Trigger warning: Mentions of previous sexual, physical and emotional abuse.
Chapter Nine: The Final Battle
It was cold for a Spring day, Emma could remember that much. She pulled the thin blanket up over her and curled up further under it. Her eyes clamped together tightly and she tried to fall back asleep. The sun wasn't up yet, she didn't have school for a few more hours. Yet, she could hear his footsteps descending down the hall.
He was up.
The door creaked open and she could hear her name being whispered.
Emma. Emma. Emma.
She didn't move, she thought that if she was still enough, he'd go away. Yet, his footsteps got closer and closer.
"I know you're awake." His breath was hot and hit her neck. "Open your eyes." She kept them closed, twisting her knees together. "Emma, don't make me wake you up."
Slowly her eyes opened and she found him there. That sick smile fell across his face and he sat on the mattress, running her fingers through her curls. Emma bit down on her lip, shaking her head.
"I'm tired," she whispered. "Want to go back to sleepies."
"I have something that could wake you up."
Ed's hand slipped down under her pajama pants and she could feel him starting to touch her.
"Stop!" She cried out. "Stop it!"
"Shut up!" Ed's other hand collided with her face, silencing her as he always did.
Emma shook the memory from her head, blinking a few times. She was speeding as fast as she could down the streets of Storybrooke. Ed had chosen a random cabin near the edge of town, it was clear that he wanted to make sure that no one would find them. As she came to a red light, she cursed herself and looked over at the glove compartment. She thought about what was inside and let out a shaky breath.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" David asked.
"I'm majoring in criminal justice, I have to do this sooner or later."
It was Emma's first Christmas break after starting college. She and David stood in the basement of the sheriff station. There was a target up against the wall and she was wearing goggles. The pistol her father had handed her felt heavy in her hands. She didn't have much experience with guns, she hadn't even ever seen his before. He made sure to keep it locked up and away from her and Neal. The last time she had seen one had been back with Ed. He and his friends always had guns out.
"Alright," David helped her find the right position. "It's always important to keep the safety on until you need to use it." He showed her how to make sure it stayed that way. "Keep your arms steady and focus on your target."
Emma nodded, focusing on the center. "Okay."
"Now, take the safety off." He watched as she did as told and took a step back. "Stay focused on your target…and shoot."
Emma pulled back the trigger and felt her heart skip a beat at the sound it made. She watched as the bullet careened into the target, not even hitting where she had been aiming. It didn't matter. Her eyes filled with tears and she quickly put the safety back on. David placed a hand on her back.
"I feel stupid," she whispered.
"Don't. The first time I shot a gun, I was terrified. It shouldn't be something exciting. A gun she only be used if you honestly have to use it.
Emma slowly nodded, letting out a shaky breath. "Does it get easier?"
"The skill, yes. The need to use it, no." He kissed the top of her head. "I hope you never have to use this in your career, Emma."
"I hope so too, Dad."
Emma's eyes steadied back on the road and she turned on her blinker. She needed to focus, it wasn't the time to be going down memory lane. She had to save her baby brother.
The sign that read "Thank you for visiting Storybrooke" was clear in sight. Siri was repeating "The destination is on your left" before letting out a cryptic "Arrived" and shutting off. Emma turned the keys and stared at the cabin for a minute. Finally, she pulled open her glove department. Clipping her badge to her belt, she grabbed her gun and stuck it into her bag. She couldn't go in there guns a blazing, that was a sure fire way to make sure that Ed would let things take a turn.
Getting out of the bug, she surveyed the cabin, trying to find the best way of entry. She didn't know where he had Neal, but it was probably somewhere in the back rooms. Slowly walking around the cabin, she kept a hand on her bag and found a screen door. It had a ripped hole, which meant easy entry.
Kicking off her shoes to make sure she wouldn't make any noise, she quietly reached through, opening the door. Her heart was racing a mile a minute as she looked around. It was small and she could see the back of Ed's head in the living room. Gulping, she spotted a door and quietly opened it. Just a closet. Doing the same with a few more, she finally located the bedroom. She saw Neal curled up on the bed, still sleeping. Rushing over to him, she dropped to her knees and shook him.
