Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time

AN: Thank you again to my amazing beta, GranddaughterOfCaskettAndTivia, you're awesome! ~ XOXO MAS


Chapter Six

Emma stopped her little bug in front of the largest house on the street. She would wager to say that it was easily one of the largest in the entire town. Archie hadn't been kidding when he said they wouldn't miss it. "Okay, kid, time to face the music." She stepped out of the car, pushing the seat forward so Henry could climb out after her.

"Henry?" A dark-haired woman flew out the front door and down the brick steps. "Henry?" She cried out again. When she reached the boy, she wrapped him in her arms, whispering into his ear.

Emma bit her lip and leaned against the passenger side door next to Killian as she watched the reunion take place. "You okay, Swan?" He asked softly, his arm coming to curl around her waist.

Emma was going to respond when Henry's angry cry caught her ear. "I found my real mom." He stomped his foot and pushed past her and the man Emma supposed was the sheriff, given the badge he was wearing.

The woman looked thunderstruck, staring after her fleeting child before she turned and eyed Emma and Killian, almost as if she was noticing their presence for the first time. "How would you like a glass of the best cider you'll ever have?" She offered courteously. Her words were welcoming, but her voice was cold and there was ice in her steely gaze. Emma found herself wanting to defiantly kick her ass, to prove she wasn't a wilting flower.

Killian scratched the back of his ear nervously. "Got anything stronger than that, lass?" He joked lightly. Emma responded by nudging her elbow into his ribs. The woman simply smiled at them before pushing the front door open wider.

"I'll just go check on the boy," the other man offered, leaving the three of them without so much as an introduction or even acknowledging Emma and Killian's presence.

Emma linked her hand with Killian's and followed the mayor and sheriff inside. The house was pristine. The decorations were perfect, but it was cold and uninviting. She shivered involuntarily. "You cold, love?" Killian asked, raising his prosthetic hand to rub her leather clad arm. He moved to shrug out of his own jacket to drape over her shoulders. Ever the gentleman, her pirate was.

She shook her head and smiled up at him. "I'm okay," she promised half-heartedly as they followed the mayor into what appeared to be her home office.

"Please, have a seat." A few moments later, they were all sipping on the best spiked apple cider Emma had ever had. The woman wasn't kidding about that.

Emma shifted uncomfortably next to Killian as the regal woman introduced herself and explained how hard it was to be a single mother and the mayor of a small town. It made Emma wonder why she even bothered to adopt Henry in the first place if she was more focused on her career than on her child. And that led her to believe Henry wasn't happy or welcome here. She had the sudden urge to walk upstairs, scoop him up and get the hell out of town with him.

"Ms. Mills," Killian cleared his throat, "we were just dropping him off." He set his glass on the table and stood up. "It is rather late and our drive back is long, we should get going." He held his hand out to Emma. "Swan?"

Emma bit her lip and nodded. "Have a nice night," she agreed, setting her nearly untouched glass on the table before following Killian out.

When they were in the bug and headed back towards the highway, Emma noticed Henry's storybook in the back seat of her car. "Why that little-"

"Swan!" Killian pointed ahead. "Watch out!"

Emma's eyes shot to the road and the white wolf standing in the middle of it. Twisting the wheel, she overcorrected and crashed into the "Welcome to Storybrooke" sign.

OUAT

"Shit," Emma muttered, forcing herself into a sitting position. Idly, she threw her arm out to the side. "What the fuck happened last night? I had the strangest dream about a town in Maine." She mumbled. When her arm hit air, she forced her eyes open and looked to the side where Killian should've been. It was strange enough that he wasn't wrapped around her. The two of them had no sense of personal space when they slept, they were nearly one being. "Killian?"

A small groan sounded as Emma took in her surroundings. A jail cell? "What's going on?"

"Ah, good. You're awake." Emma's eyes landed on the sheriff. "I'm Graham, by the way, and I brought coffee and donuts. Sometimes the stereotypes are true." He shrugged, setting the to-go carrier with three coffee cups in it on the desk next to a white paper bag that she assumed was filled with the donuts.

"What happened?" Emma asked quickly, rising and making her way to the cell door.

"Regina's drinks are a little stronger than we thought, perhaps?" He offered. "And technically only you should be here since you were the one driving, but this was a free place for Mr. Jones to sleep off his drinks as well." He motioned to the other jail cell.

"Killian?" Emma moved towards their combined cell wall. "Wake up, babe." She was suddenly worried the mayor had spiked the cider with more than alcohol, but that seemed ridiculous. That would keep them in town, and the woman clearly wanted them gone.

Killian rolled over and reached for her. "What?" He asked, when his hand hit one of the rods. "Swan?"

"Yeah, we're in jail." She muttered. That got his attention.

He sat up fast and looked around. "What the bloody hell am I doing in the brig?" He asked, self-righteously, those damnable eyebrows shooting up like a cartoon character's might. Emma had to fight the urge to reach through the bars and smooth out the frown lines on his forehead. "I haven't committed a crime in ages."

Emma snorted at his words, now she wanted to shove him lightly. "Wow, maybe not the smartest thing to admit to being a criminal in front of the town sheriff," she pointed out. He just scowled at her in return.

The sheriff chuckled. "You two are quite a pair." He picked up a set of keys. "Now, no more drinking and driving," he warned them.

"I wasn't drunk. I hadn't even had a full glass of that cider. There was a wolf in the road," Emma explained.

"A wolf? Right." Graham chuckled and shook his head.

"There was a bloody wolf in the road. I saw it, too!" Killian objected as his own cell was opened. "Why would we make up such a tale?"

Graham didn't reply to that, instead he said, "Billy towed your car. He said he'll have it fixed before the end of today." He dug in his pocket for a business card, "The shop is just off Main Street. You can't miss it." Graham handed the card to Emma. "In the meantime, I suggest you head down to Granny's. She's got the best pancakes in the world."

Killian picked up Emma's red leather coat and helped her into it, before slipping into his own. "Thanks, mate, we'll take that advice." He put his prosthetic hand on the small of Emma's back. "Come on, love, let's go get something to eat," he suggested softly.

"Oh, we retrieved these from the car." He held up Killian's bag and Henry's book.

"Thank you," Emma murmured, her arm looping around Killian's, her cheek coming to rest against his shoulder as they made their way out of the station and down the street to the diner.

As they walked down the street, Killian nudged her shoulder lightly. "Swan, you alright?" He asked.

Emma sighed and stopped to lean against the white picket fence outside of the diner Graham had suggested. "He doesn't seem happy."

"Who? The sheriff? Would you be if your boss was that infernal woman?" He referred to Mayor Mills.

Emma shook her head. "No, Henry. He doesn't seem happy and-"

Killian tilted her head up with his fingers. "Love, if you're not certain that the boy is safe then we should probably stay. We've closed all of our open cases, we could take some time off, maybe stay just long enough to make sure the lad is safe and well taken care of," he suggested.

She bit her lip and shook her head. "I don't know, Killian. Is it fair to blow in and out of his life like that?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Emma, I think it would be wise to maybe stay just for a few days. We'll call it a mini-vacation. I bet they have boats we can take out? I could take you sailing, we could hike in the woods, anything you'd like."

"I think right now I just want some cocoa and to curl up next to you," she admitted, a small flush rising on her cheeks.

Killian grinned at her. "I think I can help with that." He pushed the white gate open. "Come, Swan, let me buy you that cocoa. After you've had a drink we can decide if we're staying or going."

OUAT

XOXO

MAS