SOULS Lost and Found
Healer
Please, I repeat, PLEASE, do not kill me, at least not yet
I promise I've been trying to get back on track with "TW", "NPL", "LTC" and most of all "Bella McLeod"(Which as you may or may not know, I've been going through the process of revising and re editing at least one chapter per month for the last year), However if my muse keeps nagging me about other fandoms, I certainly have to give her free 'speech' (so to speak) in order to be able to get things done. Right?
So, after that small rant, on with the official Disclaimers… This is a "Once Upon a Time" fic, and it is a femlash, featuring a semi slow burn SwanQueen... So, if you don't like the idea of two women being in love with each other (and being completely oblivious for a while about how their love is not one sided), and eventually entering into a relationship with one another, please head somewhere else.
This is also a sequel of sorts to my first SwanQueen fic "Fire Soul Bird in Love", only a few years later and with Emma not recalling the full events on that. But Regina does, even when this is told from Emma's POV.
It is also based on the film "Heart and Souls", with Robert Downey Jr, loved him there, and he was sooooo young!
Bare in mind that I do not own Once Upon a Time or Heart And Souls, nor its characters, I repeat, THEY'RE NOT MINE. And I am only writing this because I thought it would be hilarious to watch Emma coping with the madness of ghosts added to her regular crazy.
This story is set in S04E20 and part of S04E21. While Regina and Emma look for Lily and then when they head to NY to save Robin from Zelena posing as Marion.
Remember to leave your reviews…
SOULS Lost and Found
Chapter 04
Healer
Eventually we were back at Lily's place. Explaining her about my ghostly friends and the original reasons for us to leave Storybrook
"Why didn't you just kill me?" she asked somberly "I would have"
"I'd like to think you wouldn't have" I answered her smiling softly
"Isn't that the whole point of a Savior and an Anti-Savior?" she asked still in a somber tone
"Stop calling yourself that" I said "If anything, my Anti-Savior is the Evil Queen, right Regina?" I asked her amused
"Oh, my war has never been with you Swan, it has been with your mother. Just like Lily's… and basically every other villain in my town" she added smiling
"Except Gold" I said
"Yeah… one never knows who Rumple's warring against" she said sighing. "Are we still going to try Penny's old neighborhood today?"
"Only if you're up to find a needle in a haystack" I added playfully
"Let's go then" said Regina standing and walking outside
"Coming?" I asked Lily offering my hand to her
"You want me to come with you?" she asked surprised
"Yeah. I'm not pushing you away this time, not if you want to stick around" I told her truthfully "You are my friend. Always have been, regardless of the bad blood between our parents. We just need to figure some things out here and New York before we head back to Storybrook, so you can meet your mom, if you want that is"
"Let's finish these quests of yours then Savior" she said taking me hand.
So as we reached Penny's old neighborhood and asked around, realized it was going to be harder that we thought. Was not ideal, but at least it was a lead. It took us all afternoon of asking around and no one we asked knew anything about Penny or her children
"It's no use" said Penny defeated "No one around here will ever remember me, or my children"
"Oh Penny, come on, we just started" said Julia trying to cheer her up
"We'll try a couple of other places" I offered "Was there a store you went to a lot?" I asked her trying to figure the best way to track her children. If only we had more time, I could use my old bounty hunter contacts.
"Church." Said Regina, "Did she go to Church?"
"Really? The Evil Queen wants to go to Church to ask for people that don't seem to exist?" asked Lily unamused
Penny got distracted by a bunch of cats on the street and stared at them for a moment before following them, making us all follow her
"Could she still be alive?" she asked out loud
"Who?" I asked her myself
"Agnes" she said. "She had many cats, and she used to babysit my children when I left for work"
It took a little persuasion to let the old lady let Regina, Lily and myself into her house, but once we explained we were there to find the whereabouts of Penny's children, she smiled and ushered us in
"I know where the girls are" she said grinning, earning a gasp of relief from Penny
"Where?" asked Regina for me
"They sent me birthday cards for a while, then they became birthday gifts. What sweet children they are, especially Diana" she said slowly
"Where?" I asked myself then
"Oh. They sent them to Sacramento" she answered "With a nice family… name of… name of… Timmerson, yes, Timmerson" she paused and we sighed relieved by that. I was half scared that they ended up in the system for too long like I did. "Little Billy though" she continued somberly "I lost track of him. They put him in a foster home" Penny gasped and Regina definitely sensed my anxiousness at hearing that, because she placed a comforting hand on my shoulder "And then they kept moving him around"
"Emma, what are we gonna do about Billy?" asked me Penny in despair
"Those girls might know where he is" added Agnes after a moment
We left Penny's neighborhood half defeated, not knowing exactly how we were going to find Billy, but I promised I would. Finding people was what I did best, I would definitely find Billy for Penny. I called my contact at Boston PD again, but still no information available.
