Author's Note: Life is really getting in the way. Even when I'm not the one graduating, graduation season is interrupting my schedule. Withgirl has to come up with her own excuse. Don't know when the next chapter will pop up so until then, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

"Henry?" Tamsin called standing at her brother's door. He turned around from his desk and smiled at her.

"You never announce when you sneak into the Batcave." Tamsin giggled at him and walked over to his desk and climbed into his lap, reaching over to his desk to look at what he was working on. He grinned at her awed look over his drawings.

For a while his fascination with comics and writing were only a hobby but now with his parents falling apart, it was his only escape from their yelling. And showing them to Tamsin and telling her the stories he made for them was the only distraction he knew of for his little sister so far but he had a sinking feeling the five-year-old had found her own way to tune out their mothers' arguing. Not that they've even seen their blonde mother recently.

"I like this one," the blonde said pointing to the one right on top. He picked it up and looked at it, sighing to himself. Of course she like the one inspired by the people he'd rather she not have to think too much about. It was going to be an anniversary gift for his parents. He was fortunate enough to have a family full of comic book readers and therefore his gift ideas came to him effortlessly. He was going to test out his new found skill with this.

"Story?" Tamsin asked with expectant eyes.

Henry shifted uncomfortably in the chair and sat it off to the side and picked up another one, "How about this one?"

"But I like that one," his sister argued with a small frown.

"Tam, I don't really have a story for that one yet," Henry lied. He instantly felt guilty for it as she nodded in understanding and tried find interest in the one he picked up. He'd given both his mothers a really hard time about them telling him the truth and not using the 'it's complicated' excuse with him and now he was lying to his little sister. He figured she wasn't going to understand if he did tell her that he didn't want to tell her the story for that one because they were about their parents who weren't anything like the characters he'd written for them anymore.

Suddenly he didn't feel telling her a story, instead he grabbed another stack of drawings he'd done and wasn't very satisfied with, "Tell you what, why don't we sit on my bed and color?"

"Can I color lots?" she questioned with a smile.

"Lots and lots," the teen nodded. He stood up from his desk and walked over to his messy bed and smoothed out the sheets before dropping her down on them and sitting the drawings on the bed. She went about picking her first one as he grabbed clipboards for both of them and a pack of color pencils and crayons. The brunette sat down in front of her with the item spread out in front of them and crossed his legs.

"Whatever you color can go on my wall," he said and Tamsin's face lit up as she looked over to the picture on the left wall across from them.

"Are you gonna color?" she asked.

"Sure. What colors am I using?"

"Blue and red," she said handing her brother the color pencils. He chuckled and pulled out the colors and grabbed a page to start coloring.

They sat in silence, coloring together and Henry glanced over to his little sister's page. She had chosen yellow and pink on his attempt at recreating a futurist version of batman. He looked down at his own, blue and red neatly inside the lines. Tamsin's was far outside the lines and not fully colored in some place. He found himself preferring hers more than his own.

"Henry?"

"Yeah, Tam."

"Where's mommy?" she asked quietly, looking up from her coloring. Henry inwardly sighed, hoping to have avoided the questioning about their family's worsening relationship.

"I…I don't know," he answered honestly.

"Is she going to come back?"

"Yeah, she is. She's just not feeling well right now."

"She's 'posed to stay here and have potato soup."

"Tomato." He chuckled lightly, "She'll come back for soup real soon, I promise."

"Mommy gave me chocolate," the blonde crawled over and sat in his lap, sitting sideways so that her ear was pressed to his chest. He watched her rub at her eyes and he put an arm around her knowing she was about cry. Honestly, he was feeling the stinging too.

"I know," he responded sadly.

"And she read me more stories."

"I know…" Henry closed his eyes at the tear rolling down his face as he tensed his jaw, trying to fight off a crying fit along with his sister.

"I miss mommy," Tamsin sniffed, her body beginning to tremble with silent cries.

"I know. I do too."

He sensed a presence and glanced over the little blonde's head to see his brunette mother standing in the doorway. Her eyes searched his face sadly and then looked down to Tamsin. Henry met his mother's eyes, resting his chin on Tamsin's head as she clung to him and then turned away from her.

"Tamsin, why don't you sign your picture for her. You can give it to her when she comes back." The blonde shook her head. "It'll make her feel better. Go on Tam, write your name."

