Once Upon A Time ~ Book 1

Chapter 27 - Alexandra

Henry sat in the waiting room, in the hospital while Emma pased.
"You know, Emma, you're different." said Henry.
"What's that?" asked Emma.
"You're the only one who can do it."
"Break the curse? Yes, I know. You keep telling me."
"No. Leave. You're the only one who can leave Storybrook."
"You left and came and found me in Boston." she stopped pasing.
"But I came back. I'm 10. I had no choice. But if anyone else tries to go, bad things would happen."
"Anyone except me."
"You're the saviour. You can do whatever you want."
Emma went down on her honkers in front of Henry.
"You can go." Henry continued.
Emma raised her eyebrows.
"Miss. Swan." said a voice and a nurse walked towards them. "The baby is a healthy six-pound girl. And the mother is doing fine."
Emma smiled happily at her in relief.
"What lovely news." said another voice.
Mr. Gold stood accross the room. "Excellent work, Miss. Swan."
Emma stared at him, tense. "Thank you for bringing me my merchandise." he smiled.

******************************

Grumpy and Charming dragged Rumpelstiltskin to the cage and threw him in, as he chuckled evily.
Cinderella and Thomas stood nearby.
"Did we really win?" asked Cinderella, holding Thomas.
"Yes, I told you we would." he replyed.
"I wasn't afraid.......I was so afraid that we'd fail, that I'd have to go back to that life....... That terrible life. I was afraid that I'll lose you, and that nothing would've changed."
"As long as I'm alive, you will never go back to that life." he reassured her and he leaned forward and kissed her lips. "Now, how is our little Alexandra?" he looked down at Cinderella's stomach.
"Alexandra?" she smiled.
"Did I not mention that I picked out a name."
"A name? That's more like a prison sentence."
"Well, I like it."
"Men, you really don't know nothing of........" she gasped and held her stomach.
"Ella, what is it?"
"It's the baby. Something's wrong."
"No, no, it can't be. It's too soon. It must be the stress, the excitement."
"Oh..... I'm dizzy."
"Sit, sit." he helped her to a bench by the rock garden. "I'll go get you water."
"Okay."
Thomas ran away, accross the garden. He ran through a shelter of trees, towards a well. He pulled the ropes to collect water, but a sudden noise came from the trees ahead. He wasn't alone in the shelter of trees.
Cinderella still sat in the garden, breathing heavily. She calmed down a little and looked up. "Thomas! It's okay. It's passed." she called.
She heard shuffling in the distance. "Thomas?"
She stood up and followed the path he had taken. She reached the well. "Thomas?" she ran towards it and found his olive green cloak, lying on the well. She took the cloak and looked around ferociously. "Thomas?" she cryed.

Cinderella came from the shelter of trees and ran towards the cage.
"What did you do?" she said to Rumpelstiltskin who was locked in the cage.
"Ella, what's wrong?" asked Charming.
"Your highness, what happened?" asked Grumpy.
She ran to the cage. "What did you do to my Thomas?" she cryed.
"I haven't done anything." replyed Rumpelstiltskin bitterly. "In case you haven't noticed, I've been otherwise engaged."
"Something's happened to him. You know. Tell me!" she demanded.
He leaned forward. "I have no idea, dearie. But I did warn you. All magic comes at a price. Looks like someone has just paid."
Charming pulled her away. "Don't listen to him. We'll find Thomas.
"No you won't." said Rumpelstiltskin. "Until that debt is paid, until that baby is mine, you're never gonna see him again."
Charming pulled ger away.
"In this world or the next, Cinderella, I will have that baby!"

