Chapter 1

Emma's day could have gone better, to say the least. It started when her alarm clock decided to run out of batteries over night. Emma was aware that they needed replacing, but held it off as unnecessary for too long. Her late start meant her 8 year old son, Henry, was late for school and consequently, she was late for work. She pulled her polo over her head as quickly as possible, before yanking on yesterdays leggings and throwing her hair into a messy ponytail. She darted into her sons room, pulling open the curtains and yanking him from under the sheets. His audible groans as she attempted to pry him from his bears and up, ready for preschool reminded her of her already lethargic state.

"Come on Henry!" She groaned, tickling his toes till he threw his hands in the air in defense.

"Okay, okay, I'm up!" His eyes darted to the clock sat proudly on his wall - which he had insisted got put there as soon as he learned to tell the time - and his expression showed that of panic. "Mom! Why didn't you get me up earlier? It's 8 o'clock!"

"I know, I'm sorry. My alarm broke. We'll make it." She stole a glance at the clock. "What time do you start school again?"

His back was already turned as he pulled on an old shirt and jeans from his closet.

"Kid" Emma tried to get his attention.

"What? I'm in a bit of a hurry." He huffed.

"Watch your tone young man. Your not too old for me to sling you over my knee you know." She sighed a shaky breath "I asked what time you started school"

"Half past 8" He rushed, stalking past Emma into the kitchen. "Hey, I missed the bus. Can I catch a lift? I won't make it otherwise." She nodded tiredly, and he smiled at her, before climbing into the yellow bug and strapping in. She followed his lead, stuffing his book he left on the counter in his backpack and handing him it over the console.

Once they arrived, Emma rushed her usually loving sounding dialogue, whilst stuffing a 20$ note into his hand.

"Lunch money. I expect change. Be good, have fun. I love you, remember your going to Lacey's after school 'cause I'm running a late shift. I'll see you later kid."

He smiled, leaning over the console to hug his mom. "Love you too mom. See you later." His kissed her cheek before diving out the door and meeting with a handful of his friends by the gate. She smiled, slightly watery, at his disappearing form as he ran in at the sound of the bell, but then remembered the mission at hand. She didn't have time to reminisce at how her son was a baby, chewing everything in sight, seemingly yesterday. Her hand shifted the gear on autopilot as she headed to work, sleep quickly threatening to catch up with her.

When she finally reached the local diner, 25 minutes late, she sighed sorrowfully. As she clocked in, an angry red L appeared beside the 2 others in the top right hand corner. Her sighs became more audible as she was called into her bosses office. She didn't even listen to what he had to say. As soon as she walked in, she raised her hand in defeat.

"I'll go empty my locker" she murmured before solemnly walking out. The cap she had yet to put on was hanging limply in her hand, and her mind started racing with scenarios on what she was going to do. She was struggling already, and she had promised Henry a vacation of some kind for his birthday. She had yet to work out a plan for that. Her huffs were probably audible half way down the street, but she didn't care. She was allowed to be miserable.

The first thing she did when she arrived home was look over her CV. It was years old, probably older than Henry, and was terribly incorrect. She fixed it up quickly, before printing 25 copies and stuffing them in her bag. Job hunting it was. She abandoned her car at home, trekking down the street and stopping at every business she passed. Before she knew it, it was 2:30. She headed home, hoping to catch Henry and take him to the park for a kick around. It was simple things like this that kept them so close. They didn't have a lot of money, both of them were aware of that, judging by the size of their home and the lack of elaborate vacations they went on. Henry didn't seem to mind, content with what little they had. Emma was grateful of this. He wasn't spoiled, she had found, and it always made her proud when she caught the conversations he had with his friends. They would boast, either about their new toys or a vacation they were going on this summer. But Henry would stick his chin in the air and join in, boasting that he and his mom were going to the park, then grabbing a McDonalds on the way home. He was humble with what he had, and, although she wished she could provide for him a little more, he held his head that bit higher, and got even more exited about the easiest and simplest things, like a drive across town to visit Lacey, or a visit to the animal shelter to coo at the animals.

Emma drove quickly to Henry's school, grabbing him a milkshake on the way there with some change she found in her pocket. She spotted him as he started to walk towards the bus, but detoured when he saw the little yellow bug waiting for him. His smile grew as he climbed in the care, and stretched even wider when Emma handed him his strawberry milkshake.

"Thanks mom!" He exclaimed as Emma ruffled his hair. She gestured to let her have a sip, and he held the straw up to her mouth.

