A/N: Hi guys! Just wanted to thank you for the reviews again! And I wanted to give a special shoutout to the guest reviewer, I wish I knew your name- I'm so so happy that this story could be a source of happiness to you while you're going through a hard time. Please feel free to PM me anytime and I'm on tumblr as shelizabethwriting if you ever need someone. You guys are amazing, I hope every one of you know how special you are. You guys have made such a difference in my life alone and I really do care about you guys. Next chapter will be a special one.

Snow couldn't explain the urgency as she got into her car and started driving. She had a bad feeling since she dropped Emma off, but suddenly after speaking to David she felt like the minutes were against her.

"Please, Emma, stay safe for a little longer. I'm on my way," Snow whispered to the steering wheel. She was trying to find a balance between flooring the gas pedal and not getting stopped for a ticket. She didn't need anything else to slow her down. For some reason, it felt like the universe was in cohorts against her.

The digital clock on the dashboard kept moving.

Emma sat with two girls her age on both sides. Their names were Callie and Emily. Emma liked Callie better, but she wondered if that was just because Emily was too close to her own name. But Emily was a little too annoying for Emma's taste. She always asked questions to teachers after they just explained exactly what she just asked. But Emma thought Callie was funny, and Callie and Emily were a package deal, since they were twin sisters.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Emma announced to her two friends.

"It's lunchtime."

"I know that, Emily," Emma replied dryly, causing Emily to back down. "I still have to go."

"Ask Ms. Harris," Callie suggested, looking around the school cafeteria for adults.

"I don't like her," Emma said as if she was admitting a secret.

"Why not? She's nice."

"I just don't. She's creepy. I'll just wait for Talia." Talia, their camp counselor, was 16 and volunteering for college credits, but she was the coolest person in the world to six year olds. Emma began tapping her legs in a little dance.

"Just go ask Ms. Harris. She's right there!" Callie urged, and if it didn't feel like she about to explode, Emma would have insisted she could wait. But her body betrayed her, and she gave in.

"Excuse me?" Emma said in a voice much smaller than she felt. She wasn't afraid of Ms. Harris.

"Hi Emma! Did you get your lunch?"

"No, um, I have to go to the bathroom and I can't find Talia," Emma explained, but it came out more like Ta-yuh. They were supposed to report to their counselors whenever they left the group.

"Okay, well you go ahead. I'll make sure she knows."

"Thank you," Emma said gratefully, thinking maybe she was wrong about her principal after all. She was always pretty sharp for her age, and maybe if she hadn't just let her guard down in relief, she would have noticed the shadow on the wall of the figure following her down the hall.

Snow looked at her infant daughter through the mirror in the front of her car seat. She was thrashing her arms and legs as if she was in the middle of a fight with the air around her.

"What are you doing, baby girl?" Snow cooed, and Emma looked up at the sound. "You're not feeling so hot, are you?" Emma seemed to look around for the source of the sound. Snow wondered what she was thinking. She loved her nine month old daughter endlessly, but she couldn't deny the loneliness of not having any adults to converse with.

She looked out the front window of her car and took a deep breath. Harmony had given her a license with all her fake Mary Margaret documents, but Snow hadn't driven yet by herself. Harmony had taught her a few things and helped her pick out a car that she bought. She didn't think it would be a big deal, but every time she tried to drive she somehow came up with an excuse. She had gotten by on public transportation for the past four months on her own, but now she couldn't. The buses weren't running for some minor holiday that Snow didn't know (although she had begun making a list of the holidays in this world and their dates), and Emma was running a fever. She knew two things about sickness in this world: there was no easy access to organic herbs, and a building called the hospital had the same relief in tiny hard pills.

She put on the lever resting next to the P and pulled it to bring it towards the D, but it wouldn't budge. She let the small wave of panic wash through her then reassessed the situation. Emma was sick and she needed Snow to get it together. She squeezed her eyes together, thinking of the few lessons Harmony gave her from the passenger side. She needed to press the pedal down before moving it. She pressed the right pedal down and a surge of a loud sound rushed through her ears. It alarmed her, but the car didn't move, so she breathed. She tried the next pedal and nothing happened, and when she pulled the level, it shifted easily next to the D. Snow couldn't help the success she felt. She knew one pedal was gas and one was brake, and she had just figured out the left one was the brake and it was what you needed to move the gear shift. All she needed to do now was press on the gas.

As if on cue, Emma let out a cry. Not a normal cry, but one of discomfort and pain. If she needed a push, she had one. She pressed on the gas and lurched forward and came to sharp stop. She glanced back to make sure Emma was again and tried again, this time much slower. The large machine moved much smoother.

"It's okay, Emma. We're going to be okay," Snow assured her through the rearview mirror. She looked for her daughter's face, and wondered who she was trying to reassure.

The brakes screeched as Snow halted in Emma's schools parking lot. It was half-past one, and there was nobody outside. They must still be in lunch. She jiggled the the keys out of her ignition and they seemed to get stuck. She considered just leaving them there and running, but they broke free just in time. Calm down, Emma is fine. She's safe having lunch. Don't freak her out because you're paranoid. Still, Snow was grateful she was able to make good time.

It made sense to go to the front door. At least it did to Snow. Apparently it wasn't the right choice because the front door to the school was locked. No no no no. This can't be happening. This was just taking up more time. The universe was in cohorts against her. She could feel it. Without thinking she began banging on the doors. She didn't have time to find another entrance. This school was enormous. Probably every door but one was locked. Let me in! Let me in! Let me in! My daughter is in danger! Someone is trying to hurt her! Let me in. I need to protect my daughter.

She didn't even think of the time that was being taken up as she banged on the doors; she couldn't stop. It felt like the energy was draining out of her.

"Ms. Blanchard?! Are you okay?" A young girl that couldn't be far out of middle school opened the front door. She had a volunteer sticker on the front of her shirt that said "counselor". Snow recognized her after a few moments. She was in the first class she ever taught as Mary Margaret Blanchard.

"Victoria, hi! What are you doing here?" Snow said snapping back to reality, disbelieving the ironies of the Universe.

"I'm volunteering as counselor. My little sisters are here for the summer, so..." Victoria trailed off. "Don't you have a daughter their age? Maybe a little older..."

"Six. I'm looking for her right now. It's really important, actually. A family emergency. Could you help?"

"Sure, I'll do whatever I can. They're all in the cafeteria," Victoria led Snow down the hallway she knew so well to the small room that still passed as the biggest room in the school.

"Six, right? She should be in the same group as my sisters..." Victoria trailed off, motioning to the table where Emma had sat between her two friends less than a half hour ago.

"She's not there," Snow said, her voice catching in her throat. She felt like a swinging boulder just crashed into her stomach. She scolded herself to get it together. She couldn't protect Emma if she was passed out on the floor.

"That's weird... maybe the bathroom?" Snow nodded. She could definitely be in the bathroom. A perfectly logical explanation. "We could ask my sisters if you want."

"Yes. Please." Her voice was hoarse.

Victoria nodded and moved to the little girls sitting one seat apart. "Cals, Em, do you know Emma? Ms. Blanchard's daughter?"

Both girls nodded.

"How come she's not in lunch with you guys?"

"She had to go the bathroom," Callie supplied, and Snow let out a breath and felt her chest start moving again. "But it was a long time ago. Ms. Harris left with her, and neither have come back yet."

Ms. Harris. The principal Snow always had a terrible feeling around. She was after Emma. She was somehow working for Regina. Somehow Snow knew all of this without a doubt as soon the words left the little girl's mouth.

"Please find me if Emma returns here," Snow managed to request before her legs took over her brain.