Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, darn it. I just write for them because it's fun.

"Greetings, Sheriff," Regina gave a smile as Emma came in with Bradyn in her arms, "Hello, Little Bradyn…Not sure how I feel about the town's lawman pulling double duty as a babysitter."

"I'm off duty," Emma bounced Bradyn about in her arms as the little boy cooed and waved, "I promised Robin and David that I'd talk to you about the new…"

"A new cruiser is not in this town's budget," Regina quickly halted the conversation.

"When is it ever going to be in the budget?" Emma gave a resigned sigh, "We need a new car."

"You're welcome to find something in this town's budget to cut," Regina held up a folder containing spreadsheets and various receipts. She was fairly confident Emma couldn't do what she'd been unable to do for several years. "Graham didn't have any trouble with the current cruiser."

"That was five years ago," Emma responded indignantly, "There is five years of additional wear and tear and no budget for even the simplest of things like routine maintenance. David has been playing mechanic, and as much as I love my father, he is most definitely not qualified."

"I'll take your request under advisement, but really the only way I see the police department gaining a new cruiser would be to either eliminate a salary or raise taxes," Regina replied.

"I'm not firing my father, and I'm pretty certain you won't be terminating your new hubby," Emma responded, her voice laced with sarcasm.

"I guess we are at an impasse," Regina responded calmly, "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No," Emma shook her head, "Have a good night."


"She is the most frustratingly obtuse woman in this town," Emma complained to her husband as they had dinner with two of their three children, "You'd think I'd asked for her kidney."

"What does obtuse mean?" Fallon stumbled to repeat the word while mostly pushed her meal around her plate.

"Stubborn," Killian chimed in.

"Like Mama," Fallon responded simply as the food on her plate slowly disappeared, whether it was making its way into her mouth was another story. Emma eyed her daughter's plate curiously, wondering if magic was at work to make the meal disappear.

"She has a point," Killian chuckled as Emma's jaw dropped in response to her daughter's observation.

"All I'm asking for is a new vehicle for the town," Emma recovered from her surprise.

"Speaking of new vehicles," Killian chimed in.

"No," Emma cut off his line of thinking just as Regina had done earlier.

Killian said nothing more. He wasn't going to win this argument. It wasn't his vehicle to replace. He never drove it. He preferred a much more reliable modes of transportation like his ship and the bicycle he'd become proficient in riding.

"All finished, Little Lad?" Killian watched his son spoon his last bite of dinner with his tiny fingers. Bradyn was still chewing when Killian lifted him out of his chair. "I'll get Bradyn cleaned up and ready for bed."

"Looks like it's you and me, Princess," Emma smiled and tapped her daughter's nose as they finished their meal, "You like the Yellow Bug, don't you?"

Fallon shrugged and kept eating. She wasn't too thrilled with the vehicle either, especially recently since it had started breaking down with her inside.

Emma and Fallon brought the dinner dishes into the kitchen to be washed.

"Go get cleaned up, Princess," Emma tapped at her nose, "We can watch a movie until bedtime."

Fallon darted off to get changed into her pajamas in eager anticipation.

"I'm sorry for my suggestions, Love," Killian wrapped his arms around her waist while she proceeded to do the dishes after setting a cleaned up Bradyn in his playpen a few steps away.

"You're concerned about me," Emma sighed, "It's a touching thought, but that car has seen me through a lot of tough times. I'm not ready to be rid of it."

"Not ready to be rid of it or the memories it stirs?" Killian nipped at her earlobe.

"This isn't about Neal," Emma was quick to assure him.

"That vehicle is how the two of you met," he reminded her.

"This isn't about Neal," Emma reiterated, "This is about all the other memories. It was waiting for me when I left prison. It was the one constant in my life for so many years. It brought me to Storybrooke. It brought me back to my family and in a roundabout way, brought me to you."

"For which I am most grateful," he kissed the juncture of her neck and shoulder.

"I guess despite all the happiness in my life, I'm not ready to let go of the past that brought me here," she sighed, "It would be like you giving up the Jolly Roger. If the Jolly Roger was falling apart, would you be able to let it go so easily?"

"You know I wouldn't," he responded, "I would do whatever was in my power to make her right again."

"I know I'm being silly about this. It's just a vehicle, and in this realm we replace them almost as quickly as we replace our shoes," Emma frowned.

"When you're ready," Killian massaged her shoulders while she was finishing up.

"Movie time," Fallon came running into the kitchen in her nightgown.

"How about you and Papa pick the movie while I finish up," Emma suggested, "I'll be there in a few moments. I'll bring Bradyn in with me."

Killian gently tilted her head to the side so he could capture her lips to signal the end of their minor disagreement while Fallon tried to pull him into the living room. Killian resisted for a few moments.

"We can make up more after the children are in bed," Emma assured him with a smile. Killian nodded and allowed his daughter to pull him away.

After drying the last of the dishes, Emma lifted Bradyn into her arms and brought them into the living room where the movie was being cued up. Like usual, Killian was struggling with the modern piece of electronics, so Fallon was the one pushing all the buttons.

"She's only three and more technologically savvy than you'll ever be," Emma curled up with Bradyn in her lap. The little boy's eye were already heavy, and he would be asleep in no time at all. "What are we watching?"

"Snow White," Fallon climbed onto the sofa with the remote in her hands and pushed the buttons to start the movie.

"You sure like Grammy's movie," Emma snickered as Fallon cuddled up with her father as the story started. Killian had been more protective of his daughter since the business with Wendy first started, and the little girl soaked up the attention like a sponge.

"The dwarves are funny," Fallon giggled.

