A/N: Ebony is not my character, she belongs to AnnaleaseTurner who recommended using her for this chapter and a few others when you see her. I can explain more later if you would like, but try to enjoy her company when you do see her and enjoy the continuation of "Snow Falls" and I'll see you again in "Price of Gold".
"You know who I saw on my way back home last night?" Ms. Blanchard asked Evie as she began to bring her back to her loft for the time being since tensions were still high between the teenage girl and her mother right now.
"No. Who?" Evie asked curiously.
"Emma," Ms. Blanchard then said. "She was alone in her car and she seemed to be sleeping there?"
"Oh... I thought maybe she was staying at Granny's?" Evie replied out of confusion.
"Apparently she needs a new place to stay... No doubt you saw that newspaper about her?" Ms. Blanchard then explained.
"Yeah... Jordan Glass showed it to me in school which made me feel sick and led to an even worse day at home," Evie rolled her eyes knowingly. "Did you offer to let her stay here?"
"I mentioned that you were currently on my couch, but she passed on the roommate offer," Ms. Blanchard replied. "I really wanna help her. I feel like she's very important, even more than she thinks she is. Henry especially seems to think so."
"Well... I guess at least Emma is staying for Henry's sake," Evie shrugged. "Though I imagine it's quite hard especially with his fairy tale curse theory.
"It's pretty interesting, but at least he's happy again," Ms. Blanchard replied. "He's been so down in the dumps lately."
"Yeah... I know, right?" Evie agreed with a steady nod. "I just want my little brother back, but hopefully this keeps up for as long as possible. Then maybe when Emma decides to leave Storybrooke he'll snap out of it."
"That might be tricky," Ms. Blanchard said. "You're a very good big sister though."
"I try my best," Evie said bashfully. "Does Henry tell you that? That I'm the best big sister ever?"
"Most definitely," Ms. Blanchard chuckled warmly. "You two are very lucky to have each other."
Evie smiled as Ms. Blanchard smiled back and they continued to head off to her loft as the teenage girl decided to stay a bit longer.
"So... Have you thought more about volunteering at the hospital?" Ms. Blanchard then asked. "It might be a good place for you to clear your head for a little while."
"Well, I'm gonna start going there with Mr. Deley's reward for me and this other boy in class who got the best scores on his test," Evie explained softly. "I knew I was smart in science and chemistry, but I didn't know I was that smart to be one of the top scores."
"You have always been a bright young girl, especially when you were in my class." Ms. Blanchard smiled proudly.
"Really, Ms. Blanchard, I'm not that smart," Evie said bashfully. "Mr. Deley just, uh, happened to catch me in a good mood. Especially if Chad happened to be watching. What would he say if I had the biggest brain on campus?" she then asked a bit nervously.
"Evie... You do not have to play dumb to get a guy," Ms. Blanchard sighed and shook her head a bit. "You are so smart."
Evie paused bashfully as she wasn't sure about that. She did know that she was smart deep down, but she wanted to be like The Pinkettes so that she could be one of them and gain popularity. She was sure if she was popular enough in school then she would be able to win Chad's heart and he would become her boyfriend and she would become his girlfriend and that had been a wish of hers for as long as she could even remember.
Some time soon had passed. Evie was still with Ms. Blanchard and away from Regina, Graham, and Henry before the day came. She sighed to herself as she was beaming and talking with Chad in the hallway before their next class would come around.
"Mayor Regina Mills is so lucky to have a daughter as pretty as you." Chad grinned at Evie as they met up.
"I like to think I'm the fairest of them all," Evie smiled bashfully. "You must be the same in your house, right? So it's just you and your brother?"
"Me, my dad, and my brother actually," Chad said before grinning boastfully. "My brother Sean seems interested in that Ashley Boyd girl."
"Oh? Do you know her well?" Evie asked.
"Meh... Not too much," Chad shrugged. "I just know that she's going to be in big trouble with that baby of hers."
"Oh?" Evie asked.
"Let's just say she made an offer with Old Man Gold that she couldn't refuse," Chad replied before smirking. "Glad I ain't her, I can tell you that much."
"Hm... Right..." Evie replied before nodding. "I wonder who the father is?"
"It's not me, I can tell ya that much." Chad said before laughing.
Evie gave him a look before she started to make herself laugh with him so that he would appreciate her sense of humor. After all, that was one of the best things about earning the boy of your dreams. At least that was what they said in teenage magazine quizzes.
"Oh... By the way..." Chad then spoke up with another smug grin on his face. "You really nailed that chemistry test. You're gonna have all the nerds in love with you."
"I'm not that smart." Evie smiled bashfully.
"Oh, come on." Chad then pried innocently.
"No, really, I'm not, but I'm... I'm really good at sewing and cooking and cleaning." Evie then said as she rubbed her arm innocently.
"That will come in handy when you get married, you know?" Chad then said with a smirk. "Lots of guys like that in a girl, especially me."
"Oh... Uh... Okay..." Evie winced slightly before smiling. "Sounds... Nice... For you?"
"I'd really like to talk, but... I'm just swamped," Chad then said as he began to look frustrated before smirking once he had an idea. "Unless..."
"Unless?" Evie then asked hopefully.
"If you could knock all my homework out along with yours, then maybe we could get together sometime... Hang." Chad then began to suggest with a small smirk.
