Storybrooke

Callie Rivers lives by her schedule. Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and the occasional Saturday she wakes up early to go to the small gym in Storybrooke. Sundays are always left as a day off, but she also takes off some Saturdays for Henry. Still, Graham found a way to convince an incredibly drunk Callie to join him in volunteering at the local animal shelter in the mornings on Tuesday, Thursday, and a few extra Saturdays. Callie was fully against the idea of working with the animals until she discovered that all she had to do was go running with the dogs. (The fluffy little beasts aren't horses, but she loves them all the same).

The strict everyday routine she follows always seems odd to Regina, who continues to wonder why her friend doesn't enjoy life as leisurely as she acts on the sea. It's almost as if Callie truly is a different person behind closed doors, well locked doors really, and Henry had one of the few keys into who his Aunt truly was.

It being one of the special Friday's that month Callie would be watching Henry, she was thinking up a dinner plan. He loves the occasional weekends where Callie takes him to her house on her motorcycle and takes him sailing in the mornings before they go out to brunch with Regina.

Callie is beyond bored at the River Boutique, she gave her girls the weekend off since she isn't going to be in the shop. She flips through the morning paper, ignoring Emma Swan's face plastered to the front. Callie's known Regina long enough to know she has her hands in everything, and Sidney is no exception.

She drives up to City Hall that night, ready to get Henry and head home. Callie is adjusting the straps to the single helmet to fit Henry when he comes walking up to his aunt.

"Hey lad," Callie grins and ruffles his hair, "I think you're a touch late today. Want me to walk up with you?"

He nods and Callie places her arm around his shoulder, asking him meaningless questions about his day. In between the jumble of talk about schoolwork and what he had for lunch, Henry says something that confuses Callie.

"I think you're finally ready."

She looks down at her nephew, brows scrunching together in a frown, "ready for what Henry?"

"I can't tell you this close to my mom," he whispers, "but I'll tell you everything tonight."

Callie's eyes harden with concern, but she doesn't persist as her attention shifts to the two voices talking quite loudly from the mayor's office.

"You think he's troubled?"

"Well... he's in therapy. And I only got through a couple pages of his shrink's notes before you had me arrested, but putting all that aside. He thinks everyone in this town is a fairy tale character. Like Callie Rivers, he thinks she's a pirate with unnatural powers."

Callie's mouth dries as she watches the lad's shoulders tense in front of her, all his excitement and happiness fading into despair.

              
"And you don't?"

The smug smirk growing in Regina's tone causes Callie to flinch.

"How can I? The poor kid can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality and it's only getting worse. It's crazy."

Callie wants to pull him out of this, she can feel the hurt and pain radiating from the boy she's raised all at the words of his mother.

A tearful Henry crashes into the office and Callie can tell he's going to cry by the way his voice breaks, "you think I'm crazy?"

Callie is frozen as she watches Henry rush out of the room, still at the echoes of a past long missing. Emma turns to Regina, shock wide in her eyes.

"How long was he there?"

She demands, the Queen grins wickedly at the sight of her perfect plan complete.

              
"Long enough."

The hallway spins for Callie, the harshness in her best friend's villainous tone striking her core.

"You knew he would be here?"

Emma asks incredulously at the fact that she was played so horribly. 'She planned this,' Callie's mind whispers, ringing the truth in her ears.

              
"Did I know that my son needed to come to my office this Friday at exactly 5:00 p.m. so he can get his stuff before spending the weekend with his Aunt." Regina's smirk turns to the sickening grin that all the Enchanted Forest knew to fear, only second to the fear that comes from even hearing of Rumplestiltskin. "Of course I did."

              
'And now to say exactly what will rid me of this woman forever.' Regina's chin tilts upward in her twisted victory, "I'm his mother - your move."

"You have no soul. How the hell did you get like this?"

              
Shaking herself from the dumb-founded stupor Callie finds herself frozen in as she walks into the room with more power in her step than she has in her heart. Callie grabs Henry's duffel and pillow with darkened eyes storming.

