This was written for the Swan Queen Big Bang unintentional challenge and is a crossover with Buffy, but I didn't want to put it in the crossover section cause it annoys me.

If you haven't seen Buffy before, you should be okay, but you should also probably remedy that immediately.

The art for this fic was made by supernana494 and you can check it out here /works/2304128

A big thank you to my cheerleader/beta, katherine737, who gave me necessary pushes and was an amazing soundboard.

Thanks to my betas, who had great feedback and put up with several last minute requests.

*inserts standard "I don't own the characters" disclaimer*

Emma was just reaching for the last bear claw when her phone chimed with a text from Ruby.

You can't eat bear claws for breakfast and lunch all the time. You're going to get fat.

Aw, thanks Rubes.

Anytime ;)

Now I know you didn't just text me about my eating habits. What's going on?

Diner for lunch today?
We've got a visitor.

Emma sighed, she was barely back from New York for a week and there was a potential threat. Visitors in Storybrooke usually meant trouble of some sort. She texted Ruby back

Be there in 10.and gathered herself. She wanted to make an effort to look like her only reason for going to the diner was food related, and not checking out the visitor. She left her gun locked up, only leaving her handcuffs and pepper spray on her belt. Mary Margaret would probably have a fit if she knew. Lately, her mother had been a tad overprotective. She called to David, who was in the records room, to let him know she was stepping out, then left. She took the cruiser, just in case, and drove down to Granny's. When she got there, she noticed a motorcycle out front with Ohio plates that read "Slayer 2." Well, at least we know they're definitely from out of state.

She walked into Granny's, scanning the booths looking for the stranger. When Emma saw the brunette in the corner booth, facing the door, she stopped dead in her tracks, nearly knocking down Archie, who was walking behind her. The woman looked up from her phone at the small commotion. When she saw Emma, her mouth dropped open in shock.

"E? Is that you?" Emma nodded, and the woman waved her over.

"Faith? What the hell are you doing here?!" Emma grabbed her into a hug, then punched her in the arm.

Faith clutched her arm in mock hurt, "What was that for?"

"What the hell do you think? You just leave Boston with no explanation except for a post card a few days later, then I don't hear from you again? It's been 14 years! You were like a sister!"

Faith got a guilty look on her face, "I'm sorry 'bout that. I actually do have a good explanation... but not here."

Before she could tear into Faith more, Emma remembered that she was yelling in the relatively crowded diner of the town she was the sheriff of. There was no way that the whole town wouldn't know by tomorrow.

Faith gestured to the booth, "Do you want to join me? We can catch up and you can keep an eye on me, make sure I'm not disturbing the peace."

Emma nodded and both women sat down. "You caught that huh?"

"I've been here for 15 minutes. Excellent response time, Sheriff. Although next time, you might want to make it less obvious that you're checking out the town stranger. You might also want to let the waitress know that she could be a little more discreet too."

"Noted." Emma waved down Ruby, indicating that she'd like her usual. The two women looked each other over, while they were silently debating with themselves about who would speak first. Faith looked older; she had definitely been through some shit. Emma noticed she was wearing a cross, which was unusual; the Faith she grew up with had never been that particularly religious. She filed that and the ring on Faith's left hand away to ask about later.

Faith broke the silence first. "Soo… How've you been?" Emma noticed that the Boston accent that used to be so prevalent was barely noticeable.

"Oh you know, the usual, met a boy, got arrested…" Emma trailed off, adding 'got pregnant, gave up the baby, met him 10 years later and found out I'm Snow White and Prince Charming's Daughter.'in her head. "How about you?" Faith started to answer but Emma cut her off, "No, wait, let me guess, Five by Five? Right?"

Faith laughed, it had been years since she heard someone say that. "Somethin' like that. Lemme guess, girl meets boy, boy gets girl involved in life of crime, boy leaves girl holding a bag of stolen watches and with a bun in the oven, girl goes to prison while boy skips town?" At Emma's surprised look, Faith added, "Just because I left doesn't mean I didn't check up on you. How the hell did you end up sheriff?"

