Hi guys : ) Thank you to everyone that reviewed the last chapter. All the opinions and feedback on whether or not Emma should have her magic at this point were really useful : ) I still haven't made a decision yet, but its helpful to know what the readers of the story think : )

Anyway, I know this chapter is a little short, but this was honestly the best place to end it. You'll see why at the end of the chapter : )

Please remember that Once Upon A Time is not mine, and I hope you enjoy this chapter : )

Ghosts

Emma mentally braced herself as she parked her bug outside Regina's house.

Once upon a time the idea of being friends with the Evil Queen, or even Madam Mayor Regina Mills, would have greatly disturbed Emma.

But she couldn't deny that during the whole Wicked Witch debacle, some semblance of friendship had formed between the two of them.

All gone now though.

Emma couldn't help but feel sad about that.

It wasn't like she'd had many friends throughout her life.

Perhaps it was time to change that too.

She looked up at the impressive house apprehensively.

Emma wasn't exactly looking forward to having to deal with the Ice Bitch again.

But she had no choice.

She had to return Henry to her.

As much as she was loathed to do it.

"Let's get this show on the road, kid" Emma said wearily as she unclipped her seatbelt.

They both got out of the bug.

"Please don't take me back there" Henry pleaded.

"I have to. I'm sure your family is worried sick about you" Emma insisted.

"I don't have a family. Just a mom and she's evil" Henry scowled angrily.

"Evil? Wait a minute! Your mom is the Evil Queen that cursed everyone?" Emma pretended to act shocked.

The boy nodded grimly.

"Now do you see why I don't wanna go back?" Henry demanded miserably, "She doesn't love me. She only pretends to".

Emma sighed and knelt down to his level, looking him dead in the eye.

Despite knowing how much of a heartless bitch Regina could be when she wanted to be, despite knowing some of the awful things she had done as the Evil Queen, Emma knew, without a doubt, that Regina truly loved Henry.

Of that she had no doubt.

"Kid… do you really believe your mom is evil? That she honestly doesn't care about you? She raised you from a baby. Why would she do that, if she didn't genuinely love you?" Emma asked gently.

She wanted her son to understand that although his other mother wasn't always the best of people, she DID genuinely love him too.

Henry seemed to struggle for an answer, but before he could reply, the front door to the house burst open, and looking weak-kneed with relief, Regina came running out.

"Henry!" she gasped, sweeping him up into her arms and hugging him tightly.

Emma sighed when Henry didn't return the hug.

Her kid was just as stubborn as she was.

"Henry… Are you okay?" Regina was frantic with worry, "Where have you been? What happened?"

Henry angrily pushed her away, stepping out of her embrace.

Emma noticed how hurt Regina seemed by the action, and she felt a pang of sympathy for the other woman.

"I found my real mom!" the boy spat at Regina.

Then he dodged around her and ran into the house.

A speechless Regina looked up at Emma.

"Y-you're Henry's birth mother?" she stuttered, stunned.

"Hi…" Emma replied awkwardly, unsure how to approach this delicate situation.

If she played this right, perhaps Regina wouldn't be such an awful cow to her in the future.

A girl could hope after all.

And if Emma couldn't get back to her own time, some changes like that might help in the long run.

And then she heard something that made her heart stop.

"I'll just go…check on the lad" a male voice, a very familiar voice, said calmly, "Make sure he's alright".

Emma's neck turned so fast it was a miracle she didn't break it.

Standing there in the doorway; tall, trim, and devilishly handsome, looking just like he had the last time she'd seen him - in his coffin - was Graham Humbert.

Emma gasped, a wave of emotions hitting her like a tidal wave at seeing her old boyfriend alive again.

Her heart was pounding against her ribcage.

Her voice dried in her throat.

Tears stung at her eyes and she hastily fought them off before either of them spotted anything amiss with her reaction.

But he was here.

He was alive again.

No, he just hadn't died yet.

It was like seeing a ghost.

Emma suddenly found herself questioning her will to go back to the future.

How could she, when right now, she had a chance to save Graham… to save so many people… from the cruel fates they had received?

Could she really call herself 'The Saviour' if she doomed Graham to die again, simply by going back to her own time?

This added a whole new complexity to this dilemma.

And Emma knew it was going to take time to come to a decision over this.

Regina, still apparently stunned by Henry finding his birth mother, not to mention bringing her back with him, finally managed to pull herself together enough to speak.

"How would you like a glass of the best apple cider you've ever tasted?" she asked, plastering on an obviously fake smile.

"Got anything stronger?" Emma, still in shock over seeing Graham alive again, weakly asked.

Regina gave a tight smile and turned back into her house.

Stealing her nerves, and trying desperately hard to look at anything but Graham, Emma followed.

She briefly closed her eyes as Graham shut the door after following her in.

This wasn't going to be easy.

Not by a long shot.

"Please, take a seat" Regina ushered Emma into the living room.

Thankfully Graham didn't join them. Emma was just too anxious to deal with talking to him right now.

She would of course, but it was just too much to process right now.

