TemperanceTales: I do not own Once Upon a Time in anyway shape or form and I give full credit to the creators. I am giving this chapter a Strong T rating. I won't label it higher than T but just forewarning you…
Chapter Thirteen: Reality Strikes
Listening to the sounds below, she sat on the bedroom floor looking out the small window near the floor. The bed room was obviously in the attic, the ceilings shaped up to a point. The bed was metal and small, pressed up against the flat of one of the walls. There wasn't really much else in her room except a chest filled with clothes left opened. The noises below were rowdy and obnoxious. But the girl was ignoring that, instead she was looking at the pouring raining. Thunder sounded as lighting struck the sky.
Getting up, she walked over to the bed. Sitting down on the bed, she heard a loud banging on the trap door with someone yelling rather slurred, "Keep the damn noise down!"
Rolling her eyes, she flopped back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. She hoped they would leave soon; otherwise she wouldn't be able to leave. Thunder cracked again and there was more banging. The girl gritted her teeth as the man yelled, "Stop throwing things around, you brat!"
"It's just the storm moron," a woman said, obviously annoyed, "Leave her alone."
She didn't even bother to say anything in her own defense; she knew it did no good. Burying her head into the pillow, thunder cracked again and she waited. The man below snarled and Felicity's voice rang out.
"Leave her alone! I SAID leave her al-!"
There was a smash and a yelp. Autumn swallowed, anticipating what came next.
"Get her down here!" the man yelled, "That brat is pissing everyone off babe, GET HER DOWN!"
There was a burst of noise as the trap door swung open and the man scrambled up. His hair was messed up as he grabbed the girl's long hair saying, "Get up! You've pissed me off for the last time brat!"
"Oh God."
Emma and Mary Margaret stood in the hospital hallway as doctors pulled the curtains around Autumn's bed. The clock showed a quarter to twelve, showing some time had passed since they arrived a half any hour ago. Emma watched through the glass doors as Mary Margaret wiped her tears away. Pulling out her cell phone, Emma heard Mary Margaret say, "We always knew there was something off when it came to Autumn, but I never once thought we would end up being here with something like this."
"I was hoping we wouldn't be," Emma said, dialing a phone number. Pressing the phone to her ear, Emma waited a while said, "Hey Ruby? It's me Emma. I need you to come down to the hospital. Autumn's been badly hurt and I need you to come right away."
Emma hung up and began dialing a second number. Mary Margaret looked over at Emma and said, "Who else are you calling?"
"Gold," Emma said, "Right now, I need the people she's been closest with as of recently. As far as I'm concerned her mother is MIA."
"Did you try calling the house?" Mary Margaret asked and Emma said, "No answer. Once Autumn is stable, I'll try and get a hold of her at work."
"Hello?"
"Gold, I need you to come down to the hospital."
"Sheriff Swan, do you realize the hour?"
"Yes, I'm aware, but I need you to get down here. Autumn's in the hospital."
"I'll be there."
Emma heard a click and shut the cell phone. The curtains parted as Dr. Whale came out from behind the curtains. The curtains opened to see Autumn sleeping in the bed with an oxygen mask over her face. She was out like a light, there would be definitely no answers tonight. Dr. Whale walked over with a rather serious expression on his face. Opening the glass door, Dr. Whale came out and Mary Margaret asked, "How is she?"
"Stable at the moment," Dr. Whale said, his voice grave, "But we have more tests to run. By what I can tell so far, she's going to need more than time to heal."
"What do you mean?" Emma asked, her eyes narrowed. For some reason, she had a feeling that he was talking about more than physical wounds.
"When getting her into the hospital gown, the nurse noticed scarring and bruising all over her back and some on her torso area. Some bruises are new, some of them weeks if not a month old," Dr. Whale said seriously, "It's like someone was using her as a punching bag."
Mary Margaret whimpered, her eyes going glassy once again. Emma gritted her teeth and said, "Abuse?"
"That seems to be the likely case," Dr. Whale said softly, "I would be very surprised if it was something else."
Emma clenched her fist and Dr. Whale said, "She's under at the moment so asking her questions is impossible. Hopefully by morning she will be better enough to talk to people."
Emma nodded as Dr. Whale excused himself. Mary Margaret didn't even bother wiping her own tears as she said, nasally, "How could we not have known?"
"She knew how to hide it." Emma said lowly, "The question is where is Felicity and how did this happen?"
"Miss Swan!"
Emma looked to see Mr. Gold hurrying down the hallway. Margaret looked back over at Autumn, hand over her mouth. Emma watched him sadly as he got closer. Mr. Gold stopped dead at the site of Autumn in the hospital bed. He was disheveled. No tie, his shirt slightly unbuttoned, and his hair messy. He began to tremble as he saw her in the bed, clenching his cane. Narrowing his eyes, Gold looked at Emma saying darkly, "What happened?"
"She came knocking on our door, blue lips, freezing cold," Emma explained, "Gold, I have to ask when was the last time you saw her?"
"A few weeks ago," Mr. Gold said, "She was at my house having tea. She seemed perfectly fine now why is she like this?"
"I don't know," Emma said, lowly, "That's what I need to find out. I need you to stay with her. I can't promise she's safe here."
Mr. Gold clearly wasn't satisfied with her answer and said, "Why wouldn't she be safe here?"
"I can't tell you for sure, just promise me you'll stay with her!" Emma said, her voice now urgent and forceful. Sparing a look back at Autumn, a flicker of pain crossed Gold's eyes. Looking back at Emma, he said, "I promise only if you update me on what's going on with this case."
"Deal," Emma said, "Mary Margaret will fill you in, I have to go before this spirals more out of control."
"Very well," Gold said, as Emma hurried down the hallway. Glancing back at Autumn, Mr. Gold turned and walked over to Mary Margaret. She looked like she was about to be sick, staring into the room like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Mr. Gold stood next to her and asked, "What happened to her?"
