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:
Grace5231973: Yep, Emma is definitely right to be wary of Tisbe's death. Leopold is probably up to no good. We shall see. Yeah, that mysterious backer keeps popping up and I think we know who he might be. ;) Glad you're enjoying. :)
Ghostwriter: Glad you enjoyed it!
Number Ten: Thanks, glad you like the twists with Maleficent and Zorro. Yes, we'll learn more about Lily's passing, though it's mostly what happened to her counterpart in the show. Yeah, Leopold probably doesn't have good intentions. Yeah, it's not too sad she had to leave her father. He wasn't much of a father. She was better off. Glad you're enjoying it. :)
sexystarwarslover: I know, poor Mal. Glad you like the little role reversal. Since we don't really know "Zorro" very well, I figured it made more sense for Mal to be the one still aware. Yeah, David was pretty insistent on going with her. Yep, instead of Isaiah like in the show, we have Walsh here in his place. Yep, that Walsh. Yeah, Cora and Leopold is never a good combination. Yes, Jefferson helped a lot. Yeah, Clorinda might know what happened to her sister. I know, poor Emma. She didn't mean to kill Lily. Yeah, that dinner probably won't go too well. Leopold is definitely the worst. Glad you're enjoying it!
AnonSnowing: Yep, it's a calling! Definitely not a coincidence. Nope, Leopold knows nothing about his daughter. Haha, Walsh Ozwald is me having fun with the name, lol. Yeah, Emma's stubbornness is legendary. Yeah, Leopold went to Margaret's work. Highly inappropriate. Very suspicious too. Yep, he is no father or grandfather. He doesn't understand love at all. Yeah, the mysterious adviser stepped in and stopped him from sending Margaret away. Even as teenagers, Margaret and David were the real thing. Leopold disowning her was the best thing actually. He was the worst. Yep, and a prick. I love when he says love or baby too, swoon! Yep, Leopold is up to no good and so is Cora. Those two make a bad pair.
Yeah, bad memories for Emma and it was harsh, but Mal and Zoran were mourning their daughter. Yeah, people grieving don't think straight. Yeah, he's a powerful, rich person, so unfortunately getting their address probably wasn't hard for him. Yep, he was taking the opportunity to move in on her in hopes of taking control of her and Olive. Robert has his problems, but it worlds better than Leopold. Even though they can't stand him though, they are curious about what he wants so they're going to go. You know, on an adventure of sorts. I'm so glad David is back too. Yeah, Mal has cooled off and unfortunately Zoran has dementia. Glad you enjoyed it!
Lightning in a Bottle
Chapter 11: Seeking Truth
Emma returned to the precinct later that afternoon, after a visit with Lily's parents. Killian sensed her somber mood, but approached anyway with a file in his hand.
"I got you in later...if you still want to talk to Walsh," he mentioned.
"Thanks," she said stiffly and he gave her another look. She sighed.
"I went...to see Lily's parents," she confessed. He sighed.
"It wasn't your fault...and you were cleared," he reminded her.
"She's still dead," she countered.
"And she'd still be dead if you had let her drive that night and maybe you with her," he argued.
"Emma...don't waste your miracle on your pain," he urged and she changed the subject quickly. Denial was an Emma Nolan favorite move.
"Anything else on the Taylors from my text earlier?" she asked.
"I ran them both...the husband is clean," he said, as she looked over the information. Apparently Tisbe and Jacob own a few commercial buildings, but it was the shopping mall they owned that stuck in her mind for some reason.
"Uh thanks...I gotta go. I'll be back later to talk to Walsh," she said, as she hurried out and he watched her go longingly.
David smiled, as his son arrived at the hospital with his father and ran to him. He picked him up and hugged him tightly.
"Did you have fun today?" he asked.
"Yeah...where's Mom?" Henry asked.
"She's on her way," he promised, as he and his father locked eyes and Regina arrived.
"Hello Henry...are you ready for your treatment today?" she asked.
"Yeah…I made this for you," Henry said, as he showed her his drawing.
"For me?" she asked.
"Yeah...it's all of us in my family and you and your dad Henry," he replied. She was surprised by the drawing since the boy had never met her father, yet seemed to capture his likeness. She grinned at him.
"I love it," she replied, as she took his hand. David waved to him, as she took him into the room.
"David…" Robert said, as his son turned to him and then was surprised when he hugged him.
"Thank you...you were there for Margaret and Ollie when I couldn't be. You kept it together for them," he said. Robert shook his head.
"It was the very least I could do and I more than owed it to you," he replied.
"I...I failed you and Emma, but when I lost you both, I told myself that if I fell back in the bottle that I would keep failing you. And that was even worse than losing you," Robert confessed.
