Several years later, Emma and Belle had grown into teenagers, and the girls were still residing within the crumbling walls of the orphanage. Just as it had been when Belle had arrived, she and Emma and the rest of the children would go to bed hungry. On more than one night, Emma would lay in her bed clutching her well-loved stuffed Mickey Mouse to her chest, and Belle's heart would hurt more than her empty stomach. She would fall asleep to Emma's sobs. One night when Emma began to cry, Belle slowly got out of her bed, being careful not to make a sound. Belle crept over to Emma's bed and bent down to gently shake Emma's shoulder as she whispered, "Emma, it's me, Belle."

Emma rolled over on her shoulder to face Belle, and she sniffled as she asked, "Belle?"

"Come on, move over, will ya?"

While Emma was not quite sure of herself, she did trust the sincerity of Belle's words, and she did as she was asked.

"So, you're hungry too?"

Emma pursed her lips and she nodded her head.

"Me too, and I'm all out my stash. How 'bout you?"

"Empty," was all Emma could manage, and she began to cry.

Belle extended one finger and wiped away her tears.

"You know what I could go for, Emma?"

As the tears slowed, Emma squeaked out, "What?"

"I could really go for some thick and fluffy French toast, covered in butter and syrup, real syrup, none of that fake crap we get."

"That sounds good."

"I know, right?! Emma, what would you want with it?"

Emma thought, and then answered, "What about...sausage?"

"Heck yeah, sausage!"

A small giggle escaped from Emma, and she continued, "Oh, and coffee too. French vanilla."

Belle smiled and asked, "Can we have whipped cream too?"

With a smirk, Emma said, "In the coffee? Belle, that's gross."

Belle rolled her eyes and said, "No, you dummy. On the French toast."

More giggles came from Emma as she replied, "Yeah, I think we can do that."

On more nights than the two could count, they feasted together, and they stopped going to bed hungry. Neither was sure when exactly it happened, but the two of them had become family, as sisters.

As the two children grew into young teens, and then older teens, they began to think about their futures.

On a day just like any other, the siblings found themselves sitting in the common room, which was also the dining room, meeting room, and then bedroom at night for a few of the children.

"Belle?" Emma asked as she looked up from her criminal law book, glasses sliding up on her nose.

"Hmm?" she answered in reply as she read from her copy of the same book without lifting her gaze.

Feeling slightly annoyed, Emma placed her slender hands on both covers of Belle's book and slowly began to close it.

Belle attempted to ignore Emma, right up until the point she could no longer read as the book shut. For dramatic affect, she slowly replied, "Yes...Emma, what can I do for you?"

"What are you doing?"

"Well, let me see. I was reading my text book. I would like to pass this exam and maybe, just maybe, the class too."

Emma gave Belle a wry look that only a sister could and continued, "I didn't mean that. I'm telling you, Belle, sometimes I think you're as thick as a tree."

"Just spit it out, Em. What's on your mind?"

"Belle, we graduate from high school this June."

Belle had begun to clap in a slow, mocking fashion.

"Well done, Em. You can read a calendar."

Emma felt her agitation grow and with an open palm, she backhanded Belle behind her pony tail, flipping it up and over.

"Geez, Emma, come on," Belle whined as she rubbed the back of her head. "Emma, I know we graduate, and then we get booted from our ever-loving home. Do you really think that I don't know that?"

Emma sighed heavily, "But Belle, what are we going to do? No one is going to help us, and we have nothing."

Belle leaned back in her chair and folded her slender arms over her chest as she chewed on her lower lip.

She's nervous. She won't say anything to me. She's always trying to protect me. Emma knew her chosen sister better than anyone, and one of Belle's tells was that she bit her lip when she was nervous.

"Belle, we need to talk about this and figure it out."

Belle let out a deep breath and replied, "I know, I know we do."

The two sat looking across from one another as each tried to plan out their futures. As a meow echoed through the hall and into the common room, Emma sprang to her feet and gently closed the lone door, as to not attract the attention of either the cats or Aunt Sarah. When Emma turned back to walk to the table with Belle, she looked down at the criminal law book.

