Henry sits on the couch watching one of his favourite mystery shows and eating popcorn in Mary Margret and David's loft apartment, as Emma continually stares at her phone. Crystal sits on the island in the kitchen, reading a magazine and drinking pop. David sitting across from her, going through some paperwork for his taxi business. Mary Margret comes into the kitchen, having just made up the guest room for their visitors. The teacher sighs when she sees Emma.
"Emma you're going to drive yourself crazy waiting for the phone to ring," she says.
"It's weird, though, he promised he'd call after he got back on deck."
"Maybe he got side-tracked," Mary Margret says, scooping up baby Neal from his playpen to feed him.
"Maybe he's so hammered he can't pick up the phone," Crystal suggests, taking a sip of pop.
Emma shoots Crystal an angry look.
"What? You know his two weaknesses are you and booze."
"I am not one of his weaknesses!" Emma says firmly.
"Why do you keep denying that you two are together?" Crystal asks.
"I agree," Mary Margret adds, feeding Neal from a bottle. "You clearly both like each other."
"Because…" Emma says, biting her lip. "It's complicated." She nods towards the living room.
"You know I can hear you right?" Henry calls in, not even looking up from the TV.
"Plenty of people who have kids are allowed to date Emma," Crystal says. "Look at my dad,"
"Well, I'm not some middle aged man who wants to recapture his youth by opening his bed up to every woman in town." Emma stops, realizing she's overstepped. "Sorry."
"It's fine, you pretty much summed up his relationship with women. It's why I hang out here most of the time anyways."
"Is he still with Lacey?" David asks.
"By 'with' you mean 'getting busy with' then yes."
Mary Margret grimaces before taking Neal into the other room to put him to bed.
"I got to admit, that's a new record for him," Emma says.
"Yeah, I guess he likes Lacey more than the other women," Crystal says.
"It'd be nice if he actually found someone he liked and stopped this behavior," David says. "Maybe get married."
Crystal bursts out laughing, practically spraying pop everywhere, including on David's paperwork.
"My dad and marriage will never be in the same sentence ever David. It's like rubber and glue, if my dad gets married, the universe might implode."
"You never know," David says, trying to keep an open mind about these things.
"Face it, David, my dad will never give up his ways. He's been the way he is for too long to ever change, ever since Milah left him."
David shrugs, not really in the mood to argue any further. Emma is fiddling with her phone, waiting…wondering.
"Why don't you just call him?" Mary Margret says
Emma sighs and picks up the phone. She dials Killian's number.
It takes a few minutes, several rings before someone picks up.
"Hello, Killian?" Emma says.
"Hello Emma Swan…" a voice on the other end says. Emma's heart begins to beat quickly and she swallows hard. The voice on the other end is a lot deeper and an American voice. He's also a heavy breather, something that makes her really uncomfortable. "Killian can't come to the phone right now, but I can take a message."
"W-Who are you?" Emma asks.
"I warned you Swan…" the voice says.
"Where's Killian? Who the hell are you?"
"You don't remember me? Well, I suppose that is normal, it has been a few years."
"What did you do with Killian?"
"He's safe…for now… he and I had a little talk, but as much, he's serving my purpose. My leverage if you will."
"Leverage for what? What do you want?" Emma says angrily, tears filling her eyes. The entire room has gone quiet, Crystal has a page of the magazine in her hand, too concerned to turn it, Mary Margret goes over to David and leans into him in fear. Even Henry switches off the TV to hear better.
"There's something I'm looking for…something that is important to me, something that you have… I searched your entire house and couldn't seem to find it, but I know you have what I want…"
"What is it?" Emma swallows, trying her best not to show fear.
"A file, one that you kept as a bail bonds person, it's under the name Walsh Osmond. You should know it…" the voice says with malicious satisfaction in its tone. "It was one of your last cases…"
Emma does her best not to let out of shriek of fear. Walsh Osmond was a name she hadn't heard in a long time.
"What do you want me to do with it?"
"I'd like to offer an exchange… the file for Killian."
"And if I say no?"
"He dies…" the voice says firmly. "I know that you care for him, Miss Swan… this is obviously the perfect opportunity to do it, with the idiot Graham being distracted and Joel on patrol… but time is short for the pirate."
Emma's eyes go wide in terror; he knows a lot more than she anticipated. It's as if he knew their every move and had been watching them the entire time and now he has Killian…
"W-Where do you want to meet?"