Mary Margaret swallowed, a lump in her throat. Licking her dry lips, Mary Margaret said, "Dr. Whale found bruises on her back, new ones and old ones. He suspects abuse."
Mary Margaret choked on her last word, burying her face in her hands. Mr. Gold didn't outwardly react but his voice was rough as he asked, "Are we allowed to go in?"
Mary Margaret could only nod and Mr. Gold wasted no time in going into the room. Walking over to Autumn's bed, he noticed the paleness of her skin. Her hair was bound back, most likely by the nurses. A bandage was on her forehead, which made the anger mixed with shock in him spike. She was breathing, not deeply but breathing. Reaching out, Mr. Gold hesitated before touching her hand. Much to his surprise, it wasn't cold, but it wasn't extremely warm either. Swallowing, Mr. Gold wished she would wake up. He wished that he had his magic to heal every bone in her body. He wished he had known so he could have protected her.
She breathed in deep, alarming him a moment. However, she remained unconscious. Leaning over, he trembled as he kissed her forehead lightly.
"I will protect you," Gold murmured, "I promise."
Coughing, the girl felt herself get dragged down the steep stairs. The man didn't seem to care as he dragged her into the dining room kitchen. There was a man slumped on the couch, close to being passed out with a beer bottle in hand. Two women were in the kitchen, one staring shocked, her long blonde hair disheveled. This was Lilah, one of the waitresses down at the White Rabbit. She was too weak in spirit to challenge him, Autumn knew that. Felicity Doe was the other, hunched over on the floor and clutching her stomach as she said, "Leave her, it's just the storm-!"
"Just shut up and stay out of this!" he thundered as the girl coughed. Glaring down, he snapped, "Are you crying? What did I tell you about crying for no stupid reason!?"
The girl didn't bother saying anything; she just closed her eyes and counted. She felt herself being dragged again, now cool tile underneath her stumbling feet. Hearing water being thrown on, Felicity's voice protested, "Don't be an idiot, she didn't do a damn thing!"
"Don't bark at me, I know what I'm talking about!" He snarled, pushing down hard on the girl's shoulders. The girl winced as he hissed, "Be quiet!"
The girl didn't move as she felt him yank her head forward cold water dousing her head. Yanking her head back, the girl coughed again only to have him push her forward once again. He did this several times before pushing her completely into the ice cold water in the bath. She felt him hold her down under water, her neck throbbing. Suddenly she felt relief as he released her. Coming back to the surface, she tried regaining breath as quietly as she could. The man had left and was fighting verbally and physically with the woman outside. Shivering, her eyes showed surprising determination and hatred. Getting up out of the bath, she walked back out to see the two arguing/brawling. Lilah was clutching her beer bottle in her hand, obviously terrified.
"What?!"
Emma winced as she heard Regina answer sharply. It was almost morning, the sun creeping over the forest. She had to wake up the judge to give her a warrant for checking the residence. Emma was driving while her phone was on speaker. Emma sighed and said, "Autumn's in the hospital right now if you want to go check up on her. I'm going to the residence to see if anyone is there."
"Wha-How-?" Regina shook her head, seething. Graham, Sidney, all of them had been keeping an eye on her. Everything is fine they said, nothing too out of the ordinary they told her. Yet here she was on the phone with the new sheriff with the kid beaten and bruised. Letting out a short sigh, Regina said, "Just don't get shot."
"Right," Emma said, "Bye."
Emma heard the phone click as the phone call ended with Regina. Looking around, Emma approached the sign for Chess Street. Turning off, she drove down the road until she reached the home. Turning off the car, Emma unbuckled herself and prepared for the worst.
Regina hung up and slammed the phone down. She was already dressed, her hair damp from being in the shower. Hurrying up the stairs, Regina went into Henry's room where he was still sleeping. Going over to him, she shook him saying firmly, "Henry get up!"
"What?" Henry groaned drowsily. Rolling over, he looked up to see Regina staring at him. She said, "We need to get to the hospital, hurry up and get dressed."
"Why?" Henry sat up, a little irritated. Regina hesitated before saying, "Autumn's in the hospital, we have go."
"What?!" He sounded much more awake, more horrified, "Why? What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything! Someone else did," Regina said impatiently, as Henry shot out of bed grabbing clothes on the chair, "She's hurt and I need to get there to make sure she's safe!"
Henry glanced at her suspiciously and Regina sighed.
"Henry I know you don't trust me, but I swear I didn't do this," Regina said, "I need to protect her and I need your help to do so."
"How?" Henry asked, almost immediately. He seemed to believe her and to her that's all that mattered.
"I need to know if Autumn has any other close friends that aren't adults," Regina asked firmly. Henry paused and nodded.
"Who?" Regina asked and Henry asked, "Why do you need to know?"
"Because I need someone that's known her for a while. Someone that she could confide in if something was wrong," Regina asked no patience in her voice. Henry then said on the worried side, "Paige, she's known Autumn a while. She's in my class."
"Thank you," Regina promptly walked out, leaving Henry to scramble around getting dressed. Why was Autumn in the hospital? Did the Evil Queen lie and do something to her? It didn't seem like it, Regina seemed pissed off about it. But at the same time, she could be acting. Grabbing his sneakers, he yanked them on half running out of the room. It didn't matter if it was the queen's fault just yet, he need to get to the hospital. Scrambling down the stairs, he saw Regina on the phone speaking urgently. Hanging up the phone, Regina had her keys in hand as she said, "Let's go."
"What the hell are you doing back out here?!"
The girl stood there, no traces of fear in her features. Lilah looked at Autumn tearfully as Felicity snarled. She clawed at him, only for the man to swiftly grab her and throw her. She landed on the floor coughing in pain. The man turned on the little girl and snarled, "Who said you could leave?!"
He struck her upside the head, his watch scratching her forehead. She was sent to the floor, her vision blacking in and out. She was kicked, hit, she wasn't quite sure. She waited for another blow to her back to come, but it didn't.
"Leave her alone, you pig!"
