I'M ALIVE! Hey everyone! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a long time. I lost my writing mojo for a while. Anyway, I hope this chapter sort of makes up for it. I didn't get a chance to proofread so if there are any mistakes, I apologize and will fix them when I get the chance. Thank you to all those who followed/favorited (never seen so many! :D). I always read reviews so if you like it please do so. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Any dialogue, scenes, or characters you recognize from the show are NOT owned by me except my OC(s)!

Chapter 4: "Finding Henry"

"As I have said, minor injuries, nothing serious. Dr. Whale is treating her as we speak. A word of advice? Next time you might want to tell her to put on a seatbelt" he said, unlocking her cell and stepping to the side. "I would gladly escort you to the hospital; it's only a few blocks" he offered

Emma gave him a tired smile and followed him out of the station. The hospital wasn't that far, not that Emma expected it to be in this small town. Graham led her through the corridors until they came to one room that was full of hospital beds. Morgan was sitting on one of them with an ice pack pressed to her forehead. A doctor was slowly talking to her and she gave him a small nod before he walked away. Emma walked up to her.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked

Morgan's eyes glazed over as she gave her a look. "Consider that the last time I ever carpool with you" she said coolly

"Take it you have no serious injuries then" Graham stated

Morgan lowered the ice pack. "Well according to the doctor, there's no concussion or internal bleeding…" she trailed on "Recommends bed rest and that I should consider myself lucky" she added dismissively

Graham pursed his lips. "Perhaps a seatbelt wouldn't be such a bad idea either" he suggested.

She narrowed her eyes at the sheriff and before she could retort, there was the sound of quick feet walking across the white tiles followed by the mayor's voice. "Graham? Where've you been? I went down to the police station to look for you, but you weren't—" she stopped when her eyes landed on Emma and her sister. "What're they still doing here?" she asked sharply.

Morgan was quick to notice the tone of her voice. They hadn't been in this town for twelve hours and her tone was as unwelcoming as her demeanor. "They had an accident" Graham answered.

"If you're looking for the culprit that ran over your sign, it was her" Morgan replied, jerking her head towards Emma. She didn't seem to notice the glare Emma threw her way.

"That's not why I'm here. Do you know where Henry is?" Regina demanded

The two sisters blinked in confusion but didn't look at one another. "No, we haven't seen him since we dropped him off at your place" Emma explained.

Regina placed her hands on her hips. "Well, he ran away again. I would assume he was chasing after you two"

"Well, let's just hope he's not halfway to Boston" Morgan murmured, earning herself a stern look from the mayor. Morgan gave her an apologetic look before putting down the ice pack and stretching her back.

"Maybe he's with his friends, have you checked with them" Emma suggested, putting her hands on her hips

The mayor turned to her and gave her an even colder look. "Henry doesn't have friends. He's more of a loner" she explained.

"Loner or not, he's a kid. He must have a friend somewhere" Morgan told her.

"I already told you, he doesn't" she snapped impatiently

"What about e-mail?" Emma suggested "Not that hard to find a pen pal these days"

The mayor narrowed her eyes at her. "And how would you know this?" she asked accusingly

"Finding people is my job, mayor" Emma said defensively.

"I'm sure he can't have gone far, madame mayor" he assured. Regina nodded and folded her hands together.

Morgan stood up from the hospital bed and winced as she felt a bruising pain go through her side, but managed to play it off as a stretch before anyone could notice. "If you have his computer I can find out if he's communicating with someone" she offered. "I'm pretty adept when it comes to computers" she added with an indifferent shrug.

Regina was silent which Morgan took as an 'okay'. The four adults walked out of the hospital and drove back to the mayor's house. Regina led them to her son's room and pointed to his computer. Morgan sat down at the small desk and turned it on. Her fingers quickly working over the keyboard after what seemed like a long two minutes, she finally managed to get into Henry's email. Emma watched her wordlessly as she watched over Morgan's shoulder with her arms crossed. Regina was pacing back and forth by Henry's bed. Graham was knelt next to the desk, watching the computer screen intently as Morgan managed to get into Henry's email without much difficulty. She exhaled through her nose as she searched his inbox.

