Chapter Twenty – Two
Disclaimers: I don't own Once Upon a Time. Also this is a sequel to the original "Thicker than Water" which was written by La Lisboa. Finally, there is a scene in this chapter that I took from rolltidegoironmen's "Lost and Found."
As always, I'd like to thank Lisboa for betaing and letting me use her story as a starting point.
I'd also like to thank rolltidegoironmen for letting me use the scene from her story, although the context for it is obviously different, as is the outcome. If you've read her story, see if you can figure out which scene I mean. If you haven't, then, well you should! Her story's Charming family dynamic reminds me a lot of this story, so if you like this one, you should like that one, too. (Although there are some big differences, obviously, since that story takes place in Storybrooke.)
Red couldn't decide how she felt as she rode the bus back to Joan's house that night. She had so many emotions inside her, it was hard to define them. First, she was immensely relieved she had finally stood up to her creep of a boss and left The Hot Spot. One way or another, she was going to make sure she never entered that place again. But Red was also feeling really guilty for not doing anything sooner. How many times had Snow, Emma, and even Joan warned her about Mr. Jenison? They told her that he probably wouldn't stop with looks and wandering hands. That eventually the creep would expect sex. Her friends also warned her it may not be as easy as Red would have liked to believe to simply say "no." Over and over, they asked her to look for another job. But she'd liked the feeling working there gave her too much. Now Red couldn't believe she'd traded her dignity for some cheap lust.
To top it off, since Red had barely ran out of the restaurant with her waitress shirt on, she was forced to ride the bus home in her very revealing uniform instead of her normal clothes. She tried to cover herself up the best she could, by the way she was sitting and by folding her arms over her chest. But she could still feel the strange men on the bus staring at her. Red couldn't wait to see Shaggy again.
Finally, Red arrived at Joan's home. Shaggy greeted her immediately with happy barks and licks. "Hi Shaggy," she said to him as she petted his head. "I'm so glad to see you, do you know that? I really am. You make me feel so much better about myself. Would you like me to brush your hair again, boy? I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you? Of course you would."
Red got the dog brush and ran it through Shaggy's hair over and over, just like Joan had showed her to do. She sighed. This definitely made her feel better. It gave her something to concentrate on besides her creep of a boss and her confusing feelings. Actually, doing anything with Shaggy always made Red feel better, she realized. It made her feel closer to her wolf side, for one thing. And her wolf side, despite the problems it used to cause her, also gave her confidence. Maybe it wasn't a coincidence that she was able to stand up to Mr. Jenison after she started spending a lot of time with Shaggy. "Thank you for the help, Shaggy," Red whispered as she kept brushing the dog's hair. Shaggy licked her hand.
As she continued brushing, her communication device rang. It was probably Emma. Red tried to maneuver her hands to answer the phone and continue brushing the dog. As much as she hated to admit it, Emma might be another reason why she hadn't looked for another job lately. Red had been so concerned with supporting Emma, she didn't really think about her own problems. She wasn't going to tell that to Emma, though. There was no reason to make her friend feel guilty about something that was still ultimately Red's choice.
"Hello," Red said to Emma when she was finally able to put the phone to her ear.
"So this time it was one of the kids at the university with a camera," Emma began. She had taken to calling Red about whatever made her think of Neal. Since Emma had only started to deal with Neal's death a couple of weeks ago, there were a lot of things that made her think of Neal.
"Okay," Red replied, trying to be supportive, but not really sure what a camera was.
"Neal didn't even really use camera when we were together," Emma continued. "Some of these things that make me think of him are so ridiculous!"
Red sighed. They may sound ridiculous too Emma, but from Red's experience, they were actually normal. "Everything reminded me of Peter for a while, too," she told Emma. She tried to remember of a good example, but it was hard, since her mind had been on Mr. Jenison for a while.
Emma continued, "Well, I guess I thought of Neal because Henry had a camera when we saw Neal in New York. He was so excited to finally get to know his dad, Ruby! Taking pictures of Neal and him together and of everything we saw. I can't believe Henry will never have his dad anymore. Neal was such a perfect dad. It isn't fair! How could he leave us Ruby? I want him back so badly! Why couldn't he listen to me about Tamara?" Emma's voice sounded angry, as it always did these days.
Red sighed. Why indeed. Why couldn't she listen when her friends told her to look for another job? Why couldn't she listen to Granny and stayed inside instead of going looking for the wolf? Maybe Peter would still be alive, then. "I don't know why, Emma. People just don't listen when they don't want to, I guess. "
"They should listen, Ruby! People should always listen! Then they wouldn't die!"
"Or get hurt," Red agreed, thinking of own situation again.
OOOOOOOOOOOO
Red spent the next day trying to concentrate on taking care of Shaggy. She fed him, she brushed him, and she walked him. She also made sure he didn't get to close to strangers, just as Joan had warned her. It really did help her to have Shaggy around. He made her feel more confident about herself and he was an excellent companion.
