It's a new chapter! Whoo! I kinda like this chapter, but I wrote it, so...let's not go by me. It's pretty light on the action, really, if you couldn't guess from the title. I think the title really says it all, and if you can't figure it out: well, you can just read the chapter! Sorry for the lateness of my posting- I normally get the chapters to you guys in the afternoon, but I've been sick the past week and had a doctor's visit today and then got to email all my professors about missing class. But exiting news: next chapter will start Skin Deep. GOLD! Should be interesting with Ada there as well.
Ada examined the figurine in her hand, "And this'll help?"
"They both seemed quite preoccupied with the piece I gave our dashing Prince," Gold told her, smirking as he sat across from her, both hands folded neatly over his cane as he watched Ada hold the pink glass unicorn in front of her face.
"What is it?"
Rumplestiltskin giggled, "Why, a unicorn, dearie! I realize you don't have them in this land, but I rather thought you'd recognize it."
Ada shot him an irritated look, "I know that, but what's it significance?"
"It's part of a much larger item I have here in the shop," he reached forward and moved his Queen, "And the rest...you can puzzle out yourself."
Ada sighed and put the unicorn down to pay closer attention to the board before her. Just as she moved her Bishop, the bells above the shop door rang. She shot Rumple a look.
"You have people other than me who come here?" she asked him, and Ada smirked a little when she noticed she had managed to slightly irritate Gold with that comment.
"Well, no, I don't remember a home visit," Granny told the woman who had introduced herself as a social worker, looking into Henry's home life. "But, it was ten years ago now. It's a bit of a haze, really."
"You're quite right, we'll move on. What about Henry's current home life? What do you think?"
Granny frowned, "Well, it's not really my place to say, but I just don't know. Mayor Mills is...very strict, not that there's anything wrong with that," she shot a look over at the waitress Sarah had been told was her granddaughter, "Children do need structure and rules. I honestly can't say much- we don't really see Henry with Madame Mayor often, usually he's here with Emma, the two of them could keep me scrambling for cocoa and cinnamon supplies for years."
"Well, what does Mayor Mills like to do with her son?"
Granny's brow knotted, "I think she and Henry only really spend time together at home. I don't see them out and about together much."
Sarah barely restrained her fingers from twitching with the want to make a note- people got funny when they say you writing down things they say, it was better to interview without a notepad and pen and to take down notes afterwards.
"Well, I'll have a hamburger, they look delicious," she ordered, sliding the menu across the counter towards the old woman.
"Fries or onion rings?" Granny asked.
"Ah," Gold said as Sarah Monday walked into his shop, "You must be the social worker, I've heard tell of you coming," he turned to face Ada, "You didn't tell me I rated a visit, dearie," he gave her a grin, and she couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes.
"The ego," she dryly replied. "Ada Ward," she introduced herself to Sarah with a wave of her hand, standing from the table with the chessboard to face the new woman properly. "Do you need me to leave for this or go to another room?" Ada offered, unable to stop herself from twisting the hem of her skirt in nerves. She really needed to break herself of that particular tick, Rumple thought: it gave far too much away about her state of mind.
Sarah shook her head and offered Ada her hand, "Sarah Monday. And, no, actually, you being here makes things rather easier on me. I can easily talk to you both at the same time."
"Oh, I think you'll want to read," Gold corrected her, reaching into Ada's bag (with a "Hey!" from the redhead at the invasion of privacy), "I know Miss Ward likes to carry this around with her for fear of being misplaced," he told the social worker as he bypassed the story book for the file he'd assembled for Ada when she first told him about the pending custody battle, "But we've had a bit of a project ourselves that might interest you," he offered her the file with a small bow, the picture of gallantry.
"Listen, sister," Leroy practically growled, "I don't talk to the kid, I don't see the kid, I got no love for the Mayor, but I've got no love for anyone, so go ask your questions and gossip somewhere else!"
"This file," Sarah tapped her finger on it slightly, "It's very thorough," she said, looking at Mr. Gold. He had the audacity to shrug.
"I find it helpful to keep an eye on the power in town. You never know when the wind will shift and it's the little people," he gave a smirk, as everyone in the room thought about how very far from little people Mr. Gold was, "Who get hurt in the process. Best to keep an eye out so one can move with the times."
