Chapter 7 – Friday & Saturday

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday passed and Emma hardly saw Killian. He left extremely early in the morning to meet the others, but he gave her a kiss while she was still half asleep. The sun was just starting to brighten the sky when he left, and it was long set by the time he came home. He spent a few minutes with Hope, who was fully recovered, before she went to sleep. They didn't go to bed at the same time as their daughter, but Killian didn't have the energy to stay awake much passed her.

It was worth it though since they found the dogs that were closest to Storybrooke, and they had them safely secured away in Neverland. Now, it was Friday and the group was tracking in the Enchanted Forest which was a lot larger than Storybrooke. So, they left Thursday morning and wouldn't be coming home until Saturday at the best. The first pack had been taken care of without any major problems and most importantly, no bites. Emma was hoping the same could be said for this round.

So, when she was part of a group text for the council about another person brought to the hospital from the Enchanted Forest, her thoughts went to Killian and then David. Thankfully a follow up text came a moment later with the details for a man who was alone and attacked while fishing. She was sorry for whoever the latest victim was, but she was relieved that her family and friends were safe. Hopefully this would be the last victim in the Enchanted Forest and the last one altogether. Still, she sent a text to Killian and then to her dad reminding them to be careful and to come home okay.

Twenty minutes later Henry Lance arrived with cocoa for both of them. Thankfully this Friday they had something better to do than paperwork and playing Chinese checkers. They got a call about a hit and run accident at the grocery store. One car was turning into the parking lot at the same time that another car was leaving. The person leaving side swiped the person coming in, taking off that person's mirror, and then took off themselves. Henry had come separately on his motorcycle, yes this Henry had one too, and he went out searching for the vehicle once he had a description of it. Emma stayed to finish up the paperwork and get some other information before heading back to the station. She figured out who owned the car and where he lived. She told Henry, who was still out patrolling, and she went straight to the house. There weren't any cars in the driveway and nobody was home, of course it couldn't be that easy. But they found him before the end of the day.

Emma invited Henry to have dinner with her at Granny's to celebrate since she'd be alone except for Hope. He didn't need to be asked twice. But before leaving the station for the day they quickly washed the squad car and motorcycle. Killian wasn't there, but she would have felt guilty if she didn't do some sort of cleaning. They even did it without starting a water war. The promise of Granny's was enough to keep things from getting out of hand.

Emma walked into the diner after picking up Hope from daycare. She smiled when she saw the small changes made to the place. It was still the same old Granny's just with a new coat of paint, new booths, and newly shined chrome. The new owner had also put photos along the wall of its best customers. Emma and her family were up there along with Leroy, Archie, new friends, and friends they had lost such as Robin, Graham, Neal, and even Belle and Gold. It was a nice tribute.

Granny had finally retired about six months ago. Her back couldn't take the hours of standing or leaning over to get things in and out of the oven anymore. She sold the business to a middle-aged woman who had worked in the kitchens of castles before coming to Storybrooke when the realms united. She wanted a change of pace, so she bought Granny's. She was wise enough to keep most things the same, especially the name. And Granny was still around; she couldn't give it up completely. But now she relaxed at the counter, chatted with the customers, did her knitting and crocheting, and she also took care the front desk for the inn.

Emma sat in the booth across from Henry, and a minute later the waitress came over with menus and a highchair for Hope.

"Hello, Sheriff, Deputy. Two cocoas and the cinnamon shaker?"

"Yes, thank you, Eden." Emma nodded to the waitress. The girl hadn't been working at the diner long, but she caught on quickly to the regular orders.

"Why are you even looking at the menu?" Henry asked when she opened hers up.

"I'm just curious about the specials for tonight." She shrugged even though he had a point. None of them caught her eye anyway.

When Eden returned with their drinks Emma ordered her usual grilled cheese and onion rings. Henry ordered fried chicken, but he got flustered when Eden asked what two sides he wanted. Emma didn't think anything of it, and honestly she found it funny that he got fried chicken and laughed a little.