Still, Red couldn't stop thinking about Mr. Jenison's face when he was taking off her shirt. He looked at her like she was…prey and he was eager to devour her, no matter what she thought. She shook her head as she walked Shaggy. How could she have thought the way that man looked and touched her was flattering? It was disgusting. Red was glad she had shown the creep he wasn't going to devour her. Still…she really wished there was a way to show she wasn't prey, either. She may not transform into a werewolf anymore, but she was still a wolf – girl. Spending time with Shaggy was making that very clear to her.
"Hi," a man jogging by on the same sidewalk greeted her. He sounded friendly but Red couldn't help but notice how he eyed her chest a little. It wasn't as obvious as when Mr. Jenison did it, but she still didn't like it. So when Shaggy growled at the man, Red resisted the urge to growl as well and let Shaggy attack the man. Instead, she ignored him and led Shaggy away.
OOOOOOOOOO
That night, she fed Shaggy and made herself dinner at Joan's house. (Red would never be a cook like Snow was, but she could follow the simple directions on packages of food in this world.) Every time she opened a cupboard door, she would slam it shut. She crashed the pans around as well. The reason, Red knew, was she was becoming almost as angry as Emma was these days. Red was angry at Mr. Jenison for what he did to her, and more importantly, what he tried to do to her. She was also kind of angry at the man at the park, and all the other men like him would look at women for that matter. Did those men do what Mr. Jenison did, too? Did they think it was okay?
OOOOOOOOO
Emma called her that night, as usual. "I was sitting behind this couple in one of my classes, and it was just too much, Ruby. Kisses and arms everywhere. Ordinarily I find that pretty obnoxious, anyway. But today, all I could think about was how I don't have anyone to kiss, because Neal is gone forever. Seriously, Ruby, it isn't fair! And of course, my parents may not be as obnoxious, but they certainly don't help!" No, Red knew Snow and her husband didn't help Emma at all with that. It was one of the reasons she was glad she didn't live with them anymore. At least Abigail and Fredrick were better about it. "Always giving each other little kisses, wrapping their arms around each other, and making suggestive comments I'd rather not hear. I came home tonight and just the way they were looking at each other…it made me want to punch them! I don't want to feel this angry, Ruby. What do I do?"
Red didn't answer. She couldn't answer. She didn't know how to get rid of her anger either, after all.
Eventually Emma asked, "Ruby? Are you okay? I'm sorry, I shouldn't be bothering you with my problems. You must be tired of hearing about them." Red heard her sigh on the communication device. She sounded defeated, instead of angry.
Red hurried to reassure her friend. "Emma, you're not bothering me at all. I told you I was happy to help you deal with Neal's death, and I meant it. I still mean it. The reason why I didn't answer your question is…it's something I've been struggling with myself today."
"Oh. I see," Emma replied, in a confused voice.
Red paused for a minute. Should she tell Emma what happened? She didn't last night, because she had thought Emma had enough to worry about already. But now, Red wasn't so sure what to do. Emma was obviously curious about what she was talking about, for one thing. Besides, Emma knew Red felt empathic because their boyfriends had died. Maybe it would help her to know she understood Emma's overwhelming anger as well.
"Last night, after my shift was complete, ah Mr. Jenison, he –" Red began, with a mix of anger and guilt in her voice.
"Oh!" Emma exclaimed. "Are you hurt?"
"Not physically, no," Red assured her. "I was able to fight him off before he got that far. I think I surprised him, because I've never fought him before, so he wasn't expecting that. But he took off my shirt and tried to take off my skirt – I had to run out of the store without my street clothes."
"I'm so sorry, Ruby. I knew that man was up to no good. Especially when you told me he had started telling you to stay after the restaurant was closed. I was just…so wrapped up in my own problems, I didn't say anything."
Red sighed. She had been afraid Emma would blame herself. It was one of the reasons why she didn't tell her what happened last night. "It's not your fault, Emma. I probably wouldn't have listened even if you had said anything. After all, I didn't listen to you or Snow about looking for another job," she grumbled. Why had she thought working at the Hot Spot was a good idea? "And when I'm not feeling guilty, I'm feeling incredibly angry at my creep of a boss for doing this to me. It was humiliating, Emma. And for thinking he could actually get away with having sex with me. Not to mention I'm also angry for all the men who think they can look at me."
"Yeah," Emma agreed. "Being angry all the time…it's the pits, isn't it?"
"Yeah. So what do we do about it? Start punching all the men who tick us off?"
Emma chuckled. "That's the way I handled it as a kid, but I don't think it's the best way anymore. It could get you arrested eventually. Especially if you're a police officer. And as much as they make me angry…I'd rather not actually punch my parents. Especially with Henry living with us, too."
"I see what you mean," Red sighed. "So they're nothing we can do?"