Sarah, obviously slightly suspicious of Mr. Gold's intentions, turned to Ada, "What can you tell me?"
Ada sighed, "I'll start at the beginning. Henry showed up on our doorstep on Emma's birthday night."
"Well," Michael Tillman sighed, looking over his shoulder at his own children, appearing to do their homework in his office while he got some work done on Sarah's car. "There's some...things."
Sarah said nothing, not wanting to lead him, and waited patiently for the man to put together the words in his own way.
"I like Emma," Tillman began, "She's the one who helped me get my kids, who helped me believe that...that I could do it and that I should. The Mayor was going to have them shipped off to Boston, separate orphanages and everything, but Ada called some people and got enough time for us to come together. Emma told me she wasn't with Henry because she didn't have a choice, you know? And...after that article they printed in the newspaper, I can see why she thought she didn't have a choice at the time, you know?" Sarah did not know, but kept quiet on that front as the man continued, "Henry ran away to find her, begged her to stay, and Regina...well, she didn't like that. Understandably," the man quickly corrected, "She tried to get Emma to leave town plenty, though," he frowned, "I don't know, I just...," he trailed off again, "My kids have only ever had one parent at a time, if I found out they could have two?" he shrugged, "I like to think I'd welcome the help," he smirked, "And who couldn't understand someone loving their kid?" the mechanic shrugged again, "But the Mayor doesn't seem to have many friends," he trailed off, "Or any, really, that I know of, so I guess she's used to it just being her and Henry. I guess the kid gets lonely sometimes. He leaves home a lot to find Emma or Ada to spend time with him."
"Doesn't the Mayor notice when he leaves the house? Where does she think he goes?"
Tillman shrugged, "I think he mostly leaves home when she's not there- at work or meetings or...something."
Sarah smiled and asked, "And what's wrong with my car?"
"Oh, nothing, actually," Tillman frowned, "I can't figure what got it to stop like that. I'll have one of the other boys look over it, see if I'm missing something."
Sarah nodded and got up to leave, but Tillman's voice stopped her, "There's," he cleared his throat, "One more thing," he leaned closer, as if afraid his words would be heard. Sarah had gotten that response from a lot of people in this town- they seemed to believe the Mayor had ears everywhere.
That was concerning.
"Emma's car," he gestured to a yellow Volkswagon Beetle sitting a few feet away, "She brought it in the other day because, well, someone had cut the breaks," Tillman shrugged, "I don't know what's up with that, but the reporter, Sydney, he was with her, and talking about the Mayor," Tillman trailed off, "And, later, Emma and I took it all apart to check how everything was- we found...well, Emma said it was a tracker, and I reckon she'd be the one to know."
Sarah couldn't quite manage to keep her face neutral at that news.
"You have to understand, I've known Emma for almost a decade now, and she's told me about Henry before we came here. She only gave him up for his best chance, and when he runs away from home, hops a bus and takes a cab, steals a very well-loved teacher's credit card, all to track her down? Well, it was a worrying sign," Ada gave a gusty sigh, "So we stayed, thinking we would stay for a week and ascertain whether or not there was some sort of problem we should be worried about. Emma never wanted Henry in the foster system," both women grimaced at that, understanding the urge, "And with a closed adoption, she was guaranteed, or so she thought, that Henry would go to a loving family who could give him the best of everything and treasure him. It's a thorough vetting process for adoption, she knew that, she figured it would be Henry's best chance. Regina...wasn't thrilled we were checked into Granny's for a week. She might've called Granny and...reminded the old lady of a rule that there were no felons allowed to rent rooms in the B&B," Ada scowled, "So Emma was planning on camping out in her car for as long as it took while I stayed in the room. Regina had the bug booted, as well, if I recall and...arranged it, for Henry to hear Emma tell her the idea of a cursed town full of fairtytale characters was crazy. He was heartbroken." Ada stuck to the facts, knowing that was her best bet and the only hope for Henry.
