Summary: Five years after the dark curse is cast, Emma and her son travel to storybrooke to help Henry, who has already left for Boston, break a curse that might not even exist. In Boston, he meets a weird man who helps him find his way back home. Now, with a twin, he never knew about, his mom's friend? and his "real" mom, who isn't telling the whole story, Henry must help defeat an enemy who is totally different from the person he thought it was.
Characters: Emma Swan, Timothy Swan, Henry Mills, Trevor Lucas (oc, sorta).
Appearances: Archie Hopper, Regina Mills, Sheriff.
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Henry stood in front of apartment 205 waiting for someone to answer the door. He knocked again then started to sway, left, right, a spin, a hop. Several more minutes passed like this before Henry started to feel the slightest loss of hope. Had she moved? Did he have the wrong address? No that couldn't be. He checked multiple times.
Third time's a charm, He thought as he raised his hand and knocked on the door once again before going back to waiting. His hands were on the straps of his backpack and he was on his tiptoes trying to look through the peephole. When he realized that he wasn't tall enough he leveled himself out and leaned back a bit with a sigh. Henry waited for three more minutes with still no answer. Deciding that no one was home, Henry turned around and took his backpack off. His pressed his back against the door and slid down to the floor before placing his backpack in his lap. Maybe she just left before he got there and would be back in an hour or something, Henry thought, deciding that he would wait. Minutes flew by and before long Henry was drifting off to sleep.
Henry heard the vague sound of boots thudding against the floor and cracked open his eyes. His sight was blurry for a few seconds and then the sight of brown combat boots came into his line of sight. Still not fully processing, Henry slowly looked up and saw black jeans followed by a white shirt and black leather jacket. At least he thought that's what it was.
"What are you doing in front of my apartment, Kid?" A gruff voice asked. The person, the voice belonged to, cleared their throat and repeated the question. By now, Henry was ten times more lucid. Which, honestly, wasn't very much.
Before thinking, Henry hopped up and asked: "Are you Emma Swan," with the most curious expression. His face fell upon realizing that it was a man and not a woman.
The man gave him an amused look and shook his head. He said, "Naw. My name is Trevor. Trevor Lucas." He walked past Henry and pulled a keychain, that had several keys on it, out of his back pocket. He unlocked and opened the door while Henry continued to watch from behind him. Trevor took a step inside but stopped and turned to Henry.
"You coming in," Trevor asked with a slight nod of his head in the direction of the door.
Henry gave him a skeptical look.
"I don't think I should go into stranger's houses. Mom would kill me if she found out."
"It's not a house. It's an apartment," Trevor says as if that was the most important part of what Henry had said. He continues before Henry can respond.
"And anyway, I think you're mom would be more focused on the fact that you ran away from home with only the clothes on your back, looking for someone that you don't even know." Henry was stunned.
"How-how did you know?" Trevor shrugged.
"I didn't. Just guessing. How 'bout you come inside so we can call your mom and let her know where you are. It's getting late, anyway. And I can tell you 'bout Emma." Trevor disappeared into the house, having nothing else to say.
Henry was about to protest but Trevor was gone before he could get the words out. He glanced down to the digital watch on his wrist and had to do a double take. "Twelve thirty-seven!? But it was eight twenty-nine when I left home." He then paused to think about what Trevor had just said. "WAIT," Henry yelled, picking up his backpack and taking off into the apartment after Trevor. He only paused to kick the door closed and take off his shoes. The floor is carpet; my mom may be evil but she didn't raise me to be a savage, He thinks.
The thought makes him shake his head.
When Henry finally caught up to him, Trevor was leaning against the island, of what Henry thought was the kitchen with a glass of what Henry hoped was water in his hand. He drunk the rest of whatever was in his cup and said:
"No need to yell, Kid. I'm right here."
