A season 1 Neverland AU. Emma is still trying to adjust to her new life as Sheriff of Storybrooke and mom to Henry, who still believes everyone in town is a fairytale creature. When she finds a badly beaten, one handed man while patrolling, she’s convinced he’s crazy. He is, after all, rambling about fairies and shadows and crocodiles. But when Henry is suddenly taken by what Emma swears (but can’t believe) was a shadow, the madman in the hospital might be her only hope of getting her son back. Whether he likes it or not.
It’s still early when Emma makes her way down Main Street towards the pawn shop, most of the town still asleep - except of course her roommate who had been heading to school early every day this week, out of the house by the ungodly hour of seven. She’s not sure she believes her - some excuse about a science fair Henry never mentioned - but she has more important things to deal with this morning. She’ll ask Mary Margaret about it tomorrow.
Making her way past Granny’s, she notices David leaving, nudging the door open with his elbow, a coffee in each hand. He offers her a friendly but guilty smile and Emma nods back at him. She doesn’t have anything against the guy personally; it’s not his fault he broke her friend’s heart. But there’s something to be said about girl code, she reminds herself as she reaches the shop.
She doesn’t notice the glass until it crunches under her boot. Emma looks down, lifting her foot and noticing the shards that line the sidewalk just outside the door. Hand on the doorknob she notices the shattered pane in the window above it, patched up with cardboard and duct tape, and frowns. Another break-in? She double checks that she wore her holster today even though it looks like this happened a few days ago if Gold’s already patched it up. But he didn’t call her to report it and suspicion and intuition prickle at the back of her neck.
The bell above her head lets out a small chime when she enters the shop. “Good morning, Miss Swan,” Gold says, looking up from the ledger in front of him. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” His grin is polite, as always, but she fights the urge to narrow her eyes at him, at the constant hint of sarcasm that always accompanies that smile. There’s a cut above his eyebrow, just barely hidden by his hair falling over it, but noticeable to someone used to looking.
“What happened here?” she asks, shutting the door behind her and crossing the shop cautiously. She can’t put her finger on it but something looks out of place. It’s not as if there’s ever been any real, discernable order to the store, but something just feels… off. She notices an empty display case, the glass missing where the others are locked shut and gives the owner a look she thinks might be a bit too accusatory.
Mr. Gold shrugs. “Local vandals.” His tone is dismissive. “Came in, took a thing or two. Nothing valuable.”
“And you didn’t think to report it?”
“They were teenagers from the high school. I came out of the back and scared them off - they must have thought the shop was empty. I didn’t want to get them into trouble. I’m sure you know better than most how devastating a run in with the law can be at such a young age.”
Emma bites the inside of her cheek at the sympathy mimicked in his tone, the knowing reminder hidden beneath it. “You didn’t have any trouble reporting Ashley when she broke in.”
“Ah, but you weren’t the law then, Sheriff,” he adds with a small, conspiratorial smile. She doesn’t believe him.
“They do that to you?” She nods at the cut on his forehead, bruising visible as he brushes his hair back to touch it, much worse than she originally assumed.
“This? No, no. That was another matter entirely. I was tidying in the back room and forgot my cane in the front of the store. I’m afraid my leg wasn’t up to it,” he explains, patting the leg in question. “I took a fall and hit my head on the desk.” Another lie. She eyes him suspiciously as he feins embarrassment, but it’s not as though she can do anything about it.
“Were you looking for something?” he asks then. Emma raises a brow in confusion and he sweeps a hand out towards the store. “A gift for the boy perhaps? I just got some books in that I think he might enjoy very much.”
Emma shakes her head. “No, um, thanks. I was actually hoping you might be able to help me find someone - or something.”
The corner of Gold’s lips twitch up. “How very cryptic and fascinating,” he muses. “I thought finding people was your specialty, Sheriff.”
