I'm going to be honest here…I have no clue where this is going. I really suck at writing smut, so I don't even know why I'm attempting this. This may not be very smutty, but it'll be implied. I also have no clue how it'll end. I was just watching The Client List and was inspired, but I'm not taking much from that outside partially why Emma is turning to working at the massage parlor and the massage parlor in general. Prompts are definitely accepted for this one. This is a Swan Queen slow burn with references to past Swanfire. As if it weren't obvious, the girls are exchanging sexual acts for money. If that is something that bothers you, this isn't for you.


Ripped gloves, raincoat
Tried to swim and stay afloat
Dry house, wet clothes
Loose change, bank notes
Weary-eyed, dry throat
Call girl, no phone

And they say
She's in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since eighteen-Ed Sheeran

Emma stood, rocking back and forth on her heels while she waited for Granny to emerge from the back. Looking around the diner, she felt something weird inside of her. Returning to town was like being in some sort of time warp. Nothing ever changed, everyone did the same thing day in and day out. Everyone settled down, got married, popped out some kids and lived mundane lives. She had sworn she would be different, better. It's why she hightailed out of there with Neal just weeks after she graduated high school. Six years later and here she was again, a kid of her own, though no husband.

The older waitress appeared from the back, a smile on her face. Mrs. Lucas was lovingly known as Granny by pretty much everyone, mostly because she had raised her own granddaughter from pretty much birth. As sweet as she could be, no one wanted to mess with her. She gave everyone the honest advice they didn't want to hear and didn't care if they were offended.

"Emma," she wrapped her into a hug. Emma hugged her back, putting a smile on her face. "It's been too long."

"Don't I know it," Emma replied. "How have you been?"

"Same old, same old." Granny tucked the rag she was holding into the pocket of her apron. "I should go fetch Ruby, Lord knows all that girl does is sleep in after her night shifts…"

"No, no, actually I'm here to see you." Emma went to reach into her purse to pull out her resume when Granny held up a hand.

"I'm sorry, but we're not hiring."

Emma's face fell. "How did you know?"

"Your mother stopped in the other day to tell me you were coming back to town. I had a feeling you'd be stopping in." A frown crossed her face. "I'm awfully sorry by the way. Neal was always a great kid. A little mischievous, but truly…"

Emma bit down on her lip, not wanting to talk about it. She heard enough about it from her mother. "It's fine. Really."

"Wish I could hire you, but I really don't have the need for another waitress." Granny could see the disappointment on her face. "You know if she weren't family, I'd fire Ruby and replace her with you."

Emma laughed a little at that. "I wouldn't ask that. I just figured it was worth a shot, I spent a lot of time here growing up, but don't worry about it, really."

"Could I interest you in a cup of hot chocolate?"

"No thank you, I really should get back home. My dad is keeping an eye on Henry or should I say, Henry's keeping an eye on my father."

Granny chuckled. "Knowing David Nolan, it's the latter. You better bring that little boy of yours in here soon, all I've ever seen is pictures."

"I will, I promise. Tell Ruby I'll swing by to see her soon," Emma said, walking out of the diner.

She waited until she was in her car to run a hand over her face and let a sigh escape her lips. She knew that Storybrooke's economy wasn't great, but Granny's had been her last resort. It wasn't that she was against waitressing, she just hadn't done it in so long. There were no massage parlors in Storybrooke and every other little shop wasn't hiring. Even Gold, Henry's grandfather, had regretfully informed her that his pawn shop wasn't hiring. Sometimes she wondered if she had made the right choice in moving back. Then she thought of her father and knew that it was for the better.

David Nolan had been the town's sheriff since before Emma was even born. He had started off as a lowly rookie around the time he married her mother, a schoolteacher. They were never rich by any means, but lived a comfortable life. When Emma left home, things were still going well. But around the same time that Neal died, David got into an accident on the job and was forced to retire. They wanted to be careful to live off his retirement and while bills were getting paid, Mary Margaret's teaching job wasn't going to cover it forever. They told Emma not to worry about working, but she knew they couldn't afford for her to just laze around home.

She drove her beat up bug home, still completely surprised that the yellow death trap had lasted as long as it had. First, she and Neal had driven it all the way to Tallahassee and bummed it around there for a bit (living in it until they both had gotten jobs) until she and Henry had driven it back up to Maine a couple of weeks prior. Both trips took days at a time, but were fun road trips for the most part.

Turning her key in the lock, she heard the pitter patter of little feet running for her. "Mommy!" Henry's voice rang out. Emma smiled, kneeling down and opening her arms, allowing him to run into them. She hugged him tighter, kissing his head.

"Hey kid, how was your time with Grandpa?" She asked.

"Fun!"

"That kid is full of fire," her father's voice carried from the doorway. Emma looked up and saw him standing in the doorway to the kitchen, supported by his cane. "Just like you were."

"I'm in for some interesting years if that's the case," Emma lightly teased back, pushing herself up so she could stand. "How's the leg?"

"It's fine," David brushed her off. "How was the j-o-b search?"

