Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a time or any of its characters.

Author's Notes: This chapter is longer than the last one. We will see Emma's side of the story during the four years since Henry's birth. There is no beta for this story so all mistakes are mine.

Storybrooke, Maine- Present time

It is said, that what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

A young woman that at that very moment was hugging a little boy like he was her lifeline, was the embodiment of that saying. At just 28, she had survived through a life filled with hardships and pain that no human being should endure in a lifetime. Yet, her resolve always remained strong, no matter what life threw at her.

Over his shoulder, she made eye contact with the boy's father. A tall, strong, incredibly handsome man that, just when she had thought everything was lost, had swooped in to save the day and given her hope when she felt none.

As she stared at his captivating brown eyes, eyes she had dreamed about before, she pondered everything that brought her to this moment, kneeling on the ground hugging her son.

To her family.

A few years back, after having to give up her baby boy for his own safety, she thought that she would never get over that pain. Even if she knew that eventually she would be able to see him, it wasn't enough to sooth the her inner turmoil.

She wouldn't get to nurse him or comfort him when he cried. She would never see his first smile, hear his first word nor would she be there waiting for him when he took his first steps. She would lose several important milestones of his life, all because Neal Cassidy was a cowardly bastard.

To this day, she didn't know what possessed him to set her up. If he didn't want the commitment he could have just ran away, like he always did when things got hard. Maybe things would have been hard for her, alone with a newborn, but she could have made it. Instead she was forced to send him away, to his true father.

Regan Mills.

A man that didn't hesitate to step up when she asked for his help, a man she cared about from the moment she knew she was carrying his baby.

Boston, Massachusetts- 4 years earlier

Like she promised herself that day at the hospital, she worked really hard to work through her grief. It wasn't easy and she wasn't entirely successful. She would always have that hurt with her, but she could learn to live with it and focus on trying to get her life back together. She decided to become someone her son could be proud of.

Through the rest of her prison sentence, she educated herself as best she could, making use of the library. She found solace in books, always eager to learn something new. Eventually, she was able to get her GED. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

Then after she got out, a year earlier because of good behavior, she found herself doing odd jobs to sustain herself. Thank God she still had her trusty car. During her time in prison, around the time she found she was pregnant; the previously mentioned cowardly bastard had the audacity to send her the keys of the bug along with a cute swan keychain he once stole for her, during one of their hits. It was as if he thought they were long lost lovers separated by a terrible tragedy of fate, rather than what they truly were; a con man and the woman stupid enough to fall for his bullshit.

That day, she thanked her lucky stars that he was sterile. If she had been forced to carry his child on top of everything else, she would have snapped. She kept the keys, figuring he owed her that much but got rid of the keychain. She never wanted to see him again.

While she worked during the day, she took online classes during the night, figuring that a college degree, even a small one, would help her get better job opportunities. She had a criminal record weighting her down already, so any kind of advantage was welcomed.

It was hard, and some days she wanted to give up and just run away, start over somewhere else, maybe change her name and get a clean slate. But the thought of her son always gave her the strength to keep on fighting. She could have gone to Maine to find her baby boy as soon as she got out of jail, but then what? She wouldn't have anything to offer him other than the embarrassment of having a deadbeat mother.

No, she needed to improve herself, to show both him and Regan that she was more than just a convict that got played. That she could be a good mother and take care of him properly and that she could be someone to be counted on when things got hard.

Finally, two years after she was released, she proudly earned her Associate's degree in Computer Science. She figured that since the world seemed to be growing more dependent in technology every day, that would be a very useful skill.

And she was right.

Just a couple of months later, while checking an online classifieds page, she found an interesting ad. A private law enforcement firm had a spot for a manager position. The requirements were to be of legal age, have an advanced knowledge of computers and/or management background. They had an online portal where people could apply but she opted to go in person and present her case. Hopefully, her conviction would not be a problem.

The building where the office was located looked nice and well taken care of. The office itself was large but organized. There was a small reception area, with a big desk facing the front door. Behind it were a couple of filling cabinets and a water cooler. Off to the side, was a small corridor that opened to a wider area that housed 4 smaller offices and a small kitchenette on one side and one big office divided in cubicles on the other.

Sitting on the front desk was a middle-aged man, with short salt-and-peppered hair. His features were severe, like he had no time for bullshit and his build was on the heavy side, though he still looked fit enough to kick someone's ass.

Emma made her way over and cleared her throat "Excuse me, sir. My name is Emma Swan. I saw your ad on the classifieds website, and I was wondering if it's still available" she said nervously.

