"I'm going with you," Henry declared, his backpack slung over one shoulder.

Emma stepped toward him, ready to take his bag and push him toward the couch. "No, you're staying with Belle and Neal."

Henry sidestepped her and stood next to the door. "No, I'm going with you to save Hook."

Emma opened her mouth to protest again, but he cut her off. "Who else is going to write your story? Gramps? He can barely write a grocery list without forgetting something." He gestured to David, who looked mildly offended, and Emma felt her lip quirk up at the thought of her father writing her and Hook's love story.

My perfect lovely princess and the disreputable pirate lived happily until he screwed something up and I broke his jaw, the end.

Mary Margaret lay a hand on her husband's shoulder and gave him a soothing look. "I'll have you know, your grandfather can be quite eloquent when he wants to be." It seemed to put him at ease.

"Not when it concerns Hook," Emma scoffed. She realized too late that she was only giving Henry more fuel. "Anyway, who says I can't tell my own story? It's my story."

Henry kept his laughter contained, but only just. "Please, mom, your version would be 'We went, we conquered, we came back, the end.' A story like yours needs the right touch."

"And you are the only person who can do that?" Emma tried for unimpressed, but it was mostly worry.

"Well I am the Author," he said matter-of-factly. "You're the savior. You save people. That is your purpose in life, at least one of them. I'm the Author. I'm supposed to write the epic stories, and mom, yours is the most important one ever. It needs to be written, and it needs to be written by the right person. This is my purpose. Please don't make me miss out just because it's dangerous."

During Henry's speech Mary Margaret had pulled David closer, and Emma's resolve had weakened. Her last-ditch effort to keep her son safe was Regina, but when she cast her eyes toward his son's other mother, she saw what she imagined her own expression must hold: sadness and pride. Their little boy was growing into an exceptional young man.

Silence reigned a moment longer, but she eventually caved. "Fine, but I swear, if anything happens, you go with Regina or your grandparents, and you stay out of whatever fighting might break out. Your job is to observe and survive, got it?"

Henry grinned and nodded. Finally, he gets to be a part of a real adventure, and adventure that matters, from start to finish.

He has a purpose and he's not going to let it go to waste.