In Storybrooke…
"Cogsworth, take me to Mr. Gold's Pawnshop," called Henry to his pocket-watch while standing in a school bathroom stall. He tapped the watch three times and then turned the minute hand a quarter-turn to the left. In an instant, Henry was engulfed in rosy-pink smoke and disappeared. When he reappeared he was standing outside of his grandfather's pawnshop. He walked up to the shop and reached for the door only to discover that it was locked. Henry peered inside the vacant shop and discovered a key on a pillow that rested in front of a sign that read in Gold's handwriting:
Use the spell we worked on
to get the key to
open this door.
Henry grumbled a little as he tried to remember the feeling he had the first time he was able to make things disappear and reappear. He recalled some of the lessons his grandfather had been trying to tell him these past year. "Not all spells require incantations, the better spells are the ones that require intuition and feeling."
Henry always liked the magic spells that required words. In Henry's opinion, he felt that spells with words were more tangible. However, no one in his family used incantations to perform magic, and Henry admitted that it was much easier to remember feelings than random gibberish words. "You're thinking!" Henry could hear his grandfather's voice in his head. "Don't think! Feel!"
I want to come inside. Give me that damn key! Henry shouted in his head with authority. Henry held out his hand with confidence and suddenly red smoke appeared. When the smoke disappeared the key that was once inside was now resting in the palm of his hand.
"Yes!" shouted Henry gleefully to himself. He went to put the key into the lock and unlock the door, but hesitated for a moment to think. There was a reason why his grandfather strategically placed the key and the visible sign inside the shop. Mr. Gold anticipated Henry's arrival and he wanted Henry to utilize his magic to get into the shop. It was a brilliant exercise, but Henry wanted to take the lesson a step further. He wanted to show his grandfather how much he had learned and was determined to do that by sneaking his way into the shop undetected. To Henry, Mr. Gold always seemed to know things, always had plans, always anticipated and was never surprised. Could Henry do it? Could today be the day he surprised, maybe even startle his own grandfather? Henry saw it as a challenge and smiled mischievously over the thought.
From outside the shop, Henry looked up inside the door's window and noticed the bell. He needed to bypass the door entirely to eliminate the bell's jingle and thus blowing the whole scheme. So Henry thought of the Vanishing Spell he was taught. Like a breath, you are the wind. In a blink you are gone, Henry thought and felt. When he closed his eyes, he disappeared but when he open them he was inside the shop. He waited in silence as he strained to hear the location of his grandfather. Subtle soft squeaks and rattled wood could be heard coming from the back room, which only meant that Gold was spinning at his spinning wheel.
Henry glimpsed at the entranceway to the back office and noticed the beaded curtain; another alarm that could blow his cover. So Henry thought of the Freezing Spell he learned only a couple of months ago and threw up his hands at the beaded curtain, freezing it in place. Henry took a step forward into the store and upon the shift of weight the wooden floorboards creaked beneath his feet. Henry froze in place at the sound and listened for any movement his disturbance may have cause in the backroom. Nothing. The squeaking from the spinning wheel continued.
Henry exhaled silently. He needed to be lighter… smaller. A rabbit! A Transformation Spell. It was the first spell he mastered. Filigree apogee pedigree perigee, Henry chanted inside his mind and in a silent poof! He turned into a small white rabbit. Henry hugged along the store's wall with his now soft padded feet and hopped quietly to the beaded entranceway. From the ground, Henry looked up and saw the extension of the beaded curtain and through it, his grandfather spinning at the wheel. The bead's length extended from the door's frame and dangled five inches above the ground. With Henry's current size, it was the perfect gap for him to sneak through. Henry stealthily tried, as only a small rabbit could, to sneak underneath the curtain when—
"I admire your efforts, Henry," Gold said out loud as he continued spinning at the wheel. Gold didn't even flinch as he continued assuredly, "but a rabbit? I thought I had taught you better."
Henry instantly transformed back to his human self and stood disappointedly behind his grandfather. "Aw man! How did you know?"
Gold stood up from his stool and finally turned facing his grandson. "You forget… I can see into the future. I knew you were coming."
"Oh."
"That," he said while checking the clock on the wall, "and knowing that school gets out at about three and that you typically arrive at my shop at about 3:30… I was expecting you at any moment."
Gold walked past Henry and patted him on the shoulder as he went for his jacket. He saw Henry's disappointed face and acknowledged, "It was a valiant effort, my boy… really. You've come a long way these past few months. You're actually doing quite well."
"I was trying to surprise you," Henry stated.
"You're going to find that there is very little that surprises me," Gold said amusedly. He smiled to himself over Henry's attempt as he slipped on his jacket.
"But seriously," Henry continued, "At what precise moment did you even know I was in the shop?"
"Henry… I am magic… and I can sense when any magic is being performed, especially in my shop."
