A/N: Thanks to everyone for reading! A reviewer asked if there was no magic/fairytale thing going on here...yes, the curse is in effect but there's no-one in Storybrooke who knows the truth to tell Emma about it.

Chapter Five

Without a job to go back to on Monday, Emma regarded the weekend far less fondly. She paced around her room at the B&B for a while, going over everything in her mind. What the hell she was still doing in this stupid little town? She'd planned to come here to make sure her son was ok and then she was gonna leave. Just had to make sure the adoptive mother wasn't a psycho or a druggie and didn't starve or hit the kid (that'd make her better than some of the ones in Emma's experience).

Now what? Hadn't she done what she came here for?

Henry was fine. Regina was fine. Granted, she was cold and strict, but at least she wanted Henry didn't she? He'd grow up healthy with plenty of toys and friends, he'd get a great education. What more could Emma wish for for him?

She wished to see him. Her mind slammed the lid quickly on that thought. It would come to no good. She'd made a decision, she'd given him up, and there was nothing that could change it now. In fact, everything she'd done since coming to Storybrooke violated the terms of the closed adoption.

It was 10:40 Monday morning. Normally the teen would've been at the mayor's house by now. She'd been checking her phone every five minutes for over an hour, hoping that the mayor would call to say she'd changed her mind about firing her.

"This totally sucks," the blonde muttered to herself.

Emma checked her phone again. No calls. No txts.

"Damnit, I'm not gonna just sit here! There's nothing to do in this stupid town either."

Emma didn't have much patience for waiting, she was more of an action kind of girl. She scrolled through her phone looking for the right contact, pressed call, and listened to the rings.

No answer.

Right. That's it. The mayor wasn't going to call her and she wasn't answering her phone either. Emma wasn't worried, no way. Regina was just being too stubborn to answer. Emma quickly pulled her boots on and grabbed her lamb jacket.

There was nothing else to do but go over there.

"Regina! Open the door!" Emma banged loudly on the door right near the gold 108. She knew the mayor was in there because her car was in the driveway.

"Regina!" She knocked again, not caring if she woke Henry at this point.

Just when Emma was deciding whether to go around back, the door swung open. She was shocked at the sight of the mayor, her eyes red and watery like she hadn't slept in days. Her usually impeccable outfit had been replaced by a rumpled suit (was that spit-up on the collar?) and she was holding a screaming Henry.

"Woah you look like sh-"

Regina's face crumpled as she practically threw the baby into the blonde's arms. "T-take him."

Emma deftly caught the boy's weight. She had trouble keeping the alarm out of her voice. "What's wrong? Is he ok?"

Emma followed the mayor inside the house and started to rock side-to-side but Henry continued to cry hoarsely.

Regina was holding back sobs of desperation. "He won't stop crying! He hasn't stopped all night. I don't know what to do."

That explained how terrible Regina looked.

Emma was concerned about the baby as well. He wasn't so much crying as alternately screaming and coughing. His face was red with the effort of breathing. She pressed her hand to his soft head. He didn't feel hot so he probably wasn't too sick. She frowned.

Emma grasped the mayor's fingers lightly. "Go change out of that suit and come into the bathroom."

When Regina entered the downstairs bathroom it was full of hot steam. Emma was standing in the shower in just her tights and a white singlet top. Her blonde hair hung in wet stringy curls and water droplets clung to her skin. She had the baby snuggled against her chest.

His screams had died down to the occasional whimper.

"He's better." Regina sighed in relief. "How did you know what to do?"

"I don't know. I thought the steam might help him breathe a bit better. Poor kid's exhausted." Emma rubbed circles on his small back.

"Get in here, Madam Mayor."

"Excuse me?"

"Henry wants his mommy."

Regina tossed her sweater over the rack where Emma's overdress lay. She stepped into the shower immediately soaking her pants.

Regina hesitated as the younger woman gently transferred the baby to her. Emma kept a hand on the boy's back and pressed herself close to the brunette even though the shower was large enough for the both of them to stand outside the spray.

Henry's eyes began to droop.

"He likes to hear your heartbeat," Emma whispered.

Regina placed her hand atop Emma's and they cradled the tired little boy, each gazing down at him lovingly.

Once Henry had drifted off Regina went to put him down in his crib and change out of her wet clothes. Emma sat at the bottom of the staircase waiting for the mayor to return. She'd slipped her grey dress on again but the bottom six inches of her tights were still uncomfortably damp.

She turned at the sound of soft footsteps behind her.

"Down for the count?" whispered Emma.

Regina nodded and held out a thick white envelope. "Here."

"What's this?"

The mayor crossed her arms awkwardly. "Your wages for last week. And extra for today."

Emma accepted the envelope and let out a derisive huff. The finality of the mayor's tone convinced her that her services were no longer required. "Just like that huh?"

"Excuse me?" said the brunette innocently, but Emma wasn't buying it.

"You think you can just ignore everything and I'll walk out of here?"

"Lower your voice," warned Regina. She glanced upwards listening for the baby.

"What the hell is wrong with you? That you won't ask for help when you need it?" Emma whispered angrily.

"You can't talk to me like that. You have no right to judge me."

Emma sighed shakily. "I'm not judging you! Geez I'm the last person who should be judging anyone. But I know how to recognise someone in trouble."

Regina shifted away in annoyance. "I don't need help. Especially from someone like you."

"You've got a demanding job and you're alone in this house with a fussy baby all the time. When I first saw this place I thought 'wow who would ever want to leave?' But even a palace can become a prison if you let it."

Brown met green and they held each other's stare for a few beats before a knock at the door startled them.

Regina smoothed her hair and went to answer it.

"Mr Gold. What can I do for you?"

"Madam Mayor. Is this a bad time for our meeting?" said the visitor genially. Gold was dressed in his usual sharp suit, leaning on his cane in the doorway.

Regina, ever the perfect hostess, gestured him through to her office. "Of course not, I'll be in in a minute."

The brunette turned to give Emma significant look. "I just need to discuss cleaning the upstairs bedrooms with my maid."

Emma beamed at Regina as the silent peace treaty passed between them.

Neither of the women noticed Mr Gold, casting his eye over the trinkets in the mayor's home office. His gaze settled on a gold watch laying on the desk.

The pawnbroker picked up the expensive timepiece and slipped it into his pocket.

It'd be a shame if it turned up somewhere it was not supposed to be.