Fresh Start

Twelve years later

Emma Swan took one final walk around her empty apartment before locking the front door for the last time and posting the keys through the letter box as the new owner had requested, this place had served her well, but it was time for a fresh start she thought as she ducked into her yellow bug put it into drive and headed for her new home and the promotion that was waiting for her there.

The small fishing town of Storybrooke was going to be a big change in pace from the city but Emma was looking forward to it, she desperately needed this change, she'd grown tired of the city life and in Storybrooke she was being promoted to town Sheriff an offer that she couldn't refuse, she'd heard that the town mayor had a bit of a reputation for being a bitch but no one could have everything right?

As she drove the city landscape eventually gave way to a much greener one until the road she was on seemed to curve through the heart of forest itself, sounds filtered through her open window that Emma never seemed to hear in the city, the birds seemed to chirp louder and sound happier here, she felt like she was on that quiet road for a long time before she came to sign that read Welcome to Storybrooke, pulling over she hopped out of her car and posed next to the sign taking a selfie and quickly sending it to her best friend Lily as previously promised before jumping back into the car and driving further into town.

The town it seemed was very quiet at this time of day, the streets were almost deserted when Emma pulled up in front of Grannies diner a few minutes later stomach growling loudly. An attractive brunette with red streaks in her hair wearing a short skirt with a top that exposed her midriff and an apron greeted her as she walked through the door a pen in one hand and a small pad in the other.

"Any seating preferences" she asked

"Somewhere by the window I guess" Emma shrugged

"I'm Ruby" the brunette introduced herself with a smile as she showed Emma to her table "I'll be serving you today"

"Emma" Emma smiled back "Can I just get a coke for a now" she asked picking up the menu,

"Sure, small, regular or large" Ruby asked making a short note on her pad,

"Large please" Emma replied

"Okay I'll be right back with it" Ruby nodded after she'd added another quick note to her pad then she walked away leaving Emma to look over the menu,

"So, are you stopping for a bit or just passing through?" Ruby asked conversationally as she placed the tall glass in front of Emma a few minutes later

"Thanks" Emma said taking several gulps before replying to Ruby's question,

"I'm staying" she smiled "I'll be heading to my new apartment as soon as I've eaten"

"Awesome" Ruby beamed "we need some more younger bloody round here"

"That bad huh" Emma chuckled

"Well let's just say it's a little bit dead around these parts" Ruby replied, "so do you know what you're having yet?" she asked

"Yeah, I think I'm going to try the grilled cheese" Emma smiled setting her menu to one side

"Good choice, you won't regret it" Ruby grinned scribbling on her pad "Granny makes the best grilled cheese"

Ruby as it transpired was correct the grilled cheese that she brought her a short while later was the best that Emma had ever tasted she ate it quick washing it down with what was left of her coke and asked for the bill, then leaving a generous tip for Ruby she headed back out to her car and went in search of her new apartment.

She found it not much more than stone's throw from the diner but saying that she doubted that anything in town was much more than a stone's throw from its centre, her apartment was actually a loft with an open planned kitchen and living space on the ground floor along with a separate bathroom for privacy and up a rickety wooden staircase a space that overlooked the kitchen would be her new bedroom, she unloaded the few personal affects that she had brought with her in the bug and a box containing her kettle, a mug and everything else that she needed to make a coffee, along with a couple of toilet rolls a hand towel, some hand soap and washing up liquid and took it all inside setting her bags of personal affects to one side unable to unpack them until her furniture arrived which was on its way and should be arriving shortly, so she set about unpacking her box of essentials instead.

Looking at her phone she saw that she still had plenty of time for a coffee before her removal truck arrived, so she made one and sat at the kitchen island to drink it, she had brought the loft unfurnished but the old owners it seemed had left their bar stools behind which suited Emma just fine as she didn't have any, she did however text the sellers to make sure that leaving the stools was intentional on their part but for a now whether intentionally left or not she was happy to have use of them, they were much preferable than sitting on the rickey old stairs.

Emma's empty mug was already sitting in the sink when the removal van arrived and the men inside began to off load her belongings carrying her furniture and boxes up to her new home placing everything into the rooms, she wanted them in, the open planned nature of the place made it easier because most of it went in that space with only her bedroom furniture and boxes going up the stairs.