"Well, you have a smart kid, he cleaned out inbox" Morgan said, showing them the screen.

"Maybe this could help" Emma said as she pulled out a small object from her pocket and stuck it into the computer. "It'll recover whatever he erased" she explained to Graham and Regina's confused looks.

Morgan recognized the small object but didn't say anything. "You always keep this on you?" Morgan asked uninterestedly, not turning to look at her when she asked.

"Never know when you might need it" Emma pointed out, watching the screen as the hard drive recovered different documents, emails and such from the computer. However, nothing that could help them find Henry just yet. Morgan absentmindedly drummed her fingers against the desk, her eyes skimming everything that popped up.

"I take it both of your professions require dealing with a lot of computers" Graham eventually commented.

"Basic computer hacking is skill, not something you can easily learn. Practically a job requirement when it comes to my job" Morgan added.

"Hang on, what's that?" Emma said, pointing at the computer screen. Before Morgan could even look at what she was pointing at, Emma took the mouse and clicked on it. "It's receipt from a website...guess this is how he knew to look for us. Expensive too, does he have a credit card?" Emma asked the mayor questioningly.

Regina frowned. "Of course not, he's ten" she said

Morgan raised an eyebrow and took the mouse from Emma, pulling up another record. "Okay, apparently it was paid for by someone named Mary Margaret Blanchard. Does the name ring a bell?" she asked

The mayor folded her arms across her chest with a sour expression on her face. "His teacher" she answered stiffly. Without saying another word to them, she strode out of the room. Emma and Morgan followed her down the stairs as Graham shut the bedroom door behind him.

"Didn't know you were good with computers" Emma told her quietly as they walked down the stairs.

"I wouldn't expect you to" Morgan answered scornfully.

O-0-o

Few minutes later the two sisters were following the mayor towards an elementary school. They kept their distance as they maneuvered their way through the crowded hall of fourth graders. The mayor stormed into the classroom at the end of the hall. As Morgan stepped inside she stared at all the different birdhouses on each of the small desks and felt the edge of her mouth twitch in a small smile. Emma stayed in the doorway as Morgan stood against the construction papered wall and the glanced at the different artwork that was put up.

"Can I help you, Ms. Mills?" said a soft voice.

Morgan looked towards the front of the room and saw a petite woman with short black hair standing in front of a desk. This must be Henry's teacher.

"Where's my son?" she asked in a calm yet stern voice.

She blinked in confusion. "Henry? He's wasn't in class today, I assumed he was home sick with you" she replied in the same soft small voice. Morgan assumed she was intimidated by the mayor, not that she blamed her not to be.

"No he wasn't" Regina told her sharply. "Did you give him your credit card so that he could find them?" she asked, giving her head a small jerk in Emma's direction.

"No. I'm sorry, who are you?" Miss. Blanchard asked Emma

Emma hesitated. "I'm..."

"She gave him up for adoption ten years ago" Morgan explained, when Emma couldn't find her words.

Miss. Blanchard turned to her as if noticing her presence for the first time. "I'm sorry, and you are?" she asked kindly

"Henry's aunt" she answered shortly.

She blinked and then put down her handbag on one of the desks and took out her wallet. "I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about this" she explained, opening her wallet and then sighed. "Clever boy. I shouldn't have given him that book" she muttered to herself, and unfortunately the mayor heard her.

"What is this book I keep hearing about?" the mayor demanded, her voice rising.

"It's just a fairytale book I gave him" Blanchard answered quickly. "Henry is a smart child...but he's also lonely. I thought the book might help"

"He doesn't need fairytales, he needs reality" Regina told her rudely, then turned to Morgan and Emma. "I trust you two will be on your way back to Boston" she added then stormed out the room, knocking over a stack of books with her handbag.

Morgan frowned as she watched her go before walking over to help the teacher, Emma did the same. "Thank you" she said, as Morgan handed a book to her.

"Don't mention it. Is she always like that?" Morgan asked

She pursed her lips. "The mayor tends to be strict, but I suppose that simply comes with the job" Miss. Blanchard answered.

