Chapter 61

"Damn it, Emma, why the hell didn't you tell me about all this?" David screams out.

The blonde feels immense guilt while sitting in her hospital bed. She's doing her best to fight the tears that are attempting to come to the surface of her eyes. She knows that she screwed up big time. She wishes beyond all measure that she'd said something about Arthur King's threatening letter. She was in law enforcement and she should have trusted that they would have helped her. She also knew the legal consequences of withholding information from the police, something that could have finally caught the monster and ended all of their sufferings. Instead, she kept this a secret and ended up putting her daughter and boyfriend in grave danger and her son and her best friend ended up in the line of fire too. Guilt boils up inside of her; if she had just said something, everything would have been different.

Emma sighs heavily and just nods, taking the harsh words from David. Even though she'd escaped him, Arthur King still had a way to control and manipulate her life. It killed her that she couldn't escape him or his influence.

"I know David... I'm sorry..."

"Sorry isn't going to help save Sophie and Killian!" he barks angrily, pacing the linoleum floor to the point where he was more than likely going to wear a hole in it. "How could you be so stupid?!"

"Bring your voice down David," Elsa says. "I know you're angry, but this is still a hospital."

The platinum blonde sits next to her friend in bed, holding Emma's hand and attempting to comfort her. She had decided to stay to be the support, and at this moment, the voice of reason. Even in the direst of situations, Elsa always kept a level head. Her calm and rational demeanour is very much needed at this moment as both her companions were anything but passive.

"I... I was just scared David," Emma whispers. "He threatened Henry and Killian if I called the police or told anyone."

"Yeah well, he's working his way through that list of threats, isn't he?" the lieutenant of police mutters sarcastically.

"I just wasn't thinking," the blonde continues.

"You're supposed to be to trust us, Emma," he points. "You work for the police department; you know we could have helped you."

"I do trust you, but I just felt that it was better if I kept it a secret."

"Well that backfired didn't it?" he snaps.

He can't even stand to look at her anymore and exits the room in a huff.

Emma feels utterly ashamed and just lets the tears fall freely now. Even after all this time and all the people that she loves and trusts, she still thinks that she had to do things on her own. Ever since she was young, she'd felt that the world was against her and that no one would help. It didn't help that she was left on the side of the road by her parents not long after she was born, or the adoptive family who sent her back after they had their own kid, but Emma had always assumed that she had to take of herself because no one in world wanted or would do that. It was a pattern that was slowly broken over time, after she met Neal, had Henry, made friends with Regina, David, Mary Margret, Elsa... Killian. They had been trying to let her know that she could trust them and that they would be there when she needed them... It felt that old habits die hard in this case and everything has just become a bigger mess than before. A mess that she and everyone else have to clean up.

"I'll go talk to him," Elsa says, getting up to follow the angry officer. "He just needs some time to cool down. Try and get a little rest."

"I don't know if that's possible anymore," Emma mutters. She lays back on the pillow, tears still spilling down her face and she doesn't bother trying to wipe them away. She gazes up at the ceiling and the florescent lights. She can't imagine what's happening to Killian and Sophie at this moment. Had Arthur left their daughter on the side of the road? Had he left the country? Had he... killed Killian and dumped him somewhere?

The thought makes her sick to the point that Emma curls up into a ball to try and prevent herself from vomiting. The pain was so intense that it felt as if a red-hot iron poker was being driven into her torso. She shuts her eyes and attempts to breathe deeply, doing anything to take her mind off the fear she feels for two of the people she loved most in the world.

Arthur had been true to his threats in the letter; while he hadn't killed Henry, the monster had harmed him and snatched her daughter anyways. To rub salt in the wound, he'd also taken the man she loved, and his fate was more uncertain than Sophie's. As long as Arthur believed that Sophie was his, he wouldn't harm her, but Killian... there's no telling what might happen.

Emma inhales sharply and just curls into a ball, wishing her mind would shut up and that her worst fears would not come true.

