The nurse blinks in disbelief as her mind tries to process what the woman just said. All she sees is a woman covered in blood. One might assume an abusive relationship or a terrible accident but certainly not kidnapping. The entire world seems to stop and the hospital goes silent. The male nurse has stopped wheeling her and the female nurse next to him tries to comprehend everything.
"I...I don't understand."
"That man out there is not my husband. He's my abductor. He drugged and kidnapped me from a bar more than a few months ago, holding me captive and raping me in the hopes of getting me pregnant." Emma says bluntly.
"A-Are you pregnant?"
"I am..." Emma says. "But I don't know how long I've been pregnant. I faked a miscarriage to get him to bring me out of the cabin he had me locked in. I really only cut my hands." She shows the nurses her cuts to back up her claim.
Finally, reality sets in.
"Get to her a doctor for an examination," the female nurse orders. "I'm calling security and the sheriff to have the man arrested. What's his name?"
"Arthur King," Emma says, feeling great relief that her captor was having his ass handed to him. Justice would be served and she would finally be free.
"Have a warrant out for his arrest. Where are you from originally?"
"Boston, I have friends and a son waiting for me there, please call them immediately," Emma says before she's rolled away for a full examination.
The nurse rushes to the nearest phone and dials 911.
"Hello?" the sheriff says.
"Sheriff Brown, you're not going to believe this..."
...
David sits at his desk completely stressed out. He just got another call from August and the search was not fruitful, plus with Anna, now out of commission the hopes of keeping Emma's case open is slimmer and slimmer. He's nearly having a mental breakdown. It's taking a toll on his health and he's constantly separated from his wife and son. He glimpses a picture of all three of them on the corner of his desk, barely visible through all the paperwork.
The lieutenant is at his breaking point, he puts his hands over his eyes to cry silently. The news was spreading through the office, Nova was the one to tell him that Gold is putting Emma's file on the cold case file. The problem is, David doesn't feel like he has the fight left in him anymore. There's been nothing from Emma in over three months, no evidence nothing... it might as well be the end. He's letting down everyone he loves; his wife, Henry, Killian, Regina, Ruby, the entire police force, his newborn son who would never meet his godmother and finally most of all, Emma. She's relying on all of them. That phone call was a cry for help, a pleading for assistance... for anything and David had failed her the most. How could he live with himself now?
From down the hall, he hears the familiar thud of Gold's boots. Those clunky military boots that he insists on wearing as part of his Commissioner's uniform and David's heart races. He has to keep fighting and putting himself at risk of losing his job too. Everything seems like a hopeless situation.
There is a knock and David mutters to come in. Gold stands in the center of the room in full uniform.
"May I sit?" he asks.
David swallows and shrugs.
Gold's expression is unreadable and this makes Lieutenant Nolan's stomach twist with anxiety and fear. The commissioner sits down and faces the lead investigator.
"David..." he begins.
Suddenly, the phone rings, completely interrupting their conversation.
"Sorry," David says. He picks it up, glad for the distraction.
"Hello?"
"Is this Lieutenant Nolan?"
"Yes,"
"I have some news for you..."
...
"And you're sure that it's Zelena?" Mary Margret asks as she, Regina and Robin, sit on a park bench. Jacob is nestled in his mother's arms, to keep him out the cold, while Henry and Roland throw snowballs at each other.
Robin nods angrily and clenches his hands into fists.
"Marian and I might not be together anymore, but she's still a good mother."
"I just can't believe Zelena would play dirty like that."
"I can," Regina says. "She's always played dirty. She's a manipulative bitch who will do anything to get her way."
"Regina!" Mary Margret scolds.
"What? Your son isn't old enough to understand words."
"I meant Roland and Henry."
"I apologize for Roland, but Henry's probably heard a lot worse."
"Regardless..." the teacher says. "Let's keep our voices down."
Mary Margret's phone suddenly buzzes in her pocket. She hands Jacob to Regina while she fishes it out of her coat pocket.
"It's David," she says before answering. "Hi Honey."
"MARY!" David is practically screaming. He cannot contain his joy, which also cannot be expressed over the phone.
"David what's wrong?" his wife asks, fearing the worst.
"Nothing's wrong. They found her Mary. THEY FOUND HER!"
...
