Hey, guys! I won't make this author's note too long but I thought I should give you just a bit of background info into the small change of Killian having a little sister. I'm aware that he doesn't have one in the show, but I've have this idea for a while now and I thought it was time to publish it. Updates might not be great over the next few weeks because I have loads of exams but as soon as they're finished I'm hoping to update at least once a week. This story will follow the main plot of season 1 up to season 3b, I've planned something else for when everyone returns from Neverland but that's a while off yet. Anyway, I said I wasn't going to make this too long so I'll cut this short now. Send some reviews my way guys, they are my fuel for writing!
Chapter 1: Hide and Seek
Emma woke up with a dull ache throbbing lightly in her head. Sitting up, her vision clearing as the blur of sleep faded away. Emma's stomach dropped when she saw where she was; in a jail cell. What the hell, she thought. Slightly panicked she looked around a bit more and her eyes fell on a short, grumpy looking man in the cell next to hers.
"What are you looking at, sister?" he asked her, his tone laced with attitude.
Gee, so much for small town hospitality, Emma thought as she looked away.
"Hey, Leroy – manners!" an older man said in a thick Italian accent. "We have a guest! So you are, eh, Henry's mother. How lovely for him to have you back in his life."
Oh no. There is was. The expectation that she was here to stay. She winced internally as she remembered the flutter her heart did when she opened her door to the small boy who claimed her was her son, on her birthday of all days. Emma couldn't afford to get attached, especially not to Henry. The last time she had been close to anyone was ten years ago and… well, things with Neal hadn't exactly ended well. No, she would have to keep her walls up and set everyone straight about what was going on here.
"Actually, I was just dropping him off," she corrected. Yes, you are, Emma – just dropping him off…
"Don't blame ya. They're all brats, who needs 'em?" Leroy huffed.
"Well, I'd give anything for one," Marco said, straightening up from repairing one of the desks. "My wife and I, we tried for many years, but, uh… it was not meant to be," he finished, looking sorrowful.
Before Emma could offer her condolences Leroy interrupted; "Well cry me a river."
"Leroy!" came the voice of the rather good-looking Sheriff Graham Emma had met last night. "I'm going to let you out; you need to behave," he said, unlocking Leroy's cell. "Put on a smile, and stay out of trouble."
Leroy begrudgingly put on a fake smile, though Emma thought it was more of a grimace. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from down the corridor and a tall man with dark hair and startling sea blue eyes came around the corner with a brown paper bag in his hand and a container holding three coffees. "Morning, Leroy," he said in a British accent, smirking at him.
"Bite me, pretty boy," Leroy glared at him before stalking out of the sheriff's station. The man smiled slyly at Graham, who in turn gave him a mildly reproving look.
'Blue Eyes' walked over to Emma's cell and leaned against one of the desks. He really did have the bluest eyes Emma had ever seen, framed by dark lashes and perfect eyebrows, and jaw line that could cut through… Wait a minute, perfect eyebrows? Where had that come from?
"Thought you might be hungry," he said to her, passing her the brown paper bag through the bars. Emma took it gratefully and peered inside.
"Seriously?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"I know it may not be the healthiest breakfast option and yes some of the stereotypes are true but you can take it or leave it, love," he said, flashing her a charming smirk. Emma felt the corners of her mouth twitch upward in an involuntary smile as she pulled out her bear claw donut.
"Do I get name to go with my donut and coffee?" she asked him as she swapped him the paper bag for the coffee he was giving her.
"Name's Killian Jones, I'm the deputy," he told her with a wink. Once again the corners of Emma's mouth twitched. "So, you're Henry's mother?" he asked her, trying to make conversation. She groaned inwardly.
"Yeah, that's me. Can you tell me why I'm in here, Deputy Jones?" Emma asked, quickly steering the topic of conversation away from Henry. Killian seemed to notice her non-too-subtle topic change as he raised his eyebrows slightly at her, but he decided to let it drop.
"Regina's drinks are a little stronger than we thought," Graham said, setting down some papers on a desk and walking to join Killian.
"Knowing her, she probably spiked them," Killian muttered, quietly enough so only Emma heard.
Resisting the urge to smile at his quiet remark, Emma said, "I wasn't drunk; there was a wolf standing in the middle of the road."