"How would a book help him?" Emma asked, handing her the rest.

Miss. Blanchard placed the books on the counter. "I gave him the book to show his that it's okay to escape reality from time to time. Isn't that what all stories are for?" she said. "Henry's life hasn't been easy"

Emma folded her arms over her chest and glanced at the door. "Yeah, she's a real hardass" she said

Miss. Blanchard shook her head as they walked out the classroom. "No, he's like any adopted child. Wrestling with that same question 'why would anyone give me away?'" she said, then stopped. Morgan pursed her lips as Miss. Blanchard looked over at Emma with widened eyes. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! I didn't in any way mean to judge you"

Emma quietly muttered a small 'It's okay'. "Look, we're just trying to make sure he gets home safely, do you have any idea where he could be?" Emma asked

Miss. Blanchard pursed her lips before she spoke. "I would suggest checking his castle. It's on the beach, you can't miss it" she said quietly.

O-0-o

The sky was dark grey as they arrived at the beach. Morgan sighed. Looked like it was going to be a rainy ride back to Boston. Emma put the car in park they came to the beach and reached for something in the back seat of her car.

"What's that?" Morgan asked.

"He forgot this. Sneaky little bastard" Emma said, pulling the thick fairytale book from the backseat.

They both stepped out of the car and were immediately hit by a cold breeze. Morgan tightly wrapped her blazer around herself as they trudged towards the rickety looking playground on the beach. To her relief, Henry was there. Emma trudge ahead of her and handed Henry his book. As Morgan reached the wooden castle, Henry gave her a wide smile and Emma stood from where she was seated next to him and brushed off her jeans.

"Henry, you know you can't keep running away like this. Your mom's worried sick about you" Morgan told him

"Come on, let's get you home" Emma said softly.

"Please don't make me go back there!" Henry said, following her. "Just stay for one week and you'll know what I'm talking about!" he asked pleadingly.

"Henry, you have to go back to your mom" Emma told him.

"My life sucks. You don't know what it's like to be with her" he said, his voice cracking as if he was near tears.

Morgan didn't know what it was, but what he said irritated her. Emma must've felt the same way she did because she beat her to the punch. "You want to know what sucking is? We were abandoned on the side of the freeway, our parents didn't even bother to drop us off at a hospital. We were in the foster system our entire lives"

For the first time in a long time, Morgan found herself agreeing with her. "Henry..." Morgan began, kneeling down to his level and squeezed his shoulders. "Your mom is trying really hard. You have a parent that wants you, which is a lot than what either of us can say. And I would've done anything to have what you have right now."

Henry stared at her with his big brown eyes. "But you weren't abandoned on the side of the highway, that's where the wardrobe took you. They were trying to save you from the curse"

Emma chuckled softly. "I'm sure they were" she said softly. "C'mon, let's get you home" she added as a roll of thunder roared over their heads.

Henry grabbed hold of Emma's hand as they walked back towards her car and seated himself in the back. Rain gently began to sprinkle on her windshield as Emma drove back to the mayor's house. Just as Henry stepped outside the car, the front door opened and Regina stepped outside. Henry ran past into the house without even looking at her. Regina turned to Morgan and Emma.

"Thank you" she said to both of them. "I take it you two will be on your way back to Boston?"

"Hopefully we'll be able to outrun the weather" Morgan said, glancing up at the sky. The sprinkling rain had turned into a light drizzle.

The mayor nodded slowly. "Henry seems he's taken quite an enthusiasm to you two. Especially you, Miss. Swan" she said to Emma.

Emma chuckled to herself. "You know it's funny. Yesterday was my birthday" she began to say. "And when I blew out the candle I actually made a wish that I wouldn't have to be alone on my birthday and then Henry showed up on my doorstep." she explained with a shadow of a smile.

But someone who did stop smiling was the mayor. Morgan realized all too quickly that Emma had stepped in hot water. "I hope there's no misunderstanding here" the mayor began to say. "Don't mistake everything that happened today as a decision back into his life. Miss. Swan, you made a decision ten years ago to have a closed adoption. You may have given birth to Henry, but he is my son"

Morgan bit her bottom lip and pretended to be rather interested in the garden gnome by the flowerbed. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Emma's arm tense.

