Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

August never managed to find Emma. With Emma and Neal living off the grid, with nothing linked to their names, August couldn't find the savior (at least not as soon as in the series). So Neal could sell the watches without any problem.

It's been ten years since Emma and Neal began their new life in Tallahassee, ten years since the family grew. Now they have two children and they live in New York. They are a normal, happy family. Emma never thought she could have something like this, but she wouldn't trade it for anything. Nothing could mess it up, right?

But something will take her to a mysterious town in Maine right on her twenty-eighth birthday. And although she doesn't know what, she knows that there is something strange in that town.

Chapter Text

They had made it.

After selling the watches, Neal had met up with Emma and together they had headed for Tallahassee. Of course, not everything had gone as they expected. First, Tallahassee had no beach. And then, Emma had found out that she was pregnant, so between the new apartment (so small) and the expenses of the baby, the money of the watches was running out fast.

That hadn't discouraged them. Especially Neal. He was excited about his new life, about being a father, about starting a family with Emma. Emma used to be more pessimistic. How were they going to raise a baby? They were kids who didn't even have parents. But Neal had known how to reassure her, encourage her and little by little he had infected her with the illusion.

Both had gotten jobs. They weren't much. Neal worked at a fast food restaurant. Emma had gotten a job in a modest little store, she was the only employee besides her boss. They were enough to start. Also, Joanna, Emma's boss, was a great person and was helping them a lot.

Before they knew it, the baby had arrived and little Oliver Cassidy was greeted with joy and lots of pampering by his parents and aunt Jo. Emma and Neal wouldn't know how they did it without Joanna. She always offered to help them, even financially, although Neal and Emma didn't want to take advantage either and tried to accept as little money as possible. But she stayed with Oliver when they couldn't or they want to spend some time alone, or she let Emma drive him to the store. Not to mention the woman's experience, that she was the mother of two grown boys.

If it hadn't been for Joanna's help, Neal probably wouldn't have been able to get his art degree and get a better job. He and Emma made sure Oliver didn't lack for anything, they didn't want him to grow up like them. Even if they themselves had little clothing or belongings of their own, Oliver would have everything.

Emma had had a harder time finding a job where she really felt comfortable. When Joanna's store began to fail, she had to stop working there. Joanna could no longer pay her. But she was able to get a job in a coffee shop. This job didn't last long, but it was in this coffee shop that she met a woman named Cleo Fox and she couldn't help but glance at the pile of documents that littered the table she was at. Apparently, they were working documents.

Cleo was a bail bondsman and that caught Emma's attention. And when she got fired from the cafeteria, she decided to give it a try. And deep down she hoped that if she learned to look for these people and with access to certain databases, it would be easier for her one day to find her parents. It was true that she had not thought about them in a long time, not since she had formed her own family. She was happy. She shouldn't care anymore. After all, she was abandoned in the ditch of a road as soon as she was born. But she needed to know.

Thus, finally, the small family began to have some stability. They were even able to return the favor and help Joanna after she had to close her store. But when Oliver was already five years old, Neal found a better job opportunity in New York. And since Emma could work from anywhere, they set off for their new life.

New life, new member of the family.

A year after arriving in New York, Emma found out she was pregnant again. This time the news was received with enthusiasm and optimism by both of them from the first moment. And although Oliver complained at first, it didn't take long for him to get used to the idea of having a little brother or sister. The newest member of the family arrived shortly after Oliver turned seven.

While the boy was more like his father (not quite, but since Emma didn't know his family or Neal's, she didn't know who else he might be like), little Avery Cassidy was identical to her mother, from her blond hair to the eyes and even the shape of the nose. And from the moment she was born, she was the darling of her father, thus causing some jealousy and a somewhat rebellious attitude on Oliver's part for a while.

New York was good to them. They lived in a small apartment in Manhattan. It only had two bedrooms, but they had been able to arrange the little dining room as one more bedroom so that the children could each have their own room. They could eat at a small table in the kitchen. Oliver had a good group of friends at school, Neal and Emma had some good friends too (mostly through Neal's work), although Emma still traveled sometimes for work, and Avery was growing up healthy and well as the little girl more giggly and cheerful.

And Emma's twenty-eighth birthday was only a week away.

Chapter Text

Emma was already awake when she heard the little footsteps on the wooden floor of the apartment. With the entire bed to herself, she hugged the pillow as she lazed around for a bit before getting up. She saw how someone tried to open the door. The knob turned a little, but it took a few seconds for the door to open and a little blonde girl, only three years old, appeared in the room.

“Mommy!” The little girl exclaimed as she climbed onto the bed as best she could and threw herself into the arms of her mother, who had already sat up and prepared to receive her.

“Mom!” It didn't take long for her son to appear at the door as well. He threw himself on the bed, next to the two of them. “Happy birthday!”

“Happy birthday, mommy!” the little girl also said

Emma smiled, as she also wrapped one arm around Oliver and hugged them both tightly.

“Thanks to you both,”

“I made you a drawing!” said little Avery

“Oh really? Then you'll show it to me, right?”

Excited, Avery nodded.

"You're a year older now, mom," Oliver joked.

