Author's Note - Short update :) Thank you again for everyone's comments, favs, and follows. Appreciate everyone taking the time out to read this. Let us know what you think!
Evening was just beginning to approach and where there should be plenty of daylight left, black clouds were rolling in, forcing a quicker twilight to descend upon the town of Storybrooke. The winds had kicked up what little litter there was, blowing it around viciously and tumbling across the pavement. Branches arched, leaves rustling loudly before being whipped back and forth when a turbulent gale made its presence known. All signs pointed to a hell of a thunderstorm coming in, but they were signs that Emma Swan were ignoring.
She had new tires and a full workup on the Bug. Billy said her car was in good shape to go and that's exactly what she was going to do. Emma was already hours overdo from her original plan because of the vandalism and hearing about Regina's accident. Her heart still twinged at that knowledge, but she had already made peace with her decision in leaving the MIlls family after leaving the hospital. It was time to check out of the B & B and get out of Storybrooke.
It was uncanny how she always managed to find a parking spot in front of Granny's and wondered how she got so lucky that most of the town didn't drive that often, or just didn't come to the diner as much as Granny would like. Leaning over with a hand on the steering wheel, she pulled the key to her room out of the glovebox when there was a light rap against the side of her passenger door.
Sheriff Graham leaned an arm against the roof, his forehead touching his forearm. He smiled gently at Emma and lifted an eyebrow. "Going somewhere?" he asked through the glass.
She gave him a penetrating look for the briefest of moments before reaching for the window controls. "Yeah. It's called leaving Storybrooke. Don't have time for chatting, Sheriff."
He nodded at her, but looked patronizingly amused. Graham gestured toward the ominous storm clouds. "You have noticed the storm, if not the official storm warnings that have been issued, yes?"
"So?" She shrugged and closed the glove box. "Driven in worse. Considering the direction I'm going, it's away from the storm, not with it. If I leave now, I've got time to get to a motel that's not here."
Key in hand, she got out of the Bug because she wasn't going to be stalled any further. If Graham had further issues to discuss, they could walk and talk. He slipped hands into the pockets of his jacket and trailed along with her.
"But you haven't been through a Maine storm. They're brutal, Miss Swan. It'd be safer for you if you waited it out… no matter what storm you think you're avoiding by heading into it. Do you want to end up in a hospital bed beside the mayor by being reckless?"
Badge or not, Emma didn't hesitate when she pressed a hand on his vest to stop him, nor get right into his face. "Whatever it is you think you know what's going on, you don't know a god damn thing. Got it?"
Graham looked exasperated. "I don't care what is going on with the two of you. I've had more than enough of Regina's manipulations, quite frankly. I'm warning you about staying in town for your own safety, Swan. Maine storms are dangerous."
She blinked, taken aback by Graham's honesty and wondered just how long Regina had been like this. But it wasn't her business. Like the Sheriff, she didn't care what happened between the two of them anymore. Unfortunately, it gave her even more ammunition on needing to leave.
"Heard loud and clear, Sheriff. Now … mind getting out of the way?" she said in warning while dropping her hand.
"Mind what I said," Graham said firmly. "I'd hate to report to Henry that you're in trouble too."
"It's not going to concern him. Trust me." She declared tightly, shrugging at a concern that didn't exist anymore, before resuming the walk up to Granny's.
Astrid took a deep breath, fingering the note the blonde woman had for the Mayor. Now that she'd actually gone upstairs to deliver the message, the novice felt nervous. She had never met Mayor Mills, but had the impression the woman was unhappy, and knew she was prone to a good deal of sarcasm toward those who bothered her in any way.
"You can do this. Deep breath, smile on your face, and, that's all you need!" she told herself, and strode purposefully to the mayor's room.
The novice tapped lightly on the partly opened door, peering in nervously.
