/ before I start this chapter, I just wanna let you know : ITS REALLY LONG. Sorry that it took so long for an update, too. Like I said this chapter is pretty long, and I took a lot of time on it. FEEL FREE to leave reviews, and feedback :) I appreciate it! And also, I am by no means a surgeon, or in any medical things. So all the information I got in this chapter, is from articles I have found over the internet. So all this info, and words from those articles belong to their rightful owners, I take no credit for them :) So THANK YOU and enjoy this super duper long chapter :* /

The glimmer and fluoresce from the moon shadowing through the windows settled on the tan and white tiles of Granny's diner. The quiet shuffle of clothing was one of the only sounds to be heard in the eatery, as Ruby scrubbed the tables clean like Granny had specifically ordered her to. Henry had his elbow propped up on the edge of the counter, his head resting gently in his palm, and watched the clock's hands remain where they were stuck. Every single clock that existed in that town were non-functional, or broken; nobody knew the reason behind it. Time was constantly stuck on 3:40, and wouldn't budge even the slightest inch. Henry groaned, turning in the squeaky four-legged stool, to face Ruby, who had a look of disgust as she wiped off spilled mustard from the table.

"Can I help?" Henry asked, tilting his head to the side, watching her toss the soaked rag into the trash bin with a thud, and grabbing another. She wiped her palms on her apron, and held a gag down before locking her gaze with Henry's.

She softly shook her head, "If Granny catches you doing any of my work, she'll ring my neck," she replied with a chuckle, "Plus, I'm sure you don't want to clean mustard stains and sticky food off of tables either. If you want to occupy yourself, don't do it with cleaning because trust me - you'll regret it kid."

Henry was silent, letting her words linger in the air like an odor that's difficult to get rid of. His hands traveled to the top of the cushioned seat, as he lifted himself off of the stool and planted his feet gently on the ground. He immediately started to head towards the front doors.

"Woah, kid what're you doing?" Ruby rose a brow, facing him.

He planted his palms on the glass doors, ready to push them open before he turned his head to look at Ruby, "I'm going home. I don't need a babysitter," he shook his head, agitated. Ruby furrowed her brow, and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"You're mom told us to keep an eye on you, Henry-"

"And I'll tell her you did," He cut her off, "I'll be perfectly fine at home by myself. I'm not a child," he huffed.

"Henry, you're eight... that's still a child in my book. And I mean that in the nicest way possible, but if you're mom finds out we let you sit home by yourself for almost a week without any supervision - we're dead." Ruby replied quickly, hoping to change the young boy's mind. But even she knew, he was hardheaded and wouldn't be persuaded easily. Just like his mother.

"I don't need someone to be watching me all the time, I can take care of myself. And if she asks, I'll just tell her you guys took super good care of me, and I had a great time," He took in a deep breath, before facing his attention back onto the glass doors, continuing to push them open swiftly.

"Kid - wait," Ruby sat the wet rag onto the half-cleaned table, and waltzed over, snatching her bright red coat from the hook on the wall. She slid into the warmth of the coat, and grinned down at the small boy, "I'll go with you then. If you're gonna go anyway, I might as well not let you walk alone," she nodded, pulling up the zipper and stuffing her fists into her pockets. Henry rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but crack a soft smile back up at the waitress, before rushing out of the diner with her on his heels.

The harsh wind swept right through their clothing, and made their skin crawl with goosebumps and shivers. Henry's chin was quivering, and his body shook as another gust of wind came by. Ruby took a hand out of her pocket, holding her arm out for Henry. She tugged him close to her side, trying to keep him warm. Winter was approaching quickly, and the cold weather with it.

"You sure this is a good idea?" She asked, ducking her head down as more wind swept by. Henry shoulders rose in a shrug, and kept his gaze locked onto the large white house he called home, that was only a few more yards away.

"I do this all the time, yanno - while my moms gone. She tries to leave me with someone she thinks will keep me behaved, but I always end up convincing them to let me go home," he glanced up at the brunette, "usually I come up with excuses, like I'm not feeling well or something."

"Why didn't you try this time?" Ruby asked, her teeth starting to chatter.

"I knew you'd let me. You're not strict like all the adults in this town, you don't treat me like a child who needs daycare and baby proofed doors or whatever," he let a laugh escape, before frowning once again, "Do you think she's okay? My mom, I mean..."