"I was elected, if you can believe were easy to track down too. You know, if I were still working as a bail bonds person, I might consider bringing you in. How the hell are you so out in the open like this if you broke out of prison?"

Before Faith could answer, Ruby interrupted with their food. "Enjoy! And if you need anything else, just let me know."

"Thanks Rubes."

Faith waited until Ruby walked away and there was nobody within earshot, "How do you know about me breaking out of prison? Those records were supposed to go away."

"Well, I knew you were arrested and given a very long sentence, but you're sitting in front of me. It doesn't take a genius..." Emma trailed off with a look that said, "Give me some credit."

"If it makes a difference, I had a good reason, it was life or death."

Emma scoffed, "I'm sure."

"I'm serious! Look, I can't get into it all now, but I will later." Faith picked up her burger and took a big bite in an attempt to stop that line of questions.

"So you're planning on sticking around for a while?"

"Of course, I've got a job to do." Faith hadn't meant for it to slip out, and instantly regretted it. This was why the gang didn't send her out for things like this; she sucked at undercover.

"What do you mean, you've got a job to do?" Emma had to stop herself from raising her voice, she could not cause a scene. Not here. "Faith…Why. Are. You. Here? How did you even find Storybrooke?"

Faith sighed and put down the burger, she was better off just being upfront, "Don't panic, the barrier is still intact, nobody can cross it without help, and there are only a few people powerful enough to sense it, let alone get through it." She pulled out a small amulet, "This is how I did it, a friend of mine made it for me. As for why I'm here? It's work related, but I promise, I'm here to help."

Emma's mind immediately went to the missing residents. "What do you mean, you're here to help?" Emma let her fingers trace over the amulet, she could sense something coming from it, and she guessed it was the magic. Regina had taught her how to sense magic in different objects when they were in Neverland. "Wait, you know about magic?"

"Of course I do, I'm also good friends with the best witch in the country, easily the world." Faith leaned closer and lowered her voice, "Is there anything funny going on in this town? Something that started recently?" Emma hesitated and Faith put her hand on Emma's arm, "Trust me, E. What's going on?"

Emma pulled her arm away. "Don't do that. Don't expect me to just blindly trust you, I'm not that 14 year old girl anymore, and I'm still pissed at you for leaving. You're not telling me the whole truth."

Faith sat back in her seat and crossed her arms, "Really? We're going to play that game? You live in a town that is completely off the map and surrounded by an extremely powerful barrier." Faith smirked, "Do I need to mention the fact that the town looks like it's stuck in the 80s?"

A loud crash interrupted them, Ruby had dropped a tray while bussing the booth next to them. Emma couldn't remember the last time she dropped anything. It took her a minute before she remembered Ruby's very excellent hearing. She was eavesdropping on them and the idea that someone knew this much about Storybrooke scared her. Before Emma could jump up and help Ruby pick up some of the dropped silverware, Faith was already there.

Faith put a comforting hand on Ruby's shoulder, whispering something that Emma couldn't make out. Whatever it was made Ruby relax.

When Ruby walked away, Emma looked at Faith with a raised eyebrow. "What was that about? You're usually riling people up, not calming them down. What did you say to her?"

"I told her that she had nothing to worry about, that I would keep whatever secrets this town had."

Emma contemplated what Faith had said, using the time to eat more of the food that had spent most of the conversation untouched. Faith followed suit, not wanting to push Emma more than necessary. This was not the way she wanted to deal with any of this.

Emma broke the silence with one question. "Why?"

"Look at me. Am I telling the truth? Use that lie detector of yours, unless you've forgotten what I taught you about reading people?" Faith was goading Emma a little, and they both knew it.

Emma smiled but didn't take the bait, "You're not lying. About any of it, and that's the scary part about all of this. You're pretty relaxed for someone who seems to know that there's more to Storybrooke than meets the eye."

"Like I said, I'll explain, just not here, not now. Can we get a drink or something later? After your shift?"

Emma nodded and stood up, "I'm on call though, so I may have to cut it short. I'll be back around 6:30? Does that work?"

"Yep, now get back to that boring desk job you call police work." Faith got up and pulled Emma in for a hug. "It's really good to see you, Emma."