"I think it's time we head out of town" said Harrison sadly
I nodded in agreement.
"Let's go to New York now" I told Regina and Lily. It was late in the afternoon, but we still had a couple hours of daylight.
"I don't believe this damn traffic" complained Regina after a couple of hours of not even getting out of the city yet and already being dark.
"Where are they all going?" asked Lily
"This is silly" said Regina "We can't get out of the city with this damn traffic. Why don't we try with Mr Harrison again?"
"Oh no, I am perfectly fine going last" he said
"I can't believe you are trying to wiggle out of it" I told him
"We are talking about your last chance" said Julia
"What are you talking about?" asked Harrison "I want to see John's farm. I've always wanted to see his farm" he tried
"Wait a minute" said Penny "Emma, find a place to pull over" she told me making me stare in wonder at her "Don't look at me like that young lady and pull over" she said using her 'mom' tone
"What is it now?" asked Regina once she realized I was pulling over
"Penny has an idea" I answered smirking at her as I noticed why there was so much traffic. We were right outside Wang Theatre, and there was going to be a Diana Ross concert that night
Regina went to get us tickets at the booth while I tried to ease Harrison into pursuing his dream.
"I really don't feel that well" he said "I think I'm coming down with something, a flu"
"Stop complaining" I told him "You're already dead, you can't get sick" I added as Regina walked to us. Lily just standing there pretending to be the one I was talking to, to avoid me being perceived as completely crazy
"This is weird" said Lily
"Tell me about it" I answered chuckling slightly as Regina reached us
"They're sold out" she said
"That's it, lets go" said Harrison
"No" I told him at the same time Julia grabbed him by the arm
"They're sold out, we can't get in" he argued
"You're right" I told him "Only in part" I added "We can try and find another place, a Karaoke like was the plan last night"
"No we don't" said Penny "You just need a little a help"
"No no no" I told her knowing what she wanted
"Do it" said Julia encouraging Penny
"No, not without my permission" I tried
"What's going on now?" asked Lily slightly concerned. I barely heard Regina explain her about the 'body possession'
"May I please?" asked me Penny in turn
"No"
"Knock Knock" she said
"No" I kept arguing walking backwards as Regina just lifted her eyebrow, once again, amused at my antics. In that moment that I was distracted by Regina, Penny took full control of my body
We walked around the theater and found the backstage area. When a member of the Security staff stopped us, she made a full show of how Regina, Lily and I were there as part of a last minute security check for insurance purposes and that we needed to be let in or at least talk to whomever was in charge so we could go through a safety checklist.
"Alright, I'll take you to him" the guard said
"Uh uh, no. you bring him to me" said Penny still in control of my body "chop chop"
"Alright, you just wait here" he said as he walked away
We sneaked towards the stage sides once he did, and there, Penny finally left my body "Not bad" I told her as Regina just snorted
"Drama class, city College" said Penny
"You got us in" I conceded
"Harrison, take it away" ordered Penny
"What? You expect me to get up in front of all those people" he asked clearly intimidated by the amount of people in the audience "They don't want to see me"
"They can't see you" said Penny
"But I can see them" he argued back
"Penny, what exactly is your plan?" I asked her
"My plan was to get you in here" she said "You're here. Now you two get out and sing" she added gesturing for Harrison and myself
"The second I walk out, they're gonna grab me" I said
"Walk out on stage? That is your brilliant plan Ms Swan?" asked Regina holding the bridge of her nose
"We should be on our way to New York!" said Harrison
"Yes, we should be saving Regina's soulmate" I said upset then by the situation and him still finding excuses "But you lot were adamant in me helping you because you were all in such a rush to go to the afterlife!" I continued "I have made Regina wait long enough for us to do that, so let's head out there now Harrison!" I said firmly and walked out towards the stage, standing right in front of the center microphone. I could hear Harrison in the back, still yelling no over and over again, as apparently Penny and Julia dragged him out
"Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen" I started hoping for Harrison to take over me soon "Please rise for our National Anthem"
"Dear God Emma, that's and incredibly difficult piece" was the last I heard of Harrison before he reluctantly took over as the crowd did rise. I could hear the audience getting restless and agitated, Harrison was right, of course they were not here for him, but this was his chance to do it. He stepped out and made me roll my eyes in annoyance at him "I can't" he said "I can't"
"What are you doing?" I whispered shouted at him
"Look at me" he said "I'm not even alive and I'm perspiring"
"You better do this right now Harrison" I told him "Because we are losing time that could have been spent saving Regina's soulmate"
"Who came up with this ridiculous concept anyway?" he tried "Resolve your entire life in one bold stroke? What if I fail? And I will fail. I'm telling you, I always fail. My whole life was a complete failure"
"No offense Harrison but you died a failure because you never tried" I told him. And luckily that was all he needed to hear, because that is when he stepped up and took control again. "Oh say, can you see…" Harrison started to sing through me, silently at first, and after a minor mishap of him forgetting the lyrics with Penny and Julia reminding them to him, he eventually grew more confident and by the last line, the band playing with Diana Ross joined me as she walked to me and sang the last line with us "And the home of the brave!" the crowd cheered as the 'ghost bus' appeared through the stage
I basked in Harrison happiness, this feeling of accomplishment as the crowd, the band, Diana Ross herself, and our friends clapped and cheered for him. He made it. The moment he bowed he left my body, and I joined in the clapping, not caring at all what I would look like at the moment.
