Raised By A Pirate *On Hiatus*

Missing It

~Two Weeks Later~

Vanessa left the coffee shop. As she took a sip she remembered the coffee at Granny's. She missed it there. When she first got there she thought it was a weird town but while she spent time there she grew to like it. 

She didn't know what it was that made her miss the town so much. Everyone there didn't like her, Snow and Charming didn't want her, there was nothing for her there.

And yet she missed it.

She walked to her apartment and saw a small box sitting in front of her door. Confused, she picked it up and carried it inside. 

Setting her coffee down, she sat at the small table. Taped onto the front of the box was a note

'I know I can't make up for lost time or everything else you went through, but here's a start.

I love you so much, Butterfly -Charming'

Vanessa put the note aside and opened the box. A small gasp left her lips.

Inside was a red and silver butterfly necklace

She carefully pulled it out of the box and held it in her hands. 

A red butterfly... This wasn't just a necklace. There was so much meaning behind it. Her name meant Butterfly and her favorite color was red... She was never giver anything that had meaning behind it. 

Hook had gotten her a few things back before he left but they never had meaning behind them. Or at least not this much meaning

Vanessa wiped the tears she didn't realize had fallen. 

'Why am I crying?' She thought 'It's just a necklace...'

She put the necklace on and looked at the note. He had called her Butterfly. It was the first nickname that wasn't a variation of her name like Ness and Nessa. 

She smiled at the note and put it in her nightstand drawer. 

~Storybrooke~

David sat at the kitchen counter. He hadn't slept or eaten much since Vanessa left. He was worried about her

Snow and Emma were worried about him. David tried to assure them that he was fine and he tried to pretend that Vanessa leaving didn't bother him as much as it did but they saw right through him

He took another sip of his coffee. 

"David, why don't you take a nap. You're tired" Snow said, walking in holding Neal

"I'm fine" He gave her his signature smile. The smile didn't reach his eyes and Snow could see that. 

She's known him so long she can tell when he's lying. He wasn't very good at hiding it either

"David..." There was a warning tone in her voice "You haven't been the same since Vanessa left... It's worrying us"

David sighed and set his head down on the counter. She was right. He hasn't been his normal fun, charming self. "I know... I'm just worried about Ness..."

Snow set Neal down in his high chair and put her hand on her husbands shoulder

"I know you are, I am too. But she's a strong girl. She's been in this world before, she can take care of herself"

She went over to feed Neal

'Because we couldn't take care of her...'

~New York~

There was a knock at Vanessa's door. When she opened it no one was there, just an envelope. She picked it up and took it inside

She opened it and inside was a note, it was dated nearly a year ago

'Vanessa, I'm in Storybrooke with Emma. I don't know when or if I'll be back.

I hope you decide to come here soon and see your family, they miss you.

But I know you too well. You're stubborn, like Emma. You make a decision and you stick to it. So just in case, you don't come here and we don't see each other again I just want to say Thank You. 

Thank you for being there for me when I needed someone, You're the only person who I could ever tell the real reason I was upset. 

In my apartment, on the top shelf of my bookshelf behind some books is a box. Inside the box is some money. Take it. Take it all. I know you have some of your own but I want to make sure you'll be okay alone in New York. 

Hopefully, I'll see you soon -Neal'

Vanessa stared at the note. She looked at the envelope, there were tons of stamps that signified it had gotten lost in the mail. 

A few tears ran down her face. She missed Neal, he had been her only friend in this or any world. She grabbed the key for Neal's apartment that he had given her a while ago

She ran to his apartment and went in. After grabbing a chair and standing on it she moved the books. Sure enough, there was a box

She opened the box and pulled out the money. There was over $800

"I can't take this... This should be for Emma and Henry..." She said to herself. Vanessa had enough money to take care of herself. She had gotten many jobs since she's first came to the Land Without Magic

She put the money back into the box and took it to her apartment. She put it on the table and made a mental note to give it to Emma next time she saw her

If she ever saw her again...