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Emma snuck out the back door of Granny's and into her car, hoping no one had seen her. She drove to the loft she shared with her parents, son and new baby brother and crept up the stairs, trying to avoid all the ones that made a creaking sound while silently praying no one was up yet.
She carefully stuck her key into the door and slowly opened it just enough to squeeze inside and gently close it shut. Slowly turning around she was greeted by Mary Margaret holding an almost asleep Neal.
"Are you just getting in?"
"Um…yeah. I just needed to grab a few things and I'm meeting Henry at Granny's in a little bit for breakfast…" Emma felt more like a teenager getting caught with her boyfriend than the 28 year old adult that she was.
"Weren't you just at Granny's?" Mary Margaret said with a wink. "Emma, I know you're my daughter but we used to talk about this kind of stuff all the time. I know you were with Hook."
"Yeah…well it's different now. You're my mom. It's just too weird. I'm sorry. I really got to get going." Emma kept her head down as she quickly head up the stairs to her room. Closing her door behind her she leaned up against it with a loud sigh. "I really need my own place." She whispered to herself.
Emma rummaged through her dresser and closet pulling out things to wear and checked the time on her phone. 'I don't suppose I'll have time to shower.' She thought. She quickly got dressed and fixed her hair, pulled on her boots and grabbed her jacket. Without another word to her mother she was back out the door.
Emma walked into Granny's and sat down in her family's booth. Instantly Ruby was at her side with two hot cocoas with cinnamon and a knowing wink that made Emma wince. "How'd you know I was going to be here to meet with Henry?"
"Oh some pirate told me just a bit ago. He wanted me to give you this note." Ruby grabbed the piece of folded up paper from her apron and set it down next to Emma. "So, you two have fun last night?"
"Ruby!" Gasped Emma. "There are people around. Not to mention my son is about to walk in here any minute." And almost like clockwork Henry came in and threw his backpack into the seat across from his mom. Ruby gave Emma a 'we'll talk about this later' look and went back to the kitchen.
"Hey Kid!" Emma said, shoving the note in her pocket and then sliding a mug of hot cocoa across the table. "How was Regina's?"
"It was fine. She barely spoke to me all night and went to bed really early. I'm pretty sure I could hear her crying throughout the night."
"Yeah. She's heartbroken kid. I'll see if she'll let me talk to her though. I'm sure it was a comfort having you be there." Emma said. Ruby returned with two plates of pancakes and eggs and bacon, which Emma and Henry didn't even have to order as Ruby and Granny both knew that was what they always ordered.
Emma and Henry dug into their food. All the while Emma really wanted to know what was inside the note. What did Killian say? Why couldn't he just call her like a normal person instead of passing notes to her? And to Ruby of all people! She suddenly felt really awkward sitting at the table with her son. The note burning a hole in her pocket. Not sure of what to say or what to do.
Finally Henry spoke up, "well, this was good. But I really gotta get to school. I'll be home later for dinner." He grabbed his backpack and smiled at Emma who ruffled his hair and was out the door. Emma let out a soft sigh and grabbed the note from her pocket.
My love,
Meet me at the docks after you've had your breakfast with Henry.
I"ll be waiting for you.
K
Emma's eyes lit up and she smiled. Her fingers traced over the words. He had really good handwriting for a pirate. She didn't even notice that Ruby had slid into the other side of the booth.
"So?!" said Ruby, trying her best to whisper.
Emma jumped a little and shoved the note back in her pocket. "Ruby!"
"Oh come on Emma! You've been nothing but smiles all morning. You forget that I live here too. I hear what goes on. The walls are pretty thin. And now your pirate lover is passing you notes! This is so exciting! You must tell me more Emma, I'm dying to know!"
Emma let out a quiet but nervous laugh. She wasn't used to having girl friends to talk about this kind of stuff to. In fact, she wasn't used to having this kind of stuff to talk about in general. She just shook her head at Ruby. "You seem to already know what happened Ruby. I trust you'll keep this between us? We'll try to keep it down from now on. But for now, I have someone I must meet." And with that, Emma got up and gave a smile to Ruby before heading out to the docks. On the drive there Emma was thinking about all that Ruby had said and the fact that she could hear them together made her wince and think 'I really need to start looking for my own place.'