"Sheriff Swan, may I speak with you?"

Emma practically jumped away from Faith when she heard Regina speak, but recovered quickly. Regina hadn't called her Sheriff Swan in a while, and Emma knew that she was about to be reprimanded for something.

Faith stepped back and sat back into the booth, trying to blend in and be the silent observer.

"Of course, Madame Mayor. How can I help you?"

Regina lowered her voice, but kept the authoritative tone. "Why is it that I had to hear from Kathryn that someone crossed the town line?"

"What? How did she know?"

Regina pointed over to a corner, where Kathryn was having lunch with a woman that Emma didn't know. "You're supposed to be sheriff, but you can't even keep track of who's in a small diner? How does that keep my son safe?"

Emma was hurt by Regina calling Henry her son. They had been doing so well since the events in Neverland, it felt like a step back. "Our son. He's our son, Regina. I didn't get a chance to tell you. I figured you were owed more than just a quick text message saying by the way, we have a stranger. I was going to go to your office and explain, once I had an idea about what was going on. Now if you'd like, I can introduce you to Faith, or we can go straight to your office and actually have a conversation. I can tell you that I know her and we can trust her."

Regina scoffed and Emma saw a flash of… jealousy? But it was replaced with the no nonsense look the Mayor got whenever Henry was in danger. "Very well then, if you're done socializing, shall we head to my office?"

Emma didn't bother correcting Regina, it wasn't worth it. She nodded and gestured towards the door, "After you." Regina walked out and Emma turned to follow, waving to Faith and mouthing a "See you later."

After Regina and Emma left, Faith waved Ruby over. "So… What's with them?"

"Who?" Faith gestured to the door "Ohh, Emma and Regina? You noticed that, huh?"

"Noticed it? Are there people who don't notice that?"

Ruby laughed, "You have no idea."

"But they aren't together?"

"No. And before you ask, I don't know why. If you're in town for a while, maybe we could try to fix that?" Faith could tell she had been looking for a partner in crime who would help get the two together.

"Get E together with the gorgeous brunette she has insane chemistry with?" Ruby nodded excitedly. "Count me in."

Regina barely waited until the door was shut before questioning Emma, "So how well do you know this…"

"Faith. I know her well enough to trust her."

"How do you know she isn't lying? Your" Regina put up air quotes, "'lie detector' isn't exactly reliable."

"Regina, there are several people that I know with absolute certainty if they're lying. You're one of them and so is she. At one point, she was the only family I had. She taught me how to fend for myself, how to stand up to myself. So yes, even though I'm pissed at her for leaving, and I don't trust her not to just do it again, I know she's not lying to me."

"Very well then. How did she get here? Why is she here? Is m- our son safe?"

"She has an amulet that a witch friend of hers gave her. All she said was that she's here for work, she didn't want to tell me in the diner, we're meeting for drinks later." There it was again, a small flash of jealousy, "Henry is as safe as he was before Faith rolled into town. Remember, we've still got three people missing." The look on Regina's face told Emma that while she meant that as some sort of comfort, it wasn't taken as such, and she put her hand on Regina's arm. "You know he'll end up in trouble more than a few times, he's the son of the Savior and the 'Evil Queen,' but he'll always have us." Emma smiled and tacked on, "We'll always find him," causing Regina to roll her eyes.

Neither woman spoke for a minute after that, although it felt like much longer, because at some point during their talk, Emma's hand had gone from Regina's arm, to her hand, grasping it in a delicate hold.

"Regina…"

The two women were interrupted by a knock on the door, "Madame Mayor?" They broke apart and Regina gave Emma a look that said they were done talking. Emma headed out, leaving Regina to deal with whatever Mayoral duty her secretary interrupted them with.

Faith was waiting at the counter talking to Ruby when Emma came into the diner a little after 6:00. Her interaction with Regina had distracted her from the mountain of paperwork on her desk, and she decided to leave the less urgent stuff for another day and meet Faith early.

"E! Ruby was just telling me about when you first got here. Town sign, eh?"

Emma shook her head at the big smile on Faith's face, "Ruby, do you have to tell everyone that story?"

