Once again, thank you to everyone for all of the positive response. I am so glad that you are enjoy the story. I'm not really sure that I like this chapter too much, it was really hard for me to write, but I wanted to get it out, and I think I rushed it. But nonetheless, here it is. I'll reread it the morning, and at least correct any mistakes.

Next I wanted to answer a few questions that people have asked. First of all, by my definition of AU - being a story that takes place in the a different setting and time as the current show - this is not AU. It takes place in the same time and same place as the show. I know people can get picky about what is or is not AU so this story is going by my definition.

Next - a question was asked about being able to leave Storybrooke, let me take you back to season 4 episode 2 when Emma, David, and Hook were checking out the Ice Wall and Hook said the wall went around the whole town. David made the comment "So once again, we can't leave Storybrooke" inferring that the time during Zelena and Elsa the residents were, in fact, able to leave Storybrooke. I probably could have explained that a little better in the last chapter. And remember that during the first curse, Regina was able to leave Storybrooke, she did so to get Henry in Boston.

I think that is all of the questions that I have to answer. I hope this chapter doesn't suck too bad, but it does answer a question, which I try to do in each chapter. Enjoy. I'll proof and fix it tomorrow.

Chapter 8 – The Girlfriend

"I don't know what to tell you, Ms. Swan. I don't know who she is; she doesn't even look familiar to me." Regina was no help. I could tell that she was actually trying to put a name to the face, but she couldn't. "It's hard to say who he may know outside of Storybrooke. I know that he had to have some contacts with the outside world, he was the person who arranged Henry's adoption."

My eyes grew wide with realization or was it remembrance. I had forgotten all about his role in Henry's adoption. Originally, I didn't realize it until I was stuck in the Enchanted Forest with Snow, but Gold had known my whereabouts my entire life. I recalled the conversation that I had with my mother when Aurora was being controlled by Cora and locked us in Rumpelstiltskin's cell.

"We're going to win this fight, you know. Good always defeats evil."

"You sound like Henry."

"Guess optimism runs in the family."

"I think it skipped a generation."

"You should know better than anybody. You broke the curse."

"What have I done since then? I got us stranded over here, burned down the wardrobe, let Cora get the ash, and now, the compass. The only reason I ever broke the curse, was because it was exactly what Gold wanted me to do. I had nothing to do with it."

"What are you talking about?"

"He told you I was the savior. It was his plan. Once I fulfilled that role, maybe that's all I was ever meant to do. Everything I've ever done… He had it all mapped out before I was even born. I'm not powerful. I'm… I'm not… A savior. I'm a name on a piece of paper. I'm a pawn, and that's exactly why we are in here. And Cora's on her way to Storybrooke."

I was certain that if anyone had known the identity of the woman in the picture, it would have been Regina. "Could it be someone that you spoke to when you got Henry?" I was grasping at straws, that was 14 years ago and I'm sure that Regina was focused on more than a woman who may have filed her paperwork.

I rubbed my face in frustration. Why was I even worrying about this? Gold was stuck outside of the town and as far as I knew he did not possess anything that really belonged in Storybrooke, so how was he even going to get back into town. I felt my father's hand on the small of my back as we turned toward the door. "I'm sorry, Ms. Swan." I gave Regina a thankful smile. As I stepped toward the door I saw her reach out and touch David's forearm, "If I remember something…"

She didn't need to finish the sentence. My father nodded and whispered a "Thank you."

"Why am I even letting this bother me?" I asked my father as he opened the truck door and helped me slide into the passenger seat of the truck. He hurried around to the driver's side before answering as he climbed inside.

"Because Gold is on the outside and he can't be trusted. Not to mention, he is poking around in your past which make me a little more than uneasy." He put the truck in gear and we headed back toward the station.

"Yeah, but, why? There isn't anything in my past that he doesn't know about or orchestrated." I leaned my head against the window. None of this was making any sense.

"Maybe it's not your past that he is interested in." My father said after a few minutes of silence.

"What do you mean?" I didn't lift my head from the window, I just turned it to get a better look at my father.

"Think about it, we know that he had some dealings with the Snow Queen. And we also know that you have a history with the Snow Queen. Maybe there is something within that relationship that is driving his motivation. Where did you go after you ran away from Ingrid?"

"Well, I was sent to a group home for awhile and then the Coopers. Why?" I could see that he was trying to process my teenage housing placements looking for a common denominator. "Do you think that this has something to do with JC?" I gave him a confused look.

"It certainly isn't something that I am ready to rule out, but I think we know what our next move is."

I nodded my head, I knew where he was going with this, "You think it's time to get JC's girlfriend to put another tail on Gold?"

"We need to have someone watching him out there." He said was we both got out of the truck and headed into the station. "She was able to produce results before."

"Come on, though, why would she want to help us? She doesn't even know us." My gut was telling me that this was a bad idea. But not knowing what Gold was up to was making me feel even worse.

"No, but she knows JC. She knows that JC cares about you and she'll do it for him." He handed me his cell phone. "Give him a call; invite them to dinner at our place on Saturday."

I couldn't stop the questioning smirk that crossed my face, "Are you sure that's a good idea? We really don't need someone from the outside world questioning our relationship. I'm still not sure why JC accepted it so easily or what repercussions that is going to have on us."

"Make the call." He said. "We'll play it off as friends…coworkers. Okay?" Against my better judgment I made the call. When I had told JC earlier that I wanted to meet his girlfriend, I had no intentions of my parents tagging along. My original plan was simple, the three of us meet at Granny's have a great lunch then all be on our way in different directions. But I think that David's feeling that he needed to protect me was part his driving force in all of this.

