Out of the goodness of my heart... I decided to update real quick. :)
Henry walked in the kitchen. There was a pained expression on his mom's face and he instantly knew his sister had asked about Emma.
"Mia, why don't we go outside and play with the soccer ball?" he asked, faux excitedly.
"Yeah!" Mia cheered. Henry picked her up and gave his mom an understanding look as he hustled his sister out of the room. She gave him a grateful smile in return. He pulled the soccer ball out of the shed and took Mia to the front yard. He let his sister erratically run after it for awhile, kicking it back to her every once in awhile. Henry spotted Ruby coming up the walk and he ran to meet her, Mia toddling behind.
"Ruby!" Mia shouted. Ruby picked the little girl up and tickled her causing Mia to giggle.
"Hey there, squirt," Ruby greeted, "and big bro," Ruby addressed Henry, ruffling his hair.
"What are you doing here, Ruby?" Henry asked, flattening his hair back down.
"The War Council is meeting. I'm coming to inform your mom about it. We think that we've finally found a way to Camelot," Ruby told him.
"Really?" Henry asked excitedly. They searched Gold's shop and Regina's vault for a whole year of searching for a portal or some magical mode of transport to get a group to Camelot. They'd hit dead ends or the Darkness inside Emma would sense the group getting closer to a solution and possess her to cause a huge distraction.
"Yeah, but we're going to need Regina's help," Ruby said.
"Stay right here with Mia, I'll go get her," Henry replied. He ran inside, but stopped short when he spotted Regina sobbing in the kitchen. She didn't see him so he backed away quietly and returned outside. "Is this sometime I can help you with?" Ruby could see the turmoil in his eyes and she knew.
"I'm afraid not," Ruby said apologetically, "I'll go ask. It's okay." She passed Mia to Henry and squeezed his shoulder as she walked into the house. Mia wiggled out of Henry's arms and ran after the ball into the backyard so Henry followed her. From the backyard, Henry could see inside the kitchen. He couldn't hear what was being said, but he watched his mom try to compose herself and fail. She collapsed, shoulders shaking, into Ruby's arms. Ruby eventually calmed her down enough to–Henry assumed–talk about the War Council's plan. Regina nodded and started to head for the backdoor. Henry quickly busied himself with Mia so she wouldn't know what he had seen.
"Henry?" she called, "could you watch Mia for a few hours? I can call Michael and he can bring Ava and Nick over if you'd prefer."
"I can handle it, Mom," he told her with a reassuming smile. She walked over to him, took his chin between her fingers, and kissed his forehead.
"You're growing up so fast," she murmured. The moment was interrupted when Mia barreled into Regina's legs.
"Mommy!" she cried happily. Regina lifted her up and settled Mia on her hip.
"How would you like for your big brother, Henry to watch you for tonight while Mommy and Ruby go to a meeting?" Regina asked.
"Can we watch a movie?" Mia inquired. Regina smiled.
"One," she replied.
"Okay," Mia agreed. Regina kissed Mia's cheek and gave her a tight squeeze before setting her back on the ground. She hugged Henry before she and Ruby left. Henry sighed and plastered a happy expression on his face.
"So, what do you want to do tonight?"
—
Another year went by. The plan the War Council had a year ago didn't pan out as they'd hoped. One night after Mia was asleep, Henry and Regina were sitting at the kitchen table. Regina with a coffee and Henry with hot chocolate sans cinnamon–it was too painful to add. There was a heavy silence between them. There was always an Emma-sized hole in the house.
"I hate to ask, Mom, but," Henry paused, knowing that this question would deeply affect Regina, "have you tried True Love's Kiss?" Regina sighed.
"Yes, Henry. I tried it," she replied, "about three months after Emma started helping me put Mia back to sleep I asked her about it. She told me that the Darkness is like a virus and can mutate–that it felt Belle's True Love for Rumpel and learned how to fight it. I asked her to kiss me anyway, but she was right. True Love's Kiss will no longer work against any Dark One."
"Oh," Henry said.
"Henry, do you know why I asked you to sit here tonight?" she asked him.
"No, why?" he furrowed his brow in confusion as Regina sighed.
"I'm asking her for a divorce," she whispered. Henry's jaw dropped.
"What? You can't!" he exclaimed, "she's- it's- but she's Emma. You love her!"
"It's more complicated than that right now, Henry. I-"
"No! Stop! You're fighting for her everyday! You can't give up now!" he accused.
"I'm not giving up on her," she replied firmly, "however, I cannot stay emotionally attached. It's hindering my ability to help."
"I can't believe this," Henry stood, "you still love her. I don't understand." He walked away before Regina could say anything else.
He gave her the cold shoulder for four days. He'd answer in as few words as possible. But, eventually he came around, knowing that it was destroying his mother that she had made such a difficult decision–she didn't need his disapproval on top of her own anguish.
—
After Emma signed the papers and she filed them, his mom was so devastated that Henry and Mia had to stay with Mary Margaret and David for two weeks and Henry attended War Council meetings in Regina's place. However, in that two week's time, the War Council found a foolproof way of getting to Camelot. A group consisting of Mary Margaret, David, Belle, and Ruby, gathered up necessities and weapons and set out to make the journey.
"I can help," Regina insisted. Mary Margaret put a hand on her shoulder.
"You're needed here," she said to Regina, "we need someone in Storybrooke as a control central. Besides, you have two children that need you. They've lost one mother for two years. I'd hate for them to lose both mothers permanently." Regina eventually relented when the group promised to magically check in every week or so until they found the Merlin and saved Emma.
That was over a year ago. Control Central–consisting of Regina, Henry, Nova, and Tinkerbell–lost contact with the group six months into the mission. The last time they had contact with the group there was a war raging in Camelot and the group was caught up in the middle of it–finding Merlin had been put on the back burner. After three weeks of no contact, Regina scoured ever inch of her vault to find some way back to the Enchanted Realm. Mia's fifth birthday came and went. Henry's seventeenth birthday came and went. Finally, Henry approached his mother one day.
"Mom, I want to learn magic," he cut to the chase. It was the only way he was going to get results.
"Henry, magic is-"
"Unpredictable. Always comes with a price. Mom, I know all these things," Henry told her sternly before he softened, "do you remember when you and Emma saved me in Neverland?"
"Of course, how could I forget?" Regina asked.
"Emma told me the two of you eclipsed the moon together," Henry reminded her.
"Yes, but what does that have to do with you learning magic?" Regina inquired.
"I'm the son of the Savior. I have to have some in me," Henry deduced, "if you and Emma can eclipse a moon, why can't we open a portal together?" Regina sighed, but then smiled at her son.
"You're right," Regina agreed, "we'll start training tomorrow. Our goal is to bring Emma home before your eighteenth birthday, deal?" Henry beamed,
"Deal."
Lemme know what you think!