A/N: Four chapters in and I hope you continue to enjoy this story. More will be posted as soon as it's written tonight. :) Stay tuned and a million thanks!


By the time they were finished devouring each other in the throes of passion, Emma and Regina laid naked, wrapped up under the covers and in each other on the bed. Emma's hand caressed along her wife's arm, taking in the softness of her skin, while Regina took in the warmth of Emma's nakedness pressed up behind her.

"We have to do something, Emma." Regina's voice rang softly, taking over the silence within the room. "We have to take matters into our own accord. The Sheriff isn't doing anything to help us. No one is. And I don't think I could stand being here another day. Without Henry. We have to do something."

Emma's eyes focused on the color of Regina's hair, her hand continuously caressing along her bare arm as she said, "I don't want to be here another day, either. Because you're right," Regina shifted her body, rotating it until she was lying on her back, looking up into her wife's eyes. That's when Emma continued, "They aren't doing anything to help us."

"Then let's find Henry. Let's find our son and get the hell out of here and never look back."

"Taking matters into our hands could get dangerous." Emma replied.

Regina's hand splayed along Emma's cheek, the same cheek she had struck earlier. "It could. But, if it's to find our son, I don't give a damn about the consequences. Do you?" She saw Emma shake her head in response. "Then, let's find Henry. Together."

"Together." The corner of Emma's lip tilted into a private little smirk, her eyes saw the same action come from Regina.

Regina's hand wrapped around the back of Emma's neck and pulled her down until their lips brushed together once again. Their bodies tangled themselves with one another.


Eugenia's eyes looked up at the sound of footsteps belonging to Emma. "Ms. Swan," she called out, removing her glasses from her face. "I'm glad I ran into you. Listen, I understand that you and your wife have been going through a difficult time. All the residents here do, but…" She pauses, placing her glasses back on the tip of her nose. "I'm afraid there's been some complaints."

"Complaints?" Emma's brow furrows. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Well," Eugenia let out a heavy sigh. "For one, the arguments. I understand that you and your wife are going through the toughest time any parent could go through. Sometimes, one has to lash out, and that's understandable. But, may I be frank?" She sees Emma nod. "If you and your wife could tone it down inside the room, have some concern for others around you. Many of my tenants came to me this morning complaining about constant banging taking place in your bedroom, not to mention the shouting."

Emma avoided the older woman's gaze, her cheeks a shade of pink. "Mrs. Lucas-"

"Now, look. I like you, and your wife… As much as I haven't had the pleasure of conversing with her as much as I've had with you, I like her, too. And I know you like me, I mean I can be as sweet as a ray of sunshine, but," Eugenia held up a finger in warning. "I won't tolerate tenants who come here to disrupt the peace in this town."

Emma frowns. "Regina and I aren't here to disrupt anything, Mrs. Lucas. We didn't plan on losing our son-"

"I'm not saying you have, Ms. Swan. I apologize if I came on a little too strong with my words, but I need you to understand that if I get one more complaint regarding the noise in your room… I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Emma nodded, "I understand. And I give you my word, there will be no more complaints."

"Very well, then." Eugenia reached for her book.

"Mrs. Lucas," Emma stood before her again, seeing her eyes look up from behind the pages. "Could you tell me, is there anywhere that you think my son could have gone? Somewhere, I don't know, where the police neglected to look."

Eugenia sighed, placing her book down as she removed her glasses. "There isn't anywhere your son could have gone without possibly being found. I mean, unless you count the mines, but I highly doubt-"

"The mines?" Emma's eyes light up. "Where- where is that?"

"Just before you get to the woods, near the park. But, you don't want to be going out there, Ms. Swan. You could fall in."

"I'm sure I know how to handle myself. Thank you." Emma nodded and ran out.

"Emma!" Ruby jogged up to Emma, a smile to her. "Hey."

"Hey, Ruby." Emma massaged the back of her neck.

"Listen, I hope I didn't get you in trouble with Regina last night."

"No," Emma shook her head. "No, don't worry. Regina and I are… We're good. We found common ground."

"Oh," Ruby frowned before putting on her best smile. "Oh, good. That makes me feel better."