"I wasn't—" Emma began to say, but the mayor cut her off.

"You don't get to speak" she snapped coldly. "You asked for a closed adoption, therefore have no legal right to Henry and you will be held to that" Regina told her, stepping dangerously close to Emma. "I suggest you both..." she said, staring at Morgan who looked away from the garden gnome and stared determinedly back at her. "Return to Boston immediately and act as though this never happened. And if you don't you will regret it" the mayor finished.

Morgan glanced at Emma who was staring icily as the mayor walked back towards the entrance of her home. It began to drizzle harder and Emma was standing absolutely still. Morgan had the strongest feeling she would run in after her.

Morgan grabbed hold of Emma's arm. "Emma, let it go" she whispered in her ear and attempted to lead her back towards the car, but Emma swatted her hand away as though she were a fly and pulled her arm away without as much as glancing at her. "Emma!" she hissed sharply.

But Emma stared resolutely at the mayor. "Do you love him?" she asked out of the blue.

The mayor swiftly turned her head. "Excuse me?" she asked, appalled.

"Henry. Do you love him?" Emma asked again.

The mayor pursed her lips in a tight line and said "Of course, I love him".

Morgan pinched her fingers between her eyes and shook her head. She knew what Emma was doing and couldn't exactly take her seriously. She heard the mayor shut the door behind her and Emma finally moved towards her car. As they sat inside there was a clap of thunder in the distance and then it began to rain harder. Morgan watched the rain hit her window, absentmindedly twisting a lock of hair around her finger. Emma drove and stared unblinkingly at the road.

"She's right, you know" Morgan finally said.

She saw Emma glance over at her in the reflection of the window. "What?"

Morgan looked at her. "The mayor. She's right, he's not your son" she said coolly.

Emma didn't say anything and looked back at the road. She pulled over to the curb and parked her car in front of a little sign that said 'Granny's Bed and Breakfast Inn'.

"Whoa, what're you doing?" she asked.

"Gonna stay a while, make sure Henry's okay" Emma replied.

Morgan stared at her in disbelief, her mouth slightly open. "If you think I'm going to share a room with you, you've gotta be kidding" Morgan said disdainfully.

"Fine, then we'll get separate rooms" Emma told her simply, unbuckling her seatbelt.

"What makes you think I want to be within a hundred feet of you, Emma?" Morgan said. "There's no 'we', okay? You asked me to come along just to make sure Henry gets home, and now he's home. And now, I want to go back to Boston"

"Morgan, it's just a week. I want to make sure Henry's okay" Emma explained.

"Henry looks fine to me" she said indifferently.

"Have you gone crazy?" Emma demanded "Didn't you see what that woman's like?"

"Well, whose fault is that?" she said before she could stop herself. Before she knew it, Morgan felt a stinging sensation on her cheek and slightly dazed. Emma looked at her in shock, her hand still raised.

"Oh my god, Morgan, I..."

"You know, I don't think I'd be able to stand a four hour drive with you anyway" she said, opening the door and storming into the rain. "I'll find a cab" she snapped and slammed the door with all her strength.

"Morgan!" Emma called after her.

"Have a nice life, Emma! And you know what, stay out of mine too!" she shouted behind her. Morgan began to walk. She didn't know where she was going, she was just walking. The only thing on her mind right now was to get as far away from Emma as possible.

If only this were a dream. If only she could wake up warm and comfortable in her bed with the aftertaste of wine and cake icing in her mouth. Maybe finding the surprise of Kimberly passed out drunk on her couch. Go back to the same boring routine without a single thought of Emma on her mind. It looked as though the memory of Emma standing on her doorstep after twelve years will forever be etched in her mind. She closed her eyes and raised her head to the sky. Why did I wish for something to be different? she thought to herself regrettably

Morgan stepped onto the sidewalk with her hands tucked under her arms. Her hair was now wet and sticking to her face. The roads were empty, not a single car passed by. Everything seemed to be closed. She didn't even know where to find a cab. Hitchhiking was sounding awfully generous, but there didn't seem to be any car to hitchhike with. Morgan looked around and finally noticed the sheriff's station that wasn't too far ahead. She exhaled and quickly walked towards the building, splashing through puddles.

