It's a race against the clock to find John Doe, and when he's found, there are surprises all around . . . and Queenie comes to a realization that could throw a real wrench in Regina's plans.

***

Regina scowled at them. "What the hell are you doing here?" She caught sight of Henry. "And you – I thought you were at the arcade. Now you're lying to me?"

Mary Margaret frowned. "What happened to John Doe? Did someone take him?"

Graham ran a hand through coiffed hair. "We don't know yet. His IVs were ripped out but there's no sign for sure that there was a struggle."

Henry crossed his arms, looking towards his mother. "What did you do?"

Regina looked affronted at the question. "You think I had something to do with this?"

Emma shrugged. "It is curious that the mayor is here."

Regina scoffed and folded her arms. "I'm here because I'm his emergency contact."

Mary Margaret raised her eyebrows. "You know him?"

Regina scowled. "I found him. On the side of the road years ago with no ID. I brought him here."

Dr. Whale nodded in confirmation. "Mayor Mills saved his life."

Mary Margaret frowned. "Will he be okay?"

Dr. Whale sighed. "Okay? The man's been on feeding tubes for years on constant supervision. He needs to get back here right away or, quite honestly, "okay" might be a pipe dream."

Emma nodded firmly. "Well then, let's quit yapping and start looking."

Regina raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "That's what we're doing. Just stay out of this, dear. And since I clearly can't keep you away from my son, I guess I'm just going to have to keep my son away from you." She reached out and grabbed Henry's arm, her grip strong despite Henry's attempt to free himself "Sheriff, find John Doe. You heard Dr. Whale. Time is precious."

As the Mills left, Graham looked toward Dr. Whale. "Dr. Whale, how long between your rounds since you last saw him?"

Dr. Whale looked at his watch. "Twelve hours or so now."

Graham nodded. "Then that's what we need to account for."

Everyone headed toward the security office, seeing Walter sitting and talking with Leroy, who leaned against the cabinets. Graham started asking questions, and Leroy and Walter were completely unhelpful. He sighed. "You two were the only employees on the floor last night. And you saw nothing?"

Walter shook his head, stifling a yawn. "Not a thing."

Emma frowned at the two. "Did anyone walk by?"

Leroy shrugged. "I didn't see nothin'."

Graham turned toward Mary Margaret. "Miss Blanchard, was there anything unusual you saw during your trip with your class?"

Mary Margaret shook her head. "I don't think so."

Emma crossed her arms, pointing towards the screen the security tapes were playing on. "We're looking at the wrong tape," she said. "This is the ward where Henry's class put up decorations, so if this was really the tape from last night, we'd see the banners the kids hung."

Leroy shook his head, looking at Walter. "You fell asleep again."

Walter glared indignantly. "You selling me out?"

Leroy raised his hands. "I ain't getting fired for this!"

Walter shoved him. "At least I don't drink on the job!"

Leroy shoved him back, snarling, and Graham placed himself between them. "Gentlemen, enough. Where's the real tape?"

The tape got switched easily when Leroy grabbed the real tape. They watched as John Doe got up and walked out of the door. Mary Margaret sighed in relief. "He walked out alone. He's okay."

Emma looked at the time stamp. "Four hours ago. Where does this door lead?"

Leroy's words brought a feeling of dread that settled in Emma's bones. "The woods."

***

Emma frowned when Graham stopped and knelt. "What is it?"

Graham looked up at the three women with him. "The trail runs out here."

Emma frowned. "You sure? Because I thought tracking was one of your skills."

Graham puffed up his chest a bit at her words. Emma held back a snort. "Just give me a second. This is my world. I got it."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Right. Sorry."

Mary Margaret looked at Emma curiously. "What does he mean, 'His world'? Isn't finding people your thing, too?"

Emma shrugged. "Sure. It's just that people I find usually run places like Las Vegas. Not a lot hit the woods."

Mary Margaret nodded. "That's an interesting job . . . finding people. How'd you fall into it?"

Emma shrugged. "Looking for people is just what I've done. As long as I can remember."

Mary Margaret smiles gently. "What made you start? Your parents? Henry told me that your . . . that you were from a similar situation to his own. Did you ever find them?"

Emma shrugged again. "Depends who you ask, really." According to Gringotts and magic, she'd just found her mother and godmother, and her father wouldn't be far away. According to Henry, she'd found them. But according to logic and all sense, her parents were dead for all she knew.

They turned around quickly when a crack sounded from behind them. Henry ran down the hill they were at the bottom of, stopping just short of running into Mary Margaret. Mary Margaret gasped, grabbing onto him so neither of them fell. "Henry!"

"Did you find him yet?" Henry panted.

Emma shook her head. "No, not yet. But you shouldn't be here!"

Henry huffed at her. "I can help. I know where he's going!"

Mary Margaret frowned. "And where's that?"