Emma shook her head, shutting the door behind her. "No one's hiring."

David gave her a sympathetic smile. "You know you don't have to worry about getting one."

"I do," Emma said. "Is Mom home yet?"

"No, she should be soon though. I was just going to get started on dinner," he said.

"Let me do it. That is, if you don't mind playing with Henry for a little more."

"Are you kidding me?" David grinned. "I love looking after my favorite little man. Let's go Henry."

The toddler followed him back into the living room and Emma went into the kitchen. She was worried at first about her father being able to look after Henry, but he seemed capable. He couldn't exactly get on the floor to play with him as he used to when he and Mary Margaret would visit them in the summers, but Henry never complained.

Emma made her way around the kitchen, trying to find something that she could manage to make before landing on chicken. She wasn't exactly a whiz there, she never had been. There had been many attempts in Tallahassee, but heat and eat was about the extent she got to at times. Takeout and fast food were staples that she wished they didn't have to turn to often, but they were cheap.

"You didn't have to do that," her mother's voice startled her a little later, causing her to jump before turning around.

"Oh, I wanted to." Emma got her blondeness from her father along with her smile, but mostly everything else she inherited from her mother. From her green eyes to her smaller stature, even her chin. In older pictures, Mary Margaret had long curly hair which answered where Emma got her thick mess from. "How was your day?"

"Same as always," Mary Margaret gave her a smile, but Emma could see past it. Her mother was exhausted. To help lighten the financial load, she had also been tutoring before and after school. It only added to Emma's guilt. "And yours?"

"No one's hiring."

"You shouldn't stress about that, it's going to give you early wrinkles," Mary Margaret told her, walking over to touch her daughter's face.

"I'm 24, Ma. Hardly doubt I'm going to start resembling Betty White anytime soon," Emma muttered. She tried to not be so sharp with her anymore, but they always had an odd relationship. They bantered, it was just what they did. Mary Margaret always worried about her only child and Emma had an answer for everything.

"I was going more for Bea Arthur," Mary Margaret shot back. "But please sue me for caring."

Emma rolled her eyes and resumed cutting the carrots. "I'm fine." Wanting to do anything to change the subject, she decided to share her latest idea to find a job. "I was thinking about looking into massage parlors in nearby towns."

"I don't understand why you rub strangers for money," Mary Margaret wrinkled her nose. "Of all the things…"

"What can I say?"

It wasn't much of a rhetorical question, Emma was sometimes unsure as to why she had picked that degree in the first place. She had worked as a waitress when they first arrived in Tallahassee but when it was clear that it wasn't going to be good enough, she went to night school and completed her massage therapy license in 2 years. She just wanted something quick and it came in handy considering Henry arrived a year later. Her old job was pretty great. While Neal's schedule as a fireman was pretty much 2 days on, 2 days off, she was able to pick her schedule after a while. She had her regulars and they were all very understanding after Neal died. Then, the place went under and she had no choice but to return home.

"Maybe you could go back to school, get your substitute teaching license," Mary Margaret suggested, checking on the chicken that was in the oven. "We're always looking for subs."

"I don't have time to go back to school, Mom," Emma repeated for what was the millionth time. "I have to work. Especially if I'm earning mine and Henry's keep around here."

"You don't have to earn your keep. You're our daughter and grandson, we spent too long without you…" Mary Margaret stopped herself. She seeing the pained look on her daughter's face. "Sorry, you know I don't mean it like that."

"I know, Mom."

"I'm glad you went on your adventure and…"

"I know!" Emma snapped. Her mom froze and the look that overcame her face made Emma sigh. Mary Margaret meant well, she always did. Emma knew her mother didn't resent her for not coming home when she got pregnant, but she wished she could've seen Henry more over the first 3 years. Emma wished she could've as well, but she had a life where she was, a family of her own. Returning to Storybrooke, just didn't seem to be an option.

She didn't plan to stay for long, anyway. Not that her parents knew. Her plan was to eventually move to Boston or New York City, start over again. Henry was all she needed. Once she had the money, she would go. It wasn't that she didn't love her parents, settling down in Storybrooke was just the last thing that she ever dreamed of and she wasn't going to let it happen.

Not long after dinner, Emma pulled the covers up to Henry's chin, giving him a small smile. Their parents had organized the guest bedroom to be his room. Overall, Henry had adjusted well to the move. He hadn't had many friends outside his daycare back where they lived and there was definitely more family there. It was a little colder, but he was looking forward to seeing snow for the very first time.

"Sweet dreams, kid," she told him, tapping his nose. "I love you."

"Mommy are you going to stay home tomorrow?" Henry asked.

"No, I have to go look for a job."

Henry frowned. "Why?"

"So, that way we can buy things."

His green eyes lit up a little bit. "Like toys?"

Emma laughed. "We've got some other things to buy first, but toys on your birthday is a plus."

"I want Star Wars Legos," he told her.

"We'll see," Emma replied, giving him a final kiss before turning off the light and heading down the hall to her room. As she did, she could hear her parents' voices coming from downstairs.

