For the next few weeks, during the day, Emma immersed herself fully into the role of Sheriff she'd taken on, and at night time, settled herself into the motherly role she'd never truly been able to find before. With Graham and David as her deputies and more than happy to work the graveyard shifts, she was able to spend more and more time with Henry. She had already learned so much about her son, like how he organized his homework tasks and how much he enjoyed reading fairy tales when he had some downtime.

Emma was also able to watch as he struck up something of a long-distance friendship with the man who had found his birthday balloon.

Every day, Henry would bound into the kitchen and excitedly ask, "Has Killian replied yet?" And every day, without fail, Emma would hand over her phone so he could read the latest message in their chain.

When it had become apparent that her son had become incredibly invested in this friendship with an online stranger, Emma had sent Killian a message asking for an email address she could use to correspond with him. She wanted to be certain that the man on the other end of the screen was the man he claimed to be, and she didn't want to do it where her son would be able to see their messages.

Thankfully, Killian had been more than understanding of her request and had given Emma everything she needed to run his details through the system at work. While she couldn't glean much from it, given that the man was British-born and currently residing in Canada, it told her enough to know there wasn't a warrant out for his arrest anywhere in the country.

As the weeks passed, Henry's friendship with Killian wasn't the only one that seemed to be growing.

At first, Emma's emails with him had been sporadic, checking the details he'd given to Henry and sharing a few of her own about her son so that the two men would have more to talk about. But with every day that passed, she found herself exchanging more messages and more words with the man who had found her son's balloon.

Killian Jones was a former Royal Navy Captain who had retired when an accident during a training session had cost him his left hand. He now spent his time traveling the world, teaching others everything he'd learned about sailing during his time with the navy.

In the beginning, Emma had been a little concerned that her son had taken to a man who was essentially homeless, but after accepting his follow request on Instagram and sending him one of her own, she'd quickly seen that she had nothing to be concerned about. The Jewel was Killian's home - and one that he was able to take wherever he went. The pictures he had posted on his social media account were nothing short of spectacular. Clearly, a lot of time and love had gone into his ship, and some of the places he'd visited with it left Emma breathless. In her darkest fantasies during the dead of the night, Emma had allowed herself to imagine visiting those places too.

Henry was absolutely fascinated by his new friend's home and life. Emma spent many nights listening to her son recount stories Killian had already shared with her, or ones that left her reaching for her phone the moment she'd closed Henry's bedroom door.

A part of her had been worried that her own life would seem frightfully dull compared to the sights the Captain had seen, but Killian gave no indications of that. With every email they exchanged, Emma felt herself opening up to him in a way she'd never really been able to open up to anyone else before. She was able to tell him about her childhood and just how crappy it had been without feeling like he was judging her. She told him about Neal and how he'd used her and left her. Killian was the first person to hear that story without making her feel like a slut who'd gotten what she deserved. She'd even confessed to feeling like a terrible mother before she'd switched jobs because of the lack of time she'd been able to offer her son. Killian Jones had simply assured her that she was the best mother in the world for doing all she could to provide for her kid, even if it did mean missing out on a few of the small things in life.

Opening up to Killian through email was so much easier than opening up to those around her in town. While the people of Storybrooke were doing their best to get to know her, Emma still wasn't sure she trusted them. And that was why her heart sank when she opened up Killian's newest message on the first Friday of November.

She'd been enjoying hot cocoa at Granny's diner on her lunch break when the notification had popped up, and Emma had immediately opened her email app.

The first thing she'd noticed was that Killian's message was much shorter than it usually was. Worried that he was somehow putting an end to their correspondence, she'd quickly skimmed through it and almost choked on her drink. After swallowing down the hot liquid in her mouth and surreptitiously wiping the table clean, she'd finally read it through from start to finish.

Emma,

I know this is a little forward, but I have some free time coming up for the holiday season next month, and I was wondering if you'd mind if I used it to visit you and your lad? There is a Christmas gift I've been thinking about getting for Henry, and it's not the sort of thing one is able to post.

I won't be offended if you say no!

I hope your day is going well.

Killian.

Emma sank back into her seat as she read the message through again.

"What's puzzling you?" Granny asked, loudly setting down a plate of grilled cheese and onion rings for the town's new Sheriff.

"It's nothing," Emma lied, locking the handset and dropping it down to the Formica tabletop.

Granny planted her hands on her hips and continued to stare down at the young woman in front of her.

"It's this guy," Emma finally explained, and Granny offered her a knowing nod. "No! Not like that! He's – we've never met before."

"I understand how online dating works," Granny threw back at her.

"It's not – we're not online dating!" Emma protested. "He's – he found Henry's birthday wish balloon, and he's been talking with Henry every day since. I started emailing him just to check he was who he claimed to be, and we've sort of become friends, I guess."

"Okay, you've lost me now," Granny admitted, as she took a seat opposite the sheriff. "What's so bad about that?"

"Nothing. It's actually - it's actually been really good having someone I can confide in without worrying about awkwardness when I bump into them in the street. It's just… he wants to meet up and bring Henry a gift for Christmas."

"Ahhh, and you're worried he won't live up to expectations?" Granny asked.

"Actually, I'm more concerned I won't," Emma mumbled, as she poked at her food with the tip of her knife.

Granny pushed herself back to her feet but waited for Emma to lift her head and meet her gaze before she spoke again. "I don't think you'll have much to worry about," she assured the younger woman. "We might not know you that well yet but, as the person who hears all of the gossip in this town, let me assure you that you already have friends here, Sheriff – you just don't know it yet. And if that doesn't comfort you, then hopefully the understanding that you've never met this guy before so you wouldn't be missing out on much if you never saw him again will help a little more."

"Yeah, I guess," Emma agreed, but she couldn't seem to find the same enthusiasm that Granny had shown over the idea of never hearing from Killian Jones again.

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