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 liked it. Yep, a killer in the midst. That will turn the heat up. :)

Grace5231973: Yeah, I loved seeing David help Marco and August too. I love his scenes with Olive too. Yep, Gold is missing his son and it might get his wish and find him soon. Yep, it's looking like he is the mysterious man that handled Ruth's estate. Yes, fortunately Ruth had the foresight to make sure Robert couldn't get to the money. Glad you're enjoying :)

Jennifer Baratta: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

Number Ten: I can tell you the killer is actually not the government. But that's all I can say. Yep, August is going free. Yeah, I had to use the peanut nickname as a nod to Summer. Glad you're enjoying. :)

Sexystarwarslover: Yes, Regina getting Henry into the program will save his life. I know, I love that line and when she calls him her hero. Yes, Margaret is a one of a kind spouse. Yep, Regina still has tragedy with Daniel here and naturally Cora acts like he didn't exist. Yeah, it's looking like Gold is the mysterious financial adviser. I know, poor August. Yep, David will help and thanks, I wanted to work Gold's story in here, but knew it had to have a modern feel so glad you like it. Yes, Neal disappeared on a mountain, so you probably know where this is going eventually. Yes, it was a blessing in disguise that Margaret didn't move on. Yep, David did it and August will be free! But a new problem has popped up in the form of a passenger murder! Glad you're enjoying it! :)

AnonSnowing: Me too, so glad Henry's treatment is working. I know, I love when she calls David her hero. Hmm...it's a good bet with Cora. She generally does evil things. It's possible that Prince of Wall Street was Leopold. Thankfully, Regina dodged that bullet so then Cora just decided to marry him herself. Ew. Yes, Margaret does not need that kind of father. They did, they went through everything together. David and Margaret are very rare and unique. Yeah, it's also a good bet that Mr. Gold is the financial adviser. Yes, things would have been a lot more difficult without the life insurance and financial adviser. And Margaret being emancipated from Leopold helped a lot too. Yes, love is way more important than money. Henry is very special. Yeah, unfortunately August had it rough when the plane went missing. Yeah, Gold had a sad life. Hopefully that can change. I'm sure Lacey will make an appearance at some point, just not sure how yet. I love David and Emma's relationship here too, it's a lot of fun. Yep, family time is the best. Yeah, it was very hard on her so it was a good thing she had Lance there to help. And now she has her dad back. Yep, David found the real thief and August will be proven innocent. Yeah, the peanut thing was a nod to Summer. Me too, they are growing closer again. David is totally swoon-worthy. Yeah, it was a bit graphic, but the imagery was needed to drive the scene. Glad you enjoyed it! :)

Lightning in a Bottle

Chapter 9: Turbulence

Love. It could be messy and complicated. It could be wonderful and bring heartache. It could and often did strengthen over time, but it could also fade over time as well. But once in a lifetime, there was a love that shined brighter than most and rose above other loves. Once in a generation, there is a love that's like lightning in a bottle. It happens once and it strikes, giving way to the creation of something extraordinary. And Margaret had always known that her love with David was extraordinary and destined to be. It had started when they were very young and blossomed over the course of their lives into an all encompassing, soul searing true love that defied logic and reality. It would transcend to something eternal. She knew that wholeheartedly and she thanked whatever power out there that had brought him back to her, for their love was unbreakable, even by death.

She pressed her forehead against his, as she rode the throes of passion with him. His lips on her body drove her to places of ecstasy that were unimaginable.

"David…" she breathed, as kissed at the tops of her breasts.

"So beautiful…" he rasped, as he made love to her. It had always been like this for them. Their love had always been all consuming, yet perfectly balanced. They became each other's home at a very young age. Her hand had been in his since they were very small and it had created waves among their peers.

Flashback

"So...who are you inviting to your party?" one girl, about twelve, asked.

"Well...all of you, of course and some of the other girls from the neighborhood," Victoria said.

"Uh...is this your list?" another girl, Isla, asked.

"Yeah, why?" Victoria asked.

"Uh...because you have a freak on it," Isla replied in a nasty tone.

"Yeah, why are you inviting Mary Margaret Blanchard?" another girl, Sera, asked. Victoria sighed.

"Mother said I have to, because her father is very important and influential," she replied.

"Ugh...she's so odd though. She's always hanging out with those Nolan urchins," Isla said distastefully.

"Mary Margaret is very nice," Abigail said, defending her friend.

"Oh please Abby...if her father wasn't who he was, there is no way any of our parents would want us playing with her. She's a weirdo and always holding hands with that Nolan boy. Mother says it's very improper at our age," Isla said. Mary Margaret, having been sitting near them at the park, walked away sadly. She didn't really like any of them either, except Abigail, but it hurt to hear those things said about her. She slipped away and collapsed on one of the swings, but didn't really feel like swinging.