The man lifted his head, looking at her and narrowed his eyes "Yeah, still available. Name's Lawrence Mason but everyone calls me Larry" he introduced himself. He took a moment to look at her, taking in her nervous demeanor and her tired appearance. Despite her youthful and attractive visage, she had the eyes of someone that had lived through some serious shit.

"Now tell me, kid, why come all the way here? There's an application thingy on the site" he said in a gruff voice, both wary and intrigued.

Emma sat down on the visitor's chair "Well, I wanted to talk to you in person. Give a full disclosure, if you will" she sighed, hoping this didn't backfire on her "I have a criminal record. Nothing serious, just a couple of petty thief charges. I did a year in jail after someone asshole I was living with ratted me out to cover his own ass" she blurted out, not mentioning the fact that she was framed, even if it was true.

Larry was silent for a moment before he tsked "So you didn't kill no one or anything like that?" he asked. Emma shook her head, relaxing a bit after not being kicked out after her confession "Hm. What are your qualifications?" he asked.

"I got my GED while I was locked up and a few months ago I got my Associate's degree in Computer Science. I took late night online classes after working during the day" she said.

"You have guts, I'll give you that. You took a risk telling me that upfront and I appreciate your no honest approach. Tell you what, I'll give you a trial period. If you do well, we'll make it a permanent position. But if you step out of line, I'll kick your ass out, deal?" he asked, offering his hand.

Emma sighed again, this time in relief and shook his hand "Deal. You won't regret it. But um, what exactly do you do here? The ad just mentioned that you're a private law enforcement firm. What's up with that?"

He just snorted "That's just a fancy way of saying we're bounty hunters, Swan"

"Wow, so you guys catch criminals and get a reward, like those shows on TV?"

"In a nutshell, yes. You see, when some poor shmuck gets bail but can't pay for it, he can get a bail bonds agency to post it for him, for a nonrefundable fee. If he appears in court like he should, the agency gets their money back without trouble. However, if he skips court, the money will be forfeited after a period of time.

That's where we come in. We are hired by the agency to find and capture the fugitive and to ensure his appearance in court within that time, that way they don't lose their money. The reward will depend on a lot of factors like if it's a state or federal bail, bail amount, risk, efficiency of the hunter, crossing state lines, etc." Larry explained.

Emma was impressed "So, I'm guessing it's a sweet gig, otherwise you wouldn't have this fancy office" she smirked.

Larry guffawed "Ha! I like you kid. But to answer your question, yes, it's a very sweet gig. There are other firms around, but we are amongst the best of the whole Tri-State area" he boasted.

He and Emma talked a while longer, discussing some of her responsibilities. It was going to be a lot of work, considering she had to start by digitalizing all their existing and closed cases, which up until that moment, were in old fashioned paper files.

However, the pay was going to be worthy, plus health insurance and vacation days. All in all, it was the best job she ever had up to that point. While the work itself was a bit monotonous sometimes, she enjoyed spending time and getting to know Larry and the other guys that worked in the firm.

Larry himself was an ex-army guy that was honorably discharged after getting injured during one of his tours in Afghanistan. He started as the Bounty Hunter in retainer for a bail bonds agency, before deciding to work independently. After a while, he decided to start his own firm with a couple of his buddies, an ex-marine named Jack Lovell and Cesar Marquez, an ex-cop turned private investigator. They occupied 3 of the 4 individual offices, the other one was used as a storage room.

They started small, but with their military and law enforcement training, they rose quickly. As their reputation grew, they started to get bigger cases, with bigger rewards but greater risks. They decided to add more people to the team, all with some kind of formal training, to handle the regular cases. Those were the ones that occupied the big office with the cubicles. In total, the firm had seven bounty hunters on payroll.

It only took Emma a few months into the job to decide she wanted to be a bounty hunter too. She expressed her interest to Larry, Jack and Cesar. Naturally, they were a bit skeptical. She was a very efficient worker for sure. Under her management, the firm never ran smoother. But it was a big leap to be on the field.

Nevertheless, she insisted and wore them down until they finally agreed. Since she was the only one without formal training, the three seniors gave her a list of non-negotiable requirements she needed to meet before they put her on the team.

First, a very rigorous self-defense and combat training. Tae kwon do, Aikido and Krav Maga, along with regular exercise at the gym. It seemed excessive, but they weren't taking any chances. Besides the obvious legal issues, they all genuinely liked Emma and didn't want her to be hurt.

Second, firearms and non-lethal weapons training. Though not always necessary in the field, bounty hunters were required to have certification and license to carry guns and other alternatives such as tasers, batons and/or pepper spray.

Third, formal training with a specialized fugitive recovery agent. There, she would learn the specific procedural and legal aspects of the job and at the end, she would get her official license.

