Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who read this! It is my first ever fanfiction and I am looking forward to any reviews to help me improve my writing! Side note-I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of its characters. (Obviously.) Anything you recognize is not mine. Enjoy and please review, favorite and follow! More is coming very quickly.

Emma's POV

"Who was that?" Henry asked me as I returned to our tiny kitchen.

"No idea." I knew I was panting. What the hell had just happened? "Someone must have left the door open downstairs." I reassured him. Looking at my son, a twinge of fear ran through me. If a creep like this one could get into their building what would stop someone with a penchant for children rather than blondes? I would keep a better eye on him from now on. After all, we lived in New York City! I was supposed to be careful! I glanced back at the door warily. "Come on, let's eat." I sat at the table and took a sip of the steaming hot chocolate. I could never remember where I had picked up this idea, but the first time Henry and I had added cinnamon to our morning treat had been a special day indeed. As Henry changed for school I dead bolted the door. Grabbing a quick shower, I made good time throwing on my dark washed skinny jeans and my favorite red leather jacket over a plain white V-neck. I finished up with minimal makeup and tied my mid-calf leather boots in place over thick woolen socks. It may not have been winter but the air in New York was getting a bit crisper each and every day. I emerged from my room and saw Henry sneaking a chocolate bar into his backpack. I grinned and pretended not to notice as I grabbed my own keys off the table.

"Ready to go, kid?" I asked. Henry nodded and I carefully peered out the peep hole in their door before unbolting it and opening it for Henry.

"You okay mom?" he asked cautiously. That kid had always been far too perceptive for my liking.

"It's New York, Henry," I said after a pause. "I guess you just can't be too careful right?"

"Right!" he responded cheerfully, moving on. We were running late so we had to run through the subway station to catch our usual ride. We just made it and Henry found a seat just as the doors closed. I held onto a pole and smiled as Henry's mittened hand found my own gloved fingers. The train began pulling away from the station and I stared blankly out the window. That's when I saw him. My heart stopped. That was the only way to describe it. I was alive but my heart was no longer beating and I certainly was no longer breathing. There he was, looking as perfect as the last time I had seen him. Dark hair ruffled, thick coat wrapped casually around his shoulders, eyes staring directly into my own. He had come here for me, it was so obvious. He didn't look shocked to see me but was staring directly into my eyes as if he had known I was going to be here. Had he been stalking me? My God, did he know about Henry? As I stared into his eyes, memories began pouring through my head. He disappeared from view as the darkness of the tunnel surrounded our car. Henry kicked his feet obliviously against the bench as I whispered his name, a name I hadn't thought of in years. "Neal." I had been 18, almost a child and he, at 21 had been this dazzling, all knowing adult who captivated me. But he had used me to take the fall for those watches, and would have used me as a fallout had any of our other cons not played out. Tallahassee my ass. He probably had a new girlfriend now, one who didn't realize the thief she was playing with was playing her.

"Mom?" I looked down at Henry who was now standing and trying to get to the door. Looking around myself, I realized that we had reached our stop.

"Oh! Sorry kid!" We ran out the doors just as they were closing and walked briskly down the sidewalk, three blocks to his school. I hugged him goodbye but instead of turning and walking away right after that, I stood on the sidewalk and watched him run up the steps and greet his friends. My eyes followed him until he was well within the school doors. I slowly turned and made my way back to the subway station. I descended the stairs slowly and made my way across town to the office building. Sitting in back I kept my eyes peeled for any signs of strange men. From the crazy guy with the guy liner whom I would have sworn was gay until he planted one on her (and to be honest after a kiss that good it was pretty obvious that he was NOT gay) to seeing Neal again, this was proving to be the start to an interesting day. How interesting it was about to become I had no idea. As I entered the office building I fiddled with the shoelace tied to my wrist. I had no idea why I wore it, but every day that I decided I should stop wearing that ridiculous thing, I had this powerful urge to put it back on. I figured it was just a habit I couldn't break.

"Hey Emma!" the overly cheery receptionist called out.

