It was a calm and cool summer night in the middle of June in Storybrooke, Killian Jones; however, did not share the same feeling of calmness as the outside atmosphere as he paced around Emma and his bedroom.
"Honey, it's going to be fine. Mara is fifteen and can totally handle herself on her first date tonight." Emma reassured her heavily concerned husband as her eyes followed him back and forth.
Just a few days earlier Mara had informed her that she had asked Wesley, Cinderella and Shawn's sixteen-year-old son, out on a date. Emma was so proud of her daughter to have the courage to initiate asking her crush out on a date. She had known for some time that Mara liked Wesley, so she couldn't have been happier; but Killian on the other hand, was taking this situation a bit out of proportion.
"Swan, we don't know this Wesley kid at all. How am I supposed to entrust him with taking my daughter out tonight? For all we know he could be a horrid driver and could drive Mara off the bloody road!" Killian exclaimed, his voice rising with concern for the safety of his teenage daughter.
"Ok, calm down there mister 'overprotective father'. First of all, Mara is our daughter and second, I trust her and Wesley will arrive safe and sound at Tony's restaurant. She is fifteen now Killian, she deserves to experience these things. Plus, it's her first date and they're going to a public place then coming straight back, not much is going to happen, that I'm sure you're also worried about." Emma concluded as she got up from sitting on their king size bed.
This stopped Killian in his tracks.
"Aye, you may be right, but I'm still her father and have the right to be concerned about this matter at hand. I thought I was ready for her teenage years, but boy was I wrong." He confessed.
Emma came up to him and put her arms around him in a comforting hug.
"Now that is something I can agree with. It is harder now than just toting her around in a wagon when she was five and playing princesses and pirates when she was ten, but she's still is our little girl, Killian, and we raised her well, so there's nothing to worry about." She sympathized.
Mara was completely oblivious to the conversation her parents were having about her two rooms down; all she could think about was her impending date with Wesley. Even though he was a grade above her at Storybrooke High, that didn't impede her determination to ask him out. It was a rather bold move of her to do so, as he was pretty much considered to be the most popular guy at school and as soon as she made her move, most girls at school gave her dirty looks. Mara was not fazed by any of this, she did not care about what others thought, she had liked Wesley for some time, so she was going to do something about it if he didn't.
She was standing in front of the mirror holding a different colored dress in each hand. She was in a deep self-debate on whether she should wear a simpler blue dress or a lacey green dress on her date tonight. The green dress would match her eyes, but the blue dress was more comfortable. Throwing the green dress on her four-post bed, it had seemed that her mind was made up. She slipped into the blue dress then went over to her vanity set, applied some subtle traces of mascara and blush as well as curled her raven hair in beachy waves.
Feeling satisfied with her appearance, Mara made her way out of her room and gracefully guided herself, with the help of the banister, downstairs. To her surprise, she had found her mother and father waiting together on the couch in the family room.
Her mother let out a soft gasp at the sight of her daughter, she looked so beautiful and was practically glowing. Killian was too overcome by his daughter's presence he began to tear up a little. He had realized that his daughter was all grown up now.
"So, how do I look?" Mara nervously questioned as she stepped down from the last step.
"Mara you look absolutely beautiful, dear." Emma beamed and got up to hug her daughter.
Killian followed suit, but still had not said anything as he was left speechless.
"Dad, any comments? Do you not like the dress or something? I knew I should have went with the green one, I'll just go back and-" Mara's rambling was cut off.
"Love, there is no need for that. You are quite a stunning sight, my dear." He passionately declared as he stroked her cheek.
Suddenly, a loud buzz sounded off in Mara's black leather purse that abruptly interrupted this special moment.
Mara pulled out her cell phone and noticed that she had received an alert that it was 6:15pm.
"Oh shoot, I got to go! I told Wesley that I'd meet him at Granny's at 6:30 so he could drive us to Tony's." Mara stressed as she rushed to put on and strap her white leather sandals.
"Now Mara, remember to be safe tonight and make sure to be home before 10 o'clock. Understood?" Killian noted as he stepped back into over brooding father mode.
"Also kid, remember to have fun and here is some money to split the bill." Emma interjected as she handed Mara some cash.
Mara smiled as she glanced between her parents.
"To answer you both, I will. And thanks mom." She mentioned looking up and smiling after she zipped open her wallet placing the money safely inside.
Just like that, their fifteen-year-old daughter was out the door and on her way to go on her first date. Emma and Killian continued to stand by the door for a few minutes afterward hand in hand still coming to terms with letting their daughter go.
Emma noticed that Killian was still looking slightly tense, so she pulled him away to join her back on the couch. Cuddling up beside him she tried to ease his looming concern.