Evie looked a little hesitant at first before she looked around before shrugging and deciding to answer. "Okay." she then answered softly.
"Thanks, babe." Chad then grinned at her. "I'll meet you at yours sometime and you can get started."
"Oh... Okay..." Evie then said.
"See ya." Chad said before he suddenly left.
"...Yeah. Bye." Evie said softly before she looked around before flinching as a boy with brown hair and glasses was walking up to her.
"I couldn't help but overhear..." The boy started to say as he approached Evie.
"Are you stalking me?" Evie asked him with a firm pout as she didn't seem to recognize him.
"Technically... Yes," The boy then said before he pushed his glasses back a bit. "Erm... That and I'm here to escort you to the hospital."
"You are?" Evie asked.
"Yeah... Doug Clark?" Doug nodded and introduced himself. "I'm the other student who scored the highest on Mr. Deley's test."
"Oh... Uh... Are you new to Storybrooke?" Evie then asked, seeming to not even know who he was despite him being her classmate.
"No... I've lived here all my life?" Doug replied, glancing at her oddly. "...I play in the school marching band? ...My uncle owns Darkstar Pharmacy? ...I came to your 6th birthday party?" he then began to tell her to get her to remember him somehow.
"Oh... Did you? ...I have vague memories about 1st grade..." Evie said sheepishly. "Erm... Let's get going to the hospital then, huh?" she then suggested.
"Very well..." Doug nodded.
"Okay. Cool," Evie said before whispering to herself. "Let's just hope no one sees me. Especially The Pinkettes."
Doug glanced at Evie, feeling a little hurt, but said nothing so that it would seem like she didn't think he heard her. However, as soon as they walked off, the two girls, Scarlet and Amalie stepped out, a couple of girls in The Pinkettes' trio.
"Was that Evie Mills with one of the biggest geeks in school?" Scarlet wondered with a smirk.
"Why, yes, I think it was," Amalie replied thoughtfully. "What should we do?"
"We should probably talk this over with Magda and see what she says." Scarlet suggested as she looked sneaky and eager.
"See what I say about what?" A voice demanded from behind.
The two other girls turned around and saw "their group leader" who was smirking rather sinisterly.
"Oh, Magda..." Amalie spoke. "We just saw Mayor Mills' daughter with a total geek."
"She must be a real geekette, right?" Scarlet giggled evilly. "Should we exclude her from your next party and then her reputation will down the toilet?"
"Actually... No." Magda spoke up.
"No?!" Amalie and Scarlet asked in surprise.
"But... She's with a total geek..." Amalie reminded. "That's not good... Right?"
"You let me worry about that, girls," Magda smirked at them. "Sure, Evie is with one of the biggest geeks in school, but we could probably use this to our advantage in a way."
"What?!" Scarlet and Amalie gasped.
"Girls, just hear me out," Magda smirked. "If Evie is as smart as they say she is, we could possibly recruit her and stuff."
"Oh?" Scarlet asked. "But... Won't that tarnish our reputation or something?"
"Yeah... We're all supposed to be pretty and popular," Amalie added. "What would other people say if we hung out with Geek Princess Evie Mills?"
"Just leave that to me... Besides, Evie can't be a total geek if she looks like that," Magda told them with a smirk. "I'll figure something out eventually. You girls just play nice and we'll all get along just fine."
Scarlet and Amalie just looked and felt even more confused while Magda rolled her eyes at them before smirking as she had something special planned, but they would find out later. She would definitely make sure of it. For the glory of her popularity as the lead Pinkette and the true Queen Bee of Storybrooke High even if Evie was the one who was the mayor's daughter and all. However, once they were out of sight in the hallway, Mal seemed to be watching these three popular girls in school very closely and she looked like she had something on her mind, but kept it to herself until the time would be right.
Meanwhile, Evie and Doug made it to Storybrooke General Hospital.
"Ah... Evie... What a nice surprise... Look at how much you've grown..." Dr. Whale smiled warmly.
"Erm... Hello, Dr. Whale..." Evie greeted with a nervous smile.
"Aren't you a little old to be in Ms. Blanchard's class right now?" Dr. Whale then asked as he just looked at her up and down in a rather creepy way which seemed to make Doug grumpy and uncomfortable.
"Um... Heh... Well, I'm in high school now," Evie defended bashfully. "Also, this is my new friend, Derek."
"Doug." Doug corrected as he stood beside her with a firm glare at Dr. Whale who was being creepy.
"That's what I said." Evie covered up.
"No, you didn't, and we both know it." Doug muttered to himself.
"Well... Nice to meet you then," Dr. Whale then said before nodding. "Say, you remind me of the janitor around here... Leroy..." he then noted. "He seems to never be in a good mood. Do you know him?"
"Uh... I don't think so, but yeah... He does seem to be rather grumpy most of the time..." Doug replied.
Evie rolled her eyes before gasping as suddenly, someone had grabbed her around her waist.
"Oh... What do we have here then?" Doug asked, chuckling as he looked over to Evie as Dr. Whale then walked away suddenly. "A stowaway."
"Mm..." Henry beamed and smiled as he hugged Evie good and tight. "Hi!~"
"Well, hello there, little guy," Evie giggled as she looked down at her little brother before he let go of her as he smiled. "It's really good to see your smile again."
