Hey guys! Like I said before, things have been really hectic recently because of exams and revision, and my grandma has just come out of hospital so I'm looking after her a bit too, so updates are a bit slow at the minute. This is a bit of a filler chapter, but next chapter will have lots of action and probably lots of Captain Swan and jealous!Graham. I promise. I'm sorry, I really suck at the minute, and this isn't the longest chapter in the world but still. Also, I'd better mention now that I'm not gonna write each individual episode because I feel like it slows the story down a bit, so I have missed quite a bit out of the next episode because it's virtually the same. Anyway, give me a review or pm about what you liked/didn't like about this chapter and I'll make sure to bear it in mind for the rest of the story. Hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 6: Long-Term Plans

"Watch your back! Coming through," a nurse shouted as a team of hospital staff wheeled John Doe back to his place in the hospital.

"We got it from here," Dr Whale said to Emma and the others as they came to a standstill in front of the glass doors of the private hospital room.

Mary Margaret's heart was almost beating out of her chest. She had woken this man up, only to have him go missing, almost die, and once again be woken up by her all in the space of twenty four hours. And yet, for some strange reason she felt undeniably happy. That is until a blonde woman rushed past the group and charged into the room that John Doe was being treated in.

"David! David, is that you?" she said, her sobs causing her voice to shake.

Mary Margaret, Emma, Killian, Graham and Henry looked between themselves and the woman who was causing such a scene in front of them, each of them wearing a matching expression of confusion.

"Who is that?" Mary Margaret wondered aloud.

"His wife," Regina answered, causing everyone to turn around and see the twisted smirk she was wearing. Mary Margaret's heart sunk. She felt as though her world had suddenly stopped turning – which was utterly ridiculous. She should be happy that this man had found his family, that he had someone to take care of him. So why did she feel so devastated?

"His name is David Nolan," Regina explained, but Mary Margaret barely heard her as she wandered over to watch the couple's interaction from the other side of the glass. How fitting that she should be standing on the outside looking in.

The blonde woman, Kathryn, finally tore herself away from David and came outside to meet the group.

"Thank you. Thank you for finding my David," she said to them gratefully.

"Um I – I don't understand. You didn't… you didn't know that he was here in a coma?" Mary Margaret asked, all of a sudden becoming suspicious. She couldn't believe that no one would come looking for him, especially his wife.

"A few years ago, David and I were not getting along," she explained. "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," she finished, beginning to tear up again.

"You didn't try to look for him?" Killian asked, equally as suspicious as Mary Margaret.

"I assumed he'd left town all this time. 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, trying to sound sincere even though the words felt as though they were scratching their way up her throat they were so forced.

"Well, it's something of a miracle," Dr Whale said as he rejoined the group.

"He's okay?" Kathryn asked, the hope tangible in her voice.

"Ah, physically, he's on the mend, um, his memory's another issue. It may take time, if at all."

"What brought him back?" Mary Margaret asked. She had no business asking, really; he was a complete stranger to her. But she needed to know if it was something purely medical… or if it was maybe something to do with her.

"That's the thing. There's no explanation. Something just clicked in him," Whale said, oblivious to the way Mary Margaret reacted to his words. Did this mean that she… no, it was impossible – she couldn't have been the cause of him waking.

"He just got up and decided to go for a stroll?" Emma said incredulously.

"He woke up and he was delirious and his first instinct was to go find something, I guess," the doctor replied.

"Someone," came Henry's voice, barely audible but just enough for Mary Margaret to hear.

"Can I see him?" Kathryn asked, bringing Mary Margaret back to reality. Of course he wasn't looking for her, she didn't even know the guy and he'd just woken up from a coma, there was no way he would be looking for her. Kathryn gave a small smile to the group and made her way into David's room, leaving everyone else behind her.

"Henry, let's go," Regina said in an authoritative voice.

Henry suddenly pulled away from Regina. "Wait, my backpack," he said, returning to the group to get it. "Don't believe them," he whispered to Mary Margaret on his way back. "You're the one he was looking for."

"Henry…" Mary Margaret began, not wanting to get into all of this with Henry.

"He was going to the Troll Bridge. It's like at the end of the story," he implored.

"C'mon lad, we've all had a tiring day and you really need to be getting back to your mother now," Killian interjected as he placed a hand on Henry's shoulder, seeing how dejected Mary Margaret looked.