Henry looked up from the desk he was sitting in front of, working on his homework that Mary Margaret had brought over herself. She wanted to do it personally to pay her respect to the mayor and check in on Henry. It was a real thoughtful gesture. So was the small teddy bear that sat atop his mother's nightstand with a balloon tied to his arm that said 'Get Well Soon' - her only gift so far. He tried to be optimistic that the sister's presence was a good sign that someone else cared about his mom too.
He put down his pencil and gave her a hopeful smile. "Hi, Sister Astrid. Can I help you?"
"Is… your… mayor… mother! awake?" she asked timidly. "A visitor had a note to deliver to her."
"Really?" Intrigued, Henry stood up and motioned for Astrid to come inside after she nodded in affirmation again. "Mom kind of comes in and out of sleep. Because of the medicines."
She entered cautiously as if there was an unseen trap waiting to be sprung. Astrid glanced toward the presently-sleeping mayor, then back at her son. "I hope she's doing better. I'm sure your mother is happy to know you are at her side."
"Yep. I made her a promise I'd stay here. She didn't want to be alone." He smiled at her, but then his eyes focused on the thank you card in Astrid's hand. Even he couldn't figure out who would want to send his mother a thank you card. No one in town had any reason at all to show gratitude towards her.
Unless it's from Hansel! He might've sent something since he wasn't hurt!
"That's very good of you, Henry. Being man of the house." Astrid paused, then realized she ought to hand him the card rather than just linger in the room. "Here. You'll see your mother gets the card?"
"That's what Sheriff Graham and Dr. Whale said too. Being the man of the house that is." He squared his shoulders proudly and felt ten feet tall that people were noticing how important he was to Regina. Taking the card, he immediately placed it in front of the bear. "Soon as Mom wakes up again, and not so groggy, I'll make sure she gets it."
"Thank you, Henry." She touched his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I hope your mom is feeling better soon."
"Thank you," he said before glancing back at the card. Henry just had to know! "Can I ask who sent it?"
Astrid nodded, then hesitated, and then chuckled at herself. "The woman who was sitting with you sent it."
"What?! Emma sent this?!" He was shocked. After they last spoke, it never once entered Henry's mind that she would send Regina anything, let alone a thank you card of all things.
Astrid, out of habit, put a finger to her lips to shush Henry, whose brows lifted up in surprise. Then, catching herself, she blushed and kept her own voice low. "Yes. Right after you came up to see your mother. She left the card before she left."
It really was baffling to the boy, and now here he was internally struggling in wanting to open the card and why he really shouldn't! What could Emma have wrote that she couldn't have just said to his mother's face? "Thanks. It was nice of you to do that for her."
"You're welcome, Henry. I… should get back to my shift, I suppose!" she giggled nervously. "Take care of your mom and yourself."
"I will!"
His voice barely could be considered a whisper! He hopped into the chair that was still at his mother's bedside and watched her eagerly, anxious for her to wake up so they could find out what Emma had to say together. Maybe there was still hope for Regina and Emma to get back together again, which had nothing to do with the savior needing to stay because of the curse. Emma would break the curse because she was destined to. Allowing herself to love his mother was her choice.
Astrid gave him a little wave, glanced at the mayor, then scurried out of the room. She had a shift to get back to in a few minutes!
Regina stirred and blinked with blurry, unfocused eyes. It took a moment to remember where she was and why. Grimacing from the situation and discomfort, she let out a short breath and gazed at her son.
"Henry… you're still here."
That fact, at least, elicited a smile from the exhausted and wounded mayor.
"I keep my promises, Mom," said Henry, smiling back. He scooted his chair closer and squeezed Regina's hand. "How are you feeling? Any better?"
"Sore. Might take a day or two before… I want to… run the vacuum…" she replied, her best attempt at humor.
"Mom! You can't be doing anything like that until Dr. Whale says so!" came Henry's mortified response, not completely realizing his mother was joking.
"Kidding, my prince." She smiled, amused at his protective reaction. "What… have you been up to while I rested?"
