AN: Thanks for the incredible response to this Snowing story! See previous chapter for important authors notes on characters and story notes.

Important note: Milah is not Neal's father in this universe. Cora is I've taken some liberties again with characters and back stories. :)

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. Thankfully, Netflix has saved Manifest and is giving us a final super sized season 4 with 20 episodes!

Another Special Note: The character of Cody Webber is from Manifest and not a Once character, FYI. The character of James Griffin is also a Manifest character.

This one will update bi-weekly on Monday nights. Please consider leaving a review, it is much appreciated. Here are individual responses to reviews:

Grace5231973: It's hard to say, but Peter coming back into their lives is definitely possible. I'm playing with the characters again a bit here and in this, Peter(Pan) from Once and Malcolm are two different people. Yep, Griffin is a huge problem. Glad you're enjoying!

Jennifer Baratta: Yep, Emma knows it's not over. Glad you're enjoying!

Ghostwriter: Thanks, glad you're enjoying it!

Number Ten: Yep, Killian is going to cause a lot of trouble if he's not , Emma knows about Neal's past already. Yep, some people are just lost and beyond redemption. Griffin is one. Glad you're enjoying!

Sexystarwarslover: Nope, it's not over. The wolf is still there and it probably means that Griffin is still a threat. Yeah, Margaret tried, but sounds like Griffin is beyond reason and redemption. I think Angela would help if she could, but I think Griffin is a lost cause. He definitely doesn't deserve a second chance. Yep, Neal is buying something in a shady alleyway and Killian is going to misconstrue it. Yep, Gold has a doomsday plan, so to speak. Yeah, poor Neal, he's willing to sacrifice himself to protect Emma and her family. Yeah, it was quite a flashback. Yep, the bomb was deactivated, but the wolf is still showing up so trouble is still on the horizon.

AnonSnowing: Yeah, sorry, I had to post early. Yeah, I wish they knew Griffin won't be a problem much longer. Yep, a harbor town in Maine sounds familiar. That's me injecting a little more Once into this. Haha, yep Snow and Charming wouldn't think twice about that. Yeah, Killian is the perfect stand in for Jared here. He's being an ass. Yeah, they're not together yet and if not for his jealousy, they might not ever be. But he is losing Emma's trust with his behavior. Yeah, I like the flashbacks too. Yep, Peter Banning is Peter Pan. He and Malcolm are separate people in this story. I thought it made sense that Peter, who in this is a young sociopath, killed Ruth and not just some random crook. Yep, he made parole while they were gone and disappeared. Not good. You're welcome, glad you enjoyed it!

Lightning in a Bottle

Chapter 47: Estimated Time of Departure, Pt 1

Cora sat at the coffee shop with two cups on the table and her guest arrived finally.

"You're late…" Cora said.

"I apologize…the charming Nolan family keeps busy so it keeps me busy tailing them," Sidney replied. She smirked.

"Then you have something of interest? Because you lost them when they disappeared upstate a couple weeks ago," she said.

"It seems their boy ran off looking for someone," Sidney said.

"How interesting…and who is this person?" she asked.

"This man…I called in a favor and had my tech friend hack into the police database. His name is Neal Cassidy," he replied, as he showed her a photo. She frowned.

"And…to what significance is this?" she asked.

"Neal Cassidy took a trip upstate on a hiking venture over a year ago," he said, as he showed her a missing flier.

"He was missing for a year?" she asked. He nodded.

"And now he suddenly reappears after a passenger from flight 828 went after him. They brought him back and I did even more digging into Mr. Cassidy's past," he said.

"Turns out…he was born Neal Gold and has had problems with alcohol and substance abuse. His father is a local pawnbroker by the name of Roman Gold," he reported. Cora felt a chill slither down her spine, as she looked at the picture of the man.

"Ms. Mills?" he asked, calling her attention back.

"Sidney…you know I'm Cora Blanchard now," she corrected. He smiled.

"Of course…forgive me," he said.

"So is this man living with his father again?" she questioned. He smirked.

