I'M STARTING TO WRITE THIS RIGHT AFTER I POSTED CHAPT. 9 IN HOPES TO HAVE IT UP SOONER.

DON'T OWN IT.

The walk back to the castle was a solemn one; heads hung and feet dragged, and not a word was spoken. The crisp night air suddenly seemed a lot colder, as if it was punishing them for their defeat. When they were finally inside the fortress, they retired to their chambers.

Graham and Emma finally started to make their way back.

"He lied." Emma said, her fists and jaw clenching.

"Who lied?" Graham asked softly, brushing a lock of golden hair from her face.

"James." She spat back.

"Wanna talk about it?" He questioned, steering her out of the way of a branch. She was running on blind fury right now, and after this fuel left her system, she would be a puddle on the ground… something Graham did not want to deal with right now.

"No." She pouted, and wrapped her arms around herself, as if she was going to come apart.

"Okay." He sighed.

They made it back, and stumbled up the stairs in the dark. They peeked in Henry's room, only to find him sitting on the window seat, knees drawn to his chest, staring blankly out the window. Emma motioned for Graham to go back to the room. He gave her a kiss before obliging. Quietly, Emma walked into the boy's room, and took a seat next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. She was amazed at how her mood could change, just by seeing her son.

"Hey." She smiled. Henry turned his head to look at the sheep.

"Sheep are cool." He responded.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied.

"You remember my lie detector?" She asked. "It's dinging."

"Maybe it's broken." Henry shrugged, still not looking at her. He sniffled. God, this isn't what Emma wanted for her son.

"Henry, I'm sorry." She said.

"It's not your fault."

"Not for this, Henry. Well, yes. But, I'm sorry for you having to go through what you're going through. It's not fair."

"I'm not following. I'm happy. I get to live in my dream world with my dream mom." Finally, he looked at her, and she saw the tearstains on his cheeks. She resisted the urge to wraps her arms around the kid, knowing he was trying to hide his tears.

"That doesn't change the fact that you had to deal with Regina. Up until now, your life had been pretty crappy. You've had to grow up way faster than you should've." She took a calming breath, willing her eyes not to fill. "I know you know that I did what I did to give you your best chance. It was the hardest decision of my life, Henry. I gave you up so that you wouldn't end up like me. I'm tough, and you shouldn't have to be." She shrugged. "I guess my plan didn't work."

Henry stayed silent for a few moments, mulling this over. Then he responded, "But I want to be like you. There's more to you than that, Mom." He grabbed her hand. Emma looked down at their hands, his small one intertwined with her bigger one. "You're nice, and funny, and smart. There's a vulnerable side that most people don't see. That's a perfect person." He smiled. One traitorous tear made its way down Emma's cheek.

"Kid, you've gotta stop making me cry." She gave him a watery smile.

"It's okay to cry." Henry snuggled into her, laying his head on her lap.

"Tell that to yourself." Emma said sarcastically, stroking his head. "You're the one who was pretending you weren't crying."

"I'm a Charming. I'm not supposed to be scared or weak." He muttered sleepily.

"It's okay to be afraid, Henry. Fear is a part of life." Emma replied, recalling what Graham had said to her. After a few moments, his breathing evened out, and he was asleep. Carefully, she picked him up and gently placed him in bed, pulling the covers up to his chin. She watched him for a few seconds be for placing a kiss to his head, and walking out, shutting the door behind her. She found Graham propped up on his elbows, shirt off, and smirk on his face.

"What?" Emma put her hands on her hips. "I'm not in the mood for this."

"Is Henry okay?" Graham asked.

"He will be once this whole thing's solved." She climbed into bed. Graham flipped onto his back, and pulled her close.

"Talk to me, Em." He whispered in her ear, breath tickling the back of her neck. She shuddered.

"I am." She snapped.

"What's going through your mind?"

"It wants to sleep." She moaned.

"Fine. We can continue this tomorrow." He huffed.

Everyone woke early the next morning when lightening cracked through the sky, and shook the castle's very foundations. Doc had invented lights upon Emma's incessant nagging, but they went out with the power.

"What happened?" Snow mumbled, rolling into James.

"The power went out." He replied.

"Did she pull the breaker?" Snow didn't need to say who; James knew.

"No. I have my men guarding the Castle 24/7." He assured her.

"They could've been killed." She said, shooting up. "You check on Emma, I got Henry." She grabbed a sword from under the bed. James picked up his.

"Be careful, Snow."

"Of course. You're the one who does stupid things." She smiled.

"That doesn't sound like me." He said in mock-hurt. His face turned grave. "In all seriousness, Snow, take great precaution."

"You too, Charming."