Hello, again! I'm sorry this chapter's so short. This episode didn't have a whole lot of stuff I could work with to take it where I wanted to go. I hope the next one's longer. I hope you enjoy anyway!

The Tower

Emer stood with the adults again as they tried to brainstorm how to find the Wicked Witch.

"So now that we know who we're dealing with, how do we find this Wicked Witch?" David asked as he looked around the group.

"Might I suggest we start by asking if anyone has seen a woman with green skin running around?" Killian said from the other side of the bar counter.

Emer shook her head a little, her arms crossed over her chest as she thought through some ideas herself.

Regina, of course, said exactly what she and Emer were both thinking. "We're cursed," she reminded sharply, "in Storybrooke. She'll look like any one of us."

Killian rolled his eyes, using the action to glance at his daughter who was being quieter than normal. He hoped she was alright after the monkey debacle in the hospital. She hadn't said much to him or any of the adults since.

"Then we start somewhere we know she's been," Emma told the group quickly. "Regina's office."

"I went over it with a fine-toothed comb," Regina said simply. "She left no trace."

"But you were combing for magic," Emma pointed out. "Maybe there's physical evidence that you missed."

"Good idea," David said with a confirming nod. "We'll track her."

Regina clearly was not a fan of having her work rechecked for flaws. "If you want to waste your time playing Nancy Drew, be my guest, but we can't let Henry wander around alone with that witch and her flying monkeys out there."

"Especially since one of those flying monkeys could turn out to be his father," Killian pointed out.

Mary Margaret's expression fell slightly. "Still no sign of Neal?"

"No," Emma said with a soft sigh.

"Point being," Regina said, drawing them back to the topic at hand, "someone needs to protect Henry. He doesn't even know what's going on."

"I'll go with him," Emer said simply, the first words she'd spoken to the adults since the gathering started. "I know I'm not the best choice, but Henry likes me and I'm pretty sure my magic is strong enough to ward off a few monkeys."

Killian's eyes immediately cut to the other adults, waiting for someone else to protest before he had to voice his obvious dismay at the idea.

"No," Regina said simply, shaking her head. "At least not alone."

Killian was hoping she would've just stopped at no.

"I'm guessing you're volunteering," Emma said simply as she looked at the Evil Queen.

"I'll take Emer and Henry and keep them safe," the queen clarified. "It'll be like a chaperoned date for them. If you find anything, call me."

Killian cut a sharp, blue-eyed glance toward her at the prospect. Emerlyn was not dating anyone. But, dammit, she'd be safe there, so he had to let her go.

Regina promptly ignored him as Emerlyn moved toward her to leave.

"Just remember," Emma said quickly, stopping the two before they reached the door. "He thinks we're here because I'm on a case."

"Well, look who's gotten good at lying," Regina remarked as she tried to step forward again.

"I just don't want anyone to slip up." Emma's gaze cut over the Evil Queen and the Lost Girl. "As far as Henry knows, you're just Madam Mayor, and that's it."

"I'm well aware of how Henry sees me," Regina informed the Savior, trying to keep most of the sharp edge from her voice. She motioned for Emer to follow her, and the teen obeyed. She liked Regina, but the Evil Queen could be scary sometimes.

Killian, who was more than grumpy that his daughter was leaving for what Regina had called a date, turned back to the adults before the door closed. "Time's wasting. There's something wicked in your town. What do you say we go and find it?"

Emer skipped down the street beside Henry as Regina led them through town after an ice cream trip, walking by a calm pond. She adored ice cream. It was by far her favorite part of Storybrooke. Except maybe the library.

"The ice cream good?" Regina asked the two teens with a smile as she saw them trading whispers and glances and blushes. She had to admit it, they were quite the cute couple, even if they weren't a couple.

"Delicious," Henry replied with a smile while Emer only nodded quickly, trying to keep the tasty treat off of her face. Henry grinned at the Lost Girl before turning back to Regina. "My mom used to take me for gelato in Little Italy. But this is just as good."

Emer smiled. "That sounds like fun, though."

"Have you ever been?" Henry asked as he looked back to Emerlyn.

Emer shook her head. "No. I've never left Storybrooke."

"Storybrooke's got its own charms," Regina assured both of them with a small smile. "Though I know it must seem quaint compared to the big city."

"It's nice, actually," Henry corrected with a small smile, glancing at Emer with a small blush before he turned back to the mayor. "New York's great, but there are so many people that it can make you feel…"

"Alone?" Regina guessed softly.

"Yeah," Henry agreed.

Regina hummed a little. "Yeah. That's the best part of a small town. Everybody knows everybody. It's like… It's like a big family."

Emer nodded in agreement. "There's always people you can rely on."

After a small pause, Henry looked at Emer and Regina. "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure," Regina affirmed as they walked down to the edge of the pond, and Emer nodded.

"I don't think it was just the case that brought my mom to Storybrooke," he told them both quickly.

Emer looked down at her ice cream cone for a moment to compose herself before she looked at Henry again with a slightly confused expression. "What do you mean, Henry?"

"I think she wanted to get out of New York for a while," he said simply, looking between Emer and Regina.

"Well, why do you think that?" Regina asked in a carefully composed voice.

"My mom's boyfriend," Henry began to explain with a micro-step forward like he was anxious to talk about what was going on. The sight made Emer smile a little as he continued. "His name was Walsh. He proposed to her."

"Oh," Regina said, her tone still soft and carefully composed.

Emer almost snorted. She guessed he was the flying monkey monster that her father had mentioned at the town line. She was careful to keep herself contained, and listen to Henry.

"And two days later, she's taking me out of school for some job in Maine," Henry continued. "She wouldn't take a job in Queens if it meant I'd miss school."

Now Emerlyn's curiosity was getting the better of her, and she wanted to know what Henry's theory was about this. "What do you think happened?"

"I don't know," Henry said, frowning slightly as he thought about it. "But I doubt we'd be here if she said yes."

Emer hummed a little, nodding slightly in agreement, but trying not to show the flash of disappointment that crossed her mind. The heart of the truest believer was an imagination she wanted to see more of, but his loss of memories had tamped it down to rationality and logic that didn't apply to Storybrooke. She missed it, at least what little she'd known before.

Maybe if she kept spending time with him, she could help bring it back.

"How do you feel about it?" Regina asked softly as she looked at Henry. "Did you like him, this Walsh?"

"I liked how happy he made her," Henry corrected with a small smile. "Plus, it might be nice having more than two place settings during the holidays."

Emer looked down at her ice cream again, suddenly lost in thought. Was that all her father was trying to do while he'd left her in the past year? That's what he'd said, but… she didn't know what to believe. She'd never thought about it like that before. Was that even something she wanted?

She shook her mind free of those thoughts. Now wasn't the time for that. She was spending time with Henry, and having a lot of fun while she was at it. She just needed to focus on that.

Regina smiled at him. "I think one day you'll have more family than you'll know what to do with."

A small spark of hope moved through Henry's hazel eyes. "You think so?"

The sight made Emerlyn smile.

Regina smiled again, and put a hand on Emer's back softly. "I think you both will. I really do."