Chapter 3

"Well? What do you think?" Emma said coming down the stairs in a pale pink dress. "Do I look okay?"

Ruby- who was at her house because of the date- squealed. "You look great Em!"

"Wow..." David said, shocked at how beautiful his little girl was.

Mary- who was there to hopefully stop David from killing a certain teenage boy- smiled at her. "You look great Emma."

"You think?" She asked nervously. Then they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Emma's eyes went wide. "Oh God. He's here."

Emma walked over to the door, took a deep breath, and opened the door. "Emma. You look stunning." He told her, slightly jaw dropped.

"You look..."

He quickly recovered from his initial shock and responded with, "I know."

She invited him in and he jumped at the daggers that David was shooting him with. "Hello mate."

"I'm not your mate." David stepped closer to his daughters date. "You hurt her, I swear to-"

Emma interrupted. "Okay… We'll be back before 9." She walked over and kissed her father on the cheek and whispered, "I love you dad." Then she left with her date, not missing her best friends excited squeal after the door shut. Emma shook her head amused.

XXX

They were sitting at one of the more 'fancy' restaurants in Storybrooke, 'The Enchanted Forest', not expensive, but still beautiful. "Wow. Killian, this is amazing."

"An amazing date for an amazing girl." He told her, causing her to blush. She was smiling at him, then she saw someone that she knew a long time ago come into the restaurant, someone that she never wanted to see again. Her smiled immediately faltered. "Emma? Love, are you alright?"

Emma was just staring blankly at the man that came through the door, that is until he saw her, his eyes widening, just as he was about to come over to her, Emma looked back over to Killian. "Can we go somewhere else?" She asked, blinking back tears. "Please Killian, just get me out of here." She begged him.

"Yeah, yeah. Of course." He got up. "Let me just go pay, alright?" He went over to the waiter to pay and the guy that Emma was staring at approached her.

"Um… Emma?" The man said. "Please. Just let me apologize. I know that what happened was unforgivable, but please. I can't keep going on ridden with guilt like this."

Emma turned to face him. "You can't go on?" She asked, fighting the tears with everything she had. "What about Henry? Huh Neal?"

"Emma-"

She shook her head. "Don't. Don't speak. You should be ridden with guilt. You were drunk, you shouldn't have been driving. For God's sake, you didn't even have your license. I told you that. We told you that! But you made us get in the car anyways. You killed him!" She yelled, then noticed everyone staring at her.

She ran out of the building, she stopped when she got to an alleyway, she let all the tears fall from her eyes. She heard someone yelling after her, she wasn't sure if it was Neal or Killian, frankly she didn't care. She picked up her phone and decided to call her dad.

He picked up almost immediately. "Emma?"

"Dad." She cried. "Can you come pick me up? I-I'm in the alleyway down the street from 'The Enchanted Forest'."

"Of course I will Emma. Tell me what happened."

"I-I'll tell you when I get home. Please dad, just come get me."

"Alright. I'm on my way. Stay put."

After Emma ended the call, she put the phone in her pocket and slid down on the floor, doing her best not to cry anymore, but failing.

XXX

David and Mary were sitting in his living room just talking about themselves- with them still being in the get-to-know-you stage- when David got a call from Emma. "Emma?... Of course I will Emma. Tell me what happened… Alright. I'm on my way. Stay put." He put his phone down.

"David, is everything alright?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. She was crying. I need to go pick her up."

"I completely understand. I'll see you tomorrow. Just text me and let me know that she's okay."

They both left and went their separate ways. David drove to the location that Emma gave him and what her saw completely broke his heart. His daughter was sitting on the ground with her face buried in her knees, no doubt crying.

He walked over and crouched down next to her. "Emma?" She looked up and practically flung herself into her father's arms. "What happened?"

"I wanna go home dad."

XXX

Emma was lying in bed and her father was next to her, stroking her hair. "What happened Emma?"

She looked over to her father. "When I was 10, I had a best friend- Henry, he was 11- we were also foster siblings. Our foster brother Neal caused his death."

5 Years Ago

"In the carrr." A drunk Neal slurred.

Emma and Henry glanced at each other nervously. "Neal. You're not old enough to drive. You don't have a license." Henry told him.

"Not to mention you're drunk." Emma said. "Please, it's not safe Neal."

The fourteen year old boy rolled his eyes. "If'ya don' get'n the car now, you gon' freeze." He continued to slur. "Now!" He yelled.

Neal was scaring both children. They reluctantly got in, Henry in front and Emma in the back, behind Neal. "Please go slow." Henry said to Neal. They were driving for less than 10 minutes when Neal started to run a red light. "Neal! It's re-" Henry was cut off by another car colliding into the passenger side of the car, killing Henry on impact.

The collision knocked Neal unconscious, or maybe it was the alcohol, but Emma was the only one left awake. "Henry! Henry wake up! Neal?! Henry! Please?!" She was screaming, she could barely move, her leg was stuck under the seat. She reached up and shook Henry as hard as she could. "Henry! No! Please don't be dead Henry! You're my best friend! Wake up! Henry! Henry!" He wasn't waking up and then Emma heard the sirens in the distance, all she could do was cry and repeat Henry's name like a mantra.

XXX

"Where's Henry! I wanna see Henry!" The 10 year-old girl screamed to her doctor. "He's my best friend ever! I have to know he's okay!"

The doctor truly didn't know what to say, she looked up at Emma's social worker, asking permission to be honest with the small girl, the social worker responded with a small nod.

Dr. Janson crouched down to Emma's level. "I'm sorry sweetie. You're friend gone. He didn't make it." Emma shook her head. "He didn't suffer. I promise. He died on impact. There was nothing anyone could do." She reassured the girl.

"Is Neal dead too?" The doctor shook her head. "That's not fair! Henry shouldn't be dead if Neal's not! It's Neal's fault! He was drunk and he doesn't have a license! We told him that!" She turned to to her social worker. "We told him that Cassie! Why did he make us get in the car anyways?!" Emma focused her attention back to her doctor. "Can I see him? One last time? Please?"

XXX

Emma cried over the dead body of her best friend. "It's not fair. Henry. Please Hen. Just wake up. This isn't funny. Wake up Henry! Henry! Henry!" She screamed and screamed until someone- she wasn't sure who, probably Cassie- pulled her away and into their arms, until she cried herself to sleep.

Present Time

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that Emma."

She shook her head at her father's apologies. "It's alright dad. It's not your fault." He kissed her forehead and was about to leave, when she stopped him. "Can you stay with me? Just till I fall asleep?"

He smiled. "Of course I will."

"Dad?" He looked over at his daughter. "Do you think I ruined my date?" She asked. "I sort of flipped out on Neal in the middle of a crowded restaurant. He probably thinks I'm a lunatic."

"If he does, I'm sure he'll rather enjoy a beating from both his uncle and I." Emma had to smile at that. It was long afterwards when she fell into a deep slumber.

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