A/N: I hope this works this time.

A week after the festival, classes had started back up. Henry had no expectations of 8th grade being any different than the 7th, but at least this would be his last year in middle school. Being in a small town meant that you pretty much go to school with the same people for what felt like forever, but in Storybrooke, high school is when most friend groups split up or change. Since there weren't any high schools in town, everyone had to go to the city over, and there were many to choose from. Henry would likely go to the same school his parents did, but at least he would see less of the same people.

Henry and Grace, like everyone else, received their class schedule the Monday after the festival, and right away they checked to see which classes they shared. This year, they shared homeroom—as always—science, math, and gym, not as many as last year, but they were still happy to have a few classes together.

One good thing about small-town schools is that we keep our lockers throughout the years, easy to find, easy to get things started.

"Hello, Henry." Grace leans on the lockers next to Henry. "How was your weekend at your Mom's?"

After Henry apologized and spilled everything to Grace, he began to talk about everything that's been happening with his parents afterward…all but his plan though. Henry was hesitant to share that part of what's been happening, not sure if any of it was going to work, or it even being a good idea.

Henry slowly closes his locker, contemplating if he should say anything, not knowing if it's the right thing to do, but thought against it, not wanting to go back to how things were just a few months ago. Henry takes a slow deep breath, "Well, nothing different, but I guess that's the issue." Henry grabs the backpack Grace had set down by her feet, and they began to slowly walk towards homeroom. "She still stays up all night, "working", but never getting anything done. I'm not sure what she's working on, but I know it can't be work."

"Have you asked her?"

Henry adjusts the backpacks on his shoulders, "I have, but she just tries to reassure me that she's fine and that it's just a lot to do, which I've seen to be true, but this time,…this time seems different."

Grace grabs her backpack from Henry as they stop in front of their homeroom, "Henry, I'm really sorry. I wish I could think of something you could do to help your parents." They both give each other a weak smile before they head in.

The first day of classes were the same as always: get a rundown of what they're going to do that school year, learn the seating chart, and get a buttload of homework on the first day. Nothing Henry didn't expect, something he hoped for in other aspects of his life.

On the drive home, Regina didn't bombard Henry with questions, that is mostly due to the fact that she was still on the phone with her secretary, planning out her week, but a relief nonetheless since there wasn't much of anything to talk about.

If the first week of school is the norm for what Henry's life is going to be, Henry wouldn't mind for just a teeny-tiny more change. All week Henry did the exact same thing: wake up, eat breakfast with his parents, him and his Ma have a quiet car ride on the way to the school, he talks to Grace, classes, either of his parents pick him up from school, they all have dinner together, Emma goes home, and everything starts over the next day. Although Henry was only now getting used to all the changes he was thrown into, there was nothing to look forward to anymore; the only thing Henry ever got happy about was seeing Grace at school. His home life was beginning to get dull, a word he never thought he'd use to describe being the son of both the mayor and sheriff of a town.

That Friday night, with everything already packed, Henry left the mansion with his Ma, the car ride was pretty quiet, like all the others.

"So how was your first week not having to talk kids out of vandalizing buildings?" Henry chuckles, trying to break the silence; he's willing to talk about anything.

Emma continues to look at the road intensely before saying anything. "…Uhh, well, it's been good, although I was starting to think that maybe Mr. John's old shoe store needed a new look." Emma pushes out a weak laugh, signaling to Henry that this is the best at having a conversation they were going to get.

The following morning was like any other. Henry woke up at around noon, gone to the bathroom to brush his teeth and get dressed, then met his Ma downstairs. Emma was in the kitchen area eating a bowl of cereal and checking her phone. Henry had gone to the cabinet to do the same when he had gotten an idea.

"Ma, where are your pans?" Emma was too invested in her phone to hear the question, "Maaaaa…you here?" Henry begins to wave his hand in front of Emma to get her attention, "Where are your pans?" Emma puts her phone facing down on the counter and faces Henry.

