Title: Operation Ladybug
Summary: "What is it?" Henry asked, looking up at Mr. Gold in wonder. "It's a soldier's medallion from the Enchanted Forest. Very old .. and some say a powerful good luck charm. I think it might be just what Miss Swan needs." (or, what if the Charmings had the opportunity to have everything they thought they wanted?)
Spoilers: None, really. Set mid-season 2.
Rating/Warning: K+, for language, mostly. Family fluff and angst and everything in between.
Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time and its characters were created by Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and are owned by ABC. I'm just sitting here try not to go insane over hiatus. I don't think it's working very well but the writing seems to take the edge off, so please don't sue me. :)
Author's Note: The following is what results when I decide I want to write an enchanted object story with a Charming Family slant. There's magic in Storybrooke and magic within Emma, and I wanted to play around with that a little bit while still writing a family bonding piece. Feedback thrills me like you would not believe! Enjoy.
Something was wrong with Henry's mom.
Not seriously wrong, health-wise or anything, but ever since Emma had come back from the Enchanted Forest, she'd been … different. Sometimes it was a good kind of different, like how she gave him easy hugs and comforting little touches every now and again. She hadn't done that before she left.
However, a lot of times it was a bad kind of different, a difference he could see on her face. Her smiles sometimes looked tight and forced. Her eyes had lost a little bit of their spark. Sometimes he'd even catch her staring off into space, looking sad and … lost.
And that wasn't even counting all the bad dreams she'd been having. He knew because he'd still been having bad dreams of his own, awful dreams of a burning red room with no escape. Emma always let him climb into bed with her after one of those dreams, and sometimes he would lie awake long after she'd fallen back to sleep. Eventually she would start to whimper, and he'd try to soothe her nightmares just like she soothed his.
So, yeah, something was definitely wrong with Emma, and Henry was determined to fix it.
This morning, he'd had come up with a foolproof plan to put a smile on her face. He'd gone downstairs before her and prepared her favorite breakfast: a side of bacon, a huge bowl of Froot Loops, and a mug of cocoa sprinkled with cinnamon to drink. Now all she had to do was come downstairs and eat, and she would feel better for sure.
Sure enough, when she descended the stairs and spotted a breakfast containing half her recommended daily allowance of sugar and sodium waiting for her, she did smile. She caught his eye as she sat at the kitchen island to eat. "Aw, kid, did you do this?"
He nodded, grinning at her. Of course, he couldn't tell her the real reason he'd made her breakfast, so he said, "You make me lunch all the time. I just wanted to return the favor."
Her smile grew a touch wider. "Thanks."
Since watching her eat would have made her uncomfortable, Henry instead focused on getting ready for school. His homework was tucked neatly into his folder so when his grandmother asked him for the hundredth time whether or not he remembered his homework, he could tell her yes. His lunch was all packed and ready to go; he'd made it himself this morning so his mom wouldn't have to. He brushed his hair and ran into the bathroom to make sure it wasn't sticking up in funny places – although Emma would have told him if it was.
As he prepared for the day, though, his eyes kept traveling to her. For a while, she was fine, but when she finished her meal, that familiar troubled expression settled on her face.
Henry's heart sank. The breakfast had made her happy for a little while but it hadn't made whatever was bothering her better. Dang it, he should have known. Well, now what was he going to do? He really didn't like seeing her upset like this, but without knowing exactly what was wrong, he didn't know what he could do to fix it. And it wasn't like she would tell him the truth if he asked. All she would do was force a smile, insist nothing was wrong, and then change the subject.
She carried her plate, bowl, and mug to the sink. After giving them a quick rinse, she set them down to be washed and then stepped over to Henry, wrapping him in a quick hug. "Thanks again for breakfast, kid."
"You're welcome," he grinned. One thing was for certain: he would never get tired of her hugs.
She pulled away after a moment and sighed softly. "Do you mind if David walks you to the bus stop today? I have a mountain of paperwork waiting for me at the station, and I kind of want to get a jump on it."
Actually, he was a little disappointed. He enjoyed those few minutes he shared with her in the morning as they walked down the street side by side, talking about random things. He didn't want to do or say anything that would upset her further, though, so he shook his head. "Nah, I don't mind."
"Great. I'll meet you after school, okay?"
"Okay."
Henry watched as she shrugged on her jacket and headed out the door. His grandmother exited her bedroom just as the front door closed behind Emma. "She's off early this morning," she said, a slight frown knotting her brow.
"She said she had paperwork," Henry shrugged.
Snow cast a thoughtful and somewhat troubled glance at the door before nodding to herself. Henry's eyes widened in realization; his grandmother knew something. Or at the very least, she suspected something. Could she know what was bothering Emma?
He watched as Snow stepped over to the sink to wash the breakfast dishes. Henry had left the bacon pan soaking and Emma had just left her stuff like always. If Snow minded cleaning up after them all the time, she'd never said anything about it.