Ruby knit her brow together, gathering her thoughts for a moment, "Why wouldn't she be? She goes on these things all the time," she snuck a peak at Henry, seeing his face droop as if he was worried, "Hey, listen. Whatever she's doing, she's fine. Okay? Like she said, she'll be back in no time." She got a better grip around Henry's shoulders, and shook him playfully, trying to ease his nerves. He was a really smart kid for only being eight years old, turning nine in less than two weeks. Either his mom taught him well, or their low budgeted school did. Ruby was going with his mother, considering she was the Mayor and she was basically hooked to his hip all the time. Wasn't that supposed to be the opposite?

"You're probably right," he exhaled and started to slow his pace as they approached the house, "I just... I have this feeling," he shook his head gently, and before he could speak again, Ruby cut him off.

"Don't worry, kid," she sighed, planting her feet on the ground right in front of Henry's home, "your mom's pretty tough, and kinda scary," she laughed, grabbing both of his shoulders, to face himself towards her, "nobody will wanna mess with her." Henry smiled softly, and seemed to wander in his mind once more before replying.

"Yeah... thank's Ruby," he nodded up at her, before taking a few steps back and slowly making his way up to his from porch.

"Be careful, kid.. okay? And if you have any problems, call Granny's?" Ruby's voice was gentle, and concern took over. Henry turned to face her for a slight moment, with a grin.

"Got it. And by the way, you can call me Henry, right?" He giggled, not waiting for that obvious answer to his question, and continued his way up the sidewalk and to his doorstep. Ruby rolled her eyes playfully at the young boy, and lingered there for a moment, making sure he got into the house safely. He twisted the doorknob, and his gaze met hers one last time before the door swung open and he disappeared into the mansion.

I closed the large white door quietly, an old habit of mine. My mom never did like when I slammed it shut, in a hurry or not, she always scolded me for it afterwards. Silence devoured me, but in a comfortable way. I reached my arm to the side, blindly searching the switch to turn on the lights. My fingers crept up the rough wall, until they met a smooth - like rectangular switch. I flipped it on, and the darkness was gone. The hall before me lit up in a yellow glow from the lightbulb that was hung on the ceiling. I let out a sigh, finally home. I lifted my left foot up, untying the laces and setting the shoe by the door. I did the same with the right. Another thing my mom didn't like; muddy shoes - or any shoes in the house. Or maybe just mine, because she knew I was constantly playing and running around in the dirt and grass.

Memories started to flood my brain, and I quickly shook them away. Mom. I didn't really know what was going on in my head, but it was like this trigger, warning me. I might've been going crazy, or maybe I was as sane as I've ever been. But, my heart ached and I wanted to see my mom. She told me ages ago, that I was adopted. She thought I deserved to know, and to her surprise.. I took it well. I didn't really feel anything, I was happy. I had a family, and that was all that I really cared about. Of course, some thoughts like to ponder into my mind like parasites and try to pry away all my good ones. But I'm usually really good at not letting them win. Whenever people in town say, I'm a strong kid for only being eight; I tell them, I'm not strong. I don't have anything to be strong about, just my family. My mom. I think every kid should be like that.

My feet slowly took me to the staircase, that led up to my room. The floorboards creaked and groaned under my weight, with each small step I took up the stairs. My palm found the railing as the light from the hall started to fade, and soon I was left trailing up a staircase with no light. I knew this house like the back of my hand, but light switches - were not my forte. I felt the hardwood floor appear beneath my feet after a few more steps, and reached my arms out in front of me. Suddenly I found the wall, and frantically searched for another switch. After a few moments of my utter and useless panic, I found it and flicked it up with the tip of my finger. My eyes were no longer blind, and I rolled my eyes at myself. I really was a child. I slid on the wooden floors with the pair of socks I still had on my cold feet. I slid all the way to the entrance of my room, and flipped another light switch. I hated a dark house, so whenever my mom was gone or out of town, I'd practically turn on every light known to man that existed in this household.

