Author's note: Hello everyone. I'm so terribly sorry for leaving you guys hanging. I've been really busy, but realize this is no valid excuse. Therefore, I hope to upload the next chapter shortly. Luckily I already have a general idea about what's to follow and can't wait for your reactions on chapter 12. Also, thanks again for new followers/fave's or reviews!

Chapter 11: David Nolan

Jack had never felt his feet moving this fast. Truth to be told, when met with danger he used to fly himself to safety, but this time around he had no other option than to rely on his own two feet to bring him forward. It didn't help though that the four other searchers were unconsciously instigating each other by yelling panicked concerns and snapping hasty instructions.

Following the tracks of Charming as best as the surrounding dark let them, they soon ended up near the river and the massive structure of the Troll Bridge. Mary Margaret shone her flashlight over the stepping stones in the calm rippling water, creating a gleam of light that was just bright enough to identify any strange objects.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…."

Dropping the flashlight on the ground the teacher rushed forward, not at all minding the water that soaked her boots. Her scream, however, signaled the location of Charming within a second to the others. Graham reached for his portable phone and called for an ambulance, while Emma turned her attention to Jack.

"Stay here with Henry, and don't come any closer," she ordered without any room for discussion. "We've got this."

Jack nodded in silence. He wasn't quite sure how to react to this new development. Though he had met the prince more than once, back in the Enchanted Forrest, he had never really considered the man his friend. But seeing him now, so defenseless, it gnawed in his chest. He could have refuted Emma's tendency to treat him like a child – even though he appeared to be just a teenager, he actually had seen a lot more winters than this woman – but decided against it. Right now, there were other (more important) matters at hand.

Stepping closer to Henry, he hoped to provide some sort of reassurance to the boy, while secretly he longed for the presences of another human-being as well. Watching Mary Margaret, Emma and the Sheriff as they pulled Charming out of the water onto the riverbank, made Jack uncomfortable. The face of the man was pale and he didn't move, appearing to be dead.

"Is he okay?" sounded the panicked voice of Henry. "Is he okay?"

"I don't know."

And it frustrated the teen more than he cared to admit. He sought for his inner ability to observe events impassive, but realized it didn't come to him as easily as he was used to. With a forced blank look, Jack witnessed how Mary Margaret started a mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, while Emma ran up to Henry, embracing the younger one in a tight hug (and in doing so, covering his eyes from the event on the riverbank).

Finally a series a coughs indicated the survival of Charming, relieving the spectators from their concerns.

"She did it," Henry whispered in awe. "She woke him up."

Emma nodded. "Yeah, kid, she did."

"Jack?" with a questioning look over his shoulder Henry addressed his teen-friend.

"Ah, you go on," the winter spirit replied, waving his hand to usher the boy onwards. "I'll wait here. Not too pleased with hospitals."

And with a short nod, he was left alone in the empty white hall of Storybrooke's only hospital. He had spoken the truth though; the disinfected rooms and the clinical smell filling every corner of the building made Jack jittery. Charming was saved, so his job was done. He doubted for a second to leave immediately, but decided to wait a bit longer. Perhaps Henry could give him some details about Charming's current status, once the boy left for home.

Seated on the single bench present, Jack tapped his fingers impatiently against the plastic seat. Not long after, however, the entrance doors swung open. Without holding back a young blonde woman ran passed Jack, her high heels clicking on the stone floor. In the flash of passing, the winter spirit noticed something familiar about the woman, but he wasn't able to identify her correctly. Only after a second figure made herself present, all pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

"Is that..?"

Calm and collected, Regina, mayor of Storybrooke and known as the Evil Queen in the Enchanted Forrest, stepped towards the teen, locking her prying eyes with his.

"Katharine Nolan, wife of David Nolan, or as you may know him: John Doe." Then her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"

"Me?" genuinely surprised Jack raised an eyebrow. "Isn't the better question: what is she doing here?" And he pointed with his finger in the (believed) direction of Katharine Nolan.

"Seeing as you are here and my son is not in the bedroom he is supposed to be in, I take it you had something to do with his insubordination?" Regina countered, completely ignoring Jack's question.

The teen shrugged his shoulders in fake disinterest. "Well, you see, that's a funny story. I-…"

"I'm sick and tired of you influencing my son."

Taken aback by the harshness in the Queen's voice, Jack instantly held his tongue, but could not prevent the daring glare that filled his blue eyes. Who did she think she was?

"I will not let you go near him again. He has enough things to deal with at the moment, and I don't approve of you presence in his life."

"And what makes you think I'll agree to that?" Jack shot back fiercely. "As far as I know, there's no law that forbids me to hang out with whomever I want."

Regina took a few steps in his direction, till she was right in front of the teen. Standing tall before him, while Jack was still seated on the bench, her queen-like features surfaced quickly and a menacing smile curled her lips. "I believe you are underestimating what I'm capable off, young freeloader," she stated in a low penetrating voice. "A school drop-out that uses Granny's Café as a sleeping place – unpaid I may add – and runs into trouble with the town's Sheriff more times than are officially recorded... I wonder what you might do once Mr. Gold decides to fire you."

"He wouldn't do that," Jack replied with a surprisingly amount of confidence in the shop owner.

The mayor folded her arms. "He might not have a choice."

With an icy composure Jack stood. "Are you trying to threaten me, your highness?" The address he used immediately triggered the meant confusion in the Queen's attitude, but Jack wasn't finished. "Could it be you're feeling insecure about something, or – I don't know – someone?"

Regina watched Jack with raised suspicion for a few moments. "What are you getting at?" Her brown eyes narrowed. "Do you know something?"

A smug grin appeared on Jack's face as he repeated the exact words Mr. Gold had spoken to Regina the night Emma entered town. "Whatever do you mean?"

As quick as Regina's confidence fell, she restored it once more, though this time it didn't radiated twice as ominous as before. "I don't have time for your childish games. Stay away from my son and don't underestimate my connections. There will be consequences." She walked past Jack with a brisk move, but stopped before she disappeared around the corner of the hall. Despite his earlier sense of victory the shining gleam in the Queen's look made his calmness waver. "Make no mistake, Jack, for it seems you actions are rather one-sided."

A.