A/N: Okay, I have something else up! This is new, fresh off the press... and probably full of typos... I'm not thrilled with it, but I'm happy I got it done, and I'm happy enough with it that I'm going to post it. So hope you enjoy it.

Love lots

CBC

A/N2:

I want to apologize that I have failed you as an author to put up trigger warnings. That was wrong of me, and I deeply am sorry for it. So I am adding this for future readers, and will also be making a note of it in the second part, as I do tend to continue. I am sorry, that as someone who is triggered by a number of things, I failed to put this up upon first posting.

TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR THROUGH OUT STORY:

Domestic Abuse: Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, and Spousal Abuse: Emotional, Physical, Psychological

Rape: Marital and Otherwise: Mentions of, Leading into, Aftermath, dealing with, talking about, non (too) graphically worded dialogue of recalling what happened. Yes, the word rape will be used, though not in chapter one: no outright 'show' of the rape taking course, but ghosting expressions that will give reader knowledge of what took place without graphic details.

Self-harm: mainly cutting, some burning: thoughts of, mentions of, want of, non (too) graphic description of self-harming, dialogue about/of... etc

Suicide: Thoughts of, mentions of, dialogue of past attempts, dialogue of wanting to, aftermath of attempt(s), reactions to... etc

I think that is it, but please let me know if you see something that I missed.

Rating has been bumped to M

Again, I apologize for not putting out warnings before.

I will not forget come later chapters,

CBC

Emma coughed into her sleeve as she ran a hand across her swollen belly, feeling her baby give a soft kick. Her stomach growled and she grimaced, well aware of her need for food, as well as a place to stay. She'd been out on the run for three weeks in attempt to get away from her boyfriend, always looking over her shoulder in fear of him finding her. He always knew where to find her and if she didn't find somewhere good to hide soon, he was bound to catch up and drag her back to Boston.

She shivered at the thought and tried to pull her red leather jacket tighter around her body, but her belly wouldn't allow it to. Her stomach growled again and she set her teeth firmly together to keep them from chattering. Taking a deep breath, despite the cool weather, she pressed forward, knowing that she needed to find something to eat. She may hate the man who hurt her, but she would never hate the child, and she needed to get her boy some food. Emma knew that she was small for being seven months, and she was no way in proper health, but after the first two appointments, Neal moved them from Tallahassee to Boston, and no longer allowed her to go to the OBGYN, or gave her proper meals. For four months she saved up what little she could, but it hadn't even lasted her the first two days she had finally gathered up the nerve to get the hell away from him.

She smirked at a little sign that said 'Welcome to Storybrooke', and pushed forward, hoping that there would be some place she could slip into and snitch a meal so she could feed herself, maybe enough to give her baby some nourishment. She cursed as a few drops of rain splashed against her head, and tried to pick up her pace, hurrying to find cover from the water. Moving as fast as her tired legs would go, she found herself in a cozy, and very quiet, little town, it's streets empty of cars and people. Walking under the awnings, she peered into the windows of the shops, and sighed with relief when she found a small grocery store, the perfect place to grab a small meal and get out if she played her cards right.

Stepping inside, she shook her head slightly to rid her hair of a few droplets before letting her eyes scan the isles slowly. Simple browsing, grab a few things, small talk with the cashier about traveling, then slowly walk out, easy as pie. Emma had done it a few times over the three weeks, and before she met Neal she did it at least once a day, it was a sure way to get away with a small meal, and if she was lucky, a toothbrush. Making her way towards the back, she let her hand massage small circles against her stomach, in hopes to quell the uneasy feeling she had.

A half hour later she made her way back up to the front, and smiled when she found a small bench she could sit down on for a short while, and hopefully ease the slight pain she was feeling in her lower back and abdomen, as well as give some believability to her story of coming in to browse while waiting out the drizzle before continuing on her way. Slowly lowering herself down, she let out a puff of pained breath as she did her best to relax but not give away that she was harboring stolen goods.

