Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I still don't own any canon characters. This chapter was written for Nikki's prompt. Nikki, I hope you enjoy this chapter if you're still reading the story!

"Ok, so Grace is going to be over any minute now. I don't want to be embarrassed when she gets here," Henry says, putting the finishing touches on his room where he and Grace are going to work on their newest project for school.

"And you think we would embarrass you?" Regina asks with a slight smirk, making the tips of Henry's ears turn red.

"Yes," he barely mutters, not looking up to see his mother's teasing face.

"Why would you think that, my boy?" Robin chuckles, seeing how important this day is for his and Regina's oldest son.

"You know how fast Roland picks up on this stuff," Henry all but whispers to try and keep the four-year-old out of the conversation.

Regina and Robin share a knowing glance and then Regina hoists Roland onto her hip before walking out of the room, leaving her two oldest boys alone. Robin goes over and sits down on Henry's bed, watching as the teenager fixes the slight cowlick in his hair in front of the mirror.

"So, you have a crush on Grace, I gather," Robin says with a small smile on his lips, causing Henry to wheel around, his cheeks turning a slight pink.

"Is it that obvious?" Henry inquires, coming and sitting down next to his father.

"For someone who is in true love himself and sees it between Will and Anastasia, I'm quite aware of signs of blossoming love," Robin tells his son, turning to face the embarrassed teen.

"Okay, I really like Grace. She's the prettiest girl I know at school, and I love that we're always partners for school projects," Henry admits, a smile coming to his lips.

"It seems my suspicions were correct. Your mother will be over the moon to hear that her son has his first crush," Robin starts off, before realizing something. "She is your first crush, right?" the famed thief asks with a slightly laughing tone.

"Of course, Dad. I'd like to ask her out, but I don't know how to do it properly. I'm not as romantic as you are," Henry sighs, picking at the navy blue blanket on his bed.

"Well, I might just be able to help you there, Henry."

"What do you mean?"

"I think it is time to make your intentions known to her father. If I know anything about courting a young lady, the first step you have to take is to get her father's approval," Robin begins to say before realizing an important fact. "It's what I'm going to make sure the boys do when you're sister's born," he adds.

"Dad?" Henry says with a laugh.

"Yes, son?"

"We don't know if the baby's a boy or a girl. Mom wanted it to be a surprise, and it's too early for Dr. Whale to tell anyway."

"Call it a father's intuition, lad," Robin chuckles. "But back to the subject of you and Grace, I think she's interested in you, too."

"Really? How can you tell?" Henry excitedly asks.

"I've seen the way she looks at you when the two of you are working on schoolwork. And I did notice that you purposely brushed your hand across hers a couple more times than necessary," Robin says, revealing all that he knows about his and Regina's son's crush.

"Well, what can I do to get her to like me the same way I like her?"

"You need to start courting her, slowly at first as not to scare her off. Speaking to Jefferson is the first step of courtship."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Dad. No one says "courting" anymore," Henry laughs.

"Really? Then what would you call the trials I went through to get together with your mother?" Robin inquires, smiling a bit himself.

"It's called dating, Dad. And talking to Jefferson wouldn't be a bad idea. If I started dating Grace without his permission he'd kill me. What should I do after that?"

"Well, my boy, that's when you start to make your intentions known to Grace. Buy her something nice, like a bouquet of flowers. Maybe you could even write her a poem. I know how well you excel in English, lad."

"That sounds great, Dad. Thank you for all of the advice," Henry smiles, getting up from the bed upon hearing the doorbell ring.

"Any time, Henry," Robin promises, rising from the bed himself as to give the two teenagers some space.

Regina and Roland are sitting on the living room couch by the time Henry opens to reveal Grace, dressed in a light blue long-sleeved shirt and some jeans to match. Henry can't help but notice that Jefferson's car is waiting right outside the fence, watching to make sure his teenage daughter gets in the house with at least one adult present before pulling off.

"Hi, Henry, I'm ready to start on our history project," Grace greets, smiling as Henry opens the door wide enough for her to come in.

"Right. John Paul Jones isn't going to research himself," Henry finally speaks up, trying his best to make the joke not sound completely dorky.

Almost instantly after walking into the Mills-Hood mansion, Grace is greeted by both Roland and Cocoa, the family's young chocolate Labrador puppy. This makes Grace laugh as the puppy jumps up and starts to lick her, trying to get Grace to play.

"And who might this be?" Grace laughs as she pets the pup's head.

"That's Cocoa, our puppy we got a few months ago," Henry says as he enters the living room himself.

Robin clears his throat from the couch, looking over at Henry.

