So I want to apologize for the long wait. My computer crashed and has been out of commission for like two weeks. Which means I haven't been able to post or write. So it might take a little while for me to write enough for another update on both my stories. Anyway here you all go! Enjoy!

WOW so I realized I didn't split up ANY of the sections in this chapter - that must have been very confusing. All I have to say for myself is it has been a ROUGH day and I appologize. So here's the re-upped version with the sections split up to make a little more sense.

"Is that the last of your stuff kiddo?" Kelly watched Emma zip up her suitcase and set it at the door with her other bags.

"Yea." There was a reluctance to Emma's voice. She had been using one-word responses all morning. Emotionally it seemed as if Emma was checked out and that broke Kelly's heart. She saw Emma slip further away with each passing moment, steeling herself against the pain and heartbreak of the world.

"I'll take them do the down to the car." Kelly offered.

"No." Emma said quietly. "I'll take them. I can't stand sitting around here. Keeping busy keeps my mind off it."

"Ok." Kelly put her hand on Emma's shoulder as the girl passed by. She handed her the keys to the car. "I'll meet you in the lobby for check out."

Emma silently walked down the stairs and out of the lobby. Kelly's car was parked out front. Emma didn't make eye contact with anyone as she popped the trunk and tossed her bags in. She quickly ducked back into the lobby of the inn.

"Emma." Ruby looked up from the desk. She walked over to Emma with a concerned look on your face. "How are you? Really?"

"No offense Ruby but I don't really see how talking about my feelings is going to help anything." Emma dropped onto the small couch in the lobby.

"I just want to make sure you're ok?" Ruby sat down next to her.

Emma shot Ruby an incredulous look. "How in the world could you possibly think I'm ok? This is a nightmare, my whole world is just… well it's being put in to perspective. Relationships, a life that I thought was mine, the world is just making sure I realize it was only temporary. That I don't forget who I am, that I am and will always be an orphan, I'll never have a home. "

"Em." Ruby cast her eyes downward. "There's not a lot I can say. I won't promise you that everything is going to work out because you're smarter than that. You deserve more than that. I am so sorry about what is happening to you. I want you to know if you ever need anything, I'm always here for you. I don't exactly claim to have my life together. But I do know that I care about you and that one of my best friends cares very deeply for you as well and it's enough to know I'd do almost anything to help you."

"Thanks." Emma whispered.

"Emma things don't always work out in our lives." Ruby put her hand on Emma's. "You and I both know that all to well. But I've learned that you have to take what life gives you, the good, the bad, even when it seems that the bad far outweighs the good, and try to make something out of it. Emma, you defy expectations every day. You are smart and beautiful and don't let anything get in your way. I can't tell you what's going to happen in the future, but I do know that great things will happen for you Emma. They'll happen because you make them happen. Emma we may not be able to change our past or our circumstances, but we can change our futures. Your future depends on what you put into it and I know yours is bright."

"Thanks Ruby." Emma laid her head on Ruby's shoulder. "Believe it or not that actually kind of helped."

Ruby wrapped her arm around Emma and gave her a small hug. "I know things seem awful right now. You're just getting some of the hardest parts life has to throw at you out of the way early."

Emma let out a bitter laugh. "That's one way of looking at it."

"I love you kid. And I'll always be here for you." Ruby promised. "I do have one last thing for you though."

"What?" Emma sat straight and shot Ruby a quizzical look as she stood up.

"A letter." Ruby beckoned Emma into the back office. She reached into a drawer and pulled out a sealed envelope and handed it to Emma. "It's from Mary Margaret. She asked me to give it to you when you left. She wants you to read it when you're gone."

Emma stared down at the envelope, feeling the weight of it in her hand. It was so much more than just a piece of paper with words on it. It was the end of a life, a life she had loved and was now saying goodbye to. It was a goodbye. Finally she looked back up at Ruby, her voice barely above a whisper. "Tell her thank you. I never really got to say goodbye. They won't let me see her. But tell her she's done so much for me, so much I can never thank her for. But she made a difference. I know there are good people out there. They're just a little harder to find. Tell her I won't lose who I am, that'll I'll be ok. I'll survive. And in two and a half years I'll be in college, I'll have a new life, a real chance. Tell her not to worry."

"I will." Ruby promised. She glanced down at the desk and picked up one more envelope. This one was slimmer, lighter, and had Emma's name printed on it in typeface. "This was under the door this morning. I don't know what it is."

