"You stayed over at my mom's?!"
Henry frowns, his eyes wide as he perches on the blonde's bed with his legs crossed. Emma simply shrugs in response, kicking off her jeans beneath the heavy folds of her hooded sweatshirt and tossing them over her shoulder to land in the laundry hamper beside the window.
"It was late. She called about a group of people outside her house that were giving her trouble."
"Couldn't she just put a spell on them now?"
"I don't know... Probably... That wouldn't have been very nice, though."
"She's the Ev-"
"-She's going to do things a little differently this time around."
The blonde cuts in firmly, offering her son a warning look.
"How do you know?"
"She told me so."
"Emma, you can't-"
"-I can, and I will. Now get up so I can make the bed."
She pushes at him gently and the boy rolls off the side of the bed, landing in a purposeful heap on the floor at the Sheriff's feet. Rolling her eyes, Emma makes as if to step on him as she leans over to straighten out her bedding; Henry shrieking loudly
"Don't! Don't! Mercy!"
Chuckling, she pulls him back onto his feet and pulls a fresh pair of jeans from her closet, wriggling into them easily.
"Turn around."
She instructs, and Henry does as he's told, waiting as she strips off her sweatshirt and strives to locate a bra, his bright eyes falling to the crumpled scraps of paper littering her nightstand, each adorned with his name.
"What are those?"
"Huh?"
"There's bits of paper here with my name on them."
"Oh, I tried to make an envelope for your card - shit... The card -... Oh, Henry, I'm not sure where it got to. It was in my pocket, and I guess-"
"-It's okay, I understand."
The boy assures her hastily, revisited by his previous fear that the blonde might be angry at his irritation at finding her missing. Clearing his throat, he continues cautiously, turning back towards the Sheriff at the sound of mattress springs as she perches on the bed to pull on her boots.
"Did Mr Gold really take you?"
"Uh-... Yeah... Yeah, he did."
"Did he hurt-"
"-He just wanted something from me, Henry, and I guess he thought if he didn't scare me a bit, I wouldn't listen."
"He scared you?"
"... A little."
"And your wrists... He did that?"
Henry asks quietly. Glancing down at the white bracelets of scar tissue circling her wrists with a frown, the Sheriff sighs, before looking back up at the boy with troubled eyes.
"He, uh-... He tied me up, and I overreacted a bit... It's not as bad as it looks."
She shudders, the memory of her time spent in her fevered delirium a hazy nightmare she has no intention of sharing with the boy.
"It doesn't matter. Your mom sorted me out when she found me... Kind of neat I guess. Like permanent bracelets."
She holds her arms out to him as she's all too aware of his curious gaze, much as he strives to disguise it. Welcoming the blonde's invitation, Henry steps forward, taking her hands in his own and inspecting the crude marks lining her arms with childish interest.
"I'm sorry about your flower."
He points to the tattoo on her left wrist, the faded ink marred with a flash of white as though crossed out; deemed void. She supposes she has no qualms about that period of her life being erased and forgotten.
"It's okay. I'd kind of grown to hate that thing anyway."
She smiles, taking back her hands and rubbing at her wrists self-consciously. Aware that bright eyes still linger on her, she raises a brow, her grin faltering ever so slightly.
"You okay, kid?"
"My mom... She really found you?"
"She did."
"She-... She asked me about my book when you went missing... About Rumplestiltskin... She must have known who you were; that you were Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter..."
"She did... She knew from quite early on, she said."
"She told you!?"
"Yeah... We discussed the Curse. How she did it. Why she did it."
"She told you all that?"
"She-... Your mom feels-... She understands what she did was-... Was wrong..."
Emma replies uneasily; imagining Henry has a million more questions just burning away, but deciding that Regina can take the reigns on the rest. She's cautious about putting words into the brunette's mouth, and this is not a topic to be taken lightly.
"Come on, let's get you home, kid."
Pushing herself up off the bed and ushering Henry down the stairs, she offers David an awkward smile as they find him stirring sugar into a steaming mug on the kitchen island.
"Tea, you two?"
He asks. Shaking her head and muttering a polite declination, she smirks to herself as Henry belts out a hearty 'no thanks, gramps', imagining just what Regina would make of that.
"You're late."
The Mayor greets them as she opens the door, and Emma rolls her eyes but adopts a grin when Henry stops in front of Regina and cautiously puts his arms around her.
"No, I'm not, it's like five past twelve."
"Oh, well, will you look at that! And I'd always been led to believe you were incapable of telling time."
The darker woman muses loftily.
"I can tell the time, Regina, I just don't have a watch..."
The blonde grumbles irritably, and Henry's grin is a flawless copy of the brunette's, although his mother accessories the emotion with a roll of glittering eyes.
"Perhaps it's time to invest in one, dear. I do believe it's in your budget."
Regina sighs, moving aside so that Henry and Emma may enter. The boy looks back at the Sheriff curiously; a little surprised that she's been permitted to follow him in. A brief glance shared between the women addresses this adjustment in the way of things also, and Regina clears her throat, directing them all into the kitchen as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Once seated at the kitchen table, Henry throws the blonde a puzzled glance as she sits down opposite him; wondering if he should warn her that she's probably not supposed to do so. To his surprise, Regina simply pours three glasses of juice and brings them over, taking the empty chair to his right.
"Henry, Emma and I have some things we need to discuss pertaining to Mr Gold-"
"-You mean Rumplestiltskin."
He interrupts the Mayor.
"Yes. I suppose I do."
She agrees.
"So, I was right this whole time... I was right, and you made it so no one would believe me! So that I had to see Archie! So that-"
"-Henry..."
Regina sighs uncomfortably, glancing at the blonde who nibbles her lip. Realising that in the context of social awkwardness, Emma is unlikely to be her saviour, she opens her mouth to continue, when the Sheriff surprises her by interrupting.
"Remember what I told you about good and evil, kid?... She couldn't have told you, Henry, even though you were smart enough to figure everything out. Without magic, no one would have listened. It would have seemed crazy. She protected you, in a way... But right now, we have to forgive and forget, because we're not out of hot water yet... I want you to do something for me. For us; Regina and I... We're taking the same side on this one, and just like you did with Operation Cobra, I need you to help me now, too. We-... We have a new mission."
"Really?"
Henry looks from the brunette - who studies the younger woman with a peculiar expression - back to Emma and breaks into a grin.
"What is it?!"
He demands eagerly, and the blonde returns his smile wearily, promising
"I'll tell you in a second. But first, go and get your book."
"Can we think up a new codename, too?"
"Sure."
Beaming, Henry pushes himself from the table, stumbling in his haste to get to the stairs. Shaking her head, the Sheriff turns to Regina with a bemused sigh, before slowly adopting a frown.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You just never cease to amaze me, Miss Swan..."
"Okay?"
"I couldn't have told Henry anything about the Curse."
"I know, that's what I said."
Emma agrees; confused.
"Yes. But you could have done so for Henry's sake; to appease an awkward situation... You didn't, though. You meant it."
"I did... Now quit looking at me like that, or we're going to have to explain a whole lot more to the kid."
"Ugh. Really, Miss Swan?"
"Really, Madame Mayor."