Reset

He nodded his head and stepped back into the house and Emma turned around and made her way back down the pathway. She threw her crutch into the car and then threw herself into the driver’s seat with a sigh and thought for a few moments before picking up the radio, “hey, Sean, you copy?”

“Hey, Emma,” he answered quickly.

“Hey, how’s it going?”

“Nothing yet, checked the hospital and all the usual hangouts for the kids. You speak with the dad?”

“Yes,” Emma nodded and looked towards the house, “he’s got nothing. Kid’s run away before, he’s not happy at home and he’s not happy in Storybrooke. Keep looking, I’ll call David in and we’ll get together a search area.”

Chapter 64

It was twelve hours later and three o’clock in the morning when Emma hobbled back into the Sheriff’s office and saw Sean and David both sitting and looking equally exhausted.

“Anything?” David asked her.

She shook her head, “nothing,” she walked over to the map of the town on the wall which was covered by a piece of writable, see-through Perspex and picked up a marker pen and started crossing off the areas she had been checking.

“Regina rang for you,” David told her, “I told her you were still out looking.”

Emma nodded distantly, “I’ll call her in a minute,” she stared at the map and shook her head, “we’re out of places to look.”

“I think you need to talk to the dad again,” Sean said as he rubbed his tired face, “his history..”

“People change,” Emma mumbled, “I know what he was in your world but the man I spoke to earlier was worried for his son, I don’t think he has anything to do with it.”

David looked at Emma’s drawn face as she worried her lip while staring at the map, “Sean, why don’t you get home to Ashley and the baby?”

Sean stood up and looked at Emma but she was a million miles away so he simply nodded to David and then picked up his coat and left the office. After a few moments of silence David spoke again, “we’ve done all we can for tonight, Emma..”

“He’s out there, cold and alone,” Emma said determinedly, “I’m not going to leave him.”

“After what he did to you..” David started.

“People. Change,” Emma bit out and looked at him with resolve, “he did something because he thought he had no choice. I don’t honestly think he wanted me hurt, he just panicked. We’ve all panicked and done the wrong thing. I just don’t want to think of him as being alone out there.”

David silently stood up and walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulder and forcibly pulled her into a hug. The moment she was wrapped up in his arms she started to cry and shake uncontrollably and he held her tight and stroked her hair soothingly.

“You’ve done everything you can,” he whispered, “and now you need to rest.”

“But he needs me..” Emma snivelled.

“He needs you to be well rested and ready for tomorrow and the morning light,” David soothed, “we have done everything we can do for the evening. I’m taking you home.”

Any strength Emma might have had left in her wasn’t enough to argue with him so she simply said, “take me to Regina’s..”

“That’s what I meant,” David said as he let her go and picked up her oversized Sheriff’s jacket and placed it over her shoulders. He turned off the lights as they walked out of the building, Emma struggling on her crutch.

“Maybe Regina can find him, with magic?” Emma wondered in a daze.

“I spoke to her earlier,” David said sadly, “she said it can only work with someone she has a connection to.”

“Oh,” Emma said as they stepped into the bitterly cold night air and David locked the building up.

Emma thought and then frowned, “but I thought Henry was the connection?”

David looked sideways at her and shrugged, “you’ll have to ask her, that’s what she told me.”

They walked towards the car and David opened the door for her and helped her get inside, he took the crutch and placed it on the back seat before walking around and getting into the driver’s seat. He stole a glance at Emma who was still dazed and exhausted not to mention emotionally drained.

They drove in silence to Mifflin Street but David could see how Emma strained to look down every road, every alleyway on the short journey just in case she saw Joshua. By the time they pulled up at Regina's house it looked like Emma had lost all hope and her head lowered and she stared at her knees. The lights were still on downstairs and when David noticed Emma didn’t move he got out and walked around the car and got her crutch and then helped her out of the car.

They began to move slowly up the path, Emma in a state of confusion and possibly some shock as her mind conjured up unhelpful images of Joshua alone and needing her help. Halfway up the path they were suddenly bathed in light as Regina threw the front door open and stood in her pyjamas and dressing gown looking at them with a serious expression.