"What's so funny?" He asked, and she was surprised by how defensive he was.

Henry hadn't adventured outside of Storybrooke yet, but he knew from her about Kentucky Fried Chicken. To the rest of the world that's what KFC meant, but to them it also meant Killian's Cleaning Friday. So, she saw a little humor in his choice of food on a Friday.

"Oh, I guess that is kind of funny." Henry replied apologetically and gave a small laugh.

She could tell something was up, but she didn't say anything, not yet anyways. Instead she turned her attention to Hope and had her eat some baby food while they waited for theirs. The table was silent except for Hope's babbling. She didn't mind though because they had spent a good portion of the day together. Maybe there was just nothing new to talk about. But then Emma caught it.

Every time Eden passed by Henry would look over. The first two times Emma thought he was only looking at the tray to see if it was their order. But it was too soon for theirs to be ready. Then next time Henry looked Eden's way, Emma realized it was about the waitress and not the food.

"I didn't realize you were starving, kid." Emma commented as she continued to feed Hope but put her theory to the test.

"Huh? What?" He suddenly looked to her like Henry Daniel would when caught breaking the rule of 'no cell phones at the dinner table'.

"If you're that hungry and impatient for the food to get here, Granny will always be happy to get us some rolls." Emma suggested.

"Oh no, I'm fine…fine…just fine." He tried to assure her. If anything it only proved what Emma thought, and it also explained the stumbling over his order.

"If you say so." She shrugged and let the silence return.

The food came about five minutes later. It was good timing since Hope had decided she was full, so Emma was free to eat her meal when it came.

"There you both go. Is there anything else you need? A refill maybe?" Eden asked them.

"Just some water this time, please." Emma requested.

"Okay." Eden nodded and then turned to Henry. "Anything for you, Deputy?"

"Uh yeah, some water would be good thanks." He managed this time without getting flustered, but he did let out a small breath of relief when Eden left.

Emma couldn't hide the smile from her face. It was cute watching her son while he had a crush on the waitress. Thankfully Henry was busy trying the chicken and didn't seem to notice that she had caught on. She was debating whether to bring it up, or just quietly let things fall where they may. Her thoughts about Henry and Eden went out the window thought when Regina came bursting in. It had been a while since Emma had seen her outside of a meeting and even longer since she saw her in such a hurry.

"Emma, you're not going to believe this, and I just had to tell you in person." Regina spoke almost too quickly for Emma to catch as she sat next to her in the booth.

"What is it, Regina? Good news or bad news?"

"It's good news. Very good news." Regina answered and then paused to catch her breath. "Rogers, Zelena, and I, we found a cure. I'm headed to my vault now to gather the ingredients together. But I might need some of your magic as well."

"Seriously?" She asked, she almost could not believe it. "That's incredible. What do you need from me?"

"I don't need you just yet. I have to prepare some things first. So, finish up here." Regina said to her and then turned to their son. "Henry, would you mind watching Hope? Or you could take her to Snow?"

"I'll text Grandma if you don't mind." He chose, and she wasn't surprised.

"Good, that's settled." Regina nodded. "I'll see you shortly, Emma. Henry, good work on catching the hit and run driver. But please wear a helmet when you're on that thing."

"How did you know about that?"

"Mothers know everything. Plus, it's still a small town and word gets around." Regina shrugged.

"I don't doubt the first part of that. But when you say 'word gets around', you mean that one of the dwarves saw me." He called her out.

"You got it. Enjoy the rest of your meal. We'll have to do this soon ourselves, Henry."

"Yeah sure." He nodded and then Regina left to go to prepare things in her vault.

The rest of the meal went by without any interruptions. When Emma was finished she grabbed enough money from her wallet to cover the food and the tip. The bill hadn't come yet, but the prices never changed. And maybe if she left now, and gave Henry the money to pay, then he might say something to Eden.

