Of Airports and Engagements

Chapter I

Author: ScarletBloodDoll

Editor: WinterBlazes

Dates written: February 10th, 2013 through February 12th, 2013

Status: In-progress

Series: Once Upon a Time

Rating: Teen

Relationships: Regina Mills | Emma Swan (Swan Queen)

Warnings: Post curse | Spoilers for Season Two, Episode 13 'Tiny'

Distribution: Do not archive without author's permission.

Disclaimer: The characters and premise of Once Upon a Time belong to ABC Studios, Adam Horowitz, and Edward Kitsis. Any and all other copyright material mentioned subsequently belong to their respective owner(s), including but not limited to character(s) 'Andrew' and 'Octavia' whom belong solely to the author. This work is a non-profit effort and no copyright infringement is intended.

Author's note: Reviews are appreciated. A thank you is in order to WinterBlazes for taking my original idea, and expanding upon it.

"Octavia!" her manager popped his head into the break room, looking a bit frazzled. "I know it is last minute but would you mind covering for John? He came in convinced he was recovered with his bout with the flu, except he just ran out on the same customer twice, vomiting."

The woman in question shuddered despite chuckling at the look of horror on her manager's face. Octavia glanced at the clock knowing that if she left any later than three o'clock she would not be able to pick up her son from elementary school, much less help him with his homework. Though at the end of the day the young mother could not deny the extra shift would help them get by. "Sure thing Andrew," she grinned. "Give me a few minutes to call my mother and ask her if she wouldn't mind picking up the munchkin from school." For the second time this week, oh boy.

"I promise I will have you out of here as soon as I can. Janet should be coming in by six o'clock at the latest." Andrew promised seeing the confliction in her eyes, he himself at the same crossroads many years ago.

Octavia nodded and finished the rest of her meal before making the necessary phone calls and freshening up in the restroom. Straightening her hair bow and smoothing down the rest of her red hair she made her way out onto the floor and dodged around her busy coworkers.

"Octavia, go ahead and sign in on terminal six and take the next customer from Scarlett's line." Andrew called, settling into his own desk.

"Got it!" Swinging into her station, she quickly typed in her login information before looking up and surveying the crowd. You have to love the mid-afternoon crowd, she thought. It is either one extreme weather condition or another and every single person in the terminal is due for an afternoon nap. "I can take the next customer at terminal six!" she waved.

Octavia watched as a thin man stepped out behind the customer at the desk before limping his way over to her counter.

"Hello and welcome to Cape Air, how may I be of assistance today?"

"I need another plane ticket for the flight leaving at four fifteen, first class, Augusta to New York."

Octavia glanced down at the item he placed in front of her; a thick wad of cash kept together by a rubber band.

"Please," he enunciated; despite what was meant to be a friendly smile, a row of pointed teeth said otherwise.

"One moment please," she tried to suppress the shiver that ran down her back, his dark eyes seemingly boring into her soul.

"With a stop in Boston, Massachusetts correct?" Her fingers flew across the keyboard, her anxiousness growing.

"Indeed, preferably a seat in this row." He slid two ticket stubs in her direction.

Eyeing the numbers she found the information she needed and pulled up the flight manifest. "You're in luck, the window seat is available. The name for the ticket, Sir?"

"Henry Mills."

"How old is Henry?"

"Eleven."

"Your name? Simply for verification purposes of course," she quickly said seeing his eyes narrow.

"R. Gold."

It figures, last names do not match – paperwork and red tape galore. "Do you have the necessary paperwork completed to escort a minor?"

"Excuse me?" he leered at her. The air about him seemed to darken despite the brightness of the afternoon sun shining through the large windows.

"I am assuming that little Henry Mills is not your son," she smiled brightly. "You are escorting him on this flight, correct?"

"Oh no." In a blink of an eye he shrunk back and straightened. "His mother is accompanying him, her ticket is right here."

Glancing down Octavia took note of the name – Emma Swan. Typing in the information she worriedly chewed her lip; something did not seem right but what?

"Does Ms. Swan have any formal identification that is able to provide that state that she is his mother?" she asked.

"Ms. Swan is young Henry's birth mother, what else could you possibly need?"

Birth mother, her mind quickly ran through the many conversations she had within the last week – where had she heard that particular phrase before? A sense of urgency grew in her gut. The seminar on child safety just last week indicated that such a particular word was a possible red flag. Octavia nervously glanced at the two plane tickets on the counter, along with the laid out cash, then finally to her screen.

"I am paying in cash, what more do you want?" Gold growled, stabbing a finger at her.