At this Killian raised an eyebrow at her before glancing over to Graham who was staring at Emma like she was nuts.
"A wolf. Right."
"Full moon was it, Swan?" Killian asked sarcastically.
"Graham!"
Killian rolled his eyes dramatically when Graham got off the desk and turned around to see Regina coming in.
"Henry's run away again, we have to-," she stopped. "What is she doing here?"
Nice, mature, Emma thought, sharing a quick glance with Killian to see that he was thinking exactly the same thing as her.
"Do you know where he is?" Regina asked Emma, storming over towards her cell, her eyes furious.
"Lady, I haven't seen him since I dropped him off at your house, and," Emma indicated to the bars, "I have a pretty good alibi."
Killian snorted at her comment, and tried (and failed) to disguise it as a cough. It was a good job looks couldn't kill, because the way Regina was looking at Killian he would have hit the floor the second she turned round to face him.
"Yeah, well, he wasn't in his room this morning," Regina continued, getting back to the matter at hand.
"Did you try his friends?" Emma asked.
"He doesn't really have any. Kind of a loner," Regina said in a blasé tone that made Emma's blood boil. How could this woman not care that her son had no friends? But then again, no one had ever cared that Emma didn't have any friends. Still, it should be different for Henry, he was supposed to have a parent looking out for him, if that's what you could call Regina anyway. Killian looked ready to hit something with the way Regina just dismissed Henry like that.
"Every kid has friends," Emma said, pretending not to notice how wound up Killian seemed to be at the way Regina dismissed Henry like that. "Did you check his computer? If he was close to someone he's be emailing them."
"And you know this how?" Regina asked harshly.
"Finding people's what I do," Emma said, struggling to keep the bite back from her words. "Here's an idea; how 'bout you guys let me out and I'll help you find him."
A little while later, the group of four had found that Henry had used a credit card from a Miss Mary Margaret Blanchard, so Emma, Killian and Regina headed to the school while Graham searched the other parts of the town.
Regina barged past all of the children hurrying outside for recess and headed straight for Miss Blanchard.
"Miss Mills, what are you doing here?" the sweet, pixie-like teacher said, sounding thoroughly confused and a little intimidated.
"Where's my son?" Regina asked viciously.
"Henry, I assumed he was home with you," Mary Margaret asked innocently.
"You think I'd be here if he was? Did you give him your credit card so he could find her?" Regina snapped.
That was when Mary Margaret seemed to notice Emma standing back with Killian. "I'm sorry, who are you?" she asked Emma.
Good question. What was she meant to say to that?
"I'm – I'm his -,"
"The woman who gave him up for adoption," Regina cut her off abruptly. Emma was a little pissed at that, but Regina was right. That's all Emma was to Henry, that's all that she could allow herself to be – no attachments.
"You don't know anything about this, do you?" Emma asked, letting it slide, not noticing Killian clenching and unclenching his fists at his side all the while glaring daggers at Regina.
"No, unfortunately not," she replied, digging through her purse to check for her credit card. "Clever boy," she sighed when she couldn't find it, "I should have never given him that book."
"What the hell is this book I keep hearing about?" Regina asked impatiently.
"Just some old stories I gave him. As you well know, Henry is a special boy: so smart, so creative…" she trailed off, uncertain about whether she should broach this next subject, "and as you might be aware, lonely. He needed it," Mary Margaret said.
"What he needs is a dose of reality," Regina glared at her. Emma had finally noticed Killian's growing impatience with the woman, and practically had to stand in front of him to prevent him from confronting her.
"This was a waste of time. Have a nice trip back to Boston," Regina said as she stormed out of the room, spitefully knocking over a pile of books on her way out.
Killian let out a growl of frustration toward Regina once she had left, and went to join Emma in helping Mary Margaret pick up the fallen books, his anger draining away from him like energy from a coiled spring.
"Sorry to bother you," Emma said.
"No, it's – it's okay. I fear this is partially my fault," Mary Margaret replied, sighing as she put the books back into place.
"How's a book supposed to help?" Emma asked.
"What do you think stories are for? These stories? They're classics. There's a reason we all know them. They're a way for us to deal with our world, a world that doesn't always make sense. See, Henry hasn't had the easiest life," Mary Margaret concluded as she, Emma and Killian walked out of the classroom.
