Author's Note: Sorry this is late, but it's been a bit of a wrangle to get my muse in shape. Next chapter will also likely be late, but that's mostly because it's Neal's POV and I'll be working to show some more respect. Thank you all for your continued support, to the new readers and followers and fav'ers. I love my stalkers as well!

Guest Comments

Angel: Thank you, lovely! Lol, well, Hook's trying. Belle and Graham knew each other during their time as prisoner, and Belle was initially the one that found him when he woke in the woods.

Henry's not stupid.

He knows there's something going on that they're not telling him.

The pirate's entrance had been paralyzing, coiling him with a fear that hadn't struck him in a long time. Memories of sorry, love and a puff of magic that made his mom fold in half in agony flashed over him. His mind felt crippled, waiting for another axe to drop, just like it did last time. Everyone had been on guard, waiting for the pounce, and his mind was clanging with a shrill sound that tuned everything out in anticipation.

Everything remained tense, but slowly Henry realized that his initial fear was moot. Instead, the pirate only seemed insistent on talking. But what he was saying … it had flown past his head.

His mom tried explaining after. He's not sure that it has latched on quite yet. His mind is still full, and exceptionally so, and anything new seems to only reverberate around his head.

Everything moves in a flurry after that: his grandparents are speaking in hushed tones in the corner. Graham took Emma to the side as well, and Henry clutched Belle's arm as he tried to read the emotions pouring off of his mom.

Henry swallows, wanting to know what they're saying, why he's being left out. Belle is at least just as ignorant of the goings-on. She keeps a gentle grip on him as the others talk, coaxing him into introducing her to Brianna. He takes the time, but feels distracted as he tries to do so. It's all too strange.

Finally, his grandpa comes forward, giving a cautious smile to him that seems faked for his benefit. It makes him even more suspicious. "Henry. Me and your grandma … we're going to be off for a bit. Your mom and Graham will be here to protect you."

"Where are you going?" Henry asks, his eyes flashing from pale face to pale face.

"Snow's going to the meeting, the one we talked about? I'm … we need something from Mr. Gold, so I'm going to see him with Captain Hook."

Henry let that sink in a moment. Boy, did that sound strange, Prince Charming and Captain Hook traveling together.

"I'll go with you. I'll make sure he helps with whatever you need," Belle offers determinedly.

David gives a small, relieved smile. "That would really be helpful."

"Anytime, Your Majesty," Belle replies.

David grimaces at the title, but doesn't correct her. Henry barely forces down an amused grin. There is something funny about being royalty, kings and queens and princes and princesses, but living in this tiny loft.

Henry's head feels full once more as soon as his grandparents, Captain Hook, and Belle leave. Finally, he breathes a shaky sigh of worry at the too-tense room. He wants answers for the things he knows he has been cut off from. But now he is looking at Graham with a little more knowledge, a little more understanding.

His mom's explanation still hangs in his mind. It still feels strange, hazy. Captain Hook is Graham's dad?

His mom and Graham are talking quietly, pulling each other close as they speak.

"We need to protect our family, Emma," he hears Graham mutter into Emma's hair, his arms wrapped around her tightly.

Our family, his mind repeats, letting this wander to the new revelation.

"You and my dad are brothers?" he asks before he can think. He winces internally. He didn't mean for it to come out like that, especially not since the last time they had spoken alone, when he had basically asked Graham to be his dad.

A flash of hurt disappears almost instantly on Graham's face, almost before he can name it. "Yeah, I suppose so," he says somberly.

Henry plays with a string on his sleeve, winding it around his finger again and again. He didn't mean in that way, it's just …. "So, we're really related?"

Graham's face softens and he nods. "It looks like it, Henry."

Henry sighs and walks over to hug him around the waist. This is one revelation he can deal with. Graham's hand sits on top of his head. It feels like it always has: warm and real and loving. Graham and him haven't changed, not really. Graham's still there, still protective and attentive. Still gives him the truth, still talks to him like an equal. It's just that now he's not just Brianna's dad or his mom's true love. Henry can now say that he and Graham are from the same family. He can be just like Graham, because they are related, they share the same blood.

