Chapter 7
Emma felt a wave of emotion when she walked into the next room. It was not a very big room. It had a window, and a desk in front of it. It had papers and folders organized in file on top. There was a black computer chair was behind the desk but in front of the window. There were two wooden chairs lined up against the right side wall, and a couple toys scattered across the floor. Emma gulped and felt herself fidgeting with her fingers and feeling her heart race. She didn't even know how to begin taking with this man. How could she without scaring him off? Although, she didn't want to hurt Henry. He was the only person she knew she cared for. Emma couldn't lose Henry. Not after everything that's happened in Storybrooke, and with Regina.
Emma watched as Matt walked around and sat in the black computer chair and rested his arms on the desk. He smiled at her pleasantly. Emma couldn't help but give the tiniest of smiles and stands there, in the room nervously.
"Excuse the toys, the children forget to pick up after themselves," Matt began, breaking the awkward silence. Emma just nodded. "But please, have a seat."
Emma takes a the chair closest to the door and sits down. There was a wave of emotion that ran through her head, how was she supposed to begin talking to him? About the books, Storybrooke, and Henry. Why she was here to see him? So many thoughts ran through her head until Emma snapped back into reality when Matt asked her,
"How may I help you?"
"Oh, um.." Emma stammered at a loss of words of how to begin. This was one of the most difficult things she had to do. Emma didn't even know how to start. "I- uh, you see.. I have a son.. Henry.." Just mentioning that she had a son just turned her stomach into knots. It wasn't very often that Emma had to admit to herself and to others that Henry was her biological son. "He.. um.. you will probably think I'm insane.."
Matt chuckled at her response,
"Emma, believe me, I deal with children all day, five times a week. I heard absolutely everything in the book, from dinosaurs to astronauts, even fairy tales. I heard it all."
"This is different.." Emma said feeling sweat forming on her hands. "Henry.. he's a good kid. With a very.. I mean VERY active imagination." Emma chuckles to herself, thinking of operation cobra. The things Henry talked about and bringing up new things that he made up, it was obviously not true, but it shows how much of a imagination and belief system he has. It also meant the bonding and special connection that Emma had with Henry in such a short period of time. Emma knew there was a reason she came out here, and Mary Margaret helped her see that.
She looked up and saw that Matt chuckled along with her. Emma smiled, but it faded quickly knowing that he did look a lot like someone in her past and she had no intention of dealing with that now. She shot down her feelings and continued,
"But, he thinks fairy tales and science fiction is true," Emma admitted which made her stomach turn knowing she's explaining this to someone she just met. "It's hard for him so see reality. So…" Emma didn't even think when she blurted this out, "Have you seen Doctor Who?"
After those words left her mouth, she couldn't think clearly. She felt like a complete idiot at this point. Emma looked up and she couldn't tell what Matt was thinking. He had an emotionless expression, which freaked her out a little bit. Emma tried to calm down and convince herself that she didn't mess up just yet. So why bother believing that she did? She held her hands together tightly and prayed that Matt didn't think she was a crazy person.
Matt chuckled which made Emma shocked for a moment and confused. Did he just chuckle at her? Emma didn't know whether to take that as an insult or not. She didn't let it bother her and she tried to smile to ease the tension she had.
"Yes, I've seen the show," Matt replied leaning back on his computer chair. "I assume your son takes an interest in it. He seems like a good kid." Matt looked at Emma and could tell she was nervous, visibly. He sighed and smiled at her. "Emma, it's ok. I don't think you're crazy. I've seen many children with active imaginations. It's probably just a phase he's going through. It'll pass eventually."
Emma smiled, relieved that Matt didn't think she was crazy… yet. She sighed and leaned back on her chair starting to fidget with her fingers again. She knew she had to tell him about Henry's theory. This was the limit that was going to test whether or not that Matt actually thinks she's crazy. Emma bit her lower lip, trying to think of a way to tell him. She gripped onto Henry's book and sighed, again.
"I hope so," Emma began very nervously. "Um, this will be hard to tell you… I.. Henry.."
"Yes?"
"He thinks you are a character in his book," Emma blurts out quickly and efficiently. "I know this is weird for you to hear… but as I said, he has an active imagination. He looked you up, and well…"
Emma immediately stopped talking, seeing the expression on his face. It wasn't pleasant, and it certainly wasn't making this any easier on her. Emma knew she'd probably get kicked out or worse, he'll call security on her. Emma felt her mind coming up with a bunch of possibilities that could make up what Matt might say to her. She tried to keep herself steady and calm because she didn't want to snap.
