Prompt: AU: Emma and Henry are put in charge of a 5 year old Regina Mills.

"What've we got?" Detective Emma Swan asks as she ducks under the crime scene tape to enter the house where her partner, Detective Ruby Lucas, already is.

"Looks like a pretty standard murder-suicide, but I'll know more once I get the bodies back to the morgue." Dr. David Nolan, the medical examiner, explains.

"Rubes?" Emma's eyes take in the crime scene, trying to pick up on any details that may be important to the case.

"No sign of forced entry. I've got some of the guys out canvassing, but so far, it seems like Dr. Nolan is right. Neighbors heard them fighting, said it wasn't unusual for these two, so they didn't bother calling. There've been at least five domestic calls here in the past year alone. It wasn't until they heard the shots that they called. And by that time…" Ruby motions to the ground where the bodies are already covered.

"Yeah." Emma sighs, shaking her head. On one hand, this was an open and shut case, but on the other, she hated to see things go wrong like this. "So what, the husband finally had enough and shot her, then couldn't handle it and offed himself?"

"More like the other way around." David says, lifting up the covering for Emma to see. "Husband's been shot at least three times. Wife only has one wound, to the head."

"Jesus." Emma hisses, her eyes still moving around the room. There's something niggling at the back of her mind, but she can't figure out what it is.

"What's wrong, Ems?" Ruby asks, noticing her partner's look.

"I don't know. Just – I'm missing something."

It's when David is loading the body bags onto the stretchers that Emma realizes what it is that she's missed. "Oh no."

"Emma?"

"No, no, no." Emma murmurs to herself even as she moves through the house, back the hall to a small bedroom. It's empty, but only serves to prove her instincts right. "Shit." She rubs her hands over her face before starting back through the house, this time her senses on overdrive. Finding people is what she's good at and right now, there's someone she's got to find.

"Everybody shut up." She calls out, waiting until something like silence descends on the house before she keeps moving. It's when she passes the small closet that she hears it. It's so soft she thinks she could be imagining it, but her gut tells her she's not.

"Detective Swan? What is it?" Another officer asks, but she waves him away as she carefully opens the closet door.

"Oh god." Ruby whispers when the light hits the closet, revealing what's inside.

Emma kneels down slowly and carefully holds out her hand. "Hi, sweetheart. My name's Emma. I'm here to help you, okay?" She says softly as she takes in the frightened expression on the little girl's face. "Will you come out here to me? I won't hurt you, I promise."

The little girl continues to cry, but she flies out of the closet, clinging to Emma with all the strength her little body can muster.

"Shit!" Sean, one of the officers that's been out canvassing, bursts in then. "Neighbors just said that there's a daughter. Regina. She's five."

"Yeah." Ruby sighs as she helps Emma straighten up. "We got that."

"Detective Swan," Chief Graham's voice carries across the bullpen.

"Yes, sir?"

"Would you care to explain why you're holding a child who is not your son in my bullpen?" There's no anger in Graham's voice, just curiosity, which Emma is thankful for as she carefully shifts the sleeping little girl in her arms.

"She's the daughter of our murder-suicide vics, sir." Ruby explains for her. "We think she saw the whole thing. And from what we can tell, it looks like she may've been abused as well. Emma's the one who found her hiding in a closet and she hasn't let go of her since. We're waiting on Kathryn from CPS to get here."

Graham just sighs and nods at Ruby before he turns to Emma. "You okay, Swan?"

"Of course, sir." Emma tells him and he almost believes her.

"You know," Ruby says as she fills in some paperwork, "you never did tell me how you knew she was there before Sean came in."

Emma shifts the little girl in her arms, which causes her to whimper in her sleep and cling to Emma tighter. "There was a picture of a baby on their wall. But it didn't really connect until David was loading the bodies and I saw that the father had a beaded bracelet on his wrist. Looked like something a kid would make. As for actually finding her, she was crying so hard I could hear her when I passed the closet."

"Damn," Ruby whispers, still mindful of the young presence, "no wonder they call you the Savior."

Emma just rolls her eyes at the nickname that's been bestowed upon her by some of the other detectives on the force. She doesn't feel like anyone's savior, let alone this poor little girl's.

"Detectives." They both look up to see a well dressed blonde coming towards them.

"Kathryn." Emma stands up to greet the social worker.

"Hello, Emma, Ruby." Kathryn offers them each a smile. "And this must be Regina."

Emma nods and turns so that Kathryn can see Regina a little better.

"What'll happen to her?" Ruby asks as she looks at the sweet little girl still sleeping on Emma's shoulder.

"Well, I've checked everything I could and there doesn't seem to be any family. Mr. Mills had a will, leaving everything to Regina or for her care, but there was nothing listing who she should go to. As such, we'll have to consider her a ward of the state. I'll take her back with me for the night and then tomorrow we'll start to look for a place for her. Ideally a good foster home, but possibly a group home or orphanage. The goal is to find someone to adopt her, but that takes time."

Ruby notices that Emma holds Regina just a little bit closer at the mention of the foster system and can't help but frown. She knows about her partner's less than happy past in the system and hopes for something better for Regina.

Emma swallows hard and moves to hand Regina over to Kathryn. As she feels herself being shifted, Regina stirs and then wakes completely, panic washing over her features as she realizes that she is no longer being held by Emma. She begins to gasp for breath and look frantically for Emma, struggling and reaching out for her when she sees her.

"Shh, shh. It's okay, Regina. It's okay." Emma tries to assure, but it does nothing to calm the little girl who continues to scream and cry in Kathryn's arms.

