Chapter 1

Late

Emma knew it was going to be a bad day. She had woken up late. Too late to go to Granny's and get her usual hot cocoa and a bear claw. Too late to make it to the town meeting on time. And too late to sneak into the meeting unseen. Yes. Today was going to be a bad day indeed.

Emma hurriedly pulled on a pair on jeans, threw on a black tank top, and grabbed her red leather jacket. She slipped her feet into simple black low top converse and ran to her yellow bug.

The sky was a bright blue with not a cloud dared to obscure it. The birds chirped happily, and the people of Storybrooke chatted peacefully. As Emma drove to the town hall, she couldn't help but notice these little facts about the day. She found herself growing increasingly irritated as it seemed that everyone was going to have a pleasant day but her.

Finally she arrived as her destination. Emma parked and ran to the entrance. The blonde took a large breath and let it out as she slowly began to open the door. The large doors squeaked as Emma opened them and Emma immediately felt like a teenager again, being caught coming home from a late night.

Deciding to get it over with, Emma fully stepped into the building and shut the door behind her. She made her way to an open seat in the middle of the room and sat down. Eyes were definitely on her, but Emma just stared forward. Being the center of attention had always made Emma feel uncomfortable but she learned to just ignore it and eventually they would stop. Although, it never helped when a comment was made.

"Thank Miss Swan for gracing us with your presence," the Mayor said condescendingly to her towns sheriff.

"Anytime Madam Mayor," Emma replied, smiling when she saw Regina's eyes glare at her. She pretended to hate this game of throwing insults or casting snide remarks, but honestly Emma loved it. It kept her on her toes, and in a small town like Storybrooke it was sometimes too easy to fall into a regular pattern. Verbally sparring with Regina was certainly frustrating, but it was also relaxing in a way that Emma could not explain to anyone. Even herself.

The rest of the meeting went on, Emma only having to speak a few times regarding late night shenanigans and whatever little disturbance had happened that week. Once their meeting was done, Emma was hoping to high tail it out of there and make it to Granny's but of course, Regina would not let her.

"Miss Swan," Regina said. "A word?" she asked, in a tone that meant that it was not up for discussion.

Emma slowly made her way to the table that oversaw the whole room and where Regina sat. As she made her way over, Regina couldn't help but notice Emma's demeanor. She wore the same usual clothes but her shoulders weren't as high as usual. The Mayor also noticed small, black circles underneath the Sheriff's hazel eyes. Once she realized that Emma had stopped walking and was close enough to talk, Regina stood up and began to speak.

"Why you were late today Miss Swan?"

"I was busy baking a cake," Emma laughed softly, making the Mayor roll her eyes.

"Is this all a joke to you Miss Swan? Because I take the safety of my town very seriously and if the Sheriff has time to be thinking of jokes whilst on the job then maybe we need a new Sheriff," Regina said sharply.

Emma placed her hands into the pockets of her red leather jacket, thumbs sticking out, showing that she wasn't fazed by what Regina had said.

"Actually I can multitask. Think of jokes and do my job," Emma smirked back. Deciding that their conversation was done, Emma turned around and began walking towards the entrance of the building.

Regina stared at Emma as she walked away from her. The blonde haired woman was always a pain that Regina had to deal with but on some level, a level that the Mayor would never admit, she enjoyed their short encounters.

Sighing, Regina neatly stacked her papers and made her way to the back of the town hall to her office. All the while pondering the subtle changes that she had seen in the blonde.

…

"What's up kid?" Emma asked Henry after he ran to her and gave her a big hug.

"Operation Cobra," he stated with a huge smile on his face. Emma ruffled his hair and led them to Granny's.

"Come on, let's get some hot cocoa and sit for a bit."

The two ordered their favourite drinks with extra whipped cream and sat down at an open booth. Henry immediately started talking about a new theory of his.

"Here," he said, giving the book to Emma. "Read this while I go to the washroom," he said quickly before running off.

Emma was about to just put the book down next to her, but it occurred to her that she had never actually read it before. She glanced through a couple of the pages until she landed at a page that held a woman dressed her black, standing as if she owned everything. The woman entranced Emma and she couldn't help but feel like she had seen this woman before.