There were long moments of awkward silence between both Emma and Matt. Emma eventually decided that this was a waste of time, and this trip wasn't worth the trouble. She knew that it'll disappoint Henry, but the more she thought about this brief conversation she had, it just convinced her more and more that this was ridiculous. Emma stood up and felt very uncomfortable.
"I-I am sorry for getting you involved," Emma said feeling uneasy. "I better go."
Before Emma had a chance to leave, Matt called out to her,
"Emma.. hold on a moment. Where do you and Henry live? Is it here in New York?"
"No, it's in Storybrooke, Maine," Emma responded. Before letting him speak, Emma spoke again. "I know, never heard of it."
"Actually, I'm being transferred there, as a school teacher, it is part of the curriculum," Matt replied as Emma looked up at him absolutely shocked. It was not at all what she expected him to say. He is being transferred to Storybrooke, Maine? Emma thought that Henry said that no strangers come to town. Why would Matt be transferred? Emma tried to calm down and think clearly.
"I don't think you are insane, Emma…" Matt replied giving her a smile. "It's unusual. I'm still, well, getting used to it." Chuckles nervously to himself. "I'm a character in his book? Who does he think I am?"
"Um, he thinks you're the doctor.. y'know.. from Doctor Who," Emma said feeling uneasy about this entire conversation. She looked at Matt who was surprised. She didn't blame him. It was exactly like when she met Henry for the first time. Thinking he was insane, and still does to an extent. She could tell that his wasn't going to be easy for him, and Emma could feel all the empathy in the word for him at this exact moment. Having some person you never met before walk up to you and say that you are a character in a book? Emma repeated this in her head, and believing she was an absolute dufus.
"I'm… the doctor? That's what he's going with?" Matt finally said feeling a tad uneasy.
"Yep."
"Convincing," Matt said sarcastically as he ran his fingers through his head trying to process this. Emma couldn't help but chuckle knowing that this was almost exactly how she reacted when Henry told her that she was Prince Charming and Snow White's child.
"Look, I know this is a crazy theory.. believe me I know," Emma said trying to ease the awkwardness she knew Matt was feeling. "Henry has all sorts of crazy ideas and I hate to say this… you'll be filled in with it all… you'll see what I mean when you move to Storybrooke."
Matt smiled small and knew that Emma was trying to help him feel less uncomfortable.
"I guess so.." Matt chuckled to himself trying to relax and snapped himself out of his train of thoughts and noticed that Emma was planning to leave. "It was nice meeting you, Emma. I'll see you soon."
"Yeah.. you too," Emma managed to say as she left and shut the door behind her. She felt a wave of emotion about how to feel. That was the such a emotional thrill ride for her. But a part of her was proud that she did this for Henry. She walked out of the building towards the motel.
...
Clara and Mary Margaret went into the security where Clara met Leroy and Walter. Clara found Leroy to be grumpy with a complex attitude, kind of like Regina but not as bad. She found Walter to be nice and far less grumpy than Leroy. Clara sighed knowing this whole mess is scary and also weird. Ever since she came to this town, a lot of odd things have been occurring. Clara hasn't seen things happen like this before, not in her life. Clara also found a part of her that wanted to help save people, even though she didn't know them that well. She figured out that she couldn't bare standing around while someone could be suffering. From what she heard about this 'John Doe', she knew he had to be innocent. He probably is just lost and confused.
Clara and Mary Margaret found the right tape after finding out that they were looking at the wrong one. John Doe walked out four hours ago. Clara started to panic, knowing that there was a chance that this man may be… dead. Mary Margaret told Clara where the door he walked out of leads to. The woods.
Clara and Mary Margaret raced out the door ran down to the woods. As they were running towards the woods, Clara glanced at the police box, again, for a slight second. She knew that something was off about that box. Clara didn't know why she had this funny feeling about the box, but it gave her butterflies in her stomach. Clara shook off that feeling she had, and they ran to the woods.
As they were entering the woods, Clara noticed tracks, man tracks.
"Hey Mary Margaret, look," Clara said pointing at the foot prints. Mary Margaret looked at the prints on the ground and grew surprised. "Let's go. It could be his tracks."
Clara and Mary Margaret followed the trail until it disappeared. Clara gasped and glanced at Mary Margaret. They shared an uneasy look and sighed very worried.
"The trail runs out here," Clara stated with an uncomfortable tone to her voice.
"Are you sure, I mean, if it ran out here, shouldn't he be here?" Mary Margaret asked worried, glancing around her surroundings. Clara sighs and looks around, not seeing any other tracks. She was worried about him too, but also feeling a tad uneasy about this whole mess she got herself into. This is not at all what Clara expected to be doing here, or at least getting involved with. She thought Storybrooke was a quiet little town with not much going on for it because she didn't get any information online. Clearly she was wrong.
