A/N: Disclaimer is in the prologue. I´m really sorry for the delay, but real life aka law school got in the way. Also, this chapter is un-beta and I´m sincerely sorry for all the grammar mistakes you´ll undoubtedly found. Further information on the end of the chapter along what may or may not be a mini rant. Ah! And the song is Be Still by Kelly Clarkson (who is an OUAT fan!).

Chapter Three: You don´t have to be brave.

A brand new start
Is all we need, it's all we need to mend these hearts
Back to the beginning

Be still
Let it go

It´s been years since Emma Swan had a nightmare. During the last couple of days though, that´s all she dreams. It was 3 am when Emma woke up with a scream stuck in her throat and shaking hands. Less than one hour after, she was outside, with the wind blowing her ponytail and the sound of her sneakers hitting the pavement repeatedly.

There are a lot of ways people deals with stressful situations. There are the ones who cook (and the ones who eat), some listen to classic music, others vent with a friend. Emma Swan runs, both in the metaphorical and the literal sense. Being a bail bonds person automatically means that there´s a lot of running involved, but that kind of running is usually done to catch a mark or save her life. It´s has been a while since she ran as a form of escaping her problems without actually escaping them.

The wind on her face, the sounds of her sneakers hitting the ground, her rapid breath, the rush of adrenaline…These are things that keep her mind away from the present situation. They keep her mind away from the glowing heart inside a chest, hidden in her new/old room in Mary Margaret´s.

It´s her first change, since coming to the past, and that knowledge alone almost leave her paralyzed with fear. You´re not supposed to change the past, mainly because you´re not able do it. Till now, it seems that Emma Swan had succeeded where others have failed.

At least, it looked like she wasn´t forcibly ejected from the time stream, doomed to float around limbo forever, like some of her research stated rather emphatically she would be if she changed anything. That was a small comfort.

Of course, she´s been in the possession of Graham´s heart from less than 24 hours, anything could happen. God knows that her room isn´t the safest hide place, not with Regina possessing that damn set of keys. But where should she put to safe keeping something so precious?

The rumble of her stomach signals that it´s time to finally eat something. Going to run without even have anything to eat wasn´t the best idea Emma ever had.

Fortunately, Granny´s is already opened by the time the blonde comes. Unfortunately, it´s still too early (not at all the time Emma comes to the dinner) and the place is empty.

Emma throws herself in a stool with a relieved sigh while she calls anyone. "Hello? Ruby? Is anyone here?"

A startling oath reaches her ears, and the blonde is once again running, this time in the laundry room direction.

There´s a blonde teenager girl in the middle of the room. She´s picking pink sheets from the floor and putting in a basket and she looks on the verge of tears.

The scene is familiar but what freaks Emma out is that the timing is all wrong. She´s only supposed to meet Ashley Boyd tomorrow, after she spills hot cocoa on her shirt. Why is it happening early?

"Oh, I´m sorry." Ashley finally spots her. "I didn´t see you coming. Do you…uh…need anything?"

Ashley Boyd is quite clearly a lost and insecure teenager. Even after she and Sean reconciled there was still some insecurity in her. Ella, on the other hand, was a determined young woman, who managed to hold together when a terrible curse was coming at the same time that her husband was missing and she was pregnant.

The contrast between these two, were never more clearly in Emma´s mind then at this moment.

"Yeah. Is Ruby here?"

"She had some kind of emergency, so I was the one who opened the dinner. She should be here in an hour or two though." Ashley is just putting the last sheet on the basket when Emma´s stomach decides to make itself know. "Uh... I guess you would like to order something?" There´s a trace of laugh in the pregnant girl´s voice.

The embarrassment on Emma´s voice is quite clear to hear as well. "Yes, a hot cocoa with cinnamon and a french toast, please."

No use in eating much since she´ll be back here in a while, to wait for Henry and then walk him to school.

"In a moment."

Ashley puts the basket on the laundry machine and, like last time, the movement makes her pregnant belly visible. The moment she notices this, the girl turns to Emma and gives a small awkward smile while resting one hand on her belly.

"The contractions started last week and the doctor says the baby can come out anytime now."

"Well, that´s great."

The teenager nods her head and starts to walk away from the room. Emma knows she may possibly be the one who influenced Ashley to keep the baby. The motivational speech should be coming right now, but…the time is wrong. It´s supposed to be tomorrow, not today.

"It´s hot cocoa with cinnamon, right?" Ashley is turning to her when Emma makes the decision. If their conversation is happening today, maybe Alexandra will be born tomorrow. That means that Emma might not have time to make that motivational speech, after all. And no way in hell, Emma Swan will be responsible for a kid growing up parentless (like she did).

