CHAPTER THREE
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i. nowhere is the best somewhere !
storybrooke maine .
— MORNINGS CAN BE UNBELIEVABLY BEAUTIFUL IN STORYBROOKE. The sun wakes up and basks the world in a warm glow while the sky turns a lighter, happier blue.
Winnie woke up in the coziness of her large bed and duvet, the room was cold but her soul was warm and untainted by worry.
In fact, she could have stayed there all morning. If not for her young son, hopping up into her bed and cuddling up next to her under the sheets.
Stirring slightly, Winnie cracked open one eye with a tired smile.
"Hello, darling." She yawned.
Christopher nuzzled into one of the pillows with a gentle hum, but then giggled when Loaf came in and situated between them, his fur adding even more to the welcome warmth.
Winnie reached over and found her glasses, pushing the large frames up on her nose.
"You have school today, young man." She teased, sitting to press her back against the headboard.
"I know." Christopher sighed, rolling onto his back and starring at the ceiling.
"Well?" Winnie laughed, peeling off the covers and letting her bright yellow fuzzy socks hit the wooden floor. Slowly, she stretched her arms above her head and then down to touch the floor. Something she did routinely to wake her self up.
Turning around, she watched Christopher shuffle to sit at the edge of the bed, Loaf sitting on his lap.
"What would you like for breakfast?" Winnie asked, reaching to pet the small Corgi.
Christopher hummed in thought, "Pancakes?"
The woman nodded with a grin, "Sounds tasty, good choice."
Christopher sat Loaf down and got up to follow his mother to the kitchen, Loaf not far behind, his collar clinking against the floor.
Winnie pulls out all the ingredients and equipment as Christopher fills up Loaf's bowl and sits down at the table.
Just as she'd begun to make the batter, the doorbell sounded out.
Winnie glanced down at Christopher with a knowing look, amusement in her eyes, "Go answer the door, Christopher."
Christopher muttered an 'okay, mama.' and rushed off to the front door.
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.
The boys eyes lit up, "Could we?"
Winnie chuckled, "Well of course we could."
Henry had a small smile on his face as he reached forward to gulp down some more chocolate milk.
Once they'd finished, Winnie moved all their dishes into the sink and began washing them as Christopher and Henry went to sit in the living room, playing some video game on the tv. Once the dishes were all set up on the drying rack, she joined them and laughed along as they had fun.
When lunch time rolled around, Winnie got up and made some sandwiches, packing them into a bag with some cookies and juice packets.
Once she'd gotten out of her fluffy pyjamas and into a pair of her signature dungarees, she began fixing up her hair as Henry and Christopher laughed at the screen.
"Alright boys, I'm nearly ready, why don't you wrap it up and we'll get going?" Winnie smiled, finally done with her space buns and beginning to wrap Jefferson's scarf around her neck again. She had every intention to return it when she saw him again.
Henry and Christopher excitedly shut their game down and rushed to grab their coats and shoes.
Winnie chuckled, pulling her own coat on and grabbing the bag with their lunch before opening the front door, the boys following after her.
Winnie did own a car. She wasn't really sure what kind of car it was but it was a pretty red colour and relatively reliable. She only really used it in emergencies or when temperatures were unbearable.
So they walked and talked and laughed and simply had fun in each other's company.
Winnie continued to walk behind the boys as they swung their linked hands back and forth in an over exaggerated way, and when they reached 'Nowhere' they quickly ran off towards a rotting wooden castle standing proudly near the water.
Christopher and Winnie had found the place, and absolutely adored the view. They called it 'Nowhere' so when someone were to ask 'where are you going?' they could simply say 'Nowhere.' and it would make perfect sense.
It wasn't like the castle standing there was too much fun though. Winnie enforced the one rule that they didn't play on it, just sit and talk or enjoy the view. The castle may stand proud but the wood wasn't quite as stable as they wished.
So the boys hopped up on it, getting comfortable and looking out on the water while Winnie situated herself on the slightly damp bench off to the side, pulling out a book that she'd packed.
There was the occasional laughter of the two children, as they leaned against each other and told stories, and the voice of the waves pressing against the sand nearby.
They'd sat comfortably for nearly an hour until a small yellow beetle pulled up and out came Emma Swan. The blonde had spoken with the boy's teacher and when Mary Margaret Blanchard had informed her of where they might be, it wasn't hard to find her way.
"Well Henry never goes anywhere without Christopher if he can help it, and Winnie is much too kind to send him to school when he's feeling so abandoned."
The sentence had struck a small chord with Emma, but she pushed it into the back of her mind as she got out carrying Henry's old book of fairytales.
The fairytales were something Winnie knew about. She didn't necessarily believe that she was supposed to be the 'mother of bears' that lived in the centre of the dangerous 'Hundred Acre Woods', but she supported Henry's imagination unconditionally.
"Good afternoon, Emma." Winnie called out, barely looking up from her book.
"Hey." Emma stated awkwardly.
Noticing the book in the blonde woman's hands, Winnie called out for Christopher.
"Christopher, darling, can you come help me with this?" She asked. Emma gave her a grateful smile, knowing she'd only done it to give the mother and son some time to talk.
Christopher also seemed to know, because he hopped down and rushed over to sit on the bench next to Winnie, just tucking himself into her side.
The pair waited until Emma and Henry had finished their conversation, until Henry also hopped down and walked over to the bench they were sat at, where Emma joined them only minutes later.
"Regina's been looking for him." Emma stated simply, trying to avoid looking at Winnie directly for fear that she could see the sadness and heartbreak on her face after that conversation. Of course, it didn't work. Winnie seemed to have one good ability, where she could see right through someone to their true identity.
And she could see just how upset the woman was.
"That's okay, Henry." Winnie smiled down at the boy. "We can have lunch another time, yeah?"
Henry nodded slightly, a little disheartened.
Winnie stood up and grabbed her things.
"We can take my car." Emma offered.
"Wonderful." Winnie agreed. "I quite like it, really. Like a honey bee or the warm yellow sun, it's a lovely colour."
In Emma's opinion it was the brightest yellow she'd ever seen and it gave her a headache to look at sometimes, but looking at it now, after Winnie had given it such kind thought, the little Volkswagen Beetle looked almost welcoming.
They piled into the car, the boys having surprisingly plenty of room in the back seat and they were at the Mayors house in no time.
Winnie decided to let Emma handle bringing Henry back. There was somewhere in the back of her mind that said Emma and Regina needed to have a talk, and Winnie shouldn't be there for that.
So she waited patiently, as did Christopher, for Emma to get back in the car.
When she finally did, the blonde huffed out angrily as she threw herself in her seat. It was quiet for a minute before Winnie spoke up.
"Would you like to come over, Emma? It seems like you could use a cuppa." Winnie asked quietly.
Emma sighed, staying silent for a few more seconds before starting up the car.
"I'm not a huge fan of tea, sorry."
"That's okay! We have plenty of other beverages, and besides, we could really use some help eating this lunch I had packed."
Emma looked over at the plump woman, pushing her glasses up more on her nose with a kind expression on her face. It occurred to Emma that this expression was a constant for her.
And maybe it was about time Emma made a friend. Someone she could rely on to be there for her. It has been so long since she had that, and Winnie seemed like a good place to start.
"You'll have to direct me which way." Emma nodded at the road ahead of them.
Winnie grinned happily, "Just take a left up here."
author's note
Winnie just instantly becomes everyone's mother with ease and I'm here for it
Honestly I'm updating a lot to get my mind off life and writing for Winnie is so peaceful and lovely and it really helps with my sad mood so yeah I guess I'm also really grateful for Winnie 😂
lemme know what you think :)