Part Three: Captive
The cell door at Storybrooke's Sheriff's Station closed on Dodger. He grabbed the bars and tried to shake them.
"Freedom!" He yelled before kicking the bars.
He was in one cell while the other four boys in his gang were in the other one. They had all insisted their leader get his own cell and so Emma obliged. Emma looked at Dodger, trying not to smile.
"If you behave yourself, things will go a lot smoother" she said gently but sternly.
"Never" cried Dodger.
Gretel walked in.
"YOU!" Dodger growled, pointing at Gretel "you ratted us out, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"I did it because I care about you" Gretel said, her eyes watering.
"Some caring!" He shouted "you take away my power, my freedom, my plan, you call that caring?"
Gretel cried a little. Emma gave her a little hug.
"He'll understand later" she said "we need to give him some time to cool down".
Gretel nodded. "I brought some cookies and candy for the boys" she said handing Emma a basket.
"Thank-you" Emma said, placing the basket on her desk "and don't worry, guys can be stubborn but they appreciate a girl who cares for them". They both smiled as Gretel left.
Emma turned her attention to Dodger and the other boys.
"Would you care for some treats?" She asked them.
Mickey leapt up excitedly.
"No!" exclaimed Dodger "it's some kind of trick".
"It's not a trick" Emma replied calmly "I want us to get along".
"Why would you want anything to do with us!" Dodger demanded.
"Because, believe it or not, we have a lot in common" Emma replied.
Years ago in Minneapolis
Teenage Emma was in her room at a foster home. She could hear children screaming while the mother of the house barked at them to try and keep them in line. Emma quietly peeked around. She crept downstairs where there was money in one of the cupboards. She looked around to make sure nobody was watching, and took a chunk of it. She began to hurry up the stairs. Suddenly, the mother of the house was in front of her with her arms crossed. Emma looked guilty.
"What's in your hands?" The mother of the house asked sternly. Emma didn't answer. The house mother reached out her hand. Emma put the money in the hand.
"So you're who's been stealing from me" the house mother said "no wonder you keep getting sent away from foster homes".
Emma felt angry. She had tried at many homes to be well behaved and still nobody seemed to want her. She only stole as much as she felt she needed to endure life in the crummy foster care system, to get herself nice things and sometimes escape for a bit. She wouldn't need to do it if she had a real home and someone to care for her, she had to take care of her own needs.
"You're grounded" the house mother said.
"If I don't comply, you won't care" Emma said tersely "you'll just send me away again".
"And then you can torment someone else!" The house mother yelled "you're more trouble than you're worth to me, and a bad influence on others". She continued down the stairs.
Emma scowled. As she had suspected, this was another place where nobody cared what she did, as long as they didn't have to deal with it. Nobody ever cared if she got in trouble at school. A small girl came down to see Emma.
"Sorry that happened" the child said.
"It's okay" Emma lied. She handed the child a five dollar bill. "I managed to keep a bit for you to buy that toy you wanted".
The child thanked Emma, who felt a little sad that she was influencing smaller children to break the rules, yet satisfied to cause trouble for the people in authority.
Many years later in Storybrooke
"You want me to trust you?" Dodger asked Emma from inside his jail cell "tell me what you've done with Oliver".
"He's been confined to his new home where his new family is taking care of him" Emma answered "besides didn't you leave him to get caught by authorities back in your realm?"
"Now remember, Swan, you can't always believe what you read" Hook warned.
"It's true" admitted Dodger "I was a coward, but me and my boys went back for him".
"I know it might not be true" said Emma "but the book said you only did it because you didn't want him to rat you all out".
"Than Dickens was a filthy liar" declared Dodger "we was all about to be ratted out by a rival of mine. We were in a hurry to leave for the Land Of Untold Stories and had more to lose by going back for Oliver than not. I couldn't leave him because I look out for my gang! And I heard the pirate over there was threatening Harry!"