It was a lot, and for a moment, Emma feared that she would get overwhelmed and quit halfway through. But to her surprise, she really enjoyed her training. Her favorite part was the weapons training. She got to shoot things and more often than not, she imagined Neal's stupid face while doing so.

Getting in shape and leaning self-defense was rough on her though. Some days, she couldn't even more since she was so sore. But day by day, her body got used to it and she found herself liking the rush that came with a good workout.

The three seniors took turns taking Emma with them on cases so she could get some field experience. Some were local, but a couple of times they traveled out of state. She realized that a lot of patience and cunning was required. Staking out a target and figuring out a way to capture them was not as easy as it sounded. She learned a lot from them, and she was very grateful.

Then, it was time for her first solo case. She was excited and nervous as hell. If she did good the guys would put her on the team, so she needed to succeed. The mission was simple.

Jake Hall, 27, assault with a deadly weapon. Bail set on $25,000, paid through Gilberti Bail Bonds. Skipped his initial court appearance. Court gave them 3 weeks to recover him before the bond is forfeited.

She followed the standard procedure. Interview his family, friends and co-workers. Staked out his apartment, his work and his parents' house until finally she located him and following him to a seedy bar. If she went in all guns blazing, she would spook him and probably the other patrons too.

Then she realized she had an advantage over the other hunters and smiled. She undid her ponytail and let her hair flow naturally. She opened up her jacket and unbuttoned her button-down shirt to show a little cleavage. Taking a deep breath, she made her way to the bar.

She sat down next to him but she didn't make eye contact or gave any indication that she knew him.

"Pick a character. Become that character and don't break until you're completely sure they won't escape. Be quick and don't play with them. Incapacitate, cuff and drive back. No heroics" Cesar had said to her while she was shadowing him during a case.

"Can I buy you a drink, doll?" she heard to her left and smiled inwardly. Game on.

"Sure. Whatever you're having will be fine" she said with a shy smile, playing her part perfectly.

They exchanged the usual repertoire of a man wanting to get lucky and a woman interested but playing coy. Emma kept track of his drinks, sipping hers slowly. Once he was sufficiently buzzed, she made her move.

"Why don't we move this party somewhere else?" she purred, biting her lip seductively. He couldn't get out of there fast enough. Once they were outside, she got her stun gun out and pounced. Since she was licensed, she carried a heavy-duty stun gun, just one step below the kind policemen used.

The moment it touched him, he squeaked like a baby pig and dropped like a sack of potatoes. Considering he was somewhat drunk; the effect was more intense. Wasting no time, she cuffed him and threw him on the backseat of the bug.

She drove to the police station to drop him off and filled the necessary forms. The next day the court would be notified, and he would be remanded during his trial.

After giving the required percentage to the firm, she made $4000 in just one week, the time it took to locate and capture the target. It was impressive, considering that back when she worked as a waitress, it took between four to six weeks to make that amount.

Not bad for her first one.

That night, all the other hunters took her out for drinks to celebrate and welcome her to the team. She couldn't stop grinning the whole time and it was then that she acknowledged that everything she went through after jail; the shitty jobs with lousy pay and long hours, the all-nighters for her degree and struggles with her hunter training were all worth it. All that effort brought her to this moment, celebrating her success with her mentors and coworkers.

That's not to say, that every case after that was as easy as the first one. Sometimes she was gone for weeks at a time, other times she had to chase them for several blocks and a few times she even got decked in the face, not to mention the sleepless nights in her car or shitty motels when necessary, surviving on crappy coffee, energy drinks and greasy fast food.

No matter the circumstances though, she always gave it her all. She only lost 2 bounties during her time with the firm. One when the guy took off to Illinois, where bounty hunting is illegal and another where she did get the guy, but it was outside the given time to do so. They were both misdemeanors, thankfully, so the loss wasn't that great.

She quickly became one of the best hunters in the firm, in league with the three seniors. So, to truly test her skills, Larry took her as a partner on one of the bigger cases.

Shawn Jacobs, 35, grand theft in the second degree, assault of a police officer, resisting arrest. Bail was set on 300,000, paid though Massachusetts Bail Bonds. High flight risk, dangerous and possibly armed.

Same as always, they started gathering information about their target. Background checks, interviews, social media; the works. Then, back at the office, they organized their information to stablish a timeline and make a list of potential haunts. Emma's time as a thief served her as point of reference to determine which places he was more likely to hide in.

They determined that the best way to draw him out was to use his greed in their favor. Larry would pose as a client looking to 'obtain' a car and Emma would stand by and be the backup.

