Cursebreaker

Emma was trying to be angry at Henry. She'd agreed to stay in town, but that didn't mean that she wanted to walk him to school or take part in his secret planning to break an imaginary curse. Still, it was hard to be mad at a kid that hopeful.

"How did you even get bus fare to come find me?" she asked her son as they walked down the sidewalk. "I doubt the driver would've accepted a credit card with the name of 'Mary Margaret.'"

"I have a friend." he said. He glanced around. "Have you ever read the Sherlock Holmes stories?"

"Yeah. A million times when I was a kid. Helped me a lot with my job." Emma glanced down at Henry. "To tell you the truth, I had a bit of a crush on Sherlock when I first started the books."

Henry's eyes widened. "Really?"

Emma slapped her forehead when she saw the look in his eyes. "Don't tell me Sherlock Holmes is here."

"Maybe." he grinned mischieviously.

"But he's not a fairytale character."

"That's what he said."

Emma gave him a look. "Don't tell him I said that."

"Said what?"

"That I used to have a crush on him."

"Does that mean you believe?"

"No, it just means that I don't want you telling him that. Alright?"

"Sure, sure." Henry looked ahead. "Look, Emma, there he is now! SHERLOCK! SHERLOCK!"

"Kid, are you insane?" Emma demanded of him.

The poor man that Henry had waved down glanced at them, looking confused for a moment. Then he walked down. "Oh, yes, I haven't told you my name, have I?" he asked.

"Nope." Henry shook his head.

"Hmm, I didn't exactly trust you then." the man said, extended his hand, "Adrian Wiggin."

"Wait, Wiggin?" Emma asked. "Like, Ender's Game?"

Adrian looked a little confused. "Is that one of the boys in your class?" he asked Henry.

"No, he's not in the book." Henry shook his head.

Adrian blinked at him for a minute. "That's not what I meant."

"I know." Henry glanced up at Emma. "This is my mom, Emma."

"Oh, yes, your 'cursebreaker.'" Adrian glanced at her. "Who was abandoned at the side of a freeway as an infant, kept in a foster home until you were three and then given up, has been running around for a long time, gave Henry up in a closed adoption to give him his best chance, had no idea he was arriving, has a job in tracking down missing people and also has not taken a great liking to the mayor."

Emma blinked for a minute, then turned to Henry. "Hey, you're right. Deductions. Like Sherlock Holmes."

"It's just my profession. I'm a Consulting Detective. I suppose that would make me a 'Real-life Sherlock Holmes.'" Adrian looked at Henry. "So you managed to get her here. Good. Things won't be boring anymore."

"Don't worry." Henry smiled up at him. "Before you know it, the curse will be broken and you'll remember everything."

"Right. Curse." Adrian looked at Henry a little curiously. "Your scarf."

"What about it?" Henry asked innocently.

"It's styled in a different way." Adrian noted.

"Uh… yeah." Henry looked around sheepishly. "I thought it looked better this way, and… yeah."

"And your collar is flipped up."

"It's windy." Henry grinned, discreetly flipping the collar back down.

"Right." Adrian sarcastically remarked, looking at the boy. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

"Emma's walking me." he informed the detective.

"Involuntarily." Emma noted. "And speaking of which, we have to go."

"Right." Henry nodded, then ran off. "See you later, Mr. Wiggin!"

Emma glanced at Adrian. "How did you know about me?"

"You were talking about Regina on the way over here, before you switched the topic, and you didn't look too happy about it." Adrian told her. "I could tell by the way you interacted kindly to Henry– or, as kindly as you could, given that he was screaming 'Sherlock Holmes' down the street– that you didn't give him up out of spite or discomfort. He was also born in jail, so I figured that giving him his best chance would be a good reason for putting him in adoption."

"And the rest of it?" Emma asked.

Adrian raised an eyebrow, as if he couldn't believe she didn't figure this out. "Henry told me your name before we left. I looked you up."

"Oh." Emma felt a little odd for not guessing that before.

"And you might want to know that Sidney Glass, a reporter, looked you up as well." Adrian smirked. "But the idiot didn't find anything remotely useful."

Henry poked his head around the corner. "Emma? Are you coming?"

"Be right there, kid." Emma called after him. She turned to the man standing in front of her. "Nice to meet you, Adrian."

"I'll see you around." Adrian nodded, beginning to walk off.

"Hey! I might not be staying very long!" Emma called after him.

"Wrong!" Adrian called back, before disappearing across the street.

Emma turned around to see Henry standing in front of her. "Sherlock Holmes, am I right?" Henry asked, beginning to walk.

"Might just be a fan." Emma shrugged.

"But he could be Sherlock Holmes."

Emma looked down at her son. "Sure, kid. He could be Sherlock Holmes."

"Great!" Henry grinned. "Now you can help me get him back with his friends! Starting with Dr. Watson!" Henry began marching in a new direction until Emma pulled him back.

"Whoa, kid, where are you going?"

Henry looked innocently up at her. "To find Dr. Watson."

"Henry, we don't have time to solve everybody else's problems." Emma told him. "I'll only be around for a week, remember?"

Henry laughed. "You'll believe me by then, and then you won't leave until you break the curse."

"Brilliant deduction." Emma muttered. "So, what's the deal with you and your mom?"