Kathryn begins to move away from them, hoping that once she gets the little girl away from Emma that she'll calm down, but she just continues to fight and scream. Emma keeps her back to them, unable to look at the sight, but when Regina begins screaming her name - the first words she's spoken since they found her - Emma can't control her own tears.

"Hey Ma!" Henry greets her at the door with a smile and a hug.

"Hi, baby." She hugs him tightly and tries her best to smile back, but she knows it doesn't work.

Henry frowns. Whenever his mom comes home like this, it means something extra bad happened at work. Probably involving a kid.

"Emma?" Mary Margaret, their next door neighbor and Emma's best friend, comes out of the kitchen where she's been making dinner and helping Henry with his homework, seeming to sense that something's not right.

"Hey." Emma offers tiredly.

"You okay?" Mary Margaret asks kindly. "David called. Said it was a rough day."

Emma closes her eyes against the cries that still echo in her head. "Yeah." She glances at Henry. She always worries that she exposes him to far too much for a ten year old, but if that's the only thing she does wrong in this whole becoming a mom at 18 thing, then she thinks she's done okay. "Murder-suicide today. Vics had a five year old daughter who saw the whole thing while she was hiding in a closet."

"Oh, Emma."

"Was she hurt?" Henry asks as he hugs her tight. He's got such a capacity for love and compassion.

"Not because of the shooting; not physically. But she was very upset, of course. And we think that she may have been abused by her parents, too. Probably her mother. She came to me and then didn't want to let go." Emma sinks to the couch and runs a hand over her face. "Kathryn had to take her away kicking and screaming."

"What'll happen to her?" Henry climbs up onto her lap, laying his head against her chest. Emma's fingers begin automatically running through his hair.

"Kathryn said they're going to try to find her a good foster home and then someone to adopt her. She doesn't have any family."

"So she's scared and alone?"

Emma swallows and blinks back fresh tears. She's learned not to cry over the years, not to let the cases get to her, but there are times when she can't help it. "I hope not."

There's silence for a long time as everyone tries to absorb the day. Mary Margaret moves back into the kitchen when the timer on the oven dings and it's then that Henry lifts his head back up to look at his mother.

"What about us?"

Emma's brow furrows. "What about us, Henry?"

"You're licensed to be a foster mother." Henry reminds her. "She wasn't afraid of you. What if we took her in?"

"Henry," Emma cups his cheeks, "you are amazing for thinking of that. But it isn't always that simple. I don't know if they'd let me take her, first of all. And even if they did, have you thought about what that would mean around here?"

"I've got a big room. We could totally fit another bed in there and then she wouldn't have to be alone or afraid at night. I've got a bunch of old toys that she can play with and we can even paint her half of the room pink if she wants, I guess. And I can help Mary Margaret look after her while you're at work. It'll work, Ma. It will."

"You know," Mary Margaret says as she comes out of the kitchen carrying plates for them, "it sounds like he's got this all figured out."

Emma stares at her friend in amazement, taking in the willingness to help with this just like with everything else. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Emma looks between the two before she pulls out her phone and dials a number. "Hello, Kathryn?"

"EMMA!"

"Hi, sweetheart." Emma beams as she catches Regina up in a hug.

"I think that's the happiest she's been since I took her from you." Kathryn smiles. "I'm really glad you're doing this, Emma."

Emma sighs, her nerves flowing through. But Regina's little arms are still wrapped tightly around her and she can't help but feel good about that. She glances back into the apartment where Henry and Mary Margaret are both waiting. Kathryn nods at her. "All the paperwork is in order. I'll stop back by in a few days to make sure she's getting settled in okay, but for now, she's all yours."

"Thanks, Kathryn." Emma moves into the apartment, her attention focused on Regina. "Regina, I want you to meet some very special people, okay? They are going to help take care of you too, just like me. They won't hurt you either, you understand?"

The little girl buries her head in Emma's neck, but nods. "It's okay, baby." Emma assures, brushing her dark hair back from her face. "This is Henry. He's my son. And this is Mary Margaret. She's my best friend. And they're both very excited to meet you."

"Hello, Regina." Mary Margaret smiles. Regina peeks out at her, then quickly hides her face again.

"Hi, Regina." Henry says as he comes down to kneel in front of her. "I'm really excited that you're going to be my new sister. Do you like fairy tales?"

Regina's dark eyes peer out at Henry as she lifts her head. After a long moment, she slowly nods her head one time. Henry smiles widely at her.

"Me too! I've got a really cool book of them that Mary Margaret got me. She lets me have cookies and milk while she reads the stories to me in the afternoons. And Ma always reads to me before bed, too. Do you want to get some cookies and milk and look at the book with me?"

Regina looks between Henry and Emma as though unsure what to do. She still holds tight to Emma, but she looks at Henry with interest.

"It's okay, sweetheart. You can go with Henry. I'll be right here." Emma assures as she smiles at Henry. Her son is pretty amazing.

Henry holds out his hand to Regina with a smile. She looks at him with wide eyes before she finally takes his hand. "Do you like Oreo's or Chips Ahoy?" Henry asks as he walks with her into the kitchen. Regina doesn't answer, but Henry just grins. "Both? Me too!"

Emma collapses on the couch beside Mary Margaret, looking into the kitchen where Henry is pulling out cookies. "Oh, Mary Margaret, what am I doing?"

Mary Margaret just smiles. "Something amazing."

And as she watches Regina dunk a cookie into milk, a tiny smile slipping onto her face as Henry makes goofy faces at her, Emma thinks that maybe, just this once, she is someone's savior after all.