Wow guys! 33 new followers since the last chapter! I am blown away, seriously, thank you so much! (Though if each of you guys could review I'd be immensely happy... just an idea...)

Thanks to Boudicca1 and EruditeRavenclawCompanion for reviewing too.

So, what'd you guys think of this week's episode? The last scene? I for one have been waiting for Killian to go in for a kiss and I'm so not dissappointed. So, now that Emma's admitted to what's been holding her back do you think she'll stop pulling away? How do you think the Snow Queen knows Emma? What do you think of Will being back in Storybrooke?

I have my own thoughts/ideas of course but I'd love to hear yours xD

Enjoy!

Remember, bold italics are just signing. If a character is signing and speaking then the narrative will tell you when they start signing.

A

Henry laughed, pulling my focus away from trying to figure out who the guy Emma was talking to at the counter was. Certainly not one of Snow White's most trusted allies, but that didn't necessarily make him a villain… He was probably just someone I'd never met.

"What?" I asked the kid.

"She's right you know. You did tease her about never having a real date last night. Besides, if she does like that guy surely that'd make it easier to convince her that we should stay here," he reasoned.

"You're a smart kid Henry," I smiled. After all these years he still surprised me, "but as much as I want for us all to stay here, I don't want it to be because of some sleazy guy."

"How do you know he's sleazy? You don't know him. Is this how you get every time Mom meets a guy? No wonder she doesn't date," the kid laughed, and I couldn't help but smile.

"That's not why she doesn't date, buddy," as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realised I shouldn't have even hinted to that topic.

Is it because of my dad? I swallowed thickly with guilt, both because of my role in the pain Neal caused Emma and because I knew that Henry only resorted to just signing when he was upset or nervous (or scheming, but clearly that wasn't the case here).

"Has your Mom ever talked about him?" I asked. I'd always liked it that Henry felt he could come to me with things, but this… this wasn't my conversation to have.

I asked about him once, it was a long time ago. When we still lived in NY. She just said that she lost contact with him before she found out she was pregnant. Did you know him?

"I…" I hesitated, Henry didn't seem to have inherited Emma's super power, but I still didn't want to lie to the kid. "I reconnected with your mom when you were one Henry. Just before you got sick. I can only tell you what your mom told me, but this is really something to ask her about. Not me."

It upsets her though.

"Talk out loud buddy. It's ok. She's talking to the sheriff," I encouraged. "I know you don't want to upset her and it isn't something that she likes talking about. I also know that your mom would rather you get the story from her than you keep wondering like she has to; I'm pretty sure she'd be pissed if I told you any of the few details I know. It took a long time for her to open up to me, buddy. I don't want to betray that trust, even to you. Do you understand?"

Henry nodded and went back to his cocoa. He was silent for a few minutes but decided to change the subject. "Still, you can't get all protective of mom just for talking to the guy. She was only getting a drink."

"The two of them said an awful lot in very close proximity for just ordering a coffee."

Before Henry could answer Emma slumped into the seat next to me. "I am perfectly capable of handling a guy hitting on me August. You don't have to give him the death glare." Henry laughed again.

"I thought it was us boys that ganged up against your mom," I pouted at the kid, good naturedly. "Traitor."

Emma just rolled her eyes. "Do you to think you can entertain yourselves this morning? Apparently Danny ran off again. I offered to help find him."

"Can't I come with you? I liked Danny," Henry asked, hopefully.

"You stay with your uncle kid. I'm sure you'll get another chance to hang out with him again. Besides, Uncle August was off gallivanting for nearly six months, this time. I'm sure you two have loads to catch up on, still."

"But I'd rather have an adventure with you than just hear about the ones he has without me!"

"Henry," I cut in. "Let your mom go. You don't know where Danny is. If he's in danger the last thing anyone needs is for you to get caught up in it as well. Don't worry, we'll have plenty of adventures here," I smiled.

"A week guys," Emma cut in sternly. "You two seem to be forgetting that we're only staying a week. So get your adventures in quick, without getting your selves killed."

