Thankfully, David was not at the station when Emma turned up to release Mary Margaret the next morning. He was probably at the hospital, with his wife. (She hoped.) When she entered the room, she was stunned to discover that Mary Margaret was standing in an open cell.

"What happened?" She asked, thoroughly perplexed.

Mary Margaret looked up in genuine shock.

"I don't really know! I woke up this morning, and the door was unlocked!"

Emma bent down to stare at the lock. There were no signs of tampering, and she had taken the spare keys with her. What game was being played here? She stood up in grim determination. It looked like someone wanted Mary Margaret to run. Why though? So that she'd look more guilty? But Mary Margaret was too honest for that, and it would be a non-issue from today.

"Well, it doesn't matter. You're a free woman, Mary Margaret."

She smiled at her friend, who gasped in shock.

"Wha-what?" she stammered.

"Katherine was found last night. She's alright."

Margaret let out a loud sigh of relief and slumped against her in relief.

"Let's get you home. You must be exhausted."

Mary Margaret could only nod in agreement.

After she had left Mary Margaret in her apartment, Emma headed to the hospital. She pulled into a parking spot and turned off the Bug's engine. She sat for several moments, trying to wrap her head around the whole incident. Someone was out to get Mary Margaret, but she couldn't figure out why. Why would they go to such great lengths? It seemed to her that the two people who knew the most about it were the only two people in town that she had no chance at getting to divulge secrets. Regina Mills would never reveal anything and Robert Gold sounded like he was involved in everything yet nothing at the same time. She let out a deep breath. It was time to talk to Katherine.

"Honestly, I don't remember much. I think I hit my head harder than I thought."

Katherine rubbed her forehead pensively, her fingers grazing the edge of her wound that had been neatly patched up. She would be staying a few more days under general observation. After all, she had injured her head and her leg, in addition to her severe dehydration. Emma clicked her pen, a little more aggressively than she would have normally done so.

"So let me just recap. You left the house in anger, and you were planning on driving to Boston?"

Katherine nodded.

"and you got into an accident. Somehow."

Katherine flinched at Emma's disbelief that she could not remember the cause of her accident.

"I think…there was an animal. Maybe? I wasn't really paying attention…" she trailed off, looking shameful.

"I see. And you headed to the forest, in an attempt to make your way back."

Emma flipped her notebook closed. It was clear that she wasn't going to get any more information from Katherine, and she was frustrated. It was difficult to be frustrated with a woman who was recovering from an accident, and Emma felt guilty about it.

"Thank you for your time, Mrs. Nolan."

Katherine stared at her, tight-lipped.

"Not for much longer."

Emma nodded, her eyes flickering over to Katherine's hand. She had already removed her wedding ring. Emma returned her thin-lipped smile before she strode out of the room to meet Dr. Whale, who looked as shameful as Katherine.

"Apparently it's a deer heart. I'm not sure how it got tainted with Mrs. Nolan's DNA, but…"

Emma cut him off with a sigh. It seems she was getting nowhere with this case.

"That seems to be a trend with this case. Thank you, Dr. Whale."

She drove back, her thoughts muddled. As she parked at Mary Margaret's apartment, she saw the brunette standing outside and waving at her. Emma got out and shielded her eyes from the sun.

"Hey! I'm headed to Granny's. Ruby wanted to check on me. Wanna join?"

Emma shrugged. She hadn't been there in a while, and she missed Granny's grilled cheese. She had been running off breakfast bars and coffee for the past two days and she could probably use a proper meal. Not to mention thinking about the case was giving her a major headache. She could use a break.

When they arrived at the diner, they were greeted enthusiastically by Ruby, who tackled Mary Margaret and gave her a bear hug. Emma couldn't help but smile at the scene. The rest of the diner was quiet though. Even if Mary Margaret was no longer under suspicion, there was the fact that she had been sneaking around with a married man. Emma hoped that they could eat their meal in silence, and for once was glad that Ruby was extra talkative and peppy that day. Mary Margaret was starting to relax, and even began to smile. Just as they tucked into their food, Killian and Henry turned up at the diner, and Henry made a beeline for their table, holding something behind his back.

"Ms. Blanchard! The class made something for you!"

Before Mary Margaret had a chance to react, he whipped out a large cardboard card that had the phrase "We're Glad You Didn't Kill Anyone" emblazoned on the front. Emma choked on her hot chocolate when she read the front, and had to stuff several fries in her mouth to keep from giggling. She looked up at Killian, and she could tell that he was amused by the card as well.

"Uh, thank you….Henry." Mary Margaret smiled the boy, but Emma could tell that she was a little taken aback by the card as well. He beamed at her and then moved over to Emma and plonked himself down next to her. Emma scooted over to give him some room, which he took.

"Emma, are you still going to stay with us? We never got to hang out."

Emma made the mistake of looking at him, and was hit by the full force of his puppy dog eyes and pouting lips that pleaded with her. Oh god, how could she resist? Telling him no would be akin to kicking a puppy. She sighed and looked over at Mary Margaret with an apologetic look.

Mary Margaret held her hands up in mock surrender.

"Hey, I know when I'm beaten." She joked.