"Well…there might be something you can do, Ruby. Not against all men, but at least against Mr. Jenison. You can go to the Bangor Police and report your sexual assault. At least it would give you someone to channel your anger to."
"What do you mean?" Red knew the rules in this world were different, but what was Emma talking about?
Emma sighed. "After three months of living here, I forget you're still not very familiar with this world. It's a law in this world, Ruby. A man is not allowed to do anything in a sexual nature, including taking off clothes, if the woman says no. You did tell him no, right?"
"Of course," Red replied. "But I didn't tell him no for three months when he fondled me, though." Red felt horribly guilty about that as well. "Could I really report him for 'sexual assault' in that case?"
Emma sighed. "It could make the case against him tougher, yes. But he still took off your clothes after you told him not to, Ruby. It is against the law to do that."
"I don't know…"
"Ruby, I can tell you from personal experience, challenging the person who is making you angry is great therapy. Plus, how many other women might he do this to if you don't report him? How many women have already been attacked and were afraid to come forward?"
Red thought about that, horrified. "Okay, I'll go down to the Bangor Police station tomorrow morning."
"Good. I wish I had a way to deal with my anger like that."
OOOOOOOO
Red did go down to the Bangor Police the next day. She knew she would have to ride the bus again, and definitely encounter men, so she dressed as conservatively as she could. It helped…some. Still, Red could feel men's eyes on her everywhere she went. It didn't help that most of the police officers at the station were men as well. Since Emma was a police officer, Red had hoped there were a lot of women in those jobs in this world. But it seemed whether they were police officers or knights, people guarding others were expected to be men. Some things never changed.
Still, Red remembered about what Emma had told her about channeling her anger by reporting this. She remembered all the other women she could potentially save. She remembered Shaggy, and how taking care of him gave her confidence in herself again. And Red marched up to the window and said, "I have something to report."
The dark – skinned man on the other side of the window nodded. "Okay. Fill out this form and return it, and then someone will come to talk to you." He handed her a sheet of paper and a pen.
Red took the pen and paper from him quickly. Was he looking at her breasts?
She carefully filled out the form and then waited. And waited. Maybe she should just leave. Did she really want to tell one of these police officers about her humiliating experience? Especially since so much of it was her fault? Then she pictured Mr. Jenison's face that night. How eager he was, no matter what she wanted. The man had to pay. According to Emma, this was the way to make him pay.
Finally a female police officer (yay!) approached her. "Miss Lucas? You had a crime committed against you, correct?"
"Yes," Red replied.
"Come with me, and we'll talk about it."
The female police officer (her nametag read "Officer Weston") led her to a room with only a table and a few chairs in it. The walls were painted white. It was quite intimidating, nothing like the relaxed room Snow and David had for talking to their subjects back in the Enchanted Forest.
But Officer Weston sat down and smiled at Red. "Now let me put you at ease. I know you're probably uncomfortable with talking about this to a stranger, but it's going to be alright. Just tell me what happened, nice and easily. Any time it gets too much, we'll stop, okay?"
Red nodded. Then she began talking. She told Officer Weston about her job at the Hot Spot and about how her boss treated all the waitresses there. She told her how she had never protested before (much to her shame now). Then she began talking about what happened that night. "He had asked me to stay late for the last couple of weeks. The last few nights he even gave me a glass of wine." She shook her head in disbelief. "How could I have agreed to stay with him? I had been warned…but I didn't listen…" She shook her head and looked at the floor.
Officer Weston nodded, waiting for Red to compose herself again, as she promised she would. "And then suddenly he pushed himself against me and rubbed his hands all over my breasts. The look on his face…I can't get it out of my head…it was so eager, so hungry. So that night, I finally told him not to touch me like that…but he didn't care what I thought!" Red's voice was becoming angry again, as she remembered how little Mr. Jenison cared about what she thought.
Officer Weston nodded and wrote something down.
"Then he started taking off my waitress top. I wondered if designed those uniforms so he could get women out of them easily. He obviously had a lot of practice," Red grumbled angrily. How could that man do this to her?
"Finally…," Red took a deep breath. This was the worst part. Could she really say this to a stranger? She had grown up in a world where people (except prostitutes) didn't talk about sexual issues as much as they did in this world.
Office r Weston smiled at her. "It's okay, Miss Lucas. He's not here anymore."
Red sighed. That wasn't really what was bothering her. She closed her eyes and pictured Shaggy, and how confident he made her feel. "He tried to pull my skirt down and rubbed his genitals with mine. That's when I bit him and kicked him to the ground." She smiled a little. Red was proud of herself for that. At least she'd fought back.
Officer Weston smiled back at her. "Good for you."
"After that, I ran out of the store, wearing only my skimpy uniform." Red looked at the floor again, remembering the humiliation she'd felt, having to wear that all the way back to Joan's.
