AN: Thanks for the incredible response to this Snowing story! See previous chapter for important authors notes on characters and story notes.
Just a couple of notes for the last chapter and the next few. The Characters of Aaron Glover, the podcaster and Paul and Helen Santino are from Manifest and not Once characters. Another note: In this universe, Killian and Liam are not related, nor do they know one another.
Another important note: Milah is not Neal's father in this universe. Someone else is and will be revealed in this chapter. It's a doozy and I've taken some liberties again with characters and back stories. :)
Special Note: By now, those who watch Manifest, will have seen the season 3 finale. I won't say anything else in case someone hasn't seen it, but I can assure you that there will be certain changes. No decisions yet, as I'm kind of waiting to see what happens in season 4, if we get one. But yeah, I'm already gaming out how to get around a certain major character death. Just FYI.
Another Special Note: By now, most of you know that NBC made the horrible decision to cancel Manifest, despite ending season 3 on a terrible cliffhanger. The series creator says he is committed to giving the series some kind of conclusion, even if it just means a wrap up movie or something. No word yet on if anything is happening. However, if it doesn't, I will finish this story and give it some kind of conclusion. Just FYI.
This one will update bi-weekly on Monday nights. Please consider leaving a review, it is much appreciated. Here are individual responses to reviews:
Jennifer Baratta: Yes, it appears Aurora made a mistake. Hopefully she can rectify it.
Grace5231973: Me too, I hope she decided to help them instead. Yep, the hunt for Henry is on. Glad you're enjoying!
Number Ten: Yep, Aurora appears to have sold them out. Or maybe she didn't. We shall see. Yes, Fiona Black is the Black Fairy from Once. Yes, Henry is very clever and smart. Glad you're enjoying.
Ghostwriter: Yep, so much going on. Aurora is in a tough spot and yeah poor Henry. Glad you're enjoying!
Sexystarwarslover: Yep, it appears Aurora sold them out. Or did she? Guess we'll see. I want her to get Phillips back too. Yeah, that cop has no idea who she's talking to. Their marriage is amazing. Yep, Killian didn't really find him. Just a ruse. Yep, Greg Mendell in any universe spells trouble. Yep, the Major isn't playing around. I know, I really hope the show will be saved. It looks like Netflix might be saving it after all. Let's hope. Glad you're enjoying!
AnonSnowing: I hope they find Henry soon too. Yep, Snowing is happily married and Henry missing has nothing to do with that. I guess it's standard cop procedure. Yeah, this is one situation where the police might make it worse. Yep, Fiona is the Major. Yes, they will find him, they will always find him and each other. Yep, they love their grilled cheeses. I think it's cute that they leave notes too. Yep, Henry is at a cabin. You're welcome, glad you're enjoying! :)
Lightning in a Bottle
Chapter 37: Vanishing Point, Pt 2
"Dammit…" David said, as they continued to follow them down the dirt roads. Despite falling behind, the agents were still in sight. Suddenly though, he put the brakes on as he saw them stop and turn around, forgetting them.
"That's strange," Margaret said.
"Unless...unless they got a tip on Henry's location," David replied, as he put the truck in reverse and hurried back to the main road. By the time they did though, the black SUV's were out of sight, so David kept driving north.
Several black, government issued SUV's arrived at an abandoned cabin in the woods. The Major had received a tip from their informant and it had led them to this place. The agents drew their weapons and descended upon the abandoned property. One kicked the door open and they flooded inside, but found it to be completely empty.
"He's not here," one of the agents said into his phone. On the other end, Agent Mendell's jaw clenched in anger.
"It appears Aurora lied to us," Greg said, as he tried to not wince under the Major's frosty glare.
"Well played, Emma Nolan...she's formidable," she said.
"What now?" Greg asked.
"Send the agents back to find the parents. If Aurora is helping them...then they should lead us there," the Major said, even though she knew they would likely never find them in all those woods now. They could be on any back road by now toward their son. But it no longer mattered. She was nothing, if not flexible and cunning. She would just have to find a different way to infiltrate this close passenger circle and get what she needed from the Nolan boy.