Regina catches a look at her eyes as she watches her best friend go in and out of the room and fear flashes through her. Memories of a life put deep beneath her new life surface, and in that split second Regina Mills could swear that the power the curse had striped from Callie Rivers was there, strong as ever before.

              
'Regina Mills and Emma Swan,' Callie shakes her head retracing her steps back down the stairs she had only walked up a minute before. 'Both supposedly the mothers of Henry, but ever since the beginning of this week they only seem to be his pain. All they've done is hurt the lad.'

              
Her eyes soften at the sight of Henry fumbling with the clip of the helmet. Slowly in her rage filled rush, Callie kneels down in front of the lad and takes the helmet from his shaking hands. With a kind smile Callie places the helmet on the cracked concrete beneath them before opening her arms wide. Henry is surrounded by her strong arms in the instant he rushes into the rare hug. (Henry noticed as he got older that Callie only seemed to hug a few, but he couldn't help but feel fuzzy at the realization that she hugged him the most). Henry squeezes her tight, Callie can feel her shirt dampen and her arms pull her nephew into a deeper warmth that makes him feel safe.

              
Callie stays bent in the hug until Henry pulls away, rubbing his reddened eyes.

"Ready to go, mate?" Callie's lips twist upwards, looking for Henry to raise his eyes to meet hers but his gaze is more locked on the ground focusing on the pesky weeds growing between a crack in the sidewalk than on his Aunt. His voice is small and cracked from crying as he answers a hoarse 'yeah'. She snaps the clip of the helmet with a large grin, "good, because I want to hear all about my pirate past life."

That finally gets Henry to meet Callie's eyes, his own brownie colored orbs sparkling with that hope she raised him to believe in, "you believe me?"

"Lad, as much as I love you - it's going to be up to your storytelling skills."

His things are attached to the bike and the two clamber onto the old, crimson-red Harley. Henry feels all the pain that ran him over in that office fade as his Aunt kicks the bike to start. Callie drives away from the office before either of his mothers can even think to come and see him off.

Pulling off onto the gravel drive tucked under tall pines and large oaks, Henry can't help his growing smile at the overwhelming, calming scent of the sea. The trees flying past as they wind down the driveway slowly shift into Callie's open front yard filled with gardens and flowers and stretches of grass. The house comes in view next, ivy trying to take control of one of the turrets that he knows holds her study filled to the brim with books and journals. Henry loves the house; the stone and weathered brick, the large windows, the yard full of sweet flowers and miscellaneous gardens that become stretches of sand as the yard meets the expanse of beach behind the house, the creak of the dock against the bay waters, and the simplicity and kindness that fills the modern home. (Henry loves the house and everything about it with his whole heart, yet he wouldn't dare tell his Aunt that he believes that his mom created the house with the curse. His only other idea would be that Callie's father planned it for her).

The house, the grounds, and the dock in the back are all privileges that Callie keeps close to her heart. All came to her through sheer determination and hard work, at least that's what she knows. One of her biggest prides is 'The Ancient Dream'. The ship brings her years upon years of peace and good memories. A constant in her life for as long as she can remember.

Henry has practically grown up in the manor, a room quickly being designated his own. Only Callie has always been able to catch onto the little things, including how easily it takes for Henry to call her house 'home'. She sees how he prefers it to his own house no matter how old he's been — but Callie understands that as she prefers it over anywhere but the open sea.

              
The house itself is nothing fancy to her. She keeps it as tidy as she wants it, she has nobody to impress. Whenever he gets the chance Henry jumps at the possibility of coming to his Aunt's home where he can run across the yard, help her clean up the flower beds and gardens meanwhile dirtying themselves, or helping her finish up her latest project of some kind of baked good in the giant kitchen.

