A/N: Unfortunately there isn't much of an update for all of you who have been with this from the start, but from here on out, the chapters will be at least (or as close as possible) 3k each.

#KWH

Monday morning things were the same, Henry has his cereal while Emma drinks her coffee and Regina has her own light breakfast in complete silence, not exactly what he was hoping for.

"You ready to go, Kid?"

"Yep. Let me just grab my backpack." Henry places his bowl in the sink and heads to the living room.

In the car things are quieter than usual, not being able to handle the awkwardness anymore, Henry asks a question he's been holding for a while. "Ma?"

"Yeah, Kid?"

"What's happening to you and Mom?"

That question grabs Emma's attention, but she keeps her features calm. "What do you mean?"

Henry tries not to seem annoyed with his Ma trying to play dumb with him. "Well I mean, you two are never in the same room together anymore, you're always arguing about the smallest things, and you two don't look at one another like you used to."

At this point Emma has parked a block away from the school, she turns off the engine before she turns her full attention on Henry. She takes a deep breath and runs her hand through her hair. Henry sees her thinking, probably determining if she should tell the truth or not, whatever her decision was, she sags her shoulders and says, "You've noticed, huh?"

"Yeah, I have."

"Listen, Henry, me and your Mom haven't been acting ourselves, and I'm sure it's weird, but we'll get through this, I promise. There's nothing for you to worry about." Emma gives Henry the best reassuring smile she can muster.

Henry continues to look Emma in the eye as he briefly thinks to himself. "I sure hope so, Ma." Henry gives Emma a similar smile before he says, "Ok, Ma." Henry then leans in to give his mother a hug before he exits the car, but before he turns to start walking towards the school, Emma let's down the passenger window and says, "So no more operations." Henry isn't all that surprised, he just playfully smiles and heads to school.

Right at the door stood Grace patiently waiting for Henry to arrive. As Henry walks up the stairs that lead to the front, he sees her and immediately his mood changes; his heart races, and his smile stretches from ear to ear.

"Hi, Grace." Henry says shyly.

"Hi Henry." Grace says back with upmost excitement.

They say nothing else as they hold hands and Henry takes Grace to Home Room.

As they walk in, they find out that they are the last ones to enter as everyone looks at them. Peter was the only one to actually say anything, "What do we have here? Two Love Birds? Well isn't that cute." He laughs and everyone follows. Henry could care less about the jokes, but Grace felt differently, her cheeks turn an entire shade of red as she nervously looks down at her shoes.

Henry lets go of Graces hand and walks towards Peter who has his back towards him. Without saying a word, Henry pushes Peter off of the desk he was sitting on. He lands to the ground flat on his back.

"You're in for it now," Peter nearly spits as he slowly rises off of the ground.

On the inside, Henry knows what a terrible mistake he had just made which has him terrified, but on the outside, he doesn't show any of that fear. He doesn't know if his display of stupidity/bravery was for the students, or for Grace, but either way, he wasn't going to back down, as his Ma would say 'he's in too deep now'.

"I'm very surprised to see Henry in this kind of situation, Mrs. Swan."

"Believe me, I am too." Emma looks to Henry with concern in her eyes before she turns back to the Principal. "Sorry again, Mrs. Byrd. I promise we'll have a talk with Henry so this will not happen again."

Mrs. Byrd nods, "Thank you." She then gets up and shows them out of her office.

Once in the car, before starting it Emma turns towards Henry. "So what happened, Kid, you never fight."

"Peter, he kept teasing me and Grace. I couldn't just stand there. And aren't you and Mom always telling me to stand up for myself?"

"Well yeah, Henry, but in a sensible way, there could have been a better way to solve that problem than fighting." Henry just leans down in the seat pouting, holding the ice pack that the nurse gave him to his eye. Emma turns back around and starts the car.

At home Henry went straight to his room to try and sleep off his headache. That didn't last very long though, with the stress of having to deal with Peter and his parents, it was all too much on his mind….well that, or the fact that he could hear his parents arguing downstairs. At that point Henry glanced at his alarm clock on the shelf next to his bed, 5:30, around the time his Mom gets home, Ma must have told her what happened. Henry peeks out of his room seeing if either of his parents were coming his way. When he saw it was clear, he tip-toed towards the stairs and sat at the top of the stairs.

He hears his Mother sigh, "Emma, we can't lie to Henry."

"I know. I know, but how are we supposed to tell him?"

"We have to tell him something, his behavior is monstrous, his choice of friends are questionable, and now he's fighting, our uncivil behavior is rubbing off on him. Something has to be done, Emma, and now."

There was a small pause in the conversation before he hears his Ma agree with Regina's words, "You're right."

At that point, Henry's thoughts on what their secret could be drowns out the rest of their conversation.

