Chapter 2:

Welcome to Storybrooke

The next day when I got home from school, there was a strange envelope addressed to me in the mailbox. Which was strange, because what twelve year old got mail. I ripped it open and read the letter inside. I smiled wider than I've smiled in a long time when I found out that I had won an all expense paid weekend at a tiny Bed and Breakfast in an even tinier town in Maine. What better way to spend my last weekend with my mom, then in a quiet sleepy town up north. "Maybe the quiet and fresh air will help. And she'll decide not to go away!" I thought, as I sat down and started making a list of all the reasons why this weekend getaway was perfect. I knew it was going to take a bit of convincing for Mom to agree to the last minute mini-vacation.

When she got home, I immediately broached the subject of our impromptu getaway. At first she said no, claiming it was the worst time to be going away. To which I countered that, this would be the last chance we would have to go away, since neither of us knew how long she would be in the facility for. I begged like a small child begging for a cookie before dinner, and in the end she relented. But only if this offer was real. No one just sends out free weekends to complete strangers for no reason.

Twenty minutes later, she got off the phone with the owner of the Bed and Breakfast. According to the sweet older woman she spoke to, the offer was, in fact, real. My name had been selected at random to spend a weekend in their new Bed and Breakfast. The only stipulation was we would have to consider perhaps writing a nice review that she could use on her website, if we enjoyed our stay of course. Looks like we were going to Maine after all.

Friday afternoon, we loaded up mom's trusty yellow bug and we drove north towards the state of Maine. It took us almost six hours to get there, and as soon as we passed the "Welcome to Storybrooke" sign, we both released a sigh of relief. Mom seemed to relax almost instantly the moment we crossed the town line. Maybe it was the salty sea air, or the charming quiet streets that allowed her to decompress. Either way, my plan was already working.

We quickly found the Bed and Breakfast, and climbed out of the car, stretching our legs after the long drive. As soon as we opened the front door, we were greeted by a very lovely young lady with long black hair with red streaks. Her name tag said "Ruby" and she wore a bright smile on her face that no doubt made her cheeks hurt at the end of the day.

"Good evening. Do you have a reservation?" She asked, her face looking like she was about to burst into laughter.

"Yes. It's under "Swan". Emma and Henry Swan." Mom answered.

"Oh yes. The lucky mother and son pair who won the free weekend. Welcome to Granny's Bed and Breakfast. Let me show you to your room. It's the best one!" Ruby smiled, grabbing a large key from the cubbies beside her.

We followed Ruby upstairs and into the large room they had designated for us. Before she left, she reminded us that part of the package included free meals at the diner connected to the building. Our stomachs grumbled at the thought of dinner and we promised to pop into the diner as soon as we have settled in.

Fifteen minutes later, we made our way into the diner. You know that cliche movie moment when someone walks into a place, and everyone in the room stops what they are doing and stares at them? That was exactly what happened when Mom and I walked into the diner called Granny's. Ruby told us to take a seat, and every single set of eyes followed us as we made our way to a booth in the back.

"I guess they don't get a lot of tourists in these parts." Mom laughed, as Ruby came over with some water and our menus.

"It's a little 'Children of the Corn' here." I laughed, as the chatter slowly started up around us.

We quickly ordered and ate our meals, practically licking the plates clean, even ordering seconds on dessert. I could tell mom was mentally preparing herself for institution food by stuffing her face with the good stuff while she could. People continued to stare at us, and even a couple people even came over and welcomed us to town. I couldn't tell if it was creepy, or hospitable.

After dinner we made our way back upstairs to the room, preparing for a long night ahead of us. After a lengthy talk, we decided the best course of action to combat the sleepwalking would be for me to wake up around 1:05am and sit in front of the door, blocking her path. If it looked like she was going to so much as tap the door with her foot, I was instructed to punch her wherever and however many times was necessary to ensure my safety. I was to use any and all means necessary to ensure my own safety first, to prevent her from leaving the room.

1:05am rolled around and my alarm went off as planned. I stretched and limbered up, watching the clock as the minutes passed by. At exactly 1:08am, Mom woke up and climbed out of bed. This was the moment of truth. She walked over to the door and I gently pushed her away.

