Author's Notes are at the end to avoid spoilers. Now, some review responses

paupaupi- I am glad you are enjoying it. I will defiantly jump more into what happened over the past nine years, but knowing Emma and Killian it will not all come out at once. It will mainly be through dialogue. But this chapter starts us off with a bit of Emma's past.

Andria- With these two, a friendship and anything else will be a fight, but it will be fun to see how they get there and deal with their past demons. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Hope you all enjoy! Don't forget to check out the important notes at the bottom.

Chapter 19: Something is Better than Nothing

Emma had better get way more than a bear claw out of this. A day off to recuperate should do just nicely.

When David told her about career day at Storybrooke Elementary school, Emma thought it would be a piece of cake. Go in, tell the kids a few stories about what they normally did or some cool day, have them lose interest a few minutes after and then go back to the station for a normal day of work.

Boy, was she wrong.

The entire second half of the school day was dedicated to this career day. Tons of adults filled the auditorium, standing by tables with display boards about what they did and some even with items to give the kids. To Emma, it all looked like a middle school science fair.

David had arrived early, most likely due to Mary Margaret, and set them up on the far end by Dr. Hopper, the town therapist. He was a quiet man, in his early forties with curly hair and a bit of a nervous stutter.

Kids came in, excitement bursting, probably more from the fact that they got out of classes rather than what was actually going on that day. Only a few kids came to see Emma and David, as most of them went what was considered the cool booths, such as the one from the ice cream parlor, since she was giving out free samples, or Granny's booth, as she, once again, was giving out free samples. Emma knew the true way to a kids heart-food.

Students, ranging in age from what seemed like first to fourth, came by, asking strange questions that Emma was not always sure how to answer. "No I have never shot someone." And "No, we do not use tasers on a daily basis." Came out of her mouth more than she thought was possible with such young kids. Must be all those violent video games, she rationalized.

A lull in children coming to their side of the room occurred. David sneaked away for a few moments, probably to find his wife. A young boy, a mop of dark brown hair on his head and chocolate brown eyes, a sweet smile playing on his face, ran up to Doctor Hopper. "Hey, did you bring Pongo?" He asked excitedly.

Archie Hopper laughed. "No. Pongo would get to excited with everyone here. Plus he doesn't have much to do with my profession."

The boy did not seem disappointed for too long, turning to Emma with a big smile and proudly stating. "I'm Henry Mills."

She leaned down a bit, a grin forming. "Hi, Henry. I'm Sheriff Emma Swan."

"You're the new sheriff? That's cool! Have you gotten to go on any adventures yet?" His face lit up.

"No. No adventures yet." Emma shook her head.

"You're new in town, aren't you?"

Emma looked over to Archie for a second, who offered her a weak smile. She turned back to Henry. "Yeah. Just got here a few weeks ago."

"I thought so." Henry rambled. "I know everyone in town."

"Oh, do you now?" Emma stood up from her position of leaning down to see Henry.

"Henry's mother is the mayor." Archie cut in.

"Wow. Quite an honor." Emma looked at Henry for some type of agreement, to which he just shrugged his shoulders. "What?" Emma asked him. "You don't think it's cool that your mom is the mayor?"

"She's not my mom." Henry muttered.

"Henry-" Archie began to warn. Henry looked up at him with a frustrated look, but gave it up.

"Achie, could you give us a minute?" Emma had a feeling Henry would say something if the two of them were alone.

"Sure. I could use a drink either way." He left his booth.

"Henry, what do you mean she's not your mom?" Emma squatted down so she could be eye level with Henry.

Henry kicked his feet at the floor for a few seconds, swaying. "I'm adopted. She's not my real mom."

"Hey." Emma's voice softened. "Just because she's not your biological mother, doesn't mean she doesn't love you."

"She doesn't love me." Henry fought back, his little voice caught with emotion. "She loved her job. She is barely even home."

"Henry, I'm sorry. But she must love you. Adoption is such a big step. She took you in and gave you a home-"

"Some home." Henry muttered under his breath.

Memories of inadequate homes arose in Emma's head, all those people in her life that did not care if she ate, or slept of got to school. They cared about the check the got from her. The check that was supposed to go to feeding her and would normally go to something else.

Emma saw a lot of herself in this little boy. He was strong, that was for sure. But Henry had more hope, more happiness than Emma had had at his age. He was not as broken as she was and she refused to let him turn out the way she did.

"I was a foster kid. I know what it's like to have a crappy home."Emma whispered to him.

Henry's face perked up a bit. "You do."

Emma nodded. "It's not fun. But you're a good kid, Henry. I can tell. Don't let her take that from you." Don't turn out like I did, Emma thought.

"Can we talk sometime, Emma?" Henry asked her timidly. "You know, when it all gets to be too much at home?"

"Of course, Henry. Anytime. I will always be right here."

Henry hugged her, something she was not expecting. It took her a few seconds to reciprocate, her awkwardly placing her arms around him as he continued to squeeze onto her.

"I should probably go. My friend Ava is at her dad's booth, but she really wants to go check out the guy from the docks."

Emma knew who the guy from the docks was, but she did not say anything. "Okay Henry. I'll see you around?"

"Yup! Thanks Emma." The boy ran off.

Emma Swan had never really been a huge kids person, but then again she had never been presented with the opportunity. But this kid, this sweet kid with his entire future ahead of him, something about him moved something in Emma. The hope in his eyes, the jump in his step-he could not lose that. Emma would make sure of that.

Around 2:30, everyone started cleaning up, most of the children heading home by that point. David, thankfully, stopped distracting his wife for twenty whole minutes to help Emma.