Henry looked towards her. "He's looking for you!"

Mary Margaret stared at him in surprise. "What?"

Henry sighed as if he was about to say something that was obvious. "You're the one who woke him up. You're the last one he saw. He wants to find you!"

Mary Margaret shook her head in denial. "Henry, it's not about me. I just . . . I think he's lost and confused. He's been in a coma a long time."

Henry shook his head. "But he loves you! You need to stop chasing him and let him find you."

Emma sighed. "Kid. You need to go home. Where's your mom? She's going to kill me and then you . . . and then me again."

Henry shrugged. "She dropped me at the house. And then went right back out again."

Emma scowled. "Well, we need to get you back immediately."

Henry shook his head, stomping his foot. "No! I - "

Graham interrupted them. "Guys!"

He walked up, holding up a band Emma had seen on Whale's patients at the hospital, and Mary Margaret gasped in horror. "Is that . . . ?"

Emma nodded solemnly, seeing the red stains on the band. "Blood."

Everyone went silent, before Mary Margaret took off, looking around frantically. "Where is he?" she demanded, turning back to Graham. "Can you see him?"

Graham pointed. "The trail dies at the water line."

They make their way to the shore, where they see John Doe lying in the water, unconscious. Mary Margaret gasped and cried out. "Oh my God! Oh my god! Oh my God!"

Graham grabbed his phone, dialing a number quickly as Emma bolted for the water. "I need an ambulance! At the old Toll Bridge, as soon as possible!"

Emma pulled John Doe to the shore as Henry looked towards the line of trees, and Graham and Mary Margaret ran to assist Emma, the latter shaking her head as a sob fell from her lips. "No, no, no! I found you!"

Emma rested her hand on her shoulder as she knelt next to her. "It's going to be okay, Mary Margaret."

Graham nodded. "Help's coming."

Henry frowned, looking down at John Doe. "Is he okay?"

Emma stood from her spot. "Henry . . . "

Henry shook his head, refusing to accept anything other than a definitive answer. "Is he going to be okay?"

Emma sighed. "Henry, don't look. Okay? Don't look."

Mary Margaret's eyes sharpened determinedly, and she linked her hands together, one palm on top of her other hand, and she pressed as hard as she could against John Doe's chest. "Come back to us," she begged, furiously and steadily completing chest compressions. "Come back to me!"

It was when she pressed her mouth to his to complete rescue breaths that he started breathing again and coughing up water. Graham quickly adjusted the man's position so he didn't choke, and John Doe looked up at Mary Margaret in nothing short of awe after he caught his breath. "You saved me."

Henry cheered happily, jumping up and down and looking up at Emma. "She did it. She did it! She woke him up!"

Emma nodded. "Yeah, kid," she smiled, patting Henry's head. "She did."

John Doe coughed again. "Thank you."

Mary Margaret sat back on her heels, looking him over. "Who are you?"

John Doe looked at her, eyes boring into hers. "I don't know."

Mary Margaret sighed, taking his hand. "It's okay. You're going to be okay."

***

The ambulance rushed John Doe to the hospital, and a nurse shouted for people to move. "Watch out! Coming through!"

Dr. Whale grabbed the edge of the gurney. "We got it from here."

Emma, Henry, Mary Margaret, and Graham all raced in behind them and met up with Queenie, Newt and Harry as doctors and nurses surrounded John Doe's room. They all watched through the outside glass door as he got treated by the doctors, Whale barking orders and taking charge.

All of a sudden, a blonde woman burst into the wing, and Queenie frowned. She knew she hadn't met everyone in Storybrooke . . . so why did this woman look familiar? "David!" she shouted, running for John Doe's room. "David, is that you?"

Dr. Whale stopped her inside the door, looking at her in bewilderment. "Excuse me- ma'am! You can't-"

The woman gasped, eyes falling on John Doe. "Oh, my God . . . "

Dr. Whale led her out of the room. "Ma'am, you can't be in here. Please, you can't be here right now."

"David," she whimpered, seeming unable to look away from the room.

Dr. Whale brought her to the seats outside the room. "You can't be here, ma'am. Can you wait over here for a second, okay?"

Mary Margaret looked towards the woman, watching as she paced around, talking quietly to herself. "Who is that?"

Regina's cold voice sounded behind them, making Emma stiffen. "His wife." Henry balked at the words, and Queenie turned to see the mayor smirk. "His name is David Nolan."

Emma was glad Regina's attention, for some reason, seemed to be focused on Mary Margaret, for it allowed her to take the remaining steps back to the wall, her hands bracing against it for support. She swallowed her gasp and looked from Mary Margaret into John Doe's - no, David Nolan's room. Doctors and nurses shielded the man from her view, but her heart pounded a tempo she hadn't felt in a long time. All she could think was one thing.