Looking up she saw, to her surprise, Lilah strike the man in the face with her beer bottle. Fear but anger was in the woman's features as the man turned on the woman shouting, "What's your problem?! She's not your kid, so what the hell is your problem!"
He grabbed Lilah by the hair and Felicity leaped in, trying to grab him. Taking this brief distraction, the girl ran to the stairwell to the ground floor. The man had noticed her and shouted, "Get back here!"
The girl felt something hit her back, but she didn't stop. Scrambling down the stairs, she threw the door open and ran out into the pouring rain. Running to the front lawn she kept running out onto the road. The rain was extremely cold, but she didn't care. She had to get to town. Stumbling she coughed, rubbing her eyes as she slowed down. Suddenly she felt something come up behind her. Looking back, she saw a dark colored horse walked up to her, neighing in protest. He bent down, as if indicating for her to get on. Walking over, she got up on his back shivering. The horse stood up and starting making reasonable pace to the town.
As they approached the town, the rain lightening up and slowly turned to snow. Her hands were frozen, holding tightly to the horse's mane. She wasn't leading him; the horse seemed to know just where he was going. He would slow every time she started coughing, but she urge him on. Clicking along, they enter the town which was dead quiet. Stopping in an alley way, the girl slipped off the horse. Neighing again, obviously upset, the girl stroked his snout shakily.
"I'm okay now," her voice was hoarse. Turning around she hurried down the street swaying as she did so. Looking around, she saw exactly what she was looking for. Hurrying toward the apartment complex, she yanked the door open. Warmth hit her in the face, causing her shivering to worsen. Light hitting her square in the face, she coughed while rubbing her eyes. Climbing the stairs, she made it to the door before knocking on it. Leaning on the door as she coughed, she found the last of her strength leaving her. The door opened and she collapsed into the woman's arms.
Emma got out of her car, shutting the door. Pulling out her gun, she cautiously approached the house. Everything seemed normal, until she reached the back. The enclosed porch door had been completely ripped off its hinges. Emma climbed up on the porch and saw that the inside door was open too. Every single nerve was on edge as Emma shouted, "Police! This is Sheriff Swan. Felicity, are you here?!"
There was no answer, but Emma could have sworn she heard something upstairs. She should wait for the backup but Emma couldn't afford to. Something was wrong. Climbing up the stairs, Emma peered over the railings into the living room. Only for her stomach to drop.
"This is Sheriff Swan, I need an ambulance on 106 Chess Street!" Emma shouted into her radio as she rushed to the blonde woman's side. She felt the woman's neck for a pulse. There was none. Her body was cold.
A splash caught her attention.
Emma ran towards doorway, where she saw Felicity tied up in the bathtub filled with water. She was shivering and dressed only in a black t-shirt and shorts. One eye had a deep black mark underneath and she looked as if she had been in the brawl of her life. The water wasn't clear either.
"Felicity," Emma said, hurrying over to her. Pulling the tape off her mouth, Emma helped remove the balled rag within. Felicity choked, coughing insanely as Emma helped her get untied. Felicity inhaled sharply, tears splashing down her face.
"Emma," Felicity choked, "Emma, Autumn-."
"She's at the hospital," Emma said, "She's safe."
"No," choked Felicity, "No she's not. He left, he got away."
"Who got away?" Emma said, urgently, "Who got away? Felicity what happened?"
"I screwed up," Felicity gasped painfully, "I royally screwed up."
S.C.
Paige sniffled as Regina sat in a chair she had pulled up. Everyone in the waiting room looked up to see the doctor come in. Mary Margaret was sitting next to Paige and her parents. Ruby and Granny were sitting along the wall by Henry, who looked aghast. Regina waited before saying, "I know this is hard. But I need to ask you a few questions."
Paige looked at her mother, who gave her soft whispers of encouragement. Paige looked at Regina nervously but nodded. Regina finally asked, "I need to ask. Have you ever seen anything out of the ordinary? Were there anything strange that she tried to explain away?"
"I don't know," Paige stammered, "I mean, she never invited me over. Whenever I used to ask, she told me that her mom never let her do sleep overs 'cause she was never home. There was one time-one time where she had a bruise on the bottom of her jaw, but she told me that she had fallen when picking apples."
Paige began to sob, leaving her parents to shush her. Regina's eyes softened as she said, "Thank you for telling me. Hopefully she will be awake soon so we can question her."
"Dr. Whale!" Mary Margaret said suddenly. Everyone turned to look and see the doctor coming down the hall. Regina jumped up, walking over to him quickly asking, "Well?"
"She's stable, but she not awake yet," Dr. Whale said, "After the beating I'm assuming she got, I am not surprised."
"Just how badly is she hurt?" Regina demanded.
"She has a couple of bruised ribs and a concussion. She also has a nasty case of pneumonia on top of it all," Dr. Whale said, "She's going to be in here a while just to get better."
"We still don't know what happened," Regina sighed.
"Not until she wakes up," Dr. Whale said.
"What will happen to Autumn?" Paige asked suddenly, "She can't go back home!"
"No," Regina said with a heavy breath, "She won't. She'll be temporarily be staying with someone during this case. And then, once it's over, she'll probably have to go back to Boston."
"What?!" Multiple people had said this; Paige jumped out of her seat and said, choked, "You can't send her back there!"
"As much as I share your feelings," Regina said, looking over her should to stare Paige in the eyes, "Autumn's in the foster care system, there isn't much of a choice in the matter."
Paige sniffed as her father pulled her back. Hugging her gently, he whispered gently soothing words. Ruby stared around with red eyes as she said, "So we have no idea when she is waking up and her foster mom is still missing."
"Not exactly," Dr. Whale said, "Sheriff Swan came in with Felicity Doe and hour ago. She's currently talking to her now."
"Where?" demanded Regina.
"What the hell happened Felicity?"
Felicity winced, watching Emma stare at her with crossed arms and an angry look in her eyes. Felicity was not surprised; in fact she didn't even blame her. However, Felicity could really only muster up the energy to say, "A lot."
