The Thing You Love Most
The Next Morning, Snow and Emma were in Emma's room talking when they heard a knock on the door. Emma opened the door and saw Regina there with a basket of apples, "Did you know the Honeycrisp tree is the most vigorous and hearty of all apple trees?" she asked, "It can survive temperatures as low as forty below and keep growing. It can weather any storm. I have one that I've tended to since I was a little girl. And to this day, I have yet to taste anything more delicious than the fruit it offers." She handed one to Emma.
"Thanks," said Emma, uneasily.
"I'm sure you and your mother will enjoy them on your drive home," said Regina.
"Actually, we're going to stay for a while," said Snow
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Ms. Swan," said Regina, "Henry has enough issues. He doesn't need your daughter confusing him."
"All due respect, Madam Mayor," said Emma, "the fact that you have now threatened my mother and me twice in the last twelve hours makes me want to stay more."
"Since when were apples a threat?"
"I can read between the lines. Sorry. I just want to make sure Henry's okay."
"He's fine, dear. Any problems he has are being taken care of."
"What does that mean?" asked Snow.
"It means I have him in therapy. It's all under control," said Regina, she looked at Emma, "Take my advice, Ms. Swan. Only one of us knows what's best for Henry."
"Yeah, I'm starting to think you're right about that," said Emma.
"It's time for you to go."
"Or what?"
"Don't underestimate me, Miss Swan. You have no idea what I'm capable of." Then, Regina left. Snow put the basket of apples in the garbage can. Emma smiled.
Snow and Emma went to Granny's Dinner which was connected to the Bed and Breakfast. They sat down at the counter and Emma looking at the front page of the local paper, The Storybrooke Mirror, the headline read, "Strangers Destroy Historic Sign. Alcohol Involved."
Just then Red placed two cups of hot cocoa in front of them, "Here you go." she said.
"Thank you," said Emma, "But we didn't order that."
"Yeah, I know," said Red, "You have an admirer."
They turned and saw Sheriff Graham at another table. Emma walked over and put the cocoa in front of him, "Ah, so you decided to stay." he said.
"Observant. Important for a cop," said Emma.
"It's good news for our tourist business, it's bad for our local signage." When Emma didn't respond Graham continued, "It's… It's a joke. It's because you ran over our sign."
"Look, the cocoa was a nice gesture, and I am impressed that you guessed that I like cinnamon on my chocolate because most people don't, but I am not here to flirt. So thank you, but no thank you."
"I didn't send it."
"I did," said a voice. They all looked and saw Henry sitting in another booth, "I like cinnamon, too."
"Don't you have school?" asked Snow, as she walked over.
"Duh. I'm ten. Walk me."
Snow and Emma walked with Henry to Henry's school, "So, how are things with you and Regina?" asked Emma.
"Alright I guess," said Henry, "But, things will be better once we break the curse. Luckily, I have a plan. Step one – identification. I call it Operation Cobra."
"Cobra?" asked Snow, "That has nothing to do with fairy tales."
"Exactly. It's a code name to throw the Queen off the trail."
"So, everyone here is a fairy tale character. They just don't know it," said Emma.
"That's the curse. Time's been frozen – until you and Snow got here," said Henry.
"Alright," said Snow, "What about their pasts?"
"They don't know. It's a haze to them. Ask anyone anything. And you'll see."
"So, for decades, people have been walking around in a haze, not aging, with screwed up memories, stuck in a cursed town that kept them oblivious," said Emma.
"Yep," said Henry, "And right now, we have the advantage. My mom doesn't know that your here to break the curse."
Just then a man who was walking a dalmatian walked up to them, "Henry. Where were you yesterday. Because you missed your session."
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I went on a field trip," said Henry.
The man crouched down to get face-to-face with Henry, "Henry. What did I tell you about lying? Giving into one's dark side never accomplishes anything." Henry nodded. Then, he looked and saw Snow and Emma. He stood up, "Who's this."
Henry pointed at Emma, "She's my mom, Archie."
"And I'm her mother," said Snow, "We were just walking Henry to school."
"Oh. I see," said Archie, "Well, Have a good day and, uh, you be good, Henry."
"Who was that?" asked Snow.
"That's Archie," said Henry, "He's my therapist."
"Who was he in the Enchanted Forest?" asked Emma.
"Jiminy Cricket."
Emma and Snow looked at each other. Then, they continued to walk to Henry's school and he said, "I got to go. But I'll find you later and we can get started."
Henry then ran into the school and ran past David. He looked at Snow and Emma and smiled. He walked up to them and said, "It's good to see his smile back."
"We didn't do anything," said Emma.
"You stayed. So, does the Mayor know you're still here?"
"Oh, she knows," said Snow, "I'm curious on how she got a elected. From what I've seen she's not much of a people person."