"It was a bit" Hook said defensively "I was playing the role of a corrupt cop".
"Scare tactics!" Dodger said indignantly "and you cops think you're so righteous!"
Dodger sat down on the cell bed. Emma and Hook looked ashamed.
"On the bright side" Harry piped up in order to break the silence "some nice people came to visit me while the sheriffs were out looking for you all".
"Yes" said Emma "my father's friends Kathryn and Frederick. They really like Harry. I think they may adopt him".
Harry smiled.
"Yeah?" Asked Dodger in disbelief "when you gonna let him and the rest of us outta here? How long you punishing us for?"
"I don't wish to punish you at all" replied Emma. She stepped inside Dodgers cell with a clipboard and pen and closed the door. "I want to negotiate a peace treaty, leader to leader" she said with a smile.
Many years earlier in a prison in Phoenix
The door to Emma's cell opened slowly. She stood up.
"Ready to go for lunch, Miss Swan?" Asked the prison guard.
"Yes Ma'am" replied Emma.
"You better not throw things in the cafeteria like you threw that book against the wall yesterday" warned the guard.
"Won't happen again" Emma promised.
"It better not!" Growled the guard "Them books ain't free. They are a privilege. You're here to be punished, not entertained. Just cause you're pregnant doesn't mean you can behave like an animal".
"Understood Ma'am" replied Emma "it was a one time slip up. May I go eat now?"
"Alright" said the guard, hesitantly.
Emma went to the cafeteria and got in the lineup. After a few moments, another prisoner behind her shouted.
"Yo pregnant girl! How'd you get knocked up again? Bet your boyfriend is knocking people up all along the coast".
A bunch of people laughed. Emma wasn't in the mood for this.
"You just jealous cause you ain't had sex!" another prisoner shouted.
The woman behind Emma pushed her hard. Fearing for the safety of her unborn child, Emma retaliated by slapping the woman hard. A guard came running to break up the fight. Soon everyone started getting rowdy. The prison was put on lockdown for the next few hours.
Later on, the guard came to tell Emma that she'd be in solitary for a few days for fighting. Emma begged them not to, she hated some of the other prisoners but she hated being alone in her cell even more. She had endured too much loneliness in her life already. Still she had to suffer.
Many years later in Storybrooke
"So you, a princess, wanna negotiate with a lowly criminal?" Asked Dodger, amused.
"I don't see you that way" said Emma "I'm trying to treat you, as much as I can, as an equal. You and me, we both have lived on the streets, bounced around from place to place, had run-ins with the law, and found ourselves leading people".
"I thought you work with your parents?" Dodger asked, confused.
"I didn't find them until I was twenty-eight" Emma clarified "they were under a curse and couldn't find me, I grew up alone thinking I was an orphan".
"So you think you were just like me?" Dodger asked.
"When I was your age, I was a thief and I ended up in jail for helping steal watches".
"I had to run away from a foster home when I was eight cause I stole medicine" Dodger said, trying to look tough "you ever steal medicine?"
"No, I haven't" replied Emma "listen, I know you want your freedom back as well as freedom for the rest of your boys, but I can't have you trying to steal magic to take over Storybrooke, so tell me how we can meet in the middle. What would make you and your boys not have to do those things anymore?"
"Make me mayor" said Dodger "I want authority"
"I can't do that" said Emma "but I can give you education and help you work towards having influence".
"You want me to sit for hours in some schoolhouse?" Asked Dodger "I gave that up when I learned to tie my own shoes".
"You wanted to make this town home for your gang" Emma said "I'm doing that, finding parents for them".
"Parents who are gonna tell us what to do and how to think?!" Growled Dodger "We want freedom".
"Freedom comes with responsibility" Emma replied "when someone cares enough to try to keep your behaviour in check, it means they care about you and want you to be the best you can be".
"Fagin loved me" argued Dodger "and he never tried to control me, he took me in and had me be a criminal for him. He loved me for who I am, not some good boy he could mould me into".
