(no subject)

[henrydaniel]

Who: Henry Mills, Regina Mills, Neal Cassidy, + You
Where: Running through the mansion
When: March 8th, late evening, probably about 10, 11 p.m.
Rating: PG at the most probably? Will edit if needed
Summary: Henry returns post 4x12 - spoilers for the most recent OUAT episode
The Story:

Regina

There was no memory of Wonderland in Storybrooke. One moment Henry was heading to bed in his room at the mansion, the next he was standing outside of 108 Mifflin and demanding Regina let him inside. He was convinced now, all that she needed was for someone to not give up on her, and it became pretty clear that he could be that person when Robin couldn't. Except Henry really liked the way Robin made his mom smile, and he liked Robin himself, and Roland. So needless to say, when they left Storybrooke forever because of Ingrid, it sucked for lack of a better word. He felt for his mom, wanted to be there for her and was more determined than ever to find something to help. Was he supposed to be trespassing in the big mansion he couldn't remember ever seeing before? Probably not. But something in his gut told him that the answers were all here. And when he finds shelves and shelves of blank books just like his, he knows he's hit jackpot.

But, there's school to go to, more birds to learn about apparently, and for a while, things are just normal. He likes normal. He likes working with Regina, he likes hanging out with Emma, visiting his grandparents and getting to play favorite uncle to baby Neal. Or something - was it uncle? He has no idea. In any case, it's normal and nice.

And then the two biggest jerks he's pretty sure he's ever met make it into Storybrooke. Cruella De Vil just seems...a little unhinged, and Ursula he isn't sure about yet. But he instantly doesn't like them for the things they say. He leaves when Regina asks him to, knowing she wants to protect him. When he steps outside of the diner again though, it's back into Wonderland. For a second he freezes, just looking around a little until it all clicks into place again. The Queen of Hearts and Alice and mirrors and Jabberwockys. But more importantly, his family. And he remembers Regina left and came back so he takes off running to find her, not even bothering to knock before he bursts into her room. He doesn't even bother to think about the fact that it was dark outside or what time at night it might be.

"Mom? Are you here?"

Neal

After his mom is filled in, when he finds out Emma left about the same time he did, he's not worried. Now that he's experienced it himself, and he knows all of Emma's stuff is still here, he knows it's all okay. But he knows his dad is still here, and there's a twinge of guilt at forgetting him, even though it definitely isn't his fault he did. He's also more aware of the time now and this time knocks on the door, waiting to be let in. He can't wait to tell him about everything that's happened, and Elsa and Anna, and everything.

Everyone else, other family and friends

And now he's starving. He never did get those chocolate frosted donuts for breakfast, and now it's even way past dinner. He makes his way up to the diner, relieved when he finds it still open, then makes his way back down and kind of around the mansion, looking to see if anything had changed, but being wary of anything he doesn't recognize right away just in case it turns him into something. He's not ready to be muppet-ized again or something.

Comments

[unhand]

[Killian's in the diner when he comes in, staring sadly into a cup of coffee with Lucky curled around his feet. It's the dog who senses Henry coming first, jumping up and running over to the kid. That gets Killian's attention and he straightens, hope lighting up in his eyes.]

Henry, lad, you're back. Is Emma...?

[henrydaniel]

Lucky!

[Henry bends down to love on the dog, their foreheads pressing together for a second before he looks up at Hook, shaking his head a little. He's had a lot more Hook in his life, because he's getting so close to Emma, and Henry doesn't mind it, he likes hanging out with him and teaching him about video games and comics.]

No, but Regina said she left right after me, so she should be back tomorrow, I think. If she's gone a week like I was. Especially since all her stuff is still here.

[unhand]

I hope you're right about that, lad. [The signs all do look right for Emma returning. But he doesn't trust Wonderland to behave in any sort of predictable fashion. He hopes she comes back. But he's too afraid to count on it.]

I've been taking care of the dog while you were both gone.

[henrydaniel]

You helped me feel better when Regina left, and you were right. [There's that unwavering belief in people, and Henry can repay that to Hook now.] She's coming back, I know it. But until she does, why don't you keep him. I mean, it'll probably only be another day, but.

[Killian can keep Lucky as long as he needs to have him around. And then he remembers what helped him, distractions, and he manages a smile at him.]

Have you ever had a milkshake? I can't remember if you have or not, but you should. It's what I'm gonna have with my fries.

[100% the spawn of Emma Swan, here.]

[unhand]

A... milkshake? [Killian shakes his head.] Can't say I have. Why would one shake milk? Does it add to the flavor?