"Hey, what´s the matter?"

At first, it seems like Ashley will say that nothing is wrong, but something on Emma´s face must have convinced her to tell the truth.

"It's just that, um, when the… When the baby comes, no one thinks that I can do this. No one thinks I can do anything. Maybe they're right."

"Screw them"

"What?"

"Screw them. You´re what? Nineteen?"

Ashley nods her head.

"Well, I was eighteen. Believe me, I know what is like. Everyone loves to tell you what to do, especially with a kid. But they don´t know what you can´t or can do. You do. And that´s why the choice to do or to give up it´s yours."

Even if sometime later you found out that your kid wasn´t adopted by a nice family like you hoped. And the guilty you´re gonna feel will be so enormous, that you´re going to spend the rest of your life trying to make it up.

"It´s not exactly what you might think it is."

"It never is. People are going to tell you who you are your whole life. You just got to punch back and say, 'no, this is who I am.' You want people to look at you differently? Make them. If you want to change things, you're going to have to go out there and change them yourself, because there are no fairy godmothers in this world."

\-/

Emma Swan isn´t sad. She´s completely and utterly focused on the task at hand as she should be. So what if Graham hadn´t appeared at Granny´s? It´s not like the only reason she goes to the dinner is to see him. Of course not. Ok, before this whole time travelling business, she didn´t used to go at Granny´s in a specific time (and she still doesn´t!). It just so happened, that she found out that the food is best served at early morning, more precisely before 7:15, and if that´s the time the sheriff goes eat his breakfast before opening the station…Well, it´s just an incredible minor bonus. Really.

Graham may have had an emergency call or something of that nature. It´s not like he suddenly realized that his usual time is also Emma´s usual time, and decides to go eat early or later than normal in order to avoid her.

Right?

When the blonde realizes that she´s been biting her nails while walking, she lets a frustrated sigh. Emma needs to calm down in order to do what she´s about to do. She can´t show any sign that she´s nervous.

Breathe in. Breathe out. You have all the cards now, no need to worry. Breathe in. Breathe out. Everything is gonna work it out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

The sound of sirens almost makes Emma trips over nothing. Sometimes, she´s not as graceful as her surname led people to believe.

When the squad car stops close to her, the blonde has to control the relieved sigh that wants to escape her lips. Instead, she grins and repeats her lines from one of her favorite moments with the sheriff.

"What´s with the sirens?"

"It´s so hard to get your attention." Graham gets out of the squad car and it´s only when she sees him, walking in her direction, breathing and so very alive that Emma feels like she´s breathing properly again.

"Well, you got it." The blonde is crossing her arms again; her usual method to try not to touch the sheriff, but there´s a small smile on her voice and her posture is relaxed. "Are you wrongly arresting me again?"

"You never gonna stop accuse me of wrongly arrest you, right?" Graham´s voice takes a mocking suffer tone.

"Until you admit that I´m right I´m never gonna leave you alone."

"You´re just giving me reasons to insist that I did the right thing, Emma."

She automatically opened her mouth to continue the bickering when what he told her sink in. Her mouth closes with a soft pop and Emma feels the blood start rushing to her cheeks.

She didn´t remind Graham being that bold before.

"Actually, I´m not here to arrest you." The sheriff seems to have take pity on her, still he didn´t bother to concede the pleased smirk on his face. "I´m here to thank you, not only for your help on finding the town´s Prince Charming, but also for that tip about the tapes."

Emma is glaring at him and wishing for that smirk to disappear. Unfortunately, it only grew bigger.

"Did you find anything then?" There´s a few traces of irritation on the blonde´s voice.

"I didn´t finish the analysis yet, but it´s clear now that the tape was doctored."

"So what do I get as a thank you? The city key?" You, naked, with a red bow on your neck? Dammit, Emma, you´re irritated with him and not lusting after him.

If he noticed something odd about the expression on her face, the sheriff didn´t comment on it.

"How about a job? I could use a deputy."

Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes.

"You want a woman who you arrested twice as your deputy?"

"Why not? There´s not much for you to do here as a bails bond person and it´s obvious you will be good on the job."

"I don´t see a lot of sheriffing going on around here, either."

Graham sighs, take his wallet out and opens it. "Why don´t you see it for yourself?" He hands her a small card and when she turns it, Emma sees the still familiar number printed on it.

For a moment, the blonde considers giving him the card back and telling him that she doesn´t need it. And she really doesn´t. Emma never forgot the sheriff´s number, because after his death, she spent weeks calling just so she could hear his voice on the voicemail.

