Title: Look After You
Chapter Twenty-Five: Henry's Book
Author: snarkysweetness
Rating: PG-13
Characters: August, Emma, & Henry; Emma/August
Summary: Emma finds Henry's book.
Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Notes: None.

August made sure to situate the book in such a way that Emma would see the box immediately but also so that it would be hidden just in case Regina came by. He stood across the street, watching with a small smile as Emma found the book.

The way she looked around, as if expecting to understand how it got there was adorable.

Hell, everything about her was adorable. Adorable and sexy. He hadn't lied when he'd told her she was sexy as Hell.

Deciding he'd watched long enough, he headed back to the diner, needing more coffee.

Emma didn't know how Henry's book had found its way back to her; literally. And she didn't care. Her kid was going to get his book back. The sour mood he'd been in since losing it would be replaced by that smile of his and that was the only thing that mattered to her.

With a small skip to her step, Emma slid in next to her kid, smiling with the knowledge of what lay hidden in her messenger bag.

"Whoa, I love that game, Space Paranoids, right?"

The kid was too into his game it seemed so Emma gave him a small nudge.

"Yeah, my mom got it for me."

It hurt that he was more into the game than her; usually she had all of his attention. Maybe she could find some common ground with him over the game.

"I used to play that all the time when I was a kid. Relax; it's all in the wrist."

When Henry lost she gave him a small sigh, knowing the feeling. But at the same time she was just happy to be near him, even if only for a few minutes.

"My mom's picking me up in like five minutes."

Right, Regina.

"All right, I'll be quick then." Trying to hide her excitement, Emma retrieved his book from its hiding place. "I just have something I'd like to give you."

The look on his face warmed her heart and made her forget all of the bad things that had happened this week.

"You found it!"

Well, she had promised to get it back, hadn't she?

"Where'd you get it?"

"I found it in a gutter." She and Henry exchanged confused looks. She wasn't sure of how it'd come back to her, though, August's crazy magic water theory had crossed her mind, for a fleeting moment. "It must have fallen off the dump truck on the way to the junkyard and got tossed around in the rain and somehow found its way back to me."

"Wow, that's crazy."

Emma agreed but it was the most logical explanation she could think of.

"What other explanation could there be?"

"I don't know."

"Well, whatever happened, it came back to me."

"Maybe it means out luck is changing."

And there it was; that glimmer of hope in his eyes that she'd missed so much. How was it possible to love another person so much? Having a kid was scary sometimes. Did it really matter how many men left her or broke her heart when at the end of the day there would always be Henry?

No, she decided.

"Operation Cobra is back on. It's a sign; things are going to be better."

Emma wanted nothing more than to hug the kid, but with her luck that would be the moment Regina decided to show up.

"I hope you're right, kid. I got to go."

Leaving her kid always hurt, but at least this time she was leaving him knowing his day would end better than it started.