GET READY, KIDS. HERE WE GO.

Graham just texted me. He's outside.

Henry frowned at Whale's text, rubbing his thumb over his lips thoughtfully. This was weird: he wasn't used to adults looking to him for instructions. After another moment of consideration, he typed back a reply.

Let him in. He can mingle in with the crowd for a few minutes until I make the announcement.

Okay.

Henry sat back in his seat, sliding his phone in his pocket. Oddly enough, he didn't feel nervous. There was a weird tingling feeling crawling up his spine, and there was a buzzing sensation in his ear, but other than that, he just felt numb. Like everything was simply too close and real for him to actually process.

His chest burned faintly, and he realized he'd been holding his breath.

"Goddamn it, Henry," he muttered to himself, taking in a few deep breaths. "Calm down. You can do this. You can do this. You can—I can't do this. Oh, goddamn it, I can't do this."

He looked up, his eyes skimming the room to judge the level of sobriety at this point. He hoped he hadn't left it too late: he wanted them to be just drunk enough to soften the blow, but no more than that.

His eyes found Snow and David in the crowd, laughing as they danced around the more vigorously dancing couples, jostling against each other; every so often, leaning in to say something to the other.

Hook and Ruby were one of the more vigorously dancing couples. Henry felt his fists clench involuntarily as he watched how close together they were, laughing uproariously in all their drunken glory. Ruby didn't look nearly as drunk as Hook, though—which actually made him feel worse, because that meant everything Ruby was doing, she was doing with a clear head and purpose. Henry hurriedly looked away before he was exposed to one of their infamous public make-out sessions.

Emma looked spectacularly drunk, dancing her way randomly through the crowd, bumping against Rumple and Belle at one point. The two of them looked ecstatic: Henry would never admit it to anyone, not even if they used Chinese water-torture against him or threatened to have Hook adopt him, but it brought a tiny (tiny, minuscule, barely even there) smile to his face to see them so happy. Rumple was a dreadful dancer, and Belle couldn't stop laughing to save her life, but it was obvious how ludicrously happy they were.

Closer to the edge of the crowd was Regina. She had a vacant smile on her face as she leaned her head against Robin's shoulder, which startled him: he'd never seen Regina drunk, although he supposed it was justified after the explosive news about her real father… and brother. Henry hadn't had time to emotionally react to that yet: he was still focusing on Graham. But he had no doubt that once with dust settled with that, he'd have time to hyperventilate over the fact that Regina was his step-great-grandmother, as well as his half-aunt, as well as his adopted mother, and who knew what else at the rate things were going?

And then… Henry gulped, seeing a familiar curly head bobbing through the crowd: Graham. The lighting was too low and the music was too loud for anyone to really take notice, but at some point, the Lost Boys were going to take a break and give Henry a chance to take the microphone and…

Not for the first time that night, Henry wished he was old enough to drink.

Earlier, he'd tried to wheedle the bartender into at least giving him one of the girly fruity drinks that David was so fond of, but Vince had flat out refused. Henry had had to content himself with sparkling grape juice.

But even carbonated fruit juice couldn't put off the inevitable. The guitarist struck the last notes of what had sounded suspiciously like Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" with a dramatic flourish, and everyone burst into applause. Henry raised his eyebrows: he hadn't realized Storybrooke had so many Swifties.

"Thank you, everybody!" the lead singer shouted into the microphone. "We're going to take a quick break, but we'll be back in a few! In the meantime, we've got some demos we're going to play for you! Be sure to keep an eye out for our upcoming album: Never Gonna Grow Up! Thank you!"

Henry stood up, his legs trembling as he pushed his way through the crowd to get to the microphone on stage. The numbness that had acted as a buffer between him and his anxiety was starting to wear off: he stumbled his way up the stairs, barely able to walk because of how his knees were knocking together. There was that horrible tingling feeling working its way through his skeletal system, turning his muscles to jelly.

"H-hey, everybody," he croaked into the microphone. The people of Storybrooke looked at him, still swaying in time to the background music. Henry drew in a shaky breath: this was eight grade speech class, all over again. Except a million, thousand times worse.

"I, uh… I just wanted to say congratulations to my grandfather and Belle—" he gestured toward them, and everyone burst into applause. Rumple and Belle beamed, Rumple giving a ridiculous little bow that set off a round of laughter.

