A/N: Two things to keep in mind: 1) Everything that happened in the Pilot flashbacks has happened in this story, except for the single fact that Snow was still pregnant. This means that Snow believes her husband to be dead. 2) We're jumping into the middle of the story here, there's a lot that happened between the prologue and the first chapter that won't all be explained right off the back.
This chapter is dedicated to the Satan Squad on Tumblr because they are the best Tumblr friends a girl can have! Thanks so much guys!
Special thanks to my beta IUsed2bcool for reading this multiple times and just generally helping me talk out my plot. Especially when I'm stuck!
Chapter Two
As soon as Graham left to make his report to Regina, Henry picked up the walkie-talkie he'd gotten for his ninth birthday from his mom and pressed the talk button, "Come in, Mom, are you there?"
Fifteen seconds later, the radio in his hand crackled to life, "Henry Neal, where have you been all day? I've been worried sick about you! Are you okay?"
Henry felt really bad that he hadn't told his mother where he'd gone, but he hadn't wanted to get her in trouble. "I went to Boston to find her, and I did. I'm sorry I worried you."
His mother sighed heavily on the other end, "Found whom, Henry?"
"Emma, Mom, you know my birth mother," Henry answered, "Your…"
His mother interrupted him, "Yeah, Henry, I do know. Why did you choose today of all days to go find her? And why did you have to go by yourself to Boston? Why didn't you just call her?"
Henry stood up and walked over to the window, "I wanted to be sure she came. So I made her bring me back. Besides, it's her birthday, which makes it a great day to come to town."
Henry smiled when he heard his mother laugh, "Yeah it does, Monkey. What was her reaction to your showing up at her front door?"
"She was shocked, Mom," Henry responded, "But I think she liked me."
"Of course she did, Monkey," Ellery assured him, "It's impossible not to like you. Now, I want you to promise me that you won't do something like this again. You could have gotten hurt Henry. And I wouldn't have known how or where to find you."
"I'm sorry Mom," Henry hung his head, "I just wanted to give you a great birthday gift."
"Henry, the best birthday gift you've ever given me was breakfast in bed. Remember five years ago? The best thing you could have given me this year would have been to meet me for dinner like you were supposed to. We were supposed to get an extra night together this month, and I don't know that we'll get that anymore." Ellery reminded Henry.
"I forgot about dinner, Mom, sorry. I'll ask Regina to let us do dinner tomorrow," Henry apologized, "It's just that it's your 28th Birthday, which means…" As Henry was talking, he saw Emma walking towards her car, "Mom, she's leaving and I don't know if she's going to stay in town."
"It'll be okay, Henry," But Henry could hear that his mother didn't quite believe the words she was telling him.
"Mom she sees me," Henry said as Emma turned and waved. "She's waving goodbye. Mom, she's the only chance we have of getting a judge to grant you custody of me again." Henry could feel the panic beginning to settle in his chest.
"Henry, breathe buddy. You're okay." His mom always knew what to say, "She's not the only option we have. I've been doing great this last year and Dr. Hopper says he sees no reason why he would suggest, at our hearing in two months, that you stay with the Mayor any longer. You can survive living with the Mayor for two more months."
"Henry," Regina's voice sounded sharply from behind and almost made him drop the walkie-talkie, "It's time for bed. Tell your mother goodnight and put the radio away."
"Goodnight, Mom, I love you. I'll see you tomorrow." Henry said into his walkie-talkie before quickly turning it off and setting it on his bedside table.
"No, you won't," Regina said sharply, "As a matter-of-fact, you'll be very lucky if you see her at all this week. The stunt you pulled today was unacceptable."
"But we were supposed to get an extra day this week," Henry argued, "And it's my weekend with her."
"You should have thought about that before running off to Boston. Now get in bed and go to sleep." Regina said, waiting until he had climbed into bed before turning off the light and closing the door. Henry waited until the door clicked shut before crying himself to sleep.
Across town, Mary Margaret Blanchard heard the sobs coming from the upstairs bedroom. Creeping silently up the stairs, she pushed her roommate's door opened and peered curiously inside. The sight of roommate crying while clutching a walkie-talkie and the bedspread from her son's bed broke the young schoolteacher's heart and stirred and emotion that was both familiar and foreign to her. Crossing the room quickly, Mary Margaret knelt down by her roommate's bed and gathered the young mother into her arms, murmuring nonsense until her roommate began to speak, words interspersed with broken sobs.
