Okay, so if you haven't watched episode 5x11 yet, don't read this author's note. So I just watched it today, and I discovered it may not be as unrealistic as I thought making Baelfire the Sheriff. After all, at the end of the episode we saw the Charming, Swan, Hood and Mill's parenting styles. Am I really the only one who sees the problem with taking Henry on a field trip tothe Underworld? Seriously? Rumple had described it like, a half an hour ago as "torment," and, "you'll wish you're dead, but then you'll realize you already are." You can't get more ominous than that! At least in my story, the kid at risk is in actuality over five hundred years old, and can kick the majority of the town's butt! Henry can't even do anything to help! Yes, he took care of the Author problem, and is actually a really good character, but this is Hell we're talking about! He broke his magic pen and can't fight, because past sparing with wooden swords for like, three episodes in season two, they never actually taught him how to fight. But no, don't listen to me, apparently child endangerment has become socially acceptable in Storybrooke!
Okay, that was nice. That made me feel better. This rant turned out really long, so there's going to be a few notes at the bottom for those who reviewed instead of up here. Onto the story!
Of Broken Families and Shattered Souls
Chapter Five: In Which An Unusual Alliance Is Formed, And Ruby Gets Stuff Done
The plan had changed. And that worried Hook.
A changed plan meant that there were problems with the previous one. And problems meant that there were more difficulties standing between him and his revenge.
After all he had been through, all he had lost, he needed his revenge. It was all he had left.
The problem had been disguised by good fortune. Those royals the Evil Queen hated, Snow White and Prince James, had arrived with their rather appealing daughter, Emma. They had been sent to the Enchanted Forest by accident, but he and Cora were counting on them for the way back. Apparently they had left some descendant in the other realm, and their annoying habit of finding one another would come in handy for managing to find a way to the other realm. At first, all had seemed as if fate was on their side.
Until that do-goodie of a soldier and the newest pompous princess announced they would be traveling to the other realm as well. Cora, acting as the ever-gallant Lancelot, had inquired what this new realm would hold for them.
A magic user.
And not just any magic user, but one that had the ability to return souls to their bodies after they were stolen by wraiths.
Many of those who learnt magic refused to even go near wraiths, and for good reason. Handling wraiths took a level of skill that most sorcerers never achieved. To not only be able to fight a wraith but to have learnt how to return a lost soul meant that this mysterious Bailey had both the power and knowledge to be truly dangerous indeed. And that could pose a problem for Hook and Cora's plans.
From what the royals had said, this boy was a hero. He had valiantly risked his life for the poor little prince, and most likely wouldn't stand by and let them do as they pleased. He would fight to protect all the innocents, and Cora and Hook wouldn't allow that.
So they had changed plans.
Originally, they had planned to have Cora offer her assistance while disguised as Lancelot. However, that wouldn't work now. Their new plan called for long-term exposure to the Charmings, which heightened the chance they would realize Lancelot wasn't truly Lancelot. It was too risky now. Instead, "Lancelot" would suggest "Roger" consulted on their quest, as he was the most recent refugee, and therefore knew the most of the state of the Enchanted Forest. While Hook played Good Samaritan, he would subtly pry for all the information he could about Regina, Rumpelstiltskin, Storybrooke, and most of all he would find out everything they knew about the unknown warlock. Hook would look for his strengths and weaknesses, find out the most likely ways to defeat him.
Then, once they reached Storybrooke, Cora and Hook would kill this Bailey.
When Henry opened his eyes, he was standing in the burning room again. Only this time, it wasn't burning.
The flames were still there, they just weren't in the room. Instead, they were confined behind a magical barrier that encompassed the entire room. Henry cautiously stepped towards the blockade. He could see the honeycombed pattern of the dreamcatchers web formed of earth and water, and swirling air darted between its gaps.
"Cool," Henry whispered.
"What is that?"
Henry spun around at the voice. Behind him was a woman. She was pretty, but she was dressed in a way that you would never see in Storybrooke. "Who are you?" he asked. When he had last been here, he had thought he had seen someone else between the flames, but he hadn't been sure. But here she was, the proof right in front of him.
"Aurora."
"Aurora. As in Princess Aurora?"
She nodded. "What is that?" she repeated, staring at the barrier.
"Oh, right. That's a magical barrier formed with dreamcatchers. My friend Bae made it to stop the flames. I'm Henry, by the way," he added as an afterthought.
"It's amazing," she murmured, stepping toward the walls. Henry felt something pull at him, as if he was drifting away.
"I think I'm waking up."
Henry's voice seemed to snap Aurora out of her daze. Then, comprehension dawned on her face. "Wait, did you say Bae? As in Bailey?"
"Yeah… How'd you know?" The world had become foggy at the edges, and Aurora sounded as if she was far, far away.
"Wait… Henry…. Wait."
And then Henry woke up.
"Do I have to go to school Bae? I want to stay and help you!"
Bae gave the contrite boy a rueful smile. "Sorry, kid. You've got obligations and so do I. You can help me after school."
Henry looked at him suspiciously. "Do you really mean that? Or are you just saying that so I'll stop asking?"
"Of course I mean it! This curse only broke because of you, I'll need your expertise."
Henry beamed at the words, then sighed when the bus rolled up. Suddenly, he gave Baelfire a quick, tight hug and ran up the steps.
"Bye Bae, see you after school!" Then, the bus rolled away, taking Henry with it.
