Notes: Henry feels things out with his parents and deals with adding a sister to his family and it was precious to write because all of those relationships are great.
Roland's practicing his lines for Henry's play (which is basically season one, in a condensed form. Roland's playing Henry).
"I'm Henry, I'm your son," Roland says, again. His proud little voice carrying up from the living room. "You have juice?"
"Do you have any juice?" Mal corrects him.
"Any juice?" he repeats.
Henry smiles to himself and straightens his script on the black construction paper pages. Using the glue-stick, he starts another page, only sixty-three to go. Luckily, no one expects the narrator to memorise all of his lines, so he gets the script, but it's a lot to prep. He's done eighteen so far, and it's tedious, mind-numbing work. He thought about a movie, but listening to Mal and Roland practice lines is pretty funny.
Mal does a decent Emma voice, and a very good Mom voice, but her Snow voice is distant. He gets that. It has to be hard, and it seems like the closer they get to the baby arriving, the harder it is for her and his grandparents. But she tries, and Roland doesn't notice.
"I'll call the police," Mal says, being Emma.
"I tell them you kidnap me," Roland says.
"You wouldn't." Mal replies, still Emma.
Henry pictures the words on the page, anticipating the next exchange, but they're quiet. Perhaps Roland forgot? Mal will prompt him in a second, but it's still quiet.
"Henry?" Roland calls, his feet thudding on the floor towards the study. "Henry-"
"It's fine," Mal interrupts him, but her voice is tight now, drawn taut.
"Henry!" Roland throws himself at Henry, eyes wide and white. "Mal's sick."
He fumbles the glue stick while trying to put on the cap then sets it down but it rolls down the table. They're out of the study before it hits the floor.
Roland grabs at his hand so Henry lets him hang on. "What is it?"
"Mal's sick."
They leave the hallway and find Mal on the couch in the living room.
"It's nothing," She insists, but her eyes are tight, her breath's off, too quick, and her posture's strange. Everything about her's on edge and he doesn't know what it is, what's happening, and her knuckles are white where she grips the couch arm.
No wonder Roland was worried. Henry's worried. When Grandma had Neal they just whisked her away to the hospital and he didn't see her or really do anything and now Mal's right here, and so's Roland.
"It's a contraction," Henry says. It's a stupid thing to say, she knows it's a contraction.
"Which is fine," she promises, and somehow Mal smiles. He doesn't know how she does it because it hurts, that's still all over her body; she's so tense.
She's trying to make them feel better.
"Roland, can you get my phone?" Henry asks, getting down to his level, because Roland always pays more attention that way. "I think it's in my room. The case is blue. You know what it looks like, right?"
He nods and starts off but stops. He looks from Henry to Mal and then Henry, then back at Mal.
"It's okay," she promises him. Mal holds out her hand and Roland looks at her before he puts his fingers in hers. "Remember how Papa and I told you that the baby has to go from being inside, to outside?"
Henry stares at her until she meets his eyes over Roland's head. Her face has more color now, maybe it's passed for the moment. How long does a contraction take? When will she have another one? Should he just get the house phone and call Mom because he's not really the person who should be here?
Roland nods, walking back towards Mal until he has a hand on her belly. "Baby can't stay in."
Mal shakes her head and doesn't wince when Roland touches her. "No, she's getting too big," she tells him.
"But baby coming out hurts you." Roland takes a step back, and then he's clinging to Henry instead.
"It does," Mal frowns and swallows hard enough that her jaw shifts. "But it's okay."
"Not okay," Roland insists. "I don't want you to hurt."
Lifting her eyes to meet Henry's, Mal smiles so much that she might cry. "Oh sweetheart, this hurt is okay. It's a special one. It's not like hurting your finger or having chicken spots."
He rubs his head against Henry's shirt, then nods. "Okay."
"Can you go get Henry's phone for him?"
"Yes." Roland stares at her a little longer, then turns, jogging upstairs to find the phone.
"Are you okay?" Henry asks when Roland can't hear him.
"It's not bad," she promises him, and it's a softer smile than she used on Roland. "It's just intense. Surprised me."
"Do I need to time them?"
Mal blinks, and they've reached one of the gaps in their mutual knowledge of what to do next where they need Mom or Robin. "Is that what comes next?"