She flashed a small, grateful smile at Killian. "Henry, he was going there because it was the last thing I read to him," Mary Margaret said, trying her best to convince him.

"No, it's because you two belong together!"

"Henry!" Regina sounded.

Henry reluctantly backed away and returned to Regina's side, leaving the four adults to mull over what he had said.

Suddenly, Emma abruptly excused herself. "I have to go," she said. It was one of the only things she had said after they had got back to the hospital, so her sharp exit made Killian wonder what she was thinking. He may have only known Emma for a short while, but he knew that whenever she was quiet for a long period of time she was thinking, and whenever Regina was involved those thoughts usually led to rash and impulsive decisions.

"I'll go make sure she doesn't cause a scene," Killian said to Graham and Mary Margaret, the other two adults already knowing exactly what was going through Emma's mind. She really was an open book when it came to her thoughts on Regina and Henry.

Killian took up a light jog to catch up with Emma who was making her way over to Regina and Henry.

"Wait by the car," he heard Regina say to Henry, before she turned back to face Emma and Killian.

"Miss Swan, I let you off the hook back there," Regina said with an oddly amused glance in Killian's direction which only served to confuse him. "Don't press it," she said with an air of finality.

"I'm sorry, but Mrs Nolan? Kind of feels like her story could be a load of crap. 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 said, her arms folded in front of her defensively.

Killian had to admit, she did have a point.

"Well, what else would make sense to you? Why would Mrs Nolan lie? Do you think I cast a spell on her?" Regina asked sarcastically.

"It is rather strange you've been his emergency contact all these years and you only found her now," Killian piped up, narrowing his eyes at Regina.

"Well, this town is bigger than you might think, Deputy," Regina said icily. "It's entirely possible to get lost here. It's entirely possible for bad things to happen."

"And just when it's convenient you manage to solve the mystery?" Emma shot back with a raised eyebrow.

"Thanks to you," Regina replied with a sickly sweet smile to which Emma and Killian both frowned at. "That tape you found was a stroke of genius. So, we went back and looked at past tapes. Turns out Mr Doe's been calling out for a Kathryn. After that, it wasn't hard to put the pieces together," Regina elaborated, causing the pair to cringe slightly at their semi-accusations. "And here I thought you would all be pleased. True love won out. So bask in the moment, dears. Were it not for you three they would have lived their lives completely alone. That's why I'm willing to forgive your incessant rudeness. Because all this has reminded me of something oh-so very important. How grateful I am to have Henry. Because not having someone? Well, that's the worst curse imaginable." And with another wicked smirk, Regina turned around and stalked away, leaving a stony-faced Emma in her wake.

"Don't listen to her, Swan. She's just trying to rile you up," Killian said as he walked to stand in front of Emma, forcing her to look up to him.

"Yeah, well, it's working. She's right, Killian. She has Henry, I don't have anyone, I never have," Emma said as her eyes locked with his. Killian's heart clenched at the hopelessness he saw in her eyes and all he wanted to do in that moment was make it all go away for her.

"Emma, that's not true," he told her, placing his hands on her shoulders. It was one of the few times he had called her by her first name. "You have me, we're friends now, remember? I did get you to admit it just this morning," he told her with one of his signature smirks, lightening her mood considerably. Emma beamed up at him, his words once again knocking a few more cracks into her walls. No one had ever really told her that they were there for her. Sure, Neal used to have her back when they were on the run together, but he ultimately let her take the fall for him. But looking at Killian now, Emma could see that he was sincere, and she started to think maybe it really wouldn't be such a bad idea to have a friend.

"And, whether you choose to believe it or not Emma, I'm not the only person who cares about you. Mary Margaret told me about you sleeping in your car. Do me a favour and take her up on her offer of the spare room? It won't do anybody any good you staying in your car, because as well as it not being the most beneficial position for you to be in, it's only going to make Mary Margaret and I worry about you. And if you haven't already noticed, she gets quite erratic when she's worried," Killian told her.

"And what about you? What are you like when you're worried?" Emma asked with a teasing smirk.

"Well, I'm practically a nervous wreck, you're lucky I haven't been brought into this hospital already," he replied sarcastically, causing Emma to laugh.

"Okay, I'll reconsider her offer, but I make no promises," she said.

Killian gave an over-dramatic sigh. "Why do you always have to be so difficult, Swan?" he asked her mockingly as he let go of her shoulders and they walked back to find Mary Margaret and Graham.