"No…that's where it gets interesting. Emma Nolan has offered him a place to stay with her and he is seen quite often at the Nolan house. They seem to welcome both Neal and his father frequently," he said.

"Do you think his disappearance is connected to the plane?" she asked.

"I don't know or even see how, but no one but them knows that this man is back and walks among the living again after being presumed dead on that mountain. If it's discovered that the Nolans are hiding him, it would cast more suspicion on them," Sidney replied. She smirked.

"Yes…it would. Write it," Cora said.

Regina looked through the microscope, as she again labored over the blood sample of James Griffin. She didn't like that they had anything in common with such a man and she had wondered if she was wrong. But it appeared that she was right the first time. He had the same blood marker and she couldn't shake the bad feeling in her gut that it meant something more than they knew.

"Dr. Mills…I have those other lab reports," Margot said, as she entered and Regina nearly leapt out of her skin.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to startle you," the young woman apologized. Regina took deep breaths, as a full blown panic attack threatened to overtake her.

"Excuse me…I need some air," she said, as she rushed out and it felt like the walls were closing in. Dr. Hopper saw her and cautiously approached.

"I…I think I could use that therapist you mentioned," she said. Archie smiled gently and handed her another car.

"Fiona Black," she read on the card.

"She's an excellent therapist. I can make the first call for you if you'd like?" he offered. Reluctantly, she nodded. She hated it, but she needed help.

"Okay…thanks Em," David said, as he hung up the phone.

"Is she okay?" Margaret asked. He nodded.

"Yeah…they found the bomb in time and it was disarmed. Guess Griffin wasn't lying about that," he replied.

"But he was willing to let a lot of people die if he didn't get what he wanted," Margaret said, as she crossed her arms over her chest. He sighed and put his hands on her arms, gently rubbing them. Before they could discuss Griffin any further, they heard a ruckus coming from upstairs in Henry's room.

"Henry stop!" they heard Olive call and they rushed up to see what was going on.

"Henry?" Margaret asked, as her son showed a rare bout of anger and started trashing his room.

"Hey…hey, buddy, what's going on?" David cried, as he got his arms around his son and held him.

"It's not fair!" he cried, as he smashed his legos.

"What is it sweetie…what's not fair?" Margaret asked. But he shook his head.

"I can't tell you…" he refused.

"Sweetie…you can tell us anything," Margaret said.

"No…I need to tell Neal!" he cried. They exchanged a glance.

"Okay buddy…just calm down and we'll call him," David said, as he pulled his phone out. They had never seen him like this and it made them worry about what might be coming.

"Stop him!" Neal heard the voice in his head again and he knew it had to be referring to Griffin. His mind wandered back to the gun he had purchased and his plan to stop Griffin, which would ultimately sacrifice his freedom. He was struggling with it and naturally wanted some courage in a liquid form.

He walked into the corner liquor store and picked up a bottle of vodka, before putting it on the counter. He hesitated for a moment, as the clerk rang him up.

"Hey pal…you want this or not?" he asked. Neal nodded with reluctance and paid for it, before slipping out of the store and making the short walk back to Emma's apartment. Once there, he stashed the bottle in a hiding place and tried to resist the temptation. He paced the room and then heard it again.

"Stop him!" That was enough and he went to fetch the bottle, but didn't, before he heard Emma come in and he saw the look on her face.

"You're getting it too…" he uttered.

"Stop him?" she asked. He nodded.

"It has to be talking about Griffin, right?" he asked.

"There's never a way to be completely sure…but yeah, I don't see how it's not him," she replied.

"So the bomb?" he asked.

"He was right…and now he's going to tell the whole world what we can do," she replied.

"My Dad has a plan…in case he does, but it's extreme," Neal said.

"I know…but I need to try one more time to talk to him," Emma replied.

"How are you going to do that?" Neal asked curiously.

"He's being interviewed tomorrow on one of the biggest morning shows in the country. He'll be at Rockefeller Plaza in the morning," she said. Neal's mind immediately went to his earlier purchase. Emma could plead with Griffin all she wanted, but he knew men like him. Nothing was going to stop him from milking this for his own gain and the lives of everyone he cared about would be destroyed. Or maybe he could do something about it. His life would be ruined…but Emma's wouldn't and somehow, that was enough for him.