A season 1 Neverland AU. Emma is still trying to adjust to her new life as Sheriff of Storybrooke and mom to Henry, who still believes everyone in town is a fairytale creature. When she finds a badly beaten, one handed man while patrolling, she’s convinced he’s crazy. He is, after all, rambling about fairies and shadows and crocodiles. But when Henry is suddenly taken by what Emma swears (but can’t believe) was a shadow, the madman in the hospital might be her only hope of getting her son back. Whether he likes it or not.
“Sheriff Swan.” Regina walks into her office like she owns the place, not bothering to knock. “Where’s my son?”
“Excuse me?”
“Well he’s not at home so I assume he must have snuck off to do something ill-conceived with you as that seems to always be the case.”
“What are you talking about? I haven’t seen Henry since the weekend.” In fact, he’d told her that they needed to hold off on Operation Cobra because his mom was getting suspicious. She knows though that it’s because he’s mad at her. He has been since she had to tell him she had Killian committed. And he’s been avoiding her. “Are you telling me you don’t know where he is?” Emma demands as Regina’s face grows from smug and annoyed to concerned. “It’s after seven!”
“He didn’t come home from school. I just assumed… He’s probably with a friend.” Emma wants to snap at her. Even when Henry is concerned she can’t back down, needs to be right rather than admit she screwed up and needs help.
“He doesn’t have any friends - at least none his own age,” she reminds the woman, even though it’s painful to say. It’s Regina’s fault Henry never befriended any of the kids at school. How could he, with a terrifying mother who kept him under lock and key? “Did you check his castle?”
“No. I came straight here.”
Emma grabs her keys off the desk. “You go check the park. I’ll go to Granny’s and see if he’s been there.” She may hate the woman, but this is Henry. It seems Regina’s willing to put their mutual distaste aside for this as well since she shockingly agrees and follows her out to her own car.
“Call me if you find him,” the Mayor orders and Emma nods, demanding the same courtesy in return.
She reaches Granny’s quickly, both the owner and Ruby hurrying over to her when she walks in and she realises she must look as worried as she feels. “Have you seen Henry? Is he here?”
Granny shakes her head. “No. But he was here earlier pouring over the storybook and a couple others.”
“Which books?” Knowing her kid, wherever he is it probably has something to do with the damn curse.
“I’m not sure. Kids books from the looks of them. Ruby, you served him.”
Ruby shrugs apologetically. “It was busy. But yeah they looked like regular kids books - fairy tales and stuff. One had a picture of a ship in it. I only remember because he covered it when I came up to him.”
“A ship?” Ruby nods. “Maybe he went down to the docks?”
“Hey Leroy!” Granny calls and the gruff, stout man looks up in annoyance. “You see the Mills boy today?”
“Why would I be hanging around with kids? I ain’t a babysitter.”
“You’re looking for Henry?” David walks over to them, a tray of takeout cups in his hand. “Is he okay?”
“He’s missing. Have you seen him?”
“He came by the animal shelter about an hour ago. Wanted to know if we’d found any crocodiles.”
@donteattheappleshook Wow, this one left me just as on the edge of my seat as the last one!! I’m dying to know what happens next!! I know that crafting something this good takes time, but I am going to be so anxiously awaiting your next installment. I love how I feel like we’re piecing it together and we have some clues and suppositions to how things connect and what is going on, but you still have me wondering what is going on exactly at the same time. Is Pan there? Or is Gold involved in what happened to Henry instead? What will happen to Hook if he helps Emma and returns to Neverland? All of it is just swirling around in questions and guesses and intrigue, and it just keeps me glued to your every word!
Still, you never lose the emotion or the characterization despite the amazing plot you have going. That is seen particularly in Emma’s conversation with Henry, both at Killian’s cell and then out in the street. You feel so much for both of them and where each one is coming from, and also how true to both characters they are written. We see it again when Emma confronts Regina outside Gold’s shop, and in Hook’s manner when Emma comes to beg his help. You write all of them so well, and it adds so much impact to your tale. I only hope they can get to “him” - whoever Hook believes to have taken Henry - in time. I’ll be waiting with bated breath!
