This is a re-branding of a one-shot I wrote a couple years ago. I decided it deserved it's own verse. Let it be known that Snowing absolutely made the right decision in the episode, as much as it hurt them. Had they gone through when Emma was in the group home, they would have been arrested. But had timing been a little different, it might have changed all that. That is this AU.

When Snowing saw Emma through the door, she seemed safe for the moment. But what if that hadn't been the case? What if they saw her under that bridge instead, cold and alone? Might that have changed their decision. An AU where Snowing must save Emma first and worry about Storybrooke later.

Swan

Snow held the poppy up, the one that had brought them back to each other much earlier than expected. Charming nodded, as they joined hands and the poppy glowed brightly. A door appeared before them and opened. Once the haze cleared, they saw a beautiful little blonde girl.
"Oh..." Charming uttered.
"She's beautiful," he said. But then her surroundings came into view and they were horrified by what they saw. Their baby, shivering and alone, trying to keep warm by a fire.
"Oh Gods..." Snow cried.
"We have to go...we have to go to her," Charming urged.
"Yes...but Charming, if we do, we might condemn our people to Regina's curse forever," Snow warned.
"But you have your memories of this world," he reminded.
"Don't you see, Snow...we can come back for them with Emma when it's time!" he exclaimed.

Snow paused, thinking about what she knew about this world. It wouldn't be easy, but they could make their way in this world and then find Storybrooke again when it was time. She had Mary Margaret's possessions with her and she could clean out what meager savings she had managed to build. It wasn't much, but it would get them started.

"Okay..." Snow said, looking at her husband. He grinned.
"Okay..." he repeated, as she looked at the potion in her hand and then tossed it to the ground. Screw Rumpelstiltskin and screw Regina. They would get their baby back now and return to save their people. They joined hands and stepped through the doorway. The glow faded and they now stood under that bridge.
Emma and another youth stared at them in disbelief.

"Your Majesties...how?" the boy uttered and Charming looked at him with scrutiny.
"You know us?" he asked suspiciously.
"In...in this land, I'm known as August, but in ours, I was Pinocchio," he revealed. Emma looked at the three people like they were crazy.
"Emma...it's okay, we're your parents," Snow said.
"You're lying! My parents left me on the side of the road!" Emma cried.
"No Emma...that's just where you came through. Your parents sent you to this world to escape a terrible curse. I know, because my father sent me right before you," August pleaded with her.
"The Blue Fairy told us that wardrobe only took one," Charming said, his jaw clenching.
"She lied to you and so did my father. He was just trying to save me," August said.
"You're all crazy!" Emma cried.

"No Emma...please believe us. Giving you up was the last thing we ever wanted to do," Snow pleaded.
"She's right...your mother was supposed to come through with you, but things didn't go as planned," David continued.
"We've loved you since the moment we knew you existed," Snow cried, tearing up.

Emma looked between them, trying hard not to see her features in them. She knew when people were lying and they weren't, or at least they believed what they were telling her was the truth. But there was something else in the way they looked at her. She had only seen people look at a child like this when she had seen other children get adopted from the group home. She was taken aback, for she never expected anyone to look at her like that.

"Mommy?" she asked uncertainly. Snow nodded eagerly, as the tears started to fall down her cheeks.
"Daddy?" she asked and he nodded, as the tears slipped down his cheeks too.
"Where were you?" she asked.
"Trapped..." Snow replied.
"Trapped where?" Emma asked.
"In a place with no happy endings by an Evil Queen. But she's not going to hurt us anymore. We escaped," David said. Snow squeezed his hand.
"Charming..." she chided.
"What? It's the truth," he insisted.
"I know, but you don't know what this world is like. This land...they think we're just stories here," Snow warned.
"She's right...pretty watered down versions of the stories too," August added. He looked at them.
"I don't know about any of that. But I know our lives have been pretty real," he said, as he spotted a flash of white by Emma's bag.

"Your blanket...you still have it?" he asked. She picked up her blanket and looked back at him.
"Oh...you still have it. We had this made for you when we found out I was pregnant," Snow said, as she touched the blanket and then broke down in tears. Charming put his arms around her and kissed her hair. Emma watched the couple with scrutiny and slowly stepped closer to them, as they continued to stare at her with love and awe. She leaned in and they swept her into their arms in a relieved hug, both pressing kisses to her hair. Charming cradled her head and they held her tightly. August looked on with a happy, but wistful gaze, as he slowly turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Snow asked.
"I...I don't know, just moving on I guess," he replied uncertainly.
"No...you don't have to be alone anymore. We're all refugees from a lost land. I'd say that's a really good reason to stick together," Charming said.
"You want me to come with you?" he asked.
"You're didn't deserve the burden that was placed on you. Let us help you with that burden. You're practically family, after all," Snow replied.
"She's right. Besides, we have a curse to break in eighteen years and now Emma doesn't have to go it alone," Charming added.

"You think we can find the town again?" August asked curiously.
"Well, we have eighteen years to figure it out. In the meantime, we'll need to find a way to live," Charming replied.
"When Regina finds out we're missing, she may give your photos out to the police outside Storybrooke," August warned.
"Then what do you suggest? You know this world better than us," Charming said.
"We should cross the border into Canada. There's lot of small, rural towns up there where they'll never find us, especially with a fake last name," August said.
"How do we get there?" Charming asked. August looked at Snow.
"He just woke up from a coma. He doesn't have any of the fake memories of this world that I do," Snow told him. August chuckled. Teaching the prince about this land would be interesting for sure.

"Bus tickets are fairly cheap, but we need a good last name for the three of you," he said.
"Swan," Emma chimed in and they looked at her. August grinned.
"Swan...like from the ugly duckling," he said.
"Swan it is then. Mary, David, and Emma Swan," Snow said. David smiled and picked their little girl up.
"You're never going to be alone again, princess," he promised, as he kissed her forehead. Tears filled her eyes and she wrapped her little arms around his neck. He joined hands with his wife and together, with August in tow, they started out to begin their new lives together.

I will accept prompts and requests for this verse! So send them in a review, PM, or on Tumblr under lilacmoon83