"Do you have to get back?" he asked.

"Yeah…in a few. I just came home to see if you were good and grab something quick to eat," she replied, as she fished some pop tarts out of the pantry. He rolled his eyes and got a skillet out.

"Put those back. Some scrambled eggs will only take a few minutes and it's way healthier," Neal replied, as he grabbed the eggs out of the fridge. Emma narrowed her gaze.

"You and MM are conspiring against me, aren't you?" she questioned. He smirked.

"Maybe," he replied, as he cracked the eggs into a bowl and started whisking them with a fork.

"You do realize that the company that makes Pop-Tarts is going to take a huge hit without me eating them, right?" she joked. He chuckled.

"I think they'll survive and you will too with less sugar," he replied. She rolled her eyes playfully, but happily ate the eggs he made her, before heading back to the station. Neal looked at the bottle of liquor he had stashed in the couch cushions and thought about catching up to Emma and confessing about it. After all, she had invited him into her home and he had almost slipped. He was about to go dump it out, but instead, his phone rang and he answered.

"Hey David," he answered.

"Can you come over? I think Henry had a Calling and for some reason, he's afraid to tell us. He only wants to tell you," David said, the frustration evident in his voice.

"Sure…I'll be right there," Neal replied, as he hung up the phone and grabbed his coat, before hurrying out.

Emma arrived back at the station and sighed when she saw Killian waiting for her at her desk.

"If it's not about the Griffin case…I don't want to hear it," she replied.

"Maybe you need to," he said, as he dropped the file onto her desk. She huffed and opened it, finding that it was Neal's rap sheet.

"So?" she asked.

"So…he's a criminal, Emma and an addict," he said in frustration.

"I know…and he's clean. He's in a program. That's what he was doing upstate. He was making amends," she replied.

"Then if he's clean, why did Officer Diaz spot him buying something in an alleyway. Something you have to hide in a paper bag," Killian said, as he showed her the photo. She sighed and tossed it down on her desk.

"I don't believe it…you have an officer tailing him!?" she questioned.

"Emma…he's dangerous," Killian replied.

"No…he's not," she refuted.

"If I had even an inkling that he was, I wouldn't let him near my family. You know that," she added. He sighed.

"Normally yes…but I think you have a blind spot with him," he reasoned.

"Or maybe you're just jealous," she accused. He opened his mouth to continue, but noticed they were drawing a crowd.

"Now what do you have on Griffin?" she asked. He sighed.

"Same as it was last we knew. He has an interview on the largest morning show in the country tomorrow morning," he replied. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her rage at this man.

"Then we need to figure out a way to stop him, because if we don't, me and my family won't be able to go in public ever again," Emma said quietly. He realized that meant them leaving the city to escape the publicity and possible danger and he knew he couldn't let that happen.

Neal arrived at the Nolan household and Margaret showed him.

"Thanks for coming…he's so upset and he insists on only telling you about whatever is bothering him," she said. He smiled, a bit touched that the boy had taken to him so quickly. To be honest, he had taken to Henry very quickly too. A pang of regret settled in him though. He hated that stopping Griffin meant that he would probably never see Henry again. But if that meant the boy could grow up and live a normal life, it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

"Hey pal…your Mom and Dad said you had something to show me," he said, as Margaret left and closed his door.

"It's a Calling again…but you have to promise not to tell my parents," Henry pleaded.

"Well…if it's the Calling where it's telling us to stop him, I think we're all having that one," Neal replied.

"It's not…please," Henry begged.

"Okay…I promise," Neal said. Henry sighed and opened his sketchbook and Neal was alarmed by what was on the page.

"You can't tell my parents…" he reminded him, as Neal stared at the drawing of three headstones, one with David, one with with Emma, and one with Henry. With a death date.

"Uh buddy…" he started to say.

"You can't tell them, please! You promised," he said. He nodded.