As planned, after getting the tip from one of his contacts, Jacobs set up a meeting with this new client. They agreed to meet in a strip club near the place where he had his auto shop. But as soon as he walked over to the client, he recognized the guy as the bounty hunter that busted one of his buddies a while back.

Larry cursed heavily as the Jacobs ran out of the club like a bat out of hell. He didn't consider the possibility of recognition. He contacted Emma on her walkie talkie "Kid, he's running away. Back entrance that leads to the alley!" he barked, pissed off at the situation.

Emma got out of the car and gave chase. She was fast but he was faster, she was never going to make it. They were going to lose him, and their firm would take a bad hit. Her anger got the better of her and in a move that she wouldn't be able to explain until a few years later, she extended her arm and narrowed her eyes "Stop!" she shouted.

To her surprise, he seemed to freeze for a moment before he tripped, as if his feet were tied together and landed on the ground with a loud thud. She caught up to him and stunned him for good measure, panting heavily. Her eyes were wide, trying to explain what just happened.

She was distracted when Larry caught up "Kid, you stopped him. What happened?" he asked, impressed. Emma just shook her head "He tripped. I couldn't catch up to him and the fucker tripped" she said, laughing in disbelief. Deep down, she knew there was more to it than just sheer luck.

Nevertheless, they got their guy and rather than stand there and ask questions, they drove him to the police station. The reward was split evenly, and Emma earned Larry's unwavering respect.

After that, she was given the unoccupied fourth office, cementing her place in the firm. From that moment on, Emma and the three seniors and took turns partnering up for the big cases, depending on who was available at any given time. They never took a big case alone after that one, considering that Larry would have lost a target if Emma hadn't been there to help.

Her bank account couldn't be happier with the promotion. As a result, she decided to make her first self-sufficient adult move and purchased a condo. She would never again live in a decrepit little house or a shitty apartment. She and hopefully, her son, would always have a decent place to live when needed. She didn't buy a newer car, though she did upgrade her beloved vw bug to near mint condition.

As her 28th birthday approached, just a couple of months after her baby's own fourth birthday, Emma decided her gift to herself would be to see her son. At last, four incredibly long years after she let him go, she finally felt in a good enough place to seek him out.

All that effort, all the pain and loneliness, the doubts and self-deprecating thoughts were worth it. She had made it to the finish line, and she couldn't be prouder.

She talked to the guys, who all knew her story, and told them her plan. They were happy for her and wished her luck. Since she didn't know how things were going to turn out, Larry told her to pool her accumulated vacation time and use it to find and spend time with her son. If she needed to stay longer, they would work something out.

As for her condo, she would leave it like it was for the time being. Depending on what was decided later on, she would either go back or sublet it. Only time would tell.

On her birthday, the same day she was leaving to Maine, her fellow hunters threw her nice a birthday/going away party. They had a great time and she knew she would miss them all, most of all Larry. He had given her a chance and that chance was all she needed to turn her life around. He was like a really cool uncle to her.

Finally, after the festivities, she got into her bug and waved to the guys one last time. She put the address on the gps and for moment, it showed nothing. Then the screen wavered, like it was going to fizzle out, but after a couple of seconds, it settled and showed the way.

Emma was puzzled by it and wondered if there was something wrong with the stupid thing. Still, it seemed to be working fine after that brief little meltdown, so she shrugged it off and started the drive.

A few hours later, at exactly 8:15 pm, she crossed the town line, grinning when she saw the huge 'Welcome to Storybrooke' sign.

"I'm here, baby. I finally made it" she whispered to herself as she drove to Main Street, looking for a place to spend the night.

Tomorrow, everything would change.

Storybrooke, Maine- Present

Still making eye contact with Regan, Emma flashed him a grateful smile. The usually stoic Mayor found himself returning it, feeling warmth spreading through his chest at the sight before him.

He let them have their moment before he spoke "Henry, why don't you go to your room and choose your favorite toy so you can show it to mommy, uh?" He encouraged.

Henry pull away a bit and looked at Emma. She just kissed his forehead and nodded "Go on, baby. I'm not going anywhere" she murmured. The boy grinned and ran back inside, cheering the whole time.

Regan stepped forward and offered his hand to Emma to help her up "How would you like a glass of the best apple cider you've ever tasted?" He offered charmingly.

Emma took a breath and took his hand, pulling herself up "Got anything stronger?" she joked with an awkward half smile.

He just chuckled and together, they walked back inside, their hands still clasped together. They both the same fleeting thought.

"I don't want to let go"

To be continued.

So, there you have it. I hope you liked it and as always, don't forget to comment! Next update should be during the weekend.