"Just for a few days. Until I figure out what to do. I don't want to burden you either." Emma said, rushing through the words, trying to avoid hurting either party's feelings.

"You aren't a burden." Both Mary Margaret and Killian tried to simultaneously convince her, and they looked at each other in mild amusement.

"Besides," Henry continued, "you haven't gone sailing with us yet."

Emma glanced at the beaming boy and his equally embarrassed father, whose hand moved to the back of his neck.

"Aye, love. It's a tradition the lad and I have. We like to take a boat out once a week."

Henry nodded in excitement.

"It's really cool, Emma! Dad says I have the makings of an excellent captain."

Henry puffed his little chest out in pride, and Emma melted a little. She snuck a glance at Killian, noting the gleam of pride in his eyes as he smiled fondly and ruffled his son's hair.

Mary Margaret caught Emma's eye and smiled at her.

"Won't you join us?" she asked, gesturing to the empty space next to her. Henry needed no more convincing, he slipped into the space next to Emma without further ado, and Killian moved over next to Mary Margaret.

Emma was grateful for the company and the distraction. Even though Mary Margaret had relaxed visibly, she had been glancing out around the diner all throughout her conversation with Emma, no doubt worried about what the town thought about her. The rest of Granny's patrons were keeping their distance from them, and that told Emma enough.

After dropping Mary Margaret safely home, Emma made her way over to the Jones residence. Henry was still awake when she entered, bouncing around the living room in excitement. He dragged her off as soon as she peeled her jacket off her shoulders, showing her around the house as a thoroughly amused Killian trailed behind. Henry told her his version of their lives, with Killian jumping in every so often to add details to his son's story. Finally, after the grand tour, they all settled down in the living room, with Henry's chatter not ceasing for a second. Emma, now exhausted from the day, caught Killian's eye and he seemed to understand.

"Henry, lad, it's late. Time for bed. Emma will be here in the morning."

There was some grumbling on Henry's part, but nevertheless the boy bade her goodnight as he headed upstairs. Emma let out a sigh of relief once he was out of earshot, and a bemused Killian stood up.

"He's a great kid, but a talker, that one."

He nodded at Emma.

"Care for a nightcap?"

Emma shrugged.

"Sure."

Killian left the room, and returned shortly with a bottle of rum and two glasses. He poured a decent measure in each and pushed her glass in front of her. She picked it up and sniffed it, her nose wrinkling at the strong smell. He moved to settle down on the couch next to her, clinking her glass with his as he did so.

They sat in silence, sipping their rum. Eventually Killian placed his glass down on the table and cleared his throat.

"I wanted to thank you, Swan."

Emma shifted in her seat to face him. There was no smile on his face, his eyes didn't have the twinkle that it had when he teased her about something.

He sighed, leaning back.

"Henry hasn't been so…enthusiastic in a while. For about two years, actually."

Emma took another swig of the rum.

"He was angry about me?"

Killian looked at her contemplatively.

"Not you specifically, but his parentage in general. You know, typical pre-teen stuff."

He let out a hollow laugh.

"He pulled away. Became sullen and withdrawn. He stopped coming out sailing with me for a while. I wasn't sure what to do. Archie told me to give him some space, and I thought that would help, but…"

He leaned forward and stared resolutely at his now empty glass on the table.

"Eventually he started coming out with me again, but he wouldn't talk to me if he didn't have to. It's funny, Swan. It was like he had to remind himself to hate me."

Emma moved her hand to his shoulder, and leaned towards him.

"I think his anger was misplaced, Killian. He was meant to hate me. Me, the mother who abandoned him at birth."

She took a shaky breath, and Killian, hearing the sorrow in her voice, was quick to pull her into his arms. He was warm and she could smell the rum on him, with just a hint of his cologne. He held her close, his hand tangling itself in her hair. It might have been the rum coursing through her veins, but Emma felt comfortable. If any other person tried this, her defences would be up in a second, but with Killian Jones, she felt safe.

"I think Henry knows why you did it, Swan."

His voice sounded even deeper when her ear was pressed to his chest. She reluctantly pulled away and looked at him.

"Oh yeah?"

Her response was more out of bravado than anything else.

Killian smiled at her.

"You were giving him his best chance."

She was stunned by his statement, but not surprised. He was right. What kind of life would Henry have had with her? It had taken her awhile to clean up her act after she left jail, a way of life that she didn't want to expose a child to.

She didn't trust herself to speak, and chose to answer with a simple nod. Killian continued to smile at her.

"Plus, you gave him to me. He saved me, Emma."

He was so serious and sad and happy all at the same time, and Emma didn't know how to respond. Here was someone who was grateful for something she had done, for something she had agonized over for so long. Seeing the love that Killian had for Henry made it easier for her to accept her decision. She wanted to reach out towards Killian, her body already missing the warmth and comfort of his, but a feeling in her gut told her that if she did so, she wouldn't just stop there.

She stood up abruptly, the stress of the day coming back to her. Katherine. Gold. Mills. And now she was starting to have confusing feelings towards Killian? It was too much, even for her.

"It's late."

Killian seemed to understand, and did not respond. He gestured towards the stairs and followed her silently, only whispering a good night as they reached the top of the stairs.