We've all heard the great tales of Captain Hook. We have all listened and read about his days as a pirate. There is hardly a child in this realm that has no heard his name.
But no one has heard of the feared archer and bandit, his younger sister Na...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Five
+ + +
NAOMI SAT ACROSS FROM HENRY in the booth. "Where does Regina think you are?" She asked him. Henry grinned.
"At the arcade," he responded.
"She actually believed that?" Naomi arched an eyebrow suspiciously. Henry shrugged.
"She wants to believe it so she does," he said as Emma came out of the restroom wearing one of Regina's shirts.
"Thanks for the shirt," the blonde said as she sat next to Henry. "But isn't it your mother's?"
The brunette giggled and hastily turned it into an awkward cough. Henry didn't seem to notice. "She won't notice," he assured Emma. Emma just shrugged as Mary Margaret entered the diner to report what had happened with their John Doe.
"Remember, don't get your hopes up, we're just getting started," Emma muttered to Henry. He nodded solemnly, glancing at Naomi when Mary Margaret sat down next to her.
Naomi pursed her lips, looking at her guardian in anticipation. "He woke up," Mary Margaret said.
"What?" Naomi asked, her eyes wide.
Henry perked up. "I knew it!"
"I mean, he didn't wake up wake up, but...he grabbed my hand," Mary Margaret explained to Emma, who's jaw was down to the floor.
"He's remembering!" Henry insisted. Naomi gave him a cautious look.
"What'd the doctor say?" Emma asked.
"That I imagined it," Mary Margaret replied. "But I'm not crazy. I know it happened."
"We have to go back. You have to read to him again," Henry told her. She hesitated, thinking. Naomi pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Let's go," Mary Margaret said finally, getting up. Henry quickly nodded and followed.
"Wait wait, what?" Naomi said, getting up as well as Emma. Mary Margaret turned to them both.
"If I got through to him, if we made a connection-"
"You don't seriously believe-" Emma interrupted her, putting her hands on her hips.
"That's he's Prince Charming? Of course not. But somehow, someway, I touched him," Mary Margaret said, glancing hopefully towards Naomi before turning away to follow Henry.
Emma and Naomi exchanged worried looks. The brunette sighed and followed Mary Margaret.
+++
"See? I told you, he's waking up," Henry said excitedly as he practically ran into the hospital room. Graham stopped the kid.
"Henry, you should stay back," Graham said cautiously. The three girls came up behind Henry.
"Is it John Doe? Is he waking up?" Mary Margaret asked anxiously. Naomi groaned silently.
Graham sighed. "He's missing," he admitted.
"What?" Naomi demanded, thankful she couldn't see Henry's reaction. Graham turned around, revealing Regina standing with the doctors at John Doe's bed.
The mayor walked up to them, staring Emma down. "What the hell are you doing here?" She demanded.
Her vision then shifted to Henry. "And you," she grabbed his shirt, "you told me you went to the arcade. Now you're lying to me?" Henry didn't respond.
"What happened to him?" Mary Margaret asked Graham. "Was he stolen?"
Graham just sighed. "His IVs were ripped out. There didn't seem to be any sign of a struggle."
"What did you do?' Henry turnedto his mother accusingly. Naomi gasped softly.
Regina frowned. "You think I had something to do with this?" She asked.
"It does seem weird that the mayor is here," Emma spoke up. Naomi bit her lip, silently agreeing.
"I'm here because I'm his emergency contact," the mayor replied coldly.
Naomi cocked her head to the side. "You know him?" She asked.
"I found him," Regina answered. "I found him in the side of the road years ago with no ID. I brought him here."
"Mayor Mills saved his life," Doctor Whale said, approaching the group.
Mary Margaret perked up. "Is he okay?" She asked.
Dr. Whale scoffed. "Okay? The guy's been on feeding tubes and constant supervision for years. He needs to get back here fast or "okay" might be a pipe drain," the doctor told her.
Naomi sighed, putting a hand on Henry's shoulder. "Well then let's quit yacking and start looking," Emma said, turning around.
"That's what we're doing?" Regina said, making Emma impatiently turn back around. "Stay out of this, Miss Swan."
Regina paused. "And since I clearly can't keep toy array from my son," she took Henry's hand, "I guess I'll just have to keep my son away from you."
Naomi looked at Graham with a "really?" look. He looked to the ground. "Sheriff," Regina said and he looked up, "find John Doe. You heard what Dr. Whale said, time is precious."
Naomi turned on her heel, following them out. Her second shift started soon, and she just wanted to get the hell away from these people.
+++
Emma called Naomi the evening asking for help with the search for John Doe. She accepted, and was meeting Emma, Mary Margaret, and Graham in the back of the hospital ten minutes later. The sun was setting and the search began.
+++
The four had been searching for twenty or so minutes now, and it was almost too dark to see without the flashlights. Graham knelt down, touching the bare earth.
"What's that?" Emma asked him, putting her hands on her hips.
"The trail runs out here," Graham reported, getting up.
"You sure? Because I thought tracking was one of your skills," Emma asked, earning a chuckle from Naomi.
"Let him do his thing. This is his work, he's got it," the teen said to Emma, sarcasm dropping from her voice. Graham agreed, not seeming to notice her sass.
"Alright," Emma said, following as Graham started moving again. Mary Margaret looked at Naomi, an amused glint in both of their eyes.
I'm not gonna update for another week or so. And by a "week" I really mean three weeks. I've got other stories to work on, and I've kind of been focused on this one the past few weeks.
Remember to vote and comment and follow and all that jazz!
