Chapter Six: Prospects

Three years later.

Near Boston MA

It was the weekend, a Saturday, and a rare day off for Danny Farrier. Days off meant less money and a need to be extra frugal with the week's budget, but it was worth it for a chance to spend the day with his wife and two-year-old son, Henry.

It had taken almost a year of interviews, filling out forms, home checks and scrutiny of their daily lives before they were finally accepted by the adoption agency. After that, finding their son had been relatively easy. One rainy afternoon, they'd met their case worker in his office and he'd introduced them to a tiny figure wrapped in a blue blanket. Regina had fallen in love immediately and Daniel had been right behind her. A yawn, a scrunched-up face and curious, blue eyes had sealed the deal and, even if those first few months had been a whole new level of insanity for the young couple, they cherished the moments they got to spend together, as a family.

Henry sat on his father's lap, his toothy grin and wide eyes waiting in anticipation of the next funny thing the adult might do. "Again, Daddy." The knees beneath him juddered up and down, eliciting another round of giggles from the toddler. "Again!" he insisted as soon as the movement stopped.

Daniel chuckled but lifted the boy into his arms and stood instead. "Let's go and see what Mommy's up to, shall we?"

They didn't have to travel far to find Regina. In a tiny alcove under the stairs, she had set up a workable office space. Anything that she could bring home from work for some overtime pay, she completed in this compact area. As Daniel approached with Henry though, he could see that it was their personal finances she was pouring over, not legal business.

"Here she is," Daniel announced as he moved closer. "Mommy's hard at work again."

Regina looked up at the sound of her husband's voice and smiled weakly. Her brow relaxed a little as she acknowledged her two favourite people, but the stress lines around her eyes remained visible as if etched there permanently from over use. She placed her pen down and reached out to take her son. She stood him on her lap, held his hands and leant in to blow a raspberry on his cheek.

"Mommy has to work hard," she told Henry in her baby-voice. "She's making sure her little prince can go to college someday."

"How's it looking?" Daniel asked, his interest piqued.

Regina turned Henry in her lap, reached into a drawer and pulled out a tray of paper and crayons. With him distracted, she lifted a hand to slip it into Daniel's. "It's going to be tight, but I think we can give him a step up. Might not be much if he decides he wants to be a doctor or a lawyer, but it's something."

Daniel nodded, his teeth tugging at his lip. "Work at the rescue centre hasn't been very steady lately. Every time they have a drop in donations, they have to cut hours, and the construction site gives the most overtime to its fulltime crew since they know what's happening day to day."

"What are you thinking?"

"I could have steady hours and make more money if I give up the horses," he answered with regret.

Regina sighed and closed her eyes. It was her fault that he'd had to move from his home, where his equestrian skills were respected and desired. He never agreed with her when she pointed this out though. "We can survive on what we have. But I'll support you whichever you choose."

Daniel stroked his son's head. "So long as we're together, I'm happy."

City Centre, Boston MA

A cell door slammed shut and Emma flinched. It was a reflex that was left over from her time spent behind bars – just the sound of the metal clanging and echoing in the air made her flash back to waddling around in her prison-supplied maternity clothes.

It wasn't her on the wrong side of the bars now though. She'd just caught her third bounty in as many days and she was on her way to collect another pay cheque. It felt good. Not to be helping with locking people up per se, but to be paid for a legitimate job that she was actually good at.

She slid into her yellow bug – something that Neal left behind for her when she was released. A gift fuelled by guilt she assumed, along with a couple of hundred dollars. It was the least he owed her. Even though she had the skills and means to track him down, she wanted nothing more to do with him. It was only with hindsight that she realised how destructive her relationship was with Neal. He'd helped her survive and she was grateful for that, but he'd also – deliberately or not – taken advantage of her willingness to trust him; he'd manipulated her too many times, particularly when it involved sex.

That part of her life was over now. Neal was her past and she didn't want him to be part of her future.

