Sloth: In all honesty, this is slowly turning into something out of crime show. Which also makes me think I should do a separate fic of just Rodger, Emma, and Graham solving some crime in Storybrooke. You know, before -draws line over neck-. Might. But before that, they've gotta get through their first case together involving Ben. Which means, yes, Graham will be sticking around for a while.
Which brings me to some questions that I was asked. One from a guest asking if Rodger is Eugene from Tangled and if we'd see Rapunzel and his kids. The short answer is, no. I haven't read the books and most of the Descendants characters come from the film while the adults are from ONCE.
A Follow up to another question for those familiar with Rodger on how he got to Storybrooke in season 1, well its simple. This is an AU in part of the Descendant kids and how their existence affect their parents. And despite how people may feel about Hook, you can't deny that he cares about his kids. As to whether there will be Captain Swan, I don't know yet, but if it happens, I will be sure to make it happen a lot more naturally than in the show. I hope that clear things up.
Now, on with the show!
Chapter Eleven. Charming
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Storybrooke, November 3rd, 2011
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When she was a bail bonds person, Emma rarely had a stressful day. She was usually able to stakeout a person days before going out for the catch. Nine times out of ten, she was the one in control of the situation. And when she did have a stressful day, it was usually because her target either outsmarted her or she tripped over something like an idiot.
But today was one of those rare stressful days. The kind of stress you got when you've been pushed down a hill while inside one of those inflatable hamster balls. It started out nice and fine until her colleague, Eugene Rodger, gave her that little push in the form of a possible child abuse case. And just like magic, her good day went south fast.
She didn't know much about Rodger. Hell, she just met him a few hours ago. But from that first meeting, she'd gather enough to make an impression of him. For one, he was way too dramatic to be a cop. And while he had a flare for storytelling, she seriously doubted he lost his hand to a crocodile. And his little act of pretending to be serious was charming at first, but she really hoped he didn't do it all the time. However, when he started telling her about Ben, she saw something in him that kind of unsettled her. His eyes held so much anger in it. He wasn't pretending to be serious or playing around with her. He was serious, holding back a fire in him that if it went unchecked, someone was going to get hurt.
As he told her of the situation, Emma couldn't help but pay attention. Mostly because the subject was a little too close to home. She didn't know much about Moe French, but from Rodger's description, the guy sounded like your regular high functioning drunk. Moe was a regular patron at the Rabbit's Hole, the town bar. And he apparently had the habit of dragging his grandson off by the ear. The description alone was enough to make Emma's stomach curl with flashes of a time long ago.
But the sad truth of the matter was, whether she believed Rodger or not, there was no substantial evidence. A bruise on the arm and a kid's behavior wasn't enough to draw up a warrant. Even when Rodger tried to talk to Graham when the sheriff returned from picking up his nephew, the deputy couldn't get a warrant for Moe's arrest.
"Moe's an arse but even he wouldn't hurt his own grandson," Graham had tried to reason. Rodger had snorted at the half-hearted reasoning.
"Just because someone appears to be a gentleman in public, doesn't mean they are behind closed doors," he said, bitterness dripping with each word. "You know I've got great intuition. I'm right about this one, Graham."
"Right or not, without enough evidence, we won't even be able to hold the man," Graham countered.
They had gone back and forth for well over thirty minutes, Rodger's hot headed fury against Graham's calm reasoning. At one point they tried to get Emma to side with them. That's when she decided to get text from Mary Margaret about a non-existent toaster fire and bail out with the last donut.
Her journey back was too quiet, filled with lingering thoughts she'd rather forget about. But the problem with lingering thoughts was they never gave up. Even when she filled the Bug with some music, all she could think about was her past. Back then, she had been a helpless bystander whose neighbor was used as a punching bag. But now she was an adult, an authority figure who had the power to stop the bad guys. And yet the only thing stopping her was semantics. And god did she hate that. When she was bails bond person, she didn't have to deal with technicalities and evidence, she just had to get the guy. And this new found restraint, this inability to do something, it ate at her. By the time she got back to the apartment, all she wanted to do was find her bed and sleep until noon.
"Long day?"
"You've no idea," Emma sighed as she crossed the threshold to meet Mary Margaret at the kitchen island. Sitting across from the raven haired woman, Emma only had to take one glance to realize she wasn't the only one who had a bad day. Mary Margaret looked like she was seconds away from shoving all the homework aside and call it a day herself. Emma gave her a sympathetic look. "You wanna go first or should I?"
"By all means, you first," Mary Margaret said as she offered some homemade hot cocoa. "Maybe it'll make me feel less like a bad person."
Emma tried not to comment and instead took the offered drink. She took one sip, her taste buds lingering on the bitter sweet dark chocolate. "Breaking into the good stuff huh? Today must have been really bad."