"MM?" Emma called, as her shadow was suddenly over the other girl.

"Oh...hi Ems," she said sadly.

"What's wrong? Why are you sad?" she asked, as David got there and she looked up at them.

"Do you think I'm a weirdo?" she asked.

"No way!" Emma exclaimed.

"Of course not...why would you think that?" David asked.

"That's what Victoria and Isla think. Victoria is only inviting me to her birthday party, cause her Mom said she had to because of who my dad is," MM replied.

"Ugh...they're the worst. Did you even want to go to her party?" David asked.

"Well, no...but it didn't feel good hearing that," she murmured, as he knelt down beside her.

"They're wrong and they're just jealous," he said.

"Why would they be jealous?" she asked.

"Because you're prettier than them and smarter and sweet," he said.

"Yeah, Isla and Victoria suck," Emma chimed in.

"You're not supposed to use that word, Emmy," David chided.

"Why? You say it all the time and other bad words," she pointed out.

"Well, I'm older," he argued, making Margaret smile.

"Thanks guys," she said, as she took his hand when he offered it and stood up.

"But Isla and Victoria are the prettiest girls in school," Margaret pointed out, as Emma slipped away for a moment.

"No way...you're the prettiest girl in school, at least to me," he replied and she blushed.

"Oh David…" she gushed, as she kissed his cheek.

"You're always my Prince Charming," she said, making him blush.

"Well, I really like being your Prince Charming," he replied, as they heard some screaming. Emma had gone over to the pond and fished out a couple frogs and some earthworms, never one afraid to get dirty, and promptly went over to share her finds with the snobby group of girls.

"Ugh...you little freak!" Isla cried, while Emma laughed.

"You don't like my frog?" the blonde asked, as she pushed it toward her again and then threw a worm in her face, making her scream more.

"Uh oh…" David said, as they hurried over to pull Emma away, before the other mother's could get involved. The three of them joined hands and laughed the whole way home.

As they grew, Emma remained her best friend and might as well have been her sister by then. They were very close and equally protective of one another. Margaret had seen Emma through a lot of rough patches in her teen years. She had never been as lucky as Margaret when it came to men and Margaret had done her best to guide her through those years and several rough break ups. While her relationship with Emma developed into a strong, sisterly bond, her relationship with David had evolved as well. It had gone from sweet, innocent puppy love to true and deep love as they progressed through their teens years.

By their teen years, they were deeply in love and still seen as the oddity by their peers and inappropriate by adults. But it never bothered them. They had weathered the criticism from their peers and adults alike, remaining unbreakable.

Flashback

David parked the old, brown truck at school that afternoon. Emma was hanging out with Lily and Margaret had stayed behind to wait for him. He saw her hurrying toward him excitedly with her backpack and smiled at her. She always took his breath away.

"You got it!" she said excitedly, as he caught her in his arms.

"I did...it's not much to look at, but it's wheels," he replied.

"Are you kidding? I love it," she said.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes...it's so us," she replied.

"What? Old?" he joked and she playfully smacked his chest.

"No...it's classic and has history," she replied, as they shared a smile.

"Hey Nolan...nice piece of junk," one of the jocks commented, as they went by on their way to football practice with the cheerleaders. But he ignored them, as usual.

"Forget him...he's an ass," Margaret said, as she glared at the stuck up jerk.

"That jerk drives a BMW convertible. Girls seem to like that," he pointed out.

"Not this girl," she corrected, as she slipped her arms around his neck.

"This girl doesn't want to ride in anything that doesn't come with you," she assured, making him blush shyly, as she kissed him tenderly and they got into the truck together.

As they lay together in the afterglow, with her head resting against his chest, she thought about everything that had happened. Those five and a half long years without him and her son. She had done her best to pull herself together and be there for Olive, but during that time, a smile rarely reached her eyes. It sounded dramatic, but it literally felt like half her heart was gone without him. She was whole again now and she had almost forgotten what that felt like. There were still the unanswered questions in her mind, but she had him back and was ready to brave whatever they had to face.

"So…I know I was distracted today helping Marco, but I didn't forget about that incident you mentioned," he said. She lifted her head and looked at him.

"It was nothing...just some nut. You know how this city can be," she replied.

"I do...but I also know that the attention on us isn't going away, especially after that passenger spoke out," he said, as he kissed the back of her hand.

"It was just some lady that focused on Henry. She kept repeating...he is risen. He is risen," she told him. He sighed.

"I should have been with you...I was supposed to be," he lamented.