"….." He honestly has no idea, he figured out that his parents have been fighting, but, "….it could be why they're fighting, but could it be as bad as them needed to keep it a secret?" Henry couldn't figure out what his parents could be keeping from him and he knows asking them directly, despite them just discussing how they should tell him, will not get him anywhere, so he decides to listen a little more.

"But how are we supposed to tell him, we can't just out right and say it, Regina,….can we?"

"No, we can't. We'll have to ease it into a conversation somehow."

"But how?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Regina sighs in frustration. "Us talking about it apparently isn't going to get us any closer to telling the truth, we'll just have to wait until the right moment pops up."

"I guess you're right, I just wish telling him wasn't this hard to do."

"Me too."

After a few minutes, nothing else is said and Henry decides to go back into his room. He lays back in bed, maybe the rest will help him figure out what his parents are keeping from him before they finally decide to tell him. However long that may be.

The next morning Henry went through his same routine; Regina wakes him up, he takes a shower, eats breakfast, but except for Emma taking him to school, he stays home. The fight he had resulted in him being suspended. The principal had given him and Peter 5 days, so he'll have until next Tuesday for him to figure out and confront his parents about their secret, or they tell him, whichever came first.

Right after Henry had eaten his breakfast, he places his bowl in the sink, went to the living room and turned on the tv. Unfortunately, a few seconds later Regina walks in and turns it off.

"For the five days you have to stay home, Henry, you're not allowed to watch tv, or play video games; you're on punishment."

"But why!?"

"For fighting in school, and don't try to blame Peter for this."

"But it was his fault this time, he was teasing Grace; I had to do something."

"You're right, and I'm glad you did, but fighting was not the answer to that problem. Maybe during your time at home you can think about what you could've done other than starting a fight."

Henry says nothing else as Regina leaves the living room and heads into her office.

"UUGGHH!" Henry screams in annoyance.

For the next 10 minutes, Henry just pouts and slouches on the couch until the boredom becomes too much, he decides to go upstairs and get caught up on his comics.

That plan lasts about a total of 20 minutes, he was farther ahead than he had expected. The only thing that was left to do was his homework….Henry thought harder on how we could keep himself busy.

It was a couple of hours when Henry had gone back downstairs. The house was quiet, he didn't hear his parents arguing, his Mom aimlessly typing on her laptop, or even his Ma watching a game while she was on her break….Speaking of, where was his Ma?

Henry walks over to his Mom's office and knocks before he slowly opens the door. "Hey, Mom, where's Ma?"

Without looking up from her work she answers. "She's probably on her lunch break by now."

"But doesn't she usually come home for lunch?"

Regina finally looks up from the paperwork. "Yes, but our schedules didn't really allow for her to do that today, so I'm assuming she went to Granny's."

Henry just nods his head and heads out of her office, closing the door behind him.

"That's weird, Ma always makes it home for lunch, or at least she used to…"

It took many lists of pros and cons when it came to doing his homework, but Henry finally convinced himself that doing it was a better plan than just sleeping until dinner. It didn't really take him too long, a few math and word problems, a couple reading assignments, and he got started on his report. By the time everything was done, his Mom was calling him down to dinner.

Everything was already set out, all the plates, silverware, cups and wine glasses, except this time his parents weren't sitting in front of each other like they usually do. Instead their place setting was on either end of the table.

"So what's for dinner tonight, Mom?"

"I decided to try something new." Regina walks out of the kitchen with a pot, "I wanted to try this Italian meatball recipe." She sets it down in the center of the table with the sides.

"It smells awesome, Mom.

"Thank you, dear."

Everything was out and ready to eat, but there was just one thing missing. "Where's Ma?"

"Emma called and said she'll be a little late leaving the station." Henry nods his head in understanding as he watches his Mom plate his food.

"Is everything alright?"

"Oh everything is fine, she just wanted to catch up on some reports."

"Ok."

With Henry staying home from school and Regina being home as well, there was really nothing for the two to talk about, so their dinner was eaten in mainly silence. After helping his Mom clean, Henry goes straight to his room, figuring he should finish his homework.

After getting everything done, it was almost 12:30 in the morning. Henry was surprised that his Mom hadn't come up to his room earlier, forcing him to bed despite no school for him tomorrow, but he figured she was busy with work. Henry was headed towards the bathroom finally getting ready for bed, just as he made it to the door he heard his Ma.

"Thanks again, Regina. I don't think I would have lived another night on takeout." She chuckles dryly.

"You always had questionable eating habits." Henry imagines his Mom smiling at her insult per usual.

"True, but it's a good thing you're the chef in the family… So how's Henry holding up being locked up at home?"

Regina sighs before she answers, "I'm guessing he's taking it pretty well, he's been in his room most of the day, doing him homework I'm hoping."

"One can only hope that's what they're doing at this age." Emma genuinely laughs this time, for what exact reason, Henry wasn't too sure, but he was sure that he didn't want to know just yet. There was silence before she continued. "Well thanks again."

