Chapter Disclaimer: OOC Henry Warning- In order to achieve what I needed to with this story, Henry's character needed to change a bit. Note, he is younger here, and his life experiences have led quite differently than they do in the television series.


Chapter Twelve


Emma looked down at the clenched piece of scrap paper she held in her hand. The address had faded, but it clearly stated, 1155 Lexington Ave.

Her head tipped up to the building before her. It wasn't a skyscraper, like she'd been expecting. Instead, Emma was standing at the entrance of a hole-in-the-wall Mexican Restaurant. The paint had discolored on the sign, and the windows were dusted and dirty. By the smell, she could tell the fryers were going, but still, none of this felt right.

Now, Emma was even more confused as to why her boss had sent her all the way out to the Upper East Side. This wasn't even in her district. Feeling anxious, Emma knew the only way she would figure out what was going on here, was by taking the next step and opening the door.

Despite the grungy appearance, the restaurant was warm on the inside. The chill of late October was lost behind the door, and Emma shrugged off her coat. The dining area was narrow. There were booths running the lengths of both tiled walls. Every seat was packed, including the ones stationed along the make-shift bar, and all the patrons talked in whispers.

This only furthered her feelings of anxiety.

Her eyes circled through the customers. No one looked up. Emma frowned and glanced back down at the paper. Who was she meeting with again?

"You must be Miss. Swan."

Startled, Emma lifted her head to the cheery voice beckoning her attention.

Beside her stood a young woman no older than she. She was brunette with bright rosy cheeks. She was wearing a fitted yellow sundress and a fuzzy black over coat.

"Miss, uh, Mrs. Gold?" Emma lowered her eyes.

"That would be me." The woman's hands rose at her sides. "But please, call me Belle."

Nodding, Emma accepted her greeting. "Belle," She smiled. "I'm Emma,"

"I know," Belle laughed. "Now, shall we sit?"

Emma dragged her fingers tentatively through her blonde hair. "I'm actually on my way to another appointment. Archie told me I had something I needed to pick up... for one of my cases."

"Of course," Belle blushed. "But this'll just take a second."

She dragged Emma by the hand to the empty booth in the far corner. She was quickly directed onto the bench as Belle sat across from her. Belle lifted her hand bag onto her lap, trifling through its contents. She hummed with ease when she found what she was looking for, and withdrew a small white envelope.

Slowly, Belle slid the envelope across the table. "For your case," She began, barely above a whisper. "My husband, Mr. Gold, he thought you might like an updated version of his testimony. He'll be submitting this during the pretrial next week."

Gold... Now, that Emma thought about it, that name did sound familiar. Where had she seen it before?

"I'm sorry," Emma's frown deepened. "I'm not a lawyer. I'm just a case worker."

Belle shrugged. "I know nothing, Miss. Swan. I was just asked to give this to you."

Her head shook in confusion. "So, Mr. Gold, told Archie, that I needed this?" Emma turned the blank envelop over in her hands.

Belle nodded.

"Okay then..." Emma sang. "Thanks, I guess..."

She moved to stand, but Belle reached out and grabbed Emma's sleeve. Emma stilled. She looked down at Belle's clasped hand, and then turned back to her.

"Absolute discretion, Miss. Swan." Belle lectured. "This is between you and Mr. Gold."

On edge, Emma pulled sharply away from the woman's grasp. "Got it," She deadpanned.

"I don't mean to be stern with you," Belle sighed. "Mr. Gold can be quite...particular... when it comes to his business arrangements."

Belle appeared sincere, but her statements were intimidating. Whatever was going on here, Emma no longer wanted to be a part of it.

"Like I said," Emma stood and tucked the envelope into her jacket. "Pending appointment, I've got to run."

"Not a problem," Belle grinned. "It was nice to meet you, Emma Swan."

Emma backed away sporting a small side smile. She reached the door and turned, happy to be away from whatever was going on in there.


A session with Henry was a welcomed change of pace for Emma, that afternoon. Between the long hike up to the Upper East Side and the strange meeting with Belle, spending the rest of her day with Henry would be a breeze.

Or so she had thought.

When Emma arrived at New City Day School's, extended-day program, she found Henry sitting on the bench outside of the classroom on his own. His pale face was pulled down into a deep frown. He was kicking his sneakers against the tile and his arms were pulled in tight across his chest.

"Hey, kid, what's happening?" Emma asked as she slid in at his side.

Henry didn't respond. His face only further soured.

Heels clipped against the tile as Haleia, the extended-day monitor, exited the classroom. Her face was sharp, and her arms, also crossed.

"Oh, Miss. Swan, great timing." She applauded dryly. "Perhaps Henry can tell you all about why he's sitting in a time out during your session today?"