"No, Henry. I have to go. She needs me." Mom said, anger already rising in her voice.

"Not tonight, Mom. She doesn't need you tonight." I said, standing quickly, Mom's foot already stepping back to prepare to kick me.

"Henry, stop! She's here! The Queen is here and she needs me! I have to go to her!" Mom screamed, pushing me out of the way.

I punched her in the arm and she didn't even flinch. She just kept walking towards the door. I took a deep breath, knowing what I needed to do. I quickly threw my shoulder into her chest, stunning her slightly, giving me the opportunity to knock out her legs, sending her tumbling to the floor with a loud bang. I was thankful there was no one staying on the floor beneath us, because the sound of her hitting the floor was deafening.

"Henry, stop!" She screamed, as I placed my knee lightly against her sternum. "Let me up! The Queen needs me!"

"Not tonight, Mom. Tonight the Queen is fine." I said, trying to regain my balance as she attempted to knock me over.

Desperate times called for desperate measures, as I quickly grabbed her arms and sat on her stomach, keeping her pinned to the ground.

"Henry, please! She needs me. The Queen needs me. Please, I need to go to her!" She cried, tears falling into her tangled blonde hair.

The next ten minutes consisted of her crying and begging me to let her go, as I continued to keep her pinned to the ground. When it was over, she simply fell back to sleep, her head hitting the ground with a loud thump. I took a deep breath and climbed off her, grabbing a spare blanket to cover her with before returning to my own bed, knowing she would be impossible to wake for at least an hour after her episodes. "So much for my theory…" I thought, as I climbed back into bed.

The next morning, Mom just shook her head when she woke up on the floor where I had left her, rubbing her chest lightly. She laughed slightly when I told her I ended up having to sit on her until she fell asleep again. It was nice to hear her laughing at the situation for a change. Regardless of the terrible night we had, we were determined to make the most of the day we had ahead of us, knowing our days together were numbered.

"Hey Kid, go downstairs and get us a table. I'll be down in a few minutes." She yelled through the closed bathroom door. "Order me a coffee too."

"K. Can I have hot chocolate?" I yelled back.

"Sure, whatever you want. We're on vacation." She laughed.

I rushed downstairs and slid into the last open booth, the same one that we sat in the night before. Ruby rushed over with menus, asking if there was anything she could get me while I waited. I ordered the drinks and she rushed off, more excited today than she was yesterday when we got there. "This town is really strange." I thought to myself as I looked over the menu. A few minutes later, a sweet older woman approached the table, carrying a tray of drinks, placing a glass of water in front of me.

"I hope you don't find this too forward of me to ask, but is your mother alright?" She asked, as she placed the mugs of coffee and hot chocolate on the table.

"Yeah. She's just getting ready so she asked me to grab us a table." I said.

"No, I mean…" She started to say, not sure if she should continue. "I heard screaming and crying last night. Does your mother suffer from nightmares?" she asked, concern written all over her face.

"Not quite…" I said, not sure if I should give away my mother's secret issue. But there was something about the kind woman that told me I could trust her. "She sleepwalks. The same time every night. She gets angry when I stop her from leaving."

"Where do you suppose she's going when she tries to leave?" She asks, her face changing, as if a light bulb was going off.

"I don't know. She keeps saying that the Queen needs her, and she needs to go home to help the Queen." I laughed at how silly it all sounded. Here I was, telling a complete stranger that my mother needs to help the Queen when she's sleeping. "I'm afraid that she's going to step out into traffic or get hurt somehow." I explained.

"Now, I know I'm not a psychiatrist or anything, but perhaps you should let her take her walk. Let her get to where she clearly needs to go. What's the worst that could happen?"

"What if she gets hit by a car?" I asked, trying not to think of the possibility of her getting hurt.

"Go with her. Make sure she stays out of traffic. Maybe if she gets to where she's trying to go, the sleepwalking will stop." She suggested again, as a ding was heard behind the counter. "Give it some thought, young man. It certainly can't hurt." She said, rushing behind the counter to retrieve an order.