"Did you know the capital of Florida was Atlanta?" Mary Margaret asked as she stared at Emma. She picked up one of the test papers, examining with a crestfallen gaze. "Or how about the capital of Maine is actually Kentucky. I didn't know that and we live in Maine."
"Ouch."
"I just don't understand. I know they know the answers, but it's like as soon as they start taking the test…" Mary Margaret sighed, resting her head in her arms. "I don't know what to do."
Emma gave her roommate a sympathetic pat on the elbow. She wasn't exactly the greatest test taker herself. She recalled too many tests that ended with stress and anxiety. And it wasn't like Mary Margaret was one of those teachers that got angry with her kids who failed. She genuinely wanted them to do well.
"Kids huh?"
"Not exactly helpful," Mary Margaret chuckled.
"Sorry. Having a bit of a kid issue myself."
"Did someone get in trouble?" It looked like Emma had her undivided attention. Not that she enjoyed being put on the spot. She stared at her cocoa, trying to find the words. Just when it seemed like she couldn't quite explain the dilemma, a thought struck her.
"Hey, do you know a Ben French?"
"Ben? Uh, yeah. He's a student at the prep school. He also delivers flowers for the hospital. Why? Is he in trouble?"
"Does he usually get in trouble?"
"What? God no. He's the sweetest. And really shy. Emma, what's this about?"
"You know Deputy Rodger right?"
"Yeah. Did he start back today? I thought it would take a bit longer to recover from a wood chipper," Mary Margaret mused. Emma snorted.
"Sort of. He stopped by for a chat and to report a possible crime. What can you tell me about Moe French?" This time Mary Margaret's reply didn't involve words. Bitterness shifted across her face that was followed by a heavy sigh. "That bad of a guy, huh?"
"Moe is…very rude. He calls me your majesty with this condescending tone." A moment of pause and the school teacher seem to connect the dots. "Wait. Emma what does this have to do with Ben?"
"Rodger seems to think Moe's hitting his grandson. Graham doesn't want to look into it without some more evidence."
"And you?"
"I think I need to give Graham his evidence," Emma replied, a smile forming on her face. Seeing a similar smile forming on Mary Margaret's face, Emma couldn't help but feel pride bubble in her chest. It was time for Emma to get to work.
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Snow White's Castle, 3 Months Before the Curse
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There were a lot of things expecting mothers had to worry about. Would the baby be healthy? Would she make it through the birth? Would she be a good mother? But Snow White doubted any of those expecting mothers ever had to worry about their step-mother's impending curse.
Each passing day, Snow would wake and hold her breath, hoping against hope that Regina had given up on her desperate attempt at revenge. But it was like hoping the sun wouldn't rise in the morning. Regina was hell bent on casting her curse no matter what.
She rubbed her swollen belly, waiting for the soft kick of little Emma. "It's ok, baby. It'll work out in the end."
She hummed softly, hoping Emma would memorize the melody. Blue said that babies loved music and Snow wanted Emma to have everything. Love, attention, happiness. She was getting into the music herself when a crowing interrupted her. Her eyes snapped open at the sound. She scanned her room until her gaze fell upon a raven that was patiently waiting for her on the balcony. Wrapped around its leg was a scrolled note tied neatly with a red ribbon.
"Phobos," Snow gasped as she saw the bird. She stood up from her chair and nearly leapt towards the raven. The bird only ruffled its dark feathers, crowing impatiently. Diligently, Snow untied the note before petting the bird's head. "Thank you. A gift of thanks."
She gave the raven a piece of her barely touched breakfast bread. It happily squawked before taking off into the air. She smiled a s she watched the raven take off. It must be nice to be so free. But she didn't have time to dwell for long. She unrolled the note, recognizing Evie's delicate hand writing. Thinking of her step-sister, Snow placed a hand on her belly. "You've got a brave auntie, you know that, Emma?"
Snow's eyes went over the letter, reading them once before rereading them again. She had read the letter a third time when Charming walked into their room.
"Is that a letter from Evelyn?" he asked as he joined her on their bed.
"Yes. They made it to the Dark Castle, but Dopey's heart wasn't there. It was put somewhere else," she sighed as she leaned into her husband's broad shoulder. "Apparently Rumplestiltskin has several vaults hidden across the realms. They're heading to one of them now."
"Which one? Maybe we can send some troops to assist."
Snow chuckled, leaning closer to him. Feeling the warmth of his body felt good and a gentle kick from Emma told her that their daughter also wanted to be closer to Charming. Not wanting to disappoint, she took his hands and placed them on her belly. "You're too kind, Charming. But she didn't say. Only that they've picked up a new travel companion and are safe."