The room became illuminated with a bright glow, and I could see every nook and cranny from every side of my room. My bed was positioned to my right, centered perfectly in the middle of the wall. I had a pile of stuffed toys in the corner to my left, with dinosaurs, dogs, lizards, any animal you could think of resided in that pile of stuffed cotton. I had a chest, that was at the end of my bed and was overflowing with my other gizmos. Tiny plastic arms and legs stuck out the sides, that belonged to my superheroes and villains. The artificial legs and arms made the top of the chest elevate, revealing the rest of the clutter of playthings. A ray of light sparked my interest, as something from inside the chest started to shine from the bulb. I knitted my brow together, and gradually made my way to the dark brown trunk. As I kneeled down, my fingertips met the hard wooden surface and curled under the opening, lifting the top off. Colorful and bright toys came into view as they were illuminated by the light. Familiar faces, and funny memories came back to me. I hadn't been in this thing forever, mostly because I liked going outside more. I rested the lid against the board at the end of my bed, and quickly started to rummage through the trinkets.

My hand had caught a wheel, and pulled it free. It was connected to a big toy truck, that emerged freely from the cluster. It's hard surface glistened a bright blue, and made the corner of my lips curl up in a smile. I remembered this. This truck, was a gift from my mom, the best gift I had ever gotten because I had wanted it for so long. The constant begging, and sobbing in the aisle ways at the store paid off when she set the truck in front of me. I may have been only four, but I still remembered. That day was a memory stored away for safe keeping, and I planned to keep it that way. I took the car, and set it gently on the ground. I nudged the back end of the truck with my palm, and it started to roll to my left. I then nudged it back, just going back and forth, with a stupid grin on my face. There was the creak of a floorboard.

"Nice rig you got there." I thrusted my body around, facing the source of the voice, and found a tall man standing calmly in the doorway, "It's a bit ironic actually." He took a step forward, but you could obviously see that he had a limp to his step. I started to pull myself back, away from the strange man, with my breath heavy and my heart beating like it was trying to escape.

"Hey, Henry, calm down kid," he chuckled softly, like he was amused by my fearful stricken face. A lump formed in my throat, and I couldn't talk. Nor did I want to, I didn't know this man. How did he get here? How did he know my name? I locked the door right? So many questions started to swirl around in my mind at once, more than I could handle. When the man noticed my absence of voice, he stuck his hand out as if he had expected me to shake it.

"The name's August," he said, forcing a grin down at me. Once he realized I wasn't going to accept his offer to shake his hand, he put his arm back down to his side, "You don't have to be afraid of me Henry, I'm only here to help." He exhaled, and took a quick glance around my room before looking back at me, "Sorry, I kinda let myself in," he shrugged, like it was no big deal that he: a random man just waltzed into someone else's home. I didn't have words to speak, like my vocal cords wouldn't cooperate. I sat there, on the dark wooden floors, my mouth hanging open, like an idiot.

"..How... do you know my-name?" I stuttered out, raising a brow up at the man. He shifted on his feet, and lifted a finger.

"Boy, do I have a story for you, kid," he smiled, and lowered himself to the ground, to sit. The boards beneath him groaned under his weight, and his shoes squeaked as he sprawled his legs out in front of himself. I pushed myself up, to sit straight and face the so called 'August' while he got himself comfortable on the floor.

"Are you.. a friend of my mom's or something? I've..-never seen you around town before," I swallowed, my voice shaky.

"No no, but I have an idea she knows me pretty well," he chuckled softly, but his laugh turned into an eery silence as his gaze caught mine, "I need your help Henry. But first, I have some explaining to do, and you've got to listen carefully. It'll sound crazy, but I have a feeling you'll understand quite quickly," he flashed a gentle grin at me, and rested his arm on his bent knee.

"..What?"

He seemed to deflate, and let out a long exaggerated breath. Like he gave up his act of mister nice guy, "Henry... your mom may not be home as quickly as she said she would be, okay?" He furrowed his brow, and studied my face carefully, as if waiting for my reaction, "But I assure you, she'll be fine-"

"What happened?" My tone was the complete opposite of happy, or pleased.

"Henry, I-"

"What happened."

He squirmed, and itched the top of his head, "..She, got into an incident-a, uh-accident, kid. But like i said, she'll be fine." My face felt hot, but my body felt cold. The anger and sadness whirling inside of me seemed to build up by the second, my hands twitched at my sides.