"I can't even put my own son to bed on my birthday, or any other day. It's not fair, Mare. I didn't do anything to deserve this, and Henry definitely doesn't deserve this. He doesn't deserve to be scared that he'll never get to live with me again. He deserves to be happy."
"Oh sweetie," Mary Margaret brushed an errant lock of blonde hair out of her roommate's face as she spoke, "Neither of you deserve this, but there's nothing we can do for two more months. You can both survive that. You know Henry loves you more than anything, Ellery. When it comes time for the judge to ask him where he wants to live, you know he'll choose here in a heartbeat."
"I hope to be finished before then," Ellery said, giving Mary Margaret a small smile, "Not that we don't love living here, but it's getting small and if Henry's allowed back full time, it'll get crowded. Even if he does continue to choose to sleep in the same bed as me six nights out of seven, he still needs his own room."
"I understand," Mary Margaret said with a laugh, thinking of the many Saturday mornings she'd come upstairs to find Ellery and Henry curled up together on Ellery's bed. "And you know I'd be more than happy to help with anything you need to get it finished."
"Thanks, Mare," Ellery smiled again, "I'll definitely take you up on that offer. We should both get to bed, it's getting late."
Mary Margaret stood up off the floor and placed a hand on Ellery's shoulder, "Good night Ellery. Sleep well."
As she made her way out of Ellery's room and down the stairs she thought she heard Ellery whisper, "Good night, Mom, and thanks." She was sure her ears were playing tricks on her. But that didn't stop her heart from jumping inside her chest in that same familiar and yet foreign way she'd felt earlier.
Ellery fell asleep that night thinking about how five years ago she had received the best birthday present she ever could receive.
~Five Years Earlier~
"Nan, wake up," Mary Margaret was woken up an hour earlier than normal by her roommate's 5-year-old son's insistent whispering and tugging at her arm.
"What is it Henry?" She asked, peering over the edge of the bed into his big brown eyes.
"It's Mama's birthday today Nan, and I want to make her breakfast in bed before she has to go to work and I have to go to school," Henry was a very thoughtful little boy. "I need help though Nan, I'm not allowed to use the stove by myself."
"No Henry, you definitely cannot use the stove by yourself," Mary Margaret sat up and swung her feet off the bed, "Let's go make your mama some breakfast in bed."
"Thank you Nan!" Henry said, throwing his arms around her legs, his head barely coming to her stomach. Mary Margaret's heart fluttered as it always did when Henry hugged her and called her Nan.
When Henry was a baby and just learning to speak, Ellery had suggested that Henry call Mary Margaret, Nan; since she had been abundantly kind to Ellery and had acted like a mother to the single, teenaged mother who was barely able to make ends meet before meeting Mary Margaret, plus Nan was easier to say than Mary Margaret. Mary Margaret had found it funny at first, but now she didn't know how she'd react if Henry one day decided he didn't want to call her Nan anymore.
Henry's insistent tugging at her sleeve reminded Mary Margaret of the mission they were undertaking. Smiling down at the boy who she considered family, Mary Margaret led the way into the kitchen where Henry had already pulled out almost everything she would need to make pancakes, eggs, and bacon. "Good job Henry, I'm impressed you remembered what we need to make pancakes, eggs, and bacon."
Henry grinned proudly, "Well that's Mama's favorite breakfast and you always let me help makes it. So of course I remember."
Henry remembered everything when it came to his mother and Mary Margaret. Sometimes she and Ellery thought he was much older than five. "Of course you remember Henry. You're smart."
Henry nodded, "I am smart! Mama says so too."
Mary Margaret chuckled as she began measuring out the ingredients for the pancakes and handing them to Henry to pour into the mixing bowl. When the batter was ready, she poured it onto the griddle and then cracked six more eggs into a bowl to stir for scrambled eggs. While she was doing this, Henry started putting together a tray to carry up to his mother. The day before he had picked a bunch of wildflowers for Ellery, which she had then put in a vase on the counter, Henry placed the vase in the center of the tray and put a napkin with a fork and knife next to it. He then went to the fridge and carefully pulled the orange juice out. Then, under the watchful eye of his Nan, he poured the orange juice into a glass for his mother.
