Chapter 2
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The streets were crowded with people scurrying from one building to another as the rain poured down from the sky. The clouds ghosting over the high skyscrapers were heavy with the liquid and happy to let some fall on the masses.
Just like any other day in the Big Apple people didn't know how to drive.
Emma forewent getting a cab or taking the bug out from the garage. It was easier to take the subway and walk to Dr. Diggs office. Drivers in the city were animals on a normal day. Add a little rain and they became dinosaurs looking for a fight or just to get where they were going faster than they probably should in such weather.
Walking with her jacket up about her neck and an umbrella over her head Emma made good time from the subway to her destination. She had a few hours before she would be needed at the office to fill out some paperwork on the jumper she'd brought in the week before.
When she was only two blocks away from Dr. Diggs office her phone rang. She reached for it and slowed her pace down a bit as she saw the red light up ahead. A few people bumped into her as they went around her but she kept her grip tight on her phone as she pressed it to her ear. As she did she felt like someone was watching her. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise. She looked around her but didn't see anyone focusing on her. She tried to shake it off.
"Swan Investigations, this is Emma speaking."
"Hey there Birdie. So I think you owe me a dinner date for what I've got for you."
Emma smirked as she heard Natasha, the NYPD tech genius she'd met a few months back while working on a case, attempt to flirt with her. "I think I should be the judge of that, don't you?"
"No. No. This is totally worth dinner and a little kissing action on the couch too."
Emma started to wonder just how good this information was going to be. "The couch? Maybe the door. I have a kid to think about catching us."
"You and me both, Birdie. At least yours is out of diapers."
Emma chuckled softly, "And it's still the couch?"
"Oh yeah…Maybe even second base."
Emma crossed the street and turned the corner on the correct block. "Jeeze, what is it you have for me Nat?"
"Aww, not even going to flirt back?"
"Maybe, you just have to warm me up a little with a clue as to how well I should be doing so."
Nat laughed, "You got a pen and paper handy?"
"Give me a second?" Emma asked as she raced into the main building and put down her umbrella. She pulled a pad and pen out of her back pocket and flipped it open. "Ready."
"Zero. Triple One. Zero. Three. Zero. Nine. Three."
"Read back: Zero. One. One. One. Zero. Three. Zero. Nine. Three."
"You got it."
"Great…what is it?" Emma asked, feeling a little light hearted for the first time in the last two days.
"The routing number to the TD bank in Maine that the proxy is running in. It's in a closed circuit so I should have the actual bank in the next day or so. But it's defiantly where the off shore account is getting its money from."
Emma felt her heart rate begin to pick up as she realized what the numbers in her hand meant. She was close. So very close to finding Regina she could practically taste it. Then what Nat said had her incredibly confused. "If it's a closed circuit why are you having so much trouble getting in?"
Natasha laughed, "Honestly, Emma? I don't know." She sounded truly perplexed. "It's like the bank that the money is coming from doesn't exist. This is the first bank the money is transferred to from the original bank, but I can't find the original. I'm at point B, but I can't find where the hell point A is." The exasperation in her friends voice was one she was very familiar with. She had been sporting the same tone for nearly twelve months now. "That's why it's going to take another day or two. I have to individually go through the banks—without getting caught mind you—to see where this ghost bank account is."
"Thank you. I really do appreciate this Nat." Emma hoped her sincerity came across. If this panned out she would actually kiss the other woman. Just the once so Natasha's partner didn't get angry or jealous.
"Yeah, yeah yeah. You still owe me that dinner. And I'm not talking a cheap one either. I want steak. A big one."
"You don't even like steak." Emma laughed as she walked towards the elevator bay.
"Not the point Birdie. I'll have chicken or roast duck or something as equally as expensive as big pieces of good steak."
"You have a deal. I'll even pay for Janice to take you to whichever restaurant you'd like and she can get something as equally as expensive while Henry and I babysit Evan." Emma pressed the up button and watched as it lit up.