Officer Weston nodded. "Okay, that fits the qualifications for a Class D Crime in Sexual Misconduct. If he's convicted, he could face a year in jail. Of course, that's assuming your case is the only one of it's kind. Usually we find when someone comes forward with a story like this, there are others as well. I think we can convict him, Miss Lucas. But it might be a tough road, especially since he's a business owner. He'll probably get a good lawyer. We'll definitely need your testimony. Are you ready?"
Red thought for a minute about the last place with lawyers she had been to. Henry's custody hearing. The Collards' lawyer had said nasty things about Emma. Would a lawyer say nasty things about her, too?
Plus, she'd have to tell her story in front of the whole courtroom! Still, if she didn't do this, would Mr. Jenison get punished at all? Red really wanted him punished for what he did to her. "Channeling your anger is good therapy," Emma had told her. "Yes," she replied finally, looking at Officer Weston. "I'm ready."
Officer Weston nodded. "Okay, I'll go down and pick this man up now. The district attorney will be in touch with you."
OOOOOOOO
A few days later, it was a rather windy day and colored, crunchy leaves were flying everywhere while Red walked Shaggy. Shaggy happily chased them all over the place. Red was careful to lead him away from strangers. Still, she let him play a little. Watching the dog chase leaves gave Red more pleasure than she'd had in a long time. As she watched Shaggy run after another leave that flew in his face, she chuckled. "Go get it, Shaggy," Red encouraged him after making sure it wasn't going in the direction of the street. He barked happily and headed in the direction of the flying leaf.
Unfortunately, just as Shaggy was getting close to the leaf, the wind changed directions and headed into the street, after all. Ruby steered him away from the leaf and the street, much to the dog's protest. But then Ruby smiled and bent down and picked up another fallen leaf off the sidewalk. Then she threw it in front of Shaggy, making sure it was not headed for the street. With a happy bark, he was off again.
Eventually, Red and Shaggy returned to Joan's house. But the walk had been wonderful in getting Red's mind off her problems. She hadn't thought about Mr. Jenison, the upcoming trial, other men, or even Emma's problems during the entire walk. "Thanks for helping me have fun again, Shaggy," she told the dog, as they came in the house. She petted his head. She only wished her biggest problem was catching leaves.
OOOOOOOOOOO
Emma continued to call her on her communication device to talk about Neal, although Red had to reassure Emma she didn't mind, considering the problems she was now facing. She really didn't. She may have had a lot of things on her mind, but she wanted to help Emma deal with Neal's death. "I really wished I had someone who lost a boyfriend to help me when Peter died," she told her.
During the day, Red took care of Shaggy. Sometimes Shaggy would be a little playful, like the day he'd chased the leaves around the neighborhood sidewalks. Red especially liked those days. Finally, Joan arrived home. Shaggy barked happily as she came in the house, putting his paws up to her knees. "Hi, Shaggy," Joan greeted him petting his head and letting the dog lick her face and hands. "I missed you so much, do you know that? Yes, I did."
Joan looked at Red, "So how did he do? Did he get in a trouble with strangers?"
"No, I kept him away from strangers. Don't worry," Red replied, petting Shaggy as well.
Joan nodded as she brought her luggage back into the house. "Any other troubles at all?"
"No, not with Shaggy," Red replied. "He really helped me, actually."
Joan nodded. "Good to hear." She got out her checkbook and wrote Red a check for $250, which they had agreed on previously.
Red smiled. "Thanks. This money will really come in handy, especially since I don't have a job anymore."
Joan looked puzzled. "Why is that? I thought you were working at that…restaurant," her tone showed exactly what she thought of The Hot Spot.
It was an opinion Red now shared, actually. Still she looked at the floor. She hadn't really meant to tell Joan what happened at The Hot Spot; she was too ashamed. Especially since Joan was one of the people who encouraged her to look for a new job.
Joan looked at Red, looking at the floor. "Did he try something with you?" she asked.
Red nodded, still ashamed to admit it.
Joan looked at Red with a concerned look on her face. "Are you hurt?"
Red shook her head. "Not physically, at least. But I can't go back to that restaurant. I know, I never should have stayed working there as long as I did, or even at all, but I'm done now.
Joan nodded. "Understandable. I have an idea. Maybe I should have mentioned this before. Then you wouldn't be in this situation. But I didn't think of it until now."
"Don't blame yourself," Red warned. "Working there was my decision, not yours." Joan was the second one of her friends that had tried to take responsibility for her mistakes, and Red was tired of it.
Joan sighed. "Well, I'm still sorry I didn't bring it up before. Anyway, there's a dog kennel in this city. I don't know if they're hiring anyone, but you could try. I know the people who own it quite well. I used to use them to board my last dog, before I got Shaggy. Just tell them I sent you and tell them you got along with Shaggy. Maybe they'll give you a job there."