"Neal," she whispered. His eyes flickered open and she put a hand on his mouth before he could speak. "We need to be really quiet, okay? I don't want him to hear us." Neal nodded and she removed her hand.
"Emmy," his voice was so quiet, she almost couldn't hear him. "Where's Mommy and Daddy?"
"They're looking for you, I just found you first. Listen, I'm gonna get you out of here."
"Is this the guy that hurt you?"
Emma bit her lip, nodding. "Yeah."
"I thought he was in jail."
"I did too. Are you hurt?" Despite him shaking his head, she examined him. "Okay, good. Listen, I need you to run. Just get out of here, run as far as you can and here." She gave him her phone. "Call Mommy and Daddy, tell them to come get you."
"But Emma…he's gonna hurt you…and the baby…"
"We'll be fine, kiddo." She could see his eyes widened. "Neal, I told you…"
"Well isn't this a lovely family reunion."
Emma froze in place, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. Keeping one hand on the gun in her bag and the other on Neal, she slowly turned around. Ed had shaven since she last saw him and his hair was less disheveled. That same sick grin was plastered on his face and she felt like she was going to throw up.
"Ed," she tried to remain calm. "Just let Neal go. We had a deal."
"One you were trying to go against." He walked closer to her. "You always were a bad girl, Emma."
Taking hold of her neck, he pressed her against the wall, causing her purse to fall to the ground. Neal screamed, tears coming to his eyes.
"Neal, run!" Emma shouted. She could see the hesitation in his eyes. "Neal, please, I'll be fine! Just run!"
Neal sat there for another minute before running out of the room. The sound of the screen door slamming shut could be heard. Ed laughed, shaking his head.
"He's smarter than you ever were."
Emma glared at him. "You got what you wanted, I'm here. Just tell me what you want."
"I told you. I want you…and as it seems, your new little bundle of joy."
Emma's hand protectively went over her stomach.
"You're not going to hurt my child."
"Oh, but you said I'd never hurt Neal and look what happened there?"
Emma's eyes narrowed. "Why? Why are you doing this? You got what you wanted all those years ago, why can't you just leave me alone?"
"Parents never give up on their children."
"You aren't my parent!"
"Oh, right. You have a new daddy now, don't you?"
Ed reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He started showing Emma picture after picture of her. She felt a chill go down her spine, just how long had he been following her? In most of them, she was with David. Some were when they were on patrol, others just hanging out. He stopped on a picture of David having an arm around her, kissing her head.
"Such a sweet man," Ed smirked. "Would be a shame if anything happened to him."
"You lay a hand on him and it will be the last thing you ever do," Emma growled. "Same goes for my mother."
"Aw, I am so scared, Daddy's Girl." His hand drifted to her waist and he pulled her closer. She wiggled to get out of his grip. "Oh come on, you like it when your other daddy does it."
Something in Emma's head snapped. "You aren't my father!" Her knee jerked up and hit Ed's balls. He moaned and fell to the floor in a heap.
Grabbing her bag, Emma began to race out of the house.
Neal ran as fast as he could, out of the house and down the street. Panting as he reached the end of it, he dug Emma's phone out of his pocket and noticed it was ringing. His father's face was on the screen. Neal quickly answered it.
"Daddy," he said.
"Neal!" David breathed. "Oh my God, are you okay? Where are you?"
"I…I don't know. Emma found me, but she told me to run."
"What?"
"She's still in the house with Ed."
"Oh my God. Okay, Neal, are you far away from the house?"
"Uh huh."
"I need you to stay right there. Mommy and I are coming."
"But Emmy…"
"Emmy will be fine. We're going to come save her. Do not go back in that house, do you understand me?"
"Yes."
"Good boy, we'll be right there. I love you."
"I love you too, Daddy."