Graham apparently interprets her silence as a negative answer. "There´s dental?" That made Emma smirk a little, even if only because of how adorable dork the sheriff can be. "Think about it. Stay a while."

The last phrase is said in an almost pleading way.

"I will."

Emma´s answer is soft and for a moment, they seem to be locked in a pretty heavily stare. Emma´s self preservations instincts kick in when she sees the sheriff moving a little closer.

"I have to keep going so…"

"Right." Graham moves to the side to let her pass and God, they are acting like teenagers again, aren´t them? "I see you tomorrow at Granny´s!"

The blonde is walking out when she hears his parting line, and she turns around. "Yeah, see you there."

Thanks to that little encounter is a calmer Emma Swan that enters Gold´s pawn shop. Of course, something had to happen because the universe doesn´t want Emma Swan calm and happy. The something, this time, was an innocent looking mobile with glass unicorns.

Emma´s mobile.

The mobile that David and Mary Margaret took away from the pawn shop, and give it to her with red eyes. There was a story there, Emma could see it, but she never heard it. Because at the time it was too much, too soon, and she buried herself with work at the station. The next day she had time traveled.

"See something you like, Miss Swan?"

There´s a lump in her throat that it´s hard to swallow; still her voice is eerily calm when she answered.

"Yes, how long have you had this mobile?"

Gold´s smile is amused. It´s an expression Emma used to see a lot, but can only now comprehend it. Rumpelstiltskin always used that smile when she did something to remind him of her parents or when she did things like ask about her baby mobile.

"Oh, this old thing? It´s been gathering dust in the shop for…twenty eight years, I believe"

You believe? Yeah, right.

"But I would never think of you as the type to be interested in an old mobile, Miss Swan."

That´s all right, Emma. Breathe in. Breathe out. You can play this game. Breathe in. Breathe out. Your family is counting on you. Breathe in. Breathe out. The whole town is counting on you. Breathe in. Breathe out. You can do this.

"Neither would I, but there´s something really…charming about it."

If she was not paying such close attention, Emma would miss the momentary freezing of Gold´s smirk and the slight frowning of his eyebrows.

"Well, charming is certainly one word to describe it."

Why did she thought that Gold would drop the act so quickly again? Oh yeah, because she stupidly thought something could be easy for her just once.

Right.

If subtly won´t work, it´s time to get really blunt.

"I need some answers, Rumpelstiltskin."

At that moment, Emma´s pretty sure she could brag that she may be the only one (or one of the few?) who has ever saw the Dark One surprised, and also be responsible for the surprised reaction.

Obviously, it only took a minute and then Gold´s face was expressionless as always.

And she didn´t even had time to grab her cell phone, much least take a photo.

Dammit.

"I have to say I´m impressed, Miss Swan. Of course, I don´t know what should impresses me more…your boy´s power of convincement of your faith on him."

"You didn´t plan that, did you?" Gold´s eyebrow raised in a question manner. It was said like a question, but the tone was of an affirmation. "Me believing in the curse so early."

"No, I can´t say that I did. I wasn´t that hopeful." His hand seems to be clenching his cane with more force than normal. Rumpelstiltskin´s knuckles are white. "But rest assured, Miss Swan, that I do want you to break this curse."

"Oh, I do know that."

The silence that came after that little statement was overwhelming. For a second, Emma had to remember that there was no magic in this world, because she could swore that Gold was trying to read her mind.

She knows Rumpelstiltskin can see the future, so for all she knows it´s plausible that he´s a mind reader too. Either that or she´s becoming paranoiac.

"You can ask your questions, but I´ll only answer if I want, dearie."

The "dearie" is something that she only heard Gold call her once, when the curse was broken. Apparently, if he ever used that word before it would be a dead giveaway.

"Ok. Fair warning, though, if you´ll lie to me I will know."

The blonde´s hands itches to punch the smirk that appeared again, out of the bastard´s face.

"Fire away, your highness."

She knows what she should ask. The question is on the tip of her tongue, but there´s another question that has bother her for quite some time now. Since she found out that Rumpelstiltskin was the first one to say she was the savior, to tell the truth.

"Why me? Why did you make ME the savior?"

(She´s nothing special. She´s no one´s hero.)

"I didn´t made you into anything, dearie. Your parents' true love did."

That was not the answer she was expecting. Sure, she didn´t knew what she was expecting exactly, maybe something along the lines of I-made-a-mistake-you´re-not-special-i´m-sorry-the-real-saviour-is-insert-name-here or something like that.