"Sounds to me like he molded you into more of a criminal" Emma said "he took you in under certain conditions, that you commit crime for him, they just happened to be conditions that suited you".
""Fagin was a good man!" Dodger shouted, raising a fist to Emma "he took in kids who had no place else to go but the streets, workhouses, or jailhouses, which makes him better than those upper class people who only care about well-to-do kids, and the people here who want us to be good little boys and will reject us otherwise!"
Emma stepped back out of the cell.
"I better come back when things calm down a little" she said.
Suddenly Rory had a coughing fit and clutched his stomach. Charlie tried to soothe him.
"He needs medicine!" Yelled Dodger frantically "we've almost run out of the supply Mr. Hyde gave us! There's a little of it back at Gold's cabin!"
Emma looked at Hook.
"On my way to find it" Hook said, grabbing his leather jacket.
"It's in a green bottle!" Dodger shouted after him.
Emma had a sudden realization.
"You didn't become a criminal for selfish reasons, did you?" She asked Dodger "your first crime was stealing medicine, you started down that path to help a friend".
Dodger lowered his eyes, not wanting to confirm or deny this.
Many years earlier in a prison in Phoenix
Emma returned to her cell after giving birth to her son. Her son who she had given up for closed adoption and would probably never know who adopted him or what would become of him. She had carried him for nine months and gone through labour, all to probably never see him again because she wasn't ready to be a mother. This was all hitting her now. She had known for months that this was the deal but she had avoided thinking about it. She would probably never see her son again, not get to teach him how to walk or hear his first words, or see him off to school, or know what kind of person he'd become. She had been lonely for her entire life but never did she feel lonelier than right now, She had nobody to comfort her. Nobody ever came to visit her. She would have nobody waiting for her when she got released from prison. Everyone who she had ever been remotely close to…..Lily….Ingrid…..Neal…they had all let her down. Not much good had ever happened to her and there seemed like little chance of anything good ever happening to her. She began to wonder if she ever wanted to leave her prison cell again. What was the point after all? What was even the point in living? She saw no meaning in her life, nothing to look forward to. She looked at her pillow and she thought about smothering herself. She might have done it if she weren't being watched by the prison guards. She cried herself to sleep and slept as much as she could for a long time.
Many years later in Storybrooke
Rory had drank his medicine and was feeling better now.
"Dr. Whale should have a fresh supply to us by tomorrow" Emma said. In the meantime, my husband and I have to go home for the night".
"You're leaving us here alone?" Dodger asked hopefully.
"Hardly" answered Emma "I know you'd try to escape and quite possibly succeed. Besides what if there's another emergency? My parents are taking the night shift tonight".
David and Snow walked in.
"We brought the sleeping bags for the boys" Snow declared with a smile.
"And bedtime reading" added David, holding up a stack of fairy tale books.
"And good news" added Snow "we've been talking to some people and may have homes for these boys really soon".
"Great to hear" said Emma "I'll be back in the morning to talk with them some more".
David and Snow White babysat Dodger and his gang all night. They played music, read fairy tales, and provided bedtime snacks. Though Dodger didn't want to admit it, the boys felt more taken care of than they had in a very long time. They all had a very good night's sleep with little stress.
Emma returned the next morning as promised. Henry was with her, as it wasn't a school day. He brought along "Guardians Of The Galaxy" comic books, he and Emma both figuring a story about outlaws becoming heroes was an appropriate one for Dodger and his gang. Henry hung out and talked to Dodger during the morning , telling each other stories about their past adventures, while the other boys were visited by potential parents, but nobody came to visit Dodger. Henry could see his disappointment.
"You were hoping for potential parents to come see you by now too?" Henry asked.
Dodger looked indecisive.
"There's someone else you were hoping for, isn't there?" Henry asked "You like someone, don't you?"
"There's a girl" Dodger reluctantly admitted "but I yelled at her last time she came to see me".