Henry can scarcely remember when he was isolated from everyone, when he only had Regina. When he felt so alone that he felt empty, watching everyone else stay stagnant as he grew. Now he has his mom, his sister, his father, his uncle, his grandparents … when did his life get so full?

"Henry," Emma says gently. He pulls back from Graham and looks at her with wet eyes. "You know you don't have to be related for it to mean something."

"I know," he says, his voice small.

He always knew he had been adopted. Even when things started getting bad, when he started asking questions and was made to think he was crazy, there was always a part of him that loved his mom. Now, apparently she was the only one he wasn't related to by blood.

Emma's jaw sets. "It doesn't have to change anything that you don't want it to."

He cocks his head and looks up at Graham, meeting his dark blue eyes curiously. "Does this mean I have to call you Uncle Graham now?"

He shakes his head, a thoughtful smile on his face as his eyes shade. "You can call me whatever you want, Henry."

Henry thinks about it. He doesn't want Graham to be just his uncle. Graham's his sister's dad, but he's always been there for him. He feels a hitch in his breath, a feeling of worry but certainty that eats through his stomach and out through his mouth. His voice gets smaller as he looks over at Brianna, to avoid looking at either adult. "If I have two moms, I can have two dads, right?"

A hand gently turns his face to meet Graham's face. Graham's eyes are wide, murky, and he presses his lips together and then tilts his chin. "If that's what you want, I'd like nothing better."

A whoosh of relief passes through him, a lightness that releases every part of the knots that had formed from the day. He has a dad. But he's always had him, even when he couldn't call him that.

"Henry," Emma says, and he twists to her. She is teary, eyes red as she struggles to move past the moment and onto something different. She blows out a breath, spine straightening. "There's something else we have to tell you. Something Hook did."

Henry's brow furrows but he nods, turning to face her fully.

Graham shifts around so that he is next to Emma, kneeling in front of him. "Henry, Hook, he … he wanted to do something for us when he learned who I was. He made a big mistake."

"A mistake?" Henry bleats, trying to figure out what could have happened, why the air feels so heavy with suspense.

"Killian knew what Regina did to Graham," Emma says, taking a deep breath with shut eyes. She can see the shiver of pain go through her, and the hand that Graham doesn't have on him reaches to slide against her side.

Henry pales. He doesn't want to think about it, doesn't want to think about what happened to Graham, how he was gone for so long because his mom killed him. Doesn't want to remember how sad Emma was, how unapologetic Regina had been. He would rather forget it all.

"Hook wanted revenge. He had a poison, meant for Rumplestiltskin. He attacked Regina instead," Graham finishes softly.

Henry freezes, looking between the adults rapidly. "Wha—What?" he says, feeling his mouth turn dry, swaying at the news. His mom? His mom?

"Henry," Emma tries gently.

Numbness fills him slowly as this seeps in, a chill that starts at his very core. "My mom … he's killing her?" he asks, his voice almost unnaturally small.

Graham's eyes shut and when they open, they are serious. "She's been infected, Henry, but there will be a way out of this. We will find a way. That's what we do, right?"

Henry hesitates. He's always believed in their family; he always believed things would turn out right. He still does. Nothing can shake his faith, not after all they've gone through. But he has this faith because they are the heroes of the story. They are meant to have a happy ending. His other mom is not a hero; she killed Graham before, and lots of other people, and cast the curse. It's the reason why Captain Hook went after her. She's the villain of the story and she's meant to be defeated.

Emma sees his hesitation and kneels before him. Her smile is sympathetic and she pulls a hand through his hair. His eyes slip shut, allowing the comfort the action brings, and dimly he wonders how it would have been if they had always been together. "They're going to find a way for her to be okay, Henry. You know Gold. He has a solution for everything."

Henry bites his lip, unsure. There are too many thoughts in his head, too much information. His mind is swirling with dark thoughts and his stomach is churning with nausea. "What if they don't?"