"Felicity," Emma said, her voice dangerous, "You are sitting in a pot of trouble. We know that Autumn's been beaten several times before this brutal one, the woman in your apartment is found dead, and the only person we know both have been with is you."
"I didn't kill Lilah," Felicity said lowly, "And it really doesn't matter what I tell you because I will probably be dead in the next twenty-four hours. It's the kid you should be worried about protecting."
"Then help me!" Emma said, her voice raising, "Who did this and why are you skirting around the bush!"
"Because you are getting yourself into a mess you can't handle," Felicity said, heatedly.
"Let me be the judge of that," Emma said.
"Jonas Smith, Harrison Kyles, Margery Tills," Felicity said, after a few moments of thinking, "All people that are residents of town and people you are never going to find."
"Why's that?" Emma asked shortly.
"Because the man who did this," Felicity said, shakily, "Is the man that holds the reputation of getting rid of people without breaking a sweat. He's been doing stuff like this for years and I promise you… the kid and I are not his first victims. My friend Lilah's three-year-old son is next if you don't get a move on. Please."
Emma and Felicity stared at each other. Felicity looked like she wanted to say more, but there was something in her eyes that Emma couldn't quite place. However the moment was gone as someone entered the room saying loudly, "Excuse me. My client has nothing more to say to you!"
Emma glanced back to see a lawyer coming around to Felicity side. His tie was loose and his jacket disheveled. Felicity looked at Emma with cool eyes, making the anger in Emma bubble. Emma shook her head as she said, "Good to know who you're protecting."
Emma walked away, leaving Felicity alone. Regina stood out in the hallway with a dark look on her face. Emma made a face as Regina said, "The lawyer wouldn't let me in. I'm assuming he sent you out as well?"
"Yeah, like any lawyer would do," Emma grumbled.
"That woman," Regina said, "is guilty."
"I'm not so sure," Emma said, "She's suspicious but she was tied up at the home and she was frantic. Someone is shutting her up and keeping her quiet and she implied that this isn't the first time the guy had done it to someone."
"Did you at least get a name?" Regina asked as they walked down the hallways.
"Lawyer came in too soon," Emma said, "However, she gave me a hint on where he might be going next. Is the kid awake?"
"No, Dr. Whale said it may be awhile," Regina said, her voice softening, "Gold's still in her room with two security personal guarding the door. If someone is after her like you think, she's well protected."
"Good," Emma said, "I'll call if I find anything."
S.C.
Belle sat in her little room, sitting on her bench/bed. It had been weeks since she had seen her little one at the window. She didn't know when she started calling her 'her' little one but she had found herself saying it without reserve. A young boy came by occasionally, but not Autumn. She was worried. Perhaps she had scared her off?
Suddenly clashing caught her attention, making her look over towards the door. That was the sound of the meal cart. There was the sound of talking as Belle found herself eavesdropping on the conversation.
"Did you hear about that girl who's locked up on third floor?" a man said, his voice slightly arrogant.
"Yeah, she came in looking as if she had been thrown around like some rag doll. Poor thing," the nurse's voice was light and airy.
"Did you hear who it is was though? Darren's girls."
"Oh lord," the nurse gasped, "Are you sure?"
"Autumn and Felicity, yes that's for sure." The man said. Belle's stomach dropped, her anxiety increasing tenfold. Who was Darren? Was Autumn hurt? It sure sound that way. Hurrying towards the door, Belle pressed her ear against it.
"Poor them," the nurse clucked nervously, "They won't last to see the end of day."
"I have half the mind to take off before he shows up," the man said, "I don't want be around when he comes and finishes them off."
Belle felt hot tears going down her face as she felt a lump in her throat grow. Autumn was in trouble. The cart stopped outside her door and she instinctively backed away. She needed to tell someone, but who could she tell? These two clearly didn't care what happened to her. A rush of anger rushed through her belly at that thought. However, she was snapped back to reality as the man said, "I always liked this patient. She's very easy on the eyes, if you know what I mean."
"Don't be a creep," the nurse said, half-jokingly. Belle made a face as she heard the man unlock her door saying, "Sit on the bench! I've got your food Miss."
Belle sat down as the door swung open. The man came in with a tray and set it down on the bench opposite her. He looked at her curiously as he said, "Are you alright? You look in a right state."
Belle adverted her eyes as the man took a few steps towards her. He gently stroked her cheek as he said, "A pretty right state."
Suddenly the man yelped as he was slammed up against the wall. Belle blinked to see a tall man in black pinning the male nurse there.
"Alright, alright easy!" the man yelped.
"It's not nice," the intruder said with ease, "To touch things that don't belong to you."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" the man cried as the intruder pushed his face into the wall.
"Before I knock you clean out," the man said, "You're going to tell me who this Darren is."
"I-I can't!" the man howled as the intruder twisted his arm more, "I can't he'll kill me!"
"So you'd rather he kill an innocent little girl and woman," the intruder hissed.
"It doesn't matter what I like," the man moaned, "It doesn't matter what anyone likes. He's too strong… he's worse than that loan shark Gold. He won't hesitate to kill any one of us. Those girls are already good as dead."
"So says you," sneered the intruder before knocking the man out. Belle couldn't help but yelp as the male nurse went to the floor. The intruder turned towards her and asked, "Are you alright?"
"Wh-Who are you?" Belle asked, "Why are you doing this?"
"My name is Jefferson. I'm a friend of Autumn's," he said, "I need to get you to safety now."
"Bu-but Autumn," Belle said, tears running down her cheek.
"I will take care of it," Jefferson said, "But first, we need to leave. Can you walk?"
Jefferson extended his hand as Belle watched him nervously. Nodding slowly, Belle took his hand.
"Then let's go," Jefferson said, both of them taking off down the hall.
S.C.
"Miss Swan is running down a lead. Hopefully we can catch whoever is responsible behind this."