"You're lying." There was a sudden change in my voice, hurt. The tears that swelled in my eyes threatened to spill over and stain my cheeks. August shook his head calmly, like he knew i'd react like this. I mean, why wouldn't I? She was my mom.

"Kid-"

"My name is Henry, not kid, not boy. Henry." I cut in.

"Henry... I told you, it sounds crazy - but, I swear to you, she's fine. She's on the correct path, so is Emma-"

"Emma? Path? What're you talking about?" My sadness turned into sarcasm, and even more anger than before, "You're crazy." I shook my head, practically yelling at this stranger now.

"Like I also said, I have a lot to explain to you ki- Henry," he rose a palm, as if it would calm me down in my rage and panic, "Just please, listen."

"She need's stabilized, quickly."

"On it."

Emma pulled the tight, rubber gloves past her fingers and over her freshly cleaned palms. Nurses, and fellow doctors shuffled around the small operating room, prepping the Mayor for surgery. They pierced her skin with needles, and dashed to machines. Their fingers pushed buttons, and activated the devices that surrounded them to show the patients stats. Her fingers wrapped around the fabric of a surgical mask and wrapped it around the bottom portion of her face. The strings on the sides of the mask, swaddled comfortably around the back of her ears to keep it positioned and put on her face. Her body was dressed in light blue scrubs, prepared for the operation.

Emma turned, to face the unconscious patient, her eyes scanning the woman carefully. She was deathly pale, in comparison to the dark, dried blood that resided on the cuts on her face and the gash on her forehead. A nurse in the room came over, and started to mend the cuts and gashes heedfully. People continued to rush around her, and converse orders to one another; but Emma stayed put, watching the mayor with curiosity. Her gentle features stood out, and framed her face together like a work of art, even in this event of dismay. Gosh, she was so-

"Ms. Swan, she's ready." Emma's head jerked up, her eyes meeting one of the other nurses in surprise. It took her a moment to gather her thoughts, before she replied back.

"Okay- thank you," she gave a soft nod towards the nurse, before staggering over to the operating table where the brunette lied. Her hands rose to cup the sides of her own head, trying to think and get this procedure over with and this woman saved.

Get your head together, Emma. Don't mess this up, you never mess up. You can save this woman's life, like the many before her.

She reassured herself. She was never nervous before an operation, it just came naturally to her and she was good at it. Great, actually. The best surgeon in that groggy hospital. That didn't pay as much as she'd like for saving people's lives, but it worked.

"..O-Okay, there is lack of oxygen to her right lung. I need to insert a chest tube, to reduce the pressure, and get the oxygen flow back to normal," Emma sighed, giving glances to everyone around her before they started to quickly gather everything she needed. She rolled her shoulders, trying to relax the tension in her muscles for the brief moment she had. Every noise around her turned into a soft hum, and the only sound that could be heard was the beeping of the heart monitor. Her eyes locked onto the sharp waves on the screen, that continued up and down with the passing seconds, before every noise poured back in. The clanging, and shuffling filled the silence, and nurses surrounded her - stacking the tools she needed on the table next to her. A long exhale escaped her lungs.

"Let's do this..." she whispered quietly to herself.

Her brain automatically started working, as did her hands with it. Her palms wrapped around the woman's upper and lower arm, lifting it gently above her head. So she could find the correct placement to put the tube. Which would be at "The Triangle of Safety". It would lie between the fourth and fifth intercostal space and anterior axillary line. Emma's fingers traveled to the Mayor's upper chest, by the collar bone and started to search and locate the clavicle. Once she found it, she started to count the rib numbers, as her fingers cor versed down the anterior chest wall. Then, once she found the correct intercostal space her fingers then started to travel laterally towards the anterior axillary line. That's where she finally found the spot to start the incision, and where to insert the chest tube. She then quickly grabbed a pen, marking the spot. She sterilized a large area, including the incision spot and had the rest of the nurses and doctors cover up the patients body, expect the procedure side. She inserted a few needles, that were necessary, quickly yet gentle. Her hand snatched a scalpel from the metal cart that resided next to her, and went to work. She made an incision approximately 1.5 to 2 centimeters in length, then took a curved tool to dissect through tissues and get above the rib to the lung.