"Well, Miss Blanchard stopped by instead of Sheriff Graham to give me my homework and see how you were doing." He turned around and pointed at the teddy bear balloon gift. "She brought you some get well presents and hopes you feel better soon."
She rolled her eyes, but then smiled because Henry knew why she reacted that way. "Well, that's... kind of her. How… are you doing on your homework?"
"Pretty good. Kept me busy while you were sleeping." He grew pensive and shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Henry shouldn't stall this for too long, and his mother appeared to be more cognizant this time around. Plus, he couldn't lie by omission. He's been doing that for such a long time since the storybook came into his possession. He just had to tell her. "But there's something else."
"What is it, Henry?" she asked, her voice still soft. Concern was writ on her features, feeling guilty that her son was having to go through this on top of the mess she'd made of everything else.
"Well ..." his voice dragged while looking back at the bear. The card that Astrid brought was still tilted against it. "You got a card." Eyes drifted slowly back to his mother's and waited to see what her reaction would be with what he said next. "From Emma."
"I see." Regina understood his cagey reaction and lifted a brow. "Did you read it yet?"
"No. It wasn't for me," he said truthfully, even though Henry wanted to read it so badly!
So, she brought me a card. What the hell does that mean, and what could it say?
Regina lifted her hand to have Henry pass the card to her, heart pounding, proven by the spike in the monitor that was keeping track of her. He reached over and grabbed it, handing over the envelope that had 'thank you' across it. Regina clearly could tell that this was one of the generic hospital envelops.
"Uh, mom?" asked Henry, clearly concerned as the monitors beeped faster than before.
"Proof that I'm alive," Regina said, dismissive of the monitor.
She could feel she was fine, and only nervous about what could be the contents of the card. She stared at the generic envelope, then pulled the flap back with a determined, mayoral expression. The card was clearly not of the hospital gift shop variety and Regina narrowed her eyes before opening it. Under the generic 'Thank You for Coming to Storybrooke General Hospital. We Wish You a Speedy Recovery' were a few lines hastily scrawled.
I was wrong. You did try. I'm just not sure how I feel about it, which is why I'm still leaving. And I think I finally believe you have feelings for me.
- Emma
Regina took a sharp breath and closed the card and her eyes. The monitor beeped again with her increased heart rate. Her heart soared at the idea that Emma could believe her, and realized that she'd been driving to see her when the accident happened.
And, I'm trapped here for a week. And she's going to try to leave! But… she can't. Right?
"Mom?" Henry asked gently, seeing such a dramatic shift in emotions from his mother. He could tell the card said nothing bad since Regina wasn't crying or angry! There was hope that something could be salvaged despite how insistent Emma was in leaving and wanting nothing to do with his mother.
Pursing her lips, Regina opened her eyes and handed her son the card for him to read.
There was no reason to keep its contents from him. Fingers pried the card apart and brown eyes
swept through the words, finding the hope he was looking for!
"Mom! This … this is great! Emma believes you but … she's just afraid and confused. She just needs time. But, Emma …" he looked at Regina in a panic that wasn't there before.
He had not really questioned the safety of his birth mother because he had been so upset with her. She still wanted to and was trying to make Henry speak out against Regina. This card changed Henry's perspective because he had hope again.
"She might get hurt again trying to leave. We should have Graham go get her!"
Regina nodded as best she could from her braced position against the less-than-idyllically-comfortable bed. "I know. If the curse really is keeping her here too… the harder she tries, the worse it will be."
But, Regina remembered what had happened when she'd used the sheriff's heart to control him the last time she tried to keep someone in town: Owen's father, Kurt. They'd ended up in a high-speed chase that ended in losing the boy to the town line anyway. And, she'd killed Kurt in retaliation.
"It's… hard for me to… talk still. Will you talk to Sheriff Graham? It… might go better if he's helping you instead of me."
