I own nothing except my delusions.
Emma pulled her car up beside David's truck, turning off the engine and climbing out. Glancing around, she could smell the brine of the ocean even through the trees of the thick forest. She knew they would have to move again within a few days, but the area would make due until then.
Henry went beside her to grab his bag out of the back of the car to help set up, already used to the routine.
"Hold on, kid," she said, stopping his movements. "We need to check out the area first."
His eyes lit up, eager. "Can I go with you? I can help."
"No," Neal immediately said, coming up beside them to pull a tent. "You're staying in the car until there's an all clear. Don't argue."
He walked away before either Emma or Henry could respond, going into the forest.
Sighing, Emma rested her hand on her son's shoulder as she saw his crestfallen expression.
"Hey," she said soothingly. "Why don't you go by Ian? He said he would stay behind to keep you company with David."
He nodded, clearly put out.
Biting her lip, she crouched down in front of him, her eyes level with his. "Hey, why don't we start some lessons later tonight? I think it's time that would started learning how to handle these weapons."
She smiled as she saw his eyes lighten in excitement.
"Alright," he responded. He suddenly looked at her curiously. "Do you think Mary Margaret would let me shoot her bow?"
Chuckling, she shook her head. "I don't know, kid. You'll have to ask her to teach you with that one."
He nodded, leaving her side to go to where the group of men donning black leather jackets stood, gathering their weapons. They all greeted Henry as she sidled up next to them, making the boy beam widely.
"Ready to go?" Mary Margaret asked from beside her, her bow and quiver slung across her chest.
Quickly grabbing her knife and gun, Emma nodded. "Yeah."
Seeming to read her, Mary Margaret soothingly placed her hand on her arm. "Don't worry, Emma. Henry will be safe with Ian and David. They'll keep him safe."
"I know," Emma said quickly. She released a heavy breath. "It's just that..."
"You worry," Mary Margaret finished. "Emma, you're his mother. It's your job to worry about him. But you've done good. Especially considering everything that has happened."
Emma nodded, knowing she was talking about more than just the apocalypse.
"You know, Henry wants you to teach him how to shoot a bow," she said in a lighter tone as they began walking towards the group meant to scout the area.
Mary Margaret smiled widely. "I'll be happy to teach him. If that's okay with you, of course."
"Yeah," Emma nodded. "You know I'm all for Henry learning to fight."
Careful as not to make it obvious, Mary Margaret snuck a furtive glance at Neal where he waited by the rest of their party.
"Neal hasn't started teaching him yet?" she asked.
Emma snorted in response. "Nope. He keeps telling Henry he wants him to grow up, but he's not doing anything to help him, either."
Mary Margaret blew out a hard breath, showing her displeasure.
Emma knew not to continue the subject, knowing of both Mary Margaret and David's less than pleasant feelings towards Neal.
Lance looked up as they joined the rest of the group, quickly making sure everyone was there before speaking.
"We'll go in groups of two in each directions to scope it out," he said. "I already filled in the Jones brothers how we do this, so I won't bore you with the details. Liam and Killian will take the north, Emma and Mulan take the east, Mary Margaret and Aurora to the South, and me and Neal will take the west."
Emma noticed the slight displeasure in his tone at the end. It was common knowledge around the camp that none of them really liked being paired with Neal.
Glancing around the group, she caught the angry glint in Aurora's eye, putting her on edge.
"Be careful," she whispered to Mary Margaret.
Mary Margaret glanced at her, her brow pinched. "I always am, Emma. Don't worry. I'll be fine."
Sighing, Emma nodded once before going with Mulan to scout the forest.
Ready to go back and set up her cot to just relax, Emma trudged beside Mulan, happy to find their area clear.
"How long do you think we'll be staying here?" she asked Mulan as she stepped over a log.
The other woman shrugged. "I'm guessing a couple days at most. I mean we're far enough away to not have to worry about walkers from the last camp, but it's wise to keep moving."
Emma nodded. "How's Aurora?"
Mulan sighed, keeping her eyes ahead to watch the area. "She's in mourning. She's just lost the love of her life."
Emma was silent for a moment, sympathetic toward the other woman. She glanced over at Mulan.
"How're you doing?" she asked, knowing she and Phillip had been close.
Mulan was quiet before she finally spoke. "It's hard. I know we lost plenty of people before when we served together overseas, but this is harder."
Nodding in understanding, Emma continued to watch the area, noticing they were nearing Mary Margaret and Aurora's territory. They both started at the sudden sounds of fighting, glancing at each other before running towards the noise.
Emma's eyes widened in surprise as she saw Mary Margaret with her lip split, her bow drawn and pointed at Aurora, who help her knife at the ready. Both of them were dirty, their clothes stained, with a couple loose leaves stuck in Aurora's auburn hair.
"Stop!" Mulan commanded, ready to jump in if the women began fighting again.
"What the hell is going on?" Emma asked.
"It's her fault," Aurora exclaimed angerly. "If it weren't for her, Phillip would still be alive! She should have died, not him!"