"Okay…I promise I won't tell. But you know that this might not mean what you think it means," Neal replied. But Henry looked solemn.

"But it does. I don't want my Mom and Ollie to know that they're going to lose us twice," he said sadly.

"Hey…there might be a way to avoid this one. We don't know all the details yet," he said, as he quietly made his way out of the room.

"Did he tell you?" Margaret asked and he looked at her.

"I…I think it's just all this stuff with Griffin. He's just scared about having to leave his home if this goes badly. But I promised him we were going to do everything possible to keep that from happening," Neal fibbed. Margaret sighed, slightly in relief.

"Thanks for talking to him…you've really connected with him," she said.

"He's a great kid," Neal replied, as he made up an excuse that he had somewhere to be and headed back to Emma's apartment. He needed to be up early, because he was going to stop Griffin, even if he had to kill him…

The Next Morning

James Griffin arrived at Rockefeller Plaza the morning ahead of his interview on one of the biggest news shows in the country. David, Margaret, and Emma arrived on the scene too and it was a media frenzy already.

"This is insane…we'll never be able to walk the streets again if he does this," Margaret realized.

"We'll stop him," David said, as he took her hand and they pushed through the crowd. It was a mixed audience of believers and haters, all with various signage. As they made their way through the crowd and past the rope, they caught Griffin's attention, as he waved to the crowd of people and cameras.

"Griffin!" Emma called.

"Detective Nolan…" he drawled.

"Don't do this…" she pleaded. He continued to smirk.

"Sorry Detective, the whole world is about to know exactly how I knew about that bomb. I'm sure they'll figure out the rest about the passengers," he replied.

"Please…" Margaret pleaded.

"This will destroy so many people…including our children," she said, hoping that would make him hesitate. But a small pause from him proved to be nothing.

"Excuse me…but I have an interview to do," he said, as he started toward the entrance to the studio. He was about to be a star.

"What are we going to do?" Margaret asked tearfully.

"I…I think we have to consider Mr. Gold's plan. I think we need to get Dad and the kids and go," David replied, as a few tears slipped down her cheeks and he hugged her.

"I know…I hate this too, but at least we'll be together and safe," he promised. She nodded, as they were about to leave, though Emma kept her eyes trained on Griffin. He waved to the cameras and the shouting crowd, soaking up the limelight.

None of them noticed Neal pushing his way through the crowd. He gripped the gun in his pocket and prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice.

"Griffin…if you do this, they'll kill you. You really think the government will allow you to reveal too much? They're in this up to their ears," Emma pleaded and he paused for a moment to look back at her.

"And if they don't…something else will. Whatever the Callings are…they can't be abused," she added. He prepared to ignore her again and turned away to keep walking. She sighed, but noticed that Griffin had stopped again. Neal prepared to make his move, but saw him from the side view, as water trickled from his mouth.

Suddenly, he vomited an exorbitant amount of water out of his mouth. Margaret yelped in shock and David held her back, as Griffin continued to convulse and water came shooting out of his mouth like a faucet. His skin was puffy and pale now, as he appeared to spit up gallons upon gallons of water, before collapsing dead to the ground. Emma had seen drowning victims before and that's exactly what he looked like. This was what he should have looked like the night he came out of the water. He had drowned…on dry land. The scene immediately became a crime scene and Neal fled before anyone could see him. Except the cop tailing him. David also whisked Margaret away and took her home. Somehow, the emergency was averted, before Griffin could reveal anything about them. But there was still plenty of scrutiny on them and he wanted none of it near his wife and children. Emma watched the scene and saw Killian come up beside her.

"What the hell…" he uttered.

"He drowned," she said, still in shock.

"How?" he asked.

"I…I don't know, but that's what this is and I have no idea what it means," she said.

"I need to call Regina and see if she can get her hands on the autopsy report," Killian replied. He nodded.

"This is so high profile that there will be a rush on the autopsy. We should know for sure soon," he said, as the coroner's van arrived, while the onlookers still tried to make sense of what they had just seen…