"Nan, don't forget the hot chocolate," Henry said gravely as he went over to his backpack, which was by the front door, and pulled out a card he had made for her in school.
"Don't worry Henry," Mary Margaret said, nodding to the saucepan of milk that was already sitting on the stove. "The milk will be ready in just a minute. The rest of the food is almost ready too."
Within five minutes, Mary Margaret was dishing the pancakes, eggs, and bacon onto three plates and placing one on the tray to go upstairs. "Alright Henry, I'll carry the tray upstairs and then you can carry it into your room to wake your mom up. Okay?"
Henry nodded enthusiastically before bounding ahead of Mary Margaret up the stairs to the room he shared with his mother. When Mary Margaret reached the top of the stairs, she carefully handed the tray to Henry, making sure it was balanced in his hands before letting go and removing the drinks from the tray. Henry's brow was furrowed in concentration as he walked into the bedroom where Ellery was still fast asleep.
"Happy Birthday Mama," Henry said excitedly as he neared the bed. Ellery opened her eyes and yawned, looking at Henry and Mary Margaret dazedly for a moment until she realized her five-year-old son was holding a tray with flowers and food on it.
Then she kicked into Mom-mode, "Thank you Henry, that food looks delicious." She said while removing the tray from her son's hands.
"Nan helped me make it for you," Henry said, smiling adoringly up at his mother.
Mary Margaret was struck once again by the look on his face. Henry saw his mother as the most important thing in his world, and she saw him as the same. Mary Margaret had watched the two of them for over five years and it never ceased to amaze her how much they loved each other. Ellery would do anything for her son and Henry was always trying to make his mama happy. Mary Margaret was exceedingly grateful that they had allowed her into their little world.
"Did Nan only make me breakfast?" Ellery asked, "Or did she make enough for everyone?" Ellery knew Mary Margaret always made enough for all of them.
"Nana and me have plates downstairs." Henry said, going over and taking the hot chocolate from Mary Margaret, "There's hot cocoa too, with cinnamon!"
"Is there any other way to drink it?" Emma teased, taking the proffered drink from her son, "Do you and Nan want to join me in bed for breakfast?"
Henry eyes grew wide and he nodded before clambering up into the bed and snuggling next to his mother. Ellery looked up at Mary Margaret in invitation. Mary Margaret laughed before setting the glass of orange juice on the bedside table next to Ellery, "I'll go get our plates and drinks, then I'd be happy to join you."
As Mary Margaret walked down the stairs to get her and Henry's plates and drinks, she listened to the sounds of Henry's giggles as Ellery teased him and she was happy that her little family, though unconventional, was able to celebrate Ellery's birthday together. She hoped they would always be able to celebrate birthdays like this. Little did she know how much would change in just two-and-a-half short years.
~Present Day~
The first thing Emma realized when she started to regain consciousness was that she definitely wasn't in her bed at home, the second thing she realized was that her head was pounding, the third thing was that someone was whistling the dwarves song from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves," it was this realization that forced her to open her eyes. She was in a jail cell. In the cell next to her was Grumpy. The events of the night before suddenly came flooding back to her and she groaned, drawing Grumpy's attention to her.
"What are you looking at sister?" Grumpy stopped whistling and glared at Emma.
"Leroy, manners," Emma's attention was drawn to the office outside the cell where an old man who Emma recognized as Geppetto was fixing something, "We have a guest. So you are, eh, Henry's birth mother. How lovely for him to have you back in his life. He needs something good in his life right now, his mother has tried, but she has gone through some very hard times lately."
"Or she's just pretending that she's having a hard time to get rid of him." Leroy said, sounding very much like his Enchanted Forest counterpart, "I don't blame her, they're all brats, who needs 'em?"
"Well I'd give anything for one," Geppetto responded, which made Emma wonder what had happened to his son when the curse hit. "My wife and I, we tried for many years, but, uh, it was not meant to be."
"Well cry me a river," Leroy said, uninterested in Geppetto's story."
"Leroy!" The sheriff entered the office and looked at the dwarf warningly, "I'm going to let you out, you need to behave." He unlocked the cell door and held it open, "Put on a smile, and stay out of trouble."
