A hostage situation in City Hall leaves behind a battered, broken sheriff, and a mayor wracked with guilt. Trigger warnings for violence and gun threats and general angst. Slow-burn swan queen.

AU. Henry, age 23, decides to give the crowd what they want, what they really want. A story. So he tells them the only one he knows: the greatest love story of all time, and it just so happens, that this love story is his mothers'. Henry's on and off POV. WARNING: VERY ANGSTY MAY OR MAY NOT CONTAIN A CHARACTER DEATH

Emma Swan works hard every night as a bartender, struggling to raise her son and save up enough to own her own bar. Regina Mills is an upper class New York photographer who wouldn't normally spare a second glance at people below her. When their paths cross, their lives adapt to each other, but how much are they willing to change?