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: I know, it was an adorable meet cute. Suddenly, David wasn't too tired. Yes, David will definitely be able to help Marco and August. Yeah, the crazies are coming out of the woodwork. Yeah, that was not fun for Emma and unfair to her too. Glad you're enjoying. :)
Jennifer Baratta: Glad you enjoyed it!
Number Ten: Yep, Marco and Milah are here. I thought he and August were good ones to place into this story line from the show. He does. Tech is nice, but complicated and sometimes older stuff is simpler. Yeah, Milah knows Killian isn't over Emma and it puts Emma in a tough spot. Glad you're enjoying. :)
Guest: Thanks, glad you love it so much!
Sexystarwarslover: Haha, yep, Margaret was smitten and so was David, even at eight. Yep, Lance as in Lancelot. Yes, they're just friends, even if Lance entertained more. Yeah, I think Olive just wanted them to be happy again and knew Lance was a good guy. She's glad now though that her Mom didn't move on. Yep, I thought Marco and August fit nicely into this particular story line. Yep, Milah is threatened and Emma has to deal with being in a tough spot. I know, I remember having legos, though that was back before all the really cool sets and I just had basic ones. Still they were a lot of fun. Yep, August is innocent in this case. Glad you liked the flashback. It's one of my favorite scenes thus far in this story. Yeah, suddenly David wasn't too tired to help Mary Margaret. They were smitten already! Emma is adorable and precocious as we've come to expect. Glad you're enjoying! :)
AnonSnowing: No, she shouldn't feel guilty. David is a pretty understanding guy. No, for her, David is the only one and vice versa. I think Olive just wanted her to be happy and missed having a father-type figure. It's only natural when a kid makes a connection with an adult like that and they have a single parent. It's not unusual. I liked both my step-moms at first and was okay with my dad moving on and my mom is alive so it's natural. Yep, what they have is very uniqe. Yep, August is in trouble and he actually didn't do anything wrong here. Milah has a right to be worried, but shouldn't take it out on Emma. She did not ask for this, but yeah, it's not surprising she would react like that. Yep, lots of weirdos out there and Margaret has panic attacks and has since her Mom died. There probably are a lot of innocent people in Riker's, but I think Emma's point there was that everyone in prison claims their innocent. I know, I love that line too. Yeah, super awkward, not sure why Graham agreed to that. I know, gotta love those Emma quips. Yep, it was the most adorable meet cute ever. I love it so much. They are already smitten and I love Margaret gushing about David's baby muscles. Glad you enjoyed it! :)
Lightning in a Bottle
Chapter 8: Born to Be Yours
As Emma walked away to take a call, Margaret saw Regina coming out of the treatment room and she smiled.
"Hey...is everything okay?" she asked. Regina smiled.
"Yes...the treatment is continuing to go very well. Just a slow process," Regina mentioned, as she sat down.
"I want to thank you again...for insisting that Henry be admitted to this program," Margaret said, with tears in her eyes.
"I'm just glad it's working and that I could help," Regina replied.
"Your husband couldn't make it?" she asked curiously.
"Oh, he was on his way, but another passenger needed help finding a family member and David stepped in to see if he could help," Margaret replied.
"That's generous of him," she mentioned. Margaret smiled.
"That's my David...always my hero," she said fondly.
"So...I was a bit surprised to see you last night at the hanger," she mentioned quietly.
"Mmm...because I wasn't on the plane," Margaret said.
"Yeah...why were you?" Regina asked curiously.
"David had a feeling and whatever is responsible for these feelings might be what brought him back to me. If listening to this voice is what we need to do in exchange for our second chance...then we've decided that's what we'll do," Margaret replied.
"Wow...I think it's safe to say no other spouse is as understanding as you, let alone willing to go all in with this craziness," Regina mentioned. She shrugged.
"David is the love of my life...I'd do anything for him and he for me," Margaret replied.
"High School sweethearts?" Regina asked. Margaret beamed a smile.
"Yes...but we met when we were eight, actually," she replied. Regina's eyes widened.
"Wow...that's incredible," she said.
"What about you? Is there someone special you came back to?" Margaret asked.
"No...there was at one time. My own High School sweetheart, but he died just before we graduated," Regina replied. Margaret frowned.
"Oh...I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to dredge up sad memories for you," she apologized.
"No...it's okay. It was a long time ago and it helps to talk about it now," Regina said.
"We were nineteen and my mother disapproved, because Daniel wasn't from an affluent family. But I didn't care and we were on our way home from a date one night. We used to go horseback riding all the time," she said with a sad fondness.
