FOR THE RECORD, I'M STARTING THIS CHAPT. RIGHT AFTER I UPLOADED THE LAST ONE. I WOULD'VE HAD THIS DONE AND UP IF I HADN'T HAD MAJOR SURGERY. I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW SORRY I AM THAT IT'S TAKEN ME THIS LONG TO GET THIS DONE.
DON'T OWN IT.
No one bothered to fix the electricity. The darkness matched the mood, and it seemed more fitting. No one slept, either. Graham would've if Emma hadn't moved every 10 seconds. Then the bed starting shaking, and he realized she was sobbing again. As much as he loved her, he couldn't do this every night. Sometimes, he missed the walled up Emma. As quickly as the thought came, it went away. He always knew there was more to the blonde than her tough exterior and the mystery that came with it. Maybe that's why he was attracted to her (or maybe it was true love).
"That's it." He said, making her jump. "I'm making you hot chocolate."
"I thought you were asleep." She put a hand over her racing heart.
"Nope." He smiled. "What's wrong?"
"I always say goodnight to Henry before bed." She explained, then laughed humorously. "It's stupid."
"No, it's not. He's your son." Graham said. "And you have something called maternal instincts."
"Are you kidding me Graham! I don't have a maternal bone in my body." Emma argued. He gave her a 'look'. "Okay, maybe I do." She played with a thread on the quilt. "Sometimes I feel like I'm not a good at it, though."
"Ah, the real root of the problem." Graham said knowingly. They were the same age, yet he seemed so much wiser.
"Hey!" She playfully slapped him. "But I'm serious. I don't know what to do about a cough, or fever, or broken bone. All I'd do is bring the kid to a doctor." Emma said, looking utterly defeated.
"There's more to parenting than giving them Tylenol for a fever." He said. "The most important thing is teaching morals. In a few years, Henry won't remember how you epically failed at nursing him back to health. He'll remember that you taught him what's right. Isn't that the thing he believes in you most for? Doing the right thing?"
"That's exactly my point. Right now, he practically hates me." She didn't need to finish her sentence to get her point across.
"It'll pass once the initial shock wares off and he begins healing."
"You sound so profound." Emma didn't want to hear what he was saying. She didn't want to hear what she already knew. So she tried to joke, make him stop.
"Emma." Graham raised an eyebrow at her, and she sighed.
"I'm too tired for this right now."
"You and Henry will have to address it at some point. I just want you to know that his anger isn't permanent."
For once, everyone was up and getting ready for the day except Henry, who was hiding out in his room, the altered book clutched tightly against his chest. He opened it and looked at his favorite page. It had a picture of the Charming Family together. He ran his finger over it. His eyes fell on him, with Emma's arms wrapped around his waist.
"You were supposed to bring back the happy endings." He whispered, a tear snaking its way down his cheek. He watched as it fell onto the page, blurring one of the letters.
"It's nearly eleven o'clock." James said from the doorway, leaning against the frame. Henry didn't bother looking at him.
"So?"
"You can't start skipping breakfast, too."
"She isn't worth mentioning." Henry mumbled glumly. James pushed off the doorway, and cleared the modest-sized room in a few strides.
"Henry, I'm not going to try to tell you what to do. I know you'll naturally do the opposite. What I will do is offer you my advice. What you choose to do with it is your decision." He took a seat on the edge of the bed next to Henry. James waited a few moments before speaking. "Putting your mom in that wardrobe was the hardest thing Snow has ever had to decide. When she told me to put Emma in there, I was terrified. Well, you know the story, you don't need to hear it again. The only thing running through her mind was I have to save my baby. We didn't realize how much the decision would end up hurting her." He paused, swallowing against a wave of emotion. "When Emma shot your mom, it wasn't out of spite or anger. It was to save you. She didn't mean to hurt you, Henry." James left, letting his words sin in.
James steeled himself for the infinite number of questions that were about to be thrown at him. He stepped into the rest of his family's view.
"Is he okay?" Emma asked.
"The boy knows how to hold a grudge." James said as he poured himself a glass of orange juice. "But I do think he's better than last night. I think he just wants to be alone right now."
"Screw that." There was a loud bang as Emma's chair slammed into the wall behind her.
Graham winced. "Where are you going?"
"He shouldn't be alone after what just happened!" Emma yelled from the hall.
"At least she's not running from the problem." Graham shrugged as he bit into a cold pancake.
Emma tiptoed to Henry's doorway and watched him. It looked like he was drawing something.
"I know I'm the last person you want to see right now." She said, putting up false bravado. If Emma was completely honest with herself, she was scared out of her mind right now. She waited for his response. Henry kept quiet, not bothering to glance at her. "You know, I kinda suck at the whole 'comfort thing'. So, I don't really know what to say." She shoved her hands in her pockets, wishing her son would say something. "I was, uh, up early this morning. I'm not gonna lie, I was considering taking a really long walk, and coming back when this thing blows over." Henry's hand stilled; it was finally some kind of acknowledgement. Emma took note and took a few steps towards him. "The only reason I stayed is cause of you, Henry. I will never leave you, or run away." She hazarded another few steps, until she could place her hand on his shoulder. When she did, Henry tried his best not to react, to still seem infuriated. He couldn't, and found himself leaning into her touch. Cautiously, Emma pulled him into an embrace.
"It's easier to be mad." Henry mumbled through tears and Emma's shirt.
"I know it is." She placed a tender kiss to the top of his head. "I'm sorry I hurt you. But I'm not sorry for what I did. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't change anything. You're safe and that's all that matters to me."
"I'm sorry, too." He said after a moment. "It's just weird for me to have someone care about me without ulterior motives." Henry pulled back. Emma opened her mouth to say something then shut it. What could she say?
"Yeah." She sighed. "Yeah, me too."
"Wait." Henry sniffed and perked up. "Do I smell pancakes?"
"Unless your dad ate them all." She smiled.
"My- oh." It took Henry a beat to catch on.
"Is that okay with you?" Emma asked, draping an arm around his shoulders as they walked down the stairs.
"It's perfect." He replied.
"Hey, look who's up." Snow said, automatically throwing two pancakes on a plate for her grandson.
"Hi." Henry chirped. Someone cleared their throat. Doc was standing in the doorway, hesitant to interfere.
"Hey, Doc. What's up?" James asked.
"I uh, I came by to give you an update on the Evil Queen." Doc stuttered. Henry froze.
"Let's take it outside." James said, his chair scraping on the floor as he got up. "What happened?" He questioned once they were a safe distance from the door.
"I was able to repair the structural damage." Doc said. "But she is in a coma."
"That was expected."
"Yes but… I don't know when or if she'll wake up. I really should go back in and retrieve the bullet, or she'll most likely get an infection." The diminutive man explained.
"In short, you're saying that we should take out the one thing keeping her from destroying all of us?" James all but yelled. He took a calming breath, raking his hands through his hair. He wasn't mad at Doc. "Sorry. Do what's medically necessary."
"I can wait and monitor her white count and temperature closely. At the first sign of infection, I'll have to go in." Doc said.
"Sounds like a plan." James smiled.
I JUST WANT TO APOLOGIZE AGAIN FOR HOW LONG IT'S TAKEN ME. I'LL TRY TO HAVE THE NEXT ONE UP SOONER.