"I'm sorry, but I can't talk now, I really need to go."

"Where are you going?" Asked Ruby.

"To the mines. I was told by your grandmother that if Henry could have gotten lost anywhere, it's there. I have to find him." Emma was about to sprint off, but was grabbed by Ruby.

"Whoa, the mines?"

"Yes- Henry could have fallen down there, he could have been killed, or- or he's hurt-"

"Hey, Emma, whoa," Ruby shook her head, holding out her hands. "Calm down, okay? That place has been closed off, there's tape everywhere. There is no way Henry would have gone in there."

"Henry wouldn't have gone where?" Ruby jerked around as she heard Regina's voice behind her.

"I asked Eugenia if she would know of anywhere the police might have neglected to look for him, and she mentioned the mines. Ruby says there is no way he would have gone in there, but I don't know- I'm not so sure. Henry's always been a little curious." Said Emma.

Regina's eyes light up with hope. "The mines?" She smiles. "Then, let's go look." She grabbed onto Emma's arm, and both took off in a sprint.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Ruby shouted, running right behind them.


"You want me to go where?" Graham was appalled at Emma and Regina's request.

"Sheriff, please, we just need to know if there is a slight possibility that he could be down there." Said Regina.

"Are you two out of your minds?" Graham tapped his temple with two fingers. "There is no way I am going to send someone inside a whole that is as deep as the depths of hell in hopes of finding a small child."

"I told them that, but they won't listen-" Said Ruby, seeing Regina glare her way.

"Why don't you go take yourself for a walk?" Regina told Ruby, turning back to Graham. "Sheriff, we understand the risk. But if you yourself had a son, and lost him, wouldn't you consider at least checking?"

"Sheriff," Emma spoke. "Cop to cop. You know there's a slight possibility- one percent chance probability- but it's a possibility that Henry might have fallen in there. All we are asking is that you check."

"Please, Sheriff." Regina pleaded, and Graham released a heavy sigh.

"Alright. Alright, let's go."


In a matter of minutes, almost the entire town was surrounding the area. Yellow tape had been placed so no one would cross, given that the one that was there before had been tampered with, to Graham's surprise. A crane had been brought in with Gold's permission, and someone had been strapped onto the machine to be able to to be maneuvered down into the mines with precaution and safety.

"We're ready." A construction worker told Graham.

Graham nodded, "Let's take him down." He moved over to the crowd. "Alright, everyone, please. I'm going to ask you to stand back. Everyone stay behind the yellow line. Please, behind the yellow line."

Emma and Regina stood up front, right behind the yellow line and waited as the crane mechanism whirled loudly. That's all they could do, that's all anyone could do. It was a waiting game.

It took what felt like an eternity for a voice to echo from somewhere inside the hole.

"Stop! I've touched ground!"

"Do you spot anything?" Graham called out, leaning in but not far enough.

There was about a minute of silence, until-

"We have a body!"

The town gasped, while others cried out. Chatter was echoing in Graham's ears which came from the whole town.

"Is it the kid?" Asked Graham, not getting a response.

"I got him! Pull me up!" The voice called out, and the machine didn't waste time in operating itself back to life.

Regina grabbed a hold of Emma, feeling her wife's arm wrap around her in support as the wire on the machine wire up and up and up. Their hearts were ready to bust. Burst with either eternal happiness for finally finding Henry, or eternal sadness over losing him forever.

"Who is it?" Someone whispered from behind Emma and Regina.

Once the machine stopped and the cable pulled the worker completely up, people screamed, others cried. Graham's eyes bulged out of his head. Regina looked away, burying her face in Emma's chest, while Emma's eyes couldn't look away from the horrific state Smee's corpse was in.

Smee's body was covered in a thick trail of blood. His face was gone. All that was left were pieces of it, like it had been smashed to bits.

Regina's eyes opened, but her cheek was still pressed onto Emma's chest, refusing to look at the now discovered corpse. Instead, her eyes were able to see Robert Gold, standing farther from the crowd, leaning against his cane. She could notice his eyes staring directly at her with a mysterious smirk to him before he coolly walked away.

