A/N: I finally was able to get back to my writing! I am finally on break, but its been busy with Christmas! Hope you like the chapter! I'll try to get more out soon! Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows! It keeps me motivate to keep going! Enjoy Chapter 9!

Emma and Ella

Chapter 9

Wednesday around 3:15

"David should be here soon. Ella, you be on your best behavior for David. I don't want to hear that you were causing trouble for him."

"Mom, I am not a little kid. I'll be good." Ella responded in embarrassment.

"Well you and Emma haven't been on your best behavior when you have been together." Mary Margaret responded seriously.

Ella just gave a sheepish look. What she was saying was true, they hadn't been on their best behavior when they had gotten together outside of school.

Emma came into Mary Margaret's with her backpack. "Ready Ella?"

"Yes, we are just going to walk out and meet him." Ella told her mom.

"Oh no, he said he'd come in to get you two." Mary Margaret said.

"But Mom…" Ella started. She did have plans that didn't include going with David…

"No Ella. Now sit down and wait for David."

A few minutes later, David walked into the room. "Hey girls, ready to go?"

Emma and Ella both got up and nodded their heads as Mary Margaret came over to walk them out. She was going to head to her meeting.

"Thanks for watching her again." Mary Margaret said as Ella rolled her eyes and Emma hid a smile.

"It's no problem." David said with a smile.

They all left the room and David got the girls in his truck to take them to the station.

David got the girls set up at one of the desks in the station to work on their homework as he continued to work in his office on a few things. He would keep an ear out for them and check on them every once in a while.

"Ok, I got to sneak out of here." Ella told Emma once David had left them.

"What? Why?" Emma asked in shock. Ella was acting so strange lately. She was secretly going different places whenever she could. She wouldn't even tell her where she was sneaking off to. She was definitely not acting like herself.

"I have to look for something….I am so close to finding proof." Ella said, hoping Emma would cover for her.

"Proof for what?" Emma asked.

"The curse. You said you would believe me if I had proof so I am going to find proof." Ella told her confidently.

"That's why you have been sneaking around the last week?" Emma asked.

"Yeah. I think that I'm on to something, but this is my only chance this week to sneak off until the weekend." Ella told her.

"Ella, you don't need to do this just to get me to believe. I don't want you to get in anymore trouble." Emma said.

"So you will believe me without proof?" Ella asked.

"Well no, but..." Emma answered sheepishly.

"Then I have to do this. It is important and when you break the curse…" Ella started.

"When I break the curse?!" Emma said in shock, she hadn't heard that detail yet.

"Oh yeah…I guess I didn't tell you that you are the Savior and are destined to break the curse." Ella said with a sheepish look.

"Ella…I am not a savior and this curse isn't real, it's just another story." Emma said a little bit frustrated at Ella.

Ella frowned, seeing the frustration and disbelief from her friend. "You are and I'll prove it to you." Ella said as she stood up to leave.

"Ella…don't, you will get in trouble." Emma pleaded with her.

"It doesn't matter. This is more important." Ella said, but she did seem a bit nervous. "Just cover for me please." Ella pleaded. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Ella."

"Please, Emma."

"Ok, but I don't think it will work." Emma said nervously.

"Just do what you can." Ella said before leaving the room and sneaking down the hall to the door.

A minute later….

David comes out reading a file and looks up to see that only Emma is in the room. "Where's Ella?"

"Oh she went to the bathroom." Emma said, but was looking nervous.

David narrowed his eyes. "Emma, are you lying to me?"

"Uh…no." Emma said, but avoided looking at David.

"She snuck out, didn't she?" David said, stunned, and Emma nodded. "How long ago?"

Emma grimaced.

"Emma, how long?" David repeated firmly.

"Just a couple minutes ago… Can't you just let her go?"

"No, I can't. Stay here, I'll be right back." David said firmly as he started towards the door quickly.

David got outside and saw Ella walking away from the station. He ran up to her and pulled her arm back gently. "What do you think you are doing?" David asked sternly.

Ella looked up at him with a shocked and nervous look. She hadn't expected to get caught so soon. She also hadn't expected David to freak out on her. "I…" Ella started, but then quit.

"Come on, we will talk about this in the station." David said firmly, when she didn't finish.

"But I have to go…" Ella tried to pull away and keep going, but David didn't let her go. He was holding firmly to her arm.

"No, young lady." David said firmly as he pulled her to the station.

Ella bit her lip. This wasn't good. He wasn't very happy with her now.

David brought her into the station and to his office. "Sit down." David said firmly as he gestured to the chair by his desk.

Ella did sit down and David moved to sit in his desk chair.

"Do you want to tell me where you were going?" David asked quietly.

Ella shook her head no. She wasn't telling him she was planning on going to the mines to find evidence for the curse.

David sighed. "Ella, you can't keep running off like this. It isn't safe."

"I would have been fine." Ella interrupted him.

"Maybe, but you are also grounded, which it doesn't seem like you get that concept… The reason you are even here with me is because your mom doesn't trust you to be alone. And you just proved her right by sneaking off again." David scolded her gently.

Ella was looking down at her lap nervously.

