Hey guys! I had some major writer's block earlier this week, but I pushed through and finished this chapter. I'm really happy with the result, and I hope you guys like it.

It's officially summer, so I will have a lot more time to work on this story! I hope to update a lot more than usual. I do have to say that I will be out of town at the end of this month, but I will be able to write, just not update. I plan on getting a lot of work done so that I'm not keeping you guys waiting for too long.

This is a shorter chapter than usual, but it's packed with angst.

Enjoy!

Emma cracked her eyes open and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. She realized that she had been asleep for an hour, which meant that she probably should head back to the station. She couldn't risk being gone all afternoon, as she did have responsibilities around town. The blond turned to her other side so that she was facing August's bare chest. He had one arm draped over her, and she snuggled even more into his embrace. She placed a few soft kisses over his heart, causing him to stir.

"Let me sleep, Swan."

She smiled as his fingers ran through her hair. "I've got to go back to work. And so do you, deputy."

He groaned. "Can't we just stay here all day?"

She shook her head as she sat up and stretched. Her clothes were strewn around the room, and she climbed out of bed to retrieve them. She quickly dressed and headed to the bathroom so that she could slightly fix her hair.

As she combed through her curls, she felt two arms snake around her and pull her close. August began to slowly kiss her neck, and she didn't fight him at all. Eventually she turned around and pushed him back towards the bed. She figured that she could miss a few more minutes of work, as she had already been gone an hour. He lifted her shirt over her head and flung it towards the nightstand. It hit something and knocked it to the ground, and suddenly the room was filled with a loud ringing.

"My phone must have switched on when it fell," she muttered as she bent down to silence it. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the caller I.D. "It's my mom," she whispered as she answered.

August was annoyed that their second session was being interrupted, but he automatically became concerned when he saw Emma's face pale. He couldn't hear what she mumbled into the phone, but she quickly hung up and looked at him. "What it is?" he asked.

"Henry ran away and my parents can't find him."

She looked like she was about to cry. "What are we waiting for? Let's go find him."

Henry ran through the forest as fast as he could. The man had gotten way to close to him, plus he had looked extremely suspicious, and he had bolted towards the woods. He had a feeling that the stranger was not a good man, and he knew that he had to get away. Gone were his concerns about his grandparents. He could only focus on the fact that he was very close to getting hurt.

He could hear the man yelling after him as he ran through the forest. Henry tried not to mark his path, but he felt like he was failing. He was snapping too many branches, as the ground was soft and squishy, so he probably was leaving footprints. He had never been to this area of the woods before, and the trees were thick and very old. As he looked around, he felt like he had no place to escape. It was just an endless forest, and he was completely lost.

Why had that man wanted to know so much about him? Why was he concerned with Emma? Henry didn't trust him at all, and he had known better than to give away his name or age. The stranger seemed to know so much about his family already, and he wasn't about to spill the beans about his personal information. He was terrified of the man, and he hoped that he would never see him again. Henry wanted to cry he was so afraid. He was just a boy who was lost in a forest and being chased by a mad man.

"Where are you?" a rough voice yelled from his right. He frantically looked around until he spotted a log. He ran towards it as quickly and quietly as he could, but he was stopped when the collar of his shirt was yanked backwards. The boy yelped as his airways were momentarily constrained, and he tumbled to the ground. He hopped on his feet and was prepared to run, but the man was dangerously close to him. There was a dark gleam in his eyes unlike anything Henry had seen before. "No one runs from me, boy."

"What do you want with me?" he yelled, his voice hoarse.

"I want some answers. And you're going to give them to me."

"I'm not going to tell you anything," Henry spat.

The man growled. "That was not a good answer, boy."

He curled his fist and swung it as hard as he could. Henry barely had time to react before hard knuckles hit him in the side of the face. He stumbled back, and he instantly cupped his wound with his hand. A pained cry escaped his lips, and he noticed a wicked spark in the stranger's eyes.

"What are you doing?" he managed to squeak out before another hit contacted his face.

"This is what you deserve, boy."

The fist came flying faster and faster, and Henry felt his face bust up. His skin was tender, and he couldn't contain the whimpers and cries that were leaking out of him. He struggled to stand, and he eventually collapsed and curled up on the ground. It was impossible for him to fight back, so he silently prayed as the man beat him mercilessly.