He held out a purple color pencil to her, encouraging her to take it. Dejectedly, she took it and leaned down over her picture and wrote her name in big shaky, slanted letters on the bottom carefully. She pushed herself back into him again and held on tightly to his shirt, getting sleepy quickly. The teen wrapped his arms around her, losing the appetite for the dinner his mother had come to tell them was ready.

The older woman watched them for a moment before turning on her heel, knowing tonight she more than likely was going to be eating dinner alone.

"I don't understand why you couldn't stay with you parents, Swan…" Hook said over his shoulder while he pulled two beers out of his fridge. The pirate made quick work of twisting the tops off and walking over to the blonde sat on his couch.

Emma took the beverage with a grateful smile before she began staring at it intently so that she could avoid eye contact with her friend while she explained, "mom and dad seem pretty well adjusted to…the new me, but I just can't handle the look that Neal always gives me. I don't think they've actually explained anything to him and he just always seems really wary of me…"

"Neal is just a child who isn't used to change, it didn't take long for Tamsin to start trusting you when you came back, I'm sure that your brother would be the same if you gave him a chance…" Hook replied, trying to sound as supportive as possible. No matter how many years it had been since he was widely considered a villain, he still wasn't one hundred percent comfortable dealing with emotions, but at least he was trying, so far it only seemed to work with his girlfriend, Tinkerbell, and his ex-girlfriend turned best friend, Emma.

"I'm also sure that it won't be long until Regina convinces her that I'm the evilest thing in the world," the blonde said after down almost half the bottle at once.

Hook blew out a breath and said, "Regina has had many dealings with the Dark One in the past, you can't exactly blame her…"

Emma's mouth fell open and she looked accusingly at her friend, "you are seriously taking her side?"

"There are no sides, Swan," the man blew out a breath and fell back against the couch, "we are all adults here, and perhaps you should be with your wife rather than your ex-boyfriend."

"We dated for like a week and a half and kissed maybe three times, that was hardly a relationship, Killian."

Rolling his eyes, Hook replied, "that is not the point I was trying to make…you do know that spending all of your time here isn't going to do your relationship any favors, particularly with your children."

"Well, Regina freaks the fuck out when I spend time with them, so I don't know what I'm supposed to do other than wallow. Which is something I have to do here since my parents would probably spend all of their time giving me hope speeches."

Hook cocked an eyebrow and watched as she downed the rest of the beer only to hold out her hand. He looked down at his own drink and just realized that he hadn't even taken a sip and just blew out a breath as he handed it to her.

"Is wallowing necessary?" he sighed.

Emma looked up from her beer, with tears stinging at her eyes as she replied, "for the past two days I've had Regina's wedding ring for two days and she either hasn't noticed or doesn't care."

Hook took a moment to take this in, after a couple of seconds, he said, "does wallowing mean drinking?"

"Yep," she replied, bringing the bottle to her lips. As she chugged the liquid she stared straight ahead at the spirit who stood across the room who looked back with narrowed eyes. When she brought the bottle down, Rumpelstiltskin continued to look at her judgingly.

"And how do you think Tink will feel when she finishes work?"

"We're friends, I'm sure she'll be cool with it."

Hook just shook his head, he was sure that he should be telling her that there were healthier ways to deal with emotions, but he knew that it would very much make him a hypocrite. It was for that reason that he stood from the couch and walked over to the kitchen counter. A moment later, he returned with a bottle of rum and two tumblers.

"Fine, one night of wallowing and then you are staying with your parents," he said while pouring more than the recommended amount of liquid into Emma's glass.

"Deal," the Dark One replied.

-Meanwhile in the Forest-

"And who is this Emma?" Arthur asked, smirking at the contemptuous look he received from the wolf.

Ruby took a deep breath to try and calm down, but there was just something about the way he was leant cockily against one of the trees in the clearing that made him that much more irritating.

"Emma Swan-Mills is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, she is the sheriff and savior of Storybrooke. She's married to Regina, who used to be the Evil Queen and they have two children together."

The male brunette tilted his head as he took in this information, before he replied, "that certainly doesn't sound like the usual tragic story of a Dark One…"

"She took in the darkness to protect her wife," Ruby mumbled, wishing that she wasn't being commanded to answer all of his questions.

"How sweet," he chuckled, "that willingness to protect her could present an issue, I'm assuming that they are True Loves?"

