Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT or any of its characters. (but I sure wish I did!)

Chapter 1:

Emma Swan woke up to the sounds of chirping birds and she groaned. The wake-up call that she was used to was a cacophony of alarms. Boston didn't do chirping birds. This was some fairy-tale level nonsense.

Just the thought of fairy-tales made her groan more. Henry and his book were getting to her. She rolled over and threw her blankets off. Just a few more days until her bug got repaired. She let out an angry sigh. She swore that the wolf was real, but Graham, the attractive-but-gruff sheriff was suspicious about the whole thing.

She threw on a tank top and a pair of jeans and grabbed her red leather jacket. Hopefully the diner downstairs knew what bagels were supposed to be like.

As she placed her order for a hot chocolate 'with extra cinnamon!' she stressed, and a plate of waffles with the perpetually perky waitress named Ruby, a small mass plopped itself down next to her in her booth, and she was hit with the smell of soap. Henry looked up at her, grinning. She couldn't help but return his smile. He looked adorable in his school uniform (the tie in particular was cute) and his enthusiasm was infectious.

"Hey kid." She greeted him.

"Hi Emma!" he replied.

Ruby returned with Emma's hot chocolate, and smiled at the young boy. "Your usual?" she asked. Henry nodded, and she ruffled his hair affectionately before heading back to the kitchen. "And I'll pack your dad's to go." She called over her shoulder.

Emma raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Eat here often?"

"Yeah. Dad's not a great cook."

Emma quirked a smile. Somehow she wasn't surprised. As she turned to add more cinnamon to her hot chocolate (Ruby had graciously left the shaker behind), Henry whipped out his book. Emma was impressed that he could heft that book out that fast.

"So back to Operation Cobra…"

Emma hid a grimace behind her mug. She let Henry do the talking and tried to pay attention. The story was getting more ridiculous. Snow White and Prince Charming hated each other at first? Disney would beg to differ.

"If I'm the child of Snow White and Prince Charming, who's Ruby?" she asked playfully.

"Little Red Riding Hood." He answered seriously.

Emma grinned. It made perfect sense. Ruby, with her scarlet lips and crimson-streaked hair, was the perfect candidate for the role.

"Then who's the big bad wolf?"

"Also Ruby."

Emma blinked. That was a good twist. "Let me see that book again."

Henry passed it over and she flipped it over. No publisher information.

The sound of plates clinking made her look up.

Her waffles had arrived, as had Henry's. He grinned at her excitedly. "We ordered the same thing!"

As he added cinnamon to his own hot chocolate, Emma smiled sadly. This kid was tugging at her heart strings. She wished that she had moments with her parents like this, and she understood why Henry wanted her to stay, and she felt a guilty knowing that in a few days, she'd leave him behind.

'Like Neal left you.' Hissed a traitorous voice in her brain. She forced herself to push it out of her mind. Henry had a good life here. Better than she ever had and better than she could ever give him.

"Looks like it." She said softly, and started on her waffles, which suddenly didn't seem so appealing.

Henry finished his breakfast in a hurry, pushing his empty plate away with gusto, and Emma had to remind him to clean his mouth else spend the day with a milk moustache.

Henry did so impatiently and pulled the book towards him.

"This is Rumpelstiltskin. He's the Dark One. He's called Mr. Gold here. Do you think he looks like a villain?"

Emma hesitated, not sure how to answer. She had run into Mr. Gold the day before, and while he seemed like a perfectly normal pawnbroker, he did seem to be harbouring a secret and seemed pretty shady.

Henry didn't wait for her answer.

"My dad says he's definitely evil."

Emma grinned and her thoughts drifted back to Henry's dad. Or rather, his adoptive dad. Killian Jones would forever have her gratitude for adopting Henry.

Speaking of Henry's father…he chose that moment to barge into the diner.

"Hey Captain." Ruby purred teasingly, handing him a bag of what Emma presumed was his breakfast.

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Red." He teased back. "Where's my son?"

Ruby pointed a finger at Emma's booth and Killian's eyes met Emma's. Sea met forest. Emma gulped. He did not look happy. A frown wrinkled his brow and he ran a hand through his already mussed hair.

"Henry." He called.

Henry looked up guiltily. He pushed the book towards Emma and whispered "Read it. I'll meet you after school."

Before she could protest, he had pulled his backpack on and dashed towards his dad. Killian put his hand on his son's back, sank to his knees and said something to him in a low voice. Emma wished she could hear, but she could only imagine that Killian was asking him why Henry was spending time with her.

Henry shrugged and refused to make eye contact with Killian, who visibly sighed. He stood up and patted him on his back. Henry took this as his cue to leave, and headed out the door.

"Have a good day, lad!" Killian called out, and Henry shot him a brief smile over his shoulder before the door swung shut behind him.

Killian turned his attention back to Emma, who surreptitiously pushed the book onto the seat and nudged her jacket over it.

He strode over to her, expression grim. Emma sighed. There was no way she was going to get out of this.

"Ms. Swan."

She looked up into his eyes and regretted it. They were an intense steely blue, and it hurt a little to look at them. It also didn't help that he was an attractive man. Too attractive, in fact. He had chosen to wear a leather jacket over a black shirt that had been paired with a tight pair of denim jeans, and damn did he look good in it. Black unruly hair, scruff and sinful accent. It was a potent combination, but Emma knew his type. Tall, dark and attractive meant arrogant, deceitful and annoying. Still, she had a feeling that there was more to this man than met the eye.

She remembered when they had first met, when she had returned Henry to him. He had been standing at the threshold of a cozy house, the type you'd expect from a sleepy little town like Storybrooke. He'd been wearing a Henley that had been rolled up to his elbows. Emma noted his strong forearms and his drawn expression. He looked like he hadn't had any sleep; his hair was a wild mess and he had bags under his eyes.

He had tossed the phone that he had in his hand and sprinted over to his son with a guttural cry. He pulled him into his arms and hugged him tightly. He hadn't even noticed Emma, who looked on with a lump in her throat, wishing that she had been loved the way that this man loved his son. He'd only looked up when Henry pulled himself out of his father's arms and introduced her, and his expression had been indiscernible. He had thanked her for returning his son, but she could tell that he wasn't entirely happy with the situation.

"Mr. Jones." She responded, trying to keep her tone neutral.

"May I ask what you were doing with my son?" His voice was low and even though he sounded angry, his voice was husky and it sent shivers down her spine.

Emma inhaled sharply. She didn't take to well to men who came at her with accusations in their tone, especially when she had done nothing wrong.

"Listen buddy. He came to me-"

He cut her off with a wave.

"Ms. Swan, you and I both know that you aren't going to stick around. I'd rather you didn't give the boy hope before taking it away and leaving me to pick up the pieces."

He strode away before she could retorted, and Emma fumed silently.

This was the second person in this town that was out to get her. First the mayor, who looked like she had a stick up her ass, (seriously, it was just a sign) and now this asshole? She could not wait to leave.

She grabbed her jacket, and then noticed the book. She sighed once more. She couldn't let Henry down.

Only three more days.