"Why did he run?" Emma yelled as she paced across the station. Her parents were both standing across from her, and they looked extremely guilty and upset.

"He saw us get into a fight, and he got upset," Snow squeaked out.

"What kind of fight?" the blonde snapped as she whirled around to face her mother.

"That's not the point-" the brunette mumbled.

"That is EXACTLY the point. Why would he run? He had to have a reason. So please just tell me what exactly that is. I do not have time to play these games with you right now," Emma spat as she looked her mother right in the eye. She was upset about her son being missing, but she was angrier about that fact that her parents were partially the cause. She didn't even know how to begin to explain to them what she was feeling.

Her father started to say something when he was cut off by August entering the room. "I just got off of the phone with Red. She saw him get off of the bus, and then a few minutes later he was running towards the beach."

"Did you think to check his castle?" Emma questioned.

James nodded. "He wasn't there. But that wasn't the first place we checked. He could have briefly visited it and then left."

"Where would he have gone?" the blonde said to herself as she glanced at a map of Storybrooke. "I'm going to the castle. Maybe there are some answers there." She grabbed her coat and headed out the door, but she stopped when her parents started to follow her. "I don't want you two coming with me. I can't even begin to tell you how upset I am. If you're going to help look for him, make your own search party." She stormed out of the station, leaving a stunned James and an upset Snow behind.

August sighed as he glanced at the other two people. He felt like he should say something, and they looked extremely hurt. He didn't want to be the one who justified Emma's behavior, but he knew what she was going through. He knew that her parents probably understood her behavior, but he still felt the need to vocalize his thoughts. "She's just worried about Henry. She doesn't like to show that she's afraid, and so she disguises her fear in other ways, like lashing out. You should have seen her when she got your call. I thought that she was going to cry," he quietly told them. "Look, it doesn't matter what happened before, but it does matter that Henry is missing. Finding him is our top priority. Start searching the woods, that's probably a good bet."

They nodded as he spoke, and he could tell that they were deeply affected by what had happened with Henry, and also with Emma. With a small, and hopefully encouraging, smile, he exited the room, leaving Snow and James alone.

"He sure understands her," he commented to his wife.

"They're a perfect match," she whispered as she looked up at her husband. "This is our fault, and we need to fix it. We need to find Henry and explain to him that we didn't mean any of it. We need to tell him that we still love each other."

He nodded and pulled her into his arms. He could feel the wetness of her tears on his chest, but he didn't care. "We can't ever let this happen again."

"Never."

"I love you, Snow. I'm sorry I said those awful things."

"I'm the one who should be apologizing. The whole argument was pretty much my fault."

"No, I got way too upset with you. I shouldn't have gotten so angry over something that you did to protect the people you love. I understand all of your motives. And while I don't approve of your actions, I can honestly say that I agree with all your reasons behind them. I'm sorry that I made you feel like a horrible wife. That wasn't fair, and it will never happen again. I promise."

She felt herself smile despite everything that was going on. "I love you James."

"I know." He paused for a moment before he cleared his throat. "Let's fix this, and let's do it together."

"It shouldn't be any other way."

There were lots of footprints, both big and small. The sand was covered with them. There was a smashed beer bottle and a discarded cigarette next to the slide, but other than that, there were no real clues as to who had been at the playground. She was desperately trying to find leads, but Emma was coming up empty-handed. Her son had probably been here, but so had someone else. She didn't know what that meant, and she honestly didn't want to.

She sat on the steps and held her head in her hands. She needed to take a second to compose herself. Her hair whipped in the wind and stuck to her face, but she didn't really care. In fact, she was barely aware of her surroundings. She was completely consumed with the fact that she had no idea where her own son was.

"Emma," a voice gently said. The blonde didn't acknowledge him as he slowly took a seat next to her. "It's going to be okay. We are going to find him, I promise."

She turned towards August, and she felt her face crumble a little. "What if-"

"Stop," he told her as he cupped her face in his palms. He ran his thumbs across her cheeks and placed a light kiss on her forehead. "I told you that it's going to be okay, and I promise you that it will be. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere."