He shrugs and her hand reaches for his. He half-expects she'll crush his fingers, but this is reassurance, not support.
"It's all right. It'll take a long time."
He should be timing this. He has his dad's watch upstairs. He should get it or have Roland get it or-
Her breath catches and Mal's grip tightens a little and he doesn't know what to do because it hurts, it has to hurt and he can't help her. He's not Mom, or Robin, or Emma- He's not the right person to be here.
Licking her lips, Mal swallows. "Call Robin, not Regina," she suggests, her voice still tight. "She'll worry too much."
Robin can't be here now and Mom can, and he wants to argue, but her fingers are in his. She trusts him. He should do the same.
"I got it!" Roland calls, running down the hallway (he really shouldn't be running that fast in the house). He thrusts Henry's phone into his hand and looks up, so pleased with himself. He stops then, because he can feel Mal's pain as much as Henry does. "You hurt."
"Yes," she admits, sighing, almost laughing. "Yes, dear. It hurts, but it's okay."
Scrolling past Mom, Henry hits the picture of Robin, making his phone dial for him.
"Be gentle, baby," Roland whispers to her belly. "Don't rush."
Henry's phone rings twice before Robin answers. He stares, like Roland, at the smooth black fabric covering her belly. He's felt the baby kick, even seen her foot outlined through Mal's skin. It's weird, imagining a person in there, however tiny.
"Hello Henry," Robin says over the phone, ever cheerful.
He should say something calm, match Robin's hello, but he can't. "HiMal'shavingcontractions." It's much more smushed together than that, barely even words.
Somehow, Robin's voice becomes more cheerful. "It's all right Henry, I'm on my way home. Did her water break?"
She's still sitting on the couch, whispering to Roland. One of her hands is balled tight in a fist but the other rubs his hair. There's no mess. Water would be a mess. She'd have gotten up.
"No." That, thankfully, is one word. Almost calm.
"Henry, give me the phone," Mal asks, reaching for him. She smiles at Roland one more time as Henry hands it over. "It's all right, your Papa is coming home."
This close to them he can almost hear Robin. Still concerned, Roland leaves Mal and returns to Henry, hugging his leg.
"It startled me," she says, taking a breath. Her forehead's smooth again, so it must have passed. "No, we haven't timed them. Three, but-" Mal stops, looking past him and Henry. Her blue eyes brighten and she smiles in a way that softens the knot in Henry's stomach. "I love you too."
She ends the call, then holds the phone out to him. "Henry, can you time something with this?"
"Yeah, there's an app." He takes the phone back, flicking through the apps. "There's a stopwatch in the clock app, we could use the lap timer, figure out how long they last and how far they are apart." It's easier now that he can focus on something. Do something. That's it. "Okay, just tell me when it starts and when it ends and I'm all set to time it."
Roland crawls up on the couch next to her, very careful in the way he moves. He's never that careful. "Mal?"
She lifts her arm, letting him crawl in close and that calms his worried little face. "Yes, dear?"
"When is Papa coming?"
"Soon."
"How soon?"
Time is an ongoing lesson for Roland. So is waiting. Henry doesn't remember how he learned how long ten minutes was, or when he started to understand why waiting was important, and Roland's so little.
"Where did he go today?" Mal asks him.
"To town."
"How long does it take to get to town?"
"We go in a poof and we go to town now!"
Mal laughs and Henry almost chuckles with her. Roland waves his hands just like Regina does.
"What if we went in a car?" Mal asks him, tapping his nose. "How long does that take?"
Roland taps her nose in return, giggling. "I dunno."
Henry could almost believe everything's fine. Mal and Roland joke together all the time. Them being silly is normal.
Mal flicks her eyes to him, suddenly tense even though she's smiling. He stabs the clock on his phone, making note for Robin.
"Ten, twenty minutes," Henry answers, drawing Roland's attention in case it hurts enough to ruin her concentration.
"So long," Roland complains. He shifts, looking into Mal's eyes and he sees through. She can't hide the hitch in her breathing, and the pain's bright in her eyes.
How much does it hurt to have a baby? When Neal came Snow gasped, made a noise and David caught her, and they rushed her off. She wasn't stuck with kids.
Roland rests a hand on her belly, not as gentle as he should be. "Baby hurts you."
