Emma Swan
"Henry, please," I plead with the rambunctious little boy, "I need to get you dressed."
"I'm not wearing a tie," he growls as he runs into the other room, stomping his feet with every step. I groan in response and push myself up off the floor.
Six months living with Regina and Henry and not once has he ever fought me the way he is right now. My son is boiling with rebellious anger and I'm clueless as to why.
I have been arguing with Henry for the past half hour now in Belle's hotel suite. Regina left as soon as she was ready to pick up our flowers for Belle's wedding. My two friends are dressed in their fancy gowns, hair perfectly in place, makeup painted flawlessly just watching me fail miserably as a mother.
Finally, Ruby steps in, taking pity on my soul and follows Henry into the other room.
"Henry please do it for Aunt Belle, it's her big day," Ruby softly encourages hoping to coax the little boy into putting on the damn tie.
"Please Henry, it would mean the word to me," Belle implores as Henry stands there with his arms folded across his chest, asserting his power over us.
"You're not my mothers," he snaps at the brunettes causing me to lose what little patience I had left for my son.
"No, but I am," I seethe as I take a step closer, "now I'm not going to ask you again. Put it on!" I bellow as my hand jabs in the space between us, forcing the tie into his face.
"You're not my mother either, you just got here!" He yells in my face as tears well up in his eyes.
I swear I could feel my heart breaking in two the moment those words left his lips. Instead of allowing myself to wallow in pity, my emotions flip into pure rage.
"Excuse me?" I question in disbelief. "I've been here for the last nine months, I'm not going anywhere!" In this moment, I know I have lost the upper hand and all my sanity was flung hazardously out the window.
"That's how long you were with my mom last time before you left us both!" He shouts as he slams his tiny foot into the carpet below. There is nothing but fury burning in his eyes as he stands his ground and stares me down.
"Damn, he's too smart for his own good," Ruby mutters from behind me. I quickly shoot her a pointed look that reads very clearly for her to shut the hell up.
I bend down on one knee, so I'm eye level with Henry. I reach out to take his hands in mine, but he snatches them away before we ever make contact. His lips are twitching in disgust while his nose flares with hot anger.
"Henry, I'm not going anywhere. I've made that mistake before, I won't do it again." I sigh when he continues to glare at me with nothing but hate. "I love you and your mom very much. We are a family now. Nobody can take that away."
I try my very best to control my temper. I know I need to be calmer and more understanding so that maybe he could believe in my words, but all I see when I look into his eyes is disappointment and anger.
"I want my mom!" He demands as he clenches his upper arms with all his might.
"Well she's out picking up the flowers right now."
Henry turns around and storms off into the bathroom making sure he slams the door hard enough for all of us to wince. I jump to my feet and scurry toward the bathroom door. I turn the knob but to my surprise he locked me out. I groan to myself while my knuckles tap furiously against the wooden door.
"Henry! Open up, now!"
"No!"
"Dammit Henry! I am your mother, open this door!"
"No!"
My body breaks out into a full blown sweat as I step away from the door. My cheeks burn crimson as my body buzzes violently in anger. I am furious and completely embarrassed at this point for not being able to control this situation. He's my son, I should be able to calm him down at times like these.
I storm off back into the living room and rip a pillow from the couch, burying my face deeply into the fabric. I scream all my frustrations into the innocent pillow just as my girlfriend makes her debut. Regina corks one perfectly shaped eyebrow up as she carries the flowers into the room.
"Here, let us help you," Belle suggests as both women rush over to her.
"What's going on?" Regina hesitantly inquires as she passes the flowers to the other women. "Emma, why were you just screaming into a pillow?"
"Our son is just as stubborn as the both of us!"
"No need to yell dear, what happened?" She calmly asks as she steps in front of me.
"Oh, you know, he said I wasn't his mom and I'm going to leave you guys soon," I sarcastically retort, complete with an eye roll.
"He even figured out Emma's been here for nine months and between the time she was pregnant with him and stayed for a month after was around nine months," Ruby points out with a small smirk.
I hastily shoot daggers in her direction because I know she's amused by this whole situation. Regina is quick to distract my anger by pulling me into a hug.
"He didn't mean it Em, he loves you. You know that, he's just probably having a bad day. Every time we have something important going on he always has a meltdown. He feeds off of everyone's emotions and anxiety. That's what children do," Regina gently explains as she holds me close.
"Well your son, locked himself in the bathroom," I state flatly.
"Our son," she quips before she grants me a quick peck to my lips and pulls away from my embrace.
Regina calmly walks over to the bathroom and leans into the door. Her knuckles lightly tap against the wood hoping to lure out our son.
"Henry, unlock this door," her voice is loving but still holds the authority that she means business and just like that we all hear the soft click before the door opens just enough for his head to peek out.
"Mom?"
"Come out here please," she strictly orders, and Henry obeys with his head hanging low, trying to hide in shame.
"What's this I hear about you saying Emma is not your mother?" Our son simply shrugs his tiny shoulders and continues to stare intently at the ground as if his shoes are spitting glitter. "She is as much your mother as I am. I don't ever want to hear you disrespect her again like that. Do you hear me?" Henry nods as he swallows thickly. "You need to apologize, I didn't raise you to be rude like that."
Our son sluggishly drags his feet in my direction. His head is still hanging in shame as his fists clench tightly at his sides. He takes a deep breath and exhales as slowly as possible. In all honesty, I believe he is trying to buy himself some time.
"I'm sorry," he finally mumbles.
I leaned forward and take hold of his delicate shoulders. I squeeze a little bit just to grab his full attention.
"Henry, look at me." Dark green irises peer up at me while thick tears cling to his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise. I love you and your mother way too much. You can't say hurtful things like that to us. We are both your mothers and you need to respect that," I explain while he nods along.
"I'm sorry ma," he whispers as he lunges forward and wraps his arms around my neck.
"Okay then. Now will you please let me dress you, we don't want to be late."
"Okay ma."
Ruby hands over his small bow tie, so I can complete the ensemble. I kneel in front of my son and begin attaching the bright orange tie.
"Listen Henry, I understand that I wasn't around in the beginning, but I gave birth to you and I will always be around from here on." Henry nods slowly as his eyes watch my hands adjust his tie. "Now, with that being said, I don't ever want you to think that your mom isn't your mother either just because she adopted you," I firmly explain in which he simply nods once again. "Your mom has always wanted you. Since day one, she was there for you."
"I know," he whispers while he sniffles quietly.
I sneak a quick glance to my girlfriend who is watching us with nothing but love in her eyes.
"Did you know, every time your mom would call you prince when you were in my tummy, you would kick our hands?" A shy smile slowly spreads across my son's lips. "Did you know that your mom is the one who named you, because I had no idea what to call you. If it were up to me, you still might be baby boy."
Henry breathes out a small laugh, finally allowing some of his anger and frustrations to slip away. I smile at my son and press the tip of my nose against his.
"Your mom and I are both your mothers. We both love you with all our hearts and we both promise to be by your side for the rest of our lives."
Henry nods against my nose before I slip my fingers on both sides of his face. I pull his head down so I can plant a tender kiss to his forehead.
"Now, let's get a move on, we can't be late. This is a very special day."