"Yeah, she's kind of a hard ass," Emma replied. Killian muttered something behind them that sounded a lot like "understatement".
"No, it's more than her. He's like any adopted child. He wrestles with that most basic question they all inevitably face: why would anyone give me away?"
Killian visibly cringed at Mary Margaret's tactlessness and how the colour had drained from Emma's face at her words. Realising what she said, Mary Margaret tried to make amends.
"I am so sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean in any way to judge you…"
"It's okay," Emma said, though clearly those words had affected her more than she was willing to let on.
"Look I gave the book to Henry because I wanted him to have the most important thing anyone can have," she continued. "Hope," she elaborated when she saw Emma didn't know where she was getting at. "Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing."
"You know where he is, don't you?" Emma said with a knowing smile.
"You might wanna check his castle," Mary Margaret replied, grinning cheekily.
"Of course, why didn't I think of that sooner?" Killian chastised himself. "Come on, I'll drive you, I know where it is," he said to Emma, and he placed a hand in between her shoulder blades to usher her out of the school. "Catch you later, Mary Margaret."
"So, you seemed pretty pissed at Regina before," Emma said, trying to figure out the man driving her car.
"She has a habit of doing that to people," Killian replied tightly.
"You don't really strike me as the kind of guy that blows his top just because someone is being snarky with him," she replied, casting an eye on him. "But as soon as she says something degrading about Henry you look like you're about to burst a vein," Emma continued, noticing how his shoulder tensed and his hands gripped the wheel harder at her observation.
"Henry's an amazing lad," Killian began, a small smile gracing his features when he mentioned the younger boy. "But Mary Margaret is right, he is lonely. He doesn't have many friends his own age, if any at all. But he and I have always been close. Regina used to rope me in to babysitting him when he was younger, and he and Graham have always gotten along. The whole town cares for the boy but there's only so much we can do for him. Regina is a bitch by no stretch of the imagination, but I didn't really think that she would be this manipulative as to making him feel as though he's crazy, the lad doesn't deserve that."
By the time Killian finished his rant, his knuckles were white on the wheel. Emma felt sick. This was the kid that she wouldn't hold, wouldn't even look at after he was born, the kid that she needed to give up for adoption to give him his best chance because she wasn't fit to be a mother. And after all that, to find out he hadn't gotten his best chance, well, it was heart-breaking. A tear rolled down hear cheek, and she quickly wiped it away, hoping that Killian didn't notice.
Unfortunately, he did.
"You can't blame yourself, Swan," he said, sighing. "You weren't to know that this would be where he ended up."
But that only made Emma feel worse. She had no idea where he would end up, hell, he could have ended up in the system and have just as shit of a time as she did. She should have been the one who had guaranteed his safety, with her. But then again, she probably wouldn't have been any better than Regina.
"He wasn't always like this," Killian continued in an attempt to make her feel better. "He was always a mischievous kid," he chuckled. "Always caused trouble at the station if Graham and I ever had to watch him when he was younger. Despite what you might think, Swan, he has not had a terrible life," he said, finally parking the car up and turning to her. "So don't beat yourself up about it, love. You're here now, and if my instincts are right, you may be staying here a while."
Surprisingly, Killian was right. Emma did feel like she wouldn't be able to leave until she knew Henry was okay. And though the guilt still ate away at her, his words did comfort her knowing that Henry had been looked after and loved, even if it wasn't by the woman who was supposed to be his adoptive mother.
Seeing that his words had made Emma see sense, he smiled at her. Not a smirk, not a cheeky grin, a real smile. And Emma, against her better judgement, smiled back.
"His castle's just round that corner, you can't miss it," he said.
Emma reached into the back seat and picked up Henry's book that he had left behind in her car the day before. She opened her door and turned back before she got out. "Thank you," she said to Killian, and for more than just a lift to Henry's castle.
Understanding shone in his eyes. "I'll wait her for you," he promised her.
And with that, Emma got out of the car to talk to Henry.
Henry was sitting on his castle, alone. That's how he felt at the minute – alone. Maybe he was alone for a reason. Maybe his mom was right and he really was crazy. After all, he'd been staring at the clock all morning and it still hadn't budged, even after he brought Emma to Storybrooke. Sighing dejectedly, he was just deciding to leave when he felt Emma sit down beside him.