"So, mom, I thought you were working late tonight." His smile faltered when Emma stayed in silence. "Mom?"

"I lost the job Henry. Too many lates. Don't worry though" She quickly added at his worried expression. "I've been hunting all day. How about we head to the park?"

He nodded minutely, before strapping in and sitting silent for the rest of the trip.

Regina always found, after a long day at work, there was nothing better than to retreat to the park, in her favourite spot under the apple tree, and sip tea whilst reading a book. Her favourite pass time. Obviously she got the odd disturbance, but it was nothing compared to if she tried to read at home. It doubled as her office, and she had people showing up after hours. At least in the park she could escape work, even if it was just for a little while.

Her current read was a revisit of Jane Eyre, a classic she had loved since she was a child. The warm mid afternoon air surrounded her, as she sheltered from the beating rays under the tree she had claimed as a child to be her favourite. With her back against the rough bark, she pulled her legs to her chest and opened her dog-eared page. She was always scolded growing up for doing that, but she couldn't deal with the hassle of bookmarks. She was just about to enter the next chapter when her tea was knocked into her chest, staining her pristine white blouse and burning the flesh underneath. At first she was confused, before she heard a ball bouncing away and spotted a young boy and presumably his mother, jogging towards her.

She pulled a shocked face, putting down both her tea and her book before tugging at the damp areas on her blouse as they clung to her skin. She saw the duo near, yet watched as the boy made a detour at last minute and darted for his ball. Typical kids.

"Oh my God I am so so so sorry! We honestly didn't mean for it to fly all the way over here."

"Impressive kick" Regina mumbled back, before stumbling to her feet, still clutching the damp fabric of her shirt.

"Thanks." Emma smirked for a moment before remembering the task in hand. "Oh, uh, I have a shirt in my trunk if you'd like it. I mean, it's nothing special but its the least I can do. I feel so bad. I am so sorry."

Before Regina could respond, the young boy emerged at his mothers side, sweat lining his forehead and dirt crusting his fingernails. When he noticed the situation, he began a ramble of apologies much like his parent. Regina held up a hand to silence him.

"I'm fine, honestly. Just a bit sticky that's all. Did you say you had a spare shirt? Do you mind if I borrow it?"

"Oh, no, not at all. Here, I'll go get it. Henry, wait here." She jogged away towards the carpark, and Regina was left with a more than awkward 8 year old boy. He lifted his ball hopefully.

"Wanna play?"

Emma's smile refused to falter, even as she headed towards her car. The way Regina's echoing laughter swam through the air towards her made her heart warm, and Henry's equally loud giggles mingled in the mix, only stretching the smile further. As Emma returned, a thin sweater over her arm, she stopped and watched the game of penalty shoot-out the pair were playing. Henry's small frame was guarding the space between two winding oak trees. His hands were outstretched as he swayed side to side, ready to catch the ball. Regina kicked, high and proud, but Henry dived, hugging the ball to his chest before barreling into the side of a tree. His face suddenly wiped his smile, as he dropped his ball and clutched his nose in pain. Emma sped up her walk, but stopped panicking when she noted Regina taking care of him. She pulled a tissue from her purse and carefully wiped the small amount of blood that had pooled on his upper lip, before hugging him to make it feel better. He smiled gratefully at her, before sitting on the grass, still sniffling. Emma caught Regina's eye and jogged over, kneeling down beside Henry.

"Oh my god Henry are you okay?"

He nodded at her before scrambling to his feet and replacing his momentary sorrow with his usual giddy self. Emma glanced over at the older woman, who was now standing to the side rather awkwardly. She remembered why she had left in the first place and handed her arm out towards Regina, sporting a tight-lipped smile and pronouncing her dimples for added effect. Regina silently chuckled at the expression before taking the sweater and smiling gratefully.

"Thank You, Ms, uh.."

"Swan" Emma answered. "Emma Swan"

"Well, Thankyou, Ms. Swan."

Emma nodded in response, before looking down at her son, who was swinging on her arm.

"Regina's really good, mom. She kicks really hard and has the BEST hugs!" He bragged, smiling from ear to ear at the memory. He leaned forward onto his toes in excitement, trying to reach his mothers level.

"Is she?" Emma turned to Regina. "Well then Regina, would you like to stay for another game? I need to see these skills myself." Emma smirked, and Regina smiled and shook her head fondly at her new acquaintance.

"Well, Ms. Swan-" Regina began.