"See, Birdie. I knew there was a reason I liked you."
Emma pressed the button again and watched as the numbers started to descend as the elevator came down. "You mean besides my big blue eyes and ripped arms?"
Natasha scuffed into the phone, "Yeah, besides that."
"Seriously, Nat. Thank you. Truly. I…I needed this."
"I know. That's why I'm not going to hold you to that babysitting offer until you come back from the road trip I'm sure you'll be going on once I get you that bank and city."
"You're too good. Anyone ever tell you that?"
"Yes. But it's still nice to hear. Now let me go find that MIA wife of yours so you can make up and I can kick her ass."
"Thanks again, Nat."
"Don't thank me yet. I'll be in touch soon. Take care, Birdie."
"You to Nat. Give Janice and Evan my best."
"Will do. Call you later, Birdie."
The line went dead just as the elevator doors opened. Several people stepped off before Emma stepped on and pressed the tenth floor. Once inside Emma leaned her back against the wall of the elevator and released a heavy sigh. She was close. Closer than she had been in a very long time. So close in fact that she wasn't sure what she was going to do when she actually did find Regina.
A large part of her wanted to kick Regina's ass just as much as Natasha did. The other part of her wanted to hold onto the brunette and refuse to let go ever again. Truly it was all conflicting emotions when it came to Regina. How was someone supposed to react in a situation like this? She didn't think they had a how to guide for reuniting with the spouse that abandoned you. If they did she was sure that she'd have read it already.
Looking down at the numbers she'd jotted down and Maine, she shook her head. What was Regina doing in Maine? Why was she there instead of with her and Henry? What was so important that she would stay away from them? Leave them for so long? Was it really just about their fight? Or was it something more?
Emma wished, just like she did every day, that she had the answers to all of her questions. Just one answer would be nice. She was drowning in a sea of unanswerable questions and needed one, just one good answer to a question she had to keep her afloat as she sought out the rest. Just one good answer was all she was asking for. It just seemed like no one was ever listening to her pleas.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened on her floor. She stepped off and made her way towards Dr. Diggs' office. The receptionist, Jennifer, smiled at her as she stepped into the waiting room.
"Hey, Emma. He's expecting you. You can go right in."
"Thanks." Emma walked right to the sound proof room, bypassing all the chairs in the empty waiting room.
"Ah, Emma. I was wondering if the weather would keep you." Dr. Diggs stood up from his seat behind a small desk in the right corner of the room. Closer to the door were three arm chairs, and a love seat surrounding a coffee table. The large book case was filled with large texts that Emma would never read. The room was comfortable. The soft brown of the furniture a nice offset to the darker paint along the walls.
"It's only a little rain, Dr. Diggs. I'm not like those amateurs out there. It's not going to stop me short when I have somewhere to be." After coming in nearly once every week for two months, Emma made herself comfortable on the love seat without being asked to take a seat. She dropped her stuff at her feet and leaned back into the corner part of the couch, closest to the corner of the room itself. She might be comfortable enough to make herself 'at home' but she wasn't going to put herself at any disadvantage.
"What have I said about calling me Dr. Diggs?" He asked as he took his seat in the arm chair closest to the love seat. When they started their sessions he would sit in the one farthest away from Emma, but after nearly four months he had moved to the seat closest to her. It was a progression that he took pride in, even if Emma really didn't see what the big significance was.
"Not to do it?" Emma asked, knowing that he was constantly trying to get her to call him by his first name, something about how it would make her feel more comfortable with him if she didn't put doctor in front of his last name.
"Right. So, what do you say? You call me Walsh at least once today? We'll work on it more for other sessions."
Emma shrugged, "Whatever you say Doc."