Ruby nodded and said, "Tamsin is the product of their love."

Arthur pushed himself off the tree, his smile growing wider, "perfect. Are you friends with her?"

The wolf swallowed hard, wanting to say no, but she replied obediently replied, "yes, we were before I left town."

"I suppose you are well equipped to get more information," he smirked.

Ruby clenched her jaw, she knew that 'more information' meant he wanted to know what he could do to get what he needed for his plan. Despite her urge to transform into a wolf and rip off his face, she just slightly inclined her head to tell him that she could do what he was asking.

"Hop to it little wolf, I am not a patient man."

"I believe she is staying with her parents…" Regina mumbled as she pretended to be interested in something across the room. It was honestly terrible to be at a therapy session this early in the morning but she was trying to avoid another quiet breakfast with her despondent children.

Archie resisted the urge to sigh and allowed his eyes to fall down to the brunette's left hand, biting the inside of his cheek, he noted down the absence of the ring. He could see forgetting to put it on, but it had officially been 24 hours now and she didn't seem to be missing the piece of jewelry she had been wearing every day for years, which could only mean that there was some psychological reason that the mayor had yet to notice. No matter how much he wanted to point it out to her, he knew that if he did so, she would only get defensive which would stop her from coming to her own realizations, so he kept quiet and continued with the conversation they were currently having.

"You think?" he asked.

Regina let out a short huff and carried on avoiding eye contact as she replied, "I have yet to look into the matter."

"The matter, Regina?" the therapist sighed, "you do realize you are talking about your wife."

The brunette finally returned her eye contact, but as she did so, she narrowed them and looked at the red- head with all the contempt that she could muster.

"What are you implying, bug?"

She got defensive, big surprise, Archie internally rolled his eyes and held up one hand as if in surrender, "when you use the word 'matter', it seems rather detached. Perhaps you should consider the possibility that the way you try to defend yourself is not helping your relationship…"

"Are you suggesting that my marriage is failing because of semantics?"

"I am suggesting that the way you choose to phrase your arguments does not make Emma feel as though you are trying to make things work as much as you are," he replied softly.

Regina bit her lip and took a moment to consider this, their last argument had certainly escalated after she had called her 'Miss Swan'.

"Perhaps you have a point..." she muttered, once again breaking eye contact. The pair fell into silence, before the mayor decided that she had to ask a question that had been bothering, "has Emma been to see you?"

Archie tilted his head and replied, "you know I can't tell you that, Regina."

"I'm not asking for minutes from your meeting, Archie, I'm simply asking if she has been here," she said almost pleadingly.

When she looked up, she knew that he wouldn't be able to verbally answer her question, but by the look on his face, it was rather obvious that the answer was no. Deflating, she fell against the back of the couch.

"I actually thought that she would…"

The red-head looked at her sympathetically. Her expression was utterly dejected, just as it had been when she had come to see him during the months that her wife had been missing. For a brief moment, he wondered whether the look was so similar because she once again felt as if she had lost the woman she loved. It seemed completely plausible, considering the lack of wedding ring and the fact that she hadn't even bothered to check where the blonde currently was. It was almost as if she didn't want to find her because she didn't want to have to deal with Emma as she currently was.

"Have you considered that Emma has some things that she needs to work through?" Archie asked.

Regina clutched the arm of the couch and shook her head, "she has had months to deal with her internal struggles, if she wasn't ready, then she shouldn't have come back…"

"Regina…" the therapist sighed, seeing the signs that she was once again not able to articulate her feelings. "There is no one in this town who can understand the what she is currently going through. She has no one who she can talk to who knows what it is like to have ancient darkness consume them. She may be the savior, but that does not automatically mean she is capable of beating anything, maybe the reason she came back is because she thought she would get the support she had deprived herself of."

"And she didn't get anything…" the brunette sighed, "I…I just don't…."

"You don't know how to help her?" he asked, when she received a somewhat timid nod, "have you considered simply asking her what she is feeling?"

"That's supposed to be your job," the former-queen groaned in frustration, she could already feel uncomfortable at the thought of trying to discuss inner emotions.

"I'm not particularly qualified to discuss Dark One issues, you, however, have at least an understand of the type of power she has received."

Regina opened her mouth to reply with some kind of quip, but then she remembered Archie's previous comment and she just nodded.

