A/N: So I watched The Cricket Game last night, and with that ending [or, rather – beginning, middle and ending] any chance of sleep got blown out the window. [So yeah, some spoilers I guess.]
Around about midnight, this idea popped into my head and I sketched it out at work the next day.
It's a little bit different than some of the other stuff I've written, but it made me feel better, sooo…
This is the first Once Upon A Time fic that I've ever written – I hope you like it.
...
"Through all this ordeal his root horror had been isolation, and there are no words to express the abyss between isolation and having one ally. It may be conceded to the mathematicians that four is twice two. But two is not twice one; two is two thousand times one." - G.K Chesterton.
...
She'd been sitting on the park bench for the better part of fifteen minutes – eyes closed, brow furrowed, perfectly still. The only clue to her tension her right knee, bobbing rapidly up and down.
She felt exposed here. She didn't like it.
She heard the footsteps approaching and tensed slightly.
Eyes opened.
Knee stilled.
"So you got my message."
She nodded, her eyes not meeting his gaze.
It had hardly been a message - her skeleton keys had disappeared, in their place a single oak leaf.
The last time they had disappeared, he had asked her to meet for lunch. While he had stood her up then, she had hoped – and a wild hope it was – that this most recent disappearance signalled another, similar request – the leaf a clue to the location.
She hadn't thought he would appear.
But here he was.
Standing before her.
"What was it that you wanted to say, dear?"
She bit her lip, waiting for his outburst – his tears, his accusations, his cutting words.
She waited in vain.
Regina raised her head, and his eyes stared into her, in a manner not unlike that other pair of green eyes.
"…Did you do it?"
She swallowed hard, her next word no more than a whisper.
"No."
"…Okay."
He nodded sharply, swinging up on the seat next to her, unperturbed – leading into a train of thought with the enthusiasm that she had never been personally subjected to.
She smiled softly, watching him, a lump rising in her throat.
…This is what it must feel like to be Emma.
"Over a year ago, I commenced Operation Cobra – it was the first phase in my plan to break the curse."-he paused-"Identification. The plan was to start identifying people from the Enchanted Forest… and eventually to get the Savio– uh, Emma to identify herself. That's what we were working on, that's what was with all the sneaking around, and the walkie-talkies and everything."
She frowned, confused.
"Henry… Why are you telling me this?"
He smiled up at her.
"Because it's time to start a new operation: Operation Soaring Eagle."
She smiled softly.
"…Soaring Eagle?"
"Uh-huh. We're going to prove your innocence."
She froze, hardly believing her ears.
"What? You …believe me?"
"Sure,"-he shrugged, as though it ought to be obvious-"I inherited my mo– uh, Emma's super-power. I could tell that you were lying about the curse, and I can tell you're telling the truth now."
She noted his slip, and his choice of words. He was being careful of her feelings, and it warmed her. But as she caught up with the rest of his sentence, her face fell.
A lot of good her super-power did me…
"…Mom?"-his voice brought her from her brief reverie-"Emma… She's new to all this. She still believes what she sees more than she believes what she feels"-he shrugged-"…which is a problem. If this were still a land without magic, her super-power would be enough for her, but it's not anymore. In a land without magic… what you see is what you get. But now? Nothing is what it looks like."-she could hear him choosing his next words-"…But I have faith. I have faith in you."
Tears stung her eyes, but he continued.
"…I suppose you're wondering why I sent word to you the way that I did."
The sudden change in subject brought a smile to her face.
"It did cross my mind."
"It had to be something that only my real mom would understand."
Real mom? …Emma?
It seemed her confusion was evident to him, as he grabbed her forearm to make his next point.
"Listen – you came to see me yesterday."
"No, I–"
"…Only it wasn't you. It was someone pretending to be you."
"How could you tell? How do you know that it's not them sitting here right now?"
"How could I tell? Easy – you'd never try to hurt me, or take me by force."-a gasp caught in her throat-"…and how can I tell now? Your eyes, they belong to you – they match your face."
"But who…?"
"…Who would destroy everything you love?"
Cora.
And then there was ice.
…in her bones.
…in her veins.
…around her heart.
"H-Henry, I can't."
"Yes, we can."-his use of the plural pronoun caused her heart to twist-"She doesn't know that we're onto her. That gives us the advantage."
Now she was the one to grab his arm, an edge in her voice.
"Henry, if my mother is here then nowhere is safe. She's probably watching us right now."
He put covered her hand with his smaller one.
"Only she's not. I asked you to meet me here on purpose. Stop and listen – stop and feel. This place is safe. Right here and right now."
She paused – the air was perfectly still, perfectly quiet. She could feel the thrum of magic.
And… something else.
A "something" that put her on high alert.
"…Henry, what is that?"
"That is our back-up."
Her eyebrows shot up.
"Your back-up?"
"Sure…"-the 'duh' was implied-"what? You didn't think I go into this without back-up did you?"
She frowned.
"You did with Operation Co–"
"I had Emma. And Archie."
…Archie.
Her heart was seized with sorrow.
That poor man.
"…But now I have Jefferson and Mr. Gold."
…What?
She choked on equal parts surprise and panic.
"J-Jefferson? …and Gold? Henry, what did you promise him? Does Emma know about this?"
He shrugged, as though he hadn't just made a deal with the devil.
"As soon as he figured out what was going on he, well… he volunteered and as for Jefferson? He both owes me and hates your mother. But…"-he lowered his head, sheepishly-"we haven't told Emma yet. We're laying a trap and, well… Subtlety isn't exactly her strong suit"
She couldn't help but smile at that, and he cocked his head to the side, smiling
"See? Everything is going to be okay."
And now that …actually made some sense.
Now it was his brow that furrowed – his expression so like her own, just moments ago, that it made her smile.
"We need to hide you – protect you. We're going to be your alibi from here on in. Here," – he shifted in his seat, pulling something from his pocket and pushing it into her hands – "wear this. It'll help us keep track of you. If we know where you are, then we'll know when 'Regina isn't Regina'."
He slid off the park bench, and turned to press and kiss to her cheek.
And then he was off, running down the pathway, looking to all the world as though he was running to catch a school-bus.
…with not a care in the world.
Tears clouded her eyes and spilled down her cheek.
He should've been care free, but now here he was, in league with the devil and a madman in order to save an evil queen and win over a white knight – taking on the whole world.
Her boy.
A/N: I borrowed a little from lovelysadness16's idea that Henry has inherited Emma's super-power.
I was just going to have this as a therapeutic one-shot, but I'm open to suggestions and ideas…
Please read and review! ^_^