"No...you were exactly where you should have been," she admonished.

"David...you helped reunite another family and I can say from experience that getting mine back is the most wonderful gift that I will ever get. The fact that you gave that to another person makes me so proud," she said, as she kissed him gently.

"I just want you to be careful…" he pleaded. She kissed his cheek.

"I will," she promised, as they settled down in each other's arms and sleep finally took them.

Regina took the vial of blood, belonging to Henry Nolan,and placed a small amount on the slide. After seeing something odd, she put it through the DNA synthesizer and waited for the results to come out. As she went to check some e-mails, she heard a knock at her lab door and saw that it was her mother.

"Hello mother…" she greeted coolly.

"Not exactly the greeting I was hoping for," Cora complained.

"I'm sorry...I'm just very busy," Regina apologized.

"Sweetheart...you just returned on a plane that's been missing for more than five years. Are you sure you should even be working yet?" Cora questioned.

"I love my work and I happen to have a pediatric case that I need to monitor very closely. He just started the treatment," Regina replied.

"Yes...your treatment. It's quite something, but I was hoping we could have lunch," Cora said.

"I suppose I could pop out to the cafeteria for a little bit," Regina agreed.

"Uh no, dear...I meant lunch at my house. I'm having a little gathering and there are many people eager to see you now that you're back," she corrected. Regina sighed.

"You mean all the people in your uppity circle, including all the potential bachelors you're dying to fix me up with," Regina said.

"Is that so bad, sweetheart?" Cora asked.

"Mother...I do not need to be fixed up with a date, especially not some tool from your circle," Regina replied.

"Regina…" she started to chide.

"Mother…" Regina sighed, as they started to argue and Henry's file slipped off the table. Cora saw the photo of the boy and picked it up.

"Henry Nolan...is this the boy?" she asked, as Regina snatched the file away.

"Yes…" Regina snapped.

"He was on the plane, wasn't he? Nolan...he and his father, right?" Cora asked curiously.

"Yes...he was one the plane and his cancer was terminal, but he's responding well to the treatment. His parents are overjoyed," Regina replied. Cora smiled.

"I'm sure they are. I'll let you to it...but please, stop by soon. Leopold is eager to meet you," she replied. Regina forced a smile.

"I'm sure...goodbye mother," she cooed, as Cora got the hint and left, but not without a pensive look on her face. Her daughter had no idea that she was treating Leopold's grandson, the grandson that he had never met, thanks to his foolish, unruly daughter. Cora smirked. Perhaps it was time to meet the Nolans at last.

"Ha...beat that kid," Emma said, as she and Henry played a game with the magnets on the fridge that morning.

"Oh…I will," Henry insisted, as he took his turn, while David cooked breakfast. He called them to the table and the game was forgotten, leaving the magnets to spell out "own your truth."

"Mmm...it smells delicious in here. Pancakes again on a weekday?" Margaret asked with an impressed tone.

"No job...the least I can do is make sure my family has an amazing breakfast," David said, as she pecked him on the lips.

"You'll find something, baby...and no pressure. We're fine," she assured him.

"I know...but you know me," he said. She giggled and got the orange juice out.

"Oh I know...can't sit still," she teased, as she pinched his rear and they sat down to breakfast.

"I'll get you back for that later," he whispered in her ear.

"Mmm...you better, handsome," she purred back.

As they were finishing up, they flipped the television on to get the weather forecast, but it seemed that the morning news was occupied with something else altogether.

"And if you're just joining us, we're at the scene of a homicide in an affluent neighborhood. The victim is Tisbe Tayor, a passenger on the mysterious returned flight eight-two-eight that disappeared more than five years ago. Ms. Taylor recently defied the NSA order of a media blackout and spoke to us just yesterday in an exclusive interview," the reporter said, as they flashed to the interview.

"She...she was murdered?" Margaret asked.

"Do you think it's connected?" she asked her sister-in-law.

"Not necessarily," Emma replied.

"Em...the passenger that defied the order to not speak to the press is dead. You don't think that's suspicious?" he asked.

"A little...but it's not my jurisdiction," she argued.

"Still...don't you think we should check it out?" he asked.

"We?" she asked. He sighed.

"Yesterday a woman accosted Margaret and Henry about him coming back and now we have a dead passenger? If there's a threat to our family...then we need to investigate this," he said.

"He's right...but be careful," Margaret pleaded, as she kissed him.

"I didn't agree to any of this!" Emma protested.

"Let's just go drive by and since you're a cop...maybe you can glean some information from the other officers," he suggested. She groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Fine...but you're staying in the car, you big pain in the ass," she complained. David smirked and kissed his wife and kids again, before following her out. Margaret smiled, as they went and put the dishes in the dishwasher quickly.