Red nodded. She wasn't entirely sure what a dog kennel was, but it sounded like it had something to do with taking care of dogs. She knew she could do that, and it would be very enjoyable for her.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
OOOOOOOOOOO
David came home one evening in a great mood. The cows were all healthy, the pregnant cows were doing well, and the calves were developing wonderfully. Best of all, a couple of the calves had been weaned today. They took to eating the cow feed wonderfully. David had felt like a proud father at a coming – of – age ceremony as he watched the calves eat the cow feed today.
After getting out of the shower (David always made sure he washed when he returned home after spending the day around cow manure), he grinned at Snow and Henry. "You'll never guess what happened today. It was so wonderful to watch. A couple of the calves were weaned!"
Snow and Henry stared at him blankly.
He'd forgotten how little they knew about raising livestock. "I'm sorry. When animal is old enough, they stop drinking their mother's milk and start eating what the adults eat. It's called being weaned. In a cow's case, that's grass during the summer and early fall and cow feed now through the winter. It's particularly important when you're raising dairy cattle, because as soon as the calf is done drinking his mother's milk, the cow can produce milk for humans. Bill was really happy about it."
Snow and Henry nodded.
"And I just loved the moment when those little guys took their first bite of feed," David continued reliving the memory. "It was like…I was a father, helping my child become an adult. It was the best feeling in the world."
"Sounds cool, Grandpa," Henry commented with a smile on his face.
Snow had a strange look on her face, though. "I'm glad you're able to fit in at that farm so well," she said through her teeth. "And I'm really glad you got the chance to be a father to a cow. You know, since you've forgotten you're already a father to a daughter who's hurting and won't let us help." Snow then marched over to their bedroom and slammed the door.
What in the Enchanted Forest? Where did that outburst come from? He went to the bedroom door, and began shouting through it. "Of course, I know I'm Emma's father, Snow! Just because I helped the calves doesn't mean I don't know that! One has nothing to do with the other." A small part of him wondered if that was really true. Did he enjoy spending the calves so much because he'd missed Emma's childhood? Maybe, but he shoved the thought aside. "Come on, Snow, we need to talk about this. I get that you're upset but…" He attempted to open the door but realized she'd locked it. His wife had locked him out of his own bedroom! Of all the ridiculous, childish things! "Snow, that isn't fair! Come on, this is my room, too." But Snow still wouldn't answer him or unlock the door.
Fine. If she wanted to give him the cold shoulder, he could give her the same. "Okay, but don't expect me to want to talk when you're ready. Because I don't want anything to do with you." With that David marched away from their bedroom door. Now he needed to find something else to put his mind on. Maybe he'd look at the window in the bathroom. Had he fixed it right? He shook his head. To think, he'd come home in a wonderful mood, and Snow had ruined it.
About an hour later, he came out of the bathroom with some new measurements. Maybe Henry would like to help him again. "Henry?" he called as he looked around the living room. He wasn't there. Maybe he was in his room. But Henry wasn't any where in his room, either. The kitchen? No. Was he in Emma's room, maybe? Emma had told Henry she didn't really want her son in her room by himself. It was kind of invading her privacy, in Emma's opinion. But even though Henry would need to be lectured, David really hoped Henry was there right now. But Henry wasn't there either.
David's blood ran cold. Had Henry run off? Was David so upset he hadn't even noticed Henry left? How could he let that happen? Maybe Henry had gone to see Snow. As upset as he would be if Snow let Henry in their bedroom before him, he really, really hoped that's what happened. He approached their bedroom door and knocked again. Snow, of course, still didn't answer. "Snow, I know you're still angry but I need to know. Is Henry in there with you?"
There was a pause and then Snow's voice replied, "No."
David's heart almost stopped as he thought about what could have happened to Henry. "Snow, I know you're still angry at me, but we have to find him! He's not anywhere in the apartment!"
Almost immediately, the door opened to reveal Snow's horrified face. "No!" She ran out onto the apartment and David followed her. "We can't lose Henry, David! He's Emma's son. He's the only thing Emma trusts us with! And he's such a wonderful boy."
David nodded and took her hands. "We'll find him, Snow. I know we may not be as familiar with this world as we are with home, but we've found each other before in this world, and we can do it again."
Snow nodded, determined. "Do you think maybe he went to that park we were at a few weeks ago? The place he played catch with those other boys?"
"Let's look there first." They both headed in the direction of the park.
XXXXXXXXXX
Henry stared at his grandparents in shock as Grandma slammed the bedroom door and Grandpa yelled at her and then disappeared into the bathroom. Had that really happened? Was Grandma ever going to open the bedroom door? Had Grandpa really said he didn't want anything to do with Grandma? If there was one constant Henry had always believed (since finding out about the Curse anyway), it was that Grandma and Grandpa would always be together. They had True Love! They always fought for their relationship. Grandpa even forgave Grandma for killing someone. But now they had a fight about Grandpa taking care of the calves, and they couldn't get over it? Henry shook his head. It made no sense.