"Belle, that's it!" Emma exclaimed, forgetting her earlier plan of keeping quiet.

"What is?" Belle asked out of confusion.

"Criminal justice!"

"Emma, please speak in full sentences."

Emma gave her sister another look that she reserved just for her. "Belle, we join the Navy and we go for military police!"

"Em, be serious."

"Belle, I am. Think about it. We sign up for the Navy together, go into the M.P.'s, and the Navy will help take care of us."

Belle squinted her eyes and thought about what Emma said.

"Emma, I dunno. This is a really big decision. We should really think about this."

"Belle, we graduate in two months and then we're homeless. Homeless on the streets of Los Angeles? I don't really see that working out for us."

Emma looked at Belle and she could see the gears turning.

Belle stood up and began to pace the small room as she continued to wave her hands and said, "I mean, this could work. We could go in do our time and then be able to go to college. Emma, this could work!"

"Wow, I think your right. I only wish I had thought of that," Emma quipped, with large dose of sarcasm as she playfully hit the side of her head.

"You're such a brat. You know that, right?"

"You love me."

"You're lucky I do."

The next day, Emma and Belle went to the recruiter's office in their high school, Optimist Charter, which was anything but optimistic, as it was consistently ranked one of the top underperforming school in Los Angeles. The Navy recruiter was a real Captain America type, with short cropped hair, piercing blue eyes, a chiseled jaw, and a physique that left one feeling more out of shape than ever, in comparison.

As the two approached the recruiter, the girls read his name tag, which said 'Sergeant Major Valiant.'

"Good morning. Can I help you?" the Sergeant asked curtly.

Belle, who felt her nerves get the better of her, began to fall back, and Emma, sensing her unease, stepped up and extended a hand to the recruiter.

She replied, "Yes, we're hoping you can. My sister and I, Belle, are looking to sign up." As an afterthought she added, "Sir."

The Sergeant raised his eyebrows and replied with a tone that Emma could not quite read as sarcastic or serious, "First things first, Miss…?"

"Swan. Emma Swan, Sir."

"First things first, Miss Swan. Don't call me sir. Do you see bars, clover leaves, or eagles on my shoulders?"

Emma didn't quite know where she should be looking but replied "I don't think so s..." but she cut herself off before she could finish the word 'sir.'

"That's right. You don't. I'm not an officer; I'm an enlisted man, and I work for a living. You can call me Sergeant Major or Sergeant Valiant."

"Okay, Sergeant Valiant, my sister and would like to enlist."

The Sergeant looked at both 'children,' as that's how they looked in his eyes. He saw before him two slightly malnourished children in second hand clothes, but he also saw a light in their eyes that was not completely extinguished by whatever Hell that they obviously lived in.

"What makes you think you two are Navy material?"

Emma went to speak and realized that she hadn't thought of that, and she found herself scrambling for words.

Belle pulled her eyes from the floor and took a step forward, saying, "Sergeant Major, my sister and I have nothing. We live in the Second Chance Orphanage, and we have no real home, parents, or friends. We just have each other. We both know we want more than what life has given us, and we can both offer more; we just need to be given that chance."

The Sergeant mulled over the girl's words and he knew the kid had heart and guts to stand up to him; he always drilled the kids that came through his doors to weed out the ones that couldn't cut it before boot camp.

Emma looked at Belle and then returned her gaze to the Sergeant and replied as she stuck a finger towards her sister and said, "Yeah. What she said."

The Sergeant grinned for the first time in a long while and answered. "Well, alright then. What year are you both in?"

"We're both seniors," Emma answered.

"So, two things need to happen. First, you need to each graduate high school and then need to pass a physical exam." Sergeant Valiant saw the looks on the siblings faces and guessed their thoughts correctly, adding, "It's okay. The Navy will pay for the exam. Once you're in the Navy, we take care of our own."

Emma and Belle sat in a corner booth at Tony's Town Square Restaurant. Belle and Emma each had a small part time jobs as waitresses there, and the kindly owner, Tony, would occasionally invite them to a spaghetti and meatball dinner for just the two of them.

