A/N: Any and all reviews are welcome :) Enjoy!

Emma sat in her car counting the money she got from her latest score. It wasn't much, probably enough for a tank of gas, a fast food dinner and a night in a hotel.

She decided to skip dinner and sleep and head out of town as fast as she could. She knew it was only a matter of time before the guy she conned found out and called the cops.

It was late at night as Emma headed north out of New Hampshire she wasn't quite sure where she was going but anywhere was better than here.

Emma didn't have what you'd call an easy life. She grew up in group homes; unwanted, shuffled around till she eventually aged out of foster care.

She fell in love with a con man who promised her a new dream life in Tallahassee. But what happened next didn't have the fairy-tale ending she wanted. He set her up on a con he committed that sent her to jail. So now she was 18, pregnant and behind bars.

She had her son in jail and immediately put him up for adoption.

After a year and a half she was released from jail and the first thing she did was get out of town. She ended up in New York working at a small diner as a waitress. That's where she met Joe. He was tall, handsome and worked hard as a construction worker. She lived with him for 2 months before stealing $600 from his bank account and skipping town.

She managed to make it to Detroit where she worked in a pawn shop and "fell in love" with the owner, Donald. She stayed 4 months before lightening his inventory, taking rings, a couple necklaces, a really old looking broach.

She pawned the things she stole in St. Louis where she made a living working at The Pit, a barbeque joint famous for their ribs. Kendra was a regular at The Pit and she loved the attention Emma gave her. Emma wasn't above flirting with women. She actually quite liked it and with Kendra it was too easy. And through her flirting she found out that Kendra was going through a divorce and her husband was making very hefty alimony payments. Emma stayed for 2 months before she took off with a diamond ring and $200.

Emma ditched her car in Springfield and bought a small yellow Volkswagen before she headed back east.

After years of different cons, Emma ended up at the Jersey Shore bartending at bar called The Spirit in the Bottle.

Emma was one of 2 bartenders behind the bar working the closing shift.

"What can I get you?" She asked a man who just sat down at one of the empty stools.

The man looked at her name tag then smiled at her, "Well, Connie how about you pour me a scotch, neat."

She grabbed a bottle of scotch from the shelf behind her and poured him about 2 gulps. He put 10 bucks on the bar and she took it.

"Keep the change." He told her.

"Oh I planned on it." She said as she moved down the bar to serve more customers.

Two hours later Emma looked down at the end of the bar and the man was still there nursing his scotch.

Emma headed down to him, "Hey, something wrong with your drink?"

"Not at all." He said then took a small sip, "I'm just enjoying the atmosphere."

Emma looked around, the bar was nearly empty. The second bartender took off and Emma was left with the stragglers and the man at the end of the bar sipping his scotch as if it was liquid gold.

"You have a strange way of enjoying yourself." Emma said as she moved down to wipe the bar.

"I can't help it if I get my kicks people watching and drinking aged scotch." He said to her then took another sip of his drink, "Just like you can't help getting your kicks from conning people out of their hard earned money."

He looked over at her, "Right Emma?"

She stopping wiping the bar and looked at him, "I have no clue what you're talking about."

He got up from his seat and moved down the bar to where she was, "I'm sure you don't."

Emma leaned across the bar, "What do you want?" She asked in a hushed tone as if someone was actually trying to listen to their conversation.

"I've been looking for you for a long time Emma." He told her.

"Are you a hired dick?" Emma asked, her eyes narrowing.

He smiled at her.

"What do you want?" She asked again, "And who hired you?"

"Meet me at this address after your shift." He told her as he took out a pen and wrote on a napkin, "You'll get your answers then."

He slid the napkin to her and walked away.

Emma grabbed the napkin and looked at the address. "Hey, I'm not meeting you at a hotel!" She called after him.

He turned around, "You will if you want to stay out of jail." He smiled at her then walked out.

"Fuck." Emma mumbled to herself.

She thought about the man the rest of her shift. She thought maybe she could just take off, leave and go somewhere else. She could easily get lost in a big city like L.A or Chicago, maybe even Houston.

A part of her was curious as to which mark she had conned would go to such trouble to hire a private detective.

Later Emma stood outside the hotel room waiting to knock. She really should have moved on she thought as she knocked.

The door opened and the man smiled at her, "Come in Emma." He said opening the door.

Emma cautiously stepped inside the room. "I want you to know I have pepper spray and a knife." She warned him as he shut the door.

"Neither of those things will be needed I assure you." He told her as he offered her a chair at his small table.

