A/N: Although I stopped watching OUAT around the start of S5, I have been following the show and when I heard that David Anders was returning as Frankenstein I was delighted. That scene in the garage in 6x03 (specifically a comment by Mary-Margaret) inspired me, but I'd never got around to writing this fic until now. However I've always entertained the idea that Jekyll was from the land without colour like Frankenstein, and am thinking of writing a fic re-writing Jeykll's backstory somewhat. Is that something you'd be interested in? Anyway, enjoy. Oh, I haven't studied high school biology for a while, so forgive any inaccuracies.
With a sigh that sent his papers flying, Victor placed an empty volumetric flask into a nearby cardboard box. The sheets rustled underfoot as he paced across the garage to dismantle the test tubes from where they were suspended by ring clamps. He'd almost drop the tubes into the boxes, although he wasn't quite so despairing to want them to smash.
For a few days, there had been someone to share the science with. Now he was alone. Again.
Whilst it had been unnerving to discover Henry's true colours (town gossip was always circulating at the general hospital), his demise had satisfied Victor's scientific curiosity. He'd mentally hypothesised that being from the same person, if either Jekyll or Hyde were injured then both would suffer.
Apparently Hyde had claimed that he was not the real villain. Perhaps it was not the creation that could be dangerous, but the ambition of the creator themselves. Such thoughts had haunted Victor since resurrecting Gerhadt. Since the news of Jekyll's death, they had surfaced to the forefront of his mind.
What use was this science, if all it did was destroy?
His thoughts directed his gaze over to the fridge, and Victor managed a smirk. A while back, he had entertained the thoughts of storing body parts in it, of trying the science again. But he'd lacked the will, until Henry had arrived.
Still, he'd been unable to resist freaking out Snow and Regina with the implication that the fridge had suspect items inside of it. Although it was partly true: he didn't have food in it. Instead, when he pulled back the door, there were several bottles of alcohol. Another vice that he was doing his best to put behind him.
For a moment Victor contemplated opening one, toasting to the deceased scientist. But he knew it was a pitiful excuse to drown his sorrows over. After all, the guy was rumoured to have tried to murder Belle.
"Hello? Whale-uh, Dr. Frankenstein?" Snow's voice chimed. Victor shoved the bottle back into the fridge, letting the door slam shut as he backed away. What the hell was she doing here? He hoped Snow hadn't taken it upon herself to console him about Henry. The thought was almost as sickening as her perpetual chirpiness. He listened for footsteps. Only silence.
Realising that he had to face her, Victor went over to the garage door. With the flick of a button, the door creaked upwards and Snow stepped in. She gasped at the now desolate looking garage, almost entirely boxed up.
"Oh! What are you- this isn't because of Henry? You don't have give all this up."
She actually sounded disappointed, as if she'd rather he tinkered on scientific pursuits like raising the dead. All things considered, Snow probably preferred that he was pre-occupied rather than go around sleeping with the women from the Land of Untold Stories.
"I thought it was best to put it away for a while," he began, although seeing Snow again brought back another thought his mind had been toying with. "Although, perhaps I could put the equipment to a better use than leaving it in boxes..."
Snow's expression lit back up again. "Are you saying-"
"You know this garage isn't that big, I could hear you and Regina the other day," Victor continued,"Your remark about teaching got me thinking. Perhaps I can put this science to a better use, passing on my knowledge to the kids? If you'd still like me to come in, that is?"
As he spoke, Snow clasped her hands together, her beam growing wide enough to compete with the Cheshire Cat.
"That's just what I was here for. You know, I thought you'd take some persuading. But I'm so glad you're on board, it would fantastic for the pupils to actually be taught by an expert. Sure, I can teach them all about getting birds to land on your arm, but biology...it's not really my forte. Now, the first day back is tomorrow-"
He was almost as taken back by her eagerness as she was for him. "Tomorrow?"
"No time like the present," Snow trilled, "Oh, had you got something planned, do you need more time?'
"No, no, I can get everything ready for tomorrow. I'll stick to the syllabus, I promise, but for this first session, could do my own thing? I want to get them interested."
"Yeah that'll be fine," Snow said, then hesitated, casting a glance around the garage. "Within reason, of course."
He suppressed a smirk as he followed her glance towards the fridge. "Of course. So tomorrow afternoon good for you?"
Having changed out of his hospital clothes and collected a few things, Victor made his way down the Main Street. The cooler box he carried was growing heavy, and he was rather glad to reach the school gates, although he'd been following the sounds of kids playing all the way along the street. A few pupils who were loitering on the edges of the playground spotted him and rushed over.
"Is someone sick?" A boy in a straw hat wanted to know.
"What's in the box?" Another voice clamoured.
