After Henry (Once Upon a Time)

Chapter Twenty-Three: Only Hope

On the way to Hyperion Heights...

Henry: Inside Emma's little yellow cubicle, nostalgia took it's grip on me, as it led me to remember how small I was, telling mom how she was the savior and everything in that large book of fairytales was real. 

So much has changed since then, it was crazy! I wasn't a kid anymore but although I grew up, at least one thing remained the same, thank God it did! I believed. Sure, it took some ups and downs and there was a moment there where I lost my most precious trait and others where I forced myself into a role I didn't want. Now I realized I was far from being Prince Charming, I was a writer with the heart of the truest believer and very...very nerd. That was great, though, for the first time in my life, I was okay with being me, "Henry Mills".

Amy drove fast, we had no time to waste, especially with Ivy's court session date arriving by each passing second.

It was naive and crazy to think that all the hopes of saving mine and Ivy's love rested on Jacinda's shoulders, but with the lack of time, we were running out of options.

Although I was less sceptic about the brunette's good intentions and actually filled my heart with ecstasy and anticipation to see her again, Ivy wasn't that lucky and as for Amy I couldn't yet understand. Her bets were more on the one handed detective, Rogers, who was tracking down a good lawyer meanwhile. 

I kinda liked this new "Hook" persona, he was a great detective, plus that robotic hand and the black clothing suited him well. Still, it was sad to think that the two of us weren't that close anymore. We worked hard to build a nice relationship, had many adventures together back in Storybrooke and the Enchanted Forest, but, as I grew up, me and him became distant, just as any step-father and his step-son would.

"Henry, are you sure this is a good plan?" Ivy asked me, her face screamed insecurity, as she held my hand, on the yellow bug's backseat.

"We talked about this, it'll work. Jacinda might be the only one who has dirt on Victoria, you told me how awful she was to her. If we encourage your step-sister to go up against her step-mother, I'm sure we can have enough to put Victoria in jail or at least keep her at bay for a while."

"You're forgetting that Jacinda would probably want to drag me to jail, as well." Ivy stated, with a deep frown. "Will they ever forgive me for what I did to them? Will you, even?"

I took a deep steady breath before answering the trick question. 

"More important than us forgiving you is for you to forgive yourself." 

"You know, I never thought about saying this but Jacinda has every right to hate me, even back in the Enchanted Forest I was not only cruel to her as I envied her so much. When I met you in San Francisco, I thanked my lucky stars for that fresh start, being with you in Malibu was like living a really good dream. Damn the universe for waking me up so early and taking me right to the middle of the past I so desperately wanted to forget, bringing back the person who did so many hurtful things."

"So that's why you didn't want to wake me up so early? You were afraid that I'd see you differently?" I asked my girl and I could hear her heartbeat drop, she was afraid of facing the terrifying truth.

"Yes, I was." The ink haired girl finally admitted and I stood at her amber eyes with a genuine relieved smile. 

"You don't need to worry, I love you since the Enchanted Forest. I chose to be with Ella because that was the only way to protect us. I was afraid that if we stayed together and brought a child to this world, that baby would have a target on his back for being so powerful, something that now is about to happen."