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Part 2

She was stupid. Not just normal stupid, but the kind of stupid that got you on the Darwin awards stupid. Seriously what was she thinking? Emma gritted her teeth as she glanced sideways at the kid currently asleep in the passenger seat of her car. She should have just sent him home by himself, but something probably the same thing that made her wish on a cupcake of all things, prompted her to get in her car and drive him home.

Of course the fact that he thought his mother was the Evil Queen from the Snow White fairytale, and that Emma was apparently destined to defeat her may have also played a small part in her decision to take him home. It was a classic coping mechanism. She'd seen it plenty of times in foster care and it was something she herself used to do. When she was Henry's age she truly believed that one day her mom and dad would come swooping in and save her, but time and life itself had certainly cured her of that. The kid didn't look abused though. Just going by the quality of the clothing he had on alone, it didn't seem like he had a tough life. Abuse didn't always have to be physical though, so regardless of the risks she was going in person to make sure the kid was in good hands.

Emma cracked the window on the Beetle a bit more, but it was more a precaution than anything else. Maybe it had something to do with him being her kid an all, but she was surprisingly comfortable around him. It was a good thing she still had the Beetle as it made returning the kid a bit less awkward than it would have been otherwise. She'd been 17 when she'd bought it and still remembered the feeling of pride and accomplishment she'd felt after nearly a year of saving for it. Even though it didn't really fit in with her current lifestyle, she could never quite bring herself to get rid of the bright yellow car.

The kid stirred in his seat and Emma could hear his heart rate and breathing accelerate as he slowly woke up. She double checked her reflection in the rear vision mirror and was happy to see the contact lenses were still in place. She probably had a couple more hours of use out of them.

Emma could feel the kid staring at her, but she deliberately focused on the road.

"You're really pretty", his voice was small and awed.

Emma frowned. The last thing she wanted was for him to get attached to her. "Yes, but I bet your mom's pretty as well".

"She's not my mom". His reply was instant and vehement. "She's evil!"

"Look kid.."

"Henry! My name is Henry!"

Emma sighed, "Ok then Henry. You got to admit that this is a bit much to swallow. Tell me why you think your mom is this evil queen."

The kid scrambled for his pack and pulled out the heavy book of fairytales he'd shown her earlier. "It's all in here. The evil queen cast a curse and sent all the fairytale characters to a world with no happy endings". His stomach chose that moment to interrupt with a load gurgle and Henry glanced at her sheepishly.

"Emma, do you think we could stop for something to eat please. I didn't eat dinner today".

Emma cursed silently, having forgotten about everyday niceties like three meals a day. It had been a while since she had to worry about things like that. "Sure. We'll stop at the next food place we see".

Thankfully Emma only had to drive a couple of miles further down the road before they found a diner. She pulled into the parking lot and switched off the car. She reached into the back seat and grabbed her Celtics cap and jammed it down over her long blonde hair, making sure her face was as obscured as possible by the brim.

"Let's go get you fed kid". Emma got out of the car and Henry followed suit. He waited for her at the front of the car, sliding his gloved hand into hers and tugging her towards the diner. After a moment of initial surprise at the contact, Emma allowed him to drag her along. They entered the diner and she grimaced at the smell of fried food. A few of the tables were occupied, mainly by truck drivers, which wasn't surprising given the hour, but there was one table full of rowdy teenagers. Emma directed them to a booth as far away from the teenagers as possible, and they settled in opposite each other.

"What can I get you?" The lone waitress in the diner appeared at their table.

Emma gestured at Henry to go ahead and order.

"Cheeseburger and fries please. And a chocolate milkshake", he grinned widely at the waitress and she smiled back. Emma had to admit he was a cute kid, with his neatly cut brown hair and innocent green eyes.

"Anything for you ma'am?" The waitress eyes widened as she took in Emma's features. The baseball cap could only do so much at this range.

"No thanks", Emma replied coolly and deliberately turned her attention to the window hoping the woman would get the message. She was well aware of the effect her looks had on people and didn't want to attract any extra attention.

She heard the waitress sigh before moving away from their table.

"You're not hungry?" Henry looked at her curiously.

"I ate earlier". It wasn't technically a lie, but Emma wasn't exactly going to explain her dietary requirements to a 10 year old. She'd had to use her emergency stash before they'd left the apartment in Boston, and she still had enough left to last her a fortnight at least, but she didn't think it would come to that. She wasn't intending to stay long anyway. Drop the kid off and then leave as soon as possible. Her situation certainly did not allow for her to stay anywhere long term, yet alone afford her the ability to look after a child.

Henry's food arrived fairly quickly and he immediately dug in. Emma was amused to note that even though he was obviously very hungry, he still ate with impeccable manners. If it'd been Emma she would have been holding the burger and stuffing her face with it, but the kid was actually using cutlery. He didn't try to make conversation, which Emma was rather relieved about. It was uncomfortable enough being in the diner as it was, with the combined smell of cooked food and the general background scent of humanity sending conflicting impulses to her brain. She focused instead on slowing her breathing down, trying to limit the overstimulation.

"I need to use the bathroom" Henry shifted in his seat uncomfortably. His plate was empty, bar a couple of burnt fries.

Emma's eyes widened. "Oh okay." She glanced frantically around the diner and was never more relieved to see the familiar signs pointing towards the washrooms.

She stood up and Henry followed her. They parted awkwardly at the two doors separating the genders and Emma carefully closed and locked the door behind her. The bathroom was tiny, just a single stall and washbasin. She checked her reflection in the mirror and grimaced. Her earlier estimate on the life of her contact lenses was obviously a bit optimistic. The edges were already starting to fray and dissolve, the stark colour of her natural eye colour showing through the dark brown of the lenses. Luckily it was night so it wasn't that noticeable at this stage, but she was definitely going to have to change them before she met the kid's mom. She washed her hands more out of habit than anything, before leaving the bathroom.

Henry was already waiting outside, and his face lit up in relief when he saw her.

"Ready to get going kid? "

"Yes". He once again slipped his hand into hers and Emma tried not to flinch at the contact. She stopped at the counter and quickly paid for the meal, before ushering Henry outside. Emma unlocked the car and they both hopped in.

"Buckle up. We're about 2 hours out from Storybrooke".

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