"I´m sorry?"

"You´re the product of true love, and true love is the only magic powerful enough to break any curse."

Right. Because that made complete and total sense.

"So you chose me because of who my parents are?"

"Do you know how rare true love is, your highness?" There´s a certain amount of bitterness on his voice when he questions her.

Emma shakes her head and the pawn owner smiles. It´s obvious that that was the answer he was expecting, but there´s something more. There´s something so broken in his smile and an almost insane glint on his eyes, that makes her think that this is the closest to Rumpelstiltskin that Mr. Gold ever came. It confuses her for just an instant. Then she remembers.

Belle.

Of course.

"Despise the wrongly assumptions this world made of us, in our land not everyone had a happy ending or founded their true love. And on the rare occasion that happened, they lost it much more easily than they found it." The knuckles on the hand holding the cane are white again. "In all my years I only met three beings that were the product of true love. One was dead before Regina was even known as the Evil Queen."

Emma interrupts him. "And the other?"

"Originally, she was supposed to be the one who would break the curse. Unfortunately, I was not the only one who realized what she was and all her potential."

"She died?"

"No, I believe she´s still alive. But things happened, your highness, and I was beginning to think that no one would ever be able to break the curse. Mind you, I was already starting to think of other ways, but then…then I met your parents. I assume you know how the story goes now."

"So I´m your backup plan?"

"You are whoever you wish to be, dearie."

Philosophical pearls of wisdom brought to you by Mr. Gold, the one and only Rumpelstiltskin, also known as the Dark One.

Right.

Maybe it´s time to change gears.

"Ok. What´s supposed to happen when the curse is broken?"

If he was surprised by the quick change of directions, Gold didn´t show. "I like your confidence. The happy endings are restored, of course." The last part was said with a flourish and all the dramatics one would expect of a con man.

"You just said not everyone had a happy ending in the Enchanted Forest."

"Well, here´s the beauty of the curse I created." Rumpelstiltskin´s voice is like that of a kid wanting to show his last totally genius art work. "Something so evil, like the curse, has to be balance out. Ying and Yang. Good and Evil. So, after the curse is broken even the one who didn´t had a happy ending to be stolen, shall now have one."

Isn´t that what she saw after the curse was broken? Everyone was reunited with their families and friends, with their loved ones. Everyone except Graham. The only one of them who had no one to be reunited with, the Huntsman who no one cared for.

In the end, the only person to blame Emma for his death, for not saving him, was the savior herself.

It was Emma who wanted to be reunited with him, at least just one more time, and Emma who cared for him more than even she thought possible.

"Even if the person is dead?"

Maybe, just maybe, she can actually change the future. Maybe, the reason she time travelled was to save Graham´s happy ending. The last happy ending.

"That depends."

The blonde seems to growl the next words. "I need a better answer."

"And you shall have one. For a price, of course."

"Of course. Why did I expect anything different?"

So, that was his game. Answer enough questions to make her realize that he does have the answers, and then choose to not answer the question she is more desperate about.

Brilliant manipulative old bastard.

"What do we say, dearie? Do we have a deal?"

"Yes. We have a deal."

"Excellent. You owe me a favor, then."

And here is where Emma shows that she´s a player in this game as well, not a mere observant. Furthermore, she´s a good player.

"Not really. I´m sure I can just get you something you want."

One of Gold´s eyebrows is raised, but the smug smile that was there since they made the deal, is still firmly on his face.

"I´m listening."

"Belle."

The cane on his hand starts shaking. Rumpelstiltskin is obviously shaking with suppressed anger. Emma had only seen him so out of control once, when he was beating the life of Moe French´s.

He doesn´t scream on her face, but he sure came close to it. "She´s dead!"

"How can you be so sure? Because Regina told you that?"

Gold´s eyes narrow a little. In that instant, the savior can finally understand why he was once described as the most dangerous being in all the realms.

"Explain yourself, Miss Swan."

Of course, Emma never seems to have a god grasp on the meaning of the word dangerous before.

"With pleasure. But I will expect the same courtesy."

\-/

It takes a random woman´s annoyingly knowing smile, to make Emma realize what the scene in front of her looks like. There are three people on Granny´s having breakfast, each one of them has a cup with hot cocoa spiked with cinnamon. On the same booth there´s a woman and a little boy in a school uniform and across from them there´s a man with a sheriff badge. The little boy is telling the adults about his last science class, and both the man and the woman are behaving like there´s nothing more interesting then dinosaurs on the world.

Oh God.

They look like a family.