Walsh sighed, seemingly hoping she'd have called him Walsh right away. And maybe she would have if she didn't enjoy busting his chops so much. He could be very uptight. Even worse than she was when she first started coming to him. Besides, she didn't feel comfortable calling him by his first name. He was her doctor and she felt his sudden wish for her to call him by his name was off setting to the professional relationship they had with each other. She wasn't coming to talk to a friend about her problems. She was here to talk to a doctor who could help her.
She wasn't sure why but he had begun to make her feel a little uneasy the last few sessions they had, which is why she'd cancelled her last two appointments. The only reason she was here at all now was because she felt like it was a bad idea to skip the appointments with the last episode nearly having her holding a knife to her son. She'd considered finding another shrink, but knew that if she stopped coming here she might stop all together.
"So, it's been a few weeks since I've seen you…" He left the statement hanging in the air, hoping Emma would fill in the blanks.
"Work got really busy. Had a case that took up most of my free time. Just finished it a few days ago."
"I understand that work can be very consuming." There was a but hanging at the end of that sentence, whether he said it aloud or not.
"Yes, it can."
Dr. Diggs nodded his head as he scribbled something down on his notepad before meeting Emma's eyes again. "What happened to cause you to seek an earlier appointment?"
"Aww, no pleasantries today, Doc?"
"I could, but we both know that it is a waste of your time. And thus mine."
Emma wasn't completely surprised with his tone of voice. It was darker than usual but the tone wasn't completely foreign to Emma. He'd been this edgy the last two times she'd seen him. It was part of the reason she had become uncomfortable with him.
Emma grit her teeth before finally admitting, "I had an episode at home."
"What kind of episode?"
"I spaced out for an unknown amount of time."
"Another black out?"
"No. No." Emma shook her head. "I haven't had one of those since the first one last month." Emma didn't know what had caused it. She was fine. She was just out food shopping when she'd suddenly blacked out. She'd finished shopping and gotten herself home without even realizing it. There was only an hour or so of missing time, but it was still startling to not recall how she'd gotten home or even finished grocery shopping.
"Okay, so what happened this time?"
"I was doing the dishes and I guess I just got lost in thought." Emma swallowed. "About Regina. And the next thing I know Henry's calling out to me and I'm holding a knife and…it scared me."
"A knife?"
"Yeah, I had been washing the dishes and I guess I just grabbed it. It was a butter knife but it's not the point you know? What if it wasn't a butter knife? What if it had been a steak knife? What if Henry had been closer when I'd reacted to hearing his voice?"
"Emma…Emma, try and keep calm. Those are all what ifs. They didn't happen. They didn't. And you're here now to make sure that if there is a next time it won't happen. You didn't hurt your son."
"But I could have!" Emma insisted, her blood pressure rising at just the thought of it.
"But you didn't." Walsh stressed. "Did you step towards him when you turned?"
"What? What does that have to do with anything?"
"Humor me, Emma. Did you step closer to him?"
"No. I just. I just turned around."
"With the butter knife you just so happened to have in hand. Not the knife you grabbed from a holder or drawer, yes?"
"Right…"
"It was an involuntary action. One anyone could have done when coming back to reality after day dreaming."
"But…"
"It's just different for you because of your condition. It doesn't make your reactions any more ordinary in situations like that. It just means you scrutinize it differently than others chalking it up to an accident."
Emma sighed. She needed to hear that. She knew it was something she needed to worry about and work on but she was relieved that her doctor didn't seem as concerned with the accident.
"It scared us both."
"Of course. It'd scare anyone. But Henry. He hasn't withdrawn from you because of it has he?"
"No." Emma shook her head, "The opposite actually. He's gotten closer to me. He's double checking things to make sure I'm okay. He's worried."
"Well, we'll just have to find a way to make him less worried." Dr. Diggs smiled what he thought was a charming smile. Emma used to think it was but now it made parts of her skin crawl.
Emma laughed awkwardly, "That would be nice."
"You mentioned you were thinking of Regina when you spaced out. Anything specific? Any memories resurface?"