"You left this in my car," she said, smiling at him as she handed his book back. The cheeky, mischievous part of him grinned internally, remembering how he planted the book in Emma's car so that she had no choice but to come back.
"Still hasn't moved, huh?" Emma said, pulling Henry from his thoughts.
"I was hoping that when I brought you back, things would change here. That the final battle would begin," Henry sighed.
Emma smiled at him sadly. "I'm not fighting any battles, kid." I can barely fight my own demons right now.
"Yes, you are," Henry insisted. "You're here because it's your destiny! You're going to bring back the happy endings."
Emma couldn't take this. This kid was asking something that was impossible; she couldn't give him his happy ending, she couldn't be his happy ending.
"Will you cut it with the book crap?"
"You don't have to be hostile, I know you like me," Henry said, a cheeky smile playing on his lips and Emma felt as if she'd known that smile for years. "You're just pushing me away because I make you feel guilty. It's okay, I know why you gave me away."
Oh God, this kid thinks that I gave him away because I didn't love him, he really thinks that little of himself, Emma thought. She cringed at waiting for his response, not daring to look at him.
"You wanted to give me my best chance."
Emma felt her stomach drop at those soft words he spoke. This kid was ten, how could he look at her and practically see straight through her? How could he know her more than anyone else had in her entire life after less than a day?
"How do you know that?" she asked him.
"It's the same reason Snow White gave you away!" Henry persisted.
"Listen to me, kid. I am not in any book," Emma said, beginning to get emotional at the mention of being abandoned as a baby. "I'm a real person. And I'm not savior." How could she be? "You were right about one thing, though. I wanted you to have your best chance." And I'm sorry you didn't get it. "But it's not with me. C'mon, let's go," she said, giving Henry a sad smile as she stood up.
"Please don't take me back there!" Henry cried, standing up and hurrying to Emma. "Just stay with me for one week, that's all I ask! One week, and you'll see I'm not crazy," he pleaded with her.
This was really not looking good for Emma; because she desperately wanted to stay. And that terrified her because that was a completely new feeling to her, she had never had a real home, never had a reason to want to stay anywhere. She couldn't afford to let herself become attached.
"I have to get you home to your mom," Emma replied. Who was she kidding? Even if she did stay, she couldn't be a mother to Henry. As soon as he was home she would hightail out of here and head straight back to Boston, and never butt into Henry's life again.
"You don't know what it's like with her. My life sucks!"
"Oh, you wanna know what sucking is? Being left abandoned on the side of a freeway; my parents didn't even bother to drop me off at a hospital!" Emma cried, her emotions finally spilling over her walls. There was no way she could take care of Henry, a kid who clearly had issues, when she herself was an emotional wreck. "I ended up in the foster system and I had a family until I was three but then they had their own kid so they sent me back." Emma tried to collect herself when she saw that Henry was crying along with her.
"Look," she began, getting down to his eye level. "Your mom is trying her best. I know it's hard. And I know sometimes you think she doesn't love you. But at least she wants you. And you have a lot of people in this town that care about you: Miss Blanchard, Sheriff Graham, Killian; they all do."
"Your parents wanted you, too. They didn't leave you on the side of the freeway; that's just where you came through," Henry implored.
"What?" Emma asked, thoroughly confused.
"The wardrobe," Henry explained. "When you went through the wardrobe you appeared on the side of the street. Your parents were trying to save you from the curse."
Emma gave him what was an attempt at a reassuring smile. "Sure they were. C'mon, Henry."
Seeing that he wasn't going to convince her just yet, Henry followed Emma back to her car, slipping his hand into hers. He was not aware of how that small and simple action caused a huge crack to appear in her walls.
Henry ran straight past Regina and into the house while Emma and Killian stayed on the path in front of Regina.
Regina turned back to face the deputy and Emma. "Thank you," she said, though somewhat begrudgingly.
"No problem," Emma replied.
"He seems to have taken quite a shine to you," Regina said. Killian smiled in Emma's direction, his heart warming at fact that Emma made Henry happy. He only hoped she would stick around, for Henry's sake.