Bae stood there in shock for at least three minutes. Henry had hugged him. Baelfire fought back the ridiculous smile that tried to appear on his face.
Then, he stopped.
What was he even doing? He knew the dangers of caring about someone! The consequences were seared into his skin! After the horrible disaster that had occurred the last time he had loved someone, he had vowed to himself never to fall into the same trap again. He had promised to stop loving people.
But he had also known he could never keep that promise. He had made it a thousand times, after all. And every time he made it, he failed at fulfilling it.
Love was his Achilles Heel, his greatest strength and weakness. There was always someone that managed to crawl past his defenses and take root in his heart. His mother. His father. Wendy. John. Michael. Hook. Him.
And now Henry.
Love had driven him to do many things in the past. It had led him to travel to the Land Without Magic for his father. It had made him take Michael's place in Neverland. He had done things others thought impossible in the name of love.
But Bae had also lost every single person he had ever loved. Love was the one sure fire way to bring him to his knees.
Pan had figured this out, and used it to make sure Baelfire paid the price for defiance.
Every time he lost someone, it destroyed him anew, shattered him into a thousand pieces. And every time it got harder to pick up the shards of his heart.
Only this time, Bae wasn't sure if he had the strength to do it again.
Baelfire pushed the thoughts out of his mind. Henry would be fine. He would make sure Henry would be fine. Henry had to be fine. For now, the wizard needed to focus on the task at hand.
Before leaving the night earlier, Ruby had relayed the news that the town had voted to immediately restart the schools, meaning Henry needed to return the next day. Bae, however, posed a problem.
He had spent his curse years in the asylum, not at school. While he could finally remember his cursed life (the magic-induced insanity had abated with the breaking of the curse, returning the memories of his fake life) and the background information that came with it, the things he remembered from the school part of those were patchy. Even then, the other children of Storybrooke had continued their schooling over the years while Baelfire had been getting drugged out of his mind by an unsympathetic nurse. They weren't able to simply toss him in a class and expect him to manage. Ruby, as usual, had come up with the solution. One of the teachers, a Miss (formerly Mrs) Kathryn Nolan had volunteered to tutor Bae after school hours. Apparently her Enchanted Forest husband had been one of the hostages from the Rabbit Hole the night before, and wanted to repay Bae for helping save her True Love's life. And if Baelfire took the job the town had offered him, the tutoring would take place after work.
Bae bit back a groan. He had promised to give his answer this morning. The town needed a sheriff, he couldn't put this off any longer. He turned on his heel and set off for Granny's.
Baelfire thought he had figured out a way to make this work; he just had to pull it off. The bell dinged as he opened the diner's door, and the entire bloody diner stared at his arrival. Henry was right. This town was completely inhabited by gossips. The same group that had refused to leave at the meeting the day before rose and walked over. Bae was beginning to get the impression they were the only ones that did anything in this town.
And he had probably become a member of their ranks at this point. Dang it.
Way to keep a low profile, Baelfire, he thought. Truly, nice work.
"We should talk in the back," Ruby stated before he could say anything. "Follow me."
They all trailed behind Ruby, Leroy taking his coffee mug with him. Every eye in the diner followed them. The door swung shut.
"Well?" Grumpy bluntly asked. "Are you gonna do it or what?" Frankly, Baelfire wasn't sure which response the dwarf was hoping for. Maybe he didn't care either way.
"I'll do it," Bae said. Ruby and Hopper sighed in relief. "But I have a couple conditions."
"Conditions?" Granny cut in. She seemed to be challenging him with her gaze. What she was challenging him to, Bae wasn't sure.
"Yes," Bae replied, meeting her gaze. "I want a deputy. I refuse to clean up this town all by myself. It has too many problems for one person."
"Okay," Ruby said. "A deputy. We can manage that, but it may take some time. Anything else?"
Bae hesitated. They were less likely to acquiesce on this request, but he refused to budge on it. "Henry gets to stay with me for as long as he wants." With all the trouble that happened yesterday, Ruby had never had the chance to go looking for a "suitable guardian" for them, but he knew she hadn't given up yet. Baelfire knew he didn't need one after taking care of himself for so many years; he wouldn't even know what to do with one if he had one.
"We can't just leave you two with no supervision," Ruby protested. "But," she continued, seeing him about to protest, "we can let you too stay with each other as long as there is someone checking in consistently to make sure that you're both okay. If we find out that either of your needs aren't being met, you're moving in with someone else."
Baelfire considered arguing, but decided against it. He could live with that, as long as their supervisor wasn't completely insufferable. "Who'd be checking in on us?"
Ruby glanced at Hopper. "Archie, would you do it? You know Henry the best out of all of us, and you'll be working with Bae on the sheriff's job."
"Of course," the psychiatrist/conscience-for-hire replied.
At the same time, Bae questioned, "Working with me?"
Ruby returned her attention to Bae. "We were waiting until we got your answer to tell you the practical aspects of the job. The town elected Dr Hopper to be a supervisor of sorts. He's going to help you take care of more of the administrative jobs of the sheriff position. He'll also be going over the actions you take while Emma's gone. Your job will more be the enforcement of laws."
Bae frowned. "So basically I'm some kind of glorified, magical meat shield for the rest of the town." The fact that Hopper was the administrator made sense though. The entire town seemed to look towards him as the epitome of moral behavior. They would trust that he would make the best decisions.
