AN: Prompt on Tumblr: Emma gave birth to twins, Regina adopted Henry while Mr Gold kept Emma's daughter Rose for himself.

"Another banner year." Emma said as she looked at the lit blue star of her cupcake. 28 fucking years and what do I have to show for it? No family, no love interest, no love life at all… barely a life worth living… Emma closed her eyes as she thought… wished.

The doorbell sounded just after she blew out the single flame. She looked at the door and back at the cupcake in wonder. She stood and walked to the door, opened it, looked around, expecting to see someone at least her height then, after catching something in her eye that wasn't the floor, she looked down.

"Uhmm…" she stared at the young boy, "Can I help you?"

"Are you Emma Swan?" He asked.

Emma was a little surprised to say the least that some kid knew her name, but she answered anyways, "Yeah, who are you?"

"My name's Henry. I'm your son." He said matter-of-factly as he ducked under her arm and walked into her apartment like he owned the place.

"Whoa, hey…. Kid! Kid! I don't have a son! Where are your parents?" She asked with wide eyes.

He had been listening as he took in the apartment, seeing how his mother lived, "Ten years ago… Did you give up twin babies for adoption?" Emma couldn't answer; all her concentration was on her breathing, "I was one of them… My sister Rose… she's back home, but couldn't come. She wanted to though."

Emma tried to take it all in, but she couldn't, "Give me a minute." She went to the bathroom and shut the door. She breathed deep, calming breaths before—

"Hey you have any juice?" Was heard on the other side of the door, "Never mind. Found some." Emma took one more breath before she walked back out, "You know… we should probably get going." He said like they were going to miss traffic on a trip if they left then.

"Going where?"

"I want you to come home with me. Rose wants to meet you too."

Emma couldn't handle this, "Okay kid… I'm calling the cops."

"Then I'll tell them you kidnapped me…"

Emma turned and looked at him, wide-eyed. After arguing with the ten year old for ten more minutes, she found herself getting changed and putting him in her bug, peeling out of the parking lot and heading for… Storybrooke, Maine. She rolled her eyes at the thought.

As she drove, as she listened to this kid… to her son… she touched her ribcage just under her left boob. She got a tattoo after she gave them up, after she finished her time, after she cleaned herself up. It was the only thing she had that connected her to them, and she wanted them close to her heart… That's what she told the tattoo artist when she got the words: Baby Girl Swan – 5lbs & Baby Boy Swan – 5.2lbs Born: May 30, 2001. She touched it and looked over to him; she saw her eyes in him. She couldn't deny the very likely possibility that this was her son, and she couldn't deny the want to see her daughter as well.

After getting there, bringing Henry back, meeting his bitch of a mother, and finding out that her son and daughter were adopted into the same town by two different people… After not being able to see her daughter, and after the whiskey with a hint of cider… and of course, waking up in a jail cell again, she knew she had to stay. She had to know her kids. She had to meet her daughter.

That was why she offered to help Regina find Henry again. As they walked into school, they saw, who she would later come to know as Mr. Gold yelling at the teacher, who she would come to find her greatest ally in.

"You might want to try their castle…" Mary Margaret told her.

So, here she was, walking to the very edge of town to a 'castle' on the beach. She saw them both looking at that book. And she saw a younger version of herself complete with blonde hair and a ponytail look at her. She stood stock still as this little girl jumped down from the fort and ran over to her. She hugged her tight, and Emma couldn't help but hug back.

"I'm Rose." Came a muffled introduction.

"Emma." She said as she walked with the girl back to the fort.

Rose eventually let go and climbed back up to sit next to Henry.

"You have to stay here with us." Rose started.

"Our life sucks!" Henry finished.

Emma thought about her life… and how much it sucked. And she thought about their life… She thought about growing up in a comfortable home trying to pretend that you don't know that the kid down the street is your twin. She tried to think about how it would be to knowingly be separated… to see your brother or sister, but never actually get to call them brother or sister…. How the fuck had this happened? She needed to run away.

She told them that she couldn't handle something like this. She brought them to the diner, bought them cocoa… all of them liked cinnamon and whipped cream on top—that freaked her out a little bit. She tried to let them down easy; tell them that she just couldn't stay around… but she didn't get the chance… Rose's father and Henry's mother were crossing the street with anger in their eyes.

When the two of them approached, raving mad, Emma's only response was that she wanted to get the kids warmed up a little after she found them… not that she was wanting to hang out with them… and she really, really, really had to remember that she was the new girl and not go off on the both of them for separating them. After they all left and went separate ways… and after looking at the twins as they looked at her, she knew that she needed to stay. She walked over and sat at the bar.

Granny came around asking if she needed anything. She stared down a moment at her cocoa then looked back up at the older woman, "Yes ma'am… You own the B&B next door, right?" Granny nodded, "I'd like a room."