"So?" Henry asked, pulling Emma out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" she replied lazily. Henry put his arms over the table, silently requesting the book back. Once he had it, he placed it back in his knapsack and continued on about his new theory. Emma tried to pay attention, she really did, but she kept thinking about who that woman in the book had reminded her of. Eventually Ruby snapped her out of her thoughts and brought her back to reality.

"Pardon?" Emma asked.

"I asked if either of you would like a refill," Ruby repeated.

Emma glanced down at her watch and gasped when she realized the time. If she didn't hurry she wouldn't get Henry home by 5.

"Sorry Rubes, next time. Come on kid, I gotta get you home," the blonde said quickly and hurried Henry out of there. She didn't mind sparring with the Mayor but not when it came to Henry since usually Regina was right and she was wrong. Not that she would ever admit that.

Henry got into the back seat of the yellow bug and Emma quickly drove Henry to his home. She was speeding a little, but not too fast to be considered dangerous, but still too fast for the Sheriff to be driving.

They made it, in one piece and on time. Something which Emma was very proud of. Henry said thanks for the drive and then ran to the large white house. Emma stilled for a minute, making sure that Henry got into the house safely and was then on her way.

Emma was going to go straight to Mary Margaret's apartment, but realized that she forgot her cell phone at the Sheriffs station. So she quickly made her detour and hoped that she wouldn't become side tracked at the station.

Upon arriving, Emma noticed that there was another car in the parking lot.

'Great,' Emma thought to herself. She let herself out of her car and them slammed the door shut. She just wanted an early night so she could hopefully regain some lost sleep, but her gut told her that that wasn't going to happen.

"Sidney," Emma said once she saw who was in the station. "What are you doing here?" she asked briskly. She was still mad at him for putting that bug in the flowers he had brought her, and it was not something that she was planning on forgetting anytime soon.

"Look Emma. I wanted to apologize for what happened. You know the Mayor. She has things over all of us. I was just -" Sidney tried to apologize but Emma quickly cut him off.

"Shut it. I don't want to hear anything that you have to say. If you have something to report concerning the law then by all means talk, but if not then leave," Emma snapped. Sidney looked as if he was going to try one more time, but then he thought better of it. He was quick to leave the station, and only when Emma heard the engine of his car start did she allow herself to sit down.

Sighing, Emma placed her head in her hands. She was exhausted. Not that today had been an eventful day, but lately she hadn't been sleeping well if at all. She only partially knew what was causing it, but the rest was a mystery to her.

She liked it in Storybrooke, and she was happy to be apart of Henry's life, but it was all still very strange and new to her. Emma was used to being on her own, never really forming any true bonds, but upon arriving in Storybrooke that had all changed. Here she had friends, responsibilities, and a stable job. The change could be overwhelming at times, and during those times she just wanted to run away, like she always did. Of course, Emma knew she couldn't. Not now when Henry needed her, but the thought of running was always in the back of Emma's mind whether she liked it or not.

Yes, Emma knew that this was a part of what would keep her up at night but whatever else was keeping her awake was a mystery. She tried to think about it, but that always made her insomnia worse.

Emma shook her head and pushed all her thoughts to the back of her mind. She could think about everything later but for now she just wanted to get to Mary Margaret's and eat food. The blonde grabbed the cell phone that she had gone to the station for and was then on her way.

The ride to her current residence was short and quiet, but as soon as she entered the apartment it was not quiet. There was sappy music playing rather loudly and Emma saw what looked like Titanic playing on the television. She made her way to the television and turned it off.

"Emma," Mary Margaret said, sounding surprised. "I didn't think that you would be here yet," she sniffled. Her face was beat red and so were her eyes. She had obviously been crying.

"What happened?" Emma asked, cutting straight to the point. She knew that Mary Margaret would just try to beat around the bush and Emma refused to play at that game tonight.

Mary Margaret sighed and got up from the couch. She surrounded herself in a blanket and made her way to the kitchen. She sat down on one of the bar stools while Emma quickly grabbed something from the fridge before sitting down with her friend.

"I talked to David today," the black haired woman said, sounding defeated. "He was trying to convince me that everything would work out and that we could work too but..." she trailed off, as a fresh batch of tears rolled in. Emma was about to try and say something comforting but Mary Margaret shook her off and continued. "I can't. I like him, I really do but I just can't be with him. Not after everything that has happened."

