AN: Thanks for the incredible response to this new Snowing story! I'm really excited about this one and blending the worlds of Once and Manifest. And it seems my readers are too. I did not classify this as a crossover, because that's not really what it is. This is a Manifest type story with mostly Once characters. I have kept a couple Manifest characters and a few minor ones may pop up. The notable Manifest characters I have kept so far are Vance and Olive as Snowing's daughter. You also do not have to worry about any love triangles for Snowing. That's not my thing and this will always be a Snowing story.

Another thing to note is that I've taken some liberties with the relationships as well. Most notably, Emma and David are siblings and they grew up with Mary Margaret, so Emma and Mary Margaret are very close as well. Due to Robert being a drunk after Ruth dies, David and Mary Margaret pretty much raised Emma while raising themselves. Another thing to note, Henry is in the place of Cal here as Snowing's son and Emma's nephew. Most everything else will become clear as you read. I hope you enjoy this new story and join me on another journey. This one will update bi-weekly on Monday nights. It is much appreciated and here are individual responses to reviews:

Ghostwriter: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! :)

Grace5231973: Yes, David is very lucky that Margaret not only believes him, but wants to help. Yep, there is someone out there for Emma. Glad you're enjoying it! :)

Jennifer Baratta: Thanks!

Number Ten: No, the dogs aren't really that important. It's more than that. And the voices are actually called Callings or will be later on. I'm following most of the show's plots and adding my own stuff. Glad you like David and MM's close relationship. :)

Guest: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

Madelaine: Thanks, glad you like my writing! :)

Sexystarwarslover: I know, they were so close! Perhaps or Emma might find someone else out there. You know, someone that's in a cave right now, lol. Yeah, I think this might be the one story I have where Graham doesn't die and probably won't die. Yep, she had another calling. I know, I love those Snowing moments. Olive was right and is happy to have her dad back. Yeah, Leopold tried to keep them apart, but failed miserably. Robert may have had a drinking problem, but he always supported them. Yep, now David is getting the calling and Margaret is all in, because she believes whatever is brought them back to her. Yeah, they've never been normal. :)

AnonSnowing: I do like the tag team of Gold and Vance a lot. I like that David and Emma are close too, but yeah, it's scary that they are being watched. Yeah, a bit different here. She kept everything. Yeah, Olive is a bit more receptive here. She still has some stuff to work through, but she's not as torn here. They didn't understand them and thankfully, they didn't let anyone separate them. But Ruth and Robert were always in their corner. I like that they are both teachers too. Yep, more Snowing loving and the callings begin. I love how supportive Margaret is too. Yeah, they need to be very careful. Yep, they are definitely not normal, but in a good way. Yeah, he was picking snowdrops for her from a very young age. Yep, she felt him still and yeah, I'll probably have to do a flashback of them being caught making out in the janitor's closet. Yeah, they still feel like Snowing and that was my goal. Yep, Emma's right, he is a lucky bastard. I love that three musketeers feel too. You're welcome, glad you liked it. :)

Lightning in a Bottle

Chapter 5: Next To Me

The Next Morning

Emma stood up and shook hands with the Captain.

"Thanks for the desk work...I think it will help keep my mind busy," she said. Graham nodded.

"You're welcome, but I'm serious about the psych evaluation. I shouldn't even be letting you do paperwork yet," he warned. She nodded.

"I already made an appointment for tomorrow," she promised. He smiled.

"Good…" he said, as she left his office and went to find her desk, only to see Killian waiting for her there.

"Hey…" she greeted.

"Care to explain this?" he muttered, as he showed her a video. She sighed, as it was clearly of her, her brother, and Margaret last night.

"It's complicated…" she said.

"It's a felony and the three of you are bloody lucky that I caught this one," he hissed.

"Are you going to arrest us?" Emma asked and he sighed.

"No...we're going over there and I'm going to hopefully smooth this over with the owner. Then you hope he doesn't decide to press charges, because then it will be out of my hands," he replied. She nodded numbly and followed him out to his car.