"Alright, everyone go home! There's nothing more to see here." Graham turned toward everyone, and instructed one of his deputies to help him vacate everyone into their homes.

"Sheriff, who could have done something so horrific?" Another deputy asked Graham, unable to stop looking at Smee's body lying on the ground.

"I have no earthly idea. But, whoever it was… Is still in Storybrooke. Cover him up. Call Whale, he'll want to examine him to determine the cause of death."

"Do you think he could have drank so heavily, he fell in?" Asked the deputy.

Graham shook his head, "No. No, Smee was a drunk, but… He knew better. Call Whale."

"Yes, sir."

Graham walked over to Emma and Regina, unable to shake the appalled look off of his face. "No Henry."

"How can you be so sure, Sheriff?" Asked Emma.

"Emma-"

"He's a small kid. He could have gone further inside."

"No one could go further in. Before you two arrived in town, I had orders to detonate a fuse down there to block off the area. There's nothing but rocks." Graham assured.

"Are you certain, Sheriff? Because you didn't think anyone could be down there, and look what you found." Said Regina.

"I understand perfectly well that you're upset-" Said Graham.

"Upset? Is that the word?" Regina scoffed.

"Look." Graham ran a hand through his hair in frustration and anguish. "The search for your son continues. I know that's not what you want to hear, but that's the best I can do right now. You two just need to go back into town and-"

"No, the best you can do is send someone in there to keep searching!" Emma barked. "Send me in there, I'll go!"

"Ms. Swan!" Graham stopped her, his hands hovering over her chest. "Listen to me! I know you're angry, but so am I and so is half the town right now. Believe me, I would go in there myself and search for Henry, but this is now a crime scene, until I can get evidence that proves it was just a nasty fall. I can't send anyone else in there right now."

Emma knew that, but before being a cop she was a desperate parent who just wanted to find her son.

"Now, please. Right now, what you and Regina can do is go back into town and wait for further updates."


The entire town was quiet after discovering Smee's body. Emma and Regina decided to go back into the diner, and just sip on endless cups of coffee, because they couldn't possibly stomach any food down at the moment. Not without being met with another dead end on finding their son, and now discovering Smee's dead body.

"We'll have to ask around town again. Go down to the beach and flip over every rock- something. That useless Sheriff isn't doing anything to find Henry." Muttered Regina, her eyes on Emma who blankly looked down at her cup of coffee. "Are you listening to me?" She called out. "Emma?"

Emma blinked and nodded, reaching for her cup to take a sip.

Regina's eyes looked around the diner, seeing Gold sitting by the counter. She looked away as soon as he looked right at her and smirked. "I think Robert Gold might have something to do with what happened?" Regina whispered.

"What are you talking about?" Emma looked up at Regina.

"When we were all down at the mines, I saw him looking at me."

"Looking at you?" Emma frowned.

Regina nods. "He was there, away from everyone, smiling because of what had happened."

"That doesn't mean anything, Regina." Emma shook her head.

"Emma, you yourself have told me many times how you don't trust him. Look at him." Regina discreetly motions toward him, and Emma's eyes look over at Gold, sitting calmly by the counter, talking to Ruby. "Everyone in this town avoids him, they fear him. He has to know something. What if he's the one who took Henry?"

Emma knew, at this rate, with a murder now going on about town, anything was possible.

The blonde turns her gaze back to her wife. "We could keep a close eye on him, see if we see anything out of the ordinary."

Regina nods, her gaze, along with Emma's look up at Graham as he stands before them, near their booth.

"Folks," He nods, removing his hat, his eyes on Emma. "I'm sorry to disrupt your coffee, but uh," he stops.

"Is there a problem, Sheriff?" Asked Regina.

"Well, I've been questioning the town about Smee's death, trying to figure out if anyone saw anything or know anything that might help."

"And? Do they?"

Graham frowns, his eyes look back to Emma once more. "Emma, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to come with me to the station for some questioning."

Emma's brow furrows. "Why?"

"Well," Graham exchanges an apologetic look between Emma and Regina. "I have a witness who reports they saw you," he motions to Emma. "Talking to Smee hours before his death."