"Is it true you brought someone back to life?'
"No, that's a surprise, and yes. Twice, actually," Victor replied to the small crowd that clustered around him. It was odd, he hadn't anticipated such a reception, rather used to being reviled by passers-by, in this realm and before.
"He's here to teach this afternoon."
Victor recognised that voice at least, nodding over at the approaching Henry.
"Do you need a hand with that box, doctor?"
"I'm alright thanks," Victor said as he lifted the cooler towards his chest to clasp with both hands. "You wouldn't mind getting the door, would you Henry?"
The boy obliged, and Victor followed him into the school. There was that familiar scent of cleanliness, although not as sterile as in the hospital, and certainly not with the stench of cabbage as at the boarding school from his education.
Henry directed him to Snow's classroom, even knocking on the door for Victor. Snow glanced up from where she had been pre-occupied at her desk, waving at them to enter.
"That's all kid, thanks," Victor said, although Henry lingered by the door. "My lesson is a surprise. You'll have to wait until class like everyone else."
"Alright, alright," Henry said, slinking away.
"I'd missed teaching, although I am not missing marking work," Snow said with a laugh as she approached. She stared at the cool box. "You know, your lesson is still a surprise to me too."
"It's within reason, I can assure you. I understand why you'd be wary, but give me this chance. They'll love the lesson, and science."
Snow nodded. "Do you need the tables moving or anything?"
"Oh no, please, I can set up. Go to the staff room and enjoy your hour off, or do some marking, I guess."
"Right, well, I'll go out and get them to line up," Snow said, her voice decidedly optimistic, although Victor detected a note of uncertainty as she added, "Then they'll be all yours."
Victor has his back turned when he heard the clatter of footsteps, finishing off spelling out his name in large letters upon the blackboard. He was not about to have anyone mispronounce his name. After an interlude of scraped back chairs and chatter, the class fell silent as they stared up at the board. Then Victor turned to them.
"I suppose most of you are familiar with the name?"
There were a few nods.
"Now, there is a popular misconception that Frankenstein is the creature. However, I am Frankenstein. You might have seen me around town, down at the hospital, as Doctor Whale. But before that I was a scientist, specialising in human biology, which is why I'm here."
"Are you gonna teach us about sex ed?" A voice called from the back of the room. There were a few sniggers, although a few of the pupils looked around in confusion. "You'd know a lot about that wouldn't you huh?" The boy carried on, "Are you banging Mary-Margaret in the staff room?"
From the back row came a rumbled noise of Oohhh. Victor merely shook his head, recalling such rowdy boys from his own education. Regardless of realms, there always seemed to be a class joker. He almost made a 'your mom' joke back, but figured there were too many orphans in fairy-tales for that to reflect well on him.
"Seeing as though today is your first day back, I thought we could kick things off with an experiment. I'm going to need a volunteer."
Hands shot up, but Victor stared straight at the back of the classroom. "You sir, you seem to have a lot to say for yourself."
The boy in question, slumped in his chair, gave a shrug. "I'm not volunteering for anything unless I know what this 'experiment' is. So what's in the box?"
"You'll find out," Victor called back, "Unless you're too chicken."
Now it was his turn to make the class ooh. With a huff, the boy got up and sauntered down the aisle. When he reached the front, he stared at the cooler box. Up close, Victor recognised the boy.
Victor lifted the lid. "Now, Hansel, I want you to put your hand in there for me."
Hansel glanced up at the somber-faced Victor, undoubtedly thinking of all the rumours he'd heard about the scientist. Then he looked at the sea of his classmates faces, intently watching him. Rolling his eyes, he stuck stuck his hand into the box. It was as if Victor had electrocuted him, the hand shot back out near instantaneously as Hansel yelped.
"That was a-a...body part!"
"An astute observation, considering you didn't look. It is indeed a body part, fresh from the butchers."
Noting that Hansel's face had turned a slightly green shade, Victor leant over to the boy. "There's a bin to your left if you're going to be sick," he muttered, before addressing the class. He had overlooked the fact that not every sixteen year old was fascinated by body parts. "None of you are particularly squeamish are you? Look I haven't killed Bambi, it's only a lamb's heart."
He lifted the heart out, still largely covered up by the paper wrapping. A few faces blanched.
"Granted, it's not especially pleasant to look at, but hearts aren't meant to be aesthetically pleasing. They play a vital role in keeping every single one of us alive. Which is what I intend to demonstrate. Now, Hansel, if you will, put on these gloves, and we can begin."
Having regained the colour in his features, Hansel complied, following out the rest of Victor's instructions. With the tile and scalpel in place, the commonplace desk took on the appearance of a laboratory. Then Victor set down the heart, the class craning in their seats.
"Gather round. You all need to be able to see what I'm doing."
