Emma Swan had been driving for nearly four hours and still hadn't seen one road sign for Storybrooke. What kind of a name was Storybrooke anyway she thought. When she'd looked it up online there was no information or maps of the town so she was slightly sceptical towards taking the job. All she knew was that it was located in Maine so that's where she had headed. It was coming up to 6pm so Emma was hungry but didn't want to stop until she got there, she was close to giving up and turning back around when she finally saw it. A green sign with large white lettering saying 'Welcome To Storybrooke'.
'Finally' she sighed and began to follow the winding road that led her into the town of Storybrooke. Emma wasn't due to meet her client until the following day so knew that she needed to find a place to stay. She slowed her driving down so that she was able to see the signs above the shops and other buildings hoping to locate a B&B or motel. After driving through what seemed to be the main part of town she finally found a quaint place called Granny's so parked her yellow bug and stepped out grabbing her overnight bag to take with her. Emma hadn't bothered to pack a whole suitcase as she was hoping to finish the job quite quickly. Stepping inside Granny's B&B she looked around at the decor, it looked quite homely she thought as she stepped up to the front desk to ring the bell.
'How may I help you?' a young girl with dark hair with vibrant red streaks asked as she ran down the stairs
'I'd like a room please' Emma told her as the girl walked around the desk
'Really? I mean sure, I'm Ruby'
'Emma'
'So Emma would you like a forest view or a square view?'
'Square's fine thanks'
'How long are you staying for?'
'Just a week should do it I think'
'Okay here's your key to room 4. I hope you enjoy your stay'
'Thank you' Emma smiled and headed up to her room. It was larger than she thought it would be which was a pleasant surprise for Emma who was used to having to work out of her car more often than not. She unpacked her clothes before sitting down on the bed and beginning to look over the file for the job that she had been taken.
She had been hired by a Mr Mills. He had hired Emma to find a woman that he had been searching for over the past few months, he had not told her why yet but he told her that he would explain all the details when they meet in person. All Emma knew was that the woman would be about 26/27 by now and that she used to live in Boston. Emma's forehead screwed up, this wasn't really much to go on, the description could fit a hell of a lot of people, so knew that she needed to find out more, but found herself questioning how hard could it be to find someone in a town like Storybrooke, it surely didn't look too big. She wrote down the questions that she would need to ask tomorrow and decided to put the file away. It wouldn't help looking over it anymore, she decided to go and find something to eat, and she had drove past a diner on her way here so thought that she would try there.
'Is everything okay with your room Emma?' Ruby asked when she saw Emma walking past the reception desk.
'Oh yes it's fine thank you'
'I forgot to tell you that there's a diner down the street, my Granny owns it as well as here so if you show your room key when you're there you get a discount on the food you order'
'Okay thank you' Emma said as she pulled her jacket tighter around her. The wind had picked up so she hurried towards the diner when it started to rain 'Great' she moaned, keeping her head down to avoid the rain when she crashed into someone.
Emma looked up and saw that she had knocked their coffee all over her shirt 'OW! Shit' she said as the coffee soaked her shirt and burnt her skin
'Are you okay?'
'Yeah it's just a bit hot, it's my fault I wasn't looking where I was going'
'No it was mine, who runs with a hot coffee' the stranger smiled 'Listen I'm in a rush but I'll see you around' he said running off
'Hey what's your name?' Emma called
'Jack!'
The next morning came quicker than Emma had wanted, she loved her sleep and could have done with at least another hour but knew that she had to get ready to meet her client. She pulled on her jeans, vest top and red leather jacket before grabbing the file and heading out of the door. She found the address 108 Mifflin St. and headed off to make sure that she got there in time and didn't get lost. Emma pulled up outside a huge white house
'Jeez, must be rich' she commented before climbing out of her car and heading up towards the door and knocking. Whilst she waited for someone to answer she couldn't help but looking around the gardens, taking in as much as she could. This was a habit that Emma had picked up as a young child. When you move from foster home to foster home as frequently as Emma had then you learn to pick up on the little details that can tell you a lot about a person.
'Hello' a boy of about 9/10 said as he pulled open the large, white front door
'Hi there, my names Emma Swan and I'm her to meet with a Mr Mills. Is he here?'
'Sure come on in' he said opening the door wider to let her pass 'Go straight ahead into the dining room'
Emma sat down on one of the chairs and placed the folder in front of her when the young boy followed her in 'So is Mr Mills upstairs or...'
'I'm Mr Mills' the boy said taking a seat at the table
'What?' Emma asked confused 'You're Mr Mills?'
'Henry'
'And you're the one who hired me?'
'That's right' Henry smiled, looking pleased with himself
'Kid look, I don't know what's going on here but I have to go' Emma sighed walking towards the door, she was pissed at herself for taking a job that ended up being a waste of time.
'I hired you to find my mom!' Henry told her causing Emma to stop in her tracks, turning round to look at the kid and seeing the pain in his eyes that she was used to seeing growing up around unwanted children.
'Your mom?'
'Yes my birth mom. I'm adopted you see but I want to meet my real mom'
'Henry, are you still here? I forgot my purse, who are you?' A tall brunette wearing a grey suit asked when she saw Emma 'and what are you doing talking to my son, in my house?'
'I'm Emma Swan, there seems to have been a misunderstanding, I think we should talk'
'Please sit down. Henry go upstairs and finish your homework'
'But mom'
'No buts' Henry sulked out the room 'I'm Regina by the way, now explain'
'I was hired to find someone by a Mr Mills, I had no idea that it was your son that hired me I thought that it was an adult which is why I came here. I should explain that I specialise in finding people'
'And who was it that he hired you to find?'
'His mother. Well his birth mother'
'I see. You can't carry on with this job Miss Swan'
'I know that' Emma scoffed 'As soon as I found out that it was your son had hired me, I knew that I couldn't continue with the case'
'So I guess you won't be staying in Storybrooke much longer then, now that this turned out to be a bust?'
'No I won't be why?'
'Just curious, you see we don't get many people coming here'
'Probably because it's so hard to find'
'Yes that must be it.'
As Emma got in her car to drive away from the Mills household, she looked in her rear view window and saw Henry looking disheartened at his bedroom window. She saw the sorrow in his eyes, she knew better than anyone how hard it was growing up not knowing who your parents are and why they wouldn't want you but knew that it would be wrong to take the case. Emma couldn't shake the feeling that something was not quite right in this small town and truly felt for Henry but couldn't wait to get the hell out of there and start a real job.