"Hello, can I help you?"

Emma looked up to find a small man standing before her, "No, I'm quite fine thank you. Just waiting out the rain a little before I keep going."

"Where are you headed?"

"No where really, just doing some traveling, seeing different places," she said with a smile, hoping she didn't seem too nervous.

The man nodded, "Should you be doing traveling in your condition?"

Emma scowled slightly, "I'm pregnant, not an invalid. I may not look to be in the best of shape, but I'm quite well for travel, thank you." Don't show you're scared.

He took a small step back, "Yes, yes of course, well, the rain should let up in a bit, so keep an eye out for it," he turned and hurried off to the cash register.

Emma sighed and grimaced when her baby gave a sharp kick, "I know, just wait a while longer, and then we'll eat," she whispered softly as she smoothed her hand over her belly with calming movements. Something didn't feel right, and it was starting to concern her, but she didn't have anywhere to go, and she couldn't stop, so she'd just have to deal with it, and hope it would go away after she ate. Closing her eyes she listened to the quiet music playing, and the rain falling from the sky, wondering if her life would ever get better; she'd never had it easy, and when Neal had come along with promises and lies, she fell into the trap and didn't realize it until it was too late. Her baby boy was a fresh chance, a hope for something better… and so she ran. She ran away from Neal, and couldn't look back. She ran away from that hellhole, and couldn't let people see how scared she was to be back in the real world, in fear of being caught and sent back.

He gave another painful kick and she let out a soft whimper, "Hey, kid, you're going to give me up if you keep kicking so hard," she said softly, rubbing her hands in circles against her stomach, desperately hoping the rain would let up soon and she could get out and keep moving.

/SQ/

Regina ran a hand through her hair with a deep sigh as she listened to the rain, there was a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach that she couldn't get rid of, and it was making her unable to focus on the paperwork before her. Scowling, she set her pen down and leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms out to the side. Her phone let out its shrill ring and she picked it up quickly, "Mayor Regina Mills speaking."

"Tom Clark is on line one for you," her secretary answered.

"Thank you Claudia, I'll pick it up," Regina answered before pressing the button to connect her with the store clerk, "Mr. Clark, what can I do for you?"

"Madam Mayor, I thought that I would inform you that there's someone in my shop-"

"Mr. Clark, you own a pharmacy grocery store, of course you would have customers," She said bitingly, wondering what in the world the man was talking about.

"O- of course, Madam Mayor, but you see I don't recognize the girl. I was wondering if you recognized her description."

Regina sat up, alarm coursing through her, she took a moment to calm herself before she spoke, "Go on, Mr. Clark."

"She's blonde, ratty looking. She's pregnant-"

Regina relaxed, "Mr. Clark, that girl is Ashley, she works in the back at Granny's."

"No, Madam Mayor, I know Ashley, she comes in on occasion, and this girl is not she."

Regina swallowed… A stranger… in Storybrooke? "I'll be there in no more than ten minutes, keep an eye on her, and call my secretary immediately if the girl leaves."

"Of course, Madam Mayor," Regina heard before she hung up and stood from her desk.

She grabbed her jacket and purse before stalking out of her office, "I'm going out, call my cell immediately if Mr. Clark calls back."

Her secretary nodded as Regina left.

A stranger… in Storybrooke… strangers were not allowed, could not get in… so who was this mystery girl who was in her town?

/SQ/

Emma took a deep breath as she listened to the rain begin to slow its assault on the earth. She could get out soon, and keep going. Her baby was making a fuss, and it wasn't pleasant in the least. Emma ran her hands soothingly against her stomach, praying that he would calm down, and she could get back on track without any trouble. It had already been much longer than she had hoped, and she knew that if she started acting antsy she could get caught with her stolen goods. She sucked in a pained breath when her baby kicked much harder than he ever had before. Biting back a whimper, she let her eyes wander to the short man at the cash register, grateful that he didn't seem to take notice of her distress.