Emma was looking down at her heaping piled up plate and while normally she would devour her meal, today she found herself pushing her food from one end of the plate to another.

Belle looked up as she was slurping up a long strand of thick spaghetti and said with a full mouth, "Emma?"

"Huh?" she replied.

"Earth to Emma. You okay?"

"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine."

"Emma," Belle said, this time with a bit more force.

Emma looked up at Belle and saw the concern in her eyes and thought, not for the first time, I swear she reads my mind. I can't keep a damn thing from her. "I'm just nervous is all," she replied.

"Nervous about what?"

"Finals."

"What about them?"

"I haven't been doing that great this semester, and all my professors have told me the same thing 'I need to pass all my finals in order to graduate.'

"Em, why the hell didn't you say anything? You know I would have helped you."

Huh, maybe there are some things I can keep from her, Emma mused.

"It's okay, I'm going to buckle down, hit the books, and have a study marathon or something. I won't mess things up, Belle. I'll start studying tonight. Once we leave here, we'll go to the library, or I'll just go and study by myself. I know you're all set."

"Well, maybe not tonight."

"Why not?" Emma asked with a confused expression.

"Emma, it's your birthday today. Your eighteenth birthday, and unlike you, I didn't forget.

Tonight, I'm taking you out to Peter's house party and we're going to celebrate, and I don't want you to complain. Got it?"

"A party? You're taking me to party? You must be joking."

Back in the Second Chance Orphanage, Belle and Emma were both getting ready for the party in their shared room and Belle was standing in front of their desk that had an oval mirror attached at the back. Belle was slipping on a secondhand blue dress with white trim and humming to herself as she did so. As Belle was doing this, Emma looked on at her sister and grinned, thinking, No matter what is going, on that girl finds the happy. With a sigh Emma continued to think, I guess that's the difference between an optimist and realist.

"Emma?"

Emma was pulling over her white blouse and answered, "Yeah, Bells?"

Turning to meet her sister, Belle replied, "Do you think you could do my hair?" as she held out their shared brush and her one blue ribbon with a grin on her face that melted Emma every time.

Emma let out a rehearsed sigh and dramatically rolled her eyes and said, "You know I'm rubbish with this girly stuff."

Belle's smile widened, and said her line, as she had done many times before, "But I like it how you do it."

As Belle said the word 'you' she made her hazel eyes go wide and sparkle.

"Oh, just stop it with the eyes. You win," Emma said as she raised her hands in defeat.

"My hero!" Belle cried out.

"Yeah, yeah. I got your hero crap right here."

"Language."

"Do you want me to brush your hair or not?"

Belle motioned with her hands to signal silence by locking her mouth and pretending to throw away the key.

Emma let out a quick laugh, pushing her glasses up on her nose, and said, "Yeah, like that will last long."

Emma began to brush out her sister's hair with more practiced ease than she would ever admit to. While Emma would never say it to Belle, she secretly loved little moments like this with her sister. The soft feel and bounce to Belle's hair always soothed her and she often found herself playing with Belle's hair after they had their nightly talking feast which put her in such a relaxed state that she would quickly fall asleep and wake up when Belle sat up in the morning, as she would have to untangle her finger from the curls she had made during the night.

With a smirk, Emma said "You know, Belle, one of these days you're going to wake up with your hair shaved and I'll have nothing to do with it, and then you'll have to go a few months before you can wear that ribbon of yours."

Emma said with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes as she made to rustle Belle's pony tail, but Belle shook her off just in time.

"Oh, Emma," Belle sighed.

But before she could continue, Emma cut her off and said, "Wow, that was nearly five minutes before you broke off you little mouth lock."

"Don't tease, or I'll take back your gift."

Slightly tensing, Emma replied, "What gift?"

"The gift I got for you, silly. You only turn eighteen once, and the day of your birth is not to just come and go without something to mark the occasion."

Emma took a deep breath, as she didn't want to say something she would end up regretting.

"Belle, honey, you know we don't have money to throw away."

Emma knew just how stretched their finances really were. Just about all of Belle's and Emma's meager earnings from waitressing went to school supplies, extra bedding, clothes, and occasionally extra food, and neither had any left-over money to splurge.