Henry was wise enough to tell that there was probably more to it than simply Regina's voice not being strong enough. But, there was little time to waste in asking why she was pushing this and picked up the room phone to dial the Sheriff, unawares that Graham had already tried to stop Emma from leaving.
The wind was picking up at an alarming rate. Trees were hunching over and the older ones branches crackled under the weight of bending so viciously before being thrashed and whipped back and forth. Even some of the older wooden electrical poles were groaning under the powerful gusts that were sweeping in from this Maine storm. They even vigorously hit the sides of the Bug, forcing Emma to navigate down Main Street with both hands on the wheel. She was starting to second guess telling Graham off, but Emma was being too stubborn to reconsider right now, even with the sky going black at an alarming rate. The storm was coming in fast, something else she apparently miscalculated in this town. The skies opened up once, briefly, showering the small town with a prelude of the main attraction soon to follow.
"I knew we shouldn't have gone out!" Nicholas whimpered.
"Would you stop?" Ava groused, hanging on tightly to their weathered umbrella. A crack of lightning made her jump too and nearly lose her grip. "We had to get something to eat, remember?"
Nicholas tried to help her hold the umbrella, but a strong gust yanked it and pulled the slender spokes inside out. They both screamed as the wind pulled the ruined umbrella out of their hands. It flew across the street and nearly hit the very yellow Bug they'd vandalized last night!
Emma's eyes widened in almost panic, feeling her heart race, from an unidentifiable object that dashed across her windshield. She hit the brakes out of instinct, trying to avoid a collision and bounced against the driver's seat. "The hell?"
Looking to the left, Emma saw it was a broken umbrella that she managed to avoid. The handle wedged itself under a mailbox leg where it rattled helplessly, trying to be freed. She then glanced in the opposite direction where Emma had thought she heard a scream over the howling winds.
"Crap!" Nicholas shouted.
Thunder and lightning cracked overhead and the siblings jumped. Ava pulled Nicholas into the doorway of the bakery, not that it afforded much protection from the storm. Another crack of lightning cut through the skies, booming soon after. It distracted Emma long enough that she didn't realize that another bolt struck the electrical pole in front of the bakery until the accompanied thunder jolted the woman aware. Her eyes went wide as sparks rained down upon the street and cars, narrowly missing the children.
Ava screamed and sheltered her brother, pressing him up against the building since she was the taller of them.
"We should run!" Nicholas yelled, muffled against her shoulder. "It could fall and hit us! Or trap us!"
He squirmed against her sister and Ava looked up, trying to gauge the direction it could fall in. How could she tell? Which way could they go without getting hit by sparks? Emma didn't hesitate putting the car in park and hopping out to go help them. She approached cautiously, doing the same as Ava, watching the pole teeter dangerously without giving any hint of where it might fall.
"Hey guys!" she shouted over the wind, pointing towards her unknown assailants left as the wires sprayed fresh sparks down upon the street. "When I say go, run as fast as you guys can down the sidewalk! I'll follow and lead you, watching the pole! Okay?!"
Ava nodded and shouted back, "Okay!" and gave her brother a little room to breathe and move. They both looked from Emma to the pole, then back at her, waiting for the signal to move. Ava was too scared to realize the irony that the woman whose car they vandalized was now trying to save their lives!
The pole swayed back and forth without gaining too much speed either way, which should still give the kids enough time to escape. Emma waited, watching it make its way back away from the direction she told them to run and yelled. "GO!"
Ava shoved Nicholas forward. He ran, but tripped and went sprawling forward on the sidewalk with a yelp. Ava tripped over his leg and fell too. Behind them, the electrical pole veered wildly toward them, a fact that made Emma's heart leap in fear. "Oh no…"
She sprinted across the street and onto the sidewalk, kneeling down to grab an arm of either child. She hoisted them to their feet as Emma started to half drag them away. "Come on!"
Ava was quicker and was able to scramble on with the stranger. Nicholas struggled to get his footing and screamed as the pole broke free and careened down at him. It caught him at the back of the legs, knocking him back down to the pavement.