She shakes her head. "That's not the type of thing we're used to, Henry. We don't give up, not in this family."

He tries to nod, feeling an overwhelmed torrent of tears behind his eyes. Emma pulls him in a hard embrace and he falls into her easily, sobbing into her shoulder. He can feel Graham's hand on his back, making soothing circles, and as glad as he is to have their support, he can't stop how broken he feels. This isn't the happy ending. It can't be.

"I'm sorry, Henry," Emma says into his hair, the words slipping out again and again. He can feel the force behind the words; even if she doesn't like Regina, she is sorry. Emma doesn't want him to hurt, he can feel it in the way she crushes him to her.

Graham is just as comforting, even if he is more timid in his actions. Henry tips his head up to look at him. The man is concerned, pained, his brow furrowed as he looks on Henry in sympathy. Henry pulls out of Emma's embrace just a touch to pull the older man close as well, so they are a tangle of limbs. He needs them both, right now. It doesn't make up for the emotion twisting through his body, the fear and the agony and the anger and the loss … but it's something. It's something right.

A heavy knock sounds on the door. "Now, what?" Emma says grumpily, wiping tears from her eyes hastily as she heads for the entrance.

Emma gasps as she checks the peephole. She steels herself and pulls one hand back. It glows in a white-gold light, preparing with her magic as the other hand twists the knob. The wolf perks up from his spot on the stairs and his jowls peel back as he growls angrily towards the entrance. Emma's eyes narrow as she opens the door. "You."

His other mom stumbles in, pushing past Emma. She hurls herself into the loft. "Henry," she calls, her voice thick and cloying. "I need my son."

Henry's mouth drops open. Her eyes are wide, glassy and unfocused but with a wild energy. Beads of dark crimson drip noisily onto the floor, and her hand covering her side is smeared with old and new blood. She is shaking violently, but there is still an air of danger around her.

He's never seen his mom look so vulnerable.

It's scary just in itself.

He only has a second to process it, and then Emma's magic twists into a barrier. The light pulsates with intent.

"Regina," Emma all but growls. The wolf darts forward, but a quick hand to its head from Graham makes him heel.

His other mom's eyes flash and connect with Emma's through the haze. "You. You won't prevent me from seeing him. You got your wish, you'll be rid of me. But I will see him before I go." She stumbles, coughing and gasping back air; it sounds rough and tearing, like fabric ripping.

Emma's jaw clenches. "Who said I wished you dead? Henry would never want that. And that's the difference between us." Emma sighs, her eyes rolling up as she steadies herself. She finally pulls the power back into her, seeing that there is no need for it with Regina so weak. "They're looking for the cure."

"Well, they won't find one," Regina counters haughtily. She is swaying as she holds her side, her face turned downward. "Cora made this one specifically."

Henry is frightened by the certainty, by the bitterness in his mom's voice. He doesn't have time to process what Emma said, that she wouldn't want her dead, because all he can see is the feebleness in his ever-resilient mother.

"Yeah, well, they'll find something with Rumplestiltskin helping them," Emma mutters moodily. "As long as you don't bleed out on my floor in the meantime."

"I'll get some med supplies," Graham says, barely touching Emma's hand as he passes.

Emma huffs and heads after him after a split second. "Wait, we just moved the box."

Henry turns back to Regina. "Mom?" he asks, feeling his eyes prick with tears again.

Her eyes focus on him and she smiles. "Oh, my son. My little prince. I knew I would see you one last time."

His eyes bounce from her face to her wound. "Mom … he … he really did it, didn't he?"

She blinks slowly. "It's not that bad, Henry. You heard Emma. They'll find a cure."

He feels anger creep into him and his hands ball into fists. "Stop lying to me! If you're dying, say you're dying! I can't take you lying to me; it's not going to protect me!"

She looks away, shifting to sit in an open chair. She looks over the room, to the bassinet, where Brianna is strangely quiet. The wolf is beside it, tense with its fur on end as it growls in open threat. "You have a sister, now, Henry. A different family. You don't need me."

