Disclaimer: I do not own the Once Upon a Time franchise.
Chapter Six
David Nolan shut the cell door, ignoring Will Scarlett's grumbling. "So, we have newcomers." He called out as the glass door to the Sherriff's office closed with a soft thud.
He turned around, moving to hang the keys to the two cells back on the hook. Sherriff Graham Huntington moved to on one of the deputy's desks in the station, "I saw, a blonde woman, a dark-haired man, and a little boy." At David's look, Graham elaborated, "They were at Granny's a lunch. I didn't meet them."
"I'm surprised you didn't go over and introduce yourself. Didn't you have lunch with Tink and Regina?" David questioned.
Graham nodded, "Yes, Regina gathered some information from Granny, but she didn't go over to introduce herself either. Tink and I were both surprised by that, but Regina wasn't in the best mood so we didn't question it." Giving David a knowing look. Mayor Regina Mills was not someone to mess with if she wasn't in the mood.
The door opening and slamming shut stopped their conversation, "Well, it looks like Scarlett made a stop at the library today on his way to do whatever it is he does with his time. No clue where he is now, but Belle is ranting about one of her bloody little books being stolen. Some child's book." A lilted English accent floated through the small station.
"I wonder if he did that before or after he stole Leroy's wallet?" David turned to face the cell as Will Scarlett began whistling.
Killian Jones, the third member of the Storybrooke police department stopped short, "Ah, and it seems you've caught him." He paused in front of the cell, "How did you happen upon our favorite miscreant?"
"Oi!" Will's less polished English accent bounced off the walls, "I'm not a bloody miscreant!"
Rolling his eyes, Killian moved to the coffee pot to pour himself a cup, "You broke into the library and then stole Leroy's wallet, what would you call yourself?"
"That's not all he stole!" The door opened again, this time revealing a blonde woman Killian didn't recognize. And she looked pissed.
"Emma!" David smiled as Emma, August, and Henry, "What are you doing here? Mary Margaret indicated you all had an apartment to look at."
Emma faced the jail cell with a glare, "I sent August on with Henry. If he likes it, it's fine with me." She paused as she crossed her arms, "That one," she pointed to Scarlett, aggravation in both her tone and stance, "picked my pocket and stole my wallet."
All eyes swiveled to Will Scarlet who was back to whistling. Killian stepped toward Will, "When did he do that?" Killian asked, shooting Will a glance with an arched eyebrow.
"We were all in the park. I pulled him out of the woods just as David showed up. And I don't know how," Emma glared, "but I suspect he has my wallet."
Killian let out a deep sigh, "Hand it over, mate." He held out a hand and tapped his boot impatiently. After grumbling, Will finally dug in his pocket and pulled out Emma's slim wallet. Walking over to Emma, Killian handed it to her, "Your wallet, ma'am."
Emma stared at his outstretched hand for a moment before finally accepting the wallet from him. "Thank you, and it's Emma. Emma Swan." She introduced herself.
Killian grinned at her, "Deputy Killian Jones, at your service." He bowed gallantly at her and Emma snorted. He found the little sound to be quite charming. "It's lovely to meet you, Mrs. Swan."
"It's 'miss,' Deputy Jones," Emma corrected, "Miss Swan, but you can call me Emma." She wasn't sure why she made the correction.
Killian's blue eyes sparkled a bit and Emma found herself flushing and stepping backward with wide green eyes, "My apologies, Emma. And I'm just Killian." Her flush rose the way his voice curled around her name.
Emma shoved her wallet back in her pocket, "It's fine. I'm going to go meet August and Henry and Mr. Gold." She waved absently before fleeing from the Sherriff's Station.
Killian turned to face Graham and David, "Who was that?"
David and Graham shared a look, "That was Emma Swan." Graham snickered, "I do believe she just introduced herself." At Killian's look he pointed to David. "David has met them all."
David nodded, "Emma Swan is here with her son, Henry. He's Leo's age. And their friend, August Booth." He shrugged, "I don't know the dynamic there, but the August guy managed to subdue Leroy and Miss Swan caught Scarlett," David gestured toward the cell where Scarlett sat grumbling, "it the woods near the park."
Killian turned back to the recently closed door, "That is quite impressive." He murmured. "I'm interested to see what happens there." He admitted.
Graham and David shared a knowing look, "Or maybe you're just interested in Miss Swan." Graham teased lightly. There was no real bite behind the tease though. If anything, it was promising to see Killian take an interest in a woman. It had been three years since he'd had this heart ripped out and crushed to dust. Graham himself was thrilled to see Killian just note another woman's existence. He was beginning to think that his friend would wind up alone for the rest of his life. And that was something Killian definitely didn't deserve.