"Evie? Why'd you go away?" Henry asked innocently. "Don't you like me anymore?"
"Of course I like you, Henry... You're my special little guy... My #1 guy," Evie smiled softly. "I just needed some personal time away from home for a little while, but I promise that it isn't your fault."
"I was hoping it wasn't," Henry said softly. "I'm sorry that I got mad at you and Emma when you were talking with Mom the other night."
"Oh... It's okay..." Evie soothed. "I'll probably be back home another time, but I haven't forgotten you. I promise."
Doug smiled as he watched Henry and Evie reunite together.
"Ms. Blanchard said that you did really well on your chemistry test." Henry then said to his big sister.
"I did..." Evie nodded. "Apparently so did... Um... Uh..." she then stammered.
"Doug... My name is Doug," Doug told her as he came back again before smiling and nodding his head at little Henry. "Hello there."
"Hi, Doug. I'm Henry." Henry replied.
"Oh, believe me, I know," Doug chuckled before he hunched down a little and shook hands with the boy. "Nice to meet you, Henry."
"You too, Doug," Henry nodded. "Are you Evie's boyfriend?"
"Henry!" Evie gasped as that made her blush out of embarrassment.
"Uh... Heh... Erm... N-No, I'm afraid not..." Doug smiled bashfully and nervously as he fiddled with his glasses a little bit. "Though... I guess I wouldn't mind that... Evie is as pretty as a princess."
"I'm not a princess..." Evie muttered bashfully before she came to push Henry away from Doug a bit. "Hey, Henry, let's go somewhere else, okay?"
"Uh... Okay, Evie..." Henry said before shrugging at Doug who just shrugged back.
Doug then turned away before he smiled at a blonde pigtailed girl who was doing a ballet dance for some patients before he came to see her up close.
"Henry, we don't say that sort of thing out loud especially in front of the person we're talking to or about, okay?" Evie advised as she put her hand over her little brother's shoulders. "I'm not mad, just... Frustrated, okay?"
"Sorry, Evie..." Henry replied. "But... Do you like him? He seems like a nice boy." he then asked.
"Like him? I don't even know him," Evie sighed and pouted before smiling. "Besides, I'm saving my heart for Chad Herman."
"Chad's a dingdong." Henry retorted.
"Henry..." Evie groaned and rolled her eyes.
"Well, he is," Henry defended. "I'm not sure what his deal is, but he doesn't seem right for you, Evie. I think that Doug might be."
"Well... Maybe only in a fairy tale..." Evie then said.
"You never know... Stranger things have happened... Especially since things are changing around here with Emma coming to Storybrooke." Henry replied assertively and matter of factly.
"...Okay, Henry," Evie said, giving in a bit. "You're lucky you're cute otherwise I would've traded you for magic beans 10 years ago."
"So you can grow a beanstalk?" Henry smirked.
Evie gave a stoic, deadpan face as she just sighed and shook her head. "What am I going to do with you?" she then sighed wearily.
"Not trade me for magic beans. You just said so yourself." Henry replied innocently.
"Argh..." Evie groaned a bit before she got back up and looked over to see that they were in company. "Oh, sorry, sir, we didn't mean to disturb you."
The patient in the bed didn't respond. In fact, he didn't even seem to be awake and he almost appeared to be dead.
"Oh..." Evie said softly as she realized this man wasn't conscious before she put her hand under the man's nose before sighing. "Oh, good... He's still breathing."
"So he's not dead?" Henry asked.
"No... I guess he's just... Asleep for a very long time, but definitely not dead." Evie reassured as calmly and maturely as she could for her little brother.
Henry then came over and reached out to touch the man's face as he stood next to Evie.
"Henry. We could really use your help with the decorations." Ms. Blanchard spoke as she came to the boy who wandered off from the group.
"Is Mr. Doe going to be okay, Ms. Blanchard?" Henry then asked his teacher.
"His name's not John Doe, honey. That's just what they call people when they don't know who they are." Ms. Blanchard explained calmly.
"Do you know who he is?" Henry then asked her.
"Nope. I just bring him flowers on my rounds." Ms. Blanchard then said.
"Do you know what happened to him then?" Evie asked. "Car accident? Intense food coma Thanksgiving dinner? Sugar rush gone wrong?"
"I don't know," Ms. Blanchard told the siblings. "He's been like this as long as I've been volunteering."
"Does he have any family or friends?" Henry then asked.
"No one's claimed him." Ms. Blanchard told him calmly.
"Oh... How sad... He's all alone in this hospital with no hope..." Evie pouted in sympathy.
"Yes... It's very sad..." Ms. Blanchard agreed softly.
Henry looked like he had a lot more on his mind about this strange unknown man. "...You sure you don't know him?" he then asked her.
"'Course I'm sure. Come on," Ms. Blanchard reassured. "You shouldn't be in here. Evie, what were you thinking?"
"I'm sorry, Ms. Blanchard, we just needed to talk in private for a minute," Evie replied before coming back out of the ICU Unit with the teacher woman. "Brother to sister."
"I guess you two made up?" Ms. Blanchard smiled hopefully.
"Mm-hmm..." Evie smiled and nodded proudly.
"Good..." Ms. Blanchard beamed as she liked the sound of that.
Evie smiled while leading Henry away as he took one last glance at the coma patient who was doomed to be in that bed for goodness knew how long. "What?" she then asked her little brother quietly, seeing his glance.