"Bravo Harrison!" I heard Regina from the side of the stage. And even the bus driver was clapping at him
"Thank you Emma" said Harrison hugging Julia and Penny as Diana Ross started to sing 'Aint no mountain high enough' "Thank you for believing in me" he added "I'm going on a tour you know" he said happily climbing the bus and waving as it drove away. A second after the bus vanished, security staff grabbed me and delivered me to a police officer, who in turn got me on a police car where guess what? Yes, I ended up at the police station, again.
"Don't get mad" said Penny "Just be really really nice, we have to get out of here fast" she added as I was directed to an officer to process me
"Welcome back Ms Swan" said Sergeant Barclay, the same one from before "How is the showbiz?"
"I assure you Sergeant, I am not drunk, I'm not on drugs" I told him
"Your blood test shows that" he said then "So what's wrong with you?"
"It was just something I had to do" I half asked
"Well, I am going to assume you've gotten whatever it is out of your system"
"Oh yes, she definitely has Sergeant" said Regina coming to my aid, again
"I'm going to release you" said Barclay then, making us sigh in relief
"I assure you Sergeant, this is the last you see me" I told him putting up my hands up
"Bail is set at $300" he said then. Regina paid, once again, this time stating that it wasn't as if she was going to suddenly go poor or lose all of her wealth because of this trip expenses.
"I really need to get something to eat" I said as we walked out of the station.
"Lily went to get us dinner" said Regina "We're meeting her at a restaurant a couple of blocks away. It's too late now to leave the city tonight" Said Regina sighing sadly once we climbed on the bug again.
"Dammit!" I said driving in reverse when I realized the time. Of course fate was bitch, and kept pushing us, as it happened, as I got out of my parking space, I crashed into another car that was coming out of his parking space.
"Oh boy, that sound bad" said Julia stating the obvious
"Are you alright?" I asked Regina, who nodded tiredly at me.
"I'll be quick. I'll just give them my insurance card info" I said getting of the car
"We might need to give some cash too" said Regina climbing down joining me to greet whomever I had hit
"You've got to be kidding me" I whispered when I noticed it was Sergeant Barclay, again.
"Ms Swan. Is it something genetic with you?" he asked annoyed
"I ask myself the same thing everyday Sergeant" said Regina walking over to him "Her parents are idiots, I am often reminded to be thankful for the fact that our son does not seem to share that particular gene with his other mother or his grandparents" she said clearly meaning it as a jab at me. As the Sergeant walked around his own vehicle to take a look at the damage
"Tell me you're not insured Ms Swan and you'll be three for three" he said upset
"We are insured" said Regina taking the papers from my hands and showing them to him, then I heard Penny gasp in pain. When I looked over, the bus was coming back.
I stopped paying attention to what Regina and Barclay were saying "Penny, I'll tell him to take me" said Julia
"No, no, I should go" said Penny still distressed
"I'm so sorry" I said to her, but loud enough to be heard by the Sergeant
"Alright you're sorry, can we get on with this?" he asked annoyed. I looked pleadingly at Regina, trying to make her understand what was going on. It took a second for her to nod in apparent understanding and as she was going to focus on him, a lady with a crying girl on her arms approached us
"She wants you" she said handing the kid to Barclay
"It's alright sweetheart" he said tenderly scooping her into his arms
"Look, we really have to go" I heard Regina say handing over my insurance information and trying to give away as much cash as she could at the moment. That's when I heard it. The lullaby Penny used to sing for me to calm me down after a tough day.
"When you try and find him… well, he won't be there" the Sergeant sang for his child "But when you feeling blue and a little bit scared"
"Penny, that's the song you used to sing to me" I told her
"Yes, I made that up!" said Penny excitedly "I used to sing it to my kids before I put them to bed, they loved it. Especially Billy"
I approached the bus driver and asked for a time out as Sergeant Barclay kept singing
"Why?" demanded the bus driver
"Just wait!" I told him
"Wait? What you mean wait? We have a deal!" he said "now come on!" he said gesturing to Penny and Julia "one of you has to come now"
"Look, give her a minute" I pleaded "We just got to solve it"
"Ask him if he's Billy" said Penny from behind me
I sighed and stepped closer to the small family "Are you, Billy?" I asked him "I mean, is your name Billy? First Name?"