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Hours after their departure from Boston, Emma and Timmy find themselves crossing into the small town of StoryBrooke, Maine. Emma spends the first ten minutes, upon arrival, driving around getting a feel for the sleepy town. She eventually wakes up Timmy and smiles when she sees him marveling at the sight of another new place. There seems to be no lights on in town and the stars shine ever so brightly in the night sky.
She reaches a street that has a diner called Granny's and stops the car suddenly, turning the engine off. Followed by Timmy, Emma steps out and shivers involuntarily as she reaches to pull her seat forward. She grabs the two coats in the back and rounds the car after shutting the door.
Emma slips on her red leather jacket wishing that she had brought the one with the fur instead. She hands Timmy his coat and with a short thanks, he puts his on too.
The short brunet glances around with a look Emma has yet to decipher and says: "What now?"
Emma's eyebrows raise at the question and she has to think for several minutes before she even has an idea. "I honestly don't even know," is whispered into the dark night and for twelve minutes, nothing else is said as mother and son stare up into the night sky.
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Regina is frantic when she notices that Henry is missing. Her first instinct, after searching and asking around town, is to consume as much alcohol as she possibly can before the sheriff shows up.
He pulls up when she's on her third glass and he walks in without even knocking. His blue eyes search the room and widen slightly when they notice the usually stoic mayor crying on the floor of her study.
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After about half an hour of talking, Henry silently sits next to Trevor with a plate on his lap and a soda can in his hand. He has more questions than answers and he still hasn't found out where Emma Swan is. He lets his head fall back with a groan and closes his eyes. This was not how this was supposed to go. He was supposed to meet Emma, take her back to Storybrooke, and she would then break the curse and bring back the happy endings. They would defeat his mom- Regina, he corrected in his head- and everyone would live happily ever after.
Henry didn't even flinch this time when he thought those thoughts, even though it left a bitter taste in his mouth. He almost cringed when Trevor spoke again, his voice startling Henry out of his head. He had forgotten that Trevor even existed.
"You ready to tell me your mom's number so that I can call her now, Champ." He reclaimed his spot next to Henry after returning from the bathroom and Henry balked at the idea of calling his mom. He had been so lost in thought that he failed to realize that Trevor had left.
Trevor picked up a piece of pizza and took a large bite of it.
Henry notices the expectant look on his face and shook his head. He wasn't ready to face the flames yet. Maybe after he finished his pizza. He didn't want his appetite ruined from the scolding and grounding that he was bound to get. Henry looked down at the pizza on his plate -his second one- and realized that he was not as hungry as he was two minutes ago. He shook his head and moved the plate from his lap and onto the table.
"No," Trevor finally says after swallowing his next bite. "I think you should just get it over with Tim-I mean kid." Henry ignores the first part in favor of not talking about the situation that he undoubtedly caused by running off to Boston to find a woman who isn't even where he thought she lived. Instead, he focused on the name that had slipped past Trevor's lips.
"Who's Tim," He asked with a tilt of his head as if that would change the answer he received.
Trevor shook his head after a startled look passed over his features. "No one. I mean," He pauses, looking for the right way to phrase his next words. "Just someone I know. You kinda look like him." And Henry senses the lie in the first part but the second part is true, mostly.
"You're not being honest. I can tell." He hadn't meant to say it but it's out there now and Trevor once again looks startled by Henry's words before his lips tip up into a grin.
"You look just like your mom when you make that face." And Henry knows he's deflecting but it shocks him and all he can say is:
"Really."
Trevor nods, his grin still in place and the Transformers movie that he's been dying to watch is still playing in the background, but Henry has forgotten all about it. He turns his body so that he is facing Trevor fully and pulls his knees up to his chest.
"Do you know her?" He asks. "Emma Swan." And his eyes are wide with a kind of breathless astonishment so he doesn't even notice Trevor's look of confusion before it changes to a look of understanding or the slight cringe(or is it a flinch) that follows.
Trevor nods and his lips pull into a thin line. He watches Henry with a tilt of his head and not even a second later, his grin is back in place. It's not as wide as the last one but it's still there and Henry's brief look of confusion vanishes as he once again smiles too.