Gold was standing out in the hallway, looking rather harassed. Regina was standing with her arms crossed, an extremely worried expression on her face. Twirling his cane, Gold said, "It would be easier just to give me five minutes with that foster mother and a few whacks of my cane."
"That lawyer won't let anyone in," Regina grumbled, "And I'm not sure beating her up is going to make her talk either."
"Madame Mayor!"
Regina and Gold looked back to see Dr. Whale rushing towards them. He looked shocked and nervous as he stopped short in front of them.
"Felicity Doe," Dr. Whale gasped, "She's gone."
"WHAT?!" Regina half yelled as Gold's look darkened. The two hurried off down to the room and sure enough it was empty.
"How did this happen?! Where was the security detail!?" Regina demanded.
"Th-They were here. I came down to check and no one was inside. The security detail heard nothing!"
"Get people searching for her!" Regina snarled, "We need her for this investigation and I won't have her getting away because of your incompetent staff!"
Gold examined the room, noting the open window. Frowning deeply, he turned to the mayor as he saw the Doctor run off. Walking over to him, he said softly, "I would get available police to set out a search in the town. I don't think she's here any longer."
"She's in the wind," Regina huffed.
"Indeed," Gold said, "I'm going to go check on Autumn and make sure she's safe."
"Do that." Regina's voice softened a moment, before taking off down the hall.
Mary Margaret sat in the hospital room with Autumn. She was still out like a light, the oxygen mask over her face. They had decided to take turns waiting for her to wake up. There was no sense in anyone losing more sleep than they already had. So Mary Margaret sat in her chair, reading her book. It wasn't until she heard coughing that she looked up to see Autumn pulling off the mask.
"Autumn!" Mary Margaret said, half relieved and half worried. Jumping to her feet, she hurried over to her.
"Autumn, you should keep it on-!"
"I'm fine," Autumn said hoarsely. Mary Margaret shook her head but was too nervous about putting the mask back on. Autumn stared around the room, her eyes glassy as she asked, "How… how long have I been out?"
"A good few hours," Mary Margaret said, "Autumn what happened?"
"A question everyone would like to know."
Autumn froze up as she looked towards the doorway. Gold stood there, staring with his business like expression. Autumn shifted, wincing as she felt the throbbing in her ribs worsen. Laying back on the already inclined bed, Autumn stared up at the ceiling silently. Mary Margaret looked at her and then at Gold. Gold sighed, his eyes closing a moment before walking over to her bedside. Sitting down on the chair, he stared at her patiently before asking more gently, "Autumn, your foster mother said that someone else did this to you. Who is he?"
"Is she here?"
"Who is he?"
"Did you bring Felicity in," Autumn said, a suddenly urgent impatience in her voice, "Or did you find her dead corpse! I need to know!"
"She's alive," Gold said, the patience gone, "She was here before she disappeared."
"Was it a mess?"
"Was what a mess?"
"The room she was in. Was it a mess?"
"No, it was fine," Gold said and Autumn let out a sigh of relief.
"Then she's fine," Autumn murmured, "If she was smart she'd leave and disappear."
"And leave you behind? Yes because that's a decent thing to do," Gold said, sarcastically. Autumn said up, grimacing as the pain worsened, but it didn't stop her from glaring at him.
"The guy that did this to me won't think twice about coming in here and throttling us till we're blue in the face," Autumn said, her tone clipped and breaking, "If I could move I wouldn't be here right now either."
"Then tell me who he is," Gold said, urgently, "And we'll put a stop to this madness."
Autumn let out a choked laugh. It quickly turned into a vicious cough, causing Mary Margaret to give her the oxygen mask. Autumn only let it stay to her face a few moments before brushing it away. Autumn shook her head as she said, dully, "There is no stopping him."
"Don't assume."
"I'm not assuming," Autumn said brokenly, "I know. He's a pig, a monster. He has no conscience Gold. He cares about nothing. He doesn't care if he has a broken arm or a bloody nose, if he wants you dead your dead."
Autumn swallowed, as she asked, "What about Lilah? Where is she?"
Gold closed his eyes as Mary Margaret bowed her head. Autumn tensed her jaw as a tear slipped down her cheek.
"As I said," Autumn said, "No conscience."
"Autumn," Gold said, "I need to know his name. We can't protect anyone if you don't tell me his name and I need to know how in the world you got stuck in this situation."
Autumn swallowed her, pausing. Finally, she let out a sigh as she started her tale.
"Felicity met him on the job," Autumn said, "She always had a knack for picking out strange guys but he was the worst. He was loud, a drunk, and obnoxious. But the really bad stuff didn't start until two months after they started hanging out. Felicity wanted to end it. He didn't like that… not at all. He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her outside… He was gone for a while and I was about ready to call the cops. However, he came back in and caught me with the phone… I don't remember much of what happened after that."
"Why didn't she go to the Sheriff? The Police?" Mary Margaret asked.
"He has too many eyes and ears everywhere," Autumn said, "He's good at what he does. He started with threatening to kill me if Felicity ever said anything. It kept going on like that until one day, I just about stopped caring whether he would kill me or not. But then he started making me watch this baby that one of his other girls had. Lilah's son, Danny."
"Then he had something to threaten you with," Mary Margaret said sadly.
Autumn nodded. "He's smart like that. It's how he scares everyone. He also never bluffs."
"What is his name?" Gold asked.
Autumn made a face as she said, "Darren. I don't know his last name. He commonly rotates the White Rabbit Bar. I doubt he's there right now though. If anything he's gone after Danny or on his way here."
"We won't let him do either," Gold said, "Miss Blanchard, can you call and inform Miss Swan of this new development?"
"Yes, absolutely," Mary Margaret said, getting up and leaving them alone. Autumn didn't look at Gold, but she could feel his stare. Gold switched from his chair to her bed, so he could stare down at her. She finally looked at him, for only a moment, her expression blank. She spoke up first, however, her voice sounding forced.
"I imagine you have a bazillion questions now."
"Oh, no," Gold said, "Just one, Dearie."