Emma let out a small, sad laugh. "You know, it seems kind of crazy. Yesterday was my birthday, and when I blew out the candle on this cupcake I bought myself, I made a wish; that I didn't have to be alone on my birthday."
Killian's smile turned sad at that; no one should have to buy themselves their own birthday cake because they had no one to celebrate with them.
"And then Henry showed up…" Emma's face brightening before Regina cut her off.
"I hope there's no misunderstanding here," she interrupted.
"I'm sorry?" Emma asked, confused.
"Don't mistake all this as invitation back into his life," Regina replied.
Well, the lad did run all the way to Boston as well as spending hundreds of dollars to find her and get away from you, so I would say it's a bloody good invitation, Killian thought, his anger spiking up at Regina's words.
"Miss Swan, you made a decision ten years ago. And in the last decade, while you've been doing – well, who knows what you've been doing -,"
"Alright, that's enough, Regina," Killian interrupted, his barely contained anger practically radiating from him.
"Deputy Jones, know your place," she snapped back, glaring daggers at Killian. He looked as though he was about to argue back, but decided against it and settled for glaring at her instead.
Returning her attention back to Emma, Regina continued. "As I was saying, I have changed every diaper, soothed every fever, and endured every tantrum. You may have given birth to him, but he is my son."
"I was not -," Emma tried to defend herself, becoming increasingly more furious with Regina.
"No, you don't get to speak," Regina interrupted once more. "You don't get to do anything. You gave up that right when you tossed him away. Do you know what a closed adoption is? It's what you asked for. You have no legal right to Henry, and you're gonna be held to that. So I suggest you get in your car, and you leave this town. Because if you don't, I will destroy you if it is the last thing I do. Goodnight, Miss Swan, Deputy Jones."
Regina turned around and walked back to her house, leaving a furious Emma and Killian in her wake. Killian was just about to take Emma's arm and lead her back to her car; she was so still he thought she might have gone into some kind of shock. So it startled him when she spoke with a sense of complete calm and conviction.
"Do you love him?" she asked, halting Regina as she was in the doorway.
"What?"
"Henry. Do you love him?" Emma repeated, her voice dripping with cold fury.
"Of course I do," Regina replied after a beat, and slammed the door once she was inside.
Hesitation, Killian thought.
Emma stormed back towards her car and slid into the driver's seat, igniting the engine once Killian was in the passenger seat.
"You alright, Swan?" Killian asked nervously after a few moments of tense silence.
"Perfect," Emma replied shortly.
"I'm sorry about what Regina said, you didn't deserve any of that."
"No, I might not have deserved it but it was exactly what I needed to hear for me to get my ass in gear," Emma replied, her knuckles white on the wheel from the remnants of her anger.
"I'm sorry, I'm not following you," Killian admitted.
Emma sighed before relaxing some of the tension out of her shoulders. "Henry was right before, I gave him up because I wanted to give him his best chance. And now I've seen that he doesn't have it, and you're right, I'm not leaving until I know that he's gonna be okay. If anything, with the way Regina's acting, she's only making me want to stay more," Emma finished, just as they were pulling up to the sheriff's station.
She looked over at Killian to see that he was smirking at her. "What?" she asked.
"You really are something else, aren't you, love?" he said to Emma, making her eyebrows shoot up. "It's just that, well, when Regina threatens someone to do something they usually do it, me being the rare exception since I'm one of the few members of this town that isn't in her pocket. There's certainly more to you than meets the eye, Swan," Killian said, his sea blue eyes staring directly into Emma's forest green ones, the intensity of his gaze clashing with the casual way he leaned back in his seat.
"Well, thanks for the ride, love. I've got no doubt that I'll be seeing you round town more often," Killian said with a wink, and got out of Emma's car to walk over to his own.
"Oh yeah, what's that supposed to mean, Deputy?" Emma shouted out of her window at him.
"That you'll probably be the making of this town, and the death of me." He flashed a smile at her with his brilliantly white teeth before getting into his car.
Emma mulled over the past day she'd had while she was on her way to book a room at Granny's Inn for a week. Her son showed up at her door on her birthday, she found out he had one psycho-ass bitch of a mom, and there was something about Deputy Killian Jones that intrigued her. Maybe she would end up booking more than just a week at the inn…
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