Henry sat in the stiff chair next to the to the bed his mother was lying on. She was not in any glass coffin. There was no Prince Charming to come for her. There was only the steady beeping of the monitor beside her, and the faint drip of the IV fluids.

He was reading to her earlier, hoping that the answer would leap out from between the many pages whose words had guided him to truth so many times, but now he just felt betrayed. He was holding her hand, stroking small circles with the pad of his thumb. Her fingers did not tighten around his, and they were uncomfortably cold.

It had been over a week, and there was not the slightest change in her condition. Despite what Mr Gold had told the boy, he kissed her, just to see. Even though he knew in his heart that it would not work, disappointment crashed over him nonetheless. Now he was just staring at her blank face, puzzling away. Mary Margaret was waiting outside, reading while she let the boy have his time with his mother.

"Mr Gold told me that only True Love's Kiss will save you. Why didn't you tell me you had a True Love? Gold told me that everyone has a True Love. If you had told me, he could be here right now, waking you up!" He squeezed her hand a little tighter. "Who is he, Emma?" He hoped that she would mutter the answer in her sleep, but her mouth stayed silent and still.

He must have asked her that question a hundred times already, and every time the result was the same. Every time, he left disappointed. He looked around the small space; it had become rather crowded with bouquets, cards, balloons and other tokens left for the Savior. They were all far too cheery for Henry's liking. His mood did not reflect their bright colors and positive sentiments in any way.

He was reluctant to leave, but he knew that she was hardly ever alone. Someone was always there, watching and waiting for the moment she woke up. This comforted Henry; not because he would be notified the moment her eyes opened, but because he knew that as long as someone was watching her, Regina couldn't come anywhere near his mother. Emma was safe.

He slouched out of the room, the brunette looking up from the pages of her book. A bleak smile crossed her lips, but vanished quickly when she saw his face. She prided herself on her ability to care for Henry in his poor emotional state, but it was taxing, and he was deteriorating with every passing day. Comforting an adult was one thing, but handling a child was much more delicate and complicated. She glanced up at the clock.

"Hey, are you feeling hungry? It's just about lunchtime. I'll take you to Granny's!" She was having a harder time motivating him to eat, but couldn't blame him either. She knew exactly how depression and loss could destroy one's appetite, among other things. "You can have anything you want. Even ice cream!" She saw his lips twitch at the mention of the treat.

"Sure." He shrugged and made to leave.

"Hey Henry! You're you doing?" Ruby was all smiles and charm for the boy, making him feel as welcomed as possible.

"Mom's not awake, Ruby." He plopped down at the counter.

"She will. Don't you worry. How could she stay like that for too long? Everyone here loves her! She can't resist that!" The waitress smiled warmly, and Henry's eyes perked up.

"Thinking of something?" Mary Margaret asked, noticing the difference in his expression.

"You lived with my mom for a while, Ms Blanchard, and you guys talked a lot, right?"

"Yes, I suppose we did. Why?"

"Did you ever talk about... boys?"

The woman smiled at his question. "Sort of. I mean, we did end up talking about David quite a bit, but that's hardly-"

"I mean, did Emma ever mention having a crush on anyone?"

"What?"

"Emma can only be woken by True Love's Kiss! But I don't know who her True Love is. She never told me she was interested in anyone. Did she tell you?"

"Henry..." She wasn't overly surprised that Henry was once again resorting to fairy tale solutions to help his mother, but that didn't stop her from groaning internally.

"Did she, Ms Blanchard?"

"No, Henry, Emma never mentioned liking anyone." The crestfallen look on his face broke her heart.

"Ruby!" He looked at the woman sliding a hot chocolate in front of him. "You know everything going on around town." Her eyebrows flew upward at that remark. "Did Emma ever mention having any crushes?"

Ruby's brows rose even further. "Nope. Can't say she did. Sorry."

He sipped pensively at his drink, clearly lost in thought. Mary Margaret recognized that look. She had seen it on Emma's face many times before, and knew better than to interrupt.

"Can you take me to Archie's office?"

"Why? Did you want to talk to Dr Hopper about how you're feeling?"

"Uhh...yeah. Yeah, I need to talk to him about this. Can we go now?" His eyes were alit with mischief, and she knew he was lying; however, it was refreshing to see that glint in his eyes rather than the new, sullen look they usually had of late. She consented, paid and took the boy to the shrink's office.

"Hello, Henry. What can I do for you today?" The man greeted him genially with a gentle smile.

"I need to know if my mom had any crushes on anyone?"

"Well, Regina did mention in passing-"

"Wrong mom, Archie!"

"Oh! Sorry, I just..." He cleared his throat with embarrassment. "Sorry. No, Henry, I'm afraid that I don't know if Emma had any romantic interests. Why do you ask?"

Henry huffed in frustration and left. He had a lot of work to do.

Over the following days, Henry tirelessly worked on a plan to break his mother of the Sleeping Curse. Mary Margaret and Ruby helped him out of a mixture of pity and need to keep an eye on him. He set about gathering a list of all the men in the town he knew not to already have a True Love in the Enchanted Forest.

Henry decided that, like Sleeping Beauty waiting for the kiss of her True Love, he would get 'princes' to kiss his mom. The idea grossed him out, but it was now his job to find Emma's True Love. One of them would wake her up. One of them had to, or all was lost.

He was pleased to know that Regina was keeping a very low profile. He was completely aware that she would be tracking his movements, but from a distance. She couldn't really show her face around town since everyone already thought that she was the one who tried to murder the town's beloved Sheriff.

After some careful planning, Henry and Mary Margaret were in Emma's room, standing beside her while a long line of men stood outside. Some of them were there out of pity, some because they were romantics and others just so they could say that they kissed the blonde.

David hovered nearby, keeping a close watch on the anxious men. Henry would call them in one at a time. Each candidate would approach, leave a chaste kiss on the Savior's lips and leave. After roughly the 25th guy smooched to no avail, Henry was clearly losing hope. He was waiting for that burst of pure Love, and Emma's eyes to fly open, resting on the face of her True Love.

But it didn't happen. Just about every single man in town had come and gone, and Emma was still soundly unconscious. David stepped in after the last guy left, clearly failing to rouse the woman with the prowess of his lips.

"I'm sorry, Henry," he said, eyeing Mary Margaret carefully.

"It was supposed to work. How am I supposed to find her True Love? He has to be in Storybrooke somewhere!"

"I know you said it wouldn't work, but are you sure you don't want me to try?" He glanced at the brunette, seeing her nod with consent.

"It won't make a difference. Do whatever you want." Henry stared dejectedly at his sneakers.

David walked over to the bed, gave Emma the smallest kiss and pulled away. Nothing happened. "Sorry, Henry."

"I told you it wouldn't work. You're not Mom's True Love. You belong with Snow White." With that, he left the room, the brunette following after giving an apologetic smile to the man standing across from her.

It was 2am. The lights were low, and Leroy had left Emma's side for the night. The soft glow of the screens cast deep shadows on the vacant face of the Savior. Only the hum of the machines and steady beeping of the heart monitor break the sleepy silence. The door of the little room quietly clicked shut. Regina stared down at the unconscious figure before her.