They look like a family in a freaking commercial or a TV show.

When did that happened?

"Emma? Emma?"

Her son´s voice reaches her ears (Her son) and Emma stares at him while trying to forget her little epiphany.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, kid. I´m ok." Her smile is a flimsy one at best, but hey, at least she tried, right?

Unfortunately judging by Henry´s face, she didn´t do a good job.

"You seem to be thinking really hard about something." Graham´s voice is quiet and comforting like always, and it helps subsided her panic a little.

So what if they look like a family? Emma has more important things to worry about, like how to break a dark curse and how to keep the man in front of her alive.

"You´re worried about Cinderella?"

Or you know, worry about a young pregnant princess for example.

"Cinderella?" The sheriff raises one of his eyebrows and is clearly looking for an explanation.

"There´s this girl I met yesterday here, on the dinner and Henry think that she must be Cinderella."

"She has a stepmother and stepsisters that she doesn´t get along with." The boy uses a very matter of fact tone while saying that.

"So, Cinderella is in trouble?" Graham asks while taking a sip of his hot cocoa.

Well, considering that she made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin and not only he remembers it, but his price is her baby; I would say she´s in a lot of trouble right now.

"Kind of." Emma shrugs and eats the last of her bacon.

"But you´re worried about her." The sheriff says.

Only a little, she wants to say, I´m pretty positive Gold will accept my offer. I am more worried about you, Graham. Do you know that I bought a magical wooden little box yesterday from Gold? Yeah, I´m the only one who can open it, because the box actually recognizes it´s owner. And no, I´m not hiding the royal jewels on that box, I´m hiding your heart so Regina can´t crush it.

"Yeah, she seems to be having a hard time." It´s what she actually says, even despite the lump that appears on her throat.

"Well, she wouldn´t be Cinderella if she didn´t, I guess." He smiles while saying that and Emma hands curls with a little more force around her cup.

On her right, Henry is looking like he´s watching a tennis match, looking at her and then at Graham with this smile on his face that unnerves her more than a bit.

"C´mon kid, let´s walk you to the bus."

It´s not the first time Emma walks Henry to the bus, it´s not even the first time Graham walks with them either. Still, it´s the first time that the blonde realizes how much they look like a family and that makes the walk a little uncomfortable.

"So, we gonna make a play for Christmas." Henry´s voice is way too casual about it, but it´s something to take her out of her thoughts and Emma will take it.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it´s gonna be a modern version of A Christmas Carol."

The boy´s voice is so resigned when he says it that the two adults share a little worried look.

"What´s wrong then?" The sheriff asks. "You don´t like the story?"

"Nah it´s fine."

"But?" While asking the blonde is already making a mental note to ask Mary Margaret, if Henry doesn´t tell them what is bothering him.

"Oliver Gilmore suggested it and everyone loved it."

That says nothing to Emma, but apparently it does to Graham since he says a quite oh after that.

"And what did you suggested it?"

They already see the school bus, and the cacophony of sounds emitted by the children and their parents makes it a little hard to hear Henry´s answer.

"I suggested it a new version of Snow White."

Emma thinks she knows where this is going but she still asks anyway. "And what it would be new about it?"

Henry is already stepping into the bus when he turns to answer it. "It would show the story of Snow White´s daughter."

The bus already turned the corner when Graham turns to her. "So that means your story, huh?"

The smirk on the sheriff´s face seems to only increase her blush.

"You know?"

"Henry told me." The smirk grows exponentially. "It seems I was right after all, princess"

Emma´s pretty sure that by now her face resembles a tomato. Why she´s blushing so much since she time travelled?

"I would prefer if you call me Emma." A beat. "Or deputy."

"I´m sorry but I think princess suits you so…" She can see the moment he realizes what she said, because he stops mid sentence and his eyes widen a little. "I´m sorry what?"

"The offer is still open, right?" The blonde´s voice is a little nervous. Maybe he changed his mind since yesterday?

"Ofcourse." Graham speaks so fast that it ends up sounding like one word and it makes Emma smiles. The sheriff clears his throat before speaking again in a more slow and comprehensive voice. "That means that you accept it?"

"Yes. Why? Did you think that I would say no to you?"

Graham is blushing a little (she doesn´t know how much because the beard hides it.) and when she realizes how what she says could be interpreted as, so is Emma.

"The possibility may have crossed my mind, but I was hoping you say yes."

"I did, I mean, I do."

And of course she does. Emma really can´t think of anything Graham could ask her that she would feel the need to say no.

She´s in really trouble, isn´t she?