A minute later, Mom came downstairs to join me, glancing at the menu while she loaded her coffee with cream and sugar. Ruby came by a few minutes later to take our order, another huge grin on her face. We ate breakfast, discussing what we should do that day, when a very pregnant woman with short hair approached the table.

"Good morning! Welcome to Storybrooke! How are you finding everything so far?" She asked, her smile matching Ruby's.

"Everyone is definitely very nice here." Mom laughed, taking a sip of coffee.

"We're from New York. We're not used to having people be so nice to us." I laughed.

"Well, hopefully I can change that. My name is Mary Margaret Blanchard, and I have volunteered to show you the sights of our small town. As part of your 'all expense paid weekend' of course." She smiled.

"Uhh...sure why not. You cool with that, Kid?"

"Sure. I'm down." I said. I didn't care what we did, as long as I got to spend time with Mom.

"Great! I'm going to be over at that table with my husband, David." She said, pointing to the blonde gentleman a few booths away, waving hysterically, his smile matching everyone else's "Come say 'Hi' when you're finished and ready and we'll get going. I hope you wore your walking shoes." She laughed, waddling back to her table.

"Ok, I think there's something in the water here. It makes people friendly." Mom laughed, shoving another strip of bacon into her mouth.

"I think you're right. And what's with everyone's smiles? It's starting to get really creepy how excited people are to meet us."

"I don't think they get out much." Mom laughed.

A half hour later, we finished our meal and slowly made our way toward our new friend Mary Margaret and her husband, who were practically staring a hole in both our heads the entire time. We met David and Mary Margaret jumped out the booth faster than we thought any pregnant woman could, quickly dragging us out of the diner and into the crisp Maine morning.

Over the course of the next six hours, we walked every street of the small town. Mary Margaret showed us every building and every house along the way. It felt like she was trying to convince us to move to the town instead of showing a bunch of tourists around for the day. Our last stop was a very large white house at the edge of town.

"Here's a very special house. It's where our town Mayor lives." Mary Margaret said, pointing to the massive white house.

"I think this house is bigger than our entire apartment building! It's beautiful though." Mom laughed.

"It definitely is. I was hoping you could meet our dear Mayor, but unfortunately she is ill at the moment." Mary Margaret said, her voice sounding sad.

"Oh no. I hope she's alright." I said, not sure why I was so concerned about a woman I had never met.

"We all hope so too. She fell into a mysterious coma a little more than a year ago, and no one knows why it happened. So she just lays there, all alone in the house. We all hope she will pull through."

"Wait, she's in there? Not in the hospital?" Mom asked, sounding concerned for the unknown Mayor.

"Yes. We all thought she would be more comfortable in her own home. She has round-the-clock medical care to make sure she is safe. But other than the nurses that sit with her, she is all alone in there. So sad."

"Yeah, that's a shame." Mom said. There was something very strange about her expression that I couldn't quite place.

"Well, that concludes our walking tour of Storybrooke, Maine." Mary Margaret said, pulling Mom away from her thoughts before I could identify the expression on her face. "Shall we make our way back to the diner for an early dinner?" She asked, directing us back to the diner where we had started so long ago.

Thankfully, Mary Margaret bid us farewell once we arrived back at the diner, sitting down in the same booth, meeting David once again. Mom joked that David hadn't left the diner, that he was sitting there all day waiting for us to come back. We ate our dinner quickly, all the while quietly poking fun of the residents who all continued to stare at us while they ate. After dinner, we decided to take a stroll down to the docks, stopping at the ice cream shop we passed earlier that day.

"Should we talk about what's going to happen when we get back to the city?" Mom asked, taking a mouthful of ice cream.

"No. Don't ruin this trip. We can talk about everything when we're back in New York. Please don't ruin this." I said, gazing down at my shoes. We both knew what was going to happen. We both knew we only had one more day before it all happened. We both knew this was one of the last moments we would have together until she went away. There was no need to talk about it just yet.

"You're right, Kid. I'm sorry." She said with a sigh. "Let's enjoy the rest of the day before we have to leave tomorrow." She said, staring at the water in front of us.

