Two Worlds, One Heart

Chapter 1

Emma Swan sighed as she sat down at her desk in the Sheriff's office, frowning at the mountain-sized pile of paperwork she had to deal with. Monday. She hated Mondays. As she reluctantly flipped through a file, Ruby burst through the door, grinning ear to ear as she sat down in the chair across from the sheriff. "Hey boss! Got you some coffee. What's on the agenda for today?" The brunette asked, handing Emma a steaming cup.

Emma smiled and shook her head. Ever since she appointed Ruby as deputy, the girl had practically become joined at the hip with her, taking evening shifts at the diner and working with Emma during the mornings and afternoons. "How about you answer some calls and take messages?" The blonde offered.

Ruby's smile fell a little, however she nodded and grabbed a pen and paper. Emma went back to her paperwork in silence until the first call came in. "Sheriff's office Ruby speaking, how can I help you?"

Emma took a drink of coffee and watched the girl out of the corner of her eye. She really was good at her job. The sheriff quickly looked away as Ruby hung up the phone and jotted down a couple notes. "That was Archie. He's wondering if you still wanted to meet him for your session this week." Ruby's worried look made it impossible for Emma to look at her.

"Uh, tell him I'll take a raincheck. Important paperwork to catch up on. Regina will be mad if I don't get finished, it's late enough as it is."

The older woman's eyes strayed to the picture of Henry sitting next to the computer. Emma quickly tore her eyes away and fought to focus on the file in front of her. Henry. She missed him so much. It'd been a year and a half since her and Regina's son had died. When Mr. Gold absorbed all the dark magic and had again taken control of the town, he mercilessly sought revenge against everyone and everything.

Even his own grandson didn't matter to him anymore. Henry tried so hard to get through to him; being the heart of the truest believer that he was, but Gold wouldn't listen. Emma and Regina were powerless to stop him as he ripped his heart out and crushed it. Immediately afterwards they defeated the Dark One, but no matter what they tried they couldn't bring their boy back.

After that, Regina barricaded herself in her mansion and refused to speak to anyone. Robin was useless to help, as Zelena had taken his daughter away to Oz and he was nursing his own broken heart. Emma simply buried herself in her job, working late nights to avoid seeing anyone. Her parents tried to help, but they just couldn't understand. They had Neal and their daughter. Hook was long since gone, too proud to give in to the Crocodile.

Emma's heart had broken in more ways than one, and she wished she had someone to talk to. Sometimes she imagined herself having a twin, a sister she could tell everything to. It's something she used to do as a child; being yanked from one home into another for her whole life she didn't have many opportunities to make friends. She always felt like a part of her was missing, and it helped her escape from the harsh reality of the world.

But now things were getting back to normal. Regina was falling back into her position as mayor, Emma was finally opening herself up to her parents again, and even Robin seemed a bit more chipper. The only person who hadn't quite moved on was Belle. But Ruby seemed to be helping her a bit, seeing as she's the only person Belle will talk to.

"Emma." Ruby's voice broke the blonde from her thoughts. The younger woman was holding out the phone and Emma took it from her hands. "Sheriff's office." She answered. "Don't tell me you forgot about our lunch date." Regina's voice said through the speaker. Emma glanced up at the clock. Quarter to twelve. She must have fallen asleep.

"Shit Regina, I'm sorry. I'll be over to Granny's as soon as I can." Emma apologized, pulling on her red jacket and knitted hat. "I won't wait forever, Emma." Regina said, annoyed. "I'll hold down the fort for you, boss." Ruby smiled as Emma rushed out of the office.

5 minutes later Emma burst through the door of Granny's diner and sat down next to an irritated Regina. David and Mary Margaret greeted her with baby Neal in their arms. "Next week I hope you'll be on time, Miss Swan. I was stuck making small talk with these two idiots for 30 minutes." The mayor glared at the younger woman.

"Sorry. Won't let it happen again." Emma said, looking at the menu. "You guys ready to order?" Lily asked, coming over to their table. Lily had volunteered to help out at the diner to cover Ruby's shifts and make some extra money while she and Maleficent searched for her father. "Yeah, I'm gonna have a grilled cheese and hot cocoa with cinnamon." Emma said. "Kale salad and ice water with lemon." Regina ordered.

Emma frowned at her friend. "What?" Regina asked defensively. "You eat like a rabbit." Emma answered. "Well unlike you, Miss Swan, I don't plan on having a heart attack anytime soon." Regina murmured as she handed Lily their menus. "I'll be right back with those drinks. Oh, by the way Emma, I meant to give this to you." Lily said, handing the blonde a picture. Emma stared at it for a moment.

The picture showed a girl that looked exactly like her, except this woman had brown hair. The doppelganger was wearing a white lab coat and was laughing at the blonde haired man beside her. The man was making a silly face to the camera. Emma's brow furrowed. She didn't remember this. Confused, she set the picture down and looked at Lily. "Where did you find this?"

Lily shrugged. "It was on the floor of your dad's truck. I found it when he gave us both a ride back into town after I went all dragon crazy. I figured it was a picture you dropped."

The waitress walked off to get their drinks. "Whoever this is, she looks exactly like you, Swan." Regina observed. "Yeah I got that." Emma said sullenly. "Who looks exactly like Emma?" Mary Margaret asked, handing Neal to David and grabbing the picture. Emma watched as her mother gasped. "David." Mary Margaret said shakily, her face becoming pale. David stopped playing with Neal and leaned over to look. "Oh no. I never meant for her to find that!" He said.

"Mom, Dad. What's going on? Why didn't you want me to find that picture?" Emma asked. Her parents glanced at each other uneasily. "Emma, you have a twin."