Belief

"Missing?" Emma asked, excitement lacing her voice.

"Yup," Mary Margaret confirmed. "Just gone from his bed. Basically vanished without a trace."

"Huh, weird," Emma responded, reaching for a muffin. She took a bite as Mary Margaret tried to explain what had happened. Not that she did a very good job. The young woman was so flustered, she could barely get the words out.

"Not just weird, Emma," she corrected. "I mean.. It's… it's unheard of in this town. Storybrooke literally hasn't changed for as long as I can remember."

"And some random guy in a coma is gonna change everything?" Emma asked, sceptically.

"Well… no," Mary Margaret admitted. "But, I know it must mean something." She paused, looking at Emma.

"What's up with you?" she asked. "I thought little kids were always into the whole magical fantasy stuff."

Emma hopped off her chair, and pulled up her sleeve. She revealed a two inch scar on her upper arm.

"Yup, from a bookshelf," she explained. "Where I come from, there isn't time for fairytales." What she didn't reveal was how she got the bruise.

It was from him. He'd been angry. She didn't even remember why. But he'd pushed her. She could still remember the initial pain of landing on the ground, in stunned shock.

"You don't have much hope do you?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Well…" Emma trailed off, unable to find an explanation.

"What about the book?"

"The what?" Emma asked.

"Your storybook," Mary Margaret pressed. "You're the one who brought it. It must mean something to you."

"Oh, yeah," Emma said, shrugging it off. "A friend gave it to me."

"A friend?" Mary Margaret asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well…" Emma hesitated. "I say 'friend.' But, she's more like family. I mean, she pretty much was the only family I had."

"Okay," Mary Margaret said. "But, anyways, the book. Do you believe in it?" Emma actually laughed out loud.

"You're kidding right?" she asked. "Oh, you're not? Well, I've never had any reason to believe. Life isn't really a fairytale. Fairy godmothers don't just appear to grant you wishes. A heroic prince doesn't always save the day."

"Do you want that?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Heck no," Emma exclaimed. "That's never really been my dream. Like, never."

"Me neither," Mary Margaret agreed, smiling at the younger girl.

"If I met a guy who was trying to save me," Emma trailed off, thinking. "I think I would probably tie him to a tree, and tell him to leave me alone."

"Hm… if I met that guy, I'd probably… throw a rock in his face," Mary Margaret said, looking very pleased with herself. Emma grinned in response.

"So, about the missing guy," she probed.

"Oh, right," Mary Margaret had completely forgotten.

"What are you planning on doing?" Emma asked. "He's clearly special to you."

"He.. what?" Mary Margaret asked, eyes widening.

"You said yourself you've always felt a connection to him," Emma pointed out. She tipped her head, waiting for the explanation.

"I think… I think I know where he went," Mary Margaret admitted.

"What? How?" Emma asked, intrigued now.

"I… well… you see… I, um, I think he's in the woods. Uh, near the Troll Bridge…" Mary Margaret trailed off.

"Seriously?" Emma asked. "From the storybook? I just told you, none of it's real."

"No, it's not that," Mary Margaret defended. "But, if I was reading that and he heard it, you know, maybe… Maybe that's where he thought to go."

"You wanna go there don't you?" Emma asked, a knowing look in her eyes.

"Just think of him," Mary Margaret pleaded.

"You know, I think we've switched places," Emma commented, but she too could feel excitement.

"Okay, that may be true. But still… I think we should go."

"Okay," Emma agreed, grabbing her jacket from the chair. She took a last bite of her muffin, preparing to follow Mary Margaret.

A knock at the door startled both of them. Mary Margaret had a confused look on her face as she went to answer. When she opened the door, she audibly gasped.

"Regina!" she exclaimed, worry taking over her features.

"Uh… what, um, what are you doing here?" she asked, stuttering over her words.

"I'm here to make sure you don't do anything stupid," the older woman sneered. She brushed past Mary Margaret, looking around the apartment. At last, her gaze settled on Emma.

"I didn't know you were in the habit of taking in strays," she commented, half glaring at Emma. The girl stared back, unflinchingly. Regina made a mental note of that.

"Um, Madame Mayor, is there anything you need?" Mary Margaret asked, looking like she was going to be sick.

"Yes," Regina said, coming back to the entrance.

"I wanted to inform you that a search party is already forming to look for the john doe. So, there is absolutely no need for you two to go scrounging around the forest. I assure you, the proper authorities have been contacted, and we are doing everything we can to locate him."

"Are you?" Mary Margaret suddenly challenged. Emma shot her a surprised look.

"Excuse me?" Regina asked, brown eyes flashing fire. But she didn't have to. Mary Margaret had already backed down.

"I'm sorry Madame Mayor," she muttered, averting her eyes. The temporary burst of fire had died just as quickly as it had appeared.

"How do you know him?" Emma asked curiously, still not afraid of Regina. The mayor gave an annoyed sigh.

"I found him on the side of the road," she explained. "He was unconscious, like he'd been hit. I brought him to the hospital. I'm his emergency contact."

"For a guy you never met?" Emma asked.

"I don't know who you think you are," Regina began. "But you better learn your place around here. Who knows, you might end up on the menu at Granny's." She glared at Emma, but once again, the young girl didn't blink.

"I don't expect to see you two out there," Regina said, before stalking out of the apartment. When she left, Mary Margaret blew a sigh of relief.

"That was close," she muttered, grabbing her coat.

"Yeah, still don't understand why she's so scary. I mean, intimidating sure, but terrifying?" Emma broke off when she saw Mary Margaret slipping into her jacket.

"You're going after him?" she asked, excitement clear in her voice.

"Oh yeah," Mary Margaret said. Maybe the fire was still there.

"Let's go find ourselves a john doe."

More Regina next chapter

Next time… Mary Margaret and the recently found David Nolan strike up a friendship, much to the displeasure of Regina…

You guys are amazing

R&R

NightLightning21