A/N I've decided I'm going to start posting spoilers for the upcoming chapters on my tumblr because I'm evil and can't help myself (it's in my bio).
Chapter 13: The Plan
Relief was soon washed away by panic when Regina reminded Emma of her parent's absence. As the group of three reached town, she decided she needed to find the two people. They were outside Granny's when Emma made them stop and kneeled down to be eye-level with Henry.
"I need to find Mary Margaret and David so I really need you to go with Regina and I'll call you soon," she said and Henry started to protest. She glanced at Regina who was nodding in agreement.
"Henry, I know that after everything that just happened you probably don't want me out of your sight – me neither. But Mary Margaret and David might be in danger and I need to find them and I can't put you in danger again. I won't be able to work properly." The young boy wavered and eventually looked down under Emma's intense gaze.
"Regina will keep you safe, so behave and do what she says! If it weren't for the fact I'm so relieved, I'd kick your butt for not going when she told you to. Okay?" the blonde said, trying to convey to him just how important the four words she had exaggerated were. Henry nodded at his mother and she hugged him again, brushing his hair back. Wordlessly, she pulled back and watched as Regina nodded to her before taking Henry and leading him down the street in the direction of her house.
Emma sighed, looking around and trying to think where to begin. She reached for her pocket to grab her phone but realised she didn't have her badge or gun. It was probably with Hook, he'd likely taken it from her after kidnapping her. Resistant to open that can of worms without a glass of wine handy, Emma decided to head home and use her phone. She needed to contact Red to track them down.
Her apartment was a brisk jog away – Hook had evidently taken her car keys as well. Within twenty minutes, she was running up to her apartment, taking the steps two at a time. From metres away, the saviour could see her door was ajar, clearly having been forced open. Emma went for her holster and, cursing under breath, realised that the damned pirate had disposed of that as well.
Relying on her own physical prowess, the blonde stopped stepping loudly and tip-toed the rest of the way to her apartment door, positioning herself against the wall beside it. Taking a deep breath, she kicked open the already broken door and scanned her apartment, stance defensive.
With a sigh of relief, Emma's eyes landed on two figures tied and gagged on the floor in front of her couch. The two heads swivelled at the woman's loud entry and also sagged in relief. Mary Margaret's face lit up at the sight of her daughter and there were dry tear tracks on her cheeks from when the beautiful woman had obviously been crying. David simply drank in the sight of his daughter, alive and well.
Emma ran to them immediately, removing the gags so they could talk as she relieved them of their binds. They were tight and intricate and would take her a decent amount of time to untie. They were the type that would take just as long to unravel as they would to cut. Additionally, the former bounty-hunter had a knack for resolving knots.
"Emma! You're alive!" Mary Margaret said hysterically as Emma began working on the ropes keeping her hands restrained. The young woman couldn't confine the small smile at hearing her mother so relieved. This parental unconditional love was still new to her and oddly comforting.
"Yeah, what happened?" she asked looking at David because, with Mary Margaret this hysterical, he was the most likely to provide a semi-rational explanation.
"It was Cora, she arrived at the front door at about ten and I tried to fend her off but I couldn't – her magic was just too strong and I blacked out," David said, expression revealing how ashamed he was to have been subdued by the wretched woman.
"She came to the school, she was in the classroom. She spotted me and before I could react, grabbed Henry and shot a ball of magic at me. I tried to dodge it but it chased me down and I was unconscious too," Mary Margaret gushed, Emma had nearly finished her mother's ropes.
"When we came to, we were tied up here, and Cora basically explained her plan… she was so sure she had us that she explained everything." David seemed to perk up at the idea of his daughter besting the infamous Queen of Hearts.
"And?" Emma asked expectantly.
"She had Hook kidnap you basically because she didn't want you getting in the way – in other words she knows how powerful you are, even if you don't," Mary Margaret said proudly and David continued the explanation.
"With you out of the way, she took Mary Margaret and I and Henry as well. So, no one could possibly stop her except Regina. When Regina would eventually find her with Henry in the forest, she'd be disguised as Rumplestiltskin. While in her disguise, Cora planned to kill Henry under the excuse of payback for Belle's past predicament," David's voice lowered in hate at the mention of harm coming to Henry and Emma was suddenly angry again at the idea of her son being used in some kind of mind game, "when actually it would pin Regina against Gold. With Regina so utterly devastated, her powers would skyrocket because of the emotion. Cora anticipated that Regina would then hurt and likely kill Belle to wound Gold.
"At this point, Cora would step in and reunite with her daughter, explaining that Gold could be hurt in a more intense way. Henry's death wouldn't just provide her a way to create a war between Gold and Regina but it would also remove anyone else Regina loved from her life; isolating her.