Emma watched the way that Dr. Diggs shifted a little in his seat as he asked the question, his interest obviously keen on what her response would be. "Yes, but nothing specific that I'd forgotten. Just us washing dishes together and talking."
"So no chest pain with the memory?"
"No. Nothing. It was nice." Emma felt herself smile softly. "Just remembering the little things, you know? Just everyday things. No need to worry about everything else I can't remember. It was simple. The way she smiled or laughed. The way her skin felt when we brushed hands together. The way her eyes looked in the lighting…" Emma trailed off as she pictured everything she'd mentioned once again. She was aware of it this time and pulled herself from the memories quickly. When she came out of it Walsh was writing a few things down on his notepad. "Can I ask you a question, Doc?"
Walsh finished jotting down his notes before meeting Emma's eyes. "Of course."
"Do you think that I'd get better if I were to confront the object of my trauma?" Emma asked as she picked at her nails. Her eyes watching Dr. Diggs' reaction very closely. There was a distinct change in him. He shifted in his seat and turned towards her just the slightest bit more. His interest in her suddenly more intense.
"Confronting the object of the trauma has been shown to help, yes." It looked as if he wanted to say more but kept himself from saying anything.
Emma cracked her jaw a bit as she thought about his answer and the piece of paper in her pocket that felt like it was burning through the cloth.
"So if I say, confront Regina, it wouldn't make my condition worse?"
Walsh shifted in his seat again and moved his note pad from one knee to the other. "It's hard to say, Emma. With each case the reactions can vary. In some cases being exposed to the cause of the condition has been detrimental."
Emma nodded her head once as her eyes tracked down to the carpet. The last thing she needed was for her condition to worsen. She was coming here because she wanted her memories to comeback. She didn't want to lose more of them.
"Specifically with cases like yours if the object or the person that personifies the condition were to reject the person suffering from the condition, they could see a relapse in their progress or worsen." Walsh put the pad aside and leaned forward and waited for Emma to meet his eyes. It took Emma only a few moments before she looked at him. "That isn't to say that your condition would worsen, Emma. It could be helpful to confront, Regina"
"But there is the possibility that it could make things worse?" Walsh nodded.
Emma sighed heavily and ran both of her hands through her hair. Was she willing to chance that? Was she willing to find Regina and have the woman she loved reject her not only causing emotional pain but lasting physical pain as well.
"Have you had progress on finding, Regina?" Walsh asked, the muscle above his eye twitching twice. Emma didn't pay any attention to him. She was too busy staring at the coffee table between them like it held all the answers she was seeking.
She'd lose even more of her memories. She'd have more violent reactions and find herself unable to concentrate on anything. The panic attacks would get worse. She wouldn't get the two or three hours of sleep she was lucky to get a night without nightmares. She'd lose more weight and be unable to defend herself properly while on a case. She'd get herself hurt, maybe even killed and leave Henry an orphan like she'd been, all because she tempted fate.
No. No! Emma shook her head violently from side to side twice. Regina wouldn't reject her again. She'd be happy to see her. They could work out their problems and Emma could finally figure out why this was all so crazy. Why Regina had left and ruined their happy ending together. She'd finally have the last few puzzle pieces that were missing and everything would get better. She would get better. She would get better with or without Regina in her life. But she would get her answers. She deserved at least that much.
Emma's vision cleared and she became alert of her surroundings again and saw the expectant way that Dr. Diggs was looking at her. "I'm sorry, did you say something, Doc?"
Walsh swallowed as his hands fisted against his knees, "Yes, I asked if you had any progress finding Regina."
"There uhm, yeah. There's been some progress. I asked a friend of mine for some help. She's having some trouble now, which isn't anything new, but she's close. I'm close to finding her. I'm just waiting on the name of the city." Emma chuckled to herself, "If it'd mean getting better I'd just about be ready to go door to door in the whole state of Maine." Emma smirked, expecting to see some kind of similar expression upon Dr. Diggs' face, but he wasn't as amused with her joke as she was. In fact he looked pale. His skin around his neck was sweating as was the palms of his hands if she went by the wet trail along his pants.
