"Mom? You got a package," her daughter, Ella, calls out from downstairs. "I'm leaving for school."

"Bye sweetie, I'll see you tonight," Emma shouts from the bathroom as she finishes pulling her hair back into a low, lazy ponytail.

She takes one last glance in the mirror, her eyes sweeping over her face before she shrugs her shoulders and breathes out a heavy sigh.

Storybrooke's magic maintains all the adults youthful beauty, but she knows how old she truly is. More importantly she knows how old Henry is and that breaks her heart every damn day. She hasn't heard from her son or Regina in thirteen years and that only leaves a big gaping hole in her heart. A big part of her is missing.

Henry has missed out on his baby sister growing up and he certainly hasn't been apart of this new family. She doesn't even know where he is...let's be honest, she doesn't even know who he is anymore. When her days drag on as sheriff of the most boring town known to mankind, she imagines what her son looks like now as a grown man. He could be married for all she knows. At least there's some comfort, knowing that Regina is right there with him every step of the way, but she should be there too.

Despite every struggle, every fight, every disagreement, Regina had become her best friend. But now she's gone, Ruby's gone and that doesn't leave too many other options for the role of her best friend, besides her mother. She loves her mother, she really does, but sometimes Snow can be...trying. So, Emma has become closer with Belle by process of elimination, but sometimes the librarian can be so...agreeable. She misses the back and forth banter with Regina, always keeping her on her toes.

"Love? You ready for work?" Killian yells up the stairs, breaking Emma from her wandering thoughts once again.

She sighs heavily, taking in one more glimpse of her pale complexion and shallow eyes, that just don't seem to hold the same light they once used to and trudges down the stairs for yet another dull day as sheriff.

Storybrooke has been nothing but boring since the day Henry left. He brought back everyone's happy endings. Regina and Rumple placed a protection spell around the town, keeping any unwanted villains out while the townspeople were still allowed to come and go as they please. This town is...well, normal. Emma never thought in a million years that she would miss all those adventures, after all those times she wished upon a star for a normal life. After thirteen years of mundane routine, she's praying for a beast to come storming in town, breathing fire and knocking down their famous clock tower.

"Coffee?" Killian offers the hot beverage while leaning in to kiss her cheek like he does every morning.

His dark scruff that usually covered his face is no longer there, leaving a nice clean shave behind. Nothing like when she first met him. It's a small thing, nothing really worth mentioning, but that scruff made him Hook. So, again, she blinks away her disappointment.

"Where's the package Ella was yelling about?"

"Aye," Killian reaches behind his back and smirks, shaking the small little box creating a little jingle.

Immediately, Emma panics thinking that whatever is inside is now broken from Killian's careless action. She hastily yanks the little brown box from Killian's hand and stomps over to the kitchen counter. The sheriff pulls out a knife and slices through the thin piece of tape with ease. She tosses the knife aside and pries open the cardboard flaps, her heart rate thumping a little faster with anticipation.

Once her eyes land upon the old silver metal she gasps in pure shock. "No!" Emma snatches up the small familiar keychain, her finger tracing over the molded swan with her heart fluttering away. So many lovely images of her past come flooding back as though she's been living without her memories for too many years to count.

"What's wrong love?" Killian places his good hand upon her shoulder, gently squeezing to bring her back to the now.

"Nothing. Well not nothing," she mutters, holding up the keychain between her fingers, allowing the pendant to dangle between them.

"Is that the keychain Neal gave you?"

"Yes. When Henry left to go find his story I gave it to him. I told him, as long as he had it, Neal and I would always be with him. Do you know what this means?" Emma squeals in pure excitement causing Killian to furrow his eyebrows in confusion. "He's here! Henry has to be in our world or realm or whatever!"

"That's wonderful Swan. Maybe he will come to visit."

Emma quickly picks up the box again and peeks inside, hoping for another clue and sure enough there is a little note tapped to the bottom. She peels the paper from the bottom and tosses the empty box aside once again.

Her long fingers fumble and shake as she unfolds the piece of paper, discovering a childish handwriting in red colored pencil.

Emma Swan,

I know you remember.

Nobody here does.

Please help our family.

Come to Hyperion Heights, Seattle.

Love,

Lucy

"What does the letter say?" Killian asks even though Emma knows he is reading over her shoulder.

"This doesn't make sense. Who's Lucy? They don't remember? There must be some kind of curse and they don't have their memories." Emma rambles on as she thinks out loud, trying to sort through the craziness of it all.