David hung up the phone and instantly traced Emma's phone. He then dialed Mary's number and she answered almost instantly.
"Did you find him?" She asked.
"Sort of, Neal called me. He got out of the house."
"That's great…but how did he call you?"
"Emma gave him the phone, she's still in there."
"What?!"'
"I told her not to go in alone."
"She must have a good reason."
"I'm texting you the address, give it to Graham, I know I'll need back up. I'd come and get you, but I don't have time…"
"It's fine, it's fine. Just get to our babies."
"I will. Mary, it's going to be okay, she's going to be okay."
Both knew he wasn't just trying to reassure her, but himself too.
"I know. Let me go so I can give this to Graham."
David hung up and jumped back into his car, speeding as fast as he could to the address. He was going so fast, he didn't even care about the red lights and probably nearly caused a bunch of accidents, but his mind was on one thing: his children. They had all been through too much for this to be how the story ended.
As he turned the street corner, he was lucky enough to spot his son's beanie to know to stop. He halted and jumped out of the car, running to Neal and swooping him up into his arms. He held onto him for dear life while Neal clung to him, burying his head in his shoulder. David could feel the tears streaming down his face.
"Oh bud," he whispered. "Are you okay?"
Neal nodded. "Daddy," was all he could choke out.
David let out a deep breath, putting a hand on his pink cheek. "Did he hurt you?"
"Nuh uh. He just gave me a funny juice and it made me sleepy. Then Emma came."
"She's still in the house?"
"Uh huh. I can her yelling." He pointed down the street to the seemingly abandoned cabin right on the town line. "It's right there."
Just then, Graham's car pulled up and Mary jumped out of it, rushing to her husband and son. Taking Neal into her arms, she showered his face with kisses and checked him over, just as David had done. Neal rested his head on her shoulder and David turned to Graham.
"Emma's still in there with him."
Graham nodded. "Alright. David, you need to remember to stay professional in here. I know she's your little girl…"
"I know how to do this."
"David, just be careful," Mary urged him.
"I will, I'm going to get our daughter."
Heading towards the house, David held his breath. He had seen a lot in his days as a sheriff but nothing had prepared him to come face to face with one of Emma's abusers, much less her biological father. He could've gone his whole life without seeing Ed face to face. He would do anything to protect his family, however, and nothing would stop him from saving his daughter.
Emma ran as fast as she could out of the room and towards the door. Ed was quick on his feet, however, and managed to run after her, tripping her and causing her to fall to the ground. Emma winced and grabbed hold of her stomach for a moment before trying to get back up, but he had a hand on her leg. Her mind flashed back to when she was little and would attempt to escape the beatings or other abuse, she never could. He always managed to keep her in his grip.
She spotted her bag, which had flown across the floor, she had to get to it. Focusing on it with all her might, she struggled against him and began crawling across the floor, shaking her leg to get rid of him.
"Emma, didn't you learn, you can't win against me," he said.
"I won against you the day the police showed up and took you away!"
"How'd that work out for you, huh? You were so high and mighty a few years ago, sitting on the other side of the glass, bragging about how you were free of me and that you were something. Look at you now, still struggling against me, on your stomach, nothing much has changed."
Emma clamped her eyes shut, trying to get his voice out of her head. He was wrong, he had always been wrong. She wasn't going to be his victim, not anymore.
"I'm not a little girl anymore," she said. "You can't push me around, not again."
"That's exactly what I'm doing."
He reached down and grabbed hold of her belt loop, clearly trying to get it off with one hand. When that didn't work, he moved his foot to hers to try to keep her down while used both hands to get it off. Emma had wiggled far enough so she had access to her bag, she kicked her leg and managed to get him on his back. Reaching into her purse, she got access to her gun and pulled it out, which managed to keep him on his knees.
"You were saying?"
"You're not going to shoot."
"You're right, I won't. That doesn't mean I haven't dreamt of this moment my entire life." Tears built up in Emma's eyes. "Every time you touched me, every time you hit me, every single time I couldn't trust the people that loved me because you broke me, I thought of this. I thought of the moment where I could have all the power and you would have nothing."
