So, if you suddenly had ten grand, what would you do? Who: Emma Swan and Michael Guerin What: Michael finds something unusual while working on Emma's car When: Today! Where: Out of This World Mechanics Rating/Warning: Low/None Status: Complete
Emma had planned to take the bug in ever since it showed up, but getting the time to go to a garage and leave her car had been a trial. With the little bonus that Roman had given her, she’d decided to rent a car for the couple of days hers needed to be in the shop to get properly looked over.
She just needed to be sure, since she sold her old faithful shortly after the little yellow magic machine from her dreams transferred over, allowing her a little bit of Storybrooke in Orange County. But it needed to be in proper working order and not a death trap in the process of happening.
Having given back her rental that morning, walking the distance to the garage, since it wasn’t far, Emma was just finishing her coffee as she arrived, heading into the reception to see if her bug was ready to leave with her.
When Michael started working on Emma’s car he figured it would be just like any other job. Because well he did this all the time. People brought in their cars, he fixed them, they picked up their cars. Yeah he sometimes found the odd item here or there. But never had he found ten grand.
Michael debated what to do with it. What kind of person just had ten grand in their car? And left it there when they were taking it into the shop? She had to have figured that he would realize why the window was stuck and take apart the passenger door, right? It was a risky move leaving it there. Not that Michael would steal it, he wasn’t that type of person. But he could have called the cops. Who knew if it was obtained legally or not. Michael wasn’t the kind of person either. He wouldn’t rat someone out. So he left it there until she returned.
He called her the night before to let her know her car was ready, not mentioning anything about the money. That seemed more like an in person thing. So he waited till she walked into the shop, giving her a small smile when she walked in.
“Hey,” he greeted walking around the counter. “So uh, about your car,” because how the hell else was he supposed to start this conversation.
That certainly wasn’t what someone wanted to hear about things when they walked in. “Aw crap, is it bad? Fumes? Leaks? It’s a dud, right?”
The dreams gave her a car, why would she think it would be in proper working order? Obviously it was sentimental, she had a lot of good memories with that car, even if they weren’t her own life experiences, the dreams felt like a whole life she’d led already, and the things attached to that car, they meant something that she’d never really had here.
“Just, hit me with it. Is it fixable?”
Michael just stared at her for a moment. Not only was she not seeming to get that he had found the cash. But she also seemed worried about having to fix the car. Which if she had ten grand lying around she really shouldn’t be worried about that.
“Uh, no,” Michael finally replied. “Did you forget you left something in the door?” he asked keeping his voice low even if it was just him and Emma in the shop right now. “Like ten thousand dollars?”
Left something in the door? Had she left tampons in the side compartment? Condoms? Something weird? She would’ve almost asked that if it hadn’t been for the follow up. “I’m sorry, ten thousand dollars?” this was the first that she’d ever heard of that.
“There was… ten grand, in my car?” Where the hell did that come from? It wasn’t like the car belonged to anyone before it arrived, it was technically hers from---
“Oh my god.” Emma had to lower herself into the seat nearby, remembering the last series of events to happen, when she’d last seen the car before going to jail in the dreams. “Neal.” It must’ve been the money from the watches, the money they were meant to use for their new start. Instead of him framing her for the theft. “Jesus, that’s just…” She was too stunned to really think straight.
Michael raised a brow watching Emma process it all. Okay so she didn’t seem to know anything about the money. She seemed genuinely shocked by it. Which was reassuring in a way. Because seriously who forgot they had that kind of money in their car?
Emma seemed to be close to freaking out and Michael well he wasn’t exactly good in situations like this. He never knew what to do. But still he walked over to the seat next to her sitting down and placing a hand on her back, trying to comfort her. “Who’s Neal?” he finally asked refraining from adding ’and why does he have ten grand in cash?’
The comfort attempt was admirable, given their relationship were so far just friendly exchanges for her car. But she needed it then. “He’s… well, he was my… boyfriend.” It was hard to explain Neal, since this was Dream Neal, not real world Neal. Real world Neal was barely involved in her life, but Dream Neal shaped her entire adult experience.
“We didn’t exactly part under good terms and,” that was a nice way to say he sent her to jail, right? She didn’t have that record here thankfully. “He must’ve left the money there when he sent me the keys.”
Michael was assuming this was all real life stuff. Not dream stuff. Of course he dreamed himself but he didn’t assume every person he met had dreams. His brow furrowed as he tried to comprehend what Emma was saying.
“So your ex,” he began. “That you didn’t end things in a good place with. Left you a car with ten grand in it?” Not that he was judging. To each their own. But the situation just didn’t make sense.
It did sound ridiculous, and it was, because it wasn’t like she and Neal were at all rational in their antics. Stealing things was just their thing. Even though she’d never gone to the levels that Neal had gone to. “He kind of left me holding stolen watches and called the cops on me.”
As far as Emma knew, that was how it happened. “We were meant to move to Tallahassee. Settle down together, start a life there.” The two of them against the world, and it would’ve been with Henry, just them and their little boy. It could’ve been perfect. “The car was… It was our home for the most part.”