After a moment of silence, she asked, "how do you suppose that I start such a conversation? Emma is more than a little reluctant to talk to me right now…"

"I believe that the first step would be finding out exactly where she is," Archie said softly, "perhaps find a place where you are both comfortable simply talking."

She nodded, knowing instantly where the conversation should take place and she took a deep breath as she stood from the couch.

"Thank you."

He smiled at her and prayed that his suggestions would work, Storybrooke really needed their most powerful couple back on good terms.

"Emma?" Snow whispered.

The blonde let out a groan and, with her eyes still closed, tried to figure out why her mother was in her bedroom. As she shifted to try and shake the fatigue out of her muscles, she came to the conclusion that she wasn't actually in her bedroom. Letting out another groan, she opened her eyes and remembered that she had crashed on her parent's couch.

Once Tink had returned home, Hook was already suitably drunk, so much so that he had passed out on the arm of his couch. After a brief explanation of what had happened, the fairy had offered to let her sleep on their couch, but the blonde had decided against it, for reasons that she couldn't quite fathom now that she was sober.

Squinting, she sat up slowly, seeing that she was still wearing her jacket and boots and then turned to look up at her concerned mother.

"Morning, mom," she croaked while she fully sat up and placed her hand on her forehead, "what time is it?"

Snow fell into the seat next to her, clearly trying to move passed just how hung over her daughter so obviously was.

"It's about half twelve," the brunette replied, resisting her urge to hug the woman. Though the woman had become more comfortable with displays of affection from her parents, she tended to be far more okay with it if she was the one who initiated it. "I was kind of in a rush this morning, so I must have not noticed you on the couch…"

The blonde nodded and ran her hand over her face, wincing slightly at the pounding in her head as she considered just how much she had drank last night. She was very much regretting it at this moment, though she had noticed the distinct lack of a certain former Dark One in the room, so perhaps it had achieved something.

"Sorry…I should have called before just poofing here…"

The princess frowned and shook her head, moving slightly closer, hoping that it was clear that she never needed to ask.

"You can come here whenever you need to, Emma, you know that…"

"I know," the Dark One sighed, allowing a very small smile to tug at the corner of her lips. Usually when her life was as shit as it was right now, she didn't have anyone to go to for comfort and she had to admit that it felt rather good, even if it didn't fix any of her problems, just sitting next to her mother helped. "Do you have to go back to school?"

The brunette smiled slightly at the hopeful inflection the blonde's voice, but at the same time it kind of broke her heart to heart to hear how vulnerable she sounded.

"I have a free period next and I was in such a rush that I forgot some mid-terms," she replied, "I can stay for a while."

Emma nodded and let her head fall onto the woman's shoulder as she shifted closer and they fell into silence for at least a minute.

Finally, the blonde could feel that her mother was desperate to ask her what was going on. She had no doubt that Charming had told his wife all about their daughter's marital issues and that she was probably just too afraid to ask her what had happened to make her decide to go and get drunk.

"Me and Regina argued last night and I couldn't handle going home…"

Snow nodded, fighting off her natural urge to pry. She really wanted to know what the argument was about, but she had a feeling that it was about the Dark One issue, which she knew she wouldn't be able to understand, let alone offer any kind of advice.

It was for that reason that she decided to just offer what she knew she was good at, "a lot has changed, Regina just needs time to come to terms with…everything. It will all go back to how it should be eventually."

"Eventually doesn't seem as soon when you're immortal," the blonde sighed, only to sigh again when her mother winced. She knew that her parents were as cool as they could be with the savior becoming the Dark One, but she was sure that they probably hadn't thought through all the implications. Such as the fact that she was going to outlive everyone in town and it was honestly beginning to worry her that she was she was having stray thoughts that it made trying to fix everything rather pointless.

"…You just need to be patient, you already know that Regina is your True Love and that is powerful enough to overcome everything…"

"If that were true, then you would have already been freed of this 'curse'."

Emma's head shot off Snow's shoulder and she narrowed her eyes at the smirking figure leant against the television. Rumple looked very smug at the dirty look he was receiving from the Dark One and they continued to stare at each other for a few moments.

Snow blinked a couple of times at the sudden movement and looked between her daughter and the empty space that she was looking at.

"Emma…are you okay?"

The blonde looked over her shoulder, seeming to remember that she wasn't alone and she opened her mouth to say something, but she found that she didn't know exactly what she could tell the woman.

