A/N: Hey! Sorry for not updating for a few days. I'm getting bogged down with preparations for going to university. I hope you all like the chapter by the way.

Wooden Man

Emma woke up, surprised for a moment to find herself lying on the floor before she remembered that she had given Henry her entire bed instead of sharing it with him. Kneeling beside his still sleeping form, she pressed the back of her hand to his forehead, checking to see if his fever had broken. Though his temperature had lowered some, the fever was still raging.

"We're just going to work," James said quietly, poking his head around the door unexpectedly. "Your mother told me to bring up this medicine for Henry though. She swears it'll help."

Emma nodded and took the bottle filled with a gloopy-looking mixture with some doubt. Even if it did work, she was sure it would taste disgusting and was almost glad for a moment that it wasn't for her.

As James left, sighing at the fact that his own daughter hadn't even spoken to him, Emma gently nudged Henry awake. He looked up at her blearily through owl eyes.

"Mom?"

"Yeah, honey, I've got some medicine for you – it'll make you feel better, I promise."

He nodded, trying push himself into a sitting position before he realised he was too weak and needed Emma's help. Once he was upright however, he was able to swallow the light brown liquid Emma had poured onto the teaspoon her father had also given her.

"Are you hungry? Do you think you could eat?"

Henry shrugged. He honestly didn't know. He hadn't thrown up but he also didn't have hunger gnawing at his stomach.

"Come on, kiddo, I'll make you some breakfast," Emma told him helping Henry get out of the bed and down the stairs. "So…breakfast…"

"Normally I just get toast," Henry mumbled helpfully.

"Toast is a no can-do. I never got round to replacing the toaster," Emma replied sheepishly.

"Cereal then."

"We've got muesli?" Emma shook the box at him.

Henry pulled a disgusted face.

"No to the muesli then. I could make pancakes," Emma offered doubtfully. She had no idea if they even had enough milk, but she knew there was a packet mix in the cupboard so she dug that out and followed the instructions as best she could before pouring the liquid into a frying pan and moving on to sorting out a hot cocoa for Henry.

Just as she was handing it to him, he asked, "What's that burning smell?"

"Sugar!" Emma cursed, only just able to refrain from using an actual swear word in front of her ten year old son. "The pancakes!" Her nose wrinkled as she pulled the frying pan off the heat and slid a wooden spatula under one of them, seeing that it was thoroughly black underneath. "I think I'll just ring Granny's."

Henry nodded, taking a swig of hot cocoa with a hopeful expression that soon fell when he realised he was so full of cold he couldn't even taste the cinnamon Emma had sprinkled on top.

"Granny's Diner," the person on the other end of the phone answered. "How can I help you?"

"Granny," Emma said in relief. "Could I ask you a really big favour? I need breakfast for Henry but I can't leave him here alone and he's too sick to go with me to get it. It wouldn't be possible to deliver something, would it?"

"I'm sure we could manage that," Granny replied. "Red! Look after the Diner, I'm going to the Charmings' apartment." Emma had to hold her cell away from her ear at the shout.

"Great. Thanks." Emma dropped her cell back into the pocket of one of her leather jackets hanging beside the front door. "Right, breakfast is on its way. Are you warm enough?" she asked Henry, feeling his temperature again. "I'll just go and get you another blanket." Jogging up the stairs, Emma wondered what Granny would bring for Henry – she'd never requested anything in particular. She grabbed the comforter off her bed and, once downstairs, draped it around Henry. "Shall I put the TV on?"

Emma had just switched on the TV and put cartoons on for Henry when there was a knock at the door.

"You good?"

Henry nodded, before croaking, "You should go to work."

"I can't. There's no-one to watch you."

Ruffling Henry's hair, she left him to watch and opened the door for Granny to enter, laden with a shrink-wrapped plate of food and a covered mixing bowl.

"I can't stop long – I promised Pinocchio that I'd go and see the Blue Fairy for him."

"August!" Emma felt ashamed. In all the crazy of the past two days, she'd completely forgotten about her friend and his predicament. "How is he?"

"Still wooden," Granny replied sadly.