Belle half turned in her seat and gripped the back of the wooden chair and said, "Trust me, Emma, I didn't spend a lot, I bought it second hand, and I got a really good deal."

Emma looked into Belle's eyes and she knew she was lying but instead of pressing the issue she took another breath and said, "Thank you, Belle. That was very thoughtful of you."

Belle's smile grew wider. Belle had been setting aside what money she could for the past year, while also taking extra shifts so that she could save up for Emma's gift. Belle hated to lie to her sister, as she did spend a lot more than she should have. She did not buy it second hand, and she most definitely did not get a good deal. Belle also knew that her sister was practically a human lie detector, so she was sure her sister knew that she had just lied, but she loved her even more for that fact she did not call her out on it.

"It's in the closet, in the back, behind the black bags. Oh, and it's in a white box."

Emma rifled through the sparsely filled closet, found the white box, and pulled it out.

Emma stroked the top of the smooth cardboard box and asked, "So, what's in it?"

"I dunno. I guess you'll just have to open and find out," Belle said with a dramatic shrug.

"Alright, here I go."

Emma opened the box and removed the tissue paper to reveal the gift from within. Emma caught her breath, taking in the red leather jacket as she ran her fingers up and down the stiff leather.

"Belle, I don't know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything. Just try it on already."

Delicately, Emma pulled the jacket from its box, and as the light caught the jacket it seemed to lighten and darken its shade of red, depending on how the light hit it. For a long moment, Emma just looked at the jacket, and then her curiosity got the better of her, so she swung the jacket through one arm and then the other. As the jacket settled on her frame, she looked down on it and tugged at it this way and that.

"Belle, it fits perfectly, like it's a second layer of skin."

"You know, seeing you in it, it looks more like armor."

Emma found herself looking into the mirror and zipped the jacket half way up as she looked herself over.

"You know, it does kinda look like my armor, and it really helps my boobs just pop."

"Oh, my God, Emma, you have such a potty mouth. Remember when you didn't? Cause I do!"

Laughing, Emma replied, "Kidding, Bells. Seriously, I love it. I really love it. Thank you so much."

Belle walked over to Emma and hugged her hard, saying, "Of course, Emma. We're family. Now we've got to get going."

"Do we have to? We could just stay in, Bells."

"Nope. Sorry. We're going, and you're going to love it, so move your ass."

Emma feigned indignation and said "Belle French, I never. Ahhh... such language. My precious ears."

As she said this, she clutched at her ears. Emma continued and said, "Where have you learned such language from, young lady? You tell me this instant."

"I must have learned it from watching you."

Emma and Belle both laughed together at this.

The two girls slowly and silently made their way through the creaking halls of the orphanage, but one thing that they had gained from living there for so long was that they knew were to step without making a sound. As the two girls tip toed passed the heavily snoring Aunt Sarah, whose two elderly cats slept curled up on her lap, they made their way to front door. Once outside, the girls breathed an easy sigh of relief and they quickened their pace to the ongoing party.

Belle brought Emma to their mutual acquaintance Peter's house, as he was throwing a pre-graduation party for his closest hundred or so friends. While Belle and Emma were not exactly invited, they were not not invited as well, or at least that's how Belle chose to look at when trying to figure out where to take Emma for her birthday.

As both girls walked up to the house, they were first greeted with the booming base of the speakers that were scattered throughout the house.

"Really Belle? This looks totally lame," Emma grumbled, as she gestured to the crowded house of teens. Belle followed her sister's gaze and took in the sight of everyone holding their red solo cups filled with various brews.

"Come on, Emma. We just got here. Let's just give it a shot."

With a groan, Emma submitted as Belle grabbed her hand and led her up the few stairs to the open door at the top of the landing. As the two entered, they found themselves in a sea of bodies huddled together in various groups throughout the crowded house.

"Alright, so what do we do now, genius?" Emma asked loudly, in order to be heard over the reverberating base.

Belle strained up on her toes to get a better view and craned her neck to look around until she found what she was looking for.

"The kitchen, let's go the kitchen."