Stepping closer to him, she could see something in Ed's eyes that she had never seen. Fear. They both knew Emma wouldn't pull the trigger, it wouldn't be right. It would go against everything she was, everything she stood for. He deserved to have his life ended, he didn't deserve to breathe for another second, but she wasn't going to kill him. That would be too easy. For once, she had all the power and he was scared. Scared of what she was capable of and what she could do. He was right, words were cheap and she had spewed a lot of them back at the prison. She had meant every word of it, but it was time to put the money where her mouth was.
She wasn't nothing, she had never been nothing. It was time to prove it.
"You filthy, thieving, heartless piece of trash," she whispered harshly. "You took my life and you turned it into a nightmare. You didn't teach me how to love, you taught me how to hate. I would say that I hate you, but hate isn't a good enough word. To say I hate you, would mean that I have some sort of care for you. I don't care about you Ed, no one does and no one ever will. You took away my childhood, my innocence and that is something I can never get back! I am about to be a mother and as God as my witness, no one will ever harm him or her how you've hurt me."
"What do you want me to say?" Ed asked, staring up at her with his piercing blue eyes. "That I'm sorry?"
"No, because you're never going to mean it. But this fear, the one I see right now, it'll be enough for me. How does it feel Ed? To fear the person that is supposed to love you? Because that is just a sampling of how I felt every single day for 5 years."
The door burst open and she lowered her gun. David tackled Ed to the ground, grabbing hold of his arms and thrusting them behind his back, throwing the cuffs on. Ed's face stayed planted against the ground.
"You think you're so tough, sheriff?" He mocked.
David's hands were shaking and he wanted more than anything to move them to Ed's neck and just snap it. He wanted to bash his head against everything he could, he didn't want to kill him. Death was too good for him, he just wanted to do everything he had done to his daughter, but double.
Instead, he used something he knew the man in front of him didn't have, restraint. "Graham, take him out of here."
Graham lifted Ed up, starting to read him his rights as he dragged him out of the house and to the squad car. David ran to Emma and she leaped into his arms, throwing her own around his neck. He cradled the back of her head and held her as close as he possibly could. Tears were running down both their faces, their hearts beating fast.
"Neal, is he okay?"
"He's fine, he's fine. Are you?"
"Yeah." She let out a deep breath. "I'm fine, now."
"My God, I told you not to come in here alone."
"He said if I came with you, he'd hurt Neal, I did what I had to."
"Emma Ruth Nolan, you are determined to give me a heart attack, aren't you?"
"That's our thing, isn't it?"
He pulled away from her, chuckling in spite of his tears. Cupping her cheek, he peered down at her and could see a new look in her eyes. It was different from after the faux-school shooting. She didn't look afraid or defeated. She looked rejuvenated, as if the whole ordeal had somehow made her stronger. Planting a firm kiss to her forehead, he smiled.
"God, I love you, Princess."
"I love you too, Daddy."
"Let's go see your mom and brother."
Neal was the first one to spot his big sister being lead out of the house. Jumping out of his mother's arms, he ran to her, throwing his arms around her legs. She hugged him tightly, kissing the top of his head.
"Oh, I love you, kid." Allowing him to keep his grip, she turned to her mother, who looked on the verge of tears. "Mama."
"Sweets." She pulled her into a tight hug, Neal sandwiched in the middle of them. David walked over, joining the family's embrace.
In the distance, the sounds of an ambulance could be heard. They knew Neal and Emma would have to go to the hospital and be checked out, the latter especially because of the baby. In that moment, however, none of them were letting go.
You could knock down a member of the Nolan family, but they'd always get back up.
Next chapter is a lot lighter with Emma and Neal in the hospital and Snowing fussing over him. Good news, Ed is finally taken down and he won't be able to hurt anyone else! As always, please let me know what you want to see and what you thought. Until next time my friends. =)