"Of course Mr. Gold, I am terribly sorry for the delay." Octavia winced, hoping her hunch would pay off. "Give me one moment to allow me to have my superior verify that all protocols and regulations have been followed regarding the travel of a minor and I will be able to issue the ticket momentarily." Stepping away from her terminal, she caught the man's scowl before she began to make her way to Andrew's desk.

It wasn't to be said that she knew many single mothers traveled with their children who bore their father's last name and usually she was able to garner the information she needed without any trouble but this man's defensive attitude eluded otherwise, not to mention the woman and boy were nowhere to be seen.

"This may be nothing," Andrew glanced up from his paperwork as Octavia rounded his desk, pulling her ponytail over her shoulder. "Or it may be something but I believe there is something off about my current customer,"

"How so?" Andrew stood and peered over her shoulder, wondering just what kind of crazy it would be today.

"He is attempting to procure a ticket for a flight leaving at four fifteen to New York for a minor, except neither his last name or the woman he is claiming to be the minor's birth mother match and might at mention that he is paying cash, big bills."

"I am sensing there is a 'but' in there."

"His and hers ticket were bought online more than a week ago."

Andrew's eyebrows rose and he nodded. "Go ahead and issue the plane ticket; I will notify the authorities to meet them at the gate, there is nothing we can do until they pass security and show an obvious intent."

"What if it turns out to be nothing?" Octavia nervously twirled her finger through her hair.

"Then it turns out to be nothing. We issue a courtesy plane ticket and voucher, and they arrive to their destination a few hours late." Andrew came around the desk and watched the unsightly man rap his bony knuckles on the counter. "Except if it is something, there is a mother out there who is missing her son and would do anything to have him back. What if the person who helps in that quest is a certain airline ticket agent?"

Octavia took a deep breath to steady her before nodding; as much as she wanted to be right about this feeling, there was also a part of her that wanted to be wrong, very, very, very wrong.

"How about I come with you? You know, just in case." Andrew took the lead and Octavia followed, making a mental note to forgo an early bedtime and take her own mother and son out for an ice cream cone, even if it was a school night.

Emma wearily watched the interaction occurring at the ticket counter with a sense of unease; perhaps it would have been a better idea if she bought the plane ticket instead, after all Gold was a rather odd character with near bipolar moods. Then again Gold was paying for her son's ticket and she doubted he would have let go of the money quite so easy. Nevertheless she reached into her pocket and withdrew her cellphone, sliding down in her chair.

"Emma, I'm hungry." Henry paused his video game in order to drape himself over her lap.

Emma awkwardly settled a hand on his forehead, her maternal instincts still lying dormant for over a year. "We will get you something once we get through security."

"But I'm hungry now though. I don't want to wait to go through security. Do you have any snacks?" Henry's small hand began to dig through her coat pocket and she flinched away. The action did not go unnoticed.

Emma sighed as she looked down at her son, his big brown eyes widening, an ingenious attempt at his own version of the puppy dog eyes. "No, no snacks. Kid, if you don't eat it now, we can't take it with us through security. Once Gold has your ticket it will only be a half an hour at most. After that, we can get as much food as you want."

Henry grumbled and sat up, his bottom lip jutting out as he unpaused his video game and began to smash the buttons. "Mom always had snacks in her pockets and always had food ready for me before I even said I was hungry."

"Henry," Emma groaned. The boy shrugged her off and leaned away from her.

This whirlwind of adventure needs to stop soon, Emma rubbed her temples. It would be nice to be able to relax for a while. The Storybrooke Sheriff anxiously stood and began to wander making sure she kept an eye on Henry from a distance. The prospect of raising a teenager in an unstable town full of magic and hidden wonders served to create a bigger headache. How can I raise a teenager on my own when I wasn't even raised by a good mother?

"Ms. Swan?" A low voice asked behind her. Emma slightly jumped as Gold appeared at her side.

"Was there any trouble?" Emma asked as she glanced down at the tickets in his hand.

"None at all," Gold turned and eyed the redheaded woman behind the counter. "Only some harlot found it appropriate to stick her nose where it did not belong."

Emma followed his gaze to the ticket agent who was obviously watching them from a distance, her eyes shifting nervously between her current customer and themselves. "Right," she said slowly. "No trouble, right?"

"None at all." Gold assured her.

"Henry is hungry," Emma turned back to glance at her son who eagerly sat up and watched the odd pair. "Let's just try to get through security without any more incidents."

"Lead the way, Sheriff."

The trio gathered their bags and the tickets were properly administered to the correct holder, only Emma could not help but feel as though they were being watched and she knew it had something to do with the redhead behind the counter.