Henry wished he was anywhere but at school. King George must have been very convincing. Children gave him a wide berth as he passed, squeaking in fear if he came to close, and cutting off conversations when he was in earshot - or when they thought he was in earshot. He could hear them whispering about him from down the hall.

As he listened to a group of kids call him a beast, he realized superpowers weren't that cool after all.

He was thankful he had been dropped off by Emma this morning instead of Regina. Everyone had watched as the Sheriff's car had pulled up to the sidewalk, and a few people seemed relieved when they saw that only Emma was there. Even though she fought it at first, Regina came to realize the importance of her absence when it came to the town's opinion of Henry. The less involvement Regina appeared to have, the less their opinion of her influenced their thoughts about him. A few parents had smiled at Emma and then at Henry. Some of the tension eased from his body, but other parents glared at him, ignoring Emma's presence. The worst had been Michael, who had watched Emma suspiciously, though Henry couldn't figure out why.

He was alone now, except for the cell phone in his pocket. When Regina decided he was old enough to ride his bike around town and to go to school alone, she had given him a cell phone in case of emergencies. It wasn't anything fancy - just one of his mom's old flip phones - and wondered why she had given it to him now that he knew the town had been cursed. What could have happened to him in a cursed town where no one died or grew older? Nothing, probably, which was why she had allowed him to do those things, he realized, but she had still worried. He reached into his pocket and wrapped his hand around the phone as if trying to draw strength from it. He had Emma, Snow, David and Ruby's numbers programed in along with his mother's, and each one was on speed dial. He wasn't alone. Not really.

Stopping in front of his locker, he took a deep breath. He would be okay. He opened the locker and started putting his things away when a group of kids down the hall caught his attention.

"My dad said werewolves are normal people," a boy said with a tiny mohawk. He spoke to a girl with a ponytail and another boy who had a green backpack. "He said people who think werewolves just run around eating people are being stupid."

"What about Billy?" a little girl asked. "He was killed by Ruby. She's a werewolf."

"Billy was killed by King George," the boy with the mohawk said, frowning. Henry thought his name might be Tommy. "That's why he doesn't listen to King George anymore. Ruby didn't kill anyone. "

"That's not what I heard. I heard she ate someone back in the Enchanted Forest," the boy with the green backpack muttered to the girl under his breath.

The girl shivered, eyes becoming big and round, and she shot a terrified look at Henry who looked away hastily. "Do you think Henry will eat anyone?"

"It wouldn't surprise me. He's the son of the Evil Queen, isn't he?" the boy with the green backpack said darkly. "I wouldn't trust him. I bet they're plotting something right now. I heard Ruby was at the Evil Queen's house last night."

"Do you think she's plotting with them?" the little girl asked. "That would suck. Ruby makes the best pancakes."

"I know, but I'll bet she is. I think she and Henry and the Evil Queen are all plotting something. That's what my dad thinks. He heard King George talking about it. I guess some other people heard loud noises over at the Evil Queen's house last night too."

"But why would Henry be plotting with her? The Savior is his real mom, and Queen Snow and Prince James are his grandparents. How could he be evil?"

"Doesn't matter." Another boy had sidled up to the group and joined their whispering. "He's a werewolf now. My Ma and Da always told me to be careful of werewolves. They're evil. Or have got evil in them even if they don't always show it."

Henry clenched his jaw and fists. School couldn't be over soon enough. Clutching the phone in his pocket, he thought about calling Emma or maybe Regina. Emma would be the logical choice because she wouldn't risk being attacked by an angry mob, and he had agreed at first that it would be safer if he wasn't seen with Regina in public for a while. But the childish part of him wanted his mother to tell him everything would be okay and to make everything better.

Shaking his head, he closed his locker. I can do this, he thought and headed to his class.

. . .

Emma sat at the station, bored out of her mind with paperwork. She couldn't stop worrying about Henry either. With only an hour to go before she needed to pick up Henry, she debated whether she should call Regina and check up on her. It would pass the time at least. She tapped her pen against the desk. She heard the thud of a cane against the floor, alerting her to Mr. Gold's presence. She looked up, setting down the bear claw she had been nibbling on.

"What do you want, Gold? You said you gave Henry that cloak for free - "

"And I did. I never go back on my deals, Sheriff Swan. You, however, still owe me a favor, and I'm here to call it in." Mr. Gold leaned against his cane, a mild smile on his face and something dark lurking behind his eyes.

Emma let out a deep breath. Of course he would call in his favor at the most inconvenient time imaginable. "What do you want?"

