A/N: I'm still not to sure I am happy about the direction Doing all I Can is taking. This story was originally going to be apart of it, but I didn't think it would fit. Instead I decided to make it a whole new story. It is still the same world as DAIC where Emma decided to keep Henry and take place sometime in the winter, not really sure what episodes it would fall between. Please let me know if you like it!

I really hated the winter. It was cold, dark, and miserable. Storybrooke was no exception either. Actually it was probably worse then most of the places I had lived in due to its location, or Henry would probably say the curse. But the thing I hated worse then the weather was the germ that ran throughout the elementary school. At least once a winter Henry came down with some form of the flu or a cold that was going around. I hated seeing him sick plus he was always so miserable and sad. I spent most days cuddled up with him in bed while coaxing him to eat, drink, and take medicine. Usually I would keep him home a few days after he was better. Mostly for selfish reasons and partially my sanity too. I wanted to make sure that he really was better, plus I liked having an excuse to spend uninterrupted time with my son.

It seemed that germs were just like the weather in Storybrooke, curse or no curse they were still running around like mad. Henry had kept me up all night tossing and turning plus kicking the blankets off to only pull them back up again a few minutes later when he started shivering. Two of the first signs that he was coming down with something, what that something was I did not know yet.

I had given up on sleep and got up earlier then I usually did for work. I was on my second cup of coffee and I was no more awake then when I first got out of bed. I was in for a long day and I needed energy to take care of a sick Henry.

I was sprawled out across the counter when Mary walked into the kitchen.

"Rough night?" She asked sympathetically.

I let out a laugh, "That would be an understatement. Henry kept me up all night long, pretty sure he is coming down with something."

"Poor kid."

I perked up slightly when I remembered that Mary was a teacher, a connection I would have made faster had I gotten a full nights sleep, "Do you know if anything is going around school?" I asked her.

Mary paused for a moment before saying, "No, I don't think so. Or at least none of my students have been out yet."

I sighed, "Must mean Henry is the first one. Lucky kid."

I sat up straighter when I heard creaking above me. I could tell that Henry was moving slower then usual, though I had to give him props for actually getting out of bed and trying to get ready for the day. As he came down the stairs I watched his every move hoping that he wouldn't fall over, he looked even more tired that I felt.

Once he was sitting down at the counter next to me I turned to him, "Morning kid, how are you feeling?"

"Fine." Henry mumbled, even though he and I both knew that he wasn't.

He always tried to act as if he wasn't sick when he was first coming down with something. I don't know why he put up the act; it always fell through in the end.

At this moment I took advantage of his weakened state and put the back of my hand to his forehead. "You sure?" I prodded one more time.

Henry jerked his head back, "Yes!" he whined, "its just a little headache."

And now the truth came out. The kid knew better then to lie to me and it was not just because of my super power. He was an open book around me and there was nothing he could hide, something he hated especially in moments like these.

"If you're sure." I wasn't going to press on the issue and make him more upset. Even though he didn't fell abnormally warm I headed into the bathroom to get the thermometer and children's Advil to be on the safe side. When I came back Mary was pouring a glass of orange juice.

"I asked Henry if he wanted anything for breakfast and he said he wasn't hungry." She looked at me worriedly.

Loss of appetite was another sign the kid was getting sick, even Mary who had only known us for a few months could see that when the kid didn't want to eat something was not right. I pushed his shaggy hair to the side and made a mental note to myself that when Henry was better he needed to get his hair cut. Without ceremony I placed the thermometer in his ear. I could tell Henry wanted to protest, just sent him a stern look which stopped him from saying anything else.

When the thermometer beeped I pulled it out, so far no fever though that still didn't mean he wasn't getting sick. Of course no fever meant that Henry could go to school, because no matter how bad he felt he just had to go in. To be safe and to help ease any pain he was in and not admitting to I poured the directed amount of Advil into the little plastic cup.

Henry looked it the medicine and at me disgusted, "Do I have to?" he whined, not that I blamed him the stuff was gross.

"Yes, and just because you don't have a fever won't mean I'll break our deal and keep you home. So drink it then finish getting ready for school."

The kid glared at me the entire time he took the Advil then drank the rest of his orange juice. I took both cups from him as he walked into the bathroom.

"No fever?" Mary asked once Henry was out of earshot.

"Nope, normal 98o which gives me no reason to fight with him to stay home." It was times like these that I hated the agreement Henry and I came up with. "Could you watch out for him today and text me if he gets worse?"

"Of course." Mary placed her hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

I gave her a small smile and watched as she walked back into her bedroom to finish getting ready for work. I let out a long sigh and flopped onto the counter again. I was going to need another cup of coffee as soon as I got to the station if I wanted to stay on my feet today.

There was no use wasting time and hoping that Henry's fever would spike within the next 30 minutes so I forced myself to get up and follow Mary's and Henry's leads to get ready to face the day.