"Doc…Doc you okay?" Emma asked as the hairs on the back of her neck rose and she felt a cold sweat start to form over her own body. She was suddenly aware of every muscle in her body and each heartbeat and breath she took.
"Fine. Just a little warm in here, don't you think?" He asked as he stood up from his seat, pulling at the collar of his shirt to air himself out. He ran his hand haphazardly through his hair spiking it instead of leaving it gelled back as he made his way to his desk.
"Yeah, I guess it is." Emma said her tone as unbelieving as she was of his excuse. She quickly looked at the door and took note of where her things were and was already going over whether or not she could afford to just leave them here if she were to make a run for the exit.
"You know, I'm happy for you. I really am. It's been hard for you these last few months not knowing where Regina has been. And now that you're so close I understand how exciting this must be for you." Dr. Diggs had his back turned to Emma as she slowly stood up from her seat and took one step towards the door. "There's just one problem." Walsh moved one of the folders on his desk to the side and pressed down on the button hidden beneath.
Emma was just about to grab the door knob when she heard the sudden hissing sound of the room locking down. Emma grabbed the handle and tried to open the door but the wood sunk in a little deeper to the floor as metal clamps grabbed at it from the bottom and top making it impossible for her to successfully break it down. Not that she didn't try.
Behind Emma, Dr. Diggs slowly turned around and took off the spectacles that Emma thought had always looked rather funny on the young man. He put them on the desk and watched Emma attempt to escape the room. "I can't have you finding Regina just yet."
Emma jammed her shoulder against the door a few times trying to find a weak spot but it didn't even budge. It just left her shoulder bruised and her heart racing like a race horse in her chest. Panting, feeling like a trapped animal she turned and faced Dr. Diggs.
"You, you can't have me finding Regina?" Emma asked, her brain firing off more questions than she could voice at once.
"I'm afraid not." Walsh almost seemed truly sad about his inability to allow Emma to find her.
"So," Emma looked around the room for a weapon of some kind, "You know…you've known where she is." What did that mean? How could he have known where Regina was all this time? How long had he known? Why wouldn't he tell her? Why had he locked her in like this? What was he planning?
"Yes, I have." Walsh walked around his desk and while he was there Emma went back to the couch where she'd left her umbrella and extended it, ready to use it as a bat if she had to. The only other appropriate weapon she saw was a letter opener on the desk, but if she went for that she'd never reach it before Dr. Diggs did.
"For how long?" Emma asked as she slowly began circling towards Walsh as he began moving away from the desk and her sudden perusal, his own weapon hidden behind his back. He fingered it as he slowly smiled at Emma.
"Since last year. From the moment she left you."
Last year? Last year?! How could he have known since last year that didn't make any sense! He didn't even know who they were before she came to him. At least that's what she had believed. Emma shook her head to clear away fuzzy memories that were clouding her mind. The current one filtering into her mind was a conversation she had with Regina where the woman was crying and promising her a happy ending for her and Henry.
"How could you know? You didn't know us." Groaning, Emma started to move away from Dr. Diggs as it suddenly felt like her head was about to split clear in half as that memory was being super imposed over the fight that she and Regina had the night she left.
"No. Not personally. But I knew of you, Savoir. And what you were capable of. So it came as a great surprise to me to find you were nothing but a failure. A fraud. How sad it'll be when she realizes you're just as useless as I've come to realize. You're no Savior. You're a pathetic whiny bitch. And you've been nothing but a waste of my time. But don't worry. I'm done wasting my time on you."
Fraud. Failure. Useless. Savoir.
