#csmm2020

But they lived in a small apartment where you can hear every sound all the tenants make. You couldn't have the air conditioner on at the same time as the oven, and God forbid you try to take a bath without the neighbors below complaining of a leak. Henry's room was also the size of a closet, which could only contain his bed, a small dresser, and an even smaller toy box. He was getting too big for the room, honestly. The rest of the apartment was rundown, and he knew that his mother was doing the best that she could. She worked really long hours as a waitress in a local diner.  

But no matter how hard she worked, it never seemed to be enough. The only thing he asked for for his birthday this year was a fairy tale book he saw at a secondhand book store. The book is amazing, but it also cost upwards of fifty dollars. He felt bad, because he knew that his mom was getting a bill after bill after bill. She tried to hid it from him, but he knew was "LAST NOTICE" meant.

(He looked it up online, honestly.)

So while he was wishing for a house, a smaller part of him was hoping his mother could get a better job or something to help get more money. They needed it.

Henry also needed a bigger room.

"Henry!" his mother called from the dining room. "Food's ready!"

Walking away from his window, Henry took a deep breath before bouncing into the room. "Smells delicious, Mom!"

"Oh, thanks kid. But Granny's the one who cooked everything," she said, gesturing to the older woman who walked in carrying the turkey.

"Hey, I made the dessert!" Granny's only grandchild, and fellow waitress at the diner that Granny owned and Emma worked at, Ruby piped up. "It's apple pie." She winked at Henry. "Your favorite."

"It's supposed to be pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving," Emma said, coming into the room wearing oven mitts as she carried a casserole dish filled with mashed potatoes.

"We have that too," Mary Margaret Nolan chimed. She was Emma's best friend, and Henry's godmother. Henry looked at her as more like a family member than a friend, along with her husband, David, who was putting ice in the cups. "David made a fresh pie this morning."

"Only the best for my nephew," he said, grinning at Henry.

The table that was only supposed to seat four sat the six of them somewhat snuggly. Henry was squished between his mother and aunt, and he smiled as he looked around. After everyone sat down, Granny insisted that they should say grace, and though Henry only went to church for Easter and Christmas (and the occasionally Sunday when Emma feels that they should go), he bowed his head too.

He might have said his only little prayer, because when you're desperate for a change, you'll pray (or wish) to anything.

"Let's eat!" Granny announced as she got up to cut the turkey. There was a lot of chatter and music playing softly in the background. Emma filled Henry's plate with turkey, mashed potatoes, and corn, and he thought that maybe the house wasn't big, but his heart certainly was.

~*~

Three weeks before Christmas. God, did he hate this time of year. Everyone was so fake, pretending to be in the Christmas spirit when really they were just looking for a way to buy their mother a gift that was way too expensive because they're not actually sure what she would want.

Killian Jones sighed as he entered his place of work and walked past the receptionists who might have said hello to him, but he wasn't sure. Because right now, he had big news. Huge, really. And he really needed to get to the thirty fourth floor to find his business partner (and perhaps closet friend) David Nolan.

Killian began working for the Woodman Corporation right out of college. He started as everyone does, an intern before just working his way up. Now he's the manager of this branch in New York, and overseas hundreds of workers. Not bad for a boy who came over to America when he was fifteen with his brother and barely any money in their pockets.

The Woodman Corporation was the company you wanted to hire when you wanted a building made. "We make dreams come true!" had always been the slogan. And though Killian wasn't exactly sure about the dreams part, they certainly did make wonderful buildings. And the owner, Marco Woodman, was just the kindest soul one could meet. Killian had the occasion to meet him once before, which was when Mr. Woodman came to visit his New York office, and Killian had just started getting paid for his work at that time. There was another branch in Boston, one in Chicago, and one in Los Angeles. Rumor was that Marco wanted to go overseas, and back to his home, London. Killian would almost kill for the position. Killian too was from London, and would love to go back. Nothing was really keeping him here in New York anyway.