As Emma settled herself on the couch, Regina went over to a cabinet and returned with two glasses and a bottle of cider.

She poured them both a glass before taking a seat opposite Emma.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name" Regina said politely, not that Emma missed the coldness in her voice.

"Emma Swan. And you are?" Emma 'asked'.

"Mayor Mills, or Regina Mills if you prefer" Regina replied.

"Do you know how he found me?" Emma decided to play this carefully, so she'd start by testing the waters.

"No idea. When I adopted him, he was only three weeks old. Records were sealed" Regina said, before her eyes narrowed slightly, "I was told the birth mother didn't want to have any contact".

"Things were a lot more complicated back then" Emma replied uneasily.

Although thinking about it, she wasn't so sure about that.

At least back then, when she was just a normal person with a normal life, she didn't have to deal with time travel and magic and who knows what other kind of crap.

She suddenly found herself longing for a normal life like that again.

Not that she'd give up her son or their family.

Not even for an entire realm.

Regina apparently wasn't interested in listening to whatever 'complicated' meant.

"And the father?" she pressed on.

"There was one" Emma shrugged, before inwardly gasping.

If Graham was alive… then Neal was too!

If she couldn't get back, or chose not to go back, then she could save him too!

Henry wouldn't have to lose his birth father!

"Do I need to be worried about him?" Regina asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Nope" Emma quickly shook her head, "He doesn't even know".

"Do I need to be worried about you, Miss Swan?" Regina's coldness wasn't even masked now.

"Define 'worried about me' please" Emma said carefully, taking a sip of her cider.

Regina did not look amused.

In fact, she looked rather impatient and close to snapping.

"Well, I'd hate for you to mistake all this as an invitation back into his life" she put it bluntly.

"I'm not sure what you mean by that Miss Mills. If by 'invitation back into his life' you think I want to take Henry away from you, I can assure you that isn't what I want at all" Emma told her, thinking that if she could convince Regina of this at this stage, she might not be such a pain in the arse later on.

"Then what exactly is it that you do want Miss Swan?!" Regina asked heatedly, just as Graham came down the stairs.

He glanced between the two women nervously.

"Err, is everything okay down here ladies?" he asked.

Emma fidgetted nervously.

She was still trying incredibly hard to look at anything but the handsome sheriff.

It hurt her too much to look at him when she knew what would happen to him.

Or at least, would if she didn't do anything to stop it.

God, why did her life always have to be so damn complicated?!

"Everything is fine, thank you Sheriff" Regina said tartly.

"Riiight" He dragged the word out, clearly not believing her words, "Well, Madam Mayor, you can relax. Other than being a tired little boy, Henry's fine".

"Thank you, Sheriff" Regina replied, without taking her hawk-like glare off Emma.

Graham took this as his signal to leave and Emma felt relieved.

She REALLY wasn't sure how to act being in the same room with him again.

It was all just so… daunting.

She needed time to think this through.

She didn't want to mess up time itself after all.

"I repeat Miss Swan, what exactly is it you want?" Regina forced some calmness into her voice.

"I'm just concerned, that's all. Henry… if he was truly happy, he wouldn't have come to find me. The fact that he did… it worries me" Emma said delicately.

"You think my son isn't happy with me?!" Regina snapped at her defensively.

"No, that's not what I meant. When I gave Henry up, I was a teenager with no job and no future. I gave him up so he'd have his best chance" Emma explained before being cut over.

She resisted the urge to scowl. Typical Regina. She never did have the best manners.

"Exactly. I want the same thing for him too. I had a job long before I adopted him. Imagine having another one on top of it. That's being a single mom" Regina explained, "So I push for order. Am I strict? I suppose. But I do it for his own good. I want Henry to excel in life. I don't think that makes me evil, do you?"

Emma could appreciate the irony of the question more this time around.

"Interesting choice of wording. 'Evil'. I'd think you were evil if you clung onto Henry like he was an object and not a person" Emma replied.

The former queen, whilst obviously seething at the insinuation on the inside, forced a tight smile.

"I like to think I don't do that" Regina remarked.

"Well, either way, he's got my interest peaked. And I have been looking for a vacation from the big city life, so I think I'll stick around your little Storybrooke for a couple of days" Emma smiled.

She barely resisted the urge to snort as anger stirred in Regina's eyes.

"And you think that's wise Miss Swan?" Regina asked angrily.

"It'll give you a chance to talk to Henry, without the risk of him running back to Boston after me again" Emma shrugged nonchalantly.

She could see that despite loathing it, Regina could see the logic in this.

"I see. Just to be clear, Henry is my son, Miss Swan. He has been ever since you gave him up. I don't think that you spending a few days in our quiet little town will overwrite the decade I've spent with him, do you?" Regina almost made it sound like a challenge.

She really shouldn't have though.

After all, Emma Swan never had been one who could turn down a challenge.

"I'm sure it won't" Emma smiled tightly.

She finished her drink and set the glass down on the table.

"Well, it's getting late, so I guess I should go find a bed-n-breakfast to stay at" Emma said politely.