"I know that guy." Henry then said.
"What?" Evie then repeated, though a bit flatly.
"Honest!" Henry defended. "You and Emma should meet me at the castle later."
"Well... Okay..." Evie shrugged with a small smirk. "This should be interesting."
"Believe me, Evie. It will be." Henry reassured as they continued to enjoy the rest of the experience.
Doug was shown to be talking to one of the patients, trying to keep a fishbowl away from her as the fish was swimming around rapidly while a dark-haired woman was shown to be staring at the fish, almost looking like a cat who was ready to go after it. Henry and Evie walked by before glancing at each other and then looked back at Doug and the mysterious woman curiously as they decided to walk over.
"Oh. Hey, guys." Doug said as he looked over while putting the fishbowl down somewhere else, keeping away from the dark-haired woman who pouted.
"Um... Hey, Doug..." Evie said. "Sorry about the detour, but Henry and I had to talk about something... Uh... Important."
"You mean besides your little brother thinking that everybody in Storybrooke is a fairy tale character with cursed memories and that we're their descendants?" Doug guessed.
"Uh... Yeah... That..." Evie said before nodding.
"Trust me, Evie. You'll see what I mean some of these days." Henry defended.
"Sure, Henry, of course..." Evie said as she shook her head.
"That's why you and Emma have to meet me at the castle after school." Henry then urged.
"Heh... Kids..." Evie smiled bashfully before shrugging. "So, uh, enough about us. What's going on over here now?" she then asked, changing the subject to avoid utter teenage embarrassment with a constantly curious younger sibling.
"Just saying hi to my mom." Doug replied.
"Your mom?" Henry and Evie asked curiously.
"Mm-hmm..." Doug nodded before showing the dark-haired woman who looked around the room before she looked at him with a warm smile. "Guys... This is my mother... Ebony."
"Oh... Uh... Hello there, uh... Mrs. Clark," Evie smiled bashfully as she gave a friendly wave. "It's nice to meet you."
Henry began to look at the dark-haired woman curiously to see if he recognized her from his book or not, but so far, he felt unsure.
"Oh... Hi..." The woman, named Ebony, smiled softly back. "Are you my kitten's friends?"
Doug looked a little bashful himself from the "Kitten" nickname, but there was a lot more to it than that.
"Erm... Yes... Kitten's told us a lot about you..." Evie said, putting her hand to her mouth with a light snicker at the nickname.
"Evie, don't be rude." Henry whispered to his sister.
Evie just glanced down at him and stuck her tongue out at him in response.
"It's still very nice to meet you all," Ebony smiled. "Do you all have any tuna on you? I quite like tuna~"
"Mom, no..." Doug whispered nervously.
Henry and Evie looked curious about what was going on between Doug and his mother, though she seemed like a very friendly lady so far. Ebony even asked to hug Evie and Evie could've sworn that she heard purring in the hug before they would leave the hospital, but decided to keep it to herself for now.
Doug did have some insight on the situation however. "Sorry about Mom... She... She tends to act like a cat sometimes..." he then told Evie and Henry. "Whenever I'm not too busy with marching band I try to visit her everyday after school."
"What happened to her anyway?" Evie then asked, especially with how Ebony probably even ended up in the hospital in the first place.
"It's a long story... I'll tell you later." Doug replied softly.
Evie glanced at him before shrugging as they took their leave. Ebony smiled as she bonded with Doug while Evie's curiosity simply got the better of her as she wondered what Henry had to say about this John Doe in the hospital, though she felt very bad about him to be in a coma. She couldn't imagine what that would be like and just hoped whoever was looking for him would find him.
Some time later, it was time to meet Emma at the castle as the siblings agreed upon as Henry brought out his book.
Henry flipped through the pages until he found the one he needed to show his sister and birth mother. "I found your father: Prince Charming." he then told Emma as he pointed out the picture.
"Henry..." Emma sighed a bit.
"He's in the hospital, in a coma. See the scar?" Henry defended bfore he pointed out more in his book to show Emma and Evie as Evie did a double-take as it was crazy how similiar the two men were in both Storybrooke and in the storybook. "He has one, too."
"So? Lots of people have scars." Emma shrugged off with a scoff.
"In the same place?" Henry then asked Emma.
"...Well, I can't lie..." Evie replied softly as she looked at the prince in the picture who did resemble the patient in the hospital quite a bit. "The resemblance IS very uncanny."
"Evie..." Emma sighed wearily.
"It's a very crazy coincidence, Emma," Evie defended. "He makes a very good point."
Henry then looked proud of that statement.
"So... What would this mean then?" Evie then asked her little brother.
"Isn't it obvious?" Henry replied before he explained. "The curse is keeping them apart with the coma. Now they're stuck without each other. We have to tell Ms. Blanchard we found her Prince Charming."
"Well... Better him than Dr. Whale..." Evie said before rolling her eyes and shuddering as she still felt disgusted for her interraction with the man at the hospital.
Okay, kid. Telling someone their... Soulmate is in a coma is probably not helpful," Emma denied. "Not having a happy ending is painful enough, but giving someone unrealistic hope is far worse."
"But what if I'm right? We know who they are," Henry retorted courageously. "Now THEY have to know."
"And how do you intend to make that happen?" Evie then asked Henry softly.
