I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THE DELAY. LIFE'S BEEN HECTIC. FOR ANYONE WHO WATCHED THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, GO PATS! THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE REVIEWS. I APPRECIATE EACH AND EVERY ONE.
DON'T OWN IT.
"So what'd Regina say?" Emma asked between mouthfuls of scrambled eggs.
"Uh…" James exchanged a weary glance with Snow, deciding whether or not he should burden her with it. "Like we thought, she wants Henry back. I now know that she's going to force you to give him up."
"By force you mean kill?" Graham asked, more alert than ever.
"Unless she'd be willing to give him up peacefully."
"I'm not making that mistake again." Emma said.
"We can't let her get killed." Graham said, the anger playing across his face saying it all.
"We need to make a plan." James said.
"Are you copying Scooby Doo?" Henry asked. "Freddie says that a lot."
"I thought your mom didn't let you watch TV?" Emma queried.
"I watched TV at other people's houses." Henry shrugged. Though he was 16, he still had boy-like qualities. He hadn't grown much, he was only up to Emma's chin. His hair style had remained the same, as well has his voice. Snow's hair was finally down to her shoulders, while James left his in a buzz-cut. Graham hadn't changed his look, either. Emma's was just a little longer than it had been.
"I've never heard of Scooby Doo." James said.
"Never mind." Henry mumbled, rolling his eyes.
"Henry!" Emma scolded, fixing him with a stern look.
"Sorry."
"If we could get back on the subject of defeating Regina, that would be great." Emma said. "We think I might have an immunity to magic since I escaped the curse and destroyed the dagger."
"So Regina's magic can't work on her. She can take her down." Graham cut Emma off, just wanting to know if the plan was approved. This earned him a glare from Emma, but the smile she was trying to hide told him a different story. Ever so slightly, he waggled his eyebrows at her.
"But we don't know if magic has no effect on her. I'm not willing to take that risk." James said, his tone indicating there was no room for argument.
"So we find out for sure." Emma said, her voice defensive and strong. She was going to fight for her son, whether her father liked it or not.
"What are we going to do? Stick you in the middle of the woods and wait for her to try some horrible spell on you? If it works, you die, and we have our answer. Sure, we can do that." James said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"No. I was thinking more along the lines of asking the expert on magic." Emma rolled her eyes, getting up from her chair.
"Oh God, Emma, I'm sorry." James said, suddenly realizing that his sarcasm was ill-timed.
"I'm not mad at you. I'm changing so we can go talk to Mr. Gold!" She called from the stairs.
"Emma, let's not do that, okay? He's a very dangerous man." James said.
"He doesn't have any magic. Besides, I'm not scared of him!" They could barely hear. The walls of the castle were very well insulated.
"I know that, but he's still as manipulative as ever!" James threw his hands in the air out of frustration, and rolled his eyes. Snow laughed at the father/daughter duo. Emma came back down.
"Then just let me do all the talking."
"What makes you think he's going to help us?" James questioned.
"The one thing he wants is kids to be safe. Henry is definitely not safe with Regina. He'll help us." Emma said.
"Fine. Let's leave so that we're back by sundown." James relented.
"Great." Emma chirped, smirking. James shot a look to Snow, begging her to help him with their daughter. 'Sorry', she mouthed, smiling.
"Wait! I'm coming!" Graham announced, stumbling out of his chair to catch the two. Henry and Snow watched them ride the horses. It took Emma a few tries to get on. She could barely get above a trot. Graham and James were laughing at her.
"They're funny." Henry commented.
"Yes, quite the trio they are." Snow agreed. They winced and laughed as Emma almost fell off. "I'm nervous for her. The horse doesn't seem too happy. She may get thrown off."
"But the horse is nice, right?" Henry asked. "I mean, he wouldn't purposely hurt Emma."
"Of course not." She assured him. They both pictured the laughing and glaring going on. "Now that I think about it, I'm more concerned about Graham."
"He looks fine on the horse, though."
"Can you imagine the daggers Emma is glaring at him? If looks could kill…" She explained.
"They love each other, and would never hurt each other." Henry said.
"Not purposely, Henry, no. Oh, you think I mean seriously injure. I just meant that he may be sore for a couple days after she's done with him. You know how Emma gets." Snow smiled at her own stupidity.
"Did you and Grandpa want more than one kid?" He asked.
"What?" Snow was startled by the question. "Uh, I don't know. I never really pictured myself as a mother… I guess I was right." There was a sad longing in her eyes, and for a moment, she forgot where she was.
"But Emma's here now. It's a good thing that the curse happened, though. I wouldn't have been born." Henry gave Snow a hug, trying to comfort her.
"That's true. I still can't help but wonder how things would've gone if things hadn't got messed up." Snow hugged the boy back, ruffling his hair, trying to memorize every part of him in the event that she lost someone else she cared about. She wanted to make sure there was no way she could ever forget him.
"I don't think things would change much. She's still be the most amazing person I've ever met. I'm so proud to have her as my mother." Henry looked smiled up at her.
"Oh, Henry…" Snow whispered, her eyes filling.
"Oops. Sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry."
"I'm not sad. You're just every bit as amazing as your mom."