"Are you gonna tell me about her," He pauses for a breath. "Like you said you would." And even though he's only ten years old, his voice holds a certain authority that leaves no room for disagreement. Trevor nod and he's about to speak but Henry's already asking questions.
"How'd ya meet her? Why isn't she here? Where'd she go? What's she like," Henry asks and it seems as if he hadn't even paused between questions.
"I don't know where she went or why but I can tell you how we met."
Henry feels the lie as soon as it leaves Trevor's mouth. And he's about to ask about it when Trevor launches into a retelling of how he met Emma Swan. Not wanting to seem rude by interrupting, Henry closes his mouth and lets the tell of running from the police and corrupt government official wash over him.
-T-
Throughout the story, Trevor changes some of the detail to match the things in this world. Changing guards to police and talking about the King's and Queen's courts as if they were government officials. It doesn't make as much sense when he tells the converted version but Henry seems too caught up in the story to notice when he stumbles over the word "dragon" and quickly changes it to dog. So he keeps going with the story and hopes that Henry didn't realize his mention of Regina.
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Emma and Timmy are about to get back into the car to look for a place to stay for the night when a young man with curly red hair comes along, his hand tightly gripping a leash the is connected to the collar of a black and white Dalmatian. Upon spotting them, he rushes over pulling the dog along with him.
"Henry!" He calls the second he is close enough. Both Timothy's and Emma's heads shoot up and not even a second later, Emma is around the car and next to Timmy. She wraps her arm around his shoulder just as the man comes to a stop. He glances warily between the two while he opens and closes his mouth, trying to figure out what to say. In the end, he just settles on: "Where have you been? The whole town has been searching for you. Your mom is beside herself with worry," He says and it's at that moment that Emma notices the small group of people standing a little ways behind him.
She grimaces, not wanting to deal with people tonight. She doesn't even realize that she had let out a groan until the man's eyes snap to her and give her a criticizing once over. She tries to give him a polite smile but she's sure it looks like anything but that. It's a few seconds later when he finally speaks again.
"And you are?" His tone is brittle and his gray eyes hold a silent accusation. Timmy tenses as the dog barks and he finally recognizes who this is. He lets out an almost silent squeak and shrinks back into his mother's side. She gives his shoulder a comforting squeeze and he relaxes a little, but not much.
"No one important," The blonde finally replies after the tense silence becomes too stifling. "Just giving this little guy a ride home." Timmy recognizes the chuckle that follows as obviously fake; her smile even faker. He mimics her smile and adds on a, "Yeah"
"It'd help if you could point me in the right direction," She says with a wary glance in the direction of the dog, his barking becoming more frantic.
"Hush, Pongo," The man says before turning back to the two in front of his. He gives Emma a grin and her eyes fall on his weirdly sharp canine teeth. An unpleasant shiver ripples through her and Timmy lets out another squeak as he tries to disappear behind her.
"His mother, The Mayor, lives right over on Mifflin Street. It's the biggest house on the block. You can't miss it," He says, pointing in the direction that Emma had just come from. "Just go that way, take two rights, then a left, and in ten minutes you'll find yourself on Mifflin Street."
Emma gives Timmy an incredulous look. "The mayor. Really?" He just shrugs in response. What is he supposed to say to that anyway?
Emma just shakes her head and turns back to the man when he finally finishes giving directions she says: "Thank you...?"
"Archibald Hopper," He says, taking the hint. "You can just call me Archie," He adds after a moment.
Emma nods and says: "Thank you, Archie. Have a good night." She and Timmy return to the car as Timmy finally speaks.
"Goodnight, Archie," He calls over his shoulder right before he slides into the car.
Just as Emma goes to do the same Archie says, "No problem. You two have a good night too. Emma. Tim-." He pauses. "Henry." And Emma freezes, mouth falling open. She hadn't told him her or her son's name. She could have sworn that he thought Timmy was Henry. They are identical. Except for their eyes; but he couldn't have noticed that. Even if he did, she never mentioned either of their names so how did he know.