"What happened?" Margaret asked. Regina swallowed thickly.
"A car came around the corner and swerved into our lane and struck us. We crashed into a tree. I had a broken leg and a concussion...but Daniel died on impact. They think the driver was drunk, but they never caught him," she replied.
"Oh Regina...I'm so sorry," Margaret said. She nodded.
"My mother acted like nothing happened and that it was even a good thing. Believe it or not, the night after he died, she tried to fix me up with some prince of Wall Street," she complained.
"That's horrible…" Margaret said.
"Yeah...so I really showed her when I got accepted to medical school. She was furious and I had eight years of bliss away from her. I visited Daddy as often as I could though. He always supported me," she replied. Margaret smiled.
"That's wonderful...I guess I kind of know what it's like to have a parent that doesn't approve of your choices," she said.
"Really?" Regina asked curiously.
"Mmm...my father is a very high end Wall Street broker and was never around much. Which was okay, because I was very close to my mother. She died when I was ten though," Margaret explained.
"That's terrible," Regina said.
"It was, but David and Emma were my best friends by then and they really helped me through. I started spending most of my time at their house, rather than go home to a big empty house. The staff was there to help me when I was there, but David's mother was always so warm and I kind of became her daughter too. Then we lost her when we were only twelve," Margaret replied.
"How awful…" Regina said.
"It was...it hit David really hard. He still tells me to this day that he doesn't know how he would have gotten through it without me. His father...he fell off the wagon hard and he pretty much stepped up to raise Emma. We both did," Margaret said.
"Wow...so you've really been through everything," Regina replied. She nodded.
"We used to get so many lectures about being as close as we were, but we knew we were in love by the time we were in eighth grade. They never stopped us...not even my father, though he tried," Margaret said.
"Ah...suddenly he took interest in your life," Regina said knowingly.
"Yes...he had plans to ship me off to an all girl's boarding school on the west coast to separate me from David. I thought my life was over," Margaret replied.
"What happened?" Regina asked.
"Well, Ruth knew of her husband's former drinking problem, so her life insurance was left in a trust to David and Emma. Ruth planned for everything in case something happened to her. We never met the financial adviser she hired, but this man always sent a man named Jefferson to oversee those kinds of things for David and Emma," Margaret explained.
"That's why they never lost the house and always had food, because Robert couldn't touch the money. But one day Jefferson came as he always did once a month. He made sure the mortgage was paid and groceries were stocked. But on this visit, he had something else," she said.
"Well...don't keep me in suspense," Regina urged.
"Emancipation papers for me," she revealed.
"I didn't even know you could do that, but he pushed it through and severed my father's parental rights. He didn't fight it, because he knew they could get him on neglect. He told me that if I continued to see David that he would take me out of his will and revoke my inheritance. I told him I would choose love with David a million times over his dirty Wall Street money," Margaret said. Regina smiled.
"Good for you...I would have loved to get emancipated from my mother. Fortunately, Daddy has always been in my corner," she mentioned.
"Robert wasn't there for David and Emma growing up, but he finally got clean after we graduated. And he really came through for me when the plane disappeared. He didn't touch a drop and helped me take care of the house, the bills, and Olive when I was just a complete mess," she said.
"Of course you were...sounds like you lost the love of your life," Regina said. She nodded.
"I did...and then by some miracle I got him back and our son. I'm sorry you didn't get your love back," Margaret replied. Regina smiled.
"Thanks...and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you don't lose your son again," she said, as they looked through the glass at him. He smiled and waved at them both.
"He's a very special little boy," Regina mentioned wistfully.
"He is," Margaret agreed.
There was a buzz, as the doors were unlocked and August was led into the visitation box. He had a black eye and a contusion on his forehead. Riker's had a reputation of being a very rough place and it seemed that it was living up to that reputation in August's case.
"So it's true…" August said, as he looked at his father with wide eyes through the glass.
"It is...my boy," Marco said tearfully, as he put his hand to the glass.
"Who is this?" August asked.
"He is a friend, who helped me get into see you. He was on the plane too," Marco explained.
"I tried to do what you told me, before you left. I tried to be a good boy...work hard, be honest...and I did. But here I am anyway," August said.
"They said you used a fake ID," Marco said, trying to understand.
"I had to...after you disappeared, they tried to put me in foster care. But it was horrible and I hit the streets on my own. I bought a fake ID a couple years back so I could get work and it wouldn't flag me as a runaway in the system," he replied.
"Papa...I didn't do this," he pleaded.