Just a little while longer. She told herself strongly. Just a couple more minutes.

She felt a sharp pain shoot through her lower back and she set her teeth together in pain. She coughed softly, in hopes to quell the urge to scream, and noted the cashier looked at her. Emma smiled a little before looking away, finding her eyes gazing outside.

A smile blossomed across her lips as she saw that the rain had stopped. Taking a deep breath to keep herself from running out, she stood slowly, carefully, and stretched out a little, hoping it didn't seem like she was in a super rush to get out. She ran a hand through her knotted hair before she began to make her way to the exit, "Thanks for lettin me wait out the rain for a bit," she said, desperately hoping her voice didn't waver with the fear she felt, and the pain she was in.

She kept moving towards the exit but kept her eyes on him for a moment longer to give a weak smile that he half returned. As she began to swivel her head to face front, she felt her body collide with another. Fear coursed through her, making her heart pound loudly in her head, "Oh fuck! I'm-" her meager attempt to speak was cut off as her baby stabbed his foot into her kidney and she let out a groaning cry at the pain spreading through her body.

"Why the hell weren't you watching where you were going?" A sharp tone asked, and Emma swallowed the urge to scream and run.

"I- I'm sorry," she said, her voice hardly loud enough for her own ears to pick up. She steeled herself to be hit and blinked away the tears forming in her eyes. He hits you more when you cry. She reminded herself sternly, placing her hands swiftly over her belly, desperate to protect her baby, and felt the toothbrush she had hidden up her sleeve slip out. Shit.

Strong, silky, fingers grasped her chin and yanked her face up, brown eyes boring into Emma's green ones. The toothbrush flashed in her vision, "I'm guessing you didn't pay for this." The woman spoke with malice in her voice. Emma winced, trying to tear her chin out from the woman's grip, "What else have you stolen?"

Emma bit her lip to keep from crying out, and didn't answer. The woman dropped the item and took a hard grip on Emma's left arm, "Speak up! Or I'm calling the sheriff!"

Emma's eyes widened in fear and before she could stop, tears began to roll down her cheeks, "Pl… please…." she whispered, feeling the fresh scars on her arm breaking open.

/SQ/

Regina let out a quiet yelp of surprise as she opened the door to the pharmacy and found herself being barreled into by another body, "Oh fuck! I'm-" the girl's voice cut off as the blonde seemed to curl into herself.

Regina's temper flared, "Why the hell weren't you watching where you were going?" She asked, her tone clipped and angry.

If she hadn't learned how to pick up small noises, she wouldn't have even been able to hear the whispered response of a stuttered apology. Her eyes narrowed to the quick movement of the girl's arms and saw a toothbrush slip out of the sleeve. She picked it up before grabbing the girl's chin and yanking it up, forcing the girl to look at her, "I'm guessing you didn't pay for this." She said with a cold anger. She could see fear in the girl's eyes, and felt the blonde wince, trying to get away from her.

"What else have you stolen?" She asked, taking notice of the girl sticking her lip between her teeth. Regina dropped the stolen item to the ground and wrapped her hand tightly around the left arm of the girl, "Speak up! Or I'm calling the sheriff!"

Regina watched as the girl's eyes widen into large spheres of fear, and tears began to streak down dirty, pale cheeks, "Pl… please…." The girl whispered, trying to wiggle from Regina's hard grasp.

"Please what? Please let you go? You're a thief, and have no right to be asking me of such things. Now speak up, what else have you taken!" She barked, tightening her grip.

The girl cried out and wrapped her free arm around her small abdomen, Mr. Clark had expressed that she was very pregnant, but by the looks of it, she could hardly be past four or five months, she was small, gangly, and thin, "Please…" the girl cried out, "I'm sorry…."

Regina tightened her grip once again, "What. Else. Have. You. Taken." She demanded.

