When David Nolan walked into the police station, Emma didn't think much of it. He was a common enough sight at the station that she just assumed he would be speaking to her about another case. To her surprise, his expression was determined and slightly nervous.
"Hey David, what's up?" Emma asked from behind her desk.
"Hi," he replied. "Can we talk, in private?"
Emma furrowed her brow, "Sure." She got up and led him to the hallway where they could talk about being overhead. "Is something wrong?"
"I know that this is probably going to sound crazy, that just give me the benefit of the doubt."
David launched into an explanation about everything he had previously discussed with Henry, Priscilla, and Killian. Although Emma was clearly apprehensive, she didn't immediately dismiss him, which David took as a good sign.
"That is, that's a lot to consider," Emma said when he had finally finished.
"I know that you probably don't believe me," David added, "But just give me the chance to prove it to you."
"Okay, but how. You said it yourself that Regina might have erased any evidence that I had ever been Storybrooke."
David looked thoughtful for a moment, "Maybe that's exactly what we need to consider. How soon can you get to the hospital?"
"My shift doesn't end until five."
"Okay," David said. "Meet me at the hospital as soon as you get off."
Emma spent the rest of her shift going over what David had told her. First Henry, then Priscilla, then Killian, and now David were all trying to give answer the address was real and that she was some sort of fairy tale princess. The rational side of her brain and told her it was nonsense, but she couldn't help but feel that there must have been something to it. Why else would four people who seemingly had nothing to do with each other all come to the same conclusion? There was simply far too many weird things about her situation and this town and Emma wanted to get to the bottom of it. Maybe there was a rational explanation for it all, or may be magic really was real. Emma wasn't going to be sitting on the sidelines anymore.
The clock crawled forward until it finally reached five. Emma bid goodbye to Graham and rushed to the hospital to meet David.
"Can you help you?" the receptionist asked sweetly.
"Yeah," Emma gave the woman her name and asked, "Where can I get a copy of my medical records? For this hospital specifically?"
"Give me one second," the receptionist answered. She began cooking and taping away at her computer, but after a few moments she began to look concerned. "Hmmm, could you give me a moment please?"
Emma nodded, and the receptionist got up and went to a back room. As Emma and David waited for her return, they both became more tense.
"What do you think the problem is?" Emma whisper to David.
"Not sure," David replied, just as quietly. "Knowing what Regina is capable of, it could be anything."
"So is Regina always to blame when something goes wrong?" Emma asked it is slightly teasing tone.
"Well, it's either her or The Dark One," David stated seriously. "Here in Storybrooke, Regina has complete control over everything and everyone in the town, or at least she used to until your presence began weakening her magic. Nothing happened without her say-so, at the Dark One has been pretty quiet lately. We probably shouldn't underestimate him either."
"Ah right," Emma muttered. "And you said you're not sure if he's been up to anything since the curse was cast."
"No. We know for certain that he was involved in casting the curse, but he afterward he could have just left everything to Regina. Though, mostly likely, he poisoned you to make you more willing to believe in magic. Most likely it was manticore venom, according to Priscilla. That stuff has some pretty intense side-effects and it would explain your bizarre nightmares."
Emma shivered remembering those nightmares. "It was so weird. They just appeared, then I got really sick, and suddenly there were gone without any explanation. I can't believe I'm asking this, but is that a normal reaction to manticore venom?"
"Yes, exactly. Whatever his intentions were, he was an asshole for doing that to you. Manticore venom is no joke."
Just then the receptionist came back with a physician. Emma immediately recognized her as the same physician who had treated her when she first arrived in Storybrooke, after she had gotten into the car accident.
"I'm sorry Miss Swan," the physician said. "There is no record of you anywhere in our database."
Emma frowned, "That does not make any sense. I was here my very first night in town. I got into an accident and you treated me."
Now the physician looks confused, "Are you certain about that Miss Swan? I don't recall ever treating you."
A cold shiver went down Emma's spine. "I...I thought for sure that I recognized you."
"You've probably just seen me around town," the physician replied. "Is there anything else we can help you with?"
Emma looks to David, unsure what her next move out to be. He shook his head. "No," Emma answered, dazed and confused. How could there be no record of her? Weren't hospital records suppose to be permanent? She could think of any reason for someone to get rid of them, unless it was true that Regina had it out for her and had done it herself.
"Now do you believe we're not all crazy?" David asked as they walked away from the receptionist desk and toward the doors.