\-/

She´s late and it´s all Regina´s fault, though to be honest what isn´t Regina´s fault? Emma didn´t lunch on Granny´s to avoid Regina´s threats and the damm woman end up knocking on her door. The temptation to tell the Queen that she´s wrong was really hard to fight, Emma doesn´t run (not anymore) and she has roots. Storybrooke is her home.

She could, she should, have said all that. She still didn´t. Why? Well, the hospital has visitor hours and she wants to see him. By him, she means David Nolan, her father, Prince Charming.

God, that was still too weird.

Sure, the hospital visitor hours are kind of long, they just aren´t if you waiting to pick a pregnant princess going into labor in the middle of the road.

(She has to let some things happen like before, otherwise the time line will differ and her future knowledge will be for nothing.)

Besides, she´s worried (when she´s not worried these days?). Taking Graham´s heart, in the literal and not metaphorical kind of way, was the biggest change she´s done yet, but not the only one. Emma has take steps to prevent that whole Kathryn/David/Mary Margaret mess to happen. The little, but insistent, paranoiac part of her, insists on checking on David. Because what if Regina found out that her and Graham have the original tapes, and decide to do something against her father in her never ending crusade to destroy her mother´s happiness?

And…There´s also the fact that she knows her mother. Ok, maybe not as well as she should, but she has spent a lot of time with Mary Margaret, Emma was her roommate, her best friend! While David…The truth is, she spent so much time hating the guy (or trying to hate him and not knowing why she couldn´t) that she knows close to nothing about her own father.

So, she decides to change that.

Of course, that doesn´t mean that the moment that she sees him, hunched over what appears to be a Sudoku, she won´t want to turn and bolt for that place. That is, before he suddenly looks up and smiles when he sees her.

"Hey, Emma."

(She knows he can´t remember her. She knows it´s unrealistic to hope. She still does anyway. Can you blame her? Besides he called her by name.)

"Your name is Emma, right?"

Of course. It really was too much to ask.

The smile that she gives him is small and more than a bit sad. Mary Margaret and Graham didn´t remembered her either and Henry doesn´t call her mom, so what makes her thought that David would? Wishful thinking?

"Yeah." An awkward pause. "How did you know that?"

"The hospital´s staff told me." David´s smile is still present in his voice, but his voice starts to take a more uncomfortable tone. "Because you were in the search party who found me." Seeing the blonde´s silence and clearly hesitance at entering his room, the amnesic patient tried again. "I´m not a creepy, I promise."

This time the smile was more genuine.

"I know."

You´re not a creepy. You´re my dad.

There´s such convincement in her voice that his eyebrow raises a little at that.

"You just don´t seem the type." Another awkward pause. God, it shouldn´t be this hard to talk to your own father. And that´s the truth of the matter. It shouldn´t be hard, but it is. "So, how are you?"

"As good as any amnesic patient, I guess."

"No memory yet then?"

"If they hadn´t told my name, I wouldn´t even remember that."

She laughs a little but stops when she sees her father´s face. David´s seems so pleased with himself but also a little awed. In the corner of her mind she hears Ruby´s voice saying that Emma has the same laugh as Snow. By the way, Charming´s face expression in nothing resembles that of a certain sheriff. In absolutely nothing.

"And how´s the physical therapy coming?"

Charming cringes while he answers. "To be honest, I don´t know what I hate more. The physical or the mental therapy."

(And for a moment he resembles Henry so much that it hurts a little.)

"With that answer I can conclude that you´re not a man who likes to sit still for too long."

"It seems that way, doesn´t it?"

"Don´t worry, before you know you´ll be out of here and riding horses."

The sword wielding will have to wait a bit more, I think.

"I´m not sure if I know how to ride a horse."

"Something tells me that you do."

\-/

It isn´t fair.

It´s a selfish thought that Emma can´t stop from crossing her mind when she sees Sean Herman, Prince Thomas, enter the hospital room. Alexandra and she were supposed to be the same age. Emma used to think all the time about how it would be to grow up with parents, somehow she never wished for a best friend since fetuses thing. But all seems to point that she and Alexandra would be like that.

Just another thing that Regina´s stole from her. A best friend. Someone she would grow up with, share secrets and trust implicitly. Another thing she never had, but that she was supposed to.

Oh, and don´t forget the fact that her probably best friend´s parents weren´t stolen from her. Sure, for a moment it looked like Alexandra would grow up without them too but the fact is that she won´t now.

Damm, Emma´s twenty-eight and she´s suppose to have got over the fact that she was parentless all her life. But she never did. Sure, she stopped believing she would ever find her parents, that doesn´t mean she has ever stopped wishing.