"I'm sure she'll come around" Henry reassured Dodger "when you get out of here and on with your life, you'll win her over".
Henry had to leave in the afternoon for a date with Violet. Once he was gone, Emma approached Dodger to ask if he was ready to negotiate a peace treaty yet. He agreed, feeling more motivated to get out of jail now, plus he could see his boys wanted to go home with new families now and that his quest for power may not have been necessary. The life he and Fagin wanted for the boys was coming to them, but what about himself? Emma told him she had found people willing to adopt the rest of the boys and was still working on him. He checked with the other boys to see what they wanted and then asked Emma if she could let them go home with their new parents by the end of the day. Emma agreed but said they had to stay in their new homes until she could be sure they wouldn't be meeting up to commit more crime.
"There's something I wanna know" Dodger said "how did you go from being a thief like us to a goody-goody- sheriff? You some kind of hypocrite?"
"I'm not a hypocrite" Emma said defensively "I only wanted to be with my boyfriend at the time, Henry's father, and tried to help him get rid of the watches he stole. I never approved of his crime but I wanted to help him be free of it, I was in love".
"You were gonna sell the watches for money?" Dodger asked.
"Well, yeah" answered Emma.
"So you say you didn't approve of your boyfriend stealing watches, yet you were willing to profit off it?"
"Yes" Emma said guiltily "but I accepted my punishment and now I'm helping protect Storybrooke".
"So you went straight right after you got out of jail?" Dodger asked.
Emma hesitated before answering "yes".
Many years ago in California
Emma woke up in her yellow volkswagen. She had basically been living in it since her release from prison. She had nowhere to go and just kind of decided to drive to the next state. On her way, she heard about a youth centre that helped people in situations like hers find employment. She was in the parking lot of that youth centre, waiting for it to open. When it did, she went inside and explained her situation.
"So I have no family or anyone to go to and I've been in prison for almost a year and I have no idea what to do" she summarized.
"It's always bugged me" the lady who worked at the centre said "the way the government treats people in many parts of the country. They release people from prison with no prospects for the future, make it harder for that person to get anywhere in life, then they're surprised when the person commits more crime because they have few other options".
"Don't I know it" said Emma "and they put me in isolation a lot, which scarred me, and when I wasn't alone I was with awful people teaching each other how to be more awful. But the people running the prison, who were supposed to be good examples, they didn't seem much better than us morally. They seemed to think they were better and they thought that justified treating us like dirt".
"It's a really counterproductive system" said the lady "but hopefully you can move past all this. We'll direct you to a shelter and we're connected with some thrift stores that we can get you a job interview at. As long as you don't get into any more trouble".
Emma thanked her.
Many year later in Storybrooke
Throughout the day, Dodger's friends went home with their new families. Harry with Kathryn and Frederick, Mickey with Jefferson whose daughter was now a teenager and he wanted a young boy to raise, Rory with Thomas and Cinderella whose daycare he would help with, and Charlie with Phillip and Aurora to be a big brother. When Emma went home for the evening, Hook came in to look after Dodger.
"So, you're the sheriff's husband?" Dodger asked.
"Yup" said Hook "she's a great woman, I often wonder how a scoundrel like me got so lucky as to get a girl like her".
"That gives me some hope" said Dodger "I also like a girl from the other side of the tracks".
"Do you indeed" said Hook with a smile "well if you want my advice, be kind to her family and show her there's more to you than your roots".
"I'll keep that in mind" said Dodger "now how do I get your wife to let me out of here?"
"Emma's got some trust issues" said Hook "she wants to be fair to you but she needs to be sure you won't do anything dangerous. She cares about you, believe it or not".
Hook tried to sneak some rum without Dodger seeing but he saw.
"Drinking on the job?" Dodger asked, amused.
"Shush, lad" said Hook.
"Can I have some?" Asked Dodger.
"Have you ever had this stuff before?" Hook asked.
"Couple of times" said Dodger "Fagin and Hyde both liked to give me a treat once in a while".