By the time they left all the furniture was in place and Emma just had the boxes to unpack, she didn't own a great many things so it wouldn't take too long, even so Emma decided that it could wait until later, she had another job that she wanted to tend to know, and a few hours of day light left to do it in.

She had a few days before she officially started work but there would be the ceremony to officially recognise Emma as the new town sheriff before that. It was a small-town tradition that Emma could have done without but one that she would have to embrace none the less if she wanted to start off on the right foot with people here, create good rapport and earn the people's respect. She just hated being the centre of attention and she would be willing to bet that most if not the whole town would turn up to watch their mayor pin a badge to their new sheriff's chest because that was the case in most small towns, they were generally so quiet that any excitement and the whole town would show up, the quiet was part of the appeal for Emma, she had experienced more than enough noise in the city, peace was what she yearned for now.

She was expected to collect her sheriffs badge and uniform from the station ahead of the ceremony and turn up kitted out in full uniform ready to hand the badge to the mayor who would pin it in place and then hopefully Emma would be able to run away and hide again so with her unpacking left for later and feeling the need for a change of scenery Emma ventured out making her way to the sheriff's station on foot.

The station was small and unobtrusive a little shabby around the edges but functional, a drunk was sleeping it off in one the cells and a fair-haired man with blue eyes set in a handsome face sat at one of the desks eating a sandwich whilst using his free hand to tap away at his computer keyboard, the computers themselves looked as ancient as time and Emma cringed at the mere thought of how slow they must be, budgeting for new ones she thought as she approached the desk was definitely going to be high on her list of things to discuss with the mayor's office over the coming weeks,

The man was so absorbed in his work that he hadn't even noticed Emma's approach she shifted awkwardly from foot to the other then cleared her throat noisily, finally making the man aware of her presence and almost startling him into dropping his sandwich in the process,

"Can I help you?" he asked politely looking up at her as he held his sandwich in mid-air somewhere between his mouth and the table,

"Umm I hope so" Emma replied shyly "I'm Emma Swan the towns new sheriff or at least I will be in a few days' time" she smiled meeting his kind eyes

"Emma" he repeated face breaking into a huge smile "welcome, I'm David Nolan, acting sheriff until you start" he put his sandwich down onto a piece of paper on the table in front of him and offered the hand for her to shake pulling it back to wipe it down his shirt at the last second before extending it again, Emma accepted the hand which was still a little greasy, holding it for long enough to be deemed polite before retracting her own with a brief nod,

"I just came by to collect my uniform and badge" she explained,

"Ahh well there's a slight problem there" David frowned apologetically, "We weren't expecting you quite so soon and your uniform is still at the dry cleaners, I can give you your badge though" he said helpfully rummaging around in his desk and handing it over

"Thanks" Emma smiled pocketing the badge, "So when will I be able to pick up the uniform?" she asked

"First thing in the morning I would think" David supplied "It'll be ready by now but I'm in here alone so I won't be able to collect it, my wife is going to stop by for the ticket after work and collect it for me, she's a teacher at the elementary school" he smiled proudly and Emma could see the love that he had for his wife shining brightly in his eyes,

"Or you could give the ticket to me, and I could collect it" Emma offered "I'm not busy, I was just going to explore the town on foot, get a feel for the place, I need to be able to find my way around if I'm going to be sheriff right" she laughed,

"Are you sure you wouldn't mind" David asked frown returning "It's not how we usually do things; the mayor probably wouldn't be happy but…"

"I won't tell if you don't" Emma winked,

David just shrugged took a ticket from the same drawer as he had taken Emma's badge from then he took out a leaflet opened it, circled something and drew some lines then handed both to Emma who put the ticket in her pocket then looked down at the leaflet which transpired to be a map of the town, this Emma smiled to herself would come in handy, looking at David's markings on the map Emma saw that he had helpfully circled the station and the dry cleaners drawing the line to show the route that she would be taking between the two.

"Thanks" she nodded turning to leave "I'll see you in a few days"

David mumble something incoherent around the mouthful of sandwich that he had just taken and waved in response.