"And I couldn't have gotten through any of it without you," Margaret said, as she arrived and hugged him, before slipping her arms around David's waist.
"And you've more than made it up to me by being there when I couldn't be," David assured, as Regina returned and Robert hugged them both, before leaving.
"Can I talk to you both a minute?" she asked.
"Sure...is something wrong with Henry?" Margaret asked with trepidation, as they stepped into her lab.
"No...he's responding well to the treatment. Very well, actually," she replied.
"But I found a unique protein in his blood and so I tested my own and I have it too," she explained.
"Then you think all the passengers might have it?" David asked.
"I can't be sure, but I'd like to take some blood from you if you're open to that," Regina replied.
"Sure," he said, as he rolled his up sleeve and she proceeded to extract a couple vials.
"Do you think the marker is something to be concerned about?" Margaret asked.
"Not necessarily, but I'll know more when I see if David has it too and keep researching," Regina replied, as her phone kept beeping. In annoyance, she switched it to vibrate.
"Just my mother wanting me to come to some pesky dinner. I think I'll have to go just to shut her up," Regina commented, before putting the phone back in her pocket.
"Let us know if you find anything," David said. She smiled and nodded.
"I will," she agreed.
Gold sat in the conference room, lost in thought, as he gazed at a photo. His thoughts were interrupted when Vance entered the room.
"Your favorite siblings are proving to be a pain in the ass," he commented. Gold smirked.
"Any valuable assets usually are, in my experience," he said.
"Your experience is interesting for sure, but I found something even more interesting in your past," Vance said, as he slapped a folder down on the table.
"You've been digging into the Nolan's pasts," Gold said.
"Margaret Nolan is the only person that showed up at the hanger with their spouse. She wasn't on the plane. I'm going to investigate a woman like that," Vance replied.
"I had no idea that Margaret Nolan was really born Mary Margaret Blanchard, the disowned daughter of Wall Street tycoon Leopold Blanchard," he said.
"I'm not sure why that is relevant. Leopold Blanchard isn't a nice man. His daughter is probably better off without him," Gold replied.
"I don't disagree. The NSA would love a better look into his operation, but he pays the right people to keep us out," Vance commented.
"But I found some interesting things in her past and his," he continued, as he produced some documents.
"The Nolan's mother was killed when they were twelve, the father was a drunk, and yet CPS was always diverted from their home, due to a mysterious financial adviser that made sure their bills and any other matters were always handled," Vance said.
"You can stop beating around the bush already, director. I appreciate your usual directness," Gold replied.
"The same adviser saw to it that Margaret Blanchard was emancipated from her father at sixteen as well," he continued, as he opened the file.
"The weird thing is...the financial adviser never went in person and sent a gopher named Jefferson to do all the in-person work, and operated under the peculiar name of Mr. Gold's Pawnshop," Vance said.
"And you'll find that all my records are impeccable," Gold retorted.
"Yes, you dotted all the i's and crossed your t's. But you failed to mention to me that you have been watching this family for a very long time," Vance said. Gold met his eyes.
"You're right...they have been on my radar for years now and if I knew why, I would tell you. All I know is that...they are important and now with the plane, I'm starting to see why," Gold said vaguely. Vance sighed.
"None of that makes any sense," he complained.
"No...it doesn't, director. But I assure you that I'm after the truth, just like you. But the Nolan's...they aren't the enemy. There is an enemy in this somewhere, but it's not them. In fact, I would be bold enough to claim that they are rather the saviors in all this. I don't know how or why...but they are the heroes in this, so to speak," Gold said.
"If you say so…" Vance said skeptically, as he continued to look through the file. Gold smirked and looked at his photo again, before putting it away and going back to work.
After Henry's treatment, the Nolan's arrived home and David was surprised to see Olive and a boy on the porch. David did a double take when he saw him and then recognized him.
"Nicholas?" he asked.
"Wow...hi Mr. Nolan," he replied.
"Wow...look at you," David mentioned, as Henry froze when he saw him.
"Hey Henry...it's Nicholas," David said.
"Hey Henry," the now older boy said awkwardly, as he and Olive slowly pulled their hands apart. She looked at him with a bit of guilt and Henry ran inside.
"Henry!" Margaret called. David looked at her and squeezed her hand.
"I'll go talk to him...it's a lot," he said. She nodded.
"Good to see you Nicholas," David said, as he went inside and Nicholas went home.
"I'm sorry Mom...I should have told Henry that Nicholas and I...hang out," Olive said awkwardly.
"It's okay honey...we're all navigating this together. Henry knows you'd never intentionally hurt him," Margaret said, as they went inside the house.