Emma sat down and he sat across from her.

"I'd offer you something to drink but I'm guessing you're probably too paranoid to say yes."

"You got that right." She told him.

He got up from his chair and opened the drawer by his bed and pulled out a thick folder. He shut the drawer and then sat back down.

"What's that?" She asked him.

"First let me introduce myself." He said to her, "My name is Graham Humbert."

"Yeah nice to meet you." Emma said, "Now, who hired you and what's in the folder?"

"This folder contains information about you." He told her as he opened it. "From the moment you entered foster care to you taking up a new alias and job here in Jersey."

She eyed him, "Where'd you get the information?"

"I have my ways." He told her.

"Who hired you?" Emma asked, she was getting tired of asking.

"A woman by the name of Regina Mills." Graham told her.

Emma racked her brain trying to recall if she'd ever screwed over someone by the name of Regina Mills but the name rang no bells.

"She's not a former mark of yours." He told her as she opened the folder and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her.

Emma looked at it, "What does this have to do with the kid I gave up?" She asked handing back the piece of paper.

"Regina Mills is the woman who adopted your son." Graham told her, "And she's the one who hired me to find you."

"Why?" Emma asked him.

"She wants to meet you." Graham told her.

"No." Emma said standing up and heading for the door, "That wasn't part of the deal."

He stood up, "Well here's the new deal, you meet her tell her what she wants to know and I won't give the information I have on you and all your cons to the authorities."

She looked at him to see if he was bluffing.

"Felonies Emma with a prior conviction will keep you in jail for a pretty long time." He told her.

"So you're blackmailing me into meeting this woman?" She asked him.

"I'm persuading you."

Emma smirked at him, "You can call it whatever you want but it's still blackmail."

"Are you willing to meet with her?"

Emma sighed. She should have run when she had the chance.

"Where?" Emma asked.

Graham smiled, "Maine, a small town called Storybrooke."

"When do we leave?"

"Tonight if you want." He told her.

"I don't think I really have a choice." Emma said to him.

Emma and Graham went to her small apartment where she packed up what little she had into her car before they both got in.

They drove an hour in complete silence.

"Don't you want to know why after all these years she wants to meet you?" Graham asked her.

"I'm guessing she'll tell me when we meet." She said.

They sat in a silence for a few minutes.

"You don't like talking much do you?" He asked.

"Talking takes up too much time." She told him.

Halfway to Maine they switched places, Graham driving and Emma sitting in the passenger seat trying not to nod off.

"I promise you that you can fall asleep without worrying I'm going to run us off the road." He told her.

"I'm more worried about you taking me to the nearest police station."

He looked at her, "You don't have to worry about that. I told you as long as you meet with Regina I won't turn you in and I'm a man of my word."

"Yeah okay." Emma said not believing him as she folded her arms across her chest.

The car door slamming woke her up. She looked around, confused. Her door opened and Graham smiled at her, "Welcome to Storybrooke."

Emma got out of the car and stretched. She looked around, "God you weren't kidding when you said small town."

"What's the fancy building?" Emma asked with a head nod towards a big white two story building across from where they parked.

"That's where we're headed." He told her as he led her across the street, "It's the Town Hall."

"And why are we going to the Town Hall?" She asked as they went inside and started to climb the stairs.

"This is where we're meeting Regina." He told her.

They walked down a long hallway.

"What is she like the mayor or something?" Emma asked looking around.

They stopped in front of a set of double doors. A sign on the door said it all.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Emma asked him, "She's the damn mayor?"

He knocked then opened the door and walked in.

"Hello Madam Mayor." Graham said, "I did as you requested."

Regina was sitting behind her big desk. She looked passed Graham at Emma who was still standing in the hallway.

"You can come in." Regina called out to her.

Emma stepped into the office and walked up to Regina's desk.

Regina stood up, "Thank you Graham that will be all."

He gave her a nod, then turned and left.

"Please let's sit down." Regina said.

Emma sat down on the couch while Regina sat across from her in a leather armchair.

She looked Regina over. Dark hair, even darker eyes. Full lips, nice rack and legs that seemed to go on forever.

"You're staring." Regina said.

"Sorry, just wondering what you want."

"Understand that I'm not doing this for myself." Regina said, "I'm doing this for Henry."

"Who's Henry?"

"My son." Regina told her.

"And what exactly are you doing for him?"

"He's 12 years old and curious. He wants to know where he came from, who his birth parents are." Regina told her, "I promised him I would help him find out."