"Hey," Emma pretended to be offended although the smile still adorned her face.

Oliver laughed. Another light laugh joined her son's and Emma looked towards the door. Neal was there, watching the scene smiling and a tray of breakfast in his hands.

"Hey, you left me alone at the end," he said amusedly to his children as he approached and left the tray on the table.

Oliver laughed with a shrug. Neal ruffled her hair and leaned in to kiss Emma. Releasing Oliver, she took his cheek to reciprocate the kiss.

"Happy birthday," Neal whispered as soon as they separated.

"We made you breakfast, mom," Oliver said, pointing to the tray.

"Breakfast in bed," Emma said. “This is already a good birthday”

“I've helped too, mommy!” Avery said.

“Really?”

“Yes!” the little girl nodded with energy

"It looks really good," said Emma.

The two children smiled satisfied.

“Well, why don't we let mom have breakfast and get dressed in peace?” Neal said as he picked up little Avery in his arms. “Also, someone will have to help me clean the kitchen”

“But— “ Oliver complained

“What have you done?” Emma said amused.

"You don't want to know," Neal said, smiling.

Emma laughed lightly. Oliver quickly got out of bed and walked past his father out of the room. Neal leaned down to place a kiss on Emma's head before leading Avery out of the room.

Still smiling at having such a wonderful family, Emma left the tray on her bedside table, but not before grabbing some toast. With the toast in her mouth, she got up and opened her closet to start dressing. But while she was putting on a shirt, she heard her cell phone. A message, she left the half-eaten toast on the plate again and picked up the phone.

She frowned. She didn't recognize the number in the message. And when she opened it, there were only some numbers. Her cell phone rang again and a new message came in. This time it was a photo. It looked like it was from an old newspaper. The photo was too small to read much, but it appeared to be about the disappearance of a man.

She shook her head and put the phone on the bed.Later she could observe it better. She finished dressing and eating breakfast before leaving the bedroom.

The little family spent a good morning celebrating Emma's birthday. They put on their coats and went outside to head to Central Park. They returned home to lunch. So later, while Avery took a nap and Oliver locked himself in his room with some videogame, Neal lay down on the living room couch to rest. But Emma stayed at the kitchen table with her computer.

She had the message she had received that morning open on her cell phone. She had searched for the name of the newspaper in the browser. It was still selling and best of all, it had an online version, which included old copies of the newspaper. But the strange thing was when she discovered that those numbers in the first message were coordinates.

Coordinates of somewhere in Maine. Coordinates were very close to the place where they found her when she was just a baby, but they also seemed to coincide with the place where the man in the article also disappeared, whose disappearance was reported by his seven-year-old son in a place called Storybrooke. But the problem was that newspaper seemed to be the only mention of that place, Storybrooke, on the entire internet.

Emma tried not to jump to conclusions as she tried to find more information about the place. Unsuccessfully. She looked at the coordinate location again. There didn't seem to be anything special, just forests. It was a place in the middle of nowhere. The closest sign of civilization to it was that small restaurant near where she had been found.

“Emma,” she heards Neal’s voice

“Uh— what?” Emma reacted a little surprised, looking at him.

“Do you know that I have called you several times? You're so focused on that," Neal said.

Emma sighed

“Yeah— sorry,”

“It’s nothing,” Neal said “You have work?”

“No, actually, this isn’t work,” Emma answered. “This morning I received a strange message.”

Neal raised an eyebrow. He stood up and approached her. He stood behind her, with an arm on her shoulders, and looked at the phone on and the information already collected by Emma.

“I don't understand, does someone want you to look for this man?” Neal said.

“After so many years? It doesn't make sense," Emma said. “Besides, my job doesn't work like that. I'm not looking for just anyone. I'm not a private investigator.”

"Maybe whoever sent it to you knew how good you were," Neal said smiling, turning to look at her.

Emma smiled placing a quick kiss on his lips.

"I don't know," she said. “I think it's more than just looking for this guy. Or he, or she, could have told me directly, there was no need to be so mysterious.”

Neal shrugged

“I was thinking…” Emma said

“... that you should go see what you find?” Neal said. “Go.”

“Are you sure?” Emma asked

“Yeah, don’t worry,” Neal said. “We’ll be okay.”

Chapter Text

“Welcome to Storybrooke.”

Emma didn't expect to find that sign while driving her yellow car down that quiet, lonely Maine road. On the sides there were only forests. She had not even seen a previous sign indicating the proximity of the town. And she hadn't seen any on the map she'd looked at at home either.

It was after passing that same sign that Emma noticed a... sensation, like a slight tingling, so small that she almost didn't notice it. In fact, she didn't even care about it. And after a couple of minutes, the trees disappeared to give way to the buildings of a small town in Maine. Emma raised an eyebrow as she looked around, still losing sight of the road.

It was late, so the streets were mostly empty. But even at night, it seemed like a normal, almost idyllic place. Not the kind of place where a man could have been kidnapped.

Sigh. It had been a long trip. She was tired. She wasn't sure what she would find there, but it would be better to continue in the morning. She wasn't sure what time it was. She saw a clock not far away, it was on top of a building. It couldn't be. It wasn't a quarter past eight, she knew that. It was later. She shook her head. She would look the time later when she stopped.

