Title: Ransom Notes

Author: BombtasticSkittles

Rating: T (for a swear word and a hostage situation)

Word Count: 1,521 (Whoa)

Disclaimer: I don't own any recognizable material, any of it. I also wrote this at work on yellow notebook paper, so I apologize for any mistakes.

The sheets were gone. Every single set in the house had vanished, sometime between breakfast and the current moment. Sunday had always been the day Emma changed the bed clothes, strip the beds, throw the sheets in the laundry basket, the blankets in the wash, change the sheets and put the blankets in the dryer.
This was Emma's routine; she picked it up at one of her many foster homes, one of the more pleasant ones she'd been in anyway. Going to the upstairs linen closet she flung the doors open, empty, not even a stray dryer sheet to keep then smelling fresh. As she went to shut the door there was a piece of paper taped to the door.
"If you can find them, you can have them." It read in magazine cut out letters like a ransom note. Which was exactly what this was, and Emma only had two suspects. The men in her life had stolen them. August and Henry were holding the bed sheets captive, but Emma had several sets, surely they had missed at least two sets, a full and a twin, that was all she needed.
-

August and Henry had been working in this plan for a long tone. August had the reason but Henry fueled the plan, the child's creativity never ceased to amaze him. The plan was perfect, while August and Emma cooked breakfast, another subconscious routine, Henry would get up and move all the sheets to the disclosed location before coming downstairs for breakfast. After which Henry and August would make a break for it, the sheets hidden away, before Emma could catch them.

The sheets were gone, so were her suspects. Henry had gone to his grandparents and August headed to Marco's shop, making up for lost time with his father. The only sheets she had were sopping wet in the washing machine in the basement. Where could they have hidden her sheets? With a smirk she dashed up the stairs and tugged the door to the attic open. Emma flipped on the light and headed up the dusty stairs. The single light bulb hanging from the steeped ceiling only providing minimal light. The attic looked any stereotypical attic, dust and boxes. The boxes left over from the move, and the dust appearing by itself like magic. David had given them the house that he lived in with Kathryn during the curse, neither of them wanted the house and it needed a family.

Emma surveyed the room. Everything looked normal, no disturbances, with a sigh Emma noticed it. Around an old trunk there was a swipe in the dust, like someone shorter had a handful of sheets and one of them dragged across the floor.

"Too easy." Emma said to herself, kneeling in front of the trunk and popping the lid open. Empty, except from an envelope propped up on the bottom.

"Nice try, Princess." Another ransom note.

So it was August, he was the only person who called her that. She hated the title, but when August said it, it was different; it wasn't a title to him.

Emma swore to herself getting up and dusting her knees. Where were her sheets? There were only so many places they could have them hidden. The house was big, but it wasn't that big.

Across town August and Henry were seated at Snow and Charming's kitchen bar. Henry sipping hot chocolate, while August held a coffee, and he was starting to grow worried.

"Why is there a basket of sheets in my room?" Snow asked anyone who would answer walking toward them holding a bucket filled with cleaning supplies.

Henry and August exchanged glances, was it worth the risk? Henry decided that it wasn't. "Can't tell you that grandma. Strict Operation Penguin business." Henry said looking up at here and taking a sip of his chocolate.

"If those are Emma's you're both doomed." Snow stated before simply walking away, bucket in tow. It must run in the Charming family, this cleaning on Sundays.

After checking every place she could think of she started checking more unconventional places, like the shower, oven, and even the boot of her car. Her sheets were nowhere to be found, only little notes, but now they were just random statements that made on sense to her.

"When you smile, and you scrunch your nose." Was in the refrigerator taped to the carton of juice.

"When you laugh and your cheeks turn rosy." Was discovered in the shower.

Henry's closet and the closet in the spare room revealed, "When you hair's blowing in the wind, and your eyes start glistening." And "When you breathe and the sun is shining on you."

In sheer desperation Emma grabbed her keys and checked the boot of her car. "How can I sleep without me hearing you sing in the shower at night?" was the only thing she found.

It was now three in the afternoon and she was sick of this 'game'. She had other things to do, like the rest of the laundry and to give the bathroom a good scrubbing. She didn't want to give up, but here entire house and car had been searched.

The sharp trill of August's phone sounded over the sound of sandpaper on wood. Henry's head shot up and looked at August's pocket. It had taken all most all day, but Emma had given up. August flipped open the phone, prepared from the potential onslaught of Emma Rage. "Hello Princess."

"Where the hell are all my sheets?" Emma practically screamed into the phone, this was nothing compared to what August expected. He was ready for her to drive down the street and release her rage in person.

"I have no idea what you're talking about dear. Why would I steal the bed sheets?" August said with a smirk.

"Stop smirking, I can hear it." Emma said, seething frustration. "If you don't bring them to me, I swear to Go-." With a snap August shut the phone, cutting Emma off.

"Come on Henry, we better go before your mom explodes." He said waving to his father. "Or kills me."

The sound of tires on gravel snapped Emma out her thoughts. The blonde shot out her chair and headed towards the door. "August Wayne Booth I am going to kill you." She said not meaning a word of it.

He walked through the door, a large basket filled to the brim with her sheets. Finally she grabbed the basket and headed upstairs.

After she had dressed the beds she went to put the rest of the sheets away. Opening the empty closet she pulled open the top drawer and started putting the sheets away where they belong. Twin size in the top drawer and full in the lower drawer.

As Emma reached for the last set her hand brushed something that wasn't a sheet. Startled she looked into the basket, a small burgundy cloth bag was pinned to the last set. Emma shakily unpinned the bag, pulling the gold cord to open it.

As something cold and circular fell into her hand, arms wrapped around her waist. "Marry me." August whispered in her ear, barely audible.

"One condition," she turned in his arms, slipping the ring into his hand. "Never steal my sheets again."

"Deal." He chuckled slipping the ring onto her finger and claiming her mouth with his. Henry's arm sneaking out of his doorway, camera flashing. Operation Penguin had been a success.

Once again thank you to everyone who continues to enjoy my little chapters, sorry it took me so long to update. Thank you for reviewing, which is one of the greatest things ever, and for following the story. I have to give a huge thank you Stephen Jerzak, who I completely ripped off for August's ransom notes. The song is called An Extra Song For You, and it really is a wonderful song. –Heather

Reviewers:Eyes Like Dawn, Kelli Maguire (August is an awesome daddy, how could he not be?) NaomiBlue (I actually didn't grow up around a staircase either, I was babysitting one day and my baby cousin Kaelynn got stuck in the stairs, it was terrifying and traumatic. I did normal things like falling out of trees and shutting my hand in several types of doors), Anna (Guest) Daddies are always a little girls knight in shining armor, its daddy it's his job. The Smaller Button is all in Annabelle's head, to a young child the world is still magical, so because August had her shut her eyes, he could press her nose (beep it) and make her believe that her head shrunk to fit back though the rails, instead of her knowing that he just pulled the wood apart so she could fit. And Maximum Ride Fang1995.

Followers: Kelli Maguire, and Wildpartyhouse247