"I am very disappointed in you. You took advantage of being with me to try and sneak off again. Now, I can't trust you either." David scolded her gently.

"Are you going to tell my mom?" Ella asked nervously as she looked up at David.

"What do you think?" David said with raised eyebrows.

"Could you just not tell her?" Ella asked.

David shook his head no. "Why do you keep sneaking off?"

"I have to." Ella answered vaguely.

"Why?" David asked, hoping to get something out of her to help Mary Margaret deal with the situation.

"I can't tell you." Ella responded.

"Is this about your theory?" David asked without thinking about it.

Ella's eyes widened. "It isn't a theory. It's real." Ella told him grumpily as she crossed her arms.

"I'm sorry, honey, I am not trying to offend you. I am just trying to understand why it is so important to you to sneak off when you are grounded." David told her kindly.

"All of you will understand when the curse is broken. You'll remember and understand." Ella told him seriously.

"What will we remember?" David asked seriously.

Ella rolled her eyes. "You'll remember who you really are and the life you had before the curse."

David nodded slowly.

"You don't believe me. It's okay, no one does, but I'll prove it to all of you." Ella said with a frown. She was getting tired of everyone acting like she was crazy, when she was the only one that had it right.

"Is that what you have been doing? Trying to find proof?" David asked and Ella swallowed nervously.

"Maybe…" Ella said, he didn't know where she was trying to go or where she had been sneaking around.

"Ella, you can't go wandering around without your mother's permission. No matter what your reason is. Your mother needs to know where you are at all times."

"But she wouldn't let me go if I told her." Ella said with a frown.

"Well then maybe you shouldn't be going if she wouldn't let you."

Ella frowned and crossed her arms.

David knew he wasn't going to convince her, but he hoped that she would at least think about how she was acting. "Alright. Go on and get to your homework."

Ella got up and started towards the door to the rest of the station.

"And Ella…" David said firmly. "Don't even think of trying to sneak off again." David warned sternly.

Ella gulped and nodded.

"Alright, go on." David said in a softer voice.

Ella went back out to where Emma was doing her homework or pretending to do her homework since she had seen her Dad come in with Ella. She was trying to listen to their conversation, but she couldn't really hear them. She was waiting nervously for Ella to come back out. After a little while, she thought her Dad had decided to keep Ella in his office for the rest of the time.

"What happened?" Emma asked with a grimace.

"He was trying to figure out where I was going to go. He's going to tell my mom." Ella said as she plopped down in the chair beside Emma.

"I told you not to go." Emma said quietly.

Ella glared at her.

"It's true. I am not trying to be mean, but it wasn't the smartest move to make right now." Emma tried to explain to Ella.

Ella started to blink back tears. Why were they all against her? She was just trying to help them all.

"Ella." Emma said softly, as she saw her friend getting upset.

"I'm fine. I should do my homework." Ella said as she started to work on her homework, avoiding looking at Emma.

"Please don't be upset with me. I am not trying to be mean." Emma pleaded with Ella. "I am sorry you got in trouble and I wasn't able to cover for you."

Ella gave Emma shy smile. "It's okay. I know you tried."

Emma smiled. "I did, but he knew I was lying."

Ella nodded her head. "Why is he so good at telling when you are lying?"

"I don't know, but I wish he didn't catch my lies so often." Emma said with a sheepish smile.

Ella chuckled. "Me too."

"You two better get to work and stop talking." David warned from the doorway of his office. He was going to keep a better eye on them this time. He wouldn't put it past Ella to try to sneak off again if she was given the chance.

Emma and Ella both jumped a little as he spoke.

30 minutes later…

"Pack up your things, it's time to head out." David told the girls as he walked over to them.

"Dad, can we stop at Granny's to get a hot chocolate with cinnamon?" Emma asked with a charming smile.

"I don't know, Emma." David said, having not missed her calling him "Dad" again.

"Please, Dad…" Emma said with a puppy dog look.

David smiled and shook his head. "I guess we could." David responded with a smile.

Ella felt a bit awkward since she didn't bring any money and she doubted he would want to buy her a hot chocolate after she tried sneaking off on him. She definitely didn't expect him to buy her one.

"Yes!" Emma said with a big grin.

David chuckled. "Let's get going."

*****OUAT*****

"You want a hot chocolate, Ella?" David asked kindly.

"You don't need to get me one." Ella responded quickly.

"That's not what I asked." David said with a kind smile. "Do you want a hot chocolate?"

Ella bit her lip.

"Of course, she does!" Emma said with a smile. "Do you want cinnamon?"

"Yeah, mom and I always have cinnamon with hot chocolate." Ella answered with a grin.

"Really?" Emma asked with bright, surprised eyes.

"Yeah." Ella said wanting to say it must be a family thing, but stopped herself.

"Alright then, two hot chocolates with cinnamon and a coffee." David said before heading to the counter to order.

*****OUAT*****

"There you go, girls." David said as he handed each of the girls a hot chocolate before grabbing his coffee.

"Thank you." Ella said with a shy smile.

"Yeah, thanks!" Emma added.

"You're both welcome." David said with a grin before ushering them back out to the truck.

More to come! Thanks for reading!