[henrydaniel]

[Henry grins, because he gets to be the one to introduce this to him.]

C'mon, Killian. You're about to have something amazing. I'll fill you in on everything.

[He doesn't want to ruin the surprise by explaining what a milkshake is, also because he has no idea why it's not just called an ice cream drink or something. He doesn't know why the 'shake' part so hey, avoidance!]

[unhand]

If you say so, lad. [He shakes his head, but he looks more amused than anything else, and considering what a week it's been, that's a nice change of pace. He stands up, giving Lucky a few pats on the head.] Where do we find these milkshakes?

[henrydaniel]

Up in the diner, hopefully. Or we can just go to the dining room. But...I kind of like sitting in the diner. Is that okay with you?

[The diner reminds him of home, just a little, even though it's not exactly the same. It's still sliding into a booth and comfort food.]

[unhand]

Sure, lad. You know a lot about shook milk than I do. If the diner's where we ought to get it, then the diner it is.

[belovedson]

Awareness of his own end means that there's nothing good for Neal when they figure out Henry's gone. Sure, he hopes the kid is safe back home, happy and loved, but he's not counting on it. Not with the fucked up way the world works--oh right, worlds. Because it's not just their home that's messed up; Wonderland's that way too, keeping people around and giving them a half-handed hope, just enough to really make it hurt when someone goes. Everyone says Henry and Emma will be back, and sure, Neal knows the pattern too.

Doesn't mean he's willing to bank on it.

At least not fully. But despite the fact that he's spent more time in the bar over the past week than anywhere else, Neal's kept track of the days, and his drinking. Like hell is Henry going to come back and find his dad alive and wasted, thanks. He's not even hungover when he gets that knock on his door, at a late enough hour to be dressed for bed, despite the fact that sleep is just another joke.

"Henry?" That changes when he opens the door, though. The kid's taller, yeah, but no way Neal doesn't recognize his son. At first he can't do much more than stare, shocked if only because he'd been afraid to hope. Turns out that relief is stronger still, and only a few seconds go by before he pulls Henry into a tight hug.

"About time you got back, kid."

[henrydaniel]

Henry's so relieved to still see him there, that they have more time, that his leaving and coming back didn't ruin that at all. Holding onto him tightly, his voice is a little deeper too. He won't get any taller now in Wonderland, but the inches he grew mean that maybe another absence and return will make him taller than his moms, and on par with Neal soon.

"How long was I gone?" he asked once he stepped back. "Hopefully not longer than anyone else is when they leave?"

[belovedson]

Yeah, it’s a bit of a shock to hear the kid—hell, Neal almost feels like he can’t really call Henry that anymore. Except fathers and sons, and part of him will always see that boy who had walked out of his room in New York even if Henry outgrows him.

Still though. Just how long had the kid been gone to have changed this much?

Just as Neal’s thinking it, Henry asks it, making him grin as he pulls back. “Nah, it was just a week.” A week where Neal had been worried and lonely as hell, but he’s not going to let Henry see that. He keeps an arm around his son, motioning inside the room with his hand. “You want to come in? I know Regina will want to see you.” But then he hesitates; if Henry had knocked on his door first, there’s something more he needs to know. “Emma got sent home too, not long after you did. Her stuff’s still here though, so she should be back soon.”

[henrydaniel]

"As long as she comes back," Henry breathes out, going inside with his dad. He's more relaxed about it now that he's lived it, both with Regina leaving and coming back, and now himself. "Sorry we both kind of left at once though," he adds, making a face as if he had any control over it.

"I was gone for a few months. Long enough that we survived ice monsters, a curse that turned everyone into the worst versions of themselves, a giant demon showed up that Emma and Regina defeated, and some other stuff. Pretty regular for Storybrooke."

Except that Neal's dad has been been banished but wow, Henry has no idea how to get into that topic.

[belovedson]

"Hey, it's not like you could help it. Here, sit down." Hopefully Henry's not going to rush off or anything, especially not after that introduction. The kid's given him quite a mouthful, and regular or not, Neal's not good with just the summary.

"Slow down a second." He laughs a bit, dropping down onto the couch. "I heard about the crazy ice cream lady from Regina. Sounds like you're a bit past that though." Since the woman hadn't mentioned anything about demons. That's actually kind of new in Neal's book.

As for his dad, though? Neal doesn't know anything. Regina had opted to leave out that part of the Storybrooke News.

[henrydaniel]

Henry grins a little. "A little bit. Um...a couple months. Me and Emma have been helping Regina find her happy ending. Robin...kind of had to leave Storybrooke because magic was killing Marian.