Leroy gave the sheriff a false smile as he exited the cell and then the sheriff's station. Emma felt slightly sorry for the dwarf who had once been her mother's staunchest supporter in the Enchanted Forest. However, she had more pressing issues to deal with at the moment, like getting herself out of jail. Looking straight at the sheriff, she raised an eyebrow, "Seriously?"
The sheriff shrugged, "Regina's drinks; a little stronger than we thought."
Emma had barely drunk one mouthful of the vile tasting apple cider, "I wasn't drunk; there was a wolf, standing in the middle of the road." Which sounded incredibly ridiculous now that she said it aloud.
Apparently the sheriff thought so too, "A wolf. Right."
Before Emma could refute the sheriff's disbelief, Regina's voice came from outside in the hall, "Graham? Henry's run away again, we have to…" She trailed off as she came into the office and saw Emma in the jail cell, "What is she doing here? Do you know where he is?" This last question was directed at Emma.
Who was already frustrated in her situation and didn't have time to deal with the Mayor's ridiculous accusations, "Lady, I haven't seen him since I dropped him at your house and," she motioned at the bars keeping her in the cell, "I have a pretty good alibi."
"And who are you?" A young woman with light brown hair who had entered with Regina asked, pushing her green rimmed glasses up on her nose.
"Emma Swan," Emma said nodding towards the woman in greeting, "I'm Henry's birth mother."
"The one he went to Boston to find yesterday?" The woman asked and when Emma nodded slowly in confusion she smiled, "Mayor Mills filled me in on the way here. I'm Olivia Nettles, Henry's social worker. Regina called me when she realized Henry had run off again."
"Did you try his friends?" Emma inquired, thankful that her training as a bail bondsman would come in handy while looking for her son.
"He doesn't really have friends," Regina responded, "He's kind of a loner."
"Every kid has friends," Emma responded, even she'd had a few friends as a kid. "Did you check his computer? If he was close to someone, he'd be emailing them."
"And you know this how?" Regina questioned testily.
"Finding people's what I do," Emma responded, "Here's an idea: how 'bout you guys let me out and I'll help you find him?"
"That's not a bad idea," Olivia piped up, subsequently cowering under the glare Regina directed her way.
Regina reluctantly agreed that Emma was correct, "Fine, Sheriff, let her out."
Graham did as the Mayor said, and Emma smiled gratefully at him and Olivia when she walked out of the cell. "Lead the way Madam Mayor."
Regina's lips pursed into an angry sneer and she turned and led the way to her house without another word. The four of them made their way into the bedroom and Emma made note of the knitted blanket which was folded carefully on the pillow. After Regina unlocked the computer, Emma quickly pulled up Henry's email.
"Smart kid, he cleared his inbox." Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a USB stick, "I'm smart too; a little hard disk recovery utility I like to use."
As the tool went to work recovering Henry's emails, Graham commented, "I'm a bit more old fashioned in my techniques. Pounding the pavement, knocking on doors; that sort of thing"
"You're on salary, I get paid on delivery," Emma said as the emails began coming up, "Pounding the pavement is not a luxury that I get. Ah, there's a receipt for a website, – it's expensive. He has a credit card?"
"He's ten," Regina said as if that explained everything.
"To my knowledge he has no way to pay for anything online," Olivia spoke up.
"Well he used on. Let's pull up a transaction record." Emma said, pulling up the credit card information. The name on the card made her heart skip a beat and she had to weigh her words carefully so as not to give anything away, "Mary Margaret Blanchard, who's Mary Margaret Blanchard?"
"Henry's teacher," Regina answered, her mouth set in an angry line.
"And his mother's roommate," Olivia offered.
More pieces were falling into place, "Which would be why Henry begged me to take him to his teacher's apartment instead of to Regina's house."
Olivia giggled, "That sounds like Henry. And knowing his mother, Ellery would have called me and begged that he be allowed to stay. Which I would have allowed on account of the extra day they were supposed to have this week."
"We should go talk to Miss Blanchard," Regina interrupted, walking out of the room and leaving the other three no choice but to follow her.
The sense of dread, which Emma had first felt when she'd read Mary Margaret Blanchard's name, grew as they got closer and closer to the school. Graham had left the three women outside of the Mayor's house, claiming he had some paperwork to finish up back at the station. Emma hadn't missed the slight blush on Olivia's cheeks when Graham wished her good day, nor the way Olivia had longingly looked after him as he drove away.