…

Meanwhile, Elsa had to ask many members of the hospital staff if they'd seen David. She eventually finds him out in front of the hospital in the mild air of the night. He seems to be talking into something and the blonde recognized it as the police issued phone. Jack always carried one too and she'd seen him answer it many times before.

Her heart flutters at the thought of Jack, the officer she had fallen for. If she was honest with herself, she thought she'd never fall in love. She saw Anna and Kris together and while it made her happy that her sister was happy, she never thought that she would ever have a relationship. She was just so busy all the time and couldn't find the time to even pursue someone. That is until Jack came into her life. She finally understood all those emotions and sensations that Anna always talked about because she felt them herself whenever Officer Overland was around. He treated her like a queen and his more mischievous and joking nature helped her feel less serious and open up more as a person. When they'd kissed for the first time, her world felt as if it was spinning a million miles a minute and her mind filled with fireworks. Her desire for more became almost uncontrollable. They were taking it slow, especially considering they met while Emma was still missing, but Jack respected her choices and was cautious as well; he'd confessed to her that he'd never had a serious relationship before and he too wanted to take time to figure everything out. The two were a perfect match it seemed, complementing and supporting each other.

Elsa shakes the thoughts temporarily from her mind, preparing to talk to David. Although it was nice to forget about all this stress for a few moments.

"Dispatch as many cars as you can and issue an AMBER alert for Sophie Swan-Jones," David is saying.

Elsa waits patiently until he hangs up. When he turns to meet her gaze, she can tell that he's been crying. Even in the streetlight, his bloodshot eyes were a sign of stress and sadness.

"Come to calm me down?" he asks.

"No, I just wanted to see if you were all right,"

"What do you think?" he snaps. He realizes what he's doing. "I'm sorry Elsa, I... I didn't mean it."

"I know you didn't, and I completely understand."

"Emma not telling me this has made things so much harder. Not only did she derail the case, but she ended up putting her family and mine into danger."

"You know she didn't mean to do any of this; she couldn't foresee the consequences to not telling anyone... none of us did. Yes, Emma does share some blame for saying anything, but most of it can be pinned on Arthur King."

"I know..." he mutters.

Elsa goes up to David and wraps her arms around him. She holds him tightly and pats his back to help soothe his tense shoulders.

"She was just afraid, and fear is a powerful motivator when it comes to making rash decisions."

"But she didn't even try to get help," he winces, breaking from the hug.

"Can you blame her? The man threatened everyone she loved if she told anyone. No doubt she felt trapped and helpless."

David is silent for a while. He gazes at his feet for a long time, his mind racing of what to do next. He can't completely blame Emma for her actions; she was changed by her experience in captivity and no doubt her ability to trust had been shaken and wreaked because of that monster Plus if harm had been threatened on his wife and son, he'd probably be pretty torn on what to do. Even though he'd been missing for a long time, Arthur still managed to gain control and stay ahead of them all. His hands clench into fists, wishing that this nightmare would just end.

"You need to get some sleep," Elsa says quietly. "You can't handle all this with no energy, plus Mary is going to need you."

"But who will man the searches?"

"You can call Jack. Tonight's his night off, but if he knows that Sophie and Killian are in danger, he'll be right on it."

David opens his mouth to protest, but he can feel the toll the night's events have taken on him. His head feels light, his legs are weak to the point that he's amazed that he's still standing. This emotional rollercoaster of the night was enough to exhaust anyone. He wants to keep going, stop Arthur before he can do something to his goddaughter and one of his good friends. It surprised him how much he worried about Killian's safety. Guess the docks man truly had grown on him to the point of being almost best friends. Why did it take life-threatening situations to realize the bonds between people?

"Okay," he finally agrees, letting his shoulders slump down.

"You will find them, David," Elsa says. "You have to have hope."

He smiles. "You sound like Mary when you say that."

"What can I say?" she smiles. "I learn from the best people."

A/N: Hello to everyone. I am so sorry that I haven't updated in almost a year. Hopefully, I will be able to continue to update more in the future. Please follow and review and thank you to everyone who has stuck by this story.