"So...Margaret must be over the moon with your brother and her son back," he mentioned. He knew that would get a smile from her and he was right.

"Yeah...she's walking on air and they just fell right back into place like perfect puzzle pieces," she said wistfully. He sighed.

"But we didn't…" he murmured.

"You're married...and that's great. I'm glad you were able to move on and be happy," she said, but there was nothing convincing behind her words.

"So...any idea what happened up there in the sky?" he asked curiously. She shook her head.

"No...just some bad turbulence for a few minutes and then somehow it was five years later for everyone else but us," she answered.

"And you don't...feel different?" he prodded. She side eyed him.

"What are you asking me?" she questioned.

"I just can't see you committing a felony to release a couple of dogs. And David and Margaret either," he mentioned.

"I guess we had a gut feeling. I'm not sure I could explain it if I wanted to, which I don't," she replied.

"Try Em...this isn't like you. You may look the same...but there's something different about you," he prodded.

"What do you want me to say?" she snapped at him and then sighed, as he parked and they got out of the car.

"You think things are different for you?" she asked.

"For you...it's five years later and you moved on...which is great. But me? It's still five years ago and the death of one of our friends is still fresh! I still killed her! But at least I still had you and my job...but now I don't even have that! So spare me the lecture about what you have lost!" she cried.

"You didn't kill Lily…" he admonished.

"She's dead because of me! Why do I get to come back and she doesn't?!" Emma cried and was about to continue her tirade when she heard the voice again.

"Set them free!" the voice pleaded and she put a hand to her temple. He sighed.

"Just stay here...I'm going to see if I can smooth this over with the owner," he said, as he went inside the shop, which appeared to be some kind of auto repair business.

"SET THEM FREE!" the voice pleaded loudly. She growled and followed Killian inside. While he talked to the owner, she looked around and followed the pleading voice. She trekked through the scrap yard and found the dogs sitting in front of a shed.

"SET THEM FREE!" the voice pleaded again and she noticed a lock on the shed. Picking up a crowbar, she began to beat the lock with it, just as Killian and the owner hurried up to her.

"Emma...what the hell are you doing?" he asked, as the lock broke and the door swung open. He was stunned to see the two missing girls that were the subject of his case. Emma looked up in time to see the owner with a metal rod in his hand.

"Killian!" she warned, as he turned and tackled the man, before he could hit him. While he cuffed him, Emma knelt down in front of the poor girls and motioned them out.

"It's okay...you're safe now…" she promised.

Margaret dismissed her third graders for recess and made her way to the teacher's lounge. The moment she walked in, some of her colleagues stared at her and stopped talking. She wasn't surprised though. Her family was, unfortunately, all over the news. She rolled her eyes and took her lunch out of the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, before making her way back to her classroom.

"Gossip on ladies...don't let me interrupt," she said. Honestly, she didn't want to hear their theories or have them asking if David was different somehow. She had heard it all lately and didn't care. He was back and that was that mattered to her. As she sat down at her desk and opened the paper bag, she found a note inside. She unfolded the paper and almost melted right there. It was a love note from her husband, just like he used to do and happy tears slipped down her cheeks. She picked up her phone and sent him a text.

"I can't wait to get home to you too. Being apart from you now is even more unbearable," she texted to him.

"I promise I'm not going anywhere this time, my darling. I love you so much," he texted back.

"Love you too, my Prince Charming," she texted back to him, as she ate quickly before her students returned.

Regina entered the meeting room that afternoon and tried to ignore all the gawking stares, as she took her seat.

"Thank you for joining us, Regina. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have you here," Archie said. She managed a smile and nodded, as he began the meeting.

"Okay...our first contention for the trials is Henry Nolan. And unfortunately, based on his birth date, he is too old for the treatment to be effective. I move that we deny him," one of the nurse's involved on the board said. Regina couldn't remember her name, but she had quite a reputation around this hospital for being a cold witch and had rightfully earned herself the moniker of Nurse Ratched.

"Excuse me...but I strongly suggest that we consider Henry Nolan for this treatment. The treatment that is based on my research," she interjected.