"She's been mayor for as long as I can remember," said David, "No one's ever been brave enough to run against her. She inspires quite a bit of, well, fear. I'm afraid I only made that worse by giving Henry that book. Now he thinks she's the Evil Queen."
"Who does he think you are?" asked Emma, curious if Henry had told him.
"Oh," said David with a laugh, "it's silly."
"We just got five minutes of silly. Lay it on us," said Emma.
"Prince Charming. Who does he think you two are?"
"Snow White and her daughter," said Snow.
"Interesting," said David, "Don't remember hearing about Snow White having a daughter."
"The Book has an interesting twist on the 'original' stories," said Emma.
"Well, it would be a surprise to my wife to learn that I have a daughter with another woman." Snow felt like she was just punched in the stomach. Just then the school bell rang, "I've got to go," said David, "It was good to see you."
"You too," said Snow, with a smile.
David then walked away Snow and Emma turned to leave. Emma saw the look on her mother's face and wrapped an arm around her. "You Okay?" asked Emma.
Snow wiped a tear away, "Yeah, I'll be fine..."
"So. What should we do now?" asked Emma.
Snow thought for a moment, "Regina mentioned that Henry was in therapy. Let's talk to his therapist and see what Henry had told him about the Storybook."
Emma nodded.
Snow and Emma went to Archie's office. They decided they would play it as if they didn't believe Henry. They didn't know who they could really trust except for Henry and maybe David. They knocked on the door and walked in, "Hey." said Emma.
"Emma Swan," said Archie, "I was, uh, just reading about you and your mother. Let me guess... you're here for a little help with post-traumatic stress?" Archie laughed, little, "That diagnosis was free, by the way."
Snow smiled, "No, we're here about Henry."
"I'm sorry. I… I really shouldn't-"
"I know, I'm sorry. Just tell us something," said Emma, "This fairy tale obsession – what is causing it? I mean, he thinks everyone is a character in his book. That's…crazy."
"I-I hope you don't talk that way in front of him," said Archie, "The word crazy is, um, quite damaging. These stories… They're his language. He has no idea how to express complex emotion, so he's translating as best he can. This is how he communicates, when he's using this book to help deal with his problems."
"But he got the book a month ago," said Snow, "Has he been seeing you longer than that?"
"Um, yes, he has."
"So it's Regina, isn't it?" asked Emma
"Uh, his mother is, uh, a very complicated woman," said Archie, "And, uh, over the years, her attempts to try and bring Henry close to her only backfired," Archie took a file out of his filing cabinet and handed it to Emma, "Why don't you take a look at the file? Um, see what I mean."
"Why are you doing this?"
"We talked about you a lot. And you're very important to him."
"Thank you."
"Just uh... see that I get it back, okay?" Archie then walked over to the door and opened it. Emma and Snow started out the door then he said, "Ms Swan. Just for the sake of the boy, be careful how you handle his... belief system. To destroy his imagination would be... would be devastating."
Snow and Emma went back to Emma's room at the Bed Breakfast. They started to look over the file when there was a knock on the door. Emma went to open it and Sheriff Graham was there, "Hey there... if you're concerned about the "Do Not Disturb" signs, don't worry; I've left them alone." said Emma.
"Actually, I'm here about Dr. Archibald Hopper," said the sheriff, "He mentioned you two got into a bit of a row with him earlier?"
"No."
"I'm shocked, too, given your shy, delicate sensibilities. He says you demanded to see Henry's files and when he refused you came back and stole them."
"He gave them to us," said Snow.
"Alas, he's telling a different tale. May I check your room? Or must I get a search warrant?"
Emma opened the door, she walked over to the bed and pointed to the file spread out on the bed, "This what ya lookin' for?"
Graham picked up a file and glanced at it, "Well, you're very accommodating. But, I'm afraid, you're both under arrest. Again." He started to cuff Emma.
"You know we're being set up, don't you?" said Snow.
"And whom, may I ask, is setting you up."
Meanwhile Regina was walking down the street to Henry's school. When she got there, she saw David was holding class outside. Regina cleared her throat to get David attention and she said, "May I speak with my son?"
"We're in the middle of a lesson," asked David, "Is it important?"
"Do you think I'd be here if it wasn't?"
Regina took Henry aside and said, "Henry, sweetie, I have some bad news. The women who you brought here, they've been arrested. They broke into Dr. Hopper's office and stole his files. They're con women. They're trying to learn about us in order to take advantage of us. That's why they're sticking around. I'm sorry."
"No, you're not," said Henry.
"I know you think otherwise, but all I'm doing is trying to protect you. This is going to be good for us. You'll see. Things will be better."
Just then the bell rang, "I got to get back to class," said Henry. Then he went to join his class.
At the Sheriff's office, Snow stood in her cell as Graham took Emma's mugshots, "You know the shrink is lying, right?" asked Emma.
"To the right, please. Why would he lie?" asked Graham.