"What?" Emma shakes her head and stands, causing Graham to take a step back.

Regina stands, alarmed and shocked. She doesn't even care that everyone inside the diner is staring at them. "Sheriff, there has to be some kind of mistake."

"I'm afraid there isn't." Said Graham.

"May I ask who reported this to you?" Asked Emma.

Graham's frown sets in a tight line. "I'm not at liberty to say, I'm afraid they asked for anonymity."

Regina scoffs, her hands against her hips.

"This is crazy." Emma chuckles and shakes her head. "Have you gotten the report back of the autopsy? Any fingerprints left at the crime scene?"

"We're still looking into that." Said Graham. "Let me be clear, I'm not accusing you of murdering him, I just want to ask a couple of questions. Have your side of the story."

Emma looked at Regina and nodded. She had nothing to hide. She didn't talk to Smee at any given moment, so why prolong the questioning. "Alright. I'll go."

"After you," Graham motioned toward the exit of the diner, watching Emma walk past him, followed by Regina.

Gold smirks and shakes his head as he's watching all of this from the other end of the diner.


Graham slammed his back against his chair at the station, his eyes landing on Emma. "Okay," he breathed. "Let's go over this. Again. Where were you at the time of the incident?"

"I already told you, I was with Regina in our room at the bed and breakfast." Said Emma, for the hundredth time.

"And did you happen to go out at any given time during the night? Out for a walk, maybe you ran into Smee-" Asked Graham.

"No, I didn't." Emma looked at Regina before she looked at Graham once again.

"Are you certain? Any history of sleepwalking?" Graham asked.

"Sheriff, I can assure you that my wife and I were in our room all night last night. Ask anyone." Said Regina.

"I will." Graham nodded.

"Look, Sheriff," Emma spoke up, looking at Graham dead in the eye. "I didn't kill him. Believe it or not, I don't make it a hobby out of killing people." She chuckles. "Regina and mine's interest is strictly in finding our son and getting the hell out of this town."

"Well, I'm afraid leaving is out of the question. Even if Henry is found." Graham leaned back in his chair. "As I said before, I was given the information that Emma was seen with the victim hours before he was killed."

"How long?" Asked Emma.

"About five hours later."

"So, that makes me the killer?" Emma points to her own chest and shakes her head.

"No one's accusing you, Emma. I just need to know who's lying here-"

"Lying?" Asked Regina, her brows furrowed in anger.

Graham sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Listen. I know this is the last thing you two need right now with Henry's disappearance and all. Hell, it's the last thing I need on my plate. Storybrooke has never been this shaken up. You have to understand my frustration. My witness says they saw Emma having a very heated argument with Smee hours before he was found dead."

"We understand your frustration, Sheriff." Said Regina. "But, I can speak for my wife. You can ask at the bed and breakfast, we were in our room all night last night. Emma didn't kill anyone."

"Alright," Graham closed the folder in front of him with the recent report. "Well, you can go. I'll keep you updated if anything changes. Thank you for your time, Ms. Swan." He extended his hand toward Emma, who shook it.

"Thank you." Emma nodded. Her hand hovered against Regina's back as they headed out the door.


"I don't know what they were doing up there last night, Sheriff. But, there was a lot of shouting and arguing coming from both of them, followed by a loud constant banging into hours of the night."

"Banging?" Graham's brows furrow. "What kind of banging? How would you describe it, Eugenia?"

Eugenia glares from behind her glasses. "The kind that I'm not about to get on top of my own desk to describe to you, Sheriff." She sees Graham's cheeks, even his neck turn crimson red. "Now, if you're asking me do I think they killed someone? No. I don't. They might yell and shout at each other. Their marriage is rocky- anyone can see that. But killers? They've never threatened anyone around here."

"So, you're saying that Ms. Swan was in her room all night last night?" Graham asked after writing down Eugenia's testimony.

Eugenia chuckles, "Well, anyone would be up in their room all night when they are having as much fun as Ms. Swan and her wife did last night. They even cracked a window."

Graham tucked his notebook behind his back pocket. "Thank you for your time, Eugenia. For now, just, be sure to not roam around town at night."