Emma grimaced, but nodded. "I can't wrap my head around magic actually being real, but...yeah. This is way too smoke for there to be fire. Even I can't deny. Let's say, I believed in magic. What does that even mean for me?"
"Well it would be meant that," David paused, nervous and dry-mouthed. "Everything in Henry's storybook is true. Including you being Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter. My daughter."
Before Emma could form an answer, Henry came running into the hospital. "Did you find anything?" he asked excitedly.
"That's the strangest thing," Emma noted, as she, Henry, and David sat down in the waiting area. "There's nothing about me in this hospital, but there should be. I was here the very first night I came to Storybrooke, but there's no record of it.
"If my mom is trying to erase your presence, it looks like she did too good of a job." Henry smiled, before looking more serious. "My adopted mom, that is. Did David tell you about... how I found out I was adopted? And why I thought you were my birth mother."
Emma nodded. "Yeah. Look, this might sound a little strange when I first met you I thought there was a chance you might be my ex-boyfriend. You look a lot like him. Much more like him than you look like me. Part of the reason I didn't think I could be your breath while it was because you looked so different."
"Does that mean you believe?" Henry asked, his eyes wide and hopeful.
Emma hesitated, "I'm not sure what I believe, exactly. Just that I can't think of any rational explanation for what's going on. The longer I stay in this town, the more I start to think you might have been right all along Henry."
He beamed. Finally, he was making some real progress. "So, let's say I'm right. That would mean you're ex-boyfriend is my birth father?"
Emma nodded, still a little hesitant but willing to entertain Henry's ideas. "I suppose so. But Henry, he wasn't really a nice guy. I wasn't exactly nice person when I was with him either. We did a lot of illegal stuff and eventually he left me. I didn't even get the chance to tell him I was pregnant." She left out some of the gorier details because she didn't think Henry was old enough to hear them, but she told him just enough to give him an decent idea of what her past was actually like.
From the corner of her eye, she could see David watching them intently. He was her birth father, apparently, and she felt rather embarrassed admitting this in front of him, so she still had some trouble wrapping her mind around the idea.
"So, he wouldn't know about me?" Henry looked disappointed for a moment, then brightened up. "But maybe we can find him! After all, I found you."
"That's possible, but I'm not sure it's a good idea. He did really hurt him. And besides, I'm not sure if he'd even want me to find."
"Maybe we should leave that topic for now and just focus on breaking the curse," David cut in, to Emma's gratitude. "Emma, since you're willing to listen, I'll let Priscilla and Killian know that you're on board. You are, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Emma said, "This town is too weird for me to ignore anymore and I want to get to the bottom of what's going on."
Mr. Lewis came running into the hospital with a limp Ava in his arms, followed by his wife and Paige, who both looked sick with worry. Two nurses hurried over with a stretcher to place Ava on. Emma jumped out of her seat in shock when she realize that the newest patient was her foster daughter.
"What's going on?!" Emma hurried over to Ava's side, completely forgetting David and Henry and what they had just been talking about. All of her thoughts were focused exclusively on her little girl. "What happened to her?"
Mrs. Lewis took her by the arm and explained, "We are not entirely sure but, she bit into this and suddenly she became unconscious." Mrs. Lewis held up a container with the apple turnover that Emma had received from Regina.
Suddenly Emma felt cold and sick, her stomach twisting into knots. What had she brought into her home? What had she exposed her kids too?
"Do you know where she might have gotten this?" A nurse asked.
"It was a gift from the mayor," Emma explained, her voice shaky and filled with guilt. "She brought it over a few days ago. I thought it was just a regular apple turnover."
"Well, I need to take it to the lab to figure out what might be causing this little girl's condition." The nurse took the container and walked away, leaving Emma and Mrs. Lewis in the hallway.
David and Henry caught up to them. "What's doing on?" David asked, "Did something happen to Ava?"
"The turnover Regina gave me made her sick," Emma replied, tears spilling from her eyes. "Oh my god, this is all my fault. I left it in the house, and she must have figured it was safe to eat. I thought it was safe to eat."
"Emma, you shouldn't blame yourself," David told her firmly. "Go check on Ava. I'll call Mary and let her know what's going on."
Emma nodded, "Okay. What about you guys."
Henry looked to David, "Can I stay with Emma? I want to help Ava, and I don't really safe going home right now."
"That's fine," David agreed.
Mrs. Lewis took Emma's hands, "I'm sorry Emma. You left Ava in our care, and now she's in the hospital."
"Please don't blame yourself," Emma reassured her. "There's no way you could have known. Let's just make sure Ava is alright."