Back out on the street Emma first followed the maps directions to the dry cleaners, smiling when she found it easily, but she didn't go in, it was a bright, dry day perfect for exploring and Emma was in no hurry to go back to her loft, nor did she have any desire to be weighed down by a heavy sheriffs uniform as she explored the town, so after permitting the location of the dry cleaners and it's closing to time to memory Emma strolled on past it and headed further down the street pausing occasionally to glance at her map.

She passed a pawn broker, could come in handy she thought with a shrug but didn't bother to venture in nor did she notice the keen eyes of the shop's proprietor watching her through the window as she passed. She also found her way back to Grannies and spotted a few other useful stores nearby before she turned off the main street and began to explore down some of the side roads.

She had been walking about fifteen minutes when the houses began to get noticeably bigger and fancier and she realise that she had just stepped into the posher end of town, she was just admiring the hedges in one garden that had all been intricately trimmed into a variety of different animal shapes when something small and solid suddenly flew around the corner just ahead and barrelled straight into her legs with an oomph.

Looking down she saw a pair of strikingly familiar brown eyes looking up at her from the face of a small child who looked to be around four or five years old and whose lip was quivering dangerously, Emma knew that look well and she knew exactly what was coming next if she didn't do something fast,

"Woah kid" she smiled squatting down to his level and reaching out to help him up "Are you okay?" the boy didn't answer but his lip stopped quivering as he quickly scrambled out of her reach a look of intense distrust crossing his features as he looked her up and down,

"Where are you going?" Emma asked

The boy just continued to stare at her through those big brown untrusting eyes that were so familiar to Emma for reasons that she didn't know and shrugged,

"Okay" Emma tried again "Where's your grown-up"

Another silent shrug,

"hmm" Emma considered the child for a second her head cocked to one side, "Do you know where your house is?" she asked

The silent boy nodded,

We're getting somewhere Emma thought giving the child a reassuring smile,

"How about I walk you home" Emma offered,

"My mommy says I should never go anywhere with strangers" the boy replied breaking his silence for the first time,

"And your mommy is completely right" Emma smiled "but I do need to make sure that you get home safe kid, it's part of my new job here see" she said thrusting her hand into her pocket and pulling out her newly collected badge to show him,

"you're the new sheriff" he squeaked, his fingers involuntarily twitching towards the badge, but he resisted clenching his fists at his sides still looking a little weary, his mother had taught him well

"That I am" Emma smiled "but as we're still strangers aren't we?" Emma winked, and the boy nodded solemnly

"How about I let you hold onto this" she gently threw the badge across the gap for the boy to pick up "And you can walk home, I'll stay back until you get back to your mom safe and then I can say hello to her and get my badge back, sound good"

The boy looked down at the badge then back up into Emma's eyes and Emma was again struck by the familiarity in those earnest dark irises, but she quickly shook it off and stood up to follow from a safe distance when the young boy nodded, turned on his heel and began to bounce off back in the direction that he had come from.

She heard his mother well before she saw her, the frantic shouts for her son made Emma's heart ache and soar at the same time as she knew that this mother's heartache was about to be over and relief would quickly ensue in its place,

"There you are Henry" and there it was, her voice had come down several octaves and relief flowed through the tone, a very familiar tone that Emma hadn't heard in years, it was more mature and richer now, but Emma who's mind immediately flashed back to the girl shaking her basket at her waiting for her to drop her potato chips inside of it when they were sixteen years old, but it can't be she thought shaking herself back into the present and trying desperately to ignore the renewed stab of pain in her chest.

But it was,

"The new sheriff found me" Henry proudly related to his mom showing her the badge,

"He did" the boy's mother replied,

"She momma the new sheriff is a girl not a boy" he giggled,

"Oh" the woman replied, and Emma saw her brow arch as the boy nodded solemnly

"And where is she?" the brunette mother asked her son

"Umm right here ma'am" Emma spoke up stepping forward "I didn't want to crowd the boy what with us being strangers an all" Emma explained,

"And I appreciate that Miss…." The woman stood up holding her son's hand firmly her eyes scanning from Emma's feet up to her face as she rose "Emma" she gasped

"Yea" Emma cleared her throat and fidgeted awkwardly under the woman's gaze, there she was twelve years older and more attractive than ever, but she was still every bit the Regina that Emma knew, every bit and more, well of all the fucking coincidences Emma thought as their eyes locked across the space between them.