Leroy snorted into his cup. "Pretty much," he said. Ruby shot him a glare. "What?" He defended. "This is crazy. At least he's telling it like it is."
"Don't you have fairy dust to mine?" Granny cut in.
"Don't rush me, sister," Grumpy replied. Nevertheless, he handed Hopper his cup and placed his hat on his head. "Come on boys," he said to the rest of the dwarves. "It's off to work we go."
"Speaking of work," Baelfire cut in. "What am I actually doing?"
"Don't worry," Ruby replied. "I can train you. Emma gave me a crash course while I was her assistant before the curse broke. But first, we have a few things we need to take care of."
"Like what?"
"A physical, for one thing. It's a requirement for the Sheriff and Deputy positions. Emma had to do one when she got the job. You also need to have a session with Dr Hopper," Ruby shot him a look. "Apparently you broke out of the asylum."
"It's not like I could chose what my cursed life was," Bae defended. "Besides, I had to break out. There was no way that battleax of a nurse would have let me go."
"Curse or not, you still have to talk with Archie. He needs to verify you're not, you know, insane."
"Anything else?" Baelfire asked, wondering what exactly he just got himself into.
Ruby glanced over him. "Well, we should probably get you clothes that you didn't escape from an asylum in."
Baelfire gave a two fingered salute. "Lead the way, Miss Lucas."
Reul Ghorm stopped him before he could leave. She hadn't spoken through the entire conversation, just silently watched him. "I was wondering if we could speak sometime soon, Bailey." Baelfire evenly met her gaze. She was one of the few people in this town who could recognize him. Quite possibly the only one, if you don't count his father.
"Of course," he said, a fake smile on his lips. "We'll catch up. For old times sake." This wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation, but if he played it correctly he would find out just what happened after he left the Enchanted Forest. The Blue Star knowing who he was could be a problem, but it could also be an opportunity for information.
Living in Storybrooke, working with these people, he could handle it. It was all just a Game.
On Neverland, Baelfire had hated playing Games. He had, however, been very skilled at them. He had been a threat, an opponent that was a challenge to Pan himself. But like everything, nobody played a Game without paying a price.
And as he turned to follow Ruby, Baelfire began to wonder about the price for this Game.
"Hello Mr Darling," the man in the white coat said as he entered the room. "My name is Dr Whale, I'll be conducting your check up today. And may I just say, I'm a fan of how you managed to magically sucker punch Regina earlier. I think we all wanted to see that happen."
"Uh, okay," Bae replied, trying not to show how on edge he was. He was back in the hospital. Correction, he was back in the place that held him captive for twenty eight years.
Calm down, he thought to himself, it's not like you're back in Neverland.
"Can we get on with it?" Ruby cut in, seemingly noticing Bae's discomfort. Bae had to wonder at that. He was fairly good at hiding his emotions. Perhaps she smelt his anxiety. "We have a a lot to do today."
"Ah, Miss Lucas. As ravishing as ever. For once, though, I hope you don't find me the same way," the doctor (and Baelfire was quite worried about the fact that his medical degree came from a curse) looked at his unamused audience. "What, nothing? Right then," Dr Whale sat in a short rolling stool and wheeled his way over. "So it seems you're here for a physical. Before we start, I need you to answer some questions for the hospital records. Full name?"
"Let's just stick with Bailey Darling."
"Gender?"
"Seriously?"
"Age?"
"Can I have an easier question, please?"
"Age?"
Bae sighed. "Okay, lemme think. I'm probably around fourteen or fifteen physically. But, I've been alive for somewhere north of five hundred years. I think."
Whale gaped at him. "Okay… Um, place of residence?"
"Yeah, not answering that." Bae felt he was still entitled to his paranoia, all things considered. He wasn't about to hand out the address of the place he was staying, even several people already knew it. Luckily, Whale decided not to fight him on it.
"Allergies?"
"None that I know of."
They went on this vein for several more questions, until Whale closed his clipboard with a snap.
"Alrighty then. When I learnt you had been a, uh, guest here, I sent down for your files. They should be here soon. Until then, hop up on the scale and we'll check your weight."
Bae compiled, and Whale glanced at the readings. Then, he looked again, this time in surprise. "Uh, okay. We don't have any percentile scores for people over five hundred, seeing as they don't actually happen in this realm, but for the fourteen to fifteen year old range you're pretty underweight. It's not to the point where we need to take any serious action, but I do want to keep an eye on it. If we don't see an improvement within the next couple weeks, we'll look at our options to improve it." Baelfire wasn't surprised at the problem. Neverland was not a kind place to live, and Bae had been in pretty bad shape by the time he escaped. In the Enchanted Forest, he had been too busy trying to deal with the mental ramifications of his stay to really deal with the physical. In Neverland, everything had been about escape. He never gave himself a chance to deal with trauma while there, and he paid the price when he left. The asylum didn't help matters. Nurse Ratched wasn't exactly known for her generosity in food or any other matter.
Speak of the devil and she shall appear, Baelfire thought as the door swung open. Ratched stood on the other side, her Look of DisdainTM firmly fixed on her face. Well she is as radiant as ever.
"Here," she flatly said, holding a cardboard file organizer out to Whale. Then, she spun on her heel and haughtily walked out. Bae refrained from smirking.
