AN. Lets take this from the top. First, I own neither the character's, nor the show. I do however own the plot of this story, so please bare that in mind as I don't own anything else worth having.
The town of Storybrooke Maine came awake on a bright crisp autumn morning. Lights all over town started to turn on to dispel the fading gloom of night as parents woke kids for another school week and on main street the one place open before all others, Granny's Dinner opened the doors in preparation for another day of business.
In her apartment that she shared with her son Henry, Emma Swan slept on, for today was her day off, having sent Henry to Regina's yesterday afternoon for a week at her house. The three of them had sat down shortly after Zelena had been defeated and worked things out so that, hopefully, there would be no more fighting. Henry would alternate weeks between his two mothers. While problems still cropped up, the fighting had fallen off.
"Son of a bitch!" Emma growled as an obnoxious blaring woke her from a pleasant dream. Henry had once again forgotten to shut off his alarm. Rolling ungracefully from under the duvet, her hair a tangled mess, she stumbled towards her sons room. Several more curses and a sore toe later, she headed back towards her bed, her eyes still mostly closed. With a grateful sigh, she crawled back into her comfortable bed.
At Regina's, Henry stumbled through his own waking, not realizing he was again going to be in trouble with his Ma.
"Come on Henry, your going to be late if you don't move faster." The woman who had at one time terrorized most of the people in town called up the stairs. "Your breakfast is going to get cold, and we do not have time to go to Granny's before the bus comes."
Regina could not believe the change in her son, for as a teenager of thirteen, he seemed to take even more after his birth mother in mannerisms. But then again, he did have memories of growing up with her, thanks to her own spell, meant to keep him safe from Pan's spell. Mannerisms she hoped would fade a bit with her own influence once more in his life.
At the Library, Belle woke to her own alarm, and the aroma of fresh coffee floating in her open window from next door at the dinner. Getting out of bed she began her morning routine, heating water in the kettle for a cup of tea as she turned on the shower. As it was a Monday she had time to go for breakfast and see her best friend before opening time at ten so she did not bother with any other preparations. After finishing her shower she sat at her small kitchen table with the morning paper and her cup of tea, letting the beverage wake her. Once done, she washed her cup and, locking the door behind her, headed down stairs and out the door for the short walk to the dinner.
As for the waitress, she had started her morning well before most, having to open the dinner today. Wolfs time had been a week ago and per her agreement with her grandmother she opened the dinner the week after so the former wolf could sleep in having closed and opened the dinner for the past week.
Glancing up from the table she was cleaning at the sound of the bell, a smile graced her face as one of her best friends entered, a book tucked under her arm as usual and headed for the booth she always sat at. Finishing cleaning the mess left by the last patron, she headed for the counter, pouring a cup of tea for the bookworm, and made her way to the table.
"Morning Belle, do you know what you want today? Or shall I pick for you?" She asked, placing the hot cup and a small pitcher of cream on the polished wood.
"You ask me the same thing every time and I always give you the same answer." Belle replied, her soft, accented voice carrying a hint of laughter as she looked up from the novel in her hand.
"I know, surprise you, but maybe I keep expecting you to surprise me by choosing something yourself." The tall brunette told her. "But, one breakfast surprise a 'la Ruby coming right up, be back in a jiff with it"
Outside the dinner, Regina watched as her son boarded the bus, before glancing at her watch. She still had twenty minutes until she had her first meeting of the morning, having never been asked to step down from Mayor after the last curse. Deciding to get a cup of coffee, she turned, only to run into a mass of blonde hair.
"Sherriff, I did not expect to see you today, what brings you out so early on your day off?" She asked, once she ascertained the mumbled voice was in fact the Emma, her once rival, now her tentative ally.
"Your son," the muttered reply sounded. And if she wasn't mistaken, the emphasis had been on 'your' the former Queen noticed, "didn't turn off his alarm, again!"
"When he does that Miss Swan, he is 'Your' son. I never had that problem." Turning once more, Regina headed into the dinner, going up to the counter to order her beverage, leaving the blonde to follow if she so wished.
"Let me guess," Ruby said as she poured the Mayor her coffee a grin on her face as she saw Emma slouch into the booth by the door. "Henry didn't turn off his alarm again, and she didn't check it? You would think with it happening every time she has a day off, she would check herself."
"You would think so. Thank you for the coffee." Regina said, after paying. As she exited, she allowed a small smile to grace her face. She might no longer be the 'Evil Queen' but even reformed people could still have their fun she thought to herself as she made her way to the office. After all it was child's play to use her magic to move a small switch on a clock from off to on. Even Henry was finding it funny, wondering how long it would take Emma to figure it out.
"So, what are your plans for the rest of your day Emma?" Ruby inquired a bit later, after the woman had downed her breakfast and a pot of coffee having learned long ago the woman rarely made sense until she was actually awake.
"Just the usual, laundry and grocery shopping then maybe a nap and I have to get Henry a new alarm clock." She responded, covering a sudden yawn.
"How many have you destroyed now? Wasn't that one new?"
"It made a loud racket, I had to kill it." Emma told the werewolf. "One of these days I'm going to figure out how and when she bewitches them. I know it was off last night, and unplugged, and I even made sure there was no battery in it."
"You might as well admit defeat and maybe she will stop your prank war. She has had more years to practice after all." Ruby told her.
"And give her the satisfaction? Nope, not going to happen, but if you want, you can help me plan a bit of payback."
"Oh, sounds like fun." Casting a look around, she saw they were the only two left after the morning rush, Belle having left as Emma finished her breakfast. Sliding into the booth across from Emma, the two started to conspire, and across the commons in her office, Regina felt a slight chill work its way down her back.
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Meanwhile, in New York, another meeting was taking place in an abandoned warehouse five men sat around discussing the future of their own dark business.
"Are you sure about that place? How can we know if it's true or not?" asked one man, his voice horse and gravelly, most likely from the scar that bisected his throat. "Have any of you checked it out for yourselves to be sure?"
"Yes sir," a younger man replied. "I was up there two weeks ago and it's just like we were told. If you don't know it's there, you won't find it, but the directions she gave me before she left last year lead me right to the place. It's a small town all but cut off from the surrounding area. It will be perfect for our plans."
"What about the law up there? I know Maine is back water but will we be facing the state police?" another asked, his suit marking him as having money.
"No. As far as the state and county people up there are concerned, the town of Storybrooke does not exist, and I doubt the 'people' who live there will be too eager to call them in. The place will be perfect for us." The younger man replied, all the while in his head, he plotted how he would find out the whole truth of the town where his sister had vanished.
"Alright, prepare the trucks; I want to get moving on this before the week is over. Send a crew up there, and you lead them Dante, and remember, this is business, not personal. You're on our time now. When things are set up, then and only then will I let you look for Tamara." The well-dressed man told him. "Do you understand me?"
"Yes sir. I will do as you say Patri." Dante replied, giving a short nod to the other men in the room, he left to follow his orders.
"Will he do as he is told?" the first man asked after he left.
"He will if he knows what's good for him. He knows what's on the line if he fails." The second replied, "If he fails, I will kill him myself."
Hope you enjoyed, till next time, RM
