Emma wanted the cuff taken off. But she knew that no one was going to do that for her. And rightfully so. One Dark One and a Wicked Witch running around town was enough, two Dark Ones would be…no. Even with Emma working with them she'd learned that they simply couldn't trust her right now. No one was going to remove that cuff from her.

"So it's true…" Henry's voice rang out from behind Emma, and every head turned to look at him. How long had he been there? "You're here…"

She didn't think she'd ever seen that look on Henry's face. Until this moment, she wasn't even sure that Henry was capable of anger like that until now!

"Henry…" Emma breathed moving closer to him. "I need you to tell them it's okay to take off this cuff," she suggested once again presenting her wrist.

She watched Henry. After all Emma had done to him with that girl that he liked…what would he do now? Trust his mother like he always had? Or would the Darkness inside of her keep him from doing it? Oddly enough she felt like Henry had the best judgment out of all of them when it came to something like this. She was curious to see what would happen.

"It's the only way to figure it all out!" Emma urged.

"No!" Henry snapped back, barely glancing at the cuff.

"What?!"

"You lied to us! About Hook, about everything, why should we trust you now?" Henry demanded. He hadn't yelled. Or screamed. His tone was even and steady…but it was angry. Clearly very, very angry.

"Henry I'm your mother!" Emma begged, or reasoned…it was difficult to say which.

"Are you? Cause the mom I know wouldn't keep things from me."

Emma was quiet for a moment, and she had an urge to look away, maybe even to walk out of the room. She felt like she'd just stumbled onto something private that shouldn't be witnessed by anyone here except for Henry and Emma and possibly Regina. But it was too late. They were here. And Henry and Emma… "I thought you were the one person that would understand," Emma said almost sadly.

"I thought you were the one person I could trust!" Henry spat back.

"So you can forgive Regina and Gold for everything they've done but not me?!"

"They've changed!" Henry insisted, his temperament still even and restrained. "They showed me they changed!"

Emma cast her eyes away from Henry. She looked at Rumple. Had he proven he'd changed. Was a bear enough? "So did I…"

"When we first met, yeah…but the minute things got tough you didn't come to anybody, you decided you would figure it out on your own. We were a team."

"Operation Cobra, I remember," she smirked.

"But now you just want your dark magic back so you can do it alone! And I've seen what you do with dark magic!" Henry finally turned and stormed out of the room, taking the stairs two and three at a time as he retreated to his room. Emma followed but didn't give chase, just watched him as he went.

"He needs time Emma," Regina suggested. She fought to stay in her seat, to stay right where she was and not get up and go after Henry because she knew how painful it was. Their conversation…it might as well have been what she and Rumple had talked-fought about last night. How was it that she and Henry understood…isolation never helped anyone. Ignoring those you loved and taking decisions out of their hands wasn't helping them or freeing them. It was degrading.

"We should really get to the library, we've got a lot of work to do!" she finally interrupted. As much as she wanted to go to Henry he didn't need pressure, he needed time to work through his emotions on his own for a bit. And they needed time to try and figure out more about Nimue and what Hook was planning, especially if Rumple insist they check the Chronicles again. Though she expected that this time it wasn't so much searching for answers as it was for information. She hadn't even been able to read half of those books…how were David and Mary Margaret going to manage? Maybe with Regina-

"I have a stop to make first," Regina quickly inserted as though she'd read her mind.

She nodded, though she'd rather have Regina with her in this. No, she still didn't like her, but Regina and Rumple knew the most about magic, they would be the most helpful.

"Let me guess…I'm not invited," Emma drawled from the place she had yet to move from. She took a breath. No, no one had ever really said she couldn't come but…she had to admit that in her mind's eye she hadn't exactly pictured Emma with them.

"Emma…" Mary Margaret breathed fitting her coat around her. "We love you!"

"You don't trust me…"

"We don't trust the Darkness!" David clarified. "Stay here and let us save you. It's for the best."

