Emma has only ever had three good father figures in her life. At least that she can remember. It's more than a lot of foster kids might have had, she realizes, but in one way or another, they've let her down.

There was the first dad she ever really had. The father that fostered her for three years. She can't remember much about him except that he smiled a lot and they'd get bear claws every Saturday morning. At least towards the end of her stay with the Smiths, which was where she got her old last name. She changed it not long after she left the Nolans and found herself living on the street. An older boy told her a different way of looking at "The Ugly Duckling". The duck became the swan, because she believed in herself. Emma supposed she could believe in herself too.

There was Bill, when she was around 12 or 13, the years all start to blend together. He took her to a father/daughter dance at her middle school. He and Katie were going to take her on her very first vacation: a camping trip. Her foster brothers, their biological sons, were going to come along. Then Lily had to go and ruin all of that. The way Bill looked at her and said that she had put "his children" at risk. She realized he was never going to love her the same way he did Max and Zach. He hadn't even fought for her when she ran away.

The last was David. She had been with him less than the Smiths, but longer than Bill and Katie. For seven months, she had a home. David had promised her that he was going to be her forever father. After Jerry Smith, it was a promise she treasured. And then after David, it was a promise she never really believed again. She didn't understand how he could go from playing with her, teaching her how to make cookies and checking for monsters in her closet…to just letting her slip away.

Emma dealt with Henry at the beach. The kid was messed up, there was no doubt in her mind about that. He resented Regina and Emma felt for him, but she also knew that was his mom. They needed to work out whatever issues they had. Henry kept trying to insist his life sucked but Emma struggled with feeling for him. He had a mom that had called the police the minute he went missing. A mom that genuinely seemed to miss him. Regina and Henry were going through a rough patch, but they were going to be okay.

It broke her heart to watch him forlornly walk into the house, but she knew just as she had 10 years ago, that it was for the best. Regina looked at her skeptically and Emma couldn't blame her there. This was the second time her kid had run off in 24 hours and Emma had been the one to show up with him. She said her goodbyes and climbed into her bug, fully intending on heading out of Storybrooke and back to her life in Boston.

Until her bug stalled in the middle of Main Street. Which, like her former foster mother, hadn't changed a bit.

Billy, the mechanic, came fairly quick once Emma got the number from the waitress at the diner. His news, however, wasn't as bright.

"I'm a bit backed up," he said. "I'm not going to be able to get to this for a while."

Emma groaned. "You have got to be kidding me. I'm trying to get out of town. I'm not even from around here, what am I supposed to do now?"

Billy gestured behind him to the inn. "There's a bed and breakfast? You could stay there."

Emma shut her eyes, tipping her head backwards. She supposed she didn't have much of a choice. "How backed up are you?" She asked.

"A week."

"Of course. And you're the only mechanic in town?"

"This is Storybrooke."

"Right."

Emma turned around and headed towards the bed and breakfast. She hadn't ever had a reason to stay there during her first go around in Storybrooke. She did happen to know the owners. If they remembered her, was going to be another question.

Emma walked inside and up to the front desk. No one was around, at least not at first. Suddenly, she could hear arguing coming down the stairs. Yup, that was familiar. She remembered once asking Mary Margaret and David why Ruby fought so often with her grandmother, but they never had an answer.

"I should have gotten out of this town when I had a chance!" Ruby yelled.

"I'm sorry my hip replacement ruined your travel plans," Granny called back. She saw Emma and her entire demeanor changed. "A guest. My, we don't get many of those."

Emma arched an eyebrow. "You don't?"

"No." She scurried behind the desk. "It's just you?"

"Yes. I'm looking to stay about a week."

"Sounds perfect. Would you like a forest view or a square view? Normally there's an upgrade for the square, but I can waive it."

Emma couldn't help but smile as Granny frantically busied herself behind the desk, looking for her ledger and a pen. It was clear she didn't recognize her yet. "The square is fine."

"You look familiar," Ruby piped up. "But I haven't seen you in a while." She looked a bit closer. "You're not…you're not the kid that Mary Margaret and David fostered way back when, are you?"

Emma cringed at the mention of Mary Margaret and David. "I am."