With a quick glance down to Timmy, Emma notices that on his face is the same shocked expression as her own. She gulps audibly and then suddenly her throat feels dry. He couldn't know. Could he? She shakes her head. There's no way. She tries to reel in her thoughts as she finally glances back up to look at Archie. He isn't there. With a quick glance around the area, Emma notes that it is completely desolate. The group of people and Archie are nowhere in sight.
With a feeling of dread, Emma slides into the driver's seat. Her hands reach up to grip the steering wheel and she gently places her head down. Her knuckles are probably white and her hands hurt after a few seconds.
Timmy turns to his mom with wide eyes and shaking hands. "We didn't tell him our names," He finally says after stumbling over his words for a couple of seconds. His face is pale and he dreads to think about what this means for their plans. He tries to say something else but the words refuse to come out and he's definitely shaken up.
It's ten minutes later when they both calm down enough to speak.
"We're not going to Mifflin, are we?" He asks finally. Emma looks over to him and the glint in her eyes makes him dread whatever it is she's gonna say next.
"Of course we are. Don't you wanna know what happened to Henry?" Her voice is barely above a whisper and it sounds like she's asking herself more so than Timmy.
"Of course I do!" He cries before she even finishes the question. "How could you even ask that?" He whispers. He pulls his feet into the seat and presses his legs to his chest. His head falls forward. "It's just..." He pauses, trying to find the right words. "I'm scared. I wanna know what happened to Henry but I'm scared. What if this-this curse isn't what we thought it was? What if there isn't that curse? What if this is..." He stops. He doesn't even want to voice that thought. He doesn't need to. Emma knows what he means and neither of them knows what to do if that is the case. "Can't we just come back tomorrow," he pleads and it's partially muffled by his legs.
Emma reaches over and runs her hands through his hair. He had just gotten it cut the week before and it seemed like it was already back to its previous length. "How 'bout we just go see what all the fuss is about, okay? Then we can find a place to stay and figure out what to do about Archie and the curse." She tries to sound comforting but she feels like she's failing. Regina was always the one who was good at calming the twin's fears.
Emma's head falls backward and she lets out a sigh. After a moment, she lifts her head and turns back to Timmy. "What d'ya say kiddo? Wanna go figure out what happened to Henry so we can break this curse, or whatever it is." She reaches over to tickle his side and that gets him to calm down. He laughs for a while before he calms down. He slides his feet off the seat and lifts his head.
"Sure." He responds. "Operation Lost boy is a go." He says with a grin, finally back in better spirits.
"Operation Lost boy?" Emma's face scrunches up at the name.
"Yeah. No one knows where Henry is, so he's lost. We gotta find him and bring him home. But first, we gotta gather information." Emma just shakes her head and grins. Her boys were always scheming and coming up with weird operations. But she loved it. It was always fun to see what they came up with next.
"Okay." She pauses to think. "I guess operation Lost boy is a go." Timmy gives her a look.
"I already said that," he sasses.
"Right." Her eyes narrow as something catches her eye. She reaches for it and her hand comes back with Timmy's storybook. She opens it to a few pages before where the story had previously stopped after more of it had appeared and gasps when she notices that it had started writing itself. It starts at the moment she had returned for turning in her runner. She's sure that if she turns to where the story to where it stopped before she'll find out the answers to all the questions she'd had before and after the curse was cast. She decides then that they'll wait for the rest of their family to read those pages.
"What is it," He asks, leaning over to look. Emma hands him the book and he too gasps. It's not possible, he wants to say, the book had stopped writing itself before the battle had even begun. What could possibly have started it back up again?
The pages flip by themselves and land on a picture of a boy standing in front of a door. Timmy reads the passage before turning to his mom. "Henry is in Boston," he says with wide eyes.
"Oh god," Emma grumbles. "We forgot about Trevor," she says, followed by a long sigh.
"Shit." Emma gives him a scandalized look.