Emma recognized a few of the other people bustling around, trying to get out of the school and back to their job. Of course, she knew Granny. Emma had slowly become obsessed with her food. Belle was there to talk about the library and Doctor Whale, the one Ruby would not stop talking about, had showed up to talk to the kids about being a doctor.

Killian, who Emma had heard was there early to discuss his job at the docks, was now walking over to where Emma was. She continued to put some stuff away so it did not look like she was just standing there.

"Hello there, Swan. I wasn't aware you were coming to career day." He started out.

Emma nodded, before putting some more papers in a folder. "Yeah. David wanted to do it."

Killian hummed. "Aye. Sheriff Humbert always wanted to make it to these kinds of things."

She gave a little "huh" in response, not really knowing what to say.

"I can walk you back to the station of you like." He sounded a bit nervous. Emma could always tell. "It's on my way to the docks."

Emma turned around, placing what was in her hands down and then crossing her arms, laying them at her chest. "No, it isn't"

He reddened. "Ah, so I see you did pay attention when I was showing you around town."

"Yeah, well knowing the town is kinda important when you are sheriff." Emma pointed out.

"I suppose it is." He struggled to regain. "The offer still stands though."

"David and I drove together. I think the two of us and Mary Margaret were going to drive to the station together."

"You sure you want to go that whole drive with the lovebirds?"Killian teased. In all seriousness though, Emma would feel like a third wheel. And she desperately wanted to talk to someone about her interaction with Henry. Mary Margaret was a great listener, but sometimes she just did not get it.

"You know what? Walking sounds great. It's nice out, anyways."

Killian smiled. "Wonderful. Let me at least help you take these things out to Dave's care ." He reached out to take some of her hands, his left hand brushing her arm. For the first time, she realized that his left hand was not his, but instead a plastic prosthetic.

Killian's arm recoiled, quicker than normal, making her think he had seen her confusion and mistaken it for something else. Emma did not say anything, pretending she did not notice. He would bring it up when he wanted to. Emma would be stupid to believe he had not acquired some of his own demons over the past nine years.

"I'll take this out to Dave, then we can get going, alright?"

Emma smiled. "Thanks Killian.

The weather was warm for October, or at least she thought. Warm was a relative word here in Maine, especially when she had spent the majority of the past nine years somewhere warm to escape the frigid North. Then, as fate would have it, she returned to the awful weather conditions she hated so much as a kid.

Conversation on her walk with Killian started slow, asking how the other had been, laughing at the questions the kids had asked them and the like. The past few weeks the two of them had been getting closer, becoming the friends they were when they were kid. Obviously, Emma still had her walls up. But maybe, if her and Killian stayed friends, like they were when they had been in the system together, everything would be okay and she would not get to hurt.

"I met the mayor's kid today." Emma stated when the conversation had lulled.

"Henry's a good kid. A real sweet boy."

"He reminds me a lot of me." Emma was shocked at the words coming out of her mouth, but accepted the fact that they were already out and that Killian could read her more than he liked.

"Aye." Killian's voice sounded solemn. "His home life doesn't appear to be the best."

Emma raised an eyebrow at him. "Does everyone know this?"

Killian shook his head. "No. But growing up in bad homes, you tend to be able to spot one a mile away."

"At least he's got some stability." Emma commented, trying to find some light in the situation.

"Aye, but bad stability is no better an option than what we had."

"I ran away." The words came out Emma's mouth before she could stop them.

Killian stopped walking, turning to see her. "What?"

There was no point in lying now. "I ran away."

"Swan, you've already told me about Lily-"

Emma shook her head, shoving her hands deep into her back pockets to try and seem relaxed, even though everything in her was telling her to run now. "No, I mean after we met. When I was sixteen, I ran away."

"You ran away from your foster home?"

"I ran away from the system. I couldn't take it anymore." She removed a hand from her pocket to run it through her hair, something that had become a nervous tick for her. " I was street smart. I figured I would do better on my own than in some other foster home."

"But, Emma, you were sixteen." Killian tried to rationalize, tried to make sense of why she did what she did.

"I would have been in the same situation when I was eighteen. I just gave myself a head start."

Killian nodded, not arguing with her. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I don't know." Emma shrugged. "I guess-I just don't want Henry to turn out how I did."

Taking a small step closer, he looked straight at her. "I think you turned out pretty well for everything you have had to face."

"I don't want him to lose hope like I did. To lose his trust of people." Emma whispered.

"Well, he's got something you didn't have. Someone looking over him who knows what it's like."

"I can't help him, Killian." She insisted. "I can barely take care of myself."

"You know you can let someone help you,right" His voice was light.

"Easier said than done."

"Maybe you don't need to help him. Just be there for him."

"You think that's enough?" Emma questioned.

"I think it's where you start. Break down the walls, get him to trust you. Prove that you are not leaving."

It was when Killian slowly started walking again that she realized he was not just talking about Henry.

Authors Notes

1. Everyone keeps commenting about learning more about their past, and do not worry, I will write that. It would be unnatural to give it all at once though. It will be mainly through dialogue that you learn what happened to them. But trust me, I will tell you everything that these two have faced in the coming chapters.

2. Henry. From the beginning I was unsure how to approach this topic. I wanted him to be a part of this story, but the hard part was how. With what we know of Emma's past, if Henry had been her son, there was little possibility that she could/would keep him, given her state at that time. I want to make sure there is a connection between Henry and Emma and he is going to be a big part of her learning how to trust.

3. Thank you for all the amazing reviews! I leave responses to a few reviews at the beginning of every chapter so make sure to read those. Also, when we reach 100 reviews, I will reveal the title and plot of my next multi chapter fic...so comment away!

Thank you all!