An old familiar spark deep down inside of her gut ignites and for the first time, in a long time, Emma Swan feels her purpose in life again.

"Should we call?"

"Call who, Killian? There's no number. There's not even a last name. This is obviously from a child. This is where my old bail bonds job comes into use." She smiles confidently and pockets her old keychain. "Lets go to work Hook!"

Killian's face twists in confusion, because Emma hasn't called him Hook in over thirteen years, but she pretends she doesn't notice the hurt or confusion flicking across her husband's face and heads out the door.

XXXXXXXX

Emma and Killian drove across town to the sheriff station in a rush, again surprising to the Pirate because he hasn't seen this side of his wife in far too long.

When they enter the building together, Emma finds her dad sitting at the edge of his desk with his arms folded across his chest and a scowl upon his face. Her brother, Neal, is sitting in her dad's chair, staring at the ground, purposely avoiding his father's stern gaze. Emma smiles to herself knowing her little brother is in trouble. Well, he's not so little anymore, eighteen is practically an adult.

"What did you do, Neal?" Emma taunts, a sly smirk stretching across her cheeks as she tosses her leather jacket behind her chair.

"Nothing!" He harshly demands while narrowing his eyes at his older sister to shut up.

"We'll finish this later young man," David scolds. "Your mother should be outside waiting to take you home."

"Wait, Neal can you ask mom to come in for a minute? I need to talk to both of you," Emma explains, Neal nodding before he slips out the door to retrieve their mother.

"Is everything alright you two?" David questions as his eyes shifts back and forth between the married couple.

"Aye, pops!"

"I said don't call me that, mate!"

"Emma, sweetie. Is everything alright?" Snow inquires as she dashes through the station, fear etched across her face.

"Yes of course." Emma rolls her eyes because even after all these years her mother still treats her like a small child. "So, I received this in the mail today." The excited blonde pulls her old keychain from her pocket and holds it up for her parents to see. "I gave this to Henry before he left Storybrooke. If this made its way back to me, that means Henry is here. In our world," she concludes as a smile grows wide at just the thought of seeing her son again.

"Emma, that's wonderful," her mother screeches, pulling her daughter into one of her death grip hugs.

"He's in Seattle. I'm going," she declares with conviction. "I want you three to stay here. Run the town and watch over Ella for me."

"Emma, no. If you're going, I'm going as well," Killian firmly rebuttals, but his wife is already shaking her head in defiance.

"No, Killian. Ella needs to stay in school, she needs one of us to stay here with her. I will make sure I stay connected. We will talk everyday," she assures him with a warm smile to help ease his panic.

"Well then I'm coming with you," her mother tries. "It's been a long time since I've had an adventure."

"No mom. Everyone stays here. I will find Henry and hopefully Regina is with him."

"If they are here, why don't they just come here to visit?" Her father inquires.

"From the small note that was attached, they don't have their memories. It must be some kind of curse."

"Then you're definitely not going alone," David demands, standing tall from his desk to assert his power. Emma can tell he is trying to be authoritative, but she's a grown woman.

"I'm not asking for permission. Not from any of you. I leave tonight." With that, Emma turns on her heel and marches out of the tiny station, leaving her dumbfounded family behind.

XXXXXXXX

The former bail bonds woman sits anxiously at her desk in her home office and attempts to summon that resourceful attitude back to the surface after being shoved away so many years ago. Emma's been staring at the screen for nearly an hour now, her patience slowly seeping out of her pores and forcing her to lose her cool.

There's just no such place near Seattle, no Hyperion Heights on the map. She even searched all the surrounding cities, hoping for a similar name.

Nothing. Nada. Zip!

She flexes her stiff finger and begins typing away furiously. Regina Mills. Nothing. Lucy...Emma swallows hard on that name, her stomach bottoming out as her fingers finish typing the last name. Lucy Mills. Nada. Henry Mills. Her heavy eyes double in size with hope fluttering through her blood.

We have a match!

The blonde quickly scribbles down the address and can't help but kiss the paper in front of her sent by the mysterious little girl. Emma Swan is finally going to see her son.

"Mom, I'm home."

The woman is so excited and eager to share her news with someone that she stumbles to her feet and runs toward the front door to meet her daughter.

Ella really is the perfect mix between Killian and Emma. Their daughter inherited her father's jet black hair which only makes her stunning green eyes pop. She just turned thirteen and all Emma can see is Henry when he was that age. Ella on the other hand is a little more laid back than Henry was at this age, but then again she's never been apart of any operations. Or raised by Regina, now that Emma really thinks about it.