Mary Margaret shook her head sadly. "Aurora, I'm sorry about that. I really am. But none of us could have known what was gonna happen, and we can't change anything."
"Sorry isn't good enough!" Aurora shouted. "Sorry isn't gonna bring him back!"
"Trying to kill Mary Margaret won't bring him back either," Mulan said, trying to get Aurora to stand down. "This won't change anything."
Aurora turned her wide blue eyes on Mulan, hesitating only a moment before tucking her knife away.
Both Emma and Mary Margaret breathed a sigh of relief as the latter relaxed her bow.
"You guys go ahead back," Emma told Mulan and Aurora. "What ever is left, me and Mary Margaret can take care of it."
Mulan quickly nodded in thanks, lightly touching Aurora's shoulder to steer her away. The other woman stood her ground for only a second before allowing her to lead her away back to the camp.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Emma rounded on Mary Margaret, concern taking over once the threat was gone.
"What happened?" she asked.
Placing her arrow back within her quiver, Mary Margaret sighed mournfully. "Aurora blames me for Phillip dying, so she wants me dead. She was quiet and cold the whole time we were checking the area, but I just thought that she didn't want to talk and was depressed because she just lost Phillip. As soon as we came here, she just attacked."
Emma nodded. "Did she hurt you at all?"
"No, she didn't," Mary Margaret shook her head. "I'm fine. Look, let's just head back for now?"
Checking her over to be sure she was okay, Emma nodded. "Yeah, okay. Um, just maybe be sure to keep your distance from Aurora for a while."
Mary Margaret threw her a derisive look. "Really?"
"Just saying," Emma replied with a shrug.
Giving her a small smile, Mary Margaret nodded as she moved to lead them back to their camp.
They were the last to have arrived back at the camp, seeing those that had returned and stayed had already began setting up. Mary Margaret immediately went to David as Emma went to Henry, affectionately ruffling his hair.
"Hey kid," she said from her spot beside him.
"Hey," he greeted in return. He looked up at her, his eyes worried. "Did something happen? You came back with Mary Margaret instead of Mulan."
Sighing, she glanced back at the group, seeing Aurora off by herself, a noticeable distance between her and Mary Margaret.
"Aurora blames Mary Margaret for Phillip's death," Emma told him quietly.
"Why?" Henry asked. "He was killed by a walker. That's not Mary Margaret's fault."
"I know, but she feels like if Mary Margaret had gone to check the lines instead, he would still be alive," she explained.
Henry looked worriedly toward Mary Margaret.
"Hey, Mary Margaret will be okay," Emma promised. "You know you don't need to worry about her."
Knowing she was right, he nodded confidently.
"Emma?" David called, drawing her attention. "Mind going on a run?"
"Duty calls," she muttered, hugging Henry.
Killian couldn't help himself as he glanced at the woman in the rear view mirror, unable to help but feel sympathy for her. He didn't blame Emma and David insisting that Mary Margaret join Emma and him on their run, especially because of one of the other members of the group being intent on murder.
They were all quiet on the way as the Jeep moved easily along the road to the nearest town, wanting to get their task done. He knew if it were just him with Emma, he would have enjoyed nettling her, but didn't want to cause her or Mary Margaret more stress.
He had instantly taken a liking to Emma despite her tough exterior, but knew to back off when he found out about Neal. He didn't like the other man and didn't think him good enough, but he knew without a doubt Emma could handle herself. Despite her choice in partner, he respected her.
"Did either of you receive a list of what it is we're looking for?" he asked them as they neared the small town.
"I've got it," Mary Margaret responded from the back, her bow resing across her lap.
"It's just basics," Emma said, her eyes trained out of the windshield. "Quick get in, get out."
He nodded, silence falling back over them.
The town they pulled into was small, but would do for what they needed. He killed the engine, all of them quickly leaving the Jeep.
"Come on," Mary Margaret said, clearly wanting to get to work.
She took off to lead, Emma quickly following her. He quickly moved after them, taking the rear.
Killian found that working with Emma was easy, that she was efficient in what she did, and saw that Mary Margaret was much the same. Both women, despite their different personalities, knew how to do their jobs to survive.
Because of Mary Margaret's presence, he knew he couldn't speak as freely with Emma, that he couldn't see what was hidden behind her walls. He may have not have been able to flirt as freely with her or think of her as anything more than a potential ally and friend, but he wanted to know her.
"I'm sorry, but what exactly happened earlier when we were clearing the area?" he asked curiously once they cleaned out a couple places for supplies.
Mary Margaret sighed heavily, suddenly looking very tired. "Aurora blames me for her fiancé dying, so she decided to try to kill me for revenge."
Quirking his brow curiously, he looked between her and Emma. "But there was no way of knowing that there were walkers trying to break through. It's no one's fault."
"We know that, but Aurora still blames her," Emma said, her voice not unkind.