******************************

Mr. Gold stood next to a vending machine. He placed a paper cup in the gap, and banged the machine. Then suddenly coffee began to pour into the paper cup.
"Well, well. Must be my lucky day." he said to Emma who had walked over to him. He took the cup. "Would you care for a cup, Miss. Swan?"
"A baby? That's your merchandise? Why didn't you tell me?" said Emma.
He began to walk away. "Because at the time, you didn't need to know."
"Really? Or you thought I wouldn't take the job?"
"On the contrary, I thought it would be more effective if you found out yourself. After seeing Ashley's hard life, I thought it would make more sense to you. I mean, if anyone could understand the reasons behind giving up a baby, I assumed it would be you."
Henry sat near, listened my to the conversation.
"You're not getting that kid."
"Actually, we have an agreement, and my agreements are always honoured. If not, I'm going to have to involve the police, and that baby is going to end up in the system. And that would be a pity. You didn't enjoy your time in the system, did you, Emma?"
"It's not gonna happen."
"I like your confidence. Charming. But all I have to do is press charges. She did after all break into my shop."
"Let me guess, to steal a contrack."
He shrugged. "Who knows what she was after."
"You know no jury in the world will put a woman in jail whose only reason for breaking and entering wad to keep her child."
He took a sip from his cup.
"I'm willing to roll the dice that contract doesn't stand up. Are you? Not to mention what might come out about you in the process. Somehow, I suspect there is more to you than a simple pawnbroker. You really want to start that fight?"
Mr. Gold smiled. "I like you, Miss. Swan. You're not afraid of me. That's either cocky or presumptuous. Either way, I'd rather have you on my side."
"So she can keep the baby?"
"Not just yet. There's still the matter of my agreement with Miss. Boyd."
"Tear it up."
"That's not what I do. You see, contracts, deals, they're the very foundation of all civilised existence. So I put it to you now. If you want Ashley to have that baby, are you willing to make a deal with me?"
"What do you want?"
"I don't know just yet. You'll owe me a favour."
She hesitated then stepped forward. "Deal."

Emma and Henry walked into a room in the hospital. Ashley lay in one of the beds, a new born baby in her arms.
"Hey." said Emma.
Ashley smiled at them.
"What's her name?" asked Emma.
"Alexandra."
"It's pretty."
"Thank you for getting me here."
"Mr. Gold was outside. I took care of it. She's yours."
"She is? What did you do?"
"Made a deal with him." she smiled.
"Thank you." she smiled joyfully and tears came to her eyes. "Thank you."
"Oh... Hey, kid, it's almost 5:00. We gotta get you home." she said to Henry and they ran to the door.

******************************

Regina zipped up her dress. She stood in a bedroom. The sheets on the bed were messed and cloves lay on the floor.
"I have to go." she called to the next room to someone in the shower. "Henry's expecting me home by 5:00."
She fixed her hair in the mirror.
"But I'll see you again." she slipped into her heels. "For the next council meeting." she smiled.
She looked around the room. "And don't forget, you left you socks under the bed." She took her bag and left the room.

******************************

Emma and Henry sat in the car, driving quickly.
"Pumpkin." said Emma.
Henry looked at her confused.
"My code name." she explained."I was thinking in honour of Cinderella, Pumpkin."
He shook his head.
"You got a better one in mind?"
"Yup."
"Well?"
"I'm not sure you're ready yet."
Emma pulled in at the Mayors house and Henry got out and ran to the gate."
"Henry?" Emma called.
He turned.
"About what you said at the hospital, about me being able to leave?"
"Yeah?"
"I'll see you tomorrow." she smiled.
And so did he, then he turned and ran inside.
Emma watched him go.

Regina pulled up in her driveway and Henry ran upstairs, and kicked off his shoes.
"Henry?" called Regina as she stepped inside.
He shut the door, threw his bag, grabbed a book and lay on his bed.
"Henry?" she called again. "What did I tell you?" she shouted as she came upstairs.
She came inside. "Do not leave you're shoes lying around on the stairs."
He smiled.
"Someone could get hurt." she threw the shoe on the bed and walked out.
Henry sighed in relief and put the book down.

******************************

"Is that her?" asked Sean from opposite Ashley's bed.
She looked up. "Sean."
"I am so sorry. I never should have left you."
"You're back."
"Yeah, I'm back." he sat on the bed next to her. "Here, I got her a present." he held out a bag and took out a pair of pale pink babu shoes.
They chuckled.
"I dint know if they're gonna fit." he said and slipped them on her tiny feet.
She chuckled. "They're perfect."
They smiled.
Sean leaned forward and kissed Ashley's soft lips.

******************************

Emma leaned against her car. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number on a card. She held the phone to her ear.
Graham answered. "Hello?" he said on the other end of the line.
"Graham, it's Emma. I was thinking, maybe some roots wouldn't be so bad. That deputy job still open?"
"Absolutely." he replyed.
"Then I'm in. Regina gonna be okay with this?"
"I don't care. It's my department. I'll see you Monday morning."
She smiled. "I'll see you." she hung up and looked up at Henry, in his room.
Graham put his phone down. He sat on the bed with the sheets in a mess, shirtless. He kneeled down and picked up a pair of socks that lay under the bed.