A/N: this is my first fanfic for OUAT. I'm definitely a fan of the series; this will be a SwanQueen story from Emma's POV, starting from the day Henry comes to get her in Boston. The dialogues and story-line pretty much follow the series, though some scenes may be changed. Excuse any grammatical errors – English is not my first language. R&R please. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and only make them dance for my amusement. Please note though that I have used some of the exact lines said during the first episode. These are obviously not my creation.

And last but not least, a shout-out to my beta MsCalypso. Thanks for always putting up with me.

Chapter 1

Emma Swan closed the door of her apartment behind her. She was exhausted. Quickly, she kicked off her heels and stumbled to the counter in her kitchen, where she gently put her bag of take-out food. She had just been on a 'date', which actually hadn't been a date, just her doing her job. She snickered quietly as she shook her head. She was flabbergasted at the nerve the man had shown; how he'd just betrayed his lovingly wife. But most of all, she was outraged that he had knocked over the table, thus spilling the drinks on her dress, and had then insulted her after she caught him running.

Emma didn't even bother to turn on the lights in her kitchen; she just took out the box of pastries out of its bag and put the sole cupcake on a tiny plate. Next, she fetched little birthday candles from the paper bag. She wasn't feeling very celebratory, as she was once again spending her birthday alone, just like the previous twenty-eight years. A small sigh escaped her as she put the candle into the cupcake, licking some cream of her fingers. She hoped she still had some matches lying in a drawer, or else she'd bought this all for nothing. Grumbling, she rummaged through a few kitchen drawers until she finally found them. With slightly trembling fingers, she managed to stroke the match over the boxes' side. For a moment, Emma stopped and simply stared at the little flame. She knew what she would be wishing for, the same thing as every year: that she would not be alone for her next birthday.

"Another banner year." She closed her eyes and focused on the thought as she inhaled to blow out the candle. As soon as it was unlit, the doorbell rang. The blonde frowned as she got up from her stool. She wasn't expecting anyone. Attentively, she walked to the door, and once more drew a deep breath before she opened it. At first, she was staring right ahead into an empty corridor, but then she finally looked down and saw a little boy staring up at her. She was completely confused. For a little while, Emma just stared at him, not knowing what to say.

"Uhm. Can I help you?" She finally managed, frowning deeper than ever.

"Are you Emma Swan?" He asked. He didn't look older than ten.

"Yeah. Who are you?"

"My name's Henry. I'm your son." He smiled at her. Emma blinked. She couldn't believe what she just heard him say. But she was pretty sure that he had said it. Before she was really aware of it, he'd already made his way into her apartment by ducking under her arm.

"Hey, kid. Kid. Kid!" She yelled after him, as she shut the door. "I don't have a son. Where are your parents?" She was starting to panic as Henry looked around her living room.
Finally, he paused at the counter, where she just had been sitting.

"Ten years ago, did you give up a baby for adoption?" She was truly speechless by now. Was he really her son, the one she had given up so many years ago? If he was, what the hell was he doing here? And how on earth did a ten year old kid find her? She usually was very good at staying hidden when she didn't want to be found. But that made her wonder: hadn't she just wished to not be alone anymore? Had she really wanted to stay hidden?

"That was me." Henry said. Emma was shocked now.

"Give me a minute." She finally choked out, and she quickly turned to hide in the bathroom. She started heaving, on the verge of having a panic attack. She couldn't believe what she had just seen, heard and done. Had she really just had a conversation with her son about having given him up for adoption ten years ago? Who the hell would let a kid off to find their birth mother alone? She shook her head, not knowing what to do or think.

"Man up, Swan." She muttered to herself before she returned to her kitchen, where the boy sat sipping a bottle of juice. She blinked.

"We should get going." The kid now said. Again, Emma blinked. What? She crossed her arms before in a defensive demeanor, and raised an eyebrow.

"Going where?" She asked, her tone skeptical.

"I want you to come home with me."

"Okay, kid," She retorted. "I'm calling the cops."

"I'll just tell them you kidnapped me." Of all the things he had said tonight, this was the thing that baffled her the most. He showed up on her doorstep, insisted her to come to his home, and was now threatening to make her the bad guy? Wow, this kid had some nerve. Maybe he was hers after all.
She picked up the phone and turned to face him.

"And they'll believe you because I'm your birth mother." She stated, knowing she had no chance. But then she studied his face carefully, and a gut-feeling told her that he wouldn't ever say that. She smiled.

"Yep." He said victoriously.

"You're not going to do that."

"Try me." He still smiled at her, and Emma now returned the smile.