"I don't see any more tracks," Clara responded after a moment of silence. She looked around again and couldn't see anything. It was just the woods, with trees, bushes and debris. "Maybe we should just walk in the direction the tracks were headed. We could find something."
Mary Margaret nodded as they began walking down in that direction.
"Hey… we never really had a chance to talk since you moved here.." Mary Margaret began quietly. "Where are you from?"
"Oh.. I grew up in Blackpool, England," Clara responded with a smile feeling the affects of her feelings drifting away from her, knowing she wasn't completely thinking about their current situation. "Not a big family. Just my Dad, and my brother."
"Um, what happened to your Mother, if you don't mind me asking?" Mary Margaret asked casually looking around to see if she could see John Doe. No luck. There was a moment of silence between the two and Clara filled with tears but she held them back, trying not to show her she was upset. Clara didn't want to feel embarrassed after just getting acquainted with Mary Margaret.
"She died," Clara managed to say, choking up her words. She stopped talking, knowing if she continued she cry. Clara looked away from Mary Margaret and pulled herself together, knowing she couldn't deal with her past now. It wasn't the right time, it never really was for her, and especially now. Mary Margaret just sighed in sympathy for her and felt sorry for her.
"I-I'm sorry," Mary Margaret replied as they continued to walk through the woods. "What about your brother and father?"
"..My Dad is still back home, and my brother moved in with his girlfriend, working as a cashier," Clara responded after getting over that emotional moment, knowing she was ready to speak again.
"Why did you move here?" asked Mary Margaret.
"I.. I guess.. I wanted to start over," Clara managed to say not knowing how to fully answer that. She actually didn't really know the entire reason why she decided to move away from home. Was it because she felt unhappy? All these pondering questions and thoughts ran through her head, and she snapped out of them when she heard Mary Margaret yell,
"Henry!"
Clara looked over and saw Henry running through the woods towards them, wearing his backpack. He stopped in front of them who were looking very concerned of why he was out here.
"Did you find him yet?" Henry asked catching his breath from running all the way to the woods.
"No not yet," Clara said before putting a hand on his shoulder. "Henry, you shouldn't be here. It's dangerous to be out here."
"I can help!" Henry exclaimed eagerly. "I know where he's going!"
Clara and Mary Margaret shared a worried glance.
"And where's that?" Mary Margaret asked.
"He's looking for you," Henry explained as both women looked at each other completely shocked. "You are the one who woke him up, you were the last one he saw! He's looking for you!"
"Henry, it's not about me," Mary Margaret said still completely surprised that Henry still thinks that John Doe is her prince charming. It was just plain ridiculous. That couldn't be true, the man doesn't even know her, and she doesn't know him in any way. "I just… I think he's lost and confused. He's been in a coma a long time."
But he loves you!" Henry said almost shouting and begging that Mary Margaret would believe him. "You need to stop chasing him, and let him find you."
"You need to go home, Henry," Clara said stepping into the conversation. "Where's your mom? She's going to kill me for letting you out here and then you for disobeying her."
"She dropped me off at the house, then I went right back out," Henry said.
"I need to get you home before your mother finds out you are out here," Clara began feeling shivers go down her spine just thinking of Regina. She freaked her out, a lot and she really did not to get in trouble with her. Especially when she just moved her not that long ago. She didn't even notice that Mary Margaret bent over to touch something on a log.
"NO!" Henry said raising his voice, stubbornly until Mary Margaret got their attention with her hand out in front of them.
"Guys…" Mary Margaret said nervously and scared. "Is that.. I mean it can't be.. is it.."
"Blood," Clara confirmed looking at the red liquid on her hand, scared of her mind.
…
They ran towards the water and immediately saw a man lying in the water. Mary Margaret panicked and ran over to him. Clara couldn't help but stare, and the one question continued to ponder in her head, "Are we too late?". Henry clutched to Clara and wrapped his hands around her. Clara put a hand on Henry's shoulder as she grabbed her phone and called the ambulance and told them their location. The Old Troll Bridge. She hung up as Mary Margaret dragged the man onto the shore in such worry and panic.
"No, no, no, no, no! No, no, no! I found you!" Mary Margaret shouted holding his face as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"It's going to be okay," Clara said trying to ease the situation but also freaked out. "I called the ambulance. Help's coming."
"Is he okay?" Henry asked panicking. Clara looked down at Henry and sighed pulling him in closer as he filled with tears.