Henry hears his Ma's boots make contact with their marble floors, they start to get louder so Henry runs back into his room, but instead of them hitting the stairs as he expected, he hears the door open and close. He opens his room door just a crack and sees his Mom leaning against the front door, head resting against it. Before she opens her eyes Henry closes his door, not really knowing what to think of what just happened.

The rest of the week had a pretty basic routine; Grace would bring over his homework after school, Henry would do it the next day, read some new comics, have lunch, do more homework, then dinner. On some nights Emma would be there, but once his parents thought he was in bed sleep, Henry would sneak out and listen to their small talk. It was all casual things, how work and their day went, reports and signatures, nothing really beyond that.

Henry wasn't really listening for anything in particular, but he would still listen every night. He could hear the awkwardness in Emma's voice, trying to keep the conversation going, and his mother's exhausted attempt to continue it. Henry didn't know what happened to his parents, he knew his parents were having issues, but he didn't think things would go this far. His Ma had promised that everything would be fine, and this was anything but.

Nothing changed nearing the end of his suspension, Emma still left the house at night and came back by morning as if she never left. Over that time Henry figured this was the secret they were keeping from him and he was having the same issue they were; he wasn't sure how to confront them about it. He knew that they had no choice but to confess if he mentioned it first, but it was still a hard subject to talk about, his parents who loved him, and who he thought loved each other, were separated. From the kids at school, he knew the next step would be a divorce. The worst part was that there was nothing he could do about it, his parents already knew he would try something, but….the least they could do is give him the truth.

Tuesday morning rolled up and Henry was set on the plan he came up with the night before. He quickly had his breakfast and impatiently waiting for his Ma to take him to school. They had a quiet ride to the school until Emma parked getting ready to hug Henry good-bye.

"Please be good this time, Kid." Emma chuckles, but all the fun stop when Henry asks his question.

"Why did you move out?" Emma is frozen in shock, still in their embrace. When she gathers her wits, she slowly withdrawals from Henry with nothing but shock and confusion on her face.

"How long have you known?"

"Since my suspension." Emma nods her head and turns away from Henry, facing the wind shield. It's a short while before Emma finally said something. She sighs deeply and runs her hand through her hair.

"Look, Henry, it's…..I didn't move out, Your mom and I are just….we just need a break from each other, and we agreed that me staying at Granny's for a while would be a good idea."

"And you two couldn't have told me!?"

Emma squeezes her eyes shut as if she's ashamed of keeping this a secret. "I know, Kid, and we wanted to, there just never a good time to tell you. I'm sorry, Henry, but this doesn't mean that we love you any less, do you understand?"

Henry wanted to be mad at his Ma for keeping this from him for however long she's been keeping it, but he could see how all of this has been eating at her. Her eyes look sunken in and dark, and from what he's been hearing in their late night small talk, she hasn't been eating as well as she should. But as much as he really wanted to be mad, he just couldn't, he didn't want to make this any harder for her.

"I know," is all Henry says. Emma smiles in acceptance and Henry exits the car, heading towards the school.

Henry goes through the rest of the school day in a blur, he doesn't really pay attention to the lessons, he doesn't really eat his lunch, despite it being taco day, his favorite, and he's even been avoiding Grace. Today just wasn't his day ever since his Mother told him the truth, he already knew what the truth was, but hearing it being said out loud made it all too real. But what he worried about most was what now? Does this mean he'll see his Ma less? Henry loved both of his parents, he didn't want to have to choose between the two.

It was nearing the end of the day when Grace cornered him at his locker.

"Hey, Henry." Grace greets Henry in a giddy happy like tone, while Henry's tone is as gloomy as his mood.

"Hi, Grace." Grace notices this and her smile falters.

"Henry, are you ok, I haven't seen you all day after Home Room." Henry finally looks up at Grace.

"I'm sorry, I've just been busy with everything, you know, still trying to catch up from my suspension."

"Oh…."

"Yeah. Sorry, but I have to get to my next class, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Henry, wait!" Henry runs off before Grace could stop him.

Class went by like any other, and as soon as the bell ranged, Henry quickly exited the building and tried to think of a place he knew no one would look. There wasn't many of those places, but he finally found it after a half of hour of looking. Him and his family haven't been at the baseball field in so long, it's been at least 4 years since they all seen a game together. After their first game, Henry tried out for the team….he ended up twisting his ankle during conditioning, deeming it appropriate to say that Henry inherited Emma's clumsiness and that sports were not his calling.

Right now Henry just wanted to be alone, he wanted time to think about everything he just learned. Everyone knew they were having problems, but Henry, but he never thought things would ever get this bad between his parents, and now he's the last to learn about his Ma moving out. Who knows how many secrets they were keeping from him, but this one is the most shocking so far.