"By reminding him. We have to get her to read their story to John Doe," Henry replied. "Then, maybe, he'll remember who he is. Evie, maybe you could do it." he then suggested to his sister.
"Me?" Evie asked, blinking with wide eyes. "Why me?"
"You're close with Ms. Blanchard right now," Henry reminded before he began to reach out to give her his book. "You're staying with her, so you could probably talk her into doing it."
"Oh... Henry... Are you sure that you wanna part with that?" Evie asked.
"It's okay, I'll get it right back, I trust you and Ms. Blanchard," Henry reassured warmly. "Please, Evie... It's the only way for her to live happily ever after."
Emma still looked very doubtful about this idea working.
"Well... Uh... Okay..." Evie said before she took the book back. "Let me see what I can do." she then said with a small smile.
Henry smiled back before reaching out and hugging his sister again. "You're the best, Evie. I don't know what I'd do without you!" he said cheerfully.
"All right, but you owe me one after this..." Evie then said with a smirk.
"Okay," Henry smirked back. "You can take me to play Whac-A-Mole."
"And how is that paying me back for what I do for you?" Evie asked as she chuckled a little at his suggestion.
"Because then you can play Sugar Rush Speedway like when you were a kid?" Henry grinned innocently. "And you get to see a very proud and happy little brother?"
Evie rolled her eyes. "You're a pain in the butt sometimes. You know that, right?" she then replied.
"Yes, but you love me anyway," Henry defended smugly. "Otherwise you would have magic beans right now."
Evie just sighed before smirking and ruffling up his hair a little. Emma looked between them, giving a small smile between the two siblings, but said nothing else.
More time had passed and it was soon later that night with Evie and Ms. Blanchard to talk about a certain idea as she held onto her little brother's storybook for the time being.
"You want me to read to a coma patient?" Ms. Blanchard asked the teenage girl as they sat together in the woman's loft.
"Henry thinks it will help him remember who he was," Evie nodded. "He thinks that this John Doe guy was Prince Charming."
"And if I'm Snow White, he thinks... Me... And him..." Ms. Blanchard then said, a bit unsettled.
"He has a very active imagination, which is the point. Emma and I can't talk him out of his beliefs, so we need to show him," Evie then interrupted as she explained even though she felt a little funny about this idea too. "Play along, do what he says and then maybe, just maybe-"
"He'll see that fairy tales are just that... That there's no such thing as love at first sight or first kiss," Ms. Blanchard then realized. "He'll see reality."
"Yeah... Something like that," Evie said as she nodded. "Then he'll get over this fairy tale phase and move onto something else like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings."
"Well... Sadly, this plan is rather genius," Ms. Blanchard then replied. "We get him to the truth without hurting him."
"Yes, exactly," Evie replied as she nodded. "Now look, Emma agreed to meet at breakfast at Granny's with us and we'll talk more about this the next time we all see each other. Do you understand, Ms. Blanchard?"
"Well, I suppose I'll get ready for my date," Ms. Blanchard then said as she took the book gently from Evie with a lot on her mind and her heart. "I guess I'll have to do all the talking."
"Better than nothing," Evie replied. "Good luck."
"Thank you, Evie," Ms. Blanchard said before giving a small smile. "It's really nice of you to look out for your little brother though."
"I've made a vow to do so once he was brought home from Boston," Evie smiled back. "Even if it might be a little difficult with this new obsession."
Ms. Blanchard nodded as that was understandable before she took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. "Wish me luck." she then said.
"Luck's got nothing to do with it." Evie said as she felt determined for her little brother's sake.
The next day soon came and luckily it wasn't a school day. Ms. Blanchard decided not to tell Evie what happened last night at the hospital, but she was dumbfounded by what happened and Evie was just shivering and quivering with anticipation, but she had to share it with not just her, but also Emma and Henry as agreed upon. She did ask Evie to get to the diner before her though as she would be just a little bit late, so Evie tried very hard not to let her anticipation overwhelm her and she was excited to see and hear what would be happening next. She soon made it into the diner as Emma wore a very familiar-looking shirt as it was time to meet up like promised with one another.
"Hey, you think your mom will mind if I borrow this shirt?" Emma asked Evie once she saw her.
"What is this? Peculiar Greeting Day?" Evie giggled as that question seemed random before she took another look at the blonde woman. "Oh... I thought I recognized that shirt."
"I let her borrow it." Henry piped up.
"Of course you did," Evie teased. "Let's just hope she doesn't throw a fit or a flaming pumpkin."
"That's The Headless Horseman from Sleepy Hollow," Henry then said. "I don't even know if he's in my book or not."
"Probably not," Evie shrugged. "Those are probably different stories like The Pied Piper, Mulan, or Robin Hood. They were all legends."
"Yeah, you're probably right." Henry then nodded.
"Hm," Evie smirked warmly. "So, are we playing Whac-A-Mole then?" she then asked, remembering what they agreed on before.
"Well... Not exactly..." Henry said, trying to sound innocent. "Just don't tell Mom, okay?"
Evie glanced at him before sighing and shaking her head. "Henry... You shouldn't lie to your mother or big sister." she then said.
"But you're in on Operation: Cobra too," Henry defended. "Just don't tell Mom, please? We're so close! ...By the way, where's Ms. Blanchard? I thought you two were living together for a while." he then said as he didn't see the woman anywhere.