"Well,…I don't have any." Henry's narrowed eyes and creased forehead gave way to what he was thinking. "Don't look at me like that, ok, you know I'm not a good cook. Your Mom did majority of the cooking in the house." Henry only responded with an eyebrow raised and his mouth set in a hard line, "…Fiiiiiine. Let's go."

On their way to the store, Henry began making a list of all the things his Ma would need to become the next 'Master Chef', and being her child, Emma knew exactly what he was doing. "I'm going to stop your right there, we're only getting a few pots and pans, nothing fancy, nothing over the top, got it?" Henry just rolls his eyes, nods, and revises his list.

Henry sets the bags on the countertop and start to take things out of the bags. "Ok, so we got most of the things we need in order to get you cooking like…an amateur, and once you get the basics down, we can get you started on more complex things, like not burning toast." Henry looks up from the food in his hand and smirks at Emma, who slits her eyes at him while trying to fight off a grin.

"Henry, I know what you're doing, and—"

"And I want you to stop living off of take-out and pizza. I also want you to sleep in an actual bed when I'm here, but we can fix that later, one thing at a time." Henry continues to put the food away ignoring Emma's reaction to his words, but knowing that what he said gotten to her when she continued to help put things away.

Henry didn't know when his Ma was ever going to move back into the house, but in the meantime, he could at least rest easy knowing that she wasn't going to waste her health away until then.

For the following week, most of the exchanges Henry and his Ma had were about cooking techniques and easy recipes his Ma could try. He basically gave her the deadline of learning how to make something by the weekend because he refused to eat anymore takeout while he stayed over. Henry knew this was the only way to get her to look at any of the things he was sending her because he figured she was ok with eating at Granny's every day. Henry saw this as a way to get his Ma to try something new, maybe get her to start looking into doing other things in her spare time; work with a lack of sleep was not a good look for her, but genuinely, Henry saw this as a way to get his mind off of the usual things he's been stressing himself over. This concern was a bit more light-hearted and easier to handle, he even asked Grace about her favorite meals to get more ideas, she thought it to be a great idea, getting Emma to learn how to cook. They even made their own little joke about the whole ordeal.

The weekend couldn't have come soon enough for Henry, he was excited to see what his Ma had learned throughout the week. He was more excited to see what she'll cook for dinner; he knew not to get too excited, she was just starting out after all, and knew not to expect anything too fancy, but given that instant ramen and take out was where she was starting from, anything would be a major improvement.

Getting in the squad car, Henry wasted no time. "Soooo, what's for dinner?"

Emma gave him a quick glance before smirking at his remark. "I haven't made it yet, I figured you wouldn't believe me if you seen a four-course meal ready when we got back, plus, I'm going to need your help with the recipe."

"Fair. Fair. So, then what are we making?"

"That is also a surprise." Emma's face gave way to a smile that looked like held all the secrets in the world. It made Henry excited about his stay.

Getting to the loft, Henry could see a few of the ingredients they were going to use. He placed his backpack on the couch haphazardly as he continued to look at the ingredients, trying to figure out what was on the menu tonight.

"Well, I see you're using real food, that's a good start." Emma gave him a playful push as they made their way to the kitchen.

"Ha. Ha. Just because I don't know how to cook, doesn't mean I can't eventually learn. Anyways, go wash your hands so we can start."

For the next 30 minutes, Emma left it to Henry to try and figure out what they were making while they put everything together. There were vegetables, and lots of them, meat, obviously, and spicy seasoning. It didn't take long for Henry to figure out they were making a roast, although with a spicy kick to it.

"I'm surprised. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks."

Emma just shakes her head while she ties up the meat. "I told you, I just never put in the time to learn. Your Mom always did all the cooking. I tried helping her once, but that never happened again when I over sautéed the vegetables and—"

"You mean burned."

Emma darts her eyes over to her son, all while nearly dropping the roast. She catches it, thankfully as she continues her story. "As I was saying—and she also hated how I washed her cast irons, so I was kind of banned from the kitchen during dinner since then…and only allowed to use the old pans. Your mother is also really strict with her non-stick as well." Emma finally finishes tying everything together and sets the roast in the oven, they set the timer for two hours and Henry goes to finish his homework.