"You had your appointment this morning, didn't you?" Mary Margaret asked. She could almost picture what they were doing, the same thing they did every night. David was in his recliner, a beer in his hand while Mary Margaret had her wine, sitting on the ottoman.

"I did. He said it most likely is going to require surgery."

"Oh. Well maybe our insurance…"

"I checked. It's partial coverage, not even close to even half."

Emma could hear her mother sigh. "We'll figure it out. I could take on more tutoring…"

"I don't think that's going to cover it. After the first surgery, we're just strapped. It can wait, for now."

"You're in pain, I can hardly say it's something we can put off."

"What other choice do we have right now?"

Emma tipped her head back. They could say they didn't need her help all they wanted, but they did. She would figure something out, it wasn't just about her or Henry anymore.

Regina exited the dressing room, back in her street clothes, her bag swung over his shoulder. Most of the girls had cleared out for the night, only Mal and Aurora stayed behind. Regina always frowned when she saw Aurora, Kathryn forever accused her of treating her with kid gloves. The older woman could hardly help it, Aurora was practically a child. Mal liked to joke she was their barely legal looking girl. It couldn't be more accurate because that's just what she was at all of 18. She was one of the newer girls, there only about 3 months. If it weren't for Mal's extensive background checks to investigate that everyone was who they said they were, she wouldn't believe that she actually was. She knew Aurora's story and it was a sad one. Typically, Regina wouldn't get invested, after 8 years, she knew better. Yet Aurora seemed to be the one person her stone-cold heart cracked for.

"Heading home, Gina?" Mal asked, stopping as she adjusted her garter.

"Yeah, I don't have any more clients. Unless you had some guys come in last-minute?"

"No. Your envelope is in the desk."

"Alright, thanks." She looked over at Aurora. "See you tomorrow?"

The timid young woman nodded. "See you tomorrow."

Regina headed out of the back and located the specific drawer, pulling out the padded envelope with the "R" on the front. She glanced inside, even after Mal's cut, she had done pretty well that day. Keith had been in and he always tipped quite well.

He better given all the weird shit he's into, Regina thought to herself.

The drive back to Storybrooke took about an hour. Everyone at the parlor always questioned as to why she didn't just move closer to work and she had thought about it. Yet, every time she spent the night at Mal's place, the following morning she was constantly running into some of her clients. She never minded it, work was work and that's all there was to it. Some of the men, however, made it far too obvious. After a very awkward run in with Sean Herman and his wife, she began declining Mal's invites to sleepover.

It was a shame, really. Not that she had feelings for the other woman or anything, but because she missed seeing her daughter, Lily. She had practically watched the girl grow up and spoiled her rotten. More than anything, Regina wanted a family of her own. She had given up on that dream after Daniel and in her line of work, it wasn't exactly like she was going to be prince charming. She thought about going about it Mal's route, sperm donor, but that's not what she wanted. She didn't want to be a single parent, as her father had been.

As much as she wanted a warm bath and to curl up with her latest novel, she needed a drink more than anything. Parking her car in the lot of the Rabbit Hole, she made her way inside. Will was tending, again. She held up her hand, he knew what she would want and knew better than to say much to her as she slid into a stool. Regina kept to herself and no one questioned why. Sometimes she felt like the literal definition of "Resting Bitch Face". It didn't even matter, not anymore. The less people that knew about her life, the better.

"Did you hear she's back?" Regina didn't have to turn her head to know it was one of the numerous busy bodies of the town. As if Storybrooke didn't fit enough of the small town clichés…

"She brought her son," the second one had to practically shout back over the music.

"What a cutie, he looks just like…well, you know."

A click of the tongue. "What a shame. So young."

Will set down Regina's martini and she was about to take it to move away, when a name caught her ear. "Emma was flurrying around town today, trying to find a job. Guess she's been having some financial troubles."

"Poor thing. Though, maybe she should've thought twice before having a baby at 21."

Regina didn't move, as she listened to the two go back and forth on what a big deal it was that the former sheriff's daughter was back. She wasn't sure why that peaked her interest so badly, it was just a name she hadn't heard in a while. At least that's what she tried to tell herself.

She had gone to school with Emma Nolan all her life, though they were never friends. At the same time, they weren't exactly enemies. They seemed to run in two different groups. While Regina, the daughter of the town's mayor, tended to fall into the popular crowd to keep up appearances for her father, Emma seemed to hang out with the same mischief makers. Regina always found that a bit ironic considering who her father was, but she wasn't one to judge. After high school, she just seemed to drop off the face of the earth along with Neal Cassidy. She drifted apart from her gossipy friends and never heard much about Emma after that.

Why do you even care?

She downed her drink, slapped down the money she owed and headed straight back out to her car, not wanting to hear anymore. She wasn't about to waste her time, worrying about a stupid high school crush. What did it even matter anymore? Emma had a kid. Most likely Neal's kid. She hadn't even thought about her in years.

Regina headed home to her apartment, intent on getting in that bath and hopefully…getting Emma out of her head.


Let me know what you want to see? The next chapter will probably be Emma finding out the massage parlor and what not...but let me know what you think.