A/N: So let me go ahead and ask you guys to be gentle with me. This is my first foray into this fandom. Second, I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this. There is no pairing because it isn't currently that kind of fic. And finally, your thoughts and comments are welcomed. Not beta'd so grammatical errors are possible.
I made the decision the moment the ink dried, that I would be honest with Henry. As honest as I could be at least. I never hid the fact that he was adopted.
When he was six he started asking questions. And I - I started to lie. "Does my other mom like pizza to?" It was the first time he even mentioned her. His eyes sparkled as he watched the stringy cheese stretch from his slice to his plate, trying to catch the errant strand with his tongue. We were sitting in Granny's, a treat for him after successfully graduating kindergarten.
It progressed. "Where does my other mom live?" "What color hair does she have?" "Will she come visit?" "Does she like green?"
"I don't know Henry." Was the only response I ever gave. I did not feel like explaining that his birth mother would likely never meet him. Besides, if I said that out loud it would make it true. I would wait until he was older.
By the time he was nine he had started asking more emotive questions. "Do you think she misses me?" "Do you think I look like her?" "Why did she give me up?"
A simple 'I don't know Henry' would no longer suffice. I served up all the platitudes he needed, sometimes a little closer to the truth than I'd have liked.
The truth was, I knew exactly where Emma Swan was. I knew that she loved pizza, and a plethora of other junk food. I knew that Henry had her nose. I knew that he tilted his head as he pondered something in just the same way that his birth mother did.
I knew all about the guilt she felt when she decided to give Henry up.
I knew Emma Swan. She had been my best friend.
Once Upon a Time.