"She wants to meet you," Mal promises him. Her fingers twist into her palm, going white. Tears gleam in her eyes, and she shouldn't be stuck with them. Mom should be here. They're not taking her to the hospital, but a doctor's coming here and they haven't even called her.
What if something's wrong?
"I need to call Mom."
Roland reaches up and strokes Mal's face. "I want to meet baby too, and Papa, and Regina."
"Henry, don't, she'll-" Mal stops, overcome, and it must hurt because she makes a pained little sound.
He's already hit the button. Mom's phone only rings once and that's usually all it takes.
"Henry?"
"Hi Mom."
"Baby, be gentle," Roland orders again.
"What's wrong?" Mom asks, because she can always hear whatever he's feeling.
"It's all right," Mal promises Roland, but her voice cracks. "Baby doesn't have any control over this. She's not hurting me on purpose."
That whooshing sound rushes over them, complete with familiar purple smoke and Mom's there. Right there, phone still held to her ear.
"Mom?"
"Regina, my baby-"
Mal makes an amused sound. "Oh, my dear, you didn't need to rush."
Mom drops her phone onto the coffee table, forgotten. She rushes to the couch, stroking Roland's head first before she kisses Mal's cheek. "Yes, I did, of course I did. Are you all right?"
"The baby hurts."
"I know," Mom tells Roland, and her voice is soft and calm, like Robin's was on the phone. "It's all right. Your papa and I will make sure Mal and the baby are okay." She pats his shoulder and he sits back, giving them some space. "Could you do something for me?"
He nods, and Henry almost envies the kid, because he'd love to be useful.
"Can you go in the kitchen and get some water? You know where the plastic cups are, and I know you're good at using your stool to get water from the fridge."
"Okay."
"Thank you," Mom finishes. She crouches down in front of Mal, stroking her hair back from her shoulders before she kisses her forehead. "How long?"
"Not long," Mal answers, opening her eyes to meet Mom's. "I startled Roland and he got Henry and we called Robin."
"You called Robin first?"
"Which one of you teleported here and made it all dramatic?" Mal retorts, shifting position on the couch.
"You're in pain."
"It's fading."
Henry taps the timer on his phone and it continues to race upward, waiting for the next contraction. Is that all he's supposed to do? Collect numbers, report back?
Mom's phone rings on the floor and she ignores it entirely. She moves close to Mal now, touching her neck, whispering to her and Mal's breathing softens. Her hands wrap around his mother's arms and they're together, calm. This is what's supposed to happen. Robin will be back and it'll get better. Robin's done this.
Henry picks up Mom's phone. Grandma's calling. Mom usually doesn't care when he answers, especially if it's Emma or grandma, and she's busy now.
He answers, lifting the phone to his ear as he watched them. Maybe he shouldn't be watching, because they're all wrapped up together and Mom kisses her.
"Hello?"
"Henry?" Grandma sounds almost as worried as Mom did. Mom probably vanished mid conversation. He can picture that, actually. "What happened? Where's Regina?"
"She's here, home, we're fine."
"We?" Grandma presses.
"Mal's having contractions."
Something shifts in her voice, and it's too soft. "Is she having the baby?"
"Yeah, I guess, it's-" he doesn't know what to call it. It's scary. Maybe a little exciting. Mom, Robin and Mal have been waiting so long for the baby and they're excited. Roland's beyond excited, but he's five. Henry knows babies are a lot of work, and they're exhausting, and there's a lot to worry about.
"Kind of scary, isn't it?"
"She's okay," he answers. He needs to say that a lot. Everyone needs to hear it, and he keeps saying it, to Roland, to Mom and now Grandma. Is she really okay? Mal says she is, but she's a Mom too. Moms lie about being okay.
"It's all right to be nervous, Henry," Grandma says over the phone.
"Everyone all right?" Robin calls from the doorway. The door shuts and he stamps the snow off of his boots. He must have torn them off because a moment later he's there, in the living room, pulling off his coat as Roland runs to him. "Heard we're having a baby."
"Papa! My baby's hurrying."
Robin smiles so much that he almost glows. "I know, and we try not to hurry in the house, right my son?" He shifts Roland around, and hugs him. Then he must see the cup. "Were you getting water?"
Roland nods. "Regina wanted it."
"That's a good idea, why don't you go finish?" He sets Roland down and grins at him. "That would be very helpful."