Henry scoffed, and Emma raised to stand. "Is everything alright?"

Haleia's eyes lowered to Henry. "I'll let him tell you, and then we can talk about why this cannot happen ever again, when your session is over, alright Henry?"

He raised his head and glared.

Haleia returned to the classroom, closing the door behind her. Emma was left standing in the hall with the evidently angry boy.

"What do you say we go for a walk, kid?"

His eyes brightened. Henry looked up to her and grinned. "Now we're talking." He sang.

Henry left the bench with a jump. He took the lead and they circled the first hall into the school's main lobby.

"Do they have any vending machines in this place?" Emma asked.

"Down in the cafeteria," Henry dragged his thumb over his shoulders. "But we have to take the stairs."

"Well, we are talking a walk, aren't we?" Emma winked. "Come on."

Henry led Emma to the grand stairwell stationed off to the side of the front office. He skipped down the steps with Emma in tow. His mood had picked up almost instantly, leading Emma to question, even more, what Henry had gotten in trouble for.

"This is a nice school." Emma noted.

Henry pulled his shoulders into a shrug. "It's all right."

He didn't respond after that. Instead, Henry's feet slowed and he dragged his hand idly along the banister.

"What was your old school like?" Emma finally asked.

They had reached the third landing and Henry led them away from the stairwell. He stilled in his place before turning to Emma.

Henry shrugged. "Slower," He whispered. "There weren't as many people."

Emma smirked. "Yeah, moving to the city is a bit different from living in suburbia."

When they entered the cafe, Emma took the lead. The vending machines were off of the main dining area, stationed in their own little nook. There was a rope across the awning and a sign that said, "Faculty Only". Emma rolled her eyes. She ducked under the cord and Henry followed.

Without a word, she dispensed a gatorade and a bottle of water. Emma handed Henry the sports drink and the purchased two bag of UTZ pretzels.

She came to sit on the table top in the corner. She patted the spot beside her and Henry leapt over the bench to join her.

"Did you always live in the city?" Henry asked as Emma passed him the now-open snack.

She popped a pretzel into her mouth. "No," Emma mumbled. "I've lived in a lot of different places, actually."

"Even on a farm?" Henry's eyes widened with enthusiasm, and he turned to her, hopeful.

"Yup," She sang. "Even on a farm. Though, there were no cows or horses on this farm. Just chickens and ducks and some really annoying turkeys."

Henry giggled. "I want to live on a farm someday."

Nodding, Emma grinned. "Maybe you will."

Henry poked silently at his snack for a long moment. His forehead had creased and his lips were pulled into an arch.

"I sometimes miss my old house." He divulged.

"Oh yeah?" Emma turned to him. "What do you miss about it?"

Henry's lips pursed and he scrunched up his nose. "Well, we had a big yard." He began. "-and a swing set, and a big tree you could climb. Mom doesn't let me climb the trees in the parks around here."

Emma was met with a sturdy pout. "Maybe she will when you're older?" She suggested.

Henry dejectedly groaned. "Maybe," He feigned. "But it won't be the same."

Emma took a sip of her water, eyeing him carefully. "Did you have a lot of friends in your old town?" She asked.

Henry shook his head. "No, but we had a lot of workers at our old house, and a lot of them had kids I knew from school."

"Well, New York isn't so bad." She explained. "Is there anything you like about your new school? Or what about your new house? They both certainly look pretty cool."

His finger tapped against his chin as Henry tugged in his shoulders. "We always had this house." He told her. "This was momma's work house because it is so close to the office, but now we're here all the time. So, it's not fun to visit anymore."

Emma nodded. "Yeah, seeing something all the time can kind of choke-out the excitement of having it."

Henry shivered and looked away.

Poor work choice, Emma considered. She mentally smacked herself and placed a hand on Henry's knee.

"The city will get better, I promise. I'm sure you'll even learn to love it." She gave his leg a quick pat before drawing her hand away. "Now, why don't you tell me what happened before I got here today. Your teacher looked a little upset with you, Henry."

His face pulled down into a glare. "I just did what momma asked me to!" Henry defended boldly.

"And what did she ask you to do?"

Henry's eyes turned sharply toward her. "She told me to invite someone from school over for a playdate this weekend."

Emma held her serious expression, though her memories from Monday's meeting with Regina had her wanting to laugh. "And what happened?"

"Jamie MacIntire said he'd never go over to a freak's house who talks to himself."

Emma hummed sadly. "Well now, that doesn't sound very nice. That was a really mean thing for him to say, but Henry," He looked to her. "That still doesn't explain why you were the one who got in trouble."

Henry pushed the bag of pretzels from his lap and turned away. "Miss. Haleia put me in time out because I threw my scissors at Jamie's head after he yelled at me."