"Go talk to him...you two are due for a good twin talk I think," she suggested. Olive nodded and headed up, as Margaret put her bag down and went through the mail. She saw a few things of interest, but put them down for now, before going to the kitchen.
"So Ollie has a boyfriend," David mentioned, as he came into the kitchen. She smiled.
"If you can even call it that. It's mostly holding hands and hanging out, but he's been good for her," Margaret said, as he slipped his arms around her waist.
"I was definitely not ready for this though," he muttered and she smiled coyly.
"No...but then you were never going to be ready for your little princess to date. I mean, you were bad with Emma so we always knew it was going to be hard for you with Ollie," she said.
"Hey, in my defense, Emma dated some losers," he replied.
"I did not," Emma protested, as she came in and they both gave her a look.
"Okay...some of them were the who's who of human crap," she admitted, making Margaret snicker.
"Mmm...most girls don't get as lucky as I did," she purred, as she slipped her arms around her husband's neck and they shared a kiss.
"Ugh…" Emma complained, as she opened the fridge and grabbed a water.
"Like you two can talk. You were sleeping with each other at sixteen," the blonde reminded.
"We were in love...and we're in love now," David countered her argument and Emma rolled her eyes, as they started dancing in the kitchen.
"You two want to be alone or you want to hear what I found out today?" Emma asked. They stopped dancing, but kept their arms around each other and turned their attention to her.
"So...it turns out that the Taylor's own a bunch of properties, including a mall and I was digging and it seems like some of the mall employees don't exactly have a paper trail," Emma said.
"Illegal immigrants?" David asked.
"Possibly...now I'm not interested in busting anyone there, because that's not my job, but I think it may be worth checking out," Emma replied.
"You think if they're here illegally and Tisbe maybe found out...you think she was going to turn them in?" Margaret asked.
"I'm not sure, but she kept repeating the own your truth thing and maybe someone wanted to shut her up. Someone that stood to lose everything," Emma replied.
"It's a good theory. So you don't think this Walsh Ozwald is the killer?" David asked.
"I won't know more until I talk to him, but I thought I'd head down to the mall and check it out. You up for it?" Emma asked. David smirked.
"I thought I wasn't supposed to get involved with the investigation, because I'm a civilian," he teased and she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, well it's a little late for that, genius. Let's go," she said irritably. David and Margaret shared a kiss, before he followed her out.
"Hey…" Olive said, as she opened his door.
"Can I come in?" she asked and he just shrugged.
"I'm sorry...I should have told you that I was hanging out with Nicholas," Olive confessed.
"Are you mad?" she asked.
"I'm not mad...he was just my friend first," Henry complained, as she sat down beside him.
"I know...this must be so awkward for you," she said.
"Yeah…and to think I used to be taller than him," he joked and she smiled.
"So...you're actually dating him?" Henry asked incredulously.
"I think dating is a strong word...but yeah I guess you could say that," she admitted.
"Ugh…" he complained.
"He's a pretty good kisser," Olive teased.
"Uuuggghhh…" Henry groaned even louder, making her laugh.
"He's been a pretty good friend, but he's still not my best friend," she said.
"Who's your best friend?" Henry asked.
"Duh...you silly," she replied, making him smile.
"But...are we even twins anymore? I mean...I'm still ten and you're fifteen now," he reminded her.
"I know, it's a really weird situation, but pretty unique. I mean, we're still twins since we were born together and I still felt like you were out there while you were gone, you know," she said.
"Really?" he asked. She nodded.
"People thought I was crazy, including most of my friends. Nicholas never did though, or at least he never said I was like others did. Lance was like that too, but in a different way," she mentioned.
"Isn't Lance the guy that wanted to date Mom?" he asked, a bit defensively. She laughed.
"Yeah...but Mom knew Dad was out there too. She felt it like I did. We never have to worry about Mom and Dad not being together, which is comforting since most of my friends have divorced parents," she mentioned.
"Yeah...our family is weird," he said, making her laugh again.
"Definitely weird...but in a good way. So...are we good?" she asked.
"That depends," he replied.
"On what?" she asked.
"On whether you'll help me with this," Henry said, as he pulled out his Lego Death Star.
"Oh...it's on, but we need the kitchen table for this one. Let's go," she said, as she took his hand and they went downstairs.
David and Emma arrived at the small shopping center and saw that most of the shops were closed already, but they spotted one woman, who was just locking up and called to her.
"Excuse me...can we talk to you for a moment?" Emma called, but the woman must have spotted the badge on her hip and broke into a run.
"Dammit…" Emma cursed, as they gave chase.
"Wait...we just want to talk!" she called, as they caught up to her and David blocked the exit.
"Please...don't turn me in. I have children…" she pleaded.