She let herself lean into his embrace and he ran his fingers run through her soft locks. She sighed after a minute and looked up at him. "There are footprints leading to the woods. We should check there next."

He nodded and stood, offering his hand out to her. She gratefully grasped his fingers, and he led her towards the line of trees that were in the distance. Henry was all that mattered right now, and they were going to find him no matter what.

"Do you want to split up?" he asked her as they walked.

"Not really, but it makes more sense. We need to cover as much area of this forest as quickly as possible."

Her voice was all business, and he was even more upset because of it. He knew that she was just trying to shut out her emotions over her son, and he wished that she wouldn't do that. She needed to open up to him about her feelings, and he hated that she still tried to avoid it.

"We can stay fairly close. I've turned my cell phone on, so you can reach me whenever you need to, okay?"

Emma nodded and gave him a small and sad smile. Before he could say anything else, she headed into the woods without even looking back. He could practically see the determination radiating off of her. He knew that the blonde would not stop until Henry was safe in her arms.

John stumbled up the stairs of his father's house. He belched loudly as he pushed the door open and strolled inside. His father had given him a room there, and it was nice to have a place to stay other than the bed and breakfast. Luckily his father wasn't too intrusive into his life, so it wasn't that bad of a living situation. Plus the food was delightful.

He should have felt worse about beating a little kid, but he wasn't too concerned with his actions. He had never cared before, and while he was technically trying to be a better person, he had known going in that it wouldn't actually work. The boy had been an easy target, and it hadn't been hard to knock him out. John had left the small, curled up boy lying next to a log in a clearing. Someone would eventually find him, and besides, it was no longer his problem. He wasn't haunted by the pained sounds the boy had made, and he didn't care about the marks he had left on the small, pale face. He still wasn't sure why he had felt the need to beat a child, but then again, he was incredibly drunk, and he had been pissed off. Those two facts practically justified the beating, or at least he hoped that they did. He wasn't looking for excuses, but he wanted to just deny that it happened. He was too concerned with other, more important, matters, and he didn't need this added stress in his life.

He found his way into the front sitting room and he sank into one of the sofas. His head was already pounding and he could feel a major headache coming on. Although, he wasn't entirely sure what it was originating from. It was probably the excessive amounts of alcohol he had consumed today for no reason other than to get wasted. But there was something else that was bothering him. It was an idea that had popped into his head, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get it to go away.

That boy was Emma's son. He looked like he was about ten or so, which would be the right age. Emma hadn't been with anyone before she met him, and he knew that she never cheated on him, even if they weren't really together. He knew that he was her first, which meant that she would have gotten pregnant with her kid around the time that they had broken apart. Plus she was thrown in jail not long after they ended things, so she couldn't have gotten pregnant there. So if the kid was about ten or eleven, then this timeline was right. That kid was probably his son.

John felt like he was going to throw up. He wasn't certain about his thoughts, but they still terrified him. He didn't want to be a father, but he wanted to know if this was the truth. He had a right to know if he had a son, even if he didn't intend to step up to the plate as a father. Besides, he hadn't grown up with a dad, so he wouldn't even know how to be one.

He rolled off the couch and stumbled into the bathroom. There was barely enough time for him to throw his head into the toilet bowl before he empty the contents of his stomach. He gripped the smooth porcelain rim, and he was able to pull back after a moment. He slumped against the wall and took a few deep breaths as he tried to compose himself. It was easier said than done.

There was a faint knock on the bathroom door, and the sound caused him to be pulled from his thoughts.

"John? Is that you?" Belle asked as she stepped into view.

He had been shocked to discover that his father had a girlfriend. His father had never been a loving person, and it was amazing that someone had managed to take hold of a piece of the Dark One's heart. It was also a puzzling situation, as he couldn't begin to understand why someone as beautiful and kind as Belle would want to be with a beast like his father. But, he could tell that they loved each other more than anything, and he found himself happy for his father. Belle was good and she brought out the right side of his father, and he was completely grateful of that. His father needed someone like that to stabilize his life, and John was glad that Belle could be that person.

He wiped his face with the back of his hand. "Yeah."

"You don't look so good."

"Too much to drink," he mumbled as he forced himself to stand up. His legs wobbled at first, but he managed to stay upright.