I finally had a chance to read your lovely reviews. Thank you as always for your lovely words I’m on holiday for 2 weeks and I can’t write but I’ll get you more chapters soon
A season 1 Neverland AU. Emma is still trying to adjust to her new life as Sheriff of Storybrooke and mom to Henry, who still believes everyone in town is a fairytale creature. When she finds a badly beaten, one handed man while patrolling, she’s convinced he’s crazy. He is, after all, rambling about fairies and shadows and crocodiles. But when Henry is suddenly taken by what Emma swears (but can’t believe) was a shadow, the madman in the hospital might be her only hope of getting her son back. Whether he likes it or not.
Thank you @the-darkdragonfly for helping me figure out what the hell is even happening in this fic and thank you @elizabeethan for letting me complain and virtually shout ideas at you <3
***
Part 3
Emma glances up over her phone at the man lying motionless on the hospital bed, wrist firmly secured to the railing with her cuffs. The cuffs that Whale had refused to let her take off him, right before he’d refused to let her leave the hospital while ‘that psycho’ was still in here. Take him to a jail cell or stay here with him; I don’t care. But I’m not taking responsibility for him! the doctor had insisted, rubbing gingerly at his neck, his eyes nearly as crazed as his patient’s had been a moment before.
She’d taken a look at him, the bruising and the dried blood - he needed a hospital, not a cell. And so here she is, nearly three hours later, curled up in an uncomfortable hospital chair, switching between apps on her cell while she waits for this guy to wake up. She could have sworn she saw him move or heard him make a noise but as she watches him still as the dead, she knows it was just wishful thinking. Whatever was in that syringe really did a number on him.
Groaning, Emma looks at her watch. She wonders if she’ll have to spend the night here. Maybe the Sheriff’s station would have been a better idea after all. At least there she could have gone home and taken a nap or at least used the cot Graham had kept in the back. The hardest part had been convincing Henry to go home - even after Regina had shown up and chewed her out for putting her son’s life in danger. Emma hadn’t bothered to explain that she’d explicitly told Henry not to come.
“You let him run wild while there was a violent madman with a knife on the loose?” she’d demanded.
“It was a scalpel-” Emma corrected somewhat under her breath.
@donteattheappleshook Sheesh! I wish I weren’t three whole chapters behind, but I am hoping to do my best at getting caught up tonight. You do such a good job with this one in particular of grounding Emma very much in the here and now. She doesn’t believe in magic and fairy tale villains and all of that yet, but -practical as she is - she also believes that this stranger believes what he is telling her. She can sense this injured (and maybe crazy, to her mind at least) man is telling the truth, and she is genuinely trying to help him. And that scene where he was trying to help the little girl, and Emma stepped in to defuse things? She could see that he was genuinely worried and wanted to protect the child, even if his methods were off. I just really like the way you are portraying her in this, and I am really enjoying revisiting your story’s version of this timeframe I’m the show as well!
It really gets me when you give us those little moments where Emma breaks through to him, and she sees the pain and trauma he has been through, sees the fear that is also deep in his psyche. She doesn’t know who this “Crocodile” or “The Boy” are- but she can tell they are dangerous. That feeling of being kindred with him, or sensing they have something deep in is really nicely woven throughout this chapter as well. I am still very much curious and anxious to find out how Killian was hurt in this story verse, and if “the Crocodile” was behind it. Or is Pan there in Storybrooke? (That would be really bad! ) I am definitely worried about MM’s suggestion that Emma go to Gold with her search for who these people might be…
I’m going to try to rein in my rambling so I can read the next chapters as well, but as ever, you are telling an amazing story, and I really do love it!!
GASP! A Marta reblog!!
Thank you so much for the lovely words @snowbellewells You always make my day