"Geez Mom, why'd you have to take the fun out of it," Henry pouted and neither of us could help laughing.

"You ready?" the accented voice of the sheriff asked from behind us.

Emma nodded and gave me a one armed hug before she got up to kiss Henry's hair. "Be good. I'll be back as soon as we get the kid home."

With a few waves and farewells, I followed Emma and the sheriff out with my eyes, wondering if we could trust him. Sure he seemed like an alright guy but the Evil Queen wouldn't put one of the good guys in a position of power, right?

"You have the big brother look again," Henry pointed out with a small, knowing grin. "You don't think anyone is good enough for her do you?"

"We're not here for your mom to find a boyfriend, little man." I avoided his question. It's not that I didn't want Emma to find someone who would make her happy, because I wanted that for her more than anything. But I'd brought her and Henry to Storybrooke to break the curse. I couldn't let Emma get distracted by guys with accents. "So, what do you want to explore first? The town or the beach?"

"I wanna go up the clock tower!" Henry announced, suddenly buzzing with excitement.

I couldn't help but laugh.

.

.

.

E

The Mayor made it very clear that she wasn't happy that I was even in town, yet alone in her house, helping to look for her son. I sat in the desk chair, going through the kid's emails and recent files.

"This is a waste of time!" she barked, whether at me or Graham I wasn't sure because I was really trying my best to block her out. "You should be out there, looking for my son instead of sat here, humouring this… well who knows what she is. She could be a criminal before all we know!"

"I'm a bail bondsperson actually. You're welcome to run a security check but the bottom line is I find people who are better at hiding than a ten year old boy a lot faster than it takes for your sheriff to single-handedly check everywhere in town. Now, Danny only seems to email one person. A M. M. Blanchard. It looks like a city email address. Do you know who that is?" I looked up at the Mayor. If possible her eyes filled with even more fury. So I guess that's a yes.

"She's Daniel's teacher. The school lets the students email their homework. You've found nothing, Miss Swan. Have a nice drive back to wherever you came from." With that she held the bedroom door open, clearly expecting me to leave.

"These last few emails don't have attachments though." I opened the links and quickly read through the conversation. "Danny was adopted?" thought out loud more than asked, but his mother exploded.

"How dare you! That is personal information that is quite frankly none of your business! How did you even know that?" she fumed, stepping closer to me in a way that was clearly meant to be intimidating.

"Danny wrote it in his emails. It's about some family tree assignment he hasn't handed in. Read for yourself." I turned the screen towards her and almost felt sorry for her when she swallowed hard reading 'I don't have family'.

When she straightened, without saying anything – there's a first for everything - I pulled out the drive with my recovery unit on it and plugged it in to the computer. After scrolling through his internet history I unplugged my USB drive and shut off the computer.

"He hasn't made any attempt to find his biological parents, at least not online, but I doubt a kid his age would know how to go about finding records any other way. But I know a thing or two about orphans and adopted kids, if he's feeling this way then chances are he has a place he likes to go. It'll be somewhere he feels safe, but nothing to do with you. Somewhere that's his, y'know?" I looked between the sheriff and mayor.

"The only places Daniel goes without me are school and to his therapy sessions. His safe place is in this house with his mother." She glared, clearly refusing to believe that the kid could need anything she hadn't given him. "As I said, this was a waste of time. You have found nothing, Miss Swan, so I'd like you to get out of my house, collect your brat and your boyfriend and get the hell out of my town."

I stood from the chair and got in her face, showing I wasn't the least bit intimidated. "You don't have to listen to me, even though you're being stupid and endangering your son by ignoring me." She opened her mouth to argue but I didn't give her chance. "No! I'm talking now! You don't have to let me stay in your house and I couldn't give a crap as to whether you like me or not. But the last I checked, there was no law against visiting Storybrooke. So I'm going to stay in town however long I like, and considering my brother is trying to convince me to move here, that could well be a very long time. So I'd get used to it if I were you." I walked out the door calling a mocking "Madam Mayor," over my shoulder.