Here's a little Momma Snow for you all. Hope you enjoy. As always at huge shout out to all who have reviewed, favorited, and followed the story. You guys are great. And please remember to review. Your input is what helps me make it better.

Chapter 12 - Ice Cream

"Mom, I'm home…" I called out as I entered the apartment. I kicked off my boots onto the mat that was next to the door. I hung my jacket on the back of the chair that was nearest the entry way. It was something that my mother hated. She was always telling me to take my jacket upstairs or hang on the hook. I think on some level I did it subconsciously, just to annoy her. You know, making up for those lost teenage years.

"Mom?" I called again when she didn't answer. I did a quick scan of the room; I didn't see her hiding in a corner anywhere. But I did see my little brother happy playing in his baby walker by the kitchen island.

"I'm upstairs, honey, I just brought up a basket of Henry's clothes. I'll be down in a minute." She finally called back. I nodded in response. Why? I don't know; she couldn't see me. I walked towards Neal. After closer inspection, I noticed that he had thrown all of his toys on the floor then tried to walk over them. Effectively getting himself stuck on a stuffed elephant. I quickly cleared his path by picking up all of the toys and placing them back on the tray of his baby walker. I couldn't help but to smile at the squeal of glee that he let go at the site of all of his toys. Or was it the freedom that had been returned to him; the freedom to toddle about the apartment in his bumper car. "There you go, little bro…vroom vroom."

The drive back from Augusta wasn't too bad. It had given me a lot of time to think about what Gold and Lily had told me. Unfortunately, I had no idea what their advice was supposed to mean. They both told me to look for answers within my family, but that only works when you know the questions.

I had decided to stop at home before heading to the station. After two weeks of living in a hotel room eating take out, the sound of a hot shower and some of my mom's cooking just sounded so appealing. I really didn't think that I could stomach another burger or chicken sandwich. My mother must have been reading my mind because the next thing I heard was her calling from upstairs, "there is some macaroni and cheese in the refrigerator for you. Just throw it in the microwave for a couple of minutes."

I opened the refrigerator door, score! A wide smile crossed my face. It was already dished onto a microwavable plate and everything. "Mom, you're the best…" I mumbled to myself kicking the door closed. "Holy shit!" I jumped when I saw legs sticking out from under the sink. I was so focused on the macaroni and cheese that I didn't see him until was going to put the food in the microwave. I looked over to my brother, as if he was going to tell me who this person was and what he was doing.

"Hello, your Highness," I heard from the voice that was attached to the legs; although I didn't recognize it. I rolled my eyes at the name, though, I really hated when any body spoke to me with regard to my royal status. I wasn't anyone special, just Emma. But rather than waste my breath trying to convince him to just call me Emma, I let it go. The older generation would never listen to my request. Of course neither did the younger generation for that matter. 'They're taught to respect royalty' my father would always say whenever I complained.

"Hi…" I said sheepishly. I looked down at my brother again; he was gnawing on his toy key ring. I raised my eyebrows at him, he was no help. "Mom, do you know that you have legs growing out from under the sink?" I called up the stairs to her.

"Yeah, she knows," legs said in response to my question. I shook my head then I quickly stepped over him to put the food in the microwave.

On my way back to the fridge, I bent down in an attempt to get a look at his face but I only saw arms sticking up into the nest of pipes. "Whatcha doing under there?" I asked over the hum of the microwave oven. I gave up on trying seeing his a face; all that I could see was a belly and legs wrapped in overalls and two arms with hands that were now beating on a pipe. I stepped back over him to the refrigerator, this time pulling open the door to the freezer. "Double score," I whispered to myself nodding my head as I pulled out the new carton of ice cream.

"Clogged trap…" I heard him say when he finished pounding on the pipe.

"Ah…sounds fun." I crinkled my nose, no it really didn't sound like any fun at all. It actually made me wonder why anyone would want to become a plumber.

I reached for a clean spoon from the dish strainer. As I popped the lid off of the ice cream carton, I was drawn toward the sound of my brother squealing again as he guided his walker toward my legs. "Ah ha…you want some little buddy?" I knew that he was eating some solid food now. He was almost a year old. So, yeah, it was about time to teach him about ice cream. I put a little bit on the spoon and moved it to his little mouth. At first he made a scrunched up face at the cold, but then quickly discovered that he loved the stuff. His little mouth dropped open for more. He waved his little arms in the air to gain my attention. "That's good stuff, huh? A lot better than strained peas, isn't it?" He squealed with glee again. I couldn't get enough of that little laugh. I scooped another little bite for him and popped it in his mouth.

"You're microwave beeped," Legs had informed me from under the sink. I was having too much fun sharing the ice cream with my little brother to notice. A spoon for me, a spoon for him.

"Emma…" my mother gasped from the bottom of the step. Oops. I winced. She walked past me and ripped the carton of ice cream from my hand as she went by. "Do not give your brother ice cream." She rapidly put the lid back on the carton and slipped it into the freezer before I could swing my arm around and grab it back.

"What? He likes it…" I looked down at him and gave him a crooked smile. "We weren't supposed to get caught," I whispered to him. He giggled as if he knew exactly what I was saying. "We need to come up with a better plan for next time."