"We're not interested in turning you in. We just have a few questions about your Landlords. Answer them and we never saw you," Emma promised.
"You can trust her," David assured, as the woman saw that he did not have a badge.
"Mr. and Mrs. Taylor…" the woman said.
"The night before Tisbe Taylor died...the parking garage clocked her car here. Did you see her?" Emma asked. The woman nodded.
"My name is Cecelia and she came to me the night before. I thought she was here to collect the rent," she replied.
"And that scared you?" David asked. She nodded.
"Mr. Taylor overcharges on the rent for his tenants and if you don't pay, he calls immigration and turns you in," she explained, as the siblings exchanged a glance.
"But Mrs. Taylor came to apologize for that. She said she was going to shut down that practice and charge fair rent. She said she had to own her truth," Ceceila explained.
"Wait...she said those exact words?" David questioned. Cecelia nodded.
"She repeated that phrase several times," she confirmed. David and Emma exchanged another glance.
"Thank you," they said, as they left her and walked back toward the exit.
"So...that kind of makes Mr. Taylor a suspect now, right?" David asked.
"Oh hell yes," Emma replied.
Director Vance arrived at the twenty-eighth precinct and casually noticed that Emma Nolan's desk was empty, but continued his way on toward the Captain's office.
"Captain Humbert," he said, as he peered in and flashed his badge.
"Director Vance, NSA," he introduced.
"Director…" Graham uttered, as he stood up.
"What can I do for you?" he asked.
"You can tell me about your newest Detective, Emma Nolan," Vance replied.
"Emma is a great cop...I'm happy to have her back," Graham said.
"Oh, she would have to be. First day as a Detective, without even completing her physical or psych evaluation and she's already solved a huge case. That certainly takes skill," Vance replied.
"I'm sorry...do you have a reason to believe that Detective Nolan's work isn't genuine? She found and saved two abducted girls," he said defensively.
"Yes...when an entire precinct could not after canvassing for several days and then your wonder Detective, freshly returned from presumed death, finds them on a whim," Vance replied suspiciously.
"I don't know what you think is going on, Director, but I can assure you that Emma is just one of the best and brightest the force has ever seen. It was no surprise to me that she was able to crack this case," he said.
"You see, Emma has always been gifted when it comes to finding people. She has a natural ability and it was recognized even before the plane," he explained.
"That's interesting...then you won't mind me taking a look at the case files," Vance replied.
"I'll get them now. This precinct, including Detective Nolan, have nothing to hide," Graham assured. While he was gone, Vance stepped out into the hall, only to find Killian there.
"What interest do you have in Emma?" he asked defensively.
"It seems you were lucky when Emma Nolan came back from the dead and solved your case for you, Detective Rogers," Vance replied.
"Two little girls were saved, Director. I hardly care how it was done," Killian countered. Vance smirked.
"She solved your case; a case you had squat on, but this can turn out good for you," Vance said, as he offered his card.
"Or bad," he added.
"Your choice. You be my eyes and ears on Emma Nolan...or you don't. One can make your career and the other...well, you're a detective. You can figure it out," Vance said, as he walked out, missing Emma arriving by only a few minutes.
David arrived home and found a very heartwarming sight, as his kids were putting together a Lego Death Star at the table, while his wife dished up some ice cream for them.
"Hey...there you are. There's some pizza left in the fridge," she told him, as she offered him a spoonful of ice cream, which he ate off her spoon.
"Mmm...maybe later. I love starting with dessert," he said, as he slid his arms around her waist and she was surprised the ice cream didn't melt like she did, as he kissed her neck.
"Dessert is the best…" she purred in response, as they shared a kiss.
"Where's Em?" she asked.
"I dropped her at the station. Turns out...Mr. Taylor might have a motive," he replied. She gasped.
"Emma thinks he killed his wife?" she asked in horror.
"Maybe...according to some of the tenants at the mall they own, Mr. Taylor overcharges on rent and then threatens to call immigration if they don't pay. But Mrs. Taylor was going to put a stop to it," he replied.
"That's horrible...but does that mean maybe she wasn't targeted because she was a passenger?" Margaret asked. He shrugged.
"It's possible...and I hope so. It's sad that she was murdered, but I think I'll rest a bit easier if we find out it wasn't because she was a passenger," he replied, as she leaned her head against his shoulder.
"I guess I forget sometimes that not every woman has what I have in their marriage," she mentioned. He kissed her tenderly.
"Mom...where's our ice cream?" Henry called and they shared a smile.
"So impatient...wonder where he gets that from?" he teased and pinched her rear, making her gasp.
"I will get you for that later," she warned.
"You better," he said, as he helped her finish dishing up ice cream for all of them.