Emma quickly ran down the stairs with her long blonde hair flowing behind her back, a grey beanie on her head, wearing a black shirt, dark blue jeans, black leather boots, and a grayish-black hoodie. Gold merely watched Emma in amusement as she barreled into the kitchen, grabbed the piece of buttered toast he laid out for her, grabbed her bag, kissed him on the cheek, and ran out of the door.
"Sorry if I'm late" said Emma, walking into the hospital, a little of breath. Her grade school teacher and birth mother, Mary Margaret Blanchard, stood in front of her and gave her the warmest smile.
"Emma, overslept again?" Mary Margaret asked, causing Emma to blush sheepishly.
"Yeah, but I'm here now so just lead the way" said Emma. Mary Margaret nodded and led her past favorite student into one of the patients' rooms. When she saw the comatose patient, Emma's breath hitched and she stared at him in disbelief.
The man had white skin with blonde hair atop his head and scruffy blonde hair on his chin. He had an oxygen mask and was connected to a life monitor. This man whom was dubbed Jon Doe, was her birth father! Emma would have stared at the man for hours, but she was shaken out of her awed state.
"Emma, are you okay?" asked Mary Margaret, looking at her in concern.
Emma managed to nod her head and tear her eyes away from her birth father. "Y-yeah, I'm okay. It's just…. sad, is all."
Mary Margaret nodded her head in understanding. "I know, but that's why we're going to read to them today. Every little bit counts Emma."
When the two were situated beside Jon Doe, Emma intervened before Mary Margaret pulled out one of her books. "Wait! I actually have a book I wanted to read to him." Mary Margaret waited patiently as Emma pulled out her book, "Once Upon a Time."
Mary Margaret gasped as Emma smiled at her. "Remember when you gave me this as a birthday present on my eighth birthday. I remember because I needed hope, and you gave that to me. Now he needs that."
Mary Margaret smiled tearfully at Emma and nodded her head for Emma to proceed, not trusting her own voice. Why she got so emotional when Emma brought up hope or when she was merely holding the storybook, she may never know.
Emma began reading the story of Snow White and Prince Charming, hoping something would happen as she was reading. It was merely silent sans Emma's voice for the next half hour until she felt something touch her hand. At first, she thought it was Mary Margaret's, but by the shocked look on her face, she dubbed it was not her.
Emma abruptly turned to the comatose patient, her birth father, in complete shock. He moved! He actually moved! It was just his hand, but it was movement! The two quickly called in Dr. Whales to assess the situation, claiming it was a miracle.
Unfortunately, Dr. Whales concluded that nothing on the monitor was giving signs to Jon Doe awakening from his unconscious state. The two women tried to argue that something indeed happened, but they couldn't get through to him.
A couple days later, Jon Doe was reported missing. Dr. Whales, Mary Margaret, Emma, and Sheriff Graham were all in the surveillance office at the hospital, watching the monitor record Jon Doe walk out of his hospital bed and out of the back door into the woods.
"We have to find him!" Mary Margaret exclaimed, already running out of the door with Sheriff Graham and Emma in tow.
"We don't even know where he went!" Sheriff Graham exclaimed, after an hour of searching for the missing patient. He wanted the two women to go home but they both refused. Just when they were about to give up, Emma remembered that the story about the troll bridge was the last thing she read to him before he touched her hand. If that was the case, maybe he went somewhere with a bridge involved. It was a long shot, but they had to try.
"Follow me, I think I know where he might be!" Emma exclaimed, leading the way with Sheriff Graham and Mary Margaret following.
"Oh my god!" Mary Margaret exclaimed as she, Graham, and Emma ran over to the unconscious body near the bridge. She got onto her knees, disregarding the dirt, and lifted his head up. "No, no, no, no, we found you! Y-you can't be dead!"
Suddenly, the man's eyes opened and he stared into the distance before uttering one word. "Emma…" Emma gasped but before anyone could say anything else, he fell unconscious again, causing Mary Margaret to yell at Graham to call an ambulance.
At the hospital, Mary Margaret and Emma found out that the man's name was David Nolan and he suffered amnesia. The only thing he remembered was his name. After a few minutes, Regina came into the room with another woman behind her.
"What are you doing here?" asked Emma, narrowing her eyes slightly at Regina. Regina didn't miss the attitude and glared at the blonde woman.
"If you must know Ms. Gold, I am David Nolan's emergency contact" said Regina. Before Emma could say anything else, the woman behind Regina ran up to Emma and Mary Margaret in a panic.
"Is he alright!?" the woman asked, her eyes tearing up. "Are you the two women who found him?" The two nodded mutely, and the woman gave them a hug, thanking them for finding HER David. She then walked into the room and hugged David. David, in return, looked utterly confused, but hugged back.
"Who is she?" asked Mary Margaret, mostly to herself but Regina decided to happily answer for her.
"That's Kathryn, his wife."
"You knew, didn't you?"
Gold turned around to see Emma crossing her arms, narrowing her eyes at her papa, but smiling. Gold merely smirked at his daughter. "I have no idea what you mean dearie."
"I mean, you knew that my birth father was a comatose patient at the hospital and that's why you suggested I help Mary Margaret there" said Emma, raising an eyebrow.
"What a coincidence" said Gold, causing Emma to laugh. She then slowed her laughter as the memories of the past day came back to her full force and she frowned. Gold noticed this and cautiously approached her. "Emma, are you alright?"
"Y-yeah, it's just…." Emma trailed off. "I finally found my birth father and I was hoping to try to get him and my birth mother together, but then I find out that he has a wife." She then groaned in frustration. "It seems Regina thought of everything to keep my parents separated!"
"Don't be so quick to give up dearie" said Gold, hugging his daughter. "You'll find a way to get your parents together and break the curse before you know it."
Emma smiled at her adoptive dad. "Thanks papa."
A/N: Hey guys! I'm going to give you a heads up and say that I will only devote a few more chapters to pre-curse before ending the curse altogether because THAT is when the fun will begin! Read and Review!