A ONCE UPON A TIME fanfic

Storybrooke- Part 6

NOTE: This chapter guest stars Laura Foster, a member of the OUAT database (the link is easily found on the FACEBOOK PAGE=ONCE UPON A TIME FANS) also on twitter ONCEUPONAFAN. Laura is TheCheekyGirl. This is her in my own rendition of her in Storybrooke.

ALSO: The rest of the team from the site will be featured in a future chapter.

FOLLOW ME on twitter if you want ShiGoodfield.

Emma sat on the counter at Mary Margaret's while Gareth checked her vitals. "Again, thanks for helping me out of the mine."

Gareth laughed. "Um no. Thank you for miraculously healing- you go about 5 hours unconscious and here you are, fine and dandy. I thought we were going to have a serious problem here. I'm not exactly trained in spider bite treatments."

Mary Margaret enters. "Huh. And here I thought you knew it all."

"Hey, it's not something I can't find time to learn." Gareth rebuked.

"Mom! This Cobra meeting is gonna have to come to an end soon. 'Mother Mayor's' time limit is up in about ten minutes." Henry rushed in while finishing off his ice cream.

Emma nodded and jumped down from the counter. "I feel completely fine, I even went right back to work this morn-"

Mary stopped her. "Yes, we know. Um...how is Mr. Gold anyway?" Mary wasn't exactly fond of Mr. Gold but she felt that he was a valuable key in keeping the thug, who had no qualms in taking her home and harming her, away.

Emma frowned. "He could be better- Regina is over at the station chatting away with him. Hence the temporary lift on her 'restraining order'. Ooo- That reminds me." She removed the frosty treat she'd boughten for Mr. Gold out from the freezer, he did ask nicely. "We should be headed back now anyway; it takes like five minutes from here to the station."

There was a knock at the door- it was Regina. "Sorry to cut this visit a little short, but my questioning Gold is done for today." She entered without invite and peered around the room.

Emma knew that her being in the hospital and the mine incident were supposed to be kept secret so she lunged to cover Gareth's equipment; she was startled to see it all covered with a bake sale banner- and that Gareth had already slipped on his 'disguise' glasses. "Evening Madam Mayor." He said with a friendly smile. "As you can see, still getting our act together- for the fair tomorrow."

Regina eyed everything twice-over. "Yes, I see that. Very- nice." She took Henry and left.

Gareth said his goodbyes, as did Emma before heading back to see Gold.

She found him with his head leaning back against the wall before he made his way over to the bars as she entered. "Are you okay, Sheriff?" Concern with her health after last night was understandable but what occurred tonight was more troubling to Emma.

"Am I okay? Are you- you could've killed Mr. French! And who is this girl- I need to know." Gold seemed to let her words pass over him like they'd never been spoken.

"Where's my ice cream?" Emma sighed- a bit exhaustedly- and gave him the treat before going to sit in the secluded office by the entrance, deep in thought and occasionally watching him eat.

"Join the club."

A women with fire-red cherry red hair entered the office holding a wicker basket. Emma recognized her as a volunteer, not only at the hospital, but wherever help was needed.

Emma smiled. "Hello, Laura." Laura seemed pleased that Emma (still a bit of a new comer) recognized her although they'd never spoken more than a few times and not really one on one, until today. But honestly, who could forget such unique hair and flamboyant personality, in an otherwise placid town.

"Heya, Emma. Ahem- I mean Sheriff Swan." She giggled a bit, Emma liked her humor. "As your probably wondering -'What's in the basket?'- well I'll show you." She moved over to the desk and pulled back the cloth on the basket. Inside were key chains of small yarn woven dolls in cute little suits- miniature Mr. Golds.

"Um...what are these for?" She let herself admit the likeness was remarkable- she'd seen some of Granny's work (little bears), but this would give her a run for her money.

"I'm going around and selling these little cuties to raise money for Gold's bail." She inched the basket closer to Emma. "I know you want one..."

"Laura, I haven't even put up a 'bail' or anything- I haven't even filed charges yet." As Emma said this Laura's smile widened.

"Yipee! So there is still hope!"

"Hm, I guess so. Anyhow, what is this 'club' you mentioned. Like a Mr. Gold fan club?" Emma eyed the dolls. "Because if I recall, not many people like to be in the same room with him..."

Laura in the meantime, was eying Mr. Gold- and nearly seemed to explode with joy when she caught his glance. She was excited that he was trying to figure out what they were discussing- he was being a bit obvious. "O no, Ms. Swan. You see, Gold has a bit of an underlying fan club here in Storybrooke. Sure he keeps to himself and always seems to be brooding over something but something about that makes him appealing- ha not to mention the accent and good looks."

Emma noticed a small smile cross Gold's face as he watched the floor and she also realized the office door had been left open. Gold's smile was gone as quick as it came- definably brooding about something...

Laura continued. "There just has to be a girl out there that he wants back." She looked Emma over. "You perhaps?"

Emma blushed and clutched her arms close to her- she was still clutching one of the dolls.

