AUTHOR'S NOTE: Huge credit and thanks go to Aussiebabe290 for not only proof-reading this chapter but allowing me to read, enjoy, and then use her own amazing fic as inspiration. she wrote an amazing and tear-jerking fanfic called "piece of the Puzzle" under Pitch Perfect and it honestly had me in tears.

thanks again Aussiebabe290, you've been amazing! Here's to you!

Chapter 1

Emma Swan took a deep breath; she was beyond exhausted, and it was only 10AM. Her son Henry had barely slept the night before and thus, Emma had been kept awake too. Emma was really fighting the urge to pull over on the side of the road in her yellow bug and curl up in the backseat and sleep. Henry was utterly oblivious, he was buckled into his special kid-safe car seat and was happily singing a song under his breath that matched the song that was playing on Emma's iPad with his bottle of juice and packet of biscuits and fruit snacks tucked into the pockets of his seat.

Pulling into the parking space that was reserved for them, Emma unclipped her seatbelt, picked up her purse and jacket from the passenger seat and climbed out the car. She then opened up her sons door and unbuckled him from his seat, picked up his rucksack full of stuff, put him down next to her and locked her car. Fumbling around inside her bag for her house keys, Emma knew she only had a few precious minutes to get them both indoors before it would all change. Thanking every god out there when she found them almost instantly, she unlocked the door, put Henry in his quiet room and closed the door and bolted it, securing them both inside.

And that was all it took.

Henry began to scream, cry, flap his hands, and try to hit himself on the head. Emma knew immediately what to do, pulling her son into a hug but turning him so that they were facing each other, Emma began to talk quietly to him about their day tomorrow and what was going to happen. Emma had danced this dance many times before.

Emma had fallen pregnant at 18 to her first and only boyfriend Neal. They had been so in love and both had been shocked when Emma had taken that pregnancy test only to have it come up positive. Her pregnancy had been the worst, right from the day she found out; her nausea and morning sickness ended up in her being hospitalised for severe dehydration more than once and Emma and Neal had put down a deposit on a house to start their lives together as a family. That was the house that Emma brought Henry home to and she and Neal had been so besotted with their new baby boy, Emma had genuinely thought that life was finally perfect.

It was far from perfect.

Henry was late to hit his milestones, rolling over, crawling, sitting, walking, talking… everything! He was very underweight because when Emma had stopped breastfeeding and tried solid food, there was nothing that Henry would keep down. He didn't seem to hear his parents when they were talking to him, instead he looked away from their faces, avoiding all eye contact. He didn't play with his toys the same way that other little boys would, instead he would line them all up and scream if anything was moved or touched. Henry was just… different.
Emma had spoken to her own parents about everything that was going on with her son and they were just as clueless. Emma and her little brother Callum had both been perfect babies, doing everything just as they should've done. Mary and David had tried to reassure Emma that sometimes babies just developed at different rates, but Emma knew that something was wrong, she could feel it.
Taking their advice, Emma had whipped her eighteen-month-old son down to their local Doctor, Doctor Whale who had been a little bit concerned and decided to speak to some colleagues about Henry. Later that night, Emma had come home and found that Neal had moved out. Leaving behind the clapped-out old car that Emma still owned, his house key, and the promise that Emma would never contact him again.

Emma had been forced to sell the house- she couldn't afford it without Neal's income- and move back in with her parents, now with her seven-month-old son as well. Space was limited in the Nolan house, but Mary and David were glad to have her back, especially now so that they could help her with their struggling grandson. And Henry was definitely struggling.

Emma spent her sleepless nights (because her son had never slept a full night in his entire life) googling and researching her son's symptoms and behaviours with one name flashing up again and again, Emma tried her hardest to deny it but the more she read and researched, the more she knew that it fitted Henry perfectly. After speaking to Whale about her suspicions, Emma enrolled her now almost three-year-old into speech therapy, because although Emma gave him her undivided attention, Henry still couldn't speak. When he was three and a half, Emma's feelings were confirmed.

Henry was autistic. And Emma was all that he knew and had.

Henry was now almost four, his eyes were a beautiful sea foam green, and his hair was curly like his mothers but instead of her light blonde colour, Henry sported hair that was the colour of the leaves in autumn. Thanks to the early intervention of the speech therapy, he now had a few words but couldn't speak in full sentences yet as was expected of a typical four-year-old. His entire vocabulary consisted of "No" "yes" "Food" "Mama" "Car" "Drink" "Bad" and "Love you"

None of these words could tell Emma what was making her son scream and cry the way that he was now.

"Shush Henry, it's all okay now. Mama's here now" Emma soothed, holding his tiny hands down by his side to prevent him from hitting himself.