"She wanted me to come here ahead of her," Evie explained. "I guess she just needed to collect some feelings. She was in a weird mood and I kept trying to ask her what she was thinking about after last night, but she wanted to wait until we were with you and Emma."
"This should be really interesting." Emma commented to Evie.
"Indeed." Evie nodded before she checked her phone to pass the time.
Eventually, after a few more minutes, the woman in question was making her way into the diner to meet the group she agreed to meet with.
"She's here!" Henry soon piped up, pulling his sister out of her reverie.
"Hey, don't get your hopes up," Emma warned Henry. "We're just getting started, okay?"
Evie merely nodded in silent agreement, though there was a glimmer of hope in her eyes as well.
"Um, hello, Ms. Blanchard," Evie greeted. "Glad to see that you're finally here. So, what's the news on our Mr. John Doe in the hospital?" she then asked very eagerly. "Please tell me... The suspense is killing me."
"Me too! Me too!" Henry piped up very eagerly.
"He woke up." Ms. Blanchard informed them.
"What?" Emma and Evie murmured in surprise.
"I knew it." Henry beamed to himself.
"I mean, he didn't 'wake up' wake up, but he grabbed my hand." Ms. Blanchard then calmly explained herself.
"He's remembering!" Henry then beamed as this was a very good day for him so far.
"Slow down, Henry," Evie told her little brother before facing the short-haired adult woman. "What did Dr. Whale have to say about this?"
Ms. Blanchard sighed as she explained what had happened last night since they weren't there and had to be honest. "That I imagined it, but I'm not crazy. I know it happened." she then confessed wearily.
Evie frowned, looking deep in thought before her eyes widened.
"We have to go back," Henry soon suggested eagerly. "You have to read to him again."
Ms. Blanchard seemed to pause before she then agreed with the young boy. "Let's go." she then decided.
"Wait, what?" Evie then asked before she yelped as Henry suddenly grabbed her by her arm and pulled her away so that they could head down to the hospital as soon as possible.
"What she said." Emma agreed.
"If I got through to him, if we made a connection..." Ms. Blanchard then started to say, explaining to Emma calmly.
"You don't believe..." Emma replied softly.
"That he's Prince Charming? Of course not. Somehow, someway, I touched him." Ms. Blanchard then replied calmly.
Evie looked curious as she had overheard that, but said nothing, though it had to be a miracle of some sort. Almost like a sign from up above.
Henry continued to pull Evie around as they made it over to the hospital. Evie looked a bit amused as she saw Ebony, Doug's mother, staring at the fish tank in the recreational room, looking like she was contemplating about the fish swimming around, looking rather feline-like in her demeanor somehow. They soon made it over to where John Doe was, but he wasn't alone which made Evie feel queasy once she saw who was in their company.
"You're right! He's waking up!" Henry beamed to Emma and Ms. Blanchard.
"Henry, you should stay back." Graham advised as Evie's face paled at the sight of him.
"What's going on?" Ms. Blanchard asked the sheriff urgently and hopefully. "Is it John Doe? Is he okay?"
"He's missing." Graham informed before a certain someone was shown in the patient's room.
Evie felt shocked about what Graham had just told them, but she felt even more shocked to see who was in John Doe's room. "...Mommy." she then whispered wearily and nervously as her mother was very ill-tempered right now, especially since she (Evie) decided to leave home so suddenly after a poor misunderstanding that struck her tender and sweet heart with guilt.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Regina hissed at the sight of Emma before spotting Henry. "And you; I thought you were at the arcade with your sister. Now you're lying to me?"
"Mom, please don't be mad with Henry." Evie frowned softly.
"And you... I don't even wanna talk about you right now," Regina replied firmly to her daughter. "Running away from home when you're only 16."
"I didn't run away from home, I was just hanging out with Ms. Blanchard!" Evie defended firmly before whispering to herself. "At least with her, I feel more at home."
"I don't have time to discuss this." Regina glared.
Evie flinched at her mother's very cold-hearted glare as she actually felt her own heart shifting. Almost like even it was afraid of "Mother's Wrath".
"What happened to John Doe?" Ms. Blanchard then had to ask. "Did someone take him?"
"We don't know yet," Graham explained calmly. "His IVs were ripped out but there's no sign for sure there's a struggle."
"What did you do?" Henry asked his mother instinctively.
"You think I had something to do with this?" Regina retorted.
"Why else would you be here, Mom?" Evie replied calmly.
"It is curious that the mayor is here." Emma had to agree.
"I'm here because I'm his emergency contact." Regina then explained.
"Wait... What?" Evie asked, feeling even more mind blown and overwhelmed. "You know this guy, Mom?"
"I found him," Regina explained calmly. "On the side of the road years ago with no ID. I brought him here."
"Mayor Mills saved his life." Dr. Whale added as he stepped in.
"Will he be okay?" Ms. Blanchard asked hopefully.
"Okay?" Dr. Whale scoffed. "The man's been on feeding tubes for years on constant supervision. He needs to get back here right away or, quite honestly, 'okay' might be a pipe dream." he then informed.
"Well then, let's quit yapping and start looking." Emma then suggested.
