Running into the flames
Odette asked for a oneshot of…a read and see story.
The shrill sound of the bell seemed to radiate right through Snow's brain. With little instruction, her class went right into fire drill mode. They knew what to do. This time though, things were different. This fire had gone wild before anyone could do anything. There had been an explosion in the science lab. Over the intercom, everyone was ordered to go right back into their classrooms and block the bottom of the door to prevent smoke coming through, that the fire and sheriff departments were on their way and everyone would be out soon. At that point, Snow and Henry shared a look across the classroom. If the sheriff department was on their way, that meant Charming and Emma were going to be in the burning building. Snow tried to smile confidently, to make Henry feel like everything was going to be ok. But she didn't feel confident at all. She felt sick. Her husband and her daughter were about to tackle a blaze whilst she and her grandson were trapped inside. Snow was the farthest thing possible from ok. As was Henry. Both of them wanted to be out there and helping Emma and Charming, but both knew if they left the class just now, it would only make things worse. No, they had to sit tight, no matter how ill it made them feel.
After what felt like decades (although was probably only about forty-five minutes in reality), the all-clear was given over the intercom. Snow desperately wanted to see where her husband and daughter were, but she knew she had a duty of care to her students first. As they made their way outside, Snow heard snippets of conversations. Apparently, there had only been one injury in the entire blast. Snow's heart relaxed. Surely that must have been the person who caused the explosion who got hurt? So after quickly bringing them to their fire drill stand, Snow left them with the third grade teacher and she and Henry found the firefighters. They asked where Emma and Charming were, that's when their faces fell.
"Hasn't anyone told you?" The Chief asked.
"No." Snow said. Did they look like they'd been given information?! He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"It's just…Emma got hurt. She saw you and Henry in the window and, well, she got scared. She jumped in there before anyone could stop her. It didn't look too bad when I saw her, but she and David left in an ambulance about ten minutes ago." Neither Snow nor Henry needed any more information. As fast as their legs could carry them, they headed for Snow's car and sped their way to Storybrooke General.
They were quickly shown to Emma's ward. By the time they arrived, it was very clear Charming was annoyed at Emma, and the pair weren't speaking.
"Mom!" Henry called out, rushing over to her. He hands were heavily bandaged, and she had an oxygen mask on. But other than that, there seemed to be only minor injuries. He carefully hugged his mom as Snow walked over and kissed Charming.
"Are you ok?" She asked him, worried the doctor hadn't even checked him over. He nodded.
"I'm fine." He promised her. He looked over at Emma. "She saw you and Henry in the classroom…"
"The fire Chief filled us in." Snow explained. Charming sighed. "I was so scared. I thought I was going to lose all three of you."
"I'm still fine." Emma mumbled through the mask. She had tried to take it off, but her dad had warned if she did, there would be drastic consequences. Thus their falling out. Snow turned her attention to her daughter. She carefully moved some hair behind her ear.
"This doesn't constitute fine." Snow chastised her. "Far from it. Please, Emma, avoid running into burning buildings? The fire department were dealing with it. When we found out you'd gotten hurt…"
"Yeah, yeah, dad already gave the same lecture." Emma mumbled gruffly. "I can't say I'm sorry, because I'm not. I'd do it all over again if any of you were in any danger. I can't help it." Emma defended herself. Snow and Charming shared a look, frowning. Crazy heroism just seemed to run in the family.