"You know the new sheriff" Momma Henry spoke up interrupting the silence,

"You could say that" Regina replied, her eyes still locked on Emma's looking as though she couldn't quite believe that she was there, and Emma reasoned she probably couldn't,

"uh yeah we go way back" Emma supplied, "Well it was nice to see you again Regina" Emma nodded politely, stepping forward to retrieve her badge "thanks for looking after this for me kid" she smiled ruffling Henry's hair, "I really have to go now, uh dry cleaning to collect" she babbled pulling out the ticket and waving it in the air to emphasize her point, "stay close to your mom okay" she smiled down at Henry and he grinned up at her in response reluctantly releasing the badge clasped in his little fist, Emma backed off from the duo stumbling as she almost tripped over her own feet in her haste to get away,

"Will you come visit us" Henry called after Emma's retreating back,

"Uh sure why not kid" Emma paused smiling back him without really registering what she had just agreed to as she tried desperately to avoid meeting Regina's gaze then she waved at Henry and hurried off, leaving the beautiful brunette gaping after her.

Emma was still feeling flustered when she was tapping on the counter in the dry cleaners waiting for her uniform, she had stumbled back here somehow, how she couldn't say exactly because her mind had been so preoccupied that she hadn't really paid attention to where here feet were taking her until she had crossed the dry cleaners thresh hold and was handing the slip to the lady behind the counter who had looked at her suspiciously until Emma had showed her, her badge.

Of all the towns in all the country Regina had chosen this one it was unbelievable she thought her hand moving to her neck of its own accord grasping the silver swan pendant that still rested there as memories of that Christmas rushed over her bringing with it all the feelings of bitter resentment, hurt, regret and betrayal until she had to force herself to release her white knuckle grip on the pendant before she accidentally broke its chain.

Almost unbelievably Emma had only realised that she was still was wearing the thing back at the home the day after Regina's mother had turned up at the lake house, she'd been filled with so many emotions at once after that, that it had taken all of her energy's to reign them in and keep herself from breaking, on the outside she was mask of cool disinterest but on the inside she was burning, the mask was a necessity, time and experience had taught her that she couldn't show weakness, not here if she did the other kids would eat her alive and her life would be even more of a hell than it already was, she had become something of an exhibition when the other kids had woken up on boxing day to find that Emma had returned, they constantly seemed to be watching her with quiet interest casting her side looks whenever she was near, curiosity about where she had been burning in their eyes. Emma had run many times but never been away so long before or come back so well rested, even her restless first night back hadn't been enough to undo the good that those nights away with Regina had done her. Her best friend Lily had been the only one who dared to ask questions and it was her that had spotted the little silver chain and drew Emma's attention to it, suddenly what had gone unnoticed had became a weight around her neck, reminding her of the cruel taste of a happy life that had be ripped so quickly from her, Emma's first instinct was to pull it off and free herself of its burden but somehow she had never been able to and now it had become a part of her.

"Here you go" the check out clerk smiled holding out the garment for Emma to take much friendlier now that the new sheriff had identified herself,

"Thanks" Emma returned the smile gratefully accepting the heavy bag and heading out of the door with it.

Back at her apartment Emma tossed It onto the sofa and began to pace mind racing a hundred miles per hour, she'd just have to avoid Regina as much as possible she concluded letting out a frustrated sigh as she threw herself down next to her dry cleaning, she'd have to say hello to the kid of course, she knew better that to assume that he would forget his request or her promise to him and she wasn't in the business of disappointing kids so she'd keep her promise to him and then she'd stay away but before she could worry herself about any of that she had her ceremony with the town's Mayor to contend with, Emma wondered if Regina would turn up for that now that she knew who the new sheriff was or if she would be one of the few townsfolk to give the whole thing a miss, frankly she wouldn't have blamed her or anybody else if they did avoid it regardless of past affiliations because she suspected that it wasn't going to be much fun and she would be trying to escape at the first possible opportunity herself.