Killian got on the elevator, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He had to see David and tell him the news. Now. He was going to burst if he didn't tell his partner the news in the next minute.

Killian has known David for only the last number of years, but it certainly feels longer than that. While Killian had already been working here when he arrived, David had an air about them that screamed “Royalty” and walked around like he had a stick up his butt. In actuality, Killian and David hadn’t really become that close until two summers ago when they were accidently stuck in an elevator together. Though it was only forty-five minutes, the two men realized that they had quite a bit in common and after that moment became fast friends. David is the first person that Killian runs to with news, and vice versa. So it’s no wonder that not only would Killian practically run to his friend’s office, but that he knew David would share the same excitement with him.

Finally, the elevator dinged and he got off, quickly making his way to David's office. Barely greeting David's secretary, Killian burst open the door to David's office before proclaiming, "He's coming here."

David looks exactly how you picture Prince Charming from those fairy tale stories you probably heard about years ago. Tall, masculine, with blue eyes and sandy-brown hair, he was definitely the typical “boy-next-door” that every daughter wants to bring home to show their momma. Fortunately for David, and unfortunately for all the women who work at this branch, David met his soulmate when he was in high school and married her straight after college. Killian thought he was foolish to marry the one and only girl he ever truly loved, but David told him that she was “the one who he made sure would never get away.” Killian scoffed at that, and called him a blind-loving fool in his mind.

When Killian came bursting through the door, David looked up from his desk. "Who? Jesus? Has the second coming come so close to Christmas?"

"No, you ninny. Marco is coming here."

David stood up slowly, a look of astonishment and awe on his face. "Are you serious? Dude, this is huge. If he's coming here that means..."

Killian started to grin. "I know."

"Maybe the rumors are true. Maybe he is going to make a branch in London."

"Oh, how I hope they are."

"That might be why he's coming. Maybe he's here to offer you the job."

Killian crossed two fingers. "I do sure hope you're right."

David pretended to be hurt. "And you would consider leaving me and Mary Margaret in this our hour of need?"

"Our of need? Mate, she's pregnant, not dying. And she's got another three months to go. I can come back from London by then."

"Would you really go?" David asked, sitting back down behind his desk.

Killian shrugged. "Probably. I mean, Liam is back there, you know, with Elsa and my nephew. And I do love New York, but...I don't know. Maybe I should go back. Besides you, I have nothing really tying me here, you know."

"I'm touched that you would consider staying for me."

Killian smirked. "You know I love our bromance. Is that what Mary Margaret called it?"

"Yeah, apparently, that's what her students call it nowadays. A friendship between two men."

"They're ten. They don't know what's hip any more than we do."

"They're closer to understanding it."

Killian sighed as he sat down. "Isn't that true? But back to the matter at hand – Mr. Woodman coming here. Now. I wonder if Regina knows about this.”

“Probably,” David sighed as he sat back down behind his desk. “She’s the head of P.R. here, if anyone should know about Mr. Woodman’s return, it –”

“Men,” Regina Mills, said sternly as she threw open the office door. With her dark black hair and dark brown eyes, Regina was beautiful, but she was by no means a warm woman. However, she had a sort of soft spot for Killian and David, which is why they only gave a small jump when she walked into the room, and didn’t scream or nearly jump out of their chairs (which Killian would be ashamed to admit may have happened once. May have.) “Did you hear the news?”

“About Mr. Woodman?” David asked, as Regina walked further into the room and nodded. “Yeah, we did. We were just discussing why he might be coming here.”

“Well, isn’t it obvious? He wants someone to take over the London section.”

“And what, you want the job?” Killian asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Please,” she scoffed, as though the thought alone was ridiculous. Killian has known Regina long enough to know that she was being serious with her answer. “The last thing I would want is to move to London. All that rain and eating fish?” She shuttered, and Killian and David gave a small grin to each other before looking back at her. “No thank you. No, I wanted to talk to you about Mr. Woodman, and….”