"Henry, why don't you introduce us to your friend?" he prompts, as Regina was the only one home the last time Henry and Grace worked on a school project.

"Oh, yeah, right. Um, this is Grace. Grace, this is my step-dad Robin Hood, and my little brother Roland," Henry introduces, feeling a bit nervous of what Roland may say to Grace.

"It's very nice to finally meet you, Mr. Hood," Grace smiles, not having yet met the famous thief.

"And it's nice to meet you as well, Grace," Robin returns, noticing how Henry is holding in a breath, hoping Roland doesn't say anything too revealing about the teen's crush on Grace.

Suddenly, Roland starts to chatter away, looking up at Grace with wide brown eyes.

"Hi, I'm Roland! You're very pretty!" he compliments, which makes Grace blush slightly.

"Well, thank you, Roland. You're quite the little charmer, aren't you?"

"Yes, just like my Papa! Do you wanna see my room? I have lots of cool toys!"

"Well, actually, Roland, Grace and I have a project to work on," Henry tells his brother, not believing the four-year-old complimented Grace before he did. That just wasn't fair in Henry's book.

"I'll check your toys out another time, Roland," Grace promises, a soft smile on her lips.

"Okay!" Roland says, beaming as he watches his older brother and Grace walk off into Henry's room to work on their history project.

Regina and Robin share a slight laugh after Henry and Grace leave the room, knowing that Regina's baby boy is growing up into a fine young man.

"Roland, sweetheart, why don't you go play with your toys while Papa and I talk for a bit?" Regina suggests, which gets the young boy upstairs faster than one would think is possible.

"So, Henry has his first crush," Regina brings up casually, looking into Robin's light blue eyes.

"That he does. I gave him a bit of advice on how to court Grace properly," Robin admits, his eyes twinkling.

"Dating, thief. It's called dating in this world."

"Same bloody difference. Anyway, I don't think it will be long before your son is dating the Mad Hatter's daughter."

"Our son, and I know. He's growing up so fast. Just what exactly did you advise him to do, Robin?" Regina asks, hoping Robin gave good advice to her son. She had worked hard to make Henry a nice, respectable young man who treats women well.

"I just gave him an outlaws' guide to romance, that's all," Robin smirks.

"Do tell me this guide is different than Will Scarlet's version," Regina laughs, knowing that Will dated Anastasia behind her family's back.

"I promise it was nothing at all like Will's guide. I instructed our lad to talk with Jefferson about his intentions and then once he got his approval he could start trying to date Grace," he answers before pressing a kiss to his wife's lips.

"Good. I couldn't have him growing up like Neal," she says, remembering all of the harm Henry's birth father did before he died.

A few hours later, Jefferson arrives to pick Grace up and take her home.

"I think we got a lot done on the project, Henry," Grace says as she stands in the doorway.

"I think so, too. I'll just put the last few finishing touches on it before school on Monday since it's due on Friday. That way I can show it to you on Monday to see if you like it," Henry tells her, his brown eyes locking onto her light green ones.

"Great. Well, I'll see you soon, Henry," she smiles before walking towards her dad's car, now that Jefferson has started honking the car horn to get his daughter's attention.

"I look forward to it. I mean, uh…" Henry stutters, not believing he just said that.

"Bye, Henry." Grace says before all but running to Jefferson's car, not believing that her dad is embarrassing her this much.

"Goodbye, Grace," he smiles before shutting the door once he makes sure she gets into Jefferson's car safely.

Once he closes the door, however, a whole different matter arises. Roland looks up at Henry with a giant smile on his face. The teenager did not hear his little brother come downstairs.

"What is it, Roland?" he asks, noticing the almost teasing grin on the younger boy's face.

"You love her! You love her! You really, really love her!" Roland says in a sing-song voice, which makes a fierce red blush appear on Henry's cheeks.

"Roland, stop teasing Henry about these sorts of things, He's growing up, just like you are," Regina says to act as a peace mediator between her and Robin's two boys.

Roland drops the conversation and goes to play Legos with Robin upstairs.

"Thanks, Mom," Henry breathes a sigh of relief.

"Anytime, my little prince. So, tell me all about what you told your father about Grace."

"Moooooooooooomm," Henry groans, not believing this turn of events, which just makes Regina smile.

Author's Note: And there's the new chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed this; I liked writing it. This was a fun chapter for me, especially when Jefferson's being the typical over-protective dad in his car. :) I couldn't resist. Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that school starts for me this Monday, so updates are going to be less frequent again. But, I'll try to update again whenever I get a break from school. Thanks for all your support and reviews; they are awesome! Be sure to leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter!