Chapter 11
Jailbird Blues
The next morning, Lily had still not returned from her night of livery. Emma hadn't found it strange that Lily wasn't home when she got home last night since Lily was a party animal and Halloween was one of her favorite holidays. She started to get worried though when she woke up the next morning and Lily wasn't passed out on the bed across from hers. The bed was made up and no one had slept in it. Emma jerked on her jeans and found her cell phone in her jacket pocket and started dialing her. It went to voicemail, dead. Emma rolled her eyes since it was typical of Lily, never being responsible enough to plug her phone in at night.
Emma decided to go to Granny's, and since the bug wasn't parked outside, she thought perhaps Lily had headed over there for a hangover cure before her. However, when she stepped into the diner, there was no sign of her bug and she found the Sheriff waiting for her instead. "I've been looking for you," he said.
He was seated at the bar eating a pile of hash browns and eggs, and looked very nonplussed. "Yeah, I can tell you tried real hard," she scoffed, and took a seat beside him. "No, I'm serious," he said, taking a long gulp of his orange juice. "Your partner Lily is being held down at the station," he informed her and Emma choked on the glass of water she'd just ordered, doing a spit take. "What?! What for?!"
"DUI," Graham admitted and Emma stared at him, mouth agape. Could they go absolutely nowhere without Lily getting herself in trouble? That does it, we're definitely going now, Emma angrily thought and her hands clenched into fists. Giving into Lily's whims had always been a bad habit of Emma's.
And look where that ended us now, Emma thought venomously. She was determined to haul Lily out of this god forsaken place and leave before everyone knew the truth about her. This was their pattern, Lily got in trouble, and they left. This time, she was going to make it work in her favor.
"You want me to take you to her?" Graham asked, eyeing the blonde. She'd gone unnervingly quiet after his news. He was dying to find out what made her tick, and was interested to know what was going on in that beautiful, mysterious head of hers. "No," Emma said quietly. "Where's my car?"
Graham quirked an eyebrow, curious that Emma didn't seem to care her friend was in jail. "It's being held down at the station," he answered, and seeing the question she was afraid to ask on her face, he chuckled, "It's fine. She smashed up our welcome sign out near the town line, but your car got away pretty unscathed so that's good," he explained. "Well, good for you, bad for us," he chuckled. "What?" Emma asked, suddenly curious. Lily had been leaving Storybrooke when this happened? What the hell?
"I changed my mind, yeah, please take me to her," the blonde told Graham. He finished up his eggs and hash browns and made to leave with Emma. "This way," he said, leading the way to his police cruiser and he drove them towards the station.
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When they arrived at the station, Emma was furious. Lily knew she had it in for her the moment she saw her estranged lover. Her jaw was clenched tight and she was quietly simmering in rage, which was never good for Lily. Quiet Emma only meant she was gathering ammunition. Whatever she was about to say, she could bet it would be soul crushing. Unfortunately, Lily had screwed up enough times to tell when Emma was really disappointed in her. This was one of those times, regrettably.
"Emma?" Lily called uncertainly. Emma approached the cell, and her eyes flickered to the dirty looking man in the opposing cell, sitting on the floor. "I'll let you out, but you gotta behave Leroy," Graham said, coming forward with some keys to the drunk's cell. He'd been hauled in for the drunk tank the night before, coming from the same bar Lily had. She was invited to the Rabbit's Hole by Ruby that night after Emma left her at Granny's. The last thing she remembered was taking shots at the bar with Ruby.
Graham wandered from the holding area over to his desk behind a glass partition to give the girls some privacy. Emma looked quite intense when he left, and he wasn't eager to see two women get into it again. He'd had a hell of a time calming Regina down the night before, only to be called in when the town got out of hand that night with all their boozey Halloween parties.
"What the fuck, Lily? Graham said you were leaving Storybrooke," Emma acussed her. "I wasn't!" Lily claimed. "Not without you, not for real," she pleaded, coming to stand in front of Emma and grip the solid black bars seperating them. "Then what were you doing?" the blonde spat, anger evident in her stormy eyes.
"I don't know! I just thought I'd try and find August, I don't know what I was thinking," the brunette admitted. Emma chuckled darkly. "You don't think there was a BETTER time to go off searching on your own, maybe when you were SOBER?" Emma nearly yelled. She had to struggle to get her voice back under her control, and Lily's eyes welled up with tears.
"I didn't mean to," she begged, and Emma turned her back on her. "I can't believe you were gonna leave me," the blonde said and crossed her arms over her chest. Lily stared beseechingly at her back, golden curls tumbling down it. "I wasn't. I'm sorry. I'll do better, Emma," she promised forlornly, and Emma wheeled back around on her heel. "You're damn right you'll do better!" she seethed, and Lily shrank back from her a little and looked guiltily down at the concrete floor. "If you'll just get me out, we can-" she started to say, but Emma cut her off.
"Get you out? Why would I get you out?" she asked sharply, her eyebrows furrowing dangerously. Lily's eyes widened in shock. "Now I have you right where I want you, where you can't cause any more trouble," Emma commented and Lily approached the bars once again, clutching at them like life lines. "No, Emma, c'mon," she pleaded. "You can't really leave me here."
"Watch me," Emma defiantly said. She turned her back on Lily. "One night's not gonna kill you, and it'll give you time to think," Emma assured her, and Lily sank onto the bench in her cell in defeat. She didn't say anything else as Emma left her.
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Emma needed to be alone. She paid the fees to get her car released and traveled down to the beach in search of a place to think away from it all. She was sitting on the hood of her yellow bug staring out at the ocean when a familiar voice sounded near to her. It was Henry, lugging around that damn book of his. His castle wasn't far off, and he must have noticed her from afar. She hadn't realized she'd gone out towards his special place until it was too late. The sad thing was she didn't feel much like company.
Henry approached her leaned against the grill of her car. "I thought things would be different by now," he commented at length. Emma raised a curious eyebrow at him. "What do you mean? Different how?" she asked. "I thought the final battle would have begun by now and you'd be on your way to breaking my mom's curse," he answered her.
Emma looked disbelievingly at him. "What are you talking about, kid? I'm not fighting any battles. I'm not breaking any curses," she denied. "Yes, you are, it's your destiny. You're gonna bring back the happy endings," Henry claimed, never knowing how childlike and innocent he truly sounded in that moment. Emma was cross with him because she didn't want to be in a position to crush all his dreams, yet here she was.
"Will you cut the book crap out?"
"You don't have to be a jerk, I can tell you like me," her son said with a knowing smile. "You're just pushing me away because I make you feel guilty. But don't be, you don't have to," he told her. "Don't what?" she asked, caught off guard. He was so perceptive for such a little kid. "Don't feel guilty. I know why you gave me up," he said to her and her breath hitched in her throat. "Why? What do you think?" she asked, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "You were trying to give me my best chance," he said. "How do you know that?" she shakily asked.
"It's the same reason Snow White gave you away," he told Emma. "Listen to me, kid, I hate to burst your bubble but I am not some character in a story book. I'm a real person, and I'm not perfect. I'm no savior. You were right about one thing though, I did want you to have your best chance. It's just not with me. Your mother's right, it's not right for me to be here," she said. "C'mon, let's get you back home," she said with determination and Henry stalled, his eyes horror stricken.
"You can't leave! What about me?" Henry asked. "What about everybody? You have to break the curse. You don't know what it's like with her," Henry started to cry. "My life sucks!" Emma wanted more than anything to turn tail and run, but her feet were rooted to the spot as tears rolled down Henry's cheeks. "At least you have a mom who wants you, kid! I was left abandoned on the side of the highway. My parents didn't even take me to a hospital," she said.
"Your parents didn't leave you, that's just where you came through," Henry insisted. "What?" Emma asked, truly baffled. "The wardrobe!" he said excitedly. "When you came through the wardrobe, you showed up on the street. But your parents didn't leave you, they were trying to save you from the curse," Henry explained heatedly.
Emma gave a sad little chuckle. "Sure they were," Emma said. The look of disbelief on her face left Henry feeling low and down for the count. "C'mon, Henry," Emma said and gestured for him to get into her bug. "I'm not crazy," Henry mumbled under his breath as he got in. "I didn't say you were," Emma said, and they left it at that as they shared a quiet ride home.
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Regina was standing in her son's bedroom, peering out the window when her son and that woman pulled up in her vile yellow car. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and she frowned as they alighted from the car, and Henry gave Emma a huge hug. Regina spun on her high heel when she saw that, and stalked down the stairs to the front entrance to intercept them.
"Henry!" she called, opening the front door, and bidding him come closer faster. She needed him away from this damnable woman as soon as possible. Henry rushed past his mother into the house, ignoring her arms spread open for a hug of her own. Her face fell as she watched him bound up the stairs, and suddenly she remembered who was fueling her present fire of anger and disappointment. She turned back towards Emma Swan.
"He seems to have taken quite a shine to you," she said, smiling deceptively. Emma nervously tucked her thumbs into her belt loops, looking down at the ground. "But don't misunderstand and take this as invitation back into his life." Emma's eyes darted up to her dark, serious ones.
"You literally have no right. For ten years, I've changed every diaper, soothed every fever, and endured every tantrum while you've been off doing God knows what," she said. "You may have given birth to him, but he's my son," the mayor declared. "Henry has enough issues, he doesn't need you confusing him. So I suggest you get in your car and you leave this town, or I will destroy you if it is the last thing I do."