"Henry…" Clara started quietly but Henry interrupted her almost shouting in tears.
"Is he going to be okay?" Henry repeated.
"Henry, don't look, Okay?" Clara said turning Henry around and held him as he cried. "Don't look."
"Come back to us," Mary Margaret said holding his face worried they were too late. "Come back to me!"
She starts CPR. When she puts her mouth on his, he starts breathing again and coughs up water. John Doe looked up at Mary Margaret who smiled down at him relieved. Clara smiled and turned Henry around, as they saw that he was ok. John Doe's eyes adjusted to his surroundings and looked back at her.
"You saved me," he managed to say panting hard trying to regain his breath.
"She did it. She did it!" Henry exclaimed happily jumping up and down in joy. "She woke him up!"
"Yeah, She did," Clara said feeling happy knowing that they were not too late and that John Doe is alive. Mary Margaret continued to hold him, feeling pride that she saved his life.
"Thank you," John Doe said in a crackled voice, finally catching his breath.
"Who are you?" Mary Margaret thought she ask, hoping he remember something about his past. John Doe just looked at her confused.
"I don't know," He said still very confused and shocked about where he was. Mary Margaret looked at him and smiled trying to ease the situation and held his face with her hands.
"It's okay," Mary Margaret said soothingly. "You're going to be okay."
…
They brought John Doe back to the hospital where Clara, Henry and Mary Margaret were there watching as the nurses and Doctor Whale were working on him. Clara sighs and puts a hand on Henry's shoulder and squeezed it gently. She felt proud that they found John Doe and that he's ok. But this whole mess was an emotional thrill rush for her, and not expecting to be involved with this. Just after a short period of time, there was a lot going on in a small town, which never had much information about. Clara thought about it for a second and realized that something isn't clicking. Something was off in this town and it scared her a bit, but she didn't want to leave. Henry made her stay and Mary Margaret who was the sweetest person she met on this town. Clara liked her, and the children she worked with in this school. But there was a few people, like Regina who she didn't like so much.
Clara snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Regina's voice and walked over to them, clearly furious. Clara backed off, nervous. She didn't really know how to handle Regina quite yet. Her complex behaviour made her uncomfortable, knowing she didn't have much experience with these kinds of people. In her childhood she had a couple moments with people that were mean to her, but not a whole lot.
"Henry, you do not disobey me like that.. we will talk about your insubordination later. Do you know what insubordination means? It means you're grounded," Regina said scolding Henry who sighs and nods.
Kathryn walks out of the room where John Doe was resting.
"Thank you, thank you for finding my David," Kathryn said relieved wiping her tears off her cheeks.
"I.. I don't understand," Mary Margaret replied confused as well as Clara. "You didn't know he was here in coma?"
Kathryn shook her head and said,
"A few years ago, David and I were not getting along. It was my fault, I know that now. I was difficult and unsupportive. I told him if he didn't like things, he could leave. And he did. And I didn't stop him. It was the worst mistake I ever made."
Clara looked at Kathryn and sighed. She knew that she did feel horrible. But something told her that this story could be a lie. It didn't seem right that David was in coma all this time and she never went looking for him. Something was definitely up, maybe it was something Kathryn isn't telling them but it seemed a little strange. Clara didn't want to get in the middle of anything but she had to ask,
"You didn't go look for him?"
"I assumed he'd left town all this time," Kathryn responded holding back her tears. "And now I know why I never heard from him. Now I get to do what I've wanted to do forever – say I'm sorry. Now we get a second chance."
"That's wonderful," Mary margaret said forcing a smile on her face as Dr. Whale enters the room.
"Well, it's something of a miracle," Dr. Whale said crossing his arms over his chest.
"He's okay?" Kathryn asked worried.
"Ah, physically, he's on the mend, um, his memory is another issue. It may take time, if at all," Dr. Whale explained.
"What brought him back?" Mary Margaret asked.
"That's the thing," Dr. Whale replied. There's no explanation. Something just clicked in him."
"He just got up and decided to go for a stroll?" Clara asked confused, as she glanced at Regina who seemed very much frustrated. Clara shrugged and sighed.
"He woke up and he was delirious and his first instinct was to go find something, I guess," Dr. Whale responded trying to come up with a logical exclamation for David's behaviour.
"Someone," Henry said correcting Dr. Whale. Regina shot Henry a look and Henry stopped talking and remained silent.
"Can I see him?" Kathryn asked.
"Yeah, of course," Dr. Whale said giving Kathryn a friendly smile. Kathryn goes back into David's room. Regina grabbed Henry's hand and was dragging him towards the hall.