"Wow. I can't believe it's you." Ruby looked her up and down. "You're…you're so grown up!"

"Yeah that's what happens when you get forced out of town." Emma turned away from Ruby and back to Granny who had the book open once again.

"What was your last name again, sweetie?"

"It's changed, actually. Swan. Emma Swan."

An unfamiliar accented voice spoke up from behind them. "Emma." She turned her head and found a shorter man with shoulder length brown hair, dressed in a fancy suit. A cane was clutched in his hand. For the life of her, Emma could not place his face. "What a lovely name."

"Thanks," she replied, not knowing what else to say. Emma was one of the most popular baby names out there, not like it was something more unique. Yet, the man just kept smiling at her. It was starting to creep her out.

Granny reached out past her holding a wad of cash. "It's all here," she said firmly, though Emma could tell her usual demeaner was cracking.

"Yes, of course it is, dear." He accepted the money and placed it into his jacket pocket. Then, he turned to face Emma. "Enjoy your stay…Emma."

He slowly walked out of the inn, making sure to look at each and every one of them as he did. The door shut behind him with a ring of the bell above it. Emma finally got the nerve to speak to Ruby again.

"Who was that?"

"Mr. Gold." Ruby shuddered a little, watching behind the curtain as he walked away. "He owns this place."

"You mean the inn?"

"No," Granny looked deeply afraid. "The town."

Emma tilted her head and more memories began to flood back. She vaguely remembered a Mr. Gold working with her former foster parents towards the end of her stay in Storybrooke. He was an attorney, they told her and would be helping them adopt her. That obviously hadn't happened.

She shook it off, not wanting to keep thinking about the past. "Can I get the key to my room, please?" She asked. "It's been a long day."


Emma woke up the following morning, slightly forgetting where she was. For a minute she expected to be back in her Boston apartment with the calligraphy painted front door. Instead, she had a lumpy mattress under back and a scratchy blanket over her body. She climbed out of bed and walked to the window, not caring that she was just in a white tank top and her underwear. On the streets below her, the town was aflutter with people heading to work and school. She cracked her neck, trying to get the pressure of the awful night from out of her.

Before she could text her boss to let him know she'd be out of commission for the week, there was a knock at the door. Heading over, she opened it hesitantly to find Regina Mills on the other side holding a basket of apples. This town was too strange for her liking. Had it been that way when she was little?

"Did you know that the honey crisp tree is one of the most vigorous apple trees?"

Emma tilted her head. It was too early and she hadn't had any coffee or cocoa to deal with this agricultural lesson.

"It can survive temperatures as low as 40 below and keep growing," Regina prattled on. She gave Emma a soft, yet firm smile. Emma suddenly realized she wasn't here to give her gardening tips. No, this was a threat. "It can weather any storm. I've had one I've tended to since I was a little girl. And to this day, I have yet to taste anything more delicious than the fruit it offers." She plucked an apple off the top and offered it to Emma, who slowly took it.

"Thanks," she said, giving Regina a weird look.

Regina extended the basket to her. "I'm sure you'll enjoy them on your drive home."

"Actually, I'm going to stay awhile." Regina blinked several times in under two seconds. "My car broke down and you only have one mechanic. He said it's going to take a week."

"Oh." Regina loosened only slightly. "With all due respect, Miss Swan, I do think it'd be best if you stayed away from Henry during this time."

"With all due respect, Madam Mayor, your son's the one that sought me out. I have no intentions of further complicating your lives. I just want my bug fixed so I can leave and get back to my life."

Regina didn't look so convinced, but she nodded nonetheless.

"I do have him in therapy, you know." Emma raised an eyebrow. "Henry. The situation is under control. I know what's best for my son."

Emma hadn't planned on questioning Regina's authority, but she could tell the woman was clearly afraid she was. "You're his mom," is all she said in response.

"Yes. I am."

Regina walked away, taking the rest of her apples with her. Emma sighed and took a bite of the one she left behind. At least she got a free breakfast.


Emma didn't know what else to do with her morning, so after grabbing a cup of coffee from Granny's she decided to take a walk.

The town really was the same. None of the shops had been updated in the past 23 years. The people all looked the same for the most part too. It was like they all drank some version of spiked water or had great deals with plastic surgeons.