"To my friends" he answered warily
"Ask him Emma, ask him if he was adopted" demanded Penny
"Sergeant Barclay, I was wondering if maybe you might have been… maybe adopted?" I probed
"Look here, if you don't shut up I'll take you back inside, and I won't care about you being married to a Mayor or being a Sheriff yourself" he said angered
"Wait, married?" I asked losing track of the original issue
"Ms Swan and I are not a couple" stated Regina calmly
"And still you have a son together and have come to get her every single time" muttered Barclay disbelief clear in his voice, making me recall Regina's jab from a moment ago
"Emma! Focus!" said Penny excitedly
"Look, I know that I sound nuts" I started putting my concerns about my relationship with Regina aside for a moment "But was your mother's name Penny Washington?"
"Billy!" Said his wife in amazement. Penny started to squeal in delight as Barcley handed his daughter back to his wife
"This is my…! this is my son!" said Penny over and over
"Alright, what is this about?" he demanded upset
"You got two older sisters, Shirley and Diane" I continued "Am I right?"
"Who are you?" he asked then warily "Is this some sort of sick joke? Did I lock your brother up?" I was at a loss, I didn't really know how to explain it to him
"Do you know where your sisters are?" Asked Regina in turn
"No" answered Barclay
"We do" said Regina confidently
"That's ridiculous" he answered back "I've tried to find my sisters for the last 20 years, the records are sealed, even for a cop!"
"Ok ok ok" I started. "Do you remember this lady? This lady with tons of cats? Her name's Agnes Miller. She still lives in your old neighborhood"
"Cats? I do remember a lady with cats"
"Call her" said Regina "Then call a family named Timmerson in Sacramento. That's where your sisters grew up"
"How can you possibly know this?" he asked in amazement then
"This is my grandbaby!" squealed Penny making me lose focus again "Look at her!"
"She's so adorable" cooed Julia
"Emma was born the same day your mother passed away" I heard Regina explain to Barclay "Your mother and hers wound up in the same emergency room. The two idiots of a parents she has, told her that before your mother died she couldn't stop talking about her kids and all she wanted in the world was to make sure her kids were alright" she easily lied, surprising me by the amount feeling she was pouring into this make believe story "And then she sang that song, and Mary Margaret, that's Emma's mother, learnt it and sang it to Emma over and over again"
"Yes! And when I heard you sing it, I just knew" I added
"You could easily be one of the reasons Emma became a bails bond person, she's good at finding people" added Regina smiling softly at me
"Your mother loved you very much" I told him looking at Penny staring lovingly at him "She would have been real proud of you"
"Emma, I have to this" she said about to jump into my body
"Please don't" I tried to no avail, and a second later, I has hugging Barclay "I never left you" I whispered to him. Penny left my body before letting go of Barclay and it was an uncomfortable moment
"Can you just get off of me?" he demanded
"Yeah, I'm sorry, that was…" I tried
"She just gets emotional and does things without thinking, as you may have noticed by now" said Regina smirking
"I'm gonna check this out Swan" said Barclay "And if it isn't true…"
"It's true" I told him "Believe me, it's true"
And with that the Barclay family left, and we waved Penny goodbye.
"That was really awkward" I told them
"Yeah, you tell me" said the bus driver
"Ok, I'm ready" said Penny happily
"Finally" said the bus driver gesturing for her to climb in
"Good bye darling" said Julia hugging Penny as they twirled around
"I'm really gonna miss you" I confessed
"I'm saying goodbye to my children today, I am glad I got to see two of them in person" she said smiling kindly at me "You won't go dark, you don't have to worry about that. Just worry about being true to your heart" she added leaning in to whisper in my ear. "and it's ok to be a little selfish sometimes" she said as she climbed the bus "Pay more attention to what you're eating"
"Hey! I eat what I like" I countered
"Regina is right, if you keep eating greasy food you'll die of a heart attack or clogged arteries" she said from the bus "I love you guys!"
"Three down, one to go" said Regina
"Two to go" I reminded her "I have not forgotten about Robin" I told her
"I know" she said smiling sadly at me
"What is it?"
"Before I got to the station to pay for your bail, I got off the phone with Maleficent, I lost the leverage I had over Gold" she confessed
"We have to go to New York now, before Zelena hurts Robin" said Julia
"Let's pick up Lily and get our dinner to go, then we head to New York tonight and be there early in the morning" I offered and headed for the bug again.
A/N: You know the drill right? Do leave your reviews and let me know what you think…