"My house, it's on the very edge of Storybrooke, there's no need for publicity or the police… 64 Dark Street. Meet me in the next hour and we'll work something out... I'll see you soon…"
Then he hangs up.
Emma stands frozen in place and very slowly her phone is slipping from her fingers. She has tears in her eyes and her breath is caught in her throat. Her heartbeat pounds in her ears. Eventually, her phone slides from her hands and onto the floor. The others around her remain quiet, waiting for her to say something.
There's a large lump in Emma's throat. She trying to fight back tears. So many memories come rushing back over her like a wave on the seashore, trying to drown her in despair. Her stomach turns and then it feels like a big heavy stone is in the pit of it, pulling down into the sea of memories. She thought she left all this behind her when she and Henry moved, but now the past has come back to haunt them. She knows she has to protect her son, after what happened, she can't put him at risk. Her mind then goes to Killian, what could this guy be doing to him right now? How did he find Killian? What would happen if she didn't meet his demands? She had just started a relationship with the pirate and she might lose him. At least, she was admitting to herself that she cared for Killian and that they had a connection... a connection that could be severed within the hour.
Emma swallows hard and wipes the tears from her eyes with a shaky hand. She looks up at her concerned friends and attempts to put on a brave face.
"What's wrong Emma?" David asks, breaking the long silence.
"The guy who broke in… he's got, Killian."
"What does he want?" Crystal asks.
"A file. A file I had back in Boston, one of my last clients... W-Walsh Osmond…"
"Is he the…?" Henry begins but then trails off when his mother looks at him with sad eyes and she shakes her head. Henry feels a knot form in his stomach as many bad memories come rushing back. He'd hoped the last time he heard that name was three years ago.
"What?" Mary Margret says, hating being left out of the loop. "What? Who is he? Why does he want the file?"
"I don't know, to be honest, he didn't say why he wanted it, he just wants to exchange it for Killian..."
"Well, you need to phone the cops!" Crystal says as if it's the most obvious course of action.
Emma is still stunned into silence, knowing Killian's life hung in the balance, she slowly picks up her phone from the floor. Emma tries phoning Graham, but the phone continues to ring with no answer.
"Damn it!" she practically yells. "Graham must be out of town with Lily!"
"Try Joel," Mary Margret suggests quickly.
Emma does and gets voice mail. Emma can feel tears welling up in her eyes. She knows Killian's life is on the line here and she feels herself starting to have a panic attack when there are no police in town. She's trying to remain calm, but her heart is pounding in her ears and she's beginning to sweat with anxiety.
"You'll have to call the police in the next town," David says.
"And even then, it'll take them half an hour for them to get here and we don't have half an hour," Emma pants.
Emma looks over at her coat and belt with her gun in it, her mind begins to clear just enough that the beginnings of a plan emerge. She rushes over and pulls it on.
"Emma what are you doing?!" Mary Margret shrieks.
"I'm going to confront this joker," Emma says, clipping her belt on.
"Emma this is a job for the police!" David says sternly.
"The police aren't here David; Killian could die if someone doesn't do something! I only have an hour. Besides the guy says only I have what he wants."
"But you can't go there alone!" Mary Margret says sternly. She reaches over and grabs Emma's arm to prevent her from opening the door and leaving. Emma tries to fight her friend's grip, but she doesn't want to hurt her; Mary Margret is also freakishly strong for such a small person.
"Where are you supposed to meet him anyways?" David asks.
"64 Dark Street… I don't know where that is, though."
"I do…" David says slowly. "It's a stretch of road on the edge of the town. Hardly anyone lives there now, but I've seen it a few times…"
"David, you're not really suggesting that…" Mary Margret says in shock.
"I'll take you there Emma," David says.
"No, you won't!" Mary Margret snaps, releasing her grip on Emma and going to David. "This is a job for Graham or Joel, not you or…"
David looks at Mary Margret and then over at Emma. He sees the fear and desperation in his friend's face. He knows that if it was his son or his wife in danger, he'd be going there too.
"Mary, a man's life is at stake, if we don't do something he might die… We can't give up on Killian."
Mary Margret's eyes begin producing tears. She's scared beyond belief; she doesn't want her husband and friend wandering blindly into a dangerous situation, and yet Killian is also her friend and she can't let him down… she's afraid, but she has to be brave.
"Then let me go with you…" she finally says.
"No…" Emma says. Someone she loves is in serious danger, she doesn't need to put anyone else in harm's way.