Emma hissed as she felt her eyes start to blink rapidly against the pain. There was a fight between Regina and her in the middle of a forest of some kind where Regina accused her of being nothing, of being a horrible Savoir for being unable to save their son. And again in what looked like an office. She didn't even remember being in a situation that she'd be in a forest with Regina or have to save Henry. The images were trying to overlay themselves over the fight she had with Regina about sending Henry to a private or public middle school a few months before she'd left them.
It didn't make sense. None of it made sense. And what the hell was Dr. Diggs trying to say? What the hell was wrong with him?
"Fuck…" Emma pushed the palm of her hand roughly against the side of her head, wanting to use the other to put opposite pressure on the other side to make the pain go away.
Walsh saw Emma's predicament and used it to his advantage. He advanced on the blonde as quickly as he could, jumping over the arm chair that sat between them easily, practically flying over it.
Emma shook away the pain and heard a screech type noise that sounded like an animal. She looked up just in time to see Dr. Diggs coming towards her with a needle in his hand. She lifted the umbrella and hit the man's hand knocking the needle out of his hand but it didn't stop his momentum. He fell and tackled into Emma pushing them both down to the ground. Emma struggled to keep Walsh's hands away from her neck as his body weight held her down and she tried to wiggle free.
"You're crazy!" Emma accused as she tried to get enough room to switch their positions.
She couldn't let him keep her on the bottom. She needed to get out from under him before he got a grip of her. His nails were sharp. Sharp enough that as they got close enough to her they easily cut into her skin.
Emma groaned in her effort to get him off of her. He was a small man. He may have some muscle but Emma had gotten into similar situations with men twice his size and she could get out from underneath their weight. It was almost like he weighed a lot more than he appeared, or he just had super strength.
She finally got enough leverage with her shoulders and foot and pushed hard enough to roll them. She felt hope settle in her chest as she found herself atop him but he went with the momentum of her roll and kept her beneath him.
Their legs hit against the furniture, surely making noise that should alert Jennifer out front, but then again if the door locking hadn't alerted her Emma didn't know what would. And for all she knew that receptionist could be working with this psycho so she didn't hold out hope of getting any help from her. Instead she focused on controlling her breathing, getting out of this room, and away from this building. Hell, maybe even this city.
Walsh started laughing as his hands got closer to her neck, making it hard for her to hold the angle she needed to keep them back. The noise of his laugh sounded almost like a hyena and her eyes tracked to his face and it's almost manic expression.
Emma lost her hold on his hands and felt them grab at her neck and immediately start to squeeze. Her legs kicked and she used the side of her hand to hit against his shoulder at a pressure point that should have made him at least flinch. It did nothing. He just kept smiling down at her as he pressed against her trachea. She could do nothing more than watch as she continued to struggle beneath his extraordinary weight for someone as svelte as him, as his teeth got longer and sharper while his eyes flashed a bright orange.
Emma's heart stopped for a second at the horrific sight. What. The. Fuck.
Emma knew she was panicking. She was about to lose all control and air she had if she didn't get this man…beast…whatever the fuck he was, off of her.
"Ghaet off me!" Emma screamed and was surprised as the lights in the room started to brighten to an almost blinding brightness around them. It distracted Walsh and caused him to flinch, and lean his weight just enough off of Emma for her to act.
Lifting her knee up she connected with Walsh's crotch and used every bit of strength she had to push him off of her. With his distraction she did it. And this time she didn't attempt to get on top of him. She tried to jump up off the floor and run. Just as she was to her knees, Walsh caught her around the ankle and pulled her back down. Whatever air she had regained now that he wasn't holding her neck was lost as she fell on her stomach with a rough thump.
The light around the room was still too bright to see anything clearly. It was like a pulse, just as bright as it had been before, leaving them both blind.
Emma tried to crawl away from Walsh but he kept pulling on her ankle, his grip nearly crushing. She screamed and turned on her side enough that she could lift her other leg and kicked out at him. Her boot connected with his shoulder the first time.