"Oh, I'm not sure I'm the right person to interview, you see, I live with Emma," Henry's teacher gave a smile, and Sarah liked her- she seemed a perfectly sweet woman, and as children drifted by on their ways home from school, several called out to her and said goodbye. Mary Margaret always responded with a cheery smile and wave, sometimes a shout of "See you tomorrow!" as well. "And I'm good friends with both girls. And, well...the Mayor isn't too fond of me," her brow furrowed, "I've never really understood why, but she's...ahem, a very tense person? I'm sure it's not something really against me, unless it's about David," she muttered the last part almost to herself.
"David?" Sarah questioned.
Mary Margaret's whole face lit up, "He and I are dating. He was married to Kathryn, though they're divorced now. They were separated for," she gave a gusty sigh, "Oh, years, but it turned out that when David left Kathryn all that time ago, he crashed or...something. I was never very clear on what state Regina found him in. She just said she found him on the side of the road," the teacher trailed off again before giving herself a visible shake and getting back on track, "Anyways, he was in a coma for all this time, Kathryn thinking that he'd left and never come back, him in a coma, and when he woke up, well, he'd lost all his memories. You can imagine the strain that put on the marriage when they had already been having trouble before he left and got himself in a coma. Regardless, they divorced a little while after they broke up, and while Kathryn was understandably upset, I rather think she's moved on," Mary Margaret nodded towards a blonde woman who was waiting before being joined by a rather handsome man exiting the school building, "And Kathryn and Regina were good friends, so Regina was rather angry at me when David left Kathryn and then moved on with me, while Kathryn was still single. Of course, she was always angry before that as well," Miss Blanchard frowned again.
"So Henry told us Regina wasn't going to be back till 5, and he wanted to spend time with Emma," Ada rolled her eyes with a small grin, "We kept trying to send him home, and he kept sneaking back to us, hiding in the back of the bug, even, so eventually I had to literally walk him home. Now he tells us when he's going to be home alone so we can check up on him or spend some time with him so he's not alone."
"Achoo!" Sarah flinched back as the pharmacist gave a mighty sneeze, "I don't know much, but I can tell you this: Henry has been going to therapy for years now, and Walter was cleaning the offices one night when she picked Henry up. Well, he overheard Archie, Achoo!, the shrink, tell Regina that Henry was depressed. This was after Graham, Achoo!, passed away," Mr, Clark frowned sadly, "Tragic, a heart attack, and so young. He was one of Henry's people, though- him, Mary Margaret, and now Emma and Ada all look out for the boy whenever Regina is working and he's on his own. Of course, boy took Graham's death awful hard, Achoo!" Sarah fancied that sneeze sounded rather mournful compared to the others, but the pharmacist carried on, "And Walter said that Regina just, phffft," he waved his hand as if to swat away a gnat, "And that was that. ACHOO!"
"And could you tell me where Archie is?" Sarah asked as she slid the candy bar across the counter for Mr. Clark to ring up.
"This time of day he's always walking Pongo around. He should be near the center of, Achoo!, town, though."
"I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of the former Sheriff," Sarah told Ada sincerely, "He sounds like he was a good man."
Ada grinned, "He was, a very good man. Henry liked him a lot, and was...shattered by Graham's death. He was convinced it was because he was trying to break the curse, and refused to believe in...anything really, for fear someone else would die. Henry was...without hope," Ada sighed, "So, when Regina tried to instate Sydney as Sheriff without an election, Emma announced she was running."
"I'm afraid, without a more...legal warrant, there's only so much I can tell you," Archie explained as he let them (and his Dalmatian, Pongo) into his office. "Even off the record."
"I completely understand," Sarah assured him, "And I don't expect you to violate your patient's confidentiality or put yourself in an ethical dilemma."
Archie smirked, "I'm afraid even without your questions I'm already at an ethical dilemma."
Sarah sat down on the couch, "That doesn't sound promising," she told Archie as he grabbed a mug and gestured towards it with raised brows, Sarah nodded and the therapist began to make coffee with the same machine he kept to one side.
"No," he nodded, focused on the task of brewing more than it truly warranted, "I imagine not."
"Does Doctor-Patient confidentiality apply to me as well now that we're here?" Sarah asked, looked around the office aimlessly while studying Archie Hopper from the corner of her eyes.