"I...I know you didn't, my boy," Marco said, as the guards arrived to take him away.
"Wait…" Marco pleaded.
"Please...can you just give them a couple more minutes?" David asked. But the guards refused and took August back to his cell, while Marco cried.
"My boy…" he sobbed.
"He is innocent! I don't care what evidence they have! My boy is innocent!" he cried.
"And I'm going to do everything I can to help you prove it," David promised.
Mr. Gold stared at the board in front of him with the twenty passenger photos of those that had shown up at the hanger the night before. Two hundred and twenty people on that plane and they had just disappeared, only to reappear five and a half years later. It was impossible. Unprecedented. And some would say threatening and cause for alarm. If these people did not die in a plane that was presumed to crash, but never did, where did they go? Many theories had been thrown out there. Wormholes. Time travel. Even extraterrestrials. Many in the government were questioning if these were even the same people that came back. He was almost certain they were the people they said they were, but they were definitely different.
He had been fascinated by disappearances much of his life. Everyone he had ever cared about had disappeared from his life. His mother disappeared from his life at a very young age, leaving him with a drunken, abusive father. Then, perhaps as a blessing, his father disappeared when he was eight. That one wasn't much of a mystery. He was probably dead in a ditch somewhere. But he had searched for them both and never turned up any results. No trace of them and no death certificate for either. It was much the same for the woman who fathered his son. A one night dalliance and then nine months later, a baby on his doorstep with a note. She claimed she was sick and couldn't care for him. She named him Neal and needed him to take care of him. And he had, with great joy, in fact.
Things got tough between them in Neal's teen years. He was obsessed with his work and the fringe nature of it. Neal fell in with the wrong crowd, but it was his mistake of taking a trip to Egypt on an exhibition in search of answers to his questions that pushed Neal over the edge. He got into drugs and refused rehab. He felt abandoned and things were irrevocably strained between them, even into his adulthood. Neal hit rock bottom and was finally getting clean, until the worst happened.
He had gone on a hike to get a clear head as part of his program and was prepared to make amends as the next part. But his son disappeared up on that mountain, a year ago. There had been a horrific snowstorm on the mountain that night and he disappeared. His body was never recovered and he became yet another person in Gold's life that had disappeared. But for the first time, they disappeared and reappeared in the form of a plane full of people that should be dead. And it gave him hope that, perhaps death, wasn't as permanent as they thought.
"David…" Emma said in exasperation. Margaret smiled in amusement, as she stirred the sauce, while her husband strained the pasta. Emma sat on the counter, eating a meatball she had stolen, while the kids were setting the table.
"Emma...I know it's asking a lot, but can't you just take a look and see if they missed anything?" David asked.
"What...so this is the cops fault?" she asked defensively.
"No...but I have a feeling. This kid isn't guilty," she replied.
"Since when do you get feelings about people? I'm the lie detector in the family...not you," Emma reminded him.
"You know since when," he reminded her in return and she rolled her eyes.
"Fine...I'll look at it. Now, can we eat?" she asked, as they put the food on the table and all sat down.
"So…I was thinking maybe we could do an ice cream run after dinner. You up for it?" he asked Olive. Guilt was still eating at her and he could tell, so he put his hand on hers.
"Olive...your mom told me about Lance and it's okay if you still want to spend time with him. You don't have to feel guilty about it," he assured.
"Really?" she asked. He smiled at her.
"Really," he assured.
"Well...he did give me the key to his storage locker so I could get the stuff I need for the climb coming up. Do you think you could help me?" she asked. David grinned.
"Sure…we can go after dinner," he promised. Margaret smiled at them both, overjoyed that the gap between them was closing.
"Mom...while they're doing that, can we put my new Lego set together?" Henry asked.
"Sure sweetie...and then when Dad and Ollie get back with ice cream, maybe we can catch the three of you up one of the super hero movies you missed," she suggested.
"I'm all about that," Emma agreed, as they enjoyed dinner together as a family; something they would never take for granted again.
After they cleaned up dinner, Emma made the run to the station to get the file that David wanted and she sat down at her desk to go over it.
"I thought you went home," Killian mentioned, as he peered over her.
"Uh…I did. Just doing a favor for someone," she said vaguely.
"Listen Emma…" he started to say. She sighed and looked at him.
"Milah told me what she did and I just want to apologize. Coming in here like she did...she shouldn't have done that," he said.
"Can't say that I blame her. She loves you and is worried now that your supposed to be dead past is suddenly back," Emma replied.
"Still…" he admonished.