"You really are weak, Savoir. I don't know why Zelena was so worried about you. A little light show? Is that all you've got?" He started cackling again as his grip on Emma's ankle tightened and Emma feared the bone would break if any more pressure was put on it.
Emma grit her teeth together at the pain and the insult. The light bulbs around them had enough of the strain and started popping. As they cracked around them and she could start seeing things that weren't streams of white light she reared her leg back and slammed it forward, this time connecting with his face. She smirked a little on the inside as she felt the bone of his nose break under the heel of her boot.
Take that you creep, Emma thought as she jumped up on her good foot, the ankle he'd grabbed throbbing with pain. She fumbled over the coffee table, still unable to see more than blurry shadows, her vision almost useless. Cursing she heard Walsh groaning in pain and spitting up what she hoped was blood.
Working her way from the coffee table to Walsh's desk as fast as she could she found the button that he had pressed to lock them in the office and was already running for the door before it had finished unlocking itself.
She heard a noise behind her as she made it to the door and turned around just in time to see Walsh reaching for her. She grabbed one of his arms and bent it in on itself, used his momentum to slam him into the wall, stepped back and used the heel of her boot again to kick the inside of his knee, effectively flooring him. Once he was on his knees he started to turn towards her and she was quick to use her elbow to slam into his cheek close to his nose, knocking him over with the pain.
The hiss of the door was nothing but a whisper of noise against the sound of Emma's pounding heart as she opened the door, throwing it open as hard as she could and slamming it into Dr. Diggs' hand that was trying to reach for her. She didn't even cringe when she heard his yowl of pain as she broke his hand.
Jennifer was in front of the door looking panicked as she held the phone up to her ear. "Oh Jesus, Emma are you okay? When Walsh hit the panic button and wouldn't answer his phone I just…my god. What happened to you?" Jennifer's eyes zeroed in on Emma's neck. Emma didn't even bother to touch at it. She felt the burn of the bloody scratches that Dr. Diggs had given her.
"Is that the cops?" Emma asked, out of breath.
"Yeah, yes it is, Emma, what did he do?" Jennifer looked near tears.
"He tried to kill me." Emma stated as she made her way to the door.
Jennifer called out for her to wait that help was on the way, but she didn't bother waiting. She just ran down the hallway and to the stairs. She'd run the ten flights. She wasn't waiting for an elevator. She couldn't stand still. And she wasn't waiting for the cops.
Her doctor had just tried to kill her. Her doctor had just nearly turned in to some kind of monster that she'd only ever seen in the movies. Her doctor wasn't human. That was the only way to explain what had just happened. He wasn't human. And he knew about Regina. Said he knew where Regina was; had known from the beginning.
How could he have known? He even said that he'd never met them before but knew of them. That meant something. He knew of them, never met them, but knew where Regina was and where to find Emma to what? To keep her from finding Regina? To distract her with fake doctor's appointments and diagnoses that weren't even accurate?!
Emma rounded the 7th floor and kept running down the stairs, her mind turning its wheels as her blood raced by her ears making the thumps of her boots sound like a distant echo.
There was a term for someone like him. What was it? Think Emma, think. What was the term for a person that was placed somewhere to watch someone else. A a…plant! He was a plant. Someone had planted him in her life to watch her to see what her progress was in finding Regina. Damn it! She knew this whole situation wasn't right. She knew that Regina wouldn't stay away from her and Henry. Never Henry.
God she had let herself believe the worst and now Regina was god knew where, and with who, being kept away from them and she was being spied on and distracted from what her mission should have been from the very beginning.
Fourth floor. She was almost out.
She needed to get back to Henry and she needed to pack them up and leave. They needed to get out of town for a while. She still had some contacts in Boston that she could call up for a favor, to use a safe house. She was sure if she explained what had happened they'd understand. Right? Who wouldn't believe her when she told them that her doctor was a plant put in her life to keep her from focusing 100% on finding her missing wife and said plant just so happened not to be human? It was believable wasn't it?