Ruby shrugged, "It was one of the more exciting things to happen around here for years! I saved some of the best ones for you to tell though, I'm outta here. You've got someone to cover for tonight, right?"

"Yes, you're covered. Have fun!"

"Thanks Emma. Have a good night you two, don't do anything I would do." Ruby winked at Emma and Faith, then headed into the back to get ready to leave.

"Wait a minute, she works with you too?"

"She rotates being on call at night, tonight is one of her usual nights, but she had something to do, hence the coverage."

"I guess even a small town like this needs the police available at all times."

Emma nodded, "Sometimes we can use it. Even small towns have some kids that like to cause trouble."

Faith shifted in her seat, "About that… The trouble, not the kids, can we get that talk? I got a room so we can actually have some privacy." She looked at Emma suggestively, who hit her on the shoulder.

"I was going to suggest that, my roommates aren't exactly great with the privacy. Is this talk going to require booze? Cause I'm still on duty…"

Faith smiled, "Only a little for old time's sake, I actually have something I want to do tonight."

The two women headed to Faith's room, getting the attention of a few of Storybrooke's more nosy residents. Emma didn't think Faith noticed until they got to the room.

"Damn, do people have nothing better to do than to look for anything that would make for some juicy gossip?" Faith locked the door behind them, and went to sit on the bed, offering Emma the chair.

"Well Sydney, for some reason, still reports to Regina. He probably thinks he's bringing her something good and juicy." Faith raised her eyebrow at the mention of Regina, but it went unnoticed.

"Speaking of good and juicy, do you want to go first, or shall I?" Faith grabbed two beers from the mini fridge and handed one to Emma.

"Thanks." She paused to pop the top off and took a drink, "You promised answers and I think I want, no, I need them before I explain anything."

"Fair enough." Faith paused, trying to figure out where to start. "Do I even have to ask that we keep this between us? A lot of what I have to tell you involves the people I love, my family."

"No you don't have to ask, but I don't blame you for doing so. I'll keep whatever secrets you need. I'm not my mother."

"Wait, what? You found your mom?!" Emma put up a hand to stop Faith, "Right, my story first. Well, I believe the first thing you wanted to know was why I broke out, and then how am I managing to stay out, right?"

Emma nodded and Faith took a deep breath, ready to launch into an explanation, when her phone went off. "Shit, I gotta get that." When Faith pulled out her phone, Emma couldn't see who it was, but did see a picture of an attractive blonde.

"Hey sweetie." Faith got off the bed and walked to the other side of the room. "I got here around noon, I'm sorry I didn't call earlier. No, I'm not sure what's goin' on yet. I ran into an old friend, she's the sheriff so she can help out. Yes. I'm sure. I gotta go. You and the little one keep safe okay? No work, the others can take care of it. I'll call you tomorrow. Love you." She hung up the phone and turned her attention back to Emma, who had crossed her arms and looking at her funny. "What?"

"Sweetie? The little one? You have a kid?" Emma shook her head in disbelief "You've changed. No more 'Want, Take, Have?'"

Faith ignored Emma's gibe about the use of a pet name, "I don't have a kid yet, it's still a little bun in the oven." At the look on Emma's face, Faith added, "We don't want to know if it's a boy or a girl yet, we want to be surprised. Although we're both pretty sure it's a girl. And there's plenty of 'Want, Take, Have'" Faith wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Emma rolled her eyes but got up and pulled Faith into a congratulatory hug, "Congrats, Faith. You and the wife are in for a treat." At Faith's confused look, "Come on, you're wearing a ring and unless I missed something, that was definitely not a man you were talking to. Give me some credit."

"Thanks E. Now, where was I? Right, breaking out of prison. That story is a long one, so get comfy. It starts back in Boston, about 6 months or so before I left."

Emma interrupted her, "Am I finally going to hear why you were acting weird?"

Faith nodded, "Yes, now don't interrupt, otherwise I'm never going to finish this story. There's no good way to say this, so I'll just say it. I'm a Vampire Slayer."

"A WHAT?!"