Emma had to pause a moment before responding. This was a good example of some of the behaviors that Henry had been demonstrating that Miss. Blanchard had highlighted in her school report. He had outbursts of serious anger. Henry struggled to focus in school, and he wasn't always getting along with his classmates.

"Henry, you know why that wasn't a smart idea, right?" Henry merely shrugged in reply. "Your friend Jamie could have gotten really hurt if you'd had hit him with those scissors..."

"I wanted him to!" Henry shouted and stood. "I wanted him to get hurt so we could go home!"

Emma frowned. She came to kneel in front of the boy with her hands resting warmly on his shoulders. "Henry, why do you think that hurting Jamie would let you go home? All that would have happened is, you would have gotten in more trouble, and you would have made your mom very upset."

"Not this home!" Henry continued to yell. "I want to go back to my old home! It's not fair!"

"I know it's not fair." Emma soothed. "But hurting your classmates is not going to allow you to go back to your old home. If anything, your mom will just have to find you another school here, in the city."

"No! That's not how it works!" Henry roughly pulled free from her grasp. "When momma got angry, we had to move here! Why does momma get to move, but I can't?"

Clarity struck, and Emma felt her heart rate increase. Henry's face was pinched. His cheeks were red and his hands had clenched into fists. Emma was tiptoeing around the one situation she'd been trying to get Henry to open up about.

"Henry, what happened with your mom is very different from what would happen to you." His face remained frozen with anger. "I understand how upsetting what is going on with your mother, must be for you-"

"How?" Henry interrupted. "You don't know! You weren't there!"

"No," Emma shook her head. "I wasn't there, but I did move around a lot as a kid. Sometimes, I had to leave houses that I really liked. So, I know how that must feel for you."

Henry didn't respond. His eyes dropped to the floor and his shoulders slumped.

"Why don't you tell me about it?" Emma suggested. "Maybe you can help me understand?"

After a long moment, Henry's gaze rose to Emma's. He dropped to the floor with his legs crossed, and Emma followed. She mirrored his position as Henry sighed.

"You know, your mom's situation is very different because she is an adult."

Henry nodded.

"And you know you only had to move so that your mom could fix it, right?"

He nodded again.

"It's different because you're a kid, Henry, and acting mean towards your friends at school will only make it harder for your mom to focus on fixing her mistakes."

Henry sighed. "I know."

His lip drew into a pout and he tucked his thighs up against his chest.

"Your mom is trying to fix it, Henry. That's why you get hang out with me every week now." Emma flashed him a grin, but the one Henry returned was weak at best.

"I said I forgave her, but sometimes I still feel angry."

"And that's okay," Emma encouraged. "You're allowed to feel angry, and you're allowed to feel sad, but what you're not allowed to do, is take out those emotions on other people."

Henry's eyes turned to her, intrigued. "Like momma did?" He questioned.

Emma shrugged. "Is that what you think happened?"

"I don't know," Henry hummed. "She looked pretty angry to me."

"Did you talk to your mom about it?"

Henry shook his head. "No, but Ruby did."

"And what did Ruby say?"
"She said it was an accident."
"Do you think that's what it was?"

Henry's mouth opened to respond, but no words came out. Emma watched patiently as the gears in his small head turned and he tried again.

"I think accidents are when you spill the milk on the carpet, or when you run into someone in the hallway." Henry began. "I think momma made a mistake, and she didn't mean to, but it wasn't an accident."

"That's a very wise conclusion you've come to, Henry." Emma smiled. "And everyone makes mistakes, even grown ups."

"Momma said she was sorry, too." He continued. "And you always say sorry when you make a mistake. Momma said she was sorry for hurting that man, and she said sorry for what happened to me afterwards. And I believe her, but that doesn't mean I'm still not sad about it."

Emma reached forward with a tentative hand. Her mouth wavered to reply, but then they were both startled by a loud, exasperated sigh. She and Henry turned to the front of the cafe.

Ruby was standing in the entry way. Her arms were folded tight across her chest and her lips tugged into a thin, flat line.

"There you are!" Her tone was a mixture between relieved and upset. "Henry, go and get your things. I will meet you upstairs. I've already signed you out. We're going to be late for your piano lesson."

He jumped to his feet and took off at a run. Emma looked at her watch. Their session had run over which fully clarified Ruby's frustrations.

"I'm sorry. We lost track of time." Emma explained as she stood. "I'll just clean up here and get out of your hair."

She turned to grab their snack wrappers as Ruby came in close at her side. She grabbed her sleeve and spun Emma sharply towards her.

"You and I," She growled. "We need to talk."


A/N: The following two chapters will be posted simultaneously, as they are both quite short in content.

Cheers,

-M.