"Go ahead, tell mommy about the mean spirit," he said mockingly, "she will be just as effective in fighting away the monsters as she was when you were a child…"

Emma let out a shaky breath and said, "it's nothing, I think I may still be a little drunk, I'm seeing things…" with that she rose to her feet and continued, "can I crash on Neal's bed?"

"Of course…" the brunette frowned, she couldn't help but notice that her daughter seemed to have reverted pretty quickly to a time when she refused any form of physical contact.

The other woman nodded and tried to offer a big smile to show how much it meant to her, but somehow simply knowing that Rumple was behind her made her think of a word she hadn't in a long time: abandoned.

With a rather confusing half smile she ran upstairs and fell onto what was now her brother's bed with a sigh.

As she fell onto her back, she didn't even have to look over at the door to know that the imp was looking just as smug as he had in the living room.

Before she could close her eyes again, she heard a familiar ding and reached into her pocket and pulled out her iPhone. With a few swipes of her finger, she came to the new text and she read it over a few times:

Emma, could we please go for dinner? Just you and I so that we can talk? -Regina

The blonde stared at the screen and her eyes fell down to the note saying 'seen at 12.41' and she let out a sigh as she just locked her phone and threw it onto the mattress next to her. Regina would know she had seen the message, but she just couldn't find it in herself to reply and she was sure that it had everything to do with the former Dark One who now seemed as though he could easily manipulate her very thoughts.

-A day later-

Emma stared into the bottom of the tumbler and silently wished that she was drinking spiced apple cider instead of malt whiskey.

It has been two days since she had ignored the text from her wife and it was actually beginning to hurt to think that this would be the first time she hadn't eagerly replied to Regina, but she didn't know what she could possibly say. The fact was, she didn't want to have dinner with the brunette and she was sure that it had everything to do with the imp having now officially invaded her thoughts. Every time she even considered replying, all of the fights they'd had recently began streaming through her head on some kind of cruel loop and it all felt very pointless somehow.

How long would it be before she forgot about Regina?

Rumple had managed to move on from Milah, at least it appeared that way, but he had never forgotten about her. Plus, there was the fact that their love probably had never been real. She had been the reason that he turned to the darkness, but the saviour had taken on the curse to protect the woman she loved. Did that mean that Regina was her Belle?

Blowing out a breath of frustration, she downed the rest of her drink and motioned for another. The bartender gave her a sceptical look and the blonde just narrowed her eyes. The man paled and quickly scampered to get the bottle. Emma smirked at the action, before her smile dropped and she berated herself for taking pleasure in being able to cause that level of fear.

"You know, even the Dark One can be cut off," someone said from behind her.

Emma furrowed her brow and spun around in her chair to see an amused looking brunette. She knew that Ruby was back in town, but she hadn't really been in the frame of mind to really care, even if the wolf had been one of her closest friends before she had left, nothing really seemed important anymore. And there was the fact that every time the sheriff interacted with someone as the Dark One for the first time, she was rolling the dice on how they would treat her and she wasn't really up to another person shying away from her. However, the former waitress seemed perfectly comfortable being in her presence.

"He's been looking like he wants to cut me off for the past hour and yet here we are," the blonde laughed bitterly as she held up her replenished drink, it didn't escape her attention that it was now a triple, obviously the bartender wanted to prolong the time before their next exchange.

The brunette shook her head and took the seat next to her friend somewhat reluctantly.

Arthur had commanded her to get more information, but this had been the first time that the former saviour had been out in public since he had issued his commands. The wolf had been more than grateful that she wasn't particularly close to Regina, since that meant she had to wait for the blonde to surface before she could be forced to try anything. The longer it took her to get the information, the longer Arthur would be forced to stay in the forest doing nothing.

The pair remained in silence for a few minutes, before Ruby covertly winced. It seemed that the king of Camelot was getting impatient, she just hoped that he didn't accidentally turn her heart to dust in his frustration.

"You know…I always thought that you and Regina were the perfect couple…"

"I don't know about perfect…" the blonde sighed, "but I guess we were True Loves or whatever."

Ruby tilted her head, feeling a twist in her gut at how broken her friend sounded, but there was nothing she could do to address the actual issue, "You two haven't actually had True Love's Kiss in a while, have you?"

Emma frowned and looked up at the other woman, "We had True Love's Kiss during the Snow Queen crisis like six months ago…are you saying that you actually think we shouldn't be together, Ruby?"