"Well, let's have a look-see at your files," Whale said as he opened the box. He pulled out the Manila file folder and flipped it open. "So it looks like Bailey Darling was supposed to have been a resident of Storybrooke Orphanage before he was admitted here. The catalyst for his incarceration was…." Whale flipped through the files, then stopped. "Wow. He seared shapes onto his hands in an attempt to keep the shadows from finding him and dragging him to Hell." Baelfire winced at the somewhat accurate statement. It's true that the marks kept Pan from finding him, but there was so much more to his decision to go to such lengths than insanity-driven fear. Luckily, neither Ruby nor Whale noticed Bae's reaction. The doctor continued his search.
"Huh. Looks like Bailey had a driver's license," the plastic card was placed on the table with a click. Baelfire—or at least the part of him that was Bailey—remembered getting that. He had been one of the oldest kids at the orphanage, and they had needed him to shuttle around the younger kids. He had qualified for a Hardship License under Maine law.
"Here's your medical file from the asylum," the doctor continued. "Okay…" He trailed off as he read it. "That's a pretty intense drug cocktail. How are you even functional so soon?"
Baelfire shrugged. "Ratched tended to forget to administer the medication to everyone on a constant basis. By the time the curse broke, I had been off drugs for over a week." Whatever they had pumped him full was strong. It usually took at least a few days to flush out of his system. Luckily, it hadn't been addictive.
Whale's eyes narrowed as he nodded, and Baelfire had a feeling the not-so-good nurse could expect interesting times in the future. How wonderful. He knew this trip had to have been good for something.
The doctor inspected the box for several more minutes, finding a birth certificate, Social Security card, and other things that Baelfire didn't have any use for. Finally, he closed the lid and turned back to his patient.
"We'll have to keep all hospital related files, but the rest you can take with you. Now, we should continue with the physical."
Dr Whale checked Bae's eyes and ears with a strange device, and had the boy perform jumping jacks. As he was checking his blood pressure, however, he began to ask questions unrelated to the hospital.
"So," he began, carefully eyeing the boy. "Rumor has it that you're trying to get the Royals back. That you can find a way to travel between the realms."
"I never listen to rumors. You never know how accurate they are," Baelfire evaded.
"Well say they are accurate," Whale continued. "Would there be ways to realms other than the Enchanted Forest?"
"There are always ways. The trick is finding them." Baelfire carefully watched the doctor's face for any reaction. There was a strange, painful sort of desperation in his eyes.
Dr Whale cleared his throat. "Alright, we're going to do a lung and abdominal exam next. I'm going to need you to take of your shirt for that."
"Why?"
"It can interfere with the stethoscope and I need to feel along your abdomen for any abnormalities."
Bae shrugged and slipped off the long sleeved shirt. Ruby gave out a loud gasp causing Baelfire to spin around, pulling a knife from his boot. There was no one there other than Ruby. "What happened?"
Ruby blinked. "Your back…"
Bae sighed in frustration and shoved the knife back in his boot. "Don't do that again. From now on, that sound officially means 'someone just magically entered the room and is trying to kill me,' not 'I've had a large shock.'"
"What happened to your back?" She demanded. "And, well, all of you?"
She amended, glancing over him. Bae looked at his chest. Right, he had forgotten about those. In his defense, he had had those for a really long time.
"I was injured," he succinctly replied. Stretching across his back, there was a long scar that most likely caused Ruby's initial alarm. Felix had given him it, forgoing his club for a sword for once. He had come up behind Baelfire while the boy was occupied with two of the other Lost Boys. There was a slash across his chest from where he had almost successfully dodged an arrow. Thin, circular marks were on his wrists from the time Pan managed to wrangle him into magic-neutralizing shackles. Other marks littered his body, some where Ruby couldn't see. The deep gouges that had been raked into his skin when the mermaids dragged him beneath the waves with their too sharp fingernails were etched into his leg.
She shot him a look. "I gathered that."
Baelfire shrugged. "I fail to see what you want me to say then. Not all realms are happy places. People get hurt. Are we going to get back to the exam, or can I just put my shirt back on?"
Bae's question spurred Whale back into motion. "Right. Hop back onto the table and we'll take care of that."
Baelfire compiled, and as the doctor was pressing the cold surface of the stethoscope against his chest Ruby asked another question. "Why did you have a knife in your boot?" She asked, a strange affliction in her tone.
Bae glanced at her. "I thought it would be fairly obvious."
"I know, it's just that…. You already have those," she stated as she gestured toward the sword and bow that had been placed in the corner for the duration of the exam. "Why do you need the knife, too?"
Baelfire shrugged. "Sometimes you're disarmed and a hidden blade makes for a handy backup. Sometimes you need a weapon that's better for close up fights than a sword or bow. Sometimes you feel like whittling and it's way easier to do that with a knife than a sword. It all boils down to: knives are handy to have."
"Right…" Ruby trailed off, looking unconvinced.
Baelfire rolled his eyes. "I promise not to stab the majority of the citizens."
"The majority?"
"You do realize scars aren't contagious, right?" Baelfire asked, successfully avoiding Ruby's question and startling Dr Whale. The man had been trying to conduct the abdominal check while completely avoiding the scar across Bae's stomach. (He had gotten too close to a wild boar's burrow and it had gouged him with the its tusks before Bae managed to stop it.) "It happened a long time ago; it's not like the wound is going to reopen."
"I know, I just… Uh, we're going to need to know how you received your scars—"
"No," Bae answered immediately. He didn't care what they say, it was more likely that he'd give Ratched a hug than go into what exactly happened in his past.