Just then, David’s assistant, Ariel, popped her head into the office and said, “Mr. Jones – sorry to interrupt, but your assistant called. He said that you have Mr. Woodman on the phone.”

Killian, David, and Regina all looked at each other. Killian was so excited, he barely noticed Regina’s face pale as he replied, “Send the call through to here.” Ariel nodded before closing the door behind her.

“Killian, before you take that call—” Regina started, but Killian waved her off.

“Whatever it is, it can wait, Regina. This might the moment my life changes,” he grinned at his friend, who grinned back at him.

“Yeah, about life changing…” But before Regina could get another word in, the phone on David’s desk rang.

Killian smiled before he leaned over, picked up the phone, and pressed the button to except the call. “Mr. Woodman, sir, what a wonderful surprise.”

“Mr. Jones? How are you doing?” Marco asked in his old Italian voice.

“I’m fine, sir, just fine. And how are you?”

“Bene, fine. I needed to talk to you, Mr. Jones—”

“Please, call me Killian.”

Marco chuckled. “Killian, eh? Killian, I needed to talk to you. I would love to come to New York to visit, yes? I want to see how we are doing there.”

“Oh, you’re coming here?” Killian asked, trying to keep the surprise out of his voice, even though he looked at David and both pumped the air. “Oh, sir, that’s wonderful. In fact, I insist that you stay at my house, as my guest.”

“Killian, that is very kind, very kind. I would love to stay with you and your family.”

He smiled and was about to respond when Marco’s words registered. Smile fading, he shook his head as he asked, “Stay with my family—?”

Before he could ask what exactly Mr. Woodman meant by that, Regina took the phone out of Killian’s hand and said, “Mr. Woodman? Regina Mills here, how are you?” She paused as he answered. “Oh, I’m fine, just fine. Yes, Killian is fine, he just got into a coughing fit, poor thing.” She lied, looking at him and then glancing away when he mouthed, Regina, what the hell? “Oh, yes, Killian would love to have you come and meet his family, I’m sure.” She paused again before, “Yes, Mrs. Jones and their child are anxious to meet you too.” Killian’s eyes almost bugged out of their head, his mouth dropping before he looked over at David, who was just as stunned as Killian was. “Yes, I will pass along the message. Yes, Killian is fine now. We can’t wait to see you either, Mr. Woodman. Ciao.”

As soon as the phone was back in the receiver, Killian all but screamed, “Regina, what the bloody hell is he talking about?! What family does he want to meet?!”

Regina leaned on David’s desk, and though her shoulders were back and her back was straight, she kept looking down at her shoes. She muttered something under her breath.

“What was that?” David asked.

She cleared her throat. “I may have touched up your image a bit.”

Killian raised his eyebrows even higher and leaned forward. “Wait. What?”

“Well, it’s just,” she paused before continuing. “I know you’re a hard-working man, but…Marco has certain expectations, and Killian….”

“Yeah?”

“Well, you just…don’t meet them.”

“What do you mean? You just said I’m a hard-working man.”

Now she looked at him. “You are! And you completely deserve that London promotion. But Marco is a family man, and he expects his employees to also be family…people.”

“You’re not a family person,” David muttered before sinking further into his seat when Regina gave him a glare over her shoulder.

“That may be true,” she added softly as she looked down before flicking her hair over her shoulder. “But I’m not the one who needs to impress Marco for a job.”

“What are you saying, Regina, that you ‘spruced’ up my image?” Killian asked, his stomach going somewhere near the floor.

Looking him straight into the eye, she proclaimed, “That’s exactly what I did.”

Killian shook his head and began pacing behind the chairs that were facing David’s desk. “Wait, you told Marco that I have a family? What kind of family?”

She shrugged. “The normal kind. A wife and kid.”

“Regina, why would you do such a thing?” David asked. “Killian’s not a bad guy.”

“No, I know that,” she insisted. “But I mean…you may have a bit of a reputation.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Killian, don’t play stupid, it’s not a good look on you,” she snapped at him. “You know how it looks that at every Christmas party or celebration we have in the office, you either show up with a woman no one has seen before or sees again, or you come alone. And Marco is a well-established business man, who prides himself on a having a good family.”