"Emma" Emma cut in."Emma" Regina corrected. " I'd love to stay, but I'm afraid I must get back to work. Here, take this." She produced a business card from her purse and held it out for Emma to take. "Call me when you want your sweater returned." She flashed mother and son a toothy smile before gathering her now empty flask and book, before heading off towards the lake, where her car was waiting for her. The disappointment was hard to push off of her face when she realised she had to leave, but work had to be done, no matter how excruciatingly long the rest of the day was going to be.

Emma had taken to busking. After days of searching the city for work, and after thousands of copies of CV's in the hands of thousands of potential employers, she had decided it a good way to both help ends meet and pass the time. She had lived on busking funds alone until Henry was two, until she could find someone willing to hire a 20 year old with no degrees and minimal experience.

It took her hours to find her guitar, stacked in amongst various files and papers in a box under her bed. The thick layers of dust that lined to instrument too another half hour to clean off, and by the time she was done, it was 1 o'clock. Prime hour. It looked almost as good as it did when she had bought it from the second hand shop nearly 15 years ago.

Regina's morning shift was drawing to a close, and she set about roaming the city centre, a tradition she had performed since the week she started as an apprentice. The soft summer breeze nipped at her shoulders, and she pulled her shoal further around her neck. The shops were buzzing with the nattering of people, and the garish red signs sporting 'sale' were endearing. She turned the corners, gazing into the windows and noting the prices, a habit she picked up from her mother. Despite her wealth, Cora Mills had always peeled an orange in her pocket, making sure she really needed something before she bought it. This behaviour had rubbed off on her daughter when the duo would go shopping together on a thursday afternoon after school at the end of the month.

Soft, melodic tunes carried through the air towards Regina, settling beside her and continuing to play. She had always liked the buskers. Thought they brought a little more life into the otherwise dull city centres. She stopped contemplating a pricey buy and followed the voice, which she could distinguish as a young woman. After turning the corner again, she spotted the culprit. A tall, young blonde. She couldn't have been older than 30, and her guitar looked worn and overused. Her red leather jacket fitted snugly around her waist, showing off her figure and making Regina want to get a better look. The corner she was on was crowded, a few shoppers attempting to snatch as little as a glance at the mystery singer. Her voice was beautiful, bellowing out the lyrics in perfect harmony. Tye song she was singing finished, and the crowd erupted into cheers and woops, demanding an encore. She cleared her throat before settling into a new melody, a slower one.

"I think the universe is on my side"

Regina recognised it immediately. 'Bright' by EchoSmith. A song Regina had liked since the first time it was played on the radio.

"You make me sing ooh, la la la"

This version was slower, a lullaby version, she presumed. But it was so much better than the already great original. Regina closed her eyes, enjoying the music. But the smile on her face couldn't be tamed. She stood in the crowd, which was slowly attracting more and more shoppers. The whole street was full of stunted people, as they all listened to the singing girl who was stood in front of a small coffee shop. Once the song was over, and the singer politely excused herself with the excuse of her having to get home to pick her son up from school, the crowd payed generous tips before continuing on with their shopping as if nothing had happened. Regina took this as an opportunity to reach her. Sh pushed through the dispersing people and tapped the young girl on the shoulder. She was pushing a guitar into a sleeve, without much luck. She swung around, startled, before realising it was just an onlooker.

"Hey, uh.." Regina took one look at the girls face before stumbling back, shocked. "Ms. Swan?"

"Regina?" She stuttered, both ecstatic and slightly scared by the coincidence.

"Hey! Your voice deserves some appreciation. Its great."

"Oh god, you heard that? I'm just tryin' to earn some extra cash is all. I'm not great. Just good at picking up the audience apparently."

Regina stared at the woman in shock, mouth agape.

"The rest of the city doesn't seem to think that. You know, I always love listening to potential talent - you - and I don't think you should waste that voice. You still got that card I gave you?"

Emma scowled, confused, before fishing it out of her pocket and holding it up to show Regina.

"Great. Are you free tomorrow, say, 10 o'clock ish?"

Emma nodded, only to be rewarded by Regina's smile.

"Meet me at the address on it, tell them you're Ms. Swan and you're looking for Regina Mills. They'll let you in. Now, if I remember rightly, Henry needs picking up, no?"

Emma nodded gain, baffled by the whole thing, before picking up her guitar, flinging the strap over her shoulder and walking off. Regina smiled at her retreating form, before doing a little jig in triumph of her musically talented find.