"Emma? Everything´s ok?"

Even if the accent wasn´t a dead giveaway, the tenderness of the voice would be. As would the gentle hand on her shoulder and all the feelings it invokes.

"Yeah, everything´s all right. Just saw Sean enter the room." She´s about to say more but the look in his eyes stops her short. There´s concern in there sure and maybe even a healthy dose of worry, but what makes her pause is the other unidentified emotion on it.

It makes the words get stuck on her throat and her eyes seem glued to his. For a fleeting moment, Emma´s positive that Graham will hug her and her skin tingles in anticipation. It´s still just a moment, a fleeting one, and it´s over before it even begins.

"I have to go back to the station, do you want a lift?"

"No, I will be here for a while." I´m waiting to have a chat with Gold. "I think I´m gonna try and convince Ashley to changes her mind with the middle name."

The teenager princess had been extremely grateful for all that Graham and Emma did to her. So grateful, in fact, that she decided to name her daughter Alexandra Emma.

"All right then, but for the record I think Emma is a beautiful name." Graham squeezes her shoulder a little and finally moves his hand away. "See you monday on your first day on the job?"

More like the second first day on the job.

"See you there, sheriff."

When he walks away, the blonde let out a small sigh of relief. Sometimes it´s easy to see the repercussions of the changes she made, there are times trough, that she has no idea what she´s done that made some things different. Alexandra´s birthday is a good example, for some reason the girl was born on a different day this second time around. And she may have some ideas, but she´s still not entirely sure, what made Graham be the one to help her track down Ashley and take her to the hospital.

Still, as glad as she was for his help and even if some small part of her wanted his comforting presence on her side, Emma is relieved that he´s heading back to the station. If she´s gonna have another revealing chat with Gold, she prefers if the sheriff is not close to presence it.

(That has nothing to do with her fear that the pawn owner will realize her feelings for Graham though.)

"The sheriff is right. Emma is a beautiful name, don´t you think?"

And speaking of the devil…

"You would think that."

Rumpelstiltskin´s smile is a tight one and he´s holding a cup of coffee when he approaches Emma. The blonde highly doubts it that the coffee is the really horrid one from the hospital.

"Oh, and thank you for the warning, Deputy Swan."

So he figured out from the conversation that Emma is gonna be the town´s new deputy, huh?

"It´s not official yet and I did warn you." The last thing she wants is from one of Regina´s minions hear him and warn the Queen.

"Watch out for you head?" There´s a heavily incredulous tone on his voice. For a moment, Emma expects Gold to say "really?" in the most sarcastic tone possible.

"Maybe not with so many words." Gold is not the only one who can do sarcasm.

"Miss Boyd could have given me a concussion."

Yeah, right.

The blonde manages to not roll her eyes but she still scoffs at him. "I need to let certain things happen so my knowledge won´t become unuseful. You should know that."

And here´s the return of the tight smile. "Very well."

There´s a few minutes of silence and he really won´t approach the heart of the matter, will he? It seems like Emma will have to do that. Again.

"The deal with Ashley is off by the way."

This time it´s the pawn owner who scoffs. "Yeah, you see, that´s what you told her…I never say anything about it."

"It´s what you want, right? That I own you a favor. That´s a way of you getting that."

"Who would know?" There´s another of Gold´s theatrical´s pause. "You are perceptive, Miss Swan."

"Just…" Well, now Emma knows the exactly danger of owning a favor to that man. And when she breaks the curse, she´ll need to know how to restore a stolen heart. Owning Rumpelstiltskin a favor she can deal with, but owning two favors? "If I got Belle to you, I won´t own anything, right?"

Something flashes behind Rumpelstiltskin´s eyes and the hand on his crane tights. "I thought you didn´t knew where she was."

"I don´t." And she really doesn´t have any idea where the mayor is keeping Belle prisoner. "But if you and I go looking she´s bound to be found much faster."

There´s a long pause where Emma feels like Gold is scrutinizing her. And then…

"All right. If you bring me Belle our deal is done." The corner of his lips turns up and it´s nothing like his other thin veiled smiles. Emma is pretty sure there´s that the most genuine smile she ever saw on him (not counting the one that was permanently on his face after the curse was broken. When he had Belle back). And is that amusement on his eyes? "After all, finding people seems to be a family trend."

\-/

Moe French.

Mother deceased (according to book).

No siblings.

Friends? Possibly Mulan and Philipp (BUT WHERE ARE THEY?).