The rest of the day flew by, and suddenly it was time to settle in for the night. We stayed up late talking until we both fell asleep, my alarm once again set for 1:05am to anticipate that night's sleepwalking incident.

This time was different though. This time, as I laid in bed waiting for Mom to get up, I heard the voice of the kind older woman that everyone calls Granny. The voice that told me to let Mom leave to see where she goes. "What's the worst that can happen?" I asked myself. "I'll be there with her the whole time. If things get fishy, I'll just knock her over and sit on her until she falls asleep again."

Like clockwork, Mom climbed out of bed at exactly 1:08am, walking towards the door. I gently stopped her.

"Henry, no. I have to go. She needs me." Mom said, her eyes distant and glossy as they always were.

"I know, Mom. And we're going to go. But first, you need to put on your shoes. You can't help the Queen without your shoes." I said, gently guiding her towards her boots in the corner.

"You're right, Henry. I need my shoes." she said, swiftly pulling her boots on, tying them quickly before moving towards the door again. I rushed after her once I had my own sneakers on, following her down the stairs and out the back door of the Bed and Breakfast.

She moved faster than I thought she would in her sleeping state, and I struggled to catch up with her. She walked through the silent streets, turning down random streets until she came to stop in front of the white house we had seen earlier on our tour.

"She's in there, Kid. The Queen. She's inside." Mom said, staring at the large white house.

"She is?" I asked, still wondering who the Queen was.

"She's here, Henry. I need to help her." Mom said, unlatching the large gate, walking down the front walkway like she knew her way around the property.

"Mom, wait. You can't. This is someone's house. The Mayor lives here. You can't just walk into her house." I said, trying to stop her before we added breaking and entering to our late night adventure. Just as I was about to stop her, I noticed the number on the front door.

108

It felt like all the air was being pulled from my lungs.

House number 108.

1:08am.

They were the same.

While I was stuck in my revelation, Mom continued down the path to the front door, knocking slightly. I rushed over to pull her away when the door opened suddenly, revealing the smiling face of Ruby on the other side.

"Took you long enough, Sheriff." Ruby laughed, as she moved to allow Mom to enter. "Sheriff? Why did she just call Mom Sheriff?" I thought to myself.

"Where is she?" Mom asked.

"Upstairs." Ruby said, motioning with her head to the staircase behind her. "Take your shoes off Emma."

"She hates when I wear my muddy boots upstairs." Mom laughed, kicking off her shoes.

"Well, are you coming? We're going to miss all the fun standing outside." Ruby said, waving me inside. I kicked my shoes off, as if by habit, and followed Mom upstairs. The feeling of dejavu spread through me as I walked up the large staircase. There was something about the house that felt familiar.

Ruby and I followed Mom down the hall, stopping at the last door on the right.

"Go on. The Queen needs you." Ruby whispered. I almost hit the tall woman right then and there. How did she know? Before I could question her about her knowledge of my mom's sleepwalking conversation, she quickly followed Mom into the room. I rushed after them, and what I saw was not what I was expecting.

The room was dark, which was to be expected for one in the morning. But the room was also very quiet. No hospital machines beeping in the background, no hospital bed taking up space. The room was very much a regular bedroom. In the bed, as expected, laid a brunette woman who looked more like she was sleeping than stuck in a coma. Her breathing was so shallow, at first glance I thought she might be dead.

As soon as Mom entered the room, she rushed over to the side of the bed, quickly climbing under the covers towards the mysteriously sleeping woman.

"Regina." she whispered, facing the sleeping woman.

"Emma." The woman whispered, suddenly shifting to lay on her side to face Mom.

"Wait, I thought she was in a coma." I asked Ruby, trying to wrap my head about the situation.

"She is. Well, sort of. She's been asleep for over a year. Hasn't moved or spoken or even opened her eyes the entire time." Ruby answered.

"Then why did she just roll over towards my mom?" I asked.

"Magic." Ruby smiled, as our attention returned to Mom, and the woman named Regina.

"Emma…" Regina whispered again, reaching out for mom, pulling her close to her.

"I'm here, Regina. I'm here." Mom whispered. Their faces were inches apart, their noses practically touching.

"I've been calling for you." Regina whispered.