Still, neither Grandpa nor Grandma made a move to talk to each other. And the things Grandpa said…
Could they really break up? If they did, Henry knew one thing. He didn't want to live here anymore. How could he have a happy ending if his grandparents weren't together? They were his inspiration! Plus there was this issue of the foster system. Since Mom still only had temporary custody of him, there were a lot of things that could prevent him from staying with his family permanently. Henry tried not to think about that, but it was hard not to sometimes. If Grandma and Grandpa broke up, would he be sent back to the foster home?
Henry stomach turned at the thought. There was no way he'd ever return to the Collard's or another place like that. There was only one thing he could do. Henry gathered some clothes and his favorite detective novel and shoved them in a bag. Then he quietly left the apartment.
Now where should he go? Teddy's or Eddie's place? Henry shook his head. As much as they were becoming friends, he didn't know them well enough to present them with a problem like this. The local park he'd gone to a few weeks ago? He shook his head again. It would be too easy for people to find him if he went there.
Henry continued wandering around, looking for a good place to stay. Finally, as he walked around the edge of a cliff, he found a nice big tree that was out of the way. Perfect.
OOOOOOOOOOO
An hour later, Henry was beginning to regret his plan. He still didn't want to live at home if Grandma and Grandpa weren't together anymore, but he'd forgotten how dark it got at this time of year. It wasn't as if he were afraid of the dark or anything, but sitting in the dark outside by himself…it made him nervous. He couldn't even read his detective novel because he hadn't brought a flashlight. And what about supper? Henry told himself to suck it up and stop being such a wuss. Mom had survived on her own once and so had Grandma. He could, too.
As Henry continued to convince himself to be brave, he suddenly heard a branch creak in the distance. Was there someone out here with him? What if the person tried to hurt him? He looked at the ground, feeling stupid. He was only twelve years old, for goodness sakes! Had he really expected to be able to live by himself? Grandma was almost nineteen when she lived on her own in the woods. Even Mom had been in the foster system until she was sixteen, from what he understood.
Then he heard a voice calling, "Henry!" It was Grandma's voice! Should he answer? Henry wondered. He was really beginning to think running off had been stupid. But he still didn't want go home if Grandma and Grandpa weren't going to be together.
"Henry!" called another voice. It was Grandpa! Did that mean that Grandpa and Grandma were together again? Did Henry dare hope for that? Either way, if Grandpa and Grandma were looking for him, he should come home. Running away had been stupid; he knew that. Besides, he doubted he could stay hidden from both of them.
So Henry began walking toward the sound of their voices, calling out "I'm over here!" Within minutes, Henry was reunited with his grandparents. Both of them gave him a big hug.
"Henry, please don't ever do that again, okay?" Grandma pleaded as she held him tight. "I know you think you're growing up, and you are. I know you understand this world better than we do, but we can't risk losing you. Not after we already lost Emma."
"And I don't think you're old enough to take care of yourself on your own," Grandpa added, pulling Henry back to look into his eyes.
Henry looked at the ground. "I know. I shouldn't have run away like that. That's not what a hero would do."
"Well, so long as we understand each other, let's go home." Henry nodded. His grandparents each took one of Henry's hands and they set out. Henry didn't even mention that they were holding his hand a little too tightly. They had a right to, after all.
When they got home, Grandma began pulling out things to cook for dinner. She decided on baked chicken with potatoes.
"Henry?" Grandpa asked carefully. "Why did you run away?"
Henry looked at the floor, not sure if he wanted to answer that. He knew he'd been wrong; couldn't they leave it at that? Besides, although Grandma and Grandpa seem to be getting along okay now, he was afraid to ask if they were back together again.
"I'm sorry I didn't pay attention to you," Grandpa continued even though Henry hadn't answered. "I was kind of…upset, so I thought I'd shut myself in the bathroom. But it never occurred to me how you would feel about that. I should have asked you if you wanted to help me. I should have made sure you were okay, first Henry."
Grandpa was sorry? About Henry running away? That was something he hadn't expected. Henry looked up at him, feeling a little better. "Thanks, Grandpa. I appreciate that. But…" Should he really say this? Could he? "Did you mean it when you said you didn't want anything to do with Grandma?"
Grandpa's eyes lit up, like he suddenly understood everything now. "Oh Henry, no, of course not. What happened was…I was kind of angry at her for the things she said and for locking me out of the bedroom. So I said something to make her angry, too. But all I meant was I didn't want anything to with her for a while. Not forever. Never forever, Henry. I could never be that angry at your grandma. And I could never be that angry at you or Emma, either, just so you know."
Henry sighed in relief. Grandma came out into the living room just then and gave Henry a small hug. "I'm sorry you saw us fight and it got you upset, Henry. We should have realized how it might look to you before it got so ugly. I guess we're just not used to fighting in front of other people. It was our mistake."
Henry nodded, then thought about what she'd just said. "So…you've had fights before?" He'd always believed Grandma and Grandpa were always happy together. That's why their fight scared him so much.