Emma stared at her written words. Where are they indeed? The book didn´t get her much information on Belle, well, there was a lot about her sure, but practically nothing useful. The only friends the girl seems to have are Mulan and Philipp and Emma´s almost sure that they are not in Storybrooke. Three days sometimes doesn´t seem a lot, but it was enough for Emma to learn every single real name of the habitants of the once cursed town. No kidding. Between the innumerous applications of divorce, requests to have their child back and criminal charges it was kind of hard not to learn. Besides Mulan and Philipp are easy fairytale names to remember thanks to Disney.

Sure, there´s still the possibility that she doesn´t know the real names of some people in town, but it´s a little improbable. So, that brings the question of if they´re not in Storybrooke where would they be?

A knock at her door makes her hurried hide her very few notes about Belle.

"Can I come in?'

Mary Margaret is holding the door in one hand, and holding two cups of hot cocoa with cinnamon´s sticks in, on the other.

"Hey, Mare! Of course you can."

The teacher´s smile is a little relieved and it hurts Emma´s heart just a little. Her mother shouldn´t be hesitant around her. Dear Lord, is it just her or this whole time traveling business made her extremely sentimental?

"It´s late, you should go to bed because you´re gonna have a big day tomorrow." Mary Margaret says to her while sitting on the edge of the bed and handing her a cup of cocoa.

The brunette sound so motherly when she says it that it makes Emma wonder, even if just for a little while, how many drinking cocoa nights before a big day with her mother she should have. Her first day on kindergarten, and all her other first days in school. Her first date. Her first job interview. Her moving out to college day

"Yeah." Her voice sounds weird to her own ears, so the blonde tries again. "It´s gonna be a big day."

Damm. She has just recovered from that hospital visit and now this? It´s just a freaking phrase that it shouldn´t give her that many feelings.

Maybe she´s PMS?

"Are you excited for it?" Mary Margaret asks while taking a sip of her coca, apparently completely oblivious to the turbulence of feelings Emma is experimenting.

"Yes, Yes I am." And Emma is really excited about it. She´s going back to a work that she found out she loves it, and she´s gonna work alongside Graham again. "Even if I never thought of a career in law enforcement."

"Really? But why?" The teacher sounds genuinely confused about it.

The blonde takes a sip from her cocoa (stalling time) before responding. "Me and the justice system are not good friends. I was in jail, remember?"

"When you were a teenager, besides you always strike me as someone who would fight for justice and help people." The school teacher smiles at the blonde´s surprised expression. It´s a little sad that Emma can´t see the wonderful person that she is.

Sighing softly, Mary Margaret stands up to go and is already by the door when she turns.

"If you get up early then me again, hope you have a great first day at work tomorrow!"

There´s something in the way she says that that should makes Emma a little wary, but the blonde is still reeling from what the school teacher had said before. Someone who fights for justice and help people, huh? Well, that´s exactly what she´s doing right now.

With a sigh as well, Emma stands up to get ready for bed and takes the empty cup back to the kitchen. Mary Margaret is right, she needs to sleep because she´s gonna have a big day tomorrow. But not just because it will be her second first day at the sheriff station, not because it seems that she´s going to spend a whole day with Graham.

Walking away in the direction of the kitchen, the blonde´s eyes fall on the little notebook tucked under a pillow. She had written down the most useful information she has to find Gold´s True Love, but she didn´t wanted to use it unless it was necessary. Well, if she wants to find Belle faster it seems she will have to pay a visit to the one who freed the girl the first time. This time, Emma swears she won´t drink or even eat anything that´ll be offered to her. And she´s gonna hide a knife, to cut anything that might tied her up, just in case.

/-\

A/N: I´m really really sorry for the delay, right now is the calm before the storm, also known as the time before finals, so I got a little more time. And even if I know where the story is going, I found out some changes I´ve done end up changing the path of the story a little, so I had to rewrite some scenes.

On another note, It´s has been a long time since I posted anything on this site, so at the beginning I was too confused with the changes the site done on how to post the stories. But then I thought I had got the hang of things pretty well till I reread some of the chapters that I posted on the site. Let me just tell you that I´m convinced that thing hates me. Not only it swallow up entire words like some of the mistakes that I corrected on the Word doc never show up at all and God only knows why!

I thought of taking time and edit the whole thing, but then it would take even longer for me to post another chapter. So, I decided that after I finish the story I´ll come back and edit. Do you guys prefer that or for me to edit and then update the rest of the fic?

Sorry for the long author's note! As always, thank you so very much for all the reviews, favorites and likes! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, even with the delay, and tell me what you thought about it!