“Well shit,” Michael replied. “He sounds like a real winner.” Who called the cops on their significant other. Especially if he was also partaking in stealing the watches.
“So he got your arrested and then put ten grand in your home?” Michael was judging Neal a little bit because that whole situation sounded really fucked up. But he was also still just trying to understand what happened and how ten thousand dollars had wound up in Emma’s car without her knowing.
“Likely a way to apologise for the shit he pulled, since he fled and I haven’t seen him since.” It wasn’t like Neal knew that she was pregnant. Emma hadn’t known either, but the fact that he’d lied to her, set her up, used her so that he could get away when he’d led her to believe they were going to go and be something themselves, together. It had felt awful.
And now she had to figure out what to do with ten grand, in cash. Should she donate it somewhere? Keep it? It wasn’t like someone in this world was missing it. Even if it was from stolen goods. “This has got to be pretty high up on the ‘weird things people leave in their car’ list, huh?”
“Hell of an apology,” Michael commented his hand on her back. He pulled away standing back up. That was enough comforting for him. Emma seemed mostly okay now and comforting people definitely wasn’t Michael’s speciality. Unless it was in the form of drinks. He was all for that kind of comfort.
“You’d be surprised what I find in cars,” Michael said with a smirk. “Once I found a toilet seat.” Who the hell would leave that in their car? “But yeah this is definitely up there.”
The crap that followed her from the dreams was starting to affect her in some powerful ways, most significantly, the walls were started to form. While she appreciated the attempt from Micahel to soothe the sudden discomfort, she appreciated that it didn’t linger even more, Emma able to parcel up all her feelings about Neal into a neat box and shove it right back down inside her and ignore the residual memories from another life.
“Toilet seat?” Thankfully, Emma didn’t need to clean her eyes, crying hadn’t happened and she hoped if it did she’d be alone for that. So focusing on Michael’s profession and weird shit that happened would be better. “I can’t even imagine how that would seem at all normal for anyone.” Who put a toilet seat in their car and then leave it there? “Was it on purpose? The toilet seat I mean.”
“You know, I didn’t ask,” Michael replied picking up on the fact that Emma wanted to change the subject which was perfectly fine with him. He wasn’t all that great with serious stuff. Not even with the people he was closest with. “I’m not sure I want to know the answer.”
“I can’t imagine the response would make sense.” Emma was still trying to figure out what she was meant to do with ten grand, but the distraction was at least something to focus on. “I’m struggling to think why anyone would need one in a car.” And the things she was coming up with shouldn’t really be shared.
With a sigh, Emma figured that it just was what it was. “So, if you suddenly had ten grand, what would you do?”
“Like I said, not sure I want to know. But at least it makes for a good story,” Michael replied with a grin. Or a good distraction in this case.
But then her question. Michael didn’t know the answer to that. He had never really had money in his life. Now he made enough to get by, with enough left over for his alcohol consumption, but he didn’t really need much in life. Well not material things at least. Part of him still longed for some sort of family, though he would never admit it. “I’d buy the mechanic that found it a shit ton of beer,” Michael finally replied, joking of course - trying to keep the mood light.
It worked rather well, because Emma couldn’t help but laugh at the comment, feeling something come loose in her chest, “I mean, it’s not a bad use of the money,” and she would honestly probably at least set Michael up with a decent thank you, not only for finding the money but for being so damn honest and telling her about it, rather than see if she noticed.
She was aware that some people might not have been so honest. “I guess I don’t need to worry about the car needing a whole lot of work.” She had ten grand, if she wanted she could buy a whole new car.
His grin only widened at her laugh. That was what he was going for after all. “I like Buweiser,” he replied keeping the joke going. This was what he was good at.
“Well in more good news, your car didn’t need all that much work.” He paused scratching the back of his head. “Although I am going to have to take the door apart again to get your money.” Because he had just left it there not really sure what to do about the whole thing until he talked to Emma.
“Can’t fault the taste,” okay, so a case of beer wasn’t that big a thank you, but it was probably a start. “How about I leave you to that, if you’ve got time just now, and I will actually go and get you a case of beer.”
Honestly, in the scheme of things, it wasn’t that big a deal, and Emma wasn’t joking. “There’s a store not too far down the street.”
“You know I was joking right?” Michael really wasn’t expecting her to actually get the beer. Not that he would turn it down. But he didn’t want her to feel like she had to. He didn’t need a thank you. He was just doing his job. So yes clarifying the joking part felt necessary.
“I can have it done and put back together in about twenty minutes,” he went on. And if she really wanted to go buy a case of beer in that time he wasn’t going to stop her.
“I know,” and she did, a light joke made in the moment. But Emma didn’t plan on not doing something for him. “So, I’ll pop off and see you in about twenty minutes?” It wasn’t like she was as hard up for cash like she used to be, but even she couldn’t snub ten grand.
And a little bit of something for other people, well that was just some good karma.
“See you then,” Michael said with a small nod making his way back to the car. That had all gone better than Michael was expecting, because really he didn’t know what the hell to think when he found the money. But it all seemed innocent enough and Emma seemed to have recovered from the shock. Michael called that a win. Especially if he was getting some free beer out of it.