Or Henry's theory about them all being cursed by Regina is true.

Emma rolled her eyes. There was something weird about the town, but magic wasn't it. Fairytales, wishes on shooting stars, she stopped believing on all of that ages ago. Henry was still a kid, it was cute that he thought that his school teacher was Snow White. Maybe less cute that he viewed his mom as the Evil Queen but what pre-teen didn't at times?

As Emma rounded the corner to go off Main Street, she found herself walking to the house where she had spent most of her time in Storybrooke when she first lived there. The big blue house with the wraparound porch. There had once been a yellow and white bike, that David helped her learn to ride. Mary Margaret's garden was long gone. Her old foster mom's station wagon and David's truck weren't in the driveway, instead replaced by two Volvos. She had seen Mary Margaret's car at the school, so was there a chance that they no longer lived there?

"I had a feeling I might find you here."

His voice was soothing, like warm water. She didn't want to turn around and see his face. She tried to block out the memories, just as she had over the years. Yet, the most prominent one floated up. The two of them sitting in front of the TV, wearing matching jerseys and yelling at it at the top of their lungs. She had tried her best to learn everything about football and had probably failed. She mostly liked the snacks that David made before the games and the way she could curl up against his chest, most likely falling asleep. It had been the first way they could truly bond after she came to live with them.

"What, you're stalking me now?"

"We were afraid last night that you left, that we missed our chance. Then word got around town that you checked into the inn last night. We had some hope."

"My car broke down, just waiting for it to be fixed." She suddenly had a weird feeling. "Did you mess with it?"

"No, no. I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't put you in danger. All of that, was just one big coincidence."

For some reason, Emma believed him. She slowly turned around, forcing herself to look at the man she had once called "Daddy". Like everyone else in the stupid town, he looked exactly the same. Blonde hair, blue eyes and a bit of fuzz around the cheeks. It used to scratch her when he gave her a kiss, but she never complained. He even still dressed the same, just like Mary Margaret. David wore a blue flannel shirt and some jeans. His badge stuck out over the pocket of his pants, showing off that he still held the same career.

David's eyes glistened at the sight of her and she almost had to look away again. "Mary Margaret was right, you're all grown up now. I don't get how that's possible."

"It's been 23 years."

"I just…I didn't think that much time had passed. In my mind, you're still 5 years old and we're going out for ice cream after school."

Emma didn't smile at the memory. "I told your wife what I'm going to tell you. I don't want to talk to you."

"Mary Margaret and I aren't together anymore."

That's one thing that changed.

She remembered looking through David and Mary Margaret's photo albums, more specifically their wedding one. Mary Margaret always looked like a princess to her. She even wore a tiara. In those seven months she spent with them, David and Mary Margaret had probably been the healthiest relationship she had seen until Bill and Katie. They laughed together, they kissed and went on the occasional date night. The two were always saying "I love you". To Emma at that age, it was like being fostered by a fairytale couple. The way they looked at each other as if they were the only two in the room. It made her feel safe somehow.

Now it was like all of that was taken away, on top of their happy family.

"Well that's…too bad." She wanted to ask why. She didn't get how two people that in love didn't work out, but she didn't want to feel even more involved in their lives. "It still doesn't change what I said."

"Stay in Storybrooke, Emma."

"I'm here for the week until my car gets fixed."

"Stay longer than that."

"Why do you even care?" Emma threw her hands in the air. "You two gave me away and then couldn't even be bothered to say goodbye or explain why to me."

"It was a complicated situation. We wanted to but social services…"

"No, that's bullshit. You two were just two more people in my life that let me down."

David let out a disgruntled sigh. "If that were true, then why would we be here fighting for you Emma? Why would I be trying to get you to hear us out when you clearly hate us? For God's sake, I was your father…"

"I don't know! Maybe you have some weird guilt! Maybe you think it'll get Mary Margaret to talk to you! What I do know is, you're not my dad, David." She fixed him with a look. "You made sure of that."

"Emma, we lo…."

Emma stormed away, not letting him get another word out. She didn't want to hear it.

She didn't want to hear that they loved her. Because what did it matter? They had just let her go in the end.