"Bloody hell," Killian murmurs as he sits down on a nearby rock to rest his feet. Hiking through the snow is not fun and his entire body aches from the climbing he's had to do. Now he sits at the top of a ravine to rest. Yet another organized search party in a different town is not going on until tomorrow, but the three men of the group went to scout out where they had not looked yet. The local town church was willing to help after their last search party turned up nothing. Emma's search party had moved on to the next place and learning from their past mistakes, had not gone to the city hall. The ladies at the church were very willing to help find Emma as soon as possible. This gave the foursome a little bit of hope, but not a lot.
The docks man sits back and begins gazing upwards at the graying sky. He wishes beyond all measure that he could find Emma and bring her home to safety.
Suddenly, the walkie talkie he's wearing buzzes.
"Hello?"
"Killian?" Anna's voice asks. Anna is back in the car, staying warm and keeping her ankle relaxed, acting as sort of a home base for the three searchers to radio in to.
"Yes?"
"I just got a text message from Mary Margret. You should try calling her. She says it's important."
"Alright," Killian says.
He stands up and searches for his phone in his coat. He holds it up and searches for bars. When he finally gets some by standing on a rock, he dials Mary Margret's number.
She picks up on the first ring.
"KILLIAN!" she practically shouts.
"Aye," he winces, pulling the earpiece away as she had screamed so loud. "I'm here, what's wrong?"
"Nothing's...wrong...K-Killian... e-e-everything is..."
The signal is getting scrambled.
"What was that?"
"I-I said they..."
Killian stands on top of a rock to get a clear signal.
"You're breaking up love."
"I SAID... THEY... FOUND E...MMA!"
When those words reach his ears, he nearly falls off the rock and down into the ravine as his legs gave out in utter surprise.
...
"YOU'RE SHITTING ME?!" Ruby hollers through the entire restaurant. Many customers look at her with almost frightened looks. The waitress is jumping up and down like a rabbit and practically screaming at the top of her lungs. Tears are also streaming down her face.
"Ruby!" her grandmother barks, coming from the kitchen to scold her. "What did I tell you about being on your phone during..."
"Screw that. Grandma, they found Emma alive!"
...
"YOU'RE LYING TO ME!" Elsa screeches so loudly that Olaf runs for cover as if there might be an earthquake. "You can't be..."
Kris comes into the kitchen to know what all the commotion was about, Elsa lets the landline phone drop to the floor and hang there.
"What's going on?"
"That was David, Emma's alive and she's been rescued!"
...
"NO WAY!" Lacey squeals in disbelief. She drops the stack of books she's carrying in the library, while re-shelving returns.
"SHHHHH!" is the response from the nearby librarian.
Lacey has tears in her eyes and rushes out the door without a second thought.
...
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" MeyLing gasps, she nearly slips on the ice as the call came during hockey practice. Her teammates look at her in confusion. "I'll be right over." She then skates over to where her coach is.
...
"YOU'RE KIDDING ME?!" Aurora shouts throughout the entire house. Phillip whacks his head on the roof of the oven in surprise as he and Aurora were cleaning it. Phillip Junior begins to cry in shock from his playpen in the living room.
The mother puts the phone under her chin and races to her crying son. She anxiously tries to soothe him as she rushes back into the kitchen and nearly runs into her husband. She's now crying and jumping up and down, scaring her son even more. Phillip takes his son until Aurora can control herself again.
She hangs up and looks at Phillip.
"What was that all about?"
"Emma, Phillip, they found her. She's alive and in the hospital in a local town."
"How...How?!"
"I don't know, but Elsa is coming to pick me up and then we're all going to the town! How cold is it outside?"
...
Henry can barely contain his joy. He shakes in the back seat, while squashed between a five-year-old kid and a three-month-old baby. Regina cannot drive fast enough to the police station, her own heart hitting overdrive in excitement and relief. Mary Margret has not stopped crying and Robin sits the way back, feeling a little lost, but nonetheless relieved that this nightmare is over.
David runs outside and Mary Margret embraces him to the point where her legs are wrapped around his waist. They kiss so hard, both crying in joy and happiness. Emma had been found. She was going to be okay and they could finally hug their friend again.
Regina honks the horn.
"Let's go Police Escort!" she hollers.
David and Mary Margret get into the police cruiser. David turns his lights and sirens on and has Regina follow behind him. He doesn't care if he's breaking the rules, Emma is waiting for them.
The two hold hands as they drive through the city, love, and hope in their hearts and tears in their eyes.
The reunion is coming, the reunion is coming. Thank you for your support. The story is not over yet!