Mom has her face so close to Mal's that they're breathing together, whispering to each other. Mom reaches for Robin and then the two of them bend down to talk to Mal, murmuring quietly.
"Robin's here," Henry reports to Grandma on the phone.
"Stand up," Robin says, offering his arms. "Trust me, we've got you."
Henry's almost as skeptical as the look Mal gives him, but she stands. Mom and Robin help her balance, and they're all wrapped up together united in this. When he came home, it was just him and Mom and when he was born, it was just Emma. This baby, little dragon flame baby, is going to arrive with more family than she knows what to deal with. Which was always the joke with him, but with her it feels real.
"We're right here," Robin says and his smile helps everyone. Especially Mom, who actually manages to mean her answering smile.
Roland tugs Mom's hand when he returns from the kitchen, cup in hand with the lid on it. Which is pretty good, considering he's five and they've been working on cups with him for the last month or so.
"I brought water."
"Thank you, Roland," Mom says and their little circle breaks just enough for Roland to slip in and hand the water to Robin, then he retreats and stands alone until he comes to Henry.
"Henry, you were timing them?" Mom asks.
"Yeah, on my phone, hang on." He hands his phone over to Mom while Mal drops her head to Robin's shoulder. He strokes her hair, then back of her neck, and they're just them. Patient, calm, and somehow smiling at each now even as Mom fusses with his phone.
"They're all inconsistent," Mom says. "Six minutes, four, then seven."
"Just a warm up," Robin murmurs, and he sways a little with her, almost like dancing.
Warm up? What are they talking about? Is there some kind of not-labor? Why didn't anyone tell them about that?
"That's not fair," Mal complains. "It felt real."
"You won't have another one now that you're standing," Robin says. He moves his hands down her back, rubbing them up and down again. "Happened to Marian all the time. Pains standing up, and she'd sit and they'd stop. Pains sitting down and she'd stand and they'd stop."
Mom holds up the little water cup for Mal. "Drink, and we'll keep the timer close, just in case."
"Henry?" the phone, Grandma, asks his ear. "What's happening?"
"The contractions stopped, I think." He takes the phone down. "Grandma wants to know what's happening."
"False labor," Mom says. "We think, tell Snow it's all right but I won't be coming back today."
Choking suddenly, Mal hands the water cup to Robin and continues to cough. Robin and Mom are both with her, phone and him forgotten. The water cup bounces on the floor and Roland runs over to grab it. Drops of water sit on the carpet before they sink.
Mom touches Mal's face. Henry stares because there's fear there. Now she's afraid. When it was just him and Mal and Roland and they didn't know what was happening, she wasn't afraid. Mal's eyes won't focus on Mom or Robin and they both touch her shoulders.
Mom takes her hands. "Breathe."
Roland wraps his arms around Henry's leg and just stands there, watching while he clings to Henry.
"You're safe, the baby is safe," Robin repeats this, smiling, kissing Mal's face.
"What's wrong?" Snow asks in his ear.
He forgot. How could he? His grandparents took Lily, and Mal's not over that. Of course she's not. It took Grandma months to be okay with people holding Neal and she never had to deal with Zelena again. Mal sees his grandparents all the time, and she and Lily have been civil, even polite, but fear doesn't always make sense. Maybe it doesn't matter that his grandparents won't take this baby, just that they took Lily.
Mal takes a step away from Henry and the phone. Mom follows her, whispering gentle things.
"Everyone's okay," Henry promises his grandma. Robin looks at him, and nods, taking the phone from him.
Tugging on Henry again, Roland grabs his hand. "What is it?"
"Mal's scared," he says. He crouches down to Roland's level again. "But your dad and my mom are here, and they'll make sure she's okay."
Roland nods at that, then runs to Mal and Mom. He joins their hug, his little head next to the swell of Mal's stomach.
"I'll call you later with an update," Robin promises the phone. "Goodbye." He sets Regina's phone down and touches Henry's shoulder. He tries not to think about how this is like a dad, but Robin smells like outside, and pine trees and he's so much taller than Henry. "You did well, Henry."
Henry shakes his head, and then Robin hugs him, tight with his arms around his shoulders and he gets it: that feeling of safe.
"It's a scary thing, having a baby, it's very dramatic and intense and you took such good care of everyone, Roland and Mal and your sister."
