A/N: So, over on Facebook I suggested a story idea about Emma being in the Witness Protection Program and with so much feedback I decided to start writing it.

Now, I don't know much about the Witness Protection Program and a lot of it is just what I assume it would be like. This is also AU but I still try to keep the characters as they are, personality wise.

Thank you My for being an awesome Beta! :)

I don't own OUAT. What I have researched about WITSEC I will merge with my imagination. :)

ENJOY!

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The worst part about knowing her life was going to change is the time it takes to actually happen. What feels like an eternity is actually merely only a few days, but not knowing what day or time that pivotal moment will occur has her tense and jumpy. Taking a deep breath to relax her shoulders, Hope reaches for the nearest blanket and wraps herself up and settles on the couch.

It's mid March and Spring is taking its sweet time coming. She eyes the large orange envelope on her table; her new life word by word is typed on pearly white paper. Emma Swan. Her mind drifts to a brief memory of her and Neal watching the swans on the lake as they sit under an oak tree one summer afternoon. Neal, her ex fiancee and the reason she needs a new life. She shivered and brought the blanket tighter around her, her life wasn't hers anymore and she wished that she could go back and change it all, even go all the way back to before she met him; she would have never said yes to that hot chocolate with cinnamon.

It took her 6 years to realize he was a monster, his bad boy attitude won her over in the beginning and he was the top guy of a biker club. She was naive to think that the club was anything more than a group of lonely men. Hope found his dedication to the club appealing and she fell hard and fast and before she knew it, the red flags and late-night meetings that should have been evident were invisible to her until she witnessed the crime.

Shaking her head, she forced her thoughts down a different path, refusing to relive that memory. A loud knock echoed through the house and Hope jumped up immediately, the beating of her heart thumping loud in her ears.

"Coming," she yelled, scraping her bare thigh on the end table as she hurried to the door. As she opened the door, a gust of crisp cool air hit her face forcing her to hide slightly behind the door, awkwardly.

"Hello, ma'am this is Agent Kristos and I'm Agent Lorenzo."

A tall blonde said pointing to himself and his partner. Nodding her head, she waited for them to continue.

"We are here to pick you up, please gather all the belongings you wish to take with you. Assuming you read the instructions given to you, there shouldn't be a problem." the other partner stated, his hazel eyes quickly scanning his surroundings.

Hope felt the need to invite them in but knew they wouldn't accept, so she held up her index finger and quickly ran into the other room to retrieve her bags she packed a few days ago. She was glad she was one of the few who actually had the chance to pack and was given some notice; some don't even know a thing and are swept away in a rush and unable to pack a single bag or let alone turn off their stove.

With one last look around the house and grabbing the envelope off the table, she allowed the men to escort her to the black SUV parked a few houses down. Her heart ached for the life she was leaving but it was the only way to keep herself safe and as she plopped down onto the leather back seat, she sighed and told herself this was necessary.

"Hi, Emma." Hope heard and turned her head to the soft spoken woman.

She stared at the brunette, straight shoulder length hair and a dark navy blazer caught her attention.

"Uh, Hi." She was instructed to memorize her new persona but she couldn't do it and she was known to not listen to authorities from time to time. It was just all too overwhelming.

The brunette stared for a few seconds more and smirked, "You did not memorize..." she trailed off and Hope felt her cheeks warm up.

"I'm sorry." Hope chuckled, nervously.

"You were given instructions for a reason, Miss Swan."

Hope raised an eyebrow and cocked her head as she turned her body ever so slightly towards the brunette.

"And you are?" Hope asked.

"I'm Regina Mills, your wife."

Hope's eyes went wide and she began to laugh, loudly.

"I don't see anything funny about this, Miss Swan!" Regina spat, annoyance written all over her face.

"Will you stop calling me Miss Swan!" Hope spat right back, trying to calm her laughter and her nerves.

"I certainly will not, Emma! You are no longer..." Hope watched as the brunette opened up a file that sat to the left of the woman's hip, "Hope Nolan, you are Emma Swan and you will need to learn her completely; eat, sleep and breathe her!" Regina said looking up and meeting Hope's surprised face.

"Hope is gone and Emma is here. I know it's difficult but it's a must that we get this right, from now on you will be addressed as Emma, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," Hope whispered and turned her head to face the tinted window, willing herself not to cry; cry for the life of Hope Nolan.

"Emma," Regina whispered a short time after.

With a sigh, Emma turned her head to meet dark espresso brown eyes. "Yes?"

she noticed her eyes soften just a tad and a smile form on red stained lips.

"It's nice to meet you." She said and held out her hand to shake.

Emma shook her hand, a tingle ran up her forearm and she looked up to see Regina staring at their joined hands. Clearing her throat, she took her hand back and wiped it on her bare thigh, and only then did she realize she was wearing gym shorts, groaning in embarrassment.

"Will you take out your notes, I'd like to help you memorize." She heard Regina say. Nodding her head, she reached for the file and opened it.

"Emma Swan, age 28, from Storybrooke, Maine. Spouse: Regina Mills-Swan. Child: Henry Mills, age 10." Emma read out loud.

"Emma is the town's Deputy, working her way to become sheriff and Regina is the Mayor-" Regina read out loud.

"You are?" Emma asked surprisingly.

"Yes." was Regina's reply.

"Are you...you know... is your persona..." Emma trailed off.

"No, everything you read and everything you will come to know and witness is all me." Regina answered.

"Why?" Before the brunette could answer, Emma continued. "I mean why would you want to show the real you when the majority of the people around you are fake and...doesn't it feel rather invasive?"

Regina stared at the blonde, her green eyes squinted in thought as she waited for an answer. No one ever asked her that question, no one ever seemed to bother or care enough to know what she truly thought. It was rather scary how raw this woman just made her feel. Looking back up at Emma, she began to speak.

"Miss Mills, we are here." Agent Lorenzo interrupted.

"We're home." Emma heard the fake delight in her own voice and smiled; she could do this, she had to do this. She was Emma Swan: badass Deputy and a rad mom, a woman who took no crap from anyone- unless it was from her son and wife.

Overwhelmed was an understatement and she felt her hand shake as she pulled the door open. This is it, her new life.

A hand grabbed hers and she looked up to see Regina standing at her door, her green eyes locked with brown and she smelled her perfume; apples. They were close enough that her bare legs caressed the pant leg of her suit as she exited the SUV.

"Come on, they will grab your stuff. I'll show you our house." Regina lead her, hand in hand, away from the vehicle. She felt herself tighten her grip on the brunette's hand as she continued their walk down a smooth grey sidewalk. It was a quaint, small town and she felt the peace of it already. Emma smiled and took in the scenery of her new home.