"I can tell." She paused for a moment, and he could tell that she was thinking. "Why don't you come to the kitchen? I'll make you something to eat."

It was impossible for him to turn down food. He gave a quick nod and followed her as she headed towards the kitchen. She started working on the food immediately, and he nearly collapsed into one of the chairs. It didn't take long for him to let his head rest on his arms on the table. He could already feel exhaustion kicking in, but it was paired with too many emotions. He was emotionally drained, rather than physically. Sure, the alcohol had taken a lot out of him, but the situation with that boy today was still troubling him. He just had to know more about Emma's son. It was tiring him just thinking about it, and he desperately wished to get this out of his head. But he couldn't do that without getting a few answers.

"Belle?"

"Yes?" she asked. She continued to cook as she glanced over her shoulder at John.

"What do you know about Emma's son?"

She paused for a second before dishing up some food. She set the plate in front of him and took a seat. He began to eat, but he was still patiently waiting for an answer.

"His name's Henry. He's eleven. At least I think. I don't really get out much, and all I know is from what your father has told me." She raised an eyebrow. "Why do you want to know about him?"

"Just wondering," he said with a shrug. He was glad that he was a good liar, because he was having a difficult time masking his panic and shock right now. If that boy, that Henry, was eleven, then that meant that he was his son. He had probably just beaten his son. But that didn't faze him, as he was worried about the big picture. He was almost certain that he was a father. And that thought terrified him.

August wasn't very familiar with these woods, so it was difficult for him to keep track of his path. But despite his horrible navigation, he continued on. He yelled Henry's name every few moments, hoping that the boy could hear him. He desperately hoped that no harm had come to Emma's son, and that everything was somewhat okay. He remained as calm as he could in order to focus on his search. Plus if he was panicked and he found the boy, he could only imagine that state that Henry would go into.

A branch cracked underneath his foot, and the sound echoed through the clearing. He paused for a moment and noticed that he was in a small clearing. For some reason, he got a feeling that told him to call out Henry's name. He didn't question the prompting, and he cleared his voice.

"Henry?" he loudly called. The sound of his voice seemed to bounce around in the clearing, and he waited for a few moments. He had a feeling that he should stay put right now. There was something about this clearing...

As his eyes roamed around, he noticed a pale object lying among the leaves. He could tell that it extended back behind a large log. He took a few small steps forward and squinted his eyes in order to see the object better. As he got closer, he froze in his steps and paled. The object was a small, human, hand.

August broke into a sprint straight towards the log. He ran towards the back, and he gasped when he saw the body. Henry was lying on the ground, his form limp. His head was flopped to the side, and it was swollen and heavily bruised. Some of his skin had split open on his forehead, and a small stream of blood was staining his face. The boy's lips were blue, and he was barely breathing. He reached out to touch the small face, and he discovered that his skin was ice cold. He removed his coat and wrapped it around the boy's unconscious body. He carefully lifted the delicate form into his arms and cradled the boy against him.

He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Emma's number. "I found him," he rushed out as soon as she picked up. He heard her gasp, but he didn't wait for her to say anything more. "He needs to go to the hospital. He's badly hurt."

Her voice was shaky as she attempted to speak. "I'll...I'll get the car."

"Call your parents, Emma."

"Okay." He could tell that she was trying not to get upset, but he knew that it wasn't working. She hung up the phone, and he threw his cell into his pocket.

He immediately headed towards the beach. Even though he didn't know his surroundings very well, he had the fate of a young boy in his hands. He could feel Henry shivering, and he desperately tried to warm the small figure up. He started to run, as he knew that there was no time to spare. He could see a familiar break in the trees in the distance, and he quickened his pace. Just as he stepped in the small clearing, he felt a body slam into his. He almost lost his footing, but he managed to stay upright. He whirled around, only to discover that James was sprawled on the forest floor with Snow right behind him.

"August!" she exclaimed, her eyes growing wide as she noticed the limp form of her grandson. "What happened?"

"I found him like this. He's ice cold and badly beaten. I don't know how he got like this."

James stood and practically ripped his coat off. He wrapped it around Henry before holding out his arms. "Let me take him for a while. Your arms are probably getting tired."