"Okay...backpacks and lunches. Let's roll," she called, as they got their stuff and left for the day as well.

Emma pulled up the house that was the scene of the crime and parked.

"Okay...I'll see what information I can get. You stay here," she told him.

"No way…" he protested.

"David...I can't take you into an active crime scene," she argued.

"You can if this murder has something to do with the fact that she was a passenger," he argued back. She sighed.

"We don't know that it is," Emma reminded him.

"What does your gut tell you?" he questioned.

"Dammit…" she complained.

"Fine...but you follow my lead and not a damn word," she warned, as they got out of the car. She flashed her badge to the officer on duty.

"Emma Nolan...detective with the twenty-eighth precinct," she said.

"You're a little out of your jurisdiction, detective," the officer replied.

"Yeah...we heard it on the scanner and thought we'd take a look. You can never have too many eyes on a murder investigation," she said. Obviously the officer was green, because her excuse was crap, and he motioned her in.

"Can't believe he bought that," David muttered.

"Shut up," Emma grumbled in irritation, as they went inside. It was a gruesome scene. Tisbe had taken a bullet to the back of the head and she noticed that there was a gathering outside the house of people holding a daylight vigil with signs reading things like the returned and other things that suggested worship of the passengers. And Emma knew from experience that the people obsessed with them could be as dangerous as the ones that seemed to hate them.

"It looks like a robbery gone bad," the officer on duty said.

"What makes you say that?" Emma asked.

"She's missing a gold necklace that she was wearing in her interview and it's not in the house. We think the killer stole the jewelry and climbed out the back window. It was open," he explained. But that didn't sit right with Emma. This didn't seem like a random robbery and she was beginning to think David was right, though she refused to tell him that yet. Before she could ask anymore questions though, Vance arrived and he looked none too happy about them being there.

"Crap…" she muttered.

"Officer...are you aware that you've admitted a detective and her civilian brother to this crime scene. A detective that was on flight eight-two-eight with the victim?" Vance questioned. The officer stammered through an apology to the director, as he looked at the siblings.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't detain you both?" he asked.

"Because we didn't do anything wrong. If passengers are being targeted, then we have a right to know. I have to know if my family might be in danger," David argued. The director sighed.

"Detective Nolan...get your brother out of here, before I change my mind and take you both in," he ordered. They both exited the house and got back to the car, even as the people holding vigil outside started chanting at them, as they were recognized.

"Looks like the same kind of people that approached Margaret and Henry," David mentioned, as they spotted Tisbe Taylor's husband, Jacob Taylor. David gave her a look and she sighed, as they approached him.

"Mr. Taylor?" Emma asked the distraught man.

"Uh yes?" he asked, seeing her shield.

"I'm Detective Emma Nolan and this is my brother David. We were on the flight with Tisbe," she explained.

"Oh…" he said.

"We're sorry for your loss," David offered and he nodded his thanks.

"I tried to stop her from speaking out on television, but she wouldn't listen. She just kept repeating that it was her calling to do so," he said. Something about that phrase pricked Emma's mind, but Mr. Taylor was whisked away by the medics before they could ask him more questions.

"See...even he isn't buying that this was a robbery gone bad," David mentioned.

"That still doesn't mean that this has anything to do with the passengers," Emma chided. He gave her a waning look.

"Okay...it's suspicious, but I'm not ready to jump on the conspiracy train with you," she argued.

"I'm not on the conspiracy train, Ems...I just want to protect us," David said, as he drove them away, but not before seeing that the NSA was taking custody of the body.

"Is the NSA taking custody of a body standard procedure?" he asked, though she could tell by his tone that he knew the answer. She sighed.

"No...it's weird and a complete overreach, but they're the NSA and all they have to do is say that they think she was a threat to National Security," she replied.

"Which means they think that about all of us," David said. She didn't deny that, because she couldn't.

"For the record, I'm trying to protect us too," she pointed out. He sighed.

"I know," he relented.

"I'll do some digging...can you drop me at the station?" she asked.

"Yeah, but you know Dad left you a car, right?" he questioned.

"Yes…I'm just not ready," she muttered. He sighed.

"Okay," he relented, knowing that it was best to drop that subject. If Emma didn't want to drive yet, then he wasn't going to force it. He pulled up to the precinct and dropped her off.

"Do me a favor and stay out of this until we know more," she urged.

"Hey…I'm job hunting today. I promise," he assured. She nodded and he drove off, as she went inside to work. The case was in the early developments, but she would be keeping an eye on it. She hated it, but she knew there was more to it. This passenger wasn't just a random murder.