Autumn felt him gently grip her chin and forced her to look at him. He looked upset, which shocked her and he asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Biting her lip, Autumn said her voice going quiet, "Because I didn't want to risk him killing anyone. He said he would and then take me back to Boston and I would be right back where I started."
Gold embraced her then, carefully and gently. Autumn leaned against him closing her eyes. Breathing in, she repressed a cough. Finally releasing her, Gold held a serious expression on his face. His hand was at her face, gently tilting it to look at him. Gold then said, "Autumn, don't ever hide something like this again. No one ever has the right to hurt you."
"It's only hurt if you let it be," she said sharply and Gold's face looked aghast. Once again, she was surprised at this and he said, "The bruises on your back and ribs beg to differ."
Autumn swallowed and said, "Bruises go away."
"I know," Gold said, "But you can't honestly tell me that you wanted any of that."
"It's better than getting tossed back to that place, I'm better off here," Autumn said, her voice going sharp again. However there was a degree of hysteria. Gold sighed sympathetically. Would this child not let her wall down? He could tell that the sharpness had nothing to do with anger. It was an attempt for control. Gold then asked gently, in hopes to let her see his point, "I know. But did it occur to you that you can't be here if he killed you? Do you really think he'd care if he accidentally did so?"
It wasn't scolding, Autumn realized, it was reality. A reality she didn't think about or didn't want to. Guilt swarmed her gut, for many reason. Gold hugged her again as gentle as he could and she buried her face into his jacket. Her next comment came out broken.
"I just wanted to stay."
"I know," Gold said simply, "I know. I promise that you will. You should know that I keep my word."
"Only when you benefit from it." She tried to make it come out a joke, but failed. Gold eyes seem to catch on as he said, "Oh believe me I do. Who else would bring me my unpoisoned apples?"
Autumn snorted weakly as she pulled away. He wiped the tears away from her face as he said, "Now I'm going to make a few phone calls. There are guards outside the door and a hundred people between him and you. I promise we'll catch him."
Autumn gave a meek look as she said softly, "We'll see."
Gold stood up and walked out of the room. He was not surprised to see that Regina was waiting there.
"Eavesdropping?" Gold asked.
"I didn't think she'd want to tell the same story twice," Regina said honestly. However her business arrogant nature came back into play as Regina said, "You make big promises."
"You don't think I can stop him."
"I think you overestimate your powers in this town," Regina said, "She is a foster child, Gold. She belongs to the system."
Mr. Gold scoffed and said, "You honestly think I'm going let her go back there?"
Regina stared Gold coldly in the face and said, "This child isn't from here, Rumpelstiltskin. I wouldn't go give someone false hope when she doesn't belong in our world. I mean, that may be your style…"
"You act as if the curse will be breaking,Your Majesty," Gold taunted. Annoyance flickered through Regina's façade but she didn't let it take over. Regina smirked with superior and taunted him back, "No, I'm merely stating reality. Don't forget, that as much as you would like to believe otherwise, she doesn't belong to you."
"We'll see about that," Gold said, threateningly, "And don't forget, Majesty, that if anything happens to her… even if it is the tiniest paper cut, Henry will loathe you as long as you live and once he gets the chance, he'll be gone from you."
Regina soured as Gold said, "And that's a grave dug from your own stupidity."
S.C.
Emma pulled up to the house, a sense of dread filling her stomach.
She had gotten Mary Margaret's phone call as she was shifting through hundreds of files. That phone call had led her to Lilah Prinston's file, which had led her to Danny Prinston's file, which lead to an address shared by Lilah and her sister. Emma unbuckled her seat belt quickly as she noticed the door was left ajar.
"That's definitely not a good sign," muttered Emma. Getting out of the police car, she pulled out her gun as she walked towards the home. Reaching the door, she called out, "Dinah Prinston! This is the sheriff, are you here!?"
There was no answer, only the sound of a scuffle. Emma frowned, holding the gun aloft. She walked through the home, stopping at every possible open spot. It wasn't until she came to the kitchen that she came across anything. A woman was tied securely to a chair propped into the corner. She looked tearful as Emma asked immediately, "Is he here?"
She shook her head the best she could. Emma walked over quickly before stowing away her gun. Freeing the woman, Emma asked, "Are you Dinah Prinston?"
"Yes," she said, her voice broken, "He took him. He said he killed Lilah and he tied me to the chair and took Danny!"
"Took him where," Emma said, urgently, "Do you have any idea?"
Autumn was sitting with Mary Margaret, who was cutting up a pear she'd brought. Autumn looked dead in the face as she said, "You should go home."
"I'm not leaving," Mary Margaret said simply, "Not until Emma comes back and says everything is okay."
Mary Margaret looked at Autumn soothingly as she said, "It will be okay, Autumn."
"I highly doubt that," Autumn said. A moment's later and the lights flickered off. Autumn looked up and around wildly as Mary Margaret asked, "What in the world-?"
Adrenaline had Autumn shooting forward out of the bed, knocking things over in the process. She ran over to the door and slammed it shut. Mary Margaret was shocked as a gun was shot of several times in the hallway. People screamed and crying could be heard shortly after. Mary Margaret rushed over to Autumn and pulled her into the bathroom. Locking the door, Mary Margaret cradled Autumn to her. It was quiet for a while until they heard a voice call out loudly.
"Kid! Come out, come out!" his voice was rough and terrifying, "Unless you want this to be drawn out and painful!"
"What is going on!?" Gold snarled watching as personal tried banging open the doors. Regina looked mortified as Dr. Whale said, "Someone's locked down the doors on the other side. We can't get anyone into the wing!"
"How did he even get onto the floor!" Regina snapped, "I ordered all patients and unnecessary personnel be removed!"
"I don't know!" Dr. Whale said frantically, "Until we can get those doors open, she's trapped in there!"
Autumn winced in Mary Margaret's arms as two more shots were sent off. The crying continued as Autumn laid there quietly. However, something filled her heart with dread as she heard his next words.