Not letting go of Emma's hand, Belle led the way to the kitchen, and to do so, the two needed to squeeze through the various huddled bodies. As Belle passed by one unassuming boy, he looked up at her.

"Hey, why don't you buy me a drink first," he said with impish grin.

"Hey jackass, want to try that again?" Emma said with authority.

Belle, shaking her head, said, "Come on, Emma, just leave him," and she pulled her along.

This party is filled with pathetic boys, Emma thought in disgust.

Once inside the kitchen, Belle found what she was looking for on the table. Walking over to the table, Belle picked up an unattended chocolate cupcake, then fished in her pocket to produce a small birthday candle, which she placed through the top.

Smiling, Belle exclaimed, "Happy Birthday, Emma! Make a wish!"

With a grin, Emma said, "Belle, you're supposed to light the candle so I can blow it out."

"Oh yeah, that would have helped."

Without either of the girls noticing, a hand suddenly appeared with a metallic Zippo lighter and the candle was lit.

"Happy birthday," a male voice proclaimed.

Emma looked up and saw the first actual man of the party and a warmth began to spread to her abdomen as she found herself lost for words.

"Hey," the man said.

Emma found herself lightly licking her up lip, as her pupils dilated before she replied, "Hey."

Belle looked at the two in disbelief and interjected with mock excitement, "Hey."

With the spell slightly broken between the two, Emma shook her head and said, "Sorry. I'm Emma, and this is my sister, Belle."

The man grinned and replied, "The name's Neal Cassidy."

Emma looked Neal up and down and noticed his slightly shaggy dark brown hair that curled at the top, his confident brown eyes, and his slight goatee. Over his medium build, he wore an unzipped gray sweater which covered a V-neck gray shirt and ripped jeans.

"So, Emma, you celebrating or something?"

Emma felt herself getting warm as she answered, "Oh, yeah. It's my birthday today."

"Oh," Neal replied with a smile and continued. "So, how old are ya?"

"Eighteen."

"Really," he replied as his grin grew. "Well, you certainly can't celebrate your eighteenth birthday without a drink." Neal walked over to the tapped keg and pumped up three cups, and as he handed the two red plastic cups around, he said, "Well, Happy Birthday Emma. I certainly hope your next year is better than the last."

Belle coughed audibly once and said, "Well Neal, thank you for the drinks. It was really nice to meet you, but my sister and I are having a private little moment together, so if you wouldn't mind?"

Neal's face aggressively contoured for a moment, and just as fast it came, it was gone and was replaced with a practiced smile as he said, "Of course." Neal turned from Belle, then put his full attention back to Emma and said, "I'd really like to continue our conversation sometime." Then as if in after thought, he concluded, "Sometime soon."

Neal pulled a pen from his pants' pocket and wrote his number on a napkin, then handed it to Emma. As Emma moved to take it, Neal gently grabbed her hand, and raised it to meet his bent head, then placed a less than delicate kiss on it.

"'Til next time, Emma," he said.

Emma felt her face redden, and all she could do was stand there.

As Neal sauntered off, Belle gapped at her sister and said, "Wow, what a piece of work."

"Yeah… He's something else," Emma replied dreamily.

Belle rolled her eyes at Emma, then said, "Please, Emma, don't tell me that whole act worked on you? That guy was a total stooge."

Emma took a sip of her drink, felt the heat begin to recede from her face, and looked at Belle in disbelief before asking, "Belle, are you jealous?"

Belle's jaw dropped in answer, and then, finding her voice, she continued, "No, Emma, I'm really not. I'm just saying. He seemed like a bit of a… player to me. And wait a minute. Did you just drink that beer?"

Emma slipped her arm through Belle's, and answered with a grin "Belle, it was just one sip of one beer." Mockingly Emma raised up her free hand and said, "I swear I can stop drinking whenever I want to."

Belle let out a small laugh.

"And Belle, thank you for looking out for me. I probably won't even text him. Come on. Let's enjoy this cupcake already."

Author's note: Hi, folks! Thank you so for much reading! We'd love some feedback, and we can't wait to hear what you guys think about the story so far!