"I'm going and that's final…" the teacher says firmly, using the same tone she always does when dealing with stubborn children.
David knows there's no way he can argue for his wife's safety; when someone was in trouble, may they be damned if anyone got in her way of helping them. Emma too knows there is no point in trying to argue, plus Mary Margret is the only person she trusts that can help her get the file the guy wants.
"Alright," David says. "As long as you stay behind us." He goes to grab his gun that is hanging in his closet.
"We'd better call Regina, she'll flip over this," Emma adds. "She also knows Storybrooke really well and may be able to direct the police to the house faster."
"Sounds like a plan…" David says, coming back into the room.
"We'll need to stop at our house first…" Emma says. "To get the file, it's a two-person job."
"Well, let's get going," Henry says, standing up, going for his own coat.
"You are not going anywhere," Emma says sternly, blocking Henry's view of the door.
Henry opens his mouth to protest.
"Henry it's too dangerous for me to even consider the notion. If your dad wasn't out of town, you'd be staying with him. This guy already has Killian; I don't need you in danger too."
"But…"
"Henry!" Emma says almost angrily; she grabs his face so that they are eye to eye. Henry can see tears in his mother's eyes as she says this. "I can't lose you, okay? You mean too much to me. I couldn't forgive myself if anything happened to you…" she's sobbing slightly. "Promise that you'll stay out of the way?"
Henry hates the way his mom is looking at him. It's like her version of puppy dog eyes, and Henry knows that he can't disobey her… not again. And yet he wants to help them. This is the kind of stuff he's read all about and is an expert in.
"You can stay here with Crystal," Mary Margret adds as David grabs his coat and hers. It's Crystal's turn to look shocked. "I need someone to look after the baby."
"Fine…" Crystal says. "But if you're not back in an hour or so, I'm coming after you."
"No, you won't!" David says in his own parenting voice. "We don't need your dad coming here to rip my head off because I put you in danger…"
"But…" Crystal stammers.
"Crystal!" Mary Margret practically barks. "Just stay here and keep the baby safe… okay?"
Crystal wants to yell out in protest. She feels like she's being treated like a baby, shoved to the sidelines during 'the big game.' She seriously doubted her dad would care if she put herself in a dangerous situation or not, plus she could hold a pistol better than anyone and she was also skilled in fighting techniques. She could take this joker out easily and give the others a hand, but she assumes, someone has to keep the fort standing.
"Fine," she says in defeat.
The others get ready to go, while Crystal places the call to 911 in the other town and then to Regina, who's ecstatic about the news…to a point. Emma goes over and hugs Henry tightly, trying to remain strong for her son, but Henry can feel the shudder in her stance.
"Stay safe," Henry says to her.
"I will, as long as I know you're okay…" Emma responds. She kisses him on the top of the head before heading to the door. "We'll take my car," she says to David.
The three say good-bye, both parents kissing their infant son before heading to the car. They bring flashlights and their phones in case anything happens. Crystal double locks the door and watches the group through the window as they go to Emma's bug. She gives a small wave of reassurance before the yellow bug vanishes into the darkness.
Crystal turns to Henry as soon as they're gone.
"We have to help your mom," Crystal says. "I don't care what anyone says, they need our help."
"But my mom said…"
"Henry!" Crystal says firmly. "They're going up against a guy who's avoided capture from the police. I don't know why, but I have this feeling that they're walking into a trap of some kind. This guy knows more about Emma than he lets on… Besides, I can't just sit here and do nothing. Anyways, your mom said to stay out of the way…not in the house…"
Henry swallows hard. He really didn't want to disobey his mother again and he was nervous. Crystal didn't have the same disciplined nature from his guardians that he had. His mom would kill him if he went against her rules and yet… This was a real-life mystery, something he'd always dreamed and read about. His heart pounds loudly in excitement and fear. Crystal begins to pull her hair up as she thinks about their next step. She calls Ruby to come over and watch the baby. Once she arrives, the two teens prepare to leave.
"I want to learn more about this guy, maybe we can have the police set up a perimeter to prevent him from escaping?"
"Like a police road block?"
"Exactly, we'll go to my place for more stuff first and then yours for more information. And then we'll go to the house."
Crystal is giving Ruby her phone number and a list of instructions for Neal when Henry thinks of something.
"But how can we help them?" Henry says. "My mom took her car. We've got no transportation. This place that they went to is on the other side of town."
Crystal pauses for a moment and then smiles.
"My dad has a van…" she says.