"Come on Killian, everything will be smooth sailing for Mara. Plus, now that we are alone I wonder, whatever we shall do?" Emma smirked, which seemed to intrigue her husband.
"Aye Swan, whatever shall we do?" He responded raising his brows.
Meanwhile, Mara was making the short journey towards Granny's. She couldn't help but smile as her giddiness from thinking about Wesley and her date overcame her. The streetlights upon main street highlighted her face as she swept her hair aside after the summer breeze brushed across her face.
As she turned her head slightly, something peculiar came into her line of sight that left her completely shocked. There standing in the parking lot across from Granny's Diner was none other than Wesley standing outside from his car kissing another girl. Mara, now heartbroken at this display unfolding in front of her, was now in tears. She could not believe Wesley would do this to her. Anger and embarrassment boiled up inside of her and she immediately bolted away to a location unknown.
Back at the house Killian kept glancing at the clock as it soon dawned closer to 10pm. Emma was drifting off to sleep as she laid next to him in their bed.
"Swan, wake up. It's 10:01 and Mara isn't back yet." He spoke out, as he gently nudged her side to side.
Emma sluggishly rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and slowly sat up.
"Hmm, what? 10:01, really Killian? She is one minute past curfew, I'm sure she is halfway home right now. Give the girl some wiggle room." She pointed out, trying to convince her husband that he was worrying about nothing.
They both got up from bed and began to get ready to welcome back their daughter as they then went downstairs to wait for her on the couch where she had left them.
However, as the clock hit 10:25, this set both parents into a panic. They were now very concerned with the location of their daughter since there was still no sign of her.
"Swan, you and I both know this is very unlike Mara to be twenty-five minutes late. She always abides by our rules. Something has to have happened." Killian pressed as he could sense something was not right.
"Yeah, you're right. Mara would have been here by now. I've texted her three minutes ago and she hasn't even read it. Something is most definitely wrong. Let's go find out what." Emma declared as they both got up and rushed out to the yellow bug that was parked outside.
The first destination on their mission to find their daughter was Tony's Italian Restaurant, where the date was set to take place. The brakes on the bug screeched to a halt as it was quickly parked in the adjacent lot.
Emma and Killian entered the establishment and spilt up, one going to the right and the other going to the left, to scout out the place with hopes of stumbling upon their daughter. After some time of scouring the place, they met back up at the front.
"Seems to be no sign of her, Love. Where else could she be?" Killian observed admitting defeat.
"Well, we know she was with Wesley, so let's pay Ashley and Shawn a visit. They may have ended up there." Emma proposed, her sheriff skills showing.
The duo then hopped back into the car and sped their way down the road with hopes to locating their missing daughter. Stepping out and onto the curb in front of Wesley's home, they stormed up to the front porch and Killian knocked three times with the brass door knocker that was adorned on the cherry red door.
A cheery Ashley answered, but she quickly changed her mood as she was confused to why the Jones' were at her door.
"Hello there, what brings you two here? Is there a problem or something?" She inquired, Shawn then stepped into the door frame up beside her.
"A problem? Oh yes, I'd say we have quite the problem." Killian fumed and advanced forward, as he was in a desperate frenzy to know the whereabouts of Mara.
"Woah, calm down there Killian." Emma addressed, as she extended her arm in between her husband and the door.
"I'm really sorry about this intrusion so late at night, but do you guys happen to know where Mara and Wesley are? Are they here, or has he texted you where they are, because Mara is not home yet and is not responding to any of my texts or calls." Emma calmly informed them.
Both Ashley and Shawn displayed blank looks on their faces as Emma spoke out, showing their cluelessness to the situation.
"You guys don't know anything about this do you?" Emma sighed, as she could tell by their vacant expressions that they were unaware that their son had even planned to meet their daughter.
"No, I'm sorry. Wesley never mentioned anything about Mara as he left earlier. He just said he was meeting up with Nicole. He isn't back home yet, but I could call him for you if you'd like." Ashley expressed, trying to help.
"If Wesley never planned to go out with Mara tonight, then there's no way he would be with her now. What the bloody hell happened tonight? Sorry, but we really have to go; however, I'll be back later to discuss your son alright." Killian snapped before turning around and heading back to continue their search.
Once back in the car, Emma huffed out in distress, but she tried to logically go about the situation at hand.
"Okay, so Wesley must have had stood Mara up or something along those lines, which means she's probably very emotional and heartbroken right now. So where would she go?" She looked to her husband for a response.
"That boy. I swear after we find her I'm going to-"
"Killian focus! As much as I am upset with Wesley we have to think about the matter at hand. Where would Mara go in a state that she is most likely in?" Emma interjected as she placed her hand on top of his to halt his heated rant.
