This one takes place after Zelena was defeated and goes AU whereby the time portal did not open and Emma is in the process of deciding what to do.

Disclaimer: Please don't sue me.

Mary-Margaret was about to take her fifth sip of morning coffee before hearing someone rush through Granny's door in a flushed heap. She raised her brow at discovering that it was her daughter. So much for a quiet morning away from her screaming newborn, (she loved him, don't get her wrong, but she hadn't had a single ounce of silence in weeks). Her husband insisted he'd take care of him for a few hours while she engaged with the outside world and absorbed some sunlight.

Emma ordered a drink before rushing to her mother's table. She knew she looked like a disaster, but in the time she had to get ready and leave it was the best she could do – a messy ponytail and what was left of her makeup.

Snow didn't say anything as she waited for an explanation. She watched Emma hesitate for a few seconds.

"I did something," Emma began, breathless, and a look of slight guilt on her face.

"Oh?" Mary-Margaret replied, a mixture of concern and amusement in her voice.

"So you know last night, after Killian and I dropped Henry off at Regina's?"

"Mm-hm," Snow said, signalling her to go on as she dipped a biscuit in her drink.

"We walked back to his room and talked for a bit."

Snow covered her mouth as she chewed on her breakfast. "Okay?"

"And then we shared a few drinks…" Emma's voice quickly lowered as Ruby placed her coffee at the table. Once she took her leave, Emma continued. "One thing led to another…" her mother wasn't getting the idea. But Emma certainly didn't want to spell it out for her. "We kinda…" Snow furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, shaking her head with slight impatience. "You know…"

Snow's face lit up in realisation. "Oh! Oh."

"Yeeeah."

"Um," Snow was at a slight loss. They haven't had conversations like this since she was just Mary-Margaret, her friend and roommate. "Do you…regret it?"

"What? No! I mean…I don't think so?" Emma pondered. "No…I don't," she said, firmly this time. "I'm an adult. I'm a mature adult who's entitled to have some fun once in a while. After all the evil witches and curses, I think I've earned it, don't you think?"

Snow smiled at her flustered state.

That was a good thing, Emma decided, because she didn't seem to be judging her.

"Emma, I'm glad you decided to open your heart up."

"Whoa, who said anything about-" Emma paused. "Look it was just a-"

"-one time thing," Snow said knowingly. "In any case," she placed a hand on Emma's, "it's a start."

The conversation died down for a minute between them. After an awkward silence of sipping coffee Snow broke the silence, her curiosity seeking no end. "So what happened this morning?"

"This morning?"

"Yeah, have you decided to talk about it?"

The look of guilt sprung back into Emma's features. "That's the thing. Nothing happened."

Snow gave her a puzzled look.

"I kind of…ran off…while he was asleep."

Snow slowly nodded, "Okay…and have you figured out what you're going to say to him the next time you see him?"

"Not yet…why?"

"Because he just walked through that door." The two of them turned to see the man of the hour walk into Granny's café and order a morning drink from Ruby.

"Crap!" Emma ducked in her seat. "Don't let him see us."

"Too late, he spotted us," Snow's lips naturally lifted into smile at the man, earning a similar friendly response from him, "and I already waved hello. And now he's coming this way…"

"Damn it!" Emma quickly crouched in her seat until her torso was almost covered under the table. "What do I do?"

Emma's frantic eyes searched Snow's. It was one of the few moments Emma looked at her for guidance, not as a friend or a roommate, but as a mother, and it rendered Snow still. But before she could give her a response Killian was already by their table.

Over the past running weeks, after learning that Emma had decided that her happiest future, after all, was amongst her family and friends, Killian adopted a lifestyle that would hopefully encourage Emma to think about a future with him. He allowed David in on his decision and, after enduring much of the man's laughter, David decided to help him pick out clothes that wouldn't make him stand out like a gloomy beacon. Now here he was, clad in jeans, a simple t-shirt and a leather jacket (he would never let that part of him go), approaching an awkwardly grinning Snow White and hunkering Emma Swan.

Emma's brain quickly reeled to find an explanation for her crouching position to avoid further embarrassment. She looked at the floor beneath her feet and aimed for an item. Then with swift movement she sat up and exclaimed, "Found it, my penny!" She placed the distraction on the table with as much beaming triumph as she could muster. She knew he stood right beside her, but she still couldn't help but evade the look on his face.

"Good morning, Killian," Snow said in a glaringly chipper tone – whether it inflated or flattened the elephant in the room depended on one's obliviousness.

"Fine morning," he nodded to her. "Is it not, Swan?" he said, this time giving Emma a cheeky smile.

"Your drink, sir?" Ruby called from over the counter.

Killian turned to the server and then back at the two young ladies. "Well, as you kids say nowadays, I shall see you around, yes?" He then made a grab for his drink and left the diner, the grin never leaving his face.

Emma looked at her smirking mother. "Don't-"

"I didn't say anything!" Snow rebutted as she sipped her coffee.

The saviour groaned and plopped her head lightly on the table. He was never going to let her live this down.

Review, lovelies?

More to be coming soon.