Two days later, my mother was in the kitchen cooking up a storm as we awaited our guests. I couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. But we had all agreed that tonight it was going to be Mary Margaret and David, not Mom and Dad. We even invited Regina in an attempt to make it feel less awkward. Yeah, who was I kidding, she was family and she needed to know what was going on as much as we did.

"Can I help with something?" I offered to my mother who was standing in the kitchen talking with Regina. Henry was upstairs playing video games. David was on the couch getting ready to throw something at the television.

"Aw, come on, ref, you didn't see that?" He yelled at no one in particular.

"No, honey, I'm just waiting on the chicken to finish baking, why don't you go join your fath – uh David. Maybe you can keep him from breaking the TV." I looked over to David who was clearly upset with whatever sporting event he was watching. I made my way over to him and pulled the remote control from his hand. I tossed the remote onto the coffee table as I sat down on the couch next to him. Without missing a beat, he put his arm around my shoulders pulling me closer to his side planting a gentle kiss to the side of my head.

"Who's winning?" I asked when I looked over to see that he was watching a hockey game.

"Not Boston," he answered with a bit of a disgusted attitude. Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed watching the hockey games. Where else could you watch a bunch of guys beat the crap out of each other over a little black puck. It was even more fun to watch a game with David; he always became so animated pulling me right along with him.

"Oh, Yes!" He yelled and put his left hand up in the air toward me.

"Oh, yeah! Tied it up!" I gleefully yelled back and I reached up with my right hand giving him a high five.

I barely heard Regina rattle off some kind of sarcastic remark and my mother laugh, but that wasn't what caught my attention. No, it was the sudden knock at the door that made me look up and quickly push away from my father.

"I'll get it." Henry exclaimed as he barreled down the stairs toward the door. I guess he was a little excited to meet my foster brother.

"Here we go," I swallowed hard. I nodded to Henry giving him the ok to open the door and invite our guests into the apartment. JC moved through the door holding his girlfriend's hand as she was only a half of a step behind him. He gave me a quick one armed hug then reached to shake David's hand. But it was his girlfriend who caught my attention. I looked at her so hard that I'm sure that I was drilling holes in her head.

"Emma, David, good to see you again. Thank you so much for the invitation." I could only nod. I'm sure that I must have looked like a fool when my lower jaw fell open and I couldn't lift it to close.

JC turned to his girlfriend placing his arm around her waist. "Please, I would like to introduce you my girlfriend. Emma, David, Mary Margaret this is…"

"Lily…" I finished for him. I couldn't believe it. The girl who I thought was going to be my best friend. She was the girl that I couldn't forgive because she lied to me. She told me that she was like me, and maybe she was, I didn't take the time to listen to her. She asked me to forgive her, but I didn't. I walked away. I realized when I was older that was a mistake, but by then it was too late. And now, here she was, standing in my living room.

"Hi, Emma." I wasn't sure if she was going to smile or cry. Hell, I wasn't sure if I was going to smile or cry. I stood there, frozen, just staring at the woman. I finally, let a shy smile cross my lips. I moved in to wrap my long lost friend in a hug.

"Apparently they know each other," I heard Regina's sarcasm across the room. I let out a small laugh as I pulled away and turned to my family.

"David, Mary Margaret, you already know JC. JC this is Regina," JC stepped across the room and greeted Regina with the same kiss to the hand as he did to my mother so many days ago. I turned to Lily, "Lily, this is David, Mary Margaret, and Regina." They all made quick greetings. I pulled Henry in front of my body and placed my hands on his shoulders. "And this is my son, Henry."

"Wow, what a handsome young man." I smile to Lily's compliment.

JC extended his hand, "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Henry. You're mother has told me so much about you."

Henry shook his hand, "You too." He smiled.

We all stood there for a couple of minutes in an awkward silence, just looking at each other not knowing what to say. Finally, my mother broke the mood by asking Henry to set the table and David to escort our guest to more comfortable surroundings. I took the opportunity to pull Lily out to the hallway for a private but much needed apology.

"Why…how are you here?" I asked her closing the door behind me.

"Emma, I thought about that night so many times. Thinking about what I should have done different. Hoping that one day I would eventually find you and get the chance to sincerely apologize. I would remember the angry look on your face as you walked away." She stopped talking. I guess it was to see if I was really listening to her. "We promised, friends forever."

I finally looked up from the spot on the floor that I was staring at intently. "I realized too late that pushing you away was a mistake," her face softened a little. "The damage was already done. There was no going back, or so I thought. Lily, I should be the one to apologize to you. I've thought about you too, you know."

"Really?" her smile brightened.

"Yeah, I often wondered what became of you. Where you were, what you were doing. If I would ever see you again and have the chance to say that I'm sorry."

"I know that it certainly hasn't been an easy life for you, Emma."

I shifted my weight to lean against the railing, "No. No it hasn't. But it has gotten better. What about you? How did you hook up with JC?"

"Believe it or not, you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, once I became a detective in Augusta, I decided to use my resources to find you. It was about time that I made things right. Knowing that you were in the system, that's where I started my search. I had set up a meeting with JC to see if I could get your last known address." I crossed my arms as I listened to her finish her story, "To make a long story short, JC revealed to me his relationship with you in the past and his desire to find you as well and we began working together. One thing led to another and here we are."

"Second chances can be a hard thing to come by," and I couldn't help but to think that was exactly what was happening.

"Not when you have hope," Lily responded with a smile.

I jumped when I heard the door open. Henry popped his head out,"Gra..uh..Mary Margaret said that dinner is ready, are you two about ready to come in?"

I put my lips together in a thin smile, "Yeah, kid. We're coming."