She pulled open the door and walked through the long hallway until she came to a small office that had two large desks and two holding cells. Graham emerged from the smaller office that she was standing next to. He looked as though he was closing up. He didn't hide his expression of surprise when he saw her.

"Henry's aunt, correct?" he asked, to which she nodded. Then took in her rather wet appearance. "I certainly hope you're not here to report a car accident"

"No," she said "No, I, um...I was hoping you could tell me where I could find a cab" she asked

"A cab" he repeated, she nodded again. "Well, I'm sorry but I don't think you will find a cab this late at night and most likely not in this weather"

She closed her eyes and sighed in frustration. "Great" she muttered.

"I'm sorry, but I thought you'd be on your way back to Boston with your sister"

"Yeah, well, we had an exchange of words..." she replied shortly

He folded his arms across his chest and frowned. "You had an exchange of words and she left you here?" he said

"No, not exactly" she replied, putting her hands on her hips. He studied her curiously. "We have a complicated relationship" she explained, but his expression didn't change. As if he was hoping to hear more, but the thing she would do was indulge a complete stranger about their history. "Look, it's been a long night and I'm pretty sure you're exhausted so I don't want to take up all your time. Do you know where I could find a room for the night?"

The sheriff inhaled deeply. "Yes, there's an inn called Granny's Bed and Breakfast"

"Great, is there another place you would recommend? Like a motel or something..." she asked hopefully.

He shook his head apologetically. "No, I'm afraid not" he said.

"Seriously?" she said cynically.

He shrugged. "It's a small town. We haven't exactly had much need for motels and such...unlike Boston" he added.

Morgan chuckled and shook her head. "You're right. I'm sorry, I've just had a very long agitating day" she said, running her hands through her long damp hair. "Well, listen, thank you for your help, and I'll just go and find that inn" she said.

"Here, I'll drive you" he offered, grabbing his jacket and walking after her.

"Oh, no, its fine, I can walk" she assured.

"Walk and you'll catch pneumonia before you get there, in which case I will be held responsible" he said, switching off the lights.

"So, you're just helping me to save your own skin" she stated

He shrugged. "Whichever way you would like to look at it" he replied simply, as they stepped outside. "By the way, I never did get your name" he added, locking the door behind him. Morgan didn't say anything as she waited for him. "Telling me your name won't kill you, you know" he said

She rolled her eyes. "It's Morgan" she told him and followed to his car.

Neither said much on the way there, but she was thankful that she was slightly drier than she would've been if she walked. Morgan thanked him for the ride and walked towards the inn, hoping Emma was in her own room by now. When she walked inside it was a really cozy little inn. There was an old woman standing at the desk when she entered and a young woman dressed in black and red sitting in a chair. Morgan approached the desk.

"Hi, do you have any vacancies?" she asked, pushing her wet hair out of her face. Her clothes were still rather wet.

"Yes, would you like a room?" the old lady asked her, seeming rather surprised that someone would like a room. Morgan nodded which made the old lady smile widely and grabbed a small booklet. "Business is just booming today. Now, would you like a forest view or square?" she asked.

"Forest would be great" she said with a genuine smile.

The old lady nodded. "Name?"

For a moment Morgan fidgeted with the gold band on her finger and bit her bottom lip. "Swan. Morgan Swan" she said with a breath.

"And how long will you be staying with us?"

"Just a day" she replied.

She scribbled in the little booklet and then handed her a key. "Welcome to Storybrooke" she said with a smile.

"Thank you" Morgan said and headed up to her room. She unlocked the door with the little number five on it and stepped in. Morgan took off her blazer and tossed it on the chair before collapsing on the bed. It was pitch black outside. She absentmindedly twisted the gold band on her finger until her eyes finally closed. Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough. She just wanted to return to Boston.

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