“Didn’t he adopt?” Killian asked.

“Does it matter?” Regina replied. “He has a kid. He loved his wife until her passing. He prides himself on hiring people who are loyal and respectable, and who know that family is above all else.”

“How in hell do you know so much about this?” David asked.

“I’m the P.R. person, of course I need to know almost everything about our C.E.O.” She rolled her eyes.

“There’s just one problem with your plan, darling,” Killian said, clutching his hands on the chair and leaning forward. “I don’t have a bloody family!” Taking a deep breath, he said as calmly as he could, “You know that I only have my brother who is in London right now.”

“Yes, yes, I know that,” Regina nodded. For once in her life, Regina paused to think about what she should say next. "I might have come up with a hypothetically family for you, yes. In all honestly, I just said it so he would meet with you."

"We have met!"

"Yes, years ago. Killian, you were barely out of college when you two met. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say he doesn't even remember you."

"Well, gee, thanks," Killian replied sarcastically.

"So," David interrupted, finally. "Let me get this straight. When Mr. Woodman comes, Killian - who just invited him to stay at his house - is going to showcase his family, which he doesn't have?"

Regina nodded. "Yes, that's pretty much the story."

David looked Killian sympathetically. "You're screwed, man."

Killian gave him a look before he replied sarcastically, "Thanks mate."

"Listen, we'll fix this." Regina stated.

"How? Are you going to tell Mr. Woodman that my "family" died tragically in a car accident? Because I don't see how we can fix this?"

"We'll give you a family, dumbass!"

Killian raised an eyebrow before looking at David and commenting, "She's the one who invented a family for me, but I'm the dumbass?"

"I was trying to make you look better!" Regina argued. "I don't think Mr. Woodman- once more remind you, a family man - would want to hear stories about how you have dated every woman in New York."

"That's not true," Killian scoffed. "I haven't dated you."

"Thank Heavens for that," David commented.

"Can we focus on the problem at hand? Where the hell are we going to find a family that will suit our needs?"

David suggested, "Craigslist?"

"We call acting companies," Regina replied, already taking out her phone and, knowing her as he did, started looking up nearby acting organizations. "I'm sure for the right price, anyone will pretend to be married to you for two days."

"Hey!" Killian shouted, feeling the slightest bit insulted.

"Wait, I think..." David started to say, his eyes wide in thought. But just as quickly, he shut his eyes and quickly shook his head. "Nah. Never mind."

"What mate?"

"Well, it's just...I actually know a single mom with a young boy. And she could really use the cash."

Killian looked at David like he was an angel from up above. "Are you being serious right now?"

"Completely. She's a single mom living in an apartment that is basically the size of your living room. I think she's trying to save money for something bigger, so you would totally be helping her out."

Killian scratched the back of his neck as he looked at Regina. "What do you think?"

She shrugged. "No harm in asking. It would work perfectly in all honestly." She looked over at David. "This woman is trustworthy?"

"Emma? Oh, completely," he replied without a bit of hesitation.

"What about her son? How old is he?"

David thought about it for a moment before replying, "I believe eight, and he's got a wonderful imagination. He'll have no trouble selling the family part, I promise."

Killian still looked unsure. "I don't like this. Faking a family for a business deal?"

Regina took him by the shoulders as she whispered, "Killian Jones. This is not just a business deal. This business deal could help our company go global, if we sell to London. Who knows, Paris could be next, then Germany, you don't know! But this is the deal that you worked day and night for."

"The one that she was willing to lie for, to make you look better," David added. Regina gave him a look with a raised eyebrow.

Killian shrugged off Regina's hands as he said, "I know, I know. I just...I don't like the idea of being dishonest."

"I know it's not ideal, mate, but it's a hell of a deal."

“Do you think she would go for it,” Killian asked David. “This…Emily?”