When they walked into Henry's classroom, Emma stopped short. Even knowing what she was about to face hadn't helped her prepare for seeing her mother again after 12 long years. She couldn't take her eyes off the woman who had raised her until she'd run away at sixteen. She barely registered Regina asking if her mother had given Henry the credit card. Instead, she was silently mourning the loss of her mother's long curls. They had been her mother's favorite feature and Regina had forced her to chop them off.
Mary Margaret looking at her and asking, "I'm sorry, who are you?" caused Emma to focus on the moment at hand.
But she still wasn't able to form words yet, "I'm-I'm his…" There were so many things that Emma wanted to say, but couldn't because her mother was no longer fully herself.
"She's Henry's birth mother," Olivia stepped in.
Mary Margaret's eyes widened in a form of recognition that Emma couldn't quite place, "Of course I see it now."
What she saw wasn't that Henry looked like her though, because he didn't. It was obvious Mary Margaret didn't know anything about the credit card, "You don't know anything about this, do you?"
Mary Margaret pulled out her purse and began searching through her wallet, "No, unfortunately not." When she didn't find the credit card, she smiled indulgently, "Clever boy. I never should have given him that book. Ellery warned me that he'd take it too far."
"What in the hell is this book I keep hearing about?" Regina snapped.
"Yes, what book is it?" Olivia asked, concern furrowing her brow, "Is it anything I need to be worried about?"
"It's just some old stories his mother and I used to read to him." Mary Margaret smiled, "As you both well know, Henry is a special boy: so smart, so creative, and, as you might be aware, lonely. I thought something from home would help, and I was right. He needed it."
"What he needs is a dose of reality. This is a waste of time. Have a nice trip back to Boston, Miss Swan." Regina scowled and turned to the social worker, "Miss Nettles, I suggest we discuss the visitation schedule." She stormed out of the classroom, knocking over a stack of books on the way. Olivia smiled sorrowfully at Emma and Mary Margaret before hurrying after Regina.
Mary Margaret crouched down and began to pick up the books. Emma, wanting to spend more time with her mother no matter the personality or memories, crouched down to help her. "Sorry to bother you."
Mary Margaret smiled, "No, it's okay. I fear it's partially my fault."
Well this was unexpected and she was curious as to why this version of her mother had believed the book was helpful, "How's a book supposed to help him?"
"What do you think stories are for?" Mary Margaret smiled at her as she picked up the last of the books, "These stories? The classics? There's a reason we know them. They're a way for us to deal with our world; a world that doesn't always make sense. See, Henry hasn't always had the easiest life."
They had finished picking up the books and had left the classroom, as they walked down the hall, Emma asked, "Yeah, why is he with Regina anyway?"
Mary Margaret stuttered, "Umm, I shouldn't. I know who you are, but it's not my story to tell. It's Ellery's. Look, I gave the book to him because I wanted Henry to have the most important thing anyone can have; hope. Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing."
Emma had heard as much more times in her childhood than she could count, but she knew Mary Margaret was being cryptic with her, "You know where he is, don't you?"
Mary Margaret smiled, "I don't, but I know who will. You'll want to talk to his mother. She owns the Toy Story on Main Street."
~13 Years Earlier~
"Emma Ruth Blanchard, you know Saturdays are reserved for training sessions. You cannot go out on Saturday." Snow White said loudly as she stormed into the kitchen, her fifteen-year-old daughter close behind.
"Mom, it is one Saturday," Emma said exasperatedly, "It's not like I'm asking to stop training! Though I would be fine with never having to train again." Emma mumbled the last sentence angrily.
"You are NOT stopping our training sessions young lady!" Snow White said, glaring at her daughter, "We only have twelve more years before you're supposed to break the curse, we can't waste any time. I am not about to let you fight the final battle without making sure you are adept at using as many weapons as possible."
"What if I don't want to break the curse Mom?" Emma asked, "What if I don't want to be the Savior?"
"You don't have a choice young lady," Snow said, "You are the Savior whether you want to be or not. And you have to break the curse. Your father and your godmother and everyone else is counting on you."