"Forgive me, Dr. Mills...but the treatment works best for those in the age range of six to eleven years," Dr. Hopper interjected.

"And Henry Nolan is still ten, despite what his birth date says. He was on the plane with me and you wouldn't even have this treatment if not for my research. You're going to admit him to the program," Regina demanded, silencing the room.

"Whatever you believe...I know there is a reason I came back. This little boy wouldn't even be here if he hadn't been on the plane. That could very well be the reason that I came back. To save him and I'm going to do it," she . Hopper swallowed and looked around the room nervously.

"If there are no objections...then we will admit Henry Nolan to the treatment program," Archie said and no one objected. Regina showed a pleased smirk, as the meeting continued.

David got out of the car that afternoon and trekked onto the soccer field, watching his daughter's game. His eyes misted a bit as he thought about all that he had missed in her life. He watched her in amazement, seeing so much of his wife in her that it made him want to cry happy tears. He noticed the attention from some of the other gawking parents and kept separate from them, choosing to watch from under a tree in the near distance. The last thing he wanted to do was make this more awkward for Olive than it already was. The coach called a timeout and his daughter, the rebel that she was, opted to run over to him instead of huddle with her team. Something her coach didn't look happy about at all.

"Dad…" she said, as she gave him a hug.

"What are you doing way over here?" she asked.

"I kind of attract a lot of attention these days. I didn't want to make things weirder for you than they already are," he replied. But she shook her head.

"Dad...I don't care what other people think, especially other nosy parents," Olive said, humbling him.

"I just feel like I let you down...and I hate it," he admitted.

"You didn't let me down," she assured.

"It was hard when you were gone...really hard, but what happened to you wasn't your fault," she added. He nodded.

"You're right...and I'm back now, I won't be missing anymore of my little girl's life and when things get hard...I'll be here for you now," he promised, as they shared a hug. The coach blew the whistle and she hurried back to the field. He smiled, as he had felt her presence a moment ago and turned to her.

"Been there long?" he asked. She smiled at him.

"Long enough to see my little girl happy to have her father back," she replied.

"I know...I just can't help but feel guilty. I know I didn't do any of this on purpose, but it doesn't change what you and Olive went through," he said.

"No...it doesn't, but you're back now and while it doesn't change what we went through...it makes it all worth it," she replied.

"The love we share...I know it's once in a lifetime. It's like lightning in a bottle," she said.

"When I lost you, it was beyond the most devastating thing that I have ever faced and it was compounded by losing my son and my best friend too. I was shattered," she admitted and he felt devastated by that.

"But then you came back. I know we don't know how, but I don't care. You found me again, like you always do and everyone else may be gossiping about the how and why…" she said, as she rolled her eyes. They were clearly the hot topic of discussion among the other parents.

"Or gawking at me like I'm an alien," he deadpanned. She smirked and slipped her arms around his neck, squashing any daylight between them.

"Well handsome, if you are an alien...you can probe me anytime, baby," she purred. His eyes widened and he looked at her in surprise, as she gave him a naughty smirk.

"Mrs. Nolan...I think that's the naughtiest, dirtiest thing I've ever heard you say," he said, as he looked at her with need in his eyes.

"You haven't seen naughty or dirty yet," she promised, as they swayed together. There was no music, but then they never needed any. They always made their own.

"Seriously though...let's not waste anymore time with regrets, because all I care about is that I got you back," she said, as she teared up.

"Because when you were gone...I would have done absolutely anything to feel your arms around me again, like they are now," she choked. He pressed his forehead against hers and then drew her lips into a passionate kiss. She sniffed, as their lips parted and he gently wiped a tear away from her cheek with his thumb.

"Then waste anymore time we won't," he promised, as he kissed her again, with wanton, smoldering passion and lifted her off her feet, before spinning her around. When their lips finally parted, she looked up at him with a dreamy stare and could still see the stars behind her eyes.

"Might as well give all the other parents something to talk about," he said slyly. She smirked and hooked her hand on his elbow, as she leaned her head against his arm. He smiled at her and slung his arm possessively around her waist, as they went to sit in the bleachers.