“Emma. And…honestly…I don’t know. She’s the only person I’ve ever met who is more stubborn than you are. But I can ask.”

"Yeah. Yes, of course." Emma bit her lip and blood rushed to her face. She was going to kill Henry. "I'm sorry for this."

"It happens, it happens." She replied with the same calm voice. Ms. French must deal with so much shit in her day, that a few worms in the desk must be nothing. But still, Emma had to ask --

"Whose desk did he put it in?"

"Mr. Gold," she responded.

Yeah, Emma thought, that sounds about right.

See, Henry was overall a really good kid, but there was something about Mr. Gold that got under Henry's skin, and frankly, Emma's as well. He was an older man who walked with a limp. Your first impression of him would typically be "Oh, this poor man," but after he graded Henry rather harshly on the last two exams, and refused to up Henry's grade by one point so he could make honors last year, yeah...Emma didn't really mind Henry putting worms in his desk.

For the third time.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. French, I truly am. I'm going to speak to Henry about it tonight."

"Just one more thing, Ms. Swan." Ms. French took a deep breath and continued speaking a tone of voice that made Emma think that the teacher really didn't want to be saying this, but felt like she must. "Henry has been talking a lot about his father lately."

Oh God no.

"Last week he was telling the other students that his father is a firefighter in Arizona and he saved many people's lives. I almost believed that until this morning, he was telling them how his father is a spy for the FBI. I thought you might want to know."

Emma grabbed onto the counter and took a few deep breathes. She knew that Henry was having a hard time letting his father go, but she didn't realize it was this bad, honestly. "Again, I apologize, Ms. French. I will speak to him about it."

"Thank you for being so understanding," his teacher said before hanging up.

Once the phone was back in the holder, Emma turned around to see Ruby standing there with her hands on her hips. When she saw Emma's expression, her face and arms soften. "Oh no. What did Henry do?"

"He put worms in the teacher's desk."

Ruby waved an arm. "Oh, I did a load worse when I was his age. I'm sure Granny can tell you all about it."

"I don't doubt it," Emma replied. She took a deep breath before leaning on the counter. "But he was telling his friends about his father."

Ruby leaned on the opposite side and muttered, "Oh shit," under her breath. With her shoulder slumped, her long brown hair fell forward and made almost a curtain around her face. When she looked back up, she said, "What are you going to do?"

Emma shrugged, "Talk to him, obviously. You know he's still holding onto hope that Neal is going to come magically back into his life and all will be forgiven."

"Well, he is eight years old. And he has seen a lot of Disney movies."

Emma raised an eyebrow and muttered, "If you're trying to help me, I can assure you, you are not."

"Sorry." Ruby shook her head before continuing, "That jackass really is something, huh? Gets you pregnant at seventeen and while yeah, he stayed with you and all, continued doing shady business on the side."

"You know that I thought he was done with that, of course."

"Right, of course," Ruby nodded with agreement. "And then he..." she shook her head, too angry to continue.

"I know," Emma muttered.

They stood there in silence for a good thirty seconds before Granny called, "Well, I'm glad I'm paying ya to just stand there and talk!"

Emma sighed before picking up the pot of coffee and going over to table seven.

~*~

Emma put the car in park, but put her hand on Henry's arm before he could get out. "We need to talk."

He sighed. "I'm sorry about the worms, Mom. But he's asking for it."

She let go before putting her hands back on the steering wheel. "No, that's not...Well, yeah, you should apologize for that too, because come on, Henry," she finished, exasperated. "Worms? Really? I know the guy is a jackass and all, but instead of not treating him with respect, just.... ignore him."

"How do I ignore my teacher?"

"You prove that you are not who he thinks you are," she insisted. "He thinks you're a troublemaker now, Henry, and you're not. I know you are not. But putting worms in his desk is not telling him that."

He nodded. She took a deep breath.

"But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." Henry looked at her curiously, but she couldn't look at him. Instead, she stared at a gate that was badly chipping from rusted paint as she said, "It's about your father. And the stories you're making up."