"But I don't want everyone to count on me!" Emma said, her voice quivering, "Why can't everyone just rely on Ellery?"
"Leave me out of this," Ellery said from the kitchen table where she was doing her homework, "Mom and Dad gave Rumpelstilskin your name, not mine."
"Only because they didn't know about you yet," Emma shot back, sticking her tongue out at her sister.
"Yeah, but at least I broke the curse on Mom and Aunt Red so that Mom could leave the town where the curse took everyone. If I hadn't, you wouldn't be here right now Emma!" Ellery snapped back, sticking her tongue out at Emma.
"Girls, stop it now!" Snow snapped.
"I wish you weren't here," Emma muttered towards Ellery, "Then at least I wouldn't have to worry about training sessions."
"Emma Ruth," Snow gasped, "That was uncalled for!"
Ellery was silent and Snow could see the tears filling Ellery's eyes. Ellery stood up from the table, "I'm going to my room."
"El," Snow said, trying to stop the younger of her twins from leaving the room, "Don't go. Emma, apologize, now!"
"Don't worry about it Mom," Ellery said, "It's no big deal, I'm fine."
Ellery left Emma and Snow alone in the kitchen. Snow glared at her older twin, "Emma, I cannot believe what you just said to your sister."
"I meant it!" Emma snapped, "I wish she hadn't broken your curse and that you were still trapped by Regina!"
"So you'd rather be in Foster Care, not knowing who you really are?" Snow asked, "Emma, sweetheart…"
"Yeah Mom," Emma yelled, "I wish you had never had your curse broken and that I didn't know I was the Savior! I wish I didn't know you or Ellery at all!"
Snow could only stare after Emma as she stormed out of the apartment, slamming the front door behind her. Snow was sure Emma would calm down and come back later that day and Snow would apologize. But Emma didn't return that day or the next. The day after that, Snow reported Emma's disappearance to the police and local media. For weeks Snow and Ellery searched for Emma, but they couldn't find her. She had disappeared.
Years later, Emma would look back at this moment and regret everything she'd said. She would apologize to Ellery less than a year later, but Snow would disappear after about two months and Emma would wish she'd had a chance to apologize and thank her for the survival skills she'd been forced to learn.
~Present Day~
The last time Emma had seen her mother before she ran away, the words she'd spoken had been terrible. All she wanted to do now was apologize, but because she'd run away from home in the heat of the moment, Regina had been able to find and re-curse Snow.
When she reached the Toy Store on Main Street, Emma stopped at the front door, unable to face yet another figure from her past. As she tried to convince herself that going inside the shop was a good idea, Regina stormed out of the shop followed by Olivia.
"Miss Swan, I do hope you won't be sticking around much longer," Regina snapped, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a town to run."
Emma rolled her eyes as Regina walked away and Olivia smiled, "So are you going to leave town?"
"No," Emma shook her head, "at least not yet. I'm going to talk to Henry's adoptive mother; I figure she may at least have an idea of where the kid might be."
"And she's more likely to tell family," Olivia said, laughing at the shocked look on Emma's face, "It wasn't that hard to figure out. Besides, Ellery and I have been friends for years and she's told me multiple times that she adopted her twin sister's kid."
Emma laughed, "Well at least she mentioned me to someone, I'm not sure Henry knows the truth."
Olivia laughed, "Oh, he definitely knows. I'm fairly certain he's known that piece of information since before he could talk. You should go in there, she's gonna need someone to cry to. I had to agree to Regina's request that she get to control Ellery and Henry's visitation schedule; I don't know how she has such pull with the judges in this town. Anyway, she told Ellery that as a punishment for his running off yesterday and today, Henry doesn't get his scheduled visits with her this week. They can still see each other, but not alone and not for very long. I could tell it devastated her. I don't know what I would do if I wasn't allowed to see my Claire. She's my daughter, she's six."
"I see," Emma said, slightly overwhelmed by the influx of information, "I'm going to head inside not to see if I can help in any way. It was nice meeting you."
"It was nice meeting you," Olivia said smiling and handing Emma a business card, "If you ever want to talk about Henry's custody arrangement, feel free to give me a call."
"I will," Emma said, watching as Olivia walked off down the street. Then, with one last deep breath, Emma pushed open the door of the toy store and stepped inside.
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