Emma glared at the open incision and took in a small breath before taking her index finger and pushing down into the open wound. She pushed gently to penetrate the plural space, and twisted her hand around a few times to make sure her finger punctured through. Once her finger exited the wound, a thin fluid started to egress. Emma sighed with relief, that fluid was a sure sign she got through the plural space. She was one step closer the fixing this damn lung. She was handed a tube, which she fluently started to guide into the incision and into the lung smoothly. Her fingers moved steadily as she punctured the skin around the wound with a string, to secure the tube in place. For the slightest moment, her eyes glanced to the woman's pale face before her. She could see the shallow breaths the Mayor was taking as the mask on her face fogged up every few seconds, and she grinned. Knowingly that she could save this woman, and get her back to wherever she came from.

"Ms. Swan," A voice broke through her barrier of silence, and she glanced over to see a nurse handing her bandages to dress the wound. She took them carefully, and gave a soft nod to the woman before gently covering the incision. You did it Emma. She let a breath of liberation escape and blew a strand of loose hair from her face, before letting her body tense up once again. The blood pumping through her veins and the rapid beating of her own heart didn't help her stress level. The brunette before her was in critical condition, and the heart inside her chest wasn't beating nearly as fast as it should. But Emma had something every person needed every once in a while. Hope. And with that hope, she'd save this woman. Her lungs were now functional, and kept her breath constant and flowing from her lips. That's all Emma needed.

"The bottom portion of her ribs are fractured, get me some plates and screws. I'm going to have to make a large incision - maybe even a few, to insert the metal plates and then hold the bone and plates together with the screws, quickly." Emma calmly ordered them, her palms gripping around the edge of the operating table as she leaned forward softly. As the people scattered, she slanted closer to the Mayor.

"We've come this far, so you keep on fighting. I'm not loosing you now, okay?"

"So I'm supposed to believe that everyone in this town are fairy tale characters?" Henry rose a brow at August, who sat leaned against the wall, across from Henry. He tossed a small red ball up and down, catching it swiftly in his large palm.

"It's a long shot, but - yeah," August nodded softly, as his eyes landed on Henry once again. Henry unfolded his hands, and held them out, motioning for the ball. August tossed it once more before lightly throwing it across the room towards into the boys palms.

"..and that this town really isn't a town at all?" Henry's voice went up a pitch in confusion, and surprise. Just learning that everything you'd ever known was a lie, and you were supposed to believe it from a random man, was a bit of a shock. Especially if you were only eight, or even if you were expected to still believe all those tales of princesses and evil queens who just wanted their revenge on something ridiculous. Henry crossed his arms, and squinted his eyes to try to intimidate the man, "Still. Who's the Emma woman?" He asked, still lusting for answers about this weirdly important lady. August seemed to shrivel up like a grape gone bad, and kept his mouth shut. But all of that tension, and awkwardness went down the drain in a mere second before he started to speak once again.

"She's someone vital to you, and your mother's story Henry. She's sort of what you call a Savior, and will help a lot of people. Even if she doesn't believe it at first," the soft shaking of his head, and the eyes glued on Henry made it pretty clear.

"I'm supposed to help her believe, aren't I?" The small boy spoke up, and exhaled deeply. This 'August' didn't just come to help him believe, it was also for the 'Emma' girl, too. "So does this mean she'll be coming to this fairy tale infested town, too? With my mom?" He asked, bouncing the ball he had gripped in his fist back to August.

August caught it with ease, and shrugged with a smirk present on his face, "Maybe, kid." Henry's face dropped in irritation at the word 'kid'. Everyone called him kid, and he couldn't stand it most of the time. They knew he had a name, right? He made an exception for Ruby, and even Dr. Hopper. They were some of the people he was closest with, and actually listened to him. His mother called him Henry, but she was strict. He was constantly under supervision, and she never let him go anywhere without herself glued to his side. Secretly he liked his mother being so clingy, it meant she loved him and she cared for him. And after she had fessed up about Henry being adopted, he appreciated it even more. But every once in a while, when he was left with Dr. Hopper or Ruby, he enjoyed the freedom to go and do whatever he pleased.

August chuckled softly, "Sorry. I mean't 'Henry', it's just a habit I guess."

"Are you close to Emma, like... do you know her?" Henry asked, curiously. This man seemed to know everyone, but didn't give any explanation as to how. All he had told Henry so far was that everyone in this town was cursed and couldn't remember who they were back in another land. And that someone had cursed them, but August wouldn't spill that either.

