Chapter TWENTY: The Benefactor

Emma Swan was walking down a street in Storybrooke to Mr Gold's Pawn Shop. He rang her to discuss some very important thing with her. Once she got there, she opened the door and the bell rang. "Gold? In here?" she called out.

Professor Smith walked up to her. He had been doing some dusting on one of the shelves. "Well, it is his shop," he said.

"Well, is he here?"

"Yeah. He's in the back, doing one of his hobbies. I'll take you to him," he said, taking her to the back room. He popped his head in and knocked on the wall. "Uncle. Emma's here."

Mr Gold looked up. "Ok. Send her in," he said, just as Emma walked in, but as soon as she did, she turned up her nose.

"Whoa! What is that?" She asked.

"Now, this is lanolin used for waterproofing," Mr Gold explained.

"Smells like livestock."

"That's how a sheep's wool repels the water," Professor Smith said.

"It stinks!" Emma said, still complaining. "Uhm. If there was a reason why you called the Sheriff's department. If you wanna talk about that quickly or... outside…"

"Yes," Mr Gold said, standing up and coming around his table. "I just wanted to express my condolences, really. The sheriff was a good man." Mr Gold looked down at Emma, surprised she still had the Deputy Badge on. "You're still wearing the deputy's badge? Well, he's been gone for two weeks now. And I believe after two weeks of acting as sheriff the job becomes yours. You'll have to wear the real badge."

"Yeah, I guess... I'm just not in a hurry. So, uhm... thank you for the kind words," Emma said, preparing to leave the shop.

Mr Gold and Professor Smith started to follow her. "We have his things."

Emma turned around. "What?"

"The sheriff. He rented an apartment that I own. Another reason for my call really, I wanted to offer you a keepsake."

"I don't need anything."

"As you wish. I'll give them to Mayor Mills. Seems like she was the closest thing he had to family."

"Not sure about that."

"No love lost there, I see. Look, I feel that all of this stuff is heading directly for the trash bin. You really should take something. Look!" Mr Gold picked up Graham's jacket. "His jacket?"

Emma shook her head. "No."

Mr Gold shuffled through more stuff. "Look," he said, holding up a radio set. "Your boy might like these, don't you think? You could play together."

Emma still shook her head. "I don't..."

"No, please. They grow up so fast."

Emma finally took them. "Thanks."

"You enjoy these with your boy. The time together is precious, you know.," Mr Gold said, who was getting looks from a confused Emma. "That's the thing about children: Before you know it, you lose them."

Meanwhile, Mr Gold's talk with Emma had apparently brought up some unwanted memories for Professor Smith. Memories of his father. A figure in an old NASA spacesuit was standing in the shores of Lake Silencio. The water was up to its knees and the Doctor stood up, knowing that his time was near an end. "You all need to stay back," he warned them: Amy, Rory, River and the Professor. "Whatever happens now, you do not interfere. Clear?" He then walked down to the lake front to meet the mysterious astronaut, who was now out of the water.

"That's an astronaut," Rory said. "That's an Apollo astronaut in a lake."

"Yeah," the Professor said. But what's it doing here?"

Meanwhile, by the lake front, the Doctor said, "Hello. It's okay. I know it's you." And the astronaut raised the gold-tinted visor. "Well then…" and the Doctor bowed his head.
"What's he doing?" Amy asked, but then the first to the Doctor came. "Doctor!" Amy called out.

At the same time, the Professor called out, "Dad!"

"Amy, Professor. Stay back!" River ordered, as the astronaut shot the Doctor again. "The Doctor said stay back! You have to stay back!"
" No! No! Doctor!" Amy said.
Regeneration energy started to flow from the Doctor's head and hands. "I'm sorry," he said, as the astronaut shot him again, just as the regeneration started properly and effectively killed him, as the Doctor fell backwards and laid on the sand, lifeless.

"No! Doctor!" River called out.
"Doctor, please!" Amy called out too, as she and the Professor raced to the Doctor's lifeless body. Professor Smith then got out of his "little" episode when Emma spoke to him.