David brought the truck to a stop, as they approached a fork in the road.
"Great...going the wrong way could waste hours," Margaret fretted. He sighed. She was right and he racked his brain, trying to decide how to proceed from there.
"I wish Henry had left us more clues," Margaret said offhandedly. His eyes widened and he took out his phone again.
"Maybe he did," David said, as she leaned over to look at the photo Olive had taken of the paper left behind by Henry. David smiled, as he saw the odd line that Henry had drawn below the letter L from the word left.
"He's telling us which way," he realized, as he beamed at her.
"He isn't saying I left. The I is this fork in the road!" he said and a smile eclipsed her face.
"Left," she said. He nodded and kissed her quickly, before putting the truck in gear and heading to the left.
Emma appeared outside the station, as Aurora hung up her phone.
"They should be thrown off Henry's trail for a while. Long enough for his parents to find him," Aurora said.
"You did the right thing and a deal is a deal," Emma said, as he handed her a folder.
"As promised, the location of your son," she replied. Aurora opened the folder and smiled slightly.
"Thank you…" she said, as she took a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket.
"Here's the page I tore out...but I don't think it has anything to do with anything going on," Aurora replied, as Emma unfolded it and saw it was a picture of a little boy with curly blonde locks.
"Is...is this your son?" Emma asked. She nodded.
"So you can imagine my alarm when I saw it in Henry's book. But now I know he drew it to lead us to this moment. Turn it over," Aurora replied. Emma was stunned to see a drawing of a cabin, but a different one than Aurora had falsely led them to.
"Thanks...I think you can see why it's important the Major doesn't get him," Emma replied, as she texted the photo to her brother.
"Find him and keep him safe. She'll stop at nothing to weaponize what the passengers can do...and Henry can do it better than any of us," she said. Emma nodded. At this point, it was safe to say that her nephew could see future events before they happened and in the wrong hands, that was a very dangerous thing. She just prayed that David and Margaret had found him.
"Good luck," she said, as she watched the other young woman hail a cab and get in, before it drove off. Emma sighed and turned, finding Killian there.
"Still not sure how you got her to agree to help," he said. Emma shrugged.
"She knew deep down the Major would screw her over," she said, as she got a text from her brother and smiled.
"They found him...I need to head up there," she said.
"I'll go with you…" he replied.
"No…I need you to stay behind," she said. He huffed.
"Why?" he asked.
"To run interference?" she asked. He bit back a snarky response.
"Fine…" he relented, as he watched her drive off. He knew that she said that she needed him there, but he really knew it was because she didn't want to spend hours in a car with him. His phone chimed and he saw that it was Milah. He had been putting in double shifts and had actively avoided her for the last few days. She was noticing and reaching out to him. He decided to go home, knowing that he couldn't avoid this much longer.
After turning left at the fork in the road and driving for a while, David got a text and Margaret pulled it up for him.
"It's from Henry's sketchbook," she realized.
"The missing page," he said, as they looked at it and soon enough, they came upon a cabin that looked like the image in Henry's drawing. He parked the truck and they got out.
"We're not waiting for Emma," Margaret said, as they joined hands and approached.
"No way," he agreed, as they stepped onto the porch and Margaret peered inside the dirty windows. Her heart skipped a beat, as she spotted their boy inside.
"David...he's here!" she exclaimed, as he opened the door and they rushed inside.
"Henry!" Margaret called, as she knelt beside him on the floor.
"Baby...you're freezing!" she cried.
"I'll get a fire going," David said, as he quickly piled wood into the fireplace and doused it with the lighter fluid next to the fireplace, before lighting a match and getting it going.
"Honey...let's get you warmed up," Margaret said, as they got him closer to the fire.
"Sweetheart...why did you leave without telling us?" she asked. He shrugged.
"I had to come help someone," he replied. They exchanged a glance.
"Who?" David asked. He shook his head.
"I don't know, but he's coming," Henry replied. As he said that, they heard footsteps at the door and David grabbed the fire poker.