There had to be something there, a hotel or something. She looked around as the car continued to move forward. She slowly approached the sidewalk when she finally saw someone. A man, middle-aged, walking a Dalmatian dog. Emma rolled down the passenger side window to get his attention.

“Excuse me!”

The man stopped. For two seconds he looked around looking for who was calling him, but he quickly saw the car and the occupant of it. He lowered his head to look at the woman.

"Oh, hello," he greeted, smiling, "are you new in town?"

“Oh yeah, I just got here,” Emma said. “I was wondering if you could tell me a place to spend the night.”

"Sure, sure," said the man. “The Granny’s Inn. Near here. Just go straight and at that fork, I turned right.”

“Thank you,”

The inn seemed like a picturesque, rustic place. It looked cozier than a hotel. It would be good for one night, maybe a few more. She still wasn't sure how long she would be there. Although she actually hoped that one night would be enough. She was just curious about the message someone had sent her.

“You're out all night, and now you're going out again.” The voices started as soon as Emma walked through the door. The reception was not very big, with a small counter and some stairs in front. There were two exits on either side to other areas of the inn.

“I should've moved to Boston!”

Two women were coming down the stairs. One was older, with gray hair and glasses. The other, younger, had long, dark hair with red highlights. She was wearing a black t-shirt and a short skirt.

“I'm sorry that my heart attack interfered with your plans to sleep your way down the Eastern Seaboard!”

“'Scuse me?” Emma said. The older woman turned surprised to look at her. “I'd— like a room?”

“Really?” the older asked. The young woman also looked out. Emma frowned slightly, they seemed really very surprised. The old woman's face changed quickly and she smiled walking towards the counter. “Would you like a forest view or a square view? Normally there's an upgrade fee for the square, but as the rent is due, I'll wave it.”

“Square is fine.” Emma said

“Now.” The woman said as she opened a ledger. “What’s the name?”

“Swan. Emma Swan.”

"Emma..," A new voice behind her surprised her. “What a lovely name.”

Emma turned to see the owner of that voice. He was older, dressed in an impeccable suit and leaned on a cane. She was sure she had never met him before, but for some reason, she felt that he had a familiar resemblance.

“Thanks.”

“It’s all here,” The older woman removed a roll of cash from a drawer and hands it to Mr. Gold. Her voice denoted a certain… fear. Emma watched the exchange curiously.

“Yes, yes, of course it is, dear. Thank you.” the man said, and turned to look at Emma “You enjoy your stay.., Emma.”

Emma raised her eyebrows. He was a strange guy, no doubt. But silence fell over the place as the man left the inn. That's when Emma turned to the old woman.

“Who's that?”

“Mr. Gold,” the young woman said this time watching Gold through the curtains. “He owns this place.”

“The inn?”

“No. The town.” the older woman responded with a somber tone. Then, she seemed to suddenly recover and her tone returned to what it was before. “So! How long will you be with us?”

Emma had to think about her answer for a bit before answering.

"Two nights," she said. “Just two.”

That should be enough. She could do some research on the topic of the message the next day, spend the second night, and then she would return home in the morning. She could extend the stay if she needed it, but she didn't think it would be that way.

"Great." The woman took a old-fashioned key from the shelf behind her and handed it to her. “Welcome to Storybrooke.”

"Hey," she said later as she lay on the bed in her room with her cell phone to her ear.

"Hey," Neal said on the other end of the line. “You have arrived?”

"Uh, yeah, I just got here," Emma said. “I have taken a room at an inn, tomorrow I will be able to investigate the message.”

“So, is there a town there?” Neal asked.

“Storybrooke. A strange name, isn't it? “Emma said. “I'll see what I find tomorrow and I'll come back the next day.”

“Emma, if you need more time,”

"No, I just want to know why I received the message, you know, Neal," Emma said. “If there someone kidnapping people or something like that, I will tell the police… It's not my business.”

“Yeah, okay,”

“How are Oliver and Avery?” Emma asked.

"Fine, they're fine, they miss you, just like I do," Neal replied. “Now they are asleep. They wanted to call you to say goodnight, but I assumed you'd still be driving.”

“I’ll talk with them tomorrow…”

Emma broke off as she heard Neal to swear.

“Uh, Neal? What happens” 

"Sorry, it wasn't you, someone is knocking at the door," Neal said. “Who will it be at this time? I better open it before the kids wake up.”

“Sure, that’s fine. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

As soon as Neal hung up the call, he sighed. He frowned as he headed for the door. Whoever it was was very insistent. It occurred to him that maybe he could be a neighbor. Maybe the one below. He was older, a bit weird. He used to go up often because he said the noise bothered him, even though they didn't make that much. Neal believed he was just lonely. But when he opened it, it wasn't his neighbor in front of him.

It was a man, maybe his age. He had dark hair and blue eyes, was wearing a black leather jacket and was holding a motorcycle helmet in his hand.

“Uh, who are you?” Neal asked confused

“August Booth,” the man said. “And we have to talk.., Baelfire.”