"Okay, here are my keys, and I'll walk over to the vault. The cemetery isn't far. Are you sure you're okay with bringing her over to my mom?" She checked with Henry.

"I'm not comfortable with a full night of babysitting, but I can manage getting her in and out of a car seat." He told her. "Plus, when I sent Grandma a text, she mentioned fresh-made, double chocolate cookies. I can't miss that."

"No, you can't." She laughed in agreement. "I'll call tomorrow and let you know how things go. Love you."

"Love you too, Mom."

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CS

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Emma woke up the next morning to her phone ringing, but it took several seconds to realize what the noise was. Then she was annoyed. Why didn't she put her phone on silent, and who was calling her? Then she saw it was Killian, and she answered. Somewhere in the back of her mind she remembered silencing everything except if Killian's number were to call her.

"Hello, Swan. Are you there?" He greeted her and then asked when she didn't immediately reply.

"Hmm? Uh, yeah I'm here." She answered and yawned.

"I didn't wake you did I? I know you like to sleep in, but I thought I'd be in the clear now. It's one o'clock, love."

"One o'clock!?" She gasped and glanced at the alarm clock.

Sure enough, he was right. She began to panic. How did this happen? And Hope was still with her mom.

"Swan, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just messed up a little. My mom was watching Hope last night while I went to help Regina. I had no idea I'd be out until morning; I came home around five and then I…and then you're calling me."

"Your mom called Dave last night. She mentioned what you were up to. If you were working until morning then you most definitely deserve to sleep. I'm sure Snow understands and doesn't mind one bit spending a Saturday with her granddaughter. And if she is upset then it's only because she's worried if she hasn't heard from you."

He did a good job of calming and reassuring her, even when he wasn't there.

"Yeah, I better call her. But while I'm on the phone with you, how are things going in the Enchanted Forest?"

"Well, I hate to say it, but the attack yesterday morning really helped us to narrow down the area. We caught the dogs last night, and we just finished containing them in Neverland."

"Oh, so you're coming home like you planned." She assumed and looked forward to seeing him soon.

"Actually, we're not far from Arendelle, and we're going straight there. I'm sorry, love. I too was looking forward to coming home, at least for a day. I miss you."

"I miss you too. But this is what needs to be done." She sighed, knowing that in the big picture that it was for the best.

"Aye, and the sooner we finish the sooner I'm 'working my way back to you, babe'."

"Oh my word you did not!" She gasped and started laughing in disbelief. He did not just use that line. And he sang it too! She didn't even know he knew that song, original or Jersey Boys.

"Yes, Swan, I have figured out another one of your quotes." He replied, and she could see in her mind the smirk on his face. "It's not exactly my taste in music, but it has a good sentiment."

"Stay safe?" She asked when the lighter moment had passed.

"I'm a survivor, love."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Swan. And tell Hope that for me too."

"I will. Bye, Killian."

"Goodbye, darling."

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CS

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Emma walked up the path to her parents' place. As she did so, she saw the curtains move, and Neal was opening the door for her seconds later.

"Mom, she's here! She's here!" Her little brother loudly announced.

"Hey there, Squirt." Emma smiled and gave him a hug.

"Emma, come in and sit down. Hope is upstairs taking a nap." Her mom informed her after giving her a hug as well.

"Thanks for taking care of her." Emma apologized again after sitting on the couch. She had also apologized on the phone when she called to say she was coming over. "I really had no idea Regina and I would be working on the cure until after midnight."

"I really don't mind, Emma. There's no such thing as too much time with my granddaughter. You needed to help Regina and clearly some sleep. It wouldn't have done anyone any good if you picked her up at five in the morning. I was just relieved to hear from you, but don't apologize again."

"Okay, you're right." Emma admitted, her mom was a tough person to argue with when she set her mind to something.