"And do what? Babysit my teenage son?"

"Oh, quite the opposite," Regina insisted.

"Henry babysit me? Somehow I don't think he'll be willing to at the moment."

"Don't be smart Emma. We're on your side now, there's no need to be defensive. But Henry will be going to town with his grandparents. And you…well, we can't leave you here without protection."

"You want to call a babysitter for me?" Emma suggested turning around and staring at her with wide eyes. "I'm the Dark One, who exactly do you have in mind the Wicked Nanny of the West."

"Actually, if Regina is willing to work a small summoning charm, I know of someone who would probably be more than pleased to assist," Rumple commented stepping forward.

She opened her mouth the ask who he was talking about, but the floor above her creaked, as if someone had just stepped on it and suddenly she had no interest in being part of this conversation. She wanted to be part of another one.

"Regina…would you mind if I…" she gestured upstairs but Regina didn't take her eyes off of Rumpelstiltskin.

Regina shrugged, her eyes trained on the ceiling. "You're as good as anyone at the moment," she conceded.

She didn't wait for any more permission just launched herself forward and took the steps after Henry. She knew that he wanted to be left alone, he deserved to be left alone, but there were plenty of places to sulk in the library, and if he was going to come with them then someone had to get him.

The one and only time she'd been upstairs in Regina's house was a few months ago when they'd arrived to find a very pregnant Mary Margaret nearly unconscious. She hadn't exactly paid attention to rooms then. But now it was easy to guess which room was Henry's. It was the only door down the hallway that was closed.

She knocked. "Henry it's me," she called. There was no answer. Slowly she reached down, twisted the knob, and found it locked. "Henry, it's Belle, we're getting ready to go, and I just want to talk."

"I'm fine," he called back, his voice muffled through the sound of the door. "I don't want to talk."

She sighed. Fine. Fine was never fine. Lacey had taught her that. Freaked out, insecure, neurotic, and emotional (double check). That was what fine meant according to Lacey. And it wasn't the only thing she'd taught her. She eyed the little pinhole the door knob with a smirk because it was too easy. Using a bobby pin would have been a waste. All it really needed would be a straighten out metal hanger. Though since she didn't have one, a bobby pin was going to have to do. She stuck it into the little hole, heard the click, knocked again but turned the knob so he couldn't relock it. "I'm coming in," she called though she waited a few seconds to see if she heard scrambling and when she didn't, went ahead and opened the door.

It was a nice room. Blue. There were clocks everywhere, gadgets and knick-knacks that suited Henry and his personality, but also reminded her of Neal and Rumple in an odd way. The bedroom made her smirk, until she saw Henry laying on his bed with his back turned to her. "Hey," she breathed.

"I don't want to talk," he insisted again.

She smirked. "You know…it's been my experience that the times we don't want to talk are the times we need to talk the most." She watched her grandson carefully, suddenly wishing that Neal was here, that he would have this opportunity to talk to him. But he wasn't. And if she couldn't do it then…

"I'd rather you than most people," his voice informed her in her head.

"You know there's a lot to talk about," she pushed. "Not just Emma but that girl-"

"Violet," Henry snapped. "Her name is Violet."

She nodded. That was the biggest issue for him then. "Have you talked to her? Since the night of the dance, I mean?"

She waited for a breath and finally she saw Henry shake his head. "She's called a couple of times."

"And you didn't answer?" she assumed.

"I didn't know what to say! 'Hey, Violet I know you don't remember, but I'm sorry my mom stole your heart'?!"

She felt bad for him. Truly she did. It was his first crush, and although he knew something awful had happened in Camelot with her, he also knew that she didn't know it and that his mother, the person who always promised to look out for him and protect him and opened her up to that kind of heartbreak. It had to be devastating. Parents shouldn't hurt their children like that. And they certainly shouldn't play with their lives the way that Emma had either. But Emma…right now…

"You know…right now your mother isn't really-"

"I know," Henry snapped again finally turning over and sitting on his bed. He faced her with a straight and angry face. "I know that she's not really my mother, but that doesn't make what she did right! Does that forgive what Grandpa did to you? Do you trust him now just because he's not the Dark One anymore?"