She cried for a bit, while Emma sat there eating her food and looking a little uncomfortable. She never knew what to do in these sorts of situations. Occasionally she would place a hand on her friends shoulder but that didn't seem to help at all.

Eventually, Emma stood up, helped Mary Margaret up as well and guided her friend to her bedroom. Once Mary Margaret was underneath the covers Emma gave her a small smile, turned off the lights, closed the door, and left the room.

Emma made her way back out to the kitchen. She felt useless. She had no idea how to help her friend. The blonde let out an irritated huff and checked the time on the stove. 10:15. She knew that she shouldn't go outside and should instead try to get some sleep, but she knew that she would feel restless if she stayed. So, the blonde grabbed her keys, locked the door behind her and made her way outside. She almost took her car but decided against it.

Emma aimlessly walked around town. There was barely anyone out that this hour and Emma was glad for it. She didn't want to stop and chat with anyone. All the blonde wanted was some fresh air and some quiet.

After walking for over half an hour, Emma found herself at the docks. She had never really been around this area before and decided that she would just sit and gaze out at the water. Emma passed by several benches but kept going to the end of the pier. Once there, she sat and just at stared at the dark water before her. It looked so peaceful to her, but she knew that if she fell in, the cold, unforgiving water would hold her hostage.

Emma had never really been a fan of water before, but now she couldn't understand why she hadn't been. It was so mesmerizing, and its bottom was a complete mystery to all making the dark liquid even more alluring.

Because she was so engaged in her thoughts about the water she hadn't noticed a person walk up behind her.

"Miss Swan!" a clearly irritated voice said behind her. Emma jumped in surprise and quickly turned her head to see who had spoken to her. "Would you listen when someone calls you? I said your name at least five times," Regina said.

Emma looked up at her with confusion clearly written on her face.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Emma finally got out. She was still a little out of it from staring at the water.

Regina was about to give another retort when she noticed that Emma looked even more tired that she had this morning. She knew that she should probably just leave the woman out here but curiousity got the better of her.

"What are you doing here Miss Swan?" Regina asked. It wasn't something that Regina would normally do, but she decided to sit down next to the blonde.

"Thinking," Emma said casually and turned her head back to the water. The moon's rays reflected off of the water and into Emma's eyes, something that Regina noticed. For a moment Regina could have sworn that she saw pain in Emma's eyes but as soon as it was there it was gone.

They sat there quietly for a little bit. Emma content on just sitting there quietly, while Regina was figuring out the right questions to ask.

"You haven't been sleeping," Regina stated. She looked to Emma for a response but received none. "Well?" she asked.

"Well what? You didn't ask me a question," Emma responded harshly. She hadn't meant for her words to sound rough but clearly the lack of sleep wasn't allowing her to have complete control over herself.

"Fine," Regina huffed. "Why haven't you been sleeping?" she asked.

Emma thought for a moment, pondering how to answer.

"What does it matter to you?" Emma asked, making sure that voice didn't sound accusatory.

"Don't think I care Miss Swan. I simply need to know that the Sheriff will be able to perform her duties properly is all," Regina said. A string in the back of her mind told her that she was lying, but Regina ignored it. It wasn't something that she wanted to think about.

"Well don't worry, my duties will be performed properly," Emma said coldly, not appreciating what Regina was saying.

Regina didn't say anything back. She didn't want to upset Emma, she had spoken without thinking. Usually Regina would have been fine with what she had said, but tonight was different. She almost apologized to the blonde but quickly caught her tongue.

Emma was surprised. She was sure that the woman sitting next to her would continue to dig at her but the woman was being unusually quiet. Emma glanced at the Mayor and could see the woman's mind working, obviously Regina was thinking about something.

Time went by and neither moved nor spoke. Eventually tiredness overcame Emma and she realized that she needed to get back to the apartment and try to sleep for she had another day to accomplish tomorrow.

The blonde slowly stood up and turned around.

"Goodnight Regina," Emma said, for once not calling her Madam Mayor.

Emma walked away with her hands in her pockets, thinking to herself that the day had not been as awful as she had anticipated, and she couldn't help but wonder if her encounter with the Mayor had had anything to do with it.

Once Emma was far enough away that Regina knew that she wouldn't be heard, Regina spoke quietly.

"Goodnight Emma."

…

A/N: Thoughts? Please let me know in the reviews. Thanks for reading.