"Oh," understood Henry. He noticed Gold making his way to the front of the shop carrying a separate set of keys and followed after him. "Are we not having a lesson today?" Henry inquired.
"Not today, Henry. I'm sorry. Why don't you take the rest of the day off? Enjoy your weekend. I, myself, am going to head home early to enjoy the weekend with Belle."
"Oh, ok," said Henry disappointedly as he exited the shop with his grandfather. "I guess I'll see you on Monday, then?"
Gold locked the door behind them and agreed, "I will see you Monday after school."
… …
"Belle," called out Gold as he opened the door and entered his own home. Gold heard no response and found it kind of odd that he wasn't greeted at the door like he normally was. So he proceeded up the stairs in search for his wife on the second floor. He opened the door to their bedroom and was surprised to see it vacant. He checked in on the other rooms further down the hall until finally he came to the nursery.
His heart melted with relief and happiness when he saw his wife sleeping comfortably in the nursery rocking chair. Her head was turned away from the window light and her mouth hung open slightly as she inhaled and exhaled peacefully. An arm dangled by her side while the other remained curled and close to her chest. An open book laid sprawled upon her swollen stomach and he chuckled to himself at the sight of it.
"Glad to see you two had a good day," he said softly to himself as he pulled up a neighboring foot stool and sat down beside her. He carefully lifted the book up from Belle's belly to get a better look at what she was reading. Beauty and the Beast.
"Is your mother reading this to you again?" he asked his unborn child as he flipped through the worn pages, "Why am I not surprised?"
He closed the book and got up to place it back on the book shelf behind the rocking chair. He returned to his seat and resumed his conversation, "You know… your mum loves that book. I don't know why she insists on reading that version to you. So let me finish telling you what actually happened… True, there was a beast, and true, the beast was actually a man. But the man… never viewed himself as a man. He allowed a curse to take control of him and the magic… the magic was what warped him from the inside out."
Belle woke from her nap and opened her eyes slightly. She remained still and closed her eyes again, smiling to herself as she listened to him continue telling their tale.
"And his counterpart, Beauty… well, she is every bit the definition of the word. But you know what word is better than beautiful? No? I've got one… gorgeous. Now Beauty… both in the story and real life, is absolutely gorgeous and incredibly smart…"
"Get on with the story," insisted Belle impatiently.
"Pay no attention to your mother because I'm going to tell the story the way I want to," he glimpsed up at Belle briefly before resuming, "Anyways, where was I? Ah yes… Beauty was a hero. But before she was a hero, she was actually a princess, who made a deal with the Beast to save her family and her kingdom. So the deal was struck and she came to live in the Beast's castle forever. She became a maid… and she was never afraid of the Beast that lived with her. Time passed and during that time she was able to see things about the Beast that others have always overlooked. She saw the man in the beast. I thought she was… I mean, the Beast thought she was getting too close and became very afraid. So he gave her, her freedom and sent her away. She left, but then later returned… because during that time of getting to know the Beast, she had actually fallen in love with the man. When she returned, the Beast was overjoyed. He very much dreaded being alone. She happily came back to him and then they shared True Love's Kiss and then lived happily ever after."
"That's," Belle opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow at her husband, dissatisfied with the abrupt ending, "not how I remember it ending."
"I had to cut the story short," he said as he got up from the foot stool he was sitting on, "You were intruding on father-daughter time."
"Mmhmm," Belle replied, eyeing him disbelievingly. Gold came over and bent down to Belle giving her a quick kiss on the lips.
"How was your day Mrs. Gold?" asked Mr. Gold as he helped his wife to her feet.
"Good. I missed you today," she said as she got up and wrapped her arms around him for a hug.
"You missed me? You saw me earlier this morning before I left for work."
"I know, but… I can't shake this feeling… I don't know. Maybe it's the hormones or whatever… but every time you leave for work it feels like you're traveling to another realm…"
Gold raised his eyebrows out of guilt surprise. She could unknowingly tell whenever he left this world. He masked his guilt by agreeing, "Perhaps… you're just tired… and cooped up in this house."
"You've been through this before… is it normal to feel… I don't know, this clingy?" she asked, pulling apart from him to get a better look at his face.
"Well," he said looking down at Belle's belly. He rubbed her belly lovingly as he reflected, "unfortunately I wasn't there when Baelfire was born. I was away at the Ogre's war while Milah was pregnant… so to be honest, I wouldn't know." He looked back up at Belle and reached for her hands, "But I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere this weekend. And I can't think of a better way to spend the weekend than with my two favorite people."
He took Belle by the hand and led her out of the nursery into the hallway. "I've got an idea. How about… you and I go out to eat tonight," suggested Gold.
"Out? Ugh…" Belle stopped in the middle of the hallway and began massaging her belly. Gold stopped when she did and turned around. "Do you not want to go out?"