Shaking his head, he sighed. He could understand being angry about losing a partner, the love of someone's life, but to make an attempt on someone not responsible he couldn't fathom.
"Mulan should be able to talk her down," Mary Margaret added.
"You know how Aurora is though," Emma replied. "She doesn't know when to quit."
Killian could see through the false bravado as Mary Margaret nodded.
"Well, let's hope," she said.
He could tell Emma didn't buy it either as she nodded, moving to continue looking for supplies.
Finding enough supplies to last them for a couple weeks, he moved beside them as they peeked through the abandoned businesses, looking for anything to be of use.
"Hey, I'm just gonna go check something out," Mary Margaret said, gesturing behind her.
"Do you want us to come with you?" Emma asked her, already shifting directions to accompany her.
The brunette quickly shook her head. "No, no. I'll be fine. You guys go ahead."
Nodding, Emma watched her turn around, going toward the town's drugstore.
"Where to, Swan?" Killian asked her, letting her decide on where to do.
He bit back a grin when he saw her roll her eyes.
She led him to the small bookstore, ignoring the curious quirk of his brow.
Despite his longing to pour over the various volumes that lined the selves, he stood where he could easily keep watch or assist Emma if she needed help.
Hearing a small sound of triumph, he looked back to see Emma with a gentle smile curling her lips as she held a blue book. As she put it back in her pack, he caught The Blue Fairy Book etched in an elegant scroll across the cover. He raised his brow curiously at another book of fairy tales, but didn't comment.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" he asked as she walked back toward him.
She nodded. "Yeah."
They both tensed as they stepped back out into the sunlit street, seeing a figure running toward them.
"Emma?" Mulan's voice shouted. "Where's Mary Margaret?"
Senses on alert, they both tensed. "She went on her own to the drugstore. What's wrong?"
"Aurora snuck off after you guys left," Mulan quickly explained. "I found her car near the Jeep."
As soon as the words left her, two loud shots filled the air, followed by the sound of shattering glass.
Dread taking over, they turned, sprinting toward the noise.
They reached where the noises came from, panic taking over when they heard the raspy groans. Turning the corner, they saw both of the woman looking toward what looked like a bar, its large front window shattered with at least thirty walkers falling from the opening.
"Shit," Emma muttered, drawing her gun.
Killian drew his own gun, knowing trying to be quiet would be pointless.
Mary Margaret and Aurora ran back toward them, intent on forming a group for them to take out what walkers they could so that they could leave.
More guns came out as the walkers decended, loud shots ringing through the air as they fired off, decomposing bodies falling only to be replaced with more.
"We have to get back," Mulan yelled over the groans. "There's too many!"
Carefully, Killian stepped back, staying aware of the walkers before him, as well as any that could surround them. He followed shortly behind Emma and Mary Margaret, helping to cover them.
They couldn't help turning back to look as a scream pierced the air, rising above the rattling groans.
They saw Aurora had been caught by one of the walkers just in time to witness the dead sink it's teeth into her, ripping some of the flesh from her face. Another walker reached her, biting down into her shoulder and making blood pour from the wound as more began to swarm around her.
Loath as the idea was to leave someone behind, Killian knew there was no way to help her, that she was beyond saving.
"We have to go," he shouted. "We can't save her."
They had to tug on Mulan slightly, who looked like she was ready to run back to try to get Aurora, as some of the walkers seemed to remember their presence, drawn to the live bodies.
Shooting a couple more of the walkers, they were able to finally make it back to the car, all of them jumping into the Jeep and forgoing the other cars.
"Drive!" Emma yelled as she looked out the back window, seeing the walkers beginning to near them.
Killian jammed the key into the ignition and turned, the car roaring to life as he stepped on the gas and shot them forward, away from the town and to the safety of the road shrouded in forest.
Emma slumped against the Jeep as she exited with the others when they made it back to camp at dusk. She was exhausted, mentally as well as physically.
Despite what Aurora had been trying to do, she didn't want her dead. She knew in reality, it was Aurora's own fault, but couldn't help being sorry to see her go.
Pushing herself off the body of the car, she moved to join the camp along with her group from the town, immediately noticing the chaos. She felt her body tense, suddenly awake, readying herself for an attack.
She caught the nervous looks of some of the people, how they looked scared that she was there. Neal didn't even look at her.
"What's going on?" she asked, her nerves beginning to get the better of her.
David met her gaze, his usually calm blue eyes enraged.
"When Aurora went missing, we split up to scour the woods," David told her. "We didn't know she had followed you guys into the town."
She noticed him throw a furious glance Neal's way, noticing the complete absence of her son.
"I took Henry with me to look," Neal said. "I don't know what the hell happened, cause I told him to stay in one spot while I checked down a ravine."
"What happened?" Emma demanded, fury beginning to seep into her own voice. "Where's Henry?"
Her eyes were trained on Neal, not seeing the uneasy expressions Mary Margaret, Killian, and Mulan wore, as well as the sympathetic looks of the others.
"We don't know," David answered. "Henry's gone."
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