Hook reluctantly poured a small glass for Dodger and handed it to him through the bars.
"Don't tell Emma" Hook whispered.
Dodger smiled gleefully while sipping in it.
"So what's your story?" Dodger asked "how did you become a scoundrel?"
"I guess it started when my brother died" answered Hook "the king whose navy I worked for at the time told us a lie and got my brother killed. Like you, I lost respect those who worked for the law. Decided being a pirate was more honourable, at least pirates have some sense of morals. Eventually though, after falling to temptations many times, I realized I'd been morally weak and Emma made me stronger".
"Let me see if I understand this" Dodger said "going to jail set Emma straight but she doesn't know how to set me straight?"
"Jail didn't do a thing for her" Hook answered "mostly just traumatized her and made it harder for her to respect the law, just like us. Two years before becoming sheriff of Storybrooke, a bail bonds person tried to bring her in for robbing convenience stores. The lady died in an accident and Emma then decided to become a bail bonds person so she had a job and didn't have to be a thief anymore".
"She lied to me?" Dodger asked indignantly.
"Perhaps I shouldn't have told you that" said Hook.
"Darn right" said Dodger "cause she should have. She expects me to be trustworthy and she goes and tells a lie like that? Tries to be all superior?"
"Now don't be too hard on her" Hook said "I'm sure she meant well. She wanted you to turn things around like she eventually did".
Dodger had that in the back of his mind all night. He and Hook bonded over the comic book Henry had brought him and then he went to bed. When he woke up, Emma and David were there.
"Yo Prince Charming!" Dodger yelled "remind me why I'm here again".
"Because you were causing trouble" answered David "hopefully after this, you won't anymore".
"Yeah?" Replied Dodger "ask your daughter over there if going to jail made her stop causing trouble. And don't lie, Emma".
David put his hands on her hips.
Many years earlier in California
Emma had been working at the thrift shop for several months. Her bosses knew about her past but gave her a chance anyway. She wasn't making much money. She was still eating at soup kitchens and sleeping either in shelters or in her car. She was having trouble functioning outside prison. She had gotten used to captivity and didn't always know how to handle her own affairs. She mishandled what little money she did earn. She was also paranoid about the people around her. She always wondered who were secretly criminals and also who would be abusive in positions of power. One day she gave into an impulse and began stealing money from work. A few weeks later she got called to come in and talk to her boss. Three men were there; the owner and two manager.
"We know you've been stealing" said the manager "we just went over the security tapes from the last few weeks".
"Over five-hundred dollars" the owner said "we could have you sent back to prison for this".
"I really thought we could trust you" the other manager said "lucky for you, a Mr. Booth paid us back that money, so we decided not to press charges. But you'll need to find a new job".
Emma had no idea who Mr. Booth was but decided she better not question it. She nodded, thanked them for giving her the chance, and walked away.
Many years later in Storybrooke
"I want the truth, Emma!" Dodger shouted "if I can't trust you, how am I supposed to be trustworthy?"
"I'm sorry I lied" Emma replied, hanging her head "I didn't want you to think I was a hypocrite".
"Well I do!" Shouted Dodger "you're part of law enforcement, busting criminals, when you were one yourself before you got a job enforcing law!"
"The truth is I did take a very long time to stop being a thief. I met the father of my son in a car we were both stealing and I still have it. Prison didn't change me for the better, the prison system in my realm sucks, I don't know if it sucks as much as the one in your realm but it sucks, it doesn't work. And I became part of that system. But now, in Storybrooke, we aren't beholden to the system in the outside world. I hope I am a better sheriff than a lot of the ones outside here. Although I only became a sheriff initially to combat the mayor and be a hero to my son, after I found out I was a saviour and princess I began to feel responsibility to my people as you feel towards yours" Emma explained.
"And you only became a bail bonds person after another one tried to bring you in for thievery and she died?" Dodger asked "so you never accepted the consequences for that crime?"