"A Vampire Slayer. 'Into every generation there is a chosen one…blah blah blah, I should have brought Giles along, he loves to do this part. This world has vampires, demons, and all sorts of other nasty creatures, my job is to kill them. The Slayer is always a woman, usually called in her teens. My case was unique because there was already a Slayer, Buffy, when I was called. Buffy died and activated a new Slayer, even though she was only dead a minute or so. When that Slayer died, I was called and started slaying in Boston. That's why I insisted on you either staying inside or with groups at night and why I disappeared overnight and showed up the next morning with bruises or cuts. It's also why I heal fast. I know you noticed that. I pretty much got the job done, until one vampire, Kakistos. He killed my Watcher, the guy who trained me, then went after me.."

"Seriously?! Vampires? Are you insane?! Vampires aren't real!"

"What did I say about interrupting? Yes, they are real, and no, I'm not insane." Emma didn't look convinced, but didn't say anything, "Okay so, I was able to wound him, but ended up running. All the way to Sunnydale, California to Buffy…"

"Wait. Sunnydale? That's the town that got sucked into that huge hole like 7 years ago!"

"Yeah… That was a rough day."

"What do you mean? Were you there?! I heard the town was evacuated, that it was some giant sinkhole or something."

"Yes, I was there, so was B and a bunch of other Slayers and friends. You're kinda jumpin' ahead here, E. But yes, the town was evacuated before it collapsed. It wasn't just a sinkhole, there was more of a supernatural reason behind it. Play your cards right and I'll introduce you to the vamp who helped it come about. Or the witch."

Emma couldn't believe what she was hearing. Of all the things she was expecting to hear Faith say, this wasn't even near the list. She stopped herself from interrupting again.

"When I first came to Sunnydale, I teamed up with Buffy and killed Kakistos. We worked together for a while, developed kind of a thing, but there was an accident and we had a slight… falling out... I started working for the Mayor, who was evil." Emma laughed and Faith raised an eyebrow in question.

"I'll explain later, keep going."

"Buffy and I fought right before the Mayor was going to pull off this really killer ascension thing, where he was going to become a demon. She stabbed me and I ended up in a coma. Fast forward 8 months, I wake up, terrorize Buffy and her friends, flee to LA, terrorize some more people, and eventually get arrested. I spent a few years in jail, but broke out when I had to help save a friend. After that, I was brought back to Sunnydale to help them with the big bad, and that's when the town collapsed. We also activated all the potential Slayers, basically anyone who could be a Slayer, became one. Since then, we've set up a pretty solid organization, it's like Slayer's Inc. We find Slayers, train them, then put them in places where they're needed. They've got all the support and training that those in the past couldn't get. Oh, and my record should have been erased, so as far as the system is concerned, I'm a model citizen." Faith stopped for a minute to take a long drink and gauge Emma's reaction. Emma was wide-eyed, but hadn't ran yet, which Faith took as a good sign. A few minutes went by in silence while Emma processed what Faith said.

When she finally spoke, she took Faith by surprise by asking, "So why are you here? Is there a Slayer here or something?"

"No, actually that would be a lot easier than whatever is going on here. See, Sunnydale was on what we call a Hellmouth. It's basically a demonic hotspot, it attracts vampires and demons and also can act as a portal. If a Hellmouth opens, you're looking at world ending catastrophe. They're all over the place, Cleveland, is one. We decided to base our operation there because it was the next biggest Hellmouth. We find them by reading mystical energy, we can figure out size and if it's about ready to blow. Willow, the witch, has been noticing magic coming from this spot. She didn't think much of it, she thought it was just a coven that liked to gather in the woods here. Until she picked up on a few energy bursts, a big one a few months ago, then some little ones. We decided to send someone to check out the area after she tracked 2 big bursts within weeks of each other. We wanted to make sure we didn't have something serious, like an active Hellmouth, on our hands."

Emma's mouth was hanging open in shock, "Oh my god."

"What? Too much? I'm not crazy, I swear."

"No, it's not that. I know what those energy bursts are."

"Well that makes my job a hell of a lot easier. What were they?"

Emma shuffled a little, she still had trouble believing all of the fairytale stuff. "They were the curse, or curses."

