"You stayed over at my mom's?!"
Henry pipes up, his eyes wide as he perches on the blonde's bed with his legs crossed upon the fraying covers. She shrugs awkwardly, kicking off her jeans and tossing them over her shoulder to land smartly in the laundry hamper- well, cardboard box- beside the window.
"Well, it was late... She called about a group of people outside her house that were giving her trouble."
"Couldn't she just put a spell on them now?"
"I don't know... Probably... That wouldn't have been very nice though... "
"She's the Ev-"
"-She's going to do things a little differently this time around."
"How do you know?"
"She told me so."
"Emma you can't-"
"-I can, and I will. Now get up so I can make the bed."
She pushes at him playfully and the boy rolls off the side of the bed easily, landing in a purposeful heap on the floor at the Sheriff's feet. Rolling her eyes, Emma makes as if to step on him as she leans over to straighten out her bedding; Henry shrieking loudly.
"Don't! Don't! Mercy!"
Chuckling, she pulls him back onto his feet and pulls a fresh pair of jeans from the chaos of her closet, wriggling into them easily.
"Turn around."
Henry does as he's told- waiting patiently as his mother grumbles to herself as she strips off her top and strives to locate a bra- bright eyes falling to the crumpled scraps of paper littering her nightstand, each adorned with his name.
"What are those?"
"Huh?"
"There's paper here with my name on it."
"Oh... I tried to make an envelope for your card- shit... The card-... Oh, Henry, I'm not sure where it got to... It was in my pocket and I guess-"
"-It's okay, I understand."
The boy assures her hastily, revisited by his previous fear that the blonde might be angry at his irritation at finding her missing. Clearing his throat, he continues cautiously, turning back towards the Sheriff at the sound of mattress springs as she perches on the bed to pull on her boots.
"Did Mr Gold really take you?"
"... Yeah... Yeah, he did."
"Did he hurt-"
"-He just wanted something from me, Henry, and I guess he thought if he didn't scare me a bit that I wouldn't listen."
"He scared you?"
"... A little."
"... And your wrists... He did that?"
Glancing down at the white bracelets of scar tissue circling her wrists with a frown, the Sheriff sighs, looking up at the boy with troubled eyes.
"He uh... He tied me up and I over-reacted a bit... It uh... It's not as bad as it looks."
She shudders, her memory of the time spent in her fevered delirium a hazy nightmare she has no intention of sharing with the boy.
"Your mom sorted them out after she found me... Kind of neat I guess; like permanent bracelets...'
She holds her arms out to him as she is all too aware of the young brunet's curious gaze, though he strives to disguise it. Welcoming the blonde's invitation, Henry steps forward, taking his mother's hands in his own and inspecting the curious white marks lining her arms with childish interest.
"I'm sorry about your flower..."
He points to the small tattoo on her left wrist, marred with a flash of white as though crossed out; deemed void. She supposes she has no qualms with that period of her life being erased and forgotten.
"It's okay, I'd kind of grown to hate that thing anyway..."
She smiles, taking back her hands and rubbing at her wrists self-consciously. Aware that bright eyes still linger on her, she raises an eyebrow, her grin faltering ever so slightly.
"You okay, kid?"
"My mom... She really found you?"
"She did."
"... She asked me about my book when you went missing... About Rumplestiltskin... She... She must have known who you were; that you were Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter..."
"Yeah, she did. She... She knew quite early on, she said."
"She told you!?"
"Yeah... We discussed the curse... How she did it... Why she did it... "
"She told you all that?"
"... Your mom feels... She understands what she did was... Was wrong..."
Emma shrugs dismissively; imagining Henry has a million more questions just burning away, but deciding Regina can take the reigns on the rest. She is cautious about putting words into the brunette's mouth, and this is not a topic to be taken lightly.
"Come on, let's get you home, kid."
Jumping off the bed and ushering him down the stairs, she offers David an awkward smile as the man sits stirring sugar into a steaming mug on the kitchen island.
"Tea, you two?"
Shaking her head and muttering a polite declination, she smirks to herself as Henry belts out a hearty 'no thanks, gramps' as she imagines just what Regina would make of that.
"You're late."
Emma rolls her eyes as the brunette pulls open the heavy wood of the front door, but adopts a small grin as Henry stops in front of Regina and cautiously puts his arms around her.
"Am not, it's like five past twelve."
"Oh, well, will you look at that, and I'd always been led to believe you were incapable of telling time..."
"I can tell the time, I just don't have a watch..."
The blonde grumbles irritably, Henry's grin a flawless copy of the brunette's, although his mother accessories the emotion with a roll of glittering eyes.
"Perhaps it's time to invest in one, dear; I do believe it's in your budget."
Regina quips airily, moving aside so that Henry and Emma may enter. The boy looks back at the Sheriff curiously; a little surprised that she is permitted to follow him in. A brief glance shared between the two women addresses this adjustment in the way of things also, and Regina clears her throat, directing them all into the kitchen as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Once seated on one of the elegant chairs surrounding the table, Henry throws the blonde a puzzled glance as she takes a seat opposite him; wondering if he should warn her that she is probably not supposed to do so. To his surprise, the Mayor simply pours three glasses of juice and brings them over carefully, before taking up the empty chair beside him.
"Henry, Emma and I have some things we need to discuss pertaining to Mr Gold-"
"-You mean Rumplestiltskin..."
"Yes... I suppose I do."
"So, I was right this whole time! I was right and you made it so no one would believe me! So that I had to see Archie! So that-"
"-Henry..."
The brunette sighs, looking to the blonde who nibbles at her lip awkwardly. Realizing that in the context of social awkwardness, Emma is hardly likely to be her saviour, she opens her mouth to continue, when the Sheriff surprises her by interrupting in a low, patient tone.
"Remember what I told you about good and evil?... She couldn't have told you, Henry... Even though you were smart enough to figure everything out... Without magic... No one would have listened. She protected you in a way... But right now, kid, we have to forgive and forget, because we're not out of hot water yet. So I want you to do something for me... For us; Regina and I... We're taking the same side on this one, and just like you did with Operation Cobra, I need you to help me now, too... We... We have a new mission."
"Really?"
Henry looks from the brunette- who regards the younger woman with a peculiar expression- back to Emma and breaks into a grin.
"What is it?!"
"I'll tell you all that in a second. But first go and get your book."
"Can we think up a new name, too?"
"Sure, kid."
Beaming, Henry pushes himself from the table, stumbling in his haste to get to the stairs. Shaking her head, the blonde turns to Regina and adopts a frown.
"What... Why are you looking at me like that?"
"... You just... You never cease to amaze me, Miss Swan..."
"Okay..."
"I couldn't have told Henry..."
"I know. That's what I said"
Emma frowns, confused.
"Yes... But you could have done so for Henry's sake; to appease an awkward situation... But you didn't. You meant it."
"I did... Now quit looking at me like that or we're going to have to explain a whole lot more to the kid!"
"Ugh. Really, Miss Swan?"
"Really, Madame Mayor."