"This is where Hook comes back in, Cora planned to exchange Gold – powerless and subdued by herself and Regina – for you," Emma winced at the way David made it sound – like Hook would just hand her over to be slaughtered in return for his vengeance – but then again, he had gone with the plan and had likely known what it entailed, "Hook would inevitably kill Gold, removing him from the equation entirely. With you subdued, Cora had plans to give the three of us to Regina to kill. She already planned what she was going to say to rile Regina up – how you took her son and Mary Margaret took her fiancée and yet we had been given a happy ending." David stopped and looked down; it was as if he was unable to continue. Emma waited and turned her gaze to Mary Margaret when silence greeted her.
"She was planning to kill you in front of us Emma… but only after letting us know Henry was dead. She's a cruel, heartless woman and I –"
"Was. She was a cruel, heartless woman" Emma suddenly interrupted and Mary Margaret and David's faces lit up in shock.
"What?" her father asked as she undid the last of the ropes encasing her mother's hands. The pixie-haired woman flung herself at the blonde and laughed, holding on to her daughter tightly.
"You defeated her?" Mary Margaret asked, pulling back to look at her.
"Actually… Regina did. She saved me, she saved all of us." Emma's words hung in the air and Mary Margaret stopped. Her parents were apparently floored by this revelation and she pulled away from her mother, moving to her father's ropes.
"I can't believe it…" her mother said, sharing a look with David. The blonde shrugged and concentrated on the work she was doing. Behind her, Mary Margaret worked on the binds surrounding her feet. David seemed ready to finish the recount of Cora's plan now, because he started talking again.
"With you, me, Mary Margaret and Rumpel out of the way, Regina and Cora would basically have a clear path ahead to ruling Storybrooke. Henry's death would have devastated the town and… I really just didn't think you could overcome that kind of intricate plan. How did you do it?"
Emma shrugged nonchalantly again, "Hook's not a very good captor." David nodded but his expression darkened at the reference to the pirate. Mary Margaret suddenly piped up.
"Where's Henry? How did you find him? And us?"
The saviour smiled, "He's fine. He's with Regina at the moment – I didn't know where you guys were. After Henry went missing she called me and then the two of you. She told me that she couldn't contact you and I knew that something was up so I came looking for you. Since I didn't know if it would be dangerous I sent Henry with Regina because… to be honest I think I trust her, with him," Emma said, emphasising that the terms of her trust were specific.
"Surprisingly, I agree with you… but you didn't explain how you found him and Cora and everyone?"
She was finished with the knots encasing David's hands and started to talk as he started on the ones surrounding his ankles.
"I… after I got off Hook's boat I got to town and… to be honest I don't really know how. I was kind of, um, drawn to the forest near the boundary and I somehow managed to pinpoint Regina and who I thought was Gold." Emma did her best to explain the events after that, wincing as she remembered the cold fingers clasped around her beating heart. When she finished Mary Margaret hugged her again and David patted her hand. They were all still sitting on the floor and Emma suddenly felt the need to stand.
"I'm really tired, I think I'll go to bed," Emma said but remembered her promise to Henry, "wait. I need to call Henry and let him know I'm okay." She took the phone off the hook and dialled Regina's number.
"Miss Swan? I'm glad to hear you're alive. I suppose you found them?" Regina's haughty voice answered.
"Yeah, they were at my apartment. I know what Cora's plan was and I'll explain later but I just called to let Henry know I'm okay." Emma was more relaxed talking with her son's adoptive mother after the events of this afternoon. She heard the phone's receiver shuffle a bit before Henry's voice greeted her ears.
"Mom?" He asked tentatively and she could imagine him gripping the phone in anticipation.
"Yeah Henry, it's me. I found David and Mary Margaret – they were at the apartment, they're fine" she replied, feeling the majority of weights lift from her shoulders.
"That's great! Can I come home now?" Henry pleaded. Emma smiled but remembered Regina.
"Yes but I think tomorrow night you should spend time with Regina – she was really worried as well." The saviour surprised herself with the suggestion. Henry agreed and hung up without giving the phone back to Regina. Emma shook her head and turned to her parents who were standing embraced.
"Okay, Henry's on his way home. Do you guys want to stay for dinner or…?" Mary Margaret looked at David as if for confirmation and he nodded. Mary Margaret smiled at her daughter.
"I don't want to be imposing but… after everything today – we thought you were going to die – can we stay the night? Just tonight, just… I want to be under the same roof as my family. Just for tonight," her mother proposed tentatively and Emma's face lit up in happy surprise.
"That's… that sounds perfect. Help me make dinner?" she said, Mary Margaret's face beamed in delight. The two walked to the kitchen, Mary Margaret's arms affectionately around Emma's waist.
"So, I guess this means no more problems?" the dark-haired woman asked playfully as she started removing pots and pans from the cupboards.
"No more big problems, anyway," the saviour said, but couldn't help the tingling in her stomach that told her she was lying to herself. Things weren't perfect by a long way.
Keep an eye out: I'll be posting a spoiler on my page, dearies (insert evil smiling face).