But Emma wasn't really being difficult; she already knew that she would ask Mary Margaret about her room that night. She decided that it was nice to have someone worry about her for a change.

"Are you sure we can be seen out in the open?" Henry asked Emma, looking around nervously as they walked towards the bus stop.

"Enough sneaking around. If your mom has a problem with me walking you to a school bus, I am more than happy to have that chat," Emma replied, not giving a damn about what Regina thought. After what Regina had said at the hospital a couple of nights ago about not having anyone, Emma really wanted to prove to herself that she did have people that cared about her. Spending time with Killian was a risky move, she had already semi-agreed to go on a date with him sometime, and while she didn't think it was a bad thing that she was letting her walls down ever so slightly, she was still treading cautiously. So, Emma decided that Henry was the safest option – besides, she would have been spending time with Henry anyway. She still felt that she needed to know the kid. It turned out that the need to know if Henry was okay was blossoming into something much more, and Emma's growing affection for Henry had taken her by surprise. And even though it scared her, she could honestly say that she was meeting the challenge head-on.

"You're brave," Henry stated, eyeing her carefully. "You'll need that for Operation Cobra. Speaking of, do you think we need code names?" he asked her.

"Isn't Cobra our code name?"

"That's the mission. I mean us. I need something to call you," Henry elaborated.

Uh oh, Emma thought. While she was meeting the challenge head-on, she seriously doubted she was ready for that word yet.

"Oh, um… well, I don't… you can just call me 'Emma' for now," she said, coming to a standstill at the bus stop.

"Okay, well I'll see you later, Emma," Henry smiled at her, testing her 'code name' out.

Henry boarded the school bus and Emma waited until it drove out of sight before she turned to continue walking. She probably only walked about three steps before a siren caught her off-guard and made her look around.

"What's with the siren?" she asked the sheriff with a raised eyebrow.

"It's so hard to get your attention," he said sarcastically, making Emma smile and roll her eyes at him.

"Alright, well you got it. Are you arresting me again?"

"I'm thanking you," he said with a small smile. "For your help finding that coma patient. We all owe you a debt of gratitude."

"Well, what do I get? A commendation? Key to the city?" Emma asked mischievously.

"How about a job?"

Well, that certainly wasn't what Emma had been expecting.

"I could use another deputy," Graham explained.

"Thank you, but I have a job," Emma said, unsure about the whole proposition.

"As a bail bondsperson? There's not much of that going on here," Graham said. He had a point.

"I don't see a lot of sheriffing going on around here either," Emma shot back at him.

"Well, here's your chance to see it up close. There's dental," he added, as if that would automatically sway her decision. "Why don't you think about it and stay awhile," he told her, handing her his card.

With a quick wink, he turned back and got in his car to drive off.

It had been a pretty hectic day for Emma; it's not every day you chase down a dangerous pregnant maid and end up making a deal with the most dangerous man in town for her to keep her baby. So yeah, Emma was feeling pretty drained. But she still couldn't take her mind off Henry, about what he said. Sure, Emma could leave whenever she wanted to, but the thing was the longer she stayed, the more she wanted to stay. But she still found it difficult to prove this to Henry – he only believed she was here because of the curse. Emma stood leaning against her car thinking intensely about the odd situation she found herself in when her thoughts were interrupted.

"Penny for your thoughts, Swan?" Killian said, strolling over to her with his hands shoved into his leather jacket.

Emma smiled at him automatically when she saw him before she glanced back down at her feet.

"Today's just been a bit crazy. Brought up a lot of things that I haven't thought about in a long time," she replied vaguely. It was true, the maid – Ashley – had reminded Emma of herself, only Ashley had a much happier ending. But now Emma had a sliver of a chance at that happiness, and she didn't want to let it go.

"I just have no idea how I can prove to Henry that I'm here for him. It's like every time we talk or I drop him off at home or the bus stop I can just see this… worry in his eyes that at the end of the sentence I'm gonna say that I'm going back to Boston. I know he'd never admit it, but I can see he's scared that I'm gonna abandon him. Again," Emma added as an afterthought.

"It's only natural for him, Emma. Everything in his life has always been constant, and now you're here and everything is changing," Killian said, his sea blue eyes piercing into hers. "He's not used to all of this change; he's bound to be a little worried about it. But, I know that he's loving every minute of it. He's a smart kid, he knows that change is usually a good thing. And in this case, it's a bloody amazing thing," he told her with one of his rare, proper smiles that never failed to make Emma blush.