"Yes, I suppose you should" Regina, not very happy about it, nodded.

They both got to their feet and Regina led Emma over to the front door.

"Do let me know when you're leaving, so we can put this to bed once and for all" Regina held the door open for her.

"Will do" Emma stepped out into the night.

"Oh, and one last thing" Regina called.

Emma turned back to the house, to find Regina sneering down her nose at her from the doorway.

"Welcome to Storybrooke, Miss Swan" the mayor smirked.

She then slammed the door in Emma's face.

Smirking, and knowing that could have gone a lot worse - i.e, the two of them tearing each others' hair out - Emma started walking up the garden path, pausing at the gate.

She looked back up at the house and saw Henry at his bedroom window.

She was about to call out to him, to tell him that she wasn't leaving, but he turned away from the window and the light went off before she could.

Her heart shattered at the sight.

Sighing miserably, Emma turned and got into her bug, and began driving through the streets of Storybrooke, just… thinking.

She wasn't going to leave town.

She wasn't even close to the road leading out of town this time around.

Because she knew that leaving was no longer a possibility.

She had to either get back to the future or figure out what the hell she was going to do if she was really stuck reliving this time again.

Plus she had no intention of crashing into the town's sign and getting arrested for drink driving, thank you very much.

Emma's heart clenched painfully as this thought led her mind against its will to Graham.

Tears stung at her eyes.

Even after all this time, it still hurt so much to think about him, and they'd never even got further than a kiss.

Emma shook those haunting thoughts again.

She had to figure out what to do about him.

Could she really let Graham die again by going back to the future?

And what about Neal and all the others who had suffered?

Theoretically she could change some of that.

Did she really deserve to call herself 'The Saviour' if she didn't?

Needing time to clear her head, and REALLY needing a stiff drink after the day she'd just had to endure, Emma decided that, for now, The Rabbit Hole would be her destination.

Somewhere quiet to just be by herself and think.

The alcohol was a nice incentive too.

Plus it would avoid the whole getting arrested thing, and Emma was totally onboard with that.

Driving her car in the direction of the local drinking hole, Emma was only driving for a few minutes before she noticed that once again, just like in the last timeline, Henry had left his book on the passenger seat.

She couldn't help but smile fondly this time around.

"Smart boy" she whispered.

For one moment, Emma considered turning the car around and returning it to Henry right away, despite knowing that in the original timeline she didn't return it to him until the following day.

She wanted - no, needed - to talk to him.

She had to convince him that she wasn't going anywhere.

Not now, not ever.

But then the mental image of what Regina would say if she turned up on her doorstep again tonight appeared in her mind.

Emma grimaced.

That really wasn't something she wanted to think about.

A soft sigh escaped her lips.

No. For now she'd hold onto the book, and return it to Henry tomorrow at his castle, just like she had in the original timeline.

And then she'd talk to him about her staying.

Nodding to herself, Emma was just pulling up outside The Rabbit Hole as she made this decision.

She parked her bug, stored the book underneath the passenger seat so that it would be hidden from view, and disembarked from her car.

Within two minutes, Emma was inside The Rabbit Hole, sitting on a stool at the bar.

An exhausted sigh escaped her.

It certainly had been one hell of a day.

Hopefully when she closed her eyes and woke up tomorrow, this was be nothing more than an bad dream. She'd be back living with her parents, her friendship of sorts with Regina would be restored, and most importantly, Henry would remember her again.

Everything would be as it belonged again.

But for now, she'd have to make do with a drink.

Or perhaps several bottles.

"Excuse me?" she called to the barman, not even sparing him a glance, "Can I get some service here?"

Whatever Emma was expecting, it certainly wasn't the reply she got.

"I'll be there in a second, love" a familiar voice replied.

Emma's head turned so fast it was a miracle she didn't give herself whiplash.

It was impossible.

It simply couldn't be.

But it was.

Emma would know that voice anywhere.

Her startled green eyes met sapphire blue ones, and the blood drained from her face.

For what felt like the millionth time that night, Emma's jaw dropped.

"Hook?!"

Boom!

Yeah - I really just did that : )

Readers that read the original version of this story might have known/guessed that was coming, but it is slightly different this time. In the original version, Emma nearly ran Hook over, but I decided to change it this time around : )

So what do you guys think?

Cursed Killian. I know that plenty of people have done it, but mine is going to be a little different considering the whole time-travel aspect of the story : )

Thoughts and opinions on this would be greatly appreciated though : )

And Graham. Poor Graham : ) Let's face it, there's no way Emma would just leave him to die again. Marian is proof of that : )

Don't worry though. I am NOT doing a Emma/Graham shipping. I adore them both as characters, and as friends, but I just don't like them paired together. I could - at a stretch - maybe see them as the type of best friends that get drunk one time and have sex, but nothing beyond that, and there is certainly going to be nothing like that in this story. This will be Emma/Killian all the way : )

Anyway, thank you to everyone that reviewed the last chapter, and please leave one on your way out.

Until the next time, keep on reading : )