"You should know better than to hide!" he bellowed, "We all know how this ends. Don't we Danny?"
Autumn froze as Mary Margaret sucked in a breath. The crying worsened as it got closer. Autumn trembled as she jumped to get out of Mary Margaret's arms. The teacher tightened her arms around her, refusing to let her leave. Autumn made a sad cry as Mary Margaret shushed her.
"Aw, Danny. I don't think she's coming out. Maybe if you called her, she'd come let us know where she is."
The boy whimpered, murmuring something. The door on the other side of the hall slammed open as Darren shouted, "Louder!"
"Audum, I need you!" the boy cried, his words chopped up by tears. It was hard to tell at this point who was crying more: Autumn or Danny. Mary Margaret struggled with Autumn as she tried to move. Autumn's injuries prevented her from properly fighting however.
"Well Danny, I hate to say this," Darren's voice was mocking and cruel, "But I think she needs more convincing."
Danny squealed in fright as Autumn screamed at the top of her lungs, "DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!"
Mary Margaret clamped her hand over Autumn's mouth, not caring that she was coughing violently on her hand. All she was now was afraid. Trembling she heard silence as the door outside the bathroom flung open.
"I heard you," Darren's voice was really close, "Now open that door, or I'm going take this as your goodbye to the midget!"
Autumn cried and shrieked when she heard a gun go off a second later. The boy could be heard crying, crying hard. Autumn and Mary Margaret were afraid, both scrambling against each other. Their fear dissipated when Emma voice cried out.
"It's safe! Danny is safe, come out!"
The door opened and Autumn blinked as the light from outside hit her eyes. Emma was shielding Danny only for him to race past her towards Autumn. Autumn grabbed him and clung to him, hugging him as they both cried.
"I sowwy! I sowwy! He made me!" Danny cried, hiccupping the whole time. Autumn rubbed his back, kissing his head soothingly. Mary Margaret scrambled to her feet and turned to examine the room. She yelped when she saw the man laying of the floor unmoving. Emma stepped in the way saying, "He's dead, don't worry. Let's get the kids out of the room. Kid can you bear to get up?"
It was hard considering Danny wanted Autumn to carry him. She managed to convince him to let Mary Margaret do it. As they got out into the hallway, Autumn turned to see the lights turn on and the doors swing open. Gold was somehow one of the first down the hallway and his arm around Autumn.
"You're alright, you're alright." Mr. Gold murmured.
"Not that I'm complaining, but how did you get in Miss Swan?" Regina asked, obviously frazzled.
"Emergency exit staircase," Emma said, "I might had had to break one of the windows though."
"Windows can be fixed," Dr. Whale said, "Nurse, get a wheel chair and take Autumn to a new room…"
Autumn was soon back in a bed with Gold close by. He stroked her hair out of her face, which had come loose in the struggle earlier. Shaking his head, Gold said, "It's done, he dead."
"It's not done," Autumn said, softly, "Felicity is gone."
"She's really not a loss to you. After all, she abandoned you and went who knows where." Gold muttered angrily.
Autumn frowned, irritation crossing her eyes. Sitting up, Autumn said, "Look, I'll never understand why she didn't just take me and run from Darren. I'll never understand what was between her and Darren. But she cared about those she loved. I wouldn't be surprised if Darren didn't kill more people tonight because she got to them first and told them to hide."
Gold looked at her curiously as he said, "You really think that's why she ran?"
"She's not a coward, she doesn't run," Autumn said, "Like me."
"You are not a coward," Gold said sternly, "There is only room for one coward and I'm not going anywhere."
Autumn snorted, shaking her head as she looked down. Gold forced her to look back up at him, his hand at her cheek. Autumn looked at him with a sad look as she said, "The down side is that without her, I can't stay here. Social services has probably already been called…"
"I am dealing with that," Gold said, "That's what my hundred and one phone calls have been about. There is no need to worry. You won't be going back to Boston, dearie."
Hope entered her eyes as her heart fluttered. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. His brown eyes met her blue ones as she saw the fatherly gaze that made her heart leap for joy.
"I will be back," Gold said, "There is just one more phone call that I have to make. You get some rest."
Gold stood up and left the room. Autumn fell back on the bed, unable to contain the smile that followed. She jumped however when she heard a voice.
"I hope Emma gave him what he deserved."
Autumn looked to see Felicity coming out of the shadows of the tall shelving unit. Autumn went to sit up only for Felicity to press a hand against her shoulder. Felicity shook her head as she said, "You need to rest and I can't stay long."
"Why?" Autumn asked, "Darren is gone. We're free."
"No, I'm not," Felicity said, softly "I let everything happen to you. I may have been able to save a few lives tonight, but Emma saved everyone's. Soon she's going to look into my past and find that there really isn't much and what's there isn't good."
"It was petty theft!" Autumn protested find a cough followed after.
"It was still theft," Felicity said, pushing back Autumn's hair, "Kid, you don't need me anymore. You have Gold and Emma and a ticket to stay here. You can go be free of your embarrassing, stupid foster sister."
Autumn watched with wide eyes, desperately thinking of a way she could stay. Felicity said, "I won't be far… if anything happens to you now, I promise there is nothing stopping me now from whipping somebody's butt."
Felicity leaned down, kissing Autumn's forehead.
"Good bye, Alison," she whispered in hushed tones.
"Goodbye, Elizabeth." Autumn whispered.
And with that she was gone.
S.C
"You okay?"
Mary Margaret looked up from her hot cocoa to see Emma walk into the apartment. Mary Margaret shrugged as she said, "Not really. If you hadn't killed him, I don't know what I would have done…"
"Luckily you don't have to think about it," Emma said firmly. She hung up her read jacket as she walked over to the counter. Pulling a glass and a whiskey bottle out, she poured herself a glass as she said, "What a mess… the judge has put an order for no media, no unnecessary visitors, nada. Poor Henry can't even go see her yet."