Grandma and Grandpa both laughed. "Of course we've had fights before, Henry. All people fight sometimes, especially people who love each other a lot. It means emotions run high. Haven't you ever fought with Emma?"
Henry nodded. "Yeah."
"But you'd never want Emma out of your life for good, right?"
"No! She's my mom!"
"And that's the way it is for us, too, Henry." Grandma and Grandpa took each other's hands and smiled. The "lovey – dovey" way. Everything was the way it should be.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
OOOOOOOO
Snow wasn't sure whether she should tell Emma about what happened with Henry or not. On one hand, Snow knew it wasn't a good idea to keep something like that from Emma. Henry was still her son, after all. On the other hand, Snow also knew that she and Charming were responsible for him running away. Emma was pushing them away enough already these days. If Snow told her they'd lost Henry, would Emma get even angrier than she already was? Would she ever forgive them? As much as Snow hated to admit it, she wouldn't blame her at all if Emma didn't forgive them.
But as Snow mulled over the situation as she served the dinner, Henry blurted, "I ran away today, Mom, but then Grandma and Grandpa found me, so I came back. I knew it was a mistake. I'm so sorry."
Emma nodded as she took a bite of chicken. "I see. Henry, you can't just run away when something goes wrong. You know that, right?"
Henry nodded miserably and stared at his plate. "I know. I did something stupid, Mom."
Then Emma turned her attention to her parents. "You really need to watch him more closely," she explained firmly. "Especially considering the problem with the foster home. Kids who've been through foster care run away sometimes. Trust me; I know." Snow looked at her plate as well. Of course Emma knew about foster care problems. It was no wonder Emma didn't want anything to do with Snow anymore. She'd failed her and her son.
"We will Emma, we promise we'll keep a better eye on him from now on," Charming told Emma in a determined voice. "Speaking of that, I discovered there's still something wrong with the bathroom window today, Henry. Would you like to help me fix it this weekend, like we did the one in the living room?"
Henry brightened. "Yeah, that would be great, Grandpa!"
Emma was silent for the rest of the meal. Not that that was unusual these days, but she was also grinding her teeth. Snow had come to realize Emma did that when she was trying not to show her anger. Emma probably didn't want to show how angry she was in front of Henry. Would their relationship ever recover? At least she was still eating, Snow supposed. Snow was still able to cook for her daughter and care for her that way. But that didn't stop Emma from sending her some deadly glares to Snow and Charming when Henry wasn't looking.
OOOOOOOOOO
That night, after Henry had gone to bed and Emma shut herself in her room, Snow and Charming went to their room to talk. "I can't believe what a big mistake we made today, Charming! I mean, Emma trusted us with the most important thing in her life, and we lost him! She's already lost him so many times. When he was a baby, when we got separated after Storybrooke blew up, and when the foster system came to take him away. Now we lost him, too!
Charming wrapped his arms around her. "I know, Snow. We really made a huge error. But we can make sure it doesn't ever happen again. We'll be okay. Like Emma said, we just need to remember he may be twelve years old, but he's also been through a lot. We'll just have to keep a closer eye on him from now on. Emma's right. He really needs that book."
Snow nodded in agreement.
"And we need to make sure he doesn't see any more of our agreements, too. Henry said he lived with us last year, even though we don't remember it. And he's never seen us argue. That means we were careful to keep our arguments away from him. That's probably what we should have done today."
Snow nodded. "Definitely." Then she paused and reached up and touched Charming's face. "I'm so sorry I locked you out of the bedroom. That wasn't fair to you. After all, it's your room, too."
Charming gave Snow her favorite smile, the one he only used for her. "Yeah. But I should have realized you wanted to time to cool off, too, instead of yelling at you for it. I waited for you to come back to me in the Enchanted Forest all the time; I should be able to do that here, too. Not to mention all the 'waiting' we're doing with Emma right now." Charming paused for a minute, looking thoughtful. "Maybe that's the problem. Maybe I can wait for one of you to be ready to talk but not both of you at the same time."
Snow nodded. "That makes sense," she told him as she sat on their air mattress. "Actually, I'm happy to hear that Emma's lack of communication with us in the last few weeks has affected you. I mean, I love that you're my strength when I get upset about Emma, Charming." She rubbed his arm as he sat on the air mattress as well. "But I was getting a little concerned that you didn't care at all that she was shutting us out. I guess that's why I got so angry when you started talking about those calves. It was like…they were what was important to you, instead of Emma."
Charming shook his head and rubbed her arms as well. "Of course not, Snow. I hate that Emma's shutting us out. I hate that she's getting comfort from Red instead of us. I just know…pushing her will only make it worse. And I remember sometimes I'd rather talk to a friend than my mother about a problem. The calves are wonderful, Snow, and I really love taking care of them. But Emma is my daughter, not them." He gave her a hug as he finished.