"All that should have been in the file when you adopted him." Emma told her, "There's nothing I can tell him that isn't in there."

"He wants to get to know you." Regina told her.

"Why?"

"Well you can ask him yourself." Regina told her as she got up and went back over to her desk. She came back and handed Emma a piece of paper. "That is my home address; we'll expect you at 7 for dinner."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Emma said, "I agreed to meet with you, that was the deal. There was no mention of meeting the kid."

"The kid's name is Henry." Regina told her, "And I made no deal with you."

She sat down in her chair, "But I assure you that all I have to do is tell Graham that you're being difficult and he will follow through with whatever course of action he promised to do if you didn't comply."

"The local private dick blackmails me and the Mayor is threatening me. What the hell kind of town is this?" Emma asked.

Regina smiled at her, "A very nice quiet town till someone crosses the line."

"So Ms. Swan, will we be seeing you for dinner tonight?" She asked.

Emma looked down at the piece of paper then stood up as she shoved it into the pocket of her leather jacket. "Sure." She said.

"Wonderful." Regina said as she stood up and walked Emma to the door.

"I'll see you then." She said then shut the door behind Emma before she could say anything more.

When Emma left the building she saw Graham leaning back against her car.

"What are you still doing here?" Emma asked as she walked over to the driver side, "No more people Madam Mayor needs you to blackmail?"

She opened the door and stared at him, expecting an answer.

"Do you have a place to stay while you're in town?" He asked her.

"I'm not going to be staying." She told him.

He smiled at her, "Okay sure but if you do stay, there's an Inn on Main Street called Granny's Bed and Breakfast."

"Whatever." She said as she got into her car, slammed the door and started the bug.

She took off, squealing the tires.

"Where the hell am I going?" She asked out loud as she drove down the road.

She eventually found Main Street and parked her car on the side of the road by an auto repair shop. She got out and looked around.

There was a reason Emma didn't stick around in small towns. You can't get lost in a crowd; everyone knows your name and your business. God, how she hated small towns.

"You look lost, Dearie."

Emma turned around to see a slender, nicely dressed man with thin brown hair smiling a crooked smile at her.

"Is there a place in this one horse town of yours to get a cup of coffee?" She asked him.

"Just down the street a ways." He told her as he pointed.

"Thanks." She said to him as she walked passed, "And don't call me Dearie."

As soon as Emma walked into the diner everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at her. She paused for a minute contemplating if she should just turn and walk out.

But it was too late; a brunette with big blue eyes came over to her, "Come sit at the counter." She said as she ushered Emma to one of the stools.

Emma looked around then sat down.

"Okay people she's not an alien, stop staring." An older woman with white hair put up in a bun said as she came out of the kitchen holding a spatula.

Emma turned to the woman, "Thanks."

"No problem." She said, "You need anything just let Ruby know."

She headed back into the kitchen and Emma looked over at the brunette.

"I take it you're Ruby?" Emma asked.

"Sure am." She said, "Now what can I get for you?" She asked getting ready to write down Emma's order on her order pad.

"Just coffee. Black." Emma said as she leaned onto the counter.

Ruby set a cup down in front of Emma and poured her a cup of coffee. "Anything else?" She asked.

"No thanks." Emma said then took a small sip of her coffee.

Emma sat hunched at the counter just sipping her coffee but she could feel the eyes on her.

"Don't mind them." Ruby said as she offered another cup of coffee which she refused, "We don't get a lot of new faces around here."

"I can see why." Emma said then realized how that might have come off. "I'm sorry it's been a long day. I'm sure your town is very nice."

Ruby smiled as she rounded the counter and went over to table of customers.

When Ruby came back behind the counter Emma stood up and grabbed her wallet. "I heard there's an Inn around here." She pulled out a 10 dollar bill and put it on the counter, "Can you point me in the direction?"

Ruby told her where the Inn was and Emma headed to her car to grab her bags before going over to the Inn. She stepped onto the porch, opened the door and went inside.

There wasn't anyone at the front desk.

"Um hello?" She called out.

"Sorry about that."

Emma turned, "Hey, you're the woman from the diner."

"Yes well this is Granny's bed and breakfast." The older woman said to her as she went behind the desk, "And I am Granny."

"Uh okay." Emma said, "I'd like a room please."

"How long?" Granny asked.

"Just for the night." Emma said as she pulled out her wallet.

"$75." Granny told her.

"Kinda steep isn't it?" Emma asked as she counted out the money.

