This was a prompt submitted to me by DC the Cat: Emma is a 10 years old foster child. While being moved to another group home Emma and the social worker get lost and end up in Storybrooke. There they meet Mary Margaret at Granny's. As they are about leaving town, Mary Margaret offers to take Emma in.


Emma sat in the backseat of her social worker Sylvia's Toyota. She had actually been hopeful enough to believe that McGregor's were going to be her forever family. They had chosen her from the group home and were very kind to her. She actually had her own room and got along with their other children. Things had been going really well. Then one day, Emma had come back from school and found Sylvia sitting with her foster parents. They explained that it just hadn't been working out, they weren't sure if they could handle Emma. They stressed it wasn't anything that she had done, but that wasn't the way she heard it.

The group home she had been staying in prior to that was full up, so Sylvia was taking her to a new one. This one wasn't actually in Massachusetts, but in Maine. Sylvia kept trying to talk the place up, she said it was on the water and that the home took many trips to the beach. She also pointed out that there was a 12-year-old that had just been adopted from it, so there was hope. Emma tuned her out for the most part, just staring out the window.

The sun was setting on the horizon and the directions that Sylvia had been given didn't seem to be working. She knew it was getting close to dinner time and they definitely wouldn't be at the new group home until much later.

"Are you hungry, Emma?" Sylvia asked, glancing back in time to see a shrug. "Alright, I don't see a sign for a rest stop."

"Just pull there," Emma pointed to a sign that said Storybrooke, Maine.

Of course, she was the only one that was able to see it. Sylvia was desperate at this point, just wanting to get some coffee in herself, so despite not seeing anything, she pulled into the town. It didn't take her long to pull onto Main Street and eventually find a place called "Granny's Diner". She and Emma got out of the car, heading inside. They were greeted by a woman dressed in short shorts and a crop top. Emma couldn't help but admire the red streaks in her dark hair. She snapped her gum and studied them a bit.

"Welcome to Granny's," she finally said in a bored tone. "You can sit anyway." She gestured to the mostly empty diner. "I'll bring you menus in a bit."

Together, Sylvia and Emma made their way to a booth towards the back. Emma slid across from her social worker, not even looking over the menu once it was brought to them. Nearby sat Mary Margaret, who was trying to decide what she wanted to get herself. She looked up and could see Sylvia trying to ask Emma what she wanted, only to get mumbled responses. Mary Margaret couldn't help but smile. She didn't recognize the pair, but thought the little girl was adorable. She seemed to be the age of her students and she always knew how to get them to talk.

Mary Margaret approached the table. "Hi, I'm Mary Margaret, I don't recognize you two."

"We're just passing through," the other woman explained. "I'm Sylvia, this is Emma."

"A pleasure to meet you." Mary Margaret sat next to Emma. "Not hungry?" She got a shrug from the young girl. "Well, what's your favorite food?"

"Grilled cheese, I guess," she replied, only answering because she was taken off guard. No one had cared enough to ask her that before. "And I like hot chocolate."

"Well luckily for you, Granny's makes the best grilled cheese and hot chocolate there is. I like actually put cinnamon in mine."

Emma's nose crinkled a bit. "Cinnamon?"

"Yup, it's very good."

When the waitress came by, Emma ordered Mary Margaret's suggestion before asking about a bathroom. Sylvia watched her walk off before turning back to Mary Margaret.

"Thank you so much for your help," she said with a small sigh. "It hasn't been an easy journey."

"Are you guys moving?" Mary Margaret asked.

Sylvia shook her head. "Well, Emma is, sort of. I'm bringing her to a new group home." She could see the bewilderment on Mary Margaret's face. "Oh, I'm not her mother, I'm her social worker."

"Oh." Mary Margaret frowned. "So, she's in the foster system."

"Since she was a baby. Poor thing was just left on the side of the road."

Mary Margaret clucked her tongue. She had always wanted children, a family. It was why she became a teacher. Mr. Right had yet to show up and her baby fever was running high. It didn't seem that people that were going to just abandon a beautiful little girl like Emma could become parents.

"I hope I don't sound insensitive, but how has Emma not been adopted yet?" Mary Margaret asked.

"I'm sure I could get in trouble for telling you about all this, but Emma did a family until she was 3," Sylvia explained. "Then they had a baby until she was 3, so they put her in the system. Ever since she's bounced around a lot. The older these children get, the less likely they are to be adopted. I've tried so hard to find Emma a forever family, but nothing seems to work. I worry she'll be in and out of group homes until she ages out."

Mary Margaret chewed on her lip. She wanted children, so very badly. She wasn't getting any younger either. She was simply a school teacher, she couldn't offer Emma the world, but she did have a spare room in her loft. It seemed crazy and impulsive, but she realized that she wanted to be Emma's very last stop. Everyone needed someone and she could be that someone for her.

Emma eventually came back from the bathroom and Mary Margaret returned to her table. She ate her own meal while glancing over at the two new people in town. The more she looked at Emma, the more she knew in her heart what she wanted. Just as they got up to leave, Mary Margaret approached them.

"Wait," she said. "I know this is going to sound a little crazy, but I want Emma to stay with me."

Emma's mouth dropped open. No one had ever done anything like this before. "What?"

"I…I'm not very rich, I just live in this loft, but I have a spare room," Mary Margaret explained. "I teach 4th grade at the elementary school, I make enough money to support us both. I love children, I've always wanted my own. I don't want to see Emma go to another group home, it's not what's best for her."

Sylvia stared at this woman, taking her in. Normally, this would be very unorthodox. Mary Margaret wasn't a licensed foster parent, she hadn't had a home study. Yet, she wanted Emma. The look in her eyes told Sylvia that she'd fight for her. She looked down at Emma, who seemed to be a mixture of surprised yet also intrigued. It was the happiest she had looked since they left Boston. She had always vowed to find Emma a family, maybe this could be it.

"I suppose Emma and I could stay here for a couple of more days," she finally replied. "Just enough time for me to get you a license." It would take lots of strings, but she could do it. "And do a home study, make sure that your loft is suitable for a child. Other than that, if Emma is okay with it, then I'm willing to fight with my supervisors to make this happen."

Mary Margaret looked over at the little girl, her heart filled with hope. Emma stared up into her eyes, smiling a bit. She wasn't sure if it was going to work out with Mary Margaret, but she wanted to try. She was choosing her, she wanted her, after only knowing her a little bit. A part of her felt drawn to this woman.

"I want to stay with Mary Margaret," she confirmed.

Mary Margaret beamed, her mind already reeling with things she had to get in anticipation. She was going to have a child!


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