"You are going to help me find my son," Mr. Gold said. He adjusted the brown scarf around his neck. Emma's brow furrowed slightly as she eyed it; she had never seen him wear that scarf before, and it looked too old and ragged for Mr. Gold's tastes. It clashed with his ever present pristine business suits. And there something about it that she couldn't quite put her finger on... "He's somewhere in New York. I trust you are familiar with the place?"

That snapped her out of her thoughts. "What? New York? No way. I need to be here for Henry."

"I will put this in very simple terms, Miss Swan," Gold said, taking a small step forward. His grip tightened on his cane, and his mild manner slipped away, revealing the darkness that lurked beneath. "No one backs out of their deals with me. You will help me find my son or I will kill you and your whole family - the boy included."

Emma stiffened. She opened her mouth to fight back but caught herself and clenched her jaw. "Fine. But I need to see Henry first - and Regina."

"I have already purchased the plane tickets for later tonight."

"I don't care," Emma said because on this point she wouldn't budge. "I'm going to see my son before I leave, and I'm going to talk to Regina. Henry will be out of school soon so it shouldn't take long."

"Fine," Gold said, his lip curling slightly. "Should I meet you at the Mayor's mansion?"

"Yeah, I guess. Wait, hold on," Emma said, a sudden thought striking her. "How can you leave Storybrooke? Won't you lose your memories?"

"I've sound a solution to that little problem," Gold said. "Now, I suggest you go pack. I'm not a patient man."

Emma tossed her bear claw in the trash, less hungry now than she had been before - if that was even possible - and called David to come take over the station as Mr. Gold left. This was the worst timing possible. If she left Henry here she couldn't protect him. There would be Regina, but would it be safe for Henry if the town found out he was living with Regina while Emma was gone? He could stay with Mary Margaret and David, but Regina would throw a fit. Emma was certain of that. And they still had no idea where Cora was. What if she attacked him again?

No, Emma decided, she couldn't leave Henry in Storybrooke without her. But Regina wouldn't like it. She'd probably think Emma was trying to take him away from her. Emma growled under her breath.

She hated Gold. She hated that he'd been pulling the strings on her life since before she was born. The paper in the cell - he had known who she would be, that she would break the curse. How much more had he known? Did he have a hand in her life? How much?

Would he destroy the fragile truce she and Regina had created?

At that thought, she grabbed a pen holder off the desk and chucked it against the wall.

. . .

Henry climbed into the passenger seat of Emma's car without a word. He tossed his backpack down at his feet and slouched, arms crossed. He glared at his feet.

Emma sighed. "I guess school didn't go so well, huh?"

"Kids kept avoiding me and whispering about me and my mom - Ruby too. I didn't do anything wrong. I'm still the same person. Why does everyone hate me now?"

Emma ruffled his hair and said gently, "Don't listen to them. Don't let anyone tell you who you are. Push back and show them they're wrong."

Henry relaxed slightly. "How?" He swallowed. "I mean, if people are just going to believe all this bad stuff about me for no reason, how do I show them they're wrong?"

Emma started the car and headed toward Regina's house. "You show them by being yourself no matter what anyone else says. Do the right thing no matter what, kid, and people will come around eventually, okay?"

Henry frowned, slumping. "My mom tried to change, but nobody believed her. I didn't believe her, and I asked her to change for me." Henry drew his knees up to his chest and rested his forehead against his knees.

"Hey, Kid, come on," Emma said, pushing his knees down. "Don't be so hard on yourself. It can be hard to rebuild trust once it's broken. Besides, you believe her now, don't you? So you came around eventually. And I...well, I trust her."

"Really?" Henry asked, looking up. He caught the torn expression on Emma's face.

"Well, yeah, I mean, not completely, that'll take time, you know, but I'm...I'm getting there. I didn't trust her about Archie, and she was innocent. She's trying so I guess I owe it to her to believe in her, you know?" Emma frowned. "That came out all wrong."

"No, I think I know what you're saying," Henry said. He felt a pang of guilt. "Can I tell you something?" He looked back down at his shoes. "I don't think I really trust my mom yet either. I mean, I know she's trying, but what if she slips back again?"

Emma reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. Henry lifted his head. She had a small determined smile on her face.

"If that happens, we'll just have to pull her back, won't we?"

Henry stared at her for a moment, a grin slowly stretching across his face. "You mean it?"

"Totally, kid," Emma said. She pulled into the driveway of 108 Mifflin and parked the car. "I need to talk to you and your mom about something important."

Henry frowned, unbuckling his seat and turning to face her fully. Something in the backseat caught his eye. He peered around the back of the seat. A suitcase lay on the floor. Eyes wide, he looked at Emma.