"That's strange." Emma set Mary Margaret's letter down and took the other envelope from Ruby's hand. She unsealed it and pulled out a sheet of paper.

Emma -

I'm sorry this is coming so late, but I couldn't let you leave, not when your presence here is so important. I can't stand by and watch an innocent victim take the fall for others misdeeds. There is more to this than you realize, there is always more to the story. I believe you will find the inhabitant of room B3 in Storybrooke General more than beneficial to your cause. Be cautious, that area is not open to the public. It makes it the perfect place to hide.

Good luck

143558

Emma glanced inside the enveloped. Inside of it were two items: a hospital ID and a small pointed metal rod. Emma knew what it was for. As much as she tried to stay away from the criminal stigma of children who come from foster care she was familiar with how to pick a lock. "Ruby?"

"Yes?" Ruby stared at Emma with a mixture of concern and confusion.

"You said you'd do anything?" Emma clarified.

"Of course." Ruby nodded.

"I need you to stall." Emma pulled her cellphone from her pocket and quickly sent a text. She grabbed a hat from the rack in the room and quickly stuffed her long blonde hair into it. She zipped her jacket up and looked at Ruby. "Tell no one you saw me leave. There's something I need to do."

"Emma." The whisper startled Emma, causing her to jump. Slowly she glanced over her shoulder to see August emerge from the shadows of the library basement.

"Quickly." Emma beckoned August into her cubical.

"What is going on?" August sat down. "I thought you were supposed to be leaving today."

"I am." Emma continued to type away on the computer.

"Then what are you doing here?" August asked.

"I got a lead." Emma didn't look up from the screen.

"A what?" August's mouth dropped open.

"This." Emma slid the letter towards August.

August quickly scanned the letter and looked back up at Emma. "Wow, but what do we do with this?"

"Already way ahead of you." Emma finally looked away from the screen. She glanced around quickly before pulling some pages towards her. "This note confused me. There is no basement in the hospital. Well there is but the rooms aren't labeled B with a number. They're labeled starting with 0. I pulled the blueprints and found something odd when looking at the first floor compared to the basement. The dimensions don't add up." Emma showed August the two blueprints. "The basement is much smaller which doesn't make sense because there needs to be a foundation and there isn't. It would be marked but instead there's just blank space, empty space. But looking at the city blueprints, it's not empty, its part of the hospital. And here." Emma pointed to a doorway on the first floor. "In the hospital its marked storage, but this isn't a storage room."

"Maybe its function was changed?" August suggested.

"No." Emma shook her head. "Look at the rooms around it. The dimensions are all different. These dimensions match something a little more like this." Emma moved her finger to another part of the blueprint. "Stairs, and they're going down, in to what is supposed to be nothing."

"Ok…" August started.

"So I hacked into the hospitals mainframe…" Emma continued.

"You what?!" August exclaimed.

"Keep your voice down." Emma hissed. "Anyway I pulled the original blue prints and look." Emma pulled up something onto her screen. Where there's nothing on this blueprint, there is definitely something on the original."

"It looks like a hallway with rooms." August said slowly.

"It's a ward." Emma finished. "Look, there's the nurses station. There's part of the hospital they don't want people to know about."

"How did you figure all this out?" August looked at Emma.

Emma shrugged. "I've picked up some skills I'm not exactly proud of, but they come in handy. Anyway, there's more."

"More?" August raised his eyebrows.

"While I was in the hospital database I looked through admissions and I found something a little strange. One the day Kathryn disappeared, there was an admittance. An unnamed patient was logged for unknown reasons. This flag here shows it's restricted. Most people can't see this."

"But you can?" August asked skeptically.

"The firewall for Storybrooke General isn't exactly impenetrable." Emma rolled her eyes. "Anyway there are no notes, only the letter B."

"Emma all this sounds a little…." August picked his words carefully. "Far-fetched."

"Coming from you?" Emma asked incredulously. "The man who's trying to push a book on fairytales on me and sell it as reality. I would think you would be the last one to judge."

"I'm not judging Emma." August said hurriedly. "I just want to make sure you're being realistic. I mean how do you know this room is mismarked?"

"Do you know how much time I've spent in that hospital because of appointments and scans since my accident?" Emma asked. "It's not that big. Trust me I know it's mismarked."

"So you think...?" August asked.

"I don't know what I think." Emma admitted. "But I do know that this is the only shot we have. And we owe it to Mary Margaret to take it."