Inheritance tests don't lie.

Regina continued, not noticing Emma's inner turmoil as Whale finally allowed Kathryn into the room. "And that's his wife, Kathryn. And the joy on her face . . . well, it's put me in quite the forgiving mood." She turned to Henry. "We'll talk about your insubordination later. Do you know what insubordination means? It means you're grounded." Henry huffed, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

Kathryn came out of David's room, looking relieved. "Thank you," she smiled widely at Mary Margaret, tears in her eyes. "Thank you for finding my David."

Mary Margaret frowned, looking just as thrown as Emma, though Queenie knew it wasn't for the same reason. "Um, I-I don't understand. You didn't . . . you didn't know that he was in a coma?"

Kathryn shook her head and bit a glossy lip. "A few years ago, David and I were not getting along. It was my fault, I know that now. I was difficult and unsupportive. I told him if he didn't like things, he could leave. And he did. And I didn't stop him. It was the worst mistake I ever made."

Emma scowled at the fake-sounding story. "You didn't go look for him like any other wife would?"

Kathryn shook her head, guilt written all over her features. "I assumed he'd left town all this time. And now I know why I never heard from him. Now I get to do what I've wanted to do forever . . . say I'm sorry. Now we get a second chance."

Mary Margaret smiled tightly. "That's wonderful."

Dr. Whale walked to them, smiling. "Well, it's something of a miracle."

Kathryn perked up. "He's okay?"

Dr. Whale sighed. "Physically, he's on the mend but . . . his memory is another issue. It may take time to come back, if at all."

Mary Margaret looked over at him. "What brought him back?"

Dr. Whale shrugged. "That's the thing. There's no explanation. Something just clicked in him."

Emma frowned. "He just got up and decided to go for a stroll?" she asked, only half-joking.

Dr. Whale shrugged at her. "He woke up and he was delirious and his first instinct was to go find something, I guess."

Harry kicked Henry lightly when he muttered "Someone," under his breath.

Kathryn sighed in relief. "Can I see him?"

Dr. Whale nodded. "Yeah, of course," he gestured, leading Kathryn back into David's room.

Regina turned to her son. "Henry, let's go."

Henry turned as they started walking away. "Wait, my backpack!" He walked back to grab it and looked at Mary Margaret. "Don't believe them. You're the one he was looking for."

Mary Margaret sighed. "Henry . . . "

Henry smiled. "He was going to the Troll Bridge. It's like the end of the story."

Mary Margaret shook her head. "Henry, he was going there because it's the last thing I read to him."

Henry huffed. "No, it's because you belong together!"

Regina's hard voice called for him. "Henry."

With nothing left to say, Henry ran to join Regina. As the mayor led him through the halls, Emma pushed off the wall and ran after them, managing to catch up to them at the entrance of the hospital. "Madam Mayor!" she called.

Regina scowled in annoyance, then she looked down at Regina. "Wait by the car," she ordered. Henry nodded and left, leaving his mothers alone. Regina scowled as Emma took the remaining distance at a walk. "Miss Swan, I let you off the hook back there. Don't press it."

Emma frowned, running a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry, but Mrs. Nolan? Kind of feels like her story could be a load of crap," she said bluntly. "All this time, there's a John Doe lying around in a coma and nobody puts it in the news? Nobody goes looking? Something's not right here."

Regina shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, what else would make sense to you? Why would Mrs. Nolan lie? Do you think I cast a spell on her?" she asked sarcastically.

The witch in Emma wanted to say yes, but for the time being, Emma folded her arms. "I think it's rather strange you've been his emergency contact all these years and you only found her now."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Well, this town is bigger than you know. It's entirely possible to get lost here. It's entirely possible for bad things to happen."

Emma narrowed her eyes, hand twitching, wanting to hex the other woman. "And just when it's convenient, you manage to solve the mystery?"

Regina smiled sharply. "Thanks to you. That tape you found was a stroke of genius. So, we went back and looked at past tapes. Turns out Mr. Nolan's been talking in his sleep. He's been calling out for a 'Kathryn'. After that, it wasn't hard to put the pieces together. And here I thought you and Mary Margaret would be pleased. True love won out. So bask in the moment, dear. Were it not for you both, they would have lived their lives completely alone. That's why I'm willing to forgive your incessant rudeness. Because all this has reminded me of something oh so very important. How grateful I am to have Henry. Because not having someone? Well, that's the worst curse imaginable."

***

Mary Margaret watched David and Kathryn hug in his room. She looked down to her hand and distractedly fiddled with her ring as Emma walked back up. "Something's just not right here," Emma whispered to Queenie who nodded.

"Yes, I do believe Regina is up to something," Queenie agreed. She went to say something else, but gasped and went completely silent and still before she could. Newt and Emma grabbed her before she fell, letting her lean against them.

