Disclaimer: I own nothing. These characters included were written specifically for headcanon purposes, so all references may be from the show or made up.

1

Watching Emma leave her apartment, work and Snow's home was routine.

The sun was creeping over the horizon and a soft morning light spilled over the world. He was standing across the street, leisurely leaning against a brick wall behind a few shrubs and abandoned stacked crates, safely out of view. Ever since he crossed into this new world, things were...well, he wasn't sure what to expect. He'd slipped away from the sheriff's loose custody days ago and wandered around the town, which frankly, wasn't as impressive as he thought it could be. Rumpestiltskin was nowhere to be found—fairly unsurprising. It didn't help that Emma threatened to send him back to his world if he even tried to kill the man who took away his hand. So he agreed to her terms. She would get her way. For now.

The main problem was that she seemed to be pointedly ignoring him. He couldn't have that. He wasn't the man that people just forgot about. Approaching her in extremely public places to confront her was definitely his style, yet seeing as he was as foreign to this land as they came, Killian decided it would not be wise to do so just yet.

There were too many things he didn't quite understand and because sleep didn't come so easily (though it might have had to do with the lack of an actual place to sleep), he found himself doing other things to occupy his time as well as adjusting to the oddities that filled the peculiarly named Storybrooke. Flipping through some book he came across at the place filled with countless numbers of them, apparently called the library, his boredom had nearly reached its highest peak. The click-clacking sound of her boots hitting the smooth pavement brought life back to his bold features. His head snapped up and he raised the book higher in front of his face, sneaking a peek over the top. He managed to catch a fleeting glimpse of long, white blonde hair being flipped over a shoulder as well as folded long and slender legs disappearing behind the bright yellow door she slammed shut. The strange contraption sputtered for a moment, then sped off down the road and out of sight. A smirk was playing on his lips as he stepped away from his hiding place and slid the book into his leather satchel, simultaneously pulling out a pair of newly borrowed sunglasses. Making sure to keep the end of his left arm hidden from the view of anyone who might see him, he shoved it into his jacket pocket. He looked both ways to make sure there wasn't anyone around before he decided to cross the street and pulled the shades over his eyes. He could have been anyone.

With each confident stride, a high tinkling sound rang through the air. It was the sound of a lone silver key on a small metal ring that he twirled around his index finger. Entrance through the building was easy. By now, the faint flowery scent, the cream colored walls and worn wooden stairs were all things he'd grown accustomed to. Inconspicuously glancing behind him as he turned a corner, he ran his tongue over his bottom lip and proceeded up the stairs, to Sheriff Emma Swan's quarters.

The door swung open before Emma had a chance to knock. "Good morning, Emma! You're just in time." Mary Margaret beamed brightly. Her cheeks were tinged pink against her porcelain snow-white skin and if Emma didn't know any better, she would have said that her mother was nervous.

"Good morning," she intoned with a skeptical expression. An agonizing long beat of silence passed between them before the blonde ducked her head and brushed past Mary Margaret, heading straight into the apartment. Though it had been a week since they returned to Storybrooke from being separated from Henry and David in the Enchanted Forest, it was hitting Emma with full force that this woman was going to play an actual role as her mother in her life. The more normal life, the one in Storybrooke, where she was the sheriff and Mary Margaret was physically only a few years older than her, but still her mother somehow and she was supposed to accept it. Saying that this would take some 'getting used to' was the understatement of the year.

The air was filled with a sweet scent that, Emma presumed, came from the kitchen. Wrinkling her brow in confusion, she threw a quick glance back at her mother as she asked, "Did you bake something? I mean, not that I don't mind, I just-" Her voice suddenly broke off once she entered the room. A surprised grin broke across her face. "Heyyy...Henry. Aren't you supposed to be at school?" The young boy was seated at the table that was filled with plates of fresh fruit, donuts, waffles, pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, cereal and glass pitchers of milk and juice. There was enough food to feed a small army. David was drying his hands on a towel, sporting a pair of jeans, a plaid flannel and work boots.

He gave a wide smile at the sight of her and answered before Henry could. "Actually, he's been taking a few days off. It's a long story." he added quickly. "I was going to drop him off at the stables after breakfast, if you wanted to come."

Stables? Why would Henry ever be at the stables? She knew David—her father was a prince and knew how to ride horses and everything, but...who knows? Shaking her head to herself, Emma pushed the confusing thoughts to the back of her mind and she instead walked over the counter and pulled out a bowl from an overhead cupboard. It was too in the day early to wonder what Henry and David had been up to during her time away. Apparently not early enough for Henry. His eyes lit up at the suggestion and he quickly swallowed a bite of his waffle in his eagerness.