"Mom is always right. Except when Dad is, but we don't talk about that." Neal chimed in from over in his beanbag chair. Emma tried to cover up her laugh, and their mom sent Neal a look like she couldn't believe what he just said.

"Did you and Regina get things done?" She asked, ignoring that comment and moving on gracefully. "I don't mind watching Hope again tonight if you need me to. Will the antidote be ready for the patients soon?"

"Everything is already done actually. We were working on the cure until after midnight. When we finally got it, we went straight to the hospital. Then we had to go through all the notes Killian made last week. You see, there's only enough right now for five people, so we had to figure out who was in need the most. That took a couple hours, and then giving it to the selected patients, that's why I didn't get home until five in the morning."

"Emma, that's wonderful!" Her mom stood up in excitement for her and for the accomplishment to help the patients. "And it sounds like your rest was well needed and well deserved. Speaking of, I know you love cocoa, but do you want some coffee?"

"I'm awake now, mom. Good old cocoa would be great."

"Okay, I'll go make some."

"Can I have cocoa too?" Neal asked.

"Yes, but remember you're not allowed to leave the kitchen with it." Snow reminded him with a stern look.

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded as she left for the kitchen. And then he took the now open spot next to her on the couch. "Emma, did you hear I won a spelling bee yesterday?"

"No, I didn't. That is awesome." She replied and gave him a high five.

"Awesome. A-w-e-s-o-m-e. Awesome." He answered. "I was practicing really hard and Mom and Dad helped me. Mom is trying to get a competition together with kids from other schools in different realms. How cool would that be?"

"That would be very cool."

She had heard her mom mention something like that before. It seemed like a good idea and opportunity, but she never gave much thought to it. She wasn't involved in the school that much, and Hope was too young. But she found herself taking an interest and wanting to know more about if after seeing how excited and into it her brother was.

"Okay everybody, hot cocoa with cinnamon is served." Mom announced.

She raced Neal to the kitchen island where they could sit, and of course her little brother won. Snow asked a few more questions about the cure. Emma told her how they needed to wait twenty-four hours to know if it even worked, and then they would start working on a second batch. And this time it would only take a couple hours instead of all night.

"I'll be glad when this is over. Our husbands will be home, and people can recover." Her mom commented, and Emma nodded and took a sip of cocoa.

Neal used the pause in the conversation as an opportunity to speak.

"I really liked having Hope with us last night, Emma. She's not boring anymore. She laughs when I make funny noises." He stated, and Emma thought that was a sweet and funny thing for a boy his age to say. "In fact I think I want a little sister!"

Neal had spoken his piece and went back to drink his cocoa. He was oblivious to the shocked look on their mother's face, and Emma was once again trying not to laugh at her reaction to her brother's unknowingly bold statement.

Finally, a cure has been made! This story comes with it's writing challenges, but it's been a good learning process for me. I was really stuck for a long time with writing Emma and Regina making the magical antidote. But I'm not good at making up my own hows and whys of magic. So I decided to let that drop and move on with the story. It's been good for me to learn to stay on the main topic and not get too caught up in rabbit trails that aren't necessary. Other people are really good at that sort of thing, but that's not for me and that's okay. My story is about Emma and her family, and that's my focus rather than the finer points of magic. Speaking of family, I'll be honest, I was cracking myself up while writing Neal. Hope the humor comes across, or maybe I've read my own stuff too many times, who knows. See you next time for some news that Emma receives. Below you'll find a teaser/spoiler.

!Spoiler alert!

"What happened?"

"Well, we sent word to Elsa ahead of time. Much like Storybrooke, the attacks were happening in the outskirts and not in the city. So, Elsa called for everyone to gather in the city and caused an ice storm outside the city. It drove the dogs to a specific area, and it was much easier to find and capture them." He began and so far, so good. "Unfortunately, it made the dogs that much more feral, hostile, and angry. We thought we had them all contained, but we missed one...It was behind me before I could even think to do anything. I was bitten in the leg."