Thanks for reading, everybody! I still don't own OUAT.
The sunlight was merciless. Its rays were making his eyelids turn red and cut through the remains of his sleep. He groaned and turned his head away, meeting a warm patch of skin.
"Noooo..." - he muttered, nuzzling his wife's shoulder. - "I object to mornings." He heard a melodic chuckle - a sound he loved the most.
"Afraid that's not an opinion" - she replied. He felt, rather than heard, the vibrations of her voice on his own skin. He groaned again.
"Not moving" - he whispered. The woman laughed again.
"We can stay as long as we like, David" - she turned to face him, giving him a soft kiss. He shuddered.
"You're like ice. Come here" - he wraps his arms around her, pulling her close to him. Her skin felt like snow against his body. Why was she so cold?
He was completely awake now and was looking at her, alarmed. She's always been pale, but never like this. He stroked her cheekbone with his fingertips. It was ice-cold to touch. Her dark eyelashes were like a thin black stream running through an otherwise snowy clearing. Why were her eyes closed?
"Mary Margaret?" - he called out softly. She didn't respond.
"Mary Margaret!" - he called, louder this time, and shook her shoulder lightly. She was lying still.
"Mary Margaret, wake up!" - he yelled, now terrified.
"Wake up, wake up!"
"Mr Nolan, wake up!"
Huh?
"Mr Nolan!"
He gasped and opened his eyes. Someone was shaking him, but he couldn't see who. He blinked, twice.
He was at the Sheriff's station, at his desk. A blonde woman was standing next to him, her hand on his shoulder. He blinked again and looked at her, puzzled.
"Huh? What? Who-who are you?" - he stammered out.
"My name is Emma Swan. I came in and you were lying at your desk. I came closer to see if you were alright, but..." - she hesitated
"But what?"
"You... weren't quite yourself when I tried to wake you." - she finished lamely. His dream flashed before his eyes and he understood. He nodded.
"I'm sorry I scared you. Please take a seat. May I offer you a drink?"
Emma declined politely and took a seat across the Sheriff, who was still looking frazzled. The dark circles under his eyes that Emma didn't notice at the library showed that he hasn't been getting much sleep lately.
"So" - he said after taking a deep breath - "Miss Swan was it?"
She nodded.
"What can I help you with?"
The night before
After finishing their Chinese takeaway, Emma, Ruby and Belle sat down to discuss their next move.
"I guess we now know who was the guy in the black hoodie on the tape?" - Ruby began. Emma nodded.
"It's very likely that it was Nolan. But I'll ask him tomorrow just to make sure."
"But if it indeed was him... maybe he isn't so bad?" - Belle suggested. - "I mean, he seemed pretty caring on the video."
"Perhaps. But again, I'd need to talk to him and find out why his wife is being kept at a secret room in a hospital which isn't even in their own hometown. Ruby, you said he became the Sheriff of Storybrooke approximately six years ago?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, according to Whale, Mary Margaret was in her accident around the same time. However, I know that Whale was lying about that."
"So what are you thinking?" - Ruby asked.
"Not sure. But we need to dig deeper if we want to find out what exactly happened six years ago that made an elementary school teacher from Portland go into coma and end up in a hospital in Storybrooke. And the key to solving that mystery lies with her husband, who suddenly became a Sheriff in a tiny town that just happens to be the same one where his wife is."
"Maybe he just wanted to be closer to her when she wakes up?" - Belle piped in. Emma sighed.
"And becoming a Sheriff was a way to do that? Belle, he was a lowly animal shelter assistant person back in Portland. Sheriff is quite a step up from that don't you think?"
Belle shrugged. "Maybe... he wanted to get to the bottom of whatever happened to his wife and being a Sheriff would grant him enough power to do that?" Emma, however, scoffed at that.
"If that's true, he has to be pretty dumb to not have the answer after six years. No, there is a lot more going on here. Plus, there is Graham Humbert. He was the Sheriff for ages before Nolan showed up, and it appears that he loved his job. People don't just disappear and get replaced by new people in town."
"Also, like Ruby said, it's no coincidence that the doctor who treated the former Sheriff's heart condition, is also treating the current Sheriff's wife." - Emma added as an afterthought and looked around. Both of her friends were looking pensive.
"Yeah, but it could just be that Storybrooke has only one qualified medical professional?" - Belle threw in another suggestion. Emma bit her lip.
"That may be, and Whale is apparently one of the best, but how do you explain the disappearance of that other guy who was also Whale's patient? Baelfire.. something? We know that Nolan investigated both that guy's and Humbert's disappearances, and Whale was the only common factor in both cases. Do you know what that means?"
"What it means" - Ruby answered - "is that you really need to talk to Nolan."
Emma nodded. "I'll tell him I'm a private detective hired by a friend of Baelfire's. Booth e-mailed me his file this afternoon, straightforward enough."
"Baelfire's? Why not Humbert's?" - Belle asked.
"Because Baelfire's file states that he was new in town, nobody knew him. Whereas everybody knew Humbert, and I believe that Nolan will suspect something is amiss - he's probably spoken to every single friend of Humbert's and a new, strange one resurfacing six years later would be something worth looking into." - Emma explained.
"You clearly thought this through" - Ruby said. Emma gave her a small smile.
"Whale is a rather boring date. Staking him out is even more boring, despite the fact that I had Jones' book to entertain me - thanks for that by the way."
Ruby smirked. "Admit it - you loved it."
Emma shrugged. "It wasn't bad. But speaking of Jones - keep digging into his life. And I don't just mean his writing career. He is involved somehow, I'm certain of it. I don't have anything solid yet - call it a hunch. But I'm sure something will turn up.
Ruby nodded. "Go get some sleep, Emma. You won't get anywhere until you talk to Nolan anyway."