The brunette quickly shook her, once again feeling the twist in her stomach. Arthur had insisted that she make sure that all of the information she had given him was still correct, but she could see that the tactic she had been forced to take was just making the blonde more and more despondent.

"You did say you were True Loves, I was just thinking that maybe you're not anymore…I mean, Regina can't deal with you at your worst…"

Silence fell between them again as the blonde seemed to contemplate this and Ruby could practically feel the anger radiating off the woman, before a shattering sound from behind the bar drew the attention from everyone in the Rabbit Hole.

Emma's attention shot up to see a whole row of glasses had shattered themselves, she looked over to the barman who stood staring at the damage. He looked over to the blonde patron, seeming to decide if it was worth trying to kick her out of his pub, but the fear consuming his features suggested that maybe it wasn't.

The sheriff rolled her eyes and waved her hands, instantly the glasses began repairing themselves until there wasn't even a sign that anything had ever been damaged.

"There's no need to stare," she announced, which caused everyone in the room to look away, though some continued to shoot her curious looks, that were mixed with a hint of fear.

With a huff, the blonde stood from the stool and threw a pile of money onto the bar.

Turning to Ruby, she said sardonically, "as useful as this little talk was, Rubes, let's not do this again anytime soon."

With that, the woman walked away and the wolf turned back around so she could rest her head in her hands, and she muttered, "Sorry, Em."

-A week and a half later-

Henry sighed pushing his key into the lock of the front door and shoving his shoulder into it. His blonde mother had promised to fix it a while ago. She usually lived up to her promises on fixing things around the house within a day of promising it done but then the darkness had escaped Gold and the last thing on her mind was the front door sticking.

"Mom, the door is still stuck…and it's getting worse."

He kicked his shoes off next to his sister's and Emma's boots he hadn't seen her wear in a while. Henry looked away from the shoes line up next each other and noticed he hadn't gotten a reply. Sighing again, he dropped his backpack and glanced at his watch as he made his way over the opening of the living room. His mother was sitting back against the couch cushions nursing a glass of wine.

Normally, he would be concern since it was kind of early in the day for her but as of late without her blonde companion around she didn't seem to know what to do with her free time anymore. For a second he jokingly smirked about having a puppy but it was short lived as nothing would ever really be a replacement for her. Not that he even wanted one.

He leaned against the door frame with his arms folded across his chest, "Mom?"

"What is it, Henry?" Regina answered absently staring down at her phone on the coffee table. He glanced at it and then back over to her.

"The door…" She looked over to him, her brow furrowed in confusion. "It's stuck."

"I'll fix it."

"You said that last week."

"I'll fix it," she said trying to said reassuring. The older brunette stood up from the couch and walked out of the room and repeated, "I'll fix it."

"I'm going to get Tamsin from school," Henry called after her.

"Good. Thank you. I just have some paperwork to finish. I'll be in my study."

"Okay."

The door to the study closed shortly after and the teen glanced into the living room. Over the years his urge to go snooping around decreased and he left that for his sister but the despondent look in his mother's eyes was a bit unnerving. The last thing he wanted was for something to have happened and she decided not to tell him about it. So with a touch of reluctance Henry walked into the room and sat down in front of the phone. Rubbing his hands against his jeans, he reached for the phone and got the past the lock screen quickly. The screen was still on whatever his mother had been staring at and he noticed instantly that it was messages between her and Emma.

I just need time to clear my head Regina. I'll be home soon.

I promise

Don't bother.

He cringed at the conversation and sighed. He loved them both but sometimes he felt his brunette mother wasn't doing much to help the new Dark One. Her entire demeanor, from what he'd seen, wasn't encouraging a positive outcome. He swiped his thumb across the screen and it flickered as it scrolled down to the most recent message.

She had asked to have dinner and surprisingly, Emma hadn't replied. But unfortunately for the Dark One it was marked as read and it was clear to see on her wife's phone. Henry put the phone down and shook his head. He hoped she'd reply eventually and that maybe their dinner wouldn't cause more heartbreaks and voids.

He stepped out of the living room glancing to the study and left out the front door again with his hands shoved in his pockets. Considering how tiring gym had been earlier he grabbed his skateboard just outside of the garage and decided to ride it down to the school and walk back with his sister.

