Thank you so much everyone for the reviews/favorites/follows it really means the world to me! I'd planned on having everyone move in this chapter, but then I started writing about them packing and the story took on a life of its own, so expect the move to be next chapter. Let me know if you have any suggestions for future scenarios I'd love to incorporate them into future chapters!
Chapter 2: Packing Up
That night, each member of Henry's family had their own way of preparing for the upcoming move. Henry had already managed to pack his most precious belongings into a few boxes and decided to service Emma with her packing.
"I told you, kid, I don't need your help," Emma said as he tried to convince her for the umpteenth time that she should be bringing more to their new house.
"I don't think you get how serious I am about this. We really aren't leaving until we're one big, happy family and I think you know that's going to take more than a couple days," he replied as he stared incredulously at the few items she was planning to bring: one box of clothes, her iPod, and headphones. Nothing else.
"Well, in any case, I've told you before that I'm not sentimental. I've moved plenty of times and this is really all I need."
"What about books, or makeup, or a toothbrush?" he asked impatiently.
"Books I can borrow from Belle, makeup I can borrow from Hook," she shot Henry a toothy grin, to which he just rolled his eyes, "and here," she said, jogging into the bathroom before throwing a toothbrush into the box. "Done."
In another room of the Charming family apartment, Mary Margaret and David were busily packing their possessions. Mary Margaret insisted on bringing dozens of little trinkets she had decorating their apartment to make their new place feel like home, while David was taking special care in packing his harness, trying to hide it beneath his clothes so Mary Margaret wouldn't see it and worry.
"David…" Mary Margaret started, "care to explain why you're bringing your harness?" Damn, he thought, it was worth a shot.
"I'm sheriff," he tried to explain, "Emma and I need to protect ourselves."
"And why is your harness, and I'm assuming gun, here and not locked up at the sheriff's station like Emma's?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. Once Henry had decided to move in permanently after returning from Neverland, Mary Margaret had insisted that Emma and David keep their guns out of the house. Guns and children don't mix well, she had rationalized until they had grudgingly agreed.
"Because I want to be prepared in case Henry's little social experiment goes badly."
"It will go badly with that attitude," she responded, reaching into the box and pulling out the harness. "We need to learn to trust each other, and I have faith that Henry can bring us all together."
When David shot her his signature you-know-I-love-you-but-this-optimism-is-getting-o ld look, Mary Margaret just rolled her eyes and stated "No weapons" before continuing packing.
It seemed that Gold had different ideas as he was preparing for the next day's move. He and Belle were both in his flat above the antique shop debating what to bring with them to the new house.
Belle had insisted that Gold behave and try to make amends with each member of the family. Though all had grown more civil towards him after working together to save Henry, he was still nowhere near as close as he wished to be with his son and he knew that being friendly with the rest of the family (especially Emma) would be the ticket to Neal's heart. But, Gold was also keenly aware of how precarious the new family living situation would be. He was worried for his safety, and Belle's, so he furtively packed a few choice weapons beneath his clothes when Belle was distracted mulling over which of her many books to bring with them. Gold hoped he wouldn't have to use any of his weapons and knew that doing so would anger Belle and hinder the family bonding his grandson craved. He contemplated leaving the weapons behind, for Henry's sake, but then remembered that Hook was now considered part of the family and decided defensive measures would probably be for the best.
Hook sighed as he packed up the few possessions he had managed to unpack during the few weeks he had been able to live in his new apartment. After returning to Storybrooke, he had lived out of his ship for a while to gain his bearings of the small town, finding himself with copious free time since he was no longer chasing his crocodile. He spent that time not only getting to know the town, but also getting to know the enticing Emma Swan and her son. She had been the one who convinced him to move out of the Jolly Roger and into an apartment.
You really need your own place, she had told him one day, after he had visited the Charming household to take a shower for the sixth time. You know why people in this day and age don't live on ships? Because there are no fucking showers! She had helped him find a place relatively close to her own, and she'd even helped him move some of his possessions from the Jolly Roger. But now, he had to move yet again. And this time there's no Swan to help me, he thought.
Hook wasn't quite sure how to feel about Henry's big plan. On the one hand, he had to give the kid credit for outsmarting all of them and he felt honored that Henry considered him to be a part of the family. The two of them had grown close during their time on the Jolly Roger and since then they had met to practice swordplay and talk about their worlds, Hook teaching Henry about Neverland and Henry teaching him about Storybrooke. Thus far, he had managed to show Henry a side of himself that few others had seen, a side that was purely Killian. But, he feared that being in close quarters with the crocodile and his son might bring out his darker side. I can't let them change me back to who I was, he thought. I have to behave for Henry. For Emma. He maneuvered his sword awkwardly into one of the boxes, just in case.
Also in a relatively new apartment, Neal was having an easy time of packing up his belongings that had so recently been moved out of boxes. He had been so relieved to see Emma again when she saved him from the Enchanted Forest. The crew had found magic beans on Greg and Tamara after defeating them and had decided to take a stop in the Enchanted Forest to check up on Aurora and Mulan before returning home from Neverland. Them finding Neal alive had been complete luck, or fate, as he would like to believe.
Neal had hoped that coming back to Storybrooke would allow him and Emma to be together again, but something appeared to be holding her back. He had lived in a room at Granny's bed and breakfast for weeks hoping that Emma would invite him to move in with her so that they could build a family with Henry. Instead, she offered to help him find his own place and he had accepted on the condition that it be close to her and Henry. The proximity of their apartments didn't seem to matter anymore now that they would be living in one house together. To say Neal was happy would be an understatement; he was ecstatic.
Sure, he knew that living in the same house as his father and Hook, who he had been trying his best to avoid, would be a challenge. But Emma and I will finally be living together, he thought excitedly. It'll be just like we always wanted. Our Tallahassee. He was confident that he would be able to overcome whatever was holding Emma back and remind her why she fell in love with him so many years ago.
As Regina sifted through her grand closet choosing what clothes to bring to the new house, she felt the urge to go down to the convent, threaten Mother Superior, and make her destroy the contract. No, she said to herself, you have to control your anger. You have to prove to Henry that you can do this or he'll never love you. Of all the members of the family, Regina knew she had the most to prove. She needed to show Henry that she could contribute to them being a real family, and that she truly was no longer the evil queen he feared. She knew that their family would face plenty of problems living under one roof, but she was determined not to be the cause of those problems. Let them argue amongst themselves, she thought. Let Emma and Neal destroy this family, and then I'll be the only parent Henry had left. Though she considered it, Regina ultimately decided not to pack any of her magical memorabilia, all she packed were the necessities. Let things run their course, she told herself. Don't give them any reason to blame you when things go to hell.