Emma smiled at him, thankful that the darkness was hiding the pink tint to her cheeks. Did Killian really just imply that she was amazing?

"That still doesn't give me any ideas for how I can prove to him that I'm here to stay," Emma said, her smile fading slightly.

"Then make a statement about it," Killian said with a shrug. "If there's anything I know about you, Swan, it's that you don't do things by half. When Regina attempted to have you arrested, you went a chopped half of her beloved apple tree down. If that's not a statement, I don't know what is," Killian said with a chuckle.

Emma smirked at the memory. "I think I have an idea… maybe," Emma said, her smirk growing wider.

"Does said idea have the potential to really irritate Regina?" Killian asked, instantly knowing what that smirk meant.

"Oh yeah," Emma replied wickedly.

"Well then, I look forward to your statement. Goodnight, Emma," Killian said with a wink.

"Night Killian," Emma replied, her smirk turning into a lingering smile as she watched him walk away.

Her stupid, goofy smile remained plastered on her face as she reached into her pocket to get the card Graham had given her yesterday. Emma punched the numbers into her phone and waited for Graham to answer.

"Hello?"

"Graham, it's Emma. I was thinking maybe some roots wouldn't be so bad. That deputy job still open?" Emma asked him.

"Absolutely," Graham replied.

"Then I'm in. Regina gonna be okay with this?" Emma said, hoping that she really wouldn't be.

"I don't care, it's my department. I'll see you Monday morning."

"I'll see ya," Emma said, hanging up the phone.

Her smile grew even wider, and it wasn't just the fact that this was gonna annoy the crap out of Regina. It was the fact that Emma was proving Regina wrong. Emma did have people that cared about her, she knew that, now she needed Regina to know it. Emma was changing her life, just like Ashley had changed hers. Also, the idea of seeing startling blue eyes and jet black hair everyday was somewhat enticing, and Emma wouldn't even deny it to herself anymore. Though that didn't mean she was going to admit it to others. Still, the idea of working with Killian made Emma very happy, and she had absolutely no idea why. Not yet, anyway.

"Jack, what are you doing? We need to get away now," Liza implored as she watched her friend flop down on her bed.

"No, Liza, we need to stay away from her! She's not ready to travel yet. You remember how difficult it was to get to this realm, do you really think she would be able to handle a journey like that after a week?" Jack asked her incredulously.

"It's the Enchanted Forest, Jack, it's an easy journey!"

"Liza, I said no," Jack replied, cutting Liza off with a glare. It wasn't often that the two argued, but whenever Jack used that particular tone Liza knew not to argue.

Jack sighed and ran a hand through her long tresses of wavy black hair. "I'm sorry, Liza," she said, as got up from the bed and leaned against the wall with her arms folded across her chest. "But I can't risk a voyage just yet. We're so close now, I don't think I could take it if we ended up stranded in a random realm."

Liza looked up at her friend and a pang of sympathy shot through her.

"Don't."

"I haven't done anything," Liza said defensively.

"You were about to go all sympathetic on me," Jack countered with a raised eyebrow.

Liza ignored her. "We will find them, Jack."

Jack looked up and started fiddling with her reed necklace. "I know we will," she said with a small genuine smile. Liza was the only person who ever saw Jack with her guard completely down, and even that was on rare occasions. Just as quickly as it had appeared, her smile vanished and was replaced with a sarcastic smirk.

"Enough of that though, you're making me go soft. I can't afford to go soft," Jack said.

Liza rolled her eyes. "God forbid, what on earth would that do to your credibility?"

"It's no laughing matter, Liza. I have a reputation to uphold," Jack replied, her voice practically dripping with sarcasm. "Now, c'mon, we need some sort of plan for when we get back to the Enchanted Forest." Jack pushed herself off the wall and crossed the room to the desk on the opposite wall.

"When do you ever make plans?" Liza asked with a snort as she walked over to the desk where Jack was now sitting, their stolen map spread out in front of them.

"I'll have you know I always make plans," Jack retorted in mock offence. "I just very rarely stick to them, and the ones I do stick usually end up going wrong," she admitted, causing Liza to giggle. "But, have I ever failed you?"

Liza shot her a sly look. "Would you like that list chronologically, or alphabetically?"