When your sixteen year old is diagnosed with cancer, your life is turned upside down. My baby girl was diagnosed at fifteen, Crystal Locksley, she was and is a bright child, so kind, beautiful. I have two little boys too, Henry, of 9 years old and Roland of 3 years old. We decided to visit my husband's family at New York on December 1st of 2013, we left on December 20. That day at the airport changed everything, absolutely everything.
"Uncle David, can I ask you something?" Crystal asked, her blue eyes focused on her uncle, her godfather actually. David and Mary Margaret Nolan had been friends of Regina Mills since high school.
"Sure princess" he answered with a kind smile. Since Crystal was diagnosed, he and his wife had moved to the house next to the Locksley's.
"Can I stay with you and aunt MM when we get to Storybrooke?" The young brunette asked displaying her dimples in a beautiful smile
"Of course!" David said looking at Robin and Regina "If your parents agree"
Crystal looked at her parents with puppy eyes "Pretty please mommy and daddy?"
"I don't see why not" answered Robin smiling, he looked at Regina and added "After all, she will be next door"
"Okay, but you need to eat, take your meds and sleep well, okay Crystal?" Regina said smiling kindly to her daughter
"Sure momma" Crystal answered smiling, leaning on David's shoulder "Hey Ro, you sleeping on my bed?"
"Can I? For real?" The little boy asked smiling, revealing the exact same dimples as her father and sister
"Sure, you can hug Mr Bunny" the girl said laughing at her little brother's beaming face
"Yay!" He screamed "Hear that Henny?"
"Yeah Ro, you're a big boy already" Henry said smiling at his little brother
Woman on speaker "All passengers of flight 537 to Storybrooke, Maine, Regal Rose Airport, your attention please. This flight is oversold. We are offering travel vouchers in the amount of $400 to anyone willing to take a later flight"
"That's me" said David looking at his wife "I need those for next time Crys has to travel to the clinic here"
"Okay, Neal and I will be alright" Mary Margaret answered looking down at their sleeping year old boy
"No" Robin said looking at his daughter's face
"Come on dad, you and I both know we will need those for the next visit to hell" Crystal said laughing, even though deep down, she didn't felt like laughing.
"I will go with her babe, you go back now with the boys" Regina said kissing his lips softly
"Girls time, with uncle D but he doesn't count" the young girl said in a whisper
"Hear that!" David said smiling
So Mary Margaret, Robin and the children took the first flight home, while David, Crystal and I waited for flight 023. Funny how one little decision can ruin your life. But also save it.
"You okay honey?" Regina asked her daughter seeing the look on her face
"Yeah, it's just, I have a bad feeling" she said, a worried expression settled on her face
"Everything will be fine, soon we will be home, you with your godparents, and I'm sure they will be feeding you with junk food just to spoil you" Regina said hugging her while looking at David
"We will not feed her with junk food" He answered, although he winked when Crystal looked at him.
"Passengers of flight 023 with destiny to Storybrooke, Maine, Regal Rose Airport, its time to board the plane"
David, Regina and Crystal grabbed their things and left.
Half and hour later a horrible turbulence could be felt, Crystal held her mother's hand hard, trying to regulate her breathing while Regina whispered that everything was going to be alright
"See? It's okay" she said once everything passed
"Do you have service?" David asked them both
"Weird, I don't" Regina said looking at her phone
"Me neither" said Crystal.
"I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen, we experienced some turbulence, we'll be landing soon" they heard the captain thourgh the speakers.
David, Regina and Crystal looked at each other and resumed their look at their phones, trying to find a reason as to why they didn't had any service.
As soon as the landed they could see cops, an ambulance and a lot of people out there.
"What is going on? Mom?" Crystal asked a little worried.
"I don't know baby" Regina answered starting to worry, she looked at David and he simply smiled nervously
When they finally got down, both David and Regina got closer to the officers, the feds apparently, followed by Crystal.
"What is going on? Why won't you let us go?" David asked looking at the man in black
"People, you have been missing, presumed dead, for the past five and a half years" the man said
Regina thought of her babies, of Robin, oh God, Henry was fourteen years old already? And Roland? Her baby boy was eight? She missed so much.
David thought of his wife, his baby boy was now six years old. Damn it.
Crystal was as confused as them and the rest of the people. How could that happen? She should be dead.
Fours hours later, four hours of them being interrogated, the same questions that the officers had they did too. They missed a lot of their families, jobs, lives.
"Robin!" Regina screamed as soon as she saw her husband in the multitude
"Oh God, I missed you so much my love, so much" he said hugging her as if she was going to disappear again, when he saw Crystal he let out a gasp "Oh my baby girl, you're alright"
"Daddy" the girl said in a whisper, hugging him as tight, until she saw two boys behind him "Henry? Ro?"
"Hey sissy" Henry said smiling at her, the fourteen years old at the same hight as her, hugged her tight whispering "Next time, come back with us"
"Oh my babies" Regina cried hugging Roland, the eight years old boy crying clinging to his mother
"Don't go again mommy" he whispered and her heart broke all over again
"Never again" she answered looking at Henry and inviting all of her family to a hug, she needed them. She looked over Henrys shoulder and saw David reuniting with Mary Margaret and little Neal.
And when they thought things were finally alright, she saw a woman approaching them, she recognized her immediately, Marian.
"I'm so glad you both are back" the woman said to her and Crystal
"Thank you" Regina said confused as to why the woman was there, until she saw how awkward Robin got, then she knew, he had moved on. The ring on his finger proved it, he married another woman.
"Are you, are you two together?" Regina asked clearly hurt, Crystal had tears in her eyes and she hugged her little brothers tighter
"Regina" Robin started but she didn't wanted to hear him, no, she needed to breathe, she felt dizzy and oh damn it, how was she going to reveal the secret she had been hiding for three days, no, five and a half years?
"Regina?" He asked when he saw how pale she got
"I, I don't feel g-" she couldn't finish what she was saying because she fainted, Robin got her just in time
"Regina! I need help here" he screamed and some Emt's ran to them.
Crystal couldn't believe how life had given her the gift of more years next to her mom, and apparently there were advances in her treatment, just to have her family broken. It wasn't fair.
A/N: I'm back with this new story, I know, I know I haven't updated the other ones but I promise I will! For now, this I needed to write after watching Manifest. I need a BETA too so if you know someone or if you are, please contact me!
Thanks for reading and don't forget to share, review, fav and follow this story!