He rode in silence, ignoring the stares directed his way. They seemed to get even more sympathetic as the weeks continued on with no sign of his mothers' relationship getting any better. It truthfully only made it worse. Being more lenient about the homework load on his behalf. It only served as a reminder of what was going on and his brunette mother had to hold her temper every time someone suggested something around Tamsin.

Hopefully that didn't happen today. He stopped just outside the front doors and glanced at his watch. Right on time the school bell rung and dozens of kids poured out of the doors along with a few supervising teachers. Tamsin's teacher walked with the blonde out the doors, grinning at Henry as he looked like a giant towering over most of her students.

"Good afternoon Mr. Henry."

"Afternoon," the boy answered tightly.

"You'll help your sister with her homework?" the brunette woman asked watching Tamsin walk over to Henry. The teen naturally took her hand and then nodded to the teacher. "Good. Have a good evening you two."

"Thanks," Henry mumbled turning on his heel.

Tamsin tugged on his sleeve and he looked down at her, "I wanna ride."

"Okay, Tam," he grinned and sat his board down and put her on it. He pushed forward, moving the board and holding her shoulders to keep her balance.

It was silent but they both managed to enjoy themselves. Tamsin could give up a smile or two but Henry had lost the motivation to do so. They passed by the park and Henry figured it wouldn't hurt to let his sister play around for a few minutes before having to return to the gloomy house they lived in now.

He took his skateboard back and held onto Tamsin's backpack, watching her from a distance.

"You know your mom would want you home by now," a voice spoke from behind him.

Henry spun around and relief overtook him now face to face with his blonde mother. The stuff in his hands fell to the ground and he look at her in disbelief.

"Ma," Henry gasped. "You're-"

"Still the Dark One," she sighed.

"No…alive."

"Why would you think otherwise?" Emma frowned.

"You're not around anymore. You don't even really come home on occasion either."

"I have a lot going on right now, Henry, and me and your mom think it's probably best I try not to deal with it at home. I'll be back soon."

He narrowed his eyes at her, "You're lying."

"Henry."

"What about us? Me and Tamsin? It's hard to deal with this. Tamsin is still practically a baby, she doesn't understand. She misses you."

"I miss her, too. I miss you both."

"She should see you. I'll go get her," Henry said turning around but Emma reached out and grabbed his shoulder. She pulled her hand away as soon as she was sure he would turn back. The last thing she wanted him to think was that she would hurt him.

"That's not a good idea. She'll…it'll only hurt more if she sees me now and doesn't see me again for a while."

"We could come see you after school."

"Your mother wouldn't want you doing that. Look Henry I'll come home soon. I promise."

The teen sighed and looked down at his feet. The blonde thought to speak again but stopped at his movement. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and handed a folded piece of paper to her, "Tamsin made this for you."

Emma didn't hesitate to take from him, longing for anything that would make her still feel connected to her child. She unfolded it with shaky hands. Suddenly tears gathered at her eyes and she bit her lip to hold them back. Something between a laugh and a sob escaped her throat, looking down at the free and messy coloring of the picture with her daughter's name written in the bottom corner.

She wiped away the tears attempting to fall down her cheeks and looked up to her son, "Thank you, Henry."

He nodded sadly, "You should go to dinner with mom."

"What?"

"Mom texted you over a week ago. I saw it. No matter what's going on you always answer back."

"She didn't mean that."

"She did and if you really miss us then you'll find a way to come back home. It starts with that dinner."

"I'll think about it…"

"I should get Tamsin home. She has homework to do." Henry gathered their stuff in his hands.

"She has homework?" Emma questioned sadly. Henry nodded his confirmation, knowing his blonde mother had been wanting to help the little blonde with her first assignment. She had been really excited about it too. "I wanted to help her with her homework…could you take a picture?"

"Of course. I'll see you later, Ma."

"Henry," Emma called after him. The teen took his attention back to the blonde once again, averting his eyes from meeting hers. "Could I-" Before she could finish, the boy embraced her tightly and she held on to him, not wanting to let go.

"Come home," he mumbled into her shoulder.

"I know…I love you."

"Love you, too."

Emma pulled back and put a hand to his cheek, brushing her thumb over his chin, "Tell Tamsin I love her. Give her a hug from…from Mommy. Please?"

"I will."

"Thank you," Emma nodded, taking a step back with the drawing clutched in her hand and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.