August nodded and passed the boy off. Henry's head fell to the side, and the extent of his injuries was revealed. Snow gasped and James's eyes grew wide as saucers. "It's really bad. I have no idea how long he's been unconscious."

Snow pulled off her coat and tucked it around the boy in her husband's arms. She gently ran her fingers through his short hair. "Oh, Henry..."

They continued through the forest at a brisk pace. Snow and James had been searching the forest nearby when they had received Emma's call. They headed towards the beach without stopping, as they were all concerned about the young boy's welfare. Before too much longer, the white sand was visible between the trees. August could see Emma's blonde hair whipping in the wind, and he sprinted towards her.

"Emma!"

"Where is he?"

"Your father has him. We need to get him to the hospital as soon as possible."

She nodded, and he could see her searching the tree line. Her face fell when she saw her parents step onto the sand and head towards them. He barely had time to react before she had broken into a run.

Emma couldn't believe what she was seeing as she came up to her father. Her son was buried under three coats, but he was still shivering. She tried not to look at his face, as the sight made her want to throw up. She could already feel tears start to leak out of her eyes, and her knees began to feel weak. Her voice seemed to slip away as she tried to say her son's name. Her lip started to quiver as she looked upon his bruised and beaten face. She didn't know what he had gone through, but she was too familiar with what a brutal beating felt like. Images of foster parents and exes swam through her head and she squeezed her eyes shut. She had never wanted her son to endure that type off suffering, but he had. Someone had hurt him.

Two arms caught her before she fell to the ground. She had started to shake, and she was pulled against someone. She could distantly hear her mother's voice, but she couldn't comprehend what the woman was saying. Her hand pressed against her mouth as she tried to hold in her cries. She let herself have a moment of weakness, and she let a small sob escape. Her mother lifted her to her feet and helped her walk towards the car. She could hear August and her father putting Henry in the backseat while the engine roared to life, and suddenly everything snapped into focus.

"Give him to me," she stated as she climbed into the backseat. She carefully pulled her son towards her and cradled him in her arms. She held him close to her, and she could feel how violent his shivers hand gotten. Her mother climbed in the back with her, while James and August each took the front seats. Soon the car was quickly headed towards the hospital, but she could barely think about that. Her eyes couldn't leave her son's mangled face, and her heart was slowly breaking with every second that passed.

"Emma," someone whispered. She looked around in an attempt to locate the speaker. She noticed that her mother was gone, and she started to panic. She couldn't handle this by herself. She needed someone to rely on right now. Her head whipped around, and she noticed Dr. Whale standing next to the open door of the car. There was a stretcher next to him, and a few people in scrubs stood around. "Emma, we have to take him now. We have to get him inside so that he'll be okay."

She didn't want to, but she loosened her grip on her son. They carefully pulled him from the car and gently placed him on the stretcher. She climbed out and watched as they strapped him on. Dr. Whale gave orders as the scrubbed assistants and they quickly wheeled Henry into the hospital. Without a second thought, she followed them, making sure to pick up her pace so that she kept up. As they pushed her son through some double doors, so moved to follow, when the doctor pushed her back.

"Let me through."

"You can't go back here, Miss Swan."

"I'm not going anywhere! That's my son!"

He looked around and locked eyes with someone, but she couldn't tell who. "Control her!" he barked before slipping away.

She shoved her way through the doors, but she felt two strong hands grasp her arms. She struggled as she was pulled away, but that didn't faze the person who was preventing her movement. Suddenly, she was lifted off of the ground and carried away. She kicked and swung her arms until she was set down in a chair. The hands didn't leave her arms, and she was pulled towards the other person.

"It's going to be okay, Emma. We're here, and we've got you."

She looked up at her father and could see that he was trying to remain composed for her sake. She felt a hand on her back, and she looked over to see her mother sitting right next to them. August was even leaning against the wall just a few feet away. She had three people that cared about her, and that she cared about, there to comfort her, and she gave up fighting her emotions.

"My son...what if he's not okay?" she whispered. She felt her face crumble and she let herself cry in her parents' arms.

I know that I'm an evil person, so please don't hate me. And I'm going to stop apologizing for the cliffhangers, because I love them too much and you get one almost every update.

I'm a little stuck when it comes to the next chapter, but I am playing with a few ideas and I hope to update very soon.

Please let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!