The Orphans

Some Answers and More Questions

The following day, on a cool Saturday morning, Killian and Emma both set out looking for jobs. Since Emma was more interested in crime, they separated at the Sheriff's station and she went inside.

When she entered the office, she saw a man with blond hair sitting at a desk that was angled away from her. He seemed to be staring off into space, so Emma started talking, hoping to catch his attention.

"Hey, do you have any applications for Sheriff's deputy?" The man shot his head up when she began but didn't turn around. "I've heard people talking about the sheriff looking for a deputy."

He turned around slowly at this, the chair slightly squeaking. Before he looked at Emma's face, she noted that his blue eyes seemed dull. But when he met eye contact with her, they lit up with emotions Emma didn't want to ask about. When he spoke, his voice was full of disbelief.

"Emma?" She was confused as to how this man knew who she was.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" He shook his head slowly.

"No... you don't. But Ruby mentioned something about an Emma arriving here last night. And I didn't recognize you, so I assumed that you were Emma." The words sounded choked.

"Yeah, I am. Emma Swan." She paused. "And you are...?"

He jumped, embarrassed. "David. David Nolan." Emma smiled at him, oblivious to his pain, and shook his hand.

She spoke again. "Well, I'll have this back to you tomorrow. See you then!"

He didn't reply back, which confused Emma. He'd given her the same look that Ruby had last night. As she turned around to walk out, she saw Ruby entering the building. She had a huge smile plastered on her face.

"I have your food, Char-" she broke off when she caught sight of Emma. Ruby nervously dipped her head and waved before rushing past her and into the office. Thinking nothing of it, Emma decided to walk around the town to get to know it better.

After approximately five minutes of walking, she came to the mayor's office. Emma had heard something about the Mayor's name being Regina, but not much otherwise. People just seemed to stop and stare at Emma and Killian in shock whenever they passed by. This confused them immensely.

Emma shook her head to clear her thoughts and entered the building. She didn't notice the sound of two voices until she strutted into the office itself and saw two women and a teenager whip their heads to the side, mouths open. Emma immediately opened her mouth to speak.

"I am so sorry! I didn't realize there were other people here. I'll just-" She was cut off by the teenager when he rushed forward and engulfed her in a hug. Emma immediately reacted and pulled away, confusion filling her eyes. She turned back towards the women, one with black hair just past her shoulders and the other with black hair just past her ear. Both still had their mouths open as if they were at a loss for words.

"Again, so sorry," she said, keeping the kid in her line of vision. His face looked distraught, but she didn't mention it. It wasn't her business to know what was going on in his life. "I'll just come back later when you aren't busy. What's a good time for you?"

The one with the longer hair spoke. "Emma! How are you-you died-how are you back?"

Now it was Emma's turn to drop her mouth in bewilderment. "I'm sorry, what?" Her voice broke into a chuckle as she spoke. "I just arrived here last night from Boston. So whoever you're talking about, it's not me." Something dawned on her. "How did you know my name?"

The boy stepped forward. "Mom, it's us. Regina and Mary Margaret. Don't you remember anything?"

Emma scoffed. "Mom? Sorry kid, I have no children."

The woman named Mary Margaret stepped forward and ushered the kid out of the room. "Henry, go home. Regina and I will handle this."

"But-"

"Go!" She closed the door and locked it as soon as he left the room. As soon as she turned around and looked at Emma, Emma once again saw recognition in her depths.

"Why does everyone keep looking at me as if they've seen a ghost," she demanded. Mary Margaret tried to explain.

"It's just-two years ago," water brimmed her eyes and Regina walked towards the door to face Emma.

"Henry lost his mother two years ago," Regina explained. "You look a lot like her, and he must've thought that she came back from the dead."

Guilt instantly flooded through Emma's mind. "I am so sorry," she said quickly. "If I'd have known I wouldn't have been so rude about it." She paused. "And his father?"

Sadness filled Regina's face. "His father died a few years ago."

Emma stared at the ground, unwilling to let the others see the tears forming in her eyes. "no one deserves to grow up an orphan."

Mary Margaret spoke once more, her voice filled with anticipation. "What about your family?"

"My parents abandoned me as soon as I was born." Her voice hardened and she looked back up at them. She raised her chin. "The only family I have is with my boyfriend."

Regina oddly looked taken aback. "Who's your boyfriend?"

"His name is Killian."

Before either of them could say something, a man started pounding on the door. Regina looked apologetic as she walked past Emma to open the door. She turned to see who it was. A man very very short brown hair and an unshaved face barged in immediately.

"It's Geppetto," he gasped between breaths, not noticing Emma. "He's gone. I think he-" The man stopped as he caught sight of Emma, and his eyes lit up. "Emma. Welcome back, Savior," he said, a smile creeping on his face.

Realization set in on Emma. "Geppetto?" she asked. "As in Pinocchio's father? And Savior?" She burst out laughing. "Please don't tell me you mean fairytale characters!"

Regina intervened. "Miss Swan, you have to go. Now. Mary Margaret and I must help August with whatever he needs help with."

She happily left the room and left the building altogether. As she took a step into the cool air, she saw Killian walking down the street. She jogged to catch up to him, calling out his name as she neared. He whirled around and smiled as soon as he saw her.

He chuckled and said, "You'll never believe all the crap I've heard today."

She retorted, "Try me. I just received half an hour of weird stuff."

"I met a boy on the street but ten minutes ago and he called me Hook," he started. Emma cut him off, creating a little competition to see who had the weirdest day.

"He called me his mom."

"Well, another man by the docks called me Captain. As in Captain Hook."

"Some guy named August called me the Savior."

He snickered. "These people insisted that I should only have one hand. One who called himself Smee said 'Captain! Where's your hook? How'd you get your hand back?"

Emma gave up and change the conversation. "There's something not in this town. Too many things they've tried to cover up to explain something..."

Killian nodded in agreement. "Exactly. People knew my name even before I introduced myself."

Now it was Emma's turn to nod. They made small chat before they entered the inn and their room. She pulled out the application, which she'd put inside her jacket earlier, and filled it out. But before she could finish, she felt two arms wrap around her neck, and she turned and embraced Killian in a hug.

Slowly, they pulled apart and laced fingers, staring at the other intently, daring the other to make the first move. Emma couldn't resist and giggled, slowing pulling her head up and locking her lips with his. She immediately twisted her hands in his hair and he pulled her closer by grabbing her waist and closing the space between them.

They pulled apart, gasping for breath.

"I love you, Emma Swan," he said, his irish voice still out of breath. Emma responding by kissing him once again.