As the movie played along, Emma spotted Fallon's eyes growing heavier and heavier until she was asleep. Bradyn had been out since the opening credits. Emma reached over to tap Killian's shoulder to draw his attention to the sleeping princess in his arms.

Killian lifted Fallon into his arms and brought her to bed. Emma did the same with Bradyn. They met in their bedroom.


"Come on, Princess, hop in," Emma urged her daughter into the backseat of her vehicle, "We need groceries before Papa gets home with Bradyn."

"No," Fallon refused her mother's request.

"This isn't a debate," Emma responded, "Hop in."

"No," Fallon refused for a second time.

Emma released a frustrated sigh and knelt before her daughter, "Why not?"

"No," was the only response Fallon would give.

"How else are we supposed to get groceries?" Emma tried to rationalize things with her stubborn three year old.

Fallon didn't care. She wasn't getting into the vehicle.

"Having some trouble, Sister?" Leroy happened upon the pair.

"She won't get in the car," Emma explained her frustrations.

"That doesn't sound like Princess Fallon," Leroy tried to offer some assistance to Emma, "A princess always does as she's told by her parents."

"No," Fallon held firm.

"Clearly she hasn't taken to royal training," Emma sighed, "We need groceries."

"I can watch her," Leroy offered, "Groceries can't take too long."

"Are you sure?" Emma winced at the suggestion, "She's a handful when she's in a good mood."

"We'll be fine, right, Princess Fallon?" Leroy replied.

"Yep," Fallon nodded. She would have agreed to nearly anything if it meant she didn't have to get into her mother's vehicle.

"Okay," Emma responded hesitantly, "I'll be gone for an hour at most. If anything happens, you can call my cell."

"Bye, Mama," Fallon waved at her mother and then grasped Leroy's hand to bring him into the cottage where she intended to have a tea party.

Emma got into her vehicle and drove off.

Killian arrived with Bradyn half way through the tea party in which Fallon had gotten Leroy to wear some of the more embarrassing accessories she had in her toy chest. Leroy blushed crimson. Killian tried his hardest not to laugh while lowering Bradyn into his playpen. "Been there, Mate…How did this tea party come about?"

"The sheriff needed groceries and the princess here wouldn't go for a ride in Emma's carriage," Leroy explained, "I happened upon them and offered to look after the girl. The princess wanted a tea party, so we had one."

"And the…accessories?" Killian waved towards the feather boa, flowered hat and sparkly bangles.

"Aren't they pretty?" Fallon chimed in as she ran over and extended her arms to her father so she could give him a proper greeting. "Hi, Papa."

"Hello, Little Love," Killian accepted the repetitive kisses to his cheeks she was giving him, "Thank you for your assistance. I'll buy you a pint next time we see you at Granny's."

"Appreciate that," Leroy quickly removed his accessories on his way to the door, depositing them into Fallon's tiny hands.

"Bye, Leroy," Fallon waved him away.

"Didn't want to go shopping with your mum?" Killian bounced Fallon to get her attention.

Fallon shook her head and hugged him around the neck. Just as he was about to close the door he heard the screeching of tires not too far away and then a loud bang. Killian looked out the door to see yellow metal wrapped around a light post.

"Emma," Killian gasped as he set Fallon on her feet, "Stay here, Little Love."

Killian took off running towards the wreckage as smoke began billowing from the engine. Emma was conscious but disoriented.

"Emma, Love, are you okay?" Killian tried to pry open the door with no luck.

"I…I think so," Emma stammered out before she took inventory.

"Sheriff Swan, are you alright?" Leroy came running towards them, having heard the noise on his walk back to town.

"Leroy, call for help," Killian noticed the phone in the one time dwarf's pocket. The door wouldn't budge. Emma's head rolled forward. Killian quickly reached in and stabilized her neck. "Stay with me, Love."

Emma came back into consciousness at his urging.

Soon the fire truck rolled onto the scene, and they were able to get Emma out of the vehicle and onto a stretcher just as David and Robin rolled onto the scene in the police cruiser.

"What happened?" David asked while Emma was being loaded into the ambulance.

"I heard tires screech and then a loud bang. I ran out and saw Emma's vehicle wrapped around this pole," Killian explained.

"No questions," the paramedic, Moe, stated, "We need to get the sheriff to the hospital."

"Fallon and Bradyn are in the cottage," Killian told his father-in-law before stepping into ambulance.

"They'll be well looked after," David closed the ambulance doors and pounded on them to let the driver know he could take off.

"Where's Papa?" Fallon asked when David came into the cottage where Fallon was drawing at her little table.

"He had to take Mama to the hospital because she got an ouchie," David picked her up.

Bradyn picked that moment to cry out. Robin crossed the room and lifted him out of his playpen, bouncing around to calm him, putting the lessons he'd learned with raising Roland to good use.

"Mama be okay?" Fallon's head came to rest against David's shoulder when Mary Margaret burst into the cottage with her son in tow.

"What happened?" Mary Margaret looked around the cottage nervously, "Leo and I were driving down the street and saw Emma's car is wrapped around a pole."

"That's to be determined," David responded, "They were loading Emma into the ambulance when Robin and I came in. They needed someone to watch the children."

"It's okay, Bradyn," Mary Margaret's motherly instinct kicked in, and she took a crying Bradyn into her arms and tried her hand at soothing him. "I'm sure Mama is going to be just fine."

"Robin, will you stay with Mary Margaret and the children?" David asked, "I'll go to the hospital and get updates."

"Yes," Robin took Fallon from David's arms.

"Mama will be just fine," David assured his granddaughter a second time before he kissed her cheek and then took off.

TBC…