"I was planning to let her turn me in" Emma explained "but then I broke into a government building because of my obsession with trying to find out who my parents were, then helping me run away she got hurt and died. Then if I turned myself in, I might have been blamed for killing her".
"I guess that wouldn't have been fair" Dodger said empathetically "I'm kind of glad you didn't join the side of the law out of any kind of nobility, you don't owe the system that mistreated you anything".
"Is that what Fagin taught you?" Emma asked.
"Yup" said Dodger "and Fagin was a fine man".
"I'm sure Fagin loved you in his way and wanted what was best for you" Emma said "but sometimes those that love us don't always know what is best for us. There was a woman named Ingrid who took care of me for some time when I was growing up. She loved me and cared about me deeply. She was the closest thing I had to family before I came to Storybrooke. Years later she tried to destroy the town to be alone with me and her niece. She had good intentions but she was wrong. I still love her even after realizing that".
"How can someone who cares about you be wrong about doing something for you?" Dodger asked.
"You want what's best for your gang?" Emma asked.
"Yeah" said Dodger.
"But you thought that meant stealing magic and avoiding me, when really I wanted what was best for them too by finding them homes. Were all your actions right?"
"I guess not" Dodger grumbled.
"Was everything Fagin wanted right?" Asked Emma.
"No, he didn't want me to go back for Oliver" Dodger admitted.
"But you did" Emma said "because you knew in your heart what the right thing was".
Dodger cried.
"I wanted to honour Fagin by making a home for my boys here" he said.
"Maybe you can honour Fagin in other ways" Emma said "maybe you can keep helping yourself and your gang have better lives and helping other people in bad situations".
Dodger nodded and then asked to be left alone to think for a bit.
Many years earlier in Massachusetts
Emma was now twenty-seven years old and had been working as a bail bonds person for about a year. One day her boss called and said that the family of the person she was currently tracking wanted to speak to her. She went to her bosses office to see them. She was confronted with a crying mother, a worried father, and two young-adult siblings. They explained to her that the man she was chasing was eighteen years old, just a reckless kid, and had gotten involved with a dangerous gang. He had driven a getaway vehicle during a heist where he wasn't expecting anyone to get hurt but one of his co-conspirators had shot someone. He was now running from the consequences by getting further involved with dangerous criminals. The family was terrified what kind of life their loved one was going to have if he didn't face the consequences of his crime and lived as a fugitive. Emma felt a lot of empathy and double promised to find him.
Many years later in Storybrooke
Dodger was still in the cell when Henry came back for a visit.
"Hey Dodger" Henry said gleefully "Did you like the comic I brought you?"
"Yeah, your stepdad and I both could really relate to the heroic outlaws. It was well written, but it was no Shakespeare".
"You've read Shakespeare?" Emma asked in surprise.
"There wasn't much going on in the Land Of Untold Stories" Dodger explained "I got bored".
"I could never get into Shakespeare myself" Emma said "I prefer more modern literature".
"I like the tragic heroes" Dodger said wistfully "like Hamlet and Othello, good guys who end up doing the wrong thing due to tragic circumstances. I don't recommend Titus Andronicus though, that's a disturbing horror show".
"I know a story you'll like" said Henry "let me go get the action figures".
Henry left and quickly returned with action figures of all the characters from Star Wars Episodes 1 through 6. He got down on the floor by the cell door where he and Dodger could play together and told him the entire story.
"I love that Anakin guy" Dodger said at the end "another complex tragic hero who only went bad because of the moral confusion he felt when people on both sides did bad things. I relate to that".
"My other mom, Regina, she was inspired by Vader's redemption. It helped her with her own" Henry told him.
Emma smiled while watching them play. After they finished, she approached Dodger.
"Still think of me as a bad guy?" She asked him.
"I just want to know one thing" Dodger replied "can you honestly tell me that during your time chasing criminals before you came to this town that you didn't just condemn people who did crime? Can you honestly tell me that there was at least one instance where you helped someone have a better life?"