The smile's gone from his face at that, because it isn't funny. "We're trying to figure out who wrote my book, who the author is, and I found all of these blank ones. Just a bunch of books that look just like mine, only there's nothing written in them yet."

[belovedson]

“I heard about that.” Maybe not all the details, but Regina had told Neal about Robin’s departure at least. Back when they were still making attempts at conversation. But better that Henry think Neal’s serious demeanor is born simply out of sympathy rather than complications. Fighting or not, it isn’t funny. Whatever issues they’ve got aren’t enough for Neal to stop wishing Robin and Regina happiness.

“A bunch of blank books? Like, there could have been more than one written?” That Henry’s book is special goes without saying, but they’ve never really known to what extent. Sounds like that’s the mystery they’re attempting to solve back home.

[henrydaniel]

"Yeah, like we could all have...multiple versions of our own stories. Robin found a page of him and Regina kissing when they were really young, only...she never met him then. So either...she did meet him and someone erased their memories, someone wrote it and it ever happened, or...I guess it could be kind of like what happens here. Some people's version of the world is completely different."

Like there's no zombie apocalypse in his, for example, but everything else, cities and history, is all the same.

"After Emma and Regina freed all the fairies, Mother Superior said there's clues in my book about who the author is."

Has he left some things out? Does he need to backtrack or can he just slide on by here?

[madehervows]

Normally by now, Regina would at least be trying to sleep. If only because habits formed over the years in Storybrooke can be hard to break. Keyword being normally. With Henry's disappearance, she's worried to the point of sleeplessness. Bad experiences in Wonderland have left her with scars where Henry is concerned. If a week passes and he doesn't come back, she can begin to grieve and plan ways to tear Wonderland asunder. If he does come back, then a few days of sleeping in are easy enough to do.

When Henry bursts through the door, Regina's on her feet immediately to meet him halfway. He'd made it through Ingrid's madness relatively unscathed, but that doesn't mean that's all that's happened in Storybrooke.

"Henry? Henry!"

She pulls him into a hug, squeezing him just a little too tightly to prove to herself that he's really back.

[henrydaniel]

Henry has no issue with the hug, his arms going right around her. His head rests on her shoulder, easily, and he closes his eyes before giving her one more squeeze and pulling back just enough to be able to look at her.

"Is everyone else still here, too? I just...I came here first because I was on my way to your office." And so she'd been the first person he'd thought to find in Wonderland.

[madehervows]

The slight frown that forms across her face should be answer enough, "Emma left just after you did. She should be back tomorrow." Hopefully, but she's not saying that out loud. Her things are still here, so she should be back, but when has Wonderland ever played by the rules?

"Everybody else is still here, though." Which is hopefully enough to make up for Emma's disappearance. She pulls him over to the nearby couch so they can sit and catch up, instead of awkwardly standing in the middle of the room. "The last thing I remember in Storybrooke is the Author's library, what about you?"

[henrydaniel]

Henry gapes at her just a little.

"A lot more," he says as he sits beside her, but he keeps one hand in hers. "Um...you and Emma kind of defeated a demon or something."

That's good, right?

"It came out of the hat after you freed all the fairies."

[madehervows]

Regina gapes at him just a little in return. A demon. In Storybrooke. What.

"I'm sorry, a demon? What exactly happened?"

Look, she'd ask about the fairies but she honestly doesn't care right now. Given her history with Blue, it probably isn't surprising.

[henrydaniel]

Henry takes a deep breath, trying to get the sequence of events right in his head, but he can't remember what she said she remembered last. The books in the Author's house, but...

Letting out his breath, he looks at her, because he knows Rumplestiltskin is still here, and maybe this is going to be awkward when they see each other.

"...Do you know about Belle making Gold cross the town line?"

[madehervows]

She watches him with a careful eye, expecting him to explain the demon and instead he comes out with that. It isn't what she expected, but given the already apparent discrepancy, she has to commend him for checking the facts first.

"I do." Regina frowns, though she's glad somebody else finally knows. While she's been keeping it a secret to ensure Gold doesn't find out, it's nice to have someone to talk to. Something in her head clicks, as she has a realisation, "Does that have something to do with the demon?"

[henrydaniel]

He nods and holds her gaze.

"Gold trapped all of the fairies inside, and when you and Emma figured out how to get them out, something else came out too. A...Chin...Cher..." Crap. He can't remember exactly what it was called, hence, 'giant demon.'

"Chern-something. It was huge and was kind of like a giant gargoyle. I'm pretty sure it was going to eat people. But you took care of it," he adds quickly, just as a reminder. "Everyone's safe."