"I'm sorry, what? A curse?"

Emma sighed, "This town didn't exist 30 years ago, it was created by a curse."

"You're serious? You're not screwing with me because of what I just told you?"

"I wish I was, it gets crazier. I have a book that explains it a lot better than I can, I can show it to you tomorrow. The first burst of energy your witch friend tracked was the curse being broken. The second big burst was the town being cursed again and disappearing, then the last one was the town returning."

"Who cast the curse? How did it break?"

"Regina did. Or as she was known at the time, 'The Evil Queen'"

It was Faith's turn to interrupt. "This isn't the same Regina who runs the town is it?"

"One and the same, that's why I laughed about your evil mayor. The curse took away people's happy endings and made it so nobody aged."

"Happy endings? The Evil Queen? Who are these people? Where are they from?"

"They're fairy tale characters, or I guess more accurately, story book characters. Fairytales are real."

"Wait, so like Snow White, Prince Charming, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella? All real? And human?"

Emma laughed, "Snow and Charming are actually my parents."

Faith was grateful that she had put her beer down earlier, she most certainly would have dropped it, "WHAT?!"

"Yep, they sent me away in a magical wardrobe to protect me from the curse. Pinocchio was supposed to keep me safe but he left me alone." Emma explained all the details of the curse, from Rumpelstiltskin's prophecy to hers and Henry's role in it. Faith let her continue uninterrupted for the most part. The two ended up talking all night, mostly about the time in between Emma's arrival in Storybrooke and the curse breaking, but Emma did make time to tell Faith about the three missing residents. The two didn't stop talking until Emma had to leave to go to work.

"You won't tell anyone about me being a Slayer, right? It's supposed to be a secret."

"As long as you don't go telling everyone you know where Snow White and her seven dwarves live."

"Deal. And don't think we're done talking, you still haven't told me everything. See you later."

With a quick, "Bye" Emma left the room and headed to the Sheriff's office, leaving Faith to her own devices.

After Emma left, Faith crashed, waking up around noon. She made a quick phone call to the gang and headed down to the diner, where she spent her afternoon with Ruby. Ruby was an excellent source of information and Faith really did want to have some fun with Emma and Regina.

"We need to talk to Henry, they're his moms and he'd get a kick out of helping. I think."

Faith hesitated, "You better handle that one. I want to meet Henry when Emma wants to introduce us. And possibly after she speaks to Regina. Wouldn't want to start an argument."

"Actually..."

"What?"

"That wouldn't be too awful... I mean, you've seen them argue.. You know what they say…"

"There's a fine line between love and hate. Believe me, I know. Remind me to tell you how my wife and I got together. Is that going to be our genius plan then? Get them fighting until they screw?"

"What's our other option? Oh wait, hold on." Ruby was being flagged down by several customers. She was easily distracted on a good day, and they were already down a waitress, so the customers were slightly impatient.

When she returned, Faith answered her. "We could get them talking instead of arguing. You take Emma and I'll take Regina, we can put the idea in their heads somehow."

"Why don't you take Emma? You've known her longer? "

"Do you want to threaten Regina?" Ruby shook her head furiously "Ok then, that's sorted out. What did happen between them? Emma won't tell me, just that Regina had to send her and Henry away so that they wouldn't be cursed. But it seemed like that wasn't the whole story..."

"All I know is that they had a rather intimate moment while Regina was telling her that she was giving her good memories. I swear, I thought they were going to kiss! They did hug though. Emma drove off with Henry, then the curse hit us, taking us back. The second we got to the Enchanted Forest, Regina started working on a way to restore their memories and get back to Storybrooke. I don't think she slept." Ruby thought back to the few times she walked in on Regina working. She wasn't sure that Regina even realized Ruby had entered the room, Regina was so focused on her work. She kept saying things like, "I have to find it, I have to restore their memories."

"I still don't know how we got re-cursed, but when we did, Regina found a way to get the potions to Emma and Henry and bring them back. They've been weird since."

"Weird how?"

Ruby shrugged, "Kinda like something happened that they're trying to ignore."

"Maybe we don't have as much work as we thought"