EVERY LITTLE THING ⇀ ( KILLIAN JONES )

THREE

Winnie could hear hushed whispers as she continued mixing together the batter with a large blue spatula.

Then, Henry had joined them in the kitchen, his hand locked firmly together with Christopher's.

"Good morning, Henry." Winnie greeted gently.

Henry looked up at her with a nervous smile, "Hi, Winnie."

"Now, what are you doing here just before school? You know Regina prefers when you ride on the bus." Winnie stated, which was true, but more so because Regina didn't want to make Winnie deal with two children getting ready for school.

Winnie didn't mind. Her own work could wait. These children needed her full attention.

Henry was quiet for a moment, glancing at Christopher, who stood next to him in unwavering support, gripping his best friend's hand like his life depended on it.

"Winnie- I..." Henry began.

Winnie sensed a serious conversation and sat her bowl down on the counter, turning to look at the boys.

"I was thinking maybe- a day off would be good..." Henry shuffled, afraid that Winnie would send him to school anyway.

Winnie sighed, taking a moment to look at the boy and remember exactly what had just happened the night before.

He went after his birth mother expecting that she would want to be a part of his life. Emma had just seemed to pull herself away, and Regina most likely didn't help in that decision.

Winnie loved Regina, she really did, but she knew how protective she was of Henry.

But she also knew Henry needed some time, just to cope, and if this is where he felt safest doing so, Winnie couldn't just kick him out.

Instead of a proper response, she turned and pulled a bag of chocolate chips from an overhead cupboard full of baking supplies.

"I think today calls for some chocolate, don't you?" Winnie mused, holding it up as Henry smiled softly. "Sit down and make yourself at home, Henry."

Henry let go of Christopher's hand and hugged Winnie around the waist quickly before sitting next to Christopher at the table, Loaf coming to curl up at their feet.

So Winnie hummed a song and poured some of the chocolate chips into the mixture, setting the rest in the bag on the table for the boy's to share while Christopher got them all glasses of chocolate milk.

It was a chocolate morning.

And as Winnie plated the kid's some pancakes, topped with whipped cream and bowls of fruit, Henry couldn't have felt more at home.

However, Winnie is a rather forgetful person by nature, and while her full attention was on cheering up Henry, she forgot to call Regina and let her know where her son was.

So instead she sat at the table, the beautiful scent of nearly perfect pancakes wafted into their senses and she just enjoyed the morning.

"What do you boys say we pack a lunch and head out to Nowhere for the afternoon?" Winnie asked, taking a bite of honeydew melon.