"That's what we're doing?" Regina scoffed before defending herself. "Just stay out of this, dear. And since I clearly can't keep you away from my son and daughter, I guess I'm just going to have to keep my son and daughter away from you. Enjoy my shirt, because that's all you're getting," she then added sternly before facing Graham. "Sheriff, find John Doe. You heard Dr. Whale. Time is precious." she then commanded before leaving with her children.
Evie kept her head down low before trying to speak up. "Mom, I-" she then started.
"I want you to ask Ms. Blanchard when you take Henry to school next time to put your things in a bag for you to take back home after school," Regina interrupted crudely. "I know we're all having a hard time with Miss Swan being here in our town, but you running away and trying to be a rebellion teen isn't going to help anything. You're a big influence on Henry and I don't find this attitude funny and I don't find it cute either."
"I... I just wanna help Henry be happy," Evie explained softly as she seemed to be holding back tears. "Why can't you understand that?"
"I want you to understand that I won't tolerate any bad behavior, rudeness, or rebelling just to get your way," Regina retorted. "It's something you have to learn, especially you Henry once you get older. People have to grow up."
"Well, maybe sometimes I don't wanna grow up." Evie firmly pouted.
"Fine... You can just be jobless and homeless for the rest of your life and see where that takes you," Regina replied. "People have rules for a reason, Evie. I thought you of all people would know that since you hardly gave me trouble when you were a little girl or Henry's age."
Evie just sighed sharply in defeat.
"Excuse me?" Regina then demanded as she crossed her arms at that response.
"Sorry, Mom." Evie then forced herself to say.
"You had better be," Regina said before nodding. "Now, let's go straight home. Just remember, there's nowhere to hide and you can't run from my rules or the law forever."
Evie glanced away before bowing her head and shutting her eyes as they soon left the hospital to go back home.
"Now, I need to run out again so I just need to bring you home," Regina told her children. "Evie, keep an eye on Henry, and no funny business. Do you both understand?"
"Yes, Mom." Evie and Henry replied.
Regina nodded as she soon began to bring them back home.
Later that night after Evie was brought back home and would need to get her personal belongings later. Henry was soon showing his storybook to Evie about the story of Snow White and Prince Charming which was a lot different than the story that Evie and a lot of other people had grown up with.
"So... Snow White's a bandit? I never would've guessed that." Evie commented.
"Yeah... She's really something else," Henry nodded. "That's why we gotta go out tonight."
"You're a real masochist lately, you know that, right?" Evie commented.
"What's a masochist?" Henry asked. "If it's someone who helps a Savior, then I'm all for it."
"A masochist is someone who enjoys pain and punishment for... Some kinda sick reason," Evie explained. "I don't know if I can get in any more trouble with Mom and especially you."
"Come on, Evie. Where's your sense of adventure?" Henry replied before he quickly went to grab a jacket, his backpack, and a flashlight.
"Henry..." Evie wearily sighed, not sure about this.
"If you won't go, then I will!" Henry called out as he soon ran for the door. "Besides, Mom said you had to keep an eye on me. What else are big sisters for?"
"...I just know I'm gonna regret this." Evie muttered firmly to herself before she decided to get a jacket too and brought out her phone.
"All right!" Henry cheered and smiled. "It's all worth it in the end once we all get a happy ending, right?" he then asked.
"Don't push it..." Evie replied with a dark smirk.
"All right, let's go," Henry nodded as he came to get the door open. "Hey, don't you need a flashlight?" he then asked her once he saw that she didn't have one with her.
"Nah, it's okay," Evie said before she took out her phone and turned on its flashlight. "I got this."
Henry nodded before he soon went with Evie as they left the house while Evie just sighed to herself as she felt uncomfortable. The things she would do just to keep her little brother happy... Just two more years until she can legally move out.
"So, where are we going?" Evie asked Henry on the way.
"Over the river and through the woods." Henry replied with a nod.
"To Grandmother's house we go?" Evie smirked.
"Very funny..." Henry smirked back before they began to leave and did indeed head for the woods of Storybrooke.
Ms. Blanchard, Emma, Graham had already went there as Henry began to lead the way for Evie. It was getting very dark outside, but they could still see before the sky would be black and the moon would come out. The adults talked among themselves with Graham leading the way as he seemed to be a natural born tracker, almost like a hunter or even a wolf as they looked for a trail on John Doe before they suddenly felt a disturbance right behind them.
"Henry! Evie!" Ms. Blanchard gasped once she saw the Mills siblings.
"Did you find him yet?" Henry asked.
"No, not yet," Emma replied. "You two shouldn't be here."
"We can help. We know where he's going." Henry explained.
"And where's that?" Ms. Blanchard then demanded.
"He's looking for you," Henry told her eagerly. " You're the one who woke him up. You're the last one he saw. He wants to find you!" he then explained.
"Henry, it's not about me. I just... I think he's lost and confused," Ms. Blanchard replied softly. "He's been in a coma a long time."
"But he loves you!" Henry urged as Evie wasn't sure what to do or say. "You need to stop chasing him, and let him find you."
"Guys. You need to go home," Emma told the Mills siblings. "Where's your mom? She's going to kill me and then you... And then me again." she then added.
"She dropped us off at the house and then had to run a few nightly errands." Evie explained calmly.
"Well, we need to get you back immediately." Emma suggested.
"No!" Henry cried out as he backed away from the blonde woman.
"Guys!" Graham suddenly called out.
"What is it, Graham?" Evie asked the man.