Mary Margaret had walked closer to the room where David and Kathryn were, not noticing Queenie.

The same thief from her earlier vision, looking like Mary Margaret, putting a necklace with a bottle around her neck and slinging a bag over her shoulder, taking a step and getting trapped in a net . . .

A finely dressed man that looks just like David Nolan coming out of a hiding place, laughing. "I told you I'd find you. No matter what you do, I will always find you."

Huffing, the thief scowled at him. "Is this the only way you can catch a woman? By entrapping her?"

"It's the only way to catch a thieving scum," the man replied sharply.

The woman scoffs. "Aren't you a real Prince Charming."

Queenie jolted out of the images with a gasp, only to list forward as her mind was sucked right back in, Newt having to throw his arm across her torso to stop her from falling face first to the floor.

" . . . where are my jewels?"

"I sold them!"

"What?"

"What do you care? Don't you have a palace full of treasures somewhere?"

"These were special. Among them was a ring that belonged to my mother. A ring I was about to give - "

The woman interrupted with a derisive snort. "The nag with the bad attitude? That's what this is about?"

The man scowled. "She's my fiancée."

She scoffed. "Good luck with that. You must be getting something impressive to have agreed to that union."

He frowned at her deeply. "Excuse me?"

The woman raised an eyebrow and sighed. "I know how this works. True love? It doesn't exist. It's all arranged marriages and business transactions. There's no such thing as love at first sight or first kiss. Let me guess . . . her kingdom wants to take over yours and this is, what, a last-ditch effort to avoid war?"

"This is not a takeover," the man shook his head, his frustration obvious. "It's a merger, and quite frankly, it's none of your business. Now, this is what's going to happen." The woman hummed noncommittedly, and the man folded his arms. "I'm going to cut you down and you will take me to whoever has my jewels and then, you're going to get my ring back."

The woman raised an eyebrow at him in challenge. "And why would I do that, Prince Charming?"

He smirked. "Because you don't want me to tell anyone who you really are." He pulled a piece of paper out of his tunic and unfolded it. When he held it up, the woman stiffened at the drawing of a woman who looked identical to her. "Snow White," the man named her, making her narrow her eyes. "Help me get my ring back, or I turn you over to the Queen's forces. And I have a feeling the Queen's not as 'charming' as I am."

Snow White's eyes were slits by the time the threat was delivered, and she finally huffed. "Well . . . I wouldn't want to stand in the way of you getting true love."

Queenie lurched backwards as the images came to an end, and Newt hastily ushered her to lean against one of the walls. "What was it?" he asked quietly. "What did you see?"

Queenie swallowed and looked at Emma. "Who did Henry say Mary Margaret is in his book?"

"Snow White," Emma folded her arms. "And he wanted her to read to John D - David because he thinks he's Prince Charming."

Queenie closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "And he claims you're their daughter," she said slowly, putting together the jigsaw puzzle in her mind. "Separated by them from a curse cast by the Evil Queen . . . a curse that, if powerful enough, can affect a Gringotts inheritance test."

Emma's face rapidly paled, and Harry looked at her in shock. "Aunt Queenie?"

"Queenie," Emma gulped. "I don't know what you saw - "

"I saw memories," Queenie cut across her. "I saw them when we were here the first time, but I saw more a few seconds ago. Those memories do not come from David Nolan. I saw Mary Margaret call him Prince Charming, and I saw him call her Snow White and threaten to turn her over to the Queen."

"Just like in Henry's storybook," Henry whispered.

"Sweet Circe," Newt looked back to David's room with wide eyes.

Emma trembled where she stood, emotions warring in her eyes. "Queenie," she began.

"I know what I saw, Emma," Queenie took her hands and squeezed tightly. "And I know you can't see them . . . but I believe Henry, Emma. A curse to freeze them in time for all these years . . . that's more than enough to affect an inheritance test." She turned to see Kathryn hug David tightly, but the man only had eyes for Mary Margaret as the woman turned on her heels and left, still twisting her ring around her finger. "Your test claims Mary Margaret and David are your parents . . . and like Henry says, they're Snow White and Prince Charming."

***

We found that having a Legilimens in town can really screw with Regina's plans, and we regret nothing. XD So Queenie's a believer . . . now what's she going to do with her newfound knowledge, I wonder? *rubs hands together eagerly* Oh, fanfiction, I love you so.

"The Price of Gold" is next, and the Swans and co. learn more about a certain pawnshop owner in town. They have some thoughts about him.

~ Miss Moffat

***

Hi lovely readers! I got bored and this appeared, so here we are lol. I'm not to proud of this one, but it's fine. I'm sure once we get to Jefferson and co. I'll be fine. Either way, "The Price Of Gold" is up next, and that'll be fun!

As always, stay safe, stay cool, and stay reading xx

 ~ Miss Singer <3 <3