Henry stood next to his grandmother and pulled a towel out of the drawer, ready to dry the dishes as she washed. She smiled gratefully at him as she handed him Emma's mug. For a long beat, they washed and dried in silence. Then Henry asked, "Gramma? Does Mom seem … sad to you?"
She looked down at him in surprise before once again giving him another smile, this one comforting. "A little, yes. I think the Enchanted Forest was harder on her than she wants to admit."
"Are you worried?"
At that, she hesitated. Then she shook her head and handed him Emma's freshly washed bowl. "No. Your mom's tough; she's all right."
Henry's eyes narrowed slightly as he regarded his grandmother. Emma may have cornered the market in being able to spot a liar, but Henry was eleven, not a little kid. He could certainly tell when someone was trying to sugarcoat something for him, and his grandmother was definitely sugarcoating. She was worried about Emma but she didn't want him to worry.
Well, it was too late for that. There had to be something that would cheer his mom up, but what?
After a moment, the answer came to him. Of course! He could get her a present! Everyone liked presents. This present would have to be something really special, though, something that was sure to make her feel better.
Now that he had a mission, Henry couldn't have his mom to meet him at the bus stop after school. He'd text her and tell her Snow was going to do it or something because once he got out of school, he needed to go shopping. The first phase of Operation Ladybug was going into effect the second he got off the bus.
Operation Ladybug was not going well at all. Henry had stopped in almost every single store in Storybrooke and hadn't found a single that he thought would help his mom feel better. He'd thought about getting her a whole bunch of candy bars from Mr. Clark's store – because Emma really liked chocolate – but then he remembered that her breakfast hadn't made her feel better for very long. No, he needed something more lasting than food, something that would put a smile on her face every time she saw it.
But what? He'd wandered the aisles of every store, looking for that one item that screamed "Emma" to him, and he hadn't found a single thing.
There was only one store left to check. He'd been avoiding it because he knew neither of his moms nor his grandparents would like it. On the other hand, if there was something in there that could make Emma happy … well, he owed it to her to try.
He just wouldn't tell her where he got it.
After taking a breath and squaring his shoulders, Henry stepped into Mr. Gold's shop. The bell above the door tinkled, signaling his presence. An impatient-looking Mr. Gold pushed aside the curtain separating his office from the shop proper but he smiled when he spotted Henry running his eyes over the objects on display. "Ah, young Mr. Mills. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Henry swallowed the slight fear rising in his chest as he approached the counter. Yeah, Mr. Gold had helped him learn to take control of the red room but he was also Rumpelstiltskin. He was more than a little intimidating. However, if anyone had anything that could make Emma smile, it was him. "I'm looking for a present for my mom … for Emma. She's been sad lately and I thought a present might help her feel better."
"Such a caring son," Gold murmured, a calm smile still on his lips. He made his way over to a glass case on the right hand side of the shop. "You say she's been feeling sad?"
"Yeah, ever since she came back from the Enchanted Forest," Henry said as he watched the man unlock the case, slide it open, and rummage through its contents. It struck him after the words had left his mouth that he probably shouldn't have revealed so much. Oh, well. It was out now; he couldn't exactly take it back. "I just thought maybe I could find her something that'll make her smile."
Mr. Gold nodded and rummaged around in the case a bit more. After a moment, he pulled out a small box made of deep blue velvet. He wordlessly handed the box over to Henry, who accepted it with a slight frown.
Inside was a thin but heavy silver disk about the size and shape of a sand dollar. The silver was engraved with a shield split in four by a cross. Little swords took up residence in two sections of the shield and little swans occupied the other two. A border of five-pointed stars rimmed the disk, surrounding the shield.
Henry didn't have the slightest clue what he was looking at but he felt a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth anyway. And if it made him smile, maybe it would make Emma smile, too. "What is it?" he asked, looking up at Mr. Gold in wonder.
"It's a soldier's medallion from the Enchanted Forest. Very old .. and some say a powerful good luck charm. I think it might be just what Miss Swan needs."
"You really think so?"
"I do indeed."
Henry looked back down at the medallion. He did have to admit that it was pretty much perfect for her. The swans and swords and stars … they all meant something to her. And everyone needed at least one good luck charm. There was only one potential problem that he could see: "How much is it?" he asked, once again raising his eyes to Mr. Gold.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Gold nodded towards the box. "It's on the house."
Okay, wait a second. When he'd bought the bell for his gramma back when his gramma was just his teacher, Mr. Gold had charged him three weeks' allowance. And that was just a bell! Why on earth was he just giving this medallion away for free? What was the catch? "Really?"
"How can I put a price on a young boy wanting to do something nice for his mother?"
Oh. Well, then. Henry smiled as he snapped the box closed. "Thank you very much."
"You're welcome, dearie. You'll have to let me know if it accomplishes its purpose."
After giving the man another grateful smile and a little wave goodbye, Henry left the shop. He opened the box to examine the medallion one final time before tucking it safely into his backpack. It looked like Operation Ladybug wasn't a complete failure after all. Phase One was complete, and after dinner sounded like the perfect time to launch Phase Two.
He couldn't wait to see Emma smile.