"Good work, as usual Rogers…" Graham said, as they shook hands. It was all over the news. Killian Rogers had found the missing girls and rescued them from a predator just in time. Killian had done the right thing and confessed to Graham that it had been her hunch that led them to the girls, but since so much suspicion was swirling around Emma already, being that she was a returned passenger, that part had been omitted from the press. Seeing her at the precinct had already raised questions with the reporters and they could all get in a lot of hot water since she wasn't even cleared to work yet. She didn't want the credit or attention anyway though. She was just glad that the children were safe, even if the voice that had helped her and she was terrified of it or rather what it might mean.

As he came out of the Captain's office, she made herself scarce, but he found her at her desk anyway.

"What you did...you saved those girls from unimaginable horror. How did you know?" he asked.

"I don't know...just a feeling," she answered vaguely.

"Emma…" he started to protest.

"I can't explain it...because even I don't know," she cut him off and he stared at her for a moment.

"You still take my breath away," he admitted. She took a sharp intake of breath at that, but then pursed her lips and walked away. He was married and they were over. It didn't matter if there were feelings there. He had moved on and now she had to figure out how to do the same.

Just as Olive's game was ending, they had gotten a call from Dr. Mills, asking them all to come to the hospital. So they had rushed there and Robert met them there with Henry. And they had heard three words that gave them a burst of hope. He was approved. He was approved to start the treatment right away. Regina promised to take good care of him and he was led into the treatment room. He was hooked up to the machine administering the treatment, while she looked on. She gave him an encouraging smile and that eased his fears, as he smiled back. This was it. She was sure of it. This was why she had come back. To save this little boy. As he went back to looking at his tablet, she stepped out to face his anxious parents.

"How is he?" Margaret asked, as they jumped up and descended upon her. She smiled kindly.

"He is doing well and responding very well so far. It's a bit early to know...but things are very encouraging," she replied. David smiled, as he picked her and spun her around.

"Thank you...thank you so much," he said, as he shook her hand profusely.

"It's my pleasure...believe me," she said, just as Emma arrived.

"Hey Em...it's working. Henry's responding to the treatment!" Margaret gushed, bringing a smile to the blonde's face and they hugged.

"That's incredible…" she said, as she hugged her niece too.

"Is everything okay with you?" Margaret asked, noticing her pensive look.

"Uh...yeah, it might be easier to explain if I just show you," she said, as they exchanged a glance and followed her to the lobby. The story was still all over the television and they recognized the place where they had released those dogs from the night before.

"You...you found those missing girls," Margaret realized.

"The voice...those dogs. That's where the girls were?" David asked.

"Yeah...I heard the voice again when Killian took me back there to try and smooth things over with the owner and it...led me to them," she admitted quietly, stunning them all.

"Wow…" Olive said in awe. But Emma didn't seem to share that sentiment.

"What is this?" she asked fearfully.

"I don't know...but we keep it quiet. We don't want the government to get wind of it," David urged.

"He's right...but we shouldn't be afraid of this," Margaret interjected and they looked at her with scrutiny.

"MM...it's a voice in our heads," Emma reminded her.

"I know...but this voice just saved two little girls," she said, as she put her arm around Olive.

"This voice is perhaps what brought our world back to us," she said, as she shared a smile with her daughter.

"Mom is right," Olive agreed.

"And even though Ollie and I aren't hearing this voice...we're all in this together," Margaret said. They smiled.

"Together," David agreed, as they joined hands and Emma rolled her eyes playfully.

"Together...but hopefully this was it," she said. But she knew it wasn't...and that night they would find out that it had only just begun…

Mr. Gold stared at the large screen with detailed photos of all the passengers.

"So...what does your so-called expertise tell you about what happened to that plane?" Vance questioned. Gold smirked.

"Oh, I don't know those answers yet, dearie...but our world has changed. The impossible is now possible, which means the scope of what's to come will be unprecedented," Gold stated.

"That has to be the most vague, cryptic load of bull I've ever heard," Vance commented, making Gold give him a pleased smirk.