Laura noticed. "You can keep that one free of charge. Just keep my Gold out of the 'bank'. Ha ha, interpret that however you may. See ya at the fair!" She said as she walked out the door. Emma nodded with an awkward smile, her face hot.

Bargaining- Laura was definably one of Mr. Gold's 'fans'.

Emma slipped the doll in her pocket and went over to Mr. Gold's cell, pretending he didn't hear a single word of her and Laura's discussion. "It's almost one o'clock in the morning, how are you not asleep?" She blinked away at her own sleepiness.

"You were attacked by enough spiders to cripple even the mightiest of men. How are you still alive?" He leaned forward as if intimidation would make an otherwise non-existent answer appear.

Emma felt an unexpected jolt in her chest and looked down at the floor, sitting on the arm of the couch by the cell was a bad choice on her part- he was too close. She felt his warm breath sweep over her cold fingers that were comfortably hanging on the bars. "I-"

The room filled with 'dead air' as she couldn't make a comeback, or ask a question, or even a quip. Her eyes settled on his black leather shoes, they reminded her of wet pavement in the moonlight- they reminded her of a road on which she once traveled;

Her mind went adrift. The image of a long black cane suddenly consumed her mind's eye. It was so similar to Mr. Gold's cane but it was in a memory from long before she met him. A terrible and clouded memory- like a nightmare that was always there when she got lost deep in thought. A memory of her screams tore at her heart.

"Emma..." Emma looked up from Gold's shoes, they were reminding her too much of that night.

"You almost killed...that man.." She knew she meant to say Mr. French but it didn't sound right. Mr. Gold had a brief moment of pity- or grief flash across his features. "I gotta go." Emma suddenly felt very exposed, the floor felt like it was going to disintegrate beneath her feet.

Mr. Gold called after her again but she ignored it and went home.

"Happy Valentines Day to me"

When she returned to the apartment she found Mary Margaret watching Disney's Snow White- Emma let herself smirk at the ironicalness of it all but then saw Mary's eyes were twinkling with tears; and she was singing hushed along with her pastel counterpart on the song "Someday my prince will come". Clearly something went wrong with David.

Mary was also holding a very familiar wicker basket.

"Hiiii, Emma!" Laura flicked a small ball of tin chocolate wrapping and then led Emma casually into the kitchen. "Mary bought the whole basket of my 'Little Goldies'." She nudged Emma's arm. "You two got a competition going on?" Laura was joking- she was after all one of the onlookers who's seen Mary and David's public lip lock.

Emma also hypothesized that Mary bought the basket of Gold's bailout dollies to quicken the process of Gold's release- the sooner he was out the safer she'd feel, especially after she knew the physical damage he could dish out. "Laura I told you there was no bail."

"Hey as long as I'm spreading Golden joys." The sound of Mary blowing her nose caught Emma's ears. "Um yeah, there was a bit of a complication with David-" Laura began to continue but Mary called out to Emma.

"Emma!" Emma sat beside Mary. "Emma, you must have felt the sting of loves lies, tell me, about Henry's father- you must have loved him once upon a time...what happened?" The question was pretty gutsy for Mary but hey love can suck that bad sometimes.

Emma sighed. "I got pregnant on my eighteenth birthday- if you haven't already done the math. I was...attacked in an alleyway- god every time I think about the memory it bleeds and blurs out of perspective." Emma held her suddenly clammy hand to her forehead. "They got me drunk." She began to tear up. "I ended up in jail a few days later- apparently I killed them. And in court- not knowing what to do- I simply pleaded it was self-defense. You see, I couldn't remember a damn thing. It felt so sudden that cops showed up at my door 3 days later claiming they'd found some of my DNA at the crime scene-"

Mary's eyes widened detecting an injustice. "Hell yes it was self-defense! Didn't they test you?"

Emma's heart throbbed in anger now. "Yes, they tested me but the 'traces' couldn't be tracked back to anyone- like they didn't exist! Plus I had no bruises or anything- nothing but the blood of the dead men found on my shirt. And because most of the events are blurry to me- they claimed I was on something!"

Mary and Laura moved to comfort Emma- whom was clutching a pillow tight and yelling as she spoke- fighting back tears. The emotional walls she'd built up over the years were crumbling like sand between her fingers. "All I remember is leaving the party and partially the attack- no faces, nothing- not even the three days between the crime and the punishment." She let herself huddles back into a group hug. This was a nice place to be- with a 'mother' and with a 'friend' by her side. "Whoever it was...that is Henry's father. Thank god the judge- having no other choice because he couldn't choose guilty or not- I had to spend some time in jail. I know I said I was seventeen but the judged kept it hushed and fibbed so I wouldn't go to big time jail for a crime I may or may not have committed. And I swear to you I did not kill those men! I don't want Henry to know ever."

"Relax Emma, we believe you." Just like Mary to take a leap of faith.

"At least Sidney wasn't able to do any more snooping, especially since he's on your side now." Laura insisted.

Emma grimaced a little- she wasn't sure that allegiance was set in stone just yet.