"It's fine Killian. She has nothing to worry about," she replied. He looked like he wanted to say more, but decided against it and left her to it. Emma continued to look over the file and everything seemed in order. She closed the file and texted her brother that she had no luck on this front. It was looking more likely that the kid he wanted so badly to be innocent wasn't. She knew it would be hard for him to accept and even harder for Marco, but she wasn't seeing any unexplored angles with this one. With that done, she headed back home.
David parked the car at the storage facility and they got out of the car.
"So...big climb in a few weeks?" he asked, trying to make conversation.
"Uh yeah...at first I wasn't into it, but then it became a good distraction," she replied.
"That's good…" he said, as he looked around, trying to get a sense of the man that Olive now saw like an older brother or father-type figure. He wasn't going to lie. It was a blessing in disguise that his wife hadn't moved on, though he would have wanted her to if he really was gone. But he was grateful for their unique relationship. They had been a part of each other's lives since they were eight years old and it wasn't something you just got over. He knew if the situation was reversed that he wouldn't have really been able to move on either. Margaret and his children were his entire reason for living. As he was about to help Olive with the things she needed, he heard the music again. But it was sharper this time and louder. He put his hands to his ears, as it repeated in his head again.
"Dad?" Olive asked, as he felt the need to follow it.
"Stay here," he told her, as he went down the hallway. As he walked, the music kept getting louder until it was almost earsplitting. He turned the corner, winding through the maze of lockers until he finally ran into an open locker. Inside, he spotted Blake, the jewelry shop owner's son. They stared at each other, as the music in David's head stopped and he spied all the stolen jewelry in the locker. The stolen jewelry that had sent August, an innocent young man, to prison.
"I...I can explain," Blake said, as he stood up and then tried to run.
"You mean how you stole from your own father?" David asked in abject horror.
"Look...this doesn't have to be like this. I'll give you half if you just walk away now," Blake offered. But a well placed punch in the face from David sent him collapsing to the ground. David took out his phone and called his sister.
Emma arrived with backup shortly and Blake was arrested. One of the officer's took David's statement and then finally let them go home. Margaret was waiting for them anxiously and threw her arms around them when they got inside.
"Emma said you caught the guy that really stole the jewelry?" she asked. He sighed.
"Yeah...it was that music I kept hearing. I started hearing it when we were at the storage unit and it led me to him," he explained. She smiled and kissed him soundly.
"And now an innocent man is going to go free, because of your help," she said proudly.
"Yeah...it was pretty cool. Dad totally punched that creep out," Olive mentioned and they enjoyed the way he got shy for a moment.
"An innocent man's life was on the line so I wasn't going to let him get away," he said.
"You're a hero...but then you've always been my hero…" Margaret said, as they shared another tender kiss.
"Ugh...I'm going to bed so I don't have to watch you two make out," Olive complained, but turned back to them briefly.
"But you still owe me ice cream, Dad. And I expect a triple scoop," she said. He grinned.
"Tomorrow night for sure, peanut," he promised, practically bursting inside that she actually wanted to do something with him now. Margaret smiled at him too, very happy that the gap between them was closing.
"Is Henry asleep?" he asked.
"He is...he tried to stay awake long enough, but I told him you were helping a passenger. He was pretty excited so he'll want to hear all about it in the morning," she replied.
"Well...then I guess it's just you and me," he mentioned in a sultry tone. She grinned and turned to switch the television off, which was on mute, but that's when they saw a passenger on the screen. Out of curiosity, Margaret un-muted it.
"The government is treating us like we're criminals. But we're the victims in all this. Everyone thinks we know what happened, but we don't," the woman said, with a headline beneath her stating "passenger of flight 828 speaks out". David sighed.
"Great...talking to the press. That will make things better," he complained. She leaned her head against his chest and he shut the television off.
"Do you think she's going to make things worse?" Margaret asked.
"Probably...but I'm not going to worry about that tonight," he replied, as he kissed her tenderly.
"Right now...you are the only thing I want to think about," he said and she swooned, as he swept her into his arms and carried her off to their bedroom.
On the other side of the city, Tisbe Taylor walked into her home that evening and turned on the television in time to see her interview airing. She knew the government wouldn't be happy about her talking to the press, so that's exactly why she had done it. It was expressly against the NSA's media blackout order, but she was never one to keep quiet. She sat down in her chair and failed to see the shadow behind her. The unknown person put a gun with a silencer to the back of her head and fired. Blood and brain matter spattered on the television and everything within a close radius, as the shadow retreated...