"You're leaving?" he said, voice more panicked than he intended.

"I'm not bailing, kid. But that's why I need to talk to you and Regina."

Henry nodded, still confused. He grabbed his backpack and followed Emma up to the house. Regina opened the door as they approached.

"Emma," Regina said coolly. "Thank you for bringing Henry home."

"We need to talk," Emma said. "Can I come in?"

Henry glanced back and forth between his mothers; Emma's expression was serious, and Regina studied her for a moment before standing aside and saying, "Of course."

Henry led them into the living room and sat down on the far end of the couch, forcing his mothers to sit next to each other. He noticed that while they put as much distance between them as they could, they didn't seem as tense around each other as they once had.

"Gold called in a favor I owe him," Emma said. "He wants me to go to New York to help find his son."

"I see. However, I'm guessing there's more to it than that."

Emma took a deep breath and seemed to brace herself for what she was going to say next. "I want to take Henry with me."

Regina bristled, rising to her feet. "Absolutely not."

Henry could sense the imminent explosion and turned to Emma, desperately trying to convey to her to be cautious. She glanced at him. Seeming to get the message, she held her hands up in front of her.

"Relax, Regina. I just want to talk about this - "

Regina jerked forward, the air around her seeming to crackle with magic. Emma didn't seem to sense it because the only thing she did was continue to stare at Regina, but Henry crept toward her. Her back was to him so he reached out slowly hoping not to startle her when he touched her.

"I will not let you take my son from me," Regina said, almost shouting now. Her voice rang in Henry's ears, and yeah, having superpowers was definitely not all it was cracked up to be. His hand stopped just before he touched her. She thought Emma was going to take him away?

"That's not what this is about," Emma said, getting to her feet. "I just think that with Cora here it might be a good idea - "

"You think I don't know that you'll take off with him the second you're beyond that border, and I'll never see him again?" Regina said. Henry could hear the tremble in her voice clearly now even if Emma could not.

God, he was tired of seeing his mother cry.

Henry touched her elbow lightly. "Mom. It's okay. I'm not leaving." He slid his fingers down her arm and took hold of her hand.

Regina looked down at him, blinking as if stunned. "You're staying here?"

"No way," Emma said. "Cora's too dangerous. She's already hurt you once, there's no way I'm leaving - "

"He will be staying here with me," Regina snapped.

"Or," Henry said, raising his voice so he could get a word in edgewise, "we can all go together." They both fell silent and stared at him. Henry squeezed his mother's hand. "Cora is looking for my mom too. That's why she was in the cemetery that night, remember? We can't just leave her alone. We need to protect her too."

Emma just stared at him for a long moment before relaxing and giving him a small smile. "You sure about this? I don't think your mom needs any protecting." But then she looked at Regina and something on Regina's face must have made her reconsider because she turned back to Henry and nodded. "Okay. We'll all go together then. Is that okay with you, Regina?"

"Yes." Regina tightened her grip on Henry's hand a bit. "If Henry is sure he wants me to come."

"I'm sure," Henry said. He was a little surprised that she hadn't protested at all, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Then it's settled. We should go pack."

. . .

Gold wasn't happy when he arrived to find Regina and Henry were coming as well, but once Regina assured him she would be buying their own tickets, he relented. Emma sat in the front seat of Gold's car, and Henry sat in the back with his mother.

As they approached the Storybrooke line, Henry fidgeted in his seat. He saw Emma tensing and tossing nervous looks at Mr. Gold. If Mr. Gold's plan didn't work and he lost his memories when they crossed the town line, would he panic and crash them? It seemed like a possibility from the way Emma kept looking at him.

Fingers wrapped around his hand, and Henry looked down. Regina held his hand, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. He scooted closer to her, and then leaned across the space between them and pressed against her side. She let go of his hand long enough to grab it with her left hand and wrapped her right arm around his shoulders, holding him close.

The LEAVING STORYBROOKE sign loomed closer. Henry held a breathe, tensed, and pressed himself against Regina's side, crushing her hand in his - and then the sign was behind them.

"I'm fine, Sheriff Swan," Mr. Gold said, and Henry loosened his grip on his mother's hand, pulling away, embarrassed.

He glanced at Regina and saw her flexing her hand. Her expression was neutral, but he knew he must have hurt her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Don't worry, dear. You didn't hurt me." She ran a hand over his hair and smiled.

He could sense her nerves, though. He realized with a start that she had never been outside of Storybrooke. He took her hand again and said, "It'll be okay, Mom. You'll like being out of Storybrooke."

He smiled, and Regina held his hand a little tighter, seeming to take comfort in it.