"Yes" Emma answered "I believe I can"
Many years earlier in Connecticut
Emma walked into the kind of bar that made her think of the movie Star Wars when Obi-Wan called the bar on Tatooine "a wretched hive of scum and villainy". Her informants had told her about some of the sketchy deals that went on here. It was filled with gangsters and crooks, people she hoped never to have much involvement with. She was here to find the young man who had jumped bail and whose family was worried sick about him in places like this. She would bring him back to his family and save him from the criminal underground fugitive life. She spotted her target by the bar. Perfect. She sat beside him and offered him a drink.
"You look like you're in a tough spot" she said to him once they got their drinks.
"Yeah" he said sadly "got involved in a bad deal and can't go home no more".
"Uh-huh" said Emma "I got that vibe. You seem just like the kind of kid who, now stop me if I'm wrong, was an accomplice in a heist gone wrong and then decided it was better to run away and dig yourself deeper than to face the consequences?"
The young man got up and ran. Emma chased him. He ran to his car and tried to drive away but there was already a boot on it. Emma calm walked over and caught up to him, then apprehended him. She drove him in her car back to Massachusetts.
"You'll be thankful for this one day" she told him.
"Thankful?" He said in disbelief "My life is over. You do your little parlour tricks and catch people who made mistakes but don't think about what happens to them. You have no idea how damaging a prison term is".
"In fact I do!" Emma shouted angrily "I spent almost a year in prison when I was younger than you are now and it took me years to get my life on track. Unlike you, I had nobody to turn to when I got out. Prison life sucks and isn't always fair, but do you want to know what sucks even more? Being alone in the world without family to help you. I would give anything for a family that cares about me the way yours care about you and you're running away from them. Prison's no fun but at least you'll have people to support you during and after. You're much better off facing the consequences of your actions than running away to be alone in the world and part of some criminal underground".
The man opened his mouth to argue but didn't know what to say.
"I'm bringing you to face up to your actions but I'm also bringing you home" Emma said more calmly "you'll be safer and better off this way".
She brought him to the police station in Boston. A police officer came to greet them and the young man's mother was with him. She kissed and hugged her son. He still looked scared.
"I know this is tough for you" Emma told him "but you'll be thankful someday".
She then drove off.
Many years later in Storybrooke
Emma sat across from Dodger in the cell. She had earned his respect by telling him about the man she saved from life alone as a fugitive. Now they were finishing negotiating what Emma called a "peace treaty". He promised that he and his gang would refrain from possessing weapons and from crimes including theft and breaking and entering and that if they broke the rules Emma would discuss discipline with their adoptive parents. In return, Emma promised the boys education, counselling with Dr. Hopper, and freedom to walk about Storybrooke without feeling a need to hide. When they finished talking, Dodger got a surprise visitor. Gretel came back. Dodger leapt up when he saw her.
"Gretel!" He exclaimed "I'm so happy you're here, I'm sorry I was mad at you before".
"I knew you'd get over it" she replied.
"You two catch up with each other" Emma said "I have to go ask my husband something".
Emma left the cell door open while she went to see Hook. Dodger and Gretel chatted about what they had been doing since they last talked. He also congratulated her on outsmarting himself and the gang. Emma returned.
"Gretel" she said "could you give us a minute?"
"Of course" said Gretel stepping away.
"Dodger" Emma said "Hook and I have come to a decision. We want to be your new parents. We all have similar backgrounds and we want to be for you the family we wish we had in our younger days. I want to be your mom. I want to get to know you better. You can get tutoring from my mother and my son Henry and then go to school. You can help us at the Sheriff's station. We can help you learn to be a better mentor for your friends. We can give you dating advice. You can be part of our family. What do you say?"
Dodger gave Emma a big hug.
"Thank-you" he said.
Stay tuned for the epilogue to find out what Dodger did with his life afterwards.