"It's our policy to find the circumstances behind intensive scarring on minors—"
"Then it's a good thing I'm not a minor then," Baelfire cut in. "I'm currently the oldest person in the room."
They two "adults" in the room attempted to get him to change his mind, but Baelfire wouldn't budge. Eventually, they managed to end the drawn-out exam and Baelfire received a relatively clean bill of health, as long as he managed to get his weight up.
"So, what now?" he asked as they escaped the hospital.
"Well," Ruby began, "we have time before your appointment with Archie. We can take care of your clothes now."
Baelfire's heart dropped. Somehow, he had a feeling this would be even worse than the hospital.
Baelfire really hated being right all the time.
Honestly, it would be a pleasant surprise to be proven wrong about somethings. Shopping, for example. It would have been great to discover that shopping was a fun experience. Instead, he was subjected to Ruby's fashion tips and comments about how a certain shirt "brought out his eyes." Most of the clothes were in garish colors that would likely get him killed due to a lack of camouflage and almost all of them would hinder him in a fight. Baelfire just barely managed to escape with earthy colors and tactically sound styles.
Somehow, he felt that fighting the wraith had been easier.
Unfortunately, his torment did not end there. Instead, he was dragged to Dr Hopper's office where he was deposited by Ruby for at least two hours in order to give him time to "discuss his feelings." The good doctor has proceeded to inform him that this was a "safe environment" and it was therefore safe to "delve into his inner sanctum and bring his deepest thoughts to light."
Psychiatry had managed to become worse than shopping.
"Would you like to conjecture why the curse put you in an asylum?" Hopper asked.
Baelfire glanced up. The session had been going on for over an hour, and all Hopper seemed to have discovered was that Bae was incredibly reticent. "You never know how important your freedom is until you loose it," Baelfire muttered.
Frankly, he would have preferred to avoid the question all together, but he doubted he could get away with that for this question. Hopper needed something to suggest that Baelfire was in that place for a reason other than insanity, or he wouldn't green light the job. Normally, Bae wouldn't care; he never wanted the job in the first place. But this job was the reason Henry got to stay with him. He couldn't blow it.
Hopper shifted in his seat. "Do you want to expand on that statement?"
No, he didn't. "In Storybrooke, the asylum was the best option available to take away someone's freedom. We don't have a prison, and even if we did there are parole boards and lawyers and escapes and a thousand other ways to get out, if you know how. You can't just lock someone up in a basement, because if you get caught then you're the one that gets locked up. But the asylum was different. If you claim someone is a dangerous lunatic, then nobody wants to let them out. They'll want them institutionalized for everyone's safety. And if the curse makes you so crazy you can't think straight, then you can't figure out how to escape. Even if you manage, they'll just put you back in when they catch you. There was no way out until the curse broke."
"The curse was designed to trap us in a life that made us the most miserable," Hopper stated. "Do you mean to say losing your freedom was what made you the most miserable?"
It was, or at least it was high on the list. He had spent his entire life escaping from cages, whether they be unhappy homes, workhouses, islands, or literal cages. He hated ending up trapped, again.
However, instead of saying any of that, Baelfire merely shrugged.
Hopper shifted in his seat again. This was going to be a very long session.
"So, what do you think?" Ruby asked.
Baelfire looked around the Sheriff's Office. His magic fix-it was holding up; the building was still repaired from the wraith's damage. The (completely incompetent) bandits were gone; they must have found a way to take care of them at the town hall meeting.
"It's only temporary," Ruby continued. "As soon as Emma's back you won't have to do this anymore. Speaking of which," she said, looking at Bae intently, "how is that coming?"
Baelfire glanced at her. "I'm almost done with Henry's book. It should be easier to find a way back once I know about what they're dealing with over there. I'm working on a way to communicate with them, but it's slow going. I was never all that interested in learning how to send messages across realms, just moving across them."
Ruby nodded. "Well, if you need anything, just let us know. Now, both Archie and Whale gave the go ahead for you to take the job. Ready to start training?"
Baelfire was ready. At least, he hoped he was.
Henry left the school in relief. Finally, class was over. Now, he could help Bae with the town.
Speaking of which, Bae was here. He was currently leaning against the schoolyard gate, watching the door. Henry's face split into a smile and he called out, "Bae!"
The wizard's eyes shot towards Henry and he raised a hand in greeting. "How was school?" he asked as Henry ran up.
"It was school. How was work?"
"Well let's see," he said with mock concentration. The two boys began to walk. "I got poked and prodded, both metaphorically and physically, by two different doctors, both of whom received their degrees from an enchantment. I was dragged through Storybrooke's only clothing shop, and learnt that the majority of the clothes in this town is a tactical nightmare. Then, I got to run around town with Ruby, stopping people from killing each other due to unresolved conflicts that happened twenty-eight years ago, all the while having to learn the "proper" way to deal with problems as a sheriff. Apparently, handcuffing them to a lamp post is a last resort. Then, I got to explain every one of my actions to Hopper in minute detail so that they could make sure I was 'acting responsibly' in the field. But, Ruby and the others took the deal and I may have gotten Ratched in trouble. So, all around it wasn't that bad of a day."
"They took they deal? Yes!" Henry exclaimed. Bailey had run the idea of using the position as a way of staying together past him that morning. He hadn't thought they would actually do it, though. "How'd you get them to say yes?"