He shakes his head, a sob escaping. "You don't get it! I love my sister, I love my mom, I love Graham and Neal and Grandpa and Grandma and even you! I love everyone, and I'm allowed to love everyone. I need you all!"

Regina swallows thickly. "I don't want to argue, Henry. Yes, I'm probably going to die."

Henry backs up, looking down at the smears of blood he unknowingly walked through. His stomach flips and he swallows back bile as he stumbles all the way back to his sister. He looks down at her as she sleeps, her chest rising and sinking in a rhythmic pattern. He grabs her little hand and her fingers clamp down in reflex; he is shaking as he tries to process what his mom admitted.

Graham returns, Emma on his heels, with their arms full of supplies. Graham barely looks up as he pulls a bandage from the mass and stretches it out. "We have to stop the bleeding first," he says.

Regina nods, and brings a hand out to grab Graham's arm to steady herself. She is pushed back abruptly by the white-gold light. "No," Emma says, her eyes flaming behind her raised hand. "You don't touch him. You're not to touch him ever again," she spits out.

Regina's eyes flicker and then narrow. "So, I guess you've heard. What's this, then? Jealousy?"

Emma growls angrily and leaps forward, but Graham pulls her back steadily. He presses his lips to his mom's ear, whispering something. Emma's eyes don't lose their heat, but she relaxes in his arms. "I'll do it," she grunts, stepping forward deliberately.

Graham walks over and drops a hand on his head. Henry looks up at him. "Henry, maybe you should go upstairs," he offers.

He shakes his head, feeling unusually cold. "No. I need to stay here," he says in a timid voice.

Graham's face is grim, but he turns him so they are facing Brianna with their back to Regina and Emma. "Don't look at this part, Henry."

He tries hard to focus on his sister, to keep his eyes on only her. He can hear Regina's hard breaths, gritting her teeth against the pain. "Idiot pirate doesn't even know what he's done," she hisses. "Cora won't stand for this."

Henry looks up at Graham, and the man squeezes his hand. "He didn't think things through," Graham agrees.

Henry's eyes dart away. Was this how it would end? His mom would die for all her crimes and a bigger evil would ruin their lives? "Do you really think she would hurt us?" he asks.

The question is directed to Graham, but it is his mom that answers. "Cora wouldn't have any problem with it, as much as she tries to pretend my happiness is important to her. And you are my happiness, Henry."

"She isn't coming anywhere near him," Emma grinds out, the sharp sound of the bandage being pulled tight ringing through the air. "I may not have all the power I had last time I faced her, but I have enough. She won't get to him or anyone else in this family."

Emma comes into his line of sight, heading for the sink in the kitchen. Henry's stomach rolls again as he sees the dark blood on his mom's hands. "Is it done?" he asks softly.

"I may have to change the bandages in a bit, but yeah," Emma replies as she washes her hands. Emma is tense, her eyes red as Graham comes to her to rub her shoulders comfortingly. Henry forgets sometimes about how much Regina hurt the other members of his family, how it affects them still. Henry was furious with Regina when he realized she killed Graham, but Emma only now knows for real that it happened. And yet, she still works to make sure Regina won't die. For him.

He looks back at Regina. Her dark eyes are hollow as she watches Emma and Graham. There's something in her gaze, something he doesn't want to think about. She seems to feel his eyes on her, and she turns to face him. Her black shirt is torn, revealing the stark white of the bandage beneath. "Don't worry, Henry. I will spend my last breath making sure you are safe," she says softly.

He swallows hard. "And my sister?"

She looks at the bassinet and her eyes close. "Yes, your sister, too. I did promise you that."

Henry edges forward. "Mom … you won't do anything to hurt anyone, right? You won't come after Grandma anymore, or Emma, or Graham? You'll leave them alone?"

Her lips purse in distaste, even with the pain he knows she must be feeling. "I won't be around much longer. I'd rather spend my time with you than getting revenge."

