Summary: It's been months, they just want him to talk, they need to know how he's doing, if he's going to be okay.
Note: I wrote this the other day on tumblr and then decided to put it here too. Sorry for lack of updates on my other stories.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.
"Henry?" Henry's eyes drifted up to his therapist, cloudy and full of emotion. Archie gives him a small smile and silently asks if he's ready to talk.
Henry shakes his head and looks back down to the small fabric in his hand. He gently runs his thumb over the green 'H' sewed delicately into the corner.
"That's okay. When you're ready to talk I'm here." Without looking up Henry nods and sits quietly for the rest of his hour.
...
"Good morning, Henry, it's time to wake up." Emma says the next morning, sitting at the edge of his bed and gently rubbing his back. Under his pillow Henry's grip tightens on the cloth, silently hating Emma for pulling him from his dream.
Right now awake hurts.
...
"Is there anything you'd like to talk about today?" So far Henry has left his small fabric in his jacket pocket and Archie's taking it as a good sign that maybe he's finally a little less sad.
Henry meets Archie's eyes and the therapist watches as they seem to be searching for something. His mouth opens like he's about to talk before he just shuts his mouth and shakes his head.
...
Henry is sitting in his room crying when Emma gets home. He was supposed to be at school but Snow had called her and said he never came back in at recess. Not really knowing what to do she wraps her arms around him and gently rocks him back and forth.
It should sooth him, it's supposed to be enough, but these just aren't the right arms around him.
...
"People are worried about you Henry, they'd like to know if you're going to be okay." Emma had come by yesterday for her own session and to Archie it was clear she was at the end of her rope with this. She's trying, they can all see that, to be the mother Henry needs. But Archie can also see that right now she's not the mother Henry wants.
"I'm not." It's the first thing Henry has said in almost two months and Archie internally sighs in relief, maybe they can start making some progress now.
"Not what?"
"Going to be okay." His eyes never left the small scrap of his baby blanket that he's ringing through his hands.
...
Snow or Regina.
In the end that's what it all came down to. There was no stopping it this time, no matter how hard the two people who cared about both women tried.
There was a trial, Emma was just trying to slow things down while she planned, but in the end the jury was biased and there were too many counts against the Queen.
They decided Henry shouldn't know, they being David and Archie. For some reason they thought it would be better this way.
Snow was a mess, still is, but she's getting better.
Emma refused to be a part of it. She temporarily stepped down from her position as Sheriff.
Henry was asleep when they let Regina see him to say goodbye. She sat there holding his hand and rubbing his back with silent tears in her eyes.
She left a note saying she loved him and what was left of the old baby blanket she made him. He used to take it everywhere and it got so beat up the washer would have destroyed it. Henry insisted on keeping a piece when they decided it was time to let it go.
She whispered goodbye at 4:02 in the morning and at 6:18 Dr. Whale called time of death.
Henry woke up at 8:34 and when Emma came to tell him he was holding the cloth and before she could open her mouth he whispered, "You broke your promise." His eyes were full of emotion. He was full of anger towards Emma and hate towards the town.
He was heartbroken at the loss of his mother. For over a year his thoughts had been only on the fact that she was the Evil Queen.
When he stood by her casket all the memories of his childhood were full of her, they were such happy memories. In that moment Henry realized that he was wrong, she had changed, and he had broken her heart repeatedly.
He's eleven years old and he's never going to have another happy memory with his mom.
...
Later on that evening Henry holds the blanket piece to his heart and into his pillow he mumbles through his tears, "I love you too."
He just wishes he could have said it sooner.