"And you." He said. "She's definitely like you. Do you think they finally got going yet?" They glanced out the window.
"I don't see them anymore. They must've." She said.
"Can I get riding lessons? I don't wanna look as stupid as she did." Henry giggled.
"Do you want to start now?" She asked.
"Can we?" Henry beamed.
"Sure." Snow shrugged.
"We're almost there." James called back to Emma, who was looking a little more than weary. They had been riding for fifteen minutes, most of which consisted of missteps and sudden accelerations or decelerations.
"Yay." Emma moaned.
"Just pretend it's a bike or something." Graham advised.
"Yeah, a giant, bumpy, smelly bike. Sure thing." Emma said, her voice laced with sarcasm.
"Oh come on, Emma, it's not that bad." Graham said.
"I like cities. This is not a city."
"Just to warn you, there's a narrow bridge ahead." James said.
"I'm walking." Emma declared.
"When we get back, I am teaching you to ride horses." James said.
"I'm not a horse person. The last time I was on one was when I was three, and I'm pretty sure the horse threw me and I got a concussion." She complained.
"It's a good skill to have." James argued. He slowed his pace as they approached the bridge.
"Great, no railings either." Emma muttered.
"I didn't know you were this much of a whiner." Graham said, covering his ears.
"I'm not whining." She defended. "I'm just talking in a drawn out, nasally voice."
"That, my dear, is the definition of whining." Graham smirked. She rolled her eyes and fell stumbled off the horse, barely landing on her feet.
"That thing is too tall." Emma huffed. "And why did you put him in such a remote location?"
"When we entrapped him, he was a lot more dangerous than he is now." James answered.
"So move him."
"Does anything make you happy?" Graham asked.
"Shut up."
"Ok you two, play nice. You're acting like 5 year olds." The older man scolded. "Besides, we're here." He nodded to a menacing-looking cave.
"Let's go." Emma said. The guards waved them through, and James led them to Rumplestilskin's prison.
"Hello, Dearies!" The man in question all but screeched.
"Tone it down, would you?" Emma grumbled.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Ms. Swan?" He asked.
"I have a question." She said.
"Why should I help you? You broke my deal." He hissed.
"It concerns Henry. He's just a kid. He shouldn't have to be mixed up in this."
"I'm listening." Rumplestilskin took a step closer, his hand on the bars holding him in.
"Does magic affect me?" She asked.
"Why wouldn't it?" He challenged. Graham glanced to James, whose jaw was clenched, and his arm twitching to pull his sword and harm the man of mystery.
"I escaped the curse. I also destroyed the dagger." Emma said evenly, somehow managing to control her anger. All she wanted was an answer from this man.
"That was stupid." He deadpanned.
"So I've been told. Can you just answer my question?"
"I have a price."
"You're bluffing." Emma said, her glare intensifying. "You want Henry safe as much as I do."
"Sometimes you annoy me, Ms. Swan." Now he casually leaned against the wall.
"Answer her question." James barked.
"Fine, fine, fine, if you so insist." He waved his hands through the air. "Magic does not affect Ms. Swan. Are you happy now?"
"Thank you. Let's go." James draped an arm around Emma's shoulder, gently tugging her.
"Wait." She said, turning her head up to James. He sighed and released her. Emma then turned to Rumplestilskin. "I'll give you your son back."
"I never said I had a son." For the first time, he looked shocked, and there was just the faintest hint of tears in his eyes. Kids have that effect on people, Emma thought.
"You implied it at your store." She said.
"Why would you be nice to me?" He asked.
"I don't know." Emma shrugged. "I believe you're a good person, at heart. You've just made some mistakes. And mistakes are forgivable."
"But I could never be with Bae again. He's missing."
"Finding people is what I do." Emma said.
"I said that same thing to your mother." James smiled.
"We can go over family history later. Right now, we need to find his son." Emma said.
"Did I consent to that?" James asked as they walked out.
"No. But I am the deputy, so I can do whatever I want." She replied.
"Unless I put a stop to it." Graham chimed in.
"But you won't." She smiled seductively at him.
"Well, when you give me that face, it's pretty hard to say 'no'." Graham said.
"Good. Then I'm opening an investigation." Emma said as she put one foot in her stirrup. The horse moved. "Come on!" She glared at it. The horse just turned its back at her. "Fine, I wanted to walk anyway."
"Maybe if you were nicer to it, it would like you better." Graham suggested.
"I am nice. I gave it a carrot earlier."
"Whatever you say. Let's just get back, I think a storm's coming."
"Just great." She muttered.
"If I were you, I'd hop on the back of Graham's. We're going to have to ride fast if we want to beat the storm." James said, easily hopping onto his horse.
"No thanks, I'd rather run." Emma turned the offer down, glancing wearily at Graham's white horse.
"We're galloping. Fast." With that, James took off, knowing that she'd relent and hop on Graham's. Her brown one took off after him.
"I hate horses." Emma grumbled, allowing Graham to pull her up. With that, they set out to go home.
AGAIN, SORRY IT'S TAKEN ME SO LONG TO UPDATE. I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR ABOUT 3 DAYS, SO I HOPE THIS IS OKAY. I'M REALLY GOING TO TRY TO UPDATE FASTER.