"Hi Beverly." I said, grinning in spite of myself. "Got anything new for me today?" I had just nailed my last case and the perp was sitting in prison waiting for his ever looming court date. This left my schedule horribly clear for doing paperwork. I desperately hoped for a new case.

"Not today, just some paperwork. But Greg called in as he was finishing a case this morning and told me to remind you that you promised him lunch today." Beverly winked suggestively at me. I rolled my eyes and continued walking into the closet that I called my office.

"Thanks Bev," I yelled out as I disappeared.

"Is that really what you're going to wear?" the brunette bombshell called in. "I can run out and get you something else if you want!" Without bothering to respond I kicked the office door shut. It wasn't like this was a date. Not that I'd mind if it was, of course. Greg was my business partner. And everyone knows you don't date coworkers. Almost exactly one year ago this week he had shown up at my door with the most incredible list of credentials ever offered for this sort of rough and tumble job. I mean, this job wasn't exactly the cream of the crop when it came to jobs. It was the sort of job you didn't tell your parents about. Not that I had to worry about that sort of thing, my parents had been MIA ever since I had been found on the side of the road as an infant. Really, mom and dad? Can't even drop me off at a proper hospital, the side of the highway is fine, I'm sure this infant won't get run over by a car or anything!Not that I couldn't take care of myself now of course. I didn't have to feel responsible for this sketchy line of work like Greg might. And sure, I had met bail bonds people that had started off training to be police men, but Greg had been a police man for 8 years or something like that. Somewhere off the coast of Maine, he said, but I never could remember the name of the town no matter how hard I tried. It just kept slipping from my mind. He was brilliant at tracking people down and we had a lot in common. It didn't hurt that he was incredibly gorgeous and had this adorable accent that could always make me smile. Okay who was I kidding, I'd had a crush on him since we had met. There was something about him that made me feel safe, something about him that was so undeniably familiar that I would have sworn I had known him in another life. If I believed in that sort of thing, which I didn't. But it wasn't a date, so none of this nonsense mattered anyway. I buried my head in my arms and groaned.

How did he do that anyway? How did Greg make me feel like there was a past between us, like I knew him so well? The weird thing was, the more I thought about it, the more I started thinking about the creep from this morning. He and Greg were nothing alike of course. He had been the dark and brooding to Greg's light and smiling nature. And of course he began by kissing me when Greg wouldn't go anywhere near me despite my multitude of pathetic hints. But that feeling I got. Like I knew them. That familiarity, it wouldn't go away. Of course there was always Neal. I felt that same familiarity when I had locked eyes with him this morning but that was different. We actually had a past. We had been together for nearly a year. Hell I had carried his child and was raising him! But that same sense of history came with Greg and even the strange nameless man who had shown up on my door step. I couldn't wait for lunch, I needed a drink.

The morning passed tediously, mostly thanks to the boring paperwork that cluttered my desk. As lunch time approached I heard footsteps in the hallway. The three rooms Greg and I rented out in the middle of this upscale office building were not only the smallest and most cramped but also the least sound proof. Three sharp taps rang through the door and I quickly pinched my cheeks and tousled my hair nervously.

"Come in!" I called out. My voice was higher pitched then I had meant it to be. Greg poked his head in the door and smiled at me. My heart fluttered a bit.

"Hey Emma." He said quickly. "I've just got a bit of paperwork to finish up and then I believe we have got a date." I grinned back, praying I didn't look like a dork, and nodded.

"Yeah," Thankfully my voice had returned to its normal tone. "Sounds perfect Greg, I've got some work that needs to get done, like yesterday." He grinned at me. Would I never get used to that perfect smile? "I'll be done in half an hour?" I offered weakly.

"Perfect!" Greg withdrew his head from my office and shut the door behind him. I spent the next thirty minutes fixing my hair and makeup and spritzing myself with a new perfume. Then, adjusting the papers to make it look as though I was extremely busy, I positioned myself in the perfect pose for when he opened the door.