"I guess you could say that. I sorta had to help her on her path... she was lost for a while. I just assisted her a bit, back onto the right lane." He threw the ball back at Henry gently, "Listen, if you want answers you need to find something. Something that'll help you with all those doubts you're having, and make you believe once and for all." He nodded, and shot a grin at the boy.

"What is it?" Henry imagined some sort of quest, like in the movies. Like he'd be going to save the world, and humanity itself. But with August's next two words crushed any world saving vision in Henry's mind.

"A book."

"A book?"

"Not just any book Henry, it's the book that'll give you you're answers."

"And where would I find it?" A book, of course. Reading. It wasn't all that bad, but he was really hoping for an adventure with a cool side kick and fighting enemies. But if it gave him the answers he wanted, and proved that this guy wasn't crazy, then he was up for some reading.

"Snow White should be the one to have it," August laughed, amused by his own inside jokes. He shook his head once he calmed himself down and took in a deep breath, "Mary Margaret, your teacher kid."

"She's Snow White?" Henry questioned, a bit excited that all these years he was being taught by the famous Snow White, but immediately buried his grin. He didn't believe this man. For all he knew, August could be a runaway from a mental hospital, and just broke into a random kids home looking for things to steal. Or a place to sleep.

"That she is. I'll be back tomorrow, kid." August stood up, leaning his body weight against the wall to steady himself, "By then I hope you know what you believe and what you don't." He limped his way over to the open door, and looked over his shoulder.

"I'll be prepared for some scolding and displeasure."

"How is she?" Emma spun to face the closing hospital doors to the operating room in surprise, finding a tall, dark-haired man, waltzing towards her. He tugged on the collars of his lab coat, and pulled on the rubber gloves that covered his palms.

"Dammit Jefferson," She exhaled heavily, and glanced down to her blood covered gloves. The woman's rib cage was near fixed & ready. Jefferson had been almost two hours late, and was supposed to be helping her with this certain procedure. But she couldn't wait any longer, or her ribs would've collapsed completely.

"Sorry. Better late than never, huh?" The right corner of his lip curled in a smirk as he approached the blonde. His left palm extended and planted itself gently on the midsection of her back, involuntary. Emma shifted a bit, to pull herself away from his touch and shook her head as she looked back down at the procedure she was still currently doing, "Seem's like you got this Swan. Looks like you didn't need my help after all." He put his arm back down to his side, used to the rejection by now. His fingers wrapped tightly around the bottom of his left glove, and pulled it off swiftly with a snap.

"How about you do me a favor, and hand me that screw, connoisseur." She couldn't help but crack a grin at the guy. She'd known him the entire time she had been in that hospital, and despite all of the flirting and 'mister know it all' bullshit - he was kinda fun. One of her best friend's actually, who still thinks he can get farther than a friend. But that would never happen, and even he knew it. Regardless of all of his hilariously failed attempts.

"So now we're using big words, chickadee?" He rose a brow, and grasped his gloved hand around the small screw and handing it briskly at Emma. Another thing with Jefferson; he loved nicknames, especially with Emma. Considering her last name was Swan, he was fond of coming up with other replacement words for her. Such as, dove, chickadee, dodo, buzzard, and so many that everyone had lost count years ago. He even called their boss, President non compos mentis. Which meant President crazy, but everyone always had a good laugh about it anyway. Emma rolled her eyes, and continued with the procedure.

"Is that the classic Synthes Rib Matrix?" Jefferson hoisted himself up onto one of the counters that resided only a few feet away from the surgery.

The blonde chuckled softly, "Yep. Just like how I was taught, sir know it all." She had fun with nicknames, too. It was something she picked up from Jefferson when they first met, it sorta spread to everyone close to him. Like some sort of disease; nobody ever really hears their real names anymore.

"Well, dove - sir know it all has a question for you," Jefferson pointed a finger at her and smiled before glancing down at the injured woman. Emma nodded, and took a moment to gaze at him and take her tired eyes away from the blood and gore before her, "Why do you wanna save her so badly?"