The girl was still crying, but clearly was trying her hardest not to let the tears escape, her eyes were full of fear, and the grip she had around her waist made Regina feel that she was trying to protect her baby from something. Regina felt a warm liquid ooze against her wrist that was holding the girl's arm and immediately jerked her eyes away from green eyes to see blood seeping down the girl's wrist, out from underneath the cheap leather jacket where Regina was holding her.

Regina released the girl's arm swiftly, disgust spreading across her features, "What the hell? Remove your jacket girl!"

The girl snapped her arm into her body, smearing blood across her clothes, but didn't make movement to do as she was told, "Mr. Clark, if I could please have a paper towel or some kind of disinfecting wipe," Regina spoke to the cashier, who nodded and left to do as he was told.

"How did you get here?" Regina asked, forcing her voice to be more friendly.

"I… I walked…" the girl gasped out.

Regina shook the girl's face a little, "I don't believe you. This little town is in the middle of nowhere, there's no way you could have just walked here."

"I'm not lying…" the girl said.

"What's your name, girl?" The blonde swallowed, but kept her mouth shut, "You are in no position to be silent. You've been caught stealing. Speak up girl, and cooperate, get on my good graces and maybe as Mayor I can convince Mr. Clark to be forgiving. I will ask again, what's your name."

"Swan," the girl whispered softly, "I'm called Swan."

/SQ/

Emma stared into brown eyes with fear, her stomach churning violently. Her arm was bleeding profusely she could feel the sticky liquid seeping into her jacket as she held her arms to her stomach, hoping desperately that her baby would stop giving her trouble by kicking so hard.

The woman gave her a hard stare before removing her hand from Emma's chin, "Swan?"

Emma nodded, wincing at the pain that started to roll through her again, "Swan."

What are you doing in Storybrooke, Miss. Swan?" The woman asked.

Emma swallowed, not wanting to answer, "Traveling," she said, hoping her voice didn't waver.

"Traveling?" The woman asked, "And how are you doing your travel?"

"Walking," she replied.

The woman narrowed her gaze, "Walking. You're honestly telling me you walked here?"

Emma nodded, "Well…" she swallowed, "I took the bus part way." Her baby gave another sharp kick and she gasped, curling into herself as her whole body exploded in pain.

The woman stepped closer, "What's the matter?"

Emma took a deep breath and stood up straight, "Just a sharp kick," she answered curtly.

"How far along are you? Four months?" The woman asked.

Emma pressed her hands tighter into her stomach and winced, feeling that a few of the deeper cuts were still bleeding. Dammit… it had taken me so long to get them to stop.

"I still don't know what to call you," she said, trying to avoid talking about her son with a stranger.

"Mayor Mills will suffice," The woman said, "How old are you, Miss. Swan?"

Emma straightened up as best she could and lied through her teeth, "Twenty, Mayor Mills."

/SQ/

Regina opened her mouth to say something when Mr. Clark came back with the wipes she had asked for, "Thank you, Mr. Clark, I will handle this from here, if you could please be so kind to leave us be." The man nodded and handed her the wipes before swiftly moving to the backroom of the store. She pulled out a wipe and cleaned the dried blood from her arm before speaking again, "That's sweet, Miss. Swan, but what age are you really?"

Miss. Swan swallowed visibly, and her grip tightened around her abdomen, "Twenty."

Regina let out a small puff of air, "You really are quite difficult aren't you. You have managed to not answer almost all of my questions. For instance, what else have you taken? As well as what you're really doing in Storybrooke. I've been in politics long enough to be able to figure out when people are lying to me. It'll make me much nicer if you began to cooperate."

The girl smoothed her right hand around the back of her jacket and pulled out a small club sandwich, "That's it," she said, her voice laced with what sounded like fear, "just the toothbrush and the sandwich."