He didn't really do anything. He sat, and got his phone, and he and Mal both didn't know what to do. He wasn't protecting his sister.
"You did very well," Robin repeats over his head and Henry doesn't want him to let go because he didn't know what to do and he just wanted Mom, and she came. So it was okay and Mal's okay, but she's not. Mal's worse now than when they thought she was in labor because now she's afraid. Now she won't even let go of Mom. "Now, why don't you take Roland and make some hot chocolate, take your time, I know he's not very helpful when he wants to help but it's good if he's busy."
Henry rolls his eyes. "Which is why you're making me busy, I get it."
"No, see what I was thinking is that I want to get something in Maleficent's stomach, because even false labor is exhausting, and she's afraid. It's easier to be calm with hot chocolate in your hand, and I'd do it myself, but I want to be with her and your mother because I think they might need me." He pats Henry's shoulder. "If that ends up keeping you busy, then it's a side effect."
His smile bubbles up, somehow easy. "Okay, that I can do."
"And Henry?"
"Yeah?"
"When you're done, bring the flask from the high cupboard, would you?"
He nods to Robin, raising his eyebrows, collects Roland and heads for the kitchen. By the time they finished, and made not too much of a mess, Mom, Robin and Mal are all curled up on the sofa, Mom playing with Mal's blonde hair, Robin teasing them so they smile. Mal actually laughs, and this is good. This is okay, because they're here. They're together.
"We put chili in it," Roland says, setting down Mal's cup because he wanted to carry that one. Henry has the rest on a tray.
"My heroes," Mal says. Instead of taking her drink, she reaches for both of them, squeezing their hands. "Thank you for looking after me."
Roland blushes and grins and hurries to his dad, crawling up on the couch so he can be involved in the hugging. Henry sets down their drinks on the coffee table then pulls the flask from his pocket and hands it to Robin. Robin adds a little whatever that is into his and Mom's and Mom takes a gulp, gratefully.
This is all hard. Having a baby, balancing their large and complicated family, with it's equally complicated history and he's not sure how Mom does it. Sitting down across from them, hot chocolate in hand, he tries to imagine what would have happened if the baby was actually making today her birthday. He knows that his part of the plan is that he goes to Emma's or his grandparents, and the rest of it is Mom, Mal and Robin, in the house with a nurse or something and he gets to come home at the end and meet his sister.
He doesn't get an answer until much later, after dinner and board games where Roland is on everyone's team and Robin wins because Mom and Mal get all competitive trying to get the longest road and the biggest army, but they laugh.
Mom didn't go back to the office at all. He's not even sure if she thought about work, which was kind of great. Robin called his grandparents back later, in the study where Mal couldn't hear him and he rubbed Henry's shoulder.
Henry brushed his teeth and changed into his pyjamas, listening to the house move around him. Roland fell asleep during the movie and he can hear Robin and Mal talking downstairs but it's gentle. Robin laughs and it carries upwards.
He still has his light on when Mom knocks. Moving over, he makes space on the bed and she smiles at him.
"Everyone okay?" he asks.
"Everyone is fine. Roland can brush his teeth in the morning, Robin's telling Mal about his day and she's actually letting him rub her feet." Mom toys with the sheet and raises her eyebrows.
"I thought pregnancy was supposed to make you love that." It does in the movies. At least, the handful he's seen.
"She's ticklish. Terribly so."
"Really?" That seems impossible. How can a dragon be ticklish?
Mom nods, and she smiles in that lovesick squishy way that he never saw before Robin and Mal. She leans a little closer. "It's worse now too."
"I won't say anything."
"I knew you wouldn't."
He fidgets with the comic book he was going to read but has just been staring at. Mom knows he's going to ask, that's why she's here. "What would have happened if that had been real today?"
"If Mal had gone into labor this afternoon?"
Shutting the book, he sets it aside and folds his hands in his lap. "Yeah."
"You did everything right," she starts. "And I'm so proud."
He lifts his hands and shakes his head. "I didn't do anything. I didn't help."
"You called Robin, and me, you timed her contractions so we knew they weren't real labor. You kept Roland calm, Mal too."
He picks at the little balls on his pyjama pants that the dryer makes. "I couldn't help her."