He smirked, "You're rather like Miss Ward, it appears- she once asked me the same thing."
"Do you like Miss Ward?" Sarah asked, direct.
Archie considered it for a moment before answering, his tone measured, "I have a healthy respect for her, I certainly think she is likable and I guess, yes, I do like her. She's not terribly fond of me, though."
Sarah kept quiet, but her expression was question enough for the Doctor, who sighed as he waited for the coffee drip to fill the small carafe.
"I'm afraid I made a rather grievous error when she and Emma first arrived in town. I allowed fear, rather than my own conscience, to determine my actions. It was rather inexcusable, and I haven't completely made it up to Miss Ward yet."
"Your actions hurt Miss Ward?" Sarah asked.
Archie shook his head and gave a small grin, "My actions hurt Emma, but she forgave me rather quickly. It is Miss Ward who I must prove myself to. They're rather...codependent. I wouldn't say it's unhealthy at this point, though, in my professional opinion. They depend and rely on each other heavily. Emma's dependence is readily apparent to anyone who has eyes, but Miss Ward's is more...subtle, I suppose. They both put Henry first consistently, and that was how I rather hurt Miss Swan: I did not put Henry first. Miss Ward chewed me out for it and made that, ah, readily apparent."
Sarah's brows furrowed and Archie sighed, "I'm afraid you won't think much of me when I'm done telling you this story," Archie confessed as he poured two mugs of coffee and went to his own seat. "When Emma first arrived in town, she began investigating herself how Henry's home life was. Rather understandable, I think: Emma has a strong sense of duty and will go very far for people she's only had a passing acquaintance with; a strong sense of...justice, and fairness, I suppose, urges her on. Henry ran towards her, rather upset, seeking her for comfort, and she brought him home, as required by law, and investigated to makes sure he had his best chance, as required by her conscience. Regina," he trailed off, "She did not like Emma being here. Did not like her asking questions about Henry. So she...ah, asked," Sarah thought he put a strange emphasis on the word, "That I let Emma take Henry's file with her when she came to ask me about him. Then she asked that I call the Sheriff and report it stolen. I did so."
Sarah couldn't help herself from gawking.
"Not my finest moment," Archie acknowledged, "And, unfortunately, not my most shameful, either. Henry's a very special boy, and I've been seeing him for most of his life now. Recently, since receiving a book from his teacher, Miss Blanchard, he's latched onto a very strong belief system inspired by the novel. It's a set of fairytales, retold, and Henry uses it as a means of communication. He absolutely believes in it, and I've cautioned both Regina and Emma against upsetting it too much- it's how Henry's communicating, and it's a wonderful use of his imagination, besides, it would be devastating for him to know Emma doesn't believe him as well."
"Just Emma?" Sarah questioned.
Archie sighed, "Regina would rather not...play along. For obvious reasons. You see, Henry has...aligned her with the character of the Evil Queen, while Emma...is the mythical Savior of the book, destined to save everyone. Apparently, the book ends on a bit of cliffhanger. Regina's very controlling- a micromanager, which I suppose makes her a fantastic Mayor, really. But she also...inspires quite a bit of fear from the citizens. Henry's latched onto that, presumably because it's the fear of Regina that prevents him from easily making friends with the other children. No one is particularly eager to get too close to Regina, and she's...happy with that, from what I can see."
"Does she micromanage her son as well?" Sarah asked, knowing it was a leading question but unable to quite stop herself long enough to find a better way to phrase it.
"Well," Archie's face screwed up in concentration, or perhaps distaste, "I would say, yes, when she's with him she very much exerts her control. However, Henry has his rebellions- before Emma came, he ran away frequently from home whenever Regina left for something or another. Now that Emma is here, his rebellion is spending time with her or Miss Ward. They play along with his story, while also encouraging him to spend more time with other people around him. It's probably the best way to transition him into a more mature dialogue method: giving him a social structure outside of Regina. She...does not approve of Henry associating with the sisters, or anyone, really.