Emma became immediately perplexed, and knit her brow together as in, 'What the hell are you talking about?' But Jefferson didn't seem to get the hint at all, "It's a human life, Jefferson. I can't just let somebody die on my watch - or anyone's!" She snapped at him, as if she was being insulted. He rose his hands up, as saying he surrendered. But as his hands went back down to grip the edge of the counter, his eyes lingered for a moment. If it wasn't for the bright lamp's surrounding her and her work area, he could've missed the pink rising in her cheeks. No, it wasn't embarrassment. Why would she be embarrassed for admitting she just wanted to save people's lives? No, this was something bigger and more sweet. Emma took a short glance up at Jefferson, and noticed his loitering gaze back at her.

"What? Would you rather have me let her die right here? And tell her family that I just gave up on her?"

"I would rather you tell me the truth, Swan-" he grinned, seeing past her walls that she was struggling to keep up.

"I am, she's just a patient that I have to save. She would want me to save her-"

"Her name is Regina. Regina Mills, and she's the mayor of a small town called Storybrooke some while from here. Did you know that?" Jefferson clenched his jaw, and folded his pale hands in his lap. Emma shook her head, and looked at him bewildered.

"W-Why are you telling me this, I-" A long stretch of a sharp noise started to screech through the room. Both of their necks snapped towards the heart monitor, that was showing her heart rate slowly perishing into just a flat line, "Shit!"

Jefferson leaped from the counter top, and rushed to the machine, checking anything that could've possibly gone wrong at that moment. His fingers darted to buttons, and turned back to the panicking blonde trying to calm her shaky hands enough to fix whatever had happened.

"It's her spine-" Emma wheezed out, as her hands searched for something on the metal wheeled table next to her hip, "It's swelling - how did I not fucking see this," her fingers finally wrapped around a small circular tube with a long and keen needle at the end. She flicked it twice, and immediately started to puncture the woman with it. The fluid inside slowly vanished from inside the needle, and Emma swiftly pulled the needle back out, dropping it on the tray quickly. Nurses started to rush through the doors, their shoes tapping the ground simultaneously as they approached the now 'under control' scene. Emma wiped her forehead with her forearm, and exhaled the deepest breath she had ever taken. She was possibly holding her breath the entire time. Beads of sweat dribbled down her cheeks, and her body shook - she had never been that nervous over something so simple and easy to fix. But after all, she had made this woman a promise. Regina, was her name?

The heart monitor started to beep once again, giving Jefferson and Emma a moment of relaxation and peace. The blondes eyes made their way to Jefferson's, and after a few short nervous breath's Emma spoke.

"It's going to be a stressful ride, Jefferson. And this time," she paused as she shook her head, "I'm not lying."

The occasional tap of my foot hitting the marble floors didn't ease my stress as much as I'd hoped. My blonde curls that flowed over my shoulders, and down my torso became unbearable and suddenly too uncomfortable as I focused my mind on it. I flipped the curls over my shoulder, and leaned against the unpigmented walls with my arms crossed over my chest. I was relieved to be out of those lab coats, and skintight rubber gloves that weren't even near pleasant. But my mind was still stuck on moments that didn't need to be there, and feelings I didn't want to feel. On top of all that cluttered mess, was stress I didn't want to stress about. That was my life I guess, and I had to deal with it on the daily because if I didn't - who would? The soft shuffle of clothing started to make it's way towards me, causing my head to shoot up and look to the direction of the footsteps. Jefferson strolled towards me, with his hands in his lab coat pockets, and a content look masked over his face.

"So?" I lifted my leaning body from the cement walls, and turned to completely face him. I rose my brow, and my mouth instinctively parted open waiting for his return of voice.

"There's nobody. I literally couldn't find one person to call, or talk to. She has no family," he shrugged, looking down at me with a tad of disappointment.

"Nobody? Not even a sister, a mom, a dad possibly?" I rose my shoulders, confused. Why wouldn't this woman have any family. Well, I didn't have any family - but this lady. Regina - she was, or she seemed like a good person. She had to know someone, right? Someone she was even remotely close to? Even I had that. Jefferson shook his head side to side, and looked down at his feet as he rocked on his toes.

The door to Regina's room resided just a foot next to me. I was waiting to at least say hello, and make sure she was doing alright. My green eyes started to wander, and eventually made there way to the door that belonged to the Mayor's room. They lingered there for a moment, and scanned the room number over and over again. 108.