"Henry, no, listen, Mal was just telling me how grateful she was that you were here, because if she'd been alone, it would have been frightening, but you reminded her that Robin and I could be there and you got us.'
"She said that?"
Mom nods and rubs his knee. "Yes she did."
"So that's what I should do? If it happens again, I mean." Not that he wants it to, because fake labor was intimidating enough, real labor has water breaking and it hurts more and Robin won't be able to make it go away by having Mal stand up.
"Call me, or Robin, if for some reason we don't answer, call Emma, Lily, Ursula, or Marian, if Mal's in a lot of pain, or if her water breaks suddenly, then call Nurse Ratched, her number is on the fridge. Obviously, don't call your grandparents."
"Yeah." he picked that up. "Is she okay?"
"Sometimes old wounds still hurt us even though we think we're over them." She glances at the window, then looks back at him. "Mal doesn't hate your grandparents."
"She was scared. Really scared."
"I know," she says, and she rubs his knee. "She's okay now, but losing Lily hurt Maleficent, and something like that doesn't go away, not even when you're in a better place and it's particularly hard right now because while the baby's right here," Mom gestures at her own flat belly, "She's safe. No one can take her, but once she's out-"
"You're protecting the house, right?"
"Of course. Emma and I put protection spells all over the house. No one's coming in to take the baby, and Mal knows that, but once she's in pain and afraid it's easier to be more afraid."
"So that's why you came home so fast?"
She widens her eyes and shakes her head a little. "I came home so fast because I feel guilty that I wasn't there when Lily was born, or when she was pregnant, and hearing the pain in her voice did something to my stomach and I just couldn't stay at the office."
He smiles at her, trying not to feel like a kid. "I like that you came."
"That's okay." She leans closer. "That's always okay."
"I felt helpless," he admits. "I couldn't do anything."
"Neither can Robin and I," Mom says, shrugging. "Having this baby is going to take hours, maybe most of a day, it'll hurt, and it'll seem like she's never coming, like it's just pain after pain and Robin and can do absolutely nothing about it. Sure we can hold her hand and remind her to breathe, but that's nothing. She has to feel it, all of it, and we can only watch."
He sits up a little straighter. "So what do you do?"
"Hold her hand, tell her how strong she is, make sure she knows how excited we are for the baby to be here." Mom leans a little closer, and their heads touch. "And we are."
"Yeah?"
"We're so excited." She reaches for his hands and takes them, studying his fingers. "Babies are wonderful, Henry. Their tiny fingers and bellies and little mouths. They're so warm and when you hold them, it seems like everything going to be all right with the world. They're chaotic and don't sleep and demanding, and everything's going to be a little crazy around here for a while, but it'll be wonderful. Just like you were."
"But you didn't have any help with me."
"I don't know if I could have asked for any." Mom touches his face, then brushes his hair off of his forehead and wrinkles her nose. "You're getting so grown up and I'm glad that you can help with your sister."
"I want to."
"And you will, trust me. There's more than enough work involved in having a baby in the house."
The way her face changes suggests that there's a lot he doesn't get yet. Henry nods, but what he really needs to do know is what to do.
"So if Mal had more contractions, not tomorrow, but Tuesday. I should call you and Robin, time them on my phone, and what else?"
"Talk to her, about anything, keep her calm. Make sure she knows she's not alone. Have her drink water. If she's really uncomfortable in one position, have her stand up, or walk from one side of the room to the other. She might argue with you, but walking around will help, even if her back hurts, so insist."
"I'm your son," he teases her. "I can handle a dragon."
Mom kisses his cheek and squeezes his hands. "You can, and I love you. For that, and everything you are."
"I love you too, Mom." He kisses her cheek in return, because she seems to need it. "And we've got this. Operation Little Flame is all set for when she's ready."
Mom yawns, covering her mouth with her hand, and leaves his bed. "Hopefully not tonight."
Henry smirks back. "You never know."
"Goodnight Henry."
"Goodnight Mom."
He lays back in the dark after she's shut off the light. Henry's held Neal, rocked him when he didn't want to sleep, but that's his uncle, and his grandparents are pretty protective. This baby is his sister, she'll be in his house, and she'll need him, like Roland does. He doesn't feel ready, but Mom's not ready. Even Mal's probably not ready.
But together, they'll be okay. They've got this, and baby's going to have a family.