Regina moved to snatch it from her, slowing slightly as she noticed the girl wince. "Are you still bleeding?" She asked, taking the sandwich from the blonde's hand, not missing the sad look shoot through the girl's eyes, nor the soft growling of a stomach that made it to Regina's ears.

The girl shook her head no, "I'm fine." She said quickly.

Alarms went off in Regina's head, and she grabbed the girl's arm, pulling it away from the blonde's body. Miss. Swan let out a soft cry that she quickly stifled as she tried to remove her arm from the grip, "Remove your jacket Miss. Swan." Regina said tightly.

The girl began to struggle harder against the grip, "No, let me go. Stop, please, let me go!"

Regina held on tighter and slid the jacket sleeve up to the blonde's elbow, her eyes widening. The blonde's arm was covered with long, deep, ugly looking cuts and scars. She held onto the now sobbing girl and with her free hand grabbed a wipe from the box she had been given. "The wipes will probably sting," she said, though she doubted the blonde heard.

Miss. Swan let out a pained cry when Regina pressed the wipe against the cuts, clearing away the drying blood and noticing that one was still bleeding. Wow, maybe it wasn't so smart to grab hold of her so tightly. She thought to herself as she continued to clean the wounds, "Take off your jacket, these need to be cleaned better."

Regina looked hard into green eyes, and inwardly gasped when she picked up on a fading bruise around the girl's eyes that she hadn't picked up on before due to her anger. She took a hold of the girl's face and suddenly something dawned on her, "You're running."

The girl's eyes widened and Regina continued, "You're running from someone aren't you?"

Regina waited patiently, knowing by the look in Miss. Swan's eyes that she had it right, "Who are you running from?" She asked, her voice soothing, her heart suddenly feeling for this petty thief before her. When Miss. Swan didn't answer again, she spoke, "Is it the baby's father?"

Fear split across the girl's face like lightening across Maine skies, "Don't send me back!" She cried, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Miss. Swan, how old are you?"

The girl looked down as she sobbed, "Eight… eight…teen."

Anger sparked through Regina's body, but she forced her movements to be gentle as she lifted the girl's face to look at her. She brushed her finger across the fading bruise, "Did he do this to you?" She asked, receiving a jerky nod. She released the girl's face, "How long have you been running?"

"Th… three. Three… weeks," Miss. Swan replied, her voice rough from crying.

Regina swallowed down her building anger, "How far along are you, Miss. Swan?"

The girl pressed her hands against her stomach, and her face lit up a little, her crying slowing as she answered, "Seven months."

Regina blanched, "Seven? You look as though you're no more than four! When did you last have an appointment? Why are you not taking better care of yourself?"

"Why do you think I was in here!" The girl snapped, a fierce fire blooming in her eyes before quickly dying away, "I'm… I'm sorry. Please, don't send me back. Don't tell him I'm here," she pleaded.

Regina's eyes widened, "Send you back? I am no monster!" She said tightly. Then she realized the full meaning of the words spoken to her, "Miss. Swan, when was it that you last ate?"

The girl ran her fingers across her stomach, not even seeming to care about the dried blood caked to her thin, dirty, at one point white, tank top beneath the red jacket, "A couple days ago."

"A couple days ago in how many exactly?" Regina asked.

Miss. Swan looked up, "I think it was four," she replied meekly, "I lost count," Regina could see her swallow, before the girl looked down again, "he's hungry."

Regina felt a little bit of her heart melting, a feeling she had not felt in a very long time, "You're having a boy?" She asked.

Miss. Swan looked back up, "I don't… I don't actually know. I never got to find out, but I just have this strong feeling that it's going to be a little boy… and if it is, I … I want to be able to raise him right, so he's not… not like the man who-" her voice trailed off and Regina felt her stomach drop.

"It wasn't consensual, was it?" Regina asked softly.