She was so taken back by the sudden question that she actually took a couple of steps away from Henry. Smart boy. Henry had always been a smart boy.

"Rumple and I…you shouldn't compare yourself to us. There are a lot of problems between Rumple and I-"

"So I should just forget about it? You think I should trust her?"

"I'm not saying that."

"It's what she's saying!"

"Henry, I'm not her!" she insisted a little louder than she probably should have. She'd never had an argument with Henry. Not one that she could remember at least. She'd fought with Neal before of course and what she liked about it was that in the end sanity and logic usually won out, even if she didn't want it to but Henry wasn't Neal. Would Henry see the same things as Neal did?

"Look," she muttered stepping forward and setting herself down next to him on the bed. "I came up here because…" why had she come up here? Why had she volunteered to talk to Henry? Was it really just because she felt sorry for him, or was it deeper than that? What would Neal want her to tell him? "I came up here to tell you that you aren't alone. I've been sitting where you are sitting before, and I know how lonely it gets. I know how much it hurts. I know how much it stings to have someone you love hurt you but…but we can't wallow. We can't let it take away the goodness inside of us, we can't let it destroy us."

"You think I should trust her," Henry assumed once more, though she was pleased to hear his tone was far less aggressive than it was before.

"I didn't say that," she repeated. "I'm saying that what your mother did to Violet and to you was awful, you need time to be mad, you deserve time to be mad, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise! But you also shouldn't let it affect your judgment or keep you from doing the things you want to do. Because if you do, then the Darkness doesn't just live inside your mother or Rumple…it lives inside us. They win, and we lose."

"Can you trust Grandpa again after everything he did?" Henry asked so quickly she'd barely finished her sentence. She felt a stab of guilt explode painfully in her chest. Wasn't that the million dollar question of the day?

"I don't know Henry," she admitted honestly. "There are a lot of reasons why I shouldn't, more reasons than why I should but…there are moments when you have to put aside your own feelings and do what's right before you consider them. And what's right now is going to the library so that we can do everything we can to help the people of Storybrooke, to make sure the Darkness is destroyed and can't hurt anyone anymore. That's letting the light win. And you should come too. We could use all the extra hands we can get. Besides, Emma's going to stay here so…it might be good for you to get out for a while and do something good for a change instead of locking yourself up here all by yourself with her waiting downstairs. You were always helpful to me in the shop, I have no doubt you can help in the library too."

Henry stayed silent for a while. He stared straight ahead at his open door and didn't even bother to give her a sideways glance. Then, after a few moments, he nodded and rose. "I'll come with you," he stated. "But not because I want to help my mom. It's because I want to help Violet. I want to make things right with her so that the next time I see her face to face, I'll know what to say."

She smiled at her Grandson. That kind of mentality sounded familiar. Was it right? She didn't know anymore. A long time ago she might have thought no but now…why not. Henry was up, he was still angry, but he was determined. That was better than lying on his bed sulking, or breaking into tears in the middle of Granny's. It was a step. Right direction, wrong direction…at least it was a step.

"Sounds like a good enough reason to me."


Eh, I'm not crazy about how this chapter turned out. I liked the idea of Belle being the one to go to Henry, it seemed appropriate and important since she had so many good conversations with Henry in Camelot. But I fear that I've dropped the ball on the conversation itself. I'm just not thrilled with how it came out. My apologies.

Thank you, Grace5231973, Kathryn Claire O'Connor, Fox24, Rumbellefan, Carlyle23, and Ladybugsmomma, for the reviews and for the awesome conversations that they have started. It's a great joy to talk with you all and get that final push from you as we go about this series and this last set of chapters. Peace and Happy Reading!