"Yanno, you still never answered me," Jefferson's voice broke through the silence I had isolated myself to, and my head snapped back to gaze at him once more.

"What?" I squinted my eyes, and tilted my head to the side.

"Why you wanted to save her so badly, Emma. You're usually so professional with these sort of things, but this time - .. you freaked, like that was your mother in there or something."

I didn't know how to react. I wanted to scream, and I wanted to cry. But the reason's why I wanted to do either of those things, I couldn't tell you. Because I didn't even know myself. The fact that he referred to some random woman as my mother, possibly. He knew I was an orphan, and that I basically spent my childhood going from foster home to foster home. I didn't expect him to blurt something out so strange and - to me - offensive.

"I-" I stuttered, before the door behind me swung on it's hinges as it opened. I turned around, finding one of the nurses appear from the room where Regina was resting. She shot a grin at me, and nodded.

"She's awake... you can go in now."

I felt my heart jump in my chest, or maybe it was just beating... a little too fast. I've done this before, I've seen every patient I've ever saved after their surgery. What made this time any different? The fact that I saved this woman when she was so close to death? Or maybe-

I drew my mind away from my thoughts, and thanked the nurse before walking into the room with shaky legs. My limbs felt so limp, and weak - and my heart felt as if it was a hammer trying to break free of my ribs containing it. I was Emma Swan, a strong and tough woman. I didn't get scared, or panic - at least not in front of people anyway. But this time - it was... different? I grasped my hands together, and fiddled with my thumbs as my eyes gazed upon the brunette slowly regaining consciousness. She had a hospital gown on, but a thick cast underneath. Only covering her torso - right above her hip, and up to her chest, wrapping around tightly. I managed to keep the chest tube in, through the cast and comfortable for her. Butterfly bandages were scattered on her face, to close the small open cut wounds that resided there. Her left foot was in a cast as well, as it had been crushed from the impact and the front of her car caving in from the crash.

"Uh..-are you in any pain?" My voice gradually became louder, but cracked horridly. The brunette rose an arm and put a and to her head before carefully lifting her eyelids to reveal her dark brown eyes.

"..No," she shook her head gently, her voice groggy and weary sounding.

I started to slowly inch my way over to the bed-ridden woman, with a smile plastered onto my face like an idiot. I couldn't help it, or contain it no matter how hard I tried. I bit the corner of my lip, and seemed to tower over Regina. My shadow fell over her like a blanket.

"So.. uh, we tried-finding someone to call for you..." I nervously glanced down at her before I finally gave up and gazed at her, "but, we couldn't find anybody to call. Do you have any family, o-or friends?" I stuttered, still fiddling with my hands wrapped around my stomach.

She shook her head once more, and cracked a grin right back up at me, "I'm kinda a loner." But as soon as those words escaped her lips, her eyes seemed to light up like a child seeing their presents on Christmas day.

"H-Henry, my son," she exhaled, planting her palm on her forehead, "I'm supposed to be on a business trip, I'm supposed to be home in a few days. What is he going to think when I don-"

"Hey, hey now..." I lower myself down to her level, and place my hand over her resting one, on the edge of the mattress, "Don't worry, we'll figure something out.. does he have anything we can contact him with..?"

"No... I just- I need to get home..." Her voice dragged on, getting weaker. She lifted her palm from under mine, into the air. But before she could try anything, or - before I could even think for myself, I quickly gripped her hand, holding it in my own. Her hands were cold, and felt so fragile in mine. She instantly quit struggling to get up, and turned her head to looked directly at me. Her dark eyes studied mine, but in a gentle way. It was relaxing, and...

"You just need to rest for a bit, okay? I think after hours of surgery you and I both need a break," I giggled, still holding her palm in mine, without even realizing it. Regina seemed to unwind the tension she was holding in her body, and relax into the sheets and pillows beneath her. She took in a deep breath, and smiled lightly at me.

"I guess we haven't been properly introduced," she forced a raspy chuckle back, "I'm Regina.." she took another breath, and glanced up at the ceiling, "Regina Mills." Her voice sounded congested, but it was still the most soothing voice I had ever heard. I had almost forgot to introduce myself.

"Emma Swan," I grinned, taking the hand I was already holding and shaking it in a gently gesture.

"It's nice to meet you Ms. Swan."

"The pleasure is mine, Madam Mayor."