"You're pretty good. Look, there's not a lot I'm great at in life, but I have one skill. Let's call it a super power," She had to remind herself that she was talking to a ten year old, so she kept things simple. Super power was something kids understood, right? She honestly thought she was wasting her time here, and that she should just phone the cops and have them take him home. But something prevented her from finally pressing 911 and getting it over with.

"I can tell when anyone is lying, and you, kid, are." She finished, deciding she'd had enough of this.

"Wait. You don't have to call the cops. Please," He pleaded. "Come home with me."

"Where's home?" The twenty-eight year old gave in. It couldn't be that far, since the kid had travelled all by himself.

"Storybrooke, Maine." Okay, she had been mistaken. He had travelled a long way.

"Storybrooke? Seriously?" She sighed. He simply nodded. "Alrighty then, let's get you back to.. Storybrooke." She shook her head and left the room to change out of her stained dress, and into something more comfortable.

The drive to Henry's town had been awkward. And maybe 'awkward' was an understatement, because it had been bizarre, too. He had rambled on about a book full of fairytales, and was convinced that the people in his town were people from the fairytales. Only, they didn't realize they were. According to Henry, they had lost their memories – because the Evil Queen had cursed them. She didn't believe a word of it, but she did believe that the kid had either a problem or a vivid imagination. She concentrated on the road and almost succeeded in ignoring the fact that she was driving her ten-year old kid to a town she'd never heard of. The trip edged 'ridiculous' when Henry told Emma that she was in the book too. She? Emma Swan? A fairytale character? Hilarious. It took all she had not to just snort at the kid's words. Thankfully, it didn't take them too long to arrive in Storybrooke. But her son wasn't done with his little games yet; next, he refused to tell her where he lived. Furiously, she stomped on her brakes and got out of the car, only to bump into Henry's shrink, Archie. But Henry claimed him to be Jiminy Cricket. If the whole situation hadn't seemed crazy to Emma before, it surely did now.

"You've got problems, kid," The blonde mumbled after they'd finally gotten back into her car.

"Yep, and you're going to fix them." If Emma hadn't been so irritated with him, she'd probably had laughed at his boldness. At least the whole encounter with 'Jiminy Cricket' had resulted in her finding out where the kid lived. The Mayor's house. Seriously. Emma had a feeling she'd be in a lot of trouble. The fricken Mayor. She shook her head visibly.
They pulled up at a huge house, surrounded by an equally huge hedge. Probably to keep out curious outsiders, and to keep the garden quiet and private. Emma liked it.

"Come on." She mumbled to Henry as she got out of the car. She waited for him before the gate, and opened it as soon as he was by her side.

"Please don't take me back there," Henry whined, half-begging.

"Your parents will be worried sick about you." The blonde retorted, eager to get the kid off her hands. It was insane that she hadn't just called up the cops.

"I don't have parents," Henry said. "Just a mom, and she's evil." Emma almost rolled her eyes at him. She paused and turned to him, her face obviously skeptical as she stared down on him.

"Evil? That's a bit extreme, isn't it?" She snorted.

"She is. She doesn't love me, she only pretends to." The kid sounded really sad now, and the twenty-eight-year old almost felt sorry for him. She crouched down to his level, and looked him in the eye.

"Kid…" She started. "I'm sure that's not true –"
Before she could continue to comfort the little boy, the door opened. A dark-haired, tall woman hurried outside, her face full of concern. Emma got up and stared; this had to be Henry's adoptive mother – and the Mayor. She was impressed, the woman couldn't be older than thirty. At all. She studied the Mayor's face with interest. She was truly stunning. Emma blinked at these thoughts.

"Henry?!" She ran towards him, her arms already outstretched to hug him. The blonde was impressed, because the woman was wearing quite high heels – and she didn't even stumble once as she ran. In the doorway, a man stood watching. Emma paid little attention to him as she watched Henry not really return the hug to his mother.

"Are you okay?" The Mayor asked, voice a little hoarse. Emma found it pleasant to listen to.

"Where have you been?! What happened?" Henry's mother finally looked at the blonde, but quickly returned her gaze upon Henry.

"I found my REAL mom!" He said, before running past Emma, his mother and the man in the doorway. The Mayor finally turned to Emma, she was obviously impatient to hear an explanation for all of this. Emma Swan just stared into the woman's dark brown eyes, not sure what to say. All she saw in those dark pools was hurt and sadness. She really felt sorry for the woman, even though she didn't know her.

"You – you're Henry's birth mother?" The Mayor finally managed. Emma was late to register the question, as she was still mesmerized by the woman's beauty. She swallowed.

"Hi." Emma Swan said, feeling a little desperate. She really didn't mean to interfere in their lives at all. She never meant to meet her son.