There was a pregnant pause as the two women sized each other up. This bitch has another thing coming if she thinks she can order me away. "It's too bad," Emma said with a little chuckle, "I was actually thinking about leaving before. But there's no way in Hell I'm leaving now, Miss Mayor." Emma snidely said, "Since you just threatened me, now I need to stay and make sure Henry's okay."
"Henry's fine," Regina huffed, her feathers obviously ruffled. "Any problems he may have are being tended to," she said, purposefully being vague and Emma's eyebrows raised in concern. "What does that mean?" "It means I have him in therapy. Take my advice Ms. Swan, only one of us knows what's best for Henry."
"I'm starting to think you're right about that," Emma said skeptically, eyeing the mayor.
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It was late afternoon by the time Emma found herself in front of a door marked, "Dr. Archibald Hopper, Psychiatrist." She knocked on the door, and Henry's therapist answered looking considerably more respectable compared to his attire the night before. He wore a green sweater vest, pale yellow top, and khaki pants and his glasses made him look very insightful and intelligent. Emma found herself wanting to trust him, if he was the one who was supposed to be helping her kid.
"Hi," she said. "Are you Dr. Hopper? I'm Emma Swan," she smiled as she introduced herself. Archie shook her hand, "I know who you are, Ms. Swan," he said informally with a grin. "It'd be hard not to," he added mirthfully. "Please, call me Emma," Emma insisted. "Emma, then I am Archie to you," he gestured towards the couch in his office, opening the door wider for her to come in. "Please, what can I do for you today?" he politely asked.
"Well..." she started, darting hesitant eyes towards the ginger haired man. "I'm actually here to ask about Henry," she asked in a rush, the words tumbling nervously out of her mouth. The look Dr. Hopper gave her suggested he'd really rather not, and Emma felt her heart sink. "Ah, I see, Emma, I-" he started to make some excuse, but Emma hurried to cut him off.
"Well, look, just tell me one thing. This thing about the fairy tales. What causes his obsession? He thinks everyone in his life is a character from a story book. That's insane," she concluded with a sense of grief. She wanted to help her son in any way, and she needed Archie to help her understand him better.
"I hope you don't talk like that in front of him," the therapist said protectively. "The word 'crazy' can be very damaging." Emma immediately got the sense that this man was a good influence on her son, and may even have served him as a male figure in lack of one in his home life. "These stories are Henry's way of communicating. He uses this book to help deal with his problems," he explained. "It's his language." Emma admitted she thought he must be good for Henry, if he knew so much about his problem.
"Didn't he only get the book a month ago? Has he been seeing you longer than that?" Emma inquired. Archie peered uncertainly at his filing cabinet, probably mentally calculating how long. "Um, yes, he has," he hesitantly confessed. "So it's her then, isn't it?" Emma asked sharply. "His mother is a very complicated woman, and she has very specific ideas for the path that Henry's life should take."
Archie went to his filing cabinet and retrieved a large, beige folder. "Why don't you take a look at this," he said. Emma's eyes filled with hope, and she eagerly accepted the file from him. "This will tell you everything you're wanting to know," he said and Emma sighed. "Thank you."
As soon as Emma left his office, Archie walked straight over to his desk to place a phone call.
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Emma had just scarfed down a bologna sandwich for dinner, consumed with Henry's file. She read over it as crumbs fell on the page and paid them no heed, sitting on her bed crossed legged with the papers spread out before her. She was just turning a page about one of Henry's nightmares when she heard a knock at her door.
"Emma Swan?"
Outside the door, Sheriff Graham stood leaned against the door frame. "We've got to quit meeting like this," he drawled, and Emma put her hands on her hips. "You're telling me. What do you need? I'm a little busy," she said, darting a glance over her shoulder and waving nonchalantly behind her. Graham peered around her curiously, then looked down at her. "Well, you see, I'm afraid that's what I'm here about actually," he said, clearing his throat uncomfortably.
"Dr. Hopper said you'd been by to see him earlier," Graham told her. Emma looked at him questioningly, "Yeah, what of it?" "He said that you two got into a bit of row when you asked to see Henry's file, and when he wouldn't give it to you, you broke into his office and stole it." Emma started to laugh in wonder, and threw her hands up. I can't ever win. "You mean this file? The one he gave me?" she asked, stepping aside to show him the bed, supposedly caught red handed.
She wasn't surprised when Graham slapped the hand cuffs on her. "Sorry, but he's telling a different story," the officer said . She appraised him knowingly, and asked him as he lead the way out of her room with the file in his hand, "You know I'm being set up, don't you?" Graham gave her a look like she was the crazy one. "And who would do something like that?"
"You know damn well it's that she-devil mayor of yours," Emma hissed as he helped her duck her head into the back seat of the cruiser instead of the front this time. "We'll see about that," he lightly commented. "Twice in one day, my lucky day," Emma sarcastically bit out from behind the wired screen and Graham laughed as he started up the cruiser to take Ms. Swan back to jail.