"My greatest shame," he looked away, focusing on the leg of the couch rather than her, "Is that I allowed myself to be bullied into trying to break Henry out of his fantasy. Mayor Mills was getting...frustrated, with Henry's assertions that she was the Evil Queen, responsible for everyone's unhappiness. She insisted I...I believe her word was "crush" Henry's "delusion." Again, her word choice."
"Did she threaten you?" Sarah asked, watching Archie carefully.
He made eye contact, but remained silent, even as he continued, "I did so, causing Henry to go off on a rather dangerous and foolish quest for proof, putting his life in danger. The situation was eventually resolved, but I cannot forgive myself for not listening to my conscience. I have, however, since declared myself a, ah, free man."
The words between the lines spoke volumes to Sarah Monday.
"You said you've been treating Henry most of his life? Before he started talking about the fairytales?"
"Yes."
"Can I ask you what prompted him to start going to therapy?"
Archie frowned, "You know, I don't know? It's a bit of a haze," he looked off into the distance, "I'd have to check my notes. I do remember that Henry only recently began talking about the curse, though, and before that we mostly discussed his life and relationship with Regina. We also occasionally discussed his feelings on his adoption and his potential birth mother."
"So Sydney printed an article, front page of the paper, about Emma's juvie record which, let me repeat, was sealed. The title was all about how Henry was born while she was in prison. Regina made several...comments. Again, Henry was heartbroken- very upset, he still hadn't even recovered from Graham's death. None of us had, really. Emma tried to point out the article was hurting Henry, but Regina wouldn't hear of it. Insisted it was better, and he "would've learned eventually." She mentioned something about how we all lose our heroes to Emma when she confronted Regina about it. Emma and I had a long talk with Henry about it, though, and he's largely moved past it, I believe. He's quite resilient, really," Ada gave a smile that was pained.
"What she's neglected to mention," Gold cut in, "Is that it's common knowledge that Sydney Glass is happily living inside our dear Mayor's pocket, if you didn't gather from our tale." Gold turned to Ada and gave a little wave with his hand, "Please, continue on."
Henry was scribbling on a piece of paper at Granny's counter. It was an old habit, started before Emma had even come to town. Started back when he first started feeling lonely, starting when he could begin to write letters. Because that's what it was: a letter.
He had a lot of letters, actually, stored up over the years. They were hidden in the pages of his other books, some of them ones he'd never read because Regina had only bought them in an attempt to get him to stop reading the book. But Henry used them to hide the various letters because he never wanted Regina to find them. As far as he knew, she was totally ignorant of their existence, and so wouldn't go looking for them. Still, it sometimes made him nervous. He considered asking Ada to hide them, but, well, they were personal.
They were letters to Emma.
He can't recall every being ignorant of being adopted. Of course, he can't remember how he found out. Or maybe he figured it out. After all, he was smart enough to figure out the curse, he could figure out he was adopted, too. Either way, when the house was empty and he felt alone, he used to talk out loud to his birth mother. Emma. When she was home, he'd turn to writing letters while she thought he was doing homework, so that way he could keep talking without her finding out. He used to address them "Dear Mom," before he knew who Emma was, and now...well, he still wrote "Dear Mom."
Sometimes he told himself it was just habit.
Sometimes he promised himself it was practice.
Since Emma had come to town he hadn't written many letters, but he did scribble down the occasional one because, well, when Emma or Ada couldn't be with him, it kept the loneliness away. And it felt good, to write them. He figured maybe, someday, he could give them to Emma, and she could see that he really had always loved her, and while sometimes he wasn't sure why she wasn't with him, he had never hated her. Sometimes he thought Emma was still scared he'd hate her. And not just him, but people in general. Henry wasn't stupid- he knew she was worried how her parents would react to meeting her. But Henry had hope- just like his grandmother- and he knew they'd love Emma.
After all, who besides the Evil Queen wouldn't love Emma?
But still, he figured Emma sometimes needed a reminder, so he wrote letters and planned to give them to her, someday. When the curse was broken, and the happy endings were back.
"Whatcha working on?" the stranger asked, and Henry turned to stare at him, quickly covering his paper with his hands. Ada had said the stranger's name was August Booth, and he was a writer. Henry thought being a writer might be pretty cool- he might become one someday, and write about all his adventures. But still, he was a stranger, and Ada and Emma weren't sure about him.
