Happily Ever After

Chapter 8: Mr. Zimmer, where are you?

Emma had just been relaxing at the sheriff's station when she got an alert, sending her off to the comic store. Once there, she found Regina and Henry standing inside with the store's manager. Beside them, there were two other kids that she didn't recognize. "Henry, what happened."

"Miss Swan, must I remind you that genetics mean nothing." Regina muttered," You are not their mother. Plus it has all been taken care of."

"I'm here because I'm the sheriff."

Emma continued into the store, walking over to Ava, Nicolas, and the shop clerk. "Did you call their parents?"

"The number they gave me was disconnected, "The shop clerk explained.

"Did you guys give Mr. Clark a fake number?"Emma asked Ava and Nicolas, they shook their heads. "Then why is it disconnected?"

"Because our parents couldn't pay the bill, "Ava explained."Please. Please, don't arrest us. It will just make things worse for our parents."

"This is it?"Emma asked, pulling up to the supposed address they had given her, and they nodded. She proceeded to get out of the car, but Ava stopped her.

"Please no. If our parents see you, they'll be so embarrassed."Ava said.

Emma closed the car door, looking back to Ava and Nicolas. "Did Henry tell you about my superpower?"

"No," Nicolas said.

"I can tell when anyone is lying. Tell me the truth. Money aside, is everything ok at home?"

"Yeah. We're great."Ava said. "Can we go?"

"Alright."

Standing on the house steps, Ava and Nicolas watched until Emma had driven away. "Alright she's gone," Ava said. "We're good." She followed Nicolas back down the stairs, and the two ran over to the backside of the house and into the basement.

Nicolas closed the door as Ava began emptying the bag of stuff they had gotten into the cupboards. Hearing something, the two quietly headed upstairs. No one seemed to be up here, an animal must have gotten in. Suddenly Emma appeared. "Why'd you lie to me?"Emma asked, standing behind them."Where are your parents?"

"Alright. You caught us. We don't have any, ok.."Ava said.

Emma took the two back to the house. Ava and Nicolas were given food, and then Emma snuck away to talk with Mary Margeret. "Do you know them?"Emma asked. "Do they go to your school?"

"I've seen them but I had no idea. No one did."Mary Margeret explained.

Emma looked down at the file again, reading the names out loud. "Ava and Nicholas Zimmer. Looks like their mother was Dory Zimmer. She died a few years ago. No one seems to know her or remember her."

"And the father?" Mary Margaret asked.

"There isn't one. At least not one that they know."

"What does social services say?" Mary Margaret asked although the silence ringing in the air gave her the answer," You didn't report them."

"If I report them, then I can't help them. If they go into the system."

"The system is supposed to help."Mary Margaret added.

"Yeah, says the one who wasn't in it for 16 years," Emma muttered. "Do you know what happens? They get thrown into homes where they are nothing more than a meal ticket. The families get paid for these kids and as soon as they get to be more work than they can handle, they're tossed out and it starts all over."

"Emma, they're not all like that."

"All the ones I was in." Emma sighed.

"What else can we do?"