"Mama" Henry whimpered, still having tears stream down his face

"Mama's here now Henry, it's all going to be all right now. I promise" Emma whispered before she started to sing to him. Henry loved music, always had, right from when Emma was pregnant and played music, she could feel him kicking.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away".

It took Emma almost two hours to calm Henry enough that when she called her parents, Henry didn't even look up from the video that he was watching on the iPad. This may have been because he was indifferent about his grandparents, or because he was too tired to care. His meltdowns took a lot out of the tiny boy who was always small due to his fussy eating and probably genetics. Emma's mother Mary had told her that both her and her brother had been tiny babies and exceedingly small children, even now, Emma stood at barely five foot four.
Emma then took another one of her deep breaths (It was one of her ways of not breaking into floods of tears whenever Henry was being especially trying. It was actually more effective than she had originally thought, and she recommended the technique to everyone) it was now time to get her autistic son dressed for his grandparents. During his meltdowns, he usually strained and writhed until all his clothes were off his body and he was left in his nappy. Henry lived in what Emma had coined "His Autism-Safe Clothes", which was mainly towelling T-shirts that kept him mostly dry and clean as he always seemed to spill his cup of juice or dinner down his front, and large baggy jogging pants that could be whipped off and on quickly when he needed changing or if he had an accident. Henry and Emma's wardrobes were strikingly similar with Emma basically wearing a rotation of tank tops, band tees, 'mum shirts' and leggings or skinny jeans that clung to her curves. Emma wore flannels and hoodies over them along with her favourite red leather jacket. Someone had given it to her when she fell pregnant as it was maternity and Emma had loved it since the moment she set eyes on it. Henry loved it too, as it turns out, he adored cuddling up to Emma whenever she was wearing it which then made Emma wear it more because Henry's autism often wouldn't allow him to be hugged.

Hearing the doorbell buzz (ringing was out of the question as Henry would scream), Emma glanced at Henry who was still absorbed in the iPad and opened the door to her parents who brought her close for a cuddle. Emma's family was a family of huggers but with Henry it was never something that was expected. If Henry wanted to cuddle them, then he did. If not, he wouldn't. Ushering her parents and her younger brother through into the dining room of the small house to try and minimise the noise level in the room as her son.

"Emma, darling we've missed you so much" Her mother smiled, handing her daughter bags of food to fill the fridge and freezer

"I've missed you guys as well mum, but it feels so good to have our own place. Might get the kid back into a routine quicker as well" Emma replied, unpacking the mounds of food and drink

"Still not sleeping great?" her father David asked her, noting the dark circles and her tired eyes

"Nope. He's now started waking up around four in the morning, but he isn't actually getting to sleep until around midnight. God only knows how he functions on that amount of sleep. I almost dozed off during his speech therapy appointment today." Emma said, stifling a well-timed yawn.

"Oh Emma. If you ever need a break, you know we're only too happy to help you out a few times a week. I'm not working during the holidays and your dad is on rotations of four days on and four days off until September…" Mary started but Emma shook her head at her mother.

"Mum no way. I'm used to this now. Henry was never a great sleeper, so I guess I've just adapted to it over time. It just wouldn't be fair to you guys." Emma insisted as she poured everyone a cup of coffee.

"If you're sure Em. We can, however, recommend a special therapist for Henry. He loves music doesn't he?"

Emma nodded but her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Well. There's a girl called Regina who is specialising in something called Music Therapy. Its all the range in Europe with some autistic kids actually learning full sentences by listening to their favourite songs. Regina also does play therapy to help Henry desensitise to things like sand and grass. She's quite young but her success rates are amazing." Mary gushed, showing Emma the girls profile online.

"Okay mum, I'll give this Regina a try with Henry. You wont back down until I've agreed anyway" Emma smiled, writing down the girls phone number on the back of her hand.

The family ate dinner together. "together" was used loosely. Emma, her parents, and her brother all ate homemade tacos with chili and guacamole, but Henry pointed to his favourite processed chicken dinosaurs, potato faces, and baked beans. that was essentially his entire diet. No fresh fruit or vegetables, no red meat, no rice, or pasta, only processed, dried, and strained things with almost no nutrition in them at all. Emma therefore had to pump her child full of vitamins in an attempt to prevent him getting sick all the time. When her parents left, Henry went to bed, but not to sleep, and Emma grabbed her favourite ice cream and parked herself in front of the television with her phone in hand, ready to leave a message for this mysteriously successful Regina who promised a "Careful and Sensitive approach that can benefit any child, and change them rapidly"

Little did Emma know just how rapidly Regina would change her life.