Give It A Shot

First off, I would like to put a disclaimer: No, I do not condone leaving weapons out in the reach of children. People should (and hopefully do) keep weapons locked up when they aren't in use. However, this is just a story and a fun little idea. So enjoy! (And please don't hate on me too much).

"Quick stop at the office, and then it's off to the arcade," Emma said as she parked the car in front of the sheriff's station.

10-year-old Henry pumped his fist in the air and hopped out of the car, practically shaking with excitement. Every Wednesday and every other Friday, Emma would pick him up from school and they would hang out and get into mischief until his bedtime. Lately his favorite place to go was the arcade.

Often, Emma would 'accidentally' keep him out a little later than the time she was supposed to. Regina used to get angry at her for it, but now she expected them to be late so she that anger had turned into annoyance.

Both Emma and Henry would play dumb when she scolded them, then wink at each other as if keeping a secret. Henry loved these days with Emma because he knew she was the more laid-back mom and he could get away with murder around her if he wanted to.

"Hey, boss!" Ruby said cheerfully as Emma entered her office with Henry in tow. The brunette stood and ruffled the boy's hair before handing Emma a thick file.

"What's this?" Emma asked, arching an eyebrow. "Paperwork. Regina is dead-set on you having it done by 9 tomorrow morning," the deputy answered.

Emma huffed and blew her golden hair away from her eyes. "Are you kidding me? She knows it's my day with Henry! And it's a school night, so I gotta get him back home by 9."

Ruby looked at Henry sympathetically as he frowned and slumped down in the chair across the desk. "She knows that. She told me to tell you that you should have gotten it done days ago."

"Thanks, Ruby. You can go ahead and take your break," Emma dismissed the woman.

The blonde sighed and sat down. "Sorry about this, kid. It shouldn't take me too long to get this done."

Henry swung his feet back and forth. "But the arcade closes at 7. It's almost 4 and we still have to get dinner," the boy pouted.

"Henry, don't worry about it. This will take me an hour, tops. Maybe Ruby will be kind enough to go get us some burgers for dinner when she gets back. We'll have plenty of time to have fun. Your mom will kill me if I don't get this done," Emma tried to reassure him.

"Can I have a sundae instead?" Henry asked with a hopeful smile. Emma glanced up from the papers she was looking over with a smirk. "Nice try. I may be the fun mom but I'm still sensible enough to give you actual food for dinner."

Both were silent for a few minutes. Henry played with the cars on her desk and spun around in the chair a couple times before pacing around the room. Apparently, he had inherited Emma's restless tendencies.

Emma was halfway through her paperwork when she noticed out of the corner of her eye Henry was standing by the weapon she had forgotten to lock up. She hadn't planned on coming to the station after picking the boy up so she thought it would be fine sitting out in a locked office for one night.

"What's this?" the young boy asked curiously as he picked it up. "Henry, you know not to touch my weapons. Put that down now," Emma said firmly. "I just wanna know what it is," Henry said, ignoring her.

Emma abandoned her paperwork and stood up to take the weapon. "That is a tranquilizer gun. Put it down right now or I will take you straight home. That isn't a toy. And you know better than to point it at people."