Henry and Callie enter the house and make their way straight to Henry's favorite room — the very kitchen he adores working in. Callie loves the place, but her heart clenches with mixed feelings about the room. Cooking and baking are two of the good things she still has in her memory of her mother. Baking is one of the only things Callie will thank her mother for, the addicting hobby bringing happiness to herself and to Henry.

Soon the two are swaying around the kitchen, Henry's bag discarded in his room. Henry had picked the music as he usually does, getting to have fun without any limitations from his mother. A pair of burgers are cooking on the grill as Callie and Henry scream the lyrics to one of their favorite songs as she cuts up some veggies. Henry has a wooden spoon in his hand, leading it in a dance around the room. Callie stops to look at her kid having the time of his life, not a moment in between songs to think about the tragedy his mother had meant for him to overhear earlier that evening. She's glad she can do this, make him happy when he forgets how to be.

Loud rapping on the door brings the two out of their personal moment. Callie's brow scrunches in utter confusion as why would anyone be at her house, quickly she turns to Henry and asks him to stop the music. Grabbing her baseball bat out of the umbrella stand by the large, oak door, Callie positions herself behind the front door and takes a deep breath. She checks that the lad is still in the kitchen. Henry waves her cell phone in his hand in case something goes south.

              
"Hello?" Her tone is callous as she opens the door by a few inches, "oh, Miss Swan, can I help you?"

Callie opens the door wider, showing off the bat still tight in her grip an open invitation to remain outside.

"I know Henry is here."

Emma says it in a way that Callie assumes means she wants to see him, but not tonight.

"Well now," Callie snides, "I wonder how you managed to find that out? Or is the bigger question how you found my address?"
              

Challenge is bright in Callie's eyes as she meets Emma's own, testing her.

"I need to talk with Henry, Rivers."

Swan's voice shakes however and that is all Callie needs to know that fear is there.

"I'm not sure Henry would want to talk with either of his mothers right now."

              
'I don't know if I want them near him again.'

              
"I'm his mother, I have every right-."
              

"Do I need to remind you who has been gone for all his life? Or should I simply remind you that I have raised him just as much as Regina. I am his emergency contact. I am his godmother. I am his Aunt. And if you decide to stick around after calling him crazy, then you will still have never loved him as much as I do or for as long as I have."

The words hit Emma as though she is being punched repeatedly. Callie can vividly see herself throwing the blonde into a brick wall, and Henry hearing Callie say what she does say feels that amazingly fuzzy feeling bloom in his chest.

Guilt trickles into Emma's gut at every word. Each hurting her more than even thinking about giving Henry up has before, because she knows that Callie Rivers is right with every word that drops from her poison dipped tongue.

              
"Tell him it's about Operation Cobra."

Callie doesn't recognize the name, but Henry hears the title and comes out from behind the door still sticking behind his Aunt as a shield.
              

"Henry, I'm sorry-."
              

"I don't want to talk to you."
              

"Swan, if she knew you were here."
              

"To hell with her!" Emma's breath comes heavy, "Henry, there is one simple reason I stayed in Storybrooke." Emma's eyes soften as they meet her son's, "you. I wanted to get to know you."
              

"And you think I'm crazy!" He accuses her, the pain and hurt pumping in his heart making his tone sharp.

             
"No. I think the curse is crazy. And it is. But that doesn't mean that it isn't true. It's a lot to ask anyone to believe in. But there are a lot of crazy things in this world. So what do I know? Maybe it is true," she's trying with everything she has to get him to believe her.

Callie looks between the two, the curse foreign to her as of now but her resolve hasn't folded. She taught Henry how to believe and love and to trust in his gut, and hers knows that Emma is saying anything to get Henry to believe her again.
              

"But you told my mom..?"
              

"What she needed to hear. I do know that if this curse is real, then the only way to break it is by tricking the Evil Queen into thinking we are non-believers. Because that way she's not onto us." Emma grins at the shine in her son's eyes, the way she can see the hope growing in him again, "isn't that what Operation Cobra is all about? Throwing her off the trail?"
              