She pulled up at the bounty office and killed the engine. Her boots pounded the linoleum as she approached her destination, the sound replacing the memory of clanging bars and giving her a sense of confidence that she'd lacked most of her life. With a grin, she slid her paperwork onto the desk and waited. Her boss' expression showed nothing but surprise.

"Another one?" the redhead asked needlessly. She lifted the file and scanned the details. With a huff, she reached into a drawer and pulled out a roll of cash. "You're running hot, Swan. Careful you don't burn out. Take tomorrow off, huh?"

"I can do another one," Emma protested but she could see by the set of the woman's jaw that she would have to take some time for herself. She held up her hands in surrender. "Ok, fine. I'll see you in a couple of days."

Emma pocketed her cash and wandered back out to her car. Her thoughts began to run to what she would buy for dinner and how long she might stay in bed on her day off when the sound of heavy footsteps grabber her attention. Wired to respond to surprise attacks, she turned and set her centre of gravity. Her fists clenched and then slowly relaxed as she recognised the man approaching.

He looked like a Viking displaced in time; his strawberry-blonde hair framed a wide jaw and ran back into a pony-tail. Ice-blue eyes shone alternately with battle-rage and dark amusement, and his defined shoulders gave the impression that he spent most of his day swinging axes into waiting victims. His worn, leather jacket finished off the look of someone dangerous, but far from being intimidated or afraid, Emma grinned as he closed the gap to tower over her.

"I'm three for three," she announced, unable to stop herself from bragging.

"I heard," his rough voice answered. "It's impressive, Little Swan. If you're planning to stick to this for a while though, mind you don't reach too high before you've been in it a year or two. Some won't take kindly to you hoggin' all the work."

Green eyes rolled in annoyance but Emma knew it was a fair point. She'd already started receiving dirty looks from some of the older bounty hunters. "Yeah, yeah… Thanks," she replied with a shrug.

"But if you really don't wanna wait for the old dogs to grow tired," he added before she could turn back to the car. "I have a proposition for you."

Emma's gaze was curious but cautious as she narrowed her eyes at the man and leant back against her car. A cheeky smile crept onto her face. "What would your wife say, Ragnar?" It wasn't his real name – nobody would tell her his real name – but it suited him.

"Hah! Nothing; I'd be dead before she could draw breath to cuss me out," he chuckled and Emma followed suit. He moved closer and leaned against the wall. His sharp gaze checked around to make sure they were alone. "You could do alright here, Swan. You could make a living and be ok, but for someone with your skills, you're not gonna find much challenge. I've been thinkin' for a while that I could do better setting up my own business, but I'd need a partner. What d'ya think?"

Emma froze. "You want me?" Nobody ever wants me! "Seriously?"

"You have a knack for finding people. Some of these guys," he waved at the building behind them, "rely on luck or knowing the right people, but you have a gift. If we can put that to work in finding other things too, not just people… there're those who'll pay big bucks for skills like that." He saw the interest in her gaze and paused before putting the cherry on the cake, "You'd take all the reward too, not the cut they give you here."

It was tempting; those dollar signs flashed before her eyes.

She thought about those agonising months during her pregnancy, imagining what it would be like to be a mom and knowing that it was best that she didn't try. She'd thought about how unfair the world was; from birth, she'd barely had a chance at life. Why had her parents/mother thrown her away? Were they as incapable as she was now? Had her mother died giving birth to her? Had her father left her on the side of the road because he resented her? Was it this vicious cycle of poverty and neglect that had screwed her parents over too?

At some point, her thoughts had turned to Regina, Mary Margret and David. She could be like them, if she ever managed to pull herself out of the gutter. She was bringing a child into the world – a world which chewed people up and spat them out. The world needed more people like those who'd tried to help her. At that moment, she'd made herself a promise; if she ever caught a break, if she ever reached a point where she had more that she needed, she was going to pay it forward. She was going to be somebody her child could be proud of, who her saviours could be proud of.

All these thoughts chattered inside her head, but to Ragnar, she said, "Sign me up."