"It includes breakfast tomorrow at the diner." Granny told her as she took the money and shoved it into her bra and handed Emma the receipt.

"Your room key." Granny said handing her a key with a big swan on the keychain. "Room is upstairs to your left and down the hall. Fresh towels are on the bed. Check out is 11 tomorrow morning."

"Thanks." Emma said then went upstairs where she easily found her room. She tossed her bag on the bed and looked around the oddly decorated room.

She realized she had a few hours before she was supposed to have dinner with the mayor and her son and there was nothing to do.

There was no TV in the room, no computer. She checked her phone, and no free wi-fi.

"Son of a bitch." She cursed as she sat on the edge of her bed.

She wasn't going to stay cooped up in her room so she got up and headed out. She walked across the street as she headed for the docks. Emma suspected this place wasn't a fishing town but there were still a few boats docked.

One particular boat caught her eye. It looked like it belonged in a museum. The mast was huge, white sails were tied up but Emma counted at least 5 of them. She stood admiring it.

"Beautiful isn't she?"

Emma turned to see a man standing on the docks looking at the boat.

"Yes it is." Emma said to him, "And the boat's a girl?"

The man smiled at her then looked at the boat, "Ah, she's a lady."

Emma arched an eyebrow at him, "Uh okay and how do you know this?"

"Because she's my boat." The man told her then climbed on to the boat, "Would you like to come aboard?"

Emma looked at the boat then at him, "Maybe some other time."

"Suit yourself Love." He said then moved to the back of the boat.

Emma continued down the docks and stood at the end of the pier and watched the water lap lazily at the shore.

She sighed then walked back to Main Street. She was lost in her thoughts when she rounded a corner and a woman bumped right into her and the woman got knocked to the ground.

"Geez, are you okay?" Emma asked as she offered the woman a hand up.

The woman had short black hair, pale skin and a big smile.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to bump into you." The woman said as she bent down to pick up the bag of groceries she dropped.

Emma bent down to help her, "It's okay, I wasn't paying attention."

The woman looked at Emma as she put a box of cereal into her bag, "Are you new in town?"

"I'm just passing through." Emma said as she handed the woman an orange that had fallen out of the bag.

She stood up, "Well I hope you enjoy your time here."

She started to walk away but turned around, "If you give it a chance, you'll see just how magical this town and the people in it are."

She gave Emma a smile before continuing on her way.

Emma thought the woman was a little strange perhaps maybe a little naïve. It was a good thing Emma didn't believe in magic.

She started walking down the street again and realized something. She had already starting learning the names of the people in this stupid town. This wasn't way she normally worked a con. She always told herself, don't get too close, keep people at a distance. Don't learn names, don't listen to life stories. Get in, find your mark, make your score and then get the hell out.

She'd been living this way for over 10 years now and it had become a huge part of her life that she didn't even know how else to be.

Emma checked her watch. She had about 2 hours before she was supposed to go to the Mayor's house for dinner so she headed back to her room.

She showered, dried off and then dressed in a pair of black jeans and red shirt. She didn't have fancy clothes so jeans and a shirt would just have to do.

She was putting on her boots when there was a knock at her door. She finished tying up the laces then got up and opened the door.

"Madam Mayor." Emma said seeing Regina standing in her doorway.

"I realized, though I've read quite a bit about you I don't really know you." Regina said to her as she stood in the hall.

"Don't feel bad." Emma said as she opened the door wider and gestured for her to come in, "No one really knows me."

"So do you always show up at the hotel room of a stranger?" Emma asked her as she shut the door.

Regina ignored the question.

"I think a few ground rules need to be established before you meet my son." Regina told her.

Emma didn't like rules, she didn't like being told what she could or couldn't do. Now this woman was going to sit her down and tell how she was supposed to act around a kid she didn't even want to meet? OH Hell no!

"Look lady…." Emma started to say but Regina cut her off.

"Ms. Mills or Madam Mayor." Regina told her.

Emma rolled her eyes, "Look Madam Mayor, you don't have to stick me with a bunch of rules. I'm just going to give him the facts then I'll breeze out of town and you won't have to see me again."

They stared at each other, neither woman blinked.

Regina was trying to see if Emma was being serious and Emma couldn't help herself.

Emma was the first to look away and she was never the first to look away before.

"I'll see you in an hour Ms. Swan." Regina said as she headed to the door and opened it, "Don't be late."

She left, shutting the door behind her and Emma stood in the middle of her room smirking. She had just found her new mark.