Ok, just to remember you guys. This is if AU, and no curse ever occurred.


The bell rang, echoing through the walls of the apartment. He waited impatiently, holding the blonde's hand and studying at his watch. He had received a call from the office and Emma had no one to stay with; his mother had some festival organization meeting she had to attend and leaving Emma with her father was even worse than leaving her alone.

Coming! He heard someone screamed from inside.

"David, hey!" Mary Margaret said when she opened the door. "Is everything ok?"

He nodded. "Would you mind looking after Emma? Something came up at work and my parents are busy," the man said quickly, he was in a rush. "I'd as Anita, but she's also working and has already two kids to watch over."

"It'll be a pleasure to watch over this little girl," the woman said with a smile and opened her door to let Emma enter.

The blonde girl kissed her daddy good-bye and entered her teacher's apartment, sitting on one of the comfortable sofa of the living room.

"Thank you," David muttered before running down stairs.

Mary Margaret was watching the man jog away from her door when she felt a little hand pulling hers. Emma had picked a book from the black haired woman's library and was handling it to the teacher. It was a leather book titled 'Once Upon a Time'.

"Fairy tales, huh?" The girl nodded. "Very well, go and bring the blanket that's over my bed. I'll make us some hot chocolate."

Emma's eyes sparkled with excitement, how could anyone not love someone like this little girl? Mary Margaret warmed two mugs of chocolate and added a little bit of cinnamon to them. When she walked into the living room with the two cups, Emma was already buckled up and eager to start.

The teacher read out loud, studying all of Emma's expressions as the different characters encountered different obstacles. Mary Margaret enjoyed being with Emma, the little girl reminded her of her younger self. And the way she became completely absorbed on the fairy tales, it was like watching at a mirror.

They were done with the fairy tales around 7 in the afternoon. The older woman could see Emma daydreaming about princes and magic, kids had such a pure imagination, that's why she had become a teacher; in a world were men killed each other, stole and lied for any reason, being with kids was that she could stay sane.

It was almost dinner time, so Mary Margaret put water to boil, they had decided to have pasta for dinner, and turned the radio on. Indie music started playing, her favorite.

"Hey, honey," the older woman addressed to the younger one. "Wanna dance?"

The girl nodded and before she could understand what was happening, Mary Margaret carried her and started dancing with Emma in her arms. The girl giggled and swing her little arms around to the beat of the music. Dance in the kitchen, it was something that Mary Margaret used to do with her own mother, she loved it, those were one of her best childhood memories.

"Oh, look at that!" Mary Margaret stopped, both facing the boiling water. "Looks like we can already put the pasta in the water. Do you want to do it?"

Emma nodded. Without putting her in the floor, Mary Margaret gave the little girl a package of pasta.

"Pour it all in," the old woman instructed her. Emma did as she was told. "Very good, you're a natural."

As the little girl was getting heavy, the teacher placed her on the table. "Now," she said "you have to grate the cheese. Like this," she showed Emma how to do it. After Emma reached for the cheese and the cheese grater, Mary Margaret understood that the little girl was ready for her kitchen duty.

The music kept playing as the two girls did their part of the cooking chores, Mary Margaret checking on Emma every once in a while. Mary Margaret always wanted a younger sister, maybe a daughter, but fate had never played on her side with those wishes. Having Emma with her, doing all this stuff, it felt like her luck was smiling at her; like maybe, just maybe her chance was changing.

"Hey, Em!" She said when the pasta was done. "Why don't you set the table? Dishes are in that cabinet," Mary Margaret pointed at one of the kitchen's furniture. Emma nodded and got the dishes out, she placed hers in front of Mary Margaret's and then went for the cutlery. 'Only forks!' The older woman had said.

They had just sat to start eating when the bell rang. Mary Margaret placed her fork and walked towards the door. David had all his weight laying on one of his arms, which rested against the door frame.

"Hey," he said when she opened the door, he looked restless. "I hope she was not too handful."

"Not at all," Mary Margaret smiled. "You look like an elephant walked over you."

"I've looked worse." David replied with a weak smile.

"We just finished making pasta, want to join us?" the teacher invited him in. "You look like you need a good meal."

The sheriff accepted the invitation and followed the woman into her dinning room. She placed an extra place for him in no time.

When Emma saw her father she ran towards him with a big grin on her face. He knew she had had a wonderful time with the teacher. The blonde girl moved her arms happily, trying to explain what they had done together, but she moved so fast her father couldn't understand a thing she was saying. The adults just laughed at Emma's overexcited mimics while they had dinner.

It felt good; the pasta, the talk, the laugh, all of it. David felt it, Mary Margaret felt it, even little Emma felt it. It was what having a real family felt like.