David filled her in on what was expected of her at the ceremony, there wasn't much, mostly it was just answering the Mayor's questions with yes's and I do's then repeating a short oath, then there would be some mingling before hopefully she'd be able to escape, she wished she had managed to introduce herself to the mayor prior to this but every time she'd tried to book an appointment Mayor Mills had been busy, all she knew of the woman was what she heard around town which wasn't great in fact most people said she was a bitch who ran the town with an iron fist which was why the town had, had such a fast turnover of Sheriffs since she had been appointed, that did very little to alleviate Emma's anxieties.

Still, she thought as she stood in her Sheriffs attire nervously adjusting her collar waiting for her cue to step onto the stage, dealing with this Mayor couldn't be any worse than bumping into Regina so that was something. The cue seemed to simultaneously come too soon and not soon enough as Emma slipped into a well-honed cool control and let her feet do the work leading her to the chair that she had been instructed to sit in ahead of the mayor's assentation onto the stage. The chair of course was facing into the crowd so Emma could see the sea of curious faces looking at her like she was an exhibition on display, just as she had suspected that they would it seemed that most of the town had come out for this and as hard as she tried not to, she found herself searching one face in particular. She didn't spot Regina in the crowd but much to her surprise in the centre of the front row next to a pretty, red headed woman who was actively trying to calm him down stood a very excited Henry waving at her frantically, she smiled at his antics and gave a little wave back eliciting a rising aww from the crowd as they witness the interaction between the young boy and his sheriff.

Then Mayor Mills was introduced to the stage and Emma sat up straight backed arm back at her side as she watched the town's most formidable woman finally make herself known to Emma.

Emma watched as the mayor ascended the steps, familiar brunette hair and unrivalled flawless beauty was followed by a power suit clad body that curved in all of the right places as her hips swayed enticingly and ended with an elegant black heel stepping onto the stage, of course it was her Emma thought with a sigh, Regina hadn't just chosen this town to live in, she ran it, Regina fucking Mill's was the town's mayor, how had Emma never known the woman's last name before now? So much for avoiding her Emma thought with a defeated sigh as she realised just often, she would be likely to cross paths with the mayor as the towns Sheriff.

She barely listened as Regina's dulcet tones rang out across the hall demanding silence without ever actually asking for it, the only other sound that could be heard aside from Regina as she introduced Emma to the town, was the odd excited squeal that escaped from the five-year-old boy sitting in the front row who fought a constant battle to contain his excitement, one that for the most part he was winning and Emma couldn't help but feel a little proud of him for that.

Regina had asked her twice to rise before Emma realised that the she was being spoken to and avoiding making eye contact stood up making her way to meet the brunette in the centre of the stage, where still avoiding making eye contact with the Mayor she handed over her badge, now she listened saying yes in all the right places and repeating her oath to the town without missing a beat and then Regina approached her badge held out and Emma fell silent holding her breath as she waited for Regina to pin it to her jacket, goose bumps rising on the surface of her skin as she felt Regina's nimble fingers fumbling around in their efforts to secure the badge in place. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she stepped back to admire her work before extending her hand towards Emma,

"Welcome to Storybrooke Sheriff Swan, we trust that our town will be in good hands with you" she said with a tight little smile and Emma knowing that she was supposed to take that hand, swallowed nervously before reaching out with what she was sure was bound to be an embarrassingly sweaty palm and grasped Regina's offered hand in her own,

"Thank-you, I'll do my best" she nodded, her voice much stronger and steadier than she felt, then she gave the hand a polite shake before letting go and moving to face the applauding crowd very effectively creating some space between herself and the mayor in the process.

With the ceremony part over Emma had high hopes of getting away quickly but it wasn't to be as soon as she stepped off the stage, she was overwhelmed by the crowd all of whom seemed to want to shake her hand, with some also wanting to discuss some town issue or another right there and then. By the time she had been presented with her fifth consecutive question about a variety of issue's that needed addressing and she still hadn't been able to move away from the stage Emma realised that she was going to have to have to do something to abate the crowd if she was ever going to get home that night and so she back tracked up onto the stage and approached the microphone,

"Excuse me" she said into the microphone, but it must have been switched off already because the sound didn't fill the room as it had before, so she fumbled with the switch on its side while the crowd watched her curiously,

"Uh hello" Emma spoke again cautiously and was relieved when her timid hello filled the space,