Henry smiled weakly. "So… yeah. Congratulations on getting married…again. And, uh—" he swallowed, his mouth going dry as he caught Graham's eye in the crowd—"uh…it's a special day all around, I guess. Marriage is apparently a, uh… a big deal. And vow renewals are just as big because…" he frantically searched his mind for a reason why vow renewals could possibly be so important, that could somehow segue-way into, By the way, I brought Graham back from the dead. "Because…"

"Because," Dr. Whale's voice said behind him. Henry whirled around to see him walking toward him, his hand reaching out to take the microphone. Henry gave it to him, a look of immeasurable gratitude in his eyes. Dr. Whale smiled at him almost imperceptibly before going on.

"Because they bring a marriage back to life," Whale said. "At least, that's the impression I get from Diane Keaton movies."

He earned a laugh from the crowd, which brightened the smile on his face.

"Living in Storybrooke, I've seen a lot of insane things that would make no sense to the scientific world," he went on. "Things that shouldn't be possible are every day occurrences. All of you have the privilege to live in a world where magic exists, and where it can accomplish extraordinary things." He took a deep breath. "Even bringing someone back from the dead."

The crowd was silent. Henry felt his heart beating against his chest like it was going to burst out. Everyone was watching Whale and Henry with a mixture of curiosity and wariness. Henry looked around for Graham, but he had disappeared from the crowd. His ears perked up at the sound of footsteps behind him.

"Graham?" he muttered, barely audible.

"I'm here," was the whispered reply.

"I just want to reassure you all that nothing is wrong," Whale's voice boomed into the microphone. "What you're about to see is a miracle. Someone we all knew and loved. Someone we cared about deeply, who was taken from us too soon. We all felt his loss… but we don't have to anymore. Magic is a powerful thing, but it doesn't always come with a price," he added, looking at Rumple. "Sometimes, it's just a gift."

Slowly, he stepped back, and looked over at Graham, hiding in the shadows. Henry closed his eyes, hardly able to breath. This was it. It was happening. No more secrets. He cracked open his eyes just as Whale smiled, nodding encouragingly, and said:

"Welcome back to Storybrooke, Sheriff."

The first few minutes, everyone was completely silent. The Lost Boys' original song, "Never Gonna Grow Up!", still played in the background, doing nothing to loosen the tension.

Graham stepped into the spotlight, smiling slightly, his hands behind his back. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Slowly, he closed it, and just met the stares of the crowd with anxious eyes.

David tilted his head: the man was vaguely familiar, but he hadn't know him well. He didn't even remember going to the funeral. From the few memories he had, he knew the sheriff was a good man, and that many had been devastated when he died. But David hadn't known him well enough to be devastated then, or overjoyed now: he was just confused.

Snow couldn't remember how to speak. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before giving up, clamping a hand to her mouth as her eyes sparkled with tears. Graham had been a dear friend, one of the kindest people she ever knew. She had spent weeks crying after he died, and the pain had never gone away, not completely. Seeing him, standing there, alive and well…it felt too good to be true.

Ruby stared at him, her mouth falling open. She could feel the tears gathering in her eyes, pain washing over her so suddenly, her knees buckled. Every memory came flooding back: all those late nights spent playing darts and serving drinks; the morning coffee and light-hearted banter; watching him out of the corner of her eye when he brought little Henry to the diner for ice cream; the day Granny got the phone call that had sent Ruby to retreat into her room for days, huddled in the corner with crumpled tissues scattered on the floor beside her as she stared dully at her wall. She hadn't even been able to go to the funeral.

Rumple looked up at him with a small smile on his face. He had liked the sheriff well enough, which was amazing: back then, he hadn't like anyone. But Graham had always had a kind word or a warm greeting for him. And while it was a bit of a shock, Rumple had seen far too many strange and impossible things in his time for this to be overwhelming. It was more of a pleasant surprise than anything.

Emma blinked rapidly, hardly daring to breathe as if it would make Graham fade away. She hadn't known him nearly as well as the others in town, but she had known him enough to miss him desperately when he died. There had been a time when she thought…She subconsciously twisted the shoelace she always wore around her wrist, the shoelace she'd tugged out of his boot and stuffed in her pocket before anyone could accuse her of sentimentality.

Regina clung to Robin for dear life, her knuckles turning white. Her breath came in short little gasps, and she was frozen in terror. Guilt flooded her insides, turning her stomach, stealing the air from her lungs. If Robin hadn't been there, she would have crumpled to the ground.

Hook wasn't even looking at the stage: his eyes were fixed on Ruby, who was barely able to stand up. There were tears in her eyes, and behind those, something else… Something familiar, far too familiar: the same something he saw in Emma's eyes when she looked at Neal, the something that was always absent when she looked at him. Not again, he thought with a sinking feeling in his stomach. Please, not again.

Belle frowned. She didn't recognize him at all. Who was this asshole crashing her reception, anyway?

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