He looked down and started picking at his nails. "I know he's not working for the FBI, but where is he?"

Probably running from the FBI, she thought before she answered honestly, "I don't know, kid. I really don't know."

"When is he coming back?"

Looking at him, she said softly, "He's not, Henry."

His bottom lip started to quiver before he tugged the handle bar open and jumped out of the car. "Henry!" she shouted as he ran off to a tree right near their house. He began climbing it, and by the time Emma reached the bottom, he was sitting on a branch a good five feet off the ground.

She crossed her arms as she looked up at him. "Henry Swan, you get down this instant!"

"He's coming back!" Henry shouted.

She shook her head. Why couldn't Neal just say his damn good-bye so I didn't have to put up with this? "Henry, you need to get down!"

"No! He promised! And Dad never breaks his promises!"

I wish. Thinking of the engagement ring burning a hole in the bottom of her jewelry box, she could think of a few promises that Neal Cassidy broke over the course of the last ten years.

"Henry, you need to get down." When he didn't budge, she answered, "Fine! I'll donate all of your toys to charity!"

Leaning on the tree, Henry crossed his arms. Sometimes he was too much like Emma for his own good.

"Henry!"

"Henry Swan, you get down now!"

Emma turned to see her best friend come walking towards them, her stomach leading the way. Being six months pregnant didn't necessarily mean a huge belly, but when one is the size of a pixie, like Mary Margaret Nolan, a pregnant stomach tads to stick out more than usual.

Mary Margaret was also a school teacher, who perfected her teaching voice a long time ago. So Henry had no problem coming down when she told him to.

"Thanks," Emma muttered.

"No problem. What happened?" she whispered as Henry grunted his way down.

"We got into a fight about Neal."

"Oh geez," she commented as Henry's feet hit the cold ground. Having a best friend meant that she understood what Emma was talking about, even when she said almost nothing. "Henry, why we don't go in a make a nice hot cup of hot chocolate?"

"Do you mind watching him ‘til six?" Emma asked. She had already spoken to Mary Margaret about her watching Henry while Emma went back to work, but she just wanted to make sure it was all okay.

"Yeah, yeah, no problem. Henry can help grade me second-grade tests."

"Really?" he asked with a bright smile.

She smiled back as she combed his hair with her fingers. "No."

~*~

"Do you believe in angels?"

Mary Margaret looked over at Henry, the credits rolling on It's a Wonderful Life on the screen behind him. She laid down her pen, and leaned back in the chair, rubbing her belly as she did so.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do."

Henry got up from the floor and walked over to the table, putting his hands on the chair in front of him. "Why?"

She shrugged. "It's a nice thought, I guess. Thinking that someone is looking out for us."

"Like in that movie?"

"Kind of. I mean, I don't think an angel is going to show me how everyone's life would be different if I wasn't there, but I do think angels try to help out when they can."

"How?"

She got up and groaned a bit as she did. "Oh, geez, well I'm not sure. Maybe they help you decide what job to have. Or help you cross the street so you don't get hurt."

"Can they help bring a family together?"

Henry's innocent question made her stop in her tracks. Mary Margaret knew she had to answer this question as honestly as she could without giving the kid false hope. Having hope is one thing, but having false hope - that can be soul crushing, especially to an eight-year-old.

"Well, if the angel thought that it was the best thing for the family, then sure. Yeah. Maybe they can help bring a family together."

Henry grinned so wide, his two front teeth were clearly visible. Mary Margaret came over to him, though, and bent down as low as she could go before she continued sternly. "But you have to be very lucky to have an angel come and visit you. You would have to be the best child in the world for something like that to happen."

Henry nodded. "I am a good boy. Except for when I put worms in Mr. Gold's desk. But I promised I would never do that again. Because I'm a good boy."

Mary Margaret stood back up and held onto the chair. "And no more climbing that tree!"

He held up his fingers as though doing a Boy Scout three finger promise. "I promise I'm never going to climb that tree again."

