Rain was pouring down the windows of the yellow bug Emma Swan clung to with all her life. Tears streamed down her face and she slammed her head down on the steering wheel, punching herself for being so stupid. She should have known Neal would leave… Just like Lily, and her parents, and her foster families but Neal was different. She thought he was different. He was someone who had grown up an orphan like her, alone in this world, and he was trying to help her pick up the pieces. But no… Even Neal knew that she was too broken to be whole again and had managed to find someone better, someone who was not as shattered as Emma Swan. She never should've trusted anyone but herself. She never should have opened her heart up to him… or to anyone.
Driving out of Boston, Emma only had one place to go, Maine. Back to her adoptive parents who she hadn't seen since she was 18 when she fell in love with Neal and moved out to Boston to live with him. Her mother had cried so much the day she left and now, 10 years later, Emma had only talked to them on the phone and through email. Neal had always reminded her that she didn't need them but now, more then ever, she was realizing how blinded she was. Between the rain, her tears, and the speeding bug, she was an all around cliché and she ready to come home.
Storybrooke, Maine, lay hidden in the woods, small and quiet, just the way Emma had left it. She forgot how peaceful a town could be without the blaring of cop cars, horns, and construction going on at all times like it was in Boston. She pulled the bug up to Granny's diner first. She was exhausted and looked like death but she was also starving and it had been way too long since she'd had a grilled cheese and fries from Granny's. Ruby was cleaning the counter and shot a passing glance at Emma before returning to cleaning. "Welcome to Granny's diner, what can I getcha?" Ruby asked, unenthusiastically.
"Well that's one way to welcome me back," Emma laughed. Ruby stopped cleaning the counter and looked up at Emma. Emma started to get flushed, She doesn't remember me… Why would she remember me, Emma thought. But Ruby had started to smile. "Oh... my… Emma! Emma Swan!" Ruby screamed, running around the counter and squeezing Emma in her arms. "You crazy son of a bitch! I haven't seen you in… "
"Way too long… Yeah," Emma finished for her. They stared at each other and Ruby beamed until she saw how skewed Emma's make-up was. "Wait… Why are you here… What did he do to you…" Emma took a deep breath, knowing Ruby, she would probably head straight for Boston and punch Neal out if she didn't calm her down. "Nothing I can't handle myself," Emma stated blankly, letting go of Ruby and sitting back at the counter, the weight of the day pushing her down again.
"I'll kill him. I'll rip him apart I swear, Emma if he hurt you…" Ruby's eyes seemed to gleam with her anger and Emma could feel her nails scraping the counter like an animal ready to pounce. "He cheated on me… and I left… I left my job, my life, I've just wasted 10 years of my life and for what?" Emma slammed the table knocking over some glasses at the other end. Ruby softened, going in again for a hug and holding her tightly to her chest. "I think you need a grilled cheese and some water," Ruby whispered.
"I think I'm gonna need something a bit stronger then water," Emma laughed.
It was almost 2 in the morning by the time Emma made it to her parent's home on the edge of town, and she tried to open the door but found it locked. "Shit," Emma spat. It's not like she couldn't get in, it was just going to take a couple extra minutes, and she was swaying rather dangerously after Ruby had started pouring whiskey. Pulling a bobby pin out of her hair she stuck it in the lock, and took out her swiss army knife to shove below it, turning the knife slowly until she heard the click click click of the locks. "It's all about the tumblers," She muttered, half laughing as the door swung open and there stood David Nolan, her adoptive father, aiming a frigen sword at the door. Emma yelped, stepping back and knocking over the coat hanger by the front door. "…Emma?" David asked sleepily, still holding some ancient sword Emma had probably seen hanging on the wall at some point.
"Are you going to duel me now?" Emma laughed. David's eyes lit up, and the sword had just barely hit the ground before her father had hugged her so tightly she could barely breathe. "Sorry I haven't… Sorry I couldn't… I'm sorry…" Emma flustered, holding her dad close to her.