"How are we going to get in?" August asked.

"Who ever sent me that letter left me these." Emma held out the card and pick.

"All right." August agreed. "Let's go see what's down there."

"One problem." Emma said slowly.

"What?" August asked.

"Everyone's probably looking for me." Emma admitted.

"Why?" August groaned.

"I was supposed to leave this morning and I kind of… well… ran away." Emma bit her lip.

"Emma!" August exclaimed quietly.

"I'm sorry! I had to follow this lead." Emma shrugged. "So what do you say? Will you help me or not?"

August sighed. "Be out back in two minutes and get ready to jump into my car so no one see's you."

"Thank you." Emma sighed with relief.

"Don't thank me yet." August shook his head.

Emma ducked behind a pillar near the back of Storybrooke General, attempting to keep out of sight. She and August had successfully made it to the hospital without being seen. Getting in was their new challenge. August finally found a door that worked and beckoned Emma to follow him through it.

"Ok." August looked around. "So where are we?"

Emma glanced down at her phone where she had uploaded a blueprint of the first floor. "We're in the southwest corner. We just have take a right down this hallway, get past one nurses station and then it's a straight shot to the stairs."

"How do you suppose we move unnoticed?" August asked.

Emma looked around. Finally she spotted a basket of discarded scrubs and lab coats. "There." Emma hurried over to the basket and pulled out two lab coats. She tossed on to August along with a surgeons scrub cap.

"We're stealing these?" August raised his eyebrows.

"Not stealing." Emma slipped on the lab coat. "Borrowing."

"Emma this isn't legal." August warned.

"None of this is legal. We're already breaking a bunch of rules. You might as well just do it." Emma rolled her eyes as she stuffed her blonde ponytail into the surgeon's cap. She tied it neatly and turned to August. "Am I immediately recognizable?"

"Not unless you're looking," August shook his head as he tied his own cap. "which people are."

"They're looking for me. Not a surgeon." Emma clipped the ID on her coat.

"Yea but everyone knows everyone in this town." August pointed out. "That means they'll recognize that we're not surgeons."

"Stop complaining and get a move on." Emma beckoned him after her.

"Where's my ID?" August asked as they nonchalantly turned down a hallway.

"I was only given one." Emma shrugged. "Clearly they didn't think I would have an accomplice. Just don't stop."

"This has bad idea written all over it." August grumbled.

"Just keep quite." Emma shot August a glare. They conversed quietly as they passed the nurses station, ducking their heads so as not to be noticed. Emma breathed a sigh of relief as they turned down the final hallway. She spotted the storage room and the scanner next to it. Making sure no one was looking she inconspicuously punched the code into the keypad. The light flashed green and the door clicked open. Emma quickly pulled open the door, ducking into the stairwell with August on her heels.

"That actually went well." August said in surprise.

"We're not done yet." Emma warned. "We have no idea what's down here. And I have no plan."

"Well you're the mastermind so I'm following your lead." August said.

"Super." Emma sighed as they continued down the stairs. As they neared the end of the staircase Emma could see a nurses station come into view with a solitary figure behind it. She looked up as the two of them approached clearly startled.

"Hello?" The nurse said slowly.

"Hello." Emma improvised. "We're here to examine the patient in B3."

"There is no patient in B3." The nurse said slowly.

"You and I both know there is." Emma continued. "I'm aware of the delicacy of the situation, but it is necessary to keep the well being of the patient in mind, to make sure the condition doesn't further deteriorate."

"You're not supposed to be here." Emma saw the nurse's hand slip under the table. She knew a silent alarm button had been pressed. They were running out of time.

"Please, we're just trying to do our jobs." Emma searched for any tell the nurse would give. Finally she got in when the nurse's eyes nervously slid towards the hallway to the left.

"August." Emma whispered. "Run interference."

"What?" August looked surprised as Emma took off down the hallway. The nurse jumped up, yelling after her but August blocked her way. Emma counted three doors down and finally found B3. The pulled the pick out of her pocket and began to work on jimmying the lock. She glanced through the window to try to see what was inside but her angle didn't allow her to see much. She could see a cot and a body on it but she couldn't identify the person. The shouting grew louder as she worked.

"Emma." August called. "Get a move on."

Emma glanced over and saw August struggling with the nurse. She heard feet on the stairs and knew their time was almost out. "I'm sorry. This isn't exactly like the locks on the back door of my foster homes. It's a bit more complicated than that."

