Headcanon: The Great Adventures of Henry and Otis
This is the story of a boy and his bear, and the many adventures they had together…
"Otis" the bear was waiting in the nursery for Henry when he finally came to live with Regina. At only three weeks old, Henry was tiny, still smaller than the bear that would quickly become his favorite. As he started crawling, and then walking, Henry dragged Otis with him everywhere, babbling away to the bear in a language understood by only the two of them.
Henry took Otis almost everywhere with him until just after he turned 4… Otis had a day of adventure on his own, and after that, Henry decided it would be safer if the bear waited for him at home, rather than risk losing him.
Henry had dragged Otis with him to the park, where he and the bear raced around after a soccer ball, swung as high as they could on the swings, and built a sand castle in the sandbox. After lunch, Regina joined Henry and Otis for a game of hide and seek. After helping Otis "hide" under the bench, Henry realized that he only had a few seconds left before his mother got to zero, and it was too late for him to hide. Racing across the blacktop of the basketball court, trying to get to the trees on the other side, Henry tripped over his feet, skinning up his knees and hands. As soon as Regina heard him cry out, she raced to his side, picking him up, and wiping away his tears. Using her handkerchief to wipe away the worst of the dirt and the blood, she carried him to the car, suggesting that they go to Granny's to clean up his hands and knees, and then they could get some ice cream.
It wasn't until Henry was getting ready for bed that evening that he made the horrible realization that in his moment of crisis, he had forgotten that Otis was still hiding under the bench in the park. As she was finishing up her nightly routine, Regina heard sobs coming from Henry's room. As soon as she opened the door, he threw himself off of the bed and into her arms. Through his sobs, she was finally able to make out that Otis had been left in the park and that he couldn't sleep without the bear.
Knowing that neither of them would get any sleep until the bear was safely in Henry's arms again, she packed him into the car, both of them in their pajamas, and headed to the park. Henry was still sobbing, afraid that someone had stolen Otis, or that the bear had run away, thinking he wasn't loved anymore (a very real possibility in his 4 year old mind) when Regina jumped out of the car and dashed over to the bench they had been occupying earlier. Luckily the rain that had been threatening all evening hadn't started yet, and when she reached the bench, she found Otis, still hiding under it, safe and dry.
When she made it back to the car, Otis tucked under her arm, she discovered that Henry had finally cried himself to sleep in his booster seat. Sitting the bear in the seat next to him, Regina drove them home. Henry woke up again as she was unbuckling him, and his little hand immediately reached out for Otis. Handing the bear to him, Regina pulled the still half-asleep boy into her arms and carried him inside and upstairs to his bed. As she tucked the blankets around him and the bear still clutched tightly to him, his eyes fluttered open once more, and he looked up at her, whispering "Mommy, you're my hero. Love you bunches."