"Hi, I know that the time for speeches is over and I'm sorry to draw your attention back here but I just wanted to assure you all that I'm aware that there has been a lot of turnover in the Sheriff's department recently and that consequently there are many outstanding issues in Storybrooke at the moment that have gone unsolved for far too long, so I totally understand why you all want to tell me about them as soon as possible, but I can't remember all of them from word of mouth so I would kindly ask that you leave your concerns in writing at the station over the coming week, if you are unable to attend in person please feel free to call instead and leave a message or send somebody else in with your concern and I promise that I will read through them all at the start of next week and work through them until all the issues have been addressed however big or small, thank-you" she smiled and nodded turning off the microphone again as a cheer rose from the crowd,

Emma came down from the stage again and was greeted by many more handshakes from very appreciative people, nobody else tried to inform her of issues but the handshakes and greetings were becoming repetitive and exhausting, so she was more than thankful for the reprieve that came in the form of a little bundle flying into her legs and wrapping his arms around her waist,

"Hey there kid" she smiled crouching to his level,

"Emma!" Henry squealed "you're the best sheriff ever"

"I don't know about that kid, I haven't even started yet" Emma chuckled ruffling in his hair,

"Well, I do" Henry declared putting his hands on his hips and puffing out his little chest "and the mayor's my mommy so if I say you're best then you're the best" he said with a firm nod and a look on his face that made him look like the double of Regina,

"How can I argue with that" Emma smiled rising back to her full height to stretch her cramping legs, "and speaking of your mommy, where is she" Emma asked trying to spot Regina through the dense crowd that had formed around them, Henry glanced around then blinked up at Emma and gave her a little shrug,

"I only saw her on the stage, I was supposed to stay with aunty Zee" the little boy admitted shoulders drooping and head hanging low as he realised that he was probably in trouble now,

"What do you say we go find them together?" Emma asked leaning down and tickling Henry's belly to make him laugh before she picked him up and settled him on her hip, both to give him a better view and to keep him from accidentally getting trampled,

"Now your aunt Zee" Emma said thinking back to the excited child in the front row not so long ago "she's the red head that you were sitting with, right?"

Henry nodded eyes wide as saucers as he continued to look for his mom and his aunt in the crowd. Emma spotted the redhead first, she felt bad for the woman because she could see the look of worry pinched on her pale face as she searched for her young charge in the crowd, and just beyond her a look of fury mixed with concerned etched across her features stood Regina,

"Let's get you back to them so they can stop worrying" Emma smiled at Henry, and she began to force her way through the people that remained between her and Henry's family,

"Looking for something?" Emma asked as she finally cleared the crowd and approached the women with Henry still in her arms,

"Henry Daniel Mills, how many times do I have to tell you not to run off" Regina scolded him

"Thank god your okay" his aunt added relief as obvious in her eyes as it was in his mother's,

"Sorry" Henry sighed sadly "I just wanted to see Emma and I forgot…." He trailed off under his mother's glare,

"You're mom's right you know Henry" Emma spoke quietly but Henry clung onto her every word "I've found you twice in the past few days, away from your adult, it's not safe kid, not everyone's as friendly as I am" she smiled and tickled his belly again making the little boy giggle, "Listen to your mom kid and stay safe kay" he nodded enthusiastically and Emma passed him over to Regina,

"I don't know how to thank you" Regina began

"No need" Emma waved her off already turning to walk away,

"Will you come see soon" Henry called from his mother's arms,

"I'm sure I'll see you about kid" Emma smiled giving him a little wave.

She made her excuses and headed home not long after that, spotting Regina strapping Henry into the back seat of her sleek Mercedes as she left the town hall Emma pulled back to keep out of sight until they were gone and then she retraced her footsteps back to her loft and trapsed up the stairs taking a quick shower before she fell into bed.

Though she was exhausted it took Emma a long time to fall asleep as thoughts of Regina and Henry swirled in her head, she wished that Henry hadn't have gotten so attached to her, he was a sweet kid and she cared about him already so she didn't want to let him down but she knew that she would, the way that things were between her and his mother how could she do anything but let him down? Regina had lied to her, completely betrayed her and destroyed what little ability she had, had left to trust in other people, even all these years later that pain was still as raw as the day that Regina's mother had walked in on them and she had finally discovered the truth about who Regina really was and where she came from, she couldn't move past it because she hadn't yet begun to heal.