"Well figure it out." August shouted.

Emma desperately worked on the lock. Finally she felt it give way and heard the lock click. She pushed the door open just as the first guard appeared. She stopped short when the figure on the bed came into view. Her eyes grew wide and she struggled to find breath. "Kathryn?"

"Emma!" August's cry came a moment too late as Emma felt herself being grabbed by a guard. She threw an elbow and felt it connect. The guard recoiled but managed to grasp a fighting Emma and throw her against the wall.

Emma gasped and her head spun, whether it was from the hit it had taken on the wall or the shock of what was happening she couldn't be sure of. "It's Kathryn! August she's alive! She's alive!"

Another guard rushed towards Emma to try to subdue her. These were not normal guards. Controlling her wasn't enough; that much had been obvious when the guard had thrown her against the wall. They were trying to silence her. They didn't work for the hospital and that scared Emma. She continued to struggle as the other guard pulled the door shut. Emma lashed out and made contact with the guards face.

"You little bitch." The guard pulled back his hand to hit Emma but something stopped him, someone had caught his hand.

"Enough!" Graham shouted. "If you touch her, I promise you'll regret it."

The guard pinning Emma's arms behind her let her go and Emma dropped to the ground. "Emma!" Kelly rushed forward, kneeling before her. "What were you thinking?"

Kelly…" Emma started.

"I don't want to hear it." Kelly held up her hand. "Do you realize how much trouble you've caused? You ran away, you had the whole town looking for you; you broke an innumerable amount of laws. Emma…."

"She's alive." Emma managed.

"What?" Graham looked down at Emma.

"Kathryn." Emma gasped. "She's alive. And she's in that room."

"This girl is delusional." The nurse said adamantly.

"If I'm lying then what's the harm in checking?" Emma fired back. The nurse just glared. Emma looked back to Graham. "B3, I already picked the lock. Open the door."

Graham looked between the nurse and Emma before finally turning to the door behind him. He pushed open the door and let out an audible gasp. "Kathryn? How is this possible?"

Emma pushed herself off the floor and followed Graham into the room. Kathryn turned over, looking scared and confused. "Kathryn, are you hurt?" Graham asked.

"I… Where…?" Kathryn looked dazed. Emma could tell by the look on her face she was being drugged.

"You're supposed to be dead." Graham said slowly. "We have your heart."

"My heart?" Kathryn asked.

"I told you Mary Margaret didn't do it." Emma said.

Graham turned to Emma in disbelief. "How did you know to look here?"

"I got a letter this morning with an ID badge and telling me to look in this room." Emma shrugged. "I went to the library and well…. Through some extensive and maybe not exactly legal processes I figured out that there was a part of the hospital not on the blueprints. There was also an unnamed restricted admission the day of her disappearance. I convinced August to help me sneak in and well… I didn't even expect to find this."

"What is going on down here?" Dr. Whale pushed through the guards. "Kathryn Nolan?"

"You didn't know she was down here?" Graham asked.

"I had no idea." Dr. Whale shook his head. "I don't deal with this part of the hospital."

"Maybe you should keep better tabs." Graham suggested.

"That's not my job." Dr. Whale crossed his arms. He glanced back at a nurse who had accompanied him down the stairs. "Please move Mrs. Nolan upstairs into the west wing and start running an immediate battery of tests on her. Sheriff you can ask questions once she's been examined. You know the rules."

"Very well." Graham nodded. "I have another issue to tend to."

"Mary Margaret's release?" Emma asked. "I'm coming with you."

"You're not going anywhere." Dr. Whale lifted Emma's bangs revealing a bleeding gash on her head. "You're getting this cleaned up and a scan to make sure you're still ok."

"Dr. Whale…" Emma protested.

"It's not up for discussion." Dr. Whale cut in. "Follow Amy up to cubicle one. I'll be there right after you."

"Emma, do what the doctor says." Kelly said firmly.

"But Mary Margaret…" Emma protested.

"Emma." Kelly said sharply. She looked at Graham for help.

"Emma by time I get Mary Margaret processed and released you'll most likely be done." Graham promised. "This way you won't have to wait."

Emma closed her eyes and put her hand to her forehead. "Fine. I'll do what you want."

"Come on." Amy smiled and held her hand out to lead Emma upstairs.

"Emma." Graham's voice stopped Emma. She looked back at him. "Thank you. For everything you've done."