Bae shrugged. "It wasn't that hard, really. They were pretty desperate to keep the townsfolk from fleeing to the outside world. I did have to agree to supervision from Dr Hopper, so expect him to be hanging around a lot in the near future. If he finds something our situation is affecting either of us negatively, he'll shut us down."
Henry didn't mind that. He liked Archie and Pongo, and he was fine with them dropping by. Besides, Henry doubted they'd be able to find something to stop the arrangement. Despite that he hadn't been living with Henry that long, Bae was good at looking after him. Henry could tell. He always made sure that Henry ate and slept enough and kept an eye out for nightmares. Bae looked out for him with an ease that made Henry wonder if he had done this kind of thing before.
"How's the book coming?" Henry asked as they entered the apartment.
"Almost done," Bailey responded as Henry plopped his bag on the sofa. "I'm working on a couple ideas for communicating with them, but the executing them is going to be a bit harder. I never had much use for sending magical messages."
Worry started to churn in Henry's stomach, but he refused to give up hope. They would get his family back, he knew it. "You'd better finish the book now while I do my homework."
Henry took out his math and tried to focus on it. He knew that if he let his grades drop, Archie and the others may decide not to let Bae and him live together, but it was hard to concentrate on fractions when there was magic to be done. A half-hour later, he had finished his math and was almost through with his English. Then, he heard it.
"I've got it!" Bae exclaimed from across the room.
Henry shot up, his homework immediately forgotten. "You know how to get my family back?" He tried to shove down the hope burning in his chest, but he couldn't. He knew disappointment well, but he never managed to brace himself for the washout that may come.
"Yes! Well, kind of. The possibility is there, but there are still a lot of details to be hammered out."
"What is it?"
"This," Bae declared, laying the book out in front of Henry. The tome was open to one of the beautifully illustrated pages. Prince Charming was crouched next to the wardrobe that allowed his mother to escape the curse, baby Emma in his arms. "It's worked as a portal before, and it can do it again. Magic always remembers."
"But the book said it only had enough magic for one," Henry said, skeptical.
"Doesn't matter. The path between realms is still there, it just doesn't have enough magic to power it. There are ways to recharge it with magic, though. If a glass is filled with only enough water for one person, you can always refill it for someone else, right?"
Henry nodded.
"Well, it's the same way with this."
"Well, how are we going to refill it? And how are we going to tell my family about it?"
"And therein lies our problem," Bae said as he bit his lip in concentration. "But it doesn't make it impossible. There are always ways; you just have to find them." That last bit sounded a bit odd to Henry. It sounded like a mantra, as if Bailey had said it countless times.
Then, he had an idea.
It was a risky idea. There was no guarantee she'd be able to help, and it was unlikely she'd even want to. But she had promised Henry she would change.
He'd just have to put that to the test.
Regina hadn't left the house in almost twenty-four hours. She hadn't gone outside at all since she had last seen Henry. It would be too tempting to use dark magic, to show some insufferable little peasant who really held the power in this town.
But she had promised Henry.
Regina couldn't break that promise. She couldn't lose Henry. Her precious, perfect son was the first person to truly love her since Daniel. His unconditional love had been like a small, flickering light in her black, bleak heart, burning away at the hate that had weighed it down since she had held her dead fiancé in her arms.
And so she would do everything it took to keep it. Even if it meant walking away from some loud mouthed, obnoxious little peasant, when all she really want to do was let her magic surge through her fingertips and snap the pathetic cretin's neck.
Of course, she didn't trust her impulse control enough to actually walk away. It would be too easy to give into the soft purr of the darkness, to let her magic bubble up through her fingertips and set the world alight with her rage.
Hence, the self-imposed exile.
She hadn't even used magic since she had last seen Henry. Magic was fueled by emotions. Those insipid little creatures, the fairies, used weak, pathetic emotions like happiness and good will to power their magic. Hers specifically relied on hate. To use it would only set back any progress she made in changing. Not that she made any.
All Regina could focus on was her missing son. Henry was a precious, rare person in this world (or any world). He still loved her despite all she had done. She wanted him back with her more than anything else in the world.
That, however, seemed unlikely to ever happen.
The cricket and Snow's overgrown guard dog would fight her every step of the way. That wasn't even considering the newest little hero who quite inconveniently had magic. And if her step-daughter and her pathetic family ever got back to this realm, they'd be sure to take custody of her son, completely cutting her out of his life. As if they had any right to do that. She had raised him when his birth mother threw him away. She had chased away the monsters hiding under his bed and tucked him in at night. Not Emma Swan. Not Snow White.
Regina closed her eyes and clenched her fists, smothering down the rage-fueled magic threatened to explode. This wasn't working. Everything she did reminded her of the hate and pain that had festered insider her for years. She needed something to help her change!
The doorbell rang. Regina was tempted not to answer it, to leave whatever stupidly brave commoner who dared to come to her door standing there. In the end, she decided to answer it. It may be a good opportunity to practice controlling her temper, and if she failed then slamming the door in their face may make her feel better.
However, the sight that greeted her wiped all thoughts of slamming the door from her mind.