"Sh, you're home and that's all that matters." She smiled up at her father. This is exactly what she had needed. "Um… there's one little thing though, uh, a co-worker of mine got a little too drunk tonight and is kind of crashed on your bed," David whispered, trying to hold in the chuckle at something Emma didn't understand. "No problem. I always loved this couch anyways," Emma smiled throwing herself onto the old sofa. She felt a blanket being put around her and a kiss on her forehead. She rolled her eyes but it wasn't unexpected. David and Mary-Margaret always did have an overly protective side when it came to Emma. She closed her eyes. She was home.
Emma opened her eyes to the sound of opening and closing of cabinets. Her head felt like someone had tried to rip it apart. A man in a black leather jacket stood behind the counter and she could just make out the black mess of hair on his head, and the scruff on his jaw. He seemed to notice her the same moment she noticed him. She shot up. "What... Where…" Emma tried to put the pieces together of what exactly happened yesterday. Her stomach dropped at the memory of Neal telling her he had fallen in love with someone else, of the tears, the drive, whiskey and somehow ending up on the couch instead of her bed.
"Morning there, love," The man laughed. So there's an Irish man in our home, Emma thought. He turned around to reveal his face, with a crooked jaw and piercing blue eyes, and one eyebrow raised in amusement at Emma's attire. Holy shit…, Emma thought, suddenly feeling rather exposed in her own home. She looked down and realized she was still in her dress from yesterday's dinner with Neal, tight and pink, and completely inappropriate at this hour but she was over it. The man in the tight leather jacket would have to too, Emma thought, I don't have to look pretty right now, even if… even if he does. She looked over at the mirror and found some kind of Emma/creature looking back at her. Alright, maybe I should try and fix my hair a little bit, Emma thought, combing her hands through her long blonde knot of a hair to look somewhat presentable. He was still staring at her when she stood up, his eyes running down her body with his eyebrow still raised in amusement. "So you must be the lass whose bed I stayed in last night," He remarked. Emma blushed, "Yeah, I guess that's why my head hurts so bad from this couch."
"Well I've kind of taken over your room love, but I guess I'll be returning that now," He smirked, holding out a cup of coffee for her to take. Emma walked suspiciously to him, and he slid the cup into her hand, lingering for just a second, "It's bad form to keep something that isn't yours." Emma felt herself blush again, pulling her hand away. "So you work with my father," She asked, trying to change the subject off of her bed.
"Yeah, I was a sailor for awhile but I, uh, quit that a couple years back and David was kind enough to give me a job doing construction for him." Emma nodded, staring into his eyes until he seemed to be the one getting uncomfortable and looked away from her, but she saw a smile under his breath. "I'm Emma Swan."
He laughed, "Oh I know. You are something of an open book around here, Swan. I'm Killian. Killian Jones."
"Well Killian, what do you mean I'm an open book, you don't even know me," She was getting defensive, she knew it, but something about Killian made her feel her guard was coming down, and she wasn't about to let that happen. "Sorry, mate, Your parents are uh, very proud to have a daughter like you. I've heard some pretty impressive things about THE Emma Swan," Killian smirked at her, giving her a dazzlingly handsome crooked smile and making his way to the door. "But I think I've overstayed my welcome tonight. It was a pleasure to meet you Emma Swan," Killian winked at her before closing the door behind him. She felt herself blush for the third time that morning and shook her head. He was going to be bad news, She thought. She could feel it.
Emma fumbled her way up the stairs to her old room, trying to be quiet so as not to wake her parents. Her room hadn't changed in the slightest. Remnants of teenage angst littered her vanity and walls and she laughed until her eyes met a dream catcher hanging by her bed. One of the first things Emma and Neal had stolen together that had always made her smile. She ripped it to the ground. "I think I'll take my chances with nightmares," She spat. Flopping on her bed, she could feel the tears pricking her eyes again, memories of running off with Neal, of leaving this behind, all coming back to her and there was nothing she wanted to do more then sit her and cry until her voice broke and her heart had closed off for good, but she was stronger then this. "Emma Swan doesn't cry in her bed like a child," Emma recited to herself.