Surrounded by a throng of students, Victor took the scalpel and tenderly ran it along the heart to reveal the left ventricle and surrounding muscles. "The heart is a muscle, and it works hard every second of the day to pump blood around the body, working with the lungs to provide oxygenated blood cells. But we can get into how it works later. What I hope you will come to appreciate is how incredible this lump-like muscle is, by finding out exactly what is below the surface."
Once Victor had demonstrated how to properly dissect the heart without rupturing the valves or veins, the students returned to their desks and he gave each partner their own heart, and other equipment.
As they set to work, he strolled past the desks, stopping every so often to answer a question or direct them on where to cut. But for the most part, he observed, so that they could explore for themselves. In the far corner, the boy had adamantly refused to remove his straw hat looked as though he were about to cry.
"What's wrong?"
The boy looked up, his cheeks reddening to match his hair, and the bloodied heart. "I think I cut the wrong bit...and it's spilt blood everywhere. The heart looks ruined too."
"Don't worry, we can wipe it up," a girl said, ladened with paper towels. "We'll just have to spray disinfectant after. And the heart isn't ruined, the aorta is intact, look you can see it there."
"Exactly. If anything, your mistake has taught us more. Now you can see right into the centre of the heart," Victor added, helping the pair to mop up the spray of droplets upon the desk.
When he returned with the disinfectant spray, the girl was helping the boy to open up the heart, even explaining each part to him.
"Someone has been doing their homework I see."
The girl blushed, giving a little smile. It was a look Victor had seen upon another face, although it was more of maddening grin on the Hatter. "Grace, isn't it?"
"Yeah."
"I could use your help in a moment."
Calling the class to attention, Victor made his way back up the board and drew a cross-section sketch of the heart. Grace's hand had shot up, and Victor couldn't help but smile to himself as she labelled almost every part correctly. With a deferential nod, Victor proceeded to explain how the heart operated.
Once everyone had finished annotating their own diagrams, Victor gathered the class back to surround the front desk, where the first heart remained. Attaching the electrodes, Victor plugged in the equipment. There was a rippled exhale of wondrous breath as the heart contracted, seeming to pulse for a moment.
From down the hall, Victor could hear the click of heels. The end of the lesson, so soon!
"Henry, turn off all the lights, except for these front ones."
The room darkened around them.
"Now, nobody say a word."
Every student had leant forward to observe the heart, awaiting for what Victor would do next. As the classroom door swung open, he sent another electric shock to the heart. Whilst it pulsated, he announced, "And that's how you resurrect the dead, kids."
"Whale!" Snow gasped, and they all blinked as the room became illuminated once more.
Victor gave a sheepish grin. A few of the students giggled, murmuring about getting pranked, and Snow's features softened.
"In all seriousness though, do not attempt to dissect an animal heart by yourselves. I'm talking from my own experience, you make a mess and your parents get mad. I'm afraid that's all I've got time for, so no homework."
There was a collective cheer at that.
"Okay class, how about we head outside for a five minute break and give the doctor a chance to clear up?"
Although most of the pupils vanished with Snow, Grace and the straw hat boy remained, gathering up the tiles and wiping down desks. The boy, who informed Victor that his name was Tom, duly went outside once they had finished. Grace, however, strayed by the front desk.
"You did well today," He called to her, gathering up the last of the hearts.
"Thanks. I borrowed some books from the library. I want to be a doctor when I'm older, you see," Grace said, drumming a finger upon the wood. Unlike her father, she didn't seem entirely comfortable speaking her mind. "Well, I was wondering, if I could start volunteering at the hospital, and maybe shadow you too?"
"Of course. If you were as reckless as your father once was, I'd have second thoughts. But you seem a mature and intelligent young lady."
Grace chuckled. "Papa has told me stories, I guess he was pretty wild back then. Can I come down this Saturday?'
"I don't see why not."
"Thank you so much," Grace said, "I'll see you then."
The classroom empty of its pupils, Victor finished wiping down all the desks, as another set of footsteps approached.
"These kids will not stop asking when you're coming back!" Snow called, "You were right- they loved it. It must have cost you a small fortune buying all those lambs hearts! How did you get so many?"
"Oh you know me, I can be charming when I want to. I just about managed to squirm out of having go on date with little Bo Peep," Victor said, closing up the equipment laden cool box.
"I think a date with that woman would defy even our evening at Granny's," Snow said as she reached him at the front desk.
"That was a terrible date, and I'm genuinely sorry about how big an asshole my cursed self was."
"I don't think any of us are entirely proud of our cursed selves. But what matters is what we do now. Speaking of, you will come back next week, right?"
Victor looked across at Snow. "Oh, I wouldn't miss it for all the world."