"Henry," she smiled. Her son was there, staring at her with the same stubborn-determined face he had always worn when he was trying to convince her to just read one more bedtime story mommy. That memory has greatly decreased the severity of the expression for her, but she always knew that when he looked at her like that, he meant business. "And Sheriff…" She trailed off when she saw her son's companion, and more specifically the bronze badge gleaming on the boy's belt. Really, she shouldn't be so surprised at the moronic townspeople's decision. They had always seemed incredibly willing to throw their lot in with whoever managed to stand up to her and survive, Snow White's little revolution was proof enough of that. Still, making a child their Sheriff? They might as well make the Hatter's brat the mayor! The insufferable child had probably been chomping at the bit to have more chances at heroics.
But as the newly-dubbed Sheriff intently watched her with dark eyes that knew too much, she couldn't assign that as the reason he accepted the position. Through their limited encounters, she had seen how he operated. He always moved with the air of someone that was old, for the lack of a better term. It was as if nothing she could do surprised him. As if he had experienced it all before.
Frankly, the boy unnerved her. The fact that he was powerful, and knowledgeable to boot, didn't help matters.
She pasted on a smile. "How can I help you?"
"Did you mean what you said earlier? About changing?" Henry asked with a driven air.
"Of course," Regina responded. "Henry, I want to change. I want to be better for you."
"Then prove it. Help me get my family back."
Regina's heart dropped. He was here for this. "Henry, I'm sorry but I can't. I don't know how."
"You don't have to! Bae thinks he's found a way to get them back, but he needs to talk to them to do it. You were the most accomplished magician in the entire Enchanted Forest when it came to using mirrors! Can you find a way to use mirrors to let us talk to them?"
"Henry, I can't. I've tried, but I don't have enough power to even see an image across the realms, let alone open a line of communication."
"Can you link two mirrors? Make it so they can reflect images to one another?" The boy, Bailey, asked, speaking for the first time.
"Yes, but there's no way to get the second mirror to the Enchanted Forest. It'd be pointless."
"Leave that part to me," Bailey said, watching her. "Will you do it?"
No. She would not help Snow White. She would not help the woman she hated with every cell in her being. That treacherous little snake could rot in the Enchanted Forest.
But Henry was watching her, just like how he used to watch her when their entire world consisted of each other.
Please, mommy? Just one more story?
"For Henry, I will."
Emma found she really, really hated the Enchanted Forest.
Honestly, you'd think she'd have some kind of warm and fuzzy feeling towards her homeland. But no, she'd really rather be anywhere else but here.
Here, she was stuck in a stupid, small little compound that they couldn't leave while her son was all alone. They hadn't been planning on staying at the refugee camp when they first arrived. The plan had been to load up on supplies, then go looking for the way back as soon as they could.
Instead, they were greeted by a Knight of the freaking Round Table who just so happened to be old friends of her parents (yep, still weird), and were asked a bunch of random questions about Storybrooke before he relayed the bad news. Apparently, a new pack? herd? of ogres had moved into the nearby forest, and could track any scent trail the three of them left back to the camp. If they went to find a way home, then they might as well ring the dinner bell for the ogres.
Emma knew that they couldn't very well risk the entire camp just because she got impatient, but that didn't make her any less frustrated. Her son was in a another realm! He was alone! The closest thing he had to family was Regina!
And she was missing everything again!
When she had given up Henry, it had been because she had known she wasn't in any position to take care of him. She wasn't even in a position to take care of herself. She was still in prison, with no money, no potential jobs, and no support. All she had going for her was a beat up Volkswagen and sheer stubbornness. For her, that was good enough.
But it wasn't good enough for her son.
She knew CPS would be watching her closely if she kept him. She was a seventeen year old orphan with a prison record. They would be ready to take him at the first sign of her struggling. And there was no guarantee that would happen while her child was still a baby. It could happen years down the road, after he put on enough years that no prospective parents would want to adopt him, not when they could have some adorable baby with absolutely no baggage. He would go into the Foster System, and probably end up with the same kind of piece of crap foster parents she did. And she wouldn't put her son through that.
She had to give him his best chance.
And so when he had come screaming into the world, Emma wouldn't hold him. She wouldn't even look at him. She knew if she did, she could never, ever let him go.
So she turned away and gasped that she couldn't be a mother, all the while praying that he would end up so much more loved than she ever was. She knew the doctor and the nurses thought she was some deadbeat that got knocked up but couldn't even bother to acknowledge the existence of the kid. It made her want to scream. All she had ever wanted was a family and now she had to give hers up to give him his best chance why couldn't they see that?
And so they took away the only family she may ever have. When she finally got out, she moved from place to place, trying not to think about her son that she never even saw. Was he happy? Was he safe? What did he look like? Did he hate her for giving him up?
She swallowed all the heartache and questions right up to the moment she first saw him. Then, everything she had missed in his life had been thrown in her face and he was staring at her with so much hope, as if she was some kind of fairytale hero. All she had wanted to do was get him back to his home before he realized how lucky he was not to have been stuck with the unloved, screwed up little orphan that no one had ever wanted.
But when she got him back to his home, she started to wonder if giving him up had really been his best chance. His "mother" was terrible, and he had seemed to have latched onto some kind of fairytale delusion just to cope.
So she stuck around, and pretended she wasn't completely terrified at the prospect of putting down roots and letting people past her carefully constructed walls. And suddenly, she had a family. She had a sister in Mary Margaret and a cousin in Ruby and a grandmother in Granny. And, most importantly, she had a son in Henry. And she promised herself she wouldn't miss anything more.
Only she hadn't counted on the curse being real, her 'sister' being her mother, and getting sucked into a fairytale land with overly cliched names.