"Timothy James Swan. Language." He purses his lips.
"Sorry, but what are we supposed to do about this? Are we gonna go back to Boston, or are we going to Mami," he asks. And it's a valid question. What are they going to do? It only takes a moment to decide.
"We're going to Regina. We need to find out just how much this curse has affected the people we know. Trevor will take care of Henry. I'll give him a call to tell him where we are. He can bring Henry with him on his way here. As for now, you're going to read the book, but not that part," Emma says as she starts the car.
Timmy seems to get what she means as he turns the pages back to the very first page and starts to read Lilith's story as Emma drives off in the direction of Mifflin street.
"I guess Operation Lost Boy is basically complete, eh," Emma says before Timmy starts reading. He turns to her with a frown, wondering how long it would take her to get to her point. "We still need a name for our plan to break the curse." And Timmy grins. Right to the point, He thinks.
"We can come up with it together when Henry and Trevor are here." And Emma nods cause it seems reasonable. Timmy turns back to the book to read. He starts it the same as he does every other story.
"Once upon a time..." He reads as he gets lost in the tale of a previous life that seems so long ago yet not truly forgotten.
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"Yeah. Okay. Bye," Trevor says before hanging up and turning to Henry. The young boy watches him with an expectant look.
"Who was that," he asks, just waiting for Trevor to lie to him again. He really hops that Trevor doesn't. He seems like a nice guy and Henry doesn't want to have to be suspicious of his every move. He actually likes Trevor.
"Emma," Trevor says after a moment of thought and it's the truth. Henry opens his mouth to ask a question but Trevor speaks before he can. "She's in a town called Storybrooke. Apparently, she's talked to someone called Archie and he says that the whole town is looking for you. She's gonna talk to your mom and inform her of your whereabouts. For tonight, we're gonna stay here but tomorrow, we're going to Storybrooke to meet up with Emma. After that, you're going home."
Henry's face scrunches up and he isn't sure which part he should focus on. It takes a couple of minutes for all the information to sink in. By then, Trevor is sitting next to Henry again and the words start to spill out.
"Emma's in Storybrooke? She's talking to my mom." He tries to remember what else Trevor had say. "You need to call her back. Right Now. She can't trust my mom or Archie. They are both evil." He says with wide eyes and he's started to breathe heavily with the beginnings of a panic attack. He tries to reach for the phone only for it to be pulled out of his reach.
"Calm down, Kid. Emma can handle herself." He's a little shocked by Henry's reaction to the news. And calling Regina evil? There's no way, He thinks.
"You don't understand," He says and his voice is pleading. "We have to warn her abou- He hesitates on telling Trevor but this is too important. "About the curse." And his voice starts to rise with each word. Trevor's brows furrow.
"Henry," he says, hoping that his voice sounds calming. "You don't have to worry about that. Emma knows. She knows what she's doing. We will meet up with them tomorrow and you can tell them everything you know," He says and almost breaths a sigh of relief when he notices Henry relaxing. Henry, though, does sigh.
"Okay," He responds because he feels like he can trust Trevor for some reason. Like he knows him. At least Trevor hadn't lied to him this time. "Wait. Them?" Henry says in a questioning tone. "Them who. I thought it was just Emma."
Trevor just grins and shakes his head. "You'll find out who else tomorrow. It's time for us to go to sleep. I want to get there as soon as possible and I'm sure you do too. And it's a long drive, we're both gonna need our rest."
Henry nods followed by a yawn. He's pretty tired. So when Trevor leads him to a room that looks like it belongs to someone his age and hands him a pair of pajamas that are exactly the right size, Henry doesn't even question it. He takes the clothes and changes. Trevor says that he can stay in the bed in the kid's room and Henry just nods and goes to bed. He doesn't even fight to stay awake like he usually does. He knows for a fact that tomorrow will be a long day and he's going to need all the rest he can get.
TBC. If I can find the inspiration, motivation, and time to continue. Please leave a comment to tell me what you think.