"No Dad...he's not bad!" Henry called, as the door burst open and a man, half frozen, stumbled in and collapsed onto the floor. Margaret cried out in alarm, as her husband gently turned the man over. They didn't recognize him, but he was frostbitten and dangerously close to death.
"Let's get him by the fire," he said, as she helped him by taking his feet. They got him closer and then undid his coat, gloves, and shoes so the heat could reach his extremities.
"He needs first aid," Margaret realized, looking at his hands.
"I brought this stuff," Henry said, as he pulled out a sleeping bag and bandages. David and Margaret exchanged a glance.
"You were following a Calling...a really detailed one," he realized. He nodded.
"Honey...it's wonderful that you wanted to help this man, but you can tell us when you have one. Then Daddy and I can help you," Margaret said, as she caressed his cheek.
"I'll try Mom...this one was just really urgent," Henry replied. She nodded and looked at her husband again. Once they applied some first aid and had him wrapped up in blankets and the sleeping bag, they cuddled together on the old sofa in the place.
"I wonder who he is and why he was out in this weather," she wondered.
"I don't know...he's not a passenger," David replied. She lifted her head from his chest and looked at him.
"That was my next question...but why would a Calling lead Henry to a non-passenger?" she wondered. He shook his head.
"I wish I knew," David said, as he kissed her forehead.
"But whatever this is...we'll do this together," he said, as he got a text and texted back.
"Emma?" she asked.
"No…Mr. Gold. I told him we found Henry and someone needing help. I gave him the location too. I think he's curious," he replied. She nodded.
"Henry seems to trust him...and the NSA cut him off after Vance died. He's helped us a lot...more than we knew," she said. He nodded.
"I wish I knew why...but I'm grateful," he replied. She smiled and their fingers entwined.
"Me too," she said, as they shared a tender kiss.
Emma arrived at that moment and burst in, as they stood up and hugged her. She hugged Henry as well, before noticing the jacket the man had been wearing and was stunned.
"Emma?" Margaret asked.
"The man in the Calling I was having...that's the jacket I saw," she replied.
"The blizzard Calling?" David asked. She nodded. The man began to stir and opened his eyes, seeing Emma above him.
"Emma...it's you," he uttered.
"But how?" he asked, stunning them all that he somehow knew who Emma was, even though they had no idea who this stranger was.
"It looks like we were right...Aurora gave us a phony lead. She helped the Nolans," Greg said. The Major smirked.
"Not to worry...there are avenues we can pursue," she said.
"Do you want us to continue to search for the Nolans?" Greg asked.
"No...the Nolans will eventually return home once they have found their son," she said, as she hung up the phone and looked over at the man she was with.
"It's a beautiful property," the man said, as she pretended to look around the penthouse apartment.
"Yes...it's lovely. I'll be spending a lot of time in New York and I'll enjoy a view like this," she said, as she looked out over the cityscape.
"I'll take it," she agreed to the realtor and they shook hands.
Slowly, the stranger became a little more coherent and Margaret handed him a cup of cocoa to help further warm him.
"Thank you," he said, as she sat down beside her husband.
"Who are you?" Emma asked.
"My name is Neal and I was hiking up on the mountain when this huge blizzard hit. I took shelter in a cave and burned the pages of a magazine I bought at the general store that was at the bottom of the mountain," he said, as he looked at her.
"That's how I knew you...it was a magazine about the passengers of that plane that disappeared five years ago," he said.
"That's why I can't understand this...because you died on that plane," he added, as he dug something out of his pack and handed it to David. It was a page from the magazine with Emma's photo on it and more importantly a date. It was from 2018.
"Uh...how long were you hiking?" David asked. Neal shrugged.
"A couple of weeks, why?" he asked.
"In 2018?" David asked. Neal scoffed.
"Yeah...about two weeks ago. Beginning of December 2018," he replied, as they all exchanged a glance.
"Why are you all looking at me like I'm a ghost? Shouldn't I be the one doing that?" he joked.
"Uh Neal...it's December of 2019 now," Emma revealed. He blanched and stared at them all in disbelief. Before he could process that, someone else entered the cabin and they watched Neal go rigid.