Emma felt like she was about to jump somewhat unwillingly head first off the deep end.
Second Floor.
Focus. She had to focus. He said something. He mentioned a name before. He worked for someone specific. What…what was their name? What had he said? It started with a Z. Z something or other. Damn it!
Emma ran passed building security as they tried to stop her. Probably alerted by Jennifer or the police. But for all Emma knew the police weren't coming and everyone here that she'd ever met was in on this conspiracy and as unhuman as Dr. Diggs.
She slammed the door open and made it out onto the street in seconds. The weather hadn't changed. If anything it had gotten worse. The sky was a darker grey than it had been before and there was lightning flashing across the sky. The rain was heavier and the wind stronger making her heavy footfalls splash up water as she went.
Emma looked up at the sky and listened as it rumbled with thunder. Wiping away the rain water from her forehead as the water drenched her leather jacket she looked across the street. There, standing by the parking meter was the pirate from the other day. Emma felt her heart plummet at the sight of him. Could she not get a break?
Henry. She needed to get to Henry and she needed to get the hell out of this city and now!
Stepping off the curb Emma saw a cab coming down the block and tried to wave it down. Just as she lifted her hand in the air above her she heard glass breaking. Looking up she saw some large creature jump out of a window ten stories up.
It seemed to take place in slow motion. The way the glass exploded out from the building and slowly started to fall towards the ground. The way the creature snapped its wings out at attention and glided across the air and its angular face turned and stared right at her.
The eyes were a strange glowing orange but really that wasn't the strangest part of the whole scene. Not by a long shot.
"Swan! Look out!" Emma heard someone yell at her but couldn't take her eyes off of the flying monkey that was coming right at her. It was an actual flying monkey. Like from the freaking Wizard of Oz.
This had to be the worst nightmare she'd ever had. It seemed so real. Her ankle and knee were aching and she could feel the whip of the rain against the cuts on her neck. The glass started to scatter down around her. Shards coming right at her. She didn't even get a chance to cover herself from the glass before she felt someone slam against her side, pushing her to the ground. She watched, in shock, as the wanna be pirate she'd had escorted out of her building pulled out a pistol and shot at the flying monkey that was three feet away from them. The sound of the gun being fired was drowned out by the thunder that shook the very ground Emma was on.
Emma felt her body begin to shake with shock as she stared without blinking at the man offering her his….hook?
Emma felt sick to her stomach. The flying monkey was gone. Flying away with its wound, if the blood dripping down on the ground covered in glass was anything to go by. The rain slowly diluting the blood as Emma watched.
"Come on Swan. We've got to get you out of here."
Emma blinked twice as she turned to look at the man in front of her more closely. There was something about the way he was standing above her that prickled at the back of her head. As if there was a memory that existed of him standing offering his hand to her during a storm somewhere in her mind.
"Who are you?" Emma asked, out of breath.
"Emma, we've drawn a crowd. I promise I will answer all of your questions. But we must leave. Now."
Questions. Emma had so many questions and if he could answer half of them she'd probably give him whatever Cora owed him and then some.
"My son, we have to get…"
"We'll get the lad. But we have to hurry. That creature may go looking for him as well."
Emma's face hardened at the thought of that living nightmare going after her son. "The hell he will."
Hook quirked a smile at the determination that reset itself in Emma's shoulders at the notion of someone hurting her son. "Good to have you back, Swan."
Emma looked at the man beside her curiously. He seemed so familiar to her suddenly and yet she didn't even know his name but he had promised her answers. And after looking for answers for nearly 12 months she was ready to get them. No matter where they came from. Especially after the day she was having.
Emma watched him offer his actual hand and she reached out slowly and took it. He pulled her up to her feet and gestured for her to follow him. She did so without looking back.
End Chapter 2