"See for yourself." Graham replied as he showed a hospital bracelet covered in a certain wet substance.
"Is that...?" Ms. Blanchard began sickly.
"Blood." Emma added in realization.
Evie gulped thickly. She wasn't afraid of blood or anything, but seeing blood like this up close made her feel a little bit queasy.
"It's okay, Evie. Remember, I said it's worth it." Henry comforted his older sister.
"Sometimes I'm not sure about you..." Evie muttered weakly to herself.
"It'll be okay, Evie," Graham soothed the girl as he tried to be paternal. "You can head back home if you want. We can take it from here. Maybe you can convince your little brother to go home with you?" he then suggested.
Evie knew that Henry wouldn't go back right away so she shook her head. "N-No... I'll be fine," she then said. "Let's just keep going."
"...Well, okay," Graham then said to her. "As long as you're sure."
"I am..." Evie said with a loud gulp. "Come on... I think we're almost at Troll Bridge."
"Toll Bridge..." Graham corrected with a small smirk.
"I know what I meant." Evie rolled her eyes at him.
Soon, the group continued to comb through the woods before they then soon made it over to Toll Bridge as Evie predicted.
"Where is he? Can you see him?" Ms. Blanchard asked.
"The trail dies at the waterline." Graham informed.
"What does that mean?" Evie wondered before she gasped and her eyes widened.
There they found the patient they were looking for lying down in the water, no one sure if he was dead or alive.
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" Ms. Blanchard panicked.
Graham soon brought out his walkie-talkie to get some extra help. "I need an ambulance! At the old Toll Bridge, as soon as possible." he then demanded urgently before helping the women back to shore.
"Oh, my God... This is actually happening..." Evie muttered wearily.
"No, no, no, no, no! No, no, no! I found you!" Ms. Blanchard told the weakened man.
"It's going to be okay." Emma comforted.
"Help's coming." Graham reassured warmly.
"Is he okay?" Henry wondered.
"I don't even know if I'm okay..." Evie said as she sounded sick to her stomach.
"Is he going to be okay?" Henry then asked.
"Shh... Come here..." Evie shushed as she brought her little brother over to her and hid him away from John Doe since this looked very dark and nightmare inducing, especially for Henry at his current age.
"Come back to us. Come back to me." Ms. Blanchard whispered and begged as she began to perform CPR and even put her mouth on his mouth.
Evie cringed nervously before her eyes widened at the next thing that happened...
John Doe was coughing up water and was now shallowly breathing, now fully awake from his coma that lasted for who knew how long. "You saved me." he then said to the woman who had saved his life.
"She did it. She did it!" Henry cheered. "She woke him up. Isn't this great, Evie?"
There was no response.
"...Evie?" Henry asked before looking over at his sister before he gasped with wide eyes. "EVIE!"
Evie was shown to had passed out in the middle of the woods. The others called out, but their voices sounded muffled and underwater as Evie seemed to be knocked out. Henry just hoped that there wouldn't be another coma patient in the hospital.
Evie let out a small groan before her eyes flashed open and she looked around. "Huh? Where am I?" she then asked as she seemed to be in a hospital bed of her very own and had a bandage on her forehead.
Dr. Whale soon got a glass of water for Evie and she then took it and began to relax.
"Oh, thank you, Dr. Whale..." Evie said in a weary voice before taking the water and sipping it. "What happened?"
"You apparently passed out in the woods... No harm done," Dr. Whale told her calmly. "You can get up whenever you're ready, but you have a couple of visitors."
"Oh?" Evie asked before she saw her little brother come in, so she smiled at him softly. "Hey."
"Ms. Blanchard woke up John Doe, Evie." Henry smiled warmly.
"Hooray... Bananas for everybody..." Evie smiled back wearily.
Henry smiled a little, though he didn't look fully cheerful and Evie could tell before her little brother then looked over as Regina came to see her.
"Nice to see you're recovering nicely," Regina said to her daughter as she crossed her arms. "Perhaps I should, as the young people say, bring you up to speed?" she then suggested.
"Um... Okay, Mom... Sure..." Evie replied softly. "What's up?"
"What's up is that you and Henry are both grounded for a while," Regina began to explain as Evie instantly felt her stomach turn. "John Doe is actually named David Nolan and his wife came looking for him."
"He's been married all of this time?" Evie asked in surprise.
"Let me finish," Regina stated sternly before she continued. "Apparently Mrs. Nolan wasn't getting along with Mr. Nolan a few years ago and he ended up in his coma and they're both going to live happily ever after now, the two of them, not Mr. Nolan and Ms. Blanchard. There are going to be a few changes around here once we get back home and you had both better understand."
"Yes, Mom..." Evie answered softly. "Sorry, Mom."
Regina nodded. "Now, you better get up out of that bed so we can both go home," she then decided. "It's very late and I think now would be a good time to go to bed."
Evie sighed before she finished up her glass of water and soon got up before taking Henry's hand as they began to follow Regina out of the hospital. She could've sworn that on the way out that she heard Ebony and she was hissing like an angry and provoked cat at Regina almost as though she didn't even like her.
"Don't worry... This story will have a happy ending... It's just like this for now, but the story's not over yet." Henry whispered to Evie as they left.
"Whatever you say, kiddo. Whatever you say." Evie shrugged before they soon headed to the car to head back home.