Emma sighed but complied.
Present day
Emma briefly recalled what she and the girls agreed on last night before answering:
"I am a private detective. A friend of a Mr Baelfire Gold hired me to try and find him. As I understand, you investigated his disappearance six years ago?"
She watched him carefully. He furrowed his eyebrows, as though he was trying to remember something that happened a long time ago. Finally, half a minute later, a light of recognition sparked in his blue eyes and he nodded.
"Yes, the missing persons case six years ago. I remember. Unfortunately, he was never found."
You are not a liar, I'll give you that. He wasn't found. But there's more to the story isn't there?
Emma pursed her lips. "My client... they are devastated by what happened. They've been abroad for a few years so they didn't know that Mr Gold was missing until recently. They were quite close when they were younger, and my client would really appreciate if you helped me in any way you can."
"Of course, of course" - Nolan was nodding absentmindedly. - "Let me just pull up Mr Gold's file." - He clicked a few buttons on his old desktop computer and began reading the information Emma already knew from Ruby and Booth.
"Baelfire Gold, born December 24th, 1977 in Michigan. Showed up in Maine out of the blue six and a half years ago, claiming he had stomach cancer. Confirmed by Dr Victor Whale who treated him here in Storybrooke."
So far, he's telling the truth. Or at least he believes he is.
"As far as I understand, Mr Gold went missing about six months after arriving to Storybrooke?" - Emma asked. Sheriff nodded.
"Sounds about right."
"And are you absolutely certain that nobody has heard from him since?" - Emma structured her question carefully, determined to catch the Sheriff out. He hesitated.
"I am certain."
Uh-oh. No you aren't.
Emma raised her eyebrows and leaned forward, placing her hands on the table, palms up.
"Sheriff Nolan, look. Mr Gold is dearly missed. His friend is prepared to pay good money to anybody willing to help. If you know something, you owe it to them to tell me."
You owe it to your wife, she wanted to add, but it was too soon for that.
Nolan sighed and looked down at his desk, clearly uncomfortable.
"I don't know anything."
100% truth
"I know you don't" - Emma said gently. - "But can you think of anyone who does?"
He didn't reply. His eyes were still looking down and Emma could see a single tear running down his stubbled cheek. If he weren't a suspect, she would've felt bad for him.
"Who's Mary Margaret?" - she asked.
That caught his attention. His widened eyes met Emma's.
"Whe-where did you hear that name?" - he stammered out.
"You were shouting it in your sleep when I got here" - she answered. Not a lie. He nodded, understanding.
"She... she was my wife." - he said softly.
"Was?"
"Is. Was. I don't know!" - he stood up suddenly and walked towards the window, his shoulders shaking. Emma sighed. She didn't deal well with crying people. Most of the criminals she dealt with were incapable of feeling anything but greed and contempt. She approached him cautiously.
"What happened, Sheriff? Where is your wife?" - she prodded. He turned away.
"Storybrooke Memorial" - he finally muttered. - "Comatose. Has been for six years."
Now we're getting somewhere.
Emma hated herself for knowing this, but in her experience, direct approach in these situations was the best.
"Did Dr Whale do something to her?" - she asked. Sheriff's shoulders stopped shaking and he turned towards her slowly.
"What.. what makes you think that?" - he asked evasively. Emma had to think quickly
"Um... wasn't he the same guy who treated Mr Gold in Storybrooke Memorial six years ago? And you did say your wife was in Storybrooke Memorial for six years now didn't you? So... I figured there was a connection?" - Emma lied hastily. Nolan walked back to his desk and sat down, still looking miserable.
"He didn't do anything to her. Dr Whale is a trusted medical professional. She wouldn't be alive if it weren't for him" - he said with a tone of finality after a moment.
Hmmm. 100% truth. So either he is completely clueless or Whale is actually innocent in relation to Blanchard. What is going on here?
"If Dr Whale didn't hurt your wife... how did she end up in coma?" - Emma asked softly, puzzled. What she wasn't prepared for, however, were fresh sobs that were shaking Sheriff Nolan's body.
"Mr Nolan?"
He didn't respond.
"Mr Nolan!" - Emma called out again. He looked at her as though he's just noticed she was there.
"It was all my fault" - he whispered. "All my fault!" - he suddenly screamed and ran out of the station, Emma following behind him. He was too quick for her to ascertain if he was lying or not.
Emma had no plans for running that day, so she mentally thanked Ruby for suggesting that she wore flat boots. Sheriff Nolan was fast, but so was she - running after criminals who wanted a quick getaway prepared her for this.
Sheriff Nolan led her to a familiar building - Storybrook Memorial.
"Mr Nolan, stop!" - she called out when he dashed inside through the glass doors. He didn't appear to have heard her. He was running down the stairs that led, as Emma knew from her date with Whale two days ago, to a room with coma patients. He kicked the door open and ran inside, with Emma hot on his heels.
Everything looked as if Emma has never left the room that day. A blonde woman was lying still in the same position, and the dark-haired woman whom Emma knew to be Mary Margaret Blanchard was sitting up, with her eyes open and looking scared. Dr. Whale was standing next to her, mixing a solution of some sort.
"Mary Margaret!" - Nolan cried out and fell onto his knees next to her bed. Whale appeared to be too startled to stop him. Nolan reached for the woman's pale hand but she pulled away, looking terrified.
"Who-who are you?!" - she screamed out. Emma didn't want to stick around to witness Sheriff Nolan's devastation at his wife's amnesia, so she turned around to leave, only to slam into something.
Or rather, someone.
"Woah, lass, easy there!" - she felt strong hands on her shoulders steadying her and took a step back to get a look at her human obstacle. Her eyes widened at the familiar face.
Killian Jones' blue eyes were staring at her. And he did not look the least bit amused.
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