Snow nodded. There was one other thing on her mind, although she didn't know how to bring it up. "So you like working with the cows?" she began causally.
"Yes, of course. I've always liked working with livestock, you know that."
Yeah, she did. That was the problem. "It's the life you would rather have had, isn't it?" she asked, softly.
Charming looked at her, confused for a second. "It is the life I have."
Snow shook her head. "No, I mean in the Enchanted Forest. I took that from you."
Charming's face showed understanding. "I get it. So you were angry at me because you thought I was choosing the calves over Emma and because of the job itself?"
Snow sighed. "Not so much angry as scared about the last one. I thought maybe…a part of you regretted marrying me, because I took you away from your true calling, being a shepherd. It's a feeling that's been developing for weeks," she admitted. She looked at her knees as she waited for his answer.
Charming grabbed her head and gave her a fierce kiss. "Regret marrying you! How is that even possible? Missing the life I had as shepherd was nothing compared to the wonderful life I had with you in the castle, Snow. Besides, as much as part of me did miss the simple life, I really enjoyed helping the people in the kingdom. I'm thinking of doing that 'running for office' thing that Emma talked about in a couple of years."
Snow smiled. "Okay."
"And are you forgetting you weren't the one who made me leave the farm in the first place? That was King George's doing, not yours."
Snow chuckled, feeling a huge weight disappear from her body. "Yeah. You're right. I'm sorry I doubted you." She ran her hands up and down his chest.
"I'm just glad we've got that cleared up," Charming commented as he kissed her again. "I love you, and the life we have together. Forever."
"I love you, too," she replied happily as she kissed him back. "There's some other things we could clear up, too," Snow told him slyly pulling off his shirt.
"Like what?" he asked grinning at her.
"You," she told him, laughing as she pulled off his pants as well. "Aren't you so much clearer with all your clothes off?"
"Yes, but you need to be clear, too." Charming told her as he took that off her shirt and gave her a passionate kiss as well.
They quickly took off the rest of their clothes, kissing and teasing each other as they went. Snow knew she may not have the relationship she wanted with her daughter. But she was still lucky to have a wonderful husband who never regretted marrying her and was happy to show it.
So did you find out with scene was taken from rolltidegoironmen's "Lost and Found"? If you didn't, and you would like to know, please PM me. I may also tell you the answer when I post chapter 23.
Thank you very much for the reviews from chapter 21. Here are some responses.
Guest: Mary Maragaret is shown cooking in a few scenes in season 1, particularly in "That Still Small Voice" and "True North." But I always believed the idea came from the concept that classic Snow White was supposed to cook for the dwarves. Of course, that's based on the idea that she's a docile woman who only cooks and cleans, which obviously isn't true with OUAT Snow. But I still like the idea that Snow could and did enjoy cooking, even though she was a princess. And I really enjoyed writing the segment on how she learned as well. I like to think it's still very in character for her. I hope you thought so, to.
Alessa: I'm going to respond to your reviews for 20 and 21 at the same time, if that's okay. I really appreciate that you try to review every chapter, even if they are chapters you don't enjoy that much. I hope you don't ever stop. Yes, Henry has learned his lesson on the drugs. I'm sorry that you don't agree with me about Emma going to Ruby for comfort instead of Snow. But I'm a big believer in seeking comfort/advice with someone who is empathic, not just sympathetic , so that's what I think Emma needs here. In her mind, all her mother can offer her is pity, and Emma is the type of person who is very sensitive to people pitying her.
As far as Emma needing time to really grieve for Neal, I understand where you're coming from. And I know a lot of other OUAT fans would and do agree with you. But as I said in the note in chapter 20, I really believed Emma loved Neal, and I thought she should have grieved for him a lot longer than she did in canon. There will be more about what Emma loved about Neal in chapter 24, but let me give you some examples now. 1. She kept the Bug they lived in all those years. You could make the argument she only did that because she needed a car, but if that was the case, wouldn't she have traded it in at some point? I think she kept it subconsciously for sentimental reasons. 2. She knew what a great father he was becoming to Henry. 3. She told Neal she loved him. (Not an easy feat for someone like Emma, who wouldn't want to admit when she had strong feelings.) Twice in the show and once in this story. 4. They have a history. 5. (this reason is over looked by just about everyone, but it's the #1 reason why I thought they would make such a good couple. Neither one of them has a place to belong. Emma may have been born in the Enchanted Forest, but she didn't grow up there, and she doesn't really fit in that world. Neal grew up in the Enchanted Forest, but left and his bad memories would mean he'd never want to go back. Emma grew up in the real world, but all her family is from EF. So she doesn't really fit in the real world that well either. Neal seemed to have adapted to the real world okay, but I bet he still feels like he doesn't belong sometimes, after spending growing up in EF and spending so much time in Neverland. They both would feel like they had one foot in one world and one foot in the other world.
And yes, Emma did do something to help Red/Ruby. Ruby's story will continue.