"Don't thank me." Emma shook her head. "I was just doing your job for you."

"Wow Em." Kelly put her hand on Emma's back and pushed her forward to keep her from making any more snarky comments. "Graham thank you for helping me find her."

"Anytime." Graham smiled. "Now, I have quite a day ahead of me."

"All right Emma." Dr. Whale put the final steri-strip on Emma's forehead. "You're good to go. I'll call Mary Margaret when the results of your scans come in."

"Thank you." Kelly responded when Emma didn't.

"Emma, are you feeling ok?" Dr. Whale asked.

"Yea. I mean my head hurts because some guard from your hospital threw me into the concrete wall. But… it doesn't feel like it did before." Emma lied. Well it wasn't a complete lie. Her head didn't hurt like it did before but she had a weird light-headed sensation and there was a fuzziness in her fingers.

"Well I know there's somewhere else you would rather be and there's another patient that needs my attention so you're free to go." Dr. Whale signed off on Emma's chart.

"Thank you." Emma carefully pushed herself off the bed, trying not to let on to her light-headedness. She looked at Kelly. "So can we go to the station?"

"Of course." Kelly nodded. "I'll drive."

"Its faster to walk." Emma shook her head. "I know the way."

"Ok." Kelly gave a small smile as she followed Emma out of the hospital. She could see the anxiousness in Emma.

A million thoughts were running through Emma's head in that moment. She couldn't quite comprehend what was happening. A few hours ago she had been preparing to leave this life behind. She had been trying to push away her emotions, the sadness, the pain, the loss. But all of a sudden she was staying. She had spent so much time distancing herself from everything and everyone that she wasn't sure how to feel, how to react.

As they drew closer to the station Emma could see a crowd of people starting for form. She pushed through the people and caught sight of Mary Margaret in a tight embrace with Ruby and Ashley. She pulled back and listened as Ruby spoke but her mind was clearly elsewhere. She was scanning the crowd, searching for someone, for Emma.

When Emma's eyes finally locked with Mary Margaret's it was if time and space froze around them. Everyone around them faded into the distance as Emma looked into Mary Margaret's eyes, emotions flooding her body. She watched Mary Margaret push past Ashley and Ruby and take a few tentative steps towards her. Finally whatever force was holding Emma in place released its grip and Emma's walls fell away.

"Mary Margaret!" Emma called as she ran towards the woman. As soon as Emma started running toward her Mary Margaret moved towards the girl. The met in the middle of the street, instantly locked in a tight embrace.

Emma couldn't fully explain the sense of relief that washed over her in that moment. She felt safe in Mary Margaret's arms. They felt like home. She could feel tears streaming down her face and she could hear someone crying. It took her a moment to realize it was herself. As good as she was at controlling her emotions Emma couldn't stop them from spilling out in front of everyone. She didn't care who was watching.

"Oh Emma." Mary Margaret said through her own tears. She had one arm wrapped tightly around Emma, the other tangled in her hair, holding the girl tightly to her. It both warmed and broke her heart to hear Emma's cries.

"I thought I had lost you." Emma sobbed into Mary Margaret's shoulder.

"I know." Mary Margaret rubbed Emma's back. "I thought I had lost you too. But I'm here. I'm here Emma. I'm not going anywhere. Everything worked out."

"It almost didn't." Emma choked out between sobs.

"I know." Mary Margaret soothed. "But it did, thanks to you. You never stopped believing in me. It's all over now. We're ok. You're ok."

"I'm sorry." Emma's cries died down but she refused to let go of Mary Margaret.

"Don't be." Mary Margaret hushed the girl. "Let it all out. It's ok sweetheart. I'm here."

"It was happening again, like it always has." Emma whispered. "You were leaving me."

"Look at me." Mary Margaret held Emma's face so they were looking eye to eye. "I'm never going to leave you. Do you know that?"

Emma nodded. She glanced around, noticing the crowd of on-lookers all in their own various stages of emotion at the scene in front of them. She could see Ruby and Ashley hugging each other. They were wiping away their tears caused by the heartfelt reunion. The reality of the open forum finally set in on Emma. "I didn't realize this would be so public."

"Yea." Mary Margaret smiled as she wiped the tears from Emma's face. "Let's go home kiddo."

"There's no place I'd rather be." Emma let Mary Margaret slip her arm around her. The crowd parted to let them through. The two walked in silence but there was no need for words. They both understood how the other felt. In that moment all that mattered was being together, and finally they were.