They ran drills again, Henry stepping through each of the stances Killian had shown him earlier in the week. On his second pass, he faltered in his transition from window guard to left guard, stepping out too far and twisting his back ankle, leaving his footing tottering and unstable. Henry grunted and raked his hand through his hair, grumbling to himself as he pulled himself back to start the progression anew.
Killian moved to stand next to him as Henry crouched into his starting position. He tapped the toe of his boot against Henry's ankle, nudging him to straighten out his foot placement. Henry righted his foot and Killian nodded and murmured, "There you go."
He backed back up and sat beneath a large willow, watching as Henry restarted the progression. He narrowed his eyes as Henry again faltered with lunging out too far as he stepped forward. After three full progressions, each messier than the last, Henry sighed and tossed his wooden waster to the ground as he dropped next to Killian beneath the tree.
"Want to talk about it, lad?"
Henry wrapped his arms around his knees and stared at the grass beneath him. "I had breakfast with mom," he said simply.
At least that explained where Emma had gone that morning. Killian had awoken at first light to find their room quiet, the sheets next to him cool to the touch. While the latter wasn't uncommon now, she was at least usually somewhere nearby, paging through texts or weaving her dreamcatchers.
Killian hummed and let silence fall between them as Henry searched for what he wanted to share.
"I think she's slipping," he continued. "She wasn't herself. Or, I guess, even less so than she's been."
He wished he could pretend he didn't understand what Henry meant, that he wasn't seeing the same spiral. That there wasn't a cloud of desperation that clung to the edges of her eyes or the tick of her mouth, and that she didn't constantly appear skittish and spooked.
"I miss her," he whispered.
"Aye," Killian said, his chest aching doubly at the way Henry chewed at his lower lip as he plucked a few blades of grass at his feet. The gesture coupled with his hunched position was so reminiscent of his mother. He thought of reaching out and wrapping an arm around his shoulder, but wasn't sure it was what Henry needed or if it would be welcome. Instead he asked, "What would you like to do about it?"
Henry cocked his head and glanced back at Killian, who offered him a crooked smile.
"What do you mean?"
Killian tapped a finger against his lips. "Well, the way I see it, we can either sit here brooding and doing a poor job at running drills or we could devise with a plan to assist your mother."
Henry's eyes widened. "We'd need a name for this mission."
"Indeed," Killian answered with a bob of his head.
"Operation Light Swan," Henry mused, his mouth pulling into an expression Killian was sure mirrored his own. He unwound his arms from his knees and laid back in the grass. "It needs to be something good. Something that will remind her of what's waiting for her when we get home."
An image came to Killian, one that had been increasingly in his mind of late. In it, Emma was wearing those soft plaid pajamas she'd been wearing when he found her in New York, her hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. She was sitting back against his chest, tucked between his legs on a couch. Henry was sprawled on the floor beneath them as something flickered on a television across the room. It was quiet and perfect and everything he wanted encapsulated in a moment.
"I think that's it, Henry."
"What's it?"
Killian stretched out to lie down next to Henry. "We should look for a house for your mother," he said, staring up through the drooping branches at the passing clouds.
"Really?" Henry asked, sitting up.
"Truly. It would be our promise to her, a glimpse of what there is too look forward to, just as soon as she and Merlin vanquish the darkness and we go back to Storybrooke."
Henry's grin morphed into a true smile and something loosened within Killian's chest as it grew.
"Meet me at Granny's in a few hours?" Henry asked, picking himself up and dusting off his pants. "I think I know how we can start looking."
Killian cocked an eyebrow and propped himself up on his elbows. "Where might you be going?"
The blush that bloomed across Henry's cheeks was the only answer he needed.
"Ahh, the lady Violet," he teased with a waggle of his eyebrow.
"I promised her we'd go riding today," Henry muttered, looking down at his boots.
Killian hummed and Henry grumbled. "Well, don't hurry back on my account, lad. I'm sure I can find a way to amuse myself until you return to the castle."
Henry didn't say anything further, instead simply turned and headed down the hill towards the smattering of homes and stables below them. Killian settled back down once he departed, tucking his hand beneath his head as he closed his eyes and let himself have a moment to conjure up images of just what sort of home might make his Swan smile.