She chuckled before shaking her head and turning towards the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Henry following behind her asked, "How do we see the angels, though?"

"Well," she said, grabbing a glass from the cabinet. She asked if he wanted water too, and he nodded. Grabbing a second glass, she continued. "I think they look like us, right? Nothing particularly special about them --"

"But they have wings!" Henry interrupted. "Where are their wings?!"

As Mary Margaret poured the water from the pitcher into the glasses, she replied, "They must hide their wings inside, so we don't see them."

"They would leave feathers all over the floor!"

She chuckled as she placed the pitcher back down. "Henry, I'm sure that the angels know how to hide their wings and their feathers from us."

"Why would they want to hide the fact that they're angels? Angels should want to help people, not hide from them!

Handing him his glass she said, "True. But people can take advantage of the angel and the help they can bring."

"What does that mean?"

"Sometimes when people try to help, others....well, they don't know how to stop asking for help. They just take more and more and more. So angels have to hide who they really are."

He took a gulp before asking, "But how do I know if there is an angel around if I can't see their wings?"

Mary Margaret took a sip before answering. "Good question. When you hear something like the tinkling of bells, but there are no bells, that's means there is an angel nearby."

He nodded again seriously before taking another big gulp and putting his glass on the table next to him. "I'm going to leave my listening ears on, to make sure I can hear the bells."

She nodded with a smile. "Sounds like a good plan."

Just then there as a knock on the door, and Henry went running to it, yelling, "Mommy! Mommy!" He threw open the door, and sure enough his mother was on the other side, looking exhausted but still had a huge smile on her face.

"Henry!" She shouted with joy. He gave her a big hug before asking for pizza for dinner. "Sure, kid. Why not?"

She was just reaching for his book bag, when Mary Margaret's husband came up behind her. "Oh good, you're still here," he said when he saw Emma. "I need to talk to you."

Emma looked over at Mary Margaret, who shrugged. "Okay..." She said taking Henry's bag and throwing it over her shoulder. "What's up?"

"No, this is a couch conversation," David insisted as he gestured to the couch before taking off his jacket and scarf. Emma and Henry sat down on the couch, Mary Margaret sitting in the arm's chair as David paced back and forth in front of them. When he finally stopped, he only said one thing:

"Please don't kill me."

Mary Margaret and Emma looked at each other, while Henry looked up at his mother. All three looked at David as Emma said, "That doesn't sound reassuring."

Mary Margaret asked, "What's going on, David?"

"It has to do with Emma. And Henry. Both of you."

"David, what is going on?"

"Okay, so our CEO, Mr. Marco Woodman is coming in a few days to discuss branching out and making London the new headquarters for Woodman's Architect."

"Okay...Why would this lead anyone to kill you?"

"I'm getting to that. You see, him coming is a really big deal, especially to Killian, the CFO of the branch here, in America. If Mr. Woodman likes Killian, he'll have Killian oversee everything, which is a huge deal."

"David, stop circling the airport," Emma said, leaning forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Bring this baby down."

"What?" Henry asked, confused by what his mother meant.

"She means, get to the point!" Mary Margaret almost shouted.

"Okay, okay. So Mr. Woodman is the definition of a family man and Killian, who is a good guy, I should point out, is not a family man. So Regina may have...tweaked his image a bit."

"Tweaked it how?" Mary Margaret asked. "By giving him a family?"

Emma's arms dropped. So did her stomach. She tilted her head down, looking up at David. "And, what exactly, does this have to do with me and Henry?"

David held out his hands. "Please don't kill me."

"David!" Mary Margaret and Emma shouted at the same time.

"David, what the hell?!"

"Look, you're going to get paid," he said quickly, like that would make up for the fact that he basically sold his friend and her child to a man. "You are. One thousand dollars a day. And you're only working two days. A thousand dollars a day."

Two extra thousand dollars doesn't sound too bad, Emma thought, almost hating herself. That can help when looking for a bigger apartment.