"I've been told I have a gift for such," he quipped and the other man rolled his eyes. His eyes focused on the Nolans. Yes...they were definitely the ones to watch in this. And he was very hopeful that they would lead him to what he was missing.

The Nolan house was dead quiet and the clock read two-thirty a.m. David and Margaret were sound asleep, spooned together, beneath their sheets. Normally, after making love as they had earlier, they both would have slept deeply through the night. But something woke David up in the dead of night and in turn woke his wife after a few minutes.

"Babe?" she called in a sleepy voice, as she noticed he was sitting up in bed. She covered her unclothed body with the sheet and sat up beside him. Gently, she put her hands on his arm and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I...I don't know. It's not a voice this time...just a feeling. It feels like I have to go somewhere," he replied. She nodded and started getting out of bed. He sighed in exasperation.

"MM...we can't just follow this thing, whatever it is, every time this happens. We don't even know what this is," he admonished.

"You're right...we don't, but if it did bring you back to me, then we need to listen to it, David," she argued. He sighed.

"I know the math guy in you is telling you that this is all illogical, but for a numbers guy, we also know that you have an incredible amount of faith in love and things that you can't explain," she said. He smiled wistfully.

"Our love...it's beyond the norm. I've always known that," he agreed, as she got dressed.

"Besides, since when have we ever turned down an adventure together?" she asked coyly, as she watched him pull on his clothes. He smirked at her, as he pulled his pants on and started buttoning his shirt.

"Walks on the beach...picnics in the park...boring math conferences...not exactly adventures," he teased. She slid her arms around his neck.

"Everything is an adventure with you...and I love it all. Even the unknown...like this," she promised. He smiled, feeling humbled by her love once again.

"Okay...but seriously that math conference was torture. No husband should have ever put his wife through that," he joked. She giggled.

"Well, if I remember...you did make it up to me. Many times," she said in a sultry tone.

"I did," he agreed, as she took his hand and they walked out of the bedroom.

"Besides...it actually wasn't that bad," she mentioned.

"Lies...some of those guys were the biggest nerds to ever walk the earth," he joked. She smiled up at him.

"Yeah...but there was this one Professor that was a total babe," she said playfully.

"Really?" he asked.

"Mmmhmm...he was so hot, especially when he put his glasses on and he wore this tight shirt over some very nice muscles and pants over an ass that was to die for. I swear...all the females in the lecture hall were drooling all over themselves," she replied and he chuckled.

"So not a nerd?" he asked.

"Oh he's a nerd...but a really hot nerd that made math sexy," she replied.

"Sexy math...said no one ever," he joked, as they heard Emma coming up from the basement and they shifted back to the task at hand.

"Let me guess...you have a feeling that you need to be somewhere," he said. She nodded.

"What is this?" she asked with trepidation. They exchanged a glance.

"We don't know yet, but we're going to figure it out together," Margaret promised, as they quietly left the house.

Vance flipped through more passenger files and scrubbed a hand over his tired face. Their science experts had all kinds of theories and they were all over his head. Black holes, time travel, extra terrestrials...at this point, nothing was off the table really.

"Sir…" one of his subordinates said, as he came into the room.

"What is it?" he asked.

"There's something happening at the terminal where the plane is. They just called and said some passengers are gathering there," he reported. Vance looked at Gold and they stood up, as they made their way out to take a car there.

David parked their SUV and they were stunned to see many other passengers had shown up at the gates that led to the tarmac, where the plane sat. He counted about twenty other passengers and one of them was even Dr. Regina Mills from the hospital. They exchanged a glance and the three of them got out. David took Margaret's hand and Margaret took Emma's hand, as the three of them walked toward the gates, congregating with the other passengers. Margaret may not have been on the plane, but this plane had brought back three of the most important people in her life to her. She was just as much involved in this as they were, because of her soul mate-like connection with her husband. And once they were gathered there at the gate, suddenly the plane exploded, stunning them all. Margaret gasped and David put his arms around her, holding her close. She looked up at him and their eyes met. Whatever was going on had just gotten much deeper than they could have imagined...