"Professor Smith? You alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just that, all this is bringing up memories of my father's last moments on Earth…" he began to explain, tears starting to form in his eyes.

Emma hugged and comforted him. "It'll be all right. Death isn't an easy thing. It'll take years for you to heal your heart over it. Tell me, when did he die?"

"22 April 2011 at 5.02pm."

After visiting the Pawn Shop, Emma went to see Henry at his play castle. She climbed up the fort and sat beside him. "Brought you something. Thought we could use them for Operation Cobra," Emma said, giving the radios to Emma.

"Thanks," Henry sad, rather upset.

Emma nudged Henry with her shoulder. "Oh, come on. What's up? You've been dodging me for weeks…"

"I think we should stop Cobra stuff for a while. You don't play with the Curse. Look what happened to Graham."

"Henry, I told you they did an autopsy. It was totally natural causes."

"Okay, whatever! You don't believe? Good. That should keep you from messing with it. And getting killed."

"You're worried about me?"

"She killed Graham because he was good. And you're good."

"Henry…"

"Good loses. Good always loses. Because good has to play fair. Evil doesn't. She's evil. This is probably best. I don't wanna upset her anymore," Henry said, handing back the radio set to Emma and left the playground castle.

Emma soon went back to the Sheriff station, where she had picked up the Sheriff badge. She looked at it and started to put it on her jacket when Regina entered the office. "Oh, I'm sorry. That's not for you," Regina said.

"It's been two weeks. Promotion is automatic," Emma said.

"Unless the mayor appoints someone else within the time period. Which I'm doing today."

"So who's it gonna be?"

"After due reflection: Sidney Glass."

"Sidney from the newspaper? How does that even make sense?"

"Well, he's covered the Sheriff's office for as long as anyone can remember."

"And he'll do whatever you want him to. You just cannot stand the fact that things have been getting better around here, can you?"

"Better? Are you referring to Graham's death as "better"?"

"No," Emma said in a low voice.

Regina raised her voice. "He was a good man, Miss Swan. He made this town safe. And, forgive me for saying this, you have not earned the right of wearing his badge."

"Graham picked me to be deputy."

"He was wrong."

"No, he knew what he was doing. He freed this office from your leash. You're not getting it back."

"Actually - I just did. Miss Swan, you're fired," Regina said, taking the Sheriff's badge from Emma and then left the office.

After Emma got fired by Regina, she went back to Mary Margaret's apartment. She put on some loud music and was drinking some scotch as she tried to fix a broken toaster. Mary Margaret walked in, looked at Emma and switched the music off. "Toaster broken?" She asked.

"It wasn't when I started with it. Pretty sure it is now. I just needed to hit something," Emma said, defending her actions.

"What's going on?"

"Regina fired me so she can put one of her own puppets in as Sheriff. That's my job!"

"Never heard you so passionate about it before. What happened?"

"Oh, I just know I want it back."

"There must be a reason."

"Maybe.." Emma said, but was cut off from a knocking at the door. She went to answer it, and as she did, she continued, "I just want to beat her." Emma opened the door, facing Mr. Gold and Professor Smith.

"Good evening, Miss Swan. Sorry for the intrusion, there's something I'd like to discuss with you," he said.

"I'll let you three talk," Mary Margaret said, and turned to leave to her room.

"Come on in," Emma said, inviting Mr Gold and Professor in.

"Thank you. We heard about what happened. Such an injustice," Mr Gold said.

"Yeah. Well, what's done is done," Emma said.

"Now, that is spoken like a true fighter," Professor Smith said.

"I know what chance I'll have. She's the mayor and I am - well - me."

"Miss Swan, two people with a common goal can accomplish many things. Two people with a common enemy can accomplish even more. How would you like a benefactor?"

" benefactor?" Emma asked.

"Do you mind?" Mr Gold said, sitting at the kitchen table and placing the folder he was carrying on the table and started flicking through the pages. "You know, it really is quite shocking how few people study the town charter."

"The town charter?" Emma asked.

"It's quite comprehensive on the mayor's authority," Mr Gold said.

"It explains all the things what the mayor can and can't do. I don't think Regina has even read it herself. Or … she doesn't understand it."