Every Dog Has Its Day: Chapter One

I don't own Once Upon A Time.

Please enjoy.

Story: Someone has tried to work a love spell on Emma. Only, well, it didn't turn out quite the way they'd hoped. Not only does Emma think she's a dog but she seems to find one Regina Mills quite…fetching. (See what I did there?)

Gone To The Dogs:

The night was dark, as nights tend to be. As it edged its way towards morning, the night sky took on a mildly daunting purple hue, warning the inhabitants of Storybrooke to sleep, to pass this time in blissful slumber, to stay inside and asleep until the threatening creatures of the dark returned to their caves and tunnels and left their little town in peace once again. Obediently, subconsciously, Storybrooke turned out their lights and snuggled into their beds. All, that is, except for one man.

It was dark in Rumple's basement, lit only by a single flickering candle held high by a man. A man who, fumbling his way through the casks and vials and potions, was angry and hurt and plotting.

"She doesn't understand," he muttered to himself. "But this'll show her that I'm serious." He grabbed a vial from the shelf and poured it into an empty cauldron. A splash of red erupted, smoking, from within the cauldron and he hurried dashed in a bit of purple, a sprinkle of herbs, a splash of this and that. All well thought out, he thought. "A little Devil's Snare, to bind. A little hair of wolf to make her," he chuckled, "wild. A few leaves of sweet mint to counter her bitterness, a drop of dog saliva for loyalty, and rose for passion. Some goat stomach as a base and just a drop of love." He dropped each ingredient into the cauldron and stirred until it ceased bubbling and swirled smoothly, a delicious caramel colour. "Perfect," he whispered. Even he was entranced by the remarkable looking potion. "Now to get the saviour to drink my true love's potion."

It had taken a really, really long time, some begging, a shit ton of paperwork and hours of unpaid work, but Emma finally had permission from Regina to take Henry out for afternoon tea. She was practically vibrating as she waited for him at the bus stop. With nerves, as per usual, and also the usual excitement. It was always fun to spend time with Henry. He was smart and funny and every day Emma learnt something new about him.

It was times like these, wandering down the street together with her son, that she thought of Regina. What did she know about Henry? What stories could she tell, if she was so inclined? One day, maybe, she would invite Regina with them.

"Emma!" The blonde halted and closed her eyes tight. "Emma! Henry! Hey there, kid." Henry greeted his father with a wide smile and a hug. Emma, on the other hand, turned slowly and gave him a small nod and not a trace of a smile. She knew why he was here. Mary Margaret had told him. She couldn't keep her mouth shut about anything, of course, and Emma had stupidly confided in her that Regina was letting her take Henry out for a treat. Stupid, she berated herself. That's what you get for telling Mary Margaret anything.

"What do you want, Neal?"

He held his hands up in surrender. "Look, I just wanted to join you guys for lunch. Is that a crime?" he asked with that stupid dopey grin of his that she used to love so goddamn much. It hurt to look at him, to remember all the good times and to feel all over again that swooping, crushing free-fall in her stomach that she was almost used to when she thought of him and his betrayal.

When Emma started walking again, Neal fell into step with them without a word and she focused on the pavement and on walking in a straight line. Her mouth was set firmly into an impassive expression. She didn't want to fight in front of Henry.

"Emma," Henry whispered to her, "can he join us?"

"Maybe," she grunted. Not bloody likely, she thought.

They were at Granny's then and Emma stopped at one of the booths. She nudged Henry and nodded to the bar in a silent command to go and order for them. He looked disappointed. Of course he wanted to see the outcome of the discussion that was building between his parents but he slowly, pouting the whole way, made his way over to Ruby.

The second he was gone, Neal started to talk. "Look, Em, I know that last night didn't go all that well."

"Neal,"

"But you have to know that I'm sorry. I had to do it – Storybrooke was your destiny and I couldn't stand in the way of that."

"Neal, stop it. Last night was a disaster because this is what you were talking about the whole time. I'm sick of it. If you want to be friends," Emma sighed, hoping to god that he would just leave her alone, let her go on with her life, "then just stop. Saying sorry doesn't change anything and I'm sick of it." He opened his mouth to argue and she shook her head. "Please, Neal."

"I am sorry," he said.

"Okay." She rubbed her forehead. "That's great for you." She dropped into a booth and stared mulishly at a menu she'd memorised months ago, intent on ignoring him.

Neal stared at her for a few moments and then sat tentatively opposite her. "Emma, I get it. I'll leave you alone." He hesitated. "Maybe I can see Henry every so often?" She nodded straight away. She'd never deny Henry anything, especially not his father. He grinned widely. "Great. And look, I'll back off. But just, let me buy you a drink? As a peace offering?"

Emma rolled her eyes but Neal was a good enough sort and she didn't want Henry to see her being furious with his father – even if he did deserve it. She nodded. "Hot chocolate."

Neal grinned. "Great. I'll be right back." He slid out of the chair and strode over to Henry, clapping a hand onto the boy's shoulder as he gave Ruby the drinks order.

Henry came and joined Emma at the table and she slowly relaxed as he spoke animatedly about his day, describing in incredible detail the swords class and science and what they'd worked on in English. She'd almost forgotten about Neal until he placed a drink down in front of her and another one in front of Henry. Emma's eyes cut to him but he held up his hands in a placating gesture.

"I'm not staying," he said. "Relax, please Em." Her jaw clenched. "Hey, have a good one yeah Henry?"

Henry, of course, leapt out of his seat to hug his father goodbye, which was enthusiastically returned. Emma watched him leave and take a place on the other side of the diner, relieved, and slowly sipped the hot chocolate. It tasted weird, different, but still excellent. She drained the whole glass soon enough and, when Henry giggled at her, wiped her face dramatically clean of the offending whipped cream.

"Are you guys getting back together?" Henry asked, a little suspiciously.

"No, kid, we're not."

"So he wasn't asking you on a date?"

"No. We were just talking." Emma bit her lip and then leant closer to Henry, catching his eye. "We'll never get back together, Henry. You do know that, right?" Henry frowned. "We're different people than we used to be."

"So you're definitely not getting back together?"

"That's right. But we might be friends. Maybe. And you still get to hang out with him if you want to."

Neal had loitered to overhear the conversation and he grinned into his own mug of coffee. When the potion kicked in, she would run to him. She would run to him and profess with eyes of passion what he had known – that she still loved him and always would. They and their son would be together, finally a family, and they could leave this horrible place that only reminded him of his father and his father's betrayal. He would have everything he'd ever wanted.

His eyes softened as he looked towards Emma and Henry. His kid was using big gestures to describe something and Emma was leaning forward, enraptured by his story. They looked perfect. A house together, he thought wistfully, and a family. That would be nice. We could even get the kid a dog.

I had this idea ages ago and I'm stuck at the moment with Coffee To Go so I thought I would write this chapter. Let me know what you think! Happy reading, readers :)