"So it's the usual," he laughed. "Your sister's quite the friendly traveler."
"Yes. She is," Snow agreed. But her heart ached. Regina's words still haunted her despite it being nearly a year since she told Snow the truth. The truth about what happened to Daniel and the truth about Evie. At the time, she wanted to deny it. She didn't want to believe that her actions had not only caused the death of someone, but also took away Evie's real father. She wanted to believe that Regina was just trying to be cruel, because how could she have spent years growing up with someone who wasn't her biological sister? But she saw the angry passion in Regina's eyes. The truth in her gaze.
At first, the revelation had hurt. It had made her distant from Evie. But not because she couldn't see them as sisters anymore. Even if Evie wasn't her sister by blood, they were sisters by love and that was all that matter to Snow. What caused the growing distance was the uncertainty of what would happen when Evie knew the truth. The truth that Snow was the reason Evie's father was dead.
Regina obviously didn't tell Evie the truth for whatever reason. Snow guessed because Regina wanted to protect Evie from that kind of pain. But now that Snow knew…well Evie deserved the truth. But at what cost? Was it fair to tell her? But who was she to deny Evie the truth?
And if she couldn't figure out something like this with her sister, how would she fair as a mother? Would there be a time where she'd have to keep a secret from Emma? Could she keep something like that from Emma? If she failed her sister, would she also fail her daughter?
The questions kept coming and she didn't realize she was crying until Charming wiped a tear away. "Snow? What's wrong?" he asked, his soft concern pulling at her heart. His eyes held onto her gaze and all she saw was kindness, concern, and love. She broke their eye contact so she could lay her head on his chest, shifting positions ever so slightly so that the sound of his heart echoed in her ear.
"I just miss her," she told him. A half-truth that would cover up for tears of uncertainty. "I want our family to be together."
"We will. If she's anything like you, she'll find her way back to us."
Snow smiled. "We'll always find each other."
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Storybrooke, November 4th, 2011
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"Evie!"
The Raven haired girl stopped and turned to Emma. The blond was glad to catch the girl not long after Henry got on his bus. She would be able to talk to the younger girl without exposing Henry to something he would surely get too curious about. The last thing she needed was Regina coming at her for exposing Henry to an investigation.
"Oh, Deputy Swan. Good morning."
"Emma's fine."
"Um. Ok. What can I do for you, Emma?"
"You go to school with Ben French, right?"
"Uh, yeah," Evie replied. The raven haired girl suddenly became slightly anxious, catching Emma's attention. "Is he in trouble?"
"No," Emma replied. At least Emma hoped not. "What can you tell me about him?"
Evie eyed Emma for a second. She could almost see the same inquisitive gaze Henry often got when he was onto something. She found it cute that the two of them could wear matching expressions. "Not much I'm afraid. Ben's really shy. He…"
Evie seem to struggle for the words. Emma could tell that she wanted to say something, but the words didn't seem to want to come out. Emma gave the younger girl a warm smile, trying to encourage her. Emma's life as a kid might have sucked, but it at least gave her an understanding on how kids wanted to be treated.
"Ben's sort of…has this fear of being touched," Evie finally said.
"Fear?"
"I once gave him a hug and he stopped moving for a good minute. And he flinches whenever someone gets near him," she explained.
Emma made sure to keep that in mind. In all honesty, combined with what she already knew, the picture she was putting together in her head wasn't looking pretty. But hunches weren't going to be good enough.
"How long have you known him?"
"Personally? Um…Actually come to think of it, I hadn't really started talking to him until recently. Weird."
"But you know enough, right?"
"Yeah. We have lockers next to each other and share the same lunch schedule," Evie said. "He also delivers flowers after school and during the weekend." She added.
Emma raised an eyebrow. She didn't think a florist would be selling flowers every day, but Storybrooke often or not surprised her. "Thanks, Evie. You've been a lot of help."
"No problem, Emma."
She was ready to leave and let Evie head on to her school when the girl came back to her.
"Uh…Emma. Um, there is one thing," she hesitated.
"Yeah?"
Evie was fidgeting, playing with her wrist. Once again, Emma could see the younger girl wanting to speak up, but this time, there was something stopping her. Like she had some really juicy secret and was struggling with herself on trying not to let the secret out. Emma wanted to encourage Evie to continue, but before she could, the younger girl just shook her head.
"Never mind. Have a good day." She said before turning and walking off, leaving Emma to ponder what Evie was going to tell her.
But he'd have to follow up later. Right now she had a plan forming in her head. But she'd need a little help first. Pulling out her phone, she dialed the number she had acquired from her newest colleague.
"Eugene. Hey, how about we get Graham some flowers?"