"You have to come! Mom, you've gotta see the mare that Gramps got me. I know how to clean her stall and she's really sweet, you'll love her."

"I should be heading into work pretty soon, so I'll have to pass." she answered with a forced smile. "Lots to catch up on, you know, still." She hastily poured milk into the bowl, grabbed a box of cereal and took a bite out of an apple. Henry parted his lips, ready to protest, only to resume eating his waffles when Mary Margaret cleared her throat.

"Emma," her voice was hesitant, yet held a bit of sternness. The short-haired brunette's hands were gripped around the back of a chair as she continued."I...um...think...that whatever is calling at work can wait for just a few more hours. Don't you think? Wouldn't it...you know, be nice to have a filling breakfast with your family?" Snow's expression was open, earnest and most of all, hopeful. When Emma glanced over at David, who had taken a seat across from Henry at the table, she could tell he was practically holding his breath. She now saw that the elaborate breakfast with all the works and trimmings was put together by the one and only. The little voice in the back of her head was nagging at her and she knew that if she rushed out of there with a nearly empty stomach and hardly any interaction with her parents, they would be disappointed, she would later feel guilty and Henry would have been the witness to all of it in its entirety. Pressing her lips together, Emma slowly pulled out a chair and sat.

"I've always had a soft spot for pancakes." she amended with a small smile. The grin Mary Margaret produced just then was almost blinding, but Emma couldn't help but feel a strange and warm sensation bloom in her stomach as David slid a plate of steamy pancakes in front of her. She absentmindedly reached up to her chest to touch the pendant of her necklace but felt only her skin. Suppressing the urge to groan, her hand dropped to her lap and she dug into the pancakes with a faint frown.

"Huh." Henry chirped. "I thought there was something different. You usually always wear your necklace." Emma lifted her gaze and nodded, her mouth full. Chewing for another moment, she took a long sip of milk and shrugged.

"I guess I misplaced it or something." she sighed.

"I can help you look for it, if you'd like." Mary Margaret offered. Then she continued brightly, "And either way, this also gives us an opportunity to find you something new." Emma flashed a grateful smile before her brow furrowed.

"It's just weird, because I've been losing stuff ever since we got back." she began to cut up her pancakes, not really paying any attention to what she was doing. Her mind seemed to be all over the place. First, it was this one bracelet that she hardly ever wore, then it was a hairband, then it was her spare apartment key, then it was a pair of her beloved sunglasses and now it was her necklace. It wasn't like her to just misplace things.

David finished off his glass and set it down. "You've been through a lot, Emma. In the Enchanted Forest and dealing with everything here, I mean. And since you've been back, so much as been going on. I'm sure your necklace will turn up once you've gotten a grip and organized things. You just need a break, despite what's going on."

As she dumped a gracious helping of syrup over her plate, she couldn't help but agree. "I guess," her voice was resigned, but she gave a nod. "You're right." What he said was mostly true; coming back to and from different worlds was hectic. She'd gone from battling a giant to traveling in the Enchanted Forest, a place in which she had no idea how to navigate without her mother; Snow. Though she didn't like to admit it aloud, Emma would have been a goner if she fell through the portal alone. The memory of their time in the magical world caused her head to spin. Maybe she was just thinking too much and did need a break. After all, she still needed to figure out what to do with Hook—Killian Jones. Though if she was honest, she hadn't gone too far out of her way to deal with him just yet. Less than twenty-four hours after they finally made it back to Storybrooke, he was gone. And she didn't tell anyone that she hadn't been looking for him. They all seemed to just assume that that was what she'd been up to all this time. It wasn't as if it was unimportant; of course it was. It was her responsibility to make sure he didn't go off and kill the man she owed a debt to without some sort of trial. She just...hadn't quite...gotten around to looking for him yet. It was mostly due to the fact that she wasn't ready. His deep ocean blue eyes and devilishly charming grin always found their way back into her thoughts and brought unwanted butterflies fluttering about in her stomach. All of it was confusing and it was most definitely too early in the day to be thinking about every one of her problems at once.

Emma caught Henry's eye and raised her eyebrows. "So tell me about this horse."

Author's Note: No Captain Swan interaction in this chapter, but no worries, it'll come up!

Review, review, review! Please?! I would love the feedback!