Killian rolled his eyes and shoved the Irishman, "No, mate, that's not what I mean. What I mean is that we never have anyone new in town. It'll be interesting to see what these three bring." He clarified. David and Graham chose not to respond to that statement.
Henry dashed around the apartment excitedly. "I love it!" He cried out as he ran up and down the stairs repeatedly.
Emma cringed at the loud bangs his footsteps caused on the metal. It was certainly going to be a lively and loud home with the three of them in the same space. The last time she'd lived with August, Henry had been a newborn so the place had been fairly quiet. That was definitely going to change. The clatter was even louder as August chased Henry up the steps. It was going to be very lively and loud indeed.
Mr. Gold still seemed enthralled by Henry. He had a permanent smile in place as he watched Henry run around and then watched August chase him. "You have a very exuberant and lovely young lad, Miss Swan." He finally commented softly.
What Emma noted at that moment was that it was almost with a sad, longing look and tone that Mr. Gold spoke of Henry. She wondered briefly if maybe he lost his own son and that was why he enjoyed watching Henry. "He certainly is that." Emma agreed. "I think we'll take it. It seems those two would be devastated if we didn't."
This time Robert Gold actually laughed as he watched Henry tackle August onto the sofa, "We wouldn't want that, now, would we?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small stack of folded papers. "This is the contract." He handed it to her. "You and Mr. Booth should look it over, and if you find everything satisfactory then you may stop by my shop tomorrow morning for the keys. I'll need to copy your IDs as well, just to have on file."
Emma nodded and accepted the papers, "Something tells me that everything will hold up just fine." She smiled at him, "And please, we're just Emma and August. We not very formal." When August let out a strange howling sound that had Henry laughing, she just shook her head, "Clearly." Sticking the papers in her back pocket, she clapped her hands to get the attention of the boys. "Okay you, two, let's let Mr. Gold get home. We are meeting Mrs. Nolan at the diner at 6 for dinner. I've got to get you enrolled in school." She laughed at Henry's scowl, "School will be fun I'm sure."
Tossing Henry over his shoulder, August gave her a salute, "Yes ma'am, let's go."
From his spot on August's shoulder, Henry also saluted Emma, "Yes ma'am, let's go." He parroted back.
When Emma, August, and Henry wandered into the diner, they found David, Mary Margaret, and Leo Nolan in the back of the diner at a big table. "Henry!" Leo waved frantically at Henry.
The two immediately sat down next to each other as Leo pulled out a storybook. Emma just shook her head, grateful that between herself and August, they'd managed to foster a love of reading in Henry. "Hello, again." Emma greeted Mary Margaret and David.
Mary Margaret was up and around the table quickly, "Oh, Emma, I'm so sorry Will stole your wallet. That's not a very nice welcome to our town."
Emma just shrugged, "It's fine, really, he gave it back without a fight, so it's no big deal." She promised.
Once everyone was seated and dinner had been ordered, Mary Margaret pulled out a thin blue folder, "This has all of the new student paperwork in it. School is back in session on Monday, so there's still a few days left of Spring Break." She paused before continuing, "And I spoke with Philip, he's the principal. He said that Henry can be in my class if you'd like." She barely paused for breath, "All of the kids are in my class, so I think Henry will have fun."
August's brows rose at her words, "All of the kids?" He asked.
"Oh yes!" Mary Margaret smiled widely, "There's Leo, and then there's Roland Locksley, Alexandra Herman, Grace Hatter, and Elena Hubert. You'll get to know all of their parents, oh and that reminds me –"
"Mary Margaret," David placed a hand on his wife's wrist, "take a breath and give Emma and August a chance to catch up with you." The woman frowned, but David barreled over her before she could continue rambling on, "What Mary Margaret is about to say is that we do a Friday night dinner with the group so the kids can play. We rotate houses every week. This week is at Regina and Robin's house." He paused, "We would all love if you could come, then you could meet the principal of the school, Philip Hubert, and Henry could make some new friends."
Emma hesitated for a moment, so August spoke up, "We'll be there. What can we bring?"
Mary Margaret beamed and shook her head, "Just yourselves."
The next morning Emma and August checked out of Granny's and stopped by Gold's Pawn Shop. They accepted the keys from Mr. Gold and drove over to their new apartment. Henry darted upstairs toward his claimed room the moment he was through the door, calling out that he wanted to go to the library to get some books.
Emma and August both shook their heads at him before August hefted up Emma and Henry's suitcase to carry upstairs. Emma let out a deep sigh of contentment and looked around. She felt like they had finally done it. They were free.