bead of sweat to form on her temple. Her thoughts were spinning, attempting to process the situation. All she could do was watch David. Thinking.

Mary Margaret placed a hand on Angie's shoulder. "Angelica. You still on Earth?"

Angie jumped. When she realized it was just her roommate, she calmed down. "Yeah, I'm here. I..I just had an epiphany."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...I know him. I don't know from where or how. But I do."

—

Angie watched Mary Margaret as she sat at the bottom of the stairs. Mary Margaret hadn't been a fidgety person, but she hadn't been able to keep her hands off her ring since David woke up.

Angie was about to go over there to comfort her when the doorbell rang. She quickly got up and opened the door, revealing Emma on the other side.

"Hi. I can't stay at Granny's anymore and you said you have a spare room? Is that room still open?"

"Of course," Angie said. She opened the door for Emma to walk into her new life.