"Henry, let's go," Regina said clearly pissed off. Henry jerked away from her.
"Wait, my backpack," Henry responded as he goes back to grab his backpack and whispers to Mary Margaret, "Don't believe them. You're the one he was looking for."
"Henry…" Mary Margaret said feeling uneasy because Henry still believes that David is her true love. It's impossible, but she didn't want to destroy his belief system. It wouldn't be fair to Henry.
"He was going to the Troll Bridge," Henry whispered as Regina was getting impatient and furious. "It's like the end of the story."
"Henry, he was going there because it's the last thing I read to him," Mary Margaret tried but Henry wouldn't believe her.
"No, it's because you belong together," Henry said almost in begging because he wanted Mary Margaret to believe him. Mary Margaret sighed worried for Henry that he doesn't seem to understand the real life situation they are in.
"Henry!" Regina said raising her voice as Henry turned around and ran towards her.
Clara was on her cell phone calling Emma from New York.
…
Emma was on her phone purchasing a ticket for a flight back to Storybrooke. She knew she did this trip for Henry, but it wasn't exactly a good time for her. Thinking about her past, which gave her painful memories, the very awkward conversation she had with Matt, who Henry believes is the doctor, and worrying about what happened back in town with the missing coma patient. This was all wandering through her mind and it wasn't easy to deal with. Emma didn't really know how to cope with these feelings she had and about the messes back in Storybrooke. It was mostly about Henry, being worried for him. About letting in a person she actually knows for certain she cares about.
After having that previous conversation with Clara, she knew that Henry was safe with her. Even though she hasn't met Clara in person, just having that conversation with her did put her mind at ease so she wouldn't have to spend the trip worrying about Henry.
Emma was lying on her bed purchasing a ticket until a new screen popped up. Clara was calling. She instantly answers it and put it on speaker phone.
"Hey," Emma said greeting Clara.
"Hey Emma," Clara replied walking down the hall towards the exit of the hospital. "Well, we found John Doe."
"That's good," Emma said sitting up on her bed, and her mind was relaxing quite a bit hearing this good news. "Where was he?"
"Out by the Troll Bridge," Clara responded walking down the stairs. "He was unconscious, but Mary Margaret saved his life. His name is David Nolan. He has a wife, Kathryn who apparently never knew he was in coma all this time."
"Are you kidding me right now?" Emma said taken aback by Clara's response. This town gets weirder by the second. Emma knew something wasn't clicking in this whole mess she was informed with. Emma stood up and started to pace the floor trying to sink in this information. "She never knew? What else did she say?"
"They got into a fight, and David left her," Clara said walking into the main room of the Hospital and sat down in the waiting room. "She assumed he left town."
"This story sounds like a load of crap," Emma snapped sitting down on her bed again. "Something isn't right here." Emma then remembered Regina. Her blood began to boil just thinking that she might have something to do with all this. "Where's Regina?"
"Oh, um," Clara said standing up and looked around. She walked outside and saw Henry and Regina by her car. "Outside, getting inside her car."
"Give Regina the phone, I have a few things I want to say to her," Emma snapped again standing up creating a fist with her right hand. She boiled with rage and anger about Regina. Clara ran over to her and stopped while Henry was in the car.
"Regina, Emma wants to talk to you," Clara said nervously.
"Oh she does, does she?" Regina said swiping the phone away from Clara and put it to her ear. "Hello, Miss. Swan, enjoying your little trip I assume?"
"Cut with the crap, Regina, All this time, there's a John Doe lying around in a coma and nobody puts it in the news, nobody goes looking. Something's not right here," Emma snapped at Regina pacing the floor of her motel room.
"How did you know about this?" Regina asked now glaring at Clara who fidgets with her fingers.
"Doesn't matter," Emma said sternly through the phone. "I think it's rather strange you've been his emergency contact all these years and you only found her now."
"Well, this town is bigger than you know," Regina responded through the phone as Henry sat there in the car with the doors locked. "It's entirely possible to get lost here. It's entirely possible for bad things to happen, you should know that by now Miss. Swan."
"And just when it's convenient you manage to solve the mystery?" Emma asked very annoyed with Regina who sat on her wooden chair in the motel room.
"Miss. Swan, you aren't here in this town so you shouldn't get involved with other people's problems. I'm willing to forgive your incessant rudeness this time. One more thing, I suggest you stay far away from here because if I see you around Henry again, you'll regret it," Regina snapped into the phone before hanging up on her and got in her car with Henry. Clara walked onto the sidewalk and watched as they drove off.