"I should have gone to see him…"

"I've brought a few chocolate pancakes," Granny said, trying to change the sombre atmosphere that had swamped the apartment in those few seconds. "And something for you, Sheriff." She handed Emma the plate which bore a bear claw and unwrapped the bowl, pulling out a handful of pancakes. Emma pulled out a plate and once the pancakes were on it, carried it over to Henry.

Giving her a grateful smile, Emma turned back to Granny, "Thanks for this. I guess I'd better let you get back."

"If you need a sitter, I'd recommend Jiminy," Granny told Emma with a wink as she left.

"What do you say, Henry? Fancy a day with Archie?"

"Jiminy, sure," Henry told her, beginning to feel better now that he'd had medicine and was eating something.

Emma pulled out her cell again and dialled for Archie, telling herself that she ought to start changing people's names in her contacts.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Archie, it's Emma. I wondered whether you'd mind staying with Henry today – he's ill and I really need to get out and do some things."

"Of course, I'll be over as soon as I can, Emma. Bye."

Emma shut off the call and turned to Henry. "Just going to get dressed," she told him, dashing up to the bedroom they were temporarily sharing and changing into a pair of jeans and a loose-fitting shirt. After brushing her teeth and her hair, she was almost ready, just needing to pull on a pair of her boots from the pile near the door and grab a jacket.

Jiminy didn't take long to arrive, but Emma waited until he had before leaving.

"I'll see you later," she said, kissing Henry goodbye. "Feel better."

She knew she ought to be going to work, but there was something she had to do first. She was just crossing the road, heading for the B&B when Granny returned with the Mother Superior in tow. Emma jogged over. She had to know what was going. August was her friend.

"Well? Can you help him?" she asked the nun as they climbed the stairs to August's room.

"I don't know. Pinocchio's curse…it's not normal. He didn't remain brace, truthful and unselfish – he left you – and so he was turned back into wood. I already helped him once before and he didn't heed my advice."

"What? But August was just a kid? It's not his fault he left. You can't seriously expect a seven year old to take care of a baby," Emma complained. Perhaps August hadn't done what he was told. Perhaps he had broken his promise. But as she had said, he was only seven at the time.

Leaving the shocked nun behind, Emma hurried up the rest of the stairs.

"August!" she exclaimed breathlessly as she found him.

He looked almost exactly like he had the last time she'd seen him before she'd broken the curse. Except, whilst then he had been lying on the bed in the process of solidifying into wood, now he was sat at his desk, able to move. His fingers tapped at the keys on the typewriter.

"Emma," he smiled. "You did it."

"You can move…how?"

"I'm a wooden man, Emma, not a puppet on a string," he told her as the Mother Superior walked in.

"Pinocchio, I hear you've been a naughty boy again."

August sighed and turned to look at her. "Yes, I suppose I have."

"What? No you haven't!" Emma declared, whirling to stare at him.

"Emma, it's my fault Henry ate that apple turnover. If I hadn't left you that might never have happened. I broke the promise I made to look after you and now I've paid the price for that mistake."

"Stop it, it wasn't your fault! I don't blame you for leaving me."

"Well you should."

"You say you're the Blue Fairy? Well change him back," Emma demanded of the Mother Superior.

"I can't. Pinocchio must find his help elsewhere. Magic has returned to Storybrooke – there are a number of opportunities open to you, Pinocchio. The first step is to learn your lesson."

"I have learnt my lesson. I came to Storybrooke, didn't I? I helped Emma as best I could," August replied. "If I got to do my life in this world over again, I wouldn't make the same choices."

Out of nowhere, blue light ensconced him. Emma gasped as it faded, leaving August looking normal again.

He stared down at his hands in amazement.

"See you didn't need my help at all," the Blue Fairy smiled. "You did it yourself."

A timeline for reference so you can hopefully avoid confusion:

Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse

Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later

Wooden Man (Chapter 8) – 2 days later

The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later

Up Goes the Beanstalk (Chapter 7) – 1 week later

Hiking Chapter (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks late

Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later

Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later

Whole town Chapter (Chapter 11) – 1 month later

Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later

Grumpy Chapter (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later

A/N: I'd really like to know what you thought about this chapter. I'm not too sure about it myself, so your opinions are even more valued.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Much love, SabreDae

xxxxxxx