"Ariel's. She's probably there." Killian confidently stated.
"Of course, you're absolutely right. She and Melody have been friends forever, she needs someone to confide in right now. Let's go." Emma concluded as she slammed on the gas, sending both of them back into their seats.
They had arrived and were almost sure that their daughter would be found inside. This time Emma was the one to knock on the door. She had looked to her husband before to gain strength as this was their last hope.
Letting out a deep breath, Emma was greeted by both Ariel and Eric.
"Emma. Killian. What a pleasant surprise. Come on in, something we can do for you?" Ariel welcomed and gestured them inside.
Emma and Killian hesitantly stepped inside their foyer and looked around for any signs of their daughter. Ariel and Eric noticed their unusual behavior and questioned their hasty visit.
"So, is anything wrong? Why the sudden late night visit?" Eric remarked as he shut the front door behind them.
"Is Melody home by any chance? And is Mara here either?" Killian inquired.
"Yes, Melody is here. She is in her room. I haven't seen Mara though. I can call Melody down if you need to speak with her." Ariel suggested, noticing the sense of uneasiness between Emma and Killian afterwards.
"If you don't mind. Mara did not arrive home yet from her outing tonight and hasn't been responding to us. Maybe Melody might know where she is or might have heard from her earlier." Emma hoped.
Soon Melody came bounding down the stairs in her pajamas.
"Hey Mr. and Mrs. Jones, what brings you guys here?" Melody bubbly asked out.
"We were actually wondering, Melody, if you have seen or heard from Mara lately?" Killian inquisitively questioned.
"Not since this afternoon when she snapped me pictures of her deciding between dresses. I'm sorry. Is something wrong with Mara?" She disclosed.
Ariel went to go stand behind her daughter and gently rested her arms around Melody's neck out of comfort.
"I'm afraid they don't know where Mara is, sweetheart, and were hoping she had contacted you." Ariel informed her daughter.
"Oh, I'm sorry I couldn't help, but I hope you find her soon. I did text her to see how her date went, but she still hasn't gotten back." Melody worriedly mentioned out of concern for her missing friend.
"Thanks for the help, but we have to get back to searching." Emma claimed, reaching for the doorknob.
"No problem. We hope you find her. Let us know if you need anything else or when you find her." Eric implored, concern straining in his voice. He could not imagine what Emma and Killian were going through right now. Just picturing Melody lost and nowhere to be found this late at night is something that he wouldn't wish upon any parent.
It was then 11pm when Emma and Killian left Ariel and Eric's home, and the couple were even more panicked as they had been searching all night to no avail.
Emma was now crying from the stress that she had been put through with her daughter lost and all alone somewhere in Storybrooke.
"Swan, I know this night has been taxing on us both, and I am as tired and aggravated as you are from our frustrating search, but I may know one more place she might be. May I?" Killian offered, trying to lift his wife's spirits.
Killian was now at the wheel and drove straight to where he hopefully thought his daughter would go in times like these… The docks.
Emma immediately looked up to her husband as they parked, she realized that he was a genius. The couple; however, stayed silent as they prayed that their daughter would be here.
The sea always calmed Killian down, and he knew that Mara always enjoyed her time spent on the Jolly Roger. She had taken after him in that aspect, so he was now counting on her to go to the sea for comfort.
They quietly made their way aboard the ship, anxious to find their missing daughter once and for all. At first, she was nowhere to be seen on the deck of the ship, so they made their way down below.
What they had found was a sight that made them both let out a sigh of relief, as Mara was discovered to be asleep in the bed in Killian's captain's quarters. As they walked closer, they could tell that she had been crying most of the night, as the pillow and blankets were still moist around her and her face was still red.
"She must be exhausted." Emma whispered, trying not to wake her peacefully sleeping daughter.
"Aye, we should probably take her home though. It's been a long night for us all." Killian advised maintaining a soft tone.
Emma nodded, and Killian proceeded to lift his daughter in his arms and carried her back to the deck of the Jolly as Emma followed. Thinking to himself, Killian was recalling how grown up his daughter now was, but holding her in his arms again made him remember how she will always be his little girl. A fond smile graced upon his face as he set a still sleeping Mara down in the back seat of the yellow bug.
They were relieved to finally be able to journey home with a safe Mara in tow. She had continued to sleep the whole ride home. Killian and Emma couldn't help themselves but to consistently glance back to keep a close eye on her as they drove, just feeling blessed that they had found her.
As they arrived back to their familiar home, Killian picked Mara up one last time with a huff and carried her upstairs back to her own bed where she belonged. Sure, there would be quite a story to tell when she woke, but that was something that would be dealt with later. All that mattered was that their little girl was back home safe and sound.