"Brilliant!"

              
But Callie feels dread fill her, this is not brilliant. It's not right. She can't be sure, but she knows the desperation in Swan's voice from her own experiences. The desperation that comes from trying to keep your child close. She refuses to allow the same thing that happened to her happen to him.

              
"I've read the pages and, Henry, you are right. They are dangerous and the only way to make sure no one ever sees them again is to burn them as soon as possible."
              

"I knew you were here to help me."

              
Callie lets Henry hug his mom, but her gaze stays fixated on the woman. Although Callie knows that she is confused, this, this curse is what Henry wants to tell her about and Callie will wait until he does. Small pieces of their conversation connect in her head; he thinks she is a pirate with unnatural powers, his fairytale thing. The Evil Queen, immediately Callie's thoughts drift to Regina and something in her sees it click into place.

              
Swan smiles at Callie, hoping their conflict is resolved but the blank faced glare and her eyes raging at the storm contained in her orbs causes Emma to gulp. It will take time for Callie to see and understand that Swan is better than she has been. It will take time for Emma and Callie to see eye to eye at all, but in this moment, Callie doesn't return the smile.

Henry and Callie sit outside after fixing the rest of their dinner. The fire pit in front of them burns brightly, the embers red hot and glowing with crimson flames that lick the wood and paper plates tossed into it. Their eyes are focused on the stars, sparkling in the heavens, Callie quizzing the lad on all the constellations she's taught him.

              
Pulling a few ripped pages of his story book out of his pocket Henry doesn't hesitate in throwing them to the fire. The two watch with eyes reflecting the golden flames as fire overtakes the pages, twisting and curling them as they burn into ashes. Next the book itself is pulled up and onto his lap, Callie watches as he flips through the pages with determination until he finds the page he wants. Looking up to his Aunt he grins, pure excitement fluttering in his chest.

              
"Your stories are my favorites! But, well, are you sure you're ready?"
              

"Bring it, lad, I want to hear everything."

old author's notes
[   ➤𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲! 𝐊𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲. 𝐒𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬... 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐩. ➤𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲'𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐲'𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠! 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞!➤   ➤𝟗-𝟐𝟗-𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎➤

— Thank you all so much for getting Stuck in my Head to over 20k reads and 350+ votes!! Here is chapter four, fully and completely rewritten for the revised SimH — and at a perfect 3000 word count!!    — I really appreciate the love all of you having been giving me, and it's giving me inspiration to re-write more!!   — For my re-readers of the entirety of SimH y'all are probably still going what the heck Katie because of everything I'm slipping in in the rewrite!! I love where Callie's new character and personality is going — also the depth y'all are getting to her relationship with Henry now is killing me but they're adorable to write.   — Finally due to 20k ( besides this update ) and extra little gift to you guys is another one-shot of Callie and Killian I'm going to put up!! My first time readers still haven't seen Killian and Callie together yet but my re-readers will hopefully love the AU one-shot I'm going to try to get up soon!!
— as usual the one-shot will be put in misc book Noxious under the future Stuck in my Head 3 tab!!    — if you've never checked out my account before please do!! I'm also part of a collab account -Storybrooke-agents  with my friend Nola!! And not only do I have SimH, but I also have.   — Freefall, a marvel au / T'Challa love interest.   — Noxious, my one-shot book / graphic shop / rant book    — People Breaking, my Lego Ninjago au fic.   — Nepenthe, my Henry Danger fic ( yes, this is the shameless self promo hour with your host Katie<33 come check me out ).   5 — 9 — 2021    AND HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!   ]

author's note!! hello my lovely people!! this is 100% my favorite chapter so far. like Henry and Callie's relationship is the best >>> but as always, good things must end and we're going to get into the nastier parts of Callie's past and the drama in Storybrooke soon!!

I hope that you're enjoying it!! and thank y'all so much for helping me reach 27k reads today <3

05/25/2022