Something almost dislodges within him. Henry looks around, letting the implication wash over him. His mom is putting love before revenge. It's only words right now, but … but maybe that's a step forward. "You have to promise me, Mom. You have to promise that you won't hurt anyone else."

She nods, her tired eyes falling shut. "I promise you, Henry. I will keep you safe from my mother and I won't go after the ones you love."

Henry runs at her, hugging her tight. She lets out a huff of discomfort, but he can't back away because she's holding him just as tight. Tears are rushing down his face and he struggles to slow them down. "Thank you, Mom. Please, you have to live."

Her eyes are tight, not bothering to open. "I need to sleep, Henry," she says, and the words are heavy, slurred in tiredness.

"Probably not the best idea," Emma murmurs from the counter. Henry looks up to see his other parents watching them carefully. Emma rises and grabs a dish towel, soaking it in cool water and filling it with some ice cubes. "Here, put this on your head. Maybe it'll keep you awake," Emma offers.

Regina sighs and holds it against her head with a wince. "So, we're neutral for now?" she asks, the words losing their bite with the fatigue.

Emma shakes her head. "No. Not neutral. But we have our common enemy. That'll have to do."

Regina opens one eye. "Well, at least you're honest about it," she mutters.

Graham takes Henry's hand and guides him gently closer to the wolf. Henry's lips quirk up, recognizing that his dad is trying to keep him safe again. Henry doesn't need to be protected around Regina, but he also understands that Graham doesn't fully trust her yet.

"When do you think Cora's going to find out that you're injured?" Graham asks.

She purses her lips. "We were supposed to meet at the library at noon. Either she'll have found the dagger by then, or she'll want to 'question' Miss French. Yesterday was about planning, today was supposed to be action," she advises.

"'Stiltskin won't stand by Belle being 'questioned,' that's for sure," Graham replies. His jaw has tightened at the threat on the girl. Henry knows Graham considers her a friend. Henry likes Belle, too, and doesn't want anything bad to happen to her. He doesn't want anything bad to happen to anyone, ever again.

"We aren't going to be safe here, but I can't think of anywhere else that would be better," Emma says in frustration.

"Well, I found you easy enough. That silly little barrier spell you put up will be no match for anything Cora has. And my mother knows where you live," Regina notes.

Graham's eyes flash. "A protection spell. You knew enough of those back in the other world. Surely you have one available."

Regina laughs in a sort of exhausted huff. "I can't use magic. This stupid poison is blocking it all from me. Trust me, I would have done a lot more if I had the power."

Emma's eyes close and Henry can see the flash of anger pass her features once more. "And that's one of the many reasons why, once this is resolved, you're going on trial. I don't care how the justice system works in this town. Consider yourself served."

"I said I would help," Regina answers in clipped, even tones.

"And if you help us? Will that make everything you've ever done okay? Say we can forgive you someday. But what about the entire population of another land, whose lives you ripped away? People you've killed that can't come back? It's not just this family's call," Emma reasons, her shoulders squaring.

Henry's gaze falls again. Emma's right. It's not just the things she did to their family that's the problem. It bothers him somewhat, that his mom won't have some redemption that will make everything right. Even after reading everything, there are some things he still can't see him mom having done. But he knows it happened. He's seen some of the scars.

Regina is shaking her head, the ice pack against her forehead. A few cubes have begun to melt, making tracks in her makeup. She looks drained, dejected … defeated. She is nothing like the woman he was used to, the perfect veneer shattered completely in a way he's never seen.

He fears for her, but at the same time … he wonders if this will change her. If she knows she can't wipe away everything with one act, maybe she'll try to be better for good. Maybe she'll even change people's minds about her.

"It'll be okay, Mom," he swears, peeking out from behind Graham. He takes the man's hand, pushing against his side. Graham wraps an arm around him effortlessly, pulling him closer. Henry looks up at him, giving a small smile. His family is big, now. Strange. Mixed-up. But they'll work together, and they will make this right.

Because even the heroes don't fail the villains. It's only the villains that fail themselves.

TBC