Chapter Text
Emma hadn't seen her son in two months. They'd not really planned on her keeping him, so when she'd changed her mind at the last minute, she was still in a Juvenile Detention Centre that didn't accommodate for inmates to keep their babies. It'd been fine for her to stay there and be pregnant, but her son couldn't stay on the inside with her, and she still had time on her sentence. So, he'd been taken into foster care after the first few days of being in the hospital ward with her.
Saying goodbye to him hard been the hardest thing she'd ever done, but she knew that she'd get him back as soon as her time was done. And then she would be a good Mom for him. Even in prison, she was trying her best for him. Twice a day she reported to the medical wing to pump milk for her son, so that it could be delivered to the foster home he was in. She felt good knowing that in some way, some part of her was with her son, helping him to grow.
She kept her head down and served the rest of her time out of trouble. She ignored fights that people tried to start with her, and she kept her cool. Every time she was tempted to kick back and fight one of the other girls for saying something about her son, she knew she had to stay calm for Lucas. Everything became about being better for him. He deserved to have a good Mom, a Mom who could stay out of trouble and who could look after him, and the second she was out, that's exactly what she was going to do.
On her release date, her nerves were a mess. She'd been attending parenting sessions with one of the wardens who had taken a liking to her. The warden had five children of her own, and had helped Emma understand the things that she may need to know, but it still made her nervous to think of being alone with her son after all this time. She had a car though, and an apartment to go to that the state had set her up with, as well as the wad of cash that Neal had left her. As much as she hated that son of a bitch, she sure as hell wasn't dumb enough to throw away cash, not when she could use it to make a life for Lucas. He didn't need a Dad, he'd have her. And together, they'd be fine. They'd be each other's family.
When the metal link fence was pulled back and Emma Swan was free, she saw the foster family standing there with her son. Her face broke out into a smile and she dumped the box she'd been carrying to run to him. She was crying as she took him, cradling him close to her, finally after all this time.
"Lucas....Mama loves you..I love you so much. I love you." She cried into his small body softly. She kissed him all over, drinking in the smell of him. He was even more gorgeous that she'd remembered and she still could barely believe that he was all hers. She thanked the foster family, she knew from experience that not all foster parents were bad, and she'd been grateful that Lucas had been placed with ones that seemed okay. But she was here now, and she wasn't going to let him down.
"Thank you so much." She managed to say to the couple, who were looking at her with a strange look of pride.
"It was our pleasure Emma. He really is a sweet boy and we know that you're going to love being his Mom." The woman told her, reaching out to rub her back affectionately. Emma only stiffened a little at the contact, but pushed it away. She didn't want to be rude, they'd cared for her son while she couldn't.
"The Warden tells us you have a car, and we have a car seat for him, it'll grow with him, so as long as it doesn't break it should last him till he's a young boy." The man said, lifting the car seat from the ground. He also pointed to a large box that was on the gravel.
"We also packed all of his clothes and blankets that he's been in for the time we've had him. Some of it doesn't fit anymore, but we'd thought that you may like to keep them as a keepsake. There's also diapers in there, enough to last you a month or so....and his favourite toy. It's a stuffed duck, he loves the thing. And bottles! There are bottles in there too. The only thing you should need for him, is a crib, but you may want to have him sleep with you, so that's up to you to figure out." He added kindly.
Emma nodded as he spoke, just holding Lucas with such joy. "Thank you." She repeated, over and over again. They really were kind, and they were helping her figure out a lot of the basics that she'd need for him, and for that she was grateful. She watched the man put Lucas' car seat in her car, and listened as he told her how to convert it, how to remove it and put it back in again. She let them fill her boot with baby supplies, and then they were saying goodbye and leaving her.
And then, it was just her and her son. She placed him into his car seat carefully and strapped him in, cautious not to trap his skin or his clothes in the little snaplock buckles.
"So....it looks like it's just you and me now kid." She sighed, looking at him with a smile.
Emma had the address of the apartment, and the Bug had petrol in it. All she had to do now, was leave and start her new life.
"Hey Swan!" Came a cry from the prison, which made Emma look up, squinting in the glare of the sun.
She recognised the Warden who had helped her so much in the past two months. She was the closest she had to a proper friend on the inside, or a parent figure, if you could go that far.
"Hey McNally!" Emma called back with a grin.
"Piss off and don't come back." McNally yelled, which made Emma laugh. She had no intention of ever coming back to this place.
"And see your ugly face everyday? Fat chance!" Emma shouted back happily, before getting into her car and starting the engine.
And with that, Emma drove away from life behind bars, and towards her new life, with her son.