"HELP!"
"Nicholas!" Ava screamed, grabbing at his hands, trying to pull him free of the heavy wooden pole.
Emma slide down to a knee beside Ava and wrapped her arms around her tiny waist. "No, no. Don't do that. I know you're scared, but pulling him might make things worse. Here."
She let her go and looked to Nicholas who was still wriggling to get free. "Nicholas, right? I'm going to call an ambulance. See, I don't want you to move too much in case we hurt you worse by accident, okay? But we're going to stay with you and keep you safe until help arrives."
One of the powerlines was still live, flopping around on the ground, crackling with electricity and depending how it kept on moving, it might zap Nicholas on the leg causing who knows what damage. Emma saw this and pursed her lips.
"Okay. New plan." She tossed the phone towards Ava. "You call 911 and I'm going to free you."
Ava caught the phone and stared at its unusual style. It was fortunate that Emma had woken up the iPhone just before tossing it because the girl would have had no clue what to do with it! She pressed her finger to the icon with the shape of a handset, then blinked when that brought up options. Calling 911 took her longer than it would have Emma, coming from backwater Storybrooke!
She shifted across the pavement and used the perpendicular plank affixed to the main pole to use as leverage when Emma was ready to lift it. "Okay, we got one chance, kid. I'm going to lift this and as soon as I say go, you grab for your sister's hand and pull. Got it?"
Nicholas nodded, tears of pain and fear streaming down his cheeks. 911 called, Ava set the weird cell phone down and grabbed onto her brother's hands.
"Ready," Ava said grimly, shouting into the wind.
Bracing her boots against the sidewalk, Emma readied herself by taking a few quick breaths through her mouth and nodded at the girl. "GO!"
Emma cried out, straining as she pushed forward and gained enough leverage to give Ava enough space to pull Nicholas free. Muscles burned, her legs tensed in this moment of pure adrenaline burst of strength to avoid this kid getting hurt worse. She just hoped her arms wouldn't give out before he could get to safety.
Ava pulled sharply and Nicholas yelled in pain, but he was loose. She cried out because her brother did, then looked pale when she saw how squashed his leg looked. It had to be broken, Ava realized. How were they going to deal with that?! Watching closely as Nicholas was pulled free, Emma let out a growl, relieved that she was able to finally let go of the pole. She fell against the wood, needing the support as her wobbly arms regained some of their sapped strength. The powerline that was jumping around on the sidewalk was far enough away and no longer a threat towards them.
"Just don't move, kid. Okay? Stay like that until the ambulance comes." She looked apologetically towards the two of them and reached for her phone that Ava set aside. "I need to call your parents so they can meet you at the hospital…"
Ava and Nicholas exchanged a glance, then it was the older sibling who spoke. "No. You can't."
"Look, kid… they're going to be worried," emphasized Emma as sirens were finally heard over the howling winds. Medical assistance would be here soon. "I need to call them. Or one of them?" she offered, wondering if it were a slip of the tongue that they had just one. Or perhaps ... none?
With their silence and exchange of looks, Emma really studied the two children, looking past the immediate fear and pain of the situation that they had found themselves in. The disheveled clothes that hadn't been washed in days, fraying with holes barely patched together, dirty faces and greasy hair, their eyes so much older than they should be - Emma was staring at herself if she had ran away from the foster system sooner. She finally got it.
"Hey," she said, reaching out to touch Ava's hand. "I'll make sure you guys are alright. Okay?"
Their eyes met and Ava knew Emma had figured out their situation somehow. She could hear it in her tone. Swallowing hard, she looked away and nodded as the loud horn of the firetruck, ambulance sirens and the squeal of brakes announced that help had finally arrived on scene. Emma let go of Ava's hand to stand up, waving the paramedics over just as the cursed planned it to happen. The savior was tethered to Storybrooke since her arrival, and by no means was she allowed to leave until her work was done.