"Regina put him up to it," said Snow, "she's gotta have something on him. He's terrified of her, like everyone else in this town."
"To the left," Graham said to Emma, "Regina may be a touch intimidating, but I don't think she'd go as far as a frame-job."
"How far would she go? What does she have her hands in?"
"Well, she's the Mayor. She has her hands in everything."
"Including the police force?" asked Emma.
Graham was going to answer when Henry and David ran in, "HEY!" called Henry.
"Henry!" said Graham, "Henry, what are you doing here?"
"His mother told him what happened," said David.
"Of course she did!" said Emma.
"You're a genius!" said Henry. "I know what you two were up to. You were gathering intel," then Henry whispered, "For 'Operation Cobra'."
"I'm sorry, I'm a bit lost..." said Graham.
"It's need to know, Sheriff, and all you need to know is that Mr. Nolan's gonna bail them out."
"You are?" asked Snow, "Why?"
"I-uh—trust you." said David.
Snow smiled, and David smiled back. Then, Emma said "Well. If you could uncuff me," said Emma as she held out her wrists, "and let her out..." she nodded her head toward Snow, "I have something to do."
Snow stood behind Emma as she cut one of the branches of Regina's apple tree. Snow wanted to cut the whole tree down but Emma thought that just one branch would send a better message. A few moments later Regina came running out, "What the hell are you doing!?"
"Picking apples," said Emma, as she put down the chainsaw.
"You're out of you mind!"
"No, you are if you think a shoddy frame job's enough to scare us off. You're gonna have to do better than that. If you come after me or my mother one more time, I'm coming back for the rest of this tree. Because, sister, you have no idea what I am capable of." Emma walked away.
Snow walked up to Regina and said, "Your move." Then, Snow followed her daughter.
Snow and Emma headed back to Granny's Bed Breakfast. They headed to Emma's room to strategize. As she opened the door to her room, Granny came up behind them and said, "Ms. Swan?" They turned to face her then Granny continued, "Oh my, this is terribly awkward. I need to ask you to leave. I'm afraid we have a "No felons"-rule. It... it turns out it's a city ordinance."
"Let me guess: The Mayor's office just called to remind you," said Snow.
Granny nodded, "You can gather your things, but I need to have your room keys back."
Emma begrudgingly handed her the key.
After gathering the few things, they had taken into their rooms, they headed out to Emma's Bug. They were both surprised to see a boot attached to the tire. Just then Emma's phone rang, "Yeah?" she said as she put it on speaker.
"Ms. Swan," said Regina's voice, "I'd be happy to continue demonstrating my power, but am I right in guessing your resolve to stay is only growing?"
"You have no idea." said Emma as she opened the car door to toss her jacket inside.
"Well then. I think it's time we made peace. Why don't you drive over to my office," Emma slammed the car door shut, then Regina continued, "Or walk… whatever suits you." Emma hung up.
Snow, Emma and Regina were sitting in her office and she said, "I'd like to start by apologizing to you both."
"What?" asked Snow.
"I just have to accept the reality that you both want to be here."
"That's right. We do."
Regina looked at Emma, "And that you're here to take my son from me."
"Okay, let's be clear: I have no intention of taking him from anyone," said Emma.
"Well then, what are you doing here?"
"I know I'm not a mother... I think that's pretty self-evident... but I did have him, and I can't help it... he got in my head and I want to make sure he's okay. The more you try to push me out, the more I want to be here, especially after seeing how... troubled... he is."
"You think he's troubled?"
"Well, he's in therapy, and I only got through a couple pages of his shrink's notes before you had us arrested. But putting all that aside... he thinks everyone in this town is a fairytale character."
"And you don't?"
"How can I? The poor kid can't even tell the difference between fantasy and reality and it's only getting worse. It's crazy."
"You think I'm crazy?" said Henry's voice. Emma and Snow turned around and saw Henry standing in the doorway.
"Henry…" He ran out of the office and Emma and Snow stood as if they were going to follow him.
Snow looked at Regina, "How long was he there?"
"Long enough." said Regina.
"You knew he would be here," said Emma.
"Did I know that my son comes to my office every Thursday at precisely 5 PM so I can take him for dinner before his therapy session? Of course I did. I'm his mother. Your move"
"You have no soul," said Snow.
"How in the hell did you get like this?" asked Emma. Regina didn't answer as Emma and Snow left.
Snow and Emma went downstairs and saw Henry waiting. When he saw them he smiled, "Nice acting job, kid," said Emma.
"Thanks," said Henry, "You think she bought it?"
"Oh yeah," said Snow, "I almost did myself."
"See you later," said Emma, as she ruffled her son's hair.
Later that night, David was on his way home. He had gone for a hike in the woods. It was kind of dark, as he made his way back to down. He came around a curve when he saw a wolf in the road. He swerved to miss it and crashed into a tree.