"It's dangerous to be out here alone, milady," came the voice from behind her, and Emma had to refrain from groaning.
She had only come out here to be alone. After all, she was good at alone. She had been alone her entire life. Only now, her parents wanted to be a family, and have a relationship with her twenty-eight years too late. And so she had gone to the forest to brood under the pretense of collecting firewood.
Honestly, Emma doubted that the camp even needed firewood.
"I think I'll be fine," she ground out, hoping Roger would get the message and go away. He didn't. Well, the jackass had probably gotten the message, but chosen to ignore it.
Emma really, really hated Roger.
She could admit he was charming (but only to herself where absolutely no one could hear her), but that wasn't everything that mattered in a guy, despite what her parents' nicknames suggested. Besides, he was a liar.
Oh, he hid it well. On the outside he appeared perfectly chivalrous, the image of helpfulness. Lancelot was the same way. Both of them were hiding something, something big. They were good actors, but not great ones. They couldn't beat her superpower.
Emma had tried to talk to Mary Margaret and David about it, if for no other reason than to make a plan, but they had always managed to misunderstand her in their quest to steer the conversation back to family, and their not-so-subtle hints that she could call them mom and dad. Eventually, she gave up on alerting them. But that didn't mean she had stopped watching Roger and Lancelot.
"Really, milady, I must insist you allow me to accompany you," Roger said. "You'll need assistance if the ogres come."
Emma ground her teeth and refrained from telling him where exactly he could shove his assistance. "Suit yourself." Please, please, please just let him shut up while he's here.
"So," he began as he joined her in gathering up kindling. Great, now he was chatting with her. "The news that the Princess Aurora brings of your boy is quite good."
Emma didn't reply, but she knew what he was referring to. Hours ago, Aurora had awoken with a start, babbling about dreamcatchers and burning rooms and Bailey. Eventually, Mary Margaret had managed to figure out that she was talking about the same burning room she herself had visited after being awoken from the Sleeping Curse. Apparently Henry was being pulled there too, and Bailey had managed to find a way to circumvent the flames. Emma was grateful for that, so grateful. Her son was safe from the horrors of the burning room, and he hadn't needed Regima or Gold—sorry, Rumplestiltskin—to do it. She was glad the wizard was still sticking around, helping Henry.
She just couldn't managed to shut up the small, ugly part of her that was jealous that she hadn't been the one to chase Henry's nightmares away.
Unfortunately, Henry had woken up before Aurora could ask him anything. What's worse, the dreamcatchers only worked when Henry was asleep. According to Aurora, the moment Henry disappeared the "swirling, magical walls" had shattered inward, blowing the grasping hands of flames toward the princess.
"This Bailey seems to be quite skilled at the art of magic," he continued. "Do you know where he learnt it?"
Ah, and there it was. Somehow, this guy always managed to work Bailey into the conversation. Everything was a probe for information. Thankfully, Emma, David, and Mary Margaret didn't know much about the mage. While she wasn't about to give away anything, her parents didn't know to be so cautious.
"Nope," Emma bluntly replied as she turned and started to walk back to camp.
In her experience as a bail-bondsperson, the suspect always tripped up and gave themselves away; she just had to watch close enough to catch them. So that was what she would do here, carefully watch everything Roger and Lancelot did. And when they slipped up, she would notice, and whatever they were planning could be stopped. Then…..
Then, she would get back home. She would go back to her son and not miss anymore of his life. She had already missed far too much.
Merry Christmas everyone! Okay, sorry this was so late, the Christmas season was hectic. Okay, on reviews:
ArdeaSpark: First of all, thank you for always reviewing. You seriously make my day. About Blue, I don't really like her either. As consequence, neither will Bae. I think she's way too high and mighty with the "pure of heart" thing. Also, she gives up on people too fast (see: Tinkerbell and Regina). Baelfire won't see eye to eye with her on several things, especially since he was kind of friends/acquaintances with Tink on Neverland. Expect them to butt heads, but don't expect Blue to be the overarching villain in this. I see her as misguided and stuck in her ways, not the embodiment of evil. Besides, in this fic if the villain gets a redemption, it's going to be because they accepted that their actions were wrong and took responsibility for them. They have to work to be better than what they were before. To make everything bad that happened in the show occur because of Blue would undermine that.
Syed: When I saw your review, I thought one thing: wow. Several of your ideas I had already planned to incorporate. For instance, Regina was going to be the one to teach Henry how to horseback ride from the beginning. Kudos to you for figuring it out. However, while I was always planning on having Baelfire and Regina collaborate in order to get the Charmings back, the idea of Bae teaching Regina how to use magic for good was a fantastic idea I hadn't thought of at all. That is definitely going to happen from now on, along with Bae telling Regina his father made the same promise. So, everyone, thank syed for that one. As you can see, contact has already been made with Cora and Hook, but I have a plan for that, just like I have one for August and Daniel. I wasn't really sure about your reasoning behind time travel or memory charms, but I can tell you that isn't at play here. Sorry. Thanks again for the fantastic ideas!
Okay, I know not much really happened in this chapter, but this chapter was more meant to set everything up that was to come. I tried to set up some checks and balances for Bae with the whole Sheriff thing, and I made sure not to completely neglect his education. Next chapter we'll finally see a little bit of Rumple, and after that he'll be a much more prominent character. Then, the plot will pick up. Thanks for reading!