"I do, but… that requires finding decent looking clothes and then getting dressed and then makeup and then by the time all is said and done I'll be ready to sleep."
"Then it's settled. We'll stay in," Gold said slapping his hands together excitedly. "If I recall correctly, there's still one more dinner recipe from that cookbook you borrowed from the library we still haven't tried yet… the Beef Stroganoff."
"That's sounds great," said Belle with relief.
"Let me get dressed into something more comfortable and I'll meet you in the kitchen to get started," he said while loosening his tie. Belle nodded as she held on to the banister to take her first careful step down the stairs.
"Hey," said Gold trying to get Belle's attention. She barely made it down the second step before looking back at her husband who was gazing at her amorously from the second floor. "Have I mentioned how beautiful you look today?"
Belle blushed with a smile, "Not today."
Gold came closer to her at the stairwell and bent down to give her another affectionate kiss, "Well I think you are exceptionally gorgeous today."
He pulled away from her, but Belle tugged at his loose tie stealing one more kiss from him. "Thank you," she remarked, "You are too kind to me."
"Only to you," he said with a smirk.
… …
Henry came home to Regina's empty white house. On a typical Friday, he would start getting his bags packed to spend the weekend with Emma when suddenly his phone chirped. He went up to his bedroom tossing his book bag carelessly to the floor and pulled out his cell phone. He sat down on his bed as he read a text from his mother, Regina:
I won't be home tonight to drop you off at Emma's. Let her know to come pick you up. I have a date with Robin tonight. Have a good weekend with Emma. Love you.
He placed his phone back in his back pocket when he heard another chirp emit from his cell, alerting him of another text. This time, the text came from Emma:
Hey kid. Killian and I would like to spend some personal time this weekend. Would you be terribly disappointed if he and I had this weekend to ourselves? If you are, just say the word and I'll head on over to come pick you up.
Henry looked down at his cell phone and hesitated with his response. Both of his mothers were preoccupied with their love interests this weekend. And as much as he loved both of them and wanted to see them happy, he couldn't help but feel a little lonely. He thought about visiting his other grandparents, the Charmings, but spending a weekend with a newborn wasn't exactly what he had in mind for the weekend.
He thought of his dad, Neal. It was moments like this when he missed him terribly. And it was these lonely moments that validated the mission he had been solitarily and secretly working on for months, Operation Golden Retriever. With the excellent magical education from his grandfather he felt more confident in his abilities. Even his grandfather thought that he had improved immensely, and Henry knew he wasn't the kind of person that gave out compliments generously. It was enough confidence that convinced Henry that Operation Golden Retriever was ready to begin.
Henry pulled out his cell phone and sent Emma back a text:
That's fine. I'll just stay with Regina this weekend. Enjoy your time with Killian. Love you.
Only… Henry wasn't going to stay at Regina's. He was going to go initiate Operation Golden Retriever. He grabbed as many essential items as possible and tossed them into his book bag; a yoga mat, snacks, a flashlight, and an extra sweatshirt. He also tossed in his two library books: Bedknobs and Broomsticks and The Mighty Hercules. Seeing that he was ready to go, he pulled out his pocket-watch and called to it, "Cogsworth, take me to Storybrooke forest."
He tapped the watch three times and turned the minute-hand a quarter turn to the left. He disappeared from his bedroom and reappeared at the outskirts of Storybrooke forest. He put Cogsworth back in his pants pocket and took out the yoga mat from his book bag. He spread out the mat across the forest floor and held his hands over it as he chanted, "Treguna mekoides trecorum satis dee."
The yoga mat sprung into life, flopping and turning excitedly. The mat stood erect on one end and made waving gestures to Henry using the small decorative tassels at the corner of its body to communicate and express itself.
"Mat, I'm going to need you for something important," explained Henry to the newly animated yoga mat. "I'm going to a foreign place and I may need you for transportation."
Mat used the tiny roped tassels and made a gesture like a hand scratching its' head.
"How?" Henry said, acknowledging Mat. "I'm going to make you fly, of course." Henry held his hands over the mat once more and chanted, "Lackipo nikrif scrumpet leech."
Mat instantly floated in place in front of Henry. Realizing its own freedom, Mat flew and dove around Henry causing him to spin and get dizzy. "Woah, boy! I know you're excited, but not yet. I need you to stay wrapped up until I really need you."
Henry opened his yoga mat carrier and Mat flew perfectly into its' cloth casing rolling itself up in the process. Henry exhaled nervously as he searched for his Hercules book. He took the book out and referenced a few passages thinking of the destination in mind. This was it. Operation Golden Retriever was ready to go, he only needed to do one thing… Tell Cogsworth his destination. Henry pulled out the pocket-watch and called out to it, "Cogsworth, take me to Hercules."
He then tapped Cogsworth three times on the face and moved the minute hand a quarter-turn to the left and in a sparkly poof! he was gone.