Miss. Swan shook her head no, "But… it was my fault, I egged him-"

Regina cut her off angrily, "It is not your fault. Something like that is never your fault. Do you understand me? If there is one thing I hate it is girls like u… you who are made to feel like it's your fault what that man did. That man had no right to ever do what he did, let alone kiss the ground you walk on. Do you understand me? It is not your fault what he did."

/SQ/

Emma fought for air as the words from the woman's mouth washed over her, soothed her. She almost scoffed, at the insanity of this complete stranger, who had been manhandling her, being able to speak so strongly about what Neal had done to her. She felt oddly calm, and as if a weight had been lifted from her chest. A sob broke out of her chest as tears began to trail down her cheeks again, "It's not my fault?"

Mayor Mills gave Emma a hard look, repeating, "Something like that is never your fault. What he did to you was wrong. Don't ever feel like it's your fault, because that is not true to any degree of humanity."

Emma let out a cough and sniffled hard, wiping tears from her face she did her best to straighten up. A surge of warmth and courage flooded through her and she gave the brown eyed woman before her a small, tentative smile, "My name is Emma Swan. I'm running from my abusive ex, carrying his baby that at first he let me take care of, but then he moved us and didn't even let me go to an OB. I haven't had proper medical care since about the three and a half mark I only went to a couple of appointments. I ran off three weeks ago, but a hundred doesn't get you very far. I haven't been feeling well, and I need to feed my baby, so yea, I came in to steal a sandwich and a toothbrush. I'm good at it, stealing, I know it isn't right, but it's the only thing that kept me alive after I ran away from my last set of foster parents two years ago, until I met my ex, who became my partner in crime for a while. Then things got ugly. I fell into a hole I had tried so hard to dig myself out of. I lived with twelve different foster families, seven of them were abusive. That's what I ran away from, only to run into it again. I can't let my baby grow up that way, so I finally…" her voice cut off as she felt another sharp pain shoot through her body, making her double over and let out a soft cry.

"Miss. Swan? What's the matter?"

Emma groaned as the wave continued to roll through her. Looking up she swallowed, tears brimming her eyes yet again, "It hurts. I… it hurts. My baby." She coughed on the fear caught in her throat, and doubled back over with a whimper before collapsing to the floor heaving for air as the pain continued to build, "Something's wrong! Something's wrong!" She cried as she hugged her arms across her belly, desperate to protect her son from the pain she was feeling.

"Okay, Miss. Swan, hold on," the woman said softly before raising her voice, "Mr. Clark! The situation is under control, and I'll be back later to pay for the products she had on her!"

Emma gasped in surprise. This… this woman was going to help her. As the thought came to her she felt a hand against her own, "I'm going to help you up, my car is just outside, the hospital is just a few minutes drive from here."

Emma gave her a bewildered look, "Why… why are you helping me?"

The woman gave a soft chuckle, "I may be hateful of people who try to steal, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stand over you and not give you some sort of aid. Now let's go find out what can be done."

Emma gave a weak nod before grabbing hold of the woman's hand and allowing her to be lifted from the ground and helped into a beautiful black Mercedes, "Thank… you."

"Hold on tight, being Mayor has some perks," Mayor Mills gave her a tight smile.

"Don't…" Emma moaned as the pain continued to increase, "Don't be stupid, no accidents please," she muttered through clenched teeth. She felt a warm hand squeeze hers in reply.

The woman laughed lightly before starting up the engine, "No accidents, I promise," she said, a smile on her face that reached her eyes, "Don't worry, I'll take care of you."

Emma's voice caught in her throat, damned hormones… she had been doing way too much crying over the past hour and a half, and she nodded, looking away before whispering a soft 'thank you.' As they pulled out onto the street, speeding away quickly, Emma almost thought the woman hadn't heard, but then, just as softly as she herself had whispered she heard "You're welcome."

A/N: So, yup, that's it. Let me know if you're interested in me trying to pound out a sequel. Not the best, but I'm getting back into my groove, trying to find my way again. Let me know what you think?

Love lots

CBC