"There better not be a next time." At the same time that she was scolding me for giving Neal ice cream, she was pulling my food from the microwave and setting on the island in an effort to take care of me. It was actually kind of heartwarming; I had never been scolded and loved at the same time. "You're the one who is going to stay up with him when he has a belly ache later." Did she have to add the 'mother' look when she said that sentence?

"He won't have a belly ache," I chastised back to her. "He has milk every day; this milk is just…frozen with…some sugar in it."

She just closed her eyes and shook her head. I could tell that she was less than amused with my line of reasoning. "You're incorrigible; you know that, don't you?

I shot her the charming grin that I had inherited from my father. "Yeah, I know." I took a bite of my macaroni and cheese. "So, what's with legs, down there?" I boosted myself up just little to look down at his legs protruding from beneath the sink. He was a bit difficult to see from my position on the opposite side of the island.

"Oh, that's Zeke."

"Hi…" I heard him yell again from his hidden location.

"Hey," I pushed my brow together giving a confused look to Mary Margaret.

"He's works for Marco. He helps out with the plumbing and HVAC." I threw here the classic head bob that said 'ah, I see, but I really don't care.'

"You're dad called Marco a couple of days when we started having trouble with the sink draining. Any luck down there Zeke?" she asked him. I guess her question was an attempt to make the fact that were talking about him, a little less awkward.

"I'm getting there, your Highness, this trap is a bugger to get off." By the sound of his voice, I pictured this cute slightly overweight old man with white hair and skin wrinkled from years of working in the hot sun. Not much different than Marco actually; just a little shorter and heavier.

"What made you decide to become a plumber?" Ok, I was wondering, I had to ask.

"I know how to do it and it pays good." He answered me quickly. "What made you decide to become a cop?"

"I like to beat people up," I said around a mouthful of macaroni.

"Emma…" The look on my mother's face was priceless. You know that look that kids get on their face when they are embarrassed by their parents? Well, that was the look on her face, times ten. If she could have found a rock to crawl under, she would have been gone. I just shoved another bite of macaroni in my mouth and shrugged. I really didn't think that my answer was all that bad. Besides, I heard him laugh and mumble something about not being surprised.

"So, how was your trip?" I was not surprised that she changed the subject, however I was surprised that it took her this long to ask. Although, it wasn't like I didn't talk to her every night and fill her in on the day's findings, during the time that I was away.

"It was ok. Pretty uneventful, I told you most of what happened over the phone." I pointed down at Legs with my fork and mouthed to my mother that I didn't want to talk about it in front of the plumber. She nodded her head telling me that she understood.

"I'll tell you guys all about it when Dad gets home. That way I don't have to repeat myself." Yeah, that sounded like a good cover to me.

"Oh, here's your ring back." I pulled it off of my finger and handed to her. "The jeweler was able to reset the stone. Good as new, now." I really didn't take the ring to the jewelers to be fixed, but I came up with that excuse when Gold questioned me about it in the grocery store, and it turned out to be a pretty good cover.

"Oh, thanks, honey." She gave me a wink. She didn't have to wink for me to understand. My mother was smart woman; she knew when to play the game. "I'm so glad that I don't have to worry about that stone now. If something would have happened to it, I would have been devastated."

"Yeah, so would Dad." I said just before I shoved the last bite of food into my mouth that I nearly choked on when the loud bang came from under the sink.

"Ha…got it!" Zeke was finally crawling out from under the sink. "Well, here's your problem, it looks like someone dumped a skillet full of hot bacon grease down your drain and it clogged the trap when it cooled down." I kept my eye on him as he slowly pushed himself up from the floor. I was curious to see just close I had gotten the picture of him in my mind. The best way that I could described my imagined image was that a cute little old farmer.

"Bacon grease?" my mother questioned she had a sincerely perplexed look on her face. "Who would have done that?"

"My guess is Henry…" I got up to place my plate on the counter, I had to wait for the plumber to be done before I could wash it. "He's the only one you won't kill…or send the bill to."

"Maybe I'll send the bill to his mother," she snapped back at me as she crossed her arms, before returning her attention to Zeke.

He lifted the disgusting thing toward my mother to show her exactly what he was talking about, "I'm going to take this down to my truck and clean it out." As he talked to her, I studied his face, he familiar look to me, but I couldn't place it. Of course, if he worked for Marco, I had probably seen him around town and never really noticed him before. "I'll be back with it, right quick, your highness. Then I'll get it all put back together."

I leaned on the counter to watch him leave. There was something about him that I couldn't quite explain. It really gave me a weird feeling. "Who did you say he was?" I turned back to my mother.

"Zeke," she answered.

"But who was he in the Enchanted Forest?" I was trying to put a fairytale character name to his face, but it was hard. There were a lot of people that came over in Regina's curse, and a lot more that came over when my parents cast it the second time.

"I don't know," my mother had a puzzled look on her face, like she was trying to remember seeing him thirty years ago. You know, when she had absolutely nothing else to worry about. "Why?" she asked.

"No reason," I shrugged it off. "I was just trying to put his name and face to a story."