"Hi baby," she jerks her daughter as close as humanly possible and plants a firm kiss to the top of her head.

"Mom? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, of course. It's just..." she trails off not wanting to have to explain that she's leaving her daughter behind for a little bit. "Listen," Emma pulls her daughter away from her chest and stares directly into her youthful green eyes. "I found your brother-"

"Oh my gosh mom-"

"Hold on. I think he might be part of some curse with his other mother as well. I need to find him and bring them home, but I want you to stay here with your dad and grandparents."

She is quiet for a moment, which is to be expected. Emma knows this a lot to ask of a thirteen year old, but she has another child that she can't neglect any longer just because her daughter is here.

"I get it mom. I want you to go. I want to meet Henry," she smiles so bright generating an overwhelming amount of love to fill Emma's heart. She jerks Ella back into a hug and kisses her head once more.

"Great! Help me pack, kid!"

XXXXXXXXX

One nerve wrecking week went by and all Emma Swan had to show for herself was a nice hotel in Seattle. She had been searching the dreary city like a crazy person, but has come up empty handed each and every time. The sheriff went in search of the address listed for Henry Mills, but of course there was nothing there. Well, not nothing, there was an empty parking lot.

Today was a normal day for her now. She would drive along every edge of town, her patrol experience coming in handy. Each day she would explore the next town over in search of her son, but always went back to her hotel feeling a little more lost each time.

Emma was just about to turn around and head back when something caught her eye. There was a bridge tucked away at the corner of town. She had driven passed this part of town everyday for the past week and not once did she ever see this bridge.

Today must be her lucky day.

Emma's instincts took control of her wheel, because she knows how these things work by now. She drove across that steel bridge with nothing but excitement and hope rippling through her extremities.

A modern city she has never seen before comes into view as she drives to the end of the bridge. She smirks to herself when she spots a little green sign that states, Welcome to Hyperion Heights.

Emma pulls the little piece of paper with Henry's address out of her pocket and clenches it tight between her fingers. In her aggressively beating heart, she knows she's closer to her son.

Slowly the car stops just outside a tall rundown building. Green eyes shift toward the black numbers falling off the deep red bricks once more to confirm that this is in fact the right place. Emma parks her little yellow bug and steps outside to assess the area, to familiarize herself with the new location. Her boots shuffle toward the front of her car, her eyes studying the obnoxiously tall building towering over her.

Here goes nothing...

An older gentleman walking his dog, steps directly in front of Emma, catching her attention. She keeps her head hung low, her long tresses cascading around her face, but her eyes never leave the older man. He fumbles as his old nimble fingers unlock the door, while Emma slowly approaches from behind. The moment he is through the door, she obstructs the doorway with her foot and sneakily slips into the building.

Too much adrenaline is vibrating through her limbs as she takes the elevator up to the eighth floor. 815? Really? She chuckles to herself understanding its uncanny significance. Her knuckles knock rapidly against the thick wood, but much to her dismay, no answer. She tries for another ten minutes or so, not wanting to actually admit defeat, but still no answer.

She grumbles and pouts to herself as she exits the building and decides maybe it would be beneficial if she drives around town to lock down her bearings.

Not too far from Henry's place, a neon sign that illuminates, Roni's, demands Emma's full attention. Maybe it's the cute little arrows on the flashy sign, but something is drawing her in like a moth to a flame. So, Emma follows her heart and parks her bug just outside the bar.

The moment she pushes the door wide, an all too familiar bell rings, sending an instant rush of déjà vu to hit the pit of her stomach like a wrecking ball.

The bar isn't too big or too flashy which Emma is thankful for after the day, no correction, the week she has had. Green eyes roam over the quant bar, actually really enjoying the atmosphere and the vibe the place is giving off.

She glances around the open area and instantly spots her son. Henry. The anxious and exhausted woman has to fight every internal motherly instinct not to run and crash into his arms from the relief washing over her. Instead, she takes one last gander at him before she makes her way to the bar.

As she slips onto the barstool her mind is already formulating a plan. She knows she has to become friends with him in some way. Earn his trust. She can't just run up to him and say, 'Henry mommy's here!' He'll have her committed.

Been there. Done that.

Her mind is racing with so many countless possibilities as she sits there, biting her thumbnail like some dried up junkie. Someone is speaking to her, but she misses out on what is said. Emma quickly snaps her head up in confusion with an apologetic smile gracing her lips.

"I said, I'm Roni. What can I getcha?"