"I know. I couldn't get here." my mom whispered, gently cupping Regina's face.

"I need you, Emma. Please." Regina whispered.

"It's time to wake up, My Queen." Mom whispered, slowly pressing her lips against Regina's.

The ground felt like it was shaking, as a wave of rainbow energy shot out from their lips, spreading across the room and out of the house.

Memories began to flood through my brain. I remembered everything. Storybrooke. Curses. Magic. Fairy Tales. Neverland and Peter Pan. Snow White and Prince Charming, my grandparents. True Love. Every memory came rushing back, including the most important thing.

My Mom.

Regina, the mysterious coma stricken Mayor, was Regina Mills, my mother. I wasn't Henry Swan, as I previously thought. I was Henry Daniel Mills, and Regina Mills was my mother.

And right now, my biological mother was laying in bed with my adoptive mother, after sharing what was undoubtedly, True Love's Kiss.

Except, instead of waking Regina up, and shaking Emma from her sleepwalking trance, neither one was awake, and Emma was completely passed out, her face once again inches away from Regina's.

"Wait, Ruby? Why didn't that work? Why didn't my mom wake up?" I asked, turning my attention to the equally confused woman.

"I think she was already awake, kind of, when she walked over here. Now I think she's just regular asleep." Ruby answered, clearly pulling that answer out of her ass.

"No, not Emma. Regina. Why didn't she wake up? That was True Love's Kiss, right?"

"Wait, you know who Regina is?" Ruby asked, a look of surprise on her face.

"Yeah. She's my mom." I smiled. "I remembered after the kiss. It must have broken whatever spell she put on me to make me forget Storybrooke." I said, as Ruby pulled me in for a strong hug.

"Welcome home Henry." Ruby said into my hair.

"Thanks Ruby. It's good to be home. And better yet, it's good to know it's home." I said, quickly turning my attention back to my mothers, who were still in the same place they were a few minutes ago. "Why didn't Mom wake up? And now, Ma is asleep too. It was supposed to wake them both up. I don't get it."

"Maybe it wasn't True Love's Kiss." Ruby said, her face revealed she didn't believe what she just said.

"No way. That was True Love's Kiss. There's no denying it."

"Yeah. you're right. There's no way that wasn't. It literally shook the house." Ruby laughed. "Maybe we just need to give them some time to wake up. Let's get some sleep and see how they're doing in the morning."

"Good idea. It's been quite an exciting couple of days. It'll be good to sleep in my old bed." I laughed.

The next morning when I checked, neither of them were awake, nor had they moved since the night before. They still laid facing each other, their hands clutching one another.

"I don't understand." I said, from my seat at the edge of the bed next to Regina's legs. "Why are they both still sleeping?"

"I haven't the faintest clue." Ruby said. "And the only person who is an expert in sleeping curses, is sound asleep in that bed."

"Ruby…" I whispered, reaching to place my hand on Regina's leg "What happened to my mom? Who put her under this sleeping curse?"

"We don't know. Snow found her like this one morning." Ruby said.

"How did you know Emma was her True Love? I'm pretty sure neither of them even knew."

"We didn't." Ruby laughed. "This is just as big of a surprise to us as it is to you."

"Then how did you know to send us the invitation to come visit?" I asked, even more confused.

"To be honest, we thought it was going to be you who broke the curse. But when you told Granny about Emma's sleepwalking, and her need to help the Queen, we started putting two and two together."

"How long have you guys been back?" I asked, turning my attention back to my sleeping mothers.

"A little over a week. We woke up in Storybrooke last Friday morning and immediately sent you the invitation. We had to send it priority to make sure it got to you sooner." Ruby laughed, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Last Friday night...that was the night when things got worse…" I thought to myself. "What do we do now?" I asked, after a few moments of silence.

"I don't know. Maybe we should talk to your grandparents. Take it from there." Ruby said. "I'll give them a call and let them know what happened. I'll meet you downstairs when you're ready." She said, leaving me alone with my parents for the first time since we arrived. By the end of the day, we were no closer to figuring out what happened than we were when the day started. All we could do was wait, and hope for the best.

They stayed like this for the next three months. Never waking, never moving.