"That might be best, things are still complicated and she's still sick," Mary Margaret said, "Any luck finding Felicity Doe?"
"Nope," Emma said, sitting down, "Funny thing is… all those people's names she gave… I found dead in the basement. They had been dead for years… and yet the town didn't notice at all. No records, no nothing."
"Strange."
"You're telling me," Emma said, "And I get back to the office and I found instructions on how to obtain Autumn's full file."
"You think-?"
"Felicity left it," Emma said, "Yeah I did."
"Huh," Mary Margaret wondered, "It's almost like she passed the protecting torch down to you."
"In some demented way," Emma said, "I'll never understand why women let abusive boyfriends stay though. It's beyond me that Felicity, who seemed like such a strong person, let a guy just come ruin everything."
"He was a brutal person though," Mary Margaret said.
"True," Emma said, "I just… a lot of bad things with this case."
"But she's safe," Mary Margaret said.
"She's still a foster kid," Emma said, staring into the glass, "Foster kids are never safe."
S.C.
"Autumn."
It was night time and Autumn was reading a book. Looking over, Autumn saw Gold come in looking harassed. Concern entered her features as she asked, "What's wrong?"
"Can you trust me?" Gold asked, urgently. He sat on the bed, not noticing that he was sitting on her leg a bit. But Autumn was too worried to scold him for it.
"Maybe," Autumn said, "Why, what is going on?"
"Mayor Mills has suddenly assigned you to a foster mother Kathryn Nolan," Gold said, his voice angry, "She felt the need to go to the judge personally to speed things along."
"Who's Kathryn Nolan?" Autumn asked, her voice a bit afraid.
"She is a jewelry store owner in town," Gold said, "To be honest there are worse people she could have chosen but… she is Regina's close friend."
"Wonderful," Autumn said, her voice almost broken as if she wanted to cry. Gold cupped her cheeks as he said, "Please. I need you to be nice to this woman. Treat her with respect."
"But I don't want to go with her," Autumn said, a hiccup escaping, "I want-!"
"I know, I know," Gold said, "But undoing this process will take time and I can't do it if they accuse me of being a bad influence. I promise this woman is a sweet woman and she won't let anything happen to you. Can you trust me to take the proper time to fix this?"
Autumn bit her lip, trying her very hardest not to cry. But she nodded and Gold looked relieved. He hugged her tight as he murmured, "I will fix this. I promise."
Autumn hugged him back, breathing in his strong cologne. She couldn't think of another moment where she hated Regina so much. However, Gold had made a very good point. Any bad behavior from her could simply be blamed on him and Autumn couldn't have that. Gold pulled away as he said, "Regina is bringing her up now. Do you want me to stay or leave?"
She wanted him to stay but common sense told her he needed to leave. Autumn shook her head as she said weakly, "It would probably be best if you went. We don't need Regina trying find another excuse to make this worse."
Gold kissed the top of her head and whispered, "I will see you soon."
He left and Autumn was left alone. Tears prickled her eyes as Autumn processed what just happened. All that hard work, all of this had been for not. Now she was back in another foster home instead of being in a permanent one. Her anger almost exploded when she heard Regina's voice.
"Autumn?"
Regina was standing with another woman in the doorway. She was pretty; long blonde hair, kind eyes, wore a sweater with dress pants. Putting her book down, Autumn wanted nothing more than to chew her a new one. However Gold's words rung in her head as Regina walked over and sat down on a chair saying, "How are you?"
"Better I guess," Autumn asked, deciding playing dumb would be best, "What's going on?"
"Well," Regina said with smile, "You'll be happy to know you won't be going back to Boston."
Autumn wanted to punch her. She already knew she wasn't going back and she was not happy about this new arrangement. Autumn pretended to look surprised and say, "What? I mean-Why?"
"It took a little bit of time, but I have found you a foster mother right here in Storybrooke," Regina said, looking back at her. The woman walked forward and held out her hand saying, "Hi, my name is Kathryn Nolan."
"Autumn," she said, extending her hand. Regina smiled and said, "I'll leave you two to get to know one another."
Regina stood up and left the room, with a prideful look on her face. That look was going to get punched soon. Henry's mom or not, Autumn wanted nothing more to wipe that haughty look off of her face. The woman sat down hesitantly at the edge of the bed, snapping the girls from her thoughts. Autumn held a wary look about her as she asked, "How do you know the Mayor?"
"She was in a case in finding my husband, David," Kathryn said smiling, "Ever since then we've been friends. So, you like to read?"
Autumn looked down at the book. She still wasn't sure what to think about Kathryn being Regina's friend. But she didn't get the same vibe she got off of Regina, which was a good thing. Perhaps Gold was right about her being nice. Fiddling with the book, Autumn said, "I do."
Kathryn nodded and said, "Any favorite authors or stories?"
Stroking the cover, Autumn said softly, "I had one favorite author."
S.C.
"Hey."
Clicking his pen, he looked up from his desk to see a man with dark hair and blue eyes approach him. He wore a leather jacket with his hands in his pocket. Gently tapping his desk with the pen, he said coolly, "Hey, August, what's up? Going on another one of your length trips?"
"I found her," August said, with a small victorious smile. Raising his brows, he behind the desk said, "Found who?"
"Emma Swan," August said with a grin, "has found Storybrooke."
Leaning forward, he said jokingly, "Oh really? Does that mean you're not going Down Under?"
"I'm being serious," August said, "And no I'm not going down under, I'm going to Storybrooke, Maine. Wanna tag along?"
"No thanks," he said with a sigh.
"Oh come on," August said, "Quit being a workaholic. It will be fun!"
"You go ahead," he said with a chuckle, "I'll come when my work is done."
"Which will be six months from now," August said rolling his eyes, "Fine, I'll be checking up on you!"
"Have fun," he said watching August leave them room. Turning his chair, he looked out the window to see heavy clouds coming from the horizon. Smiling softly, he said wickedly, "So the storm is finally coming. This will be fun to watch."