“I can’t believe you sold Henry and me out!” she shouted. “David, what were you thinking?!”

“That this could help you, honestly.” David looked at Henry before looking back at Emma. “I know that things are…tough, right now, and I thought that this could help make some things a little easier. It’s very simple: all you and Killian have to do is pretend you’re married—”

“Killian?” Mary Margaret asked from her seat.

David looked over at her before answering. “Yes.”

Mary Margaret bit her lip and Emma noticed. “What? What’s the problem?”

“No. No problem,” she said quickly. When Emma raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms, Mary Margaret continued. “It’s just—”

“I knew there was a problem!” Emma shouted.

Mary Margaret tried to get up quickly, but it took her a few extra minutes to stand in front of her best friend. “There isn’t. Really. I’ve met Killian on many different occasions. In fact, I can’t believe the two of you haven’t met before.”

“I’ve been a bit busy these last few years,” Emma said before pointedly looking down at Henry who was taking this conversation in.

Mary Margaret nodded. “Of course, yes. And Killian is a nice man. Really. He’s just…”

“You’re not helping, Mary Margaret,” David groaned.

“No, no, no! It’s just he’s…been around the block a few times.”

“Like on his bicycle?”

The three adults were taken back by Henry’s innocent question and David found himself nodding. “Yes. Yes, exactly like that, Henry.”

“I’m not doing it,” Emma answered sternly as she shook her head. “No way. I don’t care about him,” she looked down at Henry before continuing, “riding his bicycle or whatever. My son and I are not for sale.”

As she gestured to Henry to get his coat, David stood in front of her blocking her path. “Look, before you fully say—”

“No!”

He closed his eyes before trying again. “Yeah, before you say that, just meet him. Please. You know that I am a tough person to impress, and Killian has impressed me. He’s a close friend.”

“So why haven’t I met him before?”

“Honestly, I don’t know how. But you can meet him tomorrow. You and Henry. He invited you to his house.”

“He has a house?” Henry asked.

“Where did you think he lived, kid? A mouse trap?” Emma asked, with a raised eyebrow.

Henry colored a bit before replying. “No…No, I mean, he doesn’t live in an apartment, like us? He lives in a house?”

David nodded. “Yeah, and it’s huge.”

Henry smiled. “Would I have my own room?”

David nodded again. “Of course, buddy. That was the first question I asked.”

Henry smiled even bigger. “With a big bed in it and toys and a desk and –”

“All of that, Henry! All of it!” David replied esthetically.

“Mom,” Henry quickly turned to his mother and started pulling on her jacket. “Mom, we have to meet him. We have to! I could have my own room, Mom, a big room!”

Emma sighed before looking at David. Sarcastically she said, “Thanks.” He gave a small shrug before Emma rubbed her son’s head and said, “Henry it’s not that simple.”

“Why not, Mom? We just hang out at his house for two days and you get money. How is that hard?”

“Well, it’s a little harder than that, kid,” Emma said sitting on the couch and placing her hands on her son’s shoulders. “It’s not just hanging out at someone’s house for two days. It’s…well, it’s pretending that we live there. It’s pretending that it’s…it’s our home.”

“Are we going to go back to the apartment?”

“When the two days are up, yeah.”

“Oh.”

Emma hated that he sounded disappointed about that. She cleared her throat before saying, “Listen, kid, this isn’t going to be real, okay? It’s like…it’s like playing pretend. Actually, it’s a lot like playing pretend. We just have to pretend to be…one happy family.” She looked down before letting go of Henry’s shoulders. “You think you can do that?”

He nodded enthusiastically. “Yep! Sure can!”

She sighed before standing back up. “I’m sure I’ll have a thousand questions, but...Okay. Let’s meet him. I’m not agreeing to doing this, though.”

David nodded. “Understood. I’ll call Killian and let you know what time he’ll be expecting you.”

This is my third and final piece for CSMM2020. I tried to go for a little bit of a mashup of Auradon and the Isle.