Henry, honestly, wasn't too sure about him either.
"No time to talk," Henry told him, "I'm busy."
He turned back to the paper, but didn't lift his hands off it as he waited for the stranger to leave the stool next to his.
"Yeah, I hate it when great ideas slip away from me," the man drawled, looking straight ahead, but Henry kept his hands firmly in place.
"They're not ideas. It's a letter."
"Must be a hell of a letter to have you writing like that. Who's it for?" he tried to peek around Henry's splayed hands, but Henry tugged the paper closer to him. "What are you writing about then?" the stranger tried again when Henry remained silent.
"Stuff."
"Sounds exciting."
Henry looked at the man with narrowed eyes, "You seem awfully interested in me and my letter."
"No," the stranger shook his head, "I'm just being neighborly."
Henry tried another tack, thinking maybe he could get some information for Emma and Ada- it would be so cool if he could help! "What are you doing in Storybrooke?"
The stranger gave him a smile, "I'm a writer."
Henry already knew that, not that he'd say anything. He was learning about double agent and spy stuff by watching loads of spy movies whenever Regina left the house and Emma was at work. "You can write anywhere. What are you really doing here?"
The stranger leaned in a whispered, "Stuff."
Henry didn't find that amusing as the man stood up and began to leave.
"Good luck with the letter," he tossed over his shoulder as he left Granny's.
Henry decided he wasn't a fan of August Booth, as cool as being a writer sounded.
Sarah gave a sigh as she finished listening to Ada's story of her time in Storybrooke. "I can see why you called Bill," she admitted to the redhead, "And not just because of what you've told me just now. All day, it's been..."
"Little things that add up to a big fat awful thing?" Ada asked, "Yeah, that's how it started for me, too. Then the big awful thing kept getting bigger and I got nauseous."
"I see what you mean," Sarah gave a small smirk that didn't reach her eyes, "Well, I suppose there's really only a few more things I need to do before leaving."
"Oh," Kathryn Nolan sighed, a grimace on her face, "I don't know much about Henry, really, aside from what Regina and Ada have told me. I'm friends with both of them, you see, and," she winced visibly, "I don't want to get in between the two."
"Regina and Ada?" Sarah asked.
Kathryn shrugged, "One thing I do know- to go against Emma is to go against Ada. I will say that both women, and Emma, to my knowledge, are very strong, stubborn, capable people. I don't know Emma that well- she's very close with Mary Margaret, and even though the divorce is amicable, it's still...awkward. But I really don't think I'd be any help for you either way- I've never actually seen Regina interact with Henry and have only glimpsed him with Emma once in awhile as we go around town, you know?"
"Hello, Henry," Henry looked up from his homework to see another stranger, but this one was a woman, dressed in a suit with heels and her hair in a bun. Henry quickly sized her up.
"You're the social worker, aren't you? The one Ada's friend called?" he asked.
Sarah Monday slide across from him in the booth, "Yes, I am. Very clever of you. Then again, I suppose you don't get many strangers in town."
"Seems to be the month for it," Henry told her seriously.
"I'd like to talk to you, if you don't mind," Sarah said, "Unofficially. Because, frankly, Henry: you're my best source for what's going on around here."
Henry closed up his homework and tucked it away in his backpack. He turned to face Sarah Monday dead on, and folded his hands in front of him on the table. With his most serious expression, he told her, "Ask me anything."
Well, there we have that. See, I found all of that rather interesting, but I'm the one writing it, so it might only be interesting to because I'm trying to come up with what every character might say. What did you guys think?
Again, I have no idea what the process is for a custody battle, but it hasn't technically started yet- Sarah's been sent in by Ada's lawyer friend to check things out and assess the situation. Interestingly enough, she didn't bother talking to either Emma or Regina.
Yet.
That may come later.
But I did set things up for Henry's letter to Emma! I figured if he wrote one, he probably wrote several, and that inspired the scene, which I had August interrupt like he did when Henry was trying to rewrite the book. So i got to use that scene after all! Even though the book hasn't been stolen!