Turning over in the bed she got a quick sniff of something that had definitely not been there before, it smelled like leather, and rum, and something she couldn't put her finger on but smelled sweet like a garden after a storm. The Irish bloke, Emma thought, but she lingered on the smell. Something about it made her smile, but it quickly faded and Emma picked herself up and through her dress on the ground. I am here to change clothes, and connect with my family, that is all, Swan, Emma reminded herself, Swan? When did that get into my head? She shook her head, Must have been something people called me here, She tried to convince herself it wasn't to do with the Irish man handing her coffee in her kitchen.
It had been a long time since she had been home and she hadn't realized how much her clothing choices had changed in the past 10 years. It was by simple fate, that she managed to fit into a pair of her old jeans, slipping on a white v-neck and her boots, which were her favorite things to wear when she was 18. She walked to the closet ad laughed when she saw her old red leather jacket still hanging there. "Some things never change," Emma laughed, smiling and slipping her arms through the jacket. It smelled like home. She looked in her mirror. It had been a long time since she'd seen this Emma. But something about it made her warm inside. Something about it felt right.
Mary Margaret was up and making pancakes, when Emma walked back downstairs. David was chatting warmly to his wife and Emma watched, unseen, as David pulled his wife close to him, a look of complete love in his eyes. Her parent's were not a usual couple. It was like they were meant to be together. They completed each other in a way no one else could like two pieces of the whole puzzle. It was something Emma had always wanted and she looked somewhat sadly at the two of them, she knew she would never find a love like theirs.
"Emma?" Mary Margaret called, catching a glimpse of a red leather jacket trying to hide in the stairway. Emma finished walking down the stairs and gave a little smile to her mother. Mary Margaret beamed, "You are home! My daughter! My lovely Emma!" Mary Margaret was crying tears of joy and Emma couldn't help but laugh a little. "I missed you too, Mom, but please… pull yourself together," Emma laughed. Mary Margaret laughed and pushed the tears out of her face. "I'm sorry dear, I just, David and I have missed you so much," She looked at her daughter, a proud parent, a loving mother, no anger or regret behind her eyes.
"I'm sorry it took me so long to come back," Emma whispered, lowering her head to the ground in shame, and sticking her palms into her back pockets like she always had when she brought up unwanted topics.
"Well you're here now, and that's all that matters," Mary Margaret sat a plate of pancakes down in front of Emma and David nodded with her in agreement. "Eat your pancakes, princess," David joked. He knew Emma hated to be called princess, but he had always called her that anyways. "Habit," He winked when Emma rolled her eyes, but even she had to smile at the memory.
"So… how long are you staying here? Do you have to go back to work? What happened with Neal?" Mary Margaret wasted no time asking the hard hitting questions. Emma's stomach dropped. "Neal is…. Gone. Doing Bail Bonds isn't exactly something to keep me in Boston so I quit… and I'm home for… well awhile if that's alright with you," Emma kept her eyes at the ground, not willing to see the failure in her parents eyes.
"We're just glad to have you," David whispered, and Emma looked up. There was no sign of lying in either of their eyes and they held Emma's hands as tightly as she held theirs. She didn't mean to start crying, but once it started it wouldn't stop. For hours, her parents held her in their arms, and Emma clung to their backs. "I never realized how much I needed you guys, I was a child, and I hurt you," Emma spat at herself.
"You didn't come to us until you were 10, Emma…" Mary Margaret spoke softly, "You had no reason to trust us, or love us, and there was nothing we could do to help take away all the pain you had been through. We just wanted you to be loved."
"I know that… and I want to make-up for lost time… please," Emma pleaded. Her parent's eyes lit up and they started laughing.
"Emma you have nothing to make-up for," Mary Margaret laughed.
"But…" David smiled, looking at Mary Margaret before looking at Emma. "We do have something to ask you." Mary Margaret smiled and rubbed her stomach, where a little bulge was starting to show under her dress. "We love having a daughter, and were hoping that you would want to be a big sister? For our little boy?" Emma looked shocked at the two of them, and the smiles started to fade off their faces, "Emma…" They started.
"No! No! I'm just overwhelmed with happiness for you two, I would be honored to be a big sister," Emma smiled at the two of them and found all three of them squeezing each other on the couch. "Another little guy to add to our family," Emma laughed, and Mary Margaret beamed with pride at her little bump. "Our family," She repeated, pulling Emma close to her.