"No…" he uttered. Gold's eyes watered, as he stared at his son, whom he hadn't seen in over a year.
"It's true…" he uttered.
"What the hell is this?!" Neal hissed at him.
"What are you talking about?" Emma asked.
"Did you bring him here?" Neal questioned.
"He's a friend...he's sort of been our family's financial advisor since we were kids. It's a long story, but how do you know him?" David asked.
"Why would you ever do business with him?" Neal roared.
"Please lower your voice," Margaret requested, as she put her hands on Henry's shoulders. Neal deflated a little at the sight of the boy; the one that was basically the reason he was alive now.
"My boy…" Mr. Gold said tearfully.
"Your boy...this is your son?" David asked in disbelief. He nodded curtly.
"He disappeared a year ago…" Gold said.
"That's why you're so interested in the plane…" Margaret realized.
"You thought since they returned that your son might too," she added. He nodded.
"I'm out of here," Neal said, before stumbling. Thankfully, David and Emma caught him before he could face plant.
"No...you're not," Emma refuted, as they helped him sit down.
"Okay…I think we all need to take a deep breath and tell our stories so there are no misunderstandings," she suggested.
"Fine...my story is that he's a crappy father that was always working his schemes and financial swindles instead of paying attention to me," Neal said angrily.
"He's not wrong...I was not a very attentive father in his younger days. But I didn't swindle anyone. I make deals and when people break those deals, it doesn't turn out well
for them," Gold reasoned. Neal snorted derisively.
"That's a nice way of saying I send huge dudes with muscle to beat up people that don't pay me back," he hissed.
"Well...that's not our experience with him," David said.
"I can't believe you'd do business with him. Are you a crappy dad too?" Neal asked.
"That is enough!" Margaret snapped.
"You don't know my husband, so I'll refrain from punching you in the face for that comment, but my husband is the most wonderful father and husband in the whole world and for your information, we did not meet your father until the plane came back," Margaret said sternly, silencing him.
"Yeah...how did a plane that disappeared for five years come back? How the hell did I come back after a year? That doesn't make any sense," Neal said.
"We know...believe me, we're still trying to figure it out," Emma replied, as they exchanged glances.
"As for the financial stuff...our mother died when I was twelve and our father slipped back into his alcoholism," David explained.
"My mother knew she couldn't trust him to take care of us if something happened and got her affairs in order years before she was killed. Her life insurance was put in care of him and he sent his associate every month to make sure the mortgage was paid, groceries and all other necessities were purchased, and we were taken care of," he continued.
"He kept us afloat. Had he not, social services would have stepped in and we would have ended up in foster care, separated," David added. Emma nodded.
"Instead, my brother raised me with MM's help and we stayed together," she said, smiling at them. Neal looked between them.
"Wait...you two are married and you've been together since you were kids?" he asked. They smiled.
"It's rare...we know, but yeah, we've been in love for a very long time and had your father not been there, even in the shadows, we don't know what would have happened," David replied.
"Well...that's wonderful for you, but meanwhile, I was home, fending for myself," Neal said bitterly.
"No Mom?" Emma asked. He shook his head.
"Never knew her...she left long before I was aware. He probably ignored her too," Neal said.
"That's not true...your mother walked out, because I wasn't rich enough for her," Gold snapped. Neal looked at him with scrutiny.
"You've never told me anything about her...and now you tell me? Why the hell should I believe anything you say?" he asked.
"She was once a good person. She grew up with me and we both came from very poor families," he said.
"We never married, but we had you and things were very hard. I worked as hard as I could, but we were barely making it. The once fondness we had for each other turned to bitterness. She grew harsh and mean," he revealed.
"Then she told me that she met a man named Johnathan and that he was the son of a banker. She said she was leaving me for him so she'd never be poor again," he said.
"And that sucks, but I don't see why I should believe you," Neal replied.
"You should believe me, because the people in this room can attest to what type of person your mother is